Apparation certainly wasn’t Lily’s favorite means of traveling.
She had landed hard on all fours on some grass in the Irish countryside. It took her a minute to catch her breath as she shakily got to her feet.
“Still hate Apparation, Lil?” her father laughed.
“Unfortunately, yes,” she smiled weakly. “I prefer brooms or even the Floo Network, and we all know how poor I am at that one.”
“Let’s get a move on,” he said. “It’s nearly noon, and you don’t want to be late.”
A few days had passed since the joyous celebration at the Burrow, and it was finally the Thursday of the following week, which Lily had been looking forward to. It was finally time to hang out with her friends at Rudolph’s grandparents’ house.
Her overnight things in tow, Lily followed her father out of the grass and onto the worn, cobblestone road. It was a nice day for a quick walk. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the sun shone brightly.
“Which house is it?” her father asked.
“He said it’s a lone manor on a hill,” Lily said, glancing down at a recent letter from Rudolph that she held in her hand.
“Like that one?” he continued, pointing at a stony manor on the hill in front of them.
“It looks like it fits the bill,” she shrugged, putting the letter in the pocket of her pants. “That must be it.”
The pair of Potters made their way up the cobblestone road to the equally stony manor that sat upon the hill. After five minutes of walking, Lily was finally knocking on the ancient wooden door. Before she could get a second knock in, the door swung open, revealing a kind-looking woman with a wreath of white curls framing her wrinkly face.
“Are you one of Rudolph’s friends?” she asked with a smile. “I’m his grandmother, Maeve.”
“I’m Lily,” Lily greeted, shaking the woman’s frail hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“RUDOLPH!” she yelled. “One of your friends is here!”
There was a loud banging as someone sped down the steps, and within a moment, Rudolph appeared at the door, smiling.
“Hello, Lily, Mr. Potter,” he greeted.
“Good to see you again, Rudolph,” Lily’s father said. “Now, when should I pick Lily up tomorrow?”
“Does eleven sound good?” she asked.
“Fine,” he nodded. “Well, I’ll be off then. Behave yourself, Lily.”
“I’m not James; you don’t have to worry about me,” Lily laughed. “Bye, Dad.”
As her dad walked down the hill, Rudolph led Lily into a sitting room, which had some of the most horrific, floral wallpaper that she had ever seen. Despite the ugly wall dressings, the sofas were surprisingly tasteful.
“Is anyone else here yet?” Lily asked.
Before Rudolph could answer, there was a knock on the door.
“I guess so,” he laughed, hopping off of the sofa and running to greet the newcomer.
Rudolph returned a moment later with a boy with a head of messy, black hair in tow. Eli Harris.
“Lily!” Eli smiled.
Lily stood up from the sofa to give her friend a quick hug. The three friends began a quick conversation, but it ended when the doorbell rang; this time it was Hugo who joined the group.
“Are Nora and Cassie coming?” Hugo asked, observing the lack of the two girls.
“They should be,” Rudolph shrugged. “They’re probably running late.”
Hugo scoffed, “Cassie’s a Ravenclaw; I hardly believe she’d want to be late of her own accord.”
“Stereotypes,” Lily commented, rolling her eyes.
“I’m just saying,” Hugo retorted, sounding defensive.
“It is out of character for Cassie to be running late though,” Eli pointed out. “I thought she was going to murder us on the last day of school for being less than fifteen minutes early to the train.”
“That’s Cassie for you,” Rudolph laughed. “Anyway, so how have your summers been?”
“Less than eventful,” Hugo sighed. “Not having access to magic makes the word a lot less exciting. I don’t know how I’ve ever gotten by.”
“Can we try not to use to m-word?” Rudolph asked. “My grandparents are Muggles and don’t know anything about the m-word.”
“We need a code word for it,” Hugo said.
“Please,” Lily sighed, rolling her eyes. “We don’t need a-”
“Yes, we do,” Hugo interrupted confidently. “Pumpkin Juice.”
“Pumpkin Juice?” Lily asked skeptically. “You propose we use the word-”
“I miss using Pumpkin Juice. I can’t wait to go back to Hogwarts and start to use Pumpkin Juice again,” Hugo sighed, flopping back on the sofa.
“That just sounds stupid,” Eli scoffed, rolling his grey eyes. “It sounds like it’s some illegal substance.”
“That’s Firewhiskey, you’re thinking of, Eli,” Hugo smirked.
“You know what I meant,” Eli said, shaking his mop of hair. “This is so typical, Hugo.”
“Being a little git,” Rudolph added on with a hint of sarcasm.
“Yeah, and twisting words around, so they mean something you didn’t particularly mean them to,” Lily finished with a laugh. “I’ve known him for over twelve years; I know him like the back of my hand.”
“You know me well enough to know that messing with people is my specialty,” Hugo smirked. “It’s where I get my enjoyment from.”
“You ought to go work for Uncle George then,” Lily laughed.
“Speaking of Uncle George,” Hugo smiled, grabbing a paper bag out of his overnight things, “I come bearing gifts, complementary of Weasleys’ Wizard-”
“Don’t use the w-word either please,” Rudolph requested, looking unnerved by it.
“Fine,” Hugo sighed, rolling his eyes. “These are complementary of Weasleys’ Pumpkin Juice Wheezes. I have them for Nora and Cassie, too. You know, if they ever decide to show up.”
Hugo dug in the bag and handed Lily, Rudolph, and Eli each a package covered in parchment.
“Why didn’t Uncle George tell me about this?” Lily asked, looking down at the mysterious gift in her hands.
“He stopped by my house today and asked if I could give these to my friends. He wants some people to test it; it’s a prototype,” Hugo explained. “Go ahead! Open them!”
Lily was quick to tear the parchment from the oddly-shaped package and was surprised to find a camera inside.
“A camera?” Eli questioned. “Is this some kind of joke camera?”
Hugo shook his head, “It makes instant wizard-”
“Sh!” Rudolph interjected quickly. “I told you that they don’t know. Are you trying to get us thrown into Azkaban for letting some Muggles know about the m-word?”
“Fine,” Hugo said, rolling his eyes. “It makes instant Pumpkin Juice-”
“Dear Merlin,” Lily sighed, shaking her head at the mention of the code word.
“Ahem,” Hugo coughed, obviously angered from being interrupted. “It makes instant Pumpkin Juice photos. It’s kind of like a Muggle type of camera, but it’s Pumpkin Juice, of course.”
“Let’s test it out,” Lily said, bringing it up to her face. “Smile, boys.”
There was a bright flash of white light, and Lily’s camera spat out a photo onto the floor. Sure enough, it was a wizarding photo, showing the boys looking confused and then making silly faces at the camera.
“Perfect,” Lily smiled, sticking the picture in her pocket. “I’ll have to thank Uncle George for this next time I see him.”
Just then, another knock came to the door.
“That must be Nora or Cassie,” Rudolph smiled. “I’ll be right back.”
Laughing, Lily watched as Hugo and Eli waged in a battle of photograph; she made sure to take a picture of them goofing off.
“Lily, Hugo,” a feminine voice called into the room.
With a smile still on her face, Lily looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway with a pained look on her face.
“Mum, what are you doing here?” she asked, standing up from her spot on the sofa.
“Lily, Hugo, grab your things; we’re leaving. Eli, Minerva will be here to pick you up as soon as possible,” she explained.
“We’ve only been here for five minutes, Aunt Ginny,” Hugo said. “What’s going on?”
“I can’t say,” she began. “There are Muggles present. There’s a wizar-”
“Pumpkin Juice,” Hugo interrupted.
Lily gave Hugo a dangerous look before turning back to her confused-looking mother, “Go on, mum. Hugo’s just being Hugo.”
“There’s an emergency,” she said sternly. “Now, let’s go. Get your things, you two.”
“Alright,” Lily said, picking up her bag and following her mother out of the sitting room with Hugo right behind her.
“I guess I’ll see you on the train then,” Rudolph said as he hugged Lily goodbye.
“I’m sorry that whatever this is had to ruin our plans,” Lily sighed.
“You and me both,” Hugo added on, giving his friend a hug.
“Hurry,” Lily’s mother said impatiently, ready to head out the door.
Careful to make sure her mom wasn’t listening, Lily turned back to Rudolph and whispered, “I’ll send you a letter with all of the information I can get as soon as possible.”
“Thanks,” he smiled weakly.
“Lily! Hugo! I’m not fooling around here,” Lily’s mother demanded. “Let’s go. NOW!”
Lily saw her mother’s face growing redder, and quickly, she grabbed her cousin’s arm, ready to drag him out of the door for fear of murder by her mother. She sped after her mom into the now gloomy and dreary day.
“Mum?” Lily questioned, running to catch up with her. “MUM?”
“What, Lily?” she asked, not stopping her hurrying down the hill. “Let’s just get over to the Burrow. That’s where the entire Order is.”
“Why didn’t we bring Eli?” Lily continued. “Is he safe there? Is Rudolph safe there?”
“I only have to hands, so I can only take the two of you,” she explained.
“Are they safe?” Lily asked again, angrier this time.
“I don’t know!” her mother snapped. “The Wizarding World has been thrown into chaos. You two are my main concern.”
“We should go back for them then,” Hugo protested. “Eli and Rudolph could be in trouble.”
“They’ll be fine,” she said.
“Mum, you just said you didn’t know!” Lily exclaimed.
She let out a groan and stopped on the side of the cobblestone road, turning around to face the two angry twelve year olds.
“Grab my hands,” she said.
“Not until you tell us what is going on,” Lily retorted, crossing her arms.
“This isn’t a time for you to be defiant, Lily; I can’t say right now,” she snapped.
Following Lily’s lead, Hugo crossed his arms as well, “Why can’t you tell us?”
“The pair of you are impossible; would you please just-”
“Just tell us!” Lily yelled.
“I CAN’T!” Lily’s mother yelled, dropping her voice with her next words. “We are in a Muggle neighborhood in Ireland. What do you think they would think if I just spilled the entirety of Wizarding World right here?”
“Pumpkin Juice,” Hugo muttered to Lily.
“What are you whispering about?” Lily’s mother asked exasperatingly.
“Nothing,” Lily and Hugo answered simultaneously.
“If you want to know what’s going on, let me take you to the Burrow,” she bargained, extending a hand to each of them.
Lily and Hugo shared a nervous look before Lily nodded, “Fine, but if this does put Eli and Rudolph in danger, we are coming straight back here.”
“Thank you,” she sighed, giving each of them her hand. “Get ready for Apparation.”
“Not again,” Lily sighed as the three wizards spun out of the Irish countryside and to the Burrow.
Lily landed hard on a patch of grass, which to her dismay, did not cushion her fall in the slightest. She glanced over to see Hugo in a lump, groaning.
“I hate Apparation,” he moaned as he stood up.
“So do I,” Lily agreed, getting to her feet.
Lily’s mother shrugged, “You get used to it.”
At the sight of her mother, Lily’s hatred of Apparation disappeared. She needed to know what happened. What had thrown the Wizarding World into chaos?
“Can you tell us now?” Lily asked quietly.
Her mother nodded slowly, “It’s the Minister for Magic.”
“Kingsley Shacklebolt?” Hugo inquired. “What has he gone loony or something?”
“He was found murdered in his office an hour ago,” Lily’s mother informed them.
“What?” Lily asked out of disbelief.
“No,” Hugo said, shaking his head. “You must be joking. He was a great Auror. There’s no possible way-”
“Hugo, it happened,” Lily’s mother sighed.
“What’s being done? Have they caught the person responsible?” Lily asked.
“No, but they’ve already named a new minister,” she nodded, looking at Lily. “I bet you know who it is.”
Lily’s brown eyes met her mother’s identical ones, and a sense of knowing came over her, “It’s dad, isn’t it?”