Obliviate

Chapter 14

The snow outside had grown thicker, draping Hogwarts in a white hush that made the castle feel more like a snow globe than a fortress. Students rushed between classes with scarves pulled high, and the air was heavy with the smell of mulled cider and evergreen boughs hanging in the corridors. It should have felt magical, festive. For Lily, it only felt suffocating.

She hadn't gone back to the Room of Requirement since the last vision. She told Scorpius she was busy, or tired, or had extra work in the library. All flimsy excuses. The truth pressed against her ribs every time she saw him: Hermione's face in the vision, her whisper you're so brave burned into Lily like an ember that refused to go out.

The Hermione Lily knew was her father's best friend, her mum's ally, the woman who had helped raise their world out of rubble. Hermione, who had taught Lily that brilliance didn't have to mean arrogance. Hermione, who never stopped working, never stopped fighting.

But in that vision... Hermione had looked at Draco Malfoy as if he was the one worth saving.

Lily couldn't bring herself to tell Scorpius. She didn't understand it herself.

She sat in the library one afternoon, quill hovering over her parchment while words refused to come. Kara slid into the seat across from her, hair tumbling from its braid and a mischievous smile tugging her lips.

"You've been staring at the same sentence for ten minutes," Kara said. "And unless the properties of knotgrass are that fascinating, you're somewhere else entirely."

Lily blinked, caught. "I'm just tired."

Kara tilted her head. "No, this is more than tired. You're distracted. Moody. Brooding, even." She leaned closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "Is it Scorpius?"

Heat shot to Lily's cheeks. "No!" Too fast, too defensive.

Kara's grin widened. "It is. Or at least it's something to do with him. Don't bother denying it I've seen the way you've been dodging him all week."

Lily fumbled with her quill, not trusting herself to meet Kara's eyes. "It's not like that. It's just... complicated."

"Everything's complicated with boys." Kara sat back, satisfied she'd struck a nerve. "But you don't have to shut me out, you know. Whatever it is, you look like you're carrying it alone."

The words pricked uncomfortably. Kara couldn't possibly know how close she was to the truth.

That evening, Scorpius found Lily leaving the Great Hall. Snow still clung to his scarf, his pale hair damp from melted flakes. "You're avoiding me," he said, without accusation, but with a steadiness that made her chest ache.

"I'm not," she lied.

"Yes, you are. Every time I ask you to meet me in the Room, you suddenly have an essay due or you're too tired." His eyes searched hers, earnest and hurt. "Lily, what's going on?"

She pulled her cloak tighter around herself. "Nothing. I just... I just don't feel like going tonight."

For a moment he looked like he might press further, but then his shoulders sagged. "Fine. But I don't like this distance. Not with you."

He walked away before she could answer. The guilt in her chest grew heavier still.

That night, the vision returned.

Lily had just drifted to sleep when the world tilted, golden shimmer giving way to cold stone walls and the sharp smell of candle smoke. She staggered, catching her balance against a pillar, her heart hammering. She wasn't in her bed anymore. She wasn't in Hogwarts. She was in an echo.