Since Ryan was using a poly potion to alter his appearance, Lily had no idea who he was. She thought that he was kinda weird looking with that scarf and glasses, but now that he had taken off his glasses and walked toward her, she had to admit that the glasses looked so bad on him, not to mention that weird-looking scarf. Lily stared at the young man, wondering why he was approaching her. 'Maybe he recognized me from Hogwarts?' She thought. 'Is he a Death Eater? No, that can't be. Damn it! I'm getting too paranoid lately. Everyone looks like a Death Eater... Sigh! Need to get some sleep tonight.' She sighed.
Rayn walked to the shop and bought an ice cream cone, then he walked toward Lily. "Hey there. Is this seat taken?" He asked, his tone a bit playful.
Lily smiled sweetly and shook her head, "No. Go ahead. Suit yourself." She resumed eating her ice cream.
Ryan sat next to Lily and started to eat his ice cream. He stole a glance toward Lily, studying her features. She looked even more beautiful than the last time he saw her. She wore a white sundress, a black belt around her waist, and a red cloak over her shoulders. Her red hair was tied in a bun and her green eyes looked beautiful. Ryan suddenly felt his heartbeat increase. He really missed her.
"You looked tired," Ryan decided to break the ice. "Rough day at work?" He asked casually.
Lily nodded, "Yeah... You can say that. Things have been a little more busy than usual at work." She smiled. "And you? I thought you were with your friends. Did you just come here to talk to me?" Lily teased playfully. She wondered why a random stranger would come and sit next to her just to chat. 'He must have recognized me from somewhere and wanted to talk or... Some other motives...' She thought.
Ryan chuckled, "Well... Actually... Yes. And I don't know how to start without you getting angry. So, I thought why not start with something simple and ease into it... But it looks like you already caught me red-handed." He scratched his cheek.
"Haha!" She giggled a bit, "Do I know you from somewhere or are you perhaps hitting on me?" Lily raised her brow. She could see that the man was a little nervous. Maybe he was a Death Eater spy. Or maybe he was a nice guy trying to hit on her. Either way, she wasn't in a hurry to leave anytime soon. She was enjoying her ice cream after all.
Ryan decided to answer her question honestly, "Actually, yes, to both questions... Kinda. Well, sorry for leaving without saying goodbye back then... Things changed after the attack on Ministry..." He looked at Lily with an apologetic expression. "I can understand that you are angry with me because you should be. I just disappeared and then you must have heard some bad rumors about me. But I'm glad that I got to see you again... It's been a long time since we last met."
Lily looked at the young man as her eyes widened and she quickly realized who he was. "No... No, no, no... You aren't him, are you?"
"Polyjuice Potion, baby..." Ryan smirked.
"But... How? Why? What are you doing here? And why did you leave without saying anything? I thought... I thought..." Lily was too shocked to speak.
Ryan touched her chin and moved close, looking into her eyes. He knows Lily likes to be dominated, so he is going to take full advantage of that. "I'm sorry, Lily. I really am... I know it was wrong of me to leave like that without saying goodbye... But I had to if I were to bring down the Dark Lord and all the corruption from this Wizarding world. To achieve that, I'll do anything and everything. So, you can imagine how dangerous it is right now for me. The Dark Wizards are after me and soon the Ministry will try to bring me in to cover their backs. In short, it's dangerous. I couldn't risk you or anyone else getting involved with me. Not right now."
"But..." She couldn't break their eye contact. His eyes were so captivating. Lily could feel her heart beating faster as Ryan drew closer to her. His scent filled her nostrils as he moved his lips close to her ear. She could feel his hot breath against her skin.
"I want to create a world... A new era of magic where there won't be any war or death. A world where there would be no difference between Pureblood and Muggleborn..." Ryan whispered in her ears, sending shivers down her spine. "But I can't do it alone. That's why, I want you to join me after I end this war..." He slowly pulled back, looking deep into Lily's emerald eyes.
"You are going to fight Voldemort alone?!" She gasped. Lily didn't expect Ryan to say something like this. "And this new world you are talking about. You do know that you'll become the enemy of the Ministry since you'll become a new force and probably all other powerful families out there who believe in Pureblood supremacy. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend... When the time comes, the Ministry will definitely join hands with them and come after you. There would be another war, Ryan. More chaos and deaths... I've seen enough death and I don't think I want to witness another war ever again..."
"People fear changes. But some things need to change for the better. Otherwise, history just keeps repeating itself... People keep dying. It's a vicious cycle. I'm breaking that cycle... I'm going to reshape this Wizarding world from scratch and create a new era..." Ryan's eyes burned with determination. "Muggle Military conflicts of The First World War, followed by Grindelwald's rampage resulting in The Global Wizarding War and now once again the history is repeating itself, Voldemort and the First Wizarding War... How long will it continue? Until who knows when? After Voldemort, maybe another one will take his place, and then more war... The cycle continues..." Ryan clenched his fist.
Lily stared at Ryan in silence. She never expected him to say such words. He sounded so confident and determined. Lily knew he wasn't joking around. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he meant every word.
"You alone won't be able to change this world. You'll need an army... No, more than an army if you were to maintain peace in this world," Lily stated firmly. "Ryan, listen to me... I know you are strong but even you can't take on the entire Wizarding World alone. So, please... Just stop this foolishness. Come with me... Join the Order with me... We can fight Voldemort together."
Ryan shook his head, "You don't understand... Well, seeing is believing I guess, right?"
He activated the space ring, pulling both of them inside.
Lily found herself standing in a vast, desolate landscape that seemed to stretch infinitely in every direction. The sky was a swirling mass of dark clouds, and the air was filled with dust and ash. She could see black energy seeping out from the ground. "What's this place?"
"Does it matter?" Ryan said as he took out his wand and swished it in the air, taking off the veil and revealing his army.
There were over forty skeletons and a few undeads, followed by a couple of Spectral Hounds which Lily had never seen or heard of before. Lily didn't know how to react upon seeing these creatures.
"Ryan... What the hell?!" Lily gasped in horror. "Wha... What are they?! Skeletons? Undeads?"
Her eye fell on the group of wolves on the right. There were almost over eighty wolves and at least hundreds of other beasts.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she took in the scene. The sheer scale of the army was overwhelming. It was as if Ryan had conjured an army from the depths of nightmares. Her gaze was drawn upwards, where a colossal dragon was flying. Its scales were a deep, obsidian black, and its eyes burned with a purple fire. The ground trembled with each breath it took.
"You see if I wanted I could have done anything with this army of mine, but if I do that there won't be much of a difference between me and Voldemort. And how many brave people are out there who are mentally prepared to face an army of dead not to mention that undead dragon? They will give up before the battle even begins. Now, why am I showing you all these and revealing my goal? Because I want you to join me... Lily Evans. I know you are strong, and I can use your help. I want you to stay beside me and witness this new era I'm going to create."
Lily was stunned. Her world shifted once again and she found herself sitting on the bench before the shop.
"That's dark magic!!"
Ryan shook his head. "That's perfect Necromancy... Well, almost perfect. And don't compare it to those low-level trashy magic like Dark Arts. Anyway, I'm pretty sure Dumbledore will use Legilimency to read your mind, you won't even know when he does it. So, I have a message for him. Stay out of my way because you don't want me as your enemy neither do I want you as mine. The Ministry can try all they want to cover their backs, but their fall is inevitable. After dealing with Voldemort, I'll deal with them next."
"Ryan..." Lily sighed.
He stood up, "Think carefully. Continue this cycle of war and hatred or one more war and everything will change... No need to rush. I'll find you when the time is right. Well, till then, please stay safe." Ryan leaned in and kissed her right cheek lightly. Then, he walked back toward the restaurant, leaving Lily sitting there on the bench all alone.