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Lily tried not to let her emotions get the best of her as she walked towards where she assumed was the Slytherin commonroom and dormitories. Albus had let it slip that his commonroom was in a dungeon, something that had struck Lily as unsettling, but that didn’t seem to bother Albus. She had a vague notion as to where the dungeons might be, though she was mostly letting intuition and her good sense of direction guide her. Even through her emotional distress, she managed to find what could only be the entrance of the commonroom. Only, she hadn’t thought about the fact that she had no way of entering and therefore, no way of contacting her brother from the inside. That is, if he even was inside.
Suddenly, she felt her emotions pressing into her, coming in strong waves. Her eyes stung and threatened to let out the hot tears that have been building up for a long while. She didn’t know what to do other than hide her face in her hands and hope that nobody passed by. She wondered what the Slytherin students would think, a supposedly “brave” Gryffindor sobbing outside of their commonroom.
“Lily?” She heard someone say.
She almost groaned at her rotten luck: not only had someone spotted her crying, but they also knew exactly who she was. Reluctantly, she peeled her hands away from her face, knowing her pale skin most likely bright red. She found that the pair of eyes looking back at her belonged to Scorpius Malfoy. She’d met him before on occasion, during the summer, when he’d come to visit Albus. She was surprised to find that his kind face was actually quite comforting and didn’t hold any judgement.
“Are you looking for Albus?” He asked, not even bothering to ask if she was all right, when she so clearly was not.
Lily nodded, not wanting to speak when she knew her voice would come out broken.
“I’ll fetch him for you. Do you want to sit by that corner? It’s more hidden from the prying eye.”
Lily looked to where he was pointing. It was concealed enough that one wouldn’t think to look there unless they were actively looking for something in that direction.
She nodded, and let out a quiet, “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing, really.” Scorpius said, with a half smile.
She walked away, as Scorpius whispered the password, soft enough that she couldn’t make out what it was.
She sat down by the corner, drawing her legs up to her chest, and hid her face in her knees.
Lily had wanted to attend Hogwarts since she was little; every time she had to see her brothers off at King’s Cross she had been incredibly jealous of them. However, she’d only been at Hogwarts a couple of weeks and was already feeling incredibly lonely. It didn’t matter that almost her entire family was with her in Gryffindor, it didn’t do anything to soothe her heartache. She missed her parents and her room and the comfort they provided. Sharing a room with girls she didn’t know, who didn’t share many of her same interests and who looked at her differently because they knew exactly who she was and who her parents were… it all turned out to be quite daunting.
She felt another wave of emotion hit her when she felt a foot nudge the side of her bum. She looked up and saw Albus in his dark green robes, which made his eyes pop against the black of his hair and attire. She couldn’t help but notice how much he looked like their father. Albus had always resembled Harry in his youth, though seeing him in the dim light made the resemblance uncanny.
“What’s the matter, Lil? Are you feeling under the weather?” He asked. He didn’t sound overly concerned, which made Lily feel better, as if it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary to cry.
Lily nodded and Albus motioned for her to make room for him to sit beside her.
Albus waited for her to say something. Lily tried to speak but her lip quivered everytime she tried to speak.
“Lily,” Albus said, gently.
Suddenly, she put her arms around his waist and hid her face in his robes, crying freely. She was reminded why she had seeked comfort in him and not in her oldest brother, James. Albus had a quiet but steady presence, whereas James was brash and overly energetic, too cheerful and mischievous for his own good. That wasn’t to say that he wasn’t extremely kind, only he didn’t do well with vulnerability or sadness. Albus had always seen the world more profoundly, Lily thought. Perhaps that’s why he was sorted into Slytherin: he could understand things well enough that, if he wanted, he could use them to his advantage to obtain anything he wanted. Lily, however, never thought of her brother like this; just because he could be this way, it didn’t mean he chose to.
Albus hugged her back, let her cry for as long as she needed, without interrupting.
“I miss home.” She finally said, once her nerves had calmed.
“I imagined as much. The first weeks are always the hardest.” He said.
They were silent for a moment as Lily tried to regain her composure.
“Do you ever get lonely down here?” She asked finally, wiping her nose with her sleeve.
“Maybe at first, though not anymore. I had Scorpius to keep me company. And you’ll make friends too, Lily. And before you know it, faces that are now new will become more familiar and friendly. I’m sure there are decent people in your year group. Even if they are Gryffindors.” He added the last part with a nudge of his elbow. She smiled a little.
“Don’t make fun of my house,” She said.
Albus only grinned. “I can’t help it; we are in rivaling houses now, Lil.”
“Don’t say that.” She said, quietly. “I don’t want to be against you.”
“Never.” He said. “...Only for the quidditch cup.” He added.
“You promise?”
“Cross my heart.”
Lily nodded. In a way, thanks to her brother, the sorting ceremony wasn’t as stressful as she imagined. The entire train ride to Hogwarts, she was afraid of being sorted. It was only when it was her turn to sit on the stool and she saw her brother in the crowd, the only member of her family to wear green robes, that she realized it didn’t matter what house she was in; it wouldn’t change who she was.
“And if you miss Mum and Dad,” Albus continued, “Don’t worry. Once the year starts off, you’ll have so many of their letters you won’t know what to do with them. I swear, they write faster than you’ll have time to read and answer them.”
Lily couldn’t imagine that. The few letters she’d gotten from them she’d cherished deeply. She even put them under her pillow before falling asleep (she was too embarrassed to admit this to Albus, though).
Lily straightened as she wiped the last of her tears. She felt significantly better and was finally ready to go back to her dorms, to try once more to make friends.
“Do you feel better?” Albus asked.
“Yes, much. Thank you,” she said.
“Do you want me to walk you back to Gryffindor tower?”
Maybe a more proud Lily would have said no, that she could find her way up herself. But, frankly, at this point in time, she didn’t care about showing a strong exterior. Besides, accepting her brother’s offer didn’t make her a coward, it only meant she wanted to spend time with him. So she nodded her assent.
On the way to Gryffindor tower, Albus asked about her classes, wanting to know her least favorite teacher (“it’s more fun than talking about your favorite teacher,” he argued), if the commonroom was constantly full of their Weasley cousins, and if she’d met any wicked classmates she needed him to take care of (Lily was kind enough to protect her fellow first years from her brother’s wrath).
Once they got the portrait of the Fat Lady, Lily turned to her brother. “Thank you for everything. Albus. You never fail to cheer me up.”
“Evil old me?” Albus said, mockingly, putting a hand to his chest.
“Quiet, you. You’re kinder than anyone else I know.”
Albus smiled down at her and hugged her tightly before saying goodbye. “Come visit whenever you need, Lily-bug. Preferably with some sort of anticipation, that way you won’t have to rely on the chance that Scorpius just so happens to be walking by.”
Lily nodded, “I’ll make sure to let you know at least two days in anticipation the next time I decide to have a nervous breakdown.”
“Great, I’ll mark it on my calendar.”
“Does it have a snake on it?” Lily asked, laughing.
“Of course.” He said, ruffling her head before turning to leave. He had just begun to go down the stairs when Lily called out to him.
“Could you mark Thursday afternoon on your calendar? I think I might have an emotional crisis that day.”
Albus only smiled at her, understanding what she was asking. “Thrusday afternoon it is. Goodnight, Lil.”
“Goodnight.” She said, before reciting the password to the Fat Lady, and climbing through the wall opening.
And ever since then, Lily and Albus could be seen walking the length of Hogwarts (usually from the outside) every Thursday afternoon. In that time, they got to know each other better than they had known each other when they had been children, living in the same house. Lily looked forward to these quiet moments with her brother, away from the noisy Gryffindor dormitories and commonroom and she never felt as lonely as she did that night before Albus had gone to comfort her, because she knew family was always near when she needed it.