Lily Potter and the Shadows' Misfortune

Chapter Fifteen

A month passed since the evening down by Hagrid's empty hut, and nothing. Lily wasn't sure whether she was relieved or frustrated. The Sangers seemed normal and boring, and though she watched the Forbidden Forest with a telescope from the Astronomy Tower after dinner each night, Lily never saw the figure in the forest again. Whatever was out there was teasing her; she was certain of it. Appearing. Disappearing. Appearing. Disappearing. Lily decided to become frustrated with the topic rather than relieved.

Despite her want to unearth the truth behind the Sanger twins and the figure in the forest, those two mysteries were put on pause and took a backseat to her studies and Quidditch. With homework and practice, some nights she didn't even get to go up to the tower to look out for the person in the forest like she wanted to. Lily was convinced those nights were the only nights the figure appeared.

"Lily!" a voice called into her sleep.

Drowsy from a night of studying for Monday's Potion exam, Lily opened her eyes begrudgingly and pulled open the curtains on her bed to reveal Cecily, who stood with an excited grin on her face.

"It's Quidditch Day!" Cecily said, clapping her hands together. "I am so excited!"

"What time is it?" Lily asked, her voice scratchy from sleep.

"Seven," she answered.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Lily said, swinging her legs out of her bed. She had to get ready for the day's match.

Though her pride would never let her admit it, Lily was a little bit nervous for the match. The Ravenclaw team had been playing together since the previous year's season, and the Gryffindor team had added two new players since then. If Gryffindor lost, the house would surely blame it on Lily and Eli; they were what changed on the team. Lily wondered how she was supposed to live up to Vic's performance the previous year.

"Are Addie and Romy up?" Lily asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes and putting her worries aside for a moment.

Cecily shook her head.

"I'm surprised you're up already, Cecily," Lily said as she knelt beside her own trunk to pull out her Quidditch uniform. Cecily wasn't the biggest morning person, but there she was at seven o'clock on a Saturday morning, dressed and ready to go.

"I couldn't sleep," Cecily said, shaking her head giddily. "I'm terrible at flying, but I love watching Quidditch. We have to beat Ravenclaw."

"The stakes are high," Lily said, pulling out her Quidditch jumper and pants before digging into the bottom of her trunk, looking for something specific. She pulled out her socks as she searched.

"You're going to be great!" Cecily said with a nod. "What are you looking for, Lil? Your boots are out by your bed. Your gloves?"

Lily didn't look up and kept searching, "My gloves, cape, and broom are in my locker in the locker room. I'm looking for something else."

"What?" Cecily asked from above Lily's head.

"You'll see," she answered. Lily searched through the depths of her trunk, pulling up her clothes, until she found it finally.

"What on earth is that?" Cecily asked.

"A gift I got from my godmother last year," Lily said, fondly looking at it.

It was just as it had been last year. An enormous lion hat, once Luna Lovegood's, sat in her hands. Lily could only smile at her friend's bewilderment about the hat.

"That's ginormous," Cecily said, her eyes wide in surprise. "Is that what I think it is?"

"If you're thinking a giant lion hat, then yes. Yes, it is," Lily said with a fond nod before putting it down on her bed. "I'm going to the bathroom to wash and change."