Chapter Ten:
I threw an old jumper down into my trunk, where it landed with a thump. I stood up and sighed, my back aching from having been in a crouched position for almost the past hour. Packing. It was the final day before the Christmas Holidays, and I was doing what I hated most in the world. Not only did I have to be stuck in a bending down position for the best part of an hour, but I had to sit on my trunk for ages afterwards to get it to shut properly. Then again, I was really looking forward to the holidays - not only did I need a break from all the drama here, I really wanted to get back to my family so that I could see the look on my uncle's face when Rose showed up with Scorpius. I written back to her latest letter making her swear not to bring Scorpius home until I was there to witness the event. She'd begrudgingly agreed.
I sat down on my trunk to squish it shut. I usually went home to my parent's house with James and Al, or even abroad - a couple of years ago we all went to Albania. This year, we were going back to basics, or in other words, the Burrow. I liked that place. It was my grandparent's house, and I'd spent a lot of time there growing up, so it felt like another home. James, Al and I were going over there, as were Hugo and Rose, Dominique and Louis and Molly and Lucy. Teddy usually came over with his grandmother to stay, but now he and Victoire were married they were coming together, bringing Andromeda over for Christmas Day. Louis and Molly were the same age as James. Louis visited us with his older sisters from time to time, but Molly had some job at the Ministry in the Department of International Magical Cooperation that meant she had to spend a lot of time abroad. I was looking forward to seeing all my family again - the rest would be coming over for day visits during the holidays.
Suddenly the door clunked open, and Felicity, Brooke, Agnes, Lissy and Aphelia came in. When Lissy saw what I was doing, she immediately walked over and sat on my trunk too. Even though Lissy didn't really weigh much, the weight of two people seemed to do the trick, and the trunk slammed shut. I quickly buckled it so that it wouldn't have the chance to spring open. Then Lissy and I moved to sit on the beds to join the conversation of the other four. Aphelia looked vaguely bored by it. As soon as I heard what they were saying, I was instantly in agreement with Aphelia.
"I was thinking of buying a new pink nail varnish, but them I wasn't sure if I needed four of them, and the one I had my eye on is really quite similar to this one," Felicity said, holding out her hand so that her nail polish could be examined. Agnes nodded her head, her face solemn.
"Have you guys heard about Charlie, Lysander and Sophie?" Aphelia asked tiredly, in an attempt to change the subject. Brooke looked over, frowning.
"Who?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Charlie, Lysander, Sophie," Lissy repeated.
"Are they first years?" Agnes cheeped. Aphelia nodded, more confidant now that her topic had been taken up.
"Yeah, and I heard about five different people calling them the new Golden Trio," she said, making little quotation marks with her hands. I laughed.
"Get real, there'll never be another Golden Trio," I said, thinking of Dad, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione - and how much I hated that nickname for them.
"Well, sure, for you there won't be, Lily. I mean, they're your family," Brooke rolled her eyes.
"But there's only one Voldemort," I pointed out, "and my Dad killed him."
"Not the first," Lissy reluctantly pointed out. I wasn't entirely sure what she meant until Felicity said, "Yeah, there were tons of dark wizards before old Voldy. New Golden Trio for a new evil dude," she said, reaching over the bed she was on to a shelf and grabbing a paddle brush.
Aphelia shrugged. "Well, that's not what they're saying about these three kids."
"Then how are they a Golden Trio if there's no You-Know-Who?" asked Brooke, tossing her hair.
"His name's Voldemort," Lissy intoned, but was interrupted by Aphelia saying, "Well, the first Golden Trio started out by being kind of nosy -"
"Hey!" I exclaimed, thinking of my family.
"Sorry Lil, it's kind of true," Aphelia pointed out. After a moment's hesitation I shrugged, allowing her to continue. "Anyway, they were exploring and examining everything a little bit strange, and that's what Charlie, Ly and Sophie are doing."
I frowned. "How so?"
"They gave me the third degree about my one-day disappearance, and probably Roxanne too, then I heard from about four or five other groups that they'd been scouring the castle looking for clues," Aphelia told us.
There a was a brief moment's silence. "That's it?" Brooke asked, unimpressed. "Come on, anybody with half a brain could do that. So you couldn't, I thought.
"I know, but there are similarities. Like the fact that they're two boys and one girl, and they started being nosy in first year," Aphelia said, watching as Felicity swept the paddle brush through her already sleek, flawless hair.
I thought about the whole thing for a moment. Surely it should be me as part of the 'new Golden Trio', since I'm already related to them and more experienced than first-years.
"Shouldn't it be people in our year?" I frowned, pouting slightly.
"What d'you mean?" Agnes squeaked.
"Our year investigating," Lissy said. I nodded.
"Shouldn't it be people more experienced?" I remarked.
"What, like you?" Felicity said dubiously. I shot her a withering look.
"Yeah, because for one thing I'm older, and for another I'm actually related to the original three! I mean, Harry Potter is my dad!"
Brooke rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself, Lily! My dad's a banker, and I'm sure as hell not going to be one myself!"
"Just because you're related to someone doesn't mean you're going to be as cool as them!" Agnes squealed.
"You're being so bloody nice, guys," Aphelia rolled her eyes. Then she turned to look at me. "Don't worry, Lily, I think Charlie, Ly and Sophie've got this thing covered. I've got a good feeling about them."
Before I could speak, Felicity said, "You think you're so special, don't you?"
"Just because of your Dad," Agnes chirped.
"You think you can just waltz around this school getting whatever you want, when you want it!" Brooke laughed mercilessly.
"You're nothing but a -" Felicity began, but then Lissy yelped, "Stop it now! Don't be rude! It's not nice!" Before I could say anything in retort, Lissy and Aphelia had come over to my side and were yanking me up by my arms and escorting me out of the dormitory. However, before the door shut, I heard Felicity say, "It's not as if Hogwarts needs her. Those first-years sound like worthier Gryffindors than her in my opinion."
I didn't have my wand reachable, since both Lissy and Aphelia had grabbed my arms as they took me away. I couldn't fire a spell at them. But my aunt's parents were dentists, and my teeth were in fine shape to bite. Lissy saw my expression and gasped slightly.
"Lily, calm down," she instructed me, as I squirmed to get free of their iron grips.
"Let me go!" I screamed, struggling to pull myself free. Aphelia shook her head.
"Remember what you're always telling me about violence?" she sighed.
"Not the answer," Lissy reminded me. I groaned.
"Fine, I won't hex them, just let me go!" I ordered. My friends warily released my arms.
"They were rude," Lissy whispered.
"They were being so mean. And they're supposed to be your friends!" Aphelia hissed, her fists clenching. I quickly snatched her wand out from her pocket so that she would start firing curses around.
"Let's move on," Lissy sighed. I frowned.
"Already? I'm still pretty damn angry," I muttered.
"Doesn't change it," Lissy said. "They were rude," she elaborated when she saw my and Aphelia's faces. "And you're angry. Doesn't change it." Lissy sighed.
"What if I want to punch them? Will that change it?" I hissed between my clenched jaw. Lissy deliberated for a moment.
"No, not really," she eventually decided. Aphelia laughed slightly.
"Let's grab some lunch," she said. I looked at Aphelia in disbelief.
"Oh, come on! Cut the crap, for Merlin's sake! I thought you of all people would be on my side, Lia!" I cried. Aphelia began chewing her lip.
"She is, Lily," Lissy sighed.
"I am on your side," Aphelia agreed. "They were being horrible, I know! But...well, it's not like it's out of character, is it?" she sighed. I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever! Can I go slap them now?"
I watched as Aphelia nodded and Lissy shook her head fervently.
"Whatever," I sighed, raising my hands as if surrendering. Lissy bit her lip.
"Are you ok?" she asked quietly. I shrugged.
"Who is with them around?" I said sarcastically.
"Well, you know why they're like that don't you?" Aphelia muttered. I frowned, putting my hands on my hips.
"Er, no! Why, do you?" I said, failing to keep the accusative edge out of my voice.
"Because of boys," Lissy explained.
"Boys in general, or..." I prompted.
"Boys you stole," Lissy added.
"I have not stolen any of their boyfriends! That's a total lie!" I exclaimed, a wave of fury washing over me. Lissy and Aphelia looked at each other awkwardly.
"Actually...there was Andy, Matthew, Henry when we were in Fifth, then Joshua, Drew, Kurt and Jones in Sixth -"
"Nobody was going out with Jones! And I only kissed Kurt! Once!" I protested.
"He still broke up with Brooke," Aphelia shrugged. "Then this year...well, you're doing well this year. I'm pretty sure Agnes has a crush on Robert, but technically you didn't steal him."
"Maybe a record," Lissy teased.
"Ok, just stop!" I cried. My head was reeling from all the names Aphelia had listed off. "Am I really that bad?" I whispered incredulously. Lissy bit her lip again.
"Lily, you're one of my best friends, you and Lissy, but can you honestly name one boy in this year, the year above and maybe the year above that that you haven't snogged?" Aphelia said, as I sank down against a wall. Lissy sat down next to me and put an arm around my shoulders.
I thought hard. "My brothers, at least," I muttered. Lissy giggled at that.
"I hope not," she said softly.
"I guess most of Slytherin and Hufflepuff two years above us. But they don't even still go here, that's not fair!" I protested. Aphelia sat down next to me.
"Look, I'm just saying that those girls have a problem with you because of your...concupiscence," she muttered, blushing. I frowned.
"Are you saying I'm horny?" I spluttered, disbelievingly. Although I didn't believe this was really something funny, I found the corners of my mouth twitching upwards. Lissy giggled too.
"Well, one time I asked your brother about it, why some of the girls in our year don't like you that much. He said that he guessed it was to do with boys," Aphelia said, half smiling.
"James or Al?" Lissy asked.
"Does it matter?" Aphelia laughed. "Al," she said, when Lissy didn't look away. "Why do you care?"
Lissy shrugged. "I'm just curious."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. What are you guys going to do now? The train doesn't leave until noon."
"I might hang out with Aaron. Want to join?" she offered Lissy and me. Lissy nodded, getting up.
"Maybe later, I need to...consider what you've said about my concupiscence," I said, letting sarcasm edge into my voice. Lissy and Aphelia smiled guiltily at me. "We'll be in the common room," Aphelia told me, and then she and Lissy walked off together. I set off in a different direction, ruminating on the conversation I'd just had.
The library was quiet when I arrived. I wasn't sure what had brought me here - I hadn't had conscious thoughts about going to the library in months. Maybe because it's a place with no shouting. I walked, still deep in thought, over to a table and sat down. I closed my eyes and leant back in the chair. To calm myself, I tried to empty my mind of all the drama from this term and focus on things that would benefit me in the long run - like running through a list of ingredients of Amortentia. After what seemed like no time at all, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I opened my eyes just in time to see David leaning into kiss me. Unhappily, I closed my eyes and waited for him to finish. I was really beginning to regret leading him on in this way. When he pulled back, he smiled sheepishly and pulled out the chair next to me.
"Hey," I said, grinning at him.
"Merry Christmas," he said, holding out a parcel wrapped in brown paper. Caught of guard I took the present. Crap. I'd forgotten about presents. Sure, I got them for my friends and family, but as a general rule I avoided boys at Christmas - saved a lot of money.
I smiled sexily at him, lowering my eyelashes. "Yours is on its way," I lied. David shook his head.
"I already got to go out with you. I mean, do you know how long I had a crush on you, but was too afraid so say?" he laughed, leaning back in his chair and putting an arm around my shoulders.
"No," I rolled my eyes, smiling at him sympathetically.
"Too long," David grinned, brushing some hair out of my eyes. I wanted to scream, right there and then, and tell him that I didn't feel the same way, that I was fairly sure I couldn't.
"How long?" I asked, pretending I hadn't just been thinking about how heartless I was, turning my attention back to David.
"Long enough," David laughed, leaning in to kiss me. I instinctively turned my head away, and said, "Obviously. So do you want me to open this thing now, or at Christmas?" I asked him, gesturing to the present.
"Whenever, I guess," David shrugged, looking slightly disdainful that I'd turned my head when he's so obviously been about to snog me. "When do I get mine?" he chuckled.
"After Christmas. I ordered it to my home address, but it hasn't arrived yet," I lied again.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a sweep of black hair, followed by two other first years. I knew who they were. I stood up hurriedly. "I have to go," I said. David hesitated, then grinned.
"If I won't see you until next term, can I just say one more thing?" he whispered. I shrugged. "Go ahead."
Next thing I knew, I was sitting in his lap, his arms tightly around my back and his lips on mine. I felt his hands moving into my hair, cradling my head. He was kissing me in a way that I wished I could kiss him. I felt as though he were trying to evoke some sort of passion in me, but I was incapable of stirring it - I buried it so deeply after warnings of getting hurt. Of course he didn't know this, though. It was just a form of paranoia. I was suddenly aware that other girls would assume that I just saw David as another number. One out of the many that had kissed me. I suddenly understood everything that Aphelia had warned me about at the beginning of the year. And I couldn't play a part in it anymore.
I pulled away from David sharply, and quickly removed myself from his lap. I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
"Are you all right?" David asked. I shook my head, adrenaline coursing through my body.
"No. I don't think I've been at all right for a long time." I whispered to myself. I blinked, then looked up at David's surprised face. Boy, is he going to hate me...
"David, I can't do this," I said in a rush. David paused.
"What do you mean by this?" he asked.
"I mean I can't go out with you anymore. I care about you so much," I babbled, as David's face froze. "But I've messed with myself so much that I'm not sure what I turned myself into. And I won't do the same to you," I whispered, breathing hard. I swallowed, unable to focus my eyes on his face. "I'm really confused right now, and I can't involve you in that."
"What if I want to be involved in it?" David blurted out. He seemed to regret this afterwards, as his face froze again into a mask.
I rolled my eyes. "I can't get you involved in it. It's not fair to you, in any way," I sighed.
David unfroze. "What do you mean it's not fair to me? Do you like another guy or something?"
"No!" I said quickly. "It's just..."
"You don't like me," David murmured.
"That's not true!" I cried. I winced when I glimpsed his expression. I realised I had to be honest. "I like you. But I was drunk when I snogged you the first time, and then everyone was telling me that you really liked me, and I thought I'd let you be happy for a while because I thought it was the decent thing to do, but then I realised it was a crass thing to do and I'm sorry!" I blurted out. David didn't say anything for a moment. Then his face boiled and a deep, furious red burned its way around his head, reaching from his ears to his neck.
"Yeah, that was a crass thing to do," he muttered, standing up. Crap, I forgot how tall he is. "You've been leading me on for this long, Lil? That a really bitchy thing to do." he hissed. I swallowed again, and opened my mouth to say something. "No, for once just don't talk!" David interrupted. "I thought even if you weren't my girlfriend, you'd at least be my friend," he spat. I couldn't take it any longer. I threw the brown parcel he'd given me into his chest and ran as fast as I could. I knew he wouldn't follow me. I felt awful. This is what really breaking up with somebody felt like. Worse, it was a person I really did care about, not just some random boy. I'd been irredeemably cruel to my friend.
I felt a hard object hit me in the stomach. "Woah, watch it!" I cried. Looking down, I realised it was Sophie Abbell's shoulder. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you three," I remembered, scanning across from Sophie, to Ly to Charlie.
"What about?" Ly said, shrugging.
"I hear you're getting called the New Golden Trio," I said, smiling a bit at them. Sophie blushed, as did Ly.
"What's a Golden Trio?" Charlie asked.
"I'll explain later," Ly said, putting up a hand to stop Sophie reciting everything she knew about my family. "Look, we didn't come up with the name, Lily."
"We're just a bit inquisitive," Sophie said, smiling at me, showing off her two large front teeth. "And there's nobody as bad as You-Know-Who around now, so really we can't be a new Trio!"
I shrugged. "Just wondering."
I threw in a wink for good measure as I walked away. Then I remember what a horrible person I was and my amused mood went so far out of the window I couldn't envision a time where it could come back.
The train would be leaving soon. I had to go back to the Gryffindor tower to collect my trunk anyway, so I might as well meet Aaron, Aphelia and Lissy in the common room. I headed up there as fast as I could, keeping my head down in case I passed David.
"Password?" asked the Fat Lady as I reached her, panting.
"Oh, sod off," I rolled my eyes.
"No need for that language!" she cried, her pink cheeks puffing up.
"Fine. Mulled Wine."
"That's the stuff!" the Fat Lady's friend Violet exclaimed as she walked into the painting. I almost grinned at that as the Fat Lady blushed and swung open. I clambered in and rushed over to the armchairs by the fireplace where my friends where sitting. I plunked myself down on the rug before they could say anything.
"Hey, Lil, that didn't take long," Aphelia said, surprised. I noticed she had Aaron's arm around her shoulder.
"I broke up with David," I moaned, burying my face in my hands.
"What the hell, Lily? I thought you were going to be 'nice'!" Aaron cried.
"I tried, but then I just couldn't lead him on anymore!" I told him.
"That's good, really," Lissy murmured, scribbling on a piece of parchment.
"Were you nice at least?" Aphelia asked.
"I tried," I shrugged, making a face. Aaron exhaled loudly. "So what were you all talking about?"I asked.
"Just plans for the holidays," Aaron said. "Want to come over with Aphelia to mine on Boxing Day?"
"Sounds great. Shall I bring Hugo?" I offered.
"Yeah, but maybe not David if you just dumped him," Aaron said, raising his eyebrows. I mirrored him, not saying anything.
"What are you doing, Lissy? Meeting up with...anyone?" Aphelia grinned. Lissy shot her a look that was weighted with about ten tons of implications. "Nobody special, no," she said. Aphelia pretended to look surprised.
"Well, if you're not meeting up with anyone why don't you meet up with me at Lily's on Christmas Eve?"
"Hey, that sounds great! My dad's taking my brothers on a last minute Christmas shop that day, so perfect!" I said, happily. Lissy smiled.
"I'd love to," she said, turning back to her parchment. Aaron checked his watch.
"Time to go," he said, removing his arm from Aphelia's shoulders. I dashed upstairs to get my trunk, followed the others down to the train and boarded. With just a puff a smoke and a turning of the wheels we were off.
Just as the first snow of the year began to dust the turrets of Hogwarts.