Chapter 37
I watched as Remus paced back and forth in front of the empty fire place, looking agitated. It had been awhile since Fred and Caiden had left, and while Fred was responsible, having Death Eaters on the loose gave enough reason to be nervous when people weren’t home on time.
Sirius and I ourselves had only just gotten back awhile ago- the potion having finally worn about half an hour or so ago. It tickled slightly, changing back, but it wasn't unbearable. I was picking at the sticker on my apple in the meantime, listen to Sirius and Remus talk.
“I’m sure they’re both fine, Remus- Fred is always careful when it comes to Caiden.” Sirius assured Remus with an encouraging smile, but Remus sighed, not looking entirely convinced.
“I know Fred is more than equipped to watch over Caiden, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t overwhelmed- there are Death Eaters running about, in case you forgot.”
“Remus; They’ll be fine.” Sirius repeated. Remus looked like he wanted to say something, but stayed quiet, instead deciding to sit down on one of the chairs by the fire.
“Besides, they went to a lesser-known muggle cafe. They’re nowhere near any previous Death Eaters attacks. They should be alright.” I chimed in, and Remus looked over at me with a weak smile. Sirius opened his mouth to say something only to be interrupted by the sound of the door opening, followed by a loud laughter that was unmistakably Caiden’s.
Remus was out of his chair in a flash and in the hallway. As I approached myself, I saw that Caiden was already in Remus’s arms, being hugged tightly while Fred was leaning against the wall of the hallway, watching with mild amusement.
“What took you guys so long?” I asked curiously, and Fred glanced over at me with a small smile.
“Well, looks like you’re back to normal.”
“Nice to see you too, Fred.” I rolled my eyes, looking over to see Caiden practically beaming at me from over Remus’s shoulder as he was carried into the kitchen, his eyes bright and zooming across the room. Frowning slightly, I glanced back over at Fred.
“How much sugar did he have, exactly?”
“He had a shake of his own, and then he finished mine.” Fred answered with a small shrug. “The sugar rush will wear off soon enough, I’m sure.”
“Remus is going to kill you.”
“I’m sure he was going to do that anyways.” He replied dryly, and I couldn’t help but shake my head at him.
“Suit yourself.”
“I think I will.” Fred chirped happily, taking the apple out of my hand and biting into it before continuing into the hallway.
Ass.
___
Later on the same day I was sitting on my bed, flipping through A History of Magic. It was fascinating- so much information on how Hogwarts was made, how the process of the Ministry of Magic started, everything. Normally, I wasn’t one for history books. But being that this was a book on magic I felt the need to make an exception.
Fred had long since gone to work, and Remus was chasing Caiden around the house in an attempt to get him to eat something healthy. I wasn’t quite sure where Sirius was. Flipping to another page, I studied briefly. Deciding nothing that interesting was on the page, I flipped to another one. Still nothing.
Okay, History of Magic. Magic is cool. But it’s still history.
Shutting the book, I set it down on the side table, rolling over on my back to stare up at the ceiling. There goes that plan of escaping boredom. Rolling over again, I moved to sit up when there was a knock on the door.
“Lily?”
Sirius.
“Uh- come in.” I said, bending down quickly to shove a pile of dirty clothes under the bed. I’d pick that up later. Looking back up, I watched as Sirius entered the room, his expression, for once, serious.
“What’s up?” I asked as he pulled the chair from my desk, sitting down on it so he was facing me. He glanced up at me, his elbows resting on his knees.
“I just got back from an emergency meeting, with the Order.” He said slowly, watching me carefully. “We got some recent news of Draco.”
“Oh. Well... that’s good?” I said slowly, frowning. Sirius sighed, looking apologetic as he spoke.
“Lily, he’s missing.”
....What?
Missing. That’s impossible- He had a flawless cover story- flawless- he'd taken every single precaution. Just...Missing?
These days, missing was as good as dead. He couldn’t be dead- could he? Of course not. That’s ridiculous.
“Lily.”
I mean, the Order would find out if he dead, wouldn’t they? What if they had. What if they were just trying to keep me calm? Well, it wasn’t working. But it would make sense for them to keep it from me, I mean, they wouldn’t want me to freak out-
“Lily.”
God! He can’t be missing- they must’ve been mistaken, I mean, he’s probably just stuck in the manor, yeah? He’s careful, he covered his tracks, he wouldn’t just-
“Lily! Breathe!” Sirius was now crouched directly in front of me, shaking me by my shoulders and causing me to snap out of my thoughts. Blinking back tears I looked up at him, frowning.
“He’s not missing.”
“Lily, I’m sorry-”
“No! He can’t be! I mean, everything was covered-”
“Very thinly. If anyone looked close enough things would come undone- we’re not sure where Draco is, Lily, but I'm sure we’d know if he was dead.” He said, watching me with a concerned expression. I nodded, feeling slightly sick.
Oh, Draco.
Sirius sat down on the bed next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as I hid my face in his jacket. It smelt like cologne and fire whiskey. It was definitely comforting. Breathing deeply, I let out a soft sigh as Sirius pressed a kiss to my temple.
“We have people looking for more information now, if it helps.” He said quietly. “Hopefully we’ll more news by the weekend.”
“You don’t...You don’t think he’s dead?” My voice was softer than usual, thick with dread. Sirius hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I think we’d be aware if he was- I suppose that would be something You-know-who would want to brag about, if he had killed a spy for the Order.” Sirius mused, and I nodded slowly. Sirius sighed softly, squeezing my arms gently.
“Will you be alright?”
“I will.” I said after a moment, nodding slowly. Lie. “Just give some time.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
“Alright.” Sirius sighed quietly as he retracted his arm from around me, standing up. Turning back to face me, he smiled weakly.
“Try not to hide up here, alright?”
“I wasn’t-”
“Yes you were. Remember- we’re all here for you. You’re not alone.” He said before disappearing out the door, leaving me alone in my room. Sighing loudly I fell back onto my bed, grunting quietly when my back hit the mattress.
Missing.
Great.
___
It was about another hour or two before I decided to leave my room, my comforter wrapped around my shoulders as I moved down the hallway. Everything about me seemed to be disarrayed- my hair was a mess, I was missing a sock, and I was clad in pajama shorts and a t-shirt with a bleach stain on it that I had gotten from a thrift store several years ago.
Walking down the stairs, I yawned softly. Between my constant worrying over Draco, I may have fallen asleep. Twice. I was about to move myself over into the kitchen when a voice came from behind me, sounding startled.
“What happened to you?”
“Fred?” I asked drowsily, turning around slowly. The unnamed twin grinned back at me, shaking his head.
“The other one.”
“George.” I stated firmly, and he nodded once.
“Very good. Now, if you’ll answer my previous question?”
“Sleep. And tears.” I answered as I turned back, determined to get back to the kitchen. I was really craving something chocolate...with maybe peanut butter? No. Maybe later.
“Aww. Did poor Lily have a bad day?” George pouted mockingly as he walked alongside me. I frowned slightly, hobbling over to a cupboard.
“Draco’s gone missing.”
The pout fell off his face immediately, replaced by a grim and apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry, Lily-”
“Nah, it’s fine.” I waved him off, picking out a chocolate bar from one of Sirius’s secret stashes. Sitting myself on the counter, I unwrapped it contentedly. “You didn’t know.”
“Do they have any idea where he is?”
I had to glance over at him at that, raising an eyebrow. He was frowning slightly at me before realization appeared on his expression.
“Right...then he wouldn’t be missing.”
“Mm-hmm.” I hummed softly, biting into my chocolate. George sat himself down on one of the chairs near the table, glancing down at the newspaper before back up at me.
“You’ll be alright though, won’t you?”
“Don’t have much of a choice.” I answered grimly, giving a small shrug. He smiled weakly and nodded in agreement.
“I suppose that’s true..” He sighed. “What’ve you been doing then?”
“Sleeping. Thinking. All of the above.”
“Sounds fun.” George snorted, causing me to crack a small smile. George grinned slightly when he caught sight of it before a serious expression appeared on his face.
“You know, if you ever need something to do- or just someone to talk to- you can always stop by the shop. We always need help around there- and the environment is nice enough, if you put a little effort into a conversation.”
Biting my lip I nodded slowly, considering the offer. It did seem like a good idea. I did need to get out of the house more often, and a distraction from Draco’s disappearance would probably be a good thing. Not to mention, if I went while under the polyjuice potion it would give me more credit, and more background as a different person.
“I’ll think about it.” I said after a minute, “I’ll have to check with Sirius, though.”
George grinned slightly, and easily I knew why.
If it was up to Sirius, he’d have me working in the shop this evening.
///////////////////////(A/N)////////////////////////////
SOO I understand this is kinda short(6 pages on Pages), but I had to cram to get it written in time to get it published by tonight :3 I will try and update sooner/longer next chapter!
Speaking of next chapter, I have a mission for you guys(If you choose to accept it, of course): Find me a song to fit this story!! By any band, artist,etc. Just something you think fits this story as well as you can! :3 The person with the best pic will be rewarded with: (1)The next chapter dedicated to them, (2) Snippet from an upcoming chapter, and (3) my overall thankfulness of your awesome taste in music ;)
I will try to publish sooner- But just with school and lack of inspiration it can be tricky :P But I will try!!
So I love you all, pleeeeeeeaaaaaaase comment(I love hearing opinions/what your favorite part is/who you want with you/etc)
Thanks for reading- you guys at times are literally my only motivation in life, and it's really great to have you guys enjoy the writing and it's just...great. Yeah :)
Luv,
Lily