Chapter 1

The Ministry of Magic Annual Christmas Party

"Blimey Al!" James said, elbowing his younger brother. "This place is huge!"

Albus rubbed his arm. "Yeah, pretty awesome."

"I bet there are a million rooms! Wanna bet me Al, wanna bet?" James said excitedly.

"A million and one actually," their dark, messy haired father said. "Ron and I counted them last week."

"But I think this event is contained to one room, so you two will have to wait a few years before exploring the rest. I mean it boys!" their red haired mother told them.

"Why do you always say 'you two?' It's not like I ever do anything," Al complained.

"Oh really? Who was it that I found stalking Mrs. Mehan's cat in the bushes the other day?" she asked.

"James AND Al!" teased a tiny red haired girl who had turned around in her father's arms to face them.

"Oh shut up, Lily!" Al groaned. "Look mum, none of those things are ever my ideas!"

"It was you who told me where the cat was!" James accused.

"Because you tricked me! You're always getting me into trouble!"

"I never get into trouble like you guys do, do I daddy?" Lily asked angelically, looking at her father.

"Shut UP Lily!" Albus yelled, stomping his feet.

"Boys!" their father said sternly.

Lily stuck out her tongue at her older brothers. "And Lily." Al muttered under his breath.

"All of you! Please behave yourselves. All of your cousins will be here, I'm sure you can find something to do together to stay out of trouble," their mother said, starting to remove her jacket.

There was a chorus of 'Yes mum's as jackets were removed and handed to one of the greeters who in return, handed their father a gold tag and levitated the jackets away.

The five Potters walked through the glass double doors in front of them and into an elaborately decorated banquet hall. On the far side, there were a bunch of tables with gold and silver table cloths, each with its own unique flower center piece. The half of the room in which they had entered had a few longer tables lining the walls holding an assortment of finger foods and drinks. In the center of the room against the back wall was a small raised stage on which a quintet of string instruments were enchanted to play throughout the night.

Many families from the ministry had already arrived, and now stood talking amongst their co-workers and families. "Hey, hey, look! It's Rose and Hugo! Right over there!" James said, pulling at Al's arm.

Al looked at his mother. "Go along you three. Remember, stay out of trouble!" she said.

Al and James took off running towards their cousins who were currently trying to reach some crackers off of the table. "Daddy, put me down!" Lily squealed, trying to escape after her brothers.

"Nope, I think I'm going to keep you with me, right here, all night long," her father teased.

"But dad! This is your Christmas party for work, which means you will talk about your work and it's always so boring!" she pouted, kicking her feet playfully, and throwing her head back.

"I don't know Lily, you were complaining that, oh what was it... ah yes, that your feet hurt so bad that there was no way that you could wear your 'fancy shmansy' shoes," her mother teased.

"Okay okay, I lied. I just didn't want to come. Now, will you put me down please!" she said.

"Oh alright, flower. Go have fun!" her father said, placing her gently onto her feet. She was wearing a pair of light blue sandals to match her dress. "If it counts for anything, I really like your fancy shmansy shoes," he whispered in her ear.

Lily giggled, kissed her father's cheek, and ran towards her brothers and cousins who were now gathered in a tight circle near one of the food tables. Harry put his now free arms around Ginny's waist. "What a crazy bunch of kids. Are you sure they're ours?" he asked, playfully kissing her ear.

"Given what I know about both of our families, yes, they most certainly are," she laughed.

Harry chuckled and lead her away to meet some of his new colleagues.

xXx

"...and you can't change hiding spots because that's cheating!" Hugo said excitedly.

"Hugo! I'm telling the rules. Right, so as I was saying, the finder counts to 60 and then goes to find the hiders, who can't switch spots. The first one found becomes the finder," Rose finished proudly. Rose was ten, the oldest out of the bunch by a few months. She took her spot as the boss of the group and always put herself in charge of play time activities, which most importantly, included explaining rules and directions...every time. She had just finished explaining the rules to an old muggle game her mother, Hermione, taught her last summer.

"Okay okay, let's just play already!" James said, eying the room for a suitable hiding spot.

"Okay, since I'm the oldest, I get to find first," Rose beamed. She turned around and her brother and cousins scattered off into the sea of people to find the perfect hiding place in the room.

Lily, being the smallest, was able to duck under and between many conversations unnoticed, until she ran straight into a boy. "Hey are you playing or what?" she said quickly, looking the obstruction in the face.

He stared at her for a moment. "What are you playing?" he asked quietly.

"Hide-n-seek. Rose, that bossy brunette girl by the punch bowl, is finding, so go and hide fast if you wanna play!" she said before speeding off.

The boy stood there for a moment longer, looked up at his parents who were engaged in conversation, and casually walked off in the direction the red headed girl had ran. He saw her stop by a circular table, look around and the proceed to crawl under it. He looked back at the brunette girl she had mentioned earlier and saw that she was walking towards the opposite side of the room. He quickened his pace and slipped under the same table as the red head.

"Hey this is my hiding place!" Lily whispered harshly.

The boy, once again, just stared at her. "Are you deaf? Get lost!" she said, pushing him slightly.

The boy gave her a sad look and moved to leave from under the table when Lily pulled him by his shirt collar. "Wait!" she whispered, holding her breath and putting her her index finger to her lips.

The table cloth started to rise next to Lily, who closed her eyes tightly. The table cloth rose a bit higher before it suddenly fell and the finder ran away. A few moments passed before Lily exhaled. The boy looked at her questioningly. "Did you see those ugly pink shoes? Those are Rose's shoes, you know the finder! I guess you have to stay here now. I will not let you give away my hiding place," Lily whispered quickly. "Besides, it would be breaking the rules if you moved I guess. Rose hates it when people break her precious rules."

She let go of the boy's green collar and he crossed his leg underneath him. "So how long do we stay under here?" the boy asked suddenly.

"We stay under here until Rose finds us. She never finds me though. I'm the best hider," she replied smartly.

"Why?"

"What do you mean why? You have a problem with this game? No one asked you to play,"she said, crossing her arms.

"You did actually. I've never played a game like this before."

"We play loads of muggle games at Aunt Hermione's house. They are actually quite fun."

"I've never played any before," he said looking down at his knees.

"We play a different one each time we come to one of these parties."

"This is my first one. How many have you been to?"

"Well my parents started bringing me when I turned five, so this is my third. Every year I have to wear these froofy dresses and shoes that really hurt my feet. Everything always has to match," she complained.

"I thought all girls liked to wear dresses."

"Well not me. I hate everything I can't play Quidditch in."

"Well that's a game I've heard of. What position do you play?" he asked, interested.

"Well usually I'm a chaser like my mum. Al is always the seeker, but that's just because he's afraid of bludgers and can't deal with the quaffle. James used to play beater, but he broke too many windows so now he usually plays keeper. Rose plays chaser and Hugo does as well. My other older cousins sometimes play with us, but they play real Quidditch at Hogwarts and find our games boring. As if, how could any kind of Quidditch be boring," she paused. "Can you keep a secret?"

The boy nodded. "Good. I for one can't keep any secrets, but this one is my own and no one else knows about it. Are you ready?" she asked. The boy nodded again. "I really would like to play seeker when I go to Hogwarts, just like my dad did."

"So then why don't you?"

"I think mum would be crushed. I've always been my daddy's favorite, but playing chaser in the back yard was the one thing she can teach me, you know?"

"I've always wanted to play seeker as well," the boy said.

"How long is it until you go to Hogwarts? I've still got four years till I can go, and I'm going to be the last in my family, but I can't wait! I'm going to be a Gryffindor just like my parents, grandparents, and uncles! What house do you want?"

"You talk a lot."

"My mother says I haven't stopped talking since I was born. My Uncle George says it will get me into trouble some day, but I don't think talking could get me into more trouble than James and Al always get into. Well it's James really, Al ju-"

"I'm going to Hogwarts in four years. I'm an only child, so I'll be the first and last to go. My family has always been in Slytherin, but I want to be wherever I belong. I don't know where that is, but I'm sure the sorting hat will decide what's best."

Lily stared at him for a moment, dumbstruck, and then laughed. "Now who talks too much?"

They both laughed. "What's your name?" he asked, holding out his right hand.

"Lily Potter," she said, shaking his.

"Lily? Lily where are you?" Rose's voice called from near by. "I give up, I've found everyone else already."

Lily smirked. "See, I told you, they never find me," she said as she made to leave the table.

She paused as her hand pulled up the golden table cloth. "What did you say your name was?"

"Lily! I'm going to get your mother! I meant it!"

Lily's head snapped around. "Ugh, Rose I'm right here! I told you that you could never find me!" Lily dashed out from underneath the table, leaving the small boy behind.

"Scorpius Malfoy," the boy whispered softly.

A/N:

Well I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! I have a couple more things written for here and there points in the fic. Now I just have to string them all together. I've had this written for a while. Hopefully now that I have finally put it up, my mind will put the rest of the story line in place. Oh and another note, just so you all know, I think I will be changing the ages of the characters around. Not a whole lot, but a bit. Thanks!