10Lily set down her quill and picked up the parchment to read over it once more before sending it off to her son. Old habits died hard, after all.
She read: "Harry, we had our suspicions when you refused to answer our inquiries as to which House the Sorting Hat had placed you in, but when we brought it up with Professor McGonagall, she informed us that you had been placed in Slytherin. We are most disappointed that you felt you couldn't trust us. We were surprised at what House you ended up in, but we could never hate you for it, of course, sweetheart. Please write back as soon as you can and let us know you're okay; and if anybody bothers you, tell us about it, and we'll help you. Love, Mum."
Lily sealed the letter and sent it out with their owl right away. Harry had been unusually unforthcoming since he started Hogwarts, and it worried her.
James and Sirius had made so many cracks about Slytherin since Harry had been old enough to understand them. After Severus had risked his life to protect them, Lily knew that James and Sirius no longer possessed the animosity toward Slytherins they'd had in school, but Lily now realized that Harry might have taken those cracks seriously.
It was still widely believed, especially after Voldemort's reign of terror, that all Slytherins were evil, but Severus Snape had proved that wrong. Also widely believed was that Gryffindors, like Albus Dumbledore and Aurors like James and Sirius, were the good guys, but that wasn't true either. Peter Pettigrew had been a Gryffindor, and he had still become a Death Eater. Lily wiped a tear from her eye. She still hadn't gotten over her friend's betrayal.
Lily didn't expect Harry to reply that day, considering how busy he must be (and how slow in coming his last letter had been). However, it was still disappointing when she didn't hear anything from him. Lily went to bed that night with the nagging feeling that something was dreadfully wrong.
The next morning, Lily's worries were proved right. A letter came, but it wasn't from Harry. It was from Professor Dumbledore. James chuckled when he saw the sender's name. "Slytherin or not, I knew he'd get in trouble sooner or later," he said. "I wonder what he's done so quickly!"
Lily glared at her husband and he snapped his mouth shut.
Lily read the letter first. Without even letting James finish it, she started getting ready to go to Hogwarts.
James wasn't laughing or smiling anymore. His little boy had gone missing. If someone had kidnapped him, they wouldn't be getting out of this alive.
Lily had already called Sirius and Remus. They barely discussed the plan before leaving. They didn't need to. Remus stayed with his still sleeping goddaughter. Lily, James, and Sirius walked down the road and Apparated to Hogwarts.
Dumbledore and Snape were waiting by the gates. They looked as somber as Lily felt.
Dumbledore waited until they reached his office to start talking. "We believe Harry went out for a walk on the grounds. We have people searching now. We'll find him."
James looked grim. He knew exactly what lurked in the grounds. He was friends with one of the creatures that had roamed around in there while in school. If Harry had gone into the Forbidden Forest . . . James didn't even want to think about it.
Lily cried silently beside him. She knew just as well as James and Sirius what could happen to their son in there, alone and vulnerable. James put an arm around her and hugged her close.
Dumbledore instructed them to just wait in his office. They were too close to the case. Sirius looked like he was chafing at that, but James laid a hand on his shoulder and soon he calmed down.
Lily finally ran out of tears and slumped against James. She took deep breath, trying not to start again. The house elves sent up sandwiches, but none of them could eat.
Finally Dumbledore returned. He still looked solemn, but there was a hint of a twinkle in his eye. "If you would come down to the hospital wing," he told them, "there's someone who will want to see you shortly." He took out a box of Floo powder, but Sirius was already gone, running out the door and down the stairs. James and Lily would meet him there, then.
Lily looked all around the infirmary, but she couldn't see Harry anywhere. Dumbledore was occupied with his pocket watch. Lily wanted to slap the silly thing of his hands and demand to know where her little boy was, but she didn't dare.
Just as Lily was losing all patience with the headmaster, Hagrid barged into the room. It took a moment for her to realize that he had a bundle in his arms. Hagrid set the bundle down on the nearest bed and Lily gasped. It was Harry. He was dirty and shivering, but he was alive and unharmed, and that was the most important thing of all.
Harry did not wake up until early morning. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Padfoot looking back at him. The four of them were alone in the infirmary. When Sirius saw that his godson was awake, he barked and turned back into a human right away. Strangely, Harry refused to meet his godfather's eyes, even when they were so close to his own.
Sirius drew the boy back into a big hug, but Harry flinched away. Lily silently shook her head at her friend. She stepped up to the bed.
Harry looked up at her. His large green eyes were wet. Slowly, making sure that he could see every movement, Lily hugged him. He tensed for a moment, then relaxed. "It's all right," Lily whispered. "Slytherin is a great place to be."
Harry looked up and saw his father and godfather nodding fervently in agreement. It was like a shift going through his mind. For all his life, Harry had thought that Slytherins were all evil, even the youngest students to be Sorted there. This belief had persisted even after he had been Sorted there himself. But now his parents and godfather, the most important people in Harry's life, were saying that wasn't true. Right then, Harry began to believe that they were right. He wasn't evil. Harry grinned and hugged his mother back.
The End!
Author's Note: Wow, I finally finished this. I'm so sorry I took so long to update! Are there any readers still out there? Any new ones?
I would like to thank anthony37 for their inspiring comment that Lily would realize that Gryffindor didn't necessarily mean good; and amata0221, Cassandra30, Loves to read books, and wingardiumleviosa9 for their other reviews.
(Also, I do not own Harry Potter. I don't think he would make a good slave anyway.)