Lily Potter and Neoma's Trance

Chapter Nine

After sending off Uncle Charlie’s letter with a school barn owl, Lily walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast alone. The castle seemed to be filled with much more chatter than the previous three mornings had. On her way, she heard similar snippets in everyone’s conversations something about a girl named Blaire, who apparently was a fifth year prefect in the Ravenclaw house.

“Does anyone know what’s going on?” Lily asked as she sat down between Louis and Rudolph at the Gryffindor table.

“Apparently, some girl named Blaire Weeks disappeared last night,” Louis answered.

“Allegedly disappeared,” Molly commented as she stopped by them on the way to her friends. “She allegedly disappeared. Nothing has been confirmed, Louis.”

“If you ask me,” Louis whispered, “she was kidnapped or something. A Ravenclaw wouldn’t be stupid enough to go wandering around the castle alone at night.”

Before Molly had enough time to craft a response, Fred piped up from next to Louis.

“It’s a shame,” Fred sighed, taking a bite out of an apple. “Honestly, Blaire’s pretty hot.”

After smacking him upside the head, Molly left.

“You are such an instigator, Fred,” Lily said, shaking her head.

“Well, she did seem a bit uptight,” Rudolph commented, watching her walk down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables.

Hugo laughed, “You’re telling us; she’s our cousin. Mind you, she’s my least favorite. Lucy’s up there as well.”

“Hugo,” Lily scolded. “You can’t pick a least favorite cousin. Molly’s our family.”

“Oh please,” Hugo said, beginning to crack up laughing. “You can’t say that you actually like Molly better than one of our other cousins, unless we’re counting Lucy, of course.”

Lily shook her head, “You can’t have a least favorite family member; it’s not right, Hugo.”

This debate continued through breakfast and all the way to Charms class; it only stopped when Professor Flitwick began to teach.

“Charms is going to be awful,” Hugo said as they came out of the room with the rest of the first years. “I bet that’s the first class I fail.”

“Don’t get too hopeful; we have Transfiguration this afternoon,” Lily said, walking past Eli Harris.

Hugo groaned, “Fred told me that Professor Dwaski’s awful. He says he can’t wait to fail his O.W.L., so he wouldn’t have to have him again next year.”

“You can’t believe everything people tell you,” Lily giggled. “Especially when it comes from Fred. You know what a joker he is.”

“Which one’s Fred again?” Rudolph asked.

Lily, knowing of his frustrations to keep the members of the Weasley-Potter family straight, laughed, “He’s the one in fifth year with dark skin and black hair; he’s absolutely hilarious.”

“He’s the tall one, right?”

“Yup, that’s him over there talking to that Hufflepuff girl,” Hugo nodded as Lily led the way to their table in the Great Hall.

“Fred’s what we like to call a ladies man,” Lily laughed, sitting down and swinging her bag to the floor. “I’m pretty sure he’s where James gets it from.”

It didn’t come to Lily’s shock that Hugo wholeheartedly agreed with her statement, and she barely listened as he told Rudolph about the girl stories that Fred had told him. Lily was keeping her eye on the door; she had thought Eli was right behind them, but he wasn’t coming through the doors. Ten minutes into lunch, she finally spoke up.