Thank you to Madi(Guest), CrimeShowAddict0721 and the two guests who reviewed for the last chapter. Also, thank you to Zuzanna3 for favouriting and following :) I'm a bit worried that a lot of you guys aren't going to like this chapter – but it has been on the cards since I first started planning this story, so I apologise in advance!
Again, I don't own, J.K. Rowling does :(
Chapter Seven
As Lily sat in her compartment waiting for her friends to find her, she thought about what had happened over the Christmas holidays. The New Year Party that she'd persuaded her mum to throw last year had been a success, and her mum had done the same this year. However, with the events that had occurred, Lily was unsure how she'd felt about this one.
Lily had been having the time of her life, dancing with Milano and Laetitia, flirting with Scorpius – that crush just hadn't seemed to have gone away – when Rose had had to ruin it all. She'd come into the dining room after having found something to argue with Scorpius about – in all fairness to her, Lily did have to admit that if she'd found mice running around her room, she'd have been pissed off too – and Lily had to stand and watch as she felt the sparks course through her skin at the tension between the two of them. However, after Rose had disappeared over to where Roxanne was standing – they were possibly the only two people in the entire family who didn't like Scorp – Scorpius had reappeared by Lily's side, continuing the conversation as though he'd never been interrupted by his best mate's other best friend. Then, as the countdown to New Year started, Scorpius remained by her, and she – honest-to-Merlin – thought that he was going to kiss her, but another of her relatives, this time Albus, had to appear and pull Scorpius away into some weird best-friend man-hug to start the New Year with. Lily had been fuming.
Looking back, Lily felt – although she was still angry – that it was probably best for a little while longer. What if Scorpius didn't match up to her expectations – which were extremely high – of him?
"Sickle for your thoughts Little Potter?" Lily shook out of her reverie, to see Scorpius standing there, in his dark jeans and form-fitting white t-shirt. It took all of Lily's effort not to sit there and stare at the well-defined abs that she could see.
"Oh, I was just thinking about the holidays."
"What about them," he said, keeping his tone light and teasing, but looking at her as though he wanted a specific answer.
Lily gulped. "Just how I wish they weren't over."
"Why's that?" he came and sat next to her.
"Because now we're back at school. And as much as I love Hogwarts, at home there aren't any lessons to go to." Lily felt her cheeks rising in temperature as he looked intently at her.
"Lily, I want to tell you something."
"Go on then…"
"Well," for once in his life, Scorpius looked visibly nervous. "It's just I –"
"Scorp! There you are!" Al said as he barged into the compartment. "Oh hey Lily… What are you two doing in here?" Al asked, a frown appearing on his face.
Scorpius laughed. "I was just keeping your dearest sister company whilst she waited for her friends to appear. Aren't I the best mate you've always wanted?"
Al shook his head chuckling. "I think you're more like the biggest douche ever Scorpius. Come on, I've got us a compartment further up the train. I can see Milano coming now."
Scorpius sighed as his eyes found Lily's. "I'll see you around Little Potter," he said winking, as he got up to follow Al to their compartment.
Lily pouted. Damn her stupid brother. "Hey Lils… What's up?" Milano asked as she entered the compartment. "I just saw Scorp and Al leave, what happened?"
Lily threw her hands up in the air. "I swear, we were so close, and then Al has to come and ruin it! Why do I have brothers again Milano?"
"You and Scorpius?" Milano asked excitedly. Lily nodded. "What happened?"
Lily rolled her eyes and her friend's enthusiasm. "Nothing did, that's the whole point. He came and sat next to me, really close, and he said he wanted to tell me something… and then Al interrupted. Just like at New Year."
"What happened at New Year? Have you been holding back information?"
"I just thought, and it looked like it, that he was going to kiss me at the end of the countdown."
"But?" Milano prompted.
"Al appeared, and they did a man-hug thing instead. Leaving me looking like a right loser, standing on my own at New Year."
"Bloody Al Potter," Milano said.
Since being back at school, Lily rarely saw2 Scorpius except in between lessons when she was with Laetitia and Milano, and he was with Al. Although she was curious to know what he'd been planning on telling her on the train, as she'd been feeling an increase in the buzzing sensation that ran through her skin, Lily felt the need to somewhat distance herself from him.
"Little Potter!" Scorpius called as he entered the library. Earning himself a glare from the ancient Madame Pince he smiled apologetically, before making his way across to where Lily was attempting to reach a book from the top shelf.
"Need help with that?" he asked, as he stood close to her, grabbing the book from the shelf.
"Why do you need Little People, Big Plans anyway? Isn't that about goblins? Or Rose? Although, they are pretty much the same thing."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't you usually call Rose a troll? Plus, I need it for a History of Magic essay."
"You're actually doing the homework?" Scorpius asked incredulously. "Binns won't notice if you don't."
"I know, but I like History of Magic."
Scorpius' mouth opened in shock. "Seriously? I thought the only person who could possibly stay awake for his lessons was Rose. Don't tell me you write notes too?"
Lily blushed. "I like history. And yes, I do write notes. Plus, Rose may have stayed awake in the lessons, but she didn't carry it on after O. did she? I'm hoping to do so."
"You Little Potter are very intriguing."
Lily lowered her gaze from his eyes. "Why did you need to talk to me anyway Scorp?"
"Do I need a reason to talk to an attractive girl like you?"
Lily felt the heat rise to her cheeks even more. "Probably. You know what Al and James are like. I'm surprised they're not somewhere around here, watching carefully to see what happens."
Scorpius chuckled. "They trust me Lils. They won't be here."
"Did you just call me Lils?"
"That's your nickname isn't it?"
"Well, yeah, but you never call me it."
"I figured I should. I can't call you Little Potter when you're my date for the Valentine's Ball can I?" he said smirking.
Lily looked up. "You want to take me to the Ball?"
Scorpius nodded.
"Why?"
As Scorpius looked into her eyes, Lily felt herself melt as she stared back into the silvery grey orbs. She was barely aware of him placing his hands on her waist, and as he leant down towards her, she raised on to her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck. As his mouth met hers, Lily felt elated that all of her dreams were coming true, with butterflies fluttering madly in her tummy.
Lily only broke the kiss when she heard a sob from somewhere behind her. Turning around, she saw a flash of red run out of the library, just as Lily noticed Al enter. Taking in Scorpius' dishevelled appearance, she quickly tried to smooth her hair down, unable to stop the feeling of guilt from rising.
"Lily, Scorp… do you two know why Rose was crying?"
Lily shook her head, keeping her eyes on the ground, and was unsure whether Scorpius replied.
"Okay… you two are acting pretty weird, but whatever. I'm going to go and find her."
As Lily walked away, she raised her eyes and turned towards Scorpius. He seemed to look confused, which Lily had to admit, made him look quite adorable. She'd never seen Scorpius without a smirk on his face, and she had to admit, it was pulling on her heartstrings. Although Lily felt regretful at what she was about to do, she knew that she was making the right decision, and prided herself at that moment on not being selfish. After all, what was one evening – and maybe a few months after – of being somewhat happy, compared to spending the rest of your life with your true love.
"Scorpius… I can't go to the ball with you?"
"Why not Lily?"
"Look, that kiss was great and all, but you don't fancy me."
"I… I do. Why don't you think I do?"
"It's complicated Scorp, but I know you don't. Don't worry though, I didn't mind the kiss."
"But I do fancy you Lils."
"What are my favourite flowers?"
"Erm… lilies? But what does that have to do with anything?"
"Nope. Do you know Dominique's?"
"Daffodils?"
"Roxanne's?"
"Tulips?"
"Lucy's?"
"Daisies?"
"Rose's?"
"Those pink orchid things. She hates roses."
"Victoire's?"
Erm… buttercups? Lily, what do flowers have to do with anything?"
Lily just smirked. "I'll see you around Scorpius. And don't worry; I'm sure there are plenty of girls that want to go to the ball with you. It just wouldn't work out between us."
"You said no to Scorpius Malfoy?! As in… The Gorgeous One?"
Lily nodded.
"But why Lily? You've had a crush on him since, like forever!"
"It's kind of complicated. And although he's an amazing kisser, it just wasn't right. Like, no fireworks, if you get me?"
"Wait… you kissed him?" Milano asked.
"Well technically, he kissed me. But I responded. I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to snog him."
"Why didn't you tell us this at the start?" Laetitia asked.
"Because you would be asking me exactly what it was like. And I'm not going to go into every little detail about it."
Milano and Laetitia looked disappointed.
"Seriously Lily? Divulge some information, pleeeease! I mean, neither of us are going to get to snog Scorpius so we need to live through you."
Lily couldn't help but grin. "Well…"
After Lily had answered both Milano's and Laetitia's questions about snogging Scorpius, they seemed intrigued to know why Rose was upset.
Lily felt immediately guilty at this. She hadn't thought about Rose once since she'd left Scorpius in the library and had come back to the common room where news of Lily and Scorpius' invitation had already arrived.
"I'm not sure…" Lily said, hoping that Laetitia and Milano wouldn't realise that she was lying. "I haven't been to see her yet, she probably went straight to her common room. Well, after Al had spoken to her anyway."
"Ohhh, maybe she just received some bad news. Like a family member died or something," Laetitia said,
Lily and Milano both looked at her. "What?"
"You do realise that Lily here is Rose's cousin." Milano said.
"Well yes, everyone knows that."
"So her family members are pretty much the same as Rose's…" Milano waited for the knut to drop.
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Sorry Lily."
Lily sat there giggling. Sometimes she wondered how Laetitia even managed to pass all her exams every year as her common sense often seemed to fly out the window.
Lily spent the rest of the night thinking about how to help Rose cheer up, and how to get Scorpius to realise that he was being totally naïve when he said that he'd fancied her. As much as it had pained Lily to say no to him, she knew that she and Scorpius were not meant for each other, and she'd told Milano and Laetitia the truth. Although there had been butterflies in her stomach, and she could tell that Scorpius was a brilliant kisser, there hadn't been any fireworks and Lily had just felt normal. No sparks or anything. Having listened in on conversations between Molly and Dominique, Lily knew that both of them still felt sparks and passion when kissing their respective boyfriends, and she somehow knew that it was due to true love. She would just have to wait until she met Mr Right.
On the thirteenth of February, Lily waited with abated breath at the Gryffindor table during breakfast. She tried to concentrate on eating her porridge – her 'healthy' start to the day, even if there was gallons of golden syrup poured onto it – however, when she heard a shriek of delight come from the Ravenclaw table, Lily felt she could relax, as she joined the crowds that had gathered around a very confused, yet happy Rose Weasley.
"What have you been sent Rose?"
"Yeah, what have you got?"
"Why today? Why not tomorrow?"
"Maybe it was a 'Puff. They might have got the days confused."
Lily noticed that Rose was blushing as everyone jostled around her, trying to get a closer look at what she'd been sent. In front of her was a huge bunch of cymbidium orchids, their pink colour contrasting beautifully with the silver vase that they were in. A huge box of sugar quills were also there, with a note of the gift tag saying, "I know how much you love them, but as your grandparents are dentists, only one a day please, I love you xxx."
Unfortunately the note had been anonymous so the gossiping crowds of Hogwarts were able to speculate and spread rumours about who the secret admirer could be. Lily ended up in detention after firing Bat-Bogey Hexes at groups of people for insinuating that Rose had sent them herself, or for insulting Rose by saying that she was ugly, and that no one could ever fancy her.
Thankfully for Lily, it was Professor Longbottom she ended up in detention with, and he let her go early due to the weather being particularly windy. Grateful to get out of the greenhouses, Lily waved goodbye to Professor Longbottom and began to run across the grounds, hoping to reach the Entrance Hall before the looming black clouds let forth torrents of rain.
Hearing voices from the Great Hall, Lily was glad to realise that dinner was still taking place, and she hoped that she'd be able to get something to eat, rather than having to risk getting another detention by sneaking down to the kitchens later this evening. As she opened the doors, she realised that the population of Hogwarts – including all the professors – were silent except for two.
"I HATE YOU SCORPIUS MALFOY! YOU SEND ME BLOODY FLOWERS AND SUGAR QUILLS THEN DENY IT. WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT?"
Lily leant against the wall, settling down for the long run, grinning at Professor Longbottom who had followed her in.
"I DIDN'T SEND YOU ANYTHING! YOU WERE PROBABLY SO DESPERATE THAT YOU SENT THEM TO YOURSELF. ONLY YOU FAILED… TOMORROW IS VALENTINE'S NOT TODAY."
"EXACTLY. AND YOU'RE THE ONLY BLOODY PERSON WHO KNOWS THAT I HATE VALENTINE'S DAY!"
"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU CAN'T EVER GET A DATE. DON'T ALL SINGLE PEOPLE HATE VALENTINE'S?"
"YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT TRUE! AND I CAN GET DATES! JUST BECAUSE YOU GOT TURNED DOWN BY MY COUSIN FOR THE BALL!"
"LILY HAD HER REASONS!"
"YEAH, SHE WOULDN'T BE SEEN DEAD WITH YOU!"
Lily looked somewhat startled at having been mentioned in the argument, and noticing Professor Longbottom smiling at her, she blushed and just mouthed, "Don't you dare tell my Dad." Looking around, Lily noticed that Al and James both seemed flustered by this news, although Lily was unsure how it had been remotely possible that they hadn't known about her invite. The rest of the school had.
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!"
"WELL THEN WHY?"
"BECAUSE SHE KNEW THAT I DIDN'T FANCY HER."
At this Al seemed to make a move to go after Scorpius, however, Lily was thankful to see that one of his mates in Slytherin pulled him back down. Evidently, everyone was interested in where this argument was going to go.
"WELL WHO DO YOU FANCY? ONE OF YOUR BLOODY SLAGS THAT JUMP AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO SHAG YOU?"
Lily could see that Scorpius had become somewhat agitated by this, and Lily suspected that the rumours that circulated the school about Scorpius and numerous girls weren't all true.
"NO! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE BLOODY CLEVER, YOU'RE A BLOODY RAVENCLAW AREN'T YOU? WHY CAN'T YOU BLOODY SEE THAT I LOVE YOU?"
"DON'T INSULT MY HOUS… What?"
Scorpius moved closer to her, and said softly, "I bloody love you Weasley."
Rose closed the gap between them and pulled his face closer to hers, meeting his lips before quietly saying, "I love you too." Lily was surprised that she'd been able to hear them from where she'd been standing, however, as she looked around the Great Hall and observed that no one had been eating, watching and waiting silently, she realised that they'd have probably been able to hear a pin drop.
Looking back towards Rose and Scorpius, Lily wasn't surprised to see them snogging for Britain; however, she was somewhat shocked that none of the professors had broken them apart yet.
"So Uncle Nev… Are you going to tell Uncle Ron about this?"
Professor Longbottom visibly paled at the thought. "Well… I think I might, erm… well, I think Rose should tell him, don't you? And it's Professor Longbottom at school Lily."
Lily smirked. "Sure Uncle Nev."
Lily heard from Al later on that Rose and Scorpius had now officially become a couple, and that he was 'bloody sick of all the snogging.' Lily felt some sympathy for him – it must be difficult to have your two best mates going from hating each other one minute to snogging at every possible moment – however, she was happy that somehow her plan had worked.
Apparently Scorpius still denied having bought the flowers and confectionary, and was determined to find out who could be a possible competitor; however, Rose had managed to persuade him not to hunt down every eligible bachelor and the matter of who had sent Rose gifts had been dropped.
Both Milano and Laetitia were concerned for Lily's welfare, "After all it must be a shock to you. The Gorgeous One and Rose… we didn't see that one coming. How do you feel?" but Lily shook away their worries. Lily, although she felt a loss that she'd no longer be able to stare at Scorpius quite as much due to the wrath of Rose, was happy for her cousin and Scorpius. It'd been a long time coming, and Lily had always known that she'd never have a chance. Scorpius was her friend and she was content with that.
Hmmm… I'm sure what I think of this one. I know right from the start there was always going to be a RosexScorpius chapter (I've always been an avid shipper) however, I think in this story LilyxScorpius had begun to grow on me. However, I always knew that Lily would have to experience some hardships, and this seemed like an ideal time :( After all, life isn't always perfect, and even if Scorpius isn't Lily's true love, she still fancied him for like however long, and that must have hurt. But she's tough :) Please review and let me know what you think :D
Much love,
DracoMalfoy94
