Chapter 696 - Halloween Arrangements Ⅲ

A few hours later everyone that had been decorating the Great Hall took a step back to admire and marvel at the scene before them. Thousands of bats flutter from the ceiling and walls while others swoop over tables like black clouds, while the breeze from their wings caused the lit candles within the smaller jack-o-lanterns to sputter. On the floor against the walls are vast carved giant pumpkins large enough for three grown men to sit down. With the rest of the now illuminated jack-o-lanterns carved by Rowan and David neatly placed throughout the Great Hall.

"Well done, everyone," Professor McGonagall loudly said with approval on her stern visage. "Dinner will commence within the hour, Prefects, please ensure that your house members arrive promptly before the hour is up."

"Yes, Professor," the four Prefects chorused as they away and begin to make through the decorated Great Hall. Rowan and David continue their previous conversation arguing which was the best calculation method for Arithmancy created by Geometrician wizards.

"Rowan, a moment, please," the voice of Lily said causing Rowan and David to halt their intellectual argument.

Glancing over at Lily, Rowan notices the rare somber expression on Lily's face, before faintly nodding her head at her. However, before speaking with her, Rowan turns towards David with a pleasant expression. "I look forward to continuing our conversation at a later time, Goldstein. I rather enjoyed our deliberation on the applicable aspects of arithmancy."

"As did I," David admitted with a friendly smile. "I am certain that we shall converse our conversation in our next class with Professor Vector. Until then, Prince," he said, before pausing and nodding his head in a more solemn fashion at Lily. "Evans," and then proceeding to walk away to make his way to the Ravenclaw tower.

David Goldstein was closely followed by Andrew Abbott, who cast Lily and Rowan a wary look. Both girls were important to him as one happened to be his female best friend and the other happened to be the younger sister of the love of his life. He truthfully could ill afford to offend either of them.

Seeing Andrew's concerned expression, Rowan sends him a small smile to reassure him that nothing was wrong. A look of relief appears on his face and reassured that nothing was amiss, Andrew makes his way out of the Great Hall towards the Hufflepuff quarters located in the dungeons near the Hogwarts Kitchens.

Gesturing at Lily with a tilt of her head, Rowan and Lily make their way to an abandoned corner of the Great Hall. The two girls come to a halt in front of several glowing jack-o-lanterns. Rowan is the first to break the silence. "Well, what is it, Lily?"

Lily opens her mouth and closes it for a moment before her voice comes out a bit tense. "I-, I need to speak to Severus."

"About what?" Rowan curiously asked as she intently observed Lily out of the corner of her eye.

Lily flushes red at the question and then turns pale. Biting her lip, Lily looks up at Rowan with some nerves, but also courage. "I need to make things right between us. I did not know what to think at that time, and for a while, I did not want to either. And I have missed, Severus more than I thought I possibly ever could have thought-."

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.