The Lioness and the Wolf
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the HP universe.
Chapter 8: Secret Base
If I hear the word 'OWLs' one more time I'm going to snap. It's only been two weeks into the year and the teachers are driving me crazy with all the exam talk. Between classes, a ridiculous amount of homework and prefect duties, I rarely have time for my friends. I am a week behind in gossip and the only people I seem to have time for are my doormates, and that's because I talk to them every morning before class.
Although I'm super busy I had time to check out two books from the library. The first was on werewolves and the second was on moon phases. Did you know every full moon has a name? The September moon is called the Fruit Moon.
I felt like I was totally lacking in my job description as a best friend. Quidditch practice for Gryffindor is this Saturday; I promised Lysander I'd be in the stands cheering him on. I also promised Sienna the same thing, so I'm doing okay as far as those best friends go. But I haven't spoken to Lorcan much.
See I realized on the train ride when Lorcan showed me his badge that lately I've only been talking about werewolf stuff with him. I'm supposed to act like things are normal and that everything will be the same. But that won't happen if I'm constantly asking him how he feels? I didn't do that much before.
I'm reading werewolf books on the sly because I want to help him. I just haven't got the time to talk about no werewolfy things with him.
I have to try. Maybe he is all caught up on the drama and can fill me in.
"Hi bestest friend" I said as I snuck into the Ravenclaw tower.
"Hi Lily, the questions still aren't hard enough to keep up out?" Lorcan asked. He was lounging on the couch with his transfiguration book on his chest and his hand in his hand.
"I got lucky someone was coming out just as I approached" I said sitting on the floor next to the couch. "What have you been up to?" I asked.
"Nothing, school work, you?"
"Same. Ugh, I am so bored. I can't wait until the season starts so then I'll have something to do" I grumbled.
"There are only six games a year. What are you expecting to do for the other two hundred and sixty four days of the school year?"
"Watch Quidditch practice?" I suggested
"Not even you can watch that much Quidditch" he said.
"True. Hey there is going to be an international broom race during Christmas break, you wanna go?"
"Maybe, if I the time is right" he said.
I rolled my eyes. "The time is always right for hanging out with me."
"Hey didn't you promise me a tour of the shrieking shack?" Lorcan said suddenly shutting his book.
Huh, did I promise that? I surely don't remember.
"Let's go, now" he said standing up.
"You want to break school rules? I'm surprised this is a first" I said standing up as well.
"I'm not breaking the rules per se, I'm bending the rules. You on the other hand would be breaking the rules. I've got special privileges" he said.
"Well if we get caught I'm saying I was doing my prefect duties and catching delinquents at work" I said.
He laughed. "Like anyone would believe I'm a delinquent" he said.
The two of us left the castle. We ran all they away across the grounds. It was still daylight out so there were many people lounging about by the lake and stuff.
"What if someone sees us?" Lorcan asked.
"This was your idea" I reminded him.
When the Whomping Willow came into view we both paused. I don't think I ever really noticed how menacing it looks.
"So to get in we need to hit a knot in the roots" I said.
"Any random knot or a specific one?" he asked.
I hadn't thought about that. "I specific one I think. And before you ask. No I don't know which one."
"I guess we'll just to have to try them all out then" he said heading for the tree.
Oh, goodness what have I created? I followed him to the tree. A branch came swinging down and I ducked. Close call. Here goes another. I had to jump. Thank goodness I seemed to have inherited my parents' Quidditch reflexes. I got to the base not without a few bruises and scrapes. I leaned against the trunk when I reached it and let my hands fall down. My hands touched a small thing and the whole tree froze.
"Seriously? The knot is super tiny" I yelled.
I heard laughing. Lorcan was standing ten feet away.
"What the hell? Did you not even try?" I asked.
"I used my wand. The knot is right there by the way" he said pointing. Oh so I gotten it wrong.
"Arse" I said as he started laughing again.
I crawled up the tiny passage way. It was really too small, and I'm slightly claustrophobic. I was glad when I came upon a set of stairs.
I took a close look and the smile wiped off my face. Did they have to look so old and creaky?
"This place is only forty years old right, should it look so old?" I asked.
"The Willow is only forty years old, the shack might be older" Lorcan said.
Right. Well this place is definitely a fixer upper. We climbed up the squeaky stairs and it ended in a small room. Yeah I could tell a werewolf used to stay here. There were broken chairs, scratch marks on the ways, bite marks on the bed post, and the bed itself looked a mess not to exclude the floor, was that blood?
"Scourify" I pointed to the floor and it started cleaning itself. I pointed to the bed next and got rid of the whole thing. I transfigured a broken chair into a nice temurpedic bed. Another wave of my wand and red and gold blankets appeared.
Lorcan raised an eyebrow. Fine. I changed the covers to a white and brown pattern. Brown is a neutral color.
"If only we would've bought food we could've had a picnic" I said.
"The place still needs more renovating but I think this'll be perfect for a secret hangout spot."
"Awesome I always wanted a secret hang out spot but Al and James always banned me from their tree house" I said.
We spent our time renovating the place.
We added an extra couch, cleaned the walls, a couple of chairs, and a working fire place. I added a dresser, for hiding snacks in the next time we come.
The renovations took most of the day.
"I'm so starving" I muttered.
"We should get back up to the castle then" he said.
"Ugh, I don't want to leave" I complained.
He rolled his eyes. "You are so dramatic" he said.
"Thanks I try."
"Come on, I have to go meet with Professor Moon anyway."
"Ugh, that woman is a complete nightmare" I said. "I'm still working on the essay she set two days ago" I said.
"She's not bad" he said.
"That's because you like potions" I said.
We crawled out of the shack and made our way back to the castle.
After we said our goodbyes I headed to the Gryffindor common room.
"Where in the hell have you been? You look like you've been crawling through mud" Sienna asked me as soon as I reached our dorm.
"I've been around on the grounds. Quidditch tryouts tomorrow. How did your practice go?"
"It went okay. If I don't make the team I'm going to knock some sense into your cousin."
"If you don't make the team we'll both take him on" I said. My cousin Hugo made Quidditch captain, something he would not stop talking about every since he got his letter.
I went to the prefect's bathroom took a long hot bath. I patrolled the corridors for two hours. Then I went to my empty common room to finish off this week's homework.
AN: Sorry, to the people who are following this, that I took so long to update.