Lily in the Shadows

Chapter 14 (Edited)

Wednesday morning Kathryn wakes up in her chilly dorm room. All of her dorm mates are still asleep in their beds, piled high with blankets. Walking over to a small window in the room she places her hand on the glass, to get a feel for how cold it is outside. Quickly drawing it back she is shocked at the sudden cold front. Opening her trunk she pushes away her usual uniform of a skirt and button-up shirt and opts for something a little warmer. Some thick pants and an old sweater of Dudley's would do fine. Pulling out the outfit, she takes it with her into the washroom so she can get ready for the day. After showering and dressing she pulls a small book out of her cabinet. Spells a Witch Should Know About Beauty By Katie Helga; her aunt had secretly gotten it over the summer when they were waiting for her robe fittings in Madam Malkin's. It was a very handy Christmas gift and helped her reign in her wild hair. Leafing through the chapter on hair spells, she quickly casts a few to dry and styles her hair. Her usually wild hair is tame and in gentle curls down her back, tying her front strips of hair back to keep it out of her face. Pulling out her small blue basket with her little bit of makeup she does a bit of mascara and lip gloss. Once she is done she pulls on her warm clothes and exits the washroom. Grabbing her school books, her camera, a hat, a scarf, gloves, and Claude; Lily walks downstairs to see Draco asleep in an armchair.

Setting down her stuff she sneaks up behind him, peering down at his sleeping face. She gently brushes through his hair, pausing when Draco shifts a little. She braids the side of his hair back and ties all his hair back with an elastic. As she finishes Draco opens his eyes to look at her face peering down at him. They both share small smiles.

"Good morning." He rasps out. Sitting up he stretches his arms above his head, followed by the symphony of cracking bones. "What're you doin' up so early?"

She smiles at his slurred voice, "I woke up early, I'm just going to go on a walk." "Would you mind some company?" He asks, standing and stretching.

"I would love some, are you sure you're alright to come outside? You look quite tired, why not get some more sleep? Besides, you're still wearing the same clothes as yesterday."

Draco looks down at his outfit, picking up his robe. "Understandably, I need a shower. I'm going to go do that now, I've had plenty of sleep. I guess I'll meet you outside later. Alright?" Hugs are exchanged and Draco lightly jogs upstairs.

Picking back up her stuff she makes her way through the dungeon to outside. Opening the front door of the school she freezes as a cold brick hits her in the face. Pulling on her extra warm accessories she sets Claude in her robe pocket. Stepping right outside the door Lily-Kathryn pulls her camera up, taking a picture of the grounds of Hogwarts. The view of the once beautiful green grasslands covered in a thick powder of snow, the snow gently dusting the steps and railing of the stairs leading down. The still lake, a film of what she could only assume to be ice-crusted over the top. The sky is nothing but a milky cover of clouds. Stepping carefully down the steps, making sure not to slip, she is comforted by the gentle crunch of each step. Her boots leave little imprints in the snow as she walks towards the lake, taking pictures of random things as she goes.

Reaching the lake she crouches next to it, poking at the ice. It holds very well, not even a small crack appearing. Gathering snow she begins packing it into a rectangular prism, once it's almost solid she sets it down and begins making another. Claude, crawling out of her pocket begins digging into the snow, making a sort of nest out of the snow. By the time he finishes his nest Lily has made a semi-large circle out of snow bricks. Beginning to stack the bricks Lily is interrupted by a shadow covering her form. She looks up to see Draco standing there, bundled from head to toe.

"Having fun?" He inquires, "Are you cold at all?"

Just noticing the chill in her bones suddenly, she sees the slight shaking in her hands. "I guess I am a little chilly." Draco pulls out her wand, mumbling a spell and tapping her clothes. She is filled with warmth and her clothes dry on their own. "Thank you!" She beams.

"Of course, guess what?" At her inquiring look, he continues. "Professor Dumbledore canceled classes because of the snow, so we can just hang out all day." She excitedly squeals. Kneeling beside her they both continue making the bricks. Once they have a good group of bricks they start stacking them making a sort of igloo. Halfway through with the structure the rest of Draco's crew plus Ari and Cedric all show up. Once they figure out what they're doing everyone starts making bricks. It takes three hours, seventeen hot chocolate breaks, and a few minutes by the fire but they all work together to make a very big igloo. Spells have been cast on the ice to keep it from melting, falling apart, or being too cold. The ground on the inside has been cleared of snow and dried. They all scrambled to their dorms and common rooms, gathering any spare pillows and blankets they could find. They fill the igloo with all of their supplies. The Weasley twins appeared at some point, with a sofa of all things. When Cedric comes back he brings with him a large group of Hufflepuffs who have blankets, pillows, furniture, and food. Lots of food. Everyone piles into the igloo and forgets about everything, they forget about the petrifications and all of the scary drama. They forget about house rivalries and just chill. (Pun intended) All is going fine and dandy until Professor Dumbledore knocks on the doorway of the igloo. Sticking her head outside Lily smiles at the Professor. "Good afternoon Professor, how can I help you?"

"I was just wondering who all is in there, the other professors have been looking for a lot of little Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, plus a pair of mischievous twins." His eyes twinkle as Lily-Kathryn giggles. "Yes sir, there are a lot of us here. Is something wrong? Do we need to go back inside?" Her face goes quickly from super excited, to confused, to worried.

"No, no of course not. We just needed to know where the children were. Have fun." He turns to go but stops and faces her again, "Do you have any, Sherbert Lemon by chance?"

"Hmm, let me see." She pops into the igloo and pops back out with two small bags. "Here you go, Professor. One of these is sherbert lemon and the other is a cinnamon-plum crumble. I know Professor Snape likes them, so that's for him."

Dumbledore smiles, "I'll make sure it gets to him."

When Dumbledore leaves Lily re-enters the igloo. Claude is living the high life, sitting on a pillow, covered in self-heated blankets, and being pet and pampered by a group of Hufflepuff first years. Once everyone is warm and full, a group of Slytherins and a group of Hufflepuffs decide to go outside for a friendly snowball fight. Walking out of the igloo Lily-Kathryn is shocked by the number of students outside playing in the snow. Yes, it had been cold for weeks but no one was expecting snow. Splitting up into two groups the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs each begin making piles and piles of snowballs. Some Ravenclaws ask if they can join in the fight and begin gathering their snowballs. Lily is very confident in her fighting abilities up until the moment she gets hit in the face with a snowball. Sitting up from the snow she wipes the snow out of her eyes giggling and picking up some snowballs. She hits Cedric and some dark-haired Ravenclaw girl he was talking to. They turn to see her running away giggling. Suddenly Lee Jordan of Gryffindor begins commentating on the fight. Laughter and shrieks fill the air, a rogue snowball occasionally hitting a face or a head.

Over time people grow cold and shivering. Everyone just stops playing and just goes back inside either the school or the igloo to warm back up. Huddled under a pile of blankets Kathryn and Draco play a game of exploding snap, trying their best not to burn each other or themselves. After a few rounds, they put the games away and leaned against a stack of pillows against the wall. Lily pulled out a book from her bag, handing it to Draco.

"Will you read this to me?" Lily-Kathryn asks.

"Of course," taking the book he looks inquiringly at the title. "Dracula? What kind of book is this? I've never heard of Bram Stoker, did he go to Durmstrang?"

"Well, I don't think so. My cousin Dudley sent it to me from home, he said that I might like it. It's about vampires." Draco wrinkles his nose at the thought of touching a muggle book. "I guess I'll read it then." He rolls his eyes, "3 May, Bistritd, -- Left Munich at 8:35 P.M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46, but the train was an hour late. Buda-Pesth seems a wonderful place, from the glimpse which I got of it from the train..." They read chapter after chapter, Draco becoming more and more invested as the story goes on. He falters, pausing as he feels a weight on his shoulder. Looking down he sees a fast asleep Kathryn, out like a light. Closing the book, he sets it aside, resting his head on hers, and falling asleep.