Potter

Chapter 96

The wind that afternoon was chilly, and I buried my face low into the fabric of my scarf, hoping to achieve some sort of feeling back in my cheeks and nose. It was December 20th, and with Christmas only five days away, it seemed that the weather was cooling down in preparation. I didn't dare hope for snow, at least not in London, but some small part of me kept my fingers crossed.

Or at least I thought they were crossed. They were hidden by my mittens, and I really couldn't feel them, either. When Tom arrived at my table though, setting my hot butterbeer and four others in front of me, I thanked him and reached for it, my sigh deep as it began to warm my frosty fingertips.

"Lily!" The greeting came from my right, and I had just enough time to turn in smile before Holly came barreling into me, hugging me tightly as she scooted into the booth beside me. On the other side, Colin and Nigel clambered in, greeting me and reaching for their butterbeers.

"You didn't pay for these, did you?" Colin asked with a frown, while Nigel had already lifted his up to his lips. I smiled.

"Happy Christmas," I told him, and though Colin rolled his eyes, he conceded.

"Where's Neville?" Holly asked, fingers letting go of me to reach out to her own mug. "And Draco– I haven't met him yet, you know. Not officially."

"You'll get to," I promised her, my smile small. "And Neville is on his way, he's just running a tad late."

"Classic Neville," Nigel said with a shake of his head, but his tone was teasing.

"You're not hiding your fiancé from us, are you?" Holly asked, upper lip covered in a thin layer of butterbeer foam and pulled down into a small frown. I sighed, giving my head a small shake.

"Of course not, Holly," I assured her with a small smile. "He's meeting me here for some Christmas shopping in a bit. If you want, I can–"

"Yes, please," the younger girl interrupted, lips pulling into a smile as she looked at me, brown eyes shining. I could see the last traces of a scar that traced over her brown skin, faint in the warm lighting of the pub. I was pleased to see it was fading.

"Then you can meet him," I promised. Holly beamed.

"Who are we meeting?" Neville asked as he stepped up to our booth smiling amidst the enthusiastic greeting from the trio of seventh years as he took his seat. Colin and Nigel scrambled to make room for him.

"Holly's badgering Lily about her fiancé," Nigel told him as Neville sat down, reaching out for the butterbeer. Neville snorted.

"Is that so?" He asked, brown eyes flicking over to me with amusement. "Did she not see him sulking about the library?"

"He was not sulking," I murmured, making a point to ignore the skeptical look Neville gave and the entertainment of the two boys beside him. Beside me, Holly sighed.

"No," she said. "I was busy studying."

"Not in the library?" I asked. Holly shrugged.

"When you live so close to the kitchens, it just seems more convenient to go there. I accio my books and tuck into a croissant." 

"Hufflepuffs," Nigel teased in a fond tone, to which Holly grinned at him, brown eyes sparkling. I caught Neville's eyes in a surprised look, eyebrow discreetly raised when he shrugged; curiously, I wondered if I was going to win the bet of Nigel-or-Colin, after all.

"So," I started slowly, clinking my nails against the glass of my mug, "what's happened since I saw you all last? How were your summers?"

"Slow, mostly." Nigel spoke first, a serious expression touching his brow as he looked at me. "It was odd going home after everything that happened. Last year was..."