Lily laid restlessly in her bed that night. Her body tired but her mind fully aware of how suddenly the position wasn't comfortable enough or how hot it was. After about two hours of turning from side to side, she finally decided to stop the nonsense. Why couldn't she fall asleep? She was so tired already, why couldn't she just have a good night sleep before a full day?
The strawberry-blonde got up from the extremely hot bed and headed to the window. It was a beautiful summer night, with the stars shinning brighter and no clouds on the sky. She opened the windows and let the breeze drift through her hair, cooling her hot skin a little as an involuntary shiver ran down her spine from the sudden change of temperature. She wasn't sure of how long she stood there, just enjoying the night, before her legs got tired and her eyes started to drop, but just before her vision became blocked by her eyelids, she saw a movement near one of the threes of her garden. Lily quickly opened her eyes and searched the grounds for the shadow again, had it been an animal?
Without any further search, she found what she was looking for. A sleek black cat, sitting on top of a fallen branch now, looked right back at her. Its eyes shined bright as the moonlight reflected on it. Goosebumps covered her body as she suddenly remembered the form of her Patronus.
With her mind set, Lily headed to her bed and laid down again. This time, the sheets were cooler and the bed was comfortable again. Taking three deep breaths, she rested her head on the soft pillow and closed her eyes, the soft glow of the moon still present even through her eyelids. She tried to clear her mind from everything, blocking out the sound from the crickets outside and the feeling of the bed on her back and soon enough all she could hear was her deep and paced breaths. Lily could feel her heartbeat slowing down and becoming steady, her mind and body becoming one, as if they had finally come together after a long time estranged. In a moment of sudden realization, she noticed that her body was warm again, but this time it was different. It seemed as if something was surrounding her, enveloping her in this warm feeling that made her feel safe and in control of everything about her
She laid there for quite some time, just enjoying the warmth around her before darkness surrounded her completely. It scared her a little, but in the state of complete calmness she was in, all she could do was slowly open her eyes. The sky was as clear as before but the moon shined brighter, somehow, and the soft grass tickled her paws lightly.
Paws?
Looking down to herself, Lily noticed the black furry paws of a cat, and, underneath it, shinning grass. In a surprised movement of her head she noted her surroundings. The full moon up in the night sky gave her a foreboding feeling, but it was strange, because at the same time it seemed to be keeping her in the peaceful state she was in. As if driven by an unknown force, Lily slowly made her way to the small lake not far ahead, crossing the breathtaking clearing with swift steps of her defined four legs. She could feel her muscles stretching in a way that felt as if she hadn't used them in a long time, the pain spreading thourgh her small body, but it wasn't the unpleasent kind. This sort of feeling made her feel alive, completely aware of how her body worked, and it gave her a sense of control too great to describe. The way her four legs moved in a sincronized motion could olny be that of a real cat, and not a girl who had taken the shape of it for the first time.
Reaching the lake, Lily looked down at her reflection on the still water, the full moon's image right beside her small, furry head. She stood there for quite some time, looking right into her bright, hazel eyes, admiring the beautiful cat staring back at her before the image was disturbed by a movement in the water. Across the lake, a doe sat drinking the water, it didn't aknolowdge Lily, but she could see that its left ear moved a little when Lily raised her head and stepped back. Slowly and as quietly as possible, Lily tried to get out of there, taking small steps backwards before completely turning around and running forward. Only she didn't expect something else to be there when she did.
Letting out a strangled scream that sounded too animal for her liking, Lily hit something solid and fell backwards, with her belly facing upwards. The sound of a sort of snort came from above, making the small cat's ears snap up and her body bolt upright. Looming over her, stood a great black dog with shaggy fur, its big mouth twisted in a way that if it was human it would be smiling a very sarcastic smile. It lowered its head untill its eyes were on the same level as hers, before tilting his face slowly to the left. Lily was completely petrified. Her body told her to run, but all she could do was think "Fuck". Her body finally kicking in, she turned away from it and started to run on the oposite direction, the small sense of freedom being crushed from having her tail stomped on by its bigger paws. Lily clawed at its legs and was extremely satisfied when it let out a howl and stepped back.
"Ow! I was just messing with you!
Lily stared back at it -him, she discovered- in awe. First because she didn't expect it to speak, but mostly because, altough she could hear his deep voice as clear as she could hear her toughts, his mouth didn't move while he spoke. She must have looked pretty comical, her small mouth hanging open and eyes as wide as saucers, but she was the most confused girl -or cat, if you will- in the world at that moment. Before she could do anything, the doe came to stand beside her, its head shaking from side to side as if in a disapproving manner.
"You deserved that." it said simply. The melodic and feminine voice that came from it startled Lily. It was so familiar, as if she had heard that voice before, in a dream or in another life it seemed. The dog shook his head and licked his legs, whimpering a little.
Lily's cat ears turned upside and twitched a little. The rustling sound came from the wood just behind the lake and, not so long after, a majestic stag broke through the three line. It walked slowly towards them, shaking his head too, but it seemed amused.
"You should have known, Padfoot. She's just like her grandmother." his voice was deep, but surprisingly not scary at all despite his foreboding stance. He gave some sort of animalistic snort and turned to the doe. "We are grandparents! Hard to believe, uh?"
It was a great scene, really. A dog, gingerly licking his legs while a doe and a stag sat talking about being grandparents. And a cat, of course, sitting there and wondering how she could have gone from having trouble to sleep to talking to personified animals in an unknown clearing. But lets not forget Lily was definitely not a naive girl, she knew exactly who she was talking to, what she didn't understand was why she was there. Had she died? Because those people were most certainly dead. Another rustling by the woods, brought her out of her musing. The gigantic form of a werewolf appeared, its shaggy fur shinning in the light of the full moon. It came to stand besides the enormous dog, its eyes with a different glow. A glow that held knowledge, understanding and something indescribably human.
"You are all confusing her." he said in a low voice, amusement coating the sentence. The dog snorted a little before turning his head to the cat. "Do you know who we are?"
Lily did not know how to answer the question. Could she talk? She wasn't sure. Deciding she should at least show a sign that she understood them, she nodded her head. The answer crossed her mind while she did so. "How could I not?"
"Indeed." replied the werewolf. With a start, Lily realized her voice had reached them. But she hadn't moved her mouth, how could that happen? "Your parents must have told you about us. Lily even visited you in some dreams when you were little. Do you remember that?" knowing she should at least try to reply, Lily thought about the answer again.
"Now that you mentioned it, I do think her voice sounds familiar. I... I vaguely remember a dream or two... but I was very little wasn't I?" she looked at the doe in wonder, her eyes were loving, like a mother's would and her head was slightly bowed in answer to Lily's question. "How is this all possible?" Lily expected the werewolf to answer, but the melodic voice of the doe surprised her.
"It is possible to do so just because it is. We live in a world full of magic, we can't go questioning everything, otherwise we would go mad. It usually isn't that common for dead people to contact the living, we know it is best to leave you be, the living tend to become quite obsessed when they find that the dead can communicate with you... but that is for another time." she stepped closer to the cat and lowered her head into Lily's, stroking the soft, black fur of her forehead. "We are bound by magic, not only because of ancient blood magic, but by name too. You were named after me Lily, and this connects us a lot more than you know."
Lily's head was swimming with questions unanswered. But it all seemed too far away at the moment. It was real. She was talking to the four people she wanted to talk the most. The four people whose death was the only thing that made her life possible. The four people who she felt most connected with even though they had never met. But now they had. Lily wanted to cry of happiness, but somehow she knew she didn't have much time left with them.
"I unintentionally asked for your help, didn't I?" she asked looking at each one of them. They all nodded at once but the only one to answer was Padfoot.
"Yes, you did. We reached out to you as soon as you called us, so when you fell asleep-BAM! Freaky clearing, here we are!" he elaborated with an unnecessary shout that made the cat jump from the floor and Prongs give an animal like laugh. The doe and the werewolf both shook their heads at the same time, the amusement not gone from their features. "But you don't have much time, kitty-Lily. The sun is almost up and you tend to wake up by sunrise, right? We only have until then." Lily pondered this for a while. She did need their help. Although the letter was very good at explaining, they still had no idea how to do what they needed to do. Deciding to get to the point soon, she stretched to her full size and asked in a very clear voice.
"Can you help me and my friends become Animagi?" despite the confident façade she was holding up, Lily was mildly unsure of the request. She did not quite understand how this was all happening, if they could help her or even if they wanted to.
"We must warn you, Lily. Becoming an Animagus is a very difficult thing, it is not as simple as we made it be." said Prongs, his antlers standing forebodingly on top of his head. His face seemed strict and serious, and the business-like air around him made Lily swallow loudly in anticipation. She waited a few seconds for him to elaborate but he didn't, standing as still as a board his face was impassive. The no longer strawberry-blonde huffed at the suspense and cocked her head to the side in annoyance. "Impatient aren't we?" he asked with a booming laugh before adding more soberly. "We can help you, and we honestly think you can achieve success way before we did. It's new times and, although it doesn't mean much, you are much more brilliant wizards than we ever were."
"It's almost sunrise. The next time we meet, bring your friends with you." said Moony, stepping forward nervously as a mist started to appear between them. Lily did the same, becoming more frantic as it grew thicker and thicker.
"Wait, don't go! How do I do that?" her voice seemed distant even to her, but as it all became completely white she could hear the faint melodic voice whispering.
"Ask for us."
And it all went black again.
The warm feeling was long gone, the only thing she could feel was the bed sheets underneath her as she opened her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered a little with the sudden sunlight invading her senses before her vision focused on the white celling above her bed. She laid there for a while, not moving, her breath steady while she regained her senses. Slowly, she began to listen to the birds outside, the fluttering of their wings and their soft chirping cheering her immediately. Sitting up, she stretched her arms which felt a bit sore and got up before making her way to her closet and gathering some clothes. Lily skipped to the bathroom connected to her bedroom and locked the door behind her, sparing a quick glance of her reflection on the mirror before stripping down from her clothes and stepping into the cold shower. After a long bath, she dried her hair with a towel and pulled on her clothes. First the white lace nickers and bra, then a washed out short with a basic black tank top. Deciding she wanted her hair as tidy as possible, Lily went back to her bedroom and got her wand from the nightstand. Putting her head out of her room, she checked the hallway to see if anyone was around and, satisfied with the outcome, locked her door. Running back to her closet, she opened one of the doors and stared at her reflection on the full body mirror behind it. She looked proper for a day at her friends house, but this was the Malfoys. If you are proper, you will look like a hobo next to them. Deciding that she needed at least her hair to be magnificent, Lily pointed her wand at it and slowly charmed it into natural waves. The look was perfect, yet casual, everything she needed. What a little underage magic means if you are trying to impress your friend's family?
Lily grabbed a bege oversized coat from a hanger and her shoes, putting it on slowly before heading downstairs for breakfast. As usual, there was no one in the kitchen, but Lily relished on the fact that she had some time alone to calm her nerves. This was going to be the first time she met her friend's family, and saying she was nervous would be the understatement of the year. She grew up with all her great friends, that is, her cousins, and the others who were not from her family, were considered so because their parents used to be best friends with Lily's.
The strawberry-blonde made her way to the counter and grabbed a glass of water, her hands shook a little when she sat it back into the sink. Taking three deep breaths, she raised herself to the counter and swinged her legs slightly. She had more important things to worry about, how she would take the boys to her "dream land" for instance. Cursed be that stupid bird for making her get used to getting up as soon as the sun rises! If she could just have stayed a little longer, they would have told her how to contact them. Now, it added to the gigantic list of things they had to figure out alone. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Lily went to sit on her chair. It was no use getting worked up because of that right now either. So she sat there for a while, not really doing anything, and waited for someone to come and announce that she could go to the Malfoy Manor. She waited while trying to focus on her breaths. Her aunt Andromeda had taught her when she was just a little kid that she had to take three deep breaths and face whatever it was that bothered her with a calm mind. And that was what she was going to do.
Nice and easy. Inhale. Exhale.
Nice and easy. Inhale. Exhale.
Nice and easy. Inhale.
Lily's breath caught in her throat. That same day, Andromeda had also told her that when she visited someone important, she had to bring something in return for the invitation. It was a common courtesy between purebloods. And Astoria Malfoy would definitely be more inclined to like her if she brought something with her. But what? There was no one awake to take her to buy some flowers and if she left alone, her parents would most certainly have a heart attack. Her grandparents were still asleep, she couldn't go there and ask her grandmother to make something. Lily let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. Her grandmother! She remembered going to her house the summer before she went to Hogwarts. Molly had made a face when Lily and Fleur kept talking in rapid french about the culinary lessons at Beauxbatons. Catching only a word or two, she understood that they were talking about food and from that day until the end of Lily's summer, she taught her granddaughter how to make everything she knew, finally becoming satisfied when Lily admitted her food was way better than the one they made at school. Lily could make some sweets, it would be thoughtful but not exaggerated, and they surely would appreciate it.
The strawberry-blonde looked quickly at the clock on the wall. She only had an hour and a half before it was time for Teddy to be at work. She had to hurry. Lily got up from her chair and made her way to the fridge to see if what she needed was there. A sigh of relief escaped her mouth when all the ingredients she needed were there. She grabbed a bowl and started to mix everything, after a while she put half the mixture into a baking dish and covered it with cherries before putting the other half on top of it. She took the mixture to the cooker and closed it heavily, only 45 minutes to go.
Harry's mop of unruly black hair came into view through the kitchen door, his robes were untied, showing his sleeping clothes and his glasses were askew. He smiled lazily at his daughter and kissed her on the forehead before making his way to the cooker and putting some water to boil. He sniffed the air a few times before turning to Lily.
"Hmm... what are you cooking?" Harry asked. He sat down on his usual chair, Lily mimicking his moves. She smiled lightly and rested her head on her hand.
"Cherry Claofuti." Lily replied. Harry chuckled and took her other hand that rested on the table, squeezing it a little.
"Your favourite. Are you making this for the Malfoys?" he asked knowingly. Lily nodded and replied nonchalantly.
"Yeah. It's common curtesy, you know." she got up and took the boiling water from the cooker, setting it on the table between her chair and Harry's. He got up and grabbed two cups from the cupboard before putting a teabag inside them. Lily filled both cups with water and sat down, waiting for her tea to be ready. Harry sat down too and looked at his daughter before sighing.
"You're nervous." he said simply. Was she really that transparent? No, of course the Head Auror would notice this things. "Don't be. I saw plenty of interviews with Astoria Malfoy, she seems like a nice lady." Harry reassured her, but his voice seemed a little distant as if he had something else to say.
"But?" asked Lily, frowning a little. She was pretty sure she knew what he wanted to say, but she still wanted to hear it from him. Harry sighed heavily and turned to look at her. He had interrogated many dark wizards, murderers and even drug dealers who had nothing to loose, but seeing his daughter looking at him like that, almost challenging him to say what she already knew he was thinking was too hard, even for the Boy Who Lived. He fitted the table, before gathering enough courage to look back into her eyes. So different from his and Ginny's, the only resemblance being the almond shape of those big hazel orbs.
"But, I'm not sure how Draco or Narcissa would react. I respect her for what she did, and you know that, but that doesn't change everything that their family had done. And Draco, well..." he paused and took a deep breath before continuing."We might be on speaking terms, but it's not like I can forget everything that happened in my school years." Lily's eyes bore into his, a little disappointed at her father for what he just said. She thought really hard about this, but she just couldn't put herself in his place, she never had an archenemy after all. She knew her father was a good man, but even the most reasonable man made mistakes. Lily also knew that this struggle to overcome the past was his fight, not hers, so she let it slide with only one last comment.
"You know very well how the things people go through changes them, Dad. Don't try to see them as their past selves." the strawberry-blonde got up and made her way to the oven, turning it off before putting some gloves on and taking the Clafouti off. She put it to rest on top of the cooker and examined it a bit. The colour seemed perfect and the smell was delicious, now it was just waiting for it to get cooler.
Harry's gaze followed his daughter. Since when had she become so wise? It seemed like the days they would unexpectedly meet at the kitchen in the middle of the night and she would make him stay with her and tell stories about his school days were just yesterday, but truth be told, she had grown up. She wasn't his little girl anymore, just a few more years and all the baby fat will be gone and the rest of her woman characteristics will take place. He sighed again dejectedly.
Lily seemed so distant sometimes. She fitted in just perfectly with the family. She was not completely like Dominique, who had always been more like Fleur than Bill, and not exactly like Roxanne, that apart from the colour of her skin was more Weasley than any of the cousins. She was just slightly different to be unique. Harry wasn't sure what it was, but he knew there was something she wasn't letting out. He told Ginny about this, but she had brushed it of as a teenager experience everybody went through. Harry didn't pay much attention to it until yesterday. They had always known that Lily always did great in her tests, but how didn't they notice she was a genius? They spent all the holidays and vacations together, surely in one conversation at least one of the children would have mentioned that Lily was on top of her classes without even trying.
As Harry kept thinking, the more it made sense. Apart from that one time that Rose told the family about Dominique's boyfriend, the children had never told the adults anything about their cousins' life at Hogwarts. And every time a conversation would come up involving something about school around the table at the Burrow, someone would change the topic. Every time. Teddy and Victoire did it sometimes, even though they weren't considered children anymore. Harry shook his head and chuckled behind his breath. The children were becoming so much like them in their younger days. Deciding he had nothing to worry about, he got up and started to make breakfast. A few minutes later, Ginny's figure came through the kitchen door, her hair in a ponytail and robes tied around her frame securely. Harry smiled at his wife before kissing her on the cheek and putting the breakfast on the table. Lily took the Clafouti from the baking dish and served it in a big plate, covering it with a white drape. She smiled at her work and went to kiss her mother good morning before sitting down and starting her breakfast. They all ate in a comfortable silence before the roaring of the fireplace announced that Teddy had arrived, not long after, his shocking blue hair could be seen through the kitchen door.
"Morning, family." he said, giving Ginny a peck on the cheek and ruffling Lily's head.
"Good morning, dear. Why don't you sit and eat with us?" Ginny replied, already offering him the plate of eggs. Teddy smiled warmly at her but shook his head.
"I already ate, Ginny. Just waiting for Lily." he grabbed Lily's almost empty cup of tea and drank it all down, laughing at her protests. "Come on you don't want to be late, do you?" he said knowingly. Lily sighed and shook her head before getting up.
"No, I don't. I need to get something first." she replied. The strawberry-blonde ran up the stairs and went straight to her bedroom. Gathering her wand from her nightstand and all the papers and books she hid with magic beneath her bed, she put it all in a small rucksack that hung from one of her shoulders. Running downstairs, she made her way to the kitchen and got the Cherry Clafouti from the counter before giving both of her parents a kiss on the cheek. "See you later tonight!"
"We'll pick you up before dinner!" reminded Ginny as her daughter's back disappeared from the kitchen door. Lily could almost hear the sound of her heart beating. Ten more steps and she would be there. The great Malfoy Manor. She looked at Teddy warily, who just smiled lopsidedly at her and squeezed her shoulder, guiding her to the fireplace. When they got there, he grabbed a little bit of Floo Powder and dropped it into the fireplace while shouting "Malfoy Manor". The flames immediately turned green but Lily couldn't find the strength to take another step. Sensing her hesitation, Teddy pushed her forward just enough so that her feet touched the flames. Suddenly everything began to spin. Her living room span away, giving place to the darkness, every now and then another living room would appear, but how could she know which one was the Malfoy's? Thankfully, Teddy was with her, letting her know that when he squeezed her shoulder again. He would know.
Maybe it was this next one? No it was too... pink. Although Lily had no idea of how the Malfoy Manor would be, it was for certain that it wasn't pink. A few more living rooms whirled by, Lily was almost beginning to think they should have Apparated there. She turned to Teddy to complain about the spinning when she felt him push her again, this time towards the exit. Tripping over the slight step that separated the fireplace from the floor, Lily had to make a swift motion so the plate of Clafouti wouldn't fall. She ended up bumping into someone and sending them sprawling to the floor, instead. Lily stood still for a moment, hoping that the person wasn't Astoria Malfoy, Draco Malfoy or worse Narcissa Malfoy. A howling laughter came from her left, making her turn her head and glare at the person standing right beside her, Felix. He regained his composure and a big smile crawled on his face.
"Yeah! Triumphant entrance, little ninja." he said still laughing a little bit. Felix noticed Teddy had arrived behind Lily and went to greet him. "Hey, Ted! Long time no see, mate." they both shared an enthusiastic hand shake. Scorpius shook his head from his place on the floor and got up, dusting his pants as he did. He got closer to Lily and announced.
"Nice way of showing me how you missed me, Princesse." his husky voice send a chill down Lily's spine, but she chose to ignore it. It was a hard thing to do, even more so when he chuckled deeply while passing her to greet Teddy.
"Hello, cousin." he shook Teddy's hand too and they patted each other on the back.
"Hey, dude. I gotta go, don't want to be late for work. See you later!" he saluted them and stepped back into the fireplace, throwing some Floo and shouting "Ministry of Magic."
"Welcome to the Snake Pit, Princesse." Scorpius said, motioning with his arms to the living room they were at. It was... surprisingly not scary at all. The black marble floor wasn't as cold as her father had described, and contrasted nicely with the creme walls and the big windows showing the beautiful garden outside. There were three sofas and two armchairs, all with dark green leather and silver details. Typical Slytherin. A classic chandelier hung from the ceiling, giving the room a sophisticated look. It was perfect.
"This is... majestic." breathed Lily.
"Why, thank you, dear." a soft voice came from the entrance of the room. "Astoria and I designed it ourselves." A classy lady walked into the room. Her silky turquoise blue floor length dress fitted her perfect frame beautifully. Her blond hair was pinned securely on top her head in neat bun. Although the woman was clearly Scorpius' grandmother, there was a certain timeless beauty about her. The only thing giving away her age being some discrete wrinkles on her forehead and her blond hair being whiter than before.
"Grandmother, this is Lily, uh... Lily Potter." Scorpius introduced her. "Potter, this is my grandmother, Narcissa Malfoy."
"Oh it's a pleasure to finally meat you!" Narcissa took firms steps towards Lily and took her unoccupied hand and shook it a little. Not seeming at all disturbed by her last name. "These boys wouldn't stop talking about you!" Lily smiled politely back at her.
"The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Malfoy. I'm a great fan of your work! Mostly the part when you moved to France." Lily replied enthusiastically. Narcissa took the compliment gracefully, before she seemed to notice the big plate on Lily's hand, she glazed at it and smelled the air.
"That smells delicious! What is it?" she asked, already peaking through the fabric.
"Oh! It's a Cherry Clafouti. I made it for you, thank you for inviting me." Lily handed the plate to Narcissa. "It's still a little too hot, but I'm sure we can eat it for brunch or dessert."
"Oh this is wonderful!" exclaimed someone else. Astoria Malfoy walked into the living room, her yellow knee high dress flowing charmingly around her as she crossed the room to get to Lily. She was just the same as Lily remembered her to be from the platform. Her light brown hair was pinned in a half up hairstyle, her bright blue eyes fitted Lily carefully, but this time, she didn't feel any probing. Astoria was one of the most beautiful woman in the world. Her soft beauty intrigued almost everybody. And her talent seemed to flow through every word she spoke. She got closer and collected the plate from Narcissa. "Thank you, darling. It was really thoughtful of you." She smiled politely at her guest. "Come help me get this to the kitchen so we can eat it later. The boys will wait for you at the garden." she said leaving no room for complaints.
Lily was left to no other option, other than to follow the woman out of the living room. She passed Scorpius and Felix giving them both an horrified look which they returned with hidden sniggers. Outside the previous room, a spacious hallway led one way to a big place with an enormous door, which was probably the entrance hall, and the other way held a lot of big and ornamented doors. They walked towards one of the last ones, Astoria opening it fluidly and showing the gigantic kitchen the Malfoy Manor had. It seemed almost too big. At one end, a glass table that held no more than six people stood near the big window, cabinets surrounded the walls and an island divided the table area from the rest of the kitchen. On the other end, the fridge and the cooker stood, accompanied by another set of cabinets. The floor was white marble, different from all the living room and the hallway, as were the top of the cabinets, but it contrasted with the dark wood that composed them. Two house elves were on the island, cutting some fruits into different shapes.
When they walked into the room, their small heads turned upwards immediately, eyes bulged in their socks. One of the even squealed. And went to get the plate from Astoria's hands.
"There's no need, Bitsy. I can take care of this by myself. Go see if the boys need anything, okay? Remsy, go help her, you can finish that later." The woman made her way through the kitchen and turned the oven on. Lily waited, pathetically standing in the middle of the kitchen not knowing where to go. Finally Astoria turned back to her and smiled again. "Don't be shy, take a seat." she motioned for the table near the window.
Lily sat on one of the comfortable chairs and looked at Astoria expectantly. She fiddled with her fingers a little but that was the only thing showing how nervous she was. She kept her shoulders squared and her head held high.
"You must apologize me for my husband's absence, he was called in early this morning to some emergency meeting." She began, sounding truly apologetic, not just saying something by courtesy.
"Don't worry about it, I don't want to keep you from doing your things." Lily replied easily. At Beauxbatons, she was taught etiquette and knew exactly how to proceed in situations like these. Astoria let out a twinkling laugh, her small nose scrunched up and her eyes narrowed in mirth.
"I'm really beginning to like you, Lily. You know exactly how to be the perfect lady, but you aren't, are you?" she questioned, a lighter tone of voice reigning. Before Lily had the chance to reply, she continued. "Of course not, otherwise Scorpius wouldn't be so interested in you." Lily chuckled a little at this.
"I suppose so."
"He has never bought any girl home, so I must assume that you are especial. You see, it was about time Scorpius got himself a girlfriend." Astoria stated simply. Lily's mouth hung open for a while before she shook her head fervently.
"No, it's nothing like that! He had plenty of girlfriends, but I'm not one of those." Lily finally replied.
"Oh, is that so?" Astoria said, her eyes twinkling. "Here Narcissa, Draco and I stood, thinking our son was gay!" Lily burst out laughing at that, Astoria joined her but still continued. "It was always Felix that he brought home, we got suspicious!" The woman and the girl laughed at the prospect of what they were saying, before they sobered enough to continue the conversation.
"Mrs. Malfoy, what..." Lily trailed of uncertainly before regaining her confidence. "What really happened at the platform?" Astoria seemed surprised by her question, but a small smile crept on her face.
"I was waiting for you to ask me that." She took a deep breath and motioned her wand to one of the cupboards. Two glasses filled themselves with the lemoned water that was on the fridge and made their way to them. Astoria took a sip before continuing. "I want you to know first that I normally don't do that with everyone. But you... intrigued me. And you matched the description Scorpius gave us, I must say I became very interested in you." she paused again to take another sip and Lily followed the example. "Have you ever heard of Legilimency?" Lily's eyes opened wide.
"Yes. An obscure branch of magic, but a highly useful one. Getting into someone's mind with your own, seeing their thoughts, their memories." Astoria nodded approvingly.
"That is correct. And I believe you are familiar with the term Occlumency too?" Lily nodded in response. "Now you may know that using Legilimency is a high offense to the receiving person, but I truly didn't mean to disrespect you. If anything I admire you and I don't want you to think wrongly of me." she finished with a determined expression. Lily was shocked, to say the least. But she quickly recomposed herself.
"It was not an offense to me... at all! I just want to understand things better." she explained to the woman. Astoria laughed a little and got closer to Lily, whispering in a conspirator voice.
"It is an extremely hard art to master, but I seemed to have no problem with it. And seeing as the Malfoy family have a history of knowing these arts, I decided to learn a few tricks." she winked at Lily and went back to her initial position. "We are waiting for Scorpius' sixth year to teach him some, but it seems like you have a hang for it just like I do."
"It seems so. You couldn't see anything, could you? I blocked you." Lily smiled proudly when Astoria nodded. "How can I learn it?"
"Well it's not like we have an excuse for you coming here everyday for me to teach you, but I can give you some books that I used. Whenever you come by, I will try to find some time to help you." she smiled gracefully and brought her wand up, seconds later three books came through the kitchen door and laid themselves at the table. She made them smaller and handed them to Lily, who put them securely inside her bag. "There you go. Oh! I was almost forgetting that you aren't my guest! Go to the boys, say we talked about girls stuff. The door to the garden is the next one on your right!" Lily got up and smiled gratefully at the woman.
"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy." she said while the woman got up and turned the oven off before putting the Clafouti inside it to keep it warm. She waved her hand dismissively behind her, before turning fully around.
"Call me Astoria."
Hey, lovelies! So sorry for the super looong wait. I don't even have an idea of how long I've been away, but I've been writing and I have like 9,000 words for this chapter... but my cousin said it would be too tiresome to read it seeing as I haven't even finished the chapter and it's already 9,000 words sooo I decided to cut it here. Don't worry, next chapter won't be too small and it's almost done, so no long waiting ahead for you :D
See you later!
~Tori
