Lily Potter and the Shadows' Misfortune

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Are we going to try and get to the bottom of the stealing now?" Hugo asked.

"I think that we've got enough on our plate," Lily said. "If we can solve the mystery of the Sanger twins, then we can get to the bottom of the stealing."

"Whatever you say, Nancy Drew," Rudy said.

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"Nancy Drew," Cassie said, answering for Rudy. "It's a Muggle book character. She's a detective. I used to read those books when I was in primary school."

"Is she a good detective?" Lily asked.

Rudy and Cassie nodded.

"Then, I'll take that as a compliment," Lily said, smiling as she grabbed some oatmeal from the table's center.

"So what's the today's plan?" Nora asked after the six had had some breakfast.

"The Forbidden Forest," Hugo answered for her. "She wants to look for the envelope in the place where we ran into that scary voice thing."

"Good thing I've got my cloak here," Cassie said, holding up the fabric that had sat in her lap.

"How can you think this is a good idea?" Eli asked. "Nora, you've got to agree with me: this is insane."

Nora shook her head, "I'm up for looking. It can't hurt."

"It'll hurt us if we're dead," Eli said, looking to Hugo. "What do you think Hugo? You've got to be insane if you think that this can't hurt."

Lily swore that she saw Hugo swallow before saying, "I don't want to get involved."

"Fine," Lily said. "Let's just check the grounds. We don't have to go into the Forbidden Forest. We'll just walk around the grounds to see if we can find anything. Does that sound better?"

"Never thought I'd see you cave, Lil," Hugo said.

"Look, if you boys don't want to go into the Forbidden Forest, then Nora, Cassie, and I will just have to do it some other time. Besides, it's probably gone by now. It's been a week," Lily said with a shrug.

Sure, she wanted to go search through the Forbidden Forest, but her friends had brought up some good points. It would surely be dangerous and maybe fruitless. Maybe their time would be better suited searching the grounds instead.

Once everyone had finished their breakfast, the six put on their cloaks and headed out of the Great Hall and out the castle's main doors.

Cassie groaned, "My pants are going to get soaked in this snow."

"This is what you girls get for wanting to come outside," Hugo said. "The snow's going to soak through all of our clothes."

"We're just going to have to deal with that then," Lily said. "Or we could try once the snow melts. What do you guys think?

As Lily turned to get the boys' opinions, who stood behind her, she was hit in the face with a snowball. Surprised, Lily lost her balance and fell backward into the snow.

She sputtered, wiping the snow from her face. Lily looked up to where her friends and cousin stood. Nora and Cassie were wide-eyed. Rudy and Eli looked like they were trying to hold back laughter while Hugo stood there, smirking. It didn't take Lily a second to figure out that her cousin was responsible for pelting her with a snowball.

"Help me up," Lily said, trying to keep her voice cool.

Hugo laughed, "It was just a joke, Lil."