note: two reviewers were concerned lily and scorpius won't end up together. and i'll admit, this chapter might have you lily/scorpius shippers throwing knives at me. BUT, may i remind you that the reason i wrote this story in the first place is because i've fallen in love with next gen and the lily/scorpius pairing in particular. they are also the main characters in the story. that's all i'm saying.
now, as you read this chapter, you might think i've taken a turn onto cliche avenue and you might roll your eyes and say "not one of those stories again!" but please, please, please i beg of you, read the chapter until the end. the plot isn't going where you think. again, that's all i'm saying.
quick recap: the prophecy: "Your lives hang by threadbare lies, and your children will suffer the consequences you evade. The next generation is doomed to relive past mistakes until the truth is revealed as the false daughter dies. Secrets will tear the family apart until the truth is revealed as the false daughter dies..." they think rose is the false daughter. and then hugo runs up to them saying something is wrong with rose.
chapter ten
the con
Without another word, Lily and Scorpius followed Hugo and raced through the halls. After dodging the crowded traffic of incoming students, and knocking over a few unlucky first-years along the way, the three arrived before an empty girls' bathroom on the second floor. Lorcan Scamander was already there, pounding on the door.
"Rose!" Lorcan yelled through the door. "Rose, are you okay?"
There was no response.
"What happened?" Lily asked, her voice trembling almost as much as her knees.
"We were walking back from Hogsmeade," Hugo explained, "when suddenly Rose stopped and ran straight for the bathroom. She was holding her stomach and had a hand over her mouth, so I think she might be throwing up."
"Maybe she just had some bad pumpkin juice?" Lily suggested.
She shared a worried look with Scorpius. Please just be some bad pumpkin juice. What Lily would give for it just to be some bad pumpkin juice.
Lorcan hit the door one last time. "But she won't say anything. We're starting to get worried. She locked the door and, well, it is a girls' bathroom…"
Lily nodded, understanding that she would have to be the one to go inside. Flicking her wand, she opened the bathroom door with a whispered "Alohamora." Stepping into the quiet bathroom, she turned around and watched the door slowly shut on the three boys' concerned faces. She took a deep breath, held her wand out at the ready, and continued forwards into the tiled room.
Honestly, she didn't know what to expect. The worst her mind could come up with was a dead Rose Weasley sprawled out on the cold floor, stricken by the very prophecy Lily had found just an hour ago. The truth is revealed as the false daughter dies. Rose is the false daughter. Rose is Draco's daughter. And now that Lily and Scorpius stuck their noses in old family secrets that they had no business with in the first place, Rose was dead. Lily killed Rose.
However, when Lily finally rounded the corner of the bathroom, she heard the distinct sound of Rose crying. And maybe it can be perceived as slightly morbid to rejoice at the sound of someone crying, but if she's crying, then she's still alive. Lily has never been more relieved.
"Rose?" Lily called out. "Rose, it's okay. It's me, Lily."
Suddenly, a transparent ghost appeared right before Lily's face and she let out a horrific scream, which surely put the poor boys on the other side of the door in a rightful fit. They probably misunderstood the scream and assumed the worst. "No, no, everything's fine!" Lily quickly shouted once the initial shock of seeing the girl ghost passed. "It was just Moaning Myrtle."
Myrtle frowned and crossed her arms as she floated before Lily. "Of course, I'm just Moaning Myrtle to all of you, just a silly ghost who doesn't matter, don't mind my feelings," she said in her high-pitched voice. She flew off to perch on a high window-sill, ignoring all of Lily's apologies, and only added as an afterthought, "She's in the second stall."
Giving Myrtle one last glance, Lily slowly approached the second stall and pushed the door open. Rose sat on the floor, leaning against the wall with her knees drawn up against her and her face buried in her hands. She looked so tragic, so fragile. One touch, and Rose will shatter.
Lily eased herself down to sit across from Rose. Gingerly and tentatively, she rested her hand on her older cousin's elbow. "What's wrong?"
Rose didn't reply, but she did lift her head to face Lily. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face pale as the moon, and tears ran down the black circles under her eyes. Rose Weasley, usually so refined and flawless, was an official mess.
"What's wrong?" Lily repeated. "Please tell me. I can keep a secret, you know."
After a prolonged silence where the only sound was the whimpering from Myrtle above, Rose finally spoke.
"I never meant for this to happen," she explained, her voice hoarse and weak. "I'm perfect Rose Weasley after all. The war heroes Ron and Hermione's prodigy daughter. Everyone assumes I'm perfect. My family, my friends, the entire wizarding world. Gryffindor prefect, top witch of the class, Quidditch team captain, perfect, perfect, perfect. It's just, I'm so fucking tired of being perfect."
Lily was taken back. Rose never cussed, ever, not even so much as a 'bloody hell.' But then again, that's the point, isn't it? Perfect Rose not so perfect anymore.
"That's why I started seeing Scorpius in the first place. Cheating on my perfect boyfriend with Scorpius Malfoy, of all people? No one in a million years would have expected perfect Rose Weasley to do that. In a way, it was sort of my own personal secret rebellion. I wanted to feel defiance for once in my life. And, you know, it's Scorpius." A small smile played at Rose's lips, but quickly fell again as she continued. "No one was ever supposed to find out about it though. I don't know what possessed me to sleep with Scorpius; that seemed to be pushing my small rebellion a bit too far. I guess I had an unhealthy amount of spite that night. I don't know. But then it somehow ended up on the Daily Prophet and then you were wrongly blamed for it and then you and Scorpius had to leave Hogwarts for a while and it was all completely my fault. Me and my stupid spite."
Rose began weeping again, so Lily crawled over to sit beside her. She took Rose's hand in hers and squeezed it encouragingly.
"After the scandal," Rose continued, "I realized just how foolish I've been acting. Just because I feel overwhelmed by the pressure to be perfect, it doesn't mean I can take it out on others. Through my relationship with Scorpius, I've hurt Lysander. And you. I couldn't do that. So I ended things with Scorpius right then."
"But did you fall for him along the way?" Lily asked. "You talk as if he's simply someone you used for your 'personal rebellion,' but he's more than that. You care for him."
"That's irrelevant," Rose quickly interjected. "I care for Lysander, too. That's why, after Gryffindor won the first Quidditch game this year, during the after-party when Lysander was kissing me, I knew he wanted to…and I…so I…"
Lily gasped. "No! You mean you…?"
"Lily, I'm a whore!" Rose cried, resting her head against Lily's shoulder and sobs wrack her body. "I had sex with Scorpius and ended up on the front page of the damn newspaper. Then I felt guilty about it, so I had sex with Lysander in some twisted way of repenting my sins. And now I'm pregnant!"
And Lily thought the situation couldn't possibly get any worse.
"Pregnant?" The word sounded alien to Lily as she hugged her cousin. Teen pregnancy. It was something that parents warned you about, something that happened to girls in rumors, something that stirred up conflict in cliché novels. Yet here was Rose, very much pregnant and very much real and Lily hadn't a single clue what to do.
At least it all made sense now. The boggart Albus described wasn't a fat Rose, it was a pregnant Rose. That's why she hasn't had a good appetite and that's why she's been vomiting. Rose wasn't bulimic; she was with child.
The next generation is doomed to relive past mistakes. Hermione got pregnant with Draco's daughter and now Rose was following her mother's past, footstep by footstep, completely aware of the disaster she was heading.
"I refused to believe it for a couple months," Rose said. "But who am I kidding? I'm pregnant. And I don't know who the father is."
The last part made Lily's stomach twist into a double knot. She's been so stunned by Rose's pregnancy that her logic hadn't progressed far enough to consider who the father of the baby might be. Because if the father happened to be a tall, blonde Slytherin whose name rhymes with Palfoy, then there is probably cause (or at least reasonable suspicion) that the baby is the result of ince—
No. It can't be. Please, oh Merlin, please. It can't be.
"It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay." Lily began her mantra again, for what else can she possibly say. Myrtle had flown down from her window and now hovered over Lily and Rose with a sympathetic look on her bespectacled face. When even Moaning Myrtle feels sorry for you, that's saying something.
"I can't keep the baby," Rose stated. "But I can't just get rid of it either. What am I going to do?"
See, that's the other thing about pregnancy. No matter how great of a confidant Lily Potter may be, this is one secret that she cannot keep. No one can hide it for long; after nine months, the truth is bound to come out.
"You'll have to tell your mother," Lily replied. "She's a Healer. She'll know what to do."
Rose solemnly nodded. She had come to the same reluctant conclusion.
"You'll have to tell Lysander and Scorpius too. Tell them everything."
"Yes, that's the only fair, isn't it? But, give me a few days, okay? I'm not ready yet. I swear I will tell my mum and the guys eventually, but there are still some things I have to deal with before then. So, please don't say anything. I will take my own responsibilities."
"I promise." This was Lily's last secret. Give Rose the time she needed and then reveal everything. No more secrets, no more lies. This mess was beyond out-of-control now and they needed serious help.
Lily and Rose got up from the floor and Lily led her to the sink, helping Rose wash up her tear-stained cheeks.
"Over Christmas break, I was looking through my mother's Healer books," Rose said. "I already suspected I was pregnant then, so I looked up some potions just in case. There is one potion that acts as a paternity test. Do you think, maybe I should…use it?"
"Um. Well. Would it make it difference who the father is, though?" (Of course it would, it made all the difference in the world, but Rose didn't know that.)
"It might."
It took every ounce of self control for Lily to stop herself from telling Rose everything—about Hermione and Draco, about the prophecy, about the chance Scorpius might be her own half-brother—because Lily is terribly afraid the truth will kill Rose, the false daughter. It's only a miracle Rose was even alive now.
"I think you should do make the potion, then," Lily answered. "Anything I can help?"
"I need one fresh hair from either Lysander or Scorpius. It must be plucked from the head, otherwise it won't work. I'll get the other ingredients and the potion ready. How about we meet back here tomorrow night at 11 o' clock?"
"Sure. One hair can't be too difficult. Hey, where is Lysander anyways?"
"I don't know. We sort of got into a fight at Hogsmeade today. He didn't walk back with me."
The two made their way to the bathroom door. Rose paused just before pulling the door open, her hand quivering slightly. "I have to do this," she asserted. "Tell me I have to do this. I have to know."
Lily wrapped her arms around Rose. "You are the strongest, smartest witch I know. You're going to get through this, Rose. We're all going to get through this."
Rose smiled and took a deep breath, recomposing herself. Together, they opened the door. Outside, Scorpius was pacing like a madman, Lorcan was attempting to rip his hair out and go bald, and Hugo was leaning his ear against the thick bathroom door trying to eavesdrop, so that when the door opened he fell right at Rose and Lily's feet. Immediately, the three boys hurried to Rose, asking ten thousand questions concerning her wellbeing.
"She's fine!" Lily yelled to shut them up. "Really. Rose just needs to rest, that's all."
Lorcan and Hugo blinked back in surprise at Lily's outburst. Scorpius, however, scrutinized Lily and called her bluff, like she knew he would. He not-so-gently grabbed her and pulled her aside.
"What's going on?" he asked urgently. Then, he lowered his voice so the others couldn't overhear. "Those two might believe it was just some bad pumpkin juice, but if you think I'll buy that lie, then you've got another thing coming."
Lily couldn't look Scorpius in the eye. "Please, Scorpius. Don't."
He loosened his grip and when he spoke next, his tone was softer. "It's that bad? You can't even tell me?"
"Especially not you," Lily replied apologetically.
"But I thought we were a team. We keep secrets together, not from each other."
"I know. I'm sorry. You will find out soon, in due time, but right now I have to be there for Rose. You understand, don't you?"
When Lily finally looked up, she found Scorpius with a crestfallen expression on his face, as if Lily had just betrayed him to infinite proportions and punched him in the gut while she was at it, too. Her unexpected alliance with Scorpius was initiated by a shared secret. That was the link between them, the odd duo. Secrets don't make friends—unless you're Lily Potter and Scorpius Malfoy. They have grown close in the past year, but now that she was denying him that very element of their friendship, it's like she's lost all his trust. Like the connection was just…ruined.
"It's not my secret to tell," she said firmly. She gave him a pleading look and hoped for forgiveness (she didn't even do anything wrong!) but his eyes remained cold and hard.
Then she took Rose's hand and walked back towards Gryffindor castle with her. Lorcan and Hugo quickly followed after. Scorpius didn't.
The first thing Lily did when she returned to her own room was collapse face down onto her bed. Stay optimistic, Lily told herself. The baby is Lysander's. In fact, she struck the very possibility that the baby might be Scorpius's right out of her mind. Rose can decide to keep the baby or have an abortion; ultimately it's her choice. And the old prophecy and photographs can go right back to the dusty corners of Ministry shelves and attics where they belong where no one else can stumble upon them. The secret can be safe. The truth doesn't have to be revealed and Rose doesn't have to die. The baby is Lysander's and everything will be fine. (Lily felt fatigued to the bone. If she kept this up, she'll have grey hairs at fourteen.)
The second thing she did when she returned to her own room was raise her head in surprise because Molly Weasley was currently tidying up the dormitory room with all the ferocity of a cleaning hurricane.
"Molly?" Lily called. Her cousin didn't respond but only carried on in her cleaning rampage, fluffing Lily's pillows for her.
"She cleans when she's worried," Cressida explained.
"But she won't tell us why she's upset," Gwen added.
Lily knew full well why Molly was upset. No one can venture into the Department of Mysteries without being thoroughly spooked. Was it really earlier that same day when they visited the Ministry? It seemed like a lifetime ago.
"Molly, it's going to be okay…" Lily seemed to be saying that a lot lately.
As if Lily's words broke some spell, Molly abruptly transitioned back from robotic, cleaning-obsessed Molly to worried, slightly scared Molly. "Who is the false daughter?" she asked. "Who is going to die?"
Lily could only sadly shake her head.
"You don't know or you're not telling me?" Molly inquired further, her voice raising in octaves.
It occurred to Lily that she and Molly look quite alike too. In fact, maybe it was only odds and probability that Rose was the one cursed with all this drama. What if it had been Molly, the other cousin with the same long red hair? Or rather, what if Molly was the one Lorcan asked to the Yule Ball last year and Molly was the one Scorpius accidentally kissed? But it wasn't Molly, and in a way she's lucky because of it.
"I'm sorry," Lily sighed. "Just trust me on this. I'll work everything out."
"That's just the thing!" Molly argued. "You and Scorpius keep running off with your little secret missions. I don't know what is going on. It's something bad right? But whatever it is, you can't do this on your own. Let me help you. Let all of us help you. Because when you keep things secret, you're so alone."
Maybe Molly was right. Maybe Lily Potter was nothing more than a lonely girl with too many secrets on her shoulders, threatening to crush her.
The next day, Sunday, Lily was brainstorming ways to pluck a hair from Lysander's hand without raising any suspicion (because the baby has to be Lysander's; Scorpius wasn't even an option) and had come to a grand total of zero ideas. So, in search of a distraction, she discovered her dewflower was severely wilting and decided to take the plant to the greenhouse for some fertilizer. Along the way, she bumped into just the man she needed, Lysander Scamander, accompanied by Lorcan, Molly, and Lucy.
What happened next pretty much shocked everyone into next week.
Apparently, when an Amazonian dewflower wilts, it doesn't necessarily lose all of its super-love-inducing abilities. So when Lily absentmindedly shifted the dewflower pot from one hand to another to wave at her friends, she shook some dewflower pollen which then permeated the surrounding air and by now we all know things get crazy when the dewflower comes out to play. Lily quickly held her breath to avoid inhaling the flower's potent scent. Lorcan's eyes became unfocused and seemed to stare off into space.
And Lysander kissed Molly.
Repeat, Lysander Scamander, who was still very much dating a very much pregnant Rose, kissed Molly Weasley, who's been pining after the other Scamander this entire time.
As if things weren't complicated enough.
Still, in midst of this unexpected debacle, Lily spotted her golden opportunity. While Lorcan and Lucy and other Hogwarts students were preoccupied gawking at this deliciously scandalous event, Lily used it as the perfect distraction to sneak up beside the dewflower-intoxicated Lysander and pluck a hair from his head. He hardly noticed at all. Then she stuck the hair into a vial in her pocket, tucked the dewflower under her arm, and ran away from the scene."I'm going to get this away from them," she explained to Lorcan and Lucy. "You two slap some sense into loverboy over here."
Lily arrived at the greenhouse just as Neville Longbottom carried in wooden crates from the back.
"Hello Professor," Lily greeted with a huff. She leaned against a nearby bench to catch her breath from running across Hogwarts.
"Miss Potter? Are you alright?" He set the crates full of plants down on the table and came over to her. "Lily?"
Not only was Lily wheezing, she was also so unbelievably tired of lying, of making up excuses, of the con, that she told the truth for the first time in a long while: "No. I'm not okay."
After Professor Longbottom treated Lily's dying dewflower with some magical fertilizer, and then gave her a glass cage so as to protect the flower from any more untimely complications which was very much appreciated, he conjured up some tea and offered a cup to Lily. They sat down on the bench and peacefully drank their tea watching the blooming greenhouse flowers.
"How did you get an Amazonian dewflower in the first place?" Longbottom asked. "They're quite rare."
"Madame Belina gave it to me. I think she wanted me to use it on Scorpius to see if he actually…" Lily trailed off, blushing.
"Ah yes, how are things going with you and Mr. Malfoy?"
Lily only shook her head. Frankly, she never found the guts to purposely use the dewflower's powers on Scorpius. The last time he came in contact with the flower, back at Teddy and Victoire's wedding, he was perfectly unaffected by the flower at all. Not in love with anyone. Well, everything has changed since that wedding, months ago, but Lily was still afraid to find out the truth behind Scorpius's heart, afraid the truth is not what she wanted. And now, after that last exchange with Scorpius yesterday, Lily knew her chances with him were thinning.
"We don't have to talk about him," Longbottom quickly backtracked after he saw Lily's disillusioned frown. "I just assumed he was the cause of your troubles."
"No, no, it's not really about Scorpius." She hesitated. She couldn't exactly just tell him everything, she was still technically bound by confidentiality. But it's Neville Longbottom after all, her parents' old friend, her father and uncle's old Hogwarts roommate. If anything, perhaps he already knew and could help her. "Actually, Professor, could I ask you a question? About Aunt Hermione?"
He raised his eyebrows at this unexpected turn in conversation, but complied nevertheless. "Sure. She was a great friend of mine. What do you want to know?"
There was really no subtle approach to addressing something so massive, so Lily simply held her breath and dived right in. "Did she date Draco Malfoy?"
"How do you know about that?" Longbottom's expression turned somber as he set his teacup down and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"So, she did."
He appeared conflicted for quite sometime before speaking again. "I guess if you already know, I might as well tell you the story. But let me just preface by saying everyone is allowed to make mistakes. Even your aunt Hermione. She's not perfect and she's not a saint, contrary to what the media might make her out to be."
Lily nodded and motioned for the professor to continue.
"It was 2005. The war was long over but the buzz over the war heroes persisted. The press seemed to never leave your father, Ron, and Hermione alone. Ron and Hermione had been dating for a while and everyone was anxious, waiting for Ron to propose to her already. And that's a lot of pressure, having the whole wizarding world watch your relationship like it's some spectator sport. When Hermione and Ron got into an argument and didn't speak to each other, well, they kept it a secret from everyone. Besides Harry and Ginny, only Luna and I knew about it. They didn't officially break up, I suppose, but Hermione started seeing Draco. Perhaps it was because Draco was everything Ron wasn't. Perhaps it was a sort of retaliation against the world. Anyway, I don't really know all the specifics, but soon enough, Hermione and Ron were back together, Draco was forgotten, and when Ron finally proposed, she said yes. And all was well."
Lily almost choked on her tea. Due to stress from always being "perfect", Hermione dated Draco Malfoy as "a sort of retaliation against the world"? Those words certainly echoed Rose's, beyond any reasonable doubt, and the whole thing was hitting too close for comfort. Doomed to relive past mistakes, over and over again.
But there was one thing not quite right about Professor Longbottom's account. He did not mention the prophecy nor the false daughter dilemma. He ended with "and all was well" for crying out loud. And let Lily be the first to tell you, all was definitely not well. Which meant even Neville Longbottom was not aware of the prophecy or the crisis over Rose Weasley's father, much like how Lily's mother seemed unaware when she asked last Christmas. There could be no other explanation. Never mind Rose's red hair. Why else would Hermione and Draco deem it necessary to keep that secret from their closest friends, why else would Draco force Scorpius to make an Unbreakable Vow never to be with Rose again, unless Rose is, in fact, Draco's daughter?
At 11 pm sharp, Lily Potter sneaked into the abandoned girls' bathroom on the second floor. Rose was already sitting on the tiled floor before the sink, stirring her cauldron. Lily sat down beside Rose and peered into the bubbling concoction. The potion was clear but a slightly bluish vapor rose above the liquid. Moaning Myrtle had returned, hovering over them as she watched on with curiosity.
"You remind me of your mother," Myrtle commented to Rose. "She used to make potions in here too."
Taking out the vial, Lily procured Lysander's hair, freshly plucked. Lily also decided that perhaps now was not the best time to inform Rose that her boyfriend was actually in love with their cousin Molly, as proven by the dewflower. Yes, the dewflower can wait.
"Alright, so first I add in a drop of my blood," Rose stated. She washed her knife from Potions class in the sink and then gingerly made the smallest cut on her finger. A single, fat drop of blood began to form on her fingertip before she tapped her finger over the cauldron and the blood fell into the potion. The blood quickly spread until the clear liquid was now a glowing pink. Lily then handed the strand of Lysander's hair to Rose. "Now I add in the hair. If Lysander is the father, then two samples will match and the potion will turn a bright golden color."
Rose dropped the piece of hair into the pink concoction.
Stay optimistic, Lily repeated to herself. Of course Lysander is the father. She's already engrained that into her mind, making it fact. It has to be Lysander. It has to be.
They waited, watching the cauldron, for half an hour.
The potion never turned golden.
Lily skipped all her classes on Monday and spent the day sitting curled up in the armchair in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. Every single accumulated secret whirled around her head with increasing velocity until she could barely breathe. Secrets are like mountainside stones and once one is removed, all the rest come tumbling after until there's a deadly avalanche rolling your way.
She closed her eyes and tried to sort through the mess, tried to create a logical order to the chaos, a mental catalogue of her many, many secrets.
Scorpius Malfoy kissed Lily the night of the Yule Ball last year. That was the first secret. The second was Scorpius had thought she was Rose. The list continued on: Rose and Scorpius secretly dated. The girl in the photograph on the front page of the Daily Prophet was Rose. Scorpius's father framed Lily instead. Once, many years ago, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger also secretly dated. There was a prophecy that foretold the death of a false daughter. Rose was the false daughter. Rose and Scorpius were half-siblings. And Rose was pregnant with his child. Oh, and somewhere along the way, Lily had fallen in love with Scorpius.
The problem was that there was no solution. The prophecy stated that the next generation would make the same mistakes and pay for their parents' consequences until the truth is revealed. But in order for the truth to be revealed, the false daughter must also die. But if Lily doesn't reveal the truth, Rose might conceive a baby out of incest. Everything was stuck in a horrific deadlock. No amount of optimism can save them now.
When classes were over, the students began pouring into the common room again. Lily felt like she might suffocate if she stayed in there any longer, so she fled. In the hallway, she ran into Mr. Scorpius Malfoy himself. They stared at each other in tension-filled silence before he walked around her and continued his way.
"Are you not talking to me anymore?" she called after him.
"Are you?" he retorted back.
Okay, maybe she deserved his coldness a little bit, for leaving him in the dark just when the mystery was so close to being solved. But if only he knew the secret Lily must bear about Rose's baby, maybe then he wouldn't be walking away.
Lily's vision was then obstructed by Molly Weasley marching straight towards her and Lily knew she had it coming.
"A lot of help you were today, Lily," Molly said angrily. "Haven't you heard? Lysander and I are the new piece of gossip. Everyone in Hogwarts is talking about our kiss from yesterday. And it's all thanks to your stupid flower. You know, I defended you back when your scandal was the talk of the school and those Slytherin girls were calling you a whore. Where were you today to do the same for me?"
Now she watched Molly walk away, with Cressida, Roxanne, and Gwen trailing after her, all giving Lily disappointed looks and she couldn't help feeling like the letdown of the year.
Eventually, Lily wound up in the Astrology Tower and was surprised to find someone else had already claimed that hideaway. "Hey," she said softly, "mind if I join you?"
Lysander only looked at her with scorn. It was uncanny, seeing lighthearted Lysander look so gloom. Lily was starting to wonder which was longer, her list of secrets or the list of people who currently hate her.
"I don't have the dewflower with me this time, promise," she added, holding her empty hands up.
Lysander sighed and hung his head in shame. "I kissed Molly. Magic flower or not, Rose is still going kill me."
"Actually, I'll bet you ten galleons that she'll forgive you," Lily replied knowingly. It's only fair, right? Rose kissed Scorpius and Lysander kissed Molly; they, like, canceled each other out or something.
"Maybe you're right," he said. "I will just explain what really happened. Hugo told me about the flower, how it makes you act in love with the first person you see. Hugo even said Rose herself had been affected by the flower too, so she has to understand. Right?"
Her previous lies were beginning to come back to bite. Because she lied to Hugo, now she has to lie to Lysander. She couldn't confront Lysander about how the dewflower showed he was truly in love with Molly, because then she would also reveal Rose had been truly in love with Scorpius. Lily could hardly keep her story straight anymore.
"Um, right. That's what the dewflower does," she replied. "But Lysander, are things with you and Rose…okay? I heard you two got in a fight."
"You want an honest answer?"
Lily nodded, even though asking for someone else's honesty made her the biggest hypocrite in the world.
"No, we're not okay. Rose and I seem to be growing apart these days. We rarely hang out anymore. I think she spends more time with my brother than me. She's just been so distant, but she won't tell me what's bothering her. It's frustrating. At least I can have a decent conversation with Molly."
"So, are you going to break up with her?" Lily prompted.
"No. That wouldn't be right. I'd feel horrible."
"Why's that? I mean, if you two are growing apart, might as well."
"But it would be so wrong, after our last fight," Lysander admitted bashfully. "We were snogging, like any other couple at Hogsmeade together, and then Rose just shoved me off, saying how she wasn't in the mood. And typically, I'd respect that, but she's been shoving me off and not in the mood for weeks now! I was so annoyed with her. I don't know what came over me, but I sort of grabbed her and tried to force her to kiss me and oh, it was so terrible. I'm ashamed. Rose ran off and I didn't bother chasing after her. I was mad at myself too."
"I'm sorry," Lily muttered.
"Me too. That's why I can't break up with Rose. Then it would be like I'm dumping her just because she refuses to kiss me or have sex with me. And that's not true at all. I can totally wait until she feels ready, I don't want to rush her into anything she doesn't want to…Sorry, is this awkward for you, Little Lil?"
But something Lysander said caused Lily's train of thought to freeze dead in its tracks. Something about this didn't add up. "Wait, what do you mean wait until Rose is ready? Didn't you and Rose already…?"
"I've never slept with Rose, if that's what you're asking."
Lily's mind simply could not comprehend Lysander's words. How could it be? Rose specifically said that she had sex with Lysander the night after the Quidditch game because she felt guilty about being with Scorpius. That's why there was a dilemma over the baby in the first place. That's why Lily had to pluck a hair from Lysander for the potion. Either there was some firewhiskey at the after-party and Lysander got so drunk out of his mind that he didn't remember that night, or there was some key part of the big picture they were missing. How. Could. It. Be.
"Little Lil?" Lysander waved a hand over Lily's unblinking face.
Little Lil.
That's when everything clicked together.
The night of the first Quidditch game also coincided with the Slughorn Club dinner, which Lily, Scorpius, Molly, and Lorcan attended instead of the game and after-party. And after the whole Extendable Ears fiasco—resulting in much embarrassment on the girls' part and much smugness on the boys' part—Lorcan departed with an iconic, "Later, Little Lil." Lily distinctly remembered this because Scorpius then copied Lorcan with another "Later, Little Lil." Oh, this could potentially solve everything! How could she have not noticed back then? How could she have been so ignorant until now?
Because Lorcan doesn't call Lily "Little Lil." Only Lysander calls her that.
She thought back to the night of Teddy and Victoire's wedding, when the Scamander twins impersonated each other so well, only Lily was able to tell them apart. Except this time, they even had Lily fooled. This time, they pulled the greatest con of all.
Now it all made sense; why Lysander was falling in love with Molly, why Lorcan was always by Rose's side, why the potion showed Lysander was not the baby's father. Lily had taken the wrong Scamander's hair! That night, months ago, Lysander never slept with Rose for he was busy eavesdropping on Lily and Molly's conversation with Extendable Ears.
That night, months ago, Lysander and Lorcan switched places.