Lily Luna and The Darkness

Chapter 17: Back at Home

Lily laid on a couch in the Burrow, under a blanket her Grandma had given her. Roxanne and Alice were out cold on a different couch, and some of the adults and other kids were nursing their injuries.

Her mother was behind the couch, icing both Lily's and her own nose. Victoire was leaning up against an armchair, Aunt Angelina using her wand to help close a gash up on her forehead. James was sitting on the floor in front of Alice, tapping his wand against his knee nervously. Most of the adults had yet to come home, so it was just her mother, Aunt Angelina, Grandma, and Hannah helping everyone.

"Lily dear, drink this, it'll help with the pain." Her Grandma came in from the other room, holding a cup with an orangey liquid in it. She didn't have enough strength to respond, so she took the glass and smiled at her in a form of thanks. Her grandmother smiled back, before turning to see if anyone else needed anything.

The drink tasted surprisingly good for a pain revealing potion. Lily drank it slowly, and the pain in her head started to slowly go away. It was relieving, having most of the throbbing go away. Her head felt a thousand times lighter, like a weight had been lifted out of it.

The potion started to work for other parts of her, like a ripple throughout her body. Some of the pain had disappeared within a couple of minutes, and Lily felt good enough to sit up. She pulled the blanket with her, and curled into the corner of the couch next to her mother.

"Feeling better?" She asked. Lily nodded, and held the ice to her nose by herself. The back door opened, and her male cousins came in timidly. Only Teddy and James had snuck away from the Burrow to assist, even though they were told to stay.

"Can we come in?" Louis asked timidly, and Aunt Angelina nodded. The boys came in, each crowding around their own sisters. Al came up to Lily, kneeling down in front of the couch.

"How are you feeling?" Lily shrugged, and Al looked at their Mum in confusion. It was too painful to talk, and she felt like if she even tried no noise would come out. It was better to just not try.

"Lily's not doing too well right now Al, when she feels better she'll explain." She said. Al nodded, heading over to James. Lily looked up at her Mum and smiled, glad she didn't have to talk.

The front door opened, and Lily saw adults flood in. All of her aunts and uncles that weren't already here hurried towards their children, making sure they were alright. Her father went over to her, resuming the same spot Al was in.

"Are you sure she's okay?" He addressed her mother instead of her, which Lily was glad about.

"I promise Harry, she'll be okay." She smiled. "Now, go deal with the press, I can hear them from in here." Her Mum could tell she didn't want to be crowded, especially with worried people. She and her mother could basically read each other's thoughts.

Her mother was right, of course. You could hear the commotion that the paparazzi were making, and the clicks of cameras as they tried to get a shot of any of the children. Lily rolled her eyes, they were always so invasive!

Her Dad nodded, kissing Lily's forehead before heading out through the front door once more. Lily watched her family fuss over the girls. Roxanne and Alice had woken up, it had just been a stupefying spell for the both of them. Lucy sat in the corner, sobbing to Molly. Lily didn't know what had happened, but she had a feeling it was about a special someone.

The living room was crowded, but quiet. Lily liked it that way, she was surrounded by family but not noise. Closing her eyes, she could actually fall asleep this time.

~*~

Four hours later

The press had still yet to leave. This was their first big story in a while apparently, and they wanted every single detail they could manage. They also wanted to specifically talk to Lily, who they only saw before leaving the manor.

Her parents didn't make her of course, and Lily still didn't speak, but she went outside anyway. She didn't want any rumors spread about her being dead, which would most definitely happen if she didn't show her face once more.

She had changed out of her pajamas, with some difficulty, into a more presentable outfit. Stepping outside, the cameras started flashing immediately. Lily plastered on a fake smile, leaning onto her father.

"Ms. Potter, care to answer some questions?" One of the reporters shoved a microphone in front of her face, and Lily looked up at her father for help.

"She can't answer anything right now, but I'll answer certain ones for her." He said kindly, though Lily could tell he was hating every moment of this as much as she was. He answered a couple of questions about the cause of the fights, trying to avoid the topic as to why Lily was mute. But of course...

"For my final question, why can't your daughter answer anything today?" Asked one reporter.

Her father paused for a split second, glancing down at her. "I think that's enough questions for now, come on Lily." He led Lily back inside, shutting the door on one of the reporters faces. "That should be an interesting headline tomorrow."

Lily frowned. She had tried to keep the headline away from her, but that just failed miserably. She resumed her position on the couch, pulling the blanket over her. She was starting to get a headache again, Aunt Hermione had said it would be on and off for a while.

"Are we still doing Christmas Eve?" Someone had asked. That reminded Lily, tomorrow was Christmas Eve. The Holiday break couldn't have gone worse.

"Of course we are!" Her grandmother said. "All your presents are already under the tree, don't be silly."

Lily smiled. At least she had something to look forward to.