Chapter four – Mercury
Lilly was busy putting all her belongings into her trunk when Bill nibbled her earlobe. Slightly startled, Lilly turned; Bill slipped his arms around her and kissed her passionately. She was caught by surprise and all she could do was melt into him. Fonze, Lilly's new kitten mewed in question. Bill's hands hungrily explored her body, and Lilly breathed heavily as he kissed her neck and shoulder. And that was how they were found when Ginny walked in, yelped and walked back out. They both sat up, red with embarrassment and Lilly continued putting the last few things in the trunk. She could feel her ears burning as Bill watched her intently. She turned to him and smiled
"Bill, I think we should tone it down a bit, before we give some poor soul a heart-attack." She said
"Heh, yeah, that might be a good idea." Said Bill blushing, he leant closer "But you're so beautiful," he whispered, smiling. It was now Lilly's turn to blush and she studied the floorboards for a little, whilst Bill looked at her. "I haven't heard you play the guitar yet you know." He said "Well I've never played electric guitar before, and my acoustic is back at the squat." She sighed "Well have a go, maybe tomorrow we'll visit the squat and you can get your stuff and say goodbye to everyone." "Really?" she said, brightening up. "Well, we'll see what the Mother and the others say." He said stroking her face, there was a long pause where they just stared into each others eyes, "Well? Are you going to play the guitar for me or not?" Bill grinned. And Lilly did, she actually found it really easy to play the electric guitar and she was amazed at the sound that came out of the amp. She played all her favourite songs, she didn't know many but she'd soon learn more. When she finished she looked at Bill and he was grinning widely. "That was really good, I wish I could play the guitar." He said longingly "Well...I could teach you bass if you like." She offered sitting down on the bed, next to him. "Really? That would be so cool...but I wouldn't be able to practise while you're at school...and I wouldn't be able to find the time." He sighed "Well bass is quite easy, and you could probably find an old second or third hand bass for around 40 quid. And you can learn on mine until I leave for school, it may only be a week, but if we do an hour every day then you'll soon pick it up." She smiled encouragingly "Hmm...I might give it a go actually if a bass will only cost 17 galleons..." he sat in thought for a while. Lilly quietly knelt by the trunk and was soon putting the bass guitar into Bill's hands. "You hold it like this with your right arm crooked and resting on this edge. Then you hold it by the neck, try not to touch the back with your fingers, and you should be able to hold the strings down without any humming." She plugged the bass into the amp and turned the volume down a little. Then put her plectrum into his fingers. "You literally 'pluck' at the strings, don't twang it too hard and keep your wrist facing up slightly so that the wide end of the plectrum is pointing in the direction you want to pluck or strum. Now just hold down that string with your first finger. Hold it down hard or it'll hum, there's no need to be careful, the strings on a bass are near impossible to snap." She waited a few minutes while Bill perfected his plucking action. "You're good at this, you'll probably be able to play a few songs by the first, but you have to be patient." The lesson continued right up until dinner and Bill came out having learnt exactly how to pluck, hold his fingers down and which fret and which string combined to make each note. They had failed to notice that the bond had broken when they had broken apart after their passionate kiss. They entered the kitchen accompanied by a beam from Molly. "See Bill, I told you it would break!" she said "Oh! I didn't even notice. Did you?" he exclaimed, turning to Lilly who was equally astounded "No! No, I didn't...how odd." Said Lilly staring at her left hand, she smiled, but she felt a little let down, she liked the feeling of his warm, soft skin against her own. The week passed too quickly for Lilly, she new that she would have to leave Bill as just a friend at the end, and she wasn't ready. She distracted herself with her study, she studied almost constantly for the entire week, as hard as she could. By the time it came to the last full day she was up to the standard of a third year, which was astounding progress. The week passed with little interest, however, three days before they were to leave for Hogwarts, Lilly over heard a conversation. She was merely walking down the hall back to the bedroom at night when she suddenly felt faint. She sank to her knees and closed her eyes. She heard a whispering noise, a bit like wind, then voices, at first they made no sense then words began to form, "Lilly's too young to handle that kind of responsibility, I refuse to let you tell her, you said as long as she didn't know then she'd probably be in no danger," It was Molly's voice, but she was down in the kitchen, Lilly concentrated for an answer to the statement. "Yes, yes, I did, but she'll be in worse danger if she does end up getting attached to him, then it'll be even more difficult for us to help her. Anyway Dumbledore said she'd find out anyhow." It was Lupin's voice, he sounded edgy and tired. "I don't see how she could, if she comes to us and asks 'who is Mercury?' then we'll tell her..." said Molly in a final way. "But Molly..." At this point Lilly opened her eyes to find she had slumped over, sprawled on the floor. She decided to take the chance and go down to the kitchen at once. She tip-toed down the stairs and to the kitchen door. She knocked on it, then waited. "Lilly! Wh... what is it?" asked an alarmed Molly. "Who is Mercury?" she asked, Molly stared, blinked and stood with her mouth open for a while before speaking. "Oh...err...I think you should come in dear." Lilly followed Molly down the dark stairs to the large, dank kitchen. Lupin, Bill, Sirius, A tall and strict looking woman, Mr Weasley, Tonks, Mundungus and a couple of other people were all sitting in chairs around the large table. Lilly walked and sat next to Bill, "Uh, could you tell me who Mercury is...please," she said "Of course," said Lupin, clearing his throat. "How long have you known about Mercury?" "About a minute or so," she said, "I collapsed in the hall, and heard part of a conversation, inside my head." Lupin raised his eyebrows "See Molly?" Molly said nothing, but busied herself making tea "Well, mercury is a young boy, about a year older than you, he also suffered form bottled magic, he released when he was about 10, just a year before starting at Hogwarts, however he was part of a very dark wizard family, he is the cousin of Draco Malfoy in fact. They trained him hard in combat, dark magic and other skills using the benefit of the sudden flow of power and magic, and they have been ever since. They also used a number of illegal spells and potions on him to build his strength, stamina, agility, stealth and so on. He is highly skilled and very dangerous; unfortunately he was undetected until we received a tip off from a rogue family member just 5 days ago. Obviously the family is in league with Voldemort, who requested his skills to catch you, apparently Mercury didn't want to, he thought it was cruel, considering his family and the way he was bought up this was an astonishing development. However, Voldemort can still use Mercury to get to you. We can't do anything about it other than warn you. Minerva here is the head of Grifindor, she, Dumbledore, Hagrid the gamekeeper and Professor Snape will all keep an eye on you. It is important that you make it seem like you think he is just a regular guy, we want you to get close to him and find out about Voldemort. You'll find that he might just let something slip. I must warn you, he is extremely strong, you will receive extra lessons from Professor McGonnogal and Professor Snape in combat and defence as well as help to catch up with the other students in your year." "!" She sat, her eyebrows raised and her mouth hanging open. "Lilly? Are you okay?" said Molly, placing a mug of hot tea down in front of her. "Err...yeah, just letting it sink in..." she sipped at the hot sweet liquid. "Okay, so that's it? Right..." "You don't have to do it, if you don't want to, but it's the only way." "No, sure, of course, yeah I'll do it." She finished her tea then wondered wordlessly up to bed, she didn't sleep. She sat up, Fonze curled in her lap; mulling it all over, assessing the risks. After about an hour, Bill popped his head round the door, Lilly tip toed into the hall. "Are you okay about all this Lilly?" he asked looking into her eyes concernedly. "Yeah, I think so, it's a little scary, but I have to help, and it's best that I know." She said shrugging. Bill pulled her into a huge hug, one hand in her hair, the other pulling her close. "I just don't want you to get hurt," he said kissing the top of her head.
Lilly was busy putting all her belongings into her trunk when Bill nibbled her earlobe. Slightly startled, Lilly turned; Bill slipped his arms around her and kissed her passionately. She was caught by surprise and all she could do was melt into him. Fonze, Lilly's new kitten mewed in question. Bill's hands hungrily explored her body, and Lilly breathed heavily as he kissed her neck and shoulder. And that was how they were found when Ginny walked in, yelped and walked back out. They both sat up, red with embarrassment and Lilly continued putting the last few things in the trunk. She could feel her ears burning as Bill watched her intently. She turned to him and smiled
"Bill, I think we should tone it down a bit, before we give some poor soul a heart-attack." She said
"Heh, yeah, that might be a good idea." Said Bill blushing, he leant closer "But you're so beautiful," he whispered, smiling. It was now Lilly's turn to blush and she studied the floorboards for a little, whilst Bill looked at her. "I haven't heard you play the guitar yet you know." He said "Well I've never played electric guitar before, and my acoustic is back at the squat." She sighed "Well have a go, maybe tomorrow we'll visit the squat and you can get your stuff and say goodbye to everyone." "Really?" she said, brightening up. "Well, we'll see what the Mother and the others say." He said stroking her face, there was a long pause where they just stared into each others eyes, "Well? Are you going to play the guitar for me or not?" Bill grinned. And Lilly did, she actually found it really easy to play the electric guitar and she was amazed at the sound that came out of the amp. She played all her favourite songs, she didn't know many but she'd soon learn more. When she finished she looked at Bill and he was grinning widely. "That was really good, I wish I could play the guitar." He said longingly "Well...I could teach you bass if you like." She offered sitting down on the bed, next to him. "Really? That would be so cool...but I wouldn't be able to practise while you're at school...and I wouldn't be able to find the time." He sighed "Well bass is quite easy, and you could probably find an old second or third hand bass for around 40 quid. And you can learn on mine until I leave for school, it may only be a week, but if we do an hour every day then you'll soon pick it up." She smiled encouragingly "Hmm...I might give it a go actually if a bass will only cost 17 galleons..." he sat in thought for a while. Lilly quietly knelt by the trunk and was soon putting the bass guitar into Bill's hands. "You hold it like this with your right arm crooked and resting on this edge. Then you hold it by the neck, try not to touch the back with your fingers, and you should be able to hold the strings down without any humming." She plugged the bass into the amp and turned the volume down a little. Then put her plectrum into his fingers. "You literally 'pluck' at the strings, don't twang it too hard and keep your wrist facing up slightly so that the wide end of the plectrum is pointing in the direction you want to pluck or strum. Now just hold down that string with your first finger. Hold it down hard or it'll hum, there's no need to be careful, the strings on a bass are near impossible to snap." She waited a few minutes while Bill perfected his plucking action. "You're good at this, you'll probably be able to play a few songs by the first, but you have to be patient." The lesson continued right up until dinner and Bill came out having learnt exactly how to pluck, hold his fingers down and which fret and which string combined to make each note. They had failed to notice that the bond had broken when they had broken apart after their passionate kiss. They entered the kitchen accompanied by a beam from Molly. "See Bill, I told you it would break!" she said "Oh! I didn't even notice. Did you?" he exclaimed, turning to Lilly who was equally astounded "No! No, I didn't...how odd." Said Lilly staring at her left hand, she smiled, but she felt a little let down, she liked the feeling of his warm, soft skin against her own. The week passed too quickly for Lilly, she new that she would have to leave Bill as just a friend at the end, and she wasn't ready. She distracted herself with her study, she studied almost constantly for the entire week, as hard as she could. By the time it came to the last full day she was up to the standard of a third year, which was astounding progress. The week passed with little interest, however, three days before they were to leave for Hogwarts, Lilly over heard a conversation. She was merely walking down the hall back to the bedroom at night when she suddenly felt faint. She sank to her knees and closed her eyes. She heard a whispering noise, a bit like wind, then voices, at first they made no sense then words began to form, "Lilly's too young to handle that kind of responsibility, I refuse to let you tell her, you said as long as she didn't know then she'd probably be in no danger," It was Molly's voice, but she was down in the kitchen, Lilly concentrated for an answer to the statement. "Yes, yes, I did, but she'll be in worse danger if she does end up getting attached to him, then it'll be even more difficult for us to help her. Anyway Dumbledore said she'd find out anyhow." It was Lupin's voice, he sounded edgy and tired. "I don't see how she could, if she comes to us and asks 'who is Mercury?' then we'll tell her..." said Molly in a final way. "But Molly..." At this point Lilly opened her eyes to find she had slumped over, sprawled on the floor. She decided to take the chance and go down to the kitchen at once. She tip-toed down the stairs and to the kitchen door. She knocked on it, then waited. "Lilly! Wh... what is it?" asked an alarmed Molly. "Who is Mercury?" she asked, Molly stared, blinked and stood with her mouth open for a while before speaking. "Oh...err...I think you should come in dear." Lilly followed Molly down the dark stairs to the large, dank kitchen. Lupin, Bill, Sirius, A tall and strict looking woman, Mr Weasley, Tonks, Mundungus and a couple of other people were all sitting in chairs around the large table. Lilly walked and sat next to Bill, "Uh, could you tell me who Mercury is...please," she said "Of course," said Lupin, clearing his throat. "How long have you known about Mercury?" "About a minute or so," she said, "I collapsed in the hall, and heard part of a conversation, inside my head." Lupin raised his eyebrows "See Molly?" Molly said nothing, but busied herself making tea "Well, mercury is a young boy, about a year older than you, he also suffered form bottled magic, he released when he was about 10, just a year before starting at Hogwarts, however he was part of a very dark wizard family, he is the cousin of Draco Malfoy in fact. They trained him hard in combat, dark magic and other skills using the benefit of the sudden flow of power and magic, and they have been ever since. They also used a number of illegal spells and potions on him to build his strength, stamina, agility, stealth and so on. He is highly skilled and very dangerous; unfortunately he was undetected until we received a tip off from a rogue family member just 5 days ago. Obviously the family is in league with Voldemort, who requested his skills to catch you, apparently Mercury didn't want to, he thought it was cruel, considering his family and the way he was bought up this was an astonishing development. However, Voldemort can still use Mercury to get to you. We can't do anything about it other than warn you. Minerva here is the head of Grifindor, she, Dumbledore, Hagrid the gamekeeper and Professor Snape will all keep an eye on you. It is important that you make it seem like you think he is just a regular guy, we want you to get close to him and find out about Voldemort. You'll find that he might just let something slip. I must warn you, he is extremely strong, you will receive extra lessons from Professor McGonnogal and Professor Snape in combat and defence as well as help to catch up with the other students in your year." "!" She sat, her eyebrows raised and her mouth hanging open. "Lilly? Are you okay?" said Molly, placing a mug of hot tea down in front of her. "Err...yeah, just letting it sink in..." she sipped at the hot sweet liquid. "Okay, so that's it? Right..." "You don't have to do it, if you don't want to, but it's the only way." "No, sure, of course, yeah I'll do it." She finished her tea then wondered wordlessly up to bed, she didn't sleep. She sat up, Fonze curled in her lap; mulling it all over, assessing the risks. After about an hour, Bill popped his head round the door, Lilly tip toed into the hall. "Are you okay about all this Lilly?" he asked looking into her eyes concernedly. "Yeah, I think so, it's a little scary, but I have to help, and it's best that I know." She said shrugging. Bill pulled her into a huge hug, one hand in her hair, the other pulling her close. "I just don't want you to get hurt," he said kissing the top of her head.