Throughout the rest of dinner, I was thoroughly annoyed. I couldn't even fully enjoy Tonks entertaining us all by transforming her nose into different shapes, and didn't even have the energy to ask her how on Earth I could learn to do that.
Fred, George, Ava, and Olivia were all dying of laughter around me at some story Mundungus was telling, but I wasn't even paying attention. I just felt so angry at Dumbledore, at the people who believed that Harry and I were just some wackjob nutcases, at Harry for being so mean to me... and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop being angry.
I stood up abruptly and decided to get away by bringing my plate over to the sink. Nobody noticed, luckily, because they were all having their own conversations. I left the dining room and entered the dark, empty kitchen, and placed my plate in the sink, my head aching dully. Usually, I'd want to be in the middle of every conversation, but for some reason, I felt like all I wanted to do was be by myself.
I glanced around the kitchen, wondering how much time I had before somebody noticed I was missing. I caught sight of someone's glass of firewhisky on the counter, which was about three quarters full, and assuming they had forgotten about it, I downed it quickly. I cringed at the burning sensation in my throat for a moment, and then pushed the door to the dining room back open a moment later.
"Lily! We were wondering where you went!" Ginny said cheerfully as I sat back down. "Tell Tonks the story of when you fought Parkinson!"
And feeling considerably happier all of a sudden, I told the story that I had always loved telling.
By the time we had finished dessert, it was like I had never been angry at all. I was laughing at everything a bit excessively, and back to making conversation with anyone who would listen. Everyone seemed a bit tired after dessert, but Fred and George and I were still going as if we had an endless supply of energy. We were playing a game where someone would name a person, and we had to imitate them.
"Do Snape now!" Ron told me after Fred had finished amusing everyone by imitating Dobby.
"Okay, okay, hold on," I laughed, trying to put on a straight face.
I stood up and made my face go completely serious, and everyone watched me in amusement.
"Potter, Black," I drawled in the same tone that Snape always used, "I will not tolerate any more of your foolish distractions to my class. Thirty points from Gryffindor and three nights of detention."
"How was that so accurate?" Olivia managed to say through her laughter.
"I bet that's something that Snape has always wanted to say," Sirius laughed.
"Trust me, he says it all the time," I said. "He definitely enjoys it every time he does- woah!"
I had stumbled over my own feet on the way back to my chair. I grabbed onto the back of my chair at the last minute, catching myself, as everyone but Hermione and Harry burst into laughter. The adults at the other end of the table seemed not to of noticed a thing (Sirius didn't count as an adult at this particular moment.)
"You alright there, Lily?" George said with raised eyebrows.
"Me? I'm great! Brilliant," I grinned, settling back into my chair. "You guys are mean, why're you laughing?"
I didn't think I'd stumble, because I was honestly barely even tipsy. But here we were.
"Because that was hilarious," Ava laughed. "Uncle Sirius, what's wrong?"
The grin had suddenly slipped off of Sirius's face as he stared at me. I glanced at Fred, whose face had drained of color.
"Why so serious, Sirius?" I giggled.
"Did you just... make a Sirius joke?" Sirius said. "Something's up here- nobody likes my Sirius jokes."
"Especially me!" Ava groaned. "I haven't heard the end of them all summer."
Sirius's serious expression seemed to vanish, but when I glanced at Fred, he still looked a bit pale. I grabbed his hand under the table, staring at him in concern.
"What's wrong?" I asked quietly as everyone else continued to talk.
Fred glanced at Sirius, before leaning closer to me.
"I think he saw," he whispered.
"Saw what, Freddie?"
He glanced at my neck, and my eyes widened as I began making sure my hair was in front of my neck.
"Don't- you look suspicious," Fred whispered. "He probably just didn't want my mum to hear him say anything about it- he knew she'd freak out."
Speaking of Mrs. Weasley...
"Nearly time for bed, I think," she said with a yawn.
"Not just yet, Molly," Sirius said, looking at Harry and I. "You know, I'm surprised at you two. I thought the first thing that you'd both do when you got here was start asking questions about Voldemort."
Everybody went completely silent.
"We did," Harry and I said.
"We asked Ron and Hermione right when we got here," Harry said.
"-but they both said we're not allowed in the Order," I continued.
"And they're quite right," Mrs. Weasley said. "You're too young."
She no longer looked tired. She was sitting up completely straight.
"Since when did somebody have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" Sirius said. "Harry and Lily have both been trapped in that Muggle house for a month, they have a right to know what's going on-"
"Hang on!" George interrupted loudly. "How come Harry and Lily get their questions answered?"
"We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single thing!" Fred continued. "You're too young, you're not in the order-"
"Harry and Lily aren't even of age!" George said angrily, and I raised my eyebrows at him. "No offense, Lily."
"It's not my fault that you haven't been told what the Order's doing," Sirius said calmly. "That's your parents' decision. Harry and Lily on the other hand-"
"It's not down to you to decide what's good for Harry and Lily!" Mrs. Weasley said heatedly. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"
I stared between Mrs. Weasley and Sirius in surprise. I didn't expect them to start arguing like that.
"Which bit?" Sirius said.
"The bit about not telling the twins more than they need to know," Mrs. Weasley said.
"It doesn't matter how old Harry and I are," I said. "Voldemort didn't care how old we were when he tried to kill us in that graveyard last year, did he?"
A few people winced at the sound of his name, and suddenly the tension in the room became even thicker. Harry and I rarely talked about that night, and the only people who had heard the full story were Dumbledore and Sirius. Nobody seemed to know how to respond to what I had said.
"Molly, I don't intend on telling either of them more than they need to know," Sirius finally said. "But didn't you just hear Lily? Voldemort didn't care how old they were when he tried to kill them. Harry and Lily were the ones who saw him come back, and that gives them more right than most of the Order to-"
"Neither Harry or Lily are members of the Order of the Phoenix!" Mrs. Weasley said furiously. "They're only fifteen and-"
"-and have both dealt with more than most of the members of the Order," Sirius said.
"No one is denying what they've done!" Mrs. Weasley said, her voice rising. "But they're both still-"
"They're not children!" Sirius argued.
"They're not adults, either!" Mrs. Weasley said angrily. "He's not James, Sirius, and she's not Lily Evans!"
"Molly, that's going too far," Angela said quietly. I had almost forgotten she was there, because of Sirius and Mrs. Weasley's arguing.
"Thank you, Angela," Sirius said, still staring at Mrs. Weasley coldly. "I'm perfectly clear who they are, Molly."
"Oh, I'm not sure you are," Mrs. Weasley said. "Sometimes, the way you talk about both of them, it's as though you think you've gotten your best friend back through them!"
"What's wrong with that?" Harry said.
I could feel my temper rising. My grip on Fred's hand tightened under the table.
"What's wrong, Harry, is that you are not your father, no matter how much you may look like him!" Mrs. Weasley said, still staring at Sirius intensely. "And Lily isn't another James in Lily Evans' body!"
"Honestly, Molly, that's exactly what Lily is," Angela said. I could tell she was a hundred percent on Sirius's side.
"As much as Lily acts like James and Harry looks like him, they aren't him," Mrs. Weasley said. "They are both still at school, and the adults responsible for them should not forget it!"
"Meaning I'm an irresponsible godfather?" Sirius demanded.
"Meaning you've been known to act recklessly, Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and-"
"We'll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!" Sirius nearly shouted.
"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "Arthur, back me up!"
Mr. Weasley, who had been silent the whole time, didn't look at her.
"Dumbledore knows that Harry and Lily will be filled in to a certain extent now that they are staying at Headquarters, Molly-"
"Yes, but there is a difference between that and inviting them to ask whatever they like!" Mrs. Weasley said.
"Personally," Lupin said quietly, "I think it's better that Harry and Lily get the facts- not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture- rather than a garbled version from others."
"I agree with Remus," Angela said.
"Well," Mrs. Weasley said, her face still red from anger, "I can see I'm going to be overruled here- but I'll just say this: Dumbledore's got his reasons for not wanting the twins to know too much, and speaking as someone who has got their best interests at heart-"
"They're not your children," Sirius interrupted.
"They're good as!" Mrs. Weasley said, and even through all the arguing, I felt touched that Mrs. Weasley considered Harry and I as her own children. "Who else have they got?"
"They've got me!"
"Yes," Mrs. Weasley said, "the thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after them while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?"
Sirius stood up angrily. My jaw dropped at what Mrs. Weasley had said.
"Molly, you're not the only person at this table who cares about Harry and Lily," Lupin said. "Sirius, sit down."
Sirius sank back into his chair, looking furious. I loved Mrs. Weasley, but Sirius was right. I deserved to know what was going on, and so did Harry.
"I think that both Harry and Lily ought to have a say in this," Lupin went on. "They're old enough to decide for themselves."
"We want to know what's going on," Harry and I chorused instantly.
"Very well," Mrs. Weasley said, her voice cracking. "Ron- Hermione- Fred- George- Ginny- Ava- Olivia- I want you out of this kitchen, now."
There was an uproar straight away.
"We're of age!" Fred and George bellowed.
"If Harry and Lily are allowed, why can't I be?" Ron shouted.
"Mum thinks Olivia and I can stay, right, Mum?" Ava said loudly, turning to Angela.
"Mum, I want to stay!" Ginny yelled.
"Lily tells me everything, I'll know either way!" Fred added.
"Besides the fact that her godfather wasn't actually a mass-murderer and that she had contact with him for over a year, mate," George said quietly.
"Shut up, George," I scowled.
"Haha, suckers, my mum said Olivia and I could stay!" Ava shouted happily.
"We're of age!" Fred repeated.
"NO!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, standing up and cutting everyone off. "I absolutely forbid-"
"Molly, you can't forbid my kids from doing anything," Angela said. "And I say that they can know what's going on."
"And you can't stop Fred and George," Mr. Weasley added wearily. "They are of age-"
"They're still at school-"
"But they're legally adults now," Mr. Weasley said.
"I- fine, then- Ava and Olivia and Fred and George can stay, but Ron-" Mrs. Weasley began.
"Harry and Lily'll tell Hermione and I everything you say anyway!" Ron argued. "Won't you?"
Harry hesitated, but I didn't.
"Of course we will," I replied.
"Yeah, we will," Harry said.
"Fine!" Mrs. Weasley yelled. "Fine- GINNY! BED!"
"I'm only a year younger than them, Mum, you can't baby me!" Ginny screamed as Mrs. Weasley pulled her out of the dining room.
I knew that Ginny wasn't going to come quietly, and she could be heard raging and screaming at Mrs. Weasley the entire way up the stairs. Her loud screaming woke up the hag (Sirius's mum), and then her shrieks were added to Ginny's ruckus. Lupin ran off to pull the curtains back over the portrait, and after he finally returned, Sirius began talking.
"Okay... Lily... Harry... what do you want to know?" Sirius said.
I glanced at Harry, and I could feel that we were both wondering the same thing.
"Where's Voldemort? What's he doing?" Harry asked.
"We've been trying to watch the Muggle news whenever the hippo isn't looking, but we haven't heard of any weird deaths or anything," I continued.
"That's because there haven't been any weird deaths yet," Sirius answered. "As far as we know, anyway... and we know quite a lot."
"More than he thinks we do, anyway," Lupin added.
"So how come he's suddenly stopped killing people? I thought he'd start killing left and right," I frowned.
"He doesn't want to draw attention to himself right now," Sirius said. "It would be dangerous for him. His comeback didn't exactly come off the way he wanted it to. He messed it up."
"Or rather, you both messed it up for him," Lupin said with a small smile.
"Us?" Harry asked.
"How?" I said.
"Neither of you were supposed to survive!" Sirius exclaimed. "Even if only one of you was killed, you wouldn't be able-"
"Sirius," Lupin said warningly.
"Right. Listen- nobody was supposed to know he'd come back. But you both survived to tell us what happened," Sirius explained.
"And the very last person that he wanted alerted was Dumbledore, and he was the first person you both told," Lupin said.
"What d'you mean if only one of us was killed? We wouldn't be able to what?-" Harry asked.
"It's not relevant right now," Angela said, shooting an unreadable glance at Sirius. "The point is, Dumbledore knowing has put our side at an instant advantage. Thanks to you two, Dumbledore was able to recall the Order of the Phoenix about an hour after Voldemort returned."
"But- Angela- you were in the graveyard," I said, my head aching dully. "He thought you were on his side, and you blew your cover. What happened when we left?"
It somehow became even quieter than it had been before.
"He tried to kill me," Angela said quietly. "He knew I had never really been on his side after that. I jumped out of the way right before the Killing Curse could hit me, but the next time, he used a different curse. This one was something I'd never seen before... it hit me right here, on my neck," she motioned to the long scar running down her neck, "and I had the sense to Apparate out just in time. I came here, actually, but I didn't think I was going to make it. The curse created a gash that wouldn't stop bleeding no matter what Sirius tried-"
"-Sirius was here already?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I knew that we had to use this place as headquarters instantly," Sirius explained. "I had a feeling Angela was going to be in danger, and I was planning on sending her a Patronus to meet me here. But when I arrived, she was already here..."
Sirius looked away, as if the memory was too painful for him to retell.
"Sirius didn't know what else to do, so he sent a Patronus to Dumbledore," Angela continued, tearing her eyes away from Sirius. "Dumbledore sent Snape straight to us, and, well, somehow, Snape knew the counter-curse. He arrived just in time."
"Snape?" I questioned. "Hold on- I thought you said it was a curse you'd never seen before?"
"It was," Sirius said. "But he knows all sorts of Dark Magic, the greasy slimy-"
"Sirius, he saved me," Angela said.
"Right..." Sirius mumbled.
"So what now? Is he looking for you?" Harry asked Angela.
"At the moment? No," Angela responded. "Like we said, he's laying low. But the minute he comes into the public... it'll be a different story."
I glanced at Ava. I felt like it was my fault that her and her mum were going to be in danger.
"And what about you, Olivia?" I asked, feeling more guilty than ever. "Is he looking for you already?"
"Not yet, no," Olivia said quietly. "But the Order says that he will be eventually... that's why I have to stay here until we go back to Hogwarts."
"So what else has the Order been saying?" Harry asked. "What has the Order been doing?"
"Working as hard as we can to make sure that Voldemort can't carry out his plans," Sirius answered.
"What're his plans?" Harry and I both said.
"Dumbledore's got a general idea," Lupin said. "And usually, Dumbledore's ideas turn out to be accurate."
"But what are his plans?" I asked.
"Well, firstly, he wants to build up his army again," Sirius said. "In the old days, he had huge numbers at his command. There were witches and wizards he'd manipulated or bewitched into following him, his Death Eaters, a variety of Dark creatures. He's certainly not going to try and take over the Ministry of Magic with only the dozen Death Eaters he has at the moment."
"So you're trying to stop him from getting more followers?" Harry said.
"How're you doing that?" I said.
"The first step is to convince as many people as possible that You-Know-Who is back," Bill said. "That'll put them on their guard. It's proven tricky, though."
"Why?" Harry and I said.
"Because of the Ministry's attitude," Tonks said. "You remember how Fudge responded after You-Know-Who came back, don't you? Well, he hasn't shifted his position at all. He's absolutely refusing to believe that You-Know-Who is back."
"Why's he being such an idiot?" I asked.
"Yeah, if Dumbledore-" Harry continued.
"Ah, well, that's Fudge's problem," Mr. Weasley said. "Dumbledore. Fudge is frightened of him."
"Of Dumbledore?" I laughed in disbelief.
"He's frightened of what he's up to," Mr. Weasley said. "You see, Fudge thinks that Dumbledore's threatening to overthrow him. He thinks Dumbledore wants to be Minister of Magic."
"But Dumbledore doesn't want to be Minister of Magic," Harry said.
"Of course he doesn't," Mr. Weasley said. "He's never wanted the job, even though loads of people have wanted him to take it for a long time. Fudge came to power instead, but he's never seemed to be able to forget how much popular support Dumbledore had."
"In the early days of his Ministry, Fudge was forever asking Dumbledore for help and advice," Lupin told us. "Deep down, Fudge knows that Dumbledore is much cleverer and much more powerful than he is. But it seems that Fudge has become fond of power now, and loves being Minister of Magic. He's somehow managed to convince himself that he's the clever one and Dumbledore is simply stirring up trouble for the sake of it."
"What, so Harry and I are just making it all up too?" I said angrily.
"How can he think that?" Harry said, sounding just as angry. "How can he think Dumbledore would just make it all up? Why would Lily and I both lie about something like that?"
"Because accepting that Voldemort's back would give the Ministry trouble like they haven't had to cope with for nearly fourteen years," Sirius said. "Fudge can't bring himself to face it. He's convincing himself that Dumbledore is lying to destabilize him because it's a much more comfortable position."
"But that's so selfish," I said. "He's scared, so he's lying to himself, and hurting everyone else in the process! What a dickhead- I mean- sorry-"
"You aren't wrong, Lily," Lupin said with a small smile. "While the Ministry insists that there is nothing to fear from Voldemort, it's hard to convince these people he's back, when they don't want to believe it in the first place. Even worse, the Ministry's leaning on the Daily Prophet not to report any of what they're calling Dumbledore's rumors, so most of the Wizarding community is unaware anything's even happened, and that makes them easy targets for the Death Eaters if they're using the Imperius Curse."
"But you're telling people, aren't you?" Harry said, looking around at Mr. Weasley, Tonks, Sirius, Lupin, Bill, Angela, and even Mundungus. "You're letting people know he's back?"
"Well, as everyone thinks I'm a mad mass-murderer and the Ministry's put a ten-thousand Galleon price on my head, I can hardly stroll down the street and start handing out leaflets, can I?" Sirius said. I shot him a pitying smile.
"And I'm not a very popular dinner guest with most of the community," Lupin said. "It's the occupational hazard of being a werewolf."
"And nobody's willing to take the word of the crazy woman that went missing for thirteen years," Angela sighed.
"Arthur and Tonks would lose their jobs at the Ministry if they start shooting their mouths off," Sirius said, "and it's important for us to have spies inside of the Ministry, because you can bet Voldemort will have them."
"I can't feel my hand, love," Fred whispered, and I realized I was gripping his hand so hard that I hadn't even noticed.
"Sorry," I whispered, letting go.
"-we've managed to convince a couple of people," Mr. Weasley was saying. "Tonks here, for one- she's too young to have been in the Order of the Phoenix last time, and having Aurors on our side is a huge advantage."
Tonks winked at me, and I smiled at her wearily.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt's been a real asset too. He's in charge of the hunt for Sirius, so he's been feeding the Ministry false information that Sirius's in Tibet," Mr. Weasley said.
"So who's been putting the news out that Voldemort's back?" Harry asked.
"Why d'you think Dumbledore's in such trouble?" Sirius said.
"They're trying to discredit him," Lupin went on. "Didn't you see the Daily Prophet last week? They reported that he'd been voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he's getting old and losing his grip, but it's not true. He was voted out by the Ministry after making a speech announcing Voldemort's return. They've demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot, and they're talking about taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class, too."
"But Dumbledore said he doesn't care what they do, as long as they don't take him off the Chocolate Frog cards," Bill grinned.
"It's no laughing matter," Mr. Weasley said sharply to Bill. "Dumbledore could end up in Azkaban if he keeps defying the Ministry like this, and the last thing we want is Dumbledore locked up. While You-Know-Who knows Dumbledore's out there and knows what he's up to, he's going to keep laying low for a while. Without Dumbledore... well, You-Know-Who will have a clear field."
"But if Voldemort is out there trying to recruit more Death Eaters, it's eventually gonna get out that he's come back, isn't it?" I asked.
"Lily, Voldemort doesn't just march up to people's houses and bang on their front doors," Sirius said.
"He blackmails and jinxes and tricks people," Angela said bitterly. "He kills and does it in secrecy, too. He'll sometimes even target certain people, like he did to me."
"And gaining followers isn't the only thing Voldemort's after right now, he's got other plans, and he's concentrating on them at the moment," Sirius said.
I glanced at Harry.
"What's he after other than followers?" Harry asked.
Sirius, Lupin, and Angela all glanced at each other.
"Stuff he can only get by stealth," Sirius said.
"Could you be more specific?" I asked impatiently.
"A weapon. Something he didn't have last time," Sirius said.
"What kind of weapon?" Harry asked. "Something worse than the Killing Curse?-"
"That's enough."
Mrs. Weasley was standing in the doorway, looking absolutely furious.
"I want you in bed, now. All of you," she said, glancing around at Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ava, Olivia and I.
"You can't boss us around-" Fred said.
"Watch me," she snarled, still glaring at Sirius. "You've given Harry and Lily plenty of information. Any more and you might just as well induct them into the Order straightaway."
"Good, we want to join!" I said instantly.
"Yeah, why not?" Harry said. "If Voldemort's raising an army, then I want to fight."
Sirius leaned back in his chair looking satisfied.
"No," Lupin said firmly. "The Order is comprised of only overage wizards." Fred and George both opened their mouths to speak, but Lupin added, "Wizards who have left school. There are dangers involved in being in the Order of which you have no idea. I think Molly is right, Sirius. We've said enough."
I stared at Lupin in annoyance for a moment, but I knew it was over. Mrs. Weasley beckoned us over, and we all stood up and followed her out.
We didn't say a word the entire way upstairs. My mind was spinning with everything that I'd just been told... what kind of weapon was Voldemort seeking that was so bad that Mrs. Weasley wouldn't let me even hear what it was?
"I want you all to go straight to bed, no talking," Mrs. Weasley said. "We've got a busy day tomorrow. Lily, dear, Hermione will show you where you're sleeping. I expect Ginny's asleep, so try not to wake her up."
Ginny asleep? Yeah, right.
Mrs. Weasley walked down to the second landing, waiting for Harry and Ron. I glanced at Fred, wishing we were at Hogwarts so I could sleep in his bed with him. He pulled me into his arms, and whispered in my ear, "Don't go to sleep too soon."
I glanced at him questioningly, but he only winked before turning around and heading towards him and George's bedroom.
I followed Hermione up another flight of stairs, down a dark, gloomy hallway, and then into a bedroom. It was a bit larger than Harry and Ron's had been, with three twin beds against the back wall.
Ginny was waiting for us, wide awake, sitting on the floor and rolling butterbeer corks for Crookshanks to chase. She dropped a cork upon hearing the door open, and instantly stood up.
I closed the door behind Hermione and I as quietly as I could.
"Well? What did they say? Did they tell you a lot?" Ginny asked.
"We're gonna tell you, but we have to be really quiet," I whispered. "Your mum doesn't want any of us talking about what we heard, especially to you."
Ginny nodded, and then randomly went over to the door and bolted the lock.
"It's cause of Kreacher," she explained. "If you don't lock the door, he'll come in at night and stare at you. Nearly had a heart attack one night when I woke up to him staring at me beside my bed."
"Kreacher?" I questioned. "Who's Kreacher?"
"You haven't seen him yet?" Hermione asked.
"Nope."
"Lucky you," Ginny snickered. "He's the old house elf that's highly prejudiced and walks around insulting everyone. Anyways, what did they say in the meeting?"
We all sat on the floor, and Hermione and I quietly explained everything to Ginny. Her eyes were wide with interest the entire time, and she didn't speak until after we were done explaining.
"A weapon? What kind of weapon?" Ginny whispered.
"We have no idea, your mum wouldn't let them tell us," I said. Ginny rolled her eyes at the mention of Mrs. Weasley, clearly still angry with her for forcing her to leave the meeting.
"Maybe it's some sort of curse that's worse than the Killing Curse," she suggested.
"Like what?" I whispered.
"Like, something worse than the Cruciatus Curse and Killing Curse combined. Maybe a really painful way of killing people," Ginny said.
"I don't think so," Hermione said. "I don't think it's a curse at all."
"You're the smart one, Hermione, what do you think it is then?" I whispered.
Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but Ginny suddenly threw her hand over Hermione's mouth in alarm. There were footsteps coming towards our bedroom, and the creaking of floorboards. It was definitely Mrs. Weasley.
We all jumped up, and I darted towards the candle that was lighting up the room to blow it out. I jumped onto my bed, and we all laid there in silence. I could tell that Mrs. Weasley was right outside the door, listening to see if we were talking.
By the time Mrs. Weasley had left, I was certain that Hermione and Ginny were falling asleep, so we didn't talk after that. I doubted I could fall asleep now, with my mind spinning with all the information I'd just heard.
I laid awake thinking for a while, and Ginny and Hermione fell asleep.
Ava and Angela were going to be in danger. They'd have to hide away... Olivia had already been hiding away, since the very minute we left Hogwarts...
Crack.
I nearly had a heart attack. I jumped, and Fred's big self Apparated straight onto me.
"Ouch, Fred!" I hissed, shoving him off of me. Ginny stirred in her sleep, but didn't wake up.
"Sorry, Lills," he whispered. Without any explanation, he pulled me up, linked his arm around mine, and Apparated again.
We appeared in Fred and George's bedroom, and I had to admit that I was starting to get used to the feeling of Apparation.
"Did you successfully kidnap Lily?" George whispered through the darkness.
"Mission kidnap Lily was a success," Fred responded happily.
"Kidnapping?" I repeated. "Did I hear that right?"
"You know, fun fact, some people have a kidnapping fetish," George randomly said.
"Are you talking about yourself, George?" I snorted.
"Shut up, Lillith. I was just stating a fun fact-"
"You shut up, Georgina-"
"How about you both shut up before Mum catches us?" Fred hissed.
"Rude," I huffed. I walked over to Fred's dresser through the darkness and pulled out one of his T-shirts.
"Turn around, both of you," I said. George turned around right away.
"Do I have to?" Fred said, and even though it was dark, I could just tell he had that cheeky smile on his face. He turned around, though.
"Don't you go and think that you two are doing anything gross with me in here!" George whispered in disgust.
"No promises, Georgie," Fred said.
Fred and I both burst into laughter. I pulled the shirt over my head, and it fell all the way down to my knees.
"Okay, you can look now," I said, and flopped onto Fred's bed.
"I'm being serious, you know," George said as he got into his bed. "I don't want to hear any noises-"
"What kind of noises?" I giggled.
"She's so annoying," George groaned, and turned on his side to face away from me.
There were footsteps outside the door again. We all stopped talking, and Fred laid down beside me quietly. He pulled me on top of him, and I snuggled into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me tightly.
Even though I'd been mad at him all summer, I'd missed this so much. Fred always had a way of making me feel safe, somehow. I could smell his scent of cinnamon and that faint trace of smoke that could only be explained by the fireworks that he and George were working on.
"Do you think Sirius is gonna murder me?" Fred suddenly whispered.
"What?" I whispered.
"He definitely saw," he said anxiously. "What d'you think he's gonna do to me?"
"Fred, he's not actually a murderer," I snickered. "He'll probably just... I dunno, tell you he better not see it again. He won't kill you."
"Yeah, you're right..." Fred whispered.
I felt him press his lips to the top of my head, and I felt myself drifting off to sleep faster than I had in months.
**********
It had been the first night that I hadn't had a nightmare about the graveyard since that night at Hogwarts. Instead, I first had a dream about a dark corridor with a door at the end, and then I had a dream that Sirius was smacking Fred with a Beater's club.
At about eight in the morning, Fred and I were awoken by George, who said that I'd better get back to my bedroom before Mrs. Weasley barged in and saw us together.
Fred Apparated a half-asleep me back to my room, and Hermione and Ginny had already gone downstairs. He left, and I quickly changed and covered up my hickeys with some makeup. By the time I was done, I thought I had done a pretty good job.
I hurried downstairs to the kitchen, where Ron, Harry, Hermione, George, and Ginny were eating breakfast.
"Look who's decided to make an appearance," Ron said brightly.
"Good morning to you too, Ron," I said, sitting in an empty chair and taking some toast. "Where's Olivia and Ava and Fred?"
"Sirius came in here and said he had to talk to Fred about something," Hermione answered, and I choked on my orange juice.
Ginny began smacking my back, and I coughed it up as George laughed mercilessly at me.
"What's wrong?" Harry questioned cluelessly. He and Ginny seemed to be the only ones who had no idea why I had choked.
"Oh, nothing, Harry," I said quickly. "Just- choked on orange juice, that's all."
"Are we the only ones missing something here?" Ginny said to Harry.
"I suppose so," Harry shrugged, standing up. "Want to go see what everyone else is up to?"
"Sure," Ginny said happily, following Harry out of the room. As soon as the door closed, I smacked George lightly, and he burst into laughter again.
"Let's just hope Fred returns alive," Ron mumbled, though he looked amused.
"So, where's Ava and Olivia?" I asked.
"They went back to their house with Angela to go pick up the rest of their stuff, because they didn't bring all of it at the start of the summer," Hermione explained.
"Well, I'd love to sit and chat with you children and Lily, but I have some very important business to attend to," George said, standing up.
"What d'you mean, you children and Lily?" Ron demanded.
"I mean that you and Hermione are the children, and Lily and I are the adults," George shrugged.
"But we're both months older than her!" Ron argued as George left.
"Ronald, if anything, I'm the only adult out of the four of us," Hermione said. "Besides, you're the one who goes around poking people's hickeys-"
"Yeah, who does that, Ron?" I said teasingly. "I'll leave you two to your role of being a bickering old couple."
Both of their faces went red as I stood up and walked into the drawing room. The room had olive green walls, covered in dirty tapestries. As I took a step onto the carpet, a little cloud of dust poofed up into the air. There were moss-green velvet curtains that were buzzing strangely.
Hermione and Ron followed me into the room. Ginny, Harry, George, and to my surprise, Fred, were already there, with black clothes covering their noses and mouths. They were each holding a spray bottle that contained a black liquid.
"Cover your faces and take a spray," Mrs. Weasley said at once, before I could even ask Fred what Sirius said to him. "It's Doxycide. I've never seen an infestation this bed- what that house elf has been doing the past ten years..."
"Kreacher's really old, he probably couldn't manage-" Hermione began.
"Hermione, you'd be surprised what Kreacher can manage when he wants to," Sirius's voice said from behind us. I turned around quickly to see that he was carrying a bag of dead rats. "I'm about to feed Buckbeak," he added after Harry and I shot him questioning glances. "I keep him upstairs in my mother's bedroom. Anyways, this cabinet..."
As Sirius bent over the shaking cabinet to examine it, and began talking to Mrs. Weasley about a possible Boggart, I made my way over to Fred.
"What did he say to you?" I whispered.
"Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Just a bit awkward," Fred said quietly. "He just told me that he saw your neck, and that he knew he couldn't stop whatever we were doing, but if he saw it again... well..."
"Well what?" I said, glancing at Sirius. Suddenly, there was the sound of a loud doorbell, and the hag began screaming again.
"I keep telling them not to ring the doorbell!" Sirius shouted over the screaming, and hurried off to go shut the curtains over the hag's portrait.
Fred leaned down to my height so that I could actually hear him over the screaming, and said in my ear, "He said that he wasn't actually a murderer, but he could become one- I couldn't really tell if he was joking, to tell you the truth- and he also told me that if we were going to do it, I'd better use the protection spell-"
"No he didn't!" I cried in embarrassment, feeling my cheeks begin to burn red. "Why- what- he can't be serious!"
"He is Sirius, though," Fred said annoyingly, and I shot him a weak glare.
"Harry, would you please close that door, dear?" Mrs. Weasley said.
Harry made his way towards the door as slowly as he possibly could. Wondering what he was doing, I concentrated on reading his thoughts.
"Maybe if I just go slowly, I can hear what Sirius and Kingsley are saying..."
But the screaming stopped, and Mrs. Weasley was staring at Harry, so unfortunately, he had to hurry up, and didn't hear what they were talking about.
"Right, you lot, you need to be careful, because doxies bite and their teeth are poisonous," Mrs. Weasley told us. "I've got a bottle of antidote here, but I'd rather nobody needed it."
She beckoned us all towards the curtains.
"When I say the word, start spraying immediately. I expect they'll come flying out towards us, but one good squirt should paralyze them. When they're immobilized, just throw them in this bucket. All right- squirt!"
I began spraying like a mad woman, and doxies with needle-sharp teeth and hairy bodies came flying at me.
"They're like hairy little angry flies!" I said, squirting them all. They froze in midair, and then landed onto the carpet below.
Fred nudged me in the side, and held his hand out. I picked the doxies up off the carpet and put them in his hand questioningly. He slipped them in his pocket with a wink, and I gave him a thumbs up, knowing it must've been for him and George's joke products.
"They're for our Skiving Snackboxes," George said under his breath as we sprayed more doxies. "We want to experiment with the venom."
"You have fun with that, weirdos," I snickered, slipping more of the doxies into George's hand.
"Fred-George- what are you doing?" Mrs. Weasley said sharply. "Spray them and then throw them away! Lily, don't let them influence you into their nonsense-"
"Us? Influence her?" George laughed.
"She does everything on her very own accord," Fred continued.
"Hey, Ron, I bet I can spray more doxies than you," I said randomly.
"No way, I'm much better at this than you," Ron said. "You're on."
From then on, it turned into a doxy-spraying contest between Ron and I, which made the task only slightly more enjoyable. By the time we'd finished getting rid of all the doxies, it was past midday. The doorbell rang, and Mrs. Weasley hurried off to go answer it.
While everybody else rushed over to the window to see who was there, Fred grabbed my hand, and we snuck off while their backs were turned.
"Where are we going?" I whispered as we rushed up the stairs as quietly as possible.
"To show you something. I think it's safe to Apparate now," Fred whispered.
He turned on the spot, and a second later, we appeared in him and George's bedroom.
"How long till you think they come looking for us?" I said.
"About ten minutes," Fred responded, and pulled me over to the corner of the room, where there was a closet door.
"You brought me here to show me your closet?" I said with raised eyebrows.
"This isn't just a closet, Lily," Fred said in an offended tone. "Try and open it."
"I don't trust this," I said skeptically, but slowly reached my hand towards the doorknob. I finally touched it, and to my relief, nothing happened.
I was wrong.
I turned the doorknob, and eyes and a mouth suddenly appeared on it. It bit down on my hand, and I jumped in surprise.
"OW! FRED- GET IT OFF!" I cried, trying to pull my hand away.
Fred knocked on the door in a certain pattern, laughing hysterically, and the thing let go of my hand.
"You're mean!" I pouted, cradling my hand. "You knew that was gonna happen, you asshole!"
"Yeah, and it was hilarious, love," Fred grinned, and then imitated my pout and grabbed my hand. "Aww, if I kiss it do you think it'll feel better?"
He pressed his lips to my hand, a hint of a smile on his face.
"Shut up," I grumbled, pulling my hand away and crossing my arms. "That's all you brought me here for?"
"No, of course not, that part was just for my amusement," Fred said brightly. "Now, watch carefully."
He knocked on the door in the same pattern he had before, and then turned the doorknob.
The closet was full of cauldrons and buckets of different joke products. There was a makeshift desk that was covered in different papers, and shelves of packages that looked like they were ready to be sent out. It was basically a tiny workshop.
"What on Earth- how- Fred, this is brilliant!" I exclaimed, rushing forward into the small space and crouching down next to a cauldron. Something purple was simmering inside of it. "And your mum still hasn't found this?"
"Nope," Fred said, looking pleased with himself. "It's the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes office and workshop until we can get premises. We've been running it as a mail order service, we put ads in the Daily Prophet."
"So when're you gonna get premises, then?" I asked, hoisting myself up to sit on the desk.
"That's a great question that I don't have an answer to," Fred said. "We actually haven't gotten a chance to look into it yet- but we will soon."
"I can't wait, Freddie!" I smiled excitedly. "So, will you let me have a summer job there or what?"
"What d'you mean? You're gonna be a co-owner with us!" Fred said. "Unless you'd prefer sitting at the cash register all day."
"I was kidding, Freddie, you know I'm in Dursley prison all summer," I sighed, swinging my dangling legs back and forth. "But a co-owner? But it's your business! It's Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, not Weasleys' and Potter Wizard Wheezes."
"It would work if you became a Weasley one day," Fred said smoothly, placing his arms on either side of me on the desk.
"What're you implying?" I said with a tiny smile, knowing exactly what he meant.
"I'm implying that I'm gonna marry you one day, Potter," Fred said sweetly.
I stared at the same boy who couldn't take anything seriously and whose family thought he'd never be able to keep a girlfriend for more than a week, and somehow didn't have a doubt in my mind that he really did want to marry me.
"Only if we can have a chocolate cake at our wedding," I giggled.
"It's a deal," Fred grinned. He leaned in and pecked my lips softly, and I felt completely giddy after that moment.
I hopped down from the desk, trying to contain myself.
"So, what can I do to help?" I asked, looking around at all the products. "What're you working on right now?"
"Fainting Fancies," Fred answered, pulling one out of a bucket on a shelf. "They're apart of our Skiving Snackboxes, George and I are going to test them later if you want to help-"
"FRED WEASLEY, I TOLD YOU TO STAY DOWNSTAIRS!" Mrs. Weasley screamed. Fred's eyes widened, and he pulled me out of the closet quickly and shut the door behind us.
He linked his arm around mine and Apparated us back to the drawing room.
"I don't know what she's talking about, we've been here the entire time," Fred said. "Haven't we, Lily?"
"You're right, Fred, we've been right here."
Sirius, Harry, George, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Ava and Olivia (who had just come back) were standing by a huge tapestry, and turned around at the sound of our voices.
"Where'd you two go off two?" Ron questioned.
"That's none of your concern, Ron," I said.
"That's code for making out," Ava whispered.
"We weren't, actually," I shrugged. "You're just a weirdo who assumed that was what we were doing."
"You just missed Kreacher," Sirius said to me. "Seems like you somehow manage to avoid him. I wish I could say the same."
"Is he really that awful?" I asked.
"He's dreadful," Ginny said. "Sirius just threw him out of the room."
"Lunch!"
Mrs. Weasley was standing in the doorway with a large plate of sandwiches. Everybody rushed over towards her eagerly, but Harry and I stayed by Sirius at the tapestry.
I looked up at the old thing, wondering what it even said. It was a large family tree, dating all the way back to the Middle Ages.
THE NOBLE AND MOST ANCIENT HOUSE OF BLACK
"TOUJOURS PUR"
I scanned the very bottom of the tapestry, but Sirius wasn't there. Ava was there, though.
"You're not on here!" Harry and I said at the same time.
"I used to be here," Sirius said, and pointed at what looked like a cigarette burn in the tapestry. "My dear old mother blasted me off after I ran away from home- Kreacher's quite fond of muttering the story under his breath."
"You ran away from home?" I said in surprise.
"Yeah, when I was about sixteen," Sirius said, staring at the tapestry. "I'd had enough."
"Where'd you go?" Harry asked.
"To your dad's place," Sirius said. "Your grandparents sort of adopted me as a second son. I stayed there during school holidays, and when I turned seventeen I got a place of my own, my Uncle Alphard had left me a decent bit of gold- he's been wiped off here too, that's probably why- anyway, after that I looked after myself. I was always welcome at Mr. and Mrs. Potter's Sunday brunch."
"Why'd you leave?" I asked.
"Because I hated the whole lot of them," Sirius said bitterly. "My parents, with their pure-blood mania... they thought being a black practically made you royalty. My idiot brother, soft enough to believe them... that's him."
He pointed to Regulas Black near the bottom of the family tree.
"That's Ava's dad, isn't it?" Harry said.
"Yeah... she's right there," Sirius said, pointing at Ava, who was underneath Regulas. "If my mother was still alive, I guarantee you Ava would be blasted off of here just like me.... yeah, Regulas was younger than me, and a much better son, as I was constantly reminded..."
"But didn't he join the Death Eaters? How could he of been a better son?" I asked with a frown.
"Can't you tell from this house what sort of wizards my family were?" Sirius said shortly, and I suddenly felt dumb for asking that. "My parents weren't Death Eaters, but they thought Voldemort had the right idea. They were all for the purification, getting rid of all Muggle-borns and having purebloods in charge. They were so proud of Regulas, thought he was a right little hero for joining."
I glanced at Ava, who had no idea what we were talking about as she laughed at something with George.
"Was he killed by an Auror?" Harry asked hesitantly.
"Oh no," Sirius said. "No, he was murdered by Voldemort- or more likely on Voldemort's orders, I doubt Regulas was ever important enough for Voldemort himself to kill him. From what I found out after he died, he joined before he met Angela, but after he met her, he got cold feet and wanted to back out. She somehow talked some sense into him... but it was too late. You don't just hand in your resignation to Voldemort, it's either lifetime service or death."
Sirius glanced back at the tapestry.
"I haven't looked at this for years... here's my great great grandfather, Phineas Nigellus. Least popular headmaster Hogwarts ever had... and Ariminta Meliflua... she was a cousin of my mother's, she tried to make Muggle-hunting legal... of course, when the family produced anyone halfway decent, they were disowned," Sirius said in that same bitter tone. "I see Tonks isn't on here. Maybe that's why Kreacher won't take orders from her- he's supposed to do what anyone in the family tells him."
"You and Tonks are related?" Harry and I both said in surprise.
"Oh yeah, her mother Andromeda was my favorite cousin," Sirius said. "Andromeda's not on here either, look."
He pointed to another hole in the tapestry.
"I love Tonks... they really only disowned the good people?" I said.
"Yeah, look, Andromeda's two sisters are on here," Sirius said, pointing to the people on either side of the holes. "They made respectable, lovely, pure-blood marriages, but Andromeda married a Muggle-born, Ted Tonks, so-"
Sirius imitated blasting the tapestry with his wand and laughed sourly. The names Narcissa Black and Bellatrix Black were below the two sisters, and then the tree lead below them to a face I knew, but with an unknown name.
"Hold on- that looks just like Olivia," I said, pointing at the girl on the tapestry with dark, curly hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. "But it says Cassiopeia Lestrange?..."
"That's because it is Olivia," Sirius said with a smile. "You see, the entire family is named after stars. Did you really think that Bellatrix, one of the worst of the lot, would break that family tradition? No, the second that Olivia was old enough to realize she didn't want to be associated with these people, she started going by a new name."
"What- how did I not know this?" I whispered, staring at Olivia. "She's never brought it up-"
"That's because she hates her birth name," Sirius explained.
"But on the first day of Hogwarts, they didn't call her Cassiopeia," Harry said, looking heavily confused.
"That's because she sent a letter to McGonagall explaining her situation, and dear old Minnie was more than happy that Olivia didn't want to be associated with such dark wizards," Sirius said. "She's enrolled at Hogwarts as Olivia. Notice how none of the Malfoys ever refer to her by any name at all?"
"Oh..." I said, trying to think of any time that the Malfoys had ever called her by any name at all.
"But Ava's not named after a star," Harry said.
"That's solely because of Angela," Sirius said, and a small smile appeared on his face. "She wanted to break the tradition, because she certainly wasn't a dark witch- and Regulas couldn't stop Angela from doing anything she pleased."
I smiled, glancing at Ava again.
"But if Regulas was a Death Eater, and Angela wasn't a bad person, why did she marry him?" I asked. The smile suddenly slipped off of Sirius's face, and he looked away.
"It's complicated," he said quietly.
I had a feeling that Sirius didn't want to talk about that, so I was glad that Harry changed the subject to something about the Malfoys and how Sirius was related to them. But I wasn't paying attention. I stared at Bellatrix, and then down to Olivia, and suddenly something clicked in my brain.
When Harry and I had gone into that Pensieve, we saw Bellatrix. She was one of the ones who had been sent to Azkaban for torturing Neville's parents...
And then I remembered that night when Neville shouted out that maybe they would torture us in the next task, and he looked so concerned, and then Olivia went up to our dorm and didn't return.
"Sirius," I began, interrupting whatever Harry was saying, "Bellatrix is your cousin, right?-"
"Does it matter if she's my cousin?" Sirius snapped. "As far as I'm concerned, they're not my family. She's certainly not my family. I haven't seen her since I was your age, unless you count a glimpse of her coming into Azkaban. D'you two think I'm proud of having family like her?"
"Sirius- no- I'm sorry," I said quickly, realizing that all of my questions were probably annoying.
"Yeah, we didn't mean to- we were just surprised-" Harry said.
"Don't apologize," Sirius said quietly, turning away from the tapestry. He hesitated for a moment, before saying, "I don't like being back here. I never thought I'd be stuck in this house again."
"I wish you didn't have to be stuck here," I said carefully, glancing up at Sirius. I didn't want him to get mad at me again.
"Yeah, well, at least I get to see my godchildren and my niece," Sirius said, smiling a bit. "This house is ideal for headquarters, of course. When my father lived here, he put every security measure known to Wizard-Kind on it. It's Unplottable, so Muggles will never find it- and now that Dumbledore's added his protection, it's probably the safest house you could find. Dumbledore's Secret-Keeper for the Order, you know. Nobody could find this house unless he tells them personally where it is... that note Moody showed you both last night was from Dumbledore."
"I'm sure your parents would be thrilled to see how the house is being used now," I said.
"Yeah, they'd love that," Sirius snorted. "I just wish I could get out sometimes... do something useful, y'know? I've already asked Dumbledore if I could escort you both to your hearing as Snuffles, what d'you think?"
Honestly, I had forgotten about the hearing for a bit. Hearing about it made my heart sink into my stomach.
"Don't remind me," I groaned, glancing at Harry, whose face had suddenly gone paler than usual.
"You'll both be fine," Sirius said. "They'll clear you, there's definitely something in the International Statute of Secrecy about using magic to save your own life."
I looked at Harry again, knowing we both had the same question.
"But if they do expel us, can Lily and I come back here and live with you?" Harry asked hopefully.
Sirius smiled sadly.
"We'll see."
**********
Over the next few days, we mostly spent our time forced to clean out the house by Mrs. Weasley. It was honestly less like cleaning than going to war with the house. It was putting up a pretty good fight, and Kreacher trying to steal everything we put in the trash wasn't helping.
Fred, George, Ava, Olivia, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny and I all tried to eavesdrop on the Order meetings every day, but we barely picked up on anything. We tried listening to the Order members' conversations as they came in and out of the house, but it was practically no use.
Tonks wasn't staying in the house, but she was always there for a lot of the day when she wasn't at work. Her and I would often sneak away from whatever we were supposed to be cleaning so that we could practice for the day we would morph into each other and confuse everybody.
But on this particular day, Mrs. Weasley had assigned the two of us to cleaning the bathroom on the very top floor of the house.
"I've honestly never been up here, Tonks," I said as we arrived on the dark top floor. "Why am I getting the feeling that something's gonna jump out and murder me?"
"Because something might jump out and murder you," Tonks said brightly. "You never know with this house."
I linked my arm around hers anxiously, and we slowly walked towards the door on the farthest right like we'd been told. I opened the door slowly to find a dark, dirty, dusty old bathroom.
"Why'd we get this job?" I groaned, looking around the bathroom. "We're too pretty to be scrubbing dirty old bathrooms!"
"You're right, Lills- AHHH!" Tonks shouted.
A ghoul holding a sharp knife flew out of the toilet and flew straight at us. I yelped in surprise and ducked at the same time as Tonks, and the ghoul began cackling.
"RUN!" Tonks and I shouted. We both lunged out of the bathroom, Tonks tripping on the way, and I slammed the door closed before the ghoul could escape.
I pressed my back against the rattling door, breathing heavily. Tonks jumped up off the ground, saying, "I'm okay!"
"Tonks, THERE IS A GHOUL IN THE TOILET!" I exclaimed with wide eyes. "And the bloody thing had a knife! A KNIFE! WHERE DID HE GET A KNIFE?"
"Yeah, this may be a minor issue," she said. "Okay, we need a plan."
"I have an idea," I said. "I'll open the door, and you quickly use your wand to shoot the ghoul back into the toilet. I'll run to sit on top of it so the ghoul can't get out, and then flush it."
"Okay, yeah, that's not a bad plan," Tonks said. "Ready?"
"Ready," I said. "Three... two... one!"
I pulled the door open, and the ghoul came soaring out towards us both.
"Depulso!" Tonks cried.
The ghoul was thrown backwards and towards the open toilet. I chased after it, and slammed the lid shut once the ghoul was inside. I threw myself on top of the toilet, and quickly pulled down the handle to flush it.
The toilet didn't flush. It was broken.
I looked at Tonks, and both of our eyes widened.
"Why was there no out of order sign on this thing?" I cried as the toilet began rattling. "SIRIUS! MOONY! A LITTLE HELP HERE!"
The toilet began shaking violently, trying to throw me off.
"Tonks, what do we do? It's gonna take them ages to get up here!" I said in horror. "IT'S TRYING TO THROW ME OFF!"
"Here, I have an idea!" Tonks said, and then sat on me to add weight on top of the toilet. The shaking stopped for a second. "See, the shaking isn't as bad anymore! Take that, you stupid old toilet ghoul!"
The shaking intensified.
"I think you made it worse," I said. "SIRIUS, MOONY, HURRY YOUR SLOW TURTLE SELVES UP!"
"WE'RE COMING!" Sirius shouted, and there was the sound of footsteps thundering up the stairs.
The hag started screaming, which only made things worse.
Sirius and Lupin appeared in the doorway, and caught sight of me sitting on top of a violently shaking toilet, and Tonks sitting on top of me.
"Er- what exactly is going on here?" Lupin asked over the screaming.
"There's a murderous ghoul in the toilet!" Tonks and I both cried, and Sirius burst into laughter.
"Oh, Moony, I wish there was a way that we could freeze this moment and look back at it later," Sirius laughed.
"You mean a picture, Sirius?" Lupin grinned.
"Yeah, a picture!" Sirius shouted over the noise.
"Can we please get some help?" Tonks begged.
"Yeah, stop laughing before we release the poopoo ghoul on you!" I said heatedly, which only caused Sirius and Lupin to start crying tears of laughter.
By the time that the toilet ghoul situation was fixed, the day was nearly over.
The days kept passing by, and whenever I had something to do, I was happy. And Sirius and Moony wouldn't stop reminding Tonks and I about the toilet ghoul.
I kept having dreams of the same corridor with a locked door at the end, and I'd wake up with my scar prickling. Even though Fred Apparated me into his bedroom every single night, I still wasn't sleeping well, and I usually always slept well when I was with him.
Somehow, nobody noticed that I would steal sips of Firewhisky when they weren't looking. I was actually quite good at hiding it. That stuff was strong, much better than the Muggle stuff. I guess that everybody just assumed I had gone back to my usual energetic self even after last year's events, but most of the time, I was slightly tipsy. I guess that was how my usual personality was. Like I was slightly tipsy.
I couldn't bear thinking about the Ministry hearing. What if Harry and I really were expelled? What if all our friends went back to Hogwarts without us, and we were banished to the Dursleys' house forever?
Whenever I started thinking about it, I'd usually get up and try to distract myself by helping Fred and George test their products with Ava and Olivia. One time, I got a really horrible nosebleed that wouldn't stop from a Nosebleed Nougat, and ended up passing out, so Fred and George told everybody that Ava accidentally elbowed me in the face. When Mrs. Weasley screamed that Ava couldn't of possibly caused me to lose this much blood, George told her that Ava just had an unusually strong elbow.
On Wednesday night, we were eating dinner when Mrs. Weasley turned to Harry and I and said, "I've ironed both of your best clothes for tomorrow morning, and laid them out for both of you. A good first impression can work wonders."
I suddenly didn't feel hungry anymore. I felt a strangely familiar sense of anxiety spread through my body, and George, Fred, Ava, Olivia, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all stopped eating to stare at Harry and I.
"How are we getting there?" Harry asked. I'd randomly been hearing his anxious thoughts all day, and from that, I could tell he was even more nervous than I was.
"You and Lily will both be going to work with Arthur, dear," Mrs. Weasley answered gently.
"You can wait in my office until the hearing," Mr. Weasley said kindly.
In sync, Harry and I both glanced at Sirius, but before either of us could say a word, Mrs. Weasley spoke up.
"Professor Dumbledore doesn't think it's a good idea for Sirius to come along, and honestly I think-"
"-he is quite right," Sirius finished through clenched teeth.
"Well, could Fred maybe come instead?" I asked hopefully, glancing at Fred.
"I don't think he can, dear," Mrs. Weasley said.
"The Ministry said nobody else is allowed to come along," Mr. Weasley said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Lily."
"Hold on," Harry said. "When did Dumbledore tell you that you couldn't come, Sirius?"
"He came last night while you were in bed," Mr. Weasley said.
I looked down at my plate feeling even worse, wondering why Dumbledore had been here last night and not asked to see Harry and I before our hearing.
A/N
hey lovies! i'm super sorry that i haven't updated for kinda a long time, i've been going through a lot of not very fun stuff all at once, and my life has been slowly falling apart lol. good times!! and because of that i've been falling behind on online schoolwork but don't even have the motivation to catch up because it's just too much. i hate online school so much.
qotd: which color starburst is your favorite?
aotd: definitely pink. and if you say yellow or orange, i actually fear you and think you should reconsider.
thanks for reading guys! ilysm, and if you never need a friend or someone to talk to, be sure to reach out to me <3 make sure to answer the question of the day and please vote on this chapter if you haven't already.
-fanficandfic