Hey guys,
I´m back :) sorry for the delay, hope, you enjoy the chapter though.
Have fun,
xoxo Nim
Disclaimer: Unfortunately any known characters and the universe of Harry Potter don´t belong to me, but to J.K. Rowling. Thanks to her for creating this wonderful world :)
The tears had stopped falling after almost an hour.
I found myself sitting in a corner of the room, my knees hugged to my body tightly.
The light had dimmed and the fake windows showed a beautiful night sky.
My legs were numb, when I stretched them out. I just sat on the floor, leaving my thoughts swirl around. They felt numbed as well, after all the crying and so I did not mind them.
I could not pick myself up to leave for Dom´s flat, so I made my way over to my Dad´s office.
It was locked, but when I knocked, his voice rumbled along the empty hall:
„Who disturbs the Head Auror this late in his office?"
I swallowed before answering „His very favorite daughter." in a small voice.
The door opened immediately and I was baffled to see, that he was not in the room.
His desk was in a mess like usually and the office was alive with ticking, buzzing and clicking noises from several devices on the shelves.
I looked around twice, to make sure, I had not simply overlooked him behind, between or under one of the huge piles of books, papers and other stuff, that was lying around.
Then I made my way over to the sofa and popped myself down between the pillows.
My brain felt empty and my eye lids heavy, yet sleep would not come.
After a long time of staring at the ceiling, I finally felt myself drift into dreams.
„Come on Lily, don´t be a chicken."
Mia looked at me seductively and pulled me closer to her. Behind me, I felt Jasper come closer as well.
My brother´s girlfriend sipped at her drink once more and I saw a flicker in her eyes.
„Lily, come on. You know, you are not happy with Scorpius. He left you alone for a whole year - just like Al did. Our boyfriends chose each other before us, so let´s return the favor."
Her hand caressed my arm and I felt the temptation of the unknown, the forbidden.
Jasper pushed another glass of champaign into my hand from behind me. I tried to clear my head, to get rid of Mia and her seductive teasing, so I gulped down the entire glass in two big swallows.
My head felt light and dizzy and when I felt Teddy´s friend inch closer from behind this time, I did not struggle, but let myself lean into him.
Mia looked at the two of us with a smirk and touched my face, caressing my cheek. I felt myself lean into her touch as well.
There was more champaign within seconds and I felt myself drift away from my body farther and farther.
„Lily? …Lily! Calm down, it´s just a dream!"
I woke up with a start to a completely disheveled looking Harry Potter. His glasses were askew, his hair looked even more tousled than it usually did and he was actually wearing his pyjama bottoms beneath his cloak.
My head was throbbing, my heart beat felt like it was going through the roof.
It took me a couple of seconds to orientate myself.
My father was leaning over me, his hand on my shoulder. His face showed concern and he smoothed my hair with a loving gesture.
„You were talking in your sleep, groaning and tossing yourself around."
I felt the blood shoot to my face and mumbled something about having a nightmare. Not in hell would I confess, that I had not been moaning in pain or fear…
My father still looked concerned and I realized, he must have been woken up by some sort of alarm, when I entered his office.
He tousled his hair and sat down on the sofa beside me.
„What happened - why didn´t you sleep at Dom´s? Did you fight with her?"
I shook my head exhaustedly, too tired to respond something, too exhausted to relive my conversation with Scorpius.
My father, could read me too well, though. I saw the look in his eyes, when he realized, who I must have had a fight with. He didn´t push me though and just put his arm around me.
„I woke up by my alarm, telling me my very favorite daughter wanted to enter my office… For two years I have been waiting for your voice to wake me up at the crack of dawn. But after having you back these last couple of days, I didn´t really expect you, to make me get out of bed in the middle of the night."
He chuckled uncomfortably, then patted my head with a smile.
I felt tears well up, when I imagined him as he installed the alarm - waiting for the day his baby girl came back, running away from new mistakes, she made.
Suddenly a thought hit me and made me look up at him seriously.
„Dad, have you ever been… drugged?"
He looked concerned, making a wrinkle appear between his eyebrows.
„When you train to become an auror, they make you do all kind of crazy stuff, so you get immune to some kind of drugs and get a feeling for when somebody tries to give you something. So, in a way, yes - why are you asking?"
I swallowed hard, before I continued.
„I just had… sort of a dream. But it felt more like it was the exact memory of… of Teddy´s wedding."
We both tensed up at the mentioning of the fateful day.
After a couple of seconds, my dad nudged me with his shoulder, to encourage me to continue.
„I remembered a part of the evening, that I didn´t recall before. But when I relived it in my… dream… I knew, that it really happened."
He bit his lips a couple times, before he looked at me seriously.
„Lily, we might have to look into this… there is something… something, you don´t know. But first, I think, you need to tell me everything, you remember."
Burying my head in my hands, I cursed Merlin for making me talk all of this trough with my father. Could it be any more embarrassing, really?
My dad seemed to think the same thing, so he took my hand and led me over to his private fireplace.
„How about we go home and share memories over a cup of hot chocolate?"
When I stepped into my parents´ living room, I was surprised, that my mother obviously was still sleeping.
My father conjured two cups of hot chocolate with a flick of his wand from the kitchen, before gesturing to the sofa closest to his armchair.
After both of us had settled in, he looked at me expectantly and I felt myself at a loss of words.
„Honestly, with a fire whiskey instead of hot cocoa, this would be so much more easy…"
He chuckled briefly, but waited for me to start.
„Okay. So at the wedding, Scorpius and I had a fight over something simple and really stupid. I don´t even really remember, what it was about.
Mia and I were talking about it at the buffet. She had overheard parts of it and really only wanted to cheer me up."
My dad looked pained by that thought, but did not interrupt me.
„We were having a glass of champaign, when Teddy´s friend Jasper came around, bringing us a new glass of champaign each. He toasted to the newly weds and we obviously joined him."
My memories felt fuzzy, I really had to think hard to remember, what had happened next.
It took me a second, before I gave up.
„I don´t remember a lot after that, but in my dream - or maybe it was returning memories - I was talking with Mia and Jasper in the kitchen… she got a little bit touchy and we had more champaign and… and I remembered… I remembered feeling all light and dizzy and far away from my body, letting myself lose myself in the other two… then I woke up."
The feeling of my dad smoothing out the wrinkle between my eyebrows, reminded me, that I always scrunched up my nose, when in thoughts. Sadly I shook my head, because I could not remember more.
When I looked at my dad again, he fixated me intently. I saw in his eyes, that he decided that very moment, not to tell me something for now. Although I wanted, although I needed answers, I could not bring myself to pester him with questions.
So, I decided to do, what most daughters would do, when lost:
„Dad, I need your help. What should I do? Do you think, I was drugged that night or am I really that much of a horrible person to break the heart of the only man, I ever loved?"
My father sighed deeply, before taking my hand in his.
„I think, you should really have a serious conversation with Jasper Red."
I had fallen asleep on my parents´ sofa that night, but somehow, I woke up in my old room the next morning.
It still looked like I had left it the year after Hogwarts:
Three walls were white, while the one behind my emerald green canopy-bed was silver.
A white desk was under the big window, that showed our beautiful garden and one of the walls had a shabby looking white door, that led to my walk-in-closet.
I got up, to grab some clothes and was delighted to see, my parents had not touched a thing.
They obviously had never given up hope to see me again the very next day.
Looking around, there were lots of things, I would never wear again. Then again, all of the outfits were five years old.
Glad, my style back then had varied, there were some sportive clothes, I could still work with.
I picked a skinny jeans and one of my brother´s old quidditch jerseys.
After a quick shower, I got dressed and found my mother in the kitchen, reading the Daily Prophet.
She smiled at me over her cup of coffee and nodded toward the stove, were some pancakes were waiting.
Knowing me very well, she waited for me to grab a coffee myself and take a couple of bites, before she started talking.
„Your dad was out early this morning, he really seemed in a hurry. He just said, you crashed on the couch, that he had carried you into your room and told me, not to have a heart attack, when you came down for breakfast."
I grinned at the thought and happily helped myself to another pair of pancakes.
It was nice having breakfast with my mum, she started reading out articles, while I ate and only nodded consentingly.
When I was finished and about to leave for the ministry, she held onto my arm briefly.
„Your grandma planned on having a big garden party this weekend, will you join us?"
I saw the hope in her eyes and was torn between agreeing instantly and mending things with the rest of my family step by step.
My mother waited respectfully for me to make a decision.
„I will try and join you, but there are a couple of things, I have to take care of first. And then there are still a couple of people, I should probably apologize to, before crashing the family dinner."
She nodded understandingly, although I could see the disappointment in her eyes.
Following a sudden instinct, I hugged her tightly and looked at her seriously.
„I will make things right, I promise. And sooner or later there will be a Weasley-Potter-family garden party like there used to be."
She smiled at me deeply moved and nodded happily, before shooing me towards the fire place.
When I stepped into the auror office, the usual bustling activity set me at ease in an instant.
The sudden memory of me deciding between my possible careers as a quidditch professional and an auror came back to my mind and I nearly chuckled out loud.
My mother had tried to encourage me to pursue a quidditch career like my brother had, my dad on the other hand had always hoped, to one day work with me.
Stepping towards the conference room, we had occupied for the past days, I let my thoughts wander around.
When I entered the room though, nobody was inside. I looked around twice, before making my way over to my father´s office again.
He invited me in immediately, after I knocked and gestured for me to sit down.
„Lily. I am sorry, the others have left already."
I looked at him with huge eyes, taken aback at how they had not even thought of messaging me.
„Why would they leave without saying a word? We had a perfect plan, but we agreed on waiting until the day after tomorrow!"
He nodded thoughtfully, before he continued.
„There were certain circumstances, that made an instant action inevitable. We had reason to believe, that someone was passing intel to the triades. That would have risked the whole plan, which is, why we decided, to give out the instructions and initiate the mission immediately."
My mouth stood open for a few seconds and I could not even express my anger and hurt.
„They thought, there was a mule and did not tell me - they thought I was a mule?! How could you think that? How could Dom and… how could anybody think that?!"
His hand on my arm was supposed to calm me down, but instead, it fueled my anger even more.
„Lily, stop. We did not think, it was you. You were only left out of the change of plans, because Scorpius voiced his concern of you demanding to come with them."
I nodded heatedly and was about to interrupt, him, but my father spoke over my objections.
„We traded you being there to help with the dragons off against you getting in the way of some of the most dangerous triade members we ever encountered.
Guess, which one outweighed the other. Stop arguing, the decision was made hours ago."
Pouting I sat on the chair, trying to ignore the flutter in my stomach of these people - my family - trying to protect me even in exchange of a successful mission.
My dad took my hand again and looked at me more seriously again.
„While you cannot help with this case at the moment, you might want to find Jasper Red and get him to talk about what he put into your glass that night, five years ago."
I sighed deeply, before nodding in agreement.
Just as I stepped out of the office, my dad cleared his throat behind me and I turned back to him briefly.
„Not to barge in to something, I should not know, but… why are you wearing Scorpius´ old quidditch jersey?!"
I only heard his roaring chuckle, when I practically sprinted across his office towards the fireplace to get back to Dom´s and change.
Hey guys,
I know, this was sort of a filler chapter, however, there were some important things revealed within.
Really hope, you liked it - tell me, what you thought about it, will you?
Love,
Nim
