Written For:
Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition: Round 13 - Beater 1 - Pawn 1: Write about a character being manipulated. Prompts: 3. (word) freedom / 12. (word) Desire / 13. (word) strategy
Beta'ed by Sophie and Victoria.
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Daddy's Little Girl
Lily wanted to go to the party. She'd never wanted anything more in her young life. She had never felt such a strong desire to go to one specific place. And the reason for her need was because Scorpius Malfoy would be there. Her desire for Scorpius was stronger than her desire to party, but thankfully, here, they intertwined.
And she was making it her mission to go to the party and capture Scorpius' attention.
Now she just needed a strategy to get permission for attending the party of the year.
Normally, she had a lot of room to do what she wanted. Her parents knew she was a good kid, and they had never really given her many restrictions as long as she kept being a good kid.
Unfortunately, her friendship with Deidra Finnegan jeopardized her usual freedom. Recently, it had become public knowledge that Deidra was pregnant, and that sent her parents—her mum, really—into overprotective mode, determined to keep Lily from getting pregnant as well.
It didn't matter that Lily wasn't even thinking about sex; her friendship with Deidra was enough to make her mum think she was going down the same path.
Her dad wasn't that bad. Lily's mum called him naïve, but Lily liked to think it was because he trusted her.
More than likely, it was a little bit of both.
Whatever the reason was, it didn't matter. All that mattered was the fact that it made her dad the perfect pawn.
X
"Daddy, everyone is going to be there," Lily exclaimed. She pulled out the puppy dog eyes for good measure.
Harry smiled softly. "Did you ask your mother?"
This was the important part. If Lily outright lied, she'd be found out and the consequences wouldn't be pretty. The trick was to tell the truth and still get her dad to say 'yes.'
"Well, no," she conceded, "but, Dad, you know how impossible Mum has become since Deidra got pregnant. It feels like I'm living in a jail cell, and all I have to say is 'Boys will be there,' and she'll say no."
"And that's probably why you came to me. Lily, you can't manipulate me against your mother."
Lily put on a proper face of remorse. "I'm not trying to. Really, I'm not. It's just that Mum won't care that I'm a good girl. All she sees is that Deidra is my best friend, so I'm guilty by association. It's not fair. I should be treated because of how I act and not because of who my friends are."
Lily saw by the softening of he dad's expression that she'd won, and she did her best to push away the twinge of guilt she felt.
X
"Lily, you came!" Scorpius greeted enthusiastically.
Lily put on her best beaming smile. "Yeah, and I'm so happy to be here."
Scorpius smiled at her. "Me too. Al says your mum has been a little nuts lately."
She rolled her eyes. "Nuts is an understatement. She doesn't understand that I'm not Deidra. I love Deidra, of course, but I'm not going to make her mistakes."
Scorpius took her hand. "Do you want to dance?"
Her heart fluttered, and Lily thought it might fly right out of her chest. "It would be my pleasure."
Lily had the best night of her life. She had never laughed so hard and when Scorpius put his arm around her as he led her towards the punch table, she felt like she was walking on air.
They got some punch and walked to the side to get out of the way of the others clamoring for drinks to clench their thirst. As they took small sips, they stared at each other.
"Lily, I promised Al that if I said anything, I wouldn't hurt you. He told me he'd punch me in the nose if I did or said anything to make you cry."
Lily blinked. "What do you want to say?"
"I like you. A lot. I mean, I would love to go on dates with you, hold your hand, and kiss you."
"I would love that as well," she whispered.
Scorpius leaned closer, and when their lips met, it was everything Lily dreamed it would be.
The rest of the night passed in a blur, and when Lily got home, a smile still on her face, she stopped at the sight of her mum and dad sitting on the couch, waiting for her. And just like that, she knew her good mood was about to vanish. "Mum? Dad?"
Her mum's expression was firm. "Lily Luna Potter, you played your father against me."
Her dad put a hand on her mum's shoulder. "Gin, to be fair, she did tell me she didn't ask you because you'd say no. It was still my decision to say yes even though I knew you wouldn't approve."
"Harry, I am mad at you for that, and you should consider yourself lucky that I'm only banishing you to the couch for a couple of nights. My biggest problem is our daughter knew exactly what she was doing. She knows she's daddy's little girl, and she can get her daddy to say yes to anything. It doesn't matter that she was technically truthful. She still set out to manipulate you against me, and she succeeded."
"Mum, I wouldn't have if you haven't been so unreasonable lately. You treat me like I'm only a second away from getting pregnant. You treat me based on my friend's actions instead of my actions."
"So, I should treat you based on how manipulative you were tonight? I'll keep that in mind," Ginny said with a nod.
Lily's shoulders slumped. "How long am I grounded?"
"For now, go to your room," her dad said with a sigh.
"Oh, and Lily," her mum said, "that's a lovely shade of lipstick. Too bad it's smeared as if you spent the night kissing a boy," she said pointedly.
Before she was out of earshot, Lily heard her mum reprimanding her dad. "Harry, I know she has always been your baby girl, but she's not a little girl anymore. This is the time of her life when she can get into trouble if we don't watch her. You need to learn to say no."
X
The next day, when she knew only her dad was home, she cautiously approached him."Dad, are you mad at me that I got you into trouble with Mum?"
He ruefully shook his head. "It's mostly my fault. I knew she wouldn't be happy when I said yes to you. I just find it hard to deny you even when I know I should."
He opened his arms, and she walked into them, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Do you think Mum will ever trust me again? Like she did before Deidra got pregnant?"
He kissed her forehead. "Of course she will, but trust is something that has to be earned, and you took a giant step back when you chose to go behind her back last night. You have to be patient. I know you're sixteen, and you want to hang out with your friends and," her dad grimaced, "kiss boys, but you need to do it the right way instead of the deceitful way."
Lily nodded. "I'll apologize to Mum when she gets home."
He kissed her forehead once again. "That's definitely a good start. And then you show her you can be trusted. Prove it to her."
Lily nodded. She had a new mission—prove that she could be trusted—and she'd succeed, no matter what it took.
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(word count: 1,272)