Lily Luna's Story

Chapter 16

Hey everyone!

This is a short chapter, but I wanted to get something out to you all because it's been a while.

For all of you who know me, know that I'm taking a break from Wattpad at the moment... at least from the socialising side of it. I'm still trying to write, and so with all this extra time I will try to write some more.

I am so sorry it's been ages!

And to those of you who I talk to daily usually, I miss you all so much <3

Chapter 16

James and Al still weren’t talking to each other. Everyone in the family was shocked at how both boys were holding a grudge for such a long time. They had always had fights, but the fights never lasted for very long. It had been ten days since the Quidditch match, making it the longest they had gone without talking or making up.

James coped with his anger in a way that worried me. Rather than turning into the brooding boy he usually was whenever something angered him, he became so quiet that he barely would mutter a word to even me. He would spend his days sitting on the Quidditch pitch, staring into space. On weekends he would leave the castle before anyone else woke up and would come back after everyone had gone to bed. I didn’t know what he was doing all that time, but I knew the anger he was holding within himself wasn’t healthy.

Albus, on the other hand, threw himself into study. I found him with his nose buried in a book even more than Rose. He hauled books around with him to breakfast, lunch and dinner, in the Common Room after class, and to bed at night. Rose approached me one day, all stressed, and told me that for the last week, Albus had been even more knowledgeable than her on topics covered in class. Rose begged me to try and get James and Albus’s problems sorted so that she could return to the top of the class.

But no matter what I tried – and I tried everything I could think of – both of my brothers were adamant to remain mad at each other. I gave up after my attempts appeared useless.

“Hi, Lily,” a quite voice said, sitting down beside me at the fireplace. I smiled at Scorpius.

Scorpius and I had been spending quite a lot of time together since the Quidditch match, as Albus wasn’t really the best company. I found Scorpius great company, and my previous uneasiness around him was replaced with a genuine fondness.

“Any luck with Al?” I asked. Scorpius shook his head.

“Any with James?”  I copied his reply and we both sighed. I felt drained after trying for so long to get my brothers to talk to each other and failing. It was hard to keep positive when even I thought it was unlikely for them to talk to each other. I laid my head on Scorpius’s shoulder and he put his arm around my shoulders. It was comforting knowing someone was there going through the same thing I was trying to get my brothers to talk again.

It was the day that we were scheduled for a Hogsmeade visit when I found myself on the Quidditch pitch with James, trying to convince him to attend with the rest of us. The sky was dark with rain threatening to pour down at any minute.

“James, please stop doing this,” I begged. “This is crazy! Albus is your brother! Would you do this to me?”

James turned his face slightly so that he was looking at me. His eyes softened. “’You know I never would.”

“Then why are you doing it to Albus? It is no different!” I threw my hands up in exasperation. I could tell my frustration was surprising James, but he did well hiding it. James ignored me.

“Will you at least come to Hogsmeade? Albus isn’t going,” I added hastily, although I knew very well that he was. He told me he needed to get some more quills and books. “If you don’t come, I’m going to be all alone! James, please!”

James turned to me once more, but the softness was gone from his face. Instead it was rigid and held a bit of anger. “Stop, Lily. This isn’t your problem to solve. Just drop it.” I clenched my fists and had to control the anger rising inside of me.

“Fine,” I snapped. “I’m going now. I’m meeting up with April and Daisy anyway, they will be waiting for me.” April and Daisy Longbottom were old family friends. April was in my year at Hogwarts while Daisy was in James’.

James’ body language changed significantly. “On second thought… you did say Albus wasn’t going to be there, right?” I nodded. “Hm, maybe I will come then. Will you tell Daisy and April to wait?” I nodded and watched as my brother rushed off towards the Gryffindor tower to get ready.

A sneaky smile made its way to my lips. Could my brother – too cool for school James – be in love with Daisy Longbottom, the shy and studious girl we had known all our lives?