For You?

Chapter 8

"Peppermint toad!" Professor McGonagall cried and the gargoyle in front of us jumped aside to reveal the staircase to Dumbledore's office. Lilly and I followed her onto the moving spiral stairs, up towards a door. She knocked, then pushed the door open at the sound of a faint "Come in!"

We entered the room and stared. The room had high ceilings, an intricate cabinet with hundreds of tiny bottles and portraits of all the ex-Headteachers of Hogwarts. In the middle of the room was a desk, which Professor Dumbledore sat behind. He looked up from some papers and looked at us quizzically.

"Professor McGonagall, what is the meaning of this?" he asked, his voice soft and low.

"It's Lisa Newman" she responded.

"Oh" Dumbledore's face looked grave. "Ladies, sit down and tell me what happened."

We sat down on two chairs in front of his desk. Lilly recounted everything she'd told me in the letter whilst I held her hand. At times I could hear her voice quaver but she didn't cry at all. There was silence after she finished.

"Miss Stebbins, you may not know this" Dumbledore said slowly "But you weren't Miss Newman's only victim."
At this Lilly crumbled. Her head fell into her hands and her shoulders shook with sobs. I put my arm round her.

"You were the only one she was in a relationship with, but there are two other, younger girls who she seduced and manipulated. We have tried dealing with her before now, but this is the last straw. She will be expelled."

Lilly slowly stopped shaking and lifted her head. "Thank you" she said, her voice hardly above a whisper.

"Professor McGonagall, could you come with me a minute?" asked Dumbledore. She nodded and followed him out of the same door we'd come in through, leaving Lilly and I alone.

"I can't believe it..." she mumbled.

"Can't believe what?"

"That Lisa did what she did to other people. Well I can believe it but I don't want to. You'd think one person would be enough for her, but it wasn't." She started to tear up again and I put my arms round her.

"Thank you for teaching me that what she'd shown wasn't love. Thank you for loving me no matter what. I'm sorry you've had to be mixed up in this."

"Lilly, you're worth everything. For you, I'd do anything. I'll love you whatever happens." We held each other tight, like we were the only thing that mattered to each other.

The door opened quietly and we broke apart. The two professors stood in the doorway, waiting.

"Ladies, Professor McGonagall will escort you to your dormitories now."

Dumbledore walked back into his office and placed a hand on Lilly's arm, then sat behind his desk and started reading his papers again. We turned round, hand in hand and followed Professor McGonagall down the stairs and back to our dormitories. We were finally free from Lisa. At last we could be together and I had no intention of letting her go ever again.