Chapter 1
An Unexpected Visitor
The days were really hot that summer. The sun was so bright, my face actually became freckled. My brothers James and Al always had freckles, no matter the season. Our house didn't have air conditioning because it was one of those old ones that my dad's godfather used to live in. I should say that my father is the famous Harry Potter who defeated Voldemort when he was just three years older than me. Yes, I said Voldemort. My dad always says there's no use in fearing a name. He makes a good point. My mom, Ginny Potter is his best friend Ron's sister. Uncle Ron is tall and gangly and has a long nose with tons of orange freckles. Mine are brown. I'm getting really off topic about the hot summer here. My brothers and I spent most of our time on our brooms flying as fast as we could to get a cool breeze. We did until one of our neighbours saw us and our mother grounded us.
My family is so huge! Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur still live in Shell Cottage, since they only have one daughter. But she doesn't even live with them anymore. Victoire is married to Teddy, my dad's godson. Uncle George and Aunt Alicia live in a very big house, almost a mansion. I find it funny how their children are identical to his family. Six boys, one girl. They have two sets of twins instead of one though. Let's see, there are Fred (in honour of his twin brother who died), Craig, Ashley and Jamie, Sean, Mark and Peter. Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione have two, Rose and Hugo. Uncle Percy and Aunt Penelope have four. Their names are Michael, Josh, Nathan and Alex. Aunt Alicia is American and misses the US a lot. Uncle Charlie and his wife, Pauline live in Romania with their seven kids, their names are: Timothy, Glen, Luke, Justin, Shayna, Tilly and Billy (the last three are triplets). Most of my cousins are guys as you can tell.
On the evening my grounding had been lifted I got an unexpected guest. I was lying on the grass in our backyard when I heard a rustling in the bush. "Who's there?" I called out. Out of nowhere came Scorpius. He was panting, scratched and blood was soaking through his shirt in many places. Scorpius Malfoy is my dad's least favourite friend of mine. He hates his father, but he tries very hard to give Scorpius the benefit of the doubt. My uncle on the other hand will not. He had even set up and anti-Malfoy protective something or other to guard his house. I wasn't very surprised by Scorpius' appearance. My father, since he was away, had set some kind of security in the forest. "What the- What was that?" he said. When he saw my face he exclaimed, "Blimey, Lily. Do you know what that was? Maybe your dad has it in for me. He stepped in to the moonlight and I got a better look at him. The sun had made his face even more freckled than mine. He was slightly tanned too. His grey eyes looked as though they'd seen a ghost. To be honest he looked pretty cute with his freckles and tan. His scratched face sort of ruined the effect though. I tried to apologise, "No, my father put some enchantments on the place. I'm so sorry. You should come inside and I'll clean you up. My parents are out"
"Thanks," he said a grateful look on his face.
We went inside. He looked ten times worse in the dimly lit kitchen. I got out wash cloth and soaked it in warm water. "Take your shirt off," I ordered.
"What!" He practically yelled looking taken aback.
"I can't wash all those cuts when you still have your shirt on. Take it off."
"What's all this commotion in...? James saw Scorpius and yelled, "What's he doing here?"
"Baking a cake. Get out!" I said shooing him out.
"Why should I? Who knows what this guy will do when I leave."
"Can't we get some peace and quiet in this house?" Al stumbled into the room looking half asleep and really annoyed. "I have a terrible headache. What's all the fuss about anyways?"
"Why don't you just take a look at what the cat dragged in?"
"Malfoy? What are you doing here? Augh! And why aren't you wearing a shirt?"
"Because I'm cleaning his wounds you idiot! Now get out all of you!"
I wringed out the cloth and pressed it against a scratch dangerously close to his heart. He flinched and I said, "Sorry!"
"It's okay. I didn't know you lived here actually. My dad and I were traveling to Diagon Alley and ended up in this forest. He realized that we weren't in the right place and Disapparated from the spot immediately. I accidently let go of his hand."
"I'm glad you showed up. It's been a very boring summer. I wish there was a pond or something so I could go swimming. Won't your father be worried about you?
"Not really. It's happened before and since I know where we were supposed to meet I can just take the Knight Bus. And I'm already sixteen so there's no need to make a big fuss about it, according to him."
"How's your summer been?"
"Boring. Nothing exciting has happened ever since I helped you escape from that maniac."
"Helped? You saved my life. You carried me all the way to safety and called out for help until a Ministry wizard came and took me to St. Mungos."
We were talking about a wizard who had gone insane and thought he was Lord Voldemort and had tried to kill me because my last name was Potter. I'd never really liked Scorpius until that day. Except there had been the time when that same wizard had cursed the Sorting Hat to put me into Slytherin and Scorpius had helped me discover the mystery about him.
A sudden memory came to me. That had been my first year at Hogwarts. The year I'd opened presents with Scorpius and had faked to get mad at him for not buying me anything. What had he said again? Oh yes, I remember. He said, and I quote, "You really want a present from me? I'm sorry I can't give it to you. You're only in your first year here at Hogwarts. Wait a few years." I had been so confused. I still was. I mean, what's "Wait a couple of years" supposed to mean.
He looked like he was thinking too.
"Well, the bleeding should stop soon." I said trying to break the silence.
"What? Oh, right!"
"I'll have to wash your shirt before you put it back on again, though. Dried blood can be very uncomfortable."
I took his shirt and headed upstairs to give it to James so he could wash it using magic. It would still take a while even with a spell. Blood stains very badly. Not to my surprise, Al and James did a terrible job to make it look like they hadn't been eavesdropping. Al was whistling and James had picked up one of Mum's magazines.
"You know you're reading that upside down, right?"
"Yes. It's a special article that has to be read upside down."
"I'm sure it is. Can you wash this?"
"Why should I?"
"Because you're the only one here who isn't underage. Please!"
"Fine," he grumbled.
I went back into the kitchen and wet the cloth again. I knew that if I didn't keep cleaning his cuts they could get infected. Of course, all of this could've been solved in a matter of seconds if my mum had told me where she kept all the magical medicine. Since she was gone I had to cure him the Muggle way, knowing James would refuse to use magic to cure someone he hated. "Does it hurt too much?" I asked, trying not to let my mind wander again.
"No, it's starting to feel better. Again, thank you."
"It's no trouble. I should probably warn you that my brothers are probably using Extendable Ears to hear the whole conversation we're having."
"They don't need to do that. You can take care of yourself."
"I know right? Sometimes I wish they were girls."
"Al and James would make weird girl names."
I laughed, "They would, wouldn't they."
"It's kind of warm in here. Do you want to go outside?"
"Okay."
We went outside. All the stars were out and it was a beautiful night. I kept healing Scorpius' cuts outside. Some of the colour started to return to his face. I remembered the time one of my best friends Jeremy, had almost bled to death. His face had gotten all clammy and grey. What had happened was that he had fallen into a pit full of jagged rocks. It had been a terrifying experience.
Another time, Will had been imperiused. Someone tried to get him to rob Gringotts bank. Ministry wizards and goblins had had to go in there and get him out. My friends and I were magnets for life threatening experiences. Especially, when Sri had tried to go into the Forbidden Forest in our first at Hogwarts, it's a long story. Somehow this made me think of Scorpius' present remark. I couldn't stand it any longer.
"Scorpius?" I said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"Yes?" he responded.
"Well remember in our first year at Hogwarts when you told me to wait for your gift? I was wondering what you meant."
"Hmm... I guess the best way to explain it, it to give to you. Are you sure you want it?"
"I guess..."
But before anything could happen Al came outside and sat in between us. "Hey guys! How's it going?"
"Fine," said Scorpius, rolling his eyes. I could feel the tension in the air between the two of them.
"Well, since my headache is cleared up, I thought we could all have dinner together. And it's such a nice night it would be a waste to eat inside. We can eat out here. Scorpius and I will set up the tables and you and James can make the food."
"I don't really think it safe to leave the two of you alone in each other's company." I said cautiously.
"Well I feel the same way about you two."
"I can take care of myself okay? You don't mind it when I and Will are alone or when I and Jeremy are alone but you care when I'm alone with Scorpius just because you hate him! Well I have news for you. He's my friend. AND HE SAVED MY LIFE!"
James ran out with the food. He doesn't like it when Al and I fight. Conjuring up a table, his face was nervous. Our parents wouldn't be home until a couple of days. They had gone to Italy for a week. Scorpius still wasn't wearing his shirt and I thought that James hadn't bothered to start cleaning his shirt.
Dinner was tense. No one dared to talk, but Al and Scorpius exchanged frequent glares. It was all too much for James and he went to go get pudding (chocolate cake). Again, the air was tense as we ate until I asked, "James, is Scorpius' shirt clean?"
"I'm sorry but I doubt it won't be clean until tomorrow. Blood stains are really hard to clean, even with magic."
"How did you get your shirt that way, Malfoy?" Al asked half mockingly, pronouncing "Malfoy" as if it were a contagious disease.
"Your father's security, Potter. My father and I got here by mistake and he left without even noticing I had let go of his hand."
"Aw. Were you scared? Is that why daddy needed to hold your hand?"
"We were Side-Along Apparating."
"I'm sure you were."
"All right that's it!" I screamed. They both looked t me in surprise. "Stop bickering. It gets annoying when two out of four people eating together start to bicker. Really, it's time for you to grow up!" I got up and stalked away. I couldn't stand heir constant fights or the lack of trust Al had in me.
I had gone into the forest when I heard a twig snap "Who is it?" I said.
"Me." I heard Scorpius in the shadows. "Can I join you?"
"Whatever."
He walked towards me looking guilty and sat down. "I'm sorry."
"I overreacted. You two don't like each other. In fact, you hate one another! I can understand."
"You still don't deserve to hear us constantly fighting and insulting each other. I'm really sorry. Please forgive me."
"All right I forgive you. But you have to get me something extra special for my birthday. It's..." I looked at my wristwatch, "today." It marked midnight.
He sat looking thoughtful for a couple of minutes then said, "I don't know if you'll like it. But here."
He took out a small package from a pocket in his ripped jeans. I looked at it curiously and opened it. It was small ring that had a button that when pressed would fill everything within ten feet of it with silvery lights that looked like Patronuses. I had seen them in a store once. "It's beautiful!" I exclaimed.
"Do you like it?" he asked looking uncertain. "I was going to give it to you on the first day of school.
"I love it thanks."
I wrapped him in a hug. He looked around and said, "I have to go. You can give me my shirt back on the first of September. I'll see you then." He pulled away a bit but didn't let go. I wondered why. My question was answered seconds later when I felt his warm dry lips against my cold wet ones. He took a couple of steps closer to the house before saying, "Goodbye. Happy Birthday." Then he sprinted towards the front lawn. A loud bang announced the arrival of the Knight Bus that would take him to the Leaky Cauldron.
I'm sure my face was pink. I smiled and lay down on the grass. I knew that no matter what happened in the rest of the day, it had been the best Birthday ever.
