Thinking Out Loud

-III-

A floating sea of candles light the Great Hall, their fluttering flames twinkling like stars against the dark backdrop of the enchanted ceiling, which was black save for the light of a faux moon. The winter-themed decor glints like precious stones; ice-statues sparkling as if cut from diamond and glass furniture glimmering crystalline in the dim light.

The first snowflakes are falling, soft and powdery, but they do not reach the dancers below – instead, they're blinking from existence seconds before touching the elaborate hairdos of the female graduates. Too much time had been put in by the girls – and the boys, not that they would admit it – for anything short of an apocalypse to ruin their attire, make-up or hair.

Despite the serenity, there's a light sheen of sweat breaking across his brow whilst he sips at his punch, pale face blanched to an almost alabaster complexion. Tonight is rather important after all, and he's never been one to hold up under the pressure, as the small mountain of empty vials –previously filled with Calming Draught – under his bed could testify too.

"Mate, you look like you're preparing for war," chuckles Albus with a broad grin on his face, coming up beside him. Scorpius fights the urge to smack his best-mate upside the head, not because of any sentimental feelings, but rather because he's quite terrified of the girl on Albus' arm.

His sister, Cassiopeia, may have inherited the Malfoy colouring of platinum and porcelain, but there's no denying that she has inherited her hexing ability from their mother. Scorpius had learned pretty early on to not raise any complaints about her interest in Albus – not after the first few Stinging Hexes had been cast on his boxers at any rate.

He winces at the painful memory, before casting a baleful glare at his best friend and his sister.

"What if she doesn't show?" he asks, somewhat mournfully, his glare intensifying as Cassiopeia rolls her eyes and Albus looks as though he's about to burst out laughing.

"You've been with Lily for how many years, Scorpius?" retorts Cass, quirking an eyebrow at him, an amused look dancing across her delicate features.

"One," he mutters under his breath, flushing as Albus fails to stifle a giggle.

They just didn't seem to understand his predicament.

"But what if she doesn't come tonight!" he declares emphatically, "I mean, maybe she finally grew out of the phase of wanting to date her brother's best-mate."

"Look, Scor," sighs Cassiopeia, her expression reminding him eerily of their mother, "I know you've been crossing your fingers and hoping that the best friend's brother stage is all that's keeping me and Albus together because you think it's weird for your sister to be sleeping with your best-mate."

"You're sleeping together!" he exclaims, whirling on Albus with, who at least has the decency to look guilty. Running a hand through his dishevelled hair, the traitorous sibling-defiler opens his mouth to respond just as he clenches his fist, but both of them are interrupted by Cassiopeia's sharp tone.

"Would you two stop behaving like such cavemen? Albus, don't you dare say anything – I'm trying to make my idiot brother see reason. Scorpius, if you get any redder, people will think you're a Weasley. Besides, I think you should be more worried about your own, non-existent sex-life rather than my healthy one."

Both boys staring at her, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, she continues, waving her hand to shush Scorpius when he tries to mumble an adequate response.

Merlin have mercy, his baby sister may be half-Granger, but there's no doubt that she's a Black to the bone.

"My point, Scorpius," she continues, and he fixes his full attention on her in the hopes that she won't realise that he's already missed half her soliloquy, "Is that Lily is not going out with you because you're Albus' best-mate, no more than I'm seeing Albus because of your bromance with each other. I mean, that may have been what prompted us into giving either of you buffoons the time of day–"

"Hey!" protests Al, a wounded expression marring his features.

"Shut up, love," she says, though there's a fondness in her voice that Scorpius just can't miss.

"As I was saying, Lily is head over heels for you, she hasn't been snogging your ugly mug for the last year because she's in a phase." Cassiopeia emphasises the last word, and Scorpius doesn't miss the fact that Albus' arm has found its way around her waist, or that they're constantly exchanging glances so smouldering and yet steeped with adoration.

"You think so?" he asks finally, peering at her hopefully and hoping that she isn't lying to him.

"She knows so," says a quiet voice behind him. All in the same breath, his blood runs cold and his heart beats faster, but he turns anyway.

She's smiling at him in a tentative manner; absolutely gorgeous in a dress of red-silk, the bodice hugging her every curve and the skirt falling in a flowing cascade. His mouth goes dry and he tries to reply but no sound comes out. Desperately, he looks over his shoulder for assistance and sees that Albus and Cassiopeia have disappeared onto the dancefloor, leaving him to hold his own against a girl who's been making improvements to the patented Bat-Bogey Hex.

"How long have you . . ." he manages to squeak, biting his lip as he sees the slivers of doubt creep into her coppery eyes.

"Long enough," she replies softly, "Do you really think I'm only your girlfriend because of Albus being your friend?" He winces at her words, the hurt in them wounding him more than any curse could and his eyes dart around the room in an attempt to find an escape route. Sadly for him, his roommates are all with their dates, dancing across the Great Hall, oblivious to his discomfort.

Finally – only after she clears her throat in an attempt to coax a response from him – does he speak, deciding that perhaps it's best for him to be honest with her about all that he feels. If what Cassiopeia said is true (and his sister has never been wrong about anything advice related in her life) then perhaps the truth is what will work best for them.

"Walk with me?" He holds out a hand, smiling when she accepts it and follows him from the Great Hall, not questioning his need to be alone – it's one of the things he's always liked about her. She understands his desire for solitude and that he's a private person. Through their entire relationship, she's never questioned his choices . . . and that's something he cherishes, something that he's terrified of losing.

He finds himself leading her outside, to a bench just outside the Entrance Hall, shrouded by magically-grown rose bushes. The leaves are tinged with frost, the thorns and stems like living silver, but it was the flowers themselves that held the true beauty. Pale blue petals flutter in the chill breeze as he takes a seat, before drawing her down beside him, flicking his wand and casting a Warming Charm on them.

"So?" she presses, the hurt still evident in her voice.

"Are you? Going out with me because of the forbiddeness of our relationship? Because Cass says that's what first attracted her to Albus and is that what caused you to become interested in me?" he rambles, trailing off as she reaches up to cup his cheek with her hand. She shakes her head, smiling wanly as she replies:

"There is a lot more to the story of my brother and your sister than they let on, but that's not what's important now. What's important is us and I'm not with you because of some stupid phase as you seem to have gotten into your thick head."

"When I first met you, you were just my brother's friend who'd come over to our house in the holidays, make me laugh and blush all the time, and irritate me to death. Then you were the guy who, like Albus, James and Teddy, tried to make sure I never had a boyfriend until I was thirty. And I loved that because it was so ironic that the only boy I wanted was the one to blind to see it. And then, you became the boy who'd help me with my homework in the library and tell me jokes when I was down. Somewhere, Scorpius, between all our laughs, long late-night talks, stupid little fights and lame jokes, I fell in love."

"You what?" he whispers, heart nearly ceasing to beat when her words sink in.

"I fell in love with you, Scorpius Malfoy, and I haven't fallen out just yet."

So he kisses her, pressing his lips to hers as tenderly as he can, threading his fingers through her hair as she in turn parts her lips to grant his tongue access. It's like fireworks have been set off in his mind, fountains of multi-coloured sparks filling the air around them as she climbs onto his lap, never breaking the kiss as she straddles him, throwing back her head as he begins tracing his lips down to her throat.

"I'm an idiot, aren't I?" her murmurs, before fixing his mouth to a spot just above her collarbone.

"You're my idiot," she corrects him, whimpering as he nips at her skin, sinking his teeth in – lightly enough so that it's just the barest hint of a sting – to mark her as his own.

"I love you, Lily," he says for the first time in their two years of dating.

"I love you," he repeats, feeling her breath ghost across his cheeks as she leans in to peck him, bruised lips brushing across the faint stubble and nipping at his earlobe.

"I love you," she laughs giddily, and before even he knows what he's doing he he's on his feet, twirling her through the air till they both reach the shores of the Black Lake, frozen over from the cold. He looks at her, reaching out a hand and asking:

"Care to dance, Miss. Potter?"

"Here?"

"Where else?"

So they dance, his hand upon her waist and hers upon his shoulders, stepping slowly and in tune to the rhythm of their own hearts, her skirts flaring, both crowned in snow. Every few minutes his head descends so that their lips brush, soft kisses exchanged beneath the moonlight as they sway till their feet are sore and their vision blurry.

Tiredly, they walk to the castle hand-in-hand, stopping in the Entrance Hall to see that the Graduation Ball had already long since come to an end, and that not even the hardest partiers were still around.

"I guess this is goodbye for the next two years," says Lily, a frown crossing her face.

"I'm not going to be that far away, Lily," he replies with a smile, "And you'll be seeing me at every Hogsmeade weekend – and my dad is on the Board of Governors, which means I get a free pass to come watch every one of your Quidditch games."

"You have it all figured out, don't you?" she giggles, her body pressing against his as she shivers in the frigid air, stifling a yawn by pressing her mouth against his chest and obviously hoping he wouldn't hear.

He did, and it was with a smile that he kisses her on her brow and murmurs:

"You should go to bed, catch some sleep and enjoy your last full day of term tomorrow."

"Only if you stay with me tonight," she blurts out, cheeks flaming as he stares at her, dumbstruck.

"Get your head out of the gutter," Lily adds, "I mean, I just want to feel what it's like to wake up in your arms, you know."

He's touched by her words, soft and gentle, thawing his ice just a little as he takes her hand and quietly leads her down the staircase to the dungeons. Soon enough, they're in his Common Room, her shivering against him at the unnatural cold that came with being beneath the Black Lake.

"How do you sleep in this place?" she stammers through chattering teeth.

"You get used to it," he all but laughs, lifting her into his arms and ignoring her protests as he carries her to his room, nearly tumbling down the stairs thrice as he missteps in exhaustion.

The dorm is silent for the most part, save for the deep breathing of his roommates and best friends. There's another sound echoing through the room, a muffled moaning that has him eyeing the beds around him quite suspiciously. Xavier has his curtains drawn, but there's no doubt in Scorpius' mind that the skinny boy has Katherine with him. It couldn't be him though, nor could it be Delphin and Rose, as both couples were well versed in the uses of Silencing Charms.

That leaves only one suspect.

Glaring at Albus' bed and ignoring Lily's hushed protests, he marches across the room and is about to fling open the curtains when Lily catches his wrist.

"Leave them be, Scorpius," she sighs tiredly, "You can yell at them in the morning."

Nodding at her, he turns away and leads her to his section of the dormitory.

"You can change in there," he gestures to the nearby bathroom and hands her a pair of flannel pyjama pants and one of his old T-shirts. Nodding, she does as he says, returning a few minutes later and slipping in beneath the sheets, huddling against him and then gasping.

"Scorpius," she exclaims, "How in Merlin's name can you not freeze to death in this place if you're sleeping in your boxers?"

"The cold's never bothered me anyway," he mutters into his pillow, earning him a slap on the back as she giggles, falling asleep in his arms before she can ask another question.

Thank you for reading and please do leave me a review ;)

Prompts - Candlelight, Rhythm, Goodbye, Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran