Harry lay on his bed, still processing the events of the day. He couldn't fall asleep, although he knew he desperately needed to rest. But there was too many thoughts whirling around in his head, and it was proving impossible to drift off. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Padding down the short hallway, he paused in the doorway of the common rooms. It smelled strongly of smoke still, but was otherwise unharmed. All the Gryffindor females were sleeping in the Great Hall until the girls dorm had been refurbished and cleared for safety. Harry plopped down on one of the plush armchairs by the fireplace, which still had a small fire burning; probably being tended to by the house-elves. He stared into the flames and let his mind drift back to the hospital. He thought of the girl, the girl who had only said two words, words that had struck a chord deep in his heart. For that name... Lily Evans... was one that he thought about every day. One that haunted his thoughts every night before he fell asleep. The name of his mother, who had sacrificed her life to save his. And this girl... this stranger, had turned his world upside-down. Right after she had told him her name, Madame Pomfrey had bustled over and shooed him out. He couldn't even get in a word of protest. He had tried to go back later, but Madame Pomfrey wouldn't let him in, saying that Lily was asleep and wasn't to be disturbed. Harry felt extremely frustrated. He wanted the girl to give him an explanation. Who was she? Why did she have his mother's name? Could it possibly be that somehow... No. It couldn't be. Was it even be possible? Could this teenage Lily Evans have traveled from the past into his present? Harry let his head fall back, and he stared at the ceiling as if would give him the answers he wanted. He closed his eyes and let exhaustion overcome him. His last thought was of an image of his mother sitting next to his father, holding a baby version of himself. He wasn't sure if it was a memory, or just a hope for something he had never known.
When he woke the following morning, he was still in the chair, but he realized he was no longer wearing his glasses and had a blanket covering him. He vaguely wondered who had been the one thoughtful enough to perform these small acts of kindness, but he figured it had probably been one of the house-elves on night duty. He made a mental note to stop by the kitchen later in the day to thank them. He looked out the window and saw the first rays of sunlight peaking over the mountains, signifying the start of a new day. He rubbed his eyes, gave a small sigh, hoisted himself out of the chair, and tossing the blanket behind him onto the cushion. He padded back down the hall, needing a hot shower and a fresh set of clothes. He was surprised to see Ron sitting up in his bed, reading a Quidditch magazine. He glanced up when Harry entered the room, but only gave a small nod before turning back to his magazine. Harry walked over to his bed and pulled out a clean set of robes. He pulled on his slippers and padded to the boys bathroom. After a long, hot shower, he dressed and headed towards the Great Hall, where he hoped he would find the girls awake and breakfast being served. He was relieved to find that breakfast was already started. His mouth watered at the scent of cinnamon rolls and bacon. His stomach growled, and he found that he was hungrier than he had originally thought. He spotted Hermione sitting at the Gryffindor table, and she waved when she saw him standing at the doorway. He strolled over to the table and plopped down next to her, grabbing a plate and serving himself large helpings of assorted breakfast foods. "Morning Hermione," he said almost as an afterthought.
"Good morning to you also. Did you sleep well?" she replied.
Harry swallowed a large gulp of pumpkin juice before answering, "Kind of. I couldn't get to sleep at first, so I went into the common rooms. I guess I just fell asleep there, since when I woke up I was still in the chair." he shoveled a spoonful of scrambled eggs into his mouth.
Hermione frowned, "I hope you didn't get in the way of those poor house-elves. Goodness knows they have enough work to do already."
Harry looked chagrined, but continued to eat. Hermione sighed and went back to her book. As Harry was finishing up, Ron sat down next to him.
"Hullo," he greeted his two friends, grabbing a plate and serving himself.
"Morning Ron," Hermione said cheerfully, giving him a quick smile and then returning to her book. Harry was surprised at how calm it was. It seemed like after the previous day's events, things might be a bit hectic, but to an outsider it would look like a completely normal day. Harry pushed his plate away, and it vanished into the table, transported magically to the kitchen for the house-elves to clean. It was truly amazing, Harry thought, that the house-elves accomplished so much throughout the day. With all the going-ons around the castle, they managed to keep everything neat and orderly, no matter what was happening. He stood up and gave his friends a wave goodbye, heading out through the huge wood doors. He decided it was late enough to go and see Lily without waking her. Hopefully this time Madame Pomfrey would let him in. He reached the doors of the infirmary, and pushed the door open just wide enough to stick his head in. He scanned the room for Madame Pomfrey, but to his surprise, she was nowhere to be seen. He opened the door the rest of the way and stepped inside. His eyes wandered to the bed Ginny had been in. She had been released the same day as she had been admitted, as Madame Pomfrey had decided that she was fine, but had directed her to drink plenty of water and to make sure she didn't do anything that might irritate her skin. He eyes darted to Lily's bed, which still had the curtains enclosing it. He walked towards the bed, and hesitated before pulling aside the curtain. To his complete shock and dismay, it was empty, the sheets clean and the bed newly made. Lily Evans was gone.
Sorry for the wait and the pretty short chapter, I've been pretty busy as of late. Let me know what you think of this chapter, I've been debating where I want to take it and I'm still not quite sure what I want to have happen. :/ I hope you all enjoyed, please review if you did!
