Alarm

At five past nine in the morning that Saturday, Lily and Lauren chatted about anything while they waited for Sev to arrive with his escort for breakfast.

"Lily, it's strange that they haven't arrived yet," Lauren said. "Today you have training. They are always very punctual."

"I know, Lauren, I think it's strange too, but don't worry, they'll come right away."

They continued chatting until ten past nine.

"Lily, it's very strange that they haven't arrived yet."

There's already Lauren getting overwhelmed by everything. But I already know what happened, Lily thought. "I can think of what could have happened. Sev was going to cast the Fidelius for you last night, and he was planning to do it next to ours. He must have slept there, without an alarm clock."

"Don't bother me... he's fallen asleep," Lauren laughed. "And the others must be looking for him all over the castle."

"Indeed," Lily also laughed. "Poor guys, because surely he didn't tell them anything, and they won't find him at the Fidelius."

"Better, that way he can rest."

"Well yes."

"We will have to explain something to them if they come. Will you, Lily? Will you project to Jack?" the Sly girl asked.

She prefers not to be the one to talk about Sev with Jack. Bad business. "Sure, Lauren. If they arrive, I'll do it. Otherwise, I'll explain it to him in training."

"Great, Lily, thank you."

"We cut for a moment, Lauren, Cecile is speaking to me."

"Of course."

"Tell me, Cecile, what were you saying?" Lily asked her friend.

"Sev and his escort should already be here," Cecile replied.

"Yeah. He must have fallen asleep in our Fidelius and they must be looking for him all over the castle."

"Ugh... what a mess..." Cecile laughed, "I'm going to tell Remus."

"Okay, but pretend a little with Alice and Frank."

"Of course, of course…"

Lily continued chatting with Lauren without further concern. At a quarter past nine Jack entered the Great Hall alone.

"Lily, there is Jack and he comes alone, the others are still looking. He comes for news, give them to him, go on," Lauren was laughing.

This Lauren is funny when she gets down, and she doesn't give a damn for Jack. "Yeah. Now, as soon as he sits down. What face does he make?"

"Ugh… he is very overwhelmed. Very worried. Talk to him tactfully."

"This Sev... is going to drive us crazy," the Gryff girl said.

They were dying of laughter.

"What's up, Lily? What makes you so funny?" asked Frank, who sat opposite her, with a smile.

"Nothing, Frank, my stuff."

Lauren projected to her,"Lily, Jack has already sat down, but project to Dumbledore first, before he asks you."

Sure, we should have thought about that a while ago, but we were having fun. "You're right, Lauren. I'm going there."

Lily projected to the Headmaster, "Good morning, Albus."

"Hello, Lily. How are you? Do you know what happened to Prince?"

He's worried, of course. "Nothing serious, Albus. Only that today he didn't sleep at home, but where he used to secretly meet me, and he must have fallen asleep."

"Oh… he's exhausted. Too much work."

"Well yes."

"Do you talk to Steed or do I?" asked Dumbledore.

"I'll explain it to him, Albus."

"It's okay, Lily."

Lily was going to project to Jack. It's the first time I'm projecting to Jack and I don't see him, because he might be expecting Lauren to project him, which is who it should be. Let's see how we do it.

"Jack, I'm Lily. If you listen to me raise your hand. I can't see you from here."

Lily saw Jack's hand rise above the heads. Brilliant.

"Sev is fine, don't worry," she continued. "He only must have fallen asleep where he used to meet me, and you won't find him there. Better go back to look for the others and have some breakfast in the kitchens before going to train, he'll come when he wakes up. He has the Map, don't worry. If you have understood me, raise your hand again."

Lily saw Jack's hand again.

"Okay, Jack, see you in a bit."

Jack got up and left. Ugh… now he is very angry. "Ugh… Lauren. Now he is very angry."

"Indeed. What a lecture is going to fall on Sev."

"I'll take care of talking to them in training so they don't overwhelm him. It would be enough."

"Well yes."

"I'm going to tell Dumbledore that Jack has already been warned," Lily said.

"Sure."

Lily projected to the Headmaster, "Albus, it's done."

"Yes, I have already seen that Jack has left very angry. Put peace, Lily, Prince has a lot of pressure."

"I know, Albus, it's not necessary you tell me. I'll talk to him later."

"Okay, Lily."

Lily projected to Lauren, "That's it, Lauren."

"Now I hope they don't find him before you can talk to them."

"I don't think so, Lauren. Remus came home at two in the morning and then Sev went to conjure yours, he wouldn't go to sleep before three."

"What a beating, for him it was five o'clock," the brunette said.

"Sure. He's not going to wake up before eleven, and that's if he does." Although the morning sun pours into the Fidelius, maybe he will wake up, but Lauren doesn't know yet, better not worry her.

"Brilliant. Let him rest."

"Well yes. They have to get used to working without him, at least for training, he can't do everything," said the redhead. "Last weekend he kept going from one place to another talking to everyone, he goes crazy. He is a lonely being."

"Of course."

I have to arrange the training before I leave the Hall, talk to Alice and Frank. And with Remus and Cecile to help me calm down the Slys.

"We are going to go out, Lauren. We are already finishing breakfast. We cut, we continue at lunch."

"Sure, sweetie, let's continue."

Lily told Cecile, "Cecile, you have to give me a hand with Jack and the others, so that they don't tell Sev off."

"Of course, Lily, of course, it would only be enough. Have you projected to Jack?"

"Yes, and also Dumbledore. Albus understands, but Jack has gotten really upset."

"Relax, we will put peace among all. I'll tell Remus."

"Okay."

While Cecile talked to Remus, Lily talked to Alice and Frank.

"Alice, Frank. Today Prince is not going to be from the beginning of the training, Dumbledore told me, he has things to do. The Sly commanders didn't know anything, they're looking for him around the castle and they might be late in arriving. Can you take care of their groups with the help of Genevre and Lorenz?"

"Sure, Lily, of course," Alice said.

"Well, we're going there, to get there first." And to Cecile, "Let's go, Cecile."

The five got up. Some Raves, including Genevre and Lorenz, did it too. They met at the door of the Great Hall. Frank and Alice spoke with the eagle commanders, and Lily with Cecile and Remus.

"We are going to wait for Sev's escort at the door and when they arrive we will take them to the meeting room to talk in private, before the rumor spreads and they turn everyone against Sev," Lily proposed.

"Well, we'd better wait for them here, at the bottom of the stairs, until they come down," Cecile said.

"True, you're absolutely right, because they could meet people in the corridor, and we'll accompany them to the kitchens for breakfast, so they calm down a bit."

"I'm going to tell Alice and Frank," Remus said. "Wait for me at the bottom of the stairs."

"Great, Remus."

They left the Great Hall.

"What a mess, Cecile," said the redhead. "We can't depend on him like that, with everything he has on him. He is sixteen years old."

"Indeed, Lily."

"We have to find the way to help him more, everything happens through him. And he also has the OWLs, the two most difficult. He has the right to have a life outside of this. I can't wait for summer to come."

Remus came back. They waited for the Slys at the bottom of the stairs, talking about how they were going to board them. The seven of them arrived, Jack, Deborah, Anthony, Heather, Fiona, Valerie, and Andrew. Numerous students were already leaving the Hall, heading towards the training space.

Lily stepped forward and addressed Jack. She spoke to him authoritatively, "Jack, let's all talk for a while in the kitchens while you have breakfast."

Jack did too. "No, Lily. We have to command."

He is still very upset. I'm going to tell him off but well.

"No, Jack," she faced him even more. "You have to have breakfast and we have to talk. I've already asked Frank and Alice to handle it, they're going to do it with Genevre and Lorenz. Let's go to the kitchens."

"Okay." Jack turned to the others, "Let's have breakfast in the kitchens."

The three Gryffs and seven Slys headed for the kitchens. They entered. Lily led, "Come, sit down and have breakfast in peace. Meanwhile we'll talk to you."

They did, they sat down at a table with food. The seven Slys began to eat.

"Start, Remus," Lily said.

"Sev was with me last night," Remus said. "We needed to meet for some business we had to resolve and we didn't finish until three in the morning."

"Oh…" this was Jack. "I already realized that at half past twelve he was still studying, which is very strange for him. It was for that."

He must have been thinking that Sev had been with Lauren. Hence the great annoyance. He is already calm, but I am going to tell him off anyway. "That is, Jack," said Lily, harshly. "Sev has a life apart from all the mess. You must understand it and not put all the weight on his shoulders."

"We already tried not to, Lily."

"Yeah. But maybe you should stop counting on him for every training. School days are also very busy. He doesn't have a single whole day to himself a week."

"Yes, and also yesterday afternoon he felt bad to go flying."

"That is. To top."

"You're right, Lily. We have been furious because we have become nervous in case something had happened to him."

He's being honest, he hasn't been mad because of Lauren. I'm going to loosen up. "Well, I understand. But we all have to be more patient with him. Sev really likes to be alone and now he can hardly ever do it. He has taken last night for him and has fallen asleep. He is exhausted, it can happen to anyone."

"Well yes, Lily, you're right," Deborah said.

We haven't introduced ourselves to Valerie and Andrew, and they look sad, they were the ones who were flying with Sev yesterday and they must have also realized that it made him feel bad, Lily thought. I'm already about to cry. They love him very much. I've crossed the line a bit. It is very difficult to deal with so many people at the same time, each one has a different feeling, and Sev, who six months ago didn't even know how to make friends, is managing to do it. I have to be able too. "Sorry, Valerie, Andrew, for not introducing ourselves, we didn't know each other yet."

"No, sweetheart," Valerie said.

"I'm Lily, and they are Remus and Cecile."

"Nice to meet you," Valerie said.

"Nice to meet you," Cecile said.

"Thank you so much for worrying about Sev," Lily said to the two of them. Valerie is about to cry too.

"It's not a bother, Lily," Valerie answered. "He's our friend too, but understand that for us it's much more than that. He is our leader."

"I know, Valerie, he is for everyone, but he is sixteen years old. He has had to become a man in less than six months and he will be in constant danger of death perhaps for years."

"Yes, we are well aware of that," Andrew said.

"Well, that is, to make it easy for him and not worry excessively about him," Lily continued. "If he disappears like he did today, you should continue to function normally. He will show up, he knows how to take care of himself perfectly." And even more so now that he has the Map, he could dispense with the escort many times and leave the house much more, and he stays locked up for not bothering or worrying them.

"Well, two days before the mess he got caught by the Gryffs," Anthony said.

He's right, but now he has the Map and Anthony knows it, but I think Valerie and Andrew don't. "Well yes, it was a serious mistake but it is not going to happen again. He now has more resources, he is protected by Dumbledore." With that he will understand what I mean.

"Yes, that's true, Lily," said Jack. "It has gotten out of hand. We thought the malefics might have caught him."

I believe him, they suffer a lot for him. They have lived with the malefics for years and they know how they behave. I'll calm them down. "Yeah, I understand you, but he's not going to let anything happen to him. Now he knows that we all depend on him. He won't get caught." No one answers me, they are already calm. Now the strategy. "It's your turn, Cecile."

"I'm sure that when he wakes up and comes he's going to be very overwhelmed and worried about having left you stranded," Cecile said. "You must relieve him of that weight so that he can take freedom to do his things."

"Sure, Cecile, we will," Jack replied.

He already does, in fact, he always accompanies Sev to play the piano, Lily thought.

"Receive him well, as if nothing had happened," Cecile continued. "He is going to feel very guilty, he has a great sense of guilt. When they broke his arm and I accompanied him to the Infirmary, he had a terrible time for all of us, he didn't even care about the pain. You have to relieve him of that weight, so that he does not feel responsible for everyone, each one of us is responsible for ourselves."

All Slys shut up, that's enough. Let them finish eating calmly and reconsider, because now they are going to have to pretend before the others, they have screwed up completely. I hope Sev hasn't already arrived at training. We'll stay with them.

The Slys finished their breakfast in silence, quickly, while the Gryffs waited for them to do so. They are also in a hurry to get there before Sev. When they left the kitchens, the corridors were already empty.

Jack held Lily to the rear of the others and took her by her shoulders. He wants to talk to me alone, normal.

"I'm so sorry, Lily. I shouldn't have been like that, knowing that he has the Map. But I'm very afraid for him, I wouldn't bear for something to happen to him."

I believe him, he is being sincere. He loves him very much, despite the thing with Lauren. Lily hooked him around his waist. "I couldn't stand it either, Jack. But we must not show him that we suffer so much, otherwise he suffers even more. You heard Cecile."

"I'll make sure that no one bothers him when he arrives."

"That's if he hasn't arrived yet, which I hope not."

"I also hope not," he said.

"Very good, Jack. Talk especially to the Slys, who are the ones who will have noticed that you weren't at the table and the ones who can probably bother him the most, because they have more confidence with him. Invent some good cover of yours and that nobody mentions the subject to him when he arrives. Today it is your turn to lead, you are his second."

"Of course, Lily. In fact, last week he already searched for fifth-year commanders in case he couldn't come some day."

Oh, Sev didn't tell me that, or Frank and Alice, we would have solved the mess much better, and Jack knew it. "My, man. Well, what I have told you, you should have come normally and his absence would not have been noticed." He has allowed himself to be carried away by his nerves, he has not been cold-blooded. He doesn't look like a snake.

"Well yes, I have screwed it completely."

"The best thing is that you tell them that he had work with Dumbledore, that's what I told Alice and Frank, it's credible," she said.

"Of course, but since we all were missing…"

I already told you that he has screwed it completely. "Well, then you didn't know anything and you've been worried and it's done. Slys are discreet, no one will ask too many questions."

They arrived at the Training Hall.

"I'm going to talk to the other sixth-graders. Enter the fifth-years to train," he said.

"Okay, Jack."

They separated at the door, the six fifth-graders entered and went with their year.

Well, Sev hasn't arrived and the two new fifth year commanders are already in front of us, a Gryff boy, a friend of Alice and Frank, and a girl from another House, how nice, a mixed pair of commanders. They must have offered themselves, seeing that Sev hadn't come. Perfect, so they only had to take care of three groups between four people.

They introduced themselves to them. The boy's name is Richard, and the girl, Julia, is Rave, a friend of Genevre's. They get along great, I'm sure Sev chose them for that too. Meddling, of course, he loves it. They have made us fight among ourselves, so as not to disorganize what they already had set up. Remus with Anthony, and Cecile and I two against two against Heather and Fiona. Brilliant. I had never fought against my two fifth-year Sly classmates yet. They continued like this until eleven.