The End's Illusion

Chapter 1

"We want to join the Order after graduation."

A quill scratching against the parchment stopped and was returned to rest in an ink bottle as cat-like, deep green eyes scanned over the forms of Lily and her newfound family. Professor McGonagall clasped her bony hands together, and Lily realized that McGonagall's entire figure was smaller. She wondered when McGonagall had lost weight in such a way.

"And what of the former ambitions of you and your friends, Mr. Potter?"

"Protecting people is more important."

Something changed in McGonagall's eyes then. At that moment, Lily was reminded of the kind eyes of her own mother; whenever Lily had talked about James, her mother had this specific look as if she knew something that Lily didn't.

"Do you know where the word 'war' originated from?"

The five seventh-years remained silent. James and Remus simply raised an eyebrow; Sirius looked slightly bored; Peter looked all around confused by the change in conversation. Lily herself was in Peter's boat.

The professor leaned back against her chair and turned slightly to look out the window at the first-years doing their final flying exams, small blurbs flying past against the soft falling of purely white snow.

"It comes from the late Old English 'werre', from an Anglo-Norman French variant of the Old French 'guerre', from a Germanic base that shares the meaning of the English word 'worse'."

She paused and turned back to the five students. James stayed quiet, so his friends remained quiet as well.

"There are three basic meanings for the word 'worse'," McGonagall continued, standing up and placing her hands, palms down against her desk for support. "Number one: more serious and severe. Number two: more rephresensive or evil. Number three: in a less than satisfactory or pleasant condition."

James frowned. "I'm not sure I understand, Professor."

"This war is going to get a whole lot worse before things will get better, Mr. Potter," she explained. "People will get hurt, possibly die - people you know, people you love. There will be traitors, there will be spies, and there will be destruction in the figurative sense and the literal sense throughout our entire society. There will be pain, misery, heartache, betrayal ... And signing yourselves up as soldiers to the cause will put you facing the brunt of all of this."

"You think we won't be able to handle the fighting," Sirius determined, frowning.

"I think, Mr. Black," McGonagall retorted. "That you lot have been sheltered by the walls of Hogwarts for a majority of the war and may not understand the seriousness -" She glared at his responding smirk. "-of the situation. I'm sure you all remember Ignatius Weasley?"

"Yeah!" Peter lit up. "He was my favorite Prefect besides Remus, of course!"

Instead of the chuckle that the boys and Lily expected, McGonagall's face stayed blank. "He was killed last week by Death Eaters."

All four boys instantly paled.

"But he was an Auror!" Black retorted.

"As well as an Order member," McGonagall added. "And he was ambushed during a mission - knocked around a few times before being hit with the Killing Curse and left in the alleyway he'd been cornered in. He'd been on You-Know-Who's list for a while."

The boys had no response; neither did Lily. They all simply stood there, taking to watching their feet as they processed that information. Ignatius had been in his early twenties, only a few years older than they were now. Lily looked back up when she heard McGonagall sigh.