Lily Potter and The Harming Potion

Sneaking - 17

Instead of the lighthearted fun Lily was having at Hogwarts was over. She was more determined than ever to solve the mystery of the attacks. Roxanne and Molly were still at St. Mungos. Although Lily didn't want to admit it, she noticed that Louis was absent more and more. She desperately wanted to follow, but reached a dead end whenever she tried. All of the stress was building up inside of her. One day in March, she just exploded.

"I can't take it anymore!" Her friends looked up at her. "I'm trying my hardest to solve this stupid thing and I can't figure any of it out! Why is someone doing this? How? Who? You guys seem perfectly fine with ignoring what's going on here and acting normal, but it's not. Nothing's the same. You can't keep on pretending." Lily stormed away.

"Lily!" Hugo called after her. She continued to walk away, not caring that her friends were staring after her. Lily curled herself up in a small corner and began to cry. She already felt terrible for blowing up at them like that. The cold stone wall dug into her back. After a few minutes, Lily sniffed and wipes her eyes. Stretching after getting out of the fetal position she was curled up in. It was dark and Lily didn't know where she was. She slid out of the alcove and looked around. A pair of footsteps echoed though the hall. She quickly stepped back in, not wanting to get in trouble with a teacher. As she peeked out, she saw it was actually her cousin, Louis. He was looking pale and sick, but walked with purpose. Curious, Lily followed behind him, sticking to shadows and dark corners. She followed him all the way to the stairs, where he starting climbing. Lily hesitated. If she followed, she risked getting caught. If she didn't, she wouldn't know where he was going. She took a deep breath and started climbing the stairs behind him.

Louis kept going up, up, and up. Lily wasn't sure what he was doing, but he seemed sure of himself. Once, he turned his head, making sure nobody was following him. She moved away so she would be just outside his line of vision. There was a moment of heavy silence. He began to climb again. Lily let out a small breath and started after him.

He ended up on the seventh floor. At first, it looked like he was standing in front of a blank wall. Then, a door appeared, iron snaking around and wood nailing itself in. The last thing to be added was a silver knocker, which Louis knocked three times. The door swung open. He entered and Lily followed, grabbing the door just before it closed. She slipped in to a dark and damp room. The walls were coarse and slimy. She pulled her hand away in disgust and wiped it on her robes. A muffled sound came from the end of the corridor. Was Louis attacked?

Lily ran toward the faint light at the end of the tunnel. She was so close, and then ran into a barrier. As she got up from the hard floor, she noticed the faint shimmer of the barrier. She pressed her ear against it, trying to hear what Louis was saying to whoever was in the room. 

"- can't attack... She'd know right away!"

"Oh, she won't, we'll-"

"But it's-"

"Shh. There's someone here." Lily bolted. Curses were fired throughout the tunnel. They bounced off the walls, lighting up the tunnel and giving her a way to see the way out. She was so focused on the doorway, she didn't notice a curse streaking by. It singed her hair. Lily touched it. It was hot to the touch, but she couldn't stop then. She ran to the end and shoved open the doors, then pushed them closed with a final slam. It echoed though the hallway. Lily caught her breath. How had Louis gotten with that woman?

When Lily went to the Great Hall, she tried to tell her friends what happened, but they turned away from her. She left the table without eating anything. Never mind what Louis had done, what had she done? All of the people she could tell were angry at her. 

"Lily!" a voice called after her. Lily turned. It was Cameron, jogging after her. 

"What are you doing? I thought you were mad at me." Lily looked down.

He took a deep breath. "I'm going to listen to you. But only because I know what it's like to be hurt. To be raw. You may not believe it now, but I do know what it's like to be as angry as you are right now. But, I'll only listen to you if you promise me something."

"What?"

"Apologize right after. I don't care how angry you are-"

"I'm not, I'm not! Now, listen, because you're going to need to hear this."