𝐴𝑅𝑅𝐴𝑁𝐺𝐸𝐷 | 𝐷𝑀

~ O N E ~

"One more year and I'm out of here," Lilith sighed as she rested her head on Harry's shoulder, "I can't believe my parents forced me to come back here after the war."

Harry stroked her hair before speaking, "I know. I didn't want to come back either but I thought it would be best if I didn't abandon my studies."

Lilith scoffed. It's not that she didn't care about her studies, because she did, but it wasn't too much of a big deal since her family was the second richest, after the Malfoys. Her name was truly a God-send because she could have any job she wanted, all she had to do was ask her dad and he'd make it happen. However, her parents knew the importance of school. Their ancestors built their wealth from the ground up and they wanted their daughters to understand the value of knowledge, so they forced Lilith to go back to Hogwarts.

"How's you sister?" Harry asked out of nowhere. He was concerned about how the war had affected her.

"Well, she's only seven so she doesn't understand everything that happened but she was scared during the battle. She had nightmares for weeks but when she started talking to a therapist, she got better. Sometimes she still struggles with her mental health but I think she's made a lot of progress. She still has nightmares sometimes and it breaks my heart. She can't really control it though, so whenever she woke up shaking and in a sweat, I would climb into her bed with her and reassure her the danger was over. She hasn't been able to form a true smile since then and I can't help but feel guilty now that I know she won't have me to comfort her."

Lilith didn't hold back on spilling everything about her life to Harry. They had been best friends since first year despite her being a Slytherin. She was the first student he met in the wizarding world. They met while she was purchasing her wand at Ollivanders. Pine wood with a dragon heartstring core, 12 ½'' and supple flexibility. Their friendship was so genuine and loving, it felt like they were more siblings than friends. Harry didn't treat her any differently because she was a Slytherin, on the contrary, he felt the need to reevaluate his views on the Slytherin house as a whole now that he knew not all Slytherins were evil.

"You don't need to feel guilty about anything, Lily. She's going to be fine," he reassured her as his hand grazed her back and drew circles on her shielded spine, trying to comfort her, "Besides, she has your parents. They may not be the best at comforting her but they'll do what they can, and when winter break comes around you can visit and check up on her."

He always managed to make her feel better. She smiled at him before pecking his forehead, "Thank you, Harry."

They kept on talking about their 'summer break' or whatever break they had before coming back to Hogwarts. Harry talked to her about his relationship with Ginny. He planned on proposing after their year was over but was having trouble finding the right ring. He wanted to get her something that would shock her when she first saw it and something that was her taste, which made things difficult because Ginny's style was very simple and she wasn't the type of girl to wear much jewelry, especially rings.

"I'm sure you'll find something great, Harry. And if you need any help, I can always come along and check out some rings with you. Besides, I probably know her better than you," she winked at the brown-haired boy next to her. Lilith and Ginny were the closest of friends, but they weren't as close as she and Harry were.

"Hey, bitches. How's it hanging?" Ginny's voice filled the room, ringing in everyone's ears.

"Hey babe," Harry stood up and pecked her lips before grabbing her hand and pulling her closer to him.

"Ginny!" Lilith yelled. She hadn't seen her since her brother's funeral. Lilith knew Ginny was having a hard time letting go but she was getting there. She had made her peace with his death by remembering that he was happy by defending Hogwarts, his second home. That's what made it easy for her to be 'happy', or at least the closest she could get to being happy.