Lily Potter and the Shadows' Misfortune

Chapter Forty

"Merlin," Lily breathed as she took in the disaster before her.

Though the room was dimly lit from only the lights in the hallway, it was evident to Lily that the room was torn to shreds. Clothing and bed dressings littered the room, evidently having been ripped from the girls' trunks and beds. Nightstands were turned over onto their sides—their contents of tissues and leisure books spilled out across the wooden floor. The mirror had been torn off of the wall, and shards of glass were scattered across the floor, shining in the faint light. The only things intact were the drapes, which were drawn over the windows.

However, the disaster of a room only held Lily's attention for a moment before she spotted the intruders that Cecily had been stuttering about on the way up to Gryffindor Tower from the lawn. Two beings stood behind the beds, looking absolutely startled at the sudden opening of the door. Their skin made Cecily's pale, panicked skin look tan, contrasting with their fiery red hair, which stood on end. Lily couldn't see the whites of the beings' eyes because there were no whites to see as a film of black had covered their eyes entirely. As Lily looked a bit closer, it was evident that they weren't intruders at all—they were Cecily and her roommates.

"Addie? Romy?" Lily called into the room. "Lumos!"

The twins hissed at the sudden introduction of light, and in the split second before Lily turned said, "Nox!", Lily swore she saw the light glint off of long teeth hanging out of the twins' mouths—fangs.

The six girls stood silently in the near darkness until Lily could form a sentence and spoke, "What's going on in here?"

"Lily, I can explain," Romy said. "Just shut the door."

"Not until we know what's going on here," Nora said, crossing her arms. "You could be dangerous."

"Nora, we aren't dangerous. We can explain," Romy said, putting her hands out and pleading.

"Please, let me explain! Please!"

Lily was still shocked and a bit confused at what was happening, but she nodded, "Yeah. Explain. Please."

"You think this is this a good idea, Addie?" Romy asked, looking to where her twin had stood silently and motionless for the duration of the encounter.

"I think we have to," Addie said.

"Wow, was that English?" Cassie asked.

"They are standing in the dark after destroying their dorm, and that's what you're surprised about, Cass?" Nora asked.

Lily watched Cassie shrugged before she started to put the conversation back on track, "Can you explain, please? Just tell us what's going on."

"Can you shut the door?" Romy asked, her voice cracking. "Please, I don't want any of the older students listening in. Please, Lily."

"Okay," Lily said, stepping into the room. "Watch where you step, everyone."

Lily waited until Cassie, Nora, and Cecily had made their way into the chaotic room before shutting the door, catapulting the six girls into near complete darkness. The only light was the little slivers that escaped through the breaks in the drapes.

"Please, explain," Lily said once she had reached a comfortable spot free of the mess.

Romy took a deep breath, "We're Schatten."