2nd chapter of Tempest. Hope you'll enjoy!
Disclaimer: It's all J.K.s world!
As they arrived at Hogwarts, Lily saw Hagrid. He looked bigger every year that went by. He was always so nice to the first years, as if trying not to scare them. And so he went off to the boats followed by dozen of kids. The other students all headed towards the thestrals as usual. She then realized Hugo was missing. She must have lost him somewhere and went looking for him. It was too crowded though so she stopped, telling herself he probably took another carriage. She ended up taking the last one with Albus and... Scorpius. Lily whispered something in her brother's ear. He nodded shooting her an inquisitive look. She just cut short: " Afterwards..."
That was when Scorpius turned around to look at her. Lily felt a sudden rush in her body and she must have blushed because the boy smirked. She felt suddenly angry and would have gladly hexed him if Albus hadn't been there... She hated it when boys did that, when they knew how they make girls feel. And Malfoy seemed to know exactly what she was feeling right now. Even if they had never spoken he saw right through her. Like an open book. Albus seemed to realize everything that was going on which made her even grumpier. What is it today? She thought. The carriage stopped and they all got off.
She realized they still had to walk to the castle. She couldn't do it, couldn't stand it. Not in his presence. That meant she had to control her every action. The way she walked, the way she kept her luggage... just too much. Albus walked besides her and it made her feel better, comforted, protected. He didn't exchange a word with Scorpius and Lily wondered if something had happened between them or if they had actually ever been friends. But then it did make sense: a Potter and a Malfoy, could they ever be friends? Just then Scorpius spoke: " Albus, did you bring your robes?"
" You mean for the ball? Yes, I unfortunately I did. This means I'll actually have to go..." he answered. Scorpius laughed. A melody to Lily's ears.
" Yes, I did too. It's ridiculous. At Hogwart's there used to be balls for special occasions like the triwizard tournament. Not just every year for the sake of Diggory's memory..." he said.
" It is right to remember him. In the end he was the Hogwarts champion alongside my father but I don't really get why we have to have a ball every year for Merlin's sake..." Albus responded. Cedric Diggory. Lily remembered how she'd sit for hours in the room of requirement looking at his picture. He had this radiant smile and she just sat there thinking, imagining how his life must have been and how it ended badly. He was in love with Cho... Cho something, her father's first girlfriend. She had never taken interest in their relationship because something told her that Cho belonged to Cedric. At least she thought it this way. She suddenly felt the urge to address both Albus and Scorpius' complaints: " Why the ball? Because... well, is there a better way to remember Cedric other than with... love?"
" I don't get you Lils..." her brother said with a blank expression.
" Cedric went to the Yule ball with Cho... he was in love with the girl. So it's nice to remember him in the happiest moment of his life. Think about it. When you'll dance with the person you love then it's as if you're celebrating that special moment in his life. You are remembering him."
" But if you don't love anyone, you won't celebrate, remember or honour his memory..." Scorpius said. He quickened his pace and took his distance from the siblings. Ouch, she thought. He was no different from his father. As cold as ice. He really couldn't feel anything.
As they entered the castle, they had to part. Each going to their own common house. But Albus took his sister's arm and told her: " Meet me after dinner outside the great hall. I'll be waiting for you there. I need to know." Lily nodded.
OoO
The usual ceremony took place in the great hall. The first years were sorted and surprisingly enough there weren't many Gryffindors that year. Not important anyway to Lily. She just sat there silent, not eating and staring at the Slytherin table. Well, if you don't love anyone, you won't celebrate, remember or honour the memory... These words kept coming back to her. Scorpius Malfoy: the boy who could petrify her with a look, enchant her with a word, ensnare her with a smile. She was just deluding herself. He clearly said he didn't love anyone. Neither do I... she angrily thought. She was now scratching the wooden table with her fork. Hugo noticed this and took her hand. " What is it Lily? Is everything all right?" No, it is not my dear cousin she thought. But instead answered:
" Yes... I'm just a little distracted. Lots of thoughts." She caught Scorpius looking at her. This time it was really him and not her. As always she felt lost and could really forget everything for his sake. She could.
OoO
Getting out of the great hall, she saw her brother waiting, just as he'd said. She walked towards him. After that, time slowed down. Lily told him everything about their mother and what she had noticed about aunt Hermione. Albus carefully listened and nodded several times. He looked quite fascinated by the subject especially the one regarding Tom Riddle. He always had a thing for the dark arts.
"When are we going to the room of requirement?" asked Lily.
"We?"
" Well, don't you want to know at least what he looked like? Maybe we can find something else."
" Of course I want to come, Lils. I just don't like you presuming things. Especially when you know you're right." said Albus
" Come on, Al... you know we've always understood each other and we always will. There's no way you can hide anything from me."
"Hmpf" Lily smiled at this.
" Filch checks every now and then the entrance to the room. We have to be careful if we sneak out."
" You do still have the Marauders' map, right?" asked Lily.
" Obviously."
" Well then we can look at it and sneak out tonight."
" No, not tonight. It's already late and school starts tomorrow. You know I have my NEWTs next year..." said Albus.
" And I have my OWLs... but ok. Let's wait."
Albus hugged his sister and they wished each other goodnight.
OoO
First day. Lily was really tired but excited. New year meant new spells, new facts on the magical world, even if she already knew half of the stuff she'd study. She was a strong witch. Just like her mother and father. It ran in her blood. Her first lesson would be herbology. It was boring but professor Longbottom made it enjoyable.
" Hello everyone and welcome back, welcome back. Now if you will open your textbooks at page 7, we'll start. Oh, and not '1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi', we'll start that afterwards. Page 7 of 'Goshawk's Guide to Herbology'."
And so the first part of the day went on like this. Nothing interesting happened and she never saw Scorpius which helped her to concentrate on her classes.
Towards sunset she went to the library. It was usually empty at that time. She really wanted to be alone. She took 'The tales of Beedle the Bard' from one the shelves and opened the book at page 147 to read the Tale of the Three Brothers. It had always fascinated her and it thrilled her to know that her family owned two of the deathly hallows. Quite extraordinary...
There were once three brothers who were travelling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and... but her reading was interrupted.
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