Lily Luna Potter - Back to the Past

Chapter 20

     Lily, Peter, and I took up the rear of the pack.

     “Sorry,” the blonde boy squeaked as he bumped into me. He’d been relatively quiet during the week or so we’d spent at the Potters’ house, always timid and unsure of himself. He would never suggest anything to do or disagree with what anyone else said, as if he worried they wouldn’t keep him around anymore if he opposed the more popular decisions.

     But the time spent with him in close quarters had made me sure of one thing – there was no way Peter was anything close to a Death Eater. ‘At least, not yet,’ I couldn’t help thinking. Because, as small and insignificant as he appeared, and as easy as it was for him to slip into the background, there wasn’t even the slightest hint of him being anything but loyal to his three best (probably only) friends.

     I really didn’t know what to think – he’d betrayed two people in my family, but he didn’t even know he had done it. He hadn’t actually done it yet.

     “Are you alright?” Peter asked from a little ways ahead of me, and I realized I had stopped in the middle of the doorway to let him pass me. He smiled a little bit, a small smile that looked like he was trying to pull it onto his face, but didn’t know if it belonged there.

     “Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied quickly, smiling back at him. His smile grew a bit and stayed on his lips. I realized we had fallen behind Lily, who was already sitting down at the dining table. “Let’s go have breakfast!”

     The smile he had grew even more, and I resolved to be nicer to him from now on.

     We were almost finished, our stomachs nearly full to bursting with delicious pancakes and fruit, when a whooshing noise came from the living room.

     “Who would be calling at this time, on Christmas day?” Mrs. Potter asked, looking up from the dishes she was washing.

     “No idea,” said Mr. Potter, hurrying out of the dining room to answer the Floo Call.

     “Does your dad often get called on holidays?” Lily asked James, dabbing her mouth gently with a napkin.

     “No,” said James, frowning as he stuffed the last bite of his fifth pancake into his mouth, chewed and swallowed. “At least, he’s never gotten a call before…”

     “Luna?” called Mr. Potter’s voice from the living room. All eyes turned to me, and I felt a spark of confusion. Who would be calling for me? Who even knew I was staying at the Potters’ house for Christmas? “Could you come in here for a moment? Professor Dumbledore wants to have a word with you.” Hope blossomed deep in my chest. Had Dumbledore finally figured out how to send me home? ‘I have to say, that would be an excellent Christmas present,’ I thought.

     I tried to walk casually into the living room, but ended up going faster than I had anticipated and nearly tripped as I reached the carpeted floor. Mr. Potter was kneeling in front of the fire, Professor Dumbledore’s face floating in the flames.

     "I’ll give you a bit of privacy,” Mr. Potter said, going back toward the kitchen and ushering James and Sirius back from where they had been hiding behind the doorframe, trying to listen in on the call.

     I turned back to the fireplace, and Dumbledore’s mouth was in a smile, which I counted as good news.

     “Did you figure out a way to get me back?” I asked without preamble.

     His face fell just a fraction, but it was enough for me to know his answer.

     “Not quite,” he said, “But we did just receive a visitor, who I think you’d be most happy to meet.”