It wasn't Lily's fault that she couldn't help but be a little irritated with Arthur Bones. Hmph. She'd back his up, or something like that. Still, it wouldn't do to be distracted. She knew that. Little metallic clicking noises reminded her of that-- reminded her that James was down at the bottom on his own, and Arthur was caught between up and down, and that she, Lily, needed to pay attention for them.

A soft glow flashed at the foot of the stairs-- she could only really see it because of the silhouette of Arthur's head against the dingy gray of the light. The ticking must have been nothing, and Lily relaxed the slightest bit. Not much, of course; otherwise, her whole body might fly apart and disappear into the damp dark.

She was reminded of when she and Petunia had once, when they were very young, played Capture the Flag with the neighborhood kids in a nearby field and forest just south of the railroad in New Mills. Had she felt the same then, slinking through underbrush and thorns with her heart in her throat? Perhaps this sort of feeling was natural-- at least to Gryffindors. Petunia had offered to stay and guard the flag then, which really meant talk with her friends, while Lily had pulled up her socks to keep the ticks at bay and plunged into the woods.

Of course, then, she had been tagged and sent to jail. But being tagged in this game wouldn't have been so simple to escape from.

But Merlin, was it really a game? Or was that what she needed to think of it as in order to keep from going mad with the reality that she had just walked into a place that might be teeming with people who wanted nothing more than to kill her? Some might argue, of course, that such a thing was mad to begin with.

Lily crouched down at the top of the stairs, trying to see Arthur down below, to watch him, to see if she would need to creep down a few steps. Because the danger was below, of course. It wasn't like this was a trap, with enemies on either side, right?


Bee and ffleurbert Sitting in a Tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

The Former Evans: Keeper of Kibble, Walker of Doggies, Breeder of Elvendork Potters, Caretaker of the Untameable Hair.

I, Lily Cootie-Infested Evans, hereby promise to love, honour, but most importantly to OBEY the Tangle-Headed Potter for all eternity, henceforth. DOOM!