Potter

Chapter 83

The rest of the day had been spent practicing for the upcoming morning.

It had been exhausting, going over possible questions and answers, but it now it certainly didn't compare to waiting for everyone to get home.

"Flower, if you're not going to focus, you might want to let go of the dishes." George suggested, not unkindly. I snapped out of my train of thought, and moved to get a better hold on the plate before it slipped out of my hands. The Weasley's had arrived for breakfast again this morning, and George, Fred, Harry and I had been put on dish duty.

"Sorry- my head's kinda everywhere right now." I said, handing off the dish to him so he could dry it. He did so with a flick of a wand, adding it to the top of a stack of plates that Fred levitated back up to the cupboards. 

"Understandably. But everything will be fine- they've all got rather solid stories."

"Doesn't matter. If the Ministry decides they want to convict someone, they'll find something. Anything." I said, wincing a little when I heard my own voice. I sounded miserable. Shaking my head, I attempted to snap out of it- moping certainly wouldn't be doing anything.

"They won't." Harry said firmly as he entered the room, another stack of plates to be cleaned floating behind him. "Kingsley will make people see sense. And I could throw some weight around too-"

"See? They've all good the bloody Chosen One on their side." Fred chimed. "No one'll dare go against that. And worst case scenario, we'll break them out of Azkaban ourselves."

"We'll see." I said, a little amused at the attempts of comfort. "Thanks, guys."

George nodded. "Of course. Always wanted to see if I could break out of Azkaban anyway."

"Honestly not as fun as it sounds. Very wet." Sirius chimed as he entered the room, shrugging his outer robe off as he went and dropping it over the back of a chair. "Not pleasant at all."

"We'll bring raincoats."

"Ponchos!" Fred added enthusiastically. Harry was grinning; I rolled my eyes as I dunked the next set of dishes into the soapy water, and charmed them to wash themselves. 

"Well, I am not going to be the one to bail you all out." I warned, ignoring the groans of protest in favor of leaving the room. Considering going to find Caiden and offer a game of chess, I stopped only when a small but solid knock came from the front door of Grimmauld. 

Frowning, I switched directions and headed down the hallway.  Part of me dared to hope that the boys had finished, had come home early, but I knew the chance was slim. When I opened the door to see pale hair and grey eyes, my heart jumped before I realized it wasn't my blonde in front of me.

Yet, I wasn't disappointed.

"Luna!" I said happily, lifting my arms up and welcoming the girl brightly as she darted forward.

"Lily! Oh, good- I was so worried I would get the wrong door. There's so many to choose from!" Luna said as she hugged me, and pulling away only so could survey the dark interior of the Grimmauld hallway with furrowed brows. "Are there nargles here?"

"Probably." I said without thinking twice about it, and stepped aside so Luna could walk in. Shutting the door behind her, she smiled at me as she unwrapped her scarf from her neck and hung it up on the  coat stand.

"I hope I haven't surprised you too horribly. Theodore owled me last night with the address and told me to come. I don't suppose they're back yet?"

"Not yet." I said, hoping I didn't sound too miserable. "I've been on edge all morning."

"It has been rather unpleasant." Luna agreed with a gentle nod, head turning when the sound of footsteps came from one of the other rooms. "Do you have company?"