Disclaimer: No I don't own.
AN: Written for round nine of The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. And The Under-Represented Minority Wizard Challenge by AnnaNevilleReviews, with Scorpius being autistic.
Scorpius furrowed his brow and bit his tongue in concentration. This was a tricky bit. Even the slightest slip would result in the entire piece becoming useless. There was something incredibly satisfying in fixing a watch, the precision, the order, the sense of doing something productive. It appealed to him on a level magic never did.
"Wow, what you doing? Can I look? Is this something difficult?"
Scorpius grimaced, his concentration broken. He sat up and looked at the owner of the voice. Vivid red hair, freckles and bouncing about on her feet with more energy than he thought possible in the real world, Lily Luna Potter looked hopefully up at him.
"It's nothing important," he said in a calm, emotionless voice as he sat up to his full height. "Is there something I can help you with, or are you merely passing by?" Hidden in this particular alcove in the library, he doubted she was merely 'passing by'. It was well hidden after all, the ideal place for him to work on his projects without distraction.
"Oooh, yes, yes, yes!" she said excitedly. Scorpius looked at her for a moment and he was rewarded by even more bouncing from the energetic girl. After about five minutes, he decided to say something.
"Well what do you want me to help you with?" he asked in the same emotionless voice he had used earlier. Lily blushed.
"Well…AlbussaidyouweregoodattransfigurationandIwaswonderingifyoucouldhelpme?"
Scorpius gave her a puzzled frown and Lily blushed even harder.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite get that?" he said and Lily blushed so hard it was hard to tell what was redder, her face or her hair. She swallowed, much to Scorpius's amusement. The way she was acting, it was like he was a fire-breathing dragon and not someone she had seen almost every day for two weeks of the summer holidays.
"Well I was wondering…I mean Albus said…well I thought…" Scorpius waited patiently for Lily to finally get her words out. "Albus said you were best in your year at Transfiguration and I was wondering…well, sort of hoping…I need some help with the subject and I was hoping you could help me with the, I'm not stupid, I just wanted your help with Transfiguration."
"Wouldn't you prefer asking Rose? Or Albus? I'm not sure I have the ability to teach, or the temperament," he raised his hands and shrugged despairingly. "Alas, I cannot help you as well as the other members of your family."
"I don't want them to know," Lily said, looking away and Scorpius raised an eyebrow.
"Over there," he said, pointing to the large table away from them. Lily looked confused and Scorpius resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Set your notes and stuff up over there and I'll take you through the basics. It's not that hard to understand. Now what are you having trouble with?"
"Well…" Lily started nervously and Scorpius gritted his teeth. Gently. Fortunately Lily didn't seem to notice. "I'm not sure that I understand the shaping theorem of Transfiguration…"
This was going to be harder than he thought.
"Shaping theorem is the theory that magic responds to how you shape the transformation in your mind," Scorpius explained, keeping his voice level. "In practical terms, it requires that you think of every stage in the process of changing shape as the spell works."
"But isn't that a bit slow? And what if you miss a stage? And what-" Scorpius quickly quieted her with a hand over her mouth.
"Think of the shaping theorem approach as a training tool. Something to help you complete the spell," he paused for a moment, not noticing the way Lily's eyes looked at him. "It's like stabilisers on a muggle bike. They help you get the hang of the spell while you learn it. Once that happens, it becomes instinctive."
"Then why does it make such a mess when you miss a step? When do we begin doing the spell without using a shaping theorem? Why do we need to understand it in full?" Then she frowned. "And what are stabilisers? And what's a bike? And how come you know what they are?"
Scorpius resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This was precisely the reason he didn't want to be a teacher, so many questions at once and so little order in how they were structured. He was sure he was never this disordered when he was a first year.
"When you miss a step using a shaping theorem, you are missing a stage in the transformation of one object into another. A more experienced witch or wizard wouldn't notice a missed step because they would be doing the shaping automatically. It's like walking or flying. You never really forget. For a person starting the very basics of transfiguration, a transfiguration theorem outlines the steps and as a result needs to take each step as they happen."
"But-"
"But I can't help you if you don't allow me to answer your questions," Scorpius said and Lily blushed once more. "Now, can I continue?" Lily nodded and Scorpius returned to the subject at hand.
"You will stop using shaping theorem techniques when you begin to automatically do these steps without thinking. At that point, it's become automatic, just like walking really. You don't think about putting one foot in front of another, but it's how a person walks," he sad warming to his subject. "And when you understand the basic shaping theorem, you are able to move to the advanced shaping theorem, which allows you to do more advanced transfiguration. We covered it in yesterdays lesson in fact."
"You haven't with me," Lily pointed out and Scorpius shook his head.
"I was talking about my classes, not yours," he said, before shaking his head once more. "However, I digress. That should cover what you need to know about shaping theorem and it's techniques. Is that clear enough?"
"Yes, yes, yes, thank you!" Lily said and she jumped up and hugged him. "You're the best Scorpy!"
Fortunately Scorpius was saved from answering by the bell signalling lunch. He gave her a smile and walked towards the library door.
"Well, I hope that helped. Time for lunch," he said with a cheerfulness he didn't feel. He really didn't like the hopeful look Lily was giving him.
"Can I come with you?" she asked and Scorpius hesitated. She smiled, bounded up to him and took his arm. "Thank you! It's nice isn't it? Does this mean we're a couple?" Lily suddenly blushed and put her hand over her mouth. Obviously she hadn't meant to say that. Scorpius just looked at her with a frown.
"Is that what this is really about?" he asked as he pulled his arm away from Lily and folded it. Lily stared at the floor. Then, in an uncharacteristically quiet voice, she replied.
"Yes."
Scorpius's face darkened and he glared. He could feel anger coursing through him. Rose might have found Lily's ploy cute, but Scorpius just found it dishonest. And Scorpius hated dishonest. It was chaotic, dangerous, uncontrolled. And it hurt people. It really hurt.
"Next time, be honest with me," he said in a low growling voice and Lily winced. With a swish, Scorpius stormed away, lunch forgotten, to find somewhere private. To think he had wasted his time like this, all for nothing!
Standing by herself, Lily just stood and stared. It had been going so well and then...then she blew it. With a dejected sigh, Lily turned to go to lunch.