(A/N- Another chapter! I told you I'd get out another chapter soon, xlovexconquersxallx, didn't I? :)
Thanks so much to my reviewers as of chapter 1: Impatiently Waiting, .Weasley, ILOVEYOU9909, midnightstar19, daughterofathena7, Bonnie McCullough, Lilu'u Malfoy, and my anonymous reviewers. I love each and every one of you, and your reviews make my day. Please PM me if you have any questions! I hope you enjoy this chapter- it's a long one!)
Chapter 11
Lily P.O.V.
"Teddy!" I squeal as he waves to me from the platform. I run over to where he's waiting and he engulfs me in a hug.
"Hey, Ted!" James greets enthusiastically. My twenty four year old "cousin"- he's surprisingly only related to me by his marriage to Victoire, not blood- slaps a high five with James.
"Hey, Lils. How's the Quidditch team going, mate?"
"Great!" James grins. "We've got a match with Slytherin coming up."
"Where's Victoire?" I ask, and his eyes shine with excitement.
"Resting." I gasp, picking up his meaning.
"She isn't-!"
"Pregnant!" Teddy finishes, a wide smile spreading across his face, and I squeal and hug him again.
"Congratulations!" I exclaim. James rolls his eyes at us.
"Ah, look at the two of you, gossiping away like two old women," He teases, and Teddy rolls his eyes, too happy to be annoyed.
"Shove off, James," He laughs, and James grins and closes his mouth obligingly.
"Lilykins!" Another voice hollers, and I roll my eyes.
"Could you be any louder, Freddy?" I sigh, and my tall, redheaded cousin flicks me a grin.
"Missed you," He says fondly, and I submit myself to his overenthusiastic bear hug.
"Looks like the whole family came to meet us," Al says dryly, walking over. "I've just seen Dom and Louis with Uncle Bill and Uncle Perce with Molly and Luce and Uncle George's somewhere over there as well."
"You seem to have overlooked my dear sister Roxie," Fred grins, then frowns. "Probably flirting with Lorcan Scamander," He mutters.
"Oh, are they dating?" I ask, interested, and Fred shrugs.
"Dunno." He pauses. "He's interested enough in her, though."
"We'd best get going," Teddy says, glancing down at his watch. "Harry and Ginny are around here somewhere…" As the group starts to disperse and move over to the mob of Weasley's, Scorpius appears at my side.
"Missing something?" He murmurs, holding out my trunk. I blush, thanking Godric he thought to wait until my overprotective male relatives cleared out, and kiss him on the cheek.
"Thanks."
"I'll owl you, then?" He asks, and I take a deep breath and nod.
"See you at the ball, Scorp." He reaches down to kiss me, and I memorize his lips desperately, knowing I won't feel them for a week, and possibly longer.
"Oh- hello, Lily." I jump backwards and meet my Mum's searching eyes. I know I'm turning a bright red that matches Mum's hair, and I guiltily drop my arms from around Scorpius's neck.
"Ah- hi, Mum," I manage. "I didn't-ah, notice you there," I mumble. She smiles, rather forced, I think, and her eyes scan over Scorpius.
"Hello, Scorpius. Lily mentioned she was dating you in her letters." She extends her hand to shake his, and my face burns with embarrassment.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter," He says calmly. Her eyebrows raise almost imperceptibly in approval, and I'm almost surprised she doesn't shudder under the steady gaze of his gray eyes.
"And you as well. We'll have to invite you over for dinner sometime during the holidays."
"That would be great, Mrs. Potter." My mum doesn't betray any emotions at his politeness, but nods coolly.
"I'll be sure to extend an invite through Lily. Say your good-byes, dear," She tells me pointedly, and I shoot him an apologetic smile and a kiss on the cheek, aware that my Mum's watching me. She doesn't say anything until we're out of hearing range of both Scorpius and my relatives.
"Hi, Mum," I say meekly, and she raises her eyebrows at me.
"Lily Potter, would you like to explain just why I found you snogging Scorpius Malfoy a minute ago?"
"Well," I start, rather lamely, "I told you. We're dating." She sighs, brushing her sleek red hair out of her face.
"Yes, and I wasn't pleased. The only boy I kissed in fourth year was Neville Longbottom, and at least I knew him well." Despite her sharp tone, I can't resist giggling.
"You kissed Neville, Mum? I never knew!" She glanced at me and reluctantly lets out a laugh before sighing.
"It was at the Yule Ball." She grins. "Ron asked me for Dad afterwards, and I regretted that I'd said yes to Neville, but he certainly enjoyed it." She hesitates, then adds mischievously, "He wasn't a very good kisser, though."
"Mum!" I exclaim, thoroughly disgusted at the image of my Mum and Herbology teacher snogging at my age. She laughs.
"Sorry," She says cheerfully, though she doesn't sound apologetic at all. Her expression sharpens when we reach her relatives, though. "We'll talk about this later, alright?"
"Alright," I agree, completely dreading the upcoming conversation.
…
"Remember what I told you, Lily?" My mum fixes me with a knowing look. "I know what it's like to be a teenager in love. But no matter what, you are fifteen. No sex. Not until you're at least out of school." My face burns with embarrassment and I roll my eyes as I help my mum set the long table for dinner.
"Merlin, I know, Mum." I glance around, making sure no one's entered the room. I think I'd just about die with embarrassment if Fred heard my Mum giving me the sex talk.
"Just making sure," She says, her expression softening.
"Right," I mutter.
"Anyway, have Albus and James been bothering you about this?" She asks, and I'm surprised by the change in subject.
"Not really." I hesitate. "James doesn't really care. Al's a bit more protective, though. Not too bad," I admit.
"Good. I know what it's like to have overprotective brothers." She smiles at me, and I'm thankful for my Mum's understanding. Though she had to deal with six brothers, not two. I can't even imagine. "Ron was the worst." I laugh as she starts to tell me the various things Ron did as the very, very overprotective brother he was.
…
Just a few days in, I realize I'm starting to miss Scorpius. I'm starting to get driven crazy by all my relatives. Grimmauld Place is big, but all these Weasley's can crowd even the biggest house. More than anything, I miss the way his presence calms me and his soft, sweet words. Not to mention his kisses, too, as I walk in on Lorcan Scamander and Roxie snogging in my bedroom. Watching them entwined is just enough to drive me up the wall, and I slam the door behind me as I leave, not sure if they've even noticed me.
The day of the ball doesn't come soon enough. As my female relatives- Victoire, Dom, Roxie, Molly, and Lucy- flutter around Rose and I, applying make-up and fixing our hair, I close my eyes and count down the minutes until we leave. I don't mind their help, though. I want to look my best for Scorpius, and they, especially Victoire and Dom, always look gorgeous.
I don an old silver dress of Roxie's that matches Scorpius's eyes perfectly, and Rose settles for a dark green strapless dress of Molly's that- coincidentally- matches Avery's. It wasn't intentional, but we realize we're wearing Slytherin colors between the two of us. Maybe it'll tone down the rebellious streak that we're bringing out by going to the Malfoy Ball.
Rose looks stunning by the time they're done with her, with her hair twisted elegantly into a high bun and her dark green dress skating over her figure perfectly before falling smoothly to the floor. As I look at my reflection, I'm pleased, too, and I hope Scorpius will be. My silver dress has a wide, circular neckline, and it's cinched at the waist before flowing outwards at my hips and floating to the floor. I glance over at Rose, and find her face has turned pale.
"Oh, Godric," She whispers. "I am going to the Malfoy Ball." My lips quirk up in a smile and I grab her hand.
"C'mon, Rosie. It's gonna be fun." I pull her towards the fireplace that the Floo network is connected to and she closes her eyes.
"For you. You have Scorpius. All I have is Zabini."
"Avery," I say pointedly, "will be fine. Just relax." I give her an encouraging smile which hopefully helps, and my Dad, who's come to make sure we Floo there alright, gives us kisses on the cheeks.
"Be good, Lils, Rosie," He smiles, and I hug him before stepping into the fire. "Malfoy Manor!" I call.
Rose P.O.V.
I take a deep breath as I spin through the fire, my elbows in tight. I clutch my dress to me and hope my hair doesn't get messed up in the fire. I stumble out onto a very expensive carpet in a room that has stiffly fancy furniture and dark red walls. There's a fancy silver mirror with the Malfoy heirloom mounted on the wall across from me, and I anxiously brush the soot off my hair. Lily, who's fallen out of the fireplace a few seconds ahead of me, is already on her feet and looking excited.
"Scorpius should be around here," She says out loud, and I wonder if she's talking to herself or me. "He said in his letters that he'd come up with Avery to wait for us."
"Did he?" I murmur, trying to take deep breaths. I'm extremely nervous and can't help wondering why I said yes to Avery in the first place. There's going to be pureblood families that look down on Weasley's because we're blood traitors. I'm not even pureblood. I'm halfblood. As I blush, I feel ashamed of myself for thinking of blood statuses. What does it matter? Avery Zabini asked me.
"Lily!" She does a touble take as she hears her name and her face lights up, somewhat shyly, as she sees Scorpius.
"Hey, Scorpius," She manages, and he sends her a breathtaking smile that I curse myself for being jealous of.
"Rose," He acknowledges briefly, with a flicker of his gray eyes in my general direction. My eyes widen, surprised, before I mutter,
"Scorpius."
"Rose, darling," A voice drawls, and I offer Zabini a smile as he walks into the room. Against my will, my heart jumps slightly at the sight of him. He's wearing black dress robes with a dark green tie that matches his eyes and my dress perfectly, and his dark curls are as messy as ever.
"Hi, Avery," I say, swallowing hard as he wraps an arm around my waist. Astoria Malfoy sweeps into the room behind us and surveys Lily and I regally.
"Ah, there you are, boys. And who's this?" She says, with a slight smile that's so like her son's I'm surprised to see her eyes aren't gray, but a dark blue. Her face doesn't betray any emotion, but her eyes linger on Scorpius's arm around Lily. She's good looking, with sharp features and dark hair that contrasts with her pale complexion, and she looks a lot like Scorpius. Lily, always the bold one, steps forward and stretches out her hand.
"I'm Lily Potter. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy." Lily smiles, and I'm taken aback when Astoria returns it.
"And you as well. Scorpius has told Draco and I so much about you." Scorpius, whose eyes have never left Lily, nods to his mother.
"Including the fact that she's always just as beautiful as she looks tonight," He says quietly, and Lily blushes but doesn't say anything.
"Yes, Lily, you look gorgeous," Mrs. Malfoy agrees, and Lily offers her a hesitant smile.
"Thank you. So do you."
"You're too sweet, my dear," Astoria waves Lily's compliment away. She turns to me. "And Avery, darling, won't you introduce your date?" Avery grins and kisses my cheek, and I feel my cheeks burn from embarrassment at the attention.
"Rose Weasley, Mrs. Malfoy." I manage. She shakes my hand, and her grip is firm but comfortable under her cool, elegant fingers.
"Ah, of course. It's a pleasure to meet you, Rose."
"Pleasure," I mumble, flustered by her striking presence, and she gives me a quick smile before turning to Scorpius.
"Will you bring them into the ballroom, Scorpius, dear? I've got to go and greet the Parkinson's."
"Yes, Mother," Scorpius says oblingingly, and he turns to Lily and kisses her gently, his hands on the sides of her face.
"You look beautiful," He whispers to Lily, and Avery clears his throat loudly.
"Flirt later, won't you?" He interrupts loudly, and I concentrate on not looking at Scorpius and Lily.
"Pay attention to your date, Zabini," Scorpius throws back at him, before he and Lily engage in another kiss. Avery turns to me and winks.
"Think we could give 'em a run for their money?" He leans towards me, and I jump back instinctively. Flirt, I tell myself, reddening.
"Maybe later," I say with a flirtatious smile, and his grin widens.
"Hard to get, Weasley?"
"Well, I'm not a slut," I say indignantly.
"Oh, I know," He says smoothly. Avery raises a thin, dark eyebrow. "Did you know that Jason and Madeline are going to be here? Madeline asked him." I frown at him, wondering where this is going.
"No, I didn't," I say slowly.
"I used to fool around with Madeline, before she went off with Finch-Fletchley," He says, waiting for my reaction. I think about his words, and then I get it.
"You want to…" I hesitate, and he finishes my sentence.
"Well, making them jealous wouldn't be a waste of time, y'know?" I hesitantly smile at him.
"Depends on what you mean, I guess." The idea of making Jason regret being a jerk to me does sound appealing, though.
"We could dance around them. Talk to them like nothing ever happened. Sneak off together." He laughs at the look on my face as he says the last one. "Oh, come on, we don't have to do anything when we slip away. We just have to make sure they see it."
"Okay," I agree, and before I think better of it, I lean forwards and kiss him on the cheek.
Lily P.O.V.
"You look beautiful," Scorpius whispers, and my heart pounds as I feel his lips on mine. Avery says something to him, but he retorts something back at him, his eyes never leaving mine. I feel his lips touch to mine again, the soft strong feel of his on mine and his careful hands pulling me close in his arms.
"I've missed you," I murmur, breathless. He looks amazing, as always, his dirty blond hair artfully tousled and carefully gelled into a messy array of hair. His strong, angular cheekbones are accentuated by his dark green dress robes that match the silver of his eyes.
"I've missed you more," He says, with the barest trace of a smile. His eyes reluctantly leave me as he glances at his watch. "We should go," Scorpius says, loud enough so Rose and Avery, who are talking to each other, can hear.
"Right," Avery says, taking Rose's arm with an easy grin. Scorpius does the same with me, and I realize we have to be formal now, in front of all the other people. He leads me down the stunningly large marble staircase that leads to a huge entrance hall and, through a door to our left, a ballroom the size of Hogwart's Great Hall. It has large, sweeping windows from floor to ceiling with dark green curtains on two walls, and the other side of the room is scattered with small, circular tables seating about ten each. A crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling, and it strikes a memory of a story my Dad has told me before.
"This is where she was tortured," I whisper, horrified. "My…my aunt. Aunt Hermione. By Bellatrix Lestrange." Scorpius turns to me, immediately concerned.
"No," He replies quietly, his gray eyes worried. "Not this room."
"Oh." I clear my throat. The specific room doesn't matter to me. It strikes me how wrong this is, though, me being in the house where he stayed. Where my dad and aunt and uncle were hurt. "I…"
"Are you alright, love?" My eyes widen, surprised at his name for me, and I relax at the sound of his voice. It doesn't matter that this is where it happened. The Malfoy's have changed, and the Death Eaters are gone.
"Fine." I smile at him. "Thanks." His eyes linger on me for a moment before he nods.
"Alright." He gestures to the already crowded room of dancing couples. "Will you dance with me?" Scorpius bends and presses his lips to my hand. I feel the urge to laugh at his formalities, but I find I don't mind, with his steady gaze resting on me.
"Of course." I'm not much of a dancer, but he guides me with a strong hand on my waist and our fingers entertwined. His forehead rests against mine, and my lips curl into a smile as the song winds on. Slow dancing with my amazing boyfriend at a ball isn't bad at all.
I spot Mrs. Malfoy at the door and my eyes widen at the sight of Jason Finch-Fletchley and Madeline Pucey at the door. Her two friends follow- Arabella Flint, Darren's sister, and Estelle Goyle, Emory's sister. Darren and Emory are close behind.
Avery and Rose, who have been dancing next to us, though somewhat more awkwardly, walk over to greet them, to my surprise. Scorpius laughs at the two of them, and I look at him curiously.
"I would've thought Rose would've wanted to stay away from Jason," I murmur to him, and he nods with a smile.
"No doubt Avery has suggested to her that they make Jason and Madeline jealous."
"Does he like Madeline?" I frown, pitying Rose, but Scorpius shakes his head.
"No, that's just Avery. I don't think he ever did like her, actually. He'll be doing it for the fun of it."
"Doesn't seem like Rose to agree, though," I point out, and he raises his eyebrows but doesn't say anything. I'm reminded of the time he told me I don't know Rose as well as I think, but I don't bring it up. I don't want anything to ruin tonight.
"Dinner," He says quietly, gesturing to where heaps of food have suddenly appeared. He takes my hand and leads me over to where the tables are quickly filling up.
"We're sitting over here," He says, and my mouth drops open when I see a silver engraved plaque with Lily Potter on it. But honestly, what else could you expect from the Malfoy's?
"Please tell me that's fake. Metal, or something," I say weakly, and he smiles.
"Goblin-made, Lily. They don't work with anything less than silver."
"Of course." I mumble, and he smiles at me and takes the seat next to me after pulling my chair out for me. I look around. On my other side is Rose, then Avery next to her, and then Darren, Emory, Jason, Madeline, Estelle, and Arabella next to Scorpius. Arabella sends Scorpius a glance that's too flirtatious for my liking, but he steadily ignores it and smiles at me, taking my hand.
By the time we start eating, it's obvious that Scorpius was right about Avery and Rose. Their uncharacteristic- for Rose, at least- flirting and PDA is a little too obnoxious, and Jason and Madeline are resolutely trying to ignore it. It's hard, though, as Rose's giggles become louder and louder and Avery's lines lamer and lamer.
I gladly dig in to the food, glad for something to focus on other than Rose. It's just as good as Hogwarts, but more fancier and extravagant, with side dishes and appetizers and too many courses to count. I eat a little of everything, and I'm stuffed by the time the food is cleared away and Scorpius takes my hand and leads me onto the dance floor again.
I see Mrs. Malfoy dancing with someone that is, unmistakably, Draco Malfoy. He looks a lot like Scorp, but his complexion is pale and his face is narrower and more pointed. His hair, too, is lighter than Scorp, so that it's almost white. But they have the same angular features and handsome, regal air, though Draco Malfoy has more of a haughtiness than Scorpius.
"You look a lot like your father," I tell him, as he sends me a questioning glance, and he smiles wryly.
"I get that a lot."
"Mmm," I agree. "You're better looking, though." Scorpius laughs and gives me a brief, lingering kiss on the forehead.
"You're better looking than your Mum."
"That's not true," I say honestly. I'm pretty, but Mum's gorgeous.
"Yes, it is," He tells me, and I smile and lean my head against his chest.
…
"Mum's asked me to dance with Arabella and Estelle," Scorpius says finally, his eyes serious. I swallow.
"Oh." I hesitate. "Are you going to?"
"I wish I didn't have to," Scorpius says, "But it's proper. Mum and Dad are friends with their parents, and I'm supposed to give them at least one dance."
"Right," I agree.
"I won't do it if you don't want me to," He tells me, but I shake my head.
"No, it's fine. Your Mum wants you to." I say, forcing a smile, even though I don't want him to leave. He's danced for at least an hour with me, though, and I don't want to seem clingy. Scorpius kisses me on the cheek and I watch him approach Arabella first, who shoots me a haughty glance. I look away and resist the urge to walk over to the two of them. I note, though, with pleasure, that the distance between them is more than that of Scorpius and I.
"May I have the pleasure?" A voice asks, and I turn around to see Darren Flint smirking at me.
"Alright," I accept grudgingly. At least I know him. He's been trying to get in my pants for years, yes, but he's probably been scared off by Scorpius by now. Merlin knows what he's said to the other boys to stop them flirting with me, but it's worked, and for the last month I haven't had anyone been anything more than friendly with me.
Darren pulls me a bit closer than is comfortable, and to face him directly would mean our heads would be touching. I turn my head to the side awkwardly, and the dance passes as well as it can, I suppose. As the dance ends, he looks over to where Scorpius is now dancing with Estelle and grabs my hand as I turn to walk away.
"Ah, your boyfriend's not back yet. Won't you dance with me again?" I grit my teeth and allow him to pull me back onto the dance floor. "So, tell me. Does it bother you that you can't have big plans for you and Malfoy's future?"
"What?" I snap, his leering tone getting to me. "I don't-,"
"Don't know?" He whispers, his tone annoyingly arrogant. "Although I suppose I can understand why Scorpius wouldn't have told you. You are only fifteen, after all. He must expect the two of you to break up before he graduates."
"What?" I repeat, now thoroughly irritated. "Tell me what?"
"Well, his parents never would permit him to marry a Potter," He says haughtily, smirking. "And even if they did- you're not a pureblood, are you? Three quarters- and your grandmother was a mudblood."
"Don't call her that," I hiss, his words stinging me. "And I don't know what you're talking about. Mrs. Malfoy was nice to me. If she wouldn't let me marry Scorpius, why do you think she let him bring me to the Ball?" Darren waves my arguments away.
"Why would she bother making such a big fuss about it if she knows Scorpius and you will never last? She was talking to my Mum the other day about it, and I just happened to be in the room." Against my will, my eyes sting with tears, though I'm not entirely sure why.
"That's not true," I say coldly.
"Oh, come off it," Darren rolls his eyes. "You don't want to get hurt, do you, Potter? Malfoy's been practically engaged to my sister since birth. He just told her that she'd have to wait."
"He loves me," I manage, swallowing.
"He's fond of you, yes, but even he knows that he's going to have to marry Arabella eventually. It can't be avoided." Darren's hand slips dangerously low, now, and I tear myself away from him.
"Stop it!" I choke out. I notice Scorpius making his way over to us, and I register that it's the end of the song. I don't want to face him now, though. I don't want to face anyone. I weave through the crowd and hurry towards the room we came from as tears blur my eyes. As I see the room that we Flooed from, I throw myself into the fire with the powder and feel the familiar rush of smoke and soot, Darren's words ringing in my ears.
(A/N- Gosh, that was long . Drama! Please review! Love you all, xoxo)