Lily splashed water on her face, trying to rub the puffiness out of her eyes. The shower didn't help much with it, although she took a very long one. She had a towel wrapped around her hair. She didn't feel like using magic to dry it. She sniffed loudly again, then cleared her throat.
She could hear loud chatter coming from downstairs when she left the bathroom. It sounded like the boys were back. Lily hesitated on the top of the stairs, wondering if it was worth coming down. If she wanted, Mrs. Weasley would cover for her, and she could hide in her room for the night.
Fred and George were laughing loudly about something. Percy was raising his voice. She listened for Ron, but she couldn't hear him. He was the one she wanted to see the most. She just didn't know if she could face them all at once.
Every word that carried towards her, every little sign of joy, felt like it couldn't be a part of her. She knew it was stupid, but she just wasn't ready yet, and she wasn't sure if she ever would be.
But she wanted to be.
Lily took a deep breath. She could handle this. If she needed a little help, then she knew just the thing. This was her home, and she was going to act like it. She went back in the bathroom, pointed her wand at her reflection, and then cast a Cheering Charm.
"Felicces."
It was like a haze formed on the surface of her brain, a warm, fuzzy blanket enveloping it and wiping out the cold. Unbidden, a smile came to her face, her eyes lighting up with the essence of life. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this way, but she never wanted it to end.
Feeling pleased, and with a quiet giggle, she snuck down the stairs, trying to listen in as best she could.
"I don't know why you find it so funny," Percy said.
"Probably because you're a-
"Fred Weasley!"
"When are Bill and Charlie getting here?" Ginny asked.
"Tomorrow, dear," Mrs. Weasley said. "You and Lily will have to share a room."
"But-"
"Where are they sleeping, then?" Ron asked. Lily stifled the stupid smile coming across her face. She needed to control it. It wouldn't do her any good if people thought things were wrong in the other direction.
"Charlie will be up with you," Mr. Weasley said. "Bill will be down in Ginny's."
Lily took that as her chance and slid into the sitting room as if she perfectly well belonged there.
"He can have mine," she said, "I'll just go down to Ginny's. It was his in the-"
"When'd you get here?" the twins asked together. Lily was surprised to see that Ron had her cat planted firmly in his lap, but she was very pleased to see the smile he gave her.
"A couple of hours ago," Lily said. "Missed the train. Had too much of a lie in." She ignored the look Mr. Weasley was giving her.
"Blimey, if we'd known, we would have waited for you," Fred said.
"Ah, well, we'll just have to go again tomorrow," George said.
"We're going to Diagon tomorrow," Mrs. Weasley said. "That's where we're meeting Bill and Charlie."
"Even better," the twins said.
Lily sat down next to Ginny on the couch. Her cat jumped down from Ron's lap and came over to hers. She pulled him close to her, enjoying the feeling of his warmth. She gave Ron a happy smile, lips spreading just a bit too wide.
Lily sat on that couch, not saying much, but enjoying the atmosphere around her. It was really quite warm in here, with so many people chatting and moving, with the fireplace roaring, and she found herself getting sleepy, but she didn't want to leave. At some point, Mrs. Weasley brought out cocoas for everybody, as well as freshly made biscuits, and she somehow became more comfortable. She briefly moved Weasley off her lap so she could put a quilt over herself, and the cat replaced himself soon after.
"There's no way the Harpies don't take the league, right, Hazel?" Ginny asked suddenly. Lily blinked at her, surprised to be asked any question. She was more than happy to just sit silently, listening.
"It's Lily," Lily said with a smile. "I haven't- err- been keeping up. I've been busy."
Ginny snorted. "Some fan you are."
"That's not fair," Lily said, her face flushing. "I really have been busy, honest. Last I listened to was against the Tornados when they-"
"Blimey, Hazel, that was October," Fred said.
"It's Lily," Lily insisted happily.
"Maybe we should give that robe of yours to Ginny," George said. "Can't pull her away from the radio, can we?"
"Wouldn't even let us listen to the Catapults game on Saturday," Fred said. He shook his head in disappointment.
"She'll have to pry it from my cold, dead body," Lily said. "If she's lucky, I'll leave it to her in my will."
Lily lagged behind the rest of the family as they walked through Diagon Alley, looking for an opportunity to sneak away. Her blasted humming kept giving her away, but it was the most consistent side effect she felt from Cheering Charms.
"I'm not going to Knockturn Alley, I promise," Lily said after the fifth time, Mrs. Weasley pulling her back to the group by the elbow. "I'm just trying to get a bit of shopping done, that's all."
"You are not going off by yourself, young lady," Mrs. Weasley said. "Not with Sirius Black still out there."
Lily thought about saying she didn't care if she was found, but she decided that was completely the wrong thing to speak out loud, even if it was true. She chewed the inside of her mouth as she trailed behind them again, listening to their happy memories, their discussions about the two brothers who had yet to show up. Mrs. Weasley shot her another look, to check that she was following. She waved at her cheerfully, plastering a smile on her face. That caught the attention of Ron, who fell into step beside her.
"Want to go flying later?" he asked. "We were going to go with Bill and Charlie, once we get home."
Lily scratched at her nose to hide her nerves. She should have realized this would come at some point.
"I don't have a broom," she said, deciding to just get it over with quickly.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked. "You just flew on it a few weeks ago."
"It broke," Lily said. "And I err- left it on the field. It was just a bunch of twigs, at that point."
"How the hell did you break a broom, Lily?" Ron asked in horror.
Lily thought about it, considering some sort of lie. She decided she'd had enough of that. She could trust Ron, at least with this.
"I'll tell you later," she said, patting her bum leg with her free hand. The other still had the cane in it. "I promise. I just don't want everybody else to hear."
"Got it," Ron said. "Reckon you'll need a new one, then. Going to buy another Nimbus? 2002 isn't out yet, but you might be able to reserve one."
Lily hesitated again but went for it. "I don't know if I want to play Quidditch anymore."
"You can't just quit because of an injury," Ron said in an offended tone. "You can still fly, you just-"
"It's not that," Lily said. "I can't stand the team or the practices. Montague's no Wood. Course, he might not even be on the team anymore, not after- never mind."
"What happened?" Ron asked. Lily scrambled for another convenient excuse.
"He tried rigging the game somehow," Lily said. "I don't know how, he had Flint up to something. That's why I was distracted during the game, I was looking for him instead of the Snitch."
"Knew I didn't deserve that catch," Ron said morosely.
Lily shook her head. "You got it off me fair and square, Ron. If Fred didn't knock me off, I would have had it."
"Bloody good shot too, wasn't it?" Fred said from ahead. Lily blushed, not realizing he could hear.
"You're right about Montague and Flint, by the way," George said, both twins falling back to them. "We 'overheard' Snape yelling at the two of them. They've been confunding Hooch during games. That's why she never called penalties on them. Montague was doing it before he took over."
"Montague's already off the team," Fred said, "Along with those troll Beaters. Don't know what they did, though, Filch ran us off before he got into it. Don't know how you're going to play with only two members."
"I suppose Pucey will be captain now," George said. "He's the only fifth year on, Warrington left in protest, day after Montague got kicked off."
Lily tried to hide how happy this news made her. If they were all gone, she probably didn't need to leave. If she stayed, she couldn't possibly be blamed for the losses they'd surely be facing, and Pucey hated the training sessions just as much as she did, he wouldn't force them. All she'd have to do was the hour mandated by Pomfrey.
She was in a much better mood as they continued wandering around Diagon Alley. She even treated them all to streaming cups of hot cocoa from a street vendor. She wanted to do lunch as well, but Mrs. Weasley insisted they wait until Bill and Charlie arrived. They were due any moment, and she kept glancing out into the street every few minutes while they were all in an art store, waiting on Lily to pick out what she needed. Lily barely managed to sneak off to the apothecary to buy the secret ingredients she needed.
When they went to the Quidditch supplies shop, Lily found she couldn't convince herself to purchase a new broom, even with all the Weasleys thoroughly distracted by the Firebolt display. She browsed the catalog, a salesperson hovering near her.
She left the store without placing an order, although she kept telling everybody she did. She just didn't want them feeling sorry for her. She'd send for one by post before the Holiday was over or, failing that, ask Ginny if she could borrow hers.
And then they were walking down the street, back to the Floo center, when Mrs. Weasley gave a squeal and ran forward, her arms spread open. Ginny joined her soon after, and she was scooped up by the smaller figure. Not to say he wasn't tall; he just didn't reach the same heights as his brothers, although his shoulders were broader, and he was far more muscular. The taller of the two hugged his mother while the rest of the family approached. Lily hung back, watching them all greet each other happily. It occurred to her that this would be the perfect opportunity to sneak away, to nab the rest of the ingredients she needed, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She tucked her hands into her pockets and tried not to look too awkward while she waited.
"You know, your hair is getting far too long, Bill," Mrs. Weasley said, worrying at the long hair her eldest son kept in a tail.
"That's what you said over the summer, mum," Bill said. His voice was deeper than Lily expected.
"If you'd just let me-"
"I like it how it-"
"You must be Lily," Charlie said, walking towards her. "Mum's told me all about you. You play Seeker, yeah?"
"Yeah," Lily said. She wasn't sure how firm she was supposed to shake his hand.
"What broom you fly?" he asked.
"Err- nothing, currently," she said, scratching at the back of her head. "But I was flying a Nimbus 2001."
"Oh, nice," Charlie said. "Yeah, we use racing brooms down in Romania, too, easier to get out of the way when one of the scaley bastards tries to-"
"Charlie!"
"Sorry, mum, but that's what they are. Great big bundles of hate and malice."
"You don't like the dragons?" Lily asked. Charlie laughed at that, one rough hand rubbing at the back of his head.
"Course I do," he said. "Can't imagine doing anything else, actually. But that doesn't change what they are, does it?"
"Bill," Bill said as he approached. Lily shook his hand, too. "How's my room treating you? Mum told me you have a poster of Gwenog hanging above-"
"It's brilliant," Lily said, cutting him off.
"Harpies fan, eh?" Charlie said. "You know, this gal I work with, Jenny, she almost signed on with them."
"Really?" Ginny asked. "Why would anybody refuse?"
"Because the girl she was dating signed on with them instead," Charlie said, "and she wanted to get as far away from her as possible."
"Gross," Ginny said. Lily felt her heart sink, but she did her best to ignore it. She noticed Charlie giving her a strange look and she threw a smile on her face for him.
"What kind of dragons do you have?" she asked, trying to get away to a different topic.
"I don't think I'll ever get to meet Gwenog Jones."
"I'll take you next year, Ginny, promise."
"At least you have a robe," Ginny grumbled. Lily heard her roll over.
Lily pulled Gwenog's robe tighter around her, trying to take comfort in it. It was much softer than she remembered, and if she focused while she breathed in, she thought she could almost recall how nice the Harpy smelled.
Lily closed her eyes, wondering who on the team that girl had been dating.
"Will you stop your humming?" Ginny said.
"Post's here," Ginny said as Mrs. Weasley pulled the limp form of Errol through the window. Lily wondered if she should give them their Christmas present early.
"No wonder he's so tired," Mrs. Weasley said as she placed him on the counter. "Poor dear had to deliver a dozen letters."
"For who?" Fred asked indignantly. "Can't be us, McGonagall can't give us detentions now that we're home."
"They're all for Lily," Mrs. Weasley snapped. She plastered a smile back on her face when she placed the bundle gently next to Lily's plate. Lily stopped chewing on her sausage, squinting at the familiar, small scrawl on the top one.
"Why are you so popular all of a sudden?" George asked. Lily shrugged, and then tucked the bundle into her robes, knowing full well why so many people would try to hear from her.
"Pass the butter," she said to Ron.
Lily didn't get a chance to sneak away to read them until after supper. Ginny was sitting downstairs with her parents and older brothers. Lily snuck off under the pretense of wanting a bath. She was running the water, sure, but that was just a smokescreen. She just wanted to read everything where nobody else could bother her.
Lily started with the top one. She didn't know why it was so familiar when she saw it hours ago, but with time to dwell on it, she figured it out. Whoever sent this one was the same person who kept sending her all of those Potions texts for her birthday and Christmas gifts.
Potter,
At the Headmaster's orders, you will meet with me every Monday evening at 7 in my office. We will be practicing Occlumency. You are to come with your head empty of thoughts and feelings. I'm sure it won't be hard.
Severus Snape
Potions Master
Lily considered crumpling the letter, suddenly feeling very angry. If Snape was the one sending her all those gifts, knowing full well she'd be using the research in his class, then why was he now reprimanding her for it? Her secret plan involved a certain potion contained in one of her special books, and now she was uncertain she wanted to go for it if he was involved.
She slipped it to the side, trying to ignore it. The next letters seemed far more promising.
Dear Hazel,
I'm sorry, I should have checked on you more often, I was just so busy and so tired, it completely slipped my mind. Please write back, I just want to know if you're still mad at me, that's all. You don't have to say any more. I'll see you back at school, I promise, and I'll sit with you every night if you want. I'll even eat supper with you, if you want, you always look so lonely. I asked McGonagall, and she said it was against the rules for us to sit together in the Great Hall, but there's nothing against taking food out and going elsewhere. I should have thought about it earlier, it's all my fault. Please write back.
Merry Christmas,
Hermione Granger
Dear Lily,
Are you all right? I know we haven't seen each other since McGonagall caught us, and I really miss you. Want to meet me in the Astronomy Tower, first night back? I asked Hagrid for a favour, and I wanted to give you something. It was supposed to be your gift, but I want to give it to you in person.
And I'm sorry for all your detentions. I followed you at Halloween, I just wanted to ask you something. Saw you dip down into the Chamber. I only told the Professors because I thought you might be dead. Sorry again.
Write me back?
Merry Christmas,
Katie Bell
Dear Lily,
Got some good news for you. Dumbledore said you can come back to my class! I was gonna send you everything you missed, but way I figure it, you probably know it all already. Don't tell anybody, but we're covering Salamanders next. I think you'll like them, this is my largest batch ever.
Merry Christmas,
Hagrid
Dear Hazel,
I'm sorry. I promise I won't do anything again. I wanted to send you that cauldron you were supposed to get over the summer, but mum wouldn't let me. I'll give it to you at school instead. I already got it in my trunk.
First years aren't allowed to talk to each other outside of classes. I don't know if you ever noticed. They're just supposed to do whatever older students tell them to. They're the ones who carved all those things in your trunk, even though they didn't want to.
I just wanted Aiya to join Slytherin so I wouldn't be so lonely. I'm sorry. I thought you at least deserved to know why. I liked being around you because you were so nice. I'm sorry I killed your Flobberworms. Malfoy told me to. I shouldn't have done it. I know you hate me, and I deserve it. I was just trying to protect your cat. Malfoy was trying to kick it after it hissed at him.
I didn't know everybody was going to smash your typewriter, but I found all the pieces for you. I wanted to give them to you in person, but I saw you running away, and then you never came back. I left them on your bed. I hope you can fix it. I'm sorry. I hope you're all right.
Merry Christmas
Sae Asari
Dear Hazel,
Did Weasley get home all right? I left him with Ron, he said he'd take him home, but I didn't know if he'd try getting rid of him. I don't think he would, but sometimes it really seems like he doesn't like cats.
By the way, mum saved all of my magazines for me, and I was going through them now that I'm home. Remember when we hugged in Flourish & Blotts? Somebody took a picture of it, sent it in! I was trying to think who it could have been, but I couldn't figure it out. It's a nice picture, though, you look so cute! I sent you a copy, in case you wanted it. See you back at school!
Merry Christmas!
Lavender Brown
Lily took out the photo, smiling at it. She looked so happy, all those months ago, even though that was when everything started going wrong. She had her face buried into Lavender's hair. She could almost remember the smell of the shampoo she used. She could remember how soft Lavender was, although that made her feel uncomfortable again. She ran a hand through her own hair, considering writing her, asking exactly how she took care of her locks. Lily barely tried, these days, but she was willing to give it another go. She looked back over at Katie's letter, wondering if the other girl would notice her if she looked nice when they went back.
"Ron, where in Merlin's name are you taking me?" Lily asked.
"You'll see," Ron said. He led her further into the woods. Lily could imagine both of their Clock Hands locked onto the setting for it, and that made her happy, put a little pep in her step. Ron was carrying a bag, although Lily had no idea what was in it. She assumed it was the surprise. She just kept humming to herself, wondering if she'd be able to sneak another Cheering Charm if this one wore off.
Ron led her a little deeper, passing tree after bloody tree, trudging through the snow, until Lily felt like her feet were completely frozen. He led her to an icy little creek, and then he finally stopped and set his bag on the ground.
"What do you think?"
"I think it's bloody cold," Lily said, pulling her scarf tighter around her neck. "What are we even doing out here?"
"Thought you might like these," Ron said. He kneeled over and opened up his bag, pulling out six bottles, each labelled Simison Steaming Stout.
"Where'd you get these?" Lily asked, taking one of the ice-cold bottles into her hand. There was an animated train engine on the label, smoke billowing out, wheels pumping forward as the landscape changed.
"Charlie bought them for me," Ron said. "He bought the twins their first pack when they were thirteen, too, it's his favourite. Said I should split it with you, even told me about this little spot." Ron waved his hands to show off the frozen brook.
"Are they any good?" Lily asked. She was reading the back of the bottle. "It says it has 'essence of heat' in it. What does that even mean?"
"No idea, you're the Potioneer," Ron said. "Charlie says it goes down cold, but then warms you up after."
"You go first, then," Lily said, handing him the bottle. "I need to take my Strengthening Solution, or I might not make it back to the house." Her leg was already aching from walking so far, and she sat down heavily, leaning her back against a tree.
"Is that what you were brewing this morning?" Ron asked. He sat down in the snow next to her. Lily drank down her vial as quickly as she could.
"Yeah," she said, wiping her lips and putting the cork back in the lip. "Hope- urp- hope Pomfrey doesn't mind that I made it a little too strong."
"What's it even taste like?" Ron asked. He cracked the cap off one of the bottles by tapping it with his wand, and then handed it over to Lily. Steam billowed out of the lid.
"Scrambled eggs," she said, taking the bottle. She sniffed at the haze pouring from the neck. It smelled faintly sweet.
"Really?" Ron said, opening his own bottle. "Scrambled eggs?"
"It's yellow through most of the brewing process, too," Lily said. "Doesn't clear up until it's almost done, if you do it right." She took a sip of the steam engine stout.
"That explains why Neville's smelled like rotten ones," Ron said. "How is it?"
Lily took another eager sip, enjoying the cool, fizzy sensation going down her throat.
"Good," she said, coughing just a bit. "Err- stronger than I-" she coughed again. "Stronger than I thought, though." It was also surprisingly sweet, with a flavour that she knew she recognized but couldn't place.
Ron took a much shorter first sip, sputtering a bit on it. Lily laughed, then took another long sip of hers. It did make you feel much warmer as it sit, as if you had a fire burning in your stomach. She breathed out, just to make sure she wasn't breathing smoke, but she didn't see anything fishy.
"I wonder how they get the heat," she said, checking the bottle again.
"Does it matter?" Ron asked.
"I think I might bring my cauldron next time," Lily said, taking another long drink. "Dissolve it down, find the components. Could be fun, you know?"
"It's coming out of your half, then," Ron said. "Blimey, how do you like this stuff, it's horrid."
"Feels good," Lily said with a shrug.
"Well, slow down, will you?" Ron asked. "We only have the six, I don't know if Charlie will get us anymore."
"I have an Invisibility Cloak, Ron," Lily said, finishing the rest of her first bottle. "I- urp- pardon me- I can just grab us some more, leave some money, and nobody will ever know." Or, at least, she could, once she finally got it back.
"Fair enough," Ron said, handing Lily a second opened bottle. He grimaced as he tried to catch up, only succeeding in getting halfway down his first.
Lily took another, much smaller, sip, enjoying the fuzzy feeling laying over her head like a snuggly blanket. She was almost certain alcohol wasn't supposed to be mixed with Cheering Charms. If she thought hard about it, she was almost certain Flitwick warned them about that very thing.
Oh well. It was too late now.
"Couple of questions for you, Lily," Ron said.
"Go ahead, Ronny," Lily said happily. She took another sip.
"Don't call me Ronny."
"Sorry."
"Are you going to be all right?" Ron asked. "When we get back to school, I mean?"
"I think so," Lily said. "Err- I feel much better now, Ron, really. Honestly, I- I feel stupid for even-"
"You're not stupid, Lily," Ron said. "I wish you'd stop saying that."
"You're starting to sound like Hermione," Lily said. She took another sip. "Really, though, Ron, I'm- I feel good. And I was being stupid." Lily felt like it was getting very hard to think. She probably shouldn't have anymore. She took another sip.
"You really should stop saying it, Lily," Ron said. "You couldn't help the way the dementors made you feel. You know how you going to deal with them, yet?"
"Yeah, I got a couple of letters yesterday about it," Lily said. She took another long drink. "I- err- sorry, getting hard to think- I'm supposed to be learning- err- something from Snape, we're doing private lessons on Thursday- no, Monday- and then-"
"Don't," Ron said. "Lily, really, don't, we all saw how miserable Snape was making you before, you shouldn't have to go back."
"Don't have a choice," Lily said. "Dumbledore's orders. I have sessions with Lupin on Tuesdays, though, if it makes you feel better. Err- Snape was Monday. Sorry." Lily took a deep breath, hoping the cold, winter air would clear her head a bit. Ron finally finished his first drink, and then cracked open his second. Lily took another sip, slightly over halfway done. She found her mind wandering back to the butterbeers she shared with Katie, and then she couldn't stop thinking about how pretty Katie looked when they were huddled together in the woods, with Katie fussing about fixing her hair.
Lily took another sip, hoping to hide her embarrassment. It didn't feel like it helped. She felt like she shouldn't bring this up, that it was wrong, but if there was anybody she could talk to about this, it would be Ron. She took another deep breath. He might make fun of her for it, but he wouldn't tell anybody else, even if he hated her for it.
"Ron," she said carefully. "You- err- you fancy girls, right?"
Ron choked and sputtered on his drink, coughing deeply.
"What are you getting at?" Ron said, his ear's a bright red.
"Was just wondering," Lily said in a panic, afraid she'd taken it too far.
"Err- Lily, if this is you coming on to me, you should know, I don't fancy you anymore, really, you're more like my sister than anything."
"What do you mean anymore?" Lily asked, deciding she couldn't go through with it. Thankfully, Ron left her a good distraction.
"Blimey, you'll need another drink, if this is what we're talking about."
"Thanks," Lily said, exchanging her empty bottle for a fresh one. She drank deeply, the clouds getting thicker.
"Like I said, you're more like my sister," Ron said, scratching at his nose. "I used to- err- well, I used to. Back in second year. Don't know if you ever noticed."
"Course I did, Ron," Lily said. "We- err- we had you on, didn't we?"
"Yeah," Ron said fondly.
"Does- urp- pardon me- does anybody else fancy me?" Lily was really hoping to hear a certain name, perhaps even two or three, although she still wasn't ready to confront it.
"Seamus does," Ron said, "but he's probably the grossest bloke I know, sometimes I can't even stand being around him. Talks about you all the time, though."
"Maybe I should just be with him," Lily said. "It'd- whoo- it'd probably be easier than- err-"
"Not a chance," Ron said. "Blimey, Lily, you'd be better off with another girl than him, he's a complete tosser."
"Are you still mad?" Ron asked. "Blimey, Lily, it's been over an hour."
"You promised," she grumbled. What he promised, that was already gone from her brain. The last thing she remembered was talking about Seamus. She was having a hard time walking. She had to pick her steps carefully, or she'd fall.
"Well, at least I know what to get you for your birthday," Ron said. His cheeks were a rosy red. Lily hoped her own weren't the same.
"How are you doing on money?" Lily asked. "You have to be almost out by now, you only had-"
"Lily, you gave me 500 Galleons," Ron said. "I haven't even gotten through half of it. Hell, mum made me put most of it in a Gringotts vault, won't let me touch it."
"Thank Merlin she doesn't know about mine," Lily said.
"I don't think she'd stop you if she did," Ron said. "She has a weakness for you, that woman. Just can't stay mad. Err- don't let her know about the drinks. I don't think dad would mind, but she'll kill me."
"Bloody hell, how's my breath?" Lily asked, breathing into her hand.
"Best not let her get close, I'll tell you that much," Ron said. "Don't know how you managed to get through three of those things, I couldn't even finish my second. You sure you don't need my help walking? That was the tenth one, Lily."
Lily jumped back up from her knees quickly, only feeling incredibly embarrassed. At least she couldn't feel any of the falls. She felt like she was leaning too hard on her cane, but it was much harder to hold up her body.
It took them another hour to get out of the woods, during which she managed to stop falling, and the sun was almost completely vanished behind the horizon. She was still pissed, but she at least felt more confident in her ability to not trip over her own two feet, and her speech no longer felt anywhere near as thick.
She was humming happily as they entered the house. They came in through the kitchen, hoping there wouldn't be too many people to sneak past. Mrs. Weasley was fussing about at the stove, busying herself with preparing supper.
"Hello, you two," she said as they tried to sneak past.
"Morning," Lily said stupidly. Ron elbowed her, but she already noticed the mistake.
"Thought we'd have a nice, hot stew," Mrs. Weasley said, setting the spoon she used to stir to the side. Ron tried to hurry her out of the room, but Mrs. Weasley turned first, her eyes growing wide as she took in the state of them both.
"Sorry," Lily said before she could stop herself.
"You two, upstairs, now," Mrs. Weasley said in a quiet fury. She didn't even hesitate, she had a hand on both of their backs within a second, and she was hurrying them up the rickety stairs. Lily wondered how much trouble they were in.
She took them up to Ginny's room, opened the door without knocking, and then herded the two of them in.
"What do you-" Ginny started to say, laying in her bed and staring at her autographed picture. Lily wished that could be her right now.
"Out, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley barked. Ginny looked like she briefly wanted to argue, but nobody wanted to do so with an irate Mrs. Weasley. She hopped up from her bed faster than Lily could process, and then the door was closed behind her.
"Sit," Mrs. Weasley ordered the two of them, steering them toward the bed. Ron and Lily sat next to each other, both feeling equal parts terrified. Ron looked like he might throw up. Lily was surprised she hadn't already; those stouts suddenly weren't sitting well in her stomach.
"Well?" Mrs. Weasley said sharply. Lily had a feeling she should not speak and was very impressed that she managed to keep her stupid mouth shut.
"What did we do?" Ron asked calmly.
Mrs. Weasley gestured towards Lily first. "Torn jeans? Bruised and bloody knees?" She gestured to the both of them. "Messy hair. You've got dirt on your trousers, both of you, and you're both wearing those stupid grins. I know the signs."
"We went for a walk," Ron said.
"I tripped," Lily offered. Mrs. Weasley gave a wild laugh.
"I told Arthur I was worried about this," Mrs. Weasley said frantically. "He said not to worry, 'they think of each other like siblings, it'll never happen.' Well, he's just lucky he's at work, isn't he?"
Ron had a sudden look of horror on his face. Lily was just confused, her mind running too slowly to keep up.
"Mum," Ron said, "We weren't-"
"You be quiet, Ronald Weasley," Mrs. Weasley said dangerously. "You are both thirteen, I know this is a strange time, but you are too young."
"Sorry," Lily said, thinking the game was up. Ron gave her a look of ever-growing terror and shook his head very quickly.
"I mean, really, what do you the two of you even know?" Mrs. Weasley said with another frantic laugh. "Oh, I wish your father was here, he was supposed to be the one to tell you, but he's just been so busy, and we both forgot, and now look what we've got on our hands."
"Mum, please, Lily's like my- we weren't, we were just-"
Lily elbowed him in the ribs before he could spill their secret.
"Well, I suppose it's now or never," Mrs. Weasley said. "If the two of you are going to keep sneaking off to shag, we'll need to have the talk."
Lily felt her mouth drop in realization, her brain slowly coming up to speed as Mrs. Weasley launched into it.
"Oh, Mrs. Weasley, please," Lily said, burying her face into her hands, wishing she'd just let Ron talk. "Please don't do this to me."