A/N:
Hogwarts Auction
Day 25, Auction 3: Lily Luna Potter
Word count: 331
There were footsteps coming from downstairs. Lily was sure of it. She perked up, straining to hear more. The rest of the house, all asleep, weren't likely to hear it, but in the otherwise silent house, Lily picked up on it easily. She put her magazine on the nightstand and tiptoed down into the hall.
The noise got louder as she went down the stairs. She knew it was Albus before she even reached the living room. James had some party with his friends the next day that he was determined to be well-rested for, but Lily hadn't seen him since he'd locked himself in his room after dinner.
Lily glided into the living room. Albus stumbled backward, his arms flailing in surprise. His cursing was loud enough that Lily glanced nervously behind her, but no sounds of footsteps came from upstairs.
"Bloody hell, Lily!" Albus exclaimed. "You can't sneak up on people like that. You'll give them a heart attack!"
Lily snorted. "I wasn't the one sneaking. Where have you been?"
Albus' expression morphed from anger to frightened in a split second. "I was...studying."
"Studying?" Lily repeated slowly. "Outside in the dark?"
Even in the night, Albus' cheeks were darker than usual. "Yes."
Lily shrugged. If Albus wasn't going to explain himself, then she wasn't going to push. She had a pretty good guess where he'd been anyway, and she didn't care all that much. She was pretty sure that Albus had already snuck out to the exact same place multiple times that summer.
"Whatever." She turned back around and headed towards the stairs. "I'm going to bed."
Albus stammered behind her. It wasn't until she was a third of the way up the stairs that he got something out. "Lily, wait."
She turned around.
"You won't tell anyone, will you?" He whispered it so quietly that she could barely hear him.
"Why would I do that?" she asked, turning around and continuing up the stairs before he responded.