Lily Potter was quite happy. Her favourite brother was coming to stay and she wasn't absolutely certain but she was pretty sure her boyfriend of approximately two years Daemon Zabini was going to propose to her tonight. They had been living together for one-and-a-half years now and she was madly in love with him.
James was being extraordinarily mysterious. He had hinted in his last letter that he had some big new to share with the family. Then again James was a drama queen. He had probably just gotten that endorsement from Wickersham's he had wanted so badly.
"Morning," her boyfriend said sleepily, emerging from their bedroom.
"We have to get that blueberry crap that Sophie likes eating," Lily said. "They'll be here soon and I don't want her sighing at my cereal like it's a disappointing child. And we also have to stock up on Butterbeer. The stuff they get in America isn't half as good as the stuff we get here. And-"
"Calm down," Daemon said, cutting her off with a laugh. "Its just James. We can just stick them in the spare room and they'll be fine."
"I'm calm, I'm calm," she said, and moaned as Daemon started massaging her shoulders. "I have so much to do," she complained weakly.
"Well do it later," he said, kissing her neck. His hands made their way to the elastic of her sleep shorts and slowly started pulling them down.
"I really can't," she said, a tad regretfully. "The whole pack's coming tonight. It's going to be chaos."
"You'll be fine," he said, but he moved away from her and put a piece of bread in the toaster.
"Oh I forgot to tell you," Lily said casually. "Lucy's back."
Daemon smiled his normal easygoing smile but there was something slightly strained about it. "That should be fun," he said lightly.
And suddenly Lily Potter wasn't so happy anymore.
"Do we have to go?" James Potter's beautiful wife whined as she lay in a large fancy bed in an upmarket hotel in the middle of London.
"Soph," he sighed. "I know you don't like Lily, and I have to add by the way, that the feeling is utterly mutual, but she's my sister and we promised. And anyway I haven't seen her in almost a year."
"You write often enough," his wife huffed. "Honestly I thought you were having another affair until I realized that you couldn't possibly be in a relationship that long because you're a shit."
"This is why my sister doesn't like you," James said sardonically.
"Your whole family doesn't like me," Sophie said. "And you know I don't understand why we have to go to that grubby pub first."
"Oh I'm sorry," James said sarcastically. "Would her highness rather get a carriage with Thestrals? And we have to floo there because Lily has wards around her house."
"Don't talk bullshit," Sophie said harshly. "You just want to see your virgin again."
"I don't know what you're talking about," James said in a rather dangerous tone.
But Sophie's almost pathological jealousy of Ariana Longbottom rather got the better of her and she ignored the warning signs.
"Do you think I haven't seen the letters?" she asked. "The torn up notes scattered around the place. The ones you never send. Oh Ariana you're all I think about," she mocked, with a laugh that was entirely without mirth.
"Shut up," James growled grabbing her shoulders and almost shaking her.
"I should've left you ages ago," Sophie said, her eyes cold.
"But you love my bank balance far too much," James said cruelly.
"That's entirely true," Sophie said and moved away from his.
But it wasn't really. Sophie Potter loved her husband. It was an odd sort of love. It involved a lot of screaming but it also meant brilliant makeup sex. They had been married for almost four years now and they still couldn't get enough of each other. Unfortunately they couldn't get enough of other people either.
James Potter had been raised on adulation and hero worship. His baby sister adored him and before his brother had become a sulky teenager who loathed his family, he had followed James around telling people proudly that he wanted to be a Quidditch player when he grew up because that was what his big brother wanted to be. It didn't help either that James was able to attract girls with very little effort. He screwed his way through most of Hogwarts, still managing to be universally loved. This was probably because all his ex-girlfriends wanted to stay friends with him because he was so much fun to be around.
Nothing had changed when he left school. Still able to attract women effortlessly he had set his sights on the beautiful Sophie Marks, who seemed all the more alluring because she was utterly unobtainable. At first not at all interested in James, whom she regarded as being a lightweight living off his parents' fame. He eventually wore her down into agreeing to go on a date with him.
She quickly realized that James was one of the most genuinely nice people she had ever met and to her utter horror found herself falling in love with him. So naturally she did exactly what any girl in her situation would do, pretended she didn't care about him.
But that didn't work for too long, and after about six months of knowing each other, they had a quickie wedding in a seedy chapel. Unfortunately this really didn't endear Sophie to James's family all of whom had traditional wizard weddings. Sophie could not stand James's mother, who she privately thought James had an utterly codependent relationship with.
Four years down the line they were still screwing like stoats but pretty much out of love with each other. Sophie didn't want to leave him though. If she was being perfectly honest she was a little scared of life without James.
Although they technically still hadn't moved in together, Rose invariably ended up spending most of her nights at Scorpius's house. Thankfully her annoying cousin Albus had moved out ages ago so they could now do whatever they wanted.
This morning however Scorpius awoke to an empty bed. There was a note from Rose saying she had gone out and would see him at dinner. He sighed. He knew she was mad at him. Well mad wasn't exactly the right word. More like worried for him. And when Rose was worried for someone she usually got mad at them. He knew he was going to have to break the news to the family over dinner. As much as he loved Rose's family, they were an intimidating bunch who probably wouldn't appreciate the guaranteed onslaught of the press. Fucking hell, this was looking like less and less of a good plan.
a/n: So this is set three years after This Ain't A Scene. It's going to mostly be about James Potter II and Rose and Scorpius. I hope you like it :)
