Lily Luna and Scorpius Chapter 4:
A few weeks had gone by and we had settled into our routine. The girls in my dormitory already knew each other quite well; everyone knew that Mary flirted, Isobelle worked, Anna slept and Rachel… We weren't quite sure about Rachel. Some of the time she was really fun to be around- she had a great sense of humour, and almost reminded me of James in her love of playing tricks and having fun, but sometimes she withdrew into herself and refused to speak to anyone, spending hours just staring at unmoving pictures of a woman with a sad face. At these times we had learned to leave her alone.
I had seen Scorpius around a couple of times and he always smiled at me and said hi and checked I was alright; made sure I wasn't lost etc… but sometimes I found myself thinking about him, and I couldn't quite figure out why. It wasn't as if he was around often enough for me to get used to him being there and so missing him- he was in the year above, and in Slytherin so I only ever saw him in the corridors, in between lessons, or during breaks/ meals, once in a while. That evening I was invited for tea at Hagrid's, with Hugo, and I was quite excited, although I was a little worried, mum and dad having warned me about Hagrid's cooking… I was walking down towards the hut in the grounds, when someone called out "Hey Lily!" from behind me. Assuming it was Hugo I turned around, and saw Scorpius, walking towards me, quickly but seemingly nonchalantly.
"Hi" I said, surprised. "What are you doing out here?" he asked me, looking slightly concerned. "I'm going down to have tea with Hagrid and my cousin" I said, surprising myself by how articulate I seemed. My throat felt all dry, and my stomach was so full of butterflies I was surprised they didn't all fly out of my mouth! What was it about him that made me so nervous and tense? "Oh," he said, sounding surprised but slightly relieved. "I was wondering whether you weren't coming out to meet your boyfriend in secret" he added, teasingly, his eyes searching my face weirdly… "Oh, no…" I said awkwardly. I'd never even thought, seriously, about having a boyfriend… "Well, anyway… I guess you have to go…" he mumbled, smiling, "Yeah… Um… See you?" I inwardly cursed myself for adding the last few words, why would he want to see me around… "Yeah of course, see you soon Lily!" He turned around and walked back up to the castle, a spring in his step, and I went and "enjoyed" some rock cakes, a little confused about the scene which had just taken place, and replaying it in my head, trying to make sense of what had happened…
That evening, as I got up to the dormitory, knowing that Isobelle, Anna and Mary would probably be up soon, as one had a piece of homework to finish, which couldn't take her very long, and the others would come up, either as soon as they could buck up the energy, or whenever their conversation with whichever boy they happened to be talking to was over, and that if I wanted access to the bathroom, it would be easier to go up sooner rather than later, I found Rachel, sat on the edge of her four poster bed, crying her eyes out. "What's wrong?" I asked, forgetting about wanting to have a nice shower immediately. Rachel was not the crying type, and I was worried.
She didn't answer. I walked over to her, slowly, unsure of what reaction I was going to get, and sat down next to her. I was about to repeat my question when I realised it was none of my business, and that if Rachel wanted to tell me, she would, so the best thing I could do, which I did, was put my arm around her shoulders and let her cry, or talk, as she needed to. After several long minutes, she looked up at me. "Thanks. I'm sorry, it's just…" She took a deep breath to calm herself, and I pulled out some chocolate from my pocket. (I had a left over rock cake too, but I figured she probably wouldn't appreciate a broken tooth, on top of everything else…) She smiled slightly, took a few bites, and started to talk about herself, something she had never done since we'd met at the feast on the first day.
"You know I'm muggleborn, and I've found it hard settling in here… I mean it's so easy for you and Isobelle and Mary and Anna… You're all from wizarding families. Isobelle's mum's a famous Quidditch player… Hell, your dad's one of the most famous wizards alive… Mary's dad went to Hogwarts, so at least her family knew in advance, even if her mum was a muggle, and Anna's from a famous wizarding family too… Me… My mum's a muggle and my dad's never been around. I'm all she's got, and she's all I've got, and now I'm away every term, all term, involved in a new world she can never really be a part of… She's lonely, all alone at home, and I feel awful because sometimes I forget, and I enjoy myself, without thinking about her at all…" She started crying again and I squeezed her shoulders with my arms.
"Listen Rachel, I'm sure your mum would be happier knowing that you were having fun and learning as much as you can, in a world she will be able to be a part of, whenever she wants- my aunt Hermione's parents are both muggles and they live not far from us or Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, and they have got quite used to all the magic around… The Ministry of Magic make exceptions to the International Statute of Secrecy in certain circumstances, and muggleborns are one of them…" Rachel didn't seem convinced but she returned my hug and then went to bed, drawing the curtains around her bed shut tight.
As the other girls came in, first Isobelle, rereading her essay, than Mary and Anna, they looked a little worried about Rachel, but as I whispered to them what was wrong, they looked anxious and Anna suggested someone ask Patil for advice, as she was our head of House, and a lovely, kind witch who might have an idea of what to do… we agreed to go see her the next day, as we had no lessons, it being Saturday, and we all went to bed.
The next morning, after a long (by Hogwarts standards anyway- quarter to 10 on a Saturday…) lie in; we went to see Patil. I told her of Rachel's confidences and how concerned we were that this was impacting, both on her work (we were talking to a teacher after all) and on her happiness, describing the two Rachels we knew… Patil looked concerned and asked: "Is Rachel truly very unhappy, then?" "Professor," Isobelle answered gravely "there are days when she does nothing but sit and stare at one of those muggle photographs, I now assume of her mother, not speaking to anyone." Patil thanked us for coming to see her and said she would see what she could do. "I will go see Professor Longbottom about this. It is very serious, and very rare that a student does not enjoy their time at Hogwarts, for family reasons." She dismissed us and we went outside to enjoy the last of the early November good weather, as we had heard that snow was predicted for the not too distant future…
At dinner that evening, before dismissing us, Longbottom stood up. "I have something very important to say to you all. Firstly, I hope you are all having a very good term, learning lots and having fun. Secondly, some issues have been drawn to my attention by various members of our staff, which I have decided to try and address in a new measure, addressing several of these issues… Some staff have raised concerns about first years who are finding it difficult to settle in, and to address this, I have decided that each first year will have a second year "mentor" who they will meet once a week, at the weekend, to discuss any issues they may have and to help them learn about the customs of the school. Staff have also raised concerns about inter-house rivalries growing intense and possibly causing risk of injury to students…" Noise spread across the Hall at this statement and I looked at my friends, rolling my eyes slightly. It was clear what this was about- a couple of third years, a Slytherin and a Gryffindor (naturally, my brother James, who always managed to get involved in anything and everything…)
"As I was saying" Longbottom continued, "injury to students. So I have decided that these mentors will be from another House to your own." We all looked at each other, horrified. "As for the higher years, prefects will now do their duties in mixed House pairs, and starting next term, the classes will be more mixed within Houses. Also, the house tables are disbanded and from now on, I wish students to mingle between houses, and year groups if possible, a little more. First and Second years, your mentors' names will be given to you tomorrow by your Heads of House. Goodnight."
Stunned silence hit the Hall, before students started to move, looking shocked. I saw Scorpius on the other side of the Hall, and to my surprise, he looked quite pleased, or at least he looked over at me and smiled, before heading off toward the Slytherin dormitories. Anna, Isobelle, Mary, Rachel and I started to walk slowly back towards Gryffindor tower, feeling slightly dazed by this new idea, unheard of in Hogwarts' History. Suddenly Patil came over to us and said to Rachel: "Miss Ford, could you come with me please? I would like to speak with you." She looked at her, anxious, and Patil smiled kindly at her. "Don't worry dear, you're not in trouble, Professor Longbottom and I just want to talk to you…" This just seemed to make Rachel more anxious, but she followed Patil and the other girls and I looked around at each other, the recent announcement driven from our thoughts as we wondered what was happening with Rachel.