Lily rolled off of Scorpius and the couch altogether and landed with a thud on the living room floor.
Scorpius shot up and his face went pale. She grabbed him by the hand and together they ran towards the back door.
As she pushed Scorpius out the back door in front of her and turned to shut it, Lily saw out of the corner of her eye the front door open and her father's dark leather work shoes step into the room. She shut the door as quickly and as quietly as she could manage, hoping against all hope that he wouldn't see it move as he walked inside.
Once the door had clicked softly shut Lily slid down onto the grass outside and waited listening to the sounds of the two wizards' shoes on the floorboards. As they didn't immediately rush towards the back door, she assumed they had made it out just in time and let out a sigh of relief. Scorpius was crouched down beside her so that his tall form wouldn't be seen through the windows.
'I didn't think the Head of the Auror Department himself would be the first to attend the crime scene…' he whispered to Lily.
'Hagrid was one of my father's oldest and dearest friends' Lily reflected sadly. 'He will want to make sure that this is investigated properly…'
They could hear her father and the other man slowly making their way around the room. Lily was burning with curiosity to know who her father had brought along to examine the hut with him. She put a hand on Scorpius's arm to get his attention.
'Can you give me a lift up?' She whispered, indicating the window above them with a flick of her eyes.
Scorpius looked momentarily confused until Lily turned promptly into her canine version. Once she had, he dutifully lifted her up by the waist so that her whiskers only just brushed the window sill. It would have looked odd, had her father happened to look over and see her fox snout sticking up- but it would still be less odd than seeing Lily's actual face peaking in through the window.
Luckily for Lily, Harry and the other wizard had their backs to her. No sooner had her eyes located the pair standing towards the far end of the lounge room examining the spot behind the couch where Hagrid's body had been the night before, when the taller wizard who was wearing red robes turned around.
Upon catching sight of his face, Lily flailed her paws about- part in outrage, part to ensure that Scorpius knew it was time to put her down. He did so, carefully lowering her into his lap.
Lily quickly transformed back and scrambled awkwardly off of him.
'I can't believe it!' She hissed, trying but failing to keep her voice low.
Scorpius put a finger to his lips in warning. He looked swiftly around to make sure there wasn't anybody in the vicinity before grabbing Lily's hand and pulling her in a crouched run towards the edge of the forbidden forest.
Once they were safely situated deep within the foliage of the first row of trees, Lily allowed herself to let loose.
'He's brought Raleigh with him!' She seethed.
'What?' Scorpius gaped at her in disbelief.
Lily was furious. Words came spluttering out of her with a relentless indignation.
'I've told him- I've told him what I think-! But he doesn't listen-!'
Scorpius sighed.
'Maybe you should stop telling him'
'What?' Lily shot back in surprise.
'The day you contracted Noirmorter in the Astronomy tower-' Scorpius said urgently.
'-and the day you were almost buried alive in sand during your duel against Timothee… Or when you fell through the ice and it closed up over you in your duel against Ebele- What did those days have in common?'
Lily took a deep breath and thought back on it.
'Raleigh was there…?' She muttered questioningly.
'Each time you let him know that you were suspicious of him.' Scropius said gravely.
'The first time it was by trying to sneak a peak at what he was doing in the tower, the second it was by telling him to leave Albus alone if you won the tournament and the third time, well as I recall it, you insinuated to his face that he was responsible for your near-death the second time'
Lily opened her mouth to argue but a thought hit her and a gasp came out instead. Scorpius frowned in confusion as Lily put a trembling hand into her pocket and retrieved the scrunched up note from Hagrid.
'I told Hagrid about what I thought of Raleigh… just last week. Lysander and I visited him and told him almost everything…'
Lily's eyes were wide with horror. Could this have been her fault?
'Well we don't know that that has anything to do with it' Scorpius said gently, taking the note from her and opening it.
He paused as he read. Then he quickly handed it back to her. His face was hard and Lily could tell that he was trying to mask the fact that he was beginning to suspect that Hagrid's having known about their suspicions was precisely what lead to his untimely death.
'All I'm trying to say is that I don't want to see you almost die again' He said softly.
Lily felt a shiver run down her back and suddenly she was very conscious of how close he was standing to her. It seemed silly considering she had just spent the night laying over him with her face and arms pressing against his chest, but something about the way he was looking at her now made her think back to the brief and gentle kiss he had given her that day in the snow.
Lily pushed it from her mind and took another deep breath.
'I have to tell my father about this' she said firmly, holding the note up. 'It could be vital to figuring out what happened to Hagrid'
Scorpius nodded.
'Of course' He exhaled. But his eyes fell down towards the ground and Lily could tell that he still had reservations towards the idea.
'You ought to go ahead and get back-' Scorpius said suddenly. 'McGonagall said she would be coming to speak to you'
Lily was shaken out of her thoughts by this reminder. She turned to leave, wishing they could walk back to the castle together but knowing that Scorpius was unlikely to do something so conspicuous.
'Thanks for coming… I wasn't sure if-' Lily said hesitantly with her back to him. She wasn't sure exactly what she had intended to say- that she wasn't sure if he would come? Or that she wasn't sure if he was angry with her? Or perhaps even that she wasn't sure that they were still friends…
But in any case, Scorpius brushed it aside.
'Let's talk about this with the others soon… about what happened to Hagrid and about the blood bond… about everything'
Lily nodded, relieved that it seemed like things would return to normal with their gatherings in the Shrieking Shack. Then she transformed and bounded away as fast as her paws could take her in order to insure that she got back to her dormitory before the Headmistress discovered she wasn't there.
As soon as Lily arrived back at her dormitory she was greeted by a flustered looking Poppy. Her normally silky blond hair was messy and frazzled and her face tired from lack of sleep. It was too early for any of the other girls to be awake.
Poppy grabbed her arm and spoke to her in a hurried whisper so as not to wake anyone.
'What happened? Where have you been all night? Lysander and I saw the message but we didn't know what to-'
But Poppy stopped when she saw Lily's face crack and tears began to make their way down her cheeks again. Lily grabbed hold of the pocket watch that Poppy had been holding onto and whispered into it.
'We're meeting tonight after dinner in the shack. I'll explain everything then'
Her words formed inside the lid and Lily was relieved that Poppy seemed satisfied enough with that arrangement to let her crawl back into her bed undisturbed. Lily didn't know how many times she might be asked to recall how she had discovered Hagrid but she knew that each time it would be painful.
It was quite a while before the Headmistress came to her. Much longer than Lily had been expecting to wait.
When she finally did arrive, all the other girls were up and getting ready for the day. They were all very surprised to see the Headmistress step inside the room and were even more alarmed when she asked them all to kindly leave so that she could speak with Lily alone.
Lily recounted everything to her. Everything bar her transforming into a fox to get into the hut. Instead she simply said she had managed to squeeze in through the hole in the roof by using an enlarging charm she had learnt in Flitwick's class.
The Headmistress took everything down she was saying onto a piece of parchment and informed Lily she would be passing on her account of the events in her statement to the Auror's office.
Lily looked back at McGonagall in shock.
'Isn't my father going to come see me himself?' She blurted out.
'I mean- I thought that he would come to investigate himself because it was Hagrid-' Lily hurriedly added.
The Headmistress looked Lily over through her spectacles with a hint of suspicion in her eyes.
'Your father was here Miss Potter… but he had to leave suddenly due to urgent Ministry matters…'
Lily's eyes fell. She knew he was busy. But what could be so urgent that he wouldn't even bother to come see if she was alright after having witnessed something so terrible?
McGonagall seemed to read Lily's mind.
'I am unable to tell you the details yet Miss Potter, but there has been a really very serious incident at the Ministry this morning'
Lily's brows furrowed and her eyes shot back up to look questioningly into the Headmistresses eyes.
'I owled your mother to let her know what transpired last night but it seems that she too has been caught up in this incident and is unable to leave her office at the moment. I'm sure that she will come and see you as soon as she is able however'
'But mum doesn't even work for the Ministry Professor-' Lily protested in confusion. Then her eyes widened in horror at the thought that maybe she had been hurt.
Once again Professor McGonagall seemed to read her mind.
'Rest assured that she is unharmed Miss Potter. Once things have calmed down a little I'm sure she will explain everything to you herself-'
Lily let out a sigh. She honestly didn't know what could be worse or more urgent than the death of dear Hagrid. A lone tear streaked down her cheek and she quickly rubbed it away but not before the Headmistress had seen it and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
'There is no need for you to attend classes today Miss Potter. And I will instruct the house elves to bring your meals here if you would rather not be in the great hall for today'
Lily nodded. She would rather not be around anyone else until she was able to stop herself from tearing up at any given moment. And besides, there was something she wanted to do that she felt was much more urgent than her schooling.
'I plan to let everyone know the terrible news at breakfast this morning' Professor McGonagall added softly standing up to leave. She was half way across the room when Lily called her back.
'Wait!' Lily yelled more forcefully than she had intended. She thrust a hand into her pocket and pulled out the crumpled note from Hagrid.
'Please add this to the report you send to the Ministry' Lily begged.
The Headmistress nodded taking the parchment carefully from her.
'And about Mr Malfoy-' Professor McGonagall said suddenly, as though it were an afterthought. 'He told me you had owled him for help because you thought he might be able to cure Hagrid as he did with you. Is that what I should put down on the statement?'
Lily nodded quickly.
Then she was gone and Lily was left alone with her thoughts and the terrible creeping feeling that something even more horrible was about to surface.
Lily waited until she was sure that everyone had left the Great Hall and was in class before leaving her dormitory and the Gryffindor tower altogether. Then she went in search for Alasdair.
Finding him might have been impossible- if it weren't for her possession of the Marauder's Map. Lily's wandless magic had improved to the degree that she could now activate and deactivate it with ease by herself. But she was still having trouble locating the footsteps that were labeled with Alasdair's name amongst the huge expanse of the castle and the hundreds of inhabitants.
When she finally did spot him Lily let out a groan. He was wandering along one of the secret tunnels that led out of the castle towards Hogsmead. Lily wasn't particularly worried about the fact that she would have to break some school rules by sneaking off the grounds on a school day. The main problem was that once he was there in the village, she would have to find him the old fashioned way as the map didn't show that far.
Nevertheless she ran down the stairs until she was at the statue of the One-Eyed Witch. The tunnel that lead from the hump of the statue towards Honeydukes was a long one, and Lily found that it was much faster to run along it in her fox form. She also felt it would be slightly less conspicuous to remain a fox than to walk through Honeydukes in her Gryffindor uniform on a day when students were not allowed to be there, although she did give a little old witch a bit of a fright as she darted between her legs and out the door.
Lily had no idea where he might be. She had never heard of him having gone to Hogsmead before. But then she remembered something her father had once told her about ghosts only being able to move about in places that their living selves had once trod. If that were the case, that might narrow it down. For example, surely the Hog's Head, which was generally off limits to students, was an unlikely choice.
Then it hit Lily- of all the places Alasdair had frequented during his life, the Three Broomsticks Inn must be the most common. After all, his family run the place.
Lily waited by the door for a customer to open it for her. Going inside in her human form was out of the question- Ailbeart would recognize her in an instant and was sure to send her straight back to the castle.
It was a little early to be going for a drink, so she had to wait for some time, but eventually a small wizard with a pet pygmy puff on his shoulders who Lily recognized as a regular strolled inside and she was able to dart in after him.
Lily did a few laps around the tables, skunking around in an attempt not to be seen by the few guests. If only ghosts had a smell, she might have been able to sniff Alasdair out with her increased canine senses.
But he was nowhere to be found- at least, not on the first floor. The stairs next to the counter led up to the few guest rooms of the inn on the second floor. Lily decided to try her luck there.
But alas, the only inhabitant of the second floor was the old cleaning witch who was there making the beds with her wand. Lily was ready to give up until she spied the flight of old creaky stairs that led up to the third and last floor. She had never been up there, though she had seen Ailbeart descending them before once or twice at the beginning of her shift. They were a much thinner, more worn set of stairs tucked away at the end of the corridor of the second floor and they gave off a distinct air that they were not be used by patrons of the Inn without the necessity of having a sign up to say so.
Lily scurried up them before the cleaning witch could spot her bushy tail whipping along the corridor.
She found herself in a large attic-like apartment that took up the entire third floor. There was a small kitchen, a bathroom and a single bed pushed up against the far wall. This must be where Ailbeart slept, Lily realized with a hint of guilt for having trespassed in his living quarters.
Most notable of all however, was a row of portraits in gold-plated frames which lined the wall closest to the stairs. Lily turned around to look at them all and was startled to see Alasdair's transparent form standing staring up at one of them. He hadn't seemed to notice her- she was much smaller and quieter as a fox after all.
But Lily wouldn't be able to speak to him as she was and so swiftly transformed back.
'Alasda-!'
No sooner had the words left her lips when she froze in surprise at the sight before her. Alasdair had turned around and was looking at her in alarm. And so too was the painting right behind him which was his double.
Lily's mouth hung open in surprise. She'd never really considered the possibility that Alasdair might also be immortalized in oils. She'd never seen a portrait of any of the other ghosts in Hogwarts.
But before she could gather her wits enough to address him properly, Alasdair and floated right through the painted version of himself and disappeared.
'Alasdair!' Lily yelled out desperately, trying to get him to come back.
'Yes?' The portrait of Alasdair asked in an disinterested tone.
'No, I mean- the other-' Lily spluttered.
'The soft, boring Alasdair?' The portrait retorted with disdain. 'I don't think he wants to see you. He's got it into his head that he did you wrong and is feeling guilty apparently… why he's letting it get to him so badly is beyond me'
Lily clenched her jaw. This painted version of Alasdair was his spitting image and yet his tone of voice and the look of scorn he wore were both completely foreign to her.
'He comes here sometimes to remind himself of what he was' The portrait chuckled humorlessly. 'Likes to think he's changed a lot since he died- likes to think he's better than me now'
'But aren't you the same person…?' Lily was confused.
The painted Alasdair let out a spiteful chuckle again.
'I am Alasdair as he was remembered by those around him when he was alive. I'm the true vision of what he was when he was in his prime. When he stuck to his values and wasn't ashamed of having snuffed out some pitiful little mudbloods' the portrait threw up it's hands and twirled them with pride.
'That Alasdair-' He continued with a bitter flick of his head,
'-is the remnants of his guilt-tortured soul- as I said, the soft, boring one-!'
Lily frowned at him. Despite all the lies and deceit, she still didn't like to hear Alasdair being spoken against. Especially not by this very disagreeable version of him.
'The mudblood-loving blood traitor!' the portrait spat.
'He should feel guilty about what he did' Lily argued.
'You should feel guilty about it!' She added. 'He- and you- helped Gaunt to plot the murder of muggle borns. You opened the chamber of secrets-'
'We were doing what was best for Hogwarts- we were doing it for the greater good' Alasdair's portrait hissed back at her through grit teeth.
Lily had never seen Alasdair look so angry and was taken aback.
'How can everyone remember Alasdair like this? He's not like you at all!' Lily yelled.
'Oh he was!' The portrait grinned unsettlingly. 'And of course, nobody thought he'd ever change, ever go soft. That's why Corvinus entrusted him with the locket. That's why he was the chosen one-'
Lily shook her head in disbelief. She did not like this depiction of Alasdair at all.
'And nobody knew he'd stayed on as a ghost or else they wouldn't have bothered to paint me' the portrait laughed.
'But I'm glad they did, because that Alasdair- the one who is hell bent on stopping the Anguis- is not a true representation of what we were when we were alive.'
Lily opened her mouth to argue when suddenly she became aware of the sound of footsteps hurrying up the stairs. She had gotten so riled up that she had forgotten to keep her voice down. When Ailbeart reached the top of the stairs and tumbled into the room his eyes widened in shock to see her there.
Lily could only gape back. She tried to force an apology out through her tight throat but all she managed to was a tiny gasp before Ailbeart took his wand out of his robes and walked towards her with it raised.
He pointed it at the painting of Alasdair which was laughing a horrible bitter gargling laugh at her predicament.
'Silencio!'
The portrait was immediately silenced, but Lily could still see the unsettling sight of his mouth open wide and his shoulders shaking in laughter.
'What are you doing here Lily?' Ailbeart asked gravely. To Lily's surprise he didn't seem angry but rather worried.
'I…' Lily had no idea how to explain her actions without explaining everything, especially considering Ailbeart didn't even know his ancestor was still floating around in this world as a ghost.
'If you're looking for a lead on Hagrid's death, I'm afraid you won't get anything out of him. He's been stuck in this room for centuries and everything I've tried to ask him about his past has been met with disdain' Ailbeart sighed.
So he had already heard about Hagrid, Lily thought sadly. News certainly travelled fast. Lily frowned and looked back at the portrait for a moment. But how much did Ailbeart know about Alasdair?
'You've heard that he was an Anguis I take it?' Ailbeart questioned her.
Lily nodded hesitantly. She wasn't sure how she would explain that she had discovered that but luckily he didn't ask.
'Alasdair Quintin…' Ailbeart muttered to himself. 'He was the black sheep of the family… my grandfather only ever had bad things to say about him…'
'What did he say?' Lily's curiosity was, as always stronger than her sense of caution.
'That he got caught up in the wrong crowd. That he was always angry. That he was desperate to become part of something larger than just the running of this Inn…'
'And that he ended up dying for it' Ailbeart took a deep breath, before turning to look back at Lily again with a stern expression.
'Now, I think you ought to be getting back to school, don't you?'
Lily was glad to have been spared an interrogation from her employer about why she had snuck into his room to speak to his dead ancestors portrait- she supposed it must have been out of sympathy for her in light of Hagrid's passing. But having run into Ailbeart also meant that she was unable to continue her search for the real Alasdair.
Lily spent the rest of the evening in her dormitory getting slowly more restless. The kitchen house elves had brought a plate of dinner to her bedside table but Lily found she could no longer sit by herself in silence with her own thoughts. Too much had happened, and she was desperate to know why her parents hadn't even come to see if she was alright yet.
When Lily reached the Great Hall, she walked in to find that not only was the hall full of her peers, but in addition every single owl from the owlery seemed to have joined them. Hundreds of owls flew in a flurry above the tables dropping copies of rolled up newspapers down to the students below. Lily felt her stomach tighten immediately- the newspapers were usually only delivered in the morning.
As Lily walked up between the tables towards where her brothers were sitting, the room broke into a flurry of hurried conversation.
Lily caught sight of one of the papers. It was a thinner version of the daily prophet with the words 'breaking news!' plastered across the top in large red font.
She sped up, eager to see what James was now reading with a pale face and furrowed brows. Lily slid onto the seat next to Albus just as James banged his fist loudly on the table. The entire Gryffindor table fell into a hush.
'What in Merlin's name is wrong with y-' Albus began, but before he could finish James had thrown the paper down in front of him.
Albus and Lily both bent over it to read;
Minister for Magic found dead in his Office; Head Auror unable to explain how the Ministry's defenses were compromised
A/N: hello everyone! i know there was a lot packed in this chapter but i hope it wasn't too hard to follow. I guess there might be some people self-isolating right now because of the pandemic and so i wanted to get out the chapters as soon as i could so you'd have something to read. Unfortunately however my job is the kind that gets MORE busy during this so there's no chance of me being able to work from home or get work off or anything. Which means it might take a while to get the next chapter out but rest assured I'm working on it. until then, please let me know what you think of this chapter! xx
