August 1995
After Aveline's outburst, Mrs Weasley wisely chose not to settle the sisters in the same room in fear of another fight. Instead, Aveline remained roomed with Ginny whilst Lilith was put in Hermione's room. Not that any of them minded. Ginny had grown quite close to Aveline over the summer, Aveline avoided Lilith as much as possible, and Lilith and Hermione finally had some private time. After seeing the state in which Lilith was when she arrived, Hermione seemed to take it upon herself to try to get her back on the right track. She was always close by when Lilith was eating, bussing herself with a book or chess, while keeping an eye on the older witch to ensure she finished every meal. When she could, she made sure Lilith wasn't drinking any coffee after sundown to make sure she got some sleep, and when Lilith remained wide awake, Hermione picked up a random book she had found during the day and read it out loud for hours sometimes until both of them couldn't keep their eyes open. And it worked. Lilith seemed to gain some weight back, the bags under her eyes mostly disappeared, and she finally wasn't as Sebastian kindly put it 'As pale as a ghost'.
Although Hermione dotted upon Lilith's health every moment they spent at Grimmauld Place, there still was a strain between them thanks to Lilith's behaviour during the summer. It was as if everything that happened between them before the third task was erased and they had to start from scratch. Hermione made it quite clear right away. But Lilith didn't mind. She liked spending time with the younger witch, even if it was something mundane like discussing books in the Black's library. She was excused from household chores thanks to her meetings around London but when the door of their room closed, the duo spent hours upon hours just talking, enjoying each other's company in a privacy they couldn't dream about at Hogwarts. It seemed to help their relationship. What they did before was merely putting bricks together, praying they would hold but they were immediately blasted apart by Cedric's death. It was better to start it over, and build the foundation slowly but surely.
When Lilith woke up, it was still dark outside. She glanced over to the bed opposite where Hermione quietly snored, still deeply asleep. With one eye still on the younger witch, making sure not to wake her, she got up, gathered her warm jumper, her cigarette case and a lighter and exited the room as quietly as she could. She tried to keep her habits at a minimum while staying at Grimmauld Place but her nerves were running high and her hands started to twitch from time to time. The worst thing was probably to completely sober up. She always had a bottle or at least a flask at hand so alcohol ran through her system at all times since June. Her withdrawal symptoms were killing her the first week but she thanked her lucky stars nobody noticed. They all seemed to brush it over as exhaustion from overworking herself. She sometimes craved it so much that she made a few stops on her way to or from a meeting to satisfy that thirst, not that nobody would notice if she came back drunk. Practice makes perfect. However, she didn't have to hide her cigarettes from Hermione. Even when the younger witch made her sentiments on the habit clear to Lilith, she didn't ask her or force her to quit it which Lilith appreciated but went for a smoke in secrecy.
The morning at Grimmauld Place was quiet, and cold so as she made her way down the squeaky wooden stairs, she put on her jumper and put her hair up, careful not to disturb the painting of her grandmother as she passed her and continued on to the kitchen. She put on a kettle, preparing her morning coffee in silence, enjoying the peace and slowly brightening morning sky that started to shine through the windows.
"What are you doing here?"
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Maybe it was the morning chill that was typical for Grimmauld Place or Ginny's snoring that woke Aveline up but once she was up, there was no way she could go back to sleep. She thought about waking Ginny up but she immediately decided against it. She didn't want to risk things being thrown at her head when she wasn't fully awake to be able to catch them. The first thing she learnt about Ginny was her love for Quidditch which immediately bonded them, and once they were out of sight of Mrs Weasley, they would start throwing things at one another to sharpen their reflexes. Aveline appreciated that habit but was not a fan of it in the morning. Instead, she got dressed and decided to go for a cup of tea.
The house was quiet as it usually was during this time. Not even Mrs Weasley was up yet so Aveline guessed it was indeed early as she made sure not to step on the wrong squeaking step. But as she entered the kitchen, she stopped dead in her tracks. She didn't expect anybody else to be awake at this time. And she definitely didn't expect to see Lilith awake, standing in the kitchen with her back turned to her. She didn't know how to feel. Even though it seemed like it, she didn't hate her sister. Was she upset? Yes. Was she frustrated? Yes. Was she angry? Most definitely. But she didn't hate her. Even though she tried to avoid Lilith as much as possible during her stay, she noticed in what state she arrived and even though she was angry, she was also worried. Maybe her anger and worry mixed from time to time resulting in the outburst she had when she saw Lilith for the first time since June.
"What are you doing here?" even though she didn't shout or raise her voice in any manner, it still made Lilith jump up a few inches in surprise and turn around. She was clearly as surprised as Aveline to see somebody else awake at this time but she quickly calmed down, leaning against the kitchen cabinet as she looked at her.
"Well, good morning to you too." after Aveline remained silent, Lilith pointed towards the kettle. "Tea? There's enough water." Lilith sighed when Aveline didn't answer and prepared her coffee. Aveline was still watching her, standing in the same place, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn't know if she did it to look more defensive or out of habit but when Lilith turned around, now with a steaming mug in her hands and saw her posture along with her silence, she rolled her eyes.
"Come on, Avy. This is getting ridiculous." Aveline gaped at her back as Lilith made her way to the backdoor and immediately followed after her. When she caught up with her, Lilith was standing in the middle of a small backyard behind Grimmauld Place with her back still turned towards Aveline.
"Now it's getting ridiculous? That's rich coming from you." she spat as she closed the door behind her. Lilith finally turned towards her and to Aveline's utter surprise, there was a lit cigarette hanging from her lips. She had to blink a few times to make sure that what she was seeing was real but it was true. Her perfect, proper, prefect of a sister was smoking.
"Says the one who decked me." Aveline inwardly winced at the mention of that. She later heard from Ginny that Lilith had a few bruised ribs from that accident that Mrs Weasley had to heal. Did she feel bad about it? Yes. Did she regret it? No.
"You are the one who sent us, your own siblings, to a completely strange place into the care of a complete stranger who we thought was a mass murderer." Aveline stayed on the higher step, using the height difference as her advantage to make her point. But it didn't seem to work at Lilith who rolled her eyes and blew out a small cloud of smoke.
"What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry? Well, I'm not. I did it for your own good." Aveline could feel the blood rushing into her head, anger was rising inside her chest like magma.
"Our own good?! Are you joking right now?" She didn't even realise she'd done it but suddenly, she was right in front of Lilith, glaring at her, with her fists clenched by her sides in anger. "You shipped us away with no contact whatsoever! You completely abandoned us!" Lilith didn't seem to be affected by Aveline's actions, she simply continued smoking her cigarette. Aveline couldn't take it anymore so she snatched the cigarette and threw it away, still glaring at Lilith who just blinked a couple of times.
"Alright, that was rude." she said quietly but still looked calm. Aveline could feel her blood boiling at this point. It took her every nerve and will not to punch Lilith right then and there.
"Oh so there IS a definition of rude in your dictionary."
"Of course."
"Then you can add your name to that definition and also under narcissistic asshole!" Lilith closed her eyes and sighed, shaking her head.
"Avy," Aveline immediately cut her off.
"Don't call me that!" she growled.
"Aveline," Aveline cut her off once again.
"Dad would never..." This made Lilith's head snap back. Lilith narrowed her eyes at her, sending her a look that always made Aveline back down no matter what.
"Aveline Sophia Farrow, sit down right now!" her tone completely changed. From tired and soft to cold and strict as her eyes burned into Aveline. She didn't have to raise her voice, she never raised it but the pure tone of it made Aveline automatically back off and begrudgingly sit down on the lower step behind her. Lilith was still standing in the same spot. She pulled out a silver cigarette case along with a silver lighter and lit another cigarette before putting both back inside her pocket and stepping closer to Aveline.
"I've let you have your little tantrum, I've let you give me the silent treatment, I've let you land some punches but I'm done. You're gonna sit here and listen!" she hissed and Aveline nervously wiggled in her seat. Even though she was angry with Lilith, she was her older sister and the sole mother figure she ever had. Her body reacted on instinct.
"You may not like it, but I run the family now. I do. And if you think Father would never do something like this, you clearly didn't know him like I did." Aveline was opening her mouth to speak but was immediately silenced by Lilith's glare. "I've always taught you not to jump to conclusions, always think about possible circumstances and outcomes. You think you know better? You don't. You're impulsive, irrational, and reckless. And that always gets you in trouble. By now you should know that I do what I do for a reason. And I did what I did for a reason. That reason was a promise." Aveline furrowed her eyebrows, confused.
"You promised Dad that you would...?" Lilith cut her off.
"I promised Mum that I would keep you two safe, always. And I take that promise seriously." Aveline was taken aback. Lilith spoke of their mother very rarely. She'd never mentioned a promise.
"Safe from what?" Lilith sighed and sipped her coffee.
"Safe from me." Aveline blinked a few times, unsure if she heard her right.
"From you?"
"Yes." Aveline's confusion must've been clear on her face because Lilith sighed and sat down on the step next to her. She didn't look at Aveline who's eyes were burning into the side of her head. Instead, she was looking at the colours that were slowly appearing in the dark morning sky. Aveline bit her lip nervously.
"Does it have to do anything with what happened after the third task?" Lilith finally looked at her, a spark of surprise shining in her eyes. "Your accidental magic?" this time Lilith gave her a small, sad smile.
"Look at you, little eagle. Ten points for Ravenclaw." Aveline blushed a little bit at the old nickname. It was kind of obvious why Lilith gave it to her. She was the youngest and their family crest had an eagle in it hence ,little eagle'. Lilith blew out a small cloud of smoke, turning away from Aveline to do so, before turning back to her.
"My magic has always been strong, I knew it but Ced helped me contain it, keep it at bay, he was my anchor. But when I lost him, I lost that control." she frowned a little bit a took a sip from her mug. "Do you know what was the first thing I did when I came to Cave Hill?" she raised an eyebrow in question but Aveline shook her head. She didn't feel like she could guess it. "I completely trashed it." Lilith let out a humourless chuckle. Aveline gaped at her. "And I mean it. I didn't even know it happened until I stood in the middle of the room surrounded by pieces of wood, glass and leather. I completely blacked out. I couldn't allow you to come back because I knew it would happen again, which it did, and I couldn't bear the fact that I could hurt any of you without even knowing it." Lilith paused and gave her another sad smile. There was a softness in her eyes that Aveline always associated with her older sister. Even though Aveline was a troublemaker, and Lilith was the one in charge, she always reserved this softness just for her. It made the rest of Aveline's anger completely evaporate.
"And now? Can you control it?" Lilith chuckled slightly.
"If I couldn't, this house would fall down the second you jumped on my back." Aveline blushed in embarrassment.
"Sorry about it."
"I'd say we're even." Aveline could feel tugging at the corners of her lips. She was about to answer when they heard the door behind them opening. Lilith quickly threw away her cigarette before both of them turned around to see Mrs Weasley looking at them in shock, her eyes travelling from one sister to another.
"Girls... you're here... together." the nervousness was clear in Mrs Weasley's voice.
"It's alright, Mrs Weasley," Lilith exchanged a look with Aveline, both of them smiling slightly at the obvious discomfort in the older witch's voice. "We've talked it out." It took her a few moments to take the information in but when she did, nervousness and worry disappeared from Mrs Weasley's face and a huge warm smile appeared instead.
"You did! That's wonderful." she clasped her hands together. "Come inside, I was just making breakfast." she ushered them in, not giving them any space to protest. To their surprise, they weren't alone in the kitchen. The infamous trio was also there, watching them carefully as if Aveline would jump at Lilith at any moment. The sisters exchanged an awkward look with each other, uncomfortable with the attention.
"Sit down, sit down. Aveline, would you like some tea, darling?" Aveline was taken aback by her question but managed to get out a quick ,yes, please ' before both of them sat down at the table with others. The trio was still watching them, and Aveline noticed how Hermione protectively shifted towards Lilith. Aveline turned to her sister with a pleading look and Lilith seemed to understand.
"It's alright, we made up. No danger here." that finally broke the awkward atmosphere. Harry and Ron seemed to release a breath they were holding while Hermione shifted back in her seat, more at ease. Mrs Weasley returned after a while with two plates and a steaming mug in her hands.
"There you go, eat up." she smiled at them, clearly happy that there wasn't any tension anymore. Before they could thank her, the sound of something tapping on the window caught their attention. The Trio who sat right opposite the window, gasped, which made the sisters turn around. A huge smile made its way onto Aveline's face as she slipped away from her seat and quickly opened the window for their family messenger, Zeus, to fly in and make himself comfortable at the armrest of Aveline's chair. All of the occupants of the kitchen, with the exception of Lilith, were staring at him, dumbfounded.
"What is that?" Ron asked as he stared at Zeus. He seemed to catch on to Ron's discomfort as he stared right back at him.
"Zeus." Aveline said, shrugging as came back to the table. Lilith picked up a slice of bacon from her plate, offering it to Zeus who took it, still staring at Ron, and extended his leg with two envelopes tied to it.
"Thank you, Zeus." hummed Lilith as she took the envelopes, and offered him another slice. Once he ate another piece and was free of his envelopes, he once again spread his large wings and flew out of the window. The eyes around the room shifted to Aveline and Lilith.
"What?" Lilith asked as she noticed the stares. "Never seen a Golden Eagle before?"
"You do know that normal people use owls, right?" Hermione asked. Lilith exchanged a small smirk with Aveline.
"Well, what can we say?"
"We're Farrows." Aveline shrugged innocently and slipped back into her seat. Lilith sipped her coffee as she studied the envelopes.
"They must've sent it to Cave Hill so Squeaky resent them." Lilith muttered quietly as she was going through the envelopes. She put one on the table and started looking at the next one. Aveline leaned from her seat to look over her shoulder.
"Is that Ministry's seal?" Lilith hummed in agreement. Aveline saw how Trio's attention once again went from their breakfast to the envelope.
"Well, what is it?" Lilith gave her a small glare.
"Butt out, will ya?" Aveline put up her hands in defence and shifted back to her seat. The breakfast in front of her looked amazing and she was hungry so she immediately started eating everything in sight. Her trance was broken by Lilith's laughter. It was a long time since she'd heard Lilith laugh like that so she immediately lifted her head to see Lilith holding a parchment in one hand, her mug in another and with her head thrown back in laughter. She exchanged a look with other occupants at the table. When Lilith's laughter finally died down, she put the mug down and started wiping away a few tears that came out.
"Oh, this is amazing." she said between small chuckles.
"What is it?" Aveline leaned forward, swallowing the last piece of scrambled eggs. Lilith picked up her mug and sipped her coffee, still reading through the parchment.
"Well, I've been officially removed from my position as British Youth Representative to the Wizengamot." she chuckled once again. Aveline gaped at her, blinking in surprise at what she just heard. Judging by the looks around the table, the rest were just as shocked as she was. Even Mrs Weasley stopped fussing around the kitchen and stared at Lilith.
"You-You... what?" Hermione's eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she stared at Lilith who was somehow finding all of this very amusing. She finally put the parchment down, nursing the mug in both hands, a smile still playing on her lips.
"I've been officially removed." she shrugged and sipped her coffee as if it wasn't a big deal at all.
"You've been... how can you laugh about that?!" Hermione snatched the parchment from the table at quickly read through it. She turned to look back at Lilith. "This is serious!" Lilith gave her a small smirk.
"Well from what I know, Sirius is still sleeping upstairs." Aveline snorted loudly when Hermione hit Lilith's shoulder with the parchment. Harry and Ron were also snickering quietly on the other side of the table while Hermione glared daggers at Lilith.
"You're unbelievable." she hissed and got up to leave but was stopped by Lilith's hand on her arm. Lilith looked at her with a playful smile that Aveline hadn't seen in a long time. She caught the weird look Ron sent to Harry at the interaction but Harry just brushed him off.
"Sit down, please." Hermione was still glaring at her but after a few moments, she went back to her seat. "I was laughing because this is just ridiculous." Lilith took another sip of her coffee. "Honestly, I was expecting this a long time ago so now I'm just laughing." this piqued Aveline's curiosity.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, you could say that I said some very unflattering things to Fudge in June." Ron snorted at Lilith's answer.
"What did you say?" Lilith bit her lip, not very eager to answer but Ron did it for her.
"I think it was something about him being an incompetent fool who should've resigned a long time ago?" Lilith made a face when he said that and hesitantly nodded in agreement.
"Yes, something like that."
"It was amazing." Ron chuckled and took a bite out of his bacon.
"Thank you, Ron." Aveline stared at Lilith.
"You said that to Fudge?"
"Yes."
"Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic?"
"Yes, that one."
"Oh, boy." Aveline whistled. She never imagined her sister doing something like that. She was a badass.
"Exactly." Lilith nodded. "After that, I just waited for a letter like this one but it never came. I didn't know why but turns out, I found out why at Potter's trial." she motioned towards Harry who was watching them, chewing his breakfast. "Fudge completely forgot about the laws concerning that position. So I was allowed to continue with the procedure, but after I humiliated him in front of the whole Wizengamot, I was sure it would come this time. And here it is." she lifted the parchment that Hermione previously left on the table. "This, honestly, it means nothing to me. This is just Fudge being petty." she threw the parchment back. Hermione was still frowning.
"He removed you from your position just because you humiliated him?" Hermione shook her head. "That's not fair." Lilith gave her a small smile.
"Of course it isn't. But Hermione, you should see it by now. Fudge doesn't care what is right or wrong. For Merlin's sake, he turned Potter's disciplinary hearing into a full trial. By now, he doesn't care about laws or traditions. He's a man who's desperate to remain in his fantasy where he is the one with absolute power, where Voldermort doesn't exist," at the mention of You-Know-Who's name everyone except Harry, flinched, including Aveline. She couldn't understand how her sister could so blatantly use his name. "and where nobody questions his judgement. Why do you think he went after Dumbledore? Most of the Wizarding community respects Dumbledore more than Fudge. Why do you think he went after Potter? Because Potter told the truth about the third task." she sighed. "And why do you think he's going after me? I openly questioned his judgment and intentions in front of the eldest institution in the wizarding world." she shrugged and sipped her coffee. "Honestly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I wouldn't be surprised if he sent one of his people to Hogwarts."
"But the Ministry has no authority at the grounds of Hogwarts." Lilith hummed in agreement at Hermione's remark.
"True, but Fudge made it clear he's not above stepping over some laws or creating new ones. He said it himself. And right now, he sees Dumbledore as his biggest threat. I'm just saying, I wouldn't be surprised." The silence around the table was grim. Lilith had a point and judging by the looks of others, it scared them too. Aveline didn't like the tension so she pointed to the next envelope.
"What about this one?" it seemed to work as Lilith smirked slightly.
"That one will be interesting. Seb's O.W.L.s results." she tapped the envelope and looked at Aveline. "Why don't you go wake him up?" Aveline gave her a mock salute before popping a small piece of bacon into her mouth and exiting the kitchen.
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It didn't take long for Aveline to return. Meanwhile, Lilith drank the rest of her coffee and was about to stand up to make another one when Hermione caught her by the elbow.
"You're gonna eat first." she whispered into her ear and motioned towards the full plate in front of Lilith. Her stomach turned as she looked at the food. She didn't really have an appetite.
"Hermione..." she was about to protest but the look Hermione gave her shut her up immediately.
"I could smell the cigarette on you the second you walked in. If you're gonna smoke, you're gonna eat." she caught Harry's silent snarks and Ron's confused face from the corner of her eye but gave Hermione a small nod and when she finally released her arm, she begrudgingly started to eat the scrambled eggs that were getting colder by the second. She didn't really feel like eating but the small encouraging smile Hermione gave her made it worth it. She could finally stop when she heard the bickering of her sibling getting louder as they made their way towards the kitchen.
"What trouble? What are you talking about?" Sebastian yawned as he entered the kitchen. Aveline clearly pulled him straight out of bed because he was still in his pyjamas, his hair was all over the place and he could barely keep his eyes open as he looked around the kitchen. Aveline stood next to him, smirking. Sebastian turned to look at Lilith, confused.
"Have I done something? Avy says I'm in trouble." Lilith glared at Aveline but when she gave her an innocent smile, she rolled her eyes and picked up the unopened envelope on the table.
"Depends. How did you do on your O.W.L.s?" when she showed the envelope to Sebastian, his eyes opened fully. He stared at the envelope with his mouth hanging open, frozen in his spot. Lilith rolled her eyes once more.
"If you won't open it, I will."
"No!" Sebastian shrieked and launched forward, snatching the envelope from her hand but he continued to stare at it.
"Don't be nervous, dear." Mrs Weasley smiled at his supportively. "I'm sure you did great."
"Come on, Seb. Just open it." Aveline nudged him. Sebastian swallowed hard, glancing at Lilith who gave him a small smile before taking a deep breath and opening his envelope. Lilith watched him with a small smile. She didn't have to be nervous, she already knew the results thanks to Rowan. Aveline started to scream, and Sebastian started to laugh when they read the grades together. Sebastian grinned widely at Lilith, lifting the parchment up in the air while hugging Aveline with one arm.
"All of them! I've got all of them!" Lilith continued to smile as she climbed out of her seat and hugged her brother tightly, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Of course you did." she ruffled his hair. "I'm proud of you."
"Congratulations, Sebastian. That's amazing news." Mrs Weasley clapped her hands, smiling warmly at the siblings. "Come eat. That's something to celebrate." Ron and Harry extended their hands to shake Sebastian's hand, congratulating him, while Hermione gave him a short hug.
"How many did you get?" she asked right after Sebastian sat down.
"Ten." he grinned and thanked Mrs Weasley who placed a full plate in front of him. Ron and Harry stared at him in shock while Hermione looked at Lilith with a raised eyebrow.
"Wow, you two really are siblings." Lilith smiled innocently and took Sebastian's letter to read through it. She felt pride in her chest when she read through it. Ten O.W.L.s and all of them Os. Even though she knew it all beforehand, she was still proud of Sebastian's results. But she also felt a small pang in her chest. A year ago, she and Ced received their results and drank themselves into oblivion. A year ago. Her smile faltered a bit.
"Well, I must be adopted because you sure as hell won't see this next year." Lilith playfully hit Aveline with the parchment.
"Avy, I practically raised you. I'm saying this from the bottom of my heart but the only way you could get results like these would be if the O.W.L.s were from Quidditch." her bluntness seemed to shock others around the table but Sebastian snorted as he ate his breakfast and Aveline shrugged and nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, that's true. But I've got a pretty good shot at potions." Lilith glared at her.
"If you try one of your experiments at any public place at Hogwarts, again, you'll wish that you'd have run off to Jamaica last year." Aveline gaped at her.
"How do you know about Jamaica?" Lilith shrugged.
"I've got my sources." it didn't take Aveline long to put two and two together and quickly shot daggers at Hermione. "I've already told you, it doesn't matter how many O.W.L.s you do or don't get, just please finish school and don't get kicked out."
"Can't promise anything." Lilith pursed her lips.
"Aveline Sophia Farrow!" Aveline put her hands up in defence.
"Alright, alright. I won't." that interaction seemed to break the silence as others started to chuckle.
"Lili?" Lilith turned to Sebastian. "Do we still have the deal?" Lilith smiled at him.
"We do." There was a spark in Sebastian's eyes when she said that. "In fact, you should probably go shower after you finish. We're going in two hours." Sebastian's jaw nearly hit the table.
"In two...but how did you...?"
"Told you, I've got my sources." Lilith nudged him gently. "Eat up." Sebastian started to eat as his life depended on it but then suddenly stopped and lifted his head, looking at Hermione.
"Do you wanna go with us?" Hermione looked at them, confused.
"Go where?"
"Oxford." Hermione's eyes widened.
"You're going to Oxford?" Sebastian nodded enthusiastically.
"I wanna go to school there. Lili promised me that if I got all my O.W.L.s, we'd go take a look. Do you wanna go too?" he discreetly looked at Lilith, giving her a quick wink. Lilith had to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling. That little schemer. Hermione seemed to like that idea because she smiled widely, looking between Sebastian and Lilith.
"I'd love to. That is if you don't mind." Lilith shook her head.
"Of course not."
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As they left Sebastian with the warden of Merton College, they found a small corner cafe on High Street where they could wait for him to finish the tour. Hermione had no idea how Lilith did that but when they walked in, the warden greeted Lilith warmly and immediately swept up Sebastian for a tour of the college, all having already prepared. She was sure they didn't do that for everybody so she wondered what Lilith had done to manage this.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Lilith smiled at her over her mug as she drank her coffee. Hermione bit her lip nervously.
"You didn't use... magic, right? You didn't charm the warden." Lilith raised an eyebrow at her, putting the mug down.
"No, Mione. I didn't use Imperio on him." Hermione blushed in embarrassment.
"That's not what I..." she gulped. "Sorry, I..."
"No, it's alright." Lilith waved her off. "I didn't use magic. I didn't have to. One of our ancestors was an alumnus and ever since then, our family makes an annual donation. So it was not magic but money. Same letter, different word." Lilith hesitated for a moment before she reached out and covered Hermione's hand with her own. Hermione could feel tingling underneath her skin. She'd missed Lilith. Every fibre of her being missed her but she was glad they were starting over. She started to see more of the soft, sheltered part of Lilith that she started to fall in love with.
"I'm glad you came." Lilith said as she slowly intertwined their fingers. "I've finally got to take you out on a date."
"So this is a date?" Hermione asked playfully but Lilith's smile froze.
"You didn't think it was?"
"I hoped it was." Hermione squeezed her hand reassuringly and it seemed to work. Lilith relaxed once more. But she noticed movement on Lilith's left hand.
"What is it?"
"What do you mean?" Hermione nudged her head in the direction of the hand.
"You only play with that ring when you're thinking about something or you're nervous. So what is it?" Lilith chuckled and bawled her left hand into a fist.
"You're perceptive."
"Well, that's a shocker." Lilith gave her a playful smirk but Hermione could see a bit of nervousness behind her facade. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, and squeezed Lilith's hand.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Lilith nodded and looked down into her coffee.
"I... I have a confession to make." The nervousness was clear now and Hermione furrowed her eyebrows, intrigued.
"A confession?" Lilith nodded and sipped her coffee. "Well, what is it?" she watched as Lilith took a deep breath and bit her lip.
"Do you remember what I told you about me volunteering in the Hospital Wing?" Hermione frowned but nodded. She remembered that conversation.
"I do." Lilith avoided her eyes.
"Well, I didn't just happen to be there." she chuckled humourlessly and pushed a fallen strand of hair behind her ear. "I was there because of you." Hermione blinked a couple of times.
"Me?" Lilith bit her lip and nodded. "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is," Lilith paused and closed her eyes. "I know you said you already forgave me for what I did but I will feel sorry for that for the rest of my life. Because... you think I didn't notice you until this year but I did. More than you can imagine." Hermione's heart started to beat faster by the second as she took in everything. The vulnerability of Lilith's tone, her words, her touch. Lilith's eyes were still closed.
"I think it started when you asked me about the Polyjuice potion in my fourth year. I'm a Farrow and a Ravenclaw, knowledge is everything to me and you... you completely blew me out of the water. After that, I started to notice you more and more. And then you got petrified and next thing I know, I'm volunteering." Lilith was rambling by now. Hermione has never heard her ramble. And everything she was saying... to say Hermione was stunned was an understatement. She felt the familiar warmth spreading inside her.
"What are you saying?" Lilith took a deep breath and finally looked at her. Hermione loved the softness showing in Lilith's eyes. She showed it rarely and reserved it only for certain people.
"What I'm trying to say is... after what I did this summer, I don't want you to think that I'm playing with you because I'm not. I could never. Because quite frankly, I've had a crush on you for two years." Hermione stared at her, dumbfounded. "And I nearly blew it when I finally got a chance. I'm not playing around, I'm all in with you and..." Hermione didn't let her finish. She reached out, grabbing the collar of Lilith's shirt, pulling her towards her until their lips crashed. Hermione's heart soared when it happened. She missed Lilith, her heart missed her, her soul missed her. She missed the softness of her lips and the smell of roses and cigarettes. She felt the tingles going all through her body. It wasn't a long kiss so when Hermione pulled away, Lilith stared at her, shocked but happy.
"You're an idiot."
"Sorry." Hermione shook her head, smiling.
"It's alright, you're my idiot."