There were tears on Lily's cheeks when she flung the door to her house open. She froze, her wand trembling in front of her. The two wizards in black robes, faces hidden by elaborate masks turned to point their wands at her.

Suddenly, the masked men were engulfed in flames. Lily snapped out of her shock and disarmed both men, their burning wands falling at her feet. She rushed to her parents. Her mother was lying in a puddle of blood and her father was seizing uncontrollably. The room was starting to fill with smoke. She waved her wand over her mother's wounds but they wouldn't close. She let out a scream of frustration. All of the sudden someone was pulling her arm. "Lily we need to leave I can't control the fire."

Lily didn't take her eyes off her mother, "I can't stop the bleeding!" she cried desperately.

"Lily we need to get her out of here!" the voice was urgent.

Lily coughed on the smoke. She looked up and the orange flames were climbing up the walls and curtains and spreading to the sofa.

The voice had levitated her mom's and fathers body's outside while Lily had been distracted by the destruction of her childhood home. "Lily! We need to leave now!" the voice was frantic. Lily allowed herself to be pulled to her feet and out the front door of her house.

The voice belonged to the girl from the headmaster's office, Holly.. her temporary little sister?How did she get here? Her face was smudged with ash and her hair was singed. This couldn't be happening.

A ball of white light in the shape of an otter burst from Holly's arm, "Find Septima and the Headmaster. Tell them the Evans's have been attacked. We will meet them at the apparition barrier. She looked to Lily, "I can't control the fire and there will be more death eaters on the way. We need to go now." Lily stared at Holly. There was no way this was happening. It must be a dream. This can't be real. Holly was shaking her shoulder, "Can you apparate?"

Lily noded her head. She had just gotten her license a month ago. Lily looked at the trail of blood, her mother's blood, leading to the flames of a fire that did not look like it was going to ever stop. "Lily! I need you to focus. Can you side along apparate?" Lily tore her eyes away from her mother and shook her head slowly. Holly grimaced, "It's okay I've got them. Go to the platform, the Headmaster will be there soon."

Lily didn't move. Her parents. Her home. This couldn't be real. "Lily! Go! Now!"

Lily gave her house and parents one last look before spinning on her heel and apparating to Hogwarts.

Holly knelt before Mrs. Evans body cursing herself. There was no way she could apparate them both. There would be more death eaters soon. She wasn't even sure she could side-along at all in her current state. If only dobby was...

"Mipsy!"

A second passed, then another, and just when Holly had decided Mipsy wasn't coming the diminutive elf popped into existence before her.

Holly could've cried with joy, "Mipsy, can you to take Mr. Evan's to ? Tell the healers they are exempt from the statue of secrecy. The male has been exposed to prolonged torture with the cruciatus curse..." Holly paused unsure if St. Mungos would treat Lily's paretns because they were muggles, "Tell the healers that Dumbledore sent them."

The elf's eyes were large as she took in the flames devouring the small home behind Holly. "Mipsy not knowing how missy Holly knows Mipsy can be transporting wizards. Mipsy is not liking missy Holly asking Mipsy to lie... but mipsy will do as missy Holly has asked. Missy Holly will explain later." the elf said firmly, disappearing from the flames with Mr. and Mrs. Evans.

Holly turned to Lily's home as the flames reached higher and higher into the sky. She could hear the sirens of muggle fire engine in the distance. She watched the flames licked at the houses next to Lily's. Holly wondered if Septima's arithmancy probailites accounted for the darkness of muggle casualties.

She watched with abject horrow as the fire, her fire, consumed the house. Her magical fire that the muggle fire engines would be unable to put out. How many muggles would die? How many firemen would perish trying to save those trapped by the spreading flames? Flames from the fire she had started.

Holly paused, it was her fire...She tentatively walked toward the house. The fire felt warm but she.. she knew the flames weren't going to burn her. She reached out and touched the fire. She could feel the warmth dance through her fingertips. She felt her magic reach for the fire. She closed her eyes and walked into the inferno that used to be the Evan's home.

She stood in the midst of the fire growing in strength and ferocity, she let the flames wash over her skin. She felt her magic reach out and mix with the flames. She relaxed her control and let her magic flow freely amid the flames. She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on pulling her magic, and with it, the flames back within her body. The only blood on her hands today was going to be her own. She felt an incredible rush of magic as the flames imploded with her as the epicenter and vanished, absorbed into her body.