Chapter Twenty-One
The Letter
Lily spent the next two weeks in a frenzy of stress and anxiety, which her newfound freedom from classes could only slightly counteract. One day, not long after her argument with the other two champions, Lily found herself sitting with Lorcan, Alice, and Hugo out on the lawn.
Hugo was reveling in popping into his Animagus form to soar high above the lake; watching him fly was something truly amazing, Lily had to admit, and Alice was sitting a few feet away, laughing as Hugo brushed past her, tickling her cheek with his huge wings.
Lorcan and Lily sat under the tree together. Lily had just finished telling him the story of Amanda and Melanie's deception.
"So they just flat-out refused to work together," she said. "I don't know, I just…"
"I know," Lorcan said. "It seems like a bad idea to disregard the warning."
Lily nodded, hunching over and putting her chin on her knees. "Exactly," she sighed. "But I don't know what to do. Neither of them will talk to me."
"And the task…"
"—Is tomorrow, yeah," Lily said. "I would really, really like to do well—but whatever this is, it's probably going to be dangerous. I mean—" she sat up again, facing Lorcan. "McLaggen didn't say we shouldn't try and do it on our own, he said he thought we couldn't. That sets off a lot of warnings, for me."
Lorcan nodded. "And no one's been able to give you any hint as to what it might be?" he asked.
Lily shook her head. "Either no one knows, or they've been good at keeping it a secret. Hagrid's been a little nervous around me, whenever the task comes up, but I mean…look what happened last time someone in my family participated in the third task of the tournament. A lot of the teachers who were here are having bad memories, I bet."
Lorcan winced slightly. "I see what you mean." He took a breath, shaking his head slightly. "Let's just—let's put it out of our minds for now," he said. "Let's not think about it. Tell me—tell me about writing to Mr. Ollivander, or something. What are Roxy and Henry up to? How are your parents?" he laughed.
Lily laughed too. She had finally shared her news about writing to Mr. Ollivander, to great support from Alice, Hugo, and Lorcan. She did not really think it the best idea to pretend that the task was less than twenty-four hours away, but, then again, Lorcan was only trying to make her feel better.
"I haven't heard back from Mr. Ollivander," she admitted, "Roxy and Henry are arguing all the time, but clearly having a thrilling time of it anyway, and my parents will be up here with my aunt and uncle for tomorrow night."
"What about James and Albus?" Lorcan asked in surprise.
"They'll be here, if they remember," Lily said, smiling. She sighed again, and silence fell between them. Lily watched as Hugo landed next to Alice and popped into his human form, then yanked up a fistful of grass and showered it over her. Alice shrieked and leapt up, chasing after Hugo, but he leapt into the air and became the falcon once again.
"Are you frightened?" Lorcan asked, and Lily felt a sudden chill run down her spine that she couldn't quite hide from him. Gently, Lorcan reached out and put a hand on her back, and Lily shivered again; this time it had nothing to do with the looming task. She looked sideways at Lorcan for several minutes in silence.
Lorcan seemed to know her answer. He patted her back, and Lily automatically moved closer to him, putting her back against the tree. He seemed surprised for a moment, but to Lily's pleasure, Lorcan put his arm around her shoulders.
"Don't be afraid, Lily," he said, squeezing her shoulder. "You'll get through it okay. You've done some mad things this year. As soon as tomorrow's done…well, we can get on to summer, right? I believe you can do it."
Lily looked up. "You do?" she asked, a little surprised.
Lorcan stared at her, his mouth slightly open. "Yeah," he said softly.
Lily gave a little laugh, and threw her arms around Lorcan, hugging him tight. He returned the hug as Alice, who was covered in grass, and Hugo came running up, panting.
"Hey, lovebirds," Alice said, doubling over and grinning at them. Lily blushed. "Come on, let's go get lunch."
Lily looked back at Lorcan, who shrugged. They got to their feet and followed Alice and Hugo up to the castle, their hands linked.
The next day, Lily rose earlier than the other girls, who were clearly sleeping in. The good mood that had buoyed her through the previous afternoon and evening (most of which she had spent with Lorcan) seemed to have disappeared with the nightfall, and was replaced by a feeling of growing dread.
Silently, Lily put on a set of robes. She removed the Gryffindor patch with a Severing Charm and attached a standard Hogwarts crest to the lapel of the robes; she was representing her school today, not just Gryffindor. Just for luck, however, she slipped her Gryffindor patch in her pocket. Then she placed her wand safely in her pocket as well, closing the fingers of her left hand around it, just to feel the warm comfort of its handle.
She then went down to the common room. It was too early to hope that there might be breakfast on the table in Great Hall; instead, Lily climbed into an armchair and curled into a tight ball, staring blankly into the patterned carpet as if hoping that some divine vision would show her how to get Melanie and Amanda on her side.
None came.
After nearly two hours in this position, Lily was startled from her reverie by a fully-dressed Alice, who was yawning and stretching.
"You okay?" she asked, running a hand through her rumpled blonde hair. Lily nodded, returning her gaze to the carpet. "Want breakfast?" Lily nodded again, and began to uncurl herself from her cramped ball, slowly shaking feeling back into her limbs as Alice dashed upstairs.
When she returned, Molly, Jocasta, and Roxanne were following her. Immediately, they crowded around Lily and began their walk down to the Great Hall.
"You'll be brilliant, Lily," Molly said, clutching Lily's arm as they went, and Lily smiled slightly.
"Of course she will," Roxy said loudly, practically hopping with excitement.
"Wish we knew what the bloody task was, though," Jocasta said ruefully.
Alice gave her a warning glare. "It won't matter," she said brightly. "Lily's going to do brilliantly, no matter what."
The other girls laughed, and Lily couldn't help but smile as they all trotted down the steps of the entrance hall. Lily spared a brief glance for the flags above the doors, but was quickly distracted by the sound of a cluster of people entering the hall. Lily caught sight of Amanda, who was watching her as she too was shepherded along by a group of friends, and tried to give her a smile. Amanda did not return it, instead turning back to her girlfriends.
Lily sighed, but Jocasta caught her by the arm and dragged her in the Great Hall with the other Gryffindor girls. Alice led them over to the Gryffindor table, where the boys, who appeared to be coming back inside from an early-morning two-a-side Quidditch game, presently joined them.
"Hello, ladies," Henry said smoothly, sliding onto the bench beside Roxy, who rolled her eyes and laughed. Michael, Andrew, and Hugo sat down around them, immediately piling food on their plates.
"Feeling good, Lil?" Hugo asked, as Alice placed two rolls on Lily's plate, along with a mountain of scrambled eggs. Lily gave Hugo a weak smile.
"Nearly," she said, and Hugo smiled. The others started chattering away, and Lily pushed her food about her plate with her fork. She looked up only when the post owls arrived, and Calliope nearly upset Lily's goblet, landing on the table before her.
"Well, there you are," Lily said, smiling and stroking Calliope's soft, feathery little head. "What've you got for me there, sweetheart?" Calliope hooted happily and held out her leg, where an envelope was curled up and securely tied. Lily leaned forward and untied the letter, and Calliope hopped forward, hooting again as she fluttered to Lily's shoulder. Lily gave her a quick kiss and offered her a bit of toast. Calliope munched it gladly, then ruffled her feathers against Lily's ear before taking off again and soaring out the upper windows. Lily, now smiling, turned back to her letter.
"What is it?" Hugo asked.
Lily didn't answer, her eyes transfixed by the brilliantly green wax seal on the back of the envelope. It was a large letter O, crossed with what seemed to be two wands.
Alice gasped. "It—It's from—"
"Mr. Ollivander," Lily said softly, terrified.
"What?" Molly asked.
"Are you serious?" Hugo demanded.
"Why is Ollivander writing to you?" asked Roxy.
"Lily, are you sure?" Alice squeaked.
"Would somebody please explain what's happening?" asked Jocasta loudly.
Henry raised his goblet. "Hear, hear!" he said, and Alice rolled her eyes.
"Lily's trying to get a job at Ollivander's," she said impatiently.
"You didn't tell me that!" Roxanne said indignantly, and Lily opened her mouth to apologize, but Alice seized Lily's arm.
"Open it, Lily, quickly!"
Lily looked at the envelope in her trembling hands. Miss Lily Potter, The Great Hall, Hogwarts School. "I—I can't," she said.
"Now!" Alice told her.
"No—here—Roxy, you do it," Lily said, thrusting the letter into Roxanne's hands.
"Are you sure?" she asked, and Lily nodded, burying her face in her hands. Roxy looked nervously at the others and slit the envelope open and removed the letter. Before she opened it, she looked up again. "Lily, just remember, you can always work in the joke shop with me—or—I dunno—anything you want," Roxy said, and Lily waved her hand, indicating that she should just read the letter.
"'Dear Miss Potter,'" Roxy began, and then Lily heard Alice say, "Not out loud!"
She took several deep breaths, her face still buried in her hands. After several minutes of silence, however, Lily lifted her gaze to Roxy, who was frowning at the letter.
"What?" Lily asked, feeling the bottom of her stomach fall away.
Roxanne shrugged, still looking rather grim, and folded the letter.
"What did it say?" Lily demanded.
"Like I said," Roxy said a little uncomfortably. "You can always work in the joke shop—"
Lily's heart crashed to the floor, and she almost missed what Roxanne said next.
"—Although I don't think Dad pays as high as an apprenticeship in Ollivander's wand shop!" she said excitedly, and Lily's mouth fell open.
"What?" she asked hoarsely.
"You got it, Lily," said Molly, looking fit to burst. "You got the job. He wants an interview to be sure, but as soon as your grades come in, you can start."
Lily shook her head, trying process what had just happened. She felt Alice put her arm around her, and was dimly aware of her waving over Lorcan from the Ravenclaw table, but she was still gaping at Roxy, who was attempting to return Lily's letter.
"What's going on?" Lorcan asked, hurrying over. "Is everything all right?"
"Lily got the job at Ollivander's!" Alice said excitedly, taking the letter from Roxanne and showing Lorcan.
He grinned, skimming the letter. "Lily, that's fantastic!" he said, sitting down beside her. She looked at him, smiling and feeling somewhere between laughter and tears.
"Yeah," she said. "I—I can't believe it—"
"You've got to go tell Professor Vector," Lorcan told her. "And Professor McGonagall. They'll be so excited! Ollivander probably doesn't take people on unless he's really sure."
Suddenly, Lily laughed out loud and threw her arms around Lorcan's neck, much to his surprise. Henry, Roxy, Molly, Alice, and Hugo all laughed as well, as Lily, embarrassed, released him. Lorcan folded up the letter and put it in the envelope, which he set before Lily, and they avoided eye contact, to the snickers of the other Gryffindors.
"Finally, taking Arithmancy served a purpose," Alice said loftily, pretending that she hadn't noticed this.
"Shut up, Alice," Lily told her good-naturedly, shoving her shoulder.
"Attention, please," called Professor McGonagall's voice from the head table, and a hush fell over the Great Hall as heads turned in her direction. "The third task of the Triwizard tournament will begin tonight at five o'clock sharp on the Quidditch pitch." There were several loud whoops and whistles, and even Lily found herself grinning.
"Champions, please arrive in the tent half an hour early; the stands will be open for seating shortly thereafter." Professor McGonagall's eyes swept the hall, trying to locate Lily, Amanda, and Melanie. "Additionally, in exactly half an hour, your professors and I will require the champions to be in the entrance hall. Please finish your meals promptly and meet us at the castle doors."
Lily's heart leapt. Mum, she thought. Daddy…James…Al…she hadn't seen any of them in months—and what news she had for them! Quickly, she stuffed her letter from Mr. Ollivander in her pocket. Now much too excited to eat, Lily spent the next half-hour nearly counting the seconds until—
"Miss Potter, are you ready?" Professor McGonagall stood over her, looking rather amused at what must have been a hilariously giddy expression on Lily's face.
Lily practically leapt to her feet and nodded. She waved to Hugo and Alice and the others, following Professor McGonagall, who appeared to be limping slightly more than usual—well, it was the twenty-first of June, Lily remembered—Dad was always a little down on this day as well. She made a mental note to go with him to the white tomb next to the lake, just the two of them, after the task.
Lily took a few quick steps so that she was right beside Professor McGonagall. "Professor," she said, and the headmistress looked at her, stopping at the door to the Great Hall.
"Yes, Miss Potter?" she asked, and Lily could hear in her voice that she was trying not to be short with her.
Lily reached into her pocket and produced the letter from Mr. Ollivander. "I—er—I took your advice," she said, holding out the envelope.
"My advice?" asked Professor McGonagall, pulling out and shaking open the letter. She peered at the parchment through her spectacles, but before she could finish reading, they were interrupted.
"Professor!"
"Pardon me, Miss Potter," Professor McGonagall said apologetically and returning the letter, before walking over to Madame Maxime, who introduced her to Melanie's parents.
Lily bit her lip briefly, but decided to let it pass. She would be able to tell everyone later, she decided. The castle doors were standing open, and Lily looked through them into the sunlit grounds. She saw no sign of her parents, brothers, or Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione.
"Mom!"
Lily looked around, and saw Amanda come tearing out of the Great Hall, heading straight for the open arm of a pretty, gray-haired woman who was unmistakably her mother. Mrs. Morgan's other hand leaned heavily on a walking stick, and as Lily watched Amanda embrace her mother, she caught a glimpse of a rather heavy-looking metal brace on Mrs. Morgan's right leg. Lily frowned, curious, but was immediately distracted by someone clamping their hands over her eyes.
"James—Sirius—Potter—" she said, reaching back to swat any part of her brother she could reach. "Let me go!" And suddenly, Lily could see again, and Albus was squeezing her tightly, practically lifting her off the ground. "Albus!" she shrieked, hugging him back. She could just see her mother and father over Al's shoulder, hurrying up the front steps with Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron.
When Albus had finally released her, Lily pulled back from her brothers, laughing breathlessly. "I—am so glad to see you two," she said.
"Spiffed out of our minds, we are," James said, throwing one arm around Al's neck and mussing his hair. Lily laughed.
"If I didn't know for a fact which of you came first, I'd swear Lily was the oldest," said Dad as he, Mum, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione arrived.
"Daddy!" Lily said excitedly, hurrying into his open arms and hugging him tightly. Dad laughed.
"Hi, Pixie-girl," he said, kissing her head.
"Hi, baby," said Mum, taking Lily into a tight embrace. "My goodness, look at you!" she said, holding Lily at arm's distance and smiling. "Hermione said—" she stopped, looking slightly embarrassed, but Lily just shrugged and pulled her outer robe back, so that her much-too-loose uniform (now held in place by pins) was clearly visible.
Mum just smiled, pulling Lily in for another hug, and pressed a kiss into her hair.
"Yeah, well, nice to see you too, Lily," said Uncle Ron in a long-suffering voice, and Aunt Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Uncle Ron!" Lily said in a dramatic voice.
"Lily Luna!" he cried, imitating her, and they fell into a lavish, silly hug.
"You two are so strange," said James wonderingly. He still had Albus in a headlock.
Lily giggled and embraced Aunt Hermione. "We sent Rose a birthday letter last night," she said.
"Thank you, sweetheart," said Aunt Hermione, smiling. "She'll like that. But do you happen to know where my son might be?"
"Great Hall," Lily said, jerking her head in that direction.
"Kid thinks he can become an Animagus and leave it to Minerva to tell us," said Uncle Ron, shaking his head. "Honestly, I ask you…" and he and Aunt Hermione went together into the Great Hall.
"Oh yeah!" James said. He rounded on Lily. "How come no one told us Hugo's an Animagus?" he demanded. "What's his form?"
"He's a peregrine falcon," Lily said, laughing. "With silver wings. And I don't know, it's not my business that boys don't share everything. Girls are so much better at that sort of thing," she said casually, examining her fingernails.
"Yeah, but if we were girls, who would we use for an arm rest? We'd be your height," James said, immediately placing his arm on Lily's shoulder, which was just the right height for him to lean on. Albus copied him, and Lily glared up at them both.
"Come here, Pix," Mum said reassuringly, holding out her arms for Lily, who hurried over to her, putting an arm around her waist. "Older brothers tend to be gits," she said, winking at her sons.
"Best shape up, Jamesy-boy," Albus said seriously, pulling himself straight. "Mum's got the Bat Bogey Eye on us."
"Right you are, Albus," James agreed, standing at attention.
Lily snorted, and Ginny shook her head. Lily looked over to her father, whose attention was turned away, looking up at the banners and flags hanging over the castle doors with an unreadable expression on his face. Glancing at her mother, Lily went over to Dad and put an arm around him. He didn't look down, but he squeezed Lily's shoulders, still staring at the flags.
"I've never seen it before," said a soft voice nearby. "It's a beautiful tribute."
Dad, Mum, Albus, Lily, and James all looked around. Amanda Morgan and her mother were standing a few feet away. Mrs. Morgan drew herself up slightly and released Amanda to raise the arm that was not holding her walking stick.
"Cho?" asked Dad, looking shocked.
"Cho Chang," Mum gasped, her mouth falling open. She stepped forward to embrace her.
"Morgan, actually, for the last twenty years or so," said Mrs. Morgan, looking a little tearful as she released Mum and turned to Dad and hugged him. Now that Lily listened, her American accent was nowhere near as pronounced as Amanda's. "But yes. It's wonderful to see you both."
Lily was staring in shock and disbelief between her brothers (who looked utterly dumbfounded), Amanda, who was avoiding her gaze, and her parents, who were now laughing with Mrs. Morgan as an old friend.
"Harry—my goodness," Mum said, looking utterly shocked, but smiling broadly. "Al—Lily, James, come here—this is Mrs. Morgan—she went to school with us. Cho, these are Albus and James, our sons—"
"Nice to meet you," James said, sounding as though he had recently taken a blow to the head.
"Pleasure," said Albus. Lily frowned at them both; why did they sound like utter morons?
"It's wonderful to meet you both," said Mrs. Morgan, switching her cane to her left hand and shaking hands with Albus and James.
"And this is Lily," Harry said. "Our daughter."
"Of course," said Mrs. Morgan warmly, shaking Lily's hand as well. "Amanda's told me all about you. Harry, Ginny, this is my daughter, Amanda. Amanda, these are the Potters," she said. Amanda gave a rather half-hearted smile and shook hands with Mum, Dad, James and Albus.
"You're the Salem Institute champion?" Dad asked kindly.
"Yes, sir," Amanda said, not meeting Lily's eyes.
"How have you been?" Mum asked Mrs. Morgan, nodding to her walking stick. "Your leg, your husband—Eric, isn't it?"
"Yes," said Mrs. Morgan, smiling. "Eric's just fine, he's staying in London—Amanda and I are going to go and meet him tomorrow. My leg's all right, bit of pain here and there, but in pretty good shape, overall."
"What have you been doing?" Dad asked.
"I'm in Magical Law Enforcement for the North American Continent," said Mrs. Morgan. "Mostly desk work, but I like it."
"That's great—"
Lily did not hear much of the rest of the conversation; James and Albus, who, for the course of the entire exchange, were uncharacteristically struck silent, distracted her.
"What are you two gaping at?" Lily hissed, stepping closer. James and Al looked at her, startled, as if they'd only just noticed her.
"D'you know who that is?" James whispered back. Lily glanced at Mrs. Morgan and caught sight of Amanda, who was glowering rather unpleasantly at her. She shook her head.
"Cho Chang," Albus told her. Lily stared at him. "How d'you not know this?"
"She might've been off with Hugo," James said. "When we got it out of Uncle George…"
"Nah, Hugo was with us—Alice, probably," Al told him.
"Who is she?" Lily demanded, glancing back at their distracted parents.
"Cho Chang was Dad's only girlfriend he ever had except for Mum," James told her.
Lily snorted. "You're hilarious," she said. "Really. Mum and Dad were made for each other, why would he—"
"Yeah, we know they were made for each other," said Albus. "But they didn't always know it. Lily Luna Potter, you are looking at your almost-mother."
Lily shuddered. "Don't say that! First of all, I highly doubt that was the case, and second of all, that is definitely not how that works."
James shrugged. "Just saying," he told her.
"You're an idiot," Lily assured him, and James rested his elbow on her head, feigning great interest in his parents' conversation.
"It was so nice to see you all," Mrs. Morgan was saying. "Amanda and I are going to take a little walk around the grounds. I expect we can catch up at dinner, after the girls go to the pitch?"
"Of course," Mum said. Cho smiled and nodded, gave Dad's arm a squeeze, and turned back to Amanda. They left the entrance hall through the castle doors.
James, Lily, and Albus watched as their parents turned slowly back to face them, forming a little circle. Mum and Dad didn't even register the presence of their audience.
"That was weird," Dad said after a moment.
"I haven't heard from her in…twenty-five years," said Mum incredulously.
"Not that you would've kept up, eh?" James joked, but Lily elbowed him in the ribs; Mum, however, seemed not to have heard him.
"I wasn't expecting…" said Dad, trailing off and looking at Mum.
"Well, she nearly lost that leg," Mum answered. "And it's been, what, thirty years since? "
"How?" Albus asked, and Mum and Dad were startled to see that their children were still watching.
"What, Al?" Mum asked.
"How did she almost lose her leg?" asked Lily.
Mum drew a breath and put an arm around her. "She defended the castle with us, and was pretty badly injured," she said.
"Wow," James said softly, looking impressed.
"And don't think I missed the three of you, huddled back here," Dad said suddenly. "Got it out of George, hm? I'll be having a word with him." James and Albus snickered, and Mum rolled her eyes.
"What's going on?" Uncle Ron asked as he walked up with Hugo, who was blushing pink to the very roots of his bright red hair, and Aunt Hermione, who was positively beaming.
"Hermione, did you know whose daughter the Salem champion is?" Harry asked. Aunt Hermione's smile faded slightly, looking between Mum and Dad.
"No," she said slowly. "Whose?"
"Cho Chang," said Mum.
"What?" Uncle Ron snorted, as Aunt Hermione said, "No!"
"She's here—out on the grounds, now," Harry said.
Aunt Hermione put a hand to her forehead, looking shocked. "And here I was worrying about the date we set the task…should've been finding out who was participating…" she trailed off, looking towards the open castle doors. "Can you imagine how she must be feeling right now?"
"I've got an idea," said Dad in a low voice, and Lily's stomach clenched unpleasantly as an uncomfortable silence fell over them all. Then Dad shook his head and hitched up a brilliant smile. "Sorry, that was dark." He reached out for Lily, who put her arms around him, and smiled at her. Lily hugged him tightly, trying to put into it all the reassurance she could muster.
"Secret Animagus studies, you git?" James asked suddenly, rounding on Hugo, who laughed and hugged him. James thumped him soundly on the back.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Albus demanded.
"Apparently, only Lily and Alice Longbottom were in the know," Aunt Hermione said, arching an eyebrow at Lily, who grinned.
"I didn't think I was going to do it," Hugo insisted. "Besides, Minerva told you right away!" Aunt Hermione laughed and kissed Hugo's cheek, making him blush even brighter pink.
"I want to see this for myself," said Uncle Ron. He nodded towards the castle doors. "Come on, Hugo, let us see."
"I'm not really supposed to do it on the grounds," Hugo said quickly.
"Didn't stop you yesterday afternoon," said Lily pleasantly, and Hugo glared at her. She shrugged. "Sorry, you said it was only a secret till you got registered. Time to show off."
Hugo rolled his eyes and sighed heavily before allowing himself to be dragged out onto the lawn.
The family spent the next several hours with Hagrid, who made tea and rock cakes as they all watched Hugo's Animagus form soar overhead. It was so peaceful, so happy, that Lily was rather startled when Aunt Hermione said it was time for the two of them to head to the Quidditch pitch.
"Righ'," Hagrid said, getting up. "Yeh wan' a stoat sandwich ter go, Hermione? Lily?"
"No thanks, Hagrid," Lily said, feeling her stomach turn over.
Aunt Hermione shook her head, giving him a hug. "I'm all right, thanks, Hagrid. I'll see the rest of you later," she said. "There's an area in the stands for the families." She leaned over and kissed Uncle Ron, then patted Dad's shoulders. His expression was looking a little clouded again. Lily got up and hugged him.
"I'll see you right after, Dad," she promised, and he smiled somewhat, then embraced her tightly. "See you soon, Mummy," Lily said, hugging her mother. She gave Al, Hugo, and James one hug where they sat at Hagrid's table. "Bye, boys."
"Give 'em hell, Pixie," Albus said, smiling at her.
"Yeah, go get that Triwizard Cup, I want it for the mantel," James told her, and Lily rolled her eyes as she released Hugo and moved to Uncle Ron.
"Bye, Hagrid," she said finally, joining Aunt Hermione at the door. Hagrid gave her a bone-cracking hug.
"Be careful, now, won' yeh?" he asked, and Lily nodded. Hagrid patted her shoulder gently.
"Come on, Lily, we'll be late," said Aunt Hermione.
"See you later," Lily said for what felt like the thousandth time, so desperate was she to reassure her rather anxious-looking family. She received several brilliant smiles and frenetic waves before hurrying down the steps after Aunt Hermione.
"They'll be all right," Aunt Hermione promised as they walked up the lawn. Lily nodded.
"I'm just worrying," she said. "This task is…well, I'll be glad when it's over."
They had arrived at the Quidditch pitch. Crossing quickly through the locker rooms, they walked together out onto the playing field. The familiar champions tent was set up a few feet away; down at the far end, Lily could see an enormous golden structure that looked almost like a cage, though it glittered so brightly in the sun that Lily could not see anything inside it.
"Aunt Hermione," Lily said slowly, feeling suddenly rather sick. "What is the task?"
"Come on, sweetheart," Aunt Hermione said, looking uncomfortable. "Let's go." And she strode over to the tent, holding it open for Lily.
I KNOW! I'M EVIL. But I still love you...:) REALLY!