The Last Horcrux/Hogwarts/Explore Hogwarts with Lily
After dessert, you take Lily by the hand.
“Come one let’s explore the Castle!” You say to her, “we’ve got a couple of hours til we’ve gotta be back in our dorms.”
Lily agrees and you both run off, giggling and making your way through the magical school.
- - - - -
Hogwarts is truly massive. You are overwhelmed by the joy of discovering it for the first time, and although the Monster has some memories of it that surface from time to time, you sense that some parts of Hogwarts have actually changed since he was here. With moving stairs and magical corridors, it’s not that surprising. Thankfully, the Monster seems to sleep again, blessedly leaving you alone with Lily for a few hours. You decide to make the most of it.
You lead Lily down darkened corridors lit by burning braziers, past suits of armour, magical moving paintings, and even ghosts that haunt the castle. You run up and down flights of stairs, apologising when teachers tell you off for running, only to run off again when their backs are turned. You wrap your shadow cloak around your shoulders, and jump out on Lily to scare her, only to laugh and hug her, pulling down your hood so she can see your face.
Only when you are both scolded by Professor McGonagle and the caretaker Mr Filtch do you calm down a little and wander more slowly. You take a walk down some of the covered corridors on the exterior of the building, and notice that a rainstorm has started outside.
“Lily, let’s explore outside!” You tell her.
“But we’ll get all wet!” Lily complains, but half-heartedly.
“No we won’t,” you say, reaching into your Extended Luggage Suite and pulling out a spare cloak for her, “here, you can have this cloak, I don’t need two of them.”
Lily thanks you and puts on your spare cloak, and the two of you walk out into the rainstorm. You keep your hood down so Lily can see your face, and immediately feel the cool Autumn rain washing over your hair and face. Lily does the same, and soon your faces are drenched, but you’re happy and laughing.
The rain is keeping everyone else away, and for a couple of magical hours, it feels as if you and Lily are the only people in the world. You make your way around the exterior of the castle, looking at all the cosy rooms and warm lights within. Occasionally you see people sat in the rooms, and you pull silly faces and poke out your tongues at them, before fleeing giggling into the night before anyone can recognise you. It’s so good to see Lily smiling and laughing so much. Her happiness makes her look even more beautiful.
You run across courtyards, through puddles formed on the flagstones, splashing each other deliberately until you are both drenched. The air still holds the warmth of late summer though, and you don’t feel a chill. You run and run, sometimes together, sometimes apart, holding hands for a while, then chasing each other and hiding behind pillars and low walls.
“It’s not fair,” Lily yells, “it’s so hard to see you in your magic cloak.”
“You can fit inside it too,” you tell her, “if we ever both need to hide or sneak somewhere.”
You make your way to the far side of the castle. Every time you think you have seen it all, you turn a corner and find a whole other wing of the school, or see another massive tower that you hadn’t discovered yet. You’re able to guide Lily a little bit, but most of it is as new to you as it is to her.
“I’m so happy I came here!” Lily exclaims, “and I’m so happy I’ve met you Emily!”
You embrace for a moment, feeling the warmth of your bodies against one another, then pull back. Just for an instant you gaze into her beautiful blue eyes, but then she giggles and looks away shyly, running off again, and making you chase her this time.
It takes you a moment to catch up with Lily this time. Despite her clumsiness, she’s about an inch taller than you are, and she can run fast when she wants to. You almost want to hex her to show her who the boss is, but you wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.
You point your wand into the sky and call out some spells, just because you can.
“Vermillious!” You cry, firing red sparks into the air, that fly and fly, then crackle and fade like fireworks, “Baubillious!” you yell, and the skies are filled with glowing balls of lightning like illumination. “Incendio!” You shout, and fill the sky with fire.
Lily is in awe of your magic, but pulls out her wand to practice too.
“Lumos!” She yells, making her wand light up brightly, practicing the charm you taught her last night.
“Lumos Maxima!” You incant, and dazzle her with powerful light. You teach her the spell and she almost blinds you in revenge.
You walk on in silence for a moment, both of you blinking to get your vision back again. Something of the earlier magic has worn off now, and you stop your running and chasing. You offer your arm to Lily and she takes it as if you were a gentleman like your cousin Blaise. You walk further away from the castle, off into the night, revelling in the freedom life has given you. You feel as though your whole life is ahead of you and that it’s going to be a wonderful adventure, and with Lily by your side you will enjoy every minute of it. You carry on walking, confidently into the darkness of the night.
“How far do you want to go?” Lily asks you, a hint of uncertainty creeping into her voice.
“How far do you want to go?” You ask her.
“We should turn back…” she starts, and turns her head, “oh wow, Emily, look at the castle! It looks amazing!”
You turn around and see the castle all lit up. This will be your new home with Lily and your other friends for the next seven years. You feel incredibly lucky.
You walk up behind Lily, and place your hands on her shoulders. Moving closer to her, you place your chin just above her shoulder, until you’re almost cheek to cheek, gazing at the castle in the distance.
You want to kiss her so badly, but you’re afraid. You don’t want to scare her or spoil this moment. Part of you wishes this moment could just last forever.
You glance at her sideways, but she seems enchanted by the castle, as if it were a fairy tale. You decide you’re going to kiss her, and are just about to move when she looks at her watch and cries out in alarm.
“Emily! It’s nearly nine o’clock! We’ll never get back to our dorms in time!”
Your heart skips a beat for a instant, the moment ruined by the relentless march of time.
“We can get back in time,” you tell her, and reach into your Extended Luggage Suite to pull out your mother’s broom.
“But Madam Hooch said we’re not supposed to fly brooms unsupervised!” Lily protests.
“Oh Lily,” you tease her, smiling, “you’re such a good girl all the time, don’t you ever break any rules?”
Lily looks flustered, and doesn’t know what to say.
“Come on,” you say, “you get on first and I’ll get on behind you. I can fly it, you just need to hold on tight. Pull my Shadow Cloak around you so people can’t see who we are.”
Lily does as you say, and you sit behind her, pulling her under your cloak. You lean your head over her shoulder so your cheek to cheek again, and hold the broom with one hand and her body with your other. Feeling her against you like this is so damn good. Lily holds on tightly to the broom with both hands, and you take to the air, flying into the night sky, faster and faster.
“Aaaaaaasghgh!” Lily cries, but it’s clear she’s exhilarated rather than scared.
“Keep still!” You tell her, laughing, as she almost wobbles off of the broom.
You speed through the castle courtyards, over walls and under arches, and straight into the main entrance of the school. Once you are inside, you rocket past a couple of bewildered students, but no one can see your faces with the Shadow Cloak hood pulled down. You hurtle down the stairs toward the Slytherin dungeon, and make your way to the magical stone door.
“Potentia Altiore,” you say the password, breathing heavily, as you dismount from your broom.
“We made it!” says Lily, a massive smile breaking out on her face.
You are just about to embrace her again as the stone door magically opens, when you notice Professor Snape and Professor McGonagle descending the stairs behind you.
“Where have you girls been?” Snape says sternly, “we have been searching for you for the last hour.”
You quickly try to think of a lie or excuse, but your mind goes temporarily blank. Then you notice McGonagle whisper something in your Housemaster’s ear. Snape looks at her, then gives an almost imperceptible nod.
“May I remind you girls that broomstick flying without supervision is forbidden for first years, and that any flying is forbidden on the inside of the castle. This is serious, and could be punished with expulsion from the school.”
Snape pauses long enough, just to make your blood run cold and you stomachs to churn.
“But under the circumstances, you are not actually late back to your dormitories, so I will forgive this transgression on this instance and this instance only.”
You both breath a sigh of relief, apologise profusely to Snape and McGonagle and start to head into the Slytherin Common Rooms, but Snape stops you with a hand on the shoulder.
“I wonder Emily,” he says, “have you ever considered playing Quidditch? Slytherin House is in need of a new Seeker.”
Other Soul Fragment?
Inside Extended Luggage Suite
Books Life Magick of the Celts and ancient Britons, Wiccan Blood Rituals, A Primer of Magickes of Imperial China, The Fragmented Soul, Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts, Love Potions, Sexus, Serpentes et Magicae Voluptatis, The Daughters of Hecate, A Secret Guide to Hogwarts, Oneirocritica, Tom Riddle’s Diary (Horcrux).
Magic Items Sofia Lestrange’s Pensieve, Enchanted Tarot, Guardian Statue, Self-Writing Quill, Wizard’s Chess Set, Mother’s Broomstick, several sets of shirts, skirts and underwear with protection from minor charms, jinxes and hexes.
Other Items Clothes, text books, blankets, towels, food, medicines and various supplies
