Forgotten Girl

Granger and Goodbye

"Lilli! There you are!" The Slytherin looked up from her friends, catching sight of Hermione Granger rushing toward her. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure," Lilli stood, following Hermione away from her friends, "Let me guess, it's about Harry?"

Hermione nodded, beginning to say something. Lilli held up a hand for a moment, using her wand to draw a circle around them. Light flashed, and then it was gone.

"Sorry, but I don't much feel like this getting out to the whole school." She pulled her hair back, stuffing her wand through it to hold it in place. Hermione's brow furrowed.

"What was that? I didn't hear you say anything."

Lilli shrugged, "Unimportant right now. What is it? We're already getting more attention than I care for."

"Oh, right! Two things, really. Harry told Ron and me about you two. Ron's still..." she hesitated, "processing it, so I would stay away from him. I think it's fantastic that Harry has more family. Second thing, you hate Umbridge too, yeah?"

She raised a brow, thinking about the scars on her left hand, "Yeah, you could say that."

"Good. I'm trying to convince Harry to teach a Defence club. Our first meeting is at the next Hogsmeade trip, Hog's Head Pub. Want to join? We could use everyone we can get."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Hermione," Lilli said, glancing around, "Gryffindors and Slytherins are oil and water, and adding defence spells doesn't seem a good mix."

"Think on it, yeah? It'd be a chance for you to hang out with Harry more," Hermione prodded, readjusting her bag. Lilli bit the inside of her lip, her eyes catching on her friends, and then a pink toad in one of the windows.

"Sorry, Hermione, but that's gonna be a no."

~

Someone blocked Lilli's light as she sketched, and she looked up. What she saw took her breath away.

Sunlight glanced off tan skin, illuminating tiny freckles that dotted the girl's nose. Unfairly full lashes fluttered closed as glossy lips let out a sigh. Ignoring the pounding of her heart, Lilli flipped to a new page, drawing the masterpiece in front of her.

"What are you drawing?" She asked, honey gold eyes sliding sideways under her lashes. One girl shouldn't be this pretty, Lilli thought, glancing up again.

"You. Try to stay still." Padma grinned, but stayed still, focusing on the grounds outside.

"I've been looking for you," her lips barely moved, "Something's happened with the DA."

"Oh?" Lilli glanced up, trying to get the curve of her nose right. Padma leaned forward so she was whispering in her ear.

"The Inquisitorial Squad found us last night. Some of us were caught, including Harry Potter." She leaned back, and Lilli bent over her book, hiding a blush.

"'Curiouser and curiouser' said Alice,'" Lilli hid the fear that imploded in her chest. Padma gave her an odd look, not knowing what she was on about. Lilli waved her questioning look away, "It doesn't surprise me, Pads. That boy can't keep out of trouble to save his life."

Padma giggled, "That's true."

They sat in silence, only interrupted by the scratching of Lilli's pencil. Padma's fingers tapped a gentle rhythm on her knee, occasionally humming along. She had to remind the Ravenclaw a few times to stay still.

Padma's lips quirked down, "How much longer will this take? Still is not my strong suit, Lils."

"I want to get some colour down, then you can move." Lilli tapped her pencil with her wand, changing to a self-inking watercolour pen. Her muse gasped, looking at the fourth year with wide eyes.

"Did you just do wordless magic? That's a sixth year thing!"

Lilli shrugged, beginning to add colour to her drawing, "Not exactly. Magic is intention, so you don't necessarily need a spell for it or a wand movement. Real spells, the ones we learn in class, are hard to translate to wordless magic because we are used to words."

"You're bloody brilliant, Elliana Simmons," Padma said sitting back with a laugh, "Bloody brilliant."

~

"Miss Simmons?" A voice called as she packed up from her Transfiguration exam, "Elliana."

Lilli looked up at the use of her full name, eyes locking with Professor Dumbledore's. He waved her to his side, walking beside her as they set out from the room. A feeling of dread sank into her stomach.

"Yes, Professor? Has something happened?" The man nodded solemnly.

"Harry and his friends will explain, I believe. But please be aware, my dear, they will be in shock." He pushed open the door of the Hospital Wing, letting her in, "Be gentle."

"Harry," Hermione nudged him with her foot, making the boy glance up. He stood, making his way to her side. Dark circles bruised his eyes, and their emerald green had dimmed.

"Hey, Ana," he sounded exhausted, "Let's go for a walk."

Lilli nodded, her brow furrowed in worry, but she let him slip an arm over her shoulders. They wandered for a few minutes while Harry collected his words, staying to the empty upper levels.

"Pads is dead." His words were hollow, and they slapped her, leaving her feeling like she had passed through a ghost.

"What?" She stopped, looking up at him, "Last I heard, the DA meeting was raided. How'd it get to that?"

"Voldemort got into my head. Showed me Sirius getting tortured in the Ministry," Bitterness tainted his words, "I fell for it. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna came with me, breaking into The Department of Mysteries.

"Death Eaters were waiting for us. The Order came, including Sirius. Bellatrix sent a spell at him, knocked him through this veil thing. He didn't come out the other side." Harry's voice broke, "It's my fault. If I hadn't gone, he'd still be here."

Lilli shook her head, pulling him down to sit on the ground with her, "It's not, Har. It will never be your fault. Sirius made the decision to go. You were just trying to protect your family and friends."

She leaned her head against his shoulder, wiping away tears. He rested his cheek against her hair, not answering. Lilli knew that he was going to blame himself no matter what; there was nothing she could say that would change that. 

"He always asked me for stories of you, you know," she said quietly, "I could only ever tell him what I'd heard through the grapevine, but he loved them anyway. And he would tell me stories of Mum and Dad."

"Like what?"