❝ i'm chaos walking . . . ❞
❝ then i'll walk with you.❞
「 Liliana Granger knew chaos like the back of her hand.
It confronted her, challenging her to find calm wherever she could.
But some days...
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❝ It's now or never.❞
⋅☾☼☽⋅
It was sweltering hot as the summer heat rolled in. With it, exams. Liliana had never written so many papers in her life. She had grown weary and was glad when practical exams started. But her stress didn't dissipate. The run in with You-Know-Who in the forest made her hyper-aware; she worried he might burst in through a door at any moment.
But he wouldn't, she reminded herself, because Fluffy was still alive and well behind the locked door. She breathed a little easier knowing that as she made a pineapple tap dance across the desk for her Charms exam. The rest of her exams were a breeze — Professor McGonagall had them turn mice into snuff boxes, and Professor Snape had them brew a Forgetfulness potion.
In spite of Snape and his tactics to throw his students off — he liked to pace around the room, breathing harsh words down their necks — Liliana knew she had done well. Her potion had simmered to the expected orangish hue. But from beside her, the confidence couldn't be shared — Harry's cauldron bubbled a ghastly green.
It had formed a thin haze, but Liliana could still see the raven haired boy. He wore a small frown, wincing as he rubbed his forehead. But he stopped abruptly when he noticed her stare.
What? he asked her, his brows furrowed.
"You OK?" she mouthed.
Fine, he said with a strained smile.
Liliana frowned at him. He was lying, but she didn't want to press him about it. She knew his scar was the problem; it had been bothering him ever since the trip into the forest. So instead, she turned back to her potion and poured some into a vial.
When they wrapped up their last exam — History of Magic with Professor Binns — Liliana couldn't help but cheer with her peers. No more oddly specific questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self stirring cauldrons. No more hand cramps from lengthy essays. She loved school, but she loved break, too.
"That was far easier than I thought it would be," Hermione said as they joined the crowds flocking out onto the sunny grounds. "I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager."
Other oddly specific facts, Liliana thought to herself with a small laugh. She nudged her sister lightly and said, "I told you so."
Hermione rolled her eyes, but Liliana could tell she wasn't annoyed. She then started to go through the exam papers, but Ron asked her not to because this made him feel ill, so they wandered down to the lake and flopped under a tree. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were tickling the tentacles of a giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows.
Liliana smiled at them from a distance. With her back resting against the tree trunk, she sighed, relieved. For the first time in weeks she felt at peace. It was faint, like the winds that blew against her skin, but still there.
