"Won't he be out of place at your parents?" Sarah asked quietly and Albus turned to her. He narrowed his eyes as he thought about his answer, knowing very few women have ever understood the relationship between him and Scorpius, as well as the one between Scorpius and his entire family. Albus was quite certain that of the short list of women who did, Lily was the majority of it.
"It's really best to think of Scorpius as my brother than a friend." Albus suggested and Sarah nodded slowly. "He's basically lived there for several years."
"Really?" Sarah asked with narrowed eyes and Albus nodded as he looked over his shoulder to see if Scorpius had finished packing for the weekend.
"Well, with school, we were only home for the summer, and for the majority of the summer, Scorpius was there." Albus explained. "And he was even there after we graduated, but had less to do with me tan you'd think."
"He doesn't get along with his parents?"
"It's not that." Albus answered shaking his head.
"I'm confused." Sarah sighed but Albus only laughed as he pressed his lips to her forehead.
"That often happens when people try to understand him."
"Why do you understand him, then?"
Albus laughed, and turned when he heard Scorpius' footsteps nearing the pair. "Mostly because I knew him before all of the complicated parts were there."
"Stop gossiping about me." Scorpius told them lightheartedly as he neared them. "Let's go."
"Alright." Albus said as he and Sarah rose to their feet. Albus lifted his bag in one hand, and offered his other to Sarah. Before she could lift her bag, however, Scorpius quickly picked it up and Apparated out of the apartment before the pair. Albus and Sarah followed and appeared in the living room of the Potter home.
"I baked some bread, Scorpius." Ginny said and Scorpius immediately dropped the bags to head for the kitchen in search of his favorite food.
"You're amazing." Scorpius told her as he passed her, but paused to put a kiss on her cheek. Ginny only laughed as she turned to Albus and hugged him, then hugged Sarah before any formal introductions.
"You're so cute." Ginny exclaimed and Albus sighed as he shook his head.
"Mum, please." He groaned, but Scorpius was already laughing from the kitchen. "Can't you just talk to her like a normal human? And Scorpius, stop laughing. It's not like your mum hasn't ever gone crazy about a girl."
"No, but my mother hates them all." Scorpius answered as he turned to Albus. "So, really, it's not the same thing at all and it's way more amusing when it's you. Besides, you should be glad, Albus, honestly. It's not like she's one of James' typical girls."
"Be nice." Ginny said warningly as she turned to Scorpius, then to a grinning Albus. "But you're right." She sighed as she nodded and turned back to Sarah. "You're much classier than James' dates."
Scorpius and Albus laughed before Albus retuned his attention to Sarah and his mother while Scorpius indulged himself in Ginny's baking. As Ginny and Sarah started to talk, Albus sitting nearby, the house was peaceful, but it soon became loud and echoing with laughter as the front door opened. Scorpius peered up at Albus, who looked to his mother slightly confused.
The confusion across Scorpius' face was quickly replaced, however, as soon as Lily came around the corner her arm wrapped around the arm of the man beside her. Harry was walking behind them, but their laughter died as soon as Lily's eyes fell on Scorpius.
"Scorpius." Lily was the first to speak as she unwrapped her arm from the man's and stepped towards him. "What are you doing here?" She asked, but her tone was harsh and almost demanding.
"I'm here with Albus and Sarah." He answered, becoming slightly defensive at her tone of voice.
"You came with him when he wanted to introduce his girlfriend to our parents?" Lily repeated and Scorpius narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't you have anything else to do?"
"Shouldn't you be in France bossing people around the Museum?" Scorpius countered.
"France?" The man standing near Harry laughed as he stepped forward and took Lily's hand. "Why would you be in France?" He asked as he turned to Lily, but she kept her eyes on Scorpius.
"You transferred to London." Scorpius said simply as he stared at Lily, but she quickly diverted her eyes from his, even as he stepped towards her. "When?" He demanded.
"It's doesn't matter." She responded strongly as she looked up at him, her eyes narrowed. "I can do what I want, Scorpius, and you don't have to know every detail."
"That's great, Lily." Scorpius told her, his voice obviously filled with sarcasm. As he walked passed her, it was careful not to look towards her date, but did look to Albus with a heavy stare.
"I didn't know." Albus told him defensively and Lily quickly turned back.
"I didn't tell him, Scorpius."
"That's even better, Lily." He said as he turned to her again. "You know, it's one thing to lie to me, but to your own brother also?" He asked as he motioned to Albus. "What? You don't even have lunch with him after you come back into town after being gone for how many years?"
"I wasn't under the impression you were counting." Lily snapped but Scorpius' stare did not reflect that her words had affected him in any way.
"You know damn well I was counting." He responded simply. "But I was talking about your brother, not me." Before Lily could respond, Scorpius had turned and left the house through the back door, leaving Lily behind.
"What the hell, Lily?" Albus turned to her, but their parents quickly stepped between them.
"Albus, it's alright." Ginny said but Lily stepped towards Albus despite Harry at her side.
"What did I do?" She asked him harshly and Albus glared at her.
"You come back to London and you don't tell him? And you show up with some other guy?" Albus asked as he motioned to the man now standing behind Lily rather awkwardly. "And what? Did I not warrant an owl, or something? I wouldn't have brought him if I knew you'd turned into a bitch."
"Albus, enough." Harry said strongly as he pulled on Lily's arm.
"I didn't do anything other than not mention I was back to you." Lily responded. "I don't owe him anything, and you know it. And I'm perfectly free to date other men and bring them home if I so please."
"Yeah, I'm sure you've been able to convince yourself that." Albus said bitterly as he walked towards the back door.
"What does that mean?" Lily demanded and Albus turned back to her.
"You know what it means, Lily. You've dated guys before and I've watched you convince yourself that you like them, and this guy isn't any different."
"Don't start talking like you've been in my life enough to know what you're talking about." Lily warned strongly.
"How could I, when you ran off to France because you got a little hurt? And then you don't tell me when you move back, so how could I ever be part of your life, Lily?" Albus demanded as he opened the door but did not exit the house just yet. "Oh by the, that's Sarah the woman I've been seeing for four months. You don't know who she is because you're never around." He added before he left the house, letting the door close behind him. Lily knew he was going after Scorpius, and though she was the type to argue until she won, she didn't want to risk a second confrontation with Scorpius.