If There's A Rocket, Tie Me To It
I remember the day I first met you. You were sitting so casually in the Gryffindor common room, listening to James's ramblings, and it was almost as though you were the only important person in the room.
Of course you were. You are, you know, to me.
I love you. I love you more and more each day, but you're oblivious to all the hints I throw at you; it makes me wonder whether we really belong together or whether it's all just a lie. But it can't be a lie, right? Because I know I love you, and I know I always will.
Lysander Scamander sighed, staring at the Potions essay before him, before giving up and tossing it into the wastepaper basket beside his desk.
It was the Christmas holidays, and the majority of the Hogwarts students had gone home for the winter. Lysander's twin brother Lorcan had opted to stay at school, though Lysander reckoned this was less to do with school spirit and more to do with the countless number of Hogsmeade visits the holiday offered.
Lysander, on the other hand, had taken the Hogwarts Express back to his hometown along with his closest friend Lily Potter.
If opposites really did attract, then Lily and Lysander were made for each other. She was redheaded, he fair; she took part in every single one of her eldest brother's pranks with an enormous amount of enthusiasm, he preferred to sit back in the sidelines and say 'I told you so' kindly when things went wrong. She hated to revise, he was the smartest in the whole of Gryffindor house.
But, Lysander thought bitterly, tearing a fresh piece of parchment from his ring-binder, opposites couldn't attract, because his best friend already had a boyfriend.
In the form of Scorpius Malfoy.
Scorpius was a pure blooded, upper-class Slytherin; he wore polo shirts and avidly followed the Muggle game of croquet; and to top it all off he was both rich enough and nice enough to take over Hogwarts without being assassinated.
Oh, and he had stolen Lily away from Lysander without a second thought.
True, neither half of the couple had any idea whatsoever of Lysander's feelings, but he doubted it would make much difference as there was no hope whatsoever of Lily ever falling for a boy like him.
The chance would be a fine thing.
"Lysander!" Lysander's mother, Luna, sang serenly up the stairs. "The Potters are here!"
Lysander groaned. He liked the Potter family a lot, but he hated the way his heart rose to his throat and then dropped to the pits of his stomach whenever he saw Lily, saw her smile, and then remembered she'd never love him; so, whenever her family visited his, he tried to take refuge in the form of Albus, the middle child who, despite looking exactly like his father, was less concerned with saving the world than he was with sitting down and reading a good book.
James, in the rare occasion he tagged along (he was seventeen and spent most of his spare time over at Fred and Roxanne's place, due to their relaxed house rules and ability to make anything explode) hung out with Lorcan, in the garden, playing Quidditch with Lorcan's best friend Louis Weasley.
"Hello, Ly," Lily smiled up at Lysander as he appeared at the top of the stairs. "How are you?"
"Fine," he mumbled, dragging himself down the staircase reluctantly. She noticed his hesitation and gave him a confused frown, before turning her attention back to her family.
"I'll be upstairs with Ly," she said, saying the nickname only she used for her best friend. "C'mon, I've got something to show you!"
Lysander sent a brief wave of greeting in the direction of the rest of the Potter family, before surrendering to his best friend's command and following her up the stairs.
"'Forever and Always?'" Lily wrinkled her nose as she talked to Scorpius via her mobile phone. She was standing in the direct center of Lysander's bedroom; and he was sitting on the floor by the window, watching his best friend speak to her boyfriend. "Yeah, I think I've heard it. Uh huh. Uh huh. No! Ha, but that's only because you –! Oh, come on, Scor, I'm joking. It's what I do – oh, don't give me that. You know it was supposed to be funny – what? You don't? Well, sorr-ee."
Lily said the last words laden with disgusted sarcasm, before tearing the phone away from her ear and throwing it violently on to Lysander's desk. It missed, and instead bounced off his chair and directly into the bin. Lily snorted.
"Pfft, what are the chances?" She turned quickly to Lysander, giving him an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."
Lysander didn't know which she was referring to – the conversation with Scorpius or the phone landing in the bin. He took it as the latter, not wanting to get his hopes up, and smiled easily.
"It's all right," he said, "plenty more were that came from."
Lily looked at him strangely, and he realized that perhaps she wasn't talking about the phone escapade after all.
"Can you believe what Scor said?" cried Lily, sitting down beside Lysander against the wall. He shrugged, turning his head to look at her, and stayed silent. "He said I wasn't funny! He's supposed to be my boyfriend, but ..."
"He doesn't get your humor like I do," said Lysander, and Lily nodded.
"True," she said, slightly mollified. "Oh, I don't know what I'd do without you." She beamed, wove her arm through his and leaned her head on his shoulder; not noticing for one minute how his heartbeat had sped up and that underneath his floppy blond fringe his face had turned a deep red.
Two months later
"I can't believe it!" yelled Lily, pacing around the Gryffindor common room. "Scor was in the library – with another girl!"
Lysander swallowed, exchanging a look with Molly Weasley. Both of them were sitting on armchairs in front of the fire place, and had been listening to Lily's outburst since she arrived back in the common room ten minutes ago.
"Maybe it was nothing," offered Molly, running a hand nervously through her wavy red hair. She was in Lysander's year – a year above Lily – and knew him quite well. "Oh look –" she stood up quickly, knowing that Lysander should be the one to comfort her cousin "– there's Katie. I've got to go."
She left, the portrait hole swinging shut behind her.
"I somewhat doubt that it was nothing," fumed Lily. "They were sitting really close together!"
"He's not worth it," said Lysander firmly. "If he treats you like that, he's not worth it."
"But he is!" insisted Lily. "I mean, look at him! He's perfect!"
Lysander stayed silent, inwardly cursing Scorpius for the treatment of his best friend.
"Perhaps," he said eventually, in a carefully measured tone, "he's not so perfect. Maybe it's all just an act." Like the act of him just being Lily's best friend, he thought miserably. Things could change, but there was a limit on how huge a miracle had the potential to be.
"Huh." said Lily, frowning slightly and sitting down beside Lysander. "I guess."
Another two months later
"You've forgiven him?" yelled Lysander, staring at his best friend in horror. "After all he put you through?"
Lily looked determinedly at the floor.
"I was wrong in letting him go," she mumbled. "I do love him, so much."
"Lee, he slept with another girl!"
She closed her eyes and covered her small, pale face with her hands, sighing heavily.
"It's my fault," she said in a muffled voice. "I wouldn't – you know ... so obviously he had to go to someone else ..."
"Lily, that's sick." Lysander looked her, a clear expression of disgust upon his face. "Just because you wouldn't sleep with him doesn't give him the right to –"
"Ly, drop it." Lily had raised her head, and she stared up at her best friend furiously. "It's my decision."
Lysander gave the impression he was on the verge of saying something in reply, but at the last moment he faltered, looked at his friend for one last time and then stormed from the common room, leaving a newly-tearful Lily Potter in his wake.
Four years later
"Thank you for coming," smiled Lily, tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear nervously. "I really need to talk to you."
Lysander nodded, having been summoned to Lily's house that morning for some previously unknown reason. Scorpius and Lily were still together, much to his dismay; but lately he had started to find solace in the company of Molly Weasley, someone he greatly enjoyed being with.
Even though she wasn't Lily.
"Jamie's out, and Albus is on the phone to Rose, so we can talk in peace," Lily said, leading her best friend up the staircase by the hand.
The pair entered Lily's room, which was exactly the same as it had been for the past four years, save a few new posters littering the walls depicting the Weird Sisters' latest concert.
Lysander examined them interestedly, but Lily had walked straight to the window and had sat down on the floor against it without a word.
"Look, Ly ..."
Lysander turned, saw where Lily was sitting, and joined her on the floor. He grinned at her, but she stared determinedly at the carpet.
"Me and Scor," she started slowly, "we're ... we're engaged, Ly."
Lysander stopped. He stopped breathing, he stopped thinking, he stopped knowing whom he was and where they were. He was numb.
"What?" he gasped after a long while, staring at his best friend, who still would not look him in the eyes.
"We're engaged," Lily repeated simply, inclining her head slightly towards Lysander.
"But - but - I thought -"
Lily looked up at him for the first time, her deep brown eyes searching Lysander's pale grey silently.
"Why - but - Scorpius never - why?"
"I love him," explained Lily carefully, looking back at the floor. "And he loves me; that's all there is to it."
"But - he never loved you like -" Lysander stopped, not wanting to say the words that were clinging to the edge of his lips.
"Like what?" Lily snapped. "Like he should have?"
Lysander shook his head forcefully.
"That wasn't what I meant!" he protested. And it wasn't.
"Then what did you mean?" Lily narrowed her beautiful eyes at her best friend and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.
But Lysander's gaze turned away from he; as images of Lily in a white dress appeared in his mind, of her walking up the aisle towards ...
"Me."