Lily Luna's Story

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

As the days passed, I began to feel more comfortable and cheerful than I had since being at Hogwarts. My family, picking up on this, decided to celebrate – not exactly saying the reason, but everyone knew that it was because I was finally starting to show some emotion that wasn’t resentment.

The situation with Tallulah and the Stone was still fresh in my mind, but I decided to let it rest before I acted on anything. I was still unsure about Tallulah’s intentions and was less than willing to dispose of the Stone forever. It stayed under the loose floorboard under my bed, where nobody but me could find it.

“What do you say about a party tonight in the Room of Requirement?” James asked us all in hushed voices at breakfast one morning. Many cheering and excitement followed his statement. Even I was slightly excited. James’s parties usually were wild, but I knew that since he was willingly inviting all of us in the family, it would be different to his usual ones.

James beamed at Rose, who sighed heavily, snapping the book she had been reading shut.

“You don’t plan on organising this party yourself, do you James?” she said exasperatedly. He pouted and widened his eyes, making a very comical begging face. James, despite the many parties he threw, lacked planning skills and often relied on Rose – an efficient organiser, much like her mother – to do it for him.

“Fine,” Rose grumbled, pulling out some parchment and taking down some notes. “Who’s coming?”

“Invite all the cousins who aren’t at Hogwarts anymore,” Albus put in. “Including Teddy.”

“What about the Scamander twins?” I offered. Rose nodded and added their names to the list.

I looked up from our cohort and noticed the tables had mostly emptied. It was time for class.

I sighed and heaved my bag over my shoulder, knowing that because of my excitement and willingness for the school day to be over, it would tick by incredibly slowly.

***

When the bell rang and Flitwick finally let us out of class, I quickly gathered my books together and rushed to my dormitory.

I was very excited for the party – well, it was more of a family gathering – and couldn’t wait for it to finally be five o’clock when Rose told us to get there. I was looking forward to proving to James and Albus that I felt so much happier than I did before, and especially seeing the cousins I hadn’t seen since before leaving to Hogwarts for the year. It was strange being at school now that so many of them didn’t attend anymore. Despite still having so many of the Potter/Weasley clan still at Hogwarts, it felt lonely without them all.

“Lily, can I come in?” Rose asked, standing at the door at half past four. She looked ready for the party already, letting me know she did that on purpose so she would have time to talk to me.

“Of course,” I replied, gesturing for her to come in. She sat down on my bed, wrapping her arms around her legs.

“What’s going on with you?” she finally queried. I knew she was asking about my previous strange behavior, but she didn’t want to ask in front of my brothers.

I took a deep breath. “Honestly, Rosie, I have no idea. But I’m trying to get better, I am! That’s why I think this party is a good idea… I need to escape from this… whatever it is.”

Rose didn’t say anything in response. Instead, she stood up and wrapped her arms around me tightly.

“I know it’s hard to talk sometimes, but if you ever need to, I’m here for you.” Grateful tears flooded my eyes and as we pulled apart, I tried to hide them. “Anyway, we should get going if we want to make it in time. Al’s waiting for me in the Common Room.”