Lily's Defender, Part 2

By Alethea27 and TheOneAndOnlyEnigma

Disclaimer: The plot is ours, but the majority of the main characters belong to the imagination of J.K. Rowling. We do not gain any profit from writing this story.

Summary: With the Grimoire in safe hands and James Potter expelled, Severus Snape, Lily Evans, and their friends expected that their remaining time at Hogwarts would be smooth sailing. Unfortunately, the intentions of a few detestable individuals will make their lives more arduous. With the help of a few new friends, they all must join together to fight against the rising tide of evil in the Wizarding World.

A/N: This story is A/U and is NOT canon compliant. If you don't like it, don't read it.

A/N: If you haven't read Lily's Defender, you might want to read just for the purpose of general background information and familiarity with the characters. The story can be found on Snapegirlkmf account.

1.

Dawn of a New Day

Lily's woke up early to the sound of screeching gulls, breaking waves, and the smell of the ocean, coming in through the open window. She yawned then stretched. Petunia was still asleep beside her and she shook her, "Tuney, it's morning. Let's go for an early walk on the beach."

"Murrumph," Petunia mumbled, batting Lily's hand away and sticking her head under her pillow.

Lily grinned and got out of bed then grabbed her bathrobe and dug around in her suitcase for a pair of jeans, underwear, and a T-shirt. She took a quick shower, got dressed, and brushed her hair. She went back into the bedroom and grabbed her sandals out from underneath the bed. She crept quietly past her parent's bedroom and the bedroom Sev and Salem were sharing, unlocked the front door and stepped out on the front porch. She was surprised to see Sev sitting in one of the porch chairs, reading and making notes. He looked up and closed his book as he saw Lily. "Good morning, Lily. You're up early."

"I was going to take a walk on the beach," Lily replied. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Yes," he replied. He shrank his book, notepad, ink bottle and quill and stowed them in the pocket of his windbreaker. Lily held out her hand and he took it and they walked down to the beach.

"I wonder who we're going to get for Defense this year," Lily remarked.

"Yes, because it seems to be hit or miss with Dumbledore," Severus replied. "One year we get somebody really good like Professor Gold and then the next year we could get a Hardbroom."

"Professor Bones was good," Lily pointed out and then giggled. "I'll never forget forget the time she made Potter and Sirius do those push-ups like Black Conor did."

"Yes," Severus grinned. "And they could barely manage to do them either time!"

"I've heard the older students claim the position is cursed and that's why nobody stays for more than a year."

"I've heard that, too," Severus agreed. He was silent for moment then said, "I keep thinking about Yalarad running into me on the train and the more I think about it, the more I think he did it deliberately. The thing is though I don't know why. I mean I've never so much as exchanged two words with him in three years."

"I've never heard him join in when James was bashing you in the common room. He's just always hung out with the same group of kids. I got the impression he knew some of them before coming to Hogwarts."

"Probably," Severus said. He shrugged. "Maybe I'm being paranoid about nothing, but I really don't want anybody else picking up where Potter left off."

"Me either!" Lily exclaimed fervently. They walked casually down the beach, stopping occasionally to pick up a seashell that looked interesting. "I still have that blue shell you found and gave to me two years ago," Lily said.

"It was fan shaped, wasn't it?" Severus asked.

Lily nodded. "It's still the same pretty blue, too. It hasn't faded any."

"It's good to know some things never change," Severus remarked.

They wandered further down the beach, chatting and stopping occasionally to watch the waves and the seagulls diving into the water for food.

Lily looked at her watch and was amazed to see two hours had passed. She tapped Severus' arm and pointed at her watch. "We'd better get back. Mum probably has breakfast about ready."

Severus nodded and they turned and started walking back towards the cottage.

~*~* Page Break ~*~*

Dumbledore was in his office at the International Confederation of Wizards in Paris. He was studying the reports they had received about the strange things going on in Albania and Greece. The Albanian ones, in particular, concerned him as he knew Tom Riddle had spent a great deal of time there after graduating from Hogwarts. He also knew that was where Helena Ravenclaw had fled after she had stolen her mother's diadem and where she had died at the Bloody Baron's hand.

There were reports from the Muggles of strange and fierce animals guarding a particular part of the forest around the village of Xeth. It currently had a population of about 2000 and at least a quarter of them were magical. What concerned Dumbledore the most were the sightings of what sounded like Inferi. No doubt both were Tom's doings.

The reports from Greece involved someone attempting to find Basilisk eggs, several of them. Again, Dumbledore was certain this was connected to Tom Riddle somehow also. He could easily imagine Tom, and he shuddered at the thought, wanting an army of Basilisks to help him conquer Great Britain.

He glanced at the clock on his desk and it reminded him he needed to contact Madam Maxime about Dante. He got down in front of the fireplace and tossed the green powder into the fireplace then said, "Headmistresses Office, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic."

In a few seconds, Madam Maxime's head appeared in the flames. She smiled with pleasure and said, "Dumblydore, it's a pleasure to see you. What may I do for you?"

"I need to visit with you about one of your students if you are not too busy, Madam Maxime. May I come through?

She nodded and stepped aside so Dumbledore could come through. He stepped out of the floo into her office, after first carefully removing the ashes with his wand as courtesy required.

Madam Maxime was taller than Hagrid, who was around nine feet tall, and was dressed in a very stylish robe.

"Please sit down, Dumblydore, and I shall call Yvette and have tea brought," she said as she sat down behind her desk again. She picked up a small bell and shook it once. The sound pealed loudly.

A small elf appeared. "Yes, Mistress?"

They spoke in French, but since it was one of the many languages Dumbledore spoke, he had no problem understanding it. However, Madam Maxime always requested they speak in English whenever they met as she wanted to improve her English.

"Please bring us refreshments, Yvette," Madam Maxime requested.

"Yes, Mistress. Yvette shall be right back." Yvette popped out, but was back in about five minutes carrying a tray containing a teapot, cups, saucers and a plate of freshly baked chocolate and vanilla frosted eclairs. She set it down in front of Madam Maxime then popped back out again.

Madam Maxime poured the tea and passed the cup to Dumbledore followed by the plate of eclairs.

"Oh my," Dumbledore said. "I always have such a hard time choosing."

Madam Maxime shrugged. "Why not take one of each?"

"An excellent idea!" Dumbledore exclaimed. He munched contentedly on one for a few seconds then swallowed, wiped his mouth and said, "The student I spoke of is Dante Yalarad. His father and grandfather came to see me just after school ended and it seems that Dante wishes to finish his seventh year and graduate from Hogwarts. You already know about the incident that caused Deputy Headmistress McGonagall and I to suggest to suggest to his family that he transfer to another school."

Madam Maxime nodded. "His bullying of a younger child caused the child a serious injury."

"Yes, and his family tells me there's been no such further incidents, but I want to make sure they are not leaving anything out."

"I have not had any bad reports on Mr. Yalarad, Dumblydore," Madam Maxime replied. She waved her wand at the row of file cabinets in her office. "Accio Dante Yalarad's student file." The bottom drawer of the last file cabinet slid open and a file flew out and then landed neatly in front of her. She opened it and perused Dante's file. It was several minutes before she spoke again. "There are no notes of reprimand or detention. His grades this year are all either Outstanding or Exceeds. According to his professors, he has a gift for languages and there are notes from them, complimenting him on helping the younger children find their way around the school."

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "Well, it appears that Dante has done very well at Beauxbatons and has changed the uncertain path he was on when he left Hogwarts."

~*~* Page Break ~*~*

James stormed in through the French Doors that led into the dining room. He had just come home from his Junior League Quidditch practice and carelessly dropped his broom and other equipment by the door for the elves to pick up. "Do you know what I heard from Sam Yalarad's younger brother today?" He yelled loudly. The purple in his face was almost faded.

Charles looked up from the roast he was preparing to slice with raised eyebrows. "What?"

James plunked down in his chair at the table. "He said Dumbledore was considering letting his cousin, Dante, come back to Hogwarts! If he can come back after what he did, why can't I? I didn't do anything as bad as he did! I was just trying to prove that Gold was a fake is all. I never hurt anybody!"

Mavis dished up the food from the bowls on the table, putting generous amounts on James' plate. He was always starving after practice. "I remember he scared some Muggleborn first year into running down the stairs to get away from him and then falling the rest of the way down when the step vanished," she said. "And you're right, Jamie, your attempting to expose Gold for the fake his is, is not anywhere as bad as that!"

"I will floo Dumbledore first thing tomorrow and find out what's going on," Charles assured him adding two thick slices of roast beef to his plate. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

"Jamie's gotten excellent grades so Dumbledore shouldn't have a problem with allowing him to come back," Mavis said primly with a sniff.

James grinned. He'd gotten an Outstanding in Transfiguration and Defense, an Exceeds in Charms, Acceptable in Potions, Herbology, Astronomy and History of Magic. His parents had bought him the newest racing broom, a Wind Rush 75, as a reward for his grades.

He thought about somebody he could owl to see if he could get any additional information about Dante possibly coming back to Hogwarts. Mary was useless as she had been grounded by her parents again for the entire summer for flunking nearly every subject. He thought about Lisa, but crossed her off. She didn't care about anything outside of the newest dresses, shoes, or purses. He frowned. Daniel hadn't answered any of his letters he'd sent him.

He didn't know Sam Yalarad at all. He kept to himself and hung out with the same group of friends since he'd started at Hogwarts. It was apparently a closed group as none of them had extended him an invitation to join them. He thought about the fourth year kid he'd met when he was coming back from Gold's office, the Ravenclaw named Silas Attenborough. He'd seemed pretty savvy. Maybe he would know something about Dante coming back to Hogwarts. James decided to owl him and see what he said.

~*~* Page Break ~*~*

Paul, Cinthy, Petunia, Salem, Severus, and Lily sat around a fire Paul had made of Driftwood that he had gathered from the beach. It was a beautiful night, the stars in the sky shone brightly and there was a cool breeze. Cinthy had bought out a bag of jumbo marshmallows and they were roasting them over the fire. Severus was busy trying to build a sand replica of Hogwarts.

"You forget Dumbledore's office, Sev," Lily pointed out.

So, I did," Severus answered. He grabbed a handful of damp sand and molded it into a lump then stuck it on the uppermost part of his architectural masterpiece and formed a balcony and drew windows and a door with a stick. "The headmaster's office probably has the best view of all," he remarked.

Ravenclaw probably has the second best view," Lily added,

"It does," Salem confirmed. "You can see most of Hogsmeade and some of the Forbidden Forest."

"Gryffindor gets a good view of the Quidditch Pitch," Lily said. "Potter was always thrilled about that!"

"All we see is water and the Giant Squid from time to time, but it makes a right pest out of itself when it does appear, especially if there's a bunch of first years gawping out the window," Severus said. "Occasionally though we do see the Merpeople that live in the lake, but it's rare. I've only seen any of them twice in three years." He looked up at Paul and Cinthy and explained, "Slytherin House is underneath the Black Lake."

"How fascinating," Cinthy said. "I do wish non-magical people could see Hogwarts."

"I wish you could, too, Mum," Lily said fervently. "The pictures I took really don't do it justice."

"Couldn't Dumbledore let us come?" Petunia asked. "We won't be able to see you graduate otherwise."

"Dumbledore would need to convince the board of governors and likely the Minister of Magic, too," Salem explained. "The magical world is kind of paranoid because all the bad things that have happened to magical people over the centuries."

"You mean because of the witch burnings and other terrible things?" Paul asked.

Salem nodded. "I know it's been a long time since anything like that has happened, but that's mainly why they established the International Statue of Secrecy in 1692."

"What we had to sign after Professor McGonagall told us about Lily being a witch?" Cinthy asked.

"It's similar to that," Salem replied. "I really don't know why since you've signed that you couldn't go to Hogwarts except many of the elder witches and wizards in the Ministry are, as I said, very paranoid."

"The Purebloods would probably raise a big stink, too," Severus said darkly.

"There is that also, unfortunately," Salem replied. "And these days with the rise of the wizard calling himself Lord Voldemort, it's no small matter."

~*~* Page Break ~*~*

Dumbledore was enjoying some refreshments with Minerva and telling her about his visit with Madam Maxime and their discussion about Dante when his floo sounded. He sighed loudly as he saw Charles' head sitting in the green flames. He had a suspicious he had already found out about the Yalarad's request to re-admit Dante "What can I do for you, Charles?" He called not bothering to get up from behind his desk.

"May I come through, Dumbledore?"

"If you must," Dumbledore muttered to himself then said aloud, "Yes."

Charles stepped out of the floo and marched over to Dumbledore's desk. "Is it true?" He demanded.

"Is what true?" Dumbledore sat back in his chair.

"Is it true that you're going to let Dante Yalarad back into Hogwarts?"

"I have not decided yet nor am I required to inform you of what I do decide, Charles."

"Well, if you're going to re-admit Yalarad, then I demand that you re-admit James! He never deliberately injured anyone."

Minerva gave Charles the stink eye and said, "I seem to recall James and Mr. Black chasing Miss Evans with a bat first year because they'd found out she had a great fear of them and causing her to fall down the stairs, trying to escape from them. I also recall James encouraging Mr. Mulciber to cast the Tarantallegra Spell on Mr. Snape, causing him to fall down the stairs and seriously injure himself."

Charles puffed up with indignation. "The first one was due to Black's influence. How he ever got into Gryffindor I'll never know!"

"What about the incident with Mr. Snape? Are you going to blame Mr. McTavish for that one?" Minerva asked snidely.

"No, that was entirely Snape's fault. He set James up, trying to make him look bad, by having his Death Eater friends injure him so it would look like James didn't try to help him!"

"As I recall, Charles, James didn't summon a Prefect or a Professor when he saw how the situation stood," Dumbledore replied mildly. "What Mr. Yalarad did in the past was very bad, but James tried breaking into a professor's office with the sole intent of finding something he could give you that you could use to smear Professor Gold with the intent of his being dismissed was just as bad."

"This is all of no matter anyway," Minerva said. "As Mr. Yalarad was asked to leave while James was expelled."

Charles face reddened. "If you go through with this travesty, Dumbledore, you will get a visit from not only my lawyers, but ..."

"Your friends on the Board of Governors. So be it. Now, I have got many things I need to do today so if you will excuse me?" Dumbledore got up and left his office followed by Minerva, leaving Charles with his mouth hanging open.

~*~* Page Break ~*~*

Charles flooed back to his office at his bank. Even after a couple of hours, he was still angry about the way Dumbledore and McGonagall had treated him! How dare they just dismiss him out of turn like that! His indignation was interrupted by a knock on his door "Enter!" He snapped.

His secretary, an older woman named Greta Highcrest, came in. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Lord Potter, but there's a gentleman at the front desk who insists he must see you personally. He won't allow any of the tellers to help him."

"What is his name?" Charles asked curiously.

"He said his name is Lord Gordon Elwyn Brownlow, " his secretary replied.

"It not a name I am familiar with," Charles said, wishing he had time to consult with Mavis. She knew more about wizarding geneology than he ever would.

The teller told me he is very well dressed and looks like he's somebody important."

"Alright. Have the teller send him up."

She nodded and left. In a few minutes there was a knock on his door and his secretary came in followed by a tall, thin, man with a balding pate and rather forbidding looking blue eyes behind steel-rimmed glasses. He was dressed expensively in a grey robe with thin, blue stripes, a grey waistcoat, fine linen shirt, and a blue silk cravet. "Lord Potter, may I present Lord Gordon Elwyn Brownlow. Lord Brownlow, Lord Potter."

Charles got up from his desk and came around with his hand out. He shook Lord Brownlow's hand and invited him to sit down in one of the comfortable chairs in front of his desk. "Mrs Highcrest, please bring us tea and refreshments."

Mrs. Highcrest returned in a few minutes with a tray containing tea items and a plate of chocolate cherry muffins. After she left again, Charles poured the tea and placed one of the muffins on a saucer and handed it to Lord Brownlow. "Now, how may I help you, Lord Brownlow?"

Lord Brownlow settled back, crossed his legs, and smiled. "I have just returned from the east where my business has made me a great amount of Galleons. I deal in far eastern antiques that has become very popular among the better class of the Wizarding population as you probably already know, particularly in America."

Charles did not know a thing about antiques. Again that was Mavis' purview. His eyes gleamed as he thought of all those Galleons!

Brownlow didn't miss the gleam and smiled to himself as he took a sip of his tea. "When I returned to Britain, after living in China for so long, and I visited Diagon Alley, the first thing I saw was your bank and I cannot tell you how relieved I was to see that I would not have to deal with those loathsome Goblins at Gringotts!"

"They are the reason I opened this bank. They objected to my saying that the Ministry should be able to regulate Gringotts and make sure they are not giving our money to their kind so they emptied my vaults and told me they would no longer do business with me!"

Brownlow shook his head. "I think Gringotts should be taken completely out of their control!"

"I agree," Charles said. "I will happy to give you a tour so you can see how secure this bank is if you wish."

"That would be fine, Lord Potter," Lord Brownlow replied.

Charles took him around his bank, showed him the high security vaults across from his office. "These are secured with older and newer security spells, no need for dragons. The outside walls are impenetrable, they are able to withstand even a Bombarda Spell and all the glass is impossible to break with any spells and the locks will not open with a Alohomora Spell."

"It is very impressive, Lord Potter and the added bonus is that I will not have to worry about those Goblins filching from my vaults."

Charles shook his head. "No, you absolutely will not, Lord Brownlow. I cannot believe how many people let those Goblins handle their money and never check the amounts in their vaults!" They returned to Charles' office and sat down again. "Now, how much money do you wish to open an account here with?"

"I am depositing 50,000 Galleons this first time, Lord Potter, and I will be making monthly deposits around the same amounts if that is not a problem."

"No problem at all, Lord Brownlow," Charles replied cheerfully. Once the paperwork was concluded, Lord Brownlow took a small leather sack out of his pocket and enlarged it. He watched as Charles opened one of the high security vaults and placed the Galleons inside it then locked it and handed the key to Brownlow. They shook hands and Lord Brownlow left.

Charles rubbed his hands together. He couldn't wait to tell Mavis about his day!

~*~* Page Break ~*~*

Lord Brownlow apparated outside a rather run down mansion in the village of Little Hangleton. He entered and immediately went to the drawing room where the man, once known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, but now making a name for himself as Lord Voldemort, waited. He was pale and his eyes were tinged with red.

He grinned as he saw his lieutenant come into the room. "Well, were you successful in your assignment? Did Potter accept our offer?"

Brownlow grinned and then suddenly morphed back into Mortimer Mulciber Sr. as the Polyjuice Potion wore off. "Did he ever!" He laughed loudly. "You should have seen the greedy gleam in his eyes!"

"Good!" Voldemort said. "We have him on the hook and won't he be surprised when we reel him in!"

~*~* Page Break ~*~*

At Mirrorvale, in his personal den, Marius Prince was going over a few files that were for the pending lawsuit against Ollivander. He sat down at his mahogany desk, and combed through the papers in front of him when he heard his fireplace erupt in green flames.

Marius turned his head around to see Dumbledore's face in the flames. "Albus, to what do I owe this visit?"

"It's strictly business related Marius, may I please come through?" Albus asked Lord Prince.

Marius graciously invited the Headmaster in. The green flames shone brighter as Dumbledore made his way through, and simmered once he had exited.

Marius rose from his desk and shook Dumbledore's hand. "Now what's this all about?"

"It's about the new Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor I must hire before the beginning of the year." Albus told Marius. "Rufus Scrimgeour recommended someone, but I cannot find him."

Marius looked a bit confused, "Well why come to me? Who is this person?"

"It's Gabriel Schell, Marius."

Marius' eyes widened a bit. There was a name he had not heard in the longest time. "Gabriel. Merlin, I've not seen or heard from him since...since Eileen passed."

"Well Minerva thinks that since your daughter and he were such great friends that you might know where he could be."

Marius shook his head, "I'm sorry but I haven't the faintest idea where he could be. The last I saw of him was a month after Eileen's death."

Marius looked over at Dumbledore, "He was there, you know? He was there with Gold when they…"

Dumbledore understood and raised his hand, "I know."

"He avenged her that night, and Silas Yalarad as well." Marius sighed. "Have you asked Sherwood? Perhaps he knows where Gabriel could be?"

"I doubt that. It appears as if Gabriel left immediately afterwards. He's young Samuel's Godfather, and it appears that he's abandoned the poor boy."

Marius crossed his arms. "Gabriel Schell is many things, but he is not someone who would abandon a boy weeks after losing his father."

Dumbledore nodded, "I see. You are certain you do not have any idea where Gabriel might be?"

Lord Prince once again shook his head, "My apologies Albus, but I'm afraid not."

"Well, thank you anyways Marius. I shall take your advice and ask Sherwood and Ophelia. Perhaps they might know. After all, Silas was Gabriel's best friend as much as your daughter was."

Dumbledore and Marius once again shook hands, and the headmaster left the same way as he entered, thought the green fires of the floo.

Marius then left his den, and went looking for Black Leif. He didn't have to look very long as Black Leif was in his room polishing a few of his blades.

"Ah Leif, may I come in please?" He asked the Black Cloak.

"Of course my Lord. Is there something that I can help you with?" Leif put down the blade he was polishing and turned his attention to him.

"In fact there is, you yourself are an accomplished tracker, is that correct?" Marius asked Black Leif.

"Yes my Lord, why do you ask?"

Marius Prince walked over to Black Leif and spoke in a hushed tone. "I need you to find someone for me."

~*~* Page Break ~*~*

Severus awoke the next morning before the sun rose. He figured he would get up now as he knew he would not be able to fall back to sleep.

With care not to wake up Salem who was still fast asleep. Severus took his change of clothes and made his way over to the bathroom.

He entered the shower after the water had come to temperature, and let the warm water run over him as he washed his hair. After he was finished Severus changed into a simple T-shirt, jeans, and sandals.

Severus made his way out of the cottage and walked back out to the fire pit that was made before and sat upon a log as he watched the sunrise.

His mind was still occupied with the Yalarad heir running into him. Severus racked his head as he tried to think of anything he may have done to anger, or annoy Sam Yalarad at all. Unfortunately, Severus could not think of anything he could have done to provoke him in any way.

Severus sighed, he did not want to make another enemy this quickly. James Potter had just been removed from his and Lily's life. They didn't need a new menace to make their lives miserable.

"Severus?"

Severus looked over to the origin of the voice, and saw Salem walking over to him. "Salem? What are you doing here?"

"Well I woke up when you were getting your clothes and noticed you had a troubled look on your face. I just wanted to see if you were all right." Salem sat right down next to Severus on an adjacent log.

Severus relaxed, "Sorry. Yeah, I'm fine. I just was a bit occupied with something else."

"Hmm? With what?" Salem asked the Prince Heir.

So, Severus began to tell Salem his concerns with Samual Yalarad, and how he could not think of a reason as to why he would knock into him.

"And you haven't interacted with him at all last year?" Salem asked him.

"No!" Severus exclaimed. "I haven't even spoken ten words to him in the past three years!"

Salem rubbed his jaw. "What about before then?"

Severus shook his head, "No. We barely spoke to each other at the functions my grandparents took me to, and even then it was only pleasantries."

Salem sighed, "Well I'm at a loss."

The younger wizard looked at Salem, "What do you know of The Yalarads?"

Salem racked his head. "Just basic stuff. The House of Yalarad emigrated to London over eight-hundred years ago."

That got Severus' attention, "You mean they aren't from here?"

"No, they came here from Persia to escape a Wizarding conflict that quite frankly ended with all participants killing each other." Salem scratched the side of his face. "Their house is known for producing many talented and powerful War-Mages, and they have wiped out several other Pureblood families in the past over several blood feuds."

Severus paled at what Salem told him. He would definitely have to take great caution when dealing with Sam Yalarad. "How about something more recent from their house?"

Salem thought to himself for a second. "Sam's father, Silas Yalarad was a famous Auror. He took down several dark wizards, and imprisoned countless more. Including Jaxson Love, or as you may know him, 'The Demon of Ottery St. Catchpole.'"

"Was?"

"Yeah he died many years ago. It was a trap, and he managed to take down sixteen dark wizards before they got him in the end."

Severus didn't know how to take that information in. "Where did that happen?"

"In Horzant Alley."

"Horzant Alley?"

"You never heard of it?" Salem asked.

Severus shook his head.

"It's a lot like Diagon, but with different shops, and several communities of different wizards and witches who live there." Salem explained.

Severus sighed, he was left with more information, but no closer to answering any questions. The sun began to creep over the horizon, and brought a new light upon the sleepy seaside town. Severus watched as the darkness of the night vanished as the dawn of the new day chased it away.

Severus knew not of what the future might bring him, but so long as he had Lily, his grandparents, Black Leif and Black Conor, and his friends by his side. There was no obstacle too big that he couldn't face.