((Chapter Notes: I'm sorry this took so long. Good news though I got a burst of creativity today so not only will you get this now but you'll probably get the next chapter fairly soon as well. I don't own any of this, in case you didn't know.))''
Lily stretched her arms up over her head to loosen the muscles that had been tensing in her shoulders. She'd been sitting on this stool since abandoning her position on Lorcan's lap for about an hour and they were beginning to set. When Scorpius had finally finished cooking and had dished out all the food several people had vacated the room, probably off to find a private nook to sit and talk in or off to smoke or find some alcohol to wash down their eggs or something. How they could function with this kind of lifestyle Lily had no idea. In Gryffindor, at least the people she had associated herself with could hardly drink one night out of the week without having a massive hang over that lasted days sometimes when they forgot their Hangover Potions.
Now, slightly later, no one else was left in the kitchen but her and their dutiful host who had graciously served himself last. Even Lorcan had wandered off somewhere after a short tubby Slytherin with black hair had whispered something in his ear. It didn't really bother Lily that he had left her here. Of course it was odd being alone with Scorpious again, not that they had really been alone earlier but still. She had finished off the last bit of eggs and bacon on her plate and was taking a moment to digest while watching him eat.
A typical boy of his age would ravage the food on his plate, shoveling it into his mouth and then bounding off to the next adventure. Scorpius on the other hand seemed completely absorbed in his meal, and she could see on his face the way he was savoring every single bite. It was funny, she had always been taught that the Malfoys were spoiled and pretentious. In that fashion she would imagine they would not be able to appreciate anything but she could say at least that the boy in front of her appreciated good cooking, in this case his own.
After a moment of watching him Lily became very self conscious about the thought that he might look up and find her staring. She couldn't help it really, he just did everything with such poise, eating, drinking, cooking, making her want to run her fingers through his long blonde hair…Inhaling deeply, Lily stood from the stool she had been on and cleared her throat for no reason in particular. Finishing off the glass of orange juice that had been in front of her she picked up her plate and a few other pieces of glassware that had been discarded around her and headed for the sink.
Lily liked to clean sometimes. Especially among this chaos it seemed like a constant, something she knew, unlike all of this tomfoolery and drug use happening all around her. Finding a dish cloth and a bottle of soap next to the sink, Lily turned on the tap wetting the plates and covering them with suds. Smiling to herself as she watched the bubbles form Lily momentarily forgot her present company. Going to work on cleaning the dishes she had accumulated, the red head began to hum to herself a song Grandmother Molly used to sing to her as a child that she couldn't quite remember the name of.
It wasn't until she hear Scorpius' voice, far closer to her than she had expected anyone to be before she realized they were there, that she remembered he was even there. Managing to contain her nerves enough to avoid dropping the plate she was currently scrubbing, she turned her face to the side to see Scorpius standing a few feet away leaning against the counter looking at her. There was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes that made her knees weak for a reason she couldn't quite describe. She had heard of boys like him, the kind that even though you knew nothing about them and even though you were supposed to hate them for what they were or what blood line they came from they made your heart skip a beat. The kind of boy that Rose would say she'd like to take a romp in bed with if they ran into him walking around London even though they'd probably never see him again. But she didn't want to think about Rose now.
"You know, Potter, I know how much pleasure my father would get from the fact that Harry Potter's daughter was doing my dishes but there's really no need. We can just leave it till later and I'll do it." He smirked at her and Lily couldn't help but smile back as she turned back to her work.
"No, really, I don't mind. After all I did crash your party. It's the least I could do." The way her voice sounded when she said that surprised Lily. It rather sounded like she was flirting with him and that was all kinds of impossible. She must be tired, or still drunk. Yes, that was it, there was simply a lot of alcohol left in her system. Taking a deep breath she tried to steady herself as she set the clean plate to the side and picked up a new one.
"Well then, at least allow me to help you." Lily's breath hitched in her throat because as he said this, Scorpius had walked up behind her and reached around her to take a plate from the sink in front of her himself. He stood there for a moment and she closed her eyes as though it would make her disappear and then he walked away to a drawer where he retrieved a second dish rag and began cleaning his plate.
They stood there washing their dishes and starting in on the rest of those strewn around the kitchen for several minutes. Every so often Scorpius would spray her with water from the sink and make her shriek at the temperature and they would erupt into a fit of laughter for a moment or so. But for the most part they were just smiling and washing and sometimes catching each others eyes as though they were sharing some sort of secret. Although if there were a secret Lily wished he would let her in on it because she so desperately wanted to be.
When they had just a few dishes left Lorcan came back into the room looking rather bothered. "Hey." Lily's expression instantly fell when she saw his expression. "Is everything alright?"
Lorcan glanced at her and seemed almost bothered by her presence which struck a nerve in Lily. "Uh, yeah. Everything's fine."
Obviously not, but Lily didn't know him well enough to push. "Okay." She looked down at her hands, idle since Scorpius had turned his back on them and taken over the task of washing the rest of the dishes in the sink. Walking over to the drawer he had gotten his rag from she retrieved another one and started drying the dishes they had already washed.
Lorcan saw the disappointment and confusion on her face and sighed, walking over to lean against the counter next to her. When he spoke it was quiet, not quite soft enough to be a secret but at an intimate volume. "Lysander just flooed me in the study." His words were tentative, cautious, as though he didn't know what her reaction would be, and rightfully so because she was in no way expecting that.
A sharp intake of breath was all Lily could manage. When his name had been spoken her heart had broken all over again, and for a moment she wondered how she could have been here for such a short period of time and already managed to go even a moment without thinking about him. "Really?" Her voice betrayed her although she tried so hard not to let her pain show as she was sure Scorpius was listening to their every syllable. "What did he have to say?"
Lorcan's hand was on her back and Lily was aware of the fact she had stopped drying in anticipation of his answer. "Well it seems Hugo, stupid twat, let slip that you were here with me…Lysander obviously took that very much to heart and demanded to know where you were and what trouble I had gotten you into." He paused. "I told him it was none of his business anymore, he had lost that right. He said…" He didn't seem to want to go on.
"What?" She needed to know, even if it was horrible, she needed to know for some reason that she couldn't explain.
'He said that I was a pathetic …" he stopped. "He said I was pathetic and that he had always known I was jealous of him but that he hadn't thought even I was capable of this…"
"What else?"
"And he congratulated me on being able to nail his left overs…" His voice was very soft as though that would make it hurt less. It didn't.
"Oh." Lily put the dish she was holding back on the cabinet and leaned against it, tears welling in her eyes. Lorcan's hand rubbed her back where it was and she made no move to stop him.
"I told him to go to hell…I'm sorry. Don't let him get to you, please…" He sounded sincere for some reason and Lily had no idea why. What reason did he have to want her to be happy? Why was she even here? Closing her eyes she inhaled deeply. And then there was that voice again, the one she hadn't been expecting.
"You want to know what I think?" Her eyes opened and she looked to her left to see Scorpius had finished his washing (or at least left the remaining dishes to be washed in the sink for later) and was now seated on the counter top, watching them. Once he saw that she was listening he continued. "I always did think Lysander was a bit unstable. And it sounds like he's the one who's jealous. I don't know what he's done to you but," He was speaking directly to Lily and their eyes were locked, she felt lost in them. It was almost hard to feel the pain coursing through her chest when he looked at her like that. "whatever it is it sounds like he's realized he doesn't deserve you and doesn't want to believe that anyone else might."
Lily hardly heard what he had to say, she was so lost in looking into the depths of those eyes. Yes, Lorcan was standing right here holding her ever so affectionately as though hoping to hold her together if she began to fall apart but she didn't care much about that, because she was holding Scorpius' gaze and he wasn't looking away. It was almost as though she could see the sadness and yearning in his eyes and she was feeling in her own soul. Had they the opportunity they might have been able to stay like that forever. But life doesn't work out that way.
At that exact moment there was a commotion in the next room, lots of hooting and hollering and high pitched voices. When they looked towards the door to the kitchen, the moment broken, Lily saw Victoria walk through the door a rather irritated look on her face. Glancing around at the scene in the kitchen she appeared unmoved. Her eyes landed on Scorpius and Lily watched her lips twitch a bit. "The wicked witch of the west has returned from her stay in oz. I'm afraid the lady of the house has returned, Malfoy, and I think you know how I feel about it. I'll be in the blue room." And with that she took off through the entrance she and Lily had used earlier.
Lily only had time to consider the idea that Malfoy's mother had returned home early and whether she would mind there being so many guests when there was another entrance into the kitchen. A goddess with dark skin, piercing dark brown eyes, and a braid down to her waist came bursting through the doors and straight to their host. Lily watched and her stomach twisted as the girl snaked her arms around his neck and she placed herself so she was standing between his knees looking up at him, a magnificent smile plastered on her face.
"Irina, my love, you're home early." His voice had changed from the moment before when he had been comforting her. Now it was husky with hidden meaning and when Lily glanced at him she saw that his eyes had a hungry glint in them as his hands found the sides of the vixen who had stolen his attention.
"I just missed you so much and you know how much I hate missing these parties. After all considering what they mean to us I'd imagine you were aching for my return as much as I was. I just happened to be able to talk mummy and daddy into letting me return early. Aren't we lucky." Her mouth twisted to match the rest of her face, which was darkened as she focused solely on him. It was as though they had forgotten Lily and Lorcan were even there. The only good thing about this situation is that Lily had almost forgotten why she had previously been so upset. Almost.
Scropius' hands were on the side of her face, his thumb running over her temple as she pulled him off of the counter top. "Oh My God, Scorpius, Let's make out. I must have you to myself." It was a very odd phrase for Lily to hear Irina Zabini utter but the way she giggled as Scorpius followed her from the room, completely oblivious to the fact he had previously been involved in another conversation, made Lily think perhaps it had another meaning as well. Everyone and everything here was so full of subtext. It was really getting rather irritable.
((Author's notes:: Okkaay haha in this chapter I tried to establish more of a connection between Scorpius and Lily but you knew I had to give him a girlfriend, I mean come on now. Life would be too perfect, and life is certainly not perfect. Read and Review please. Let me know what you think, Let me know what you'd like to see happen. I should have the next chapter up in a few days but I won't post it until at I get an adequate number of reviews on this one.))
