My super awesome update is here! Sorry it's a day late, but I just couldn't seem to concentrate! Lol, thanks to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter, and I can't wait for the one after this! Please review if you are super psyched about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One coming out today!
Chapter 17: Facing Roses and Fears
Lily swerved past the flattened figure on a broom clad in yellow. She struggled to see past the pelting rain to find the little golden ball flying ahead of them. The boy with dark hair noticed her and suddenly crashed into her, the force throwing her off course as Jonah Campton, the commentator, yelled, "Oohh! It looks like that must've hurt Potter! But she's right back on course! She's definitely not going to give that snitch up to Hufflepuff without a fight!" Lily paced her heavy breathing through her chapped lips with care, pacing herself slightly. She found the opening of space where the heavy wind caused the other Seeker to slow down a moment to regain his bearings, and she dove at breakneck speed to catch the snitch. The little trinket brushed her gloved hand before it dove downward, and she followed at her high speed without hesitation, only wanting to end the rather dreadful match. She smiled when she caught the snitch, but the ground suddenly materialized out of the ground and she slipped off of her broom, smashing into the relentless ground, smearing herself with mud.
Cheers were heard over the heavy winds and suddenly, Albus and James, just as smothered in mud as she was, hauled her out of the mud and boosted her onto their shoulders. "Good job, Lilsies!" James shouted up with her. "We won the first match of the year!" She laughed at the sight of him, looking very un-captain-ish. He had gotten the Quidditch Captain after McLaggen had graduated last year, and, so far, he seemed to be doing a fairly good job. The new chaser, their cousin, Roxanne Weasley, laughed and made sure she didn't just fall off. They threaded their way amidst the crowds in drenched red and gold colors, making their way to the castle.
When they finally clambered all the way up to Gryffindor Tower, everyone still caked in mud, the party went into full swing. Someone turned on the music to some fist-pumping song, and couples began swaying to the music. Pumpkin Pasties (reserved just for the occasion of winning) and a ton of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans were set out on one of the tables and already, some older boys were dealing out poker cards, probably wishing to try their luck. "Hey," Roxy noticed with a tad of disappointment to the Potters, "Someone has to go get the butterbeer. Which of you three are going to do it?"
They all exchanged glances. "Well, I'm captain. I don't have to do it."
Lily rolled her eyes at James's words just as Albus was about to retort. She sighed. "Gimme the map. I'll do it." He handed over the parchment, and she went upstairs quickly to change into something not smothered in mud. She tromped down the stairs, receiving compliments on the game as she rushed away from the party. She was feeling slightly uncomfortable at a huge party like this although Gryffindors had shown off their loyalty in much more raucous ways than this. Her ears were still ringing with the harsh scolding her father had given her after her birthday party over the summer.
After her birthday party, she (along with most of the other kids at the party) had been grounded for the rest of the summer and next summer. But now, she was turning back to her recently acquired freedom that came from being away from parents' reach and at Hogwarts. The children had already pulled their prank on the school and kids were still having trouble with their underpants randomly bursting into song in the middle of class, and a few had been bitten by their underpants. It was one of those legendary moves that were so fantastic that Professor Longbottom got them off practically free. Scorpius had helped this year with the Slytherins (causing much surprise with Lily when her brothers readily agreed to his joining and helping), and had been a fantastic help seeing as now all the boys were prefects, Albus and Scorpius having just received their badges.
She pondered over the past two months as she quietly tapped through the corridors. She checked the map very often, cautious not to run into Filch, especially without her invisibility cloak. She was watching the dot wandering the corridors on the first floor that read Scorpius Malfoy when she noticed another much closer dot. Rose Weasley was sitting in an old Transfiguration classroom, unmoving. Curious as to why her cousin wouldn't be celebrating with the other Gryffindors or off snogging Zach Smith, who was still her boyfriend, Lily followed the path and found the door behind which Rose was hiding, left slightly ajar. She quietly eased the door open and peeked in, wondering if she really wanted to know what Rosie, queen of the tramps, was doing in an abandoned classroom. Instead, she found the girl reading. Her hair did not have its usual charm to keep it straight and sleek but rather was looking a bit less manageable than usual.
"Rosie?" Lily asked cautiously as she opened the door further to step inside. "What are you doing in here?"
"Reading," the girl prefect said sourly. "Go away. Or I'll dock some of those points you just won Gryffindor."
"Honestly, Rose?" Lily asked, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. "Since when have you missed out on a Gryffindor party? You should come join the fun."
Her hair was falling in her face, keeping it partially obscured from the younger girl's view. "I have to catch up on my homework."
But her voice broke, selling out the lie. Lily stepped closer to her cousin, and gingerly put a hand on her shoulder, afraid that Rose would hex her for doing so. "What's wrong Rosie?"
"Zach dumped me!" she wailed, obviously dying to tell someone before she began sobbing and threw herself into Lily's small arms, her heavy book falling to the floor with a loud, neglected thud.
Lily awkwardly patted her head, wishing there was something more she could do to help her… like hex the boy into oblivion, like every other Potter and Weasley would do. She held Rose tightly and let herself cry until there were no tears left, any thought of butterbeer sliding out of her mind. When she had finished staining Lily's fresh clothes, Rose sniffled and meekly slipped back into her seat. Lily pulled up a seat beside her. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"
Rosie sniffled again, hesitating before she slowly nodded. After a few hiccups she managed to make some sort of sorry monologue. "I-I was so h-happy that Gryffindor won—because when would I be upset about that? B-but Zach saw m-me celebrating and c-completely blew up… H-he said th-that I was a-an awful g-girlfriend f-for not supporting him –and broke up with me…"
"Aw," Lily cooed, realizing that she sounded a lot like her grandmother comforting her when she had fallen and scraped her knee. "You poor thing. You don't need a boy like him though. He didn't respect you, Rosie." She had seen the way his fingers crawled over her skin like an infection as much as she disliked witnessing it.
Another sob erupted from Rosie. "B-b-but th-that's just the thing! I-I-I gave h-h-him everyth-thing a-and h-he left me!"
"What do you mean by everything?" Lily asked suspiciously.
She sobbed again, looking even smaller than Lily. "Y-you r-remember h-how I-I told you th-that I just made it look l-like I had sex…?" Rosie asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Her bloodshot, red-rimmed, crystal eyes searched Lily's emerald ones for forgiveness of the scandal she had committed.
"Rosie, you didn't," her cousin said with a startled gasp.
She nodded miserably. "I-it w-was only a-a c-couple of w-weeks a-ago, t-too." She sobbed loudly and buried her face in her arms as new tears stained her cheeks. Her hair was and even worse mess than when Lily had first found her, and, for probably the only time in her life, Rose Jean Weasley didn't care about what she looked like. Lily took her in her arms again and wished that there was a way she could make everything better. "A-and h-he already has a-another girlfriend!" Rose wailed loudly. "Sh-she's s-some i-idiot b-blonde Hufflepuff a-and h-he w-was sn-snogging her! R-r-r-right after h-he d-d-dumped me!"
"Oh, Rose," Lily murmured helplessly at the mess laid at her feet.
"I-I'm s-surprised h-he has l-lips still, a-although h-he c-can't u-use them till h-he gets o-out of the hospital w-wing," Rose muttered darkly.
Lily's eyes widened. "You didn't." When her cousin nodded against her shoulder, she fell into a stunned silence. Only a Weasley would hex a boy right after he broke up with her instead of crying straightaway. If she had had the heart, she would have smiled at her cousin's perseverance, but instead she started formulating her own plans to make Zach Bloody-Well-Dead Smith squeal like a little girl. Maybe string him up a flagpole. She could easily transfigure one of those onto the grounds, and, after that, tying his underwear to it would be rather simple.
"B-but please don-t tell anyone," Rose asked after she had once again run out of tears. "I-I d-don't want e-every bloody person I'm related to, to try and beat him u-up. I can t-take care of th-that myself." With a stubborn nod of her head she looked to Lily.
With a slight smirk, she answered, "Only if you let me hex him good. You're the closest thing I have to a sister, and I don't let my sister get hurt." Rosie smiled and hugged Lily, almost squeezing the breath out of her.
When she finally managed to writhe out of her death grip, she pulled on her hand. "C'mon, Rose. Come with me to Hogsmeade and we'll get the butterbeer. Half of Gryffindor Tower is probably ready to send out a search party for me if I don't come back soon."
Rose managed a weak laugh and followed her through the corridors and behind the gargoyle to the path to Hogsmeade. Before she folded the map back up and erased it to hide its secret from any teachers, she saw the little Scorpius Malfoy dot moving aimlessly through the halls it seemed, although she noticed that he was headed towards the gargoyle, where Rose and Lily had just escaped from. They slipped easily out of the basement of Honeydukes (Rose took the largest lollipop she could find and replaced it with a galleon) and easily crept through the chilly air into the Three Broomsticks, where Madame Rosmerta was cleaning empty tables. When she looked up at the tinkle of the door chime, she grinned. "Ah, Gryffindor won again, did they? It seems every time they play, I get one of the Potters looking for butterbeer."
She handed them a huge case of butterbeer which Rosie staggered beneath the weight of as Lily paid her the correct amount. Together, they made their way back up to the tower, sharing the weight of the butterbeer, whispering quietly of their childhood adventures. They were almost caught when Mrs. Norris (Harry always seemed amazed that the old 'fudgebag' was still alive and searching for students out of bed) startled them, but Rosie levitated the case and they ran like fire was at their heels, laughing the entire time. Lily was glad that she could solicit a laugh out of Rose, although it did not reach her eyes like it usually did. Together, they wheezed out the password and stumbled through the door to the awaiting party that was going full blast.
Someone had hung up a Gryffindor banner with the lion that roared at various times and others were swaying to the Weird Sisters blasted over a radio. Kids lounged around, a few playing Spin the Bottle already and some just sitting in a corner snogging. An uneasy Lily handed over the butterbeer to James who shouted to everyone who could still hear that the best part of all had finally arrived. Lily, though, didn't stick around to even try it. She was not going to get even the slightest bit tipsy from that stuff. She excused herself claiming that she still had some Potion's homework to finish and look over and escaped to her dorm. Rose remained and drank a few butterbeers, trying to fit in with the rest of the party.
When she finally made it upstairs, Lily collapsed on her bed, only to have a dark grey out hoot and ruffle his feathers at the sudden intrusion. He held out his leg and allowed her to untie the little letter tied to his leg. She undid the seal and opened the envelope, pulling out a folded letter. When she finally managed to pry it open, she smiled in recognition of the elegant script.
Lily-Flower,
Just thought I would congratulate you on the well-played game. But you'd best be on your watch. I have been practicing more techniques and won't hold out on you when the Slytherin vs. Gryffindor game comes around.
But I have something important to tell you. I will be gone for the next few days; Madam Wilkinson is sending me to be with my family. I have just received news that my grandfather died. I really wish I didn't have to leave, but Father says that it is my responsibility (and I have to claim whatever I get from his will.). Although, I don't see why I will get anything or have any responsibility owed to him. I never even met the man! You probably know that my grandfather was put in Azkaban after the defeat of the Dark Lord, and I was born way after that. I wish I could stay.
I'll miss you, Flower,
Scorpius H. Malfoy
She sank onto the bed, her excitement dying and something else replacing it. It was like the butterflies that filled her stomach every time she was on the verge of reading another one of his letters, but it felt more like she was going to be sick. She wondered desperately how long he would be away as she scrambled around for parchment to reply with.
XxXoOoXxX
Lily sighed as she fell into her seat in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Of course no one she was really close to was in this class this year, seeing as it was only the Gryffindors in this class besides Hugo who was already sitting with his own friends with no space for Lily. She reluctantly sat in the back, hoping that no one would choose to sit by her. But unfortunately all the other seats were taken and a muggleborn, Olivia Lyans, had to sit beside her. The girl had a ragged mane of curly brown hair and hazel eyes hidden behind glasses that she kept pushing up the bridge of her nose. A splattering of freckles almost put the Weasleys to shame, and from what Lily had seen of her, she was a scatterbrained girl, always afraid she was doing something wrong. Although it was her fourth year at Hogwarts, she still seemed unsure the place was real. "U-umm, hi," she said quietly as she sat down beside Lily.
Lily tried to smile although it might have been more of a grimace. "Hello. Your name's Olivia, isn't it?"
She nodded, pushing her glasses up again. "Yes. I know who you are, though. You're Lily Potter, daughter of the Boy-Who-Lived and the Seeker for our Quidditch team. It'd be a little hard to not know who you are, seeing as the whole school's been talking about you…"
"What do you mean the whole school has been talking about me?" Lily asked a little sharper than she had intended.
"W-well, i-it's just th-that—" she seemed too nervous to continue as she pushed her glasses up again and sniffling, reminding Lily very much of Moaning Myrtle. Lily tried to be patient, reminding herself that she still had a stuttering problem sometimes, too, but she found it unbearably hard. "th-there have been r-rumors going around…"
"Rumors about what?" She asked through gritted teeth.
"U-uh," obviously intimidated by Lily's gradually growing anger, she whispered, "p-people say th-that you a-and Scorpius M-Malfoy are secretly dating."
Her emerald eyes got wide. "Why would anyone even think that, though? We've been friends since the beginning of last year!"
She nodded quickly, obviously trying to avoid getting hurt by some of Lily's anger. Olivia stuttered, "Th-they say th-that y-you've been getting and s-sending letters. Th-that you g-guys always g-go hide somewhere when you hang out, i-in places that y-you shouldn't b-be."
Lily growled at the mention of the letters. She had kept every single one of her letters from Scorpius and tucked them away in a box beneath her bed. She had fallen asleep last night with his most recent in her hands. Scorpius had just written to tell her that he would be back soon, and she had been so ecstatic that she jumped around the room and still had the letter when she fell asleep. He was supposed to be at breakfast this morning, but Alicia had told her that he got in late last night and had slept through breakfast. She stood up and marched up to the front of the class where a certain group of girls were gossiping as they waited for Professor Corsche to finally start teaching.
Amanda Thomas, obviously the center of the group looked up with a smirk. "Are you happy, Thomas?" Lily asked with a sneer. "You've got my whole family ready to kill me by lunch. Why the hell would you spread those rumors?"
She laughed, her graceful curls bouncing slightly. Her blue eyes reopened and she smiled daintily. "Did Lily need a substitute for her teddy bear last night? She couldn't have her precious Scorpius. Tell me, when are you two going to go public? Will it be soon now that I've spilled the secret?"
"There was no secret to spill," Lily said with a hiss, pulling her wand out.
"Now, now, Miss Potter, let's leave our wands for when we do the real spells today," Corsche said as he came in, levitating a giant box that rocked like a boat before he set it down with a loud thud in a clear space of the classroom. With a flourish of his wand, the desks had been moved back as all the children scrambled out of their seats. "Today, I have a treat for you all. It may be more of a review, but I still think the lesson will be beneficial. Who can tell me what a boggart is?"
Lily sighed with slight disappointment. It would be a funny, yet tedious lesson, and she really wasn't in the mood for any sort of class. After they explained the charm to repel a boggart, everyone formed a straight line in front of the huge box that shuddered as though the boggart was trying to escape. Corsche undid the lock and the lid sprang open to reveal Harriet Jensons worst fear: a dismembered hand that crawled across the floor. Another boy was afraid of Madame Wilkinson, and Hugo (as true to his father as ever) whimpered uneasily when a spider formulated before him. When it was finally her turn, she stepped up to the front, brandishing her wand, the charm Riddikulus on the tip of her tongue as the spider whirled into something she couldn't quite tell at first.
Suddenly, Mortellea stood before her, a black dress swirling down to her feet and her wand pointed at Lily. "Poor Lily, is she losing her love yet again? Rumors do nasty things to people." Lily's mouth went dry and her wand clattered to the floor; this was not a boggart but the very vile woman herself. She clicked her tongue at Lily's response. "How are you going to defend yourself without your wand?"
Lily scrambled to pick it up, hardly pulling away when she sent a hex towards her outstretched hand. The people behind her that she just then remembered squealed in fright and she could hear Corsche saying something but she couldn't make out what it was. She aimed her wand at Mortellea. "I'm gonna kill you for what you did to those people. I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do." She threw a hex at the woman, forgetting to even say it aloud in her fury.
The blue flash of light was easily deflected and the woman laughed. "I'm not here for you this time, sweetheart. I'm here for something to accomplish." Lily saw her black, glittering eyes scan the crowd until she located little Olivia shrinking behind the crowd of people cowering in fear.
"No," she said in her deadliest tone.
But already, Mortellea was raising her wand, pointing it to the trembling little girl with her glasses sliding down her nose. Her lips pulled back in a sneer, revealing her perfectly aligned teeth. "Avada Ked—"
"Crucio!" Before she even understood what was happening, Lily had raised her wand and with a flourish, said the word that sent the woman screeching in pain, the screams clawing at the ears of everyone in the class. The shrieks rose to inhuman volumes that had people running from the classroom, but Lily opened herself and poured every desolate and angry emotion she had ever experienced flow through her wand and into what had now just become any regular boggart. Sensing the danger, she must have left shortly after the torture began, only able to hold the shape in place for a certain amount of time anyways. Lily found that it was quite useless to continue with that, and she released the spell, cutting off her energy. Her knees were wobbling and caused her to stumble to the ground and faint.
OoOxXxOoO
The first thing Lily was conscious of when she woke up was the voices of many people mumbling so that she couldn't make out what they were saying. She squeezed her eyes more, thinking that it was the girls in her dorm getting ready, and she fervently wished that they would let her go back to bed and skip classes. She rolled on her soft mattress and immediately realized she couldn't find her pillow. She groped around blindly for a moment before her emerald eyes fluttered open with severe irritation.
And everything flooded back to her.
She sat up groggily and found that someone had transfigured a cot to the side of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class and laid her on it. Unfamiliar students openly stared at her, whispering to their neighbors for gossip. They must have been the next class after hers seeing as not one wore a Gryffindor tie and all of them were much taller, and probably older. Relief fell through her stomach like it was a pit when she noticed a shock of platinum hair and the dark long hair that had been swirled into a bun for the day.
"Here, you had best eat this. It helps with the nerves," Professor Corsche said gruffly when he broke into her line of sight, handing her a whole bar of chocolate. His eyes that were brown upon closer consideration, completely avoided her face, but he looked over her arms and legs, making sure that she hadn't broken anything or gotten any cuts.
She gagged and threw it to the side. "There is no way I'm eating that without puking. I can't eat chocolate."
"Why not?" he asked, stubbornly retrieving the chocolate and forcing it into her unwilling hands. "It helps if you would eat it. Then, once you feel better, then you can go to your next class and I can get on with mine!"
She put the chocolate at her feet, her lips forming a slight pout. "I won't eat it! I hate chocolate!"
Corsche threw his hands up in frustration. "You Potters are impossible!"
"Why, thank you," she said smartly.
He glared at her. "Go to the Headmistress's office. Now. And tell her I'll be up in ten minutes."
She staggered to her feet with a nod. She felt so lightheaded that she swayed when she stood up, the room suddenly turning in crazy circles, and she fell into someone's arms, unable to keep herself very upright. "Sir, perhaps I should take her there and ensure that she doesn't hurt herself on the way up there."
She couldn't see his face, seeing as she was still trying to asses if she had done any damage to her ankle that felt like fire was burning through it from her klutzy movement as he spoke. "I suppose… but do you need to stay in class and catch up on your lessons?" She heard how hesitant he was and resisted a hiss.
Scorpius gently moved her to his side, still hanging onto her waist that tingled at his touch. "I can get any notes from Alicia, and perhaps I could find someone to catch me up on the practical lessons. But I'm prefect and it's my duty to help her if she needs it." He spoke with such authority that Lily couldn't help but believe his every word.
Professor Corsche nodded in defeat. "Fine. Don't go anywhere else but the Headmistress's."
"Of course, Professor," Scorpius answered respectfully and he all but carried her out of the room as she limped slightly. When they got out of the classroom, they both breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned against the stone wall, trying not to put much weight on the twisted ankle. "How do you always get yourself into these situations?" he asked, shaking his head, bending down to gently take her foot as he took out his wand at the same time. He easily healed her ankle, but it grew very hot after he said the spell and then went icy cold. She shivered at the feel.
When he stood up, his grey eyes boring into her, she absently rubbed one of her silver-white runes and looked down. "I saw her again," she whispered quietly, hoping against hope that he wouldn't be angry. She inwardly groaned when she heard his irritated sigh. He wrapped his arm around her waist again and led her through the corridors without a word at first.
Just as Lily started to get worried that he would never tell her what was on his mind, he said, "What happened this time? Hwy was Professor Corsche so put out with you?"
She hung her head. She couldn't bear to tell Scorpius. It was going to be another disappointment. "I used the Crucatius Curse again. I didn't mean to; I just kinda did."
"Another vision?" he clarified, not even bothering to ask who they were talking about.
She shook her head, her emerald eyes watching her trainers intently, even when she felt his eyes burning her and causing her to blush. "A boggart. She sort of… possessed it, because she's what it turned into when I faced it. She tried to kill Olivia, and I had to stop her. I blurted the first words that came to my lips, but I didn't stop until she went away. I'm so dead." Lily hung her head and leaned against Scorpius's shoulder for comfort.
He gently led her without another word to the great gargoyle. He muttered the password and helped her onto the rotating stairs. When they reached the door, Scorpius politely knocked, but it was obvious that she was dealing with another visitor, seeing as she was screeching in her usual lecture tone. "What child randomly decided that he's going to try to levitate his professor into the Great Lake? I don't care how tiny Professor Flitwick is, and how you were 'practicing for the day's test'! Detention for two months, Mr. Potter! And I'm flooing your parents immediately! You can sit in here while you wait for all I care!"
"Oh, Sweet Merlin," Lily whispered in distress. "Aren't I the luckiest person in the world? Of course, James would get Mum and Dad sent here today of all days!"
Scorpius tried to hide his grin, only barely passing, and opened the door. "Madame Wilkinson, Lily Potter's here."
"And just what the hell did you do?" A very displeased Wilkinson asked with exasperation, her hair falling down in great chunks from her bun and her face beet red. Scorpius gently helped Lily into the seat on the bench beside a curious James, and she cowered into the back of the seat.
"I-I-I—" Lily couldn't find her voice, and when she was on the verge of tears at the thought of going to Azkaban after she told Madame Wilkinson what happened, the headmistress sighed and stalked to the other side of the office.
"I don't care. I don't even want to hear the excuses you no doubt have perfectly rehearsed like your brother here. I'm flooing your parents. Stay right there, or you'll all have detention until you graduate." She huffily went up the stairs in the corner of her office, taking the bag of green powder with her.
"So what happened this time, lil sis?" James asked, in quite the cheery mood for having just received the news that he would have detention for two months and Harry and Ginny would get to come to yell at him in person. He punched her arm lightly before wrapping it around her shoulder and pulling her closer to him. He sent a questioning look to Scorpius who shrugged, completely lost as well, even though he had an explanation in the hallway.
"D'you think they'll let me go tell everyone goodbye before they ship me off to Azkaban?" she asked the boys softly, her little voice barely piercing the silence that congealed in the room.
"Why would they do that, Lilsies?" James asked, his brows furrowing in confusion. He held her a little tighter against him when he felt her distress.
"I performed the Crucatius Curse," she whispered miserably.
James was obviously hoping that she was joking, but when no one laughed, he asked, "Why the hell did you do that?"
But before she could say anything else, Madame Wilkinson marched down the stairs. "Your parents will be here shortly. Why doesn't someone explain to me why Lily is here while we're waiting?" She sat down at her desk, rubbing her hands over her face with tiredness. "And is there a reason you're still here, Mr. Malfoy? Should I be getting your parents, too?"
He went crimson and stuttered, "N-no, I-I'm here t-to make sure that Lily's okay. You don't have t-to talk to them."
In two minutes, Ginny and Harry were storming up the steps of the gargoyle. Harry opened the door with a bang. "Where is that kid?" he growled, still in his nice suit robes that he wore to the ministry every day. He saw the kids huddled around that bench and stalked over to them. He pointed at James. "Just what the hell are you trying to pull, mister?"
Ginny followed in behind him, her hands and face smeared with flour. She still had the wooden spoon she must have been using to cook with, and, as soon as James was in her reach, she walloped him good with it. "What were you thinking—throwing your professor in the Great Lake?"
"Ow!" James said, cowering beside Lily in fear. She abandoned him, hopping off of the bench, trying to avoid the vicious beatings with the spoon she might receive part of if he got too close. "Thanks, Lils," he muttered before pleading with his parents. "I was practicing for the review Charms test he said we were going to have!"
He cried out again when he received another red, spoon-shaped mark on his forearm. "Hey! Since when is physical abuse allowed! You could get reported for beating your children. Don't you love me?"
Harry's face was getting very red. "I just had to leave an important meeting with the ministry for this! Merlin's dirty underpants! James Sirius Potter, can't you learn how to behave?"
He sent her a half-apologetic grimace before he yelled, "Lily tortured someone! She used the Crucatius curse on someone in class!"
Ginny froze mid-whack. "James Sirius Potter! We do not joke about that kind of stuff!"
"But he's not joking, Mum," Lily whispered, just barely loud enough for her parents to hear her.
"Lily," Harry said slowly, reaching out and taking gingerly in his arms. "What are you talking about?"
She swallowed convulsively, intensely feeling each set of eyes on her tiny little figure. "W-w-well, I-I-I had t-t-to face a b-b-boggart, a-and i-it t-turned into M-Mortellea." She kept her eyes on the ground as she spoke, never having felt as ashamed as she did then in her entire life. "Sh-she s-sort of—p-possessed the b-boggart and t-t-tried to k-kill O-Olivia L-Lyans, a-a-a-a-and I sort o-of reacted. I-I didn't m-mean to at first, b-but when I-I realized what I w-was doing, I-I kept doing it. I-I kept trying t-to make it st-stronger." She sniffled a little, feeling the rise and fall of her father's chest as he breathed slowly in and out.
Madame Wilkinson, obviously about t fall out of her chair with surprise, finally broke the silence. "M-Mr. Potter, this is your area of discipline as head of the Auror Department. What should we do about this?"
Emerald met emerald, and Lily began to shake with fear. She had no doubt that she would be punished for what happened, but she wasn't sure how far her father would go. Whatever it was, she knew that he would have to put his duty to the ministry first. She had committed a crime guaranteed to send anyone to Azkaban with a lifetime sentence, for Merlin's sake! Suddenly, Professor Corsche raged in and went into his own monologue of what happened. She had practically screamed the curse, and winced slightly when she realized that basically everyone in her D.A.D.A class would have heard what she said. Harry held her in that same gentle way the entire time, hardly moving since he had first taken her in his arms.
When he had finished, Harry scrutinized each person in the room, saving Lily for last. His eyes were still running over her cautiously, like she was a china doll that could explode at any moment, when he said, "Kids, why don't you go back to your classes? It seems we have some things to discuss with the teachers."
Lily slowly pulled out of his arms, and instead, Scorpius's hand found hers as they huddled at the doorway with James. When Ginny shooed them out, they grudgingly made their way down the steps, and off to the Room of Requirement by silent agreement, none of them having the slightest intention of going to their classes.
Back in the headmistress's office, Harry was pacing back and forth, sweat beginning to form on his forehead. He wiped it away nervously with a handkerchief, his heart hammering. There was no doubt that she had done it; why else would she have openly admitted it? That meant Azkaban for any grown wizard, but she was still in school. Would they have to expel her and break her wand as happened to Hagrid almost seventy years ago? Every one watched him in silence, the only other sound beside his shoes on the floor being the rather annoying tick of the clock. He saw the portrait of Headmaster Dumbledore and halted in front of it suddenly.
His blue eyes twinkled, just as electric as when he was still alive. "Did you come to visit me again, Harry? It's been quite some time since I've seen you." He had a light smile about his lips although Harry found nothing remotely humorous.
"What do I do, Professor?" he asked childishly, reminding himself of when he still went to Hogwarts as the student.
It was the portrait of Severus Snape who answered. "Well, don't expel her, and definitely do not send her to Azkaban. She's still just a little girl."
"But she fully realized what she was doing," Harry debated, running an angry hand through his hair, not even caring that he looked exactly like his father had and now had messed up his carefully brushed hair. "She admitted it though. That has to count for something." He looked to every painting and every person in the room with the same torn, pleading look.
Madame Wilkinson was writing on a piece of parchment muttering to the others in the room. "So detention for the rest of the year, and banned from any Hogsmeade visits for the rest of her years at Hogwarts and a severe warning given. Does that sound good enough for you, Mr. Potter?"
He couldn't bear to tell her to ban Lily from Quidditch seeing as she loved to play it so much, but he said, "You might as well ban her from Quidditch starting next year for the rest of her school years as well. It's too late to get a replacement Seeker, but she needs to be taught. This isn't something to be taken lightly, and I think that not only her, but the whole school needs to see this." He sighed, massaging the killer headache forming in his head. Wilkinson nodded and added his part. Ginny gently came over and smoothed down his hair again.
"Harry," she told him quietly, "I hate to do this, but I must get back to the house before it burns down from letting tonight's dinner burn. Why don't you go talk to the children and give them my love." She softly kissed his lips before she left with a forlorn smile.
Wilkinson gave him the parchment with the list of Lily's punishment to take to her when he found them. He couldn't find any of them in their classes, and, on a hunch, he found them in the Room of requirement. The door had been left ajar and he saw them all talking quietly, even Albus who had probably left class after he heard rumors of what happened. Lily had fallen asleep in Scorpius's lap, her mouth open slightly and her features finally relaxed and not under the strain that had caused a little wrinkle on her forehead from being so worried and upset seemingly all the time. The boys were having a quiet discussion that Harry had to concentrate to hear all of the words.
"We can't let her keep wandering around by herself," Albus was insisting, obviously having heard the story.
"But she wasn't wandering around," Scorpius said with a sigh. "We can't protect her from her classes. If they aren't safe, then what are we going to do? Lock her in the Gryffindor Tower?" As he spoke, he brushed the loose copper strands of Lily's hair out of her face watching as she sighed in her sleep.
"As much as I would love to do that," James said sarcastically, "She would hex us then kill us. There's just no way that we can watch her all the time. Scorp, you're just going to have to keep her by you as much as you can outside of class since she would strangle us if we kept invading her privacy. She trusts you. As for her classes, we'll just have to hope that her professors can figure out something."
A silence enveloped the room, and Harry took the time to knock lightly before entering, his mind blown at the fact that the boys were entrusting their sister willingly to a Malfoy! They had formed some sort of alliance without anyone else realizing, and Harry greatly suspected that it had to do with Lily. The boys jumped and put on very good ashamed faces when he entered.
He grimly smiled. "It's time for me to go; I've got to get back to the ministry and see if I can salvage anything from my meeting with Kingsley." He embraced his sons fondly, wishing that he could see them sometime before Christmas.
"What's going to happen to Lily?" Albus asked protectively.
Harry sighed. "You'd better look for a new seeker for the Quidditch team, James. She's not banned until next year though; we knew you couldn't find a replacement this late in the year. It'll crush her when she finds out."
Lily stirred in Scorpius's lap. "Finds what out, Daddy?" she asked with a huge yawn, moving to sit up away from Scorpius. She stretched groggily, her arms trying to reach as high as they could go.
"Here, sweetheart," Harry bent so that he was eye level with Lily who was still sitting. "I love you, but it's time for me to get back, okay?" He gently kissed her forehead and she threw herself into his arms, squeezing him tightly.
Harry stood up to find himself facing a very unsure Scorpius. He glanced at Lily who wasn't paying attention at all but rather trying to rub the sleep away from her eyes. As he shook Scorpius's hand, he muttered, "Take good care of my little girl." A little stunned, the boy nodded, his cheeks slightly flushed. He left quickly after that, unable to bear the disappointment that would pour over Lily like a bucket of water when she read the note.
I'M FINALLY DONE! I worked so hard on this chapter but I just couldn't concentrate! So I'm sorry it's late, but I still, managed the early update! And this is my longest chapter yet with about 7000 words! As a special treat for everyone (since I'm so excited for the next chapter :D) I've decided to give out the name of the next chapter:
The Scorpion's Kisses
I'm so happy and I think all of my readers will be too!
But please remember to review, and review if you are psyched about Harry Potter 7, and especially if you went to the midnight premier (I would have if my mom had let me D: )!