Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter.
Note - Sorry if there was a misunderstanding on whether or not I was ending this story soon. I assure you that I'm not at all done with the story of Lily Luna. There's much more to come. So, please, stick with me and enjoy the rest of it as it comes. And also, enjoy this chapter. Sorry if it's a bit shorter than my usual ones, but to make it longer would be getting into too much for one chapter. So, enjoy.
Slytherin's Potter
Chapter Fifty-Two: How to Look Like a Slytherin
"So, quick question," Jace said as he, Lily, Lola, and Hugo walked into Hogsmeade. "Why isn't Scorpius, or Tanner, or Lars, or even Mitch suffering through this too?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "They're getting things ready for later tonight."
"And why didn't I go with them?" Jace muttered.
"So I wouldn't have to go shopping with girls alone," Hugo told him. "So thanks."
Jace chuckled. "You owe me."
"There you guys are!" Shannon exclaimed as they approached Gladrags Wizardwear. She, Megan, and Izzy were standing in front of the store.
"You take forever!" Megan groaned. "Some girls have a date waiting for them."
"You didn't have to come," Lola pointed out as the seven walked inside the shop.
"Yeah, but it is always fun to make a Gryffindor look like one of us," Megan joked.
"You couldn't have brought Matt or J.R. with you?" Jace groaned. "It would be so nice to have a little more testosterone in the group."
"Quit bitching," Megan retorted. "Now, what are we looking for, exactly?"
"Well, we know he looks good in a dark blue. So that, some black, a bit of green, and maybe a little grey," Lily listed.
"Add some dark red to that list too," Lola suggested.
"Like this?" Izzy asked, holding a black polo with red trim.
Shannon looked at it. "With a flipped up collar, that could look good on him."
"Take it," Lily told her, and Izzy passed it off to Hugo. "Will it fit?"
Hugo looked it over. "Yeah, it'll fit," he told them.
"We'll alter what doesn't," Lola mentioned.
"Throw this in the mix," Megan said, holding out a dark blue, long sleeve roll up shirt. Hugo took it, looking it over.
"And this," Lily said, pulling out a black sleeveless shirt.
"This should look good on him," Shannon commented as she picked up a dark grey sweater with a v-neck. Soon, Hugo and Jace both had their hands full of clothes.
"Ok, now pants," Lola mentioned.
"What!" Jace exclaimed. "You mean these are just shirts?"
"There are a couple of jackets in there," Izzy told him.
"Kill me," Jace groaned.
"I am so sorry, dude," Hugo apologized with a chuckle.
"Me and Megan are going to go and find a few accessories," Shannon told them.
"Good. Izzy, can you go and find a good pair of shoes for him?" Lily asked.
"I'm on it," Izzy said before rushing off.
"Lil, I have a question," Hugo said as Lily and Lola began to search for jeans. "How am I paying for this?"
"You're not. I am," Lily told him.
"That's not necessary," Hugo protested.
"Please, Hugo, I've got more money than I know what to do with. Let me spend it," Lily retorted. She picked up a pair of black jeans and threw them on the pile of clothes in Hugo's arms.
Ten minutes later, the girls had regrouped, and were looking over what they had found.
"Ok, so Megan and I found a few studded belts, some chains, an awesome leather bracelet with a dragon on it, we got a few small hoop earrings incase Lana does pierce his ear more, a cross chain necklace, and a cool skull ring," Shannon listed.
"I found an awesome pair of black boots with a couple of buckles. And I grabbed a pair of hi top leather sneakers," Izzy told them. "And I found a cool black-billed beanie hat."
"That is cool," Shannon agreed as she took it to get a better look.
"Ok, and Lola and I found a lot of cool jeans, and some pretty cool hoodies and jackets," Lily sighed. "So, I think we're ready."
"One more thing!" Lola suggested. She skipped over to a display of sunglasses, and after staring at each of them, she picked a pair. "I think these will be great on you," she told Hugo.
"Can we just pay and go?" Jace pleaded.
"Yes, now we can," Lola told him. And with their large amount of clothing, it took a while. But Lily had no problem counting out the amount of money, which sadly didn't put too big a dent in what money she had brought to school.
"Ok," Lola sighed as they walked out of the shop, the boys carrying three bags on each arm. "Now, Lana said she was going to get what we would need to dye your hair."
"Awesome," Hugo replied.
"Hugo Weasley!" a shrill voice shrieked.
They all cringed at the voice, but Hugo flinched. "Shit," he muttered. They all turned to see an angry Paige Wilde, flocked by a few other girls, storming over to them.
"Did she know you were hanging out with us?" Lily questioned.
Hugo cleared his throat. "Actually, I just didn't say anything to her. In my defense, I didn't say I was hanging out with her either," he muttered.
"Just don't be a bitch, dude," Jace warned.
"Want me to hit her?" Megan almost pleaded.
But Hugo shook his head and moved to step in front of the group, putting down his bags. When Paige reached them, she seemed to be even more furious. "What the hell, Hugo? You stand me up for this?" she shrieked.
Hugo ran a hand over his hair. "Paige, calm down. There's no need to be that loud."
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Paige hissed. "You ditched your girlfriend! And for what? To go shopping with a bunch of Slytherin girls?"
"Dude, I'm here," Jace pointed out.
But he was ignored. "You're overacting," Hugo told her. "I'm hanging out with friends. You and I had no date planned."
"You should always assume!" Paige told him.
"I'm not a freakin' mind reader!" Hugo exclaimed, finally snapping. "I'm sorry if I don't know how your hormones are feeling at certain moments!"
Paige glared at him. "You've changed, Hugo. This is what happens when you go and hang out with them," she pointed out. "When you hang out with a bitch like your cousin, and a whore like Pritchard!"
"Call her that again," Lily warned.
"No," Hugo interrupted. "You call her that again, and you and I are going have a problem!" he growled. "Leave them out of this. You being an over controlling and self-centered bitch has nothing to do with them! You are the problem!"
"No! You changed when you started hanging out with them!" Paige argued.
"No, I just began to realize that you really are a bitch!" Hugo spat. "And I'm tired of being your little pet boyfriend, so we're fucking done!"
Instead of looking angry, like Lily had expected, Wilde looked shocked. "What?" Paige gasped. "You're really going to dump me because of them?"
"No, because you're a bitch," Hugo snapped. He picked the bags back up, and looked back at Lily. "Lead the way, cuz."
Lily grinned at her cousin, and then looked at Wilde. "See ya around, Wilde." And without looking back, the group walked away from a distraught Wilde and surprised friends. Lily glanced at her cousin. "You ok?"
Hugo chuckled. "I feel as if a giant weight is off of my shoulders."
"The last of that high and mighty Gryffindor falling off of ya," Jace told him. "Now you can relax and just be cool."
Hugo nodded. "It's a great feeling."
"Is this going to hurt?" Hugo questioned hesitantly.
After separating from the other girls, Lily, Lola, Jace, and Hugo had met up with some of the others at The Three Broomsticks, and had made their way to the Shrieking Shack. So now, Tanner, Hank Harper, Lance, and Christian were all talking about Quidditch near the couch, Xavier, Justin, Rex, and Derek Bole were talking about music close by, while Lily, Lana, Lola and Tamara Nott were sitting around Hugo.
The girls had made him change into better clothes, so he was now wearing a pair of baggy black jeans, a studded belt with chains, the dark blue long sleeve roll up shirt, with the collar flipped up, his new boots, his skull ring, cross necklace, and his dragon bracelet.
"I promise it won't," Lana said as she picked up one of the small hoops that Shannon had picked out. "Now, are you sure that you want your lip pierced?"
Hugo nodded. "Yeah. And my eyebrow. Can you do that?" he questioned.
"I'll try. Do you want me to do your ear a couple more times?" Lana asked.
"Sure, if you have some hoops left over," Hugo told her.
Lana nodded, and then glanced at Lola, who was getting the things ready for his hair. "Do you need help, Lola?"
"No, I've got it. Go ahead and start," Lola assured her.
Lana nodded, and pointed her wand at Hugo, and let out a few whispered spells. "Ok, so I've numbed the nerves in your lip, eyebrow, and your ear, so you shouldn't feel the pain. Don't worry if you see blood, it won't be much. Ready?"
Hugo nodded. Lana picked up a pin, and carefully took his bottom lip between two fingers. Then she stuck the pin swiftly through. Lily did her best not to wince. Hugo didn't. Working slowly and carefully, Lana stopped the bit of blood, and then placed the hoop into his lip, screwing on the tiny ball at the end. Lily watched as Lana expertly did the same to his eyebrow. For never having done an eyebrow piercing before, it looked good on Hugo. Then with the three hoops she had left, Lana pierced his ear near the top and side.
"All done," Lana said, and gave a flick of her wand, probably to get his nerves working again. Then she held out a mirror to Hugo.
Hugo turned his face in each direction to get a look at the work. "It's awesome, Lana," he complimented.
"That looks good on ya, Hugh," Xavier complimented as he walked over, two butterbeers in his hands. He held one out to Hugo.
Hugo put down the mirror and took one, and popped it open. "Thanks. When are you doing my hair?" he asked Lola.
"Well, with our excellent timing, it's ready now!" Lola said with a smile. She looked at Lana. "Ready?"
"Let's do this," Lana said with her own smile. She glanced at Hugo. "This may take a bit of time, since we're doing two colors and layers."
"Take your time," Hugo assured.
"Looks like the party's here!" Mitch cheered as he walked in. Following him were Dominique, Lars, and then Scorpius. They all had a large bag in their hands. "And we brought the good stuff!"
"Sweet!" Tanner exclaimed, jumping from his seat. He took one of the bags from Mitch, and dug out a bottle. "You guys rock!"
"Hold on, dude," Scorpius told him. "We gotta toast our new year first. Make sure everyone gets one." Taking a bag, he walked over to the girls. He passed a bottle to them each, and then gave Lily hers last, kissing her as he did. "Hello, beautiful."
Lily kissed him again. "Hey, stud," she said with a smile.
Scorpius sat down on the floor next to her, placing an arm around her shoulders. "Nice look, Hugh," he told him.
Hugo grinned. "Thanks, dude."
"Ok, can we start now?" Tanner asked.
"Chill out, dude," Rex laughed. "We'll start."
Scorpius raised his bottle. "Here's to another year," he said.
"And to our new teammates," Tanner added.
"And not to mention Hugo's journey to being one of us!" Jace threw in.
Scorpius laughed. "Here's to luck."
"To luck," the rest of the said, before they all took a drink. Lily sighed as the warm liquid ran down her throat. Whatever it was, it was good. She could feel her veins jump once as the liquid went down.
Jace sighed. "And now that Hugo isn't dating that battle-ax, luck should be on his side," he joked.
"Man, you finally ditched Wilde?" Xavier asked.
Now that Lana and Lola had begun to work on his hair, Hugo couldn't really nod. "Yeah, earlier today. We had a bit of a disagreement," he told them.
"She was a bitch," Jace corrected.
"Basically," Hugo laughed.
"Isn't she always?" Dominique questioned. "I can't believe that our other cousins like her."
"She as bitchy as they are," Lily pointed out as she leaned against Scorpius's chest. Scorpius wrapped his arm fully around her, pulling her into his lap. She rested her head on his shoulder.
"So, I've got some awesome news," Lars told them as he sat next to Justin. "In two days time, I will have a girlfriend."
"Oh boy," Lana muttered. "Who?"
"Ashley Anderson. A hot Gryffindor girl, who's not a bitch," Lars bragged.
"Dude, that's awesome!" Tanner told him.
"Way to go!" Rex cheered.
"She is like one of the hottest girls in school," Justin commented. "Like second or third."
"Do we even want to know who you boys ranked first?" Tamara mocked dryly.
Most of the boys looked at each other, and then at her. "Lil," they stated.
Lily looked at them in surprise and confusion. "What?"
"You're hot, Lil," Mitch replied. "Like the hot one."
"You're bangin'," Rex agreed.
"And mine," Scorpius added, giving the other guys a dry look. "Wanna keep going?" he said, with a mild threat in his tone.
None of the boys said anything more, and Lana scoffed and rolled her eyes at Scorpius. "You are such a primitive ass," she teased.
Scorpius shrugged lightly. "I'll let you know when that bothers me."
By the time that night fell, Lily felt her nerves shivering, despite the warm air. The alcohol was running through her, but she was glad that her mind was still working properly. Some of the others . . . not so much. Tanner and Rex were singing a song that Lily couldn't recognize, and she was thinking that it wasn't really a song. Just something their drunken minds made up. Hugo, Xavier, Jace, and Christian were all wrestling shirtless, stumbling due to their drinks. Lola, Lana, and Tamara were watching them, giggling and cheering them on. Dominique and Mitch had disappeared upstairs about an hour ago.
A puff of warm breath fanned against Lily's ear. "Go outside with me, beautiful?" Scorpius whispered.
Lily felt a shiver of excitement run through her this time. She nodded wordlessly, and took his offered hand. Without a word to the others, Scorpius led her outside the shack. It was a bit cooler outside than inside, yet was still warm. A slight wind blew across the grass in the darkness. The moon and stars were the only source of light offered to the two as they stepped outside.
Scorpius pulled Lily down to sit on the grass with him. Then he dropped onto his back. Lily followed suit, only she laid her head on his chest instead of the grass. Scorpius's hand came to rest in her hair.
"I like this," Scorpius murmured.
Lily smiled. "I think I can agree with that."
"If this is what I'm to expect this year, I'm really gunna like seventh year," Scorpius chuckled. Then he sighed, and Lily noticed that it was a bit heavy. "Lily, can ask you a question that may seem . . . presumptuous?"
Lily nodded against his chest. "Sure."
"Well, . . . when I graduate, would you want to break up before going back to school? Be unattached for the rest of your schooling?" he asked.
Lily felt her heart squeeze painfully at the thought of that. "You mean like Lana and Dante?" she whispered.
"Yeah. I sometimes wonder if my sister is happy with her decision. And when I see her with Justin, she's seems ok. But then I try to imagine you and me in that situation, and I hate the idea of you dating someone else," he muttered.
Lily ran her tongue along her lips, feeling them and her throat go a bit dry. "I don't think I would want to, no," she murmured. "It would be hard, but I think I would rather deal with it than to risk losing you."
"That's good," Scorpius mumbled, "because I don't plan on letting you go any time soon."
And that was something that Lily was very glad to hear.
"Nobody warned me of a killer headache," Hugo mumbled as the group all began to walk away from the Whomping Willow. All his bags in one hand, he held his head with his other. Lily tried not to laugh at the annoyed expression on her cousin's face.
"You didn't warn us that it would be your first time drinking," Lily countered. She patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. Come down to our common room with us, and I'll give you something to get rid of it. Then we'll walk you back to your common room and let you sleep it all away."
Hugo sighed. "I appreciate that," he replied. He squinted his eyes as they walked. "It's too damn bright out this morning."
"Tell me about it," Xavier groaned.
Hugo began to dig through his bag, and then finally pulled out his sunglasses. "Thank you, Lola," he chuckled as he slipped them on.
Lola shrugged with a coy grin. "I am a genius."
"Yeah right," Jace scoffed quietly.
Lola glared at him, but Lana was quick to intercede. "You two, it's too early, and some of us have hangovers. Can this wait?" Jace and Lola only looked away from each other.
"Scorp, we don't have Quidditch practice today, right?" Lance asked with hope.
Scorpius just scowled, and Lily was sure it was because of a bit of a headache. "Nah. I don't think any of us are up for it," he answered. "We'll just practice a little harder next time."
"Fabulous," Lily grumbled. Scorpius just wrapped his arm around her.
By the time they got down to the common room, the group was exhausted. Most of them trailed up to their rooms, planning not to emerge until either late at night, or the next morning completely. Lily wished she could do the same, but doing as she promised, she took what felt like an extremely long walk up to the girls' dorm, and then came back down with a small glass filled with a pale blue liquid.
"Drink a little of this. It'll clear your head," Lily told Hugo, yawning softly as she handed it to him.
Hugo took a lazy drink, handing it back to her. "Thanks, cuz. Don't worry about walking me. I'll go myself."
Lily shook her head. "No, I said I'd walk with you."
"Here, I'll go with him," Lola offered. "I had no where near the same amount either of you two had to drink. My head's fine. Lily, go sleep it off. I've got him."
Lily raised a brow at her friend, who only looked back innocently. But Lily knew better. Lola was up to something. Any Slytherin with an innocent look had an underlying idea. It was the beauty of their minds. But she simply shrugged. "Ok. If you say so. Later, Hugh," Lily said as she moved toward the stairs.
Hugo waved a hand. "See ya around," he told her.
Lily staggered up the stairs as Hugo and Lola left the common room. Being as quiet as she could be, Lily stepped back inside the girls' dorm room. She placed the potion on the bedside table, not wanting to bother with reopening her box. She slowly dressed for bed, trying not to fall asleep as she did. Then she finally dropped onto her bed, barely able to roll under the covers. It felt so weird to her, sleeping in her own bed when she was so used to Scorpius's. It seemed so much bigger without Scorpius in it too. And not as warm.
When she woke up, it was late afternoon, and she really didn't want to get up at all. She rolled onto her stomach, hiding her face into her pillow. She was so thankful that Scorpius had decided to refrain from practicing with the team today. She didn't think she'd be able to get a foot off the ground, let alone thirty feet.
But after laying in her bed for another couple of minutes, Lily slowly got up from the bed. She was a bit sluggish as she got dressed, and just messily threw her hair up. Then she opened her potion collection. She replaced the potion she'd given Hugo, and then looked for another one. A dark purple one. When she founded it, she took a small sip and then felt energy jolt through her. With a smile and an actual bounce in her movements, she left the room and descended the stairs. The common room was buzzing with noise and filled with kids, although Lily noticed that most of the kids from last night weren't around. She mused that they were still passed out. But she did see one that was up.
"Hey, Lance," Lily greeted with a smile.
Lance grinned as she sat at the table with him. "Hey, Lily. How are you feeling?"
"Better now," Lily sighed.
Lance nodded. "Yeah, me too. I got up an hour or so ago. I haven't seen any of the others."
"Lola and the other girls are probably revising for O.W.L.s again," Lily muttered.
"Everyone else is probably sleeping away a hangover," Lance chuckled. Then he sighed. "You know, seeing as how I feel pretty good now, I'm kinda up for a good Quidditch practice. I wish the others hadn't gotten so messed up."
Lily smiled. "Well, I'm just too lazy to want to practice now," she joked.
Lance chuckled again. "So, Lily, do you know what you want to do after school? Are you going to stay with Quidditch?"
Lily shook her head. "No. For me Quidditch is just a competitive sport I play for fun. And if I play it as a professional then I'll just be scrutinized, and rumors will fly about me following my mother, and people will begin to compare us. I'd rather stick with something my own."
"Kinda hard, considering your family's size, isn't it?" Lance inquired.
"Yeah, but no one in my family has been a model," Lily replied. "I could always stick with that, which, lately, is something I've kind of been considering."
"That's not a bad idea," Lance said. "I mean you're . . . . um, really pretty." The last part came out in a whispered voice that was accompanied by a blush.
Lily bit her lip to keep from giggling. She'd almost forgotten about Lance's supposed crush on her. "Thank you, Lance. You're quite handsome yourself," she complimented.
His blush grew. "Thanks," he muttered.
"How do you not have a girlfriend?" Lily questioned nicely, doing her best to bolster his confidence. "I mean, you're a cute boy. Girls have to be lining up to go out with you."
Lance cleared his throat clumsily. "Um, . . . I'm not really good with girls," he mumbled.
"You know, girls aren't that scary. Just talk to them. Take the girl you like on a date," Lily suggested.
"She's got a boyfriend," Lance said, avoiding her eyes.
Lily smiled gently. "Then the next greatest girl," she told him. "You're a sweet boy, Lance. How could a girl not want to date you?"
Lance shrugged. "I don't know. I just get nervous."
"Well, how about I tell you a secret," Lily teased lightly. "When a boy asks a girl out, she's just as nervous as he is."
Lance grinned a little as he finally looked back at Lily. "I guess I could try it."
Lily giggled lightly. "Face it, Lance. You're going to have it made. One day in the future you're going to be handsome, a famous Quidditch player, have millions of fans and friends, and a beautiful girl at your side," she assured.
Lance sighed as he leaned back in his chair, looking as if he were trying to picture it. "It seems fabulous when you paint that kind of picture," he murmured.
Lily smiled. "Yeah. And I'll be one of the those millions of fans and friends," she promised.
"It was nice of you to bring Salazar," Duncan said as he stroked the tiny dragon's head. Lily had thought that Duncan would like to see him, so she brought him with. Salazar was currently sitting on Duncan's lap, which was covered by the blanket.
"I thought you'd like a bit more company than just me," Lily replied, happy that Duncan's mentality seemed to be getting better. "If you would like, he could stay here with you," she offered.
Duncan shook his head. "No, no. He was a gift to you. Keep him. Besides, he seems pretty attached to you."
Lily nodded as she leaned back in her chair, resting against the soft leather of the back. "Still, I'd feel better if you had someone around to keep you company. Like maybe some kind of pet. An owl, a rabbit. Anything you want," she replied.
"You don't have to do that, Lily," Duncan told her.
"I want to," Lily retorted. She really wanted him to have a bit of company while she wasn't around, especially now that his hip had finally disappeared, along with his kidney. She didn't want him to feel lonely.
"Then you can choose what you get me," Duncan told her. "It doesn't matter what kind of animal."
"Then maybe a Pygmy Puff," Lily replied. "They're really small and cute. And, from what my uncle George says, they're great companions to have. Cuddly, cute."
Duncan smiled a little. His smile seemed able to get bigger each time she saw him now. "That sounds just fine." He then sighed. "So, why didn't Jacob come with you?"
"Oh, things are a bit hectic as school. The governors have come to observe the school, so he couldn't leave. He wanted me to tell you that he's sorry, and that he's going to try and come out as soon as he can," Lily told him. Inside she was cursing the governors with spite. Some of them were causing more trouble each day, and now Professor Brown couldn't even visit a sick child.
"Well, you tell him that it's ok. He's got a lot of responsibility, and it's best if he takes care of them before rushing over here," Duncan assured.
Lily nodded, and then finally took up the courage to ask the question she'd been wanting to ask. "So, Duncan, how do you feel?"
Duncan looked down at Salazar, who seemed to be asleep now. "I've had an irritating itch the last couple of days. It's not the normal tingling feeling, but my Healers are wondering if it's the sign of the area becoming infected."
"What area?" Lily inquired gently.
"It's over the lower ribs on my right side. They say it's not near my lung or heart, so that if it were to disappear eventually, it won't affect anything major," Duncan whispered. "It just means that another part of me will disappear into nothing."
Lily's heart pumped hollowly once at his words. Her mind and thoughts rushed back to what she always pondered at moments like this with Duncan. How long would he have left to live? Months? Another few years? How long would he suffer?
"I'm sorry, Lily," Duncan said softly.
Lily brought her mind and eyes back to Duncan. "Sorry for what?" she asked.
"I know that you're scared too. That you're sad. And I know that it's hard for you to hear me say things like that," Duncan apologized.
Lily sighed, smiling a little. "Duncan, that doesn't matter. I'm here for you, and if you need to say things, then say them. Don't worry about what might scare me. Because what scares you is much more important."
"I don't want to scare you," he whispered.
"And I want to know what's scaring and bothering you," Lily retorted.
Duncan looked back down at the tiny, sleeping, dragon that laid in his lap. His voice was another soft whisper. "I used to think that if I pretended that I would be ok, if I pretended that I was ok, that everything would get better. My Dad always used to tell me that with imagination, anything could happen. But that's a lie. Pretending that it's all ok won't help me. I'll die no matter what I do or think." Duncan pulled in a shaky breath during his pause. "And . . . it scares me."
Lily leaned forward to brush his bangs away from his eyes. "Duncan, would you like me to tell you a story?" she asked.
Duncan looked over at her and nodded, trying not to let his hair fall back into his face.
Lily sighed. "Well, when I was little my uncle Ron got hurt during an Auror mission, and we were all afraid that . . . well that he wouldn't make it through." Lily closed her eyes briefly. She remembered that day only in parts. She had been so little, and no one really told her what was going on. But James had told her what they were all afraid of. "Anyways," Lily continued, "I asked my dad what would happen to Uncle Ron if he did go."
"What did he say?" Duncan asked softly.
"He told me that he'd almost died once," Lily replied. "And that when he did, he saw an old friend that had died a year before. And he said that he was the same as he'd remembered. He looked well, and he seemed happy."
"You mean that your dad really died?" Duncan questioned.
Lily nodded. "Sort of. I guess you could say that he was supposed to, but . . . special reasons kept it from happening."
"So . . . you think that when I do die, that things will be ok?" Duncan whispered.
"I do. Because believing that makes it easier for me to listen when you say certain things," Lily told him with a small smile.
Duncan's eyes stared off into the air for a few quiet moments. Lily was silent, letting him gather his thoughts. Then a smile spread across his lips, and his eyes refocused and looked back at Lily. "Then maybe believing that everything will be ok will work better than just pretending that things will be ok."
