AN: HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO ALL YOU AMERICANS OUT THERE. Let's celebrate with another double update! (Also because I appreciate the reviews and love, and Chapter 7 doesn't have any Scorpius and Rose)
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, I wouldn't have to stretch out my student loan to finance my summer
"Hang on a minute, let me get this straight," Albus said, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're trying to tell me that you and Rose, my cousin and your rival for the past five years, have actually agreed to be friends now?"
I shrugged as the other boys turned to look at me too; the last thing I wanted to do was make them think I was happy given this change in our relationship. Because… well, I wasn't that bothered really. "Well, I made a joke about copying her Charms notes now that we were kind of mates and she told me not to push my luck." I paused thoughtfully; she hadn't actually said we were friends, so what were we? "Well, kinda. I don't know what we are."
"Quite frankly," Fred said, his voice void of its usual playful tone. "As long as you don't lose your temper again and accidentally hurt our baby cousin, I don't really care what your relationship with Rosie is."
I felt my cheeks burn as he narrowed his eyes at me, his arms folded across his chest. Fred might have been one of my good friends but ultimately his loyalty was always going to lie with his favourite female cousin. To say he'd been angry after the match would be a serious understatement; I still jumped slightly whenever he gestured towards me, the memory of being pinned against a stone wall embedded in my mind. Thank Merlin James had stepped in and convinced him to apologise.
"He said he's sorry, and Rosie's accepted," James chuckled in an attempt to diffuse the tension. He punched Fred lightly in the shoulder, and I couldn't help but wonder how he could be so carefree about everything. "They've sorted it out so we all need to build a bridge and get over it." I raised an eyebrow at him, as did Toby and Lucas and he laughed. "Sorry, purebloods. Muggle expression."
I rolled my eyes at the teasing tone of his voice; though it wasn't ever a massive issue, James loved to wind us up about how ignorant we could be about everything outside the Wizarding World. Though my parents had encouraged me not to make the same mistake they made when they were younger by judging those who weren't purebloods, Muggle Studies hadn't been my best subject.
"And he slipped this cute note into my textbook."
"Aw!"
"It must be so nice having a boyfriend."
"It has its perks."
We all turned as the sound of giggling reached us and I could see Lucas' eyes shine at the sight of the fourth year girls who had just walked into the Inter-House common room. He produced a piece of parchment and a quill from his pocket and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I saw the same chart he'd shown us a few weeks ago. Except this one didn't have some girls already marked onto it. "What happened to the old one?" I asked, leaning back into my armchair.
Lucas shrugged absent-mindedly, waving his hand over the quill and murmuring a spell under his breath so it wrote down whatever we said. "I must've left it at home. No big deal. Anyway, ratings for that stunning group of ladies over there?"
"Shannon Williams is definitely just a potential Friend with Benefits."
"She's so fit, how can you just limit her to that?"
"I've sat near her at Quidditch matches, she's got no personality whatsoever."
"Emily Orwin's quite cute. And she's so nice."
"A bit too nice to be in a relationship with."
"So, friends with possibilities?"
"I'd whack her in the ol' Friend Zone section. You want a girl like that as a mate, not a shag buddy."
"Ah, what about little Lily Luna Potter?"
Albus and James' heads simultaneously snapped up at the mention of their little sister. Though Fred wasn't as protective of Roxy, who was in the same year as Lily, Albus and James were fiercely protective of their little sister. At the Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw game last year, Albus had punched a boy in the year below us when he'd heard him discussing the things he would do if Lily were a year older. And sure enough when I looked up, Lily and Roxy were stood with Shannon, Emily and their Ravenclaw friends.
"Put that quill down," Albus ordered, his eyes not leaving his little sister her and Roxy walked in our direction. "Seriously, you can rate any of the others, but I'm not having you rate my little sister." "I don't know baby Potter that well but I'd definitely be her Friend with Benefits," Toby murmured, so only Lucas, Ben, Frank and me could hear him.
"Same. Look at those legs."
"And her bum. I'd date her if she was older."
"Nah I'd rather date Roxy. Looks like she could grow up to have a naughty side."
"Ew, guys. I've known them since they were in nappies, this is weird."
I sunk my teeth into my bottom lip in an attempt to stop me from laughing at Lucas and Ben's answers. They were lucky Albus didn't have better hearing or they'd be hexed straight into the Hospital Wing.
"Hi little sister," James and Albus chimed in unison, the way they always did. Lily allowed a scowl to cross her pretty face, probably used to her brothers' emphasising the age difference between them. "Hey Rox," Fred said, the corners of his lips quirking up. "What can we do for you two?"
"For once, we're not actually here to talk to you idiots," Lily said, rolling her eyes as her brothers faked hurt expressions. "I'm here to talk to Toby."
James' lips set in a thin line and Albus looked like his eyes were going to bulge out of his head. Toby's eyes were shining, and I could see that he was trying his hardest not to smirk. Unlike Rose, Lily didn't interact with our group that much, probably because we were in different school years. So what reason would their little sister have to talk to one of the most charming, good-looking guys in our year?
"Calm down you idiots," Lily said, shaking her head in disbelief as she guessed what thought was in all of our minds. "I'm not here to ask him on a date, as funny as it would be to wind you up." She grinned as Albus spluttered, before turning to face Toby. "I need a Potions tutor."
"Why don't you ask Rosie to tutor you?" James asked, narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously. He was right; like most classes, Rose was easily the top student in our year. And though she hardly interacted with the younger students, I was sure she'd be willing to help one of her cousins if they needed her. That was the thing with the Weasleys – family meant everything.
"I don't want Rose to tutor me, having any family member as a teacher is a bad idea and you know it," Lily said, the whiny tone of her voice reminding me why I hardly spoke to the youngest Potter. "Toby's second in your year for Potions, I asked Slughorn." She turned to face Toby, fluttering her eyelashes at him in a gesture that seemed innocent but to anyone that knew Lily, it definitely wasn't. "So will you tutor me, please?"
"Yeah, course I'll tutor you, Lily," Toby said, flashing her an equally flirty smile. He was lucky that the Potter brothers were too busy scowling at their younger sister to notice. "We can meet in the library at some point next week, I just need a bit of time to read my fourth year notes back." This wasn't going to end well for him. Well, it would because Lily was inevitably going to give into his charms and kiss him, but it would mean the Potter brothers were going to beat him up.
"Thanks, Toby," she said, before nudging Roxy with her shoulder and turning to leave. "There are loads of things I'd love to teach you, baby Potter!" Lucas called after her, shaking his head and laughing when she flipped him off without even turning to face him. If there was one thing Lily Potter knew how to do, it would easily be treating boys mean to make them fancy her even more than they already did.
"If you even dare, I will stick my wand where the sun doesn't shine," Albus snapped, the tone of his voice telling me he was deadly serious.
"Bloody hell, talk about an over-protective big brother."
