Disclaimer: Recognize it? Not mine.

Mistletoe in July

"Nice hat, Potter. It goes well with your shoes."

"You think, Nott?" Louis Weasley replied. "I beg to differ. I've tried telling my dear cousin that mistletoe became passé in January."

Lily Luna Potter smiled against her will as her ex-classmate walked away. Nott was one of those morons who got squeamish when her cousin's all-out attitude became apparent. Lily very well knew that Louis didn't even care for fashion - he just enjoyed making awful people uncomfortable via archaic stereotypes. He'd often use those to make fun of himself as well.

Then, Lily remembered that she was quite angry at her cousin. Her reasons were simple: The hat Nott had alluded to was, in fact, a mistletoe Louis had charmed to hang above her head and follow her around.

She would've thought it funny on Christmas, in a reunion with friends. However, it was a lovely midsummer evening and they were attending her very first Ministry event as an employee. More specifically, they were attending her Head of Department's birthday party, at his very own home.

It was quite the fancy, elaborated, boring party, full of pretentious people. Lily felt that shouldn't care about impressing them, but it still bothered her that Louis seemed oblivious to the funny stares she was getting. No, that wasn't true. Truth was even worse - Louis seemed amused by the funny stares she was getting.

"Lou, why would you do this to me?" Lily whined.

"Because," he looked at his cousin straight in the eyes and smiled, "you need to get laid."

"The real reason."

"Because I'm bored and I wanted to show my flawlessly Outstanding Charms NEWT." That made more sense to Lily. "And you need to get laid."

She massaged her temples slowly, trying hard not to lose her patience. Merlin knew she would make a scandal if her temper was tried often enough, and she was in the worst place in magical Britain to make a scandal.

"Look, don't you think that if I wanted a date, I would find one?" She asked.

"My dear Lily, you're a very charming lady. I'm not trying to deny that, but you can't deny the fact that you haven't gotten any in a year."

She tried a different approach. "You're my cousin. You should defend me from the... from the creeps that try to lay a hand on me, or whatever."

"You have your brothers to do that. You're my cousin, yes. But you're also my best friend and I want you to be happy."

"If you want me to be happy, can you please remove that mistletoe from above my head?"

He smiled. "Of course! After you've put it to good use, that is."

Lily gave up and looked around, trying to find a guy that would kiss her just to put an end to the nightmare. Problem was, there were no decent guys around. She was only eighteen, whereas most people invited were her father's age. There was that cute waiter serving the birthday man's table, but seeing the way he looked at Louis...

She sighed. While part of her understood Louis' good intentions, it still annoyed her that he was being so pushy. The year before her graduation, Lily had broken up with Hagan Finnigan after over three years in a wonderful relationship. They'd only broken up because he left for continental Europe, taking an offer to play in a Ukrainian Quidditch Team.

Always the adventurer, Lily recalled with a wry smile.

She hadn't been as devastated as she thought she'd be, probably because she knew it was coming. In fact, Lily was surprised to discover that she was happy to experience single life again. It gave her a sensation of self-sufficiency that she didn't remember feeling. She didn't feel the particular need to start dating again.

Then again, didn't single life involved meeting new people and going out on dates? Wasn't she supposed to go out, to have fun? That was Louis' logic, anyway, and that's why she'd ended up with a mistletoe suspended above her head on a July evening.

"Why are you so upset about this, anyway?" Louis asked. "Is your boss around or something?"

Lily shook her head. "Mr. Malfoy is in Australia, trying to placate them about the missing tourists."

"Heard something about it. What happened?"

"It was kind of a big deal. Some Australian idiots were... well, stupid enough to travel to the Isle of Drear. The one with the Quintapeds," she clarified, seeing Louis' confused expression. "They're naturally missing, most likely dead and well, you can't go around telling a foreign country's Ministry that their wizards are idiots..."

"So what will Mr. Malfoy do?"

"He'll tell the Australians that their wizards are idiots in a polite fashion. Mr. Malfoy is persuasive enough - even my father has to admit it."

They laughed together. In a way, Lily was glad that she'd chosen to invite Louis. She would've certainly gotten bored much quicker had she been on her own.

"Hey, isn't that Mr. Malfoy's son over there?" He pointed at a round table, not far from where they stood.

"Well, the Minister didn't show up, so it makes sense he sent his Junior Assistant instead." Lily responded without even looking.

"You can show more interest, you know." Louis sounded quite offended, and she knew exactly why.

"For the umpteenth time, Louis. I don't think that Scorpius Malfoy is cute. You're free to fawn over him, but I really don't care."

"You do think he's pretty cool, though."

Lily sighed. Louis was right. Scorpius Malfoy's looks didn't draw her in. Many girls -and Louis, evidently- thought him good looking, but he was too lanky for her high standards. Besides, blondes weren't really her type.

However, as Louis had pointed out, Lily did appreciate the way Malfoy carried himself. He was the classiest guy she'd ever met, for he was cool and distant, but never impolite despite his blatant elitism. He never treated anyone condescendingly, but he would always seek the friendship of those people he considered equals.

His ability to form connections had landed him the best position a person his age could have in the Ministry. Lily had to recognize that his record was pretty impressive, more so when his family's reputation was brought into play.

She'd never quite cared for him though. Louis, on the other hand, thought highly of him. His reason was that Malfoy, as a sixth-year Slytherin prefect, had taken house points from his very own housemates for Louis' sake.

Louis had told Lily almost immediately, too astonished to believe it actually happened. "...Ten points each, Lily, for taking my bag, spilling all its contents on the floor and calling me a faggot. I had to ask Malfoy just why, and he simply said that his mum taught him manners. Can you imagine that?"

"It's Malfoy," she'd cynically opined. "He probably had an ulterior motive."

"I don't care why he did it," Louis announced categorically. "Life is so much easier now. And he's a total cutie, Lily. You should consider breaking up with Finnigan and going out with him."

Recalling that conversation made Lily reach a sudden epiphany. Louis wants me to get stuck under this stupid thing with Malfoy!

"Lou, do you know you're about as subtle as a tutu-wearing hippo?"

"Are you calling me fat?!"

"Louis..."

Her menacing tone made him drop all pretenses.

"Well, what can I say?" He smiled evilly. "I would've preferred a unicorn, but I'll take what I can get."

Lily couldn't help but smile back at him. She couldn't be mad at Louis for long.

"I can't just hit on Mr. Malfoy's son, you know."

"Who said anything about hitting on him? A kiss will break the charm!"

"You said something about me getting laid."

"My dear Lily, I think you learned by now that you shouldn't be giving me any ideas. Go get him before I charm the mistletoe to stick around until you bed him."

Lily shot him an angry glance. His smile was clean and devilish, and she knew him well enough to realize that this meant trouble. She chose to listen to his advice and, leaving him behind, she walked toward her objective.

"Don't worry about me!" Louis yelled behind her. "I'll be hitting on the cute waiter!"

Again, she couldn't help but smile.

Scorpius Malfoy was sitting alone. He wore quality dress robes and mindlessly sipped from a glass of wine, watching the event unfold with utter boredom apparent in his face. Lily assumed that he was done sucking up to the Head of Department in the Minister's name, being left with nothing else to do. She was thankful for this, for she could unceremoniously plop down next to him without triggering his aggravation.

Let's get this over with.

"Good evening, Malfoy!" She greeted in a cheerful manner. His curious stare went from her eyes, to the mistletoe, to her eyes again.

"Explain yourself, Potter," he commanded without wasting time.

"I'm glad you brought that up. My cousin right there," she pointed at Louis with an extended palm, "thinks that if you kiss me under the mistletoe, I'll be desperate enough to have hot sex with you."

Louis happily waved 'hi' from behind her. Scorpius chose to ignore him. The Weasley clan's antics had been normal occurrence at Hogwarts. This was a relatively tame one.

"Just what makes him think I'll do that?"

Lily cockily raised an eyebrow. He won't intimidate me.

"To be honest, I'm told that I'm hard to resist."

"So that's why he charmed that mistletoe to follow you around? That sounds pretty..."

"Pathetic, I know. Can you go tell him that?" She gestured at Louis again, making Scorpius look at him.

The Weasley guy was winking at him and making kissing motions. That idiot definitely has no shame, Scorpius thought, rolling his eyes and trying to suppress a disdainful smile. He also tried to get up to talk to him. He could get him to make that stupid charm go away...

His legs didn't respond. He could move, but his legs seemed to refuse to push him up.

Now it didn't seem like such an innocent prank.

"I would gladly talk to him, Potter," he said. "But I'm kind of stuck with you."

"He can't be far away. If I know him well, and I assure you I do, he's a few meters behind me making silly faces at you."

"Indeed." He offered a neutral smile. "I mean it, though. I'm paralyzed from my waist down and I can't get up."

"Oh." Louis William Weasley, I'm going to kill you as soon as I'm done kissing this moron.

"Is he always like that?" Scorpius wondered. Lily's anger was apparent in her red face, so he patiently waited until she regained composure. It amused him to see her so flustered - it was definitely the most interesting thing to happen to him that day.

"He can get worse," she finally said. Giving up, she relaxed in her chair and breathed deep, trying to find a way to explain her cousin's thought process. "He's convinced that if a man doesn't want to do me, he must be gay and therefore wants to do him."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. Even though the girl's frustration was still present, the hint of humor and affection in her voice wasn't lost on him. It was a bitter humor, but to Scorpius, it still seemed a path worth exploring.

"I'm sure he would jump onto the opportunity to have me," he said. "If it means anything, you can tell him that I'd want to date him if I were gay."

Lily laughed loudly, startling him. She'd thought Scorpius could be many things, but funny hadn't been on the list. To her surprise, she was finding him tolerable - entertaining, even.

"Very smooth," she said simply.

"And I don't even try," he replied with a wink.

"Why, Malfoy." Lily smiled, running a hand through her long red mane. "Are you flirting with me?"

He mentally went over his attitude toward her, and was surprised to discover that she was right.

As a personal rule, he never hit on girls. Girls usually hit on him, and that's the way he liked it. He knew how to make them fawn over him. What intrigued him is that it had come naturally for him to want to charm one Lily Potter.

Scorpius couldn't have her think that she had the upper hand.

"Don't flatter yourself, Potter. I'm only trying to postpone the inevitable."

"By flirting with me, apparently." She laughed again, seemingly indifferent to his words. "I mean, you could just kiss me to free us both from this spell instead of trying to win me over. It doesn't have to be anything memorable." Suck it, Malfoy. I also know how to play this game, she mentally added with an arrogant smile.

Scorpius leaned in and spoke in a low voice. "Don't underestimate me. I'm quite the good kisser. I'm sure I could make you want me, if I cared."

"Of course you care," she sneered. "I'm way out of your league."

"Oh, so that's the reason you don't get laid! Are you so arrogant that you believe you're too good for every guy out there?"

"Pretty much," she shrugged, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

Scorpius hadn't expected that response. Most girls were crushed by a crippling insecurity that made them act like dumb attention-seekers. Lily Potter did not only draw attention naturally, but she allowed herself to be smug about it in a light-hearted yet accurate fashion.

"I like your attitude, Potter. I'm very impressed."

"Great! So, this means that you'll kiss me or what?"

Scorpius had to make an effort not to laugh. He couldn't admit so openly that he'd warmed up to her.

"What do I get in return?"

"You get to kiss me. Does it get any better?" Lily said, then added: "Frankly, Malfoy, I thought you wanted to be unstuck as much as I do."

Scorpius thought about her words for a moment. It looked like he didn't have another option.

Oh well. He wasn't going to complain.

"Just one kiss, Potter. Don't get too excited."

He didn't give her time to answer before effectively closing the gap between his lips and hers. He found them to be fitting to his tastes, but he was a man of his word.

He wouldn't kiss her for longer than necessary.

However, Lily was the one to pull away. Her eyes lingered closed for an instant, which was taken by Scorpius was the perfect opportunity to examine her - her yellow robes, those tiny freckles over her white skin, her pink lips and her soft red curls...

"You have mistletoe on your hair," he noted.

"Oh, yeah. Well, at least Louis kept his word." Lily hastily took the plant and placed it on the table. Why was she so flustered? "Listen, Malfoy... These ten minutes were lovely, but I must go hit my cousin on the head with a blunt object. I'm sure you understand..."

"Was it really that bad, Potter?" Scorpius interrupted her, his stare suddenly intense. Lily's heartbeat quickened though she couldn't place why.

"W-what?"

"Kissing me. Was it really that bad?"

That was indeed a good question. To tell the truth, she couldn't find a single thing wrong with Malfoy. Why was she even trying to resist?

"I... I guess not," she admitted. "But I must warn you, you won't take me to have the 'hot sex' Louis predicted, if that's..."

"Not today, of course," he interrupted her. "Today I was planning on getting out of here and going to Diagon Alley for a real supper. This place is getting boring."

That was his way of asking her on a date, she realized. It's not like she wanted to say no - in fact, after such a kiss, it was rather tempting. And Louis clearly said not to worry about him, she recalled. She looked around for her cousin, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Either way, Lily had gone too far down the rabbit hole to care.

"Let's get out of here."

Scorpius stayed back for a few seconds. He needed to let his mind catch up on the recent events. It all happened too fast for him, but he couldn't find anything regrettable about his actions. Potter was quite the intriguing girl, he concluded. She was nowhere near his idea of a lady. She was far from the political correctness and delicacy often associated with her gender. But that wasn't entirely a bad thing.

And even if my father says something, he thought, I can make up something and convince him that this is a great move on my part.

"Malfoy, are you coming or not?" The girl's impatient voice broke his thoughts.

Scorpius nodded and got up, not wanting to make her wait. As she turned back around to lead the way out, he examined the table to make sure they weren't forgetting anything. There was his glass of wine, half-full, and the plant that had hovered above Lily's head moments before.

Making sure she wasn't looking, Scorpius smiled genuinely. Without thinking it twice, he took the mistletoe and saved it in his pocket.

Notes: I understood this was getting ridiculous when I wrote 'you have mistletoe on your hair'... yeah. You all can blame the lovely Kaia (aka. 'acciohope' or 'free from heartache') This is written for her, as part of the 2013 Gift-Giving Extravaganza.

Additionally, I'm submitting this to the Perks of Being a Wallflower Quote Competition. I wasn't intending to use my quote here, but it sort of fit in exactly where and when I needed it. The quote was "You know, Patrick? If I were gay, I'd want to date you."

Kaia: I feel like I should apologize for my weird sense of humor. In my (weak) defense, you should've known better than to give me the prompt 'mistletoe' after Christmas season was over - that's mostly what gave me the idea, though I never suspected I'd end up writing it. Anyway, I hope weren't hoping for some masterpiece or anything (because this most definitely isn't one) and that you've enjoyed this silly, silly story. Happy January!

Everyone else: Thanks for reading! I'd appreciate some feedback as well :)

-Karyn.