The First Time…

I touched Scorpius Malfoy of my own volition was in a large, empty classroom at Hogwarts in my seventh year.

It had been awhile since the two of us had been alone together, and this wasn't something I had planned or even considered. As a favor to the Defense Against Dark Arts professor, my father had stopped by Hogwarts to give a guest lecture on dueling and other high level Dark arts magic to the N.E.W.T.-level students. For whatever reason, he'd brought Scorpius with him (I guess to use as a partner in the dueling exercises) and, of course, I was part of the class attending since I was going to be sitting for the N.E.W.T. Defense exams.

When it was all said and done, and the classroom had emptied of all the students, I hung around waited until the last person left. And then went up to my father with a grin. Scorpius was in the corner, putting away the materials they'd used in their demonstration. I ignored him and he ignored me.

"Lily-flower," my father said, with a smile. He gave me a quick hug and did that thing where he ruffles my hair on purpose to make me mad. I rolled my eyes in response.

As he was putting some parchments of paper in his briefcase, he asked, "Did you enjoy the lecture?"

"Yes." I nodded, with a huge grin. "I particularly enjoyed how you demonstrated the power of simple spells like Expelliarmis and Stupefy. The idea that these common, and often overlooked, spells can actually be more effective than the complicated and highly dangerous ones? Brilliant, Daddy. Just absolutely brilliant."

My dad looked amused and leaned back against the table, with his arms crossed. "Eh, you do realize I'm not your professor? You don't need to kiss my arse for good marks."

"Right. But, you are the one who gives me my allowance," I pointed out, with a cheeky grin. I held up my hand, palm facing him. "And I'm out of gold."

Letting out a sigh, he reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a tiny bag. "Don't," he began, in a warning tone, as he emptied a few Galleons onto my palm, "tell your mother. She thinks you need to start becoming more responsible now that you're about to leave Hogwarts."

"Oh, come on," I answered, rolling my eyes. "We both know she sends money to James in every single bloody owl."

"That's because he's studying to be a healer, and you know apprentices in the healing academy make almost no money," my dad reminded me, with a hint of a smile. "Like I said, don't tell your mother."

"I won't." I pocketed the gold and then looked up at him. "Are you joining us in the Great Hall for dinner? You'll make the Gryffindors' day. It's not every day such a distinguished alum pops by."

His brows rose at that, but all he said was, "I was planning on it. Although, I had planned to sit at the Ravenclaw table."

"Really?" I pretended to look confused. "Why would that be?"

"There's this Ravenclaw girl that looks kind of like your mother," my dad said, with a laugh, as he picked up his bag. "I figured she must be related."

"Probably is," I said, nodding in agreement. "We do have a lot of Weasleys running about."

"Too true." My dad looked towards Scorpius. "Scorp, would you mind putting everything back to rights in here? I promised Hagrid I'd stop by for tea, and I also need to see Neville about something." He turned back to me and kissed me on the forehead, giving me a quick one-armed hug. "I'll see you at dinner, Lily-flower. Can you help Scorpius out before you go?"

I looked towards Scorpius, who said, hastily, "No, I have it, Auror Potter. I'm fine."

"Don't be silly," my father responded, with a flick of his hand. As he headed out the door, he added, over his shoulder, "Besides, Lily has to earn the gold I just gave her, doesn't she?"

After he left, an awkward silence fell across the room and I was looking pretty much everywhere but him.

After a while, Scorpius cleared his throat. "You really don't have to stay, you know. I've got it."

"No, no, it's fine." I picked up various items and headed towards the storage cupboard in the back. "My father has a tendency to know things, so if he wants me to help, I should do it."

We worked in silence for a good ten minutes and, by the end of it, the room had gone back to normal. I'd just put the last chair back in its normal place when I saw Scorpius standing very still and looking up at the corner of the ceiling. I followed his gaze and saw a scorch mark on the paint.

His lips curved up into a half-smile. "Al and I did that. First year."

Blinking up at it, I asked him, "How?"

"We charmed a game of Exploding Snap," he answered, in an absentminded tone. "Long story. We got three weeks of detention. It was my first ever detention, I remember. Definitely not my last, though."

I started laughing. "Yes, well, my brothers have that influence on people."

"It's so odd," he said, rather abruptly, as he turned back to face me. "My last year at Hogwarts, I was so ready to leave. I couldn't wait. And, now, I'm back here and I feel like I'd rather be in first year doing detention all over again."

"Really?" With a straight face, I offered, "You want to trade places? The NEWTs are just around the corner, and honestly everything about this place is bothering me. The bathroom that floods because of Moaning Myrtle. The stupid riddles to get into my common room; the studying, the libraries, even the food in the Great Hall just doesn't taste as good."

"You wouldn't want to trade places with me, Lily." Scorpius sounded sad. "You know why I had to come with your father today? Because he felt sorry for me," he answered in a tight voice, before I could respond.

"Sorry for you?" I wasn't faking my confusion. "Why?"

"Because no one in the Auror department wants to work with me," Scorpius avoided my eyes and walked towards the open window. He stood there, looking out at the Quidditch pitch, where the Hufflepuff team was having their weekly practice. "Everyone remembers, you see, what my grandfather did in the last war. How all the Dark objects were found in the Malfoy manor. They think it's not safe for me to be working there."

"But your grandfather died in Azkaban." Walking closer to him, I bridged the distance to stand next to him. "And my father spoke on your father and grandmother's behalf at their trials. And you've done nothing wrong! You're brilliant. Even my father thinks so."

"None of that matters, Lil." He glanced towards me and his lips twisted into a bitter smile. "When they see me, all they see is a person whose family fought on the wrong side of the war. I had thought, after Hogwarts, things would be different. But in the real world? They're not."

"Well," I said slowly, tapping one finger against my lips thoughtfully, "you know what you have to do, then, don't you?"

His eyes strayed down to my lips and he appeared frozen. "What is that?"

"You have to make a friend," I told him, pertly. "Find that ONE person who doesn't see your family when they look at you. The rest will follow. Many years ago, someone gave me some brilliant advice to that effect and it paid off."

Scorpius started laughing. And then said, in a teasing voice, "But what if no one likes me?"

In silence, I contemplated him for a minute. And I echoed his words from long ago, "Ah, Scorp. There is no way no one would like you."

Then, I stood on tip-toe and wrapped my arms around him, giving him a reassuring hug. When I pulled back, I couldn't help but kiss him on the cheek lightly. Then, feeling embarrassed, I rubbed at the spot where I'd left some of my lip gloss. "Well, I better head down. I'm starving and my father will be wondering where I am."

When I'd settled down at my place at the Ravenclaw table, I saw that the Great Hall was more crowded than usual. It looked like the entire school had turned out to have dinner with Harry Potter. The Headmaster got up and said a few words, like he always did, and then turned to my father. "Auror Potter, we're honored to have you here with us today. Would you like to say a few words?"

My dad glanced around the Great Hall and I knew he was annoyed at the pomp. Knowing him, I was sure he'd wanted to just slip in, sit next to me, eat some food, and leave. But it would rude for him to show up at his old school and not say something, so he walked towards the podium and looked out over at all of us.

My friend, Kiran, leaned in closer to me and said, "Look, I know he's your dad and all that, but he is still very hot."

I did a double-take and made a sound like I was about to vomit. "That's revolting. It's bad enough when people say that about my brothers, but to say it about my dad? Go get your head checked."

She shrugged. "I'm not the only girl saying it."

I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to my dad, who had just finished thanking the Headmaster for his hospitality. "And, now," my dad finished, "I suppose I should say a few words." He appeared to give it some thought and then he said, "Flibbergrout. Lemon drops. And gillyweed. Enjoy your dinner, everyone."

The Great Hall fell completely silent as everyone tried to process what he'd just said. Except for me, I just burst out laughing. As he got down from the stage and started walking towards my table, I shook my head at him and chided, "They're all going to think you were confounded or something, Daddy."

"What can I say?" He sat down at the seat next to mine and shrugged at everyone around the table. "I'm a man of few words."

As we tucked into the scrumptious food, I looked around. All the students at our table looked nervous and some were trying to fix their hair. I shot Kiran the evil eye, making it clear that she was to get nowhere near my father.

Before we could even get to the second course, an owl flew into the Hall, carrying some post. It headed straight towards my father and dropped the large, heavy envelope right over his plate. When he picked it up, I saw the Ministry seal. Quickly, he slit it open and scanned its contents. Then, with a heavy sigh, he turned to me, "Ah, Lily-."

"You have to go," I finished for him. I'd grown up with him, after all. This was a usual occurrence. "All right, then."

"Can you do a favor and send your mother a message through Floo?" My father got up and looked towards the Slytherin table, where Scorpius was having his dinner. He caught Scorp's eye, who immediately nodded and stood up to join him. "Tell her I won't be home tonight. Probably not tomorrow, either."

"Of course," I said, standing up myself. I was starting to get a little alarmed. "Is everything OK?"

"Yes, it'll be fine." He gave me a quick one-armed hug and then hurried towards the Headmaster, presumably to ask to borrow his fireplace to Floo out of Hogwarts.

After having a conversation through Floo with my mother, I decided it would make sense for me to just go home for the weekend. Exams were right around the corner, and I had been telling Scorpius the truth. The school was driving me batty. I could use a break. After getting permission from the Headmaster, I Floo'd home and, hours later, I was still unable to sleep.

So, I was nursing a cold bottle of butterbeer in the kitchen when my brother stumbled in, looking utterly exhausted and a little dirty.

"James?" I shot to my feet and helped him sit down at the table. "What are you doing here?"

James looked around blearily. "What? Oh, I… this was closer than my flat." He put his head down on the table and then looked up, eying my butterbeer covetously. I rolled my eyes and handed it over to him, then went to go get myself a fresh one.

After taking a few pulls, he seemed to wake up slightly. "Lils, what are YOU doing here? Why aren't you at school?"

"Decided to study at home." Tearing at the paper on the bottle in front of me, I asked him, "Why are you so dirty?"

He gave me an odd look. "Haven't you heard? There was a huge explosion in a Muggle shopping district in London. Turns out it was a Dark object and a few bad Wizards that caused it. St. Mungo's was jammed pack with Muggles and wizards alike. I just finished up back to back shifts." Shaking his head wearily, he took another long swallow of butterbeer. "I'd still be there, but Mungo's has a strict policy for apprentice healers. We're not allowed to do three shifts in a row."

That made sense. Controlling magic is difficult under the best of circumstance, so when you're exhausted you're more prone to mistakes. "Is that what Dad's taking care of, then?"

"Yeah, I saw him for a bit. At the hospital."

We were both quiet for a few more minutes and then my brother said, rather unexpectedly, "I've been meaning to talk to you. What's going on with you and Jem?"

"Nothing," I answered, sharply, with a frown. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do," he insisted. He let out a long sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. "You're not talking to her; she's so upset about it."

"I am talking to her. After all, she's in my room at Hogwarts; I couldn't stop talking to her even if I wanted to," I pointed out.

"Yes, I know, but she's told me your friendship isn't…" he hesitated and looked down at his bottle. "Lils, you have to ease up on her. She wanted to tell you, she was just waiting for the right time."

Clearing my throat, I looked at him resolutely. My tone was icy, "Well, walking in on you with your tongue shoved down her throat wasn't it, was it?"

He flushed. "Lily, stop being such a baby. I don't even get what the big deal is."

"The big deal?" I stood up angrily and my chair flew back. "She's my best friend! My first friend at Hogwarts, EVER. She didn't give a damn that our dad was Harry Potter or that you were my brother. She used to make fun of the girls who fell for you! All the girls there, they all followed after you, thinking you were so special, but she didn't." Glaring at him, I shook my head. "You just couldn't leave it alone. What happened, you left Hogwarts and decided the women in the real world didn't idolize you enough, so you went back to school for a second helping?"

My brother's eyes were bright, his gaze fierce. "I happen to like her a lot, Lily. Watch what you say."

"Like her, do you?" I rolled my eyes. "As much as Sabrina? Or Eliza? Or Megan? Or Morgan? Or – wait – who was the girl that got your named tattooed on her arse? Nicollette? You broke up with her about two seconds after she got it, too!"

"Of course I did," he exclaimed. "You'd have, too. She was insane."

"That's not the point," I continued. "The point is that Jemma was the only one who was mine. My friend. Not some girl who wanted to date a Potter boy. And you ruined it, because – sure enough – the second she got together with you, she didn't even tell me. She hid it from me. I felt like such an idiot!"

"Lily." James had quieted down, his hold on his temper back. "She wanted to tell you, but I wouldn't let her."

"Why?"

"Because of all the reasons you just listed," my brother admitted, looking a little guilty. "I know I don't have the best history with girls."

I snorted at that and crossed my arms.

He ignored me. "So, I thought that if it was just a momentary thing… that it was best if we waited. She wasn't happy about it, but also thought it was a good point. She didn't want anything to muck up your friendship."

"Excellent plan there," I muttered under my breath.

"Lils, you have to talk to her. Just…" he took a deep breath and looked straight at me, "for me? I really like her and I hate that it's made things bad between you two."

For a second, I softened. It was rare my brothers asked me for anything. Then I thought about how he wouldn't need to be asking me if he'd just left well enough alone, and I stiffened. "No. If she has problems with me, then she just needs to come to me herself. It's already starting – you're talking on her behalf. Jemma's already more your girlfriend than my friend!"

As I whirled around and started to stalk out of the room, my brother's quiet voice stopped me. "Aren't you being a bit of a hypocrite?"

Slowly, I turned back to face him warily. "What do you mean?"

"You and Scorpius. Has he had a heart-to-heart with Albus lately?"

Blushing slightly, I stepped back. "There is nothing going on between me and Scorpius. There's no reason to talk to Albus."

"Really?" My brother raised a brow. "Keep telling yourself that."

"I'm not telling myself that. I'm telling YOU that," I replied, crossly. "I told Scorpius it would never work and I meant it. Unlike you, I know how to create boundaries."

"Fine." James tossed the butterbeer bottle in the rubbish and then started to head out the door. "But, fair warning, I'm going to have a lot of fun with this when the shoe's on the other foot. Whether it's tomorrow or years from now."

After he'd left, I looked around the kitchen and tried to figure out what the hell he was talking about.

The second time….

I touched Scorpius Malfoy of my own volition was when I was drunk. Utterly and completely plastered.

After my talk with James, I had begrudgingly arrived at the conclusion that I was being an immature moron. That resulted in me having a long talk with Jemma, where we both shed copious amounts of tears, and made many mutual promises of never abandoning our friendship over a boy ever again. Of course, this still didn't stop Jemma from spending as much free time with James as she possibly could, but I had decided to try to ignore that.

And that's how I came to be at Wicked, a new club that had opened up in London. It was a new and popular attraction because it was operated by both Muggle and Wizard owners. So, it was located in Muggle London, but open only to those of the Wizarding world, where they served both Muggle and regular drinks. James had a night off from work and he'd invited Jemma to go with him. We'd just finished moving into our new flat, and were both ready to blow off steam, so I agreed when she urged me to join them.

About twenty minutes into the evening, I was whole-heartedly regretting my decision. The two had already had three snogging sessions and I could have sworn I saw my brother's hand wander to inappropriate places. I wasn't a prude, by any means, but a sister had her limits.

They finally broke apart to get some oxygen and James went off to get some drinks. Once he was swallowed up by the crowd, Jemma turned to me with a dreamy smile. "Isn't this place wonderful?"

"How would you know?" I asked, tartly. "All you've seen is my brother's face while you're sucking on it."

"Sorry." But Jemma didn't look the least bit guilty; instead, she had a twinkle in her eyes. She glanced around and then cried out, "Oh, look, there's Scorpius!" Before I could protest, she'd waved towards him and called him over to join us.

I looked him over, a bit critically, and suddenly felt like I'd swallowed about fifty Fizzing Whizbees in one shot. He was wearing a dark button-down dress shirt, with black trousers, and his blonde-white hair was tousled, several strands constantly falling into his eyes. It was the first time, in a long time, I'd seen him in anything other than his Auror robes or the ratty jeans he favored when visiting the Hollow.

He carried a Muggle beer in his hand, and he said to Jemma, with a smile, "How are you, Jem? Been a long time."

"I'm doing great. What are you doing here?" With a grin, she asked, "They let you out over in the Auror office?"

"I'm actually here with a few people from work," Scorpius answered, with a smile of his own. He flicked a glance in my direction. "They invited me to join them."

I grinned at him, glad to hear that it had all worked out eventually for him at work. When he smiled back, I looked down at my shoes.

"Why don't you come join us?" Scorpius asked, politely.

My head shot up. As much as I hated being with Jem and James, I wasn't exactly happy about spending the evening with Scorpius, either.

Before I could say anything, Jemma said, "We'd love to. Let me just go find James and we'll meet you there." She turned to me and pushed me in his direction. "You can go with Scorp, Lily. No need for both of us to go look for James."

Then she disappeared, the traitor. Sucking in a deep breath, I turned to Scorpius and said, "All right, then. Lead the way."

He led me to a table full of people around our age, all of them were laughing and joking around. When we got there, several of them looked up at us.

"Everyone, this is Lily." Scorpius indicated towards them and, to me, he said, "Lily, this is everyone."

One girl, a blonde with long hair and vivid blue eyes, giggled. "You'll have to do better than that, Malfoy." She grinned at me and held out her hand. "I'm Christina."

"And I'm Ryder," the dark haired guy next to her said, with a slight wave, as he threw his arm over Christina's shoulders. "And this," he indicated towards the girl sitting on his other side, "is Sarah."

The last guy at the table, a tall man with dark skin and light hazel eyes, smiled and said, "I'm Richard."

"Nice to meet you all," I answered, with a smile of my own. They seemed nice. Scorpius pulled out a chair for me and I sat down with them. "As Scorp said, I'm Lily."

"And how do you know Scorp, Lily?" Sarah asked, with a bit a teasing smile.

The two of us glanced at each other and then I said, "He's a friend of my brother's." At the same time, Scorpius said, "We went to Hogwarts together."

They looked confused and I smiled weakly. "Both, really."

Christina was staring at me with an intense look on her face. "Do you work at the Ministry, Lily? I could have sworn I've seen you there before. You look so familiar." Turning to Ryder, she asked, "Doesn't she look familiar?"

Ryder tilted his head. "Yeah, you kind of do."

Shifting uncomfortably in my seat, I answered, slowly, "Well, I don't work there, but I've been there a bit over the years. My father works there."

Suddenly, the atmosphere around the table shifted as everyone looked at each other and made the connection.

"Lily Potter." Sarah took a sip of her drink nervously. "You're Auror Potter's daughter."

Richard gave me a hard look. "You're our boss's daughter." Then, he paused and added, "Actually, you're our boss's- boss's-boss's daughter."

Inwardly, I cursed my father for being both famous and intimidating to boot. But, outwardly, I just plastered a grin on my face. "Yes, well, do try not to hold it against me, will you?" And then, looking around, I motioned towards the server to come to our table. "How about the next round of drinks is on me?" I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Scorpius give me a look, but he didn't say anything.

Then the drinks starting coming and I was too busy having a good time to focus on the man sitting to me. More and more people joined our party, and that made him press up closer and closer. I wanted to move away from his heat, but didn't have a choice but to burrow in. It was either that or end up on Richard's lap. And Richard definitely looked like he wouldn't have minded.

By the time the club closed, I was ready to call it a night. But when I tried to remember how to Disapparate to my address, my brain was too fuzzy to come up with the coordinates. A strong arm caught me around the shoulders when I wobbled on my heels a bit.

"Lily." Scorpius looked at me with concern. "How much have you had to drink? What were you thinking?"

Blinking slightly, I tried to get his face into focus. "Um… do you know where I live? Because I don't."

He looked like he couldn't decide whether to laugh or to throttle me. "As it happens, I do know where you live. Hold on." He wrapped his arms around my waist tightly and took me along as he apparated to a location a few blocks from my new flat.

Scorpius frowned and looked around. "Where is it? I could have sworn this was the street Albus gave me."

"It's Unplottable," I told him. "And you can't apparate into it and out of it. And there's a Fidelius Charm on it." With a hiccup, I started to giggle. "Me, Jem, and my Dad are secret keepers."

His brows furrowed in confusion. "Why do you have so many protections in place?"

I looked up at him like he was an idiot. "Have you met my father? Hello."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "All right, well, you'll have to tell me where it is. I can't just leave you here."

So, I told him and he put his arm around me to keep me steady on my feet as we walked a few blocks in the warm, summer evening. After a second, my feet started to hurt, so I took off my shoes. Scorpius looked like he was going to say something, but then just shrugged.

When we got to my row of buildings, the small house that held my apartment started to appear. I pointed at it and gave him my full address, so he could enter. When we got to the door, I had to tap my wand a few times. The outer door opened, but then we came across another one with a mirror on it.

The mirror asked, "What was the present your father gave you for your thirteenth Christmas?"

My brain was starting to hurt and the room appeared to be shifting on its axis. I stared at the mirror and said, "Sod off. I don't remember."

"Then you can't enter," the mirror responded, primly.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" I groaned. "I hate you so much." I looked towards Scorpius, who was standing there looking incredibly confused. "It was my dad's idea. He took the mirror from the Burrow and made some adjustments."

"Right." He gave me another odd look and then cleared his throat. "Ask it to give you another question."

"IT can hear you," the mirror responded, clearly annoyed. "And you need to trim your hair, young man." To me, the mirror said, "You can't get another question. You must answer this one or else Harry Potter has to let you in." The mirror sounded delighted at the prospect.

"Oh, no…." I moaned. "I cannot call my father. No way."

"It was a necklace, with a pendent in the shape of a lily," Scorpius said to the mirror, in a quiet voice. "Now will you let us in?"

The door swung open and I followed him into my apartment, feeling utterly bewildered. When we got into the living room, he settled me down on the couch and then went to the kitchen. It seemed he was making tea.

"How did you know that?" I finally asked him, after the room stopped spinning a bit. "About the necklace?"

He focused on putting opening all my cupboards, presumably looking for tea bags. "Ah… it was just a good guess."

"No, it wasn't." I pushed my hair out of my eyes and sat up on the sofa. "How did you know?"

"I was at your place that Christmas." The tea pot started whistling, so he took it off the burner and poured steaming water into two mugs. "You were pretty excited about it. And you asked me to help you put it on."

"I did?" I whispered, trying to recall that night, long ago, but the memory proved elusive. Which wasn't surprising, since I was having problems even recalling my own name at the moment. "Well, that was very nice of you."

"Quite." Clearly amused, he came to the sofa and handed me my mug of tea. "Drink that. It'll settle your stomach."

As directed, I took a few sips. Then, decisively, I put my mug down on the table and turned to him. Taking his mug out of his hand, I put his down on the other table. Scorpius shot me a confused look. "What, is it not good? I have to admit, I don't usually drink tea, I -"

I kissed him, cutting off the rest of his words.

When we broke apart, he finished, weakly, "Usually drink coffee." Then he frowned and said, "Lily, what are you -?"

Ignoring him, I shifted until I straddling my legs across his lap, my dress tight dress riding up my thighs in result. As though automatically, his hands fell down to my hips and he moved, so I could fit against him more comfortably.

Leaning down, I grazed my lips against his softly. "You know what? I really like you."

Not surprisingly, Scorpius looked very doubtful. But, at the same time, he looked like he was trying not to laugh. "Really? I didn't know that. Tell me more."

I leaned back to gaze at him fully. "Well, you're a nice guy. And you're always there. And you're always so hot. I could stare at you for hours."

"I am?" Now, he didn't even try to hold it back. Scorpius burst out laughing. And then added, "You know what I think?"

"What?" I asked in a serious tone. I really wanted to know.

"I think you're very drunk. And you are going to regret this conversation so much tomorrow."

Instead of responding, I leaned forward and covered my mouth with his, working my lips against his and prodding him with my tongue, seeking access. When he finally started kissing me back, I flicked my tongue against his and felt a shot of a desire flow through my body. My fingers were tangled up in his shirt and, never breaking away, I started to unbutton the top most button. It proved elusive, since my coordination wasn't working as properly as I would have liked.

Breaking away, I took a breath and exclaimed, "You have too many damn buttons!" Then I had a brilliant idea and grabbed my wand. "Accio buttons."

"Lily, no, we…." Scorpius let out a curse as his buttons ripped off his shirt and flew towards me. I ducked and burrowed my head on his now very naked chest and then mumbled, "Hhhmm… nice." I leaned back to get a good look at him, and swallowed when I saw the defined ridges of his muscles and I could help but run my fingers lightly over the firm, flat plane of his abdomen.

"Lily!" He picked me up and pushed me off of him. Standing up, he tried pull his shirt back together. After a second he gave up and gave me a frustrated look. "What are you doing?"

"Good point." I nodded reasonably. Sitting up on my knees on the sofa, I grasped the hem of my dress. "It's not fair for me to just get rid of your clothes."

I pulled off my dress and tossed it off to the side, so I wearing only my black bra and a black, lace underwear. I was glad that I'd decided to dress up and this was the only underwear set that matched my dress. Especially when I saw the way he gulped when he let his eyes rakes over me. He only gave himself a minute, though, and then he closed his eyes.

"You need to put your dress back on." Scorpius said through gritted teeth, his eyes closed. "Actually, better, yet." He held out his own wand and said, "Accio, nightgown."

A very tiny, lacy and see-through nightie came flying through to the living room. Scorpius caught it in his hand and then frowned. "What the -?"

"That was Jemma's room," I told him, with another giggle. "But I'll try it on, if you want."

Rolling his eyes, he tossed it onto the floor. "Come with me." He grasped my hand and started pulling me into my bedroom.

"Now, we're talking," I exclaimed, quite enthusiastically. I attempted to kiss him again, but he just picked me up and threw me on the bed. Then he began rummaging around in my drawers until he found a long, cotton nightgown.

He tossed it towards me. "Here, put this on."

I looked at the offending garment with disgust. "What? You're joking! My Great-Aunt Muriel gave me that. I'm not wearing it."

"Yes, you are." Scorpius looked like he was going to do me bodily harm. Before I could argue, he'd come to the bed and managed to get it over my head. Within seconds, I was covered in yards and yards of cotton.

Looking up at him, I pouted. "You are NO fun. I don't get you! You're always tossing me about, kissing me. Now, I kiss you and you act like I've got spattergroit!"

"You cannot hold your liquor, can you? " Scorpius sat down the edge of the bed and frowned. "If I do this, I'm taking advantage of you. I'm not that kind of a person, Lily. If we do this -" he hesitated and then added in a firmer voice, "WHEN we do this, you're going to know what you're doing and saying yes to."

"I know what I'm saying 'yes' to," I answered, sullenly. But then shook my head because, in an odd way, he was right. My brain was fuzzy. I was losing track of the conversation. And I suddenly felt very tired. Sleep sounded great at that moment. "Actually, you should go."

"Right. Of course." Scorpius smiled at me and kissed me on the forehead. "I'm going to do something that should help you sleep."

The last memory I had was of him setting his wand against my hair, rather gently. After that, everything went dark.

The next morning, when I woke up, I felt like the World Quidditch Cup's final match had been held in my head. My eyes were dry and my mouth felt like cotton balls were shoved in it. After opening one eye a crack, I saw that there was a note on my nightstand table, along with a small flask filled with a dark green potion.

Sitting up rather gingerly, I managed to pull the note towards me and read it.

Dear Lily,

You should drink this. James and Albus swear by it. Best hangover cure in the world. Also, I put a bucket next to your bed - just in case.

Take care,

S.M.

I frowned slightly. Just in case of what? Then, I felt my stomach rebel and I choked, reaching for the bucket and just barely making it in time.

The third time….

I touched Scorpius Malfoy of my own volition was on a date that I hadn't actually planned to be on with him in the first place.

After spending several hours trying to recover from the worst hangover I'd ever had, I had finally managed to pull myself together enough to go hunt him down. I had no clue where he lived, and would never in a million years ask either of my brothers, so I decided that the easiest thing to do was to go down to the Ministry.

It turned out not to be so easy. As soon as I stepped foot onto the Auror department's floor, I bumped into my Uncle Ron.

"Lily!" Uncle Ron stepped back and looked me over. And then he gave me a big hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I… ah…" I looked about, attempting to come up with an excuse. "I'm here to take my dad out to lunch. Surprise him, you know."

"Oh." Uncle Ron looked a little confused, but he said, "Well, Harry'll be glad to see you, I'm sure. But you know, his office is three floors up."

As he started to head towards the lifts, I asked him, "Um, Uncle Ron, do you know where Scorpius Malfoy sits?"

He stopped and turned towards me. With a frown, he asked, "Why would you need to know that?"

"I have a message from Albus," I told him, completely improvising on the spot. "You know where his desk is?"

"Down the left, about fifteen cubicles down."

With a grateful smile, I headed in that direction. When I got to his cubicle, I stopped and cleared my throat.

Scorpius looked up. "Lily? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, actually." On my way there, I had told myself that I wasn't going to beat around the bush. "Can we talk somewhere in private?"

Looking slightly alarmed, he jumped to his feet. "Of course."

Silently, I followed him down a few corridors until we came to a room. He opened the door and gestured that I should go in first. Then he followed and shut the door behind him.

I looked around; it was a rather dark and unpleasant room, with a long table and a few chairs in it. "What is this place?"

"It's one of our interrogation rooms."

"Remind me to never break the law if this is where one ends up." I shuddered. And then I turned to him and said, "I wanted to thank you. And apologize. For last night."

If he looked surprised, he didn't show it. But he did step back and thrust his hands in his robe pockets. "You don't need to apologize. Or thank me." With a shrug, he added, "It wasn't a big deal. It happens."

"Oh?" I started laughing. "Do a lot of girls get drunk and throw themselves at you, then?"

His lips turned up in a wicked smile. "Girls don't need to be drunk to throw themselves at me, usually. At least, that's the way I prefer it."

Grinning up at him, I bit my bottom lip. "Right." Then, I caught him staring at my lips, so I stopped and looked around nervously. "Anyway, thank you. For being a gentleman."

With a nod, he said, "You're welcome." When the silence stretched out between us, he broke it to say, "So is that it? Then, I should head back to my desk…."

As he turned and reached for the doorknob, I blurted out, "Will you go out with me? On a date?"

Scorpius froze and then turned to face me, an indefinable expression on his face. Suddenly, I was reminded of the time, years ago, when I'd stood before him and asked him out. And how he'd said 'no' then. I really hoped history wasn't going to repeat itself.

"Why?" he asked, finally. He looked at me searchingly. "You seemed to be clear dead-set against us having anything to do with each other."

I really didn't know what to say. Because the truth was that I had no intention of asking him out. It just kind of happened. "Well, you know."

Scorpius looked amused. "No, I don't know."

"A girl can change her mind, can't she?" I gave him a challenging look. "But, if you don't want to, then that's -."

"No," he cut in, quickly. "I didn't say that. I will. In fact, I'll pick you up at seven."

"Tonight?" I frowned. "That's a bit soon, isn't it? I mean, I was thinking next week; we can take it slow…."

"I'm not giving you time to back out," Scorpius replied, with a grin. And then he left, leaving me alone in the room to ponder what I'd just gotten myself into.

Once I got past the initial awkwardness, the date was incredibly fun. We talked and laughed about our problems at work. I poured out all the frustrations about the problems I was having at the Daily Prophet and how my editor refused to print any of the articles I'd give him. No matter how much I tried, I always ended up getting assigned research work. Scorpius was attentive and sympathetic, giving me advice that was helpful while, at the same time, not patronizing. I told him about how my greatest ambition was to have my own column at the newspaper and, instead of laughing at me, he told me solemnly that I would be perfect at it.

From his side, he told me about how things had eased up at the Ministry and he'd made quite a few good friends, along with being assigned a partner he felt he could rely on. Apparently, he'd made a few high profile arrests and so his team believed that he was a force for good. And it also turned out that they weren't as much annoyed with him being a Malfoy as they were annoyed with him for being such good friends with Albus Potter. They were concerned my dad was giving him preferential treatment.

As we were walking home back to my flat, he said, "I must be the first Malfoy in the history of my family tree to actually NOT want preferential treatment."

"Well, my dad sees something in you, though," I told him, quite honestly. "He wouldn't take such an interest in you if he didn't think so. I mean, I remember when Teddy tried to be an Auror. Those three months were a disaster! And my father did not give do him any special favors, and my dad's his godfather."

"Right." Scorpius nodded and smiled.

We'd arrived at my doorstep. I looked at my entrance and then him nervously. "Do you want to come in for a nightcap? Jemma's bound to be at James' place."

Scorpius hesitated and then glanced towards the door. "Hmm... you know, I think I'll take a rain check."

"Okay," I answered, feeling confused. I had thought we'd had a great time. I moved a little closer to him, expecting him to lean down to kiss me.

Instead, he stepped back and said, "Good night, Lily."

As he turned to walk away, I stared dumbly after him. Then, I ran down my steps and asked, "Wait, what are you doing?"

He turned back. "What?"

Rolling my eyes slightly, I asked, tartly, "Aren't you going to kiss me good night?"

"Do you want me to kiss you good night?" Scorpius asked, looking perplexed. "I'm trying to take it slow."

"You don't need to be that slow, you idiot." Getting close enough to touch him, I planted both hands on his chest and stood on tip-toe to give him a quick kiss. "There. Now, that's how you end a date properly."

When I turned to go back to my front door, he reached out and grabbed my arm. Whirling me back around to face him, he leaned down and gave me a hard and thorough kiss. When I pulled back, he said, "That's how you end a date properly."

Then he stepped back and Disapparated away. Putting my fingers to my swollen lips, I couldn't help but let out a little laugh.