Elder Brothers

“Eeek!” I squealed, jumping back from the edge. I’d almost fallen in a pit of…well, I don’t really know what it is. All I know is that it was boiling hot and oddly shiny.

“Lily?! Lily, are you okay?”

“Do - d’you have any clue what that stuff is?!” I asked Luke, my partner for this assignment, breathlessly.

It was three years after leaving Hogwarts, and despite my hopes that James and Albus would lay off my boyfriends, I had no such luck. They’d scared off my sixteen possible boyfriends, and for the last six months I hadn’t even been trying. I turned the three poor men who asked for a date down, telling them that something bad was likely to happen to them. It scared them away pretty well.

Luke, the brainy Ravenclaw that he is - well, was, when we were at Hogwarts - knelt near the goop and examined it. He was so close that the heat radiating from it was causing sweat to bead on his forehead. A few moments later, he let out a bark of laughter, sitting back on his heels and throwing his head back.

“What? What?! Are you okay?”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” he told me, still chuckling. His sandy hair was a little out of hand as of late, but not like Uncle Bill’s. ‘Out of hand’ for Luke was similar to the Muggle ‘skater boy’ image…sort of. The shorter ‘skater boy’ variety, not the crazy long hair.

“Nothing to worry about? It would scald you to death if you fell in!” I retorted, but leaned over to get another look. “And anyway, what is it?”

“It’s niffler poop,” he said, as if that was an everyday occurrence.

“EW!” I squealed again, falling backwards - farther away. “Why is it so shiny?”

“Nifflers like shiny things,” he said, shrugging. “Maybe they accidentally eat some of them?”

I shivered, letting out another ‘ew’ and realized that, were this a hunt for dark wizards, I would’ve probably just gotten us killed. As it was, it was just searching for the secret ingredient in a few Muggle-baiting items, and as gross as it is, I think I have just found it.

“This is what we’re looking for,” Luke said, confirming my silent suspicions. “Take the sample.”

I let out a noise of disgust, but sat the vial we were to gather the sample in on the ground near the edge. Taking a few huge steps back, I levitated the right amount into the vial and, unwilling to touch it, magically levitated and sealed the cork in place. Luke snorted at my actions, but picked up the vial and placed it in his pocket, letting his other arm drop over my shoulder.

“Nice job, Lily,” he said, trying to hold in his chuckles, “so let’s get this sample back.”

“Not so fast,” a voice said, from behind and slightly above us. Our rigorous Auror training attributed to our lightning-fast reflexes, as we turned around, wands in hand, to look for the owner of the voice. “Who are you?”

“I’m a researcher,” I said, warily looking around. I was the one who came up with excuses more readily, as Luke was a goody-two-shoes and didn’t lie very well. “I thought this place was abandoned years ago, and wanted to have a look around. This is my assistant, Miles.”

“Then what’s your name, if your assistant is ‘Miles’?”

“I’m Adrianna Livingston,” I said, searching for a random name. “I’m low-key, you see, so you probably haven’t heard of me --”

“Oh, just can it,” a different voice said, and Luke spun and put his back to mine as we searched for the people. “I know very well you’re not ‘Miles’ and ‘Adrianna’. You’re Luke and Lily.”

“Luke? Lily?” Luke asked, feigning curiosity. “Who are they?”

“You idiots,” the first voice laughed. “We went to school with you.”

“Then you know that my name is Adrianna, you fools,” I said, tossing my head in annoyance. “Now just come out and talk to me like gentlemen, if you would.”

“Shut up, Potter,” a feminine voice said this time. “You’re just as worthless as I said you were five years ago.”

Maria, Luke’s ex-girlfriend, stepped out in front of me.

“Shit,” I murmured, knowing for real that our cover was blown. There was no mistaking me at pointblank range. “What do you want?”

“I want to know what you’re doing, snooping around here,” said the first male voice, stepping beside Maria.

I shrugged, “Seeing the sights, what else?”

“Lily,” Luke hissed, “don’t antagonize anyone!”

“Too late, honey,” Maria said in a sickly sweet tone, smiling devilishly.

*

“That was nothing,” I said, brushing my hands off just a few moments later. I glanced at Luke, who was the only one of us with an injury - a small cut across his forehead. “That weak little hex wouldn’t have hurt me, why’d you even bother getting in the way?”

“I had no way of knowing whether it would’ve hurt you or not,” he said as we left the strange hideout - it was a cave. “I didn’t want to risk my job by letting you get hurt.”

I snorted, shaking my head.

“Besides,” Luke continued, “I’m more worried about James and Albus. They threatened to painfully murder me if I ever hur - ever let you get hurt.”

“The Idiots,” I said, using my…er…rather ‘affectionate’ nickname for my brothers, “don’t have to control what you do. I stopped letting them do that to me in fourth year.”

He just grinned sheepishly.