Chapter 22
Landry opened her eyes. She was standing in the middle of a vacant street. It was snowing. Her companions began to appear around her, each of them suddenly popping into view. She looked around nervously. It seemed calm and quiet, but Landry knew that they could very well be ambushed at any moment. Once everyone had arrived, Landry said "We have to find a secluded, safe place to set up camp. Of course we'll be using concealment charms, but ideally we don't want them to have to be the only thing between us and Death Eaters. I'd rather they not find our camping spot in the first place."
"I know a perfect spot," said Albus. "Follow me!"
The group trekked across the town very carefully, until they reached the graveyard. Albus had been here many times before, visiting the graves of his grandparents, as well as when he and Scorpius has been here, trapped in time on the night that Lily and James Potter had been murdered. They soon arrived at a very large garden in the middle of the graveyard. At least, Landry thought it had once been a garden. It looked more like a miniature forest, with tall trees and thick vegetation.
"There's a clearing in the middle of this garden that almost nobody knows about," Albus explained, leading them through the plants. "It started as a couple decorative bushes, but nobody ever tamed it, so it overgrew into this monstrosity of a garden you see today."
"Lucky for us," Genevieve pointed out.
They soon arrived at the clearing, and immediately Scorpius and Genevieve got to work on putting up their own personal force field, as well as concealment and silencing charms so that they wouldn't be seen or heard. Meanwhile, Landry removed the tent from her bag and set it up. From the outside, the tent looked like a normal, small, one person tent that a muggle would use to go camping. On the inside, it was quite spacious, with two bedrooms, as well as a living room with a pair of couches. After the charms were placed, everyone gathered inside of the tent. "So who gets the bedrooms?" asked Genevieve.
"The couples should get the bedrooms, I think," said Albus.
"No fair!" Genevieve retorted.
"It's perfectly fair," Albus replied. "It's really the most logical solution."
"So you're saying that you want to make the great Albus Dumbledore sleep on the couch?" asked Genevieve.
"Well, the great Albus Potter wants a bed!" said Albus.
"I agree with Albus," said Dumbledore. "Landry and Miles will get one bedroom, Scorpius and Albus get the other. Genevieve, you and I will be quite alright on the couches."
Genevieve sighed. "Okay, you're right. It does make the most sense for them to get the rooms," she said.
Landry and Miles went into their room and flopped down onto the bed. They were both completely exhausted, but neither of them felt sleepy. Landry looked over at her boyfriend and smiled. "Have I ever told you how adorable you are?" she asked him. Miles grinned.
"Have I ever told you how adorable you are?" he replied, pulling her closer to him.
"Your eyes are amazing," Landry said, looking at Miles' eyes. "For real. They look like a stormy ocean. All blue and green. I always envied them, ever since we were eleven. I wished there was a spell so that I could have them for myself. Now, in a way, I do."
Miles blushed deeply. "That was so sweet, Love," he said. "I love your eyes, too. They look dark, but when the sun hits them, they glow. Did you know that?"
"I didn't," said Landry, smiling. "I mean, I never really noticed. I thought you were going to say they reminded you of cinnamon, and that's why you like them," she chuckled.
Miles snorted. "I do love cinnamon, but not as much as I love you," he said, kissing her nose.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Landry. "Hey Miles, how did you figure out that you liked me? For me it was the veritaserum that we made in potions class."
Miles bit his lip. "In Madame Malkin's, when I saw you walk out in that dress. That was what made me realize, though I figured out after that that I had actually had feelings for you for a while before," he explained.
Smiling, Landry replied "It is a pretty spectacular dress."
Miles laughed. "That it is," he said.
The two had just begun to get involved in a heated kiss when Genevieve walked in.
"Hey guys, do you by any chance have any- AHHHHHH!"
Miles and Landry broke apart, laughing so hard they both fell to the floor.
"I'm scarred! Scarred, I tell you!" Genevieve cried.
"Gen, relax, we were literally just kissing," said Landry, still laughing.
"I don't care! All I wanted was some bloody chewing gum! Just some gum! Instead, I will be forever haunted by this image!"
"Gen, wasn't it you who always tried to help me with my crushes?" Landry asked.
"Well, yeah! I was being a good friend! But now you're together, my job is done. Super happy for you, but I don't wanna see all of that P.D.A!" Genevieve replied.
"P.D.A? Genevieve, we're in our own bedroom, in a tent, in a force field with concealment and silencing charms around us, in a secluded, secret garden. How is it P.D.A?" asked Miles.
Genevieve was not entertained. She rolled her eyes at them. "I'm going to go see if Albus or Scorpius have some gum," she said, walking away.
A few seconds later, Miles and Landry heard her shriek again from across the living room. "Not you guys, too! Honestly, get a room!"
"We did! We're in it!" Albus called.
Miles and Landry looked at each other and laughed. Landry decided that poor Genevieve really did deserve that gum, so she opened up her bag and stuck her arm into it, hunting around inside for some. Suddenly, it giggled. Landry gasped and yanked her arm out of it. "Did you hear that?" she asked Miles, but his wide eyed expression answered her question. Landry drew her wand out of her pocket and stuck it into the bag.
"Revelio," she said, pointing her wand into the bag. All of a sudden, something came flying out of the bag, landing, sprawled out, on the floor.
"Pippa?" Landry cried, staring in shock at her little sister. "How….why….." she began, but Landry truly had no words.
"Landry! You ruined my hiding spot! I was doing just fine until you tickled me!" Pippa whined.
"Everyone! Please get in here…now!" Landry called out.
The teenagers and Dumbledore stood around Pippa. "Oh my gosh!" cried Genevieve. "…..How?"
"Don't ask me! He's the one who said I should come!" Pippa said, pointing to Dumbledore.
The teenagers all turned to face him.
"No offense, Mr. Dumbledore, but why in the name of Merlin would you ever, ever let an eleven year old girl come on a dangerous mission to defeat the two most terrible dark wizards of all time?" Landry asked angrily.
Dumbledore's face did not react. Instead, he simply replied, "This eleven year old was the only one who knew how to capture the Death Eaters at Hogwarts. Not even I would've thought of such a solution, and I daresay none of you would have, either. There is something very special about young Pippa, whether you see it or not. She will be a great asset to our team. Plus, I wasn't about to turn her down when she showed up in the Room of Requirement with those big, puppy dog eyes!"
"But…she could get hurt!" Landry cried.
"So could any of you," Dumbledore said.
Landry tried to think of a comeback, but found that she could not. "Very well, then. That is settled. Now, you all should try to get some sleep. I shall take the first watch," said Dumbledore, turning on his heel and exiting the tent.