A/N Ahhhhhh! Plot bunnies rule my mind! This is in NO WAY linked to my on-going fic, Serpent's Tongue, it's just what I would have imagined happening if Lily had been put in Slytherin, which I can totally see happening. Um, yeah, the next chapter for that will be up soon, but first this! Two-parter that will be uploaded together. Oh and I own nothing except the plotline and the character of Gregor Haideish. Enjoy!

When I asked the sorting hat to put me in Slytherin it had been a joke.

All my family, I mean all eighteen of them, going back two generations, not to mention all the in-laws and friends, have been in Gryffindor. It was just so boring and unimaginative. So when the Sorting Hat was placed on my head I immediately asked it to put me in Slytherin. I could almost feel it blink in surprise. If it had been a person I would have flipped them off and told them to deal with it. The Hat caught the gist of that thought and chuckled – god damn chuckled. Then it shouted out 'Slytherin' and I had the huge satisfaction of seeing the looks of horror across the faces of my family. Rose, Albus and James were staring at me slack-jawed and I felt a mild guilt at their promises to save me a good seat at the table. That feeling was quickly washed away at the sight of my cousin Hugo who was standing there, still waiting to be sorted. I felt the hat pulled off my head, winked at them and strolled casually, bold as you like, over to the Slytherin table, plonking myself down next to a peroxide-blonde haired boy who was looking at me with a mixture of amusement and doubt.

'Hi,' he said. 'I'm Scorpius.'

And that's how it started. Oh, the first few weeks/months were tough, what with all the letters of shock I received from various family members, but after Uncle George sent me a letter congratulating me on finding the best possible way to irritate my family including a promise to get them to lay off me, things quietened down. I found it surprisingly easy to enjoy my time in the Slytherin house. Sure, there were prejudices, but I had gall enough to give them a piece of my mind when they confronted me about it. And being friends with Scorpius Malfoy helped, of course.

It was an accidental friendship that we formed. He was two years older than me – in my brother's year and to say the two of them hated each other was only the tiniest of understatements. So when he offered to give me a tour of the castle and its grounds I was surprised, but happily agreed. He, of course, got me as lost as it was possible for me to get – which was very – then scarpered the hell out of there. I soon found a teacher to help direct me back to the Slytherin common room where I stalked up to him and punched him very hard on the nose. It had taken me a while after that to get my fist unclenched, but when I did I was surprised to see him offer me his hand – a truce.

A few weeks later when I got into a fight with the quidditch captain, he walked in accidently. I was yelling very loudly at the ass hole, demanding to know where he found justification not to put me at least on the reserve list simply because of my family when Scorpius interrupted telling the other boy, who was at least two years older than him, that he should put me on the reserves. I would have thanked him, I really would. But I didn't because of the way he winked at the quidditch captain. They thought I was going to cock up. Boy did I show them.

The first game, against Ravenclaw, I watched peacefully from the sidelines, happy to be simply a reserve. The second game, however, I was fully prepared for. It was against Gryffindor and to say that Gregor Haideish accidentally fell down the stairs and broke three ribs the evening before would be a lie. Oh, he fell and broke the ribs alright, but unless you count my sticking my foot out to trip him up an accident, the incident was entirely on purpose – my purpose, to be exact. So, reluctantly, I was pulled forward to play the game… not that I was let on without a couple of death threats if we lost, of course. When I managed to score seven consecutive goals, totally whipping the Gryffindor's asses and got to see the faces of my fellow house mates it was totally worth the detention I received later when they discovered whose fault Haideish's 'accident' was.

It was at this time I started earning myself some 'friends' in my house. A couple of the girls had taken it upon themselves to be my new best friends and it made Hugo laugh out loud when I called them my 'minions'. There were, of course, a couple of boys who got it in their head that I would be their new muse. I never accepted their addresses and told them to either shove off or befriend me. Most of them shoved off, though a couple stuck around and it was actually nice to be able to make friends with them. After a year at Hogwarts in which I not only excelled in my school subjects, but also managed to win the quidditch cup for the first time since my dad's time at school for my house I finally felt at home in Slytherin. Which was, really, an accomplishment in itself.

At the beginning of the second year I gained myself a shadow; a boy by the name of Jadon Freeman. He was the year above me and, I soon discovered, completely infatuated by me. As was my norm, I told him to quit with the love-bird stuff. He didn't. It was hardly my fault that after three months of enduring his drooling I got totally fed up and punched him in the mouth. It got the response I wanted, he backed off. And I thought that was that – until I got hit in the back by the expelliarmus curse by said jerk. A fight ensued that was, on my side at least, magic-free. I managed to give him a broken nose and a black eye by the time he managed to get the upper hand, at which point Scorpius Malfoy stepped in and hexed the idiot. I thanked my saviour briefly then joined my group of friends, thinking nothing more of it.

I don't know what Scorpius' impression of me was; I barely ever saw him except at matches or in the common room. But I know his view changed considerably when I caught him fighting with a seventh-year Gryffindor. Who the other was or what had started the fight was of little consequence; it didn't take me longer than a millisecond to rally up with Scorpius against the seventh year. The other shouted incredulously at me for a moment before I hit him with a silencio curse. He tried to continue fighting us, but between the two of us Scorpius and I soon had him tied up and locked up in a closet in a secluded area of the school.

'Why'd you do it?' he asked of me when we were done, a strange look in his eye.

'I'm a Potter, but I'm still a Slytherin,' I replied.

From that day forward we acknowledged each other in the corridors with a nod or a smile and when we retold our tale of the fight we had the whole common room snickering at our victory. The teachers never did find out who it was; the Gryffindor was too proud to admit he had been defeated by a second year and a fourth year – and Slytherins at that! Which just had myself and Scorpius laughing ever harder behind our hands.

My third year was an interesting one. I was asked out by one of the Slytherin boys who had become my friend recently and I found no reason why not. He was an alright kind of guy and although he still had quite the stereotypical of a Slytherin – purebloods are better and all that crap – he did his best not to sound too prejudiced around me. I called him on it a couple of times and he apologised a couple more times and we ended up dating exclusively. We had kissed a couple of times, but one time, when I stayed late after charms class to collect the pages of my book that had accidentally been scattered during the lesson he had walked in to check I was alright and we ended up making out for what would have been an inappropriately long time, had not Scorpius barged in on us.

He'd turned a beet red and stuttered something that might have been an apology, if you could actually call the sounds coming out of his mouth words. Then he'd given my boyfriend a good long glare before walking out and slammed the door on us. It had totally spoilt the mood and turned my date into an over-protective jerk, until I dumped him a week later, much to his chagrin. Scorpius, who had been in the common room when my nerve finally gave out, watched our fight with interest. When I rounded on him after I was done with the other boy, he'd merely put his hands casually in the air and said it wasn't his fault I couldn't pick a decent boyfriend. I gave him a good kick in the shins and stormed out.

Not long after that I was asked out by Gregor Haideish, the guy I'd tripped up to get my spot on the quidditch team. I was surprised by his offer, but I'd known him quite well for the past three years and knew him to be a decent guy. He was only a year older than me so I agreed, winning one of his precious smiles. Over the next couple of months I became good at that – making him smile. It was not that Gregor was a particularly sad person, he just didn't smile much. Unfortunately, that was about all we were good at together; making each other laugh and playing quidditch, so the relationship was broken off mutually.

But throughout the entire time I was with Gregor, Scorpius seemed to be just around every bend – much the same as my elder brothers and both of my cousins. It irritated the hell out of me, but I didn't say anything until the end of the school year when he told me that I wasn't good enough for him.

'Good enough for who?' I had shot back, angry that this time at least he didn't have a reason to be worrying.

'Craig,' he replied in an 'um, duh!' tone.

I didn't even bother explaining to him that Craig, a Ravenclaw who I'd befriended during our shared Herbology lessons, was gay. I was too interested in hearing what he had to say. He waited a moment, obviously expecting some kind of response, but when I didn't give one, launched himself into a long, looooong speech about how all the guys I date are morons and that I was being a fool letting them kiss me and all sorts of boring crap that I'd already been given by everyone in my family at some point that year. He was just starting to get to the 'reputation you don't want' bit when my temper got the better of me.

'If no one's good enough for me, then why the hell don't you ask me out?' I screeched before turning tail and storming up to my dorm.

I didn't see Scorpius until after the summer holidays and we, both of us, pretended that our last meeting hadn't happened. Our friendship was now comfortable enough for us to spend long periods of silence together, or chatting familiarly. However, it never escaped my notice how Scorpius never had a girlfriend. He was in his sixth year at this point; he was good looking and popular and had plenty to choose from and I grew concerned about him. One weekend during one of our strolls around the castle I confronted him about it. He had looked at me in a confused, hopeless fashion and ran a hand through his hair.

'I'm in love, Lil,' he said after a moments' consideration.

'Oh.' His words had sent an unexpected tremor up my spine and it took some considerable effort for me to talk through my suddenly constricted throat. 'Well she's a lucky girl then.'

'She doesn't know,' he said.

I bit down hard on my lip before forcing myself to say; 'you better tell her before it's too late.'

'Lily?' he asked gently, grabbing my hand and turning me to face him. I looked at him, hoping that he couldn't see the sting of tears in my eyes. Then he kissed me.

Mind blowing.

It was only a gentle brush of his lips against mine, but it sent my mind reeling to places it never wanted to get back from. When I eventually pulled enough pieces together to operate my voice box all I was able to utter was a, 'bu…'

'I love you, Lily,' he said. I expected to see his familiar smirk, but all I could perceive was solemnity and that same emotion that I'd seen in his eyes from the moment we'd fought together against the Gryffindor two years ago. I only now recognised it as love. So I grinned, wrapped my arms about his neck and said, 'about time too,' and kissed him.

At first we were going to try and keep it secret- but that went belly-up almost as soon as we walked into the common room together, later that day. How we managed to forget we were holding hands, I don't know. The wolf whistles and cat calls had me blushing for the first time in ages, but Scorpius only tugged me closer to his side and wrapped a protective arm around my waist. Someone yelled out a teasing remark, that had Scorpius sticking two brazen fingers in the air and we laughed. That day was one of the best.

The next week was worse than my first week in the Slytherin house. I received four howlers, from my grandparents, my mum, my dad and, oddly, my Uncle Percy. The joint letter I got from my Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione was funny, though. I read it aloud to the Breakfast table – my Aunt, being who she was, was all for the relationship, just giving me the usual warnings that any concerned guardian gives. My Uncle on the other hand, was less than accepting, saying some very rude things about the Malfoy family, which had me in tears of laughter by the end of it. Scorpius was less amused, but I punched him playfully on the shoulder and warned him that my family would be watching like hawks, so he better not put a toe out of line.

It took longer for his parents to realise what was going on. They did not send him any howlers, merely a small letter that he read in private and didn't tell anyone what it said. For a few days after this he was morosely quiet, but goodwill and a willing smile on my part soon pulled him back to a happier-than-normal cheerfulness that belongs to first love. I received a letter akin to his about a month after we'd first kissed. It was written in long, elegant hand that was unquestionably female.

Dear Miss Potter

It has come to my attention that you and my son are somewhat of an item. I realise that this is probably just a school students crush, but you seem to somewhat alleviate the brooding mood my son carries about him. Although I must warn you that his father – my husband – is less than happy about your relationship, I feel the need to thank you for the good you are doing dear Scorpius. He's never been the happiest of children and it warms my heart to hear he is smiling (not smirking) so much more. So thank you, Lily.

Regards,

Astoria Malfoy

I smiled and silently agreed, hiding the letter in my pocket before Scorpius walked into the Hall and sat down next to me. I smiled brilliantly and he grinned back, probably wondering what I'd done. I kissed him and whispered in his ear. That was the first time I told him I loved him.

The second time was at the end of the year. We were back at Platform 9 ¾ and his family was glaring at my family and my family was glaring at his family. This scared me slightly, considering my family clearly outnumbered his at a ratio of about 4:1. Scorpius had got a wicked gleam in his eye and winked at me, before stepping off the train, dragging me after him. I laughed and tripped straight into his arms. He caught me and kissed me and said he loved me. And I wriggled in his arms and kissed him and said I loved him too. Our families watched our little display in surprise and shock, but eventually the tension slipped slightly and my dad shook hands with Scorpius' dad and the pair of us laughed at them before kissing goodbye and going our separate ways for the holidays.

The fifth year was bliss. Our families had settled down a bit, I had been made quidditch team captain and prefect and I spent everyday in the company of the guy I loved. We were both studying like hell for out OWLs and NEWTs respectively, but there was always a moment when we could sneak a kiss, neither of us really thinking of the future; merely revelling in the present.

Then sixth year came. Scorpius had graduated and was heading overseas to get the first part of his training as foreign advisor done. We only broke it off because we knew we had to. We both knew we wouldn't see each other for years, neither of us knowing quite how long. So on the 31st August I went to the Malfoy mansion to bid him one last goodbye. We didn't kiss, we didn't touch, we just stood looked at each other, hoping if we stood still long enough the world might stop. But it didn't and he said goodbye and left. I collapsed crying onto the floor and his mother joined me, wrapping me up in her long slender arms and whispering words of comfort in my ear.

'Why did he go?' I asked hoarsely. 'Why did he have to leave?'

But for once Astoria didn't have an answer for me. We both knew that he had taken his position to repair the damaged links between Britain and the other countries that were the result of Voldemort's reign. We both knew that though we were grief-stricken at his absence, his father – who was standing in the shadowed corner of the room, watching us – had the guilt of being one of the reasons why his son felt the need to leave. I smiled sadly at the poor man and stood shakily, thanking the Malfoys. I hugged Astoria once more, then turned to Draco and gave him a brief hug too, which needless to say surprised him. He whispered 'thank you' in my ear and when I stepped back to leave I wasn't surprised to see tears glistening in the edges of his eyes too.

I headed back to school and it didn't escape anyone's notice that I was different. I threw myself into my school work and quidditch and my friendships grew strained. Everyone worried. Over the past five years at the school I had done something incredible; I had reunited the houses of Hogwarts. There were still gentle prejudices between the houses, but it was no longer unusual to see a Gryffindor chatting to a Slytherin, to see a Ravenclaw making out with a Hufflepuff. And everyone seemed to know it was me that had done it, including the teachers. And before I had been happy to see this change, but now I looked at with indifference. How could I be happy when my heart was thousands of miles away?

The seventh year came and went. I left the school with a bang; winning the quidditch cup one last time and excelling in all my chosen subjects. I was offered several different job propositions and I smiled properly for the first time in a long time when I saw the one from St Mungos. I didn't know what I wanted to do, but healing people, making people whole again, seemed like a very attractive option. I signed up for the start of the course the morning after I returned home.

Scorpius still wasn't home by this time and according to his parents who both he and I were in regular contact with, he did not plan on returning home for at least another year. After hearing this news I decided after a long time of deep thought, to break the unspoken taboo and write to him. It took a long time for me to decide what to write but I eventually I came up with something that sounded safe and sane. I filled him in on my last two school years and my decision to become a healer. I automatically signed off, love, Lily but quickly scribbled out the 'love' bit. I still loved him of course, but there was no need to tell him that. No need to make our situation worse.

Two months later I received a letter in response. I had not expected it, but it pleased me greatly. I opened it expectantly and devoured the words.

Lily,

It's great to hear from you again. And I'm glad to hear you did so well in your NEWTs. My parents sometimes talk of you, but the impression I received from their letters was not quite the cheerful person you clearly are. I'm glad. They had me worried. Work here is strange to say the least, and I never know quite what to expect. I'm in Dubai at the moment and although trouble is brewing, I doubt that it will break out before I leave. My superiors tell me that our squadron will have finished its work by next spring. I hope they're right. When I return they say I'll be offered a permanent position in the ministry and I won't have to travel anymore. I don't know what to make of that. I have loved seeing the world, what wonders I could tell you about! I'd tell you now, but I'm sure you're very busy with your work and I don't want to bore you. When I return, Lily, we'll have so much to talk about.

Love,

Scorpius

PS Mother tells me you're fast tracking the medical course – good luck with that!

I smiled that he was still safe, but it worried me that he was in Dubai, I'd heard some terrible things about the city. I hoped that he would be home by spring, my heart picked up as I thought of seeing him again and though I frowned at his words; 'I don't want to bore you.' – how could he ever bore me? – my eyes lingered a long time on that little word before his name. Love. Love. Was it possible that after all this time he still loved me and hadn't been swept off his feet by some beautiful Arabian girl? But no, who was I fooling? No matter what had happened between us, we were friends, always friends.

I wrote back swiftly and continued my daily routines, eagerly anticipating another letter, but none came. He wrote once more, several months later, to his parents, telling them he was still alive and kicking and asking them to apologise to me for him, that paper was difficult to find and something to write with even more so. I thanked them and smiled sadly, heading back to my apartment and my small, closed but satisfactory life as a student healer.

Spring came and brought lots with it. My oldest brother was getting married and I watched with great pride as he and his bride said their 'I do's one of my family members announced another pregnancy and I smile through it all, happy for them despite the knowing doubt that Scorpius wouldn't come. A smattering of flowers and a host of newly born animals arrived, but Scorpius didn't. When summer came I wrote to him again, regretting his not coming home and telling him about James' wedding and about my final exams, the results of which I had yet to receive. I told him I didn't expect a reply and wished him well. I sent it off only hoping he would receive it.

Cool autumn nights set in and I was given a temporary nurse status that I could uphold whilst I continued with my education towards a doctorate over the next year. The war that had been brewing in the East had finally broken out and we were seeing new wounded soldiers everyday, I only hoped that Scorpius was out of the war zone, but he had not written to his parents in a long time and when I saw them I saw the same worry I was feeling etched across their faces. We all of us dreaded receiving that perfunctory white letter sealed with black wax that announced the death of a loved one. None came. No letters from him or about him at all.

Then one night when I was working the late shift whilst studying for my scholarship a troop of about fifteen soldiers apparated into the waiting area; seven of them bleeding badly, being held up by their team mates who were all sporting wounds of their own. I rushed out and quickly called in the doctors whilst calming and sedating those who could not immediately be seen to. After the thirteen of the men had been moved into the operating theatre or a ward I looked around and was surprised to recognise one of the remaining men.

'Gregor? Gregor Haideish?' I asked hesitantly.

'Lily? Lily is it really you? I thought I recognised your ruby locks!' He cried out and he gave each other a fleeting hug before the momentary smile on his face was chased away by a frown. 'Lily… Scorpius… I don't think any of us will be seeing Scorpius again,' he said hesitantly. My stomach turned in confusion and expectant dread.

'What- what do you mean Greg?' I asked, wincing as my voice shook.

'He was promoted by default to captain of our team after our previous Captain was shot down in action. He distracted the enemy so we could disapparate the hell out of their.'

I sat down in shock. My brain refused to accept the words. No, no, Scorpius couldn't be dead. Somewhere behind the static that my mind had turned into I could hear Gregor saying he might not be dead. But what were the chances that a man who threw himself into enemy fire alone would survive. I gulped and shook, a hand fleeting across my eyes before I stood and straightened my back. I tuned to Gregor and told him he needed to be seen to. I helped him and his friend into the ward and I cleaned their wounds.

I continued as normal. I continued to work as normal, continued to study as normal and when Gregor was released from hospital I took him to see Scorpius' parents and he explained what had happened to them. I listened to the story stiffly, wanting to cry but unable to. Astoria turned her red face to me when Gregor was done and I could only smile sadly at her. It had started as a school girl crush but somewhere over the five and a half years since that first kiss I had given my heart completely and totally to Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy and it had stopped beating the moment I had heard of his death.

I was only twenty years old and everyone was telling me that I'd be able to move on. A year passed. Two years. James announced his wife's pregnancy and Albus married one of my colleagues. I received my doctorate and life continued. I moved to a nice little house in the suburbs of London that was far too big for just me. But, really, it wasn't just me. Because he was always there, standing in my peripheral vision, laughing at a joke, tidying the bed we should have shared, cleaning the dishes we should be having soapsuds fights over. Then I'd turn and the bed would still be messy and the dishes would still be waiting patiently to be done.

And, as I did every morning, I gently rub away that stray tear and tidy the bed and clean the dishes and leave for work, locking the door behind me to an empty household. And I'd work and chat with my friends and pretend to be normal before returning home late in the evening and crying myself to sleep, imagining his arms wrapping around me and his voice in my ear telling me not to be sad. Every night. Every day.

Awww, poor Lily! Go clicky that button and see wut hapnz nxt! Oh, but first… tell me what you think!
Cal
xx