Famous
written by: albe-chan
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, and any similarities with real life is purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, nudity, etc.), and violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!
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Lily Potter had always known she was different. Her very first clear memory was of her fourth birthday, where the only other kids had been her older brothers, Albus and James. She remembered asking her mother why she couldn't have a party with other girls, who liked things like ponies and princesses and makeup. Her mother had said next year. When she was thirteen, she started at an all girls boarding school, and even then, she'd been singled out for being the six letter word that made the redhead's normally straight hair curl. She'd been famous. Or rather, famous by association. Because when your father and mother were celebrities, somehow that made you guilty of it by association, just for being born. Lily, even though she had passed her twenty fifth birthday, still didn't like the notion of being famous, but it had been her life as long as she could recall. From interviews with television and magazines, to dodging paparazzi, to walking red carpets even, though she had thoroughly loathed it both times.
After graduating from boarding school with honors, and a reputation for being boring, Lily had gone to college, loosened up, and made national headlines the first time she got shitfaced at a college party. She hadn't used caution and that had ended up costing her, and from then on, she'd been stuck with a personal bodyguard who also acted as the worst chaperone ever for dates. Through her college days, it was a tough old guy named Hamish, who ate a lot, rarely spoke, and always called her Miss Potter. Once she'd graduated with her fine arts degree, she'd gotten a slight upgrade to Hal. Hal was thirty six, married with a newborn baby, and liked to eat a lot too.
The redhead lived at home still, even though her older brothers teased her for it, but she liked the quiet of her parents' big mansion and freedom to paint. And it was great not having to pay rent or a mortgage. But since Hal had gone on parental leave two weeks ago, she'd been stuck inside, waiting to go out to get much needed supplies for her painting. Not to mention some sanity from her mother's constant invitations to go out to lunch, or get their nails done, or massages or whatever else Ginny Potter could think of. Lily liked her parents, genuinely, and enjoyed still living with them, but Lily wasn't one to lay around being pampered or out shopping all day.
She liked to go into Chinatown alone and browse, where she was less likely to be recognized, or just stroll through the park to get some fresh air. Lily liked to take the subway and do things for herself, including take the monthly trek to the art gallery to shed tears over pieces to put up to be sold. That was her least favourite time, but still better than sitting around going stir crazy for a fortnight.
Lily was sitting at the dining room table, drinking coffee, reading the morning paper, when her father joined her. Harry Potter, the famous actor, still did movies, as he had as long as Lily could remember, but not nearly as often. Lily was glad her dad was around more now than he'd been when she was younger, but her mother was always claiming he cramped her style, even though they'd been married, happily, for thirty years. "I have good news, Lily," he said, joining her, helping himself to the silver coffee service on the table.
"Oh yeah?" she asked, not looking up from the paper. "New movie?"
"No. Not yet any rate. I've been looking at excerpts from Lee's latest script and if he finishes the damn thing I'll be very interested. I meant I've found a temporary replacement for Hal."
"Cool. I need to go out anyway. Is he here?"
"Yeah, let me go get him." Lily glanced up as her father left, rolling her eyes. She'd already snuck out twice to go for supplies, but those had been quick trips. The redhead wanted to go on an actual outing, and leave home for a few hours at least. She was going mad. Hazel eyes flicked up from her morning paper as her father returned with another, very soft, set of footfalls, then widened as she looked at Hal's replacement.
Like Hal, this man was fairly tall, and well built, with a strong, well-muscled frame. He had broad shoulders, meaty biceps or triceps or whatever they were, and was dressed all in black. Unlike Hal, this man was blond, tanned, and had dark, stormy grey eyes. And also unlike Hal, he seemed closer to her in age and Lily felt a sharp, unmistakeable surge of primal lust for this man.
"This is Scorpius," Harry Potter said, and Lily blinked, looking down to gather herself. He is so off limits it's not even funny. And on a scale of one to ten for hotness, he's a twelve, and you're an eight, maybe nine with the right outfit, hair and makeup. Out of your league and off limits, she told herself sternly.
"Hi," she said tersely, looking back up. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise," he said easily, and Lily forced a smile.
"I want to go to Chinatown today," she said conversationally. "Do you eat Chinese food? The real kind?"
Scorpius, the blond, tanned sex god, smiled a little. "Yes. But I prefer Thai food."
Lily smirked, glad the guy wasn't a total stiff like the guys who watched her father's back, and finished her coffee. "Hmm, Thai isn't my thing. I could compromise with sushi," she said.
Scorpius shrugged. "Sure. If it's food, I eat it, for the most part."
The redhead got up and headed toward the stairs for her purse and a hoodie to go over her jeans and tee to ward off the early April chill. "That's good. Meet me in the garage." Lily got there ten minutes later and they headed out, with her driving herself in her own vintage Volkswagen Beetle. "So, you're the new muscle," she said to break the slightly awkward silence.
"Yes."
The redhead pulled up to a red and glanced over at him. "You don't look very old."
"I'm old enough," he said simply.
"So, anything else to add?" she asked, hoping this guy wouldn't disappoint in the personality department. Hamish had been a complete stick in the mud, and even though Hal had been an improvement, Lily was hoping the personality deficit wasn't a prerequisite for working for her father. Because even Hal had been kind of dull, although he was sweet.
"No." Lily shrugged. "Unless I'm allowed to mention how outrageously obvious it is you aren't wearing a bra." The redhead glared. "Just saying."
"Well, now that we have that delightful observation out of the way," Lily said, tugging her sweatshirt together over her boobs, "I suppose I should brief you on the rules."
Scorpius pursed his mouth ever so slightly, but nodded. "Very well."
Lily held up a finger. "Rule one. I go where I like. You follow, but if you try to stop me, I'll make you wish you hadn't." One corner of the blond's mouth twitched. "Rule two," she said, holding up her second finger. "I'm sure my dad told you not to let anyone take my picture, right?" Scorpius nodded. "Yeah, forget that. Someone wants to eat by selling my photo, I can handle that."
A blond brow arched slowly. "You're aware-?"
"Yes. I know, soulless nutters who get their jollies seeing people in compromising situations and making a quick buck. Why even bother pretending to be nice, right?" Lily pulled up to another light and looked at the massive, well-built blond in her passenger seat. He seemed patently too big for her car and she was suddenly very aware of his proximity and the faint, tantalizing smell of him. Focus. "Well it's been my experience they get rabid when you don't feed them. So I let the paparazzi get their jollies and photos for their rags and continue on my way. And there's even a few who aren't so bad." Scorpius looked politely disbelieving and she shrugged and shifted gears roughly. "So, if you're going to try and run interference, best of luck, but they'll make you look like an imbecile."
"Very well," he said blandly. Lily set her jaw.
"And rule three. This is the one you lot always don't like, so listen carefully, because there's going to be zero negotiation." Dark grey eyes slanted over and Lily frowned at the amused tilt to the blond man's full mouth. "I'm not famous. I'm just a regular person. I act like a normal person. Sure, people might know who I am, or rather, who I'm related to, but that's not me. So when I'm out and I find a nice young single man, I'm going to try to hook up with him."
Blond brows lifted ever so slightly. "That's funny, you don't have a reputation for being a slut. But very well." Hazel eyes widened.
"Excuse me?" Lily snarled. "I am not a slut."
"I know, I just said you don't have a reputation for being one." He smirked a tiny bit when she glanced over at her. "I did my homework."
The redhead rolled her eyes. Also unlike Hal, she wasn't sure she liked this guy. She parked on the street, fed the meter a handful of coins, and the tall, blond shadow her father had assigned followed her into the Chinese marketplace. Lily kept her sunglasses on, even though there were the occasional group of clouds blocking the sun. She moved, first and foremost, to the little florist she liked best, tucked between a kitschy knick-knack shop and laundry service down a crooked little side street.
A glance over her shoulder found Scorpius a pace behind, his dark grey eyes roving through the milling crowds, face neutral. Lily rolled her eyes. She'd tried to tell her father at least a hundred times that she not only didn't need personal security, but nothing dangerous or serious had ever happened since she'd gotten her own personal bodyguard. And she doubted it would. But Harry Potter was stubborn and too paranoid to listen to reason from her, and she was too guilt-laden and dutiful to simply ditch the muscle, so Lily tried to ignore the presence behind her.
At the florist's she picked out some very pretty Oriental hybrid lilies to paint and gossiped with the proprietor's wife. "You have new man?" she asked in a whisper, her dark eyes flicking pointedly to Scorpius as Mr. Chin wrapped up her flowers.
"Unfortunately." She glanced over at Scorpius herself and smirked. "And before you ask, I don't know if he's single, Mrs. Chin. How many of your daughters are still unmarried?"
"Only two. Ling and Mei," she said, grinning. "He make nice money?"
The redhead giggled. "Let's hope so, his job sucks." She accepted her flowers from Mr. Chin. "I'll come back next week with more details. I think Mei would like him, don't you?"
"She like, but he no good for her," Mr. Chin said gruffly. Lily laughed, winked at Mrs. Chin and went back out onto the street. Scorpius followed her silently. Lily pretended he didn't exist and moved on to her next stop.
Scorpius Malfoy told himself firmly not to look at her ass. It didn't work. She's the job. No sense getting worked up and panting after what you can't have. Instead he let his eyes rove around them, taking in everything, on red alert for any possible trouble. Alas, there was nothing, unless he counted the butcher across the way leering at Lily Potter as if she were one of his chickens.
They rounded a corner and the tall, slim redhead paused to look over a street vendor's display of necklaces. And yet again, he found himself looking her over as he had upon first meeting her. She was stunning. Even in her too-big sunglasses and hoodie, with her long hair falling around her shoulders, her lithe, miles-long legs encased in dark denim that fit like a second skin, she was a ten. And, until he'd foolishly mentioned it, there was that soft grey cotton tee that hugged her pert little breasts with their hard nipples poking through beneath her hoodie. Focus. She's the job, nothing else. Never going to happen. Even still, as far as jobs went, this one was a peach. Watching Lily Potter would be thoroughly enjoyable. No wonder Hal had been so adamant about sitting in on the interviews for the job and all but hand picking his replacement. It would be tough to look at anything but the redhead.
Scorpius knew the score though. Watch the lady, keep her safe, and nothing else, period. Because if he crossed the anything else line, he'd be out on his ass, his job gone and career ruined before he could blink. Even if she might almost be worth it. Almost. Lily moved on, none of the necklaces catching her fancy apparently, and then turned into a tiny tea shop.
He followed, catching movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced around, watched out of his peripherals as a paparazzo slunk across the street and hid behind a car parked on the narrow street. Lily was at the counter, talking to the nice old lady, as the woman measured out tea. "This smells amazing," the redhead gushed, wafting the scent from some kind of loose tea toward her nose from its little glass jar. "Jasmine?"
"Yes, yes," the old lady croaked, beaming. "You like? I give for you to try."
"No, no," Lily said. "I'll buy some. Enough for a couple, please, Ming."
Once Lily was finished up and had paid for her tea, Scorpius moved toward her and said in a low voice against her ear, "Get ready to have your picture taken." He personally hated the paparazzi, never having met one worth a moment of his time except to shunt them aside, but if the redhead wanted to cater to their rumour mongering and degradation, who was he to stop her?
"Oh goodie," she said blandly, and brushed past him. Scorpius hovered by the doorway as the pap jumped out from behind the car, asking Lily for an exclusive, even as he snapped her picture.
The redhead merely laughed, lifting her sunglasses, and said something Scorpius couldn't catch. The pap snapped her picture again, then moved off and the blond moved out of the shop. "Camera shy?" she teased.
"What did you tell him?"
"That I'm trying a new tea. Ming's latest recipe. Green tea, jasmine and a hint of cinnamon." She put her sunglasses back down. "Seriously, though, are you afraid of having your picture taken?" she asked, looking up at him, tilting her head a little.
"No. But I prefer to stay just out of the frame nonetheless." And Scorpius wanted to avoid, at all costs, any whiff of scandal between himself and this very pretty young woman.
"Don't worry," she said, smirking a little. "No one's going to think you're anything other than the hired muscle, buddy." Scorpius smothered a smirk at that. "Oh, and rule four," she said, holding out her bags, "you carry my shit."
"No," the blond said automatically. "I'm the hired muscle," he said at her surprised look. "You want someone to carry your shit, get a boyfriend." For a second she just stared at him and Scorpius had a moment of panic that he'd crossed a line, but then she laughed.
"I like you. You're not a total stiff." She hooked her bags easily into the crook of her elbow. "Even if you're not gentleman enough to carry my bags."
Scorpius followed her throughout Chinatown for an hour or so, watched another couple paps jump out and take her photo, and then they went back to her clown car. He swallowed another large dose of pride and moved to the passenger's side. "You still want sushi?" she asked, turning the engine over.
He shrugged. Food was food, truly. "Sure."
She cast him a pointed look. "I'm guessing you're like the rest?" she drawled, pulling neatly from her parking space.
"How so?"
"You eat a lot. And everything." He grinned a little at that.
"Yes." After being Special Forces, he was used to going without luxuries like food or sleep, for days on end. Having both regularly was something he appreciated fully.
"Weird. Guess you have to stay massive somehow," she murmured and drove them to a little out of the way sushi place the blond had heard of, but never eaten at. When Lily got out of the car she smiled a little, because seeing Scorpius unfold himself from her Beetle was hilarious. "So," she said after they ordered, "since you're going to be my shadow for the next sixth months or so, tell me all the gory details."
She watched his dark grey eyes scan the restaurant then return to her. "What sort of details?" he asked, his mouth hinting at a smile again.
Lily shrugged, fiddling with her chopsticks, even as she tried to avoid thoughts of what Scorpius might look like naked. She bet it would be good. All muscled, bronzed, sex god for sure. No! "Where are you from? Do you have siblings? Are you ex-military like the rest?"
Scorpius glanced at the door as someone came in. "Miami, no, and yes."
"You're from Miami?" she asked. "Do you surf?"
The blond smiled a little. "Not in a long time." She tilted her head, regarding him. He seemed very guarded, much like Hamish had been and Hal, until she'd cracked through Hal's facade at least. She wondered what sort of person he was beneath the professional veneer.
"Huh. Where did you serve in the military?" she asked.
"South America."
"¿Habla español?" she teased.
"Me dicen que tengo un acento, pero sí. Voy a suponer que no tienes ni idea de lo que estoy diciendo."
She blinked and he grinned. "Well, I do not habla español, so you've lost me entirely," she said firmly. "Unless we're ordering beer. Then I'm a professional in Spanish."
"But you speak French, right?" The redhead blushed slightly. "I told you I did my homework."
Lily smirked. "I'm passable at French, I suppose." She thought back to three years ago, when she'd visited France with her parents when her father was filming there. Most Parisians had sneered at her attempts to speak the language, but at least she'd gotten her point across. "Bien que les Français n'étaient pas d'accord," she added, smirking.
"So that's what that feels like," Scorpius said idly as drinks arrived, eyes scanning the restaurant again.
"What?" Lily asked, sipping her drink then frowning. "Ew, this is diet. Gross." She swapped their cups, took a sip of his and sighed. Sugar and caffeine and copious amounts of caramel colouring were what soda should taste like.
"That stuff will kill you, you know." Lily grinned. "Even if you go running five days a week."
"That's just creepy," she said, because it was. "That's almost too much homework. And I doubt aspartame is good for you either."
"Gotta die of something. Besides, less calories here means more calories for food."
The redhead rolled her eyes. Figures. She'd never understood the need to count calories. She ate what tasted good and agreed with her, and kept moderation in mind. And the running helped after things like triple chocolate gateau and cheesecake, no matter how thin the slice. "So what were you saying?" she asked, going back to her original point.
"Having someone talk at you in a foreign language." He smirked a little. "I've been told it's infuriating, but I disagree. It's not bad."
"Depends what they're saying," Lily replied. "Have a Parisian yell at you in French words that you're pretty sure aren't nice but you don't understand because you weren't taught how to cuss in French." The redhead had learned vividly that day, and throughout her time in Paris.
"I suppose that would require going to Paris, but that seems a bit beyond the call of duty," Scorpius said dryly, and Lily smirked. He's off limits, she repeated in her head. Even if he was funny, and hot, and not altogether unpleasant to be around.
"Maybe," she said. "Just saying, if you're there, pay a street vendor in American and you'll get the first hand experience." The food arrived and they ate in fairly companionable silence. After Lily had stuffed herself and Scorpius ate her remaining three pieces, they headed back out of the restaurant.
Once again, just before she went back outside, Scorpius leaned in and murmured against her ear, "There are two this time." And again, Lily felt the sharp flare of arousal in her belly at the deep tone and the brush of his breath against the shell of her ear. She was glad she had her hoodie on and zipped still, because her nipples were rock fucking hard.
"Wow, it's almost like I'm famous," she mumbled, and put on a brilliant smile as she headed out of the restaurant. One of the paps asked about her personal style. The redhead barely refrained from snorting. "I just wear what's comfortable when I'm out running around and hanging out."
"Can we get a shot of you and the new boyfriend?" the other pap asked and Lily grinned.
"You can try, because I haven't got a boyfriend. Have a lovely day." The cameras left and Scorpius was at her elbow. "I'm probably going to get tired of waiting for you to catch up because you're camera shy," she murmured.
"Bad enough they already assume the worst," he said quietly. He glanced backward then breathed, "Shit." Lily glanced back too and saw the second pap snapping photos as though his life depended on it.
"Yeah, I told you," she murmured. "Best to get it over and done with. I hear the paps are relentless."
"Where to now?" he asked when they got to the car.
"The best part of the whole trip. For me, anyway. Paint store."
By the time they got there, Scorpius was hell bent on never, ever, riding in this goddamn car ever again. It was small and cramped and he was unbearably aware of the soft, enticingly vanilla-scented young woman sitting to his left. Under any other circumstance, he'd have had her, but now… Now she was the job, for the next six months or so. Six months of seeing her and smelling her and wanting to strip her naked and- Stop. You can't have her. No sense dwelling on it.
"This is probably going to be boring for you. Do you want to wait in the car?" she asked, remembering, with relish, the first time she'd gone to the paint store with Hal, fretting they wouldn't have the new spring colour selection in. He'd been bored to tears. She'd been ecstatic to find the new paint in and spent an agonisingly long time choosing colours.
"No," Scorpius said. He'd rather shoot himself with his own Ruger that sat securely strapped to the small of his back. Getting up and moving was what he wanted. They got out after she parked and went in. Lily grabbed a basket, securing it on her elbow.
"I warned you," she said, and wandered down the first aisle, picking up a couple small bottles, and then they wandered to aisle five. "Ooh, they just restocked. This is why I come on Mondays."
Scorpius watched her picking up little tubes, murmuring to herself, and his attention was drawn by someone coming down the aisle. Male, early twenties, five ten, one seventy five. The blond moved a discreet half-step closer to the display the redhead was looking over, as though to make room for the man to keep going, but, as Scorpius's gut had told him, the man stopped at the same display Lily was poring over.
"Excuse me," he said politely to Lily, "do you have the last Greenest Acres?" he asked, looking at the empty spot on the display, then her basket. Scorpius kept one eye on the man as Lily grinned.
"Yes. Sorry, first come, first serve."
"That is sad news indeed." His eyes flicked to Scorpius, who stared steadily back. "Hopefully I won't have more sad news when I ask if you're single and if you'd like to propose a trade for the paint."
The redhead arched a brow. "Me? I'm single as they come." She looked the man over. "What sort of trade?"
"I'll take you on a date, and if you want to go on another one, you have to give me the paint. If you don't, you can keep it."
"Your treat?" Lily asked boldly, and Scorpius resisted the urge to frown as the redhead shifted her body closer to the man, who moved, very slightly, closer to her.
"Of course."
"Hmm, I don't know. I really like this paint colour. It's hard to get," Lily said.
"That's why I'm hoping you'll come on a date with me anyway." He grinned winningly, brushing dark hair from his brow, and added, "At least then I get a consolation prize for being minutes too late for the most integral colour of my piece."
The redhead lit up. "You paint?"
"Yes."
Scorpius barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "Hmm, this is sounding better." She reached into her purse and pulled out a Sharpie and scribbled her name and number on the guy's hand. Scorpius bit his tongue, telling himself firmly it was precisely none of his business. He just had to make sure she was alive and safe. He doubted getting hit on by random guys threatened that. "Give me a call when you have something worth giving up the paint for."
"Will do, gorgeous," the guy said. Scorpius watched the guy pick up a different green colour and move away, and even though he really wanted to ask if she'd actually given her number to a total stranger, he refrained. None of my business.
"Ah, the perks of being the early bird," Lily sighed, and kept perusing. Scorpius followed her when she went to look at brushes. "This is so balls, they never even have stuff organized," she grumbled, searching. Scorpius couldn't resist checking out her ass again as she bent to look at the lower part of the shelf. It really was a great ass. Perfect onto grab while he- No!
"What are you looking for?" he asked to distract himself from checking out her feminine assets.
The redhead snorted, stood up and glanced at him. "Like you'd know. No offence, I mean." She ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry, that came out rude. I just mean, it's a specific size thing, and I go through a lot of them. It's a Coleman quadruple zero. Teeny tiny brush."
Scorpius glanced at the display, then to the top shelf. "Like this?" he asked, plucking a brush from a box. Lily stared at it, then at him.
"Is that a whole box of them?" she asked softly.
The blond shrugged. "That's what it said."
"Get four more." Scorpius reached up and grabbed several more, handed her the four and put the rest on the shelf. "Look at that, you're proving to be an upgrade already." Lily went to the checkout and Scorpius was a little shocked at her grand total.
"Let's hope I can keep at it for the long haul," he said easily, and she smiled a little.
By the time they got back to the Potter residence, Scorpius was grateful to be out of the stupid Volkswagen. Lily was trying her very best to remain cool and composed, but the second she got into her suite of rooms, locking the door behind her, she lost it. Giggles burst out of her, but she quickly stifled them. You are not a twelve year old with her first crush. He's off limits and out of your league. But her mental reprimand did nothing for the uncomfortable wriggle of desire she felt for the tall, sexy blond with his dark grey eyes and mouth-watering sex appeal.
Then, like a train, the realization she would have him at her elbow, every and any time she went outside the grounds, for the next six or so months, slammed into her. She was torn between laughter and tears. Because half of her wanted to strip the sex god naked and ride him into bliss, while the other half was downright embarrassed she had such strong feelings for her goddamn bodyguard. Hell, she barely knew him! But she knew she wanted to lick him everywhere and then- No, no, no!
Lily went to her sitting room turned studio to put her art stuff away and smiled as she slipped the Greenest Acres into it's spot between Key Lime and Four-Leaf Clover. Hopefully the paint guy would call. Not that she'd given him her direct number. She wasn't that naive. She'd given him the call-center number, the one that came with a recording that sounded like her voicemail, which ran a history on the number calling. If all was approved, the message would be forwarded to her. Another safety precaution, Lily supposed, but one that made her feel frustrated nonetheless.
She sat down at her desk, but painting was the last thing on her mind. Instead she pulled out her trusty sketchbook and moved to her bed, laying out on her stomach. She might not be able to live out her fantasies on Scorpius, the new hired muscle, but she could draw those dark stormy eyes to her heart's content. And that will be enough, she told herself firmly, and almost believed it.
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