Title: Jealous Protection
Summary: Scorpius just wanted to go on his date, but nothing happens normally in the Potter household.
Pairing/Characters: Scorpius/Albus and Lily
Rating: K
Warnings: N/A
Notes: Written for Astronomy: Write about a brother who jealously protects his sibling(s) from suitors. (I used a sister, though...)

The door slamming shut told Scorpius all he needed to know. James was warning Albus to be careful. Again.

"You might be waiting a while," Lily Potter said from the couch. She was flicking through Witch Weekly like she couldn't care less that her older brother's date was standing in the entry way, but Scorpius knew better.

He'd heard the stories from Albus' exes.

"Where are you taking him?"

Scorpius suppressed the urge to gulp. He knew better than to show her fear, even if it was the terror of the Potters. "To the new Italian restaurant that opened in Hogsmead." Scorpius was impressed that his voice remained steady as he spoke.

"Really? I heard that was expensive." Lily flicked to another page but her eyes remained staring at the same spot.

"I can afford it," he said with a wave, dismissing the concern. He had a lot of money to spend thanks to his inheritance and he wanted to spend it on Albus. He was worth it.

"Yes, but can Albus? He doesn't like to spend lots of money, you know." Lily's lips twitched and Scorpius could almost see her smirking.

"Well, I was going to pay," Scorpius smoothly stated.

Lily's fingers tightened around her magazine, slightly crinkling the pages and making Scorpius tense. What had he said wrong?

"Albus doesn't like charity either."

"It's not charity. I'm just trying to be a gentleman." Scorpius could detect some nerves in his voice, so he cleared his throat and shifted on the spot. He hoped the movement looked natural.

"He's not a girl either, you know." Lily's fingers were starting to turn white and Scorpius frowned in concern. Something was going on here that he didn't understand, something more than a sister protecting her older brother.

"I know that," Scorpius said, keeping his voice calm to hold off the inevitable angry outburst. He hoped Albus came down the stairs before it happened. Not that I'm scared. Not really, anyway.

Lily threw her magazine on the couch before turning to face Scorpius, her face reddening. "What then? Are you going to take Albus somewhere else?"

"It depends on the time," Scorpius said, shrugging. "If it's late I'll bring him home but if it's still early than we might go for a walk."

"Are you going to kiss him goodnight?"

"If he wants to."

"Will you yell at him?"

"No."

"Ask him invasive questions?"

"No."

"Order for him."

"No, I don't know him well enough yet."

Lily was panting by not, her eyes darting around. Scorpius was worried now. Something about this date was scaring her and his answers seemed to have the opposite affect than they should have. Instead of looking happy that her brother was going out with someone who would act like a gentleman, she looked annoyed about that exact same thing.

"Lily, is everything okay?"

Scorpius watched, horrified, as Lily's eyes watered and she started to sniffle. "No!" she yelled at him, stepping forward just as Albus appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Lily? Scorpius? Is everything okay?" Albus looked between Scorpius and Lily, frowning. Scorpius couldn't help but wonder if his date was over before it even started.

"No!" Lily wailed again. "He's going to take you away from me and I can't do anything to stop it!" Lily collapsed back on the couch and sobbed into her hands. "He's perfect," she moaned, the sound muffled in her hands. "Perfect."

Scorpius couldn't help the warm glow at her words, even as his concern grew.

"Lils," Albus said, shooting an apologetic look at Scorpius. Scorpius waved it away. It didn't matter to him if they were late, as long as everything was okay between Albus and his sister.

"Go on your date, Albus. I'll be fine here on my own."

Thinking of James upstairs and her parents cooking dinner, Albus couldn't help but think she wouldn't be completely alone. He knew better than to voice his opinion, though.

"Lils, I'm not leaving you alone. You'll always be my favourite little sister, and I'll always be here for you."

Lily sniffled, but she turned her head to look at Albus. "But Rosie told Hugo that he wasn't as important as her boyfriend that she had one. You're going to be the same as her."

Rolling his eyes, Scorpius smiled when he realised Albus copied his action. Rose was a smart and kind girl, but sometimes her temper controlled her and she said things she shouldn't. It would usually be fine, but her pride made it so she never apologises when she's wrong. It caused some spectacular blows between the friends before, and apparently was even able to affect situations that didn't even involve her.

"I'm not Rose," Albus said instead of trying to convince Lily that Rose didn't mean it. There would be time for that later. "I will always care about you, and you always come first, even when I'm married."

"Promise?"

Albus smiled and squeezed Lily's hand. "I promise."

Lily stared at Albus for a moment before turning to Scorpius and pinning him to the ground with her best glare. "You won't take him from me."

"Never," Scorpius said without any hesitation. He widened his eyes and made a concious effort to look as innocent and sincere as possible. He never wanted to take Albus away from his family, and he wanted Lily to not doubt that.

After staring for almost three whole minutes without blinking (Scorpius' eye was starting to twitch), she nodded. "Okay, you can stay."

Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief, but his relief was short lived.

"But I'll be watching you." Her voice was firm and unforgiving, and Scorpius couldn't hide his nervous swallow this time.

Lily was scary, and he wasn't afraid to admit it, but Albus' stifled laughter did not help.

(w.c 975)

WolfWinks-xx-