Hey guys! It's been so long since I updated this story, but I'm writing it now! Sorry I've been slacking on updating every other week.. I feel bad about it. Anyway, I love you! Leave me reviews if you like it, I love to read them!

Chapter Ten: I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack

Bright rays of sunlight filtered in through the lavender curtains of Lily's room, waking her up as they infiltrated her eyelids. It was finally summer, which meant she had complete freedom and the ability to sleep in as late as she wanted. No one in her family was quite used to the absence of the oldest Potter child, but Hugo had quickly made himself at home in the brunette's room during the many nights he stayed with his cousins.

The previous night, Hugo, Lily and their two boyfriends had joined the Potter family for a late night barbecue party. Between Roland and Scorpius, there had been a plentiful feast of assorted, grilled meat. Later on in the evening, Elle and 'Manda had even shown up to join in a midnight swim in the quiet lake bordering Harry and Ginny's property.

Only the thought of a sulking Cherri, hiding herself away in James' large estate, threatened to spoil the cloud of happiness surrounding the group of teenagers. Lily had tried for days to stretch their group enough to fit the pregnant girl, but the blonde would have none of it. Her hatred for the redhead seemed to grow by the day, adding to the difficulty of her decision to leave her baby in the hands of the self-absorbed witch.

Somehow, Lily was well aware of the girl's hatred towards her, she just couldn't find it in her to care. Perhaps it was selfish of her, but she had the happiness she had always yearned for and no one was going to take that away from her.

A quiet crinkle of paper jolted the redhead to reality, causing her to turn towards the sound frantically. To her surprise, Scorpius sat in an arm chair beside her bed, his long leg crossed over his left thigh and a thick novel in his hand, a pose of absolute ease. Smirking at her shocked face, the muscular blonde leaned forward to kiss her cheek softly. "Good afternoon, sleepyhead. I didn't know that our make out sessions took so much out of you. It's two o'clock after all."

"What?" Jerking her head to look at the digital clock on her bedside table, Lily saw that he hadn't been lying. "Damn. How long have you been sitting there?"

Ignoring her question, Scorpius climbed onto the bed beside her and wound his long arms around her waist. As he pushed his soft lips to hers, every thought in Lily's brain disappeared, leaving it spinning when he pulled away. How long would her body have the tingling, mind-numbing reaction to his touch? Did she even want it to go away? After a few more minutes of kissing, the answer was clear. Hell no.

His finger looped itself around a soft, rusty curl at the front of her face. "Cherry and I are going to look at flats in London today. I was wondering if you want to join us, since you'll hopefully be spending a lot of time there with me."

That was definitely unexpected, and only managed to darken the great mood she had woke up in. It wasn't like she wasn't aware of the fact that she would have to share her boyfriend with not only his daughter, but also the actual mother. She didn't have to like it though. "I'd love to. Get out so I can get dressed."

Suddenly, as if he was beckoned as the dressing fairy, Hugo materialized in the doorway. "Yes, Scorpius. I need to get to work to make that sleepy mess a fabulous part of my family." That was a tad too gay, even for Hugo, so he quickly backtracked and dropped his voice an octave. "I mean- Nope, can't think of anything to come back from that."

Grinning at the boy's attempt, Scorpius kissed Lily lightly before disappearing from the room. Hugo wasn't going to waste any time obviously, for he pulled the thin redhead out of her comfortable bed and steered her towards the closet. "I don't really need to be dressed by you, Hug-go. I've been doing it myself for almost a whole year now."

"Hush, you. This is purely for my entertainment and sentimental value. Now shut up so I can think." He snapped before charging the closet.

Thirty minutes later, Lily stood in the center of her bedroom, being admired by both her cousin and boyfriend. An emerald green corset-like tank-top donned her upper body; followed by rather short, black shorts that accentuate her long legs, and simple, black heels held her in the air. Hugo had been kind enough to only subject her hair to an extremely high, curled ponytail with her rusty bangs left down. Her face was covered with a light layer of makeup that didn't interfere with her natural beauty in the slightest, but a thick rim of black around her eyes caused the brilliant blue color to pop.

Whistling loudly, Scorpius held out his arm to the redhead. "Well, beautiful, we best be going. A lovely job on your part, Hugo. Thank you so very much."

"I don't see why you can't just walk in through the front door," Elle hissed over the balcony of her room to 'Manda, who was quickly scaling the wall to reach the second floor. "My parents can kiss my ass repeatedly for all I care."

Finally reaching the security of the balcony railing, the taller girl leaned forward and pressed her lips against the blonde's. She silently thanked the Lord repeatedly that she had been intelligent enough to leave her house wearing thick jeans rather than the skirt Hugo had tried to talk her into wearing over the phone. As if sneaking around to be with her girlfriend wasn't hard enough, adding in girly clothing would only make the situation worse.

Having two completely different attitudes about how to deal with Elle's judgmental parents, the couple had been arguing for days about the ways they would get to see each other. 'Manda had gone out of her way to not be caught by the blonde's father in particular, parking her old station wagon two blocks away from the girl's home and sneaking through yards to reach the object of her desire. But it was like Elle was almost angry at the taller girl's efforts to keep them together.

'Manda slipped into her girlfriend's extremely familiar bedroom, immediately locking the door before relaxing even one muscle. Without speaking, she motioned for Elle to join her on the bed. Exactly a week prior to this particular visit, the pair had finally given in to their ultimate desires, taking as much of the other's virginity as was possible by a girl. Each night after started out sweet, but soon took a sexually charged turn.

But when the brunette pulled Elle into her warm embrace, it wasn't sex that she yearned for. Sometimes, the most intimate of moments can consist of just being close to the person you loved. They fell asleep like that, the blonde's silky hair draped across 'Manda's chest in the ultimate picture of peacefulness.

It was the best night of sleep either of them had ever had, and it would hopefully never end. Some things could last forever, right?

"What do you think about this place, babe?" Scorpius asked as he walked into the bedroom of the shabby apartment that the landlord had allowed them to explore. Turning to speak her mind about the horrifying room, Cherry became aware that his question wasn't even aimed at her. Lily's face contorted to display the emotion that the blonde had been about to display, and she shook her head vigorously.

Squashing the urge to scream in frustration, Cherry waddled out of the room before she threw something at the boy's head. It wasn't Lily that had to live in this hell hole, even though the blonde wouldn't be around for very long herself, yet he was still only concerned with the redhead's opinion. Perhaps leaving wouldn't be quite as hard as she had once feared.

The sleazy man that had led the three teenagers to the third floor apartment appeared in the doorway just as Scorpius and Lily reentered the living room, their hands laced together tightly. Bile rose in Cherry's throat and a horribly uncomfortable liquid slipped down her inner thighs as she leaned against the wall in panic. Shit, I think I managed to just piss my pants in the middle of someone else's house. Really classy, Cherrise. Well done.

Realization struck her quickly, however, and she forced herself to breath as slowly as possible. "We don't ask for much for rent, but Big Bertha is pretty cool about falling behind on the money aspect as long as you don't get yourself into any trouble while you're living here." The man continued on about the rules, himself and the couple holding hands completely oblivious to the panicking pregnant girl going into labor a few feet away from them.

When he had finished, Scorpius turned to his fellow blonde, only to scramble across the room to her side. "Cherry, babe, you don't look so good. Do you need to sit down or-"

"Scorpius Malfoy, shut your fucking mouth and get me to a hospital now." She cried as she crumpled to her knees. There was still a week and a half before she was due, how could this happen to her now?

Hugo scrambled through the sterile hallways of the local hospital, yanking Roland behind him in rough jerks. The few crowds of people in present in the building stared at the two boys like they were aliens, quickly crushing themselves against the wall in order to escape being run over. Lily had called Hugo the minute they arrived at the hospital, asking him to pass the message on to Elle and 'Manda that it was time for Cherry to have the baby.

The redhead had sounded more frightened than the screaming girl she was with on the other side of the phone. Roland hadn't hesitated to load everyone up for the hour drive to London, not wanting to miss the chance to be there for his best friend.

A kind looking, young brunette sat behind the otherwise empty desk in the labor wing of the building. She looked up upon Hugo's thundering approach, a small smile playing across her lips as she surveyed the group of teenagers. "You must be with the two blonde's and the redhead. He's waiting for you in the sitting room across the hall if you'd like to join him there."

"Thank you, ma'am." Roland said over his shoulder, already on his way to the room she had indicated. Upon entering, his eyes met the large, terrified blue one's of Scorpius. "Hey, man. Why are you out here?"

Raking his fingers backwards through his hair, the blonde let his shoulders rise and then slump again. "Cherry didn't want me to go in until the baby's been delivered. She didn't mind Lily going in with her though."

Suddenly, a shrill yell rang through the hallways of the hospital. Sighing loudly, Scorpius dropped his head between his hands. It was going to be a very long evening if the baby didn't come soon.

"Holy motherfucking Christ!" Cherry's face contorted with pain and her body thrust itself off of the hospital bed she lay on. The contractions had been going on like this for almost three hours, making her think that the baby didn't plan to pop out of her anytime soon. Scorpius better be fucking happy that he's a male, she told herself in a snarl. Just as the blonde's body began to relax after the pains had subsided, they started up again in a whole new level of pain.

Standing as far away from the pregnant girl as she could, Lily watched in horror as nurses flitted in and out of the room at hyper speed. When they had arrived in the hospital, she had had every intention to stay in the labor during the labor itself, but that didn't seem to work for Cherry. "You promised that you would help me this," Cherry hissed at the redhead loudly. While that was true, no one had told her that this was part of it.

A young woman that couldn't have been too much older than the two girls touched Lily's arm softly. "It would be really helpful if you would allow her to hold your hand. Sometimes knowing that someone is there helps the mother, if that's something you feel comfortable with."

In fact Lily didn't feel comfortable with it in the slightest, but how horrible would it be to say as much? Crossing the room slowly, she came to stand beside the sterile bed and reached out cautiously to hold the blonde's hand. Not hesitating a moment, Cherry's hand clamped on to hers, dull nails digging into her wrist. How had Lily managed to get herself wrapped up in this again? Oh yeah, she loved her own worst enemy, got it.

The same woman that had suggested the physical contact flittered around next to Cherry's head, eventually just waiting for the contractions to begin again before doing anything else. "Perhaps, if you made conversation, it would be easier to forget about the pain." It sounded like a stupid idea to Lily and she opened her mouth to express this, but was cut off by Cherry's sickly sweet voice.

"I really hate you, Potter. Even though you're stupid enough to date a man that doesn't love you enough to not cheat, it's me that has to-" Sucking in a deep breath to tolerate the pain, she paused for a moment. "Do this. What's so fucking sad is, she won't even be my-" Another ragged breath. "Daughter. You'll end up adopting her or something, then you'll get married to Scorpius and everything will just be peachy for you. Where does that leave me, huh? Fucking nowhere."

Even though Lily wanted to pull away from the blonde, anything to avoid looking into her hostile eyes, the redhead couldn't. It was possible that what she was saying was only due to the pain she was going through, but she doubted it. How could the blonde not hate Lily with every fiber in her body? Yet, the redhead couldn't think of any solution that she could live with. Maybe it was selfish, but it was the truth.

Staying silent, the redhead listened to Cherry cuss at her like a sailor about anything that she could possible find to blame her for until, finally, the doctor appeared in the doorway. "Well, my dear, I think it's time to let your daughter enter the world. How does that sound?"

Turning to Lily, the blonde let tears fall down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. For everything. Now go, I have to do this by myself?" Lily began to argue, but was shut down by the look on Cherry's face. "They'll let you come back when she's been born. Just… Let me have a few moments as her mom. It's all I'll have for the rest of my life."

It was in that moment that Lily knew what the girl planned to do. She wanted to tell her that abandoning her child would be the biggest mistake she would ever make, but watching the blonde cry uncontrollably told her that it wasn't true. As sad as it was to admit it, getting pregnant in the first place was the only thing that Cherry would ever let herself regret. So turning her back on the crying girl, Lily flew from the room, and then the hallway, not stopping until she was sitting against a wall in one of the darkened hallways of the hospital.

Many accusations and horrible comments pressed against her lips, but then they disappeared. If Lily had been in the same situation, would she have had the courage to abandon her daughter in order for her to have a better life?

In a heartbeat.

Scorpius sprinted through the hallway of the hospital, not even waiting for the nurse that had informed him of the birth to catch up. He was too excited to see his daughter, to get to hold her and feel as though she was really his. When he reached the room, he was surprised to see Lily leaning against the wall waiting for him, but the blonde quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room with him. Laying on the hospital bed in front of him, a very worn out Cherry was holding a small lump of cloth and baby.

Hesitating at the foot of the bed, the tan boy began to have second thoughts. What if he somehow messed up his relationship with his daughter the way his father had? Or what if she simply didn't like him? He wouldn't be able to live with himself if his own daughter realized how big of a waste of space he was, and pushed him away because of it. Looking up at Cherry, he watched her avert his gaze and hold out the sleeping newborn.

"You'll be fine. She loves you already and you haven't even done anything. There's no way she won't love you even more when she gets to know you." Lily whispered into his ear before pushing him towards the blonde's outstretched arms.

Thousands of worries flowed through his mind, but they all disappeared as the soft, warm lump was settled into his arms. To say that she was the most beautiful thing in the world would be an understatement. Her soft, flawless skin seemed to radiate warmth and her small head was already partially covered in tufts of fine, pale blonde hair. Breaking into a smile, Scorpius watched as her large, bright blue eyes opened and locked on his ice blue ones. "Haven."

Lily, who stood a few feet away watching the entire scene play out, stepped forward to hear his whisper. "What did you say?"

As the infant's tiny fingers wrapped around the long, tan one that he had presented her with, Scorpius felt tears flow down his glowing cheeks. "Her name is Haven."

"It's perfect." Cherry spoke surprisingly loudly, meeting Lily's all-knowing eyes. "The perfect name, to match the perfect daughter, to match the perfect family."

A few days after the birth of Haven Marie Malfoy, Scorpius was extremely confident in his abilities to be a great father. His every waking moment had been spent holding the newborn and talking about the apartment that James had found for them only a day prior. Everything was working out perfectly, and it even seemed as though Cherry and Lily were getting along which was more than he could have hoped for.

The first time the nurse had taken Haven out of Scorpius' arms so he could do the required paperwork, he had lived with irrational fears of losing the beautiful child before he had a chance to have her. But Roland, who had quickly been named the godfather, had taken care of his best friend as much as possible.

Now, Scorpius, Lily, and Roland stood in the hallway where the newborn babies were kept, watching the doctors running their final tests on the tiny blonde. "Are you excited to take her home?" The brunette asked happily, enjoying the happy time in their lives. He could only hope that nothing would ever tear their group apart, and now that included Haven and Cherry.

Just as the tall blonde opened his mouth to reply, Hugo came barreling around the corner and ran towards them at full speed. "Cherry's gone. Haven's here, but she's gone.

Holy crap, I am so behind on posting. I'm so sorry. :'''''( Please don't be angry with me. I'm really trying. Ugh. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Review if you did. Love you guys!