Chapter 696 - Halloween Arrangements Ⅲ (2/2)
Lily's voice broke off with a trace of loneliness and pain before she pressed her lips together and took a deep breath to continue. ”But I am tired of running away from things, and I've been forced to look at myself more than I ever believed possible. And most of all, I'm a Gryffindor, I ought to have the least bit of courage to be the one to set right between us since Severus had the valor to declare truthfully his feelings to me despite our childhood friendship.”
A slow, genuine smile appears on Rowan's face transforming her entire face. Lily for a moment blinks in shock as she could count the number of times, she had seen Rowan smile so freely. They were rare and far in-between, but there was always something warm and sparkling about them. Perhaps, because they were so far and between that they were something rare and precious to witness.
”I began to suspect as much ever since Hogsmeade,” Rowan truthfully said. ”And only more so, since then. And it would be a lie of me to say, but I had hoped for Severus's sake that would indeed be the case.”
Lily flushes in embarrassment, before flashing Rowan a cheeky grin. ”I'm a Gryffindor, sometimes we're rather thick at times.”
”Mm, well, we all have our own failings,” Rowan gently teased, before more solemnly eying Lily. ”I will tell, Severus of your request, but I cannot promise anything. We both know how stubborn he can be.”
Lily makes a wary expression as a stubborn expression appears on her face. ”If that's the case, well, it's my turn to do the chasing. And I won't give up so easily!”
Rowan merely shakes her head and mutters under her breath only so she can hear. ”The two of you are definitely a matching pair.”
Changing the subject, the two girls lightly chatter and catch up. Unconsciously some of the unspoken tension between the two girls begins to dissipate. Neither of the girls had admitted to themselves that the tension had been there as they had acted in front of everyone else same as usual. But it had been there, a lingering heavy feeling as Rowan had chosen her brother, and Lily felt guilty and incredibly stupid and regretful for her past reaction.
Finally, Rowan sighs loudly as she looks at the time. ”We best be returning to the common room; we both have first years and the transfer students to wrangle.”
Lily makes a face at Rowan's words and grumbles, ”I used to think being a Prefect was an honor, but now I think it's more of a punishment.”
Rowan grunts in agreement as the two girls make their way out of the Great Hall. The two of them separate at the winding staircase with Rowan heading towards the dungeons and Lily towards the towers. Either way, there was a lightness to each girl's footsteps as they hurried away. And hurried they needed to as they began to encounter students making their way to the Great Hall.