Lily in the Shadows

The sound of her shoes tapping against the stone stairs clicks sharply in her ears. Lily shields her eyes from the bright sun outside, the weather is just a lovely way to end her last exam. The wind blows through her hair as she makes her way down to the black lake. The site ahead of her warms her heart. Draco sits beneath a tree, a dark blanket covered in luscious pillows and decadent treats. A stack of classic muggle literature sits beside a pitcher of pumpkin juice. With a wave of his arm, Draco directs Lily to sit, handing her a plate of treats before pulling out a new novel. She leans against him, listening to his calming voice read A Little Princess as she watches the clouds float by and the wind caresses her skin.

They lay there for hours until he finished the novel. Shifting, they lay down, comfortably as he begins Mansfield Park. Draco tells her they need to return to the castle as it starts to get late. Buckbeak is going to be executed in a few hours and he doesn't want her to see that.

Lily shakes her head, "No, I need to be there for Harry. He's going to be so upset."

Draco pulls her to her feet. "I will watch your brother, he wouldn't want you to see this either. It will be alright, I promise. Now, head on inside." She grabs the stack of books and walks on up to the castle. Walking through the halls she sees Snuffles sneaking around and rushes over, hugging him. They walk together to the common room, he takes one of the books she dropped between his teeth, careful not to scratch it.

She takes the books to her room and grabs a few things. Settling in front of the fire in her pyjamas she cuddles into a blanket, leaning against Snuffles. Her glass of cold lemonade sits on a marble coaster next to a plate of biscuits. Resting she reads a different book, this one from a wizard author A Children's Anthology of Magic, by Newt Scamander it is fascinating. Drawn in she doesn't take in Ceba riding Claude down the stairs and curling up under the blanket sharing a strawberry biscuit. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyal rush into the common room an hour or two later. Draco's face dripped with blood.

Touching his face with his hands he holds them out to her. "Am I, am I bleeding!? I'm bleeding!!"

She jumps up and brings a cloth to his face. "It's alright, I'll help you!" They rush upstairs to her bathroom, she dabs at his bleeding face with a wet rag. Once the bleeding stops she asks him what in Merlin's name happened. He tells her about how Crabbe and Goyal were being idiots when stupid Granger got it in her head that they were making fun of Buckbeak and then she and Weasley began ganging up on him and before he knew it BAM! Granger punched him right in the nose. She feels her chest burn with a wave of righteous anger. They didn't even know why he was there, and they were mean to him. My friend, they were mean to my Draco, why I ought to give them a piece of my mind. She wipes the blood off his upper lip, eyebrows furrowed. I think that is just what I shall do.

She puts the bloody rag into her hamper before sending him off to his room. "You need to get some rest, I am sorry this happened. I will most definitely be talking to Harry about this nonsense." Draco pulls her into a hug, his arms around her waist. Leaning down he rests his chin against her shoulder, nose aching.

"It's alright Lils. Promise." Draco lets her go and heads to his dorm for a shower and some much-needed rest.

Lily, on the other hand, filled with annoyance and slight rage left Slytherin's common room, Snuffles at her heels. As they leave the school the crisp air bites at her exposed arms and legs. Her slippered feet squeak against the stone steps as she enters the ever-darkening grounds. As the pair made their way across the grass they began hearing a different sort of squeaking. Looking around the semi-dark grounds both people are confused, there is no one there. Suddenly Ron appears out of thin air, they can see him obviously chasing something on the ground though they don't see much.