This chapter is for Kymmie and Bucky5 who never seem to give up on me, even when I swear that "I'm TOTALLY DONE with this and don't want to even think about working on it!" No. Really. You guys are the best cheerleaders a girl could have! Thank you for sticking with me!

The Rarest Type of Seer

"Thunder is good. Thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work."

~Mark Twain

Chapter 11

Lessons in Stealing Thunder

After his conversation with the "Hellion Squad", as he had deemed them not-so-affectionately in his mind, (no wonder Lily got along so well with all of them), he chose to go and sit (read: hide) with Albus and Cham. They were lost in their own world and didn't seem to notice him at all. That was fine though. He had a lot to think about. This whole business with Rose was a bit screwy. What was she playing at? There was no way she could possibly pregnant with his child! They would have had to have been intimate for something like that to happen. They had never got that far in their relationship, and by the time that he thought they were ready for that, he had caught her in bed with someone else. The problem was that it was her word against his and she was playing it up. He couldn't figure out for the life of him why she would do this.

"You all right there, mate?" Scorpius turned at the new voice. Apparently while he was musing away at Rose's indiscretions and stupidity, Cham and Albus had moved away to visit with some other people and someone else had decided to sit down next to him; someone that Scorpius had never seen before. Scorpius wasn't one to immediately trust new people and especially people that he was sure was trying to put on an act. The newcomer had brown hair and eyes. Scorpius assumed that the man would probably be a few inches shorter than himself when they were both standing.

The man tilted his head at Scorpius and smiled, though it did not quite reach his eyes. Realizing that he had been asked a question, Scorpius sputtered. "What? Oh yes. I'm fine. Just have a lot on my mind."

"Must be pretty pressing for you."

Scorpius raised a questioning eyebrow.

For the first time the other man seemed a little flustered but answered the silent query, "It's just that there are all of these people and festivities going on, and here you are sitting off by yourself in a corner, seemingly avoiding everyone."

Scorpius shook his head, but before he could even think of a reply, he heard Lily say from behind him, "honestly Chase. Get lost." Then she walked around the couch and plopped down next to Scorpius on his other side. She inched as close as she could without actually touching him. He could feel his face warming up and just for a moment he despised what this little imp of a girl could do to him just by sitting down on the same sofa as he.

"Seriously though, Bryant, nobody really even wants you here."

"Nobody being you, Potter?" The man practically sneered at her.

Lily shrugged, completely un-phased by the nastiness of her verbal sparring partner. "See, that's the thing. The only people here who know who you are, are me and Cham. Everyone else just thinks you're someone else's guest, but nobody really knows who brought you. But I do, and she doesn't count, so, once again, get lost!"

"Lily Luna! Don't be rude!" Ginny said from behind them.

Lily cringed. The man that Scorpius now knew as Chase smirked; Scorpius could have sworn that he heard Lily mutter a curse under her breath. However, when her mother asked what she said, she merely mumbled "nothing" and glowered at Chase.

Feeling like he had been placed in an awkward position, Scorpius went to move away from the two arguing over him. (He just wanted a moment away from all of the insanity that this family wrought). But Lily grabbed his hand and gave him an imploring look and he was somewhat lost. He huffed out a breath and remained where he was, but maybe the small grin on Lily's face was worth it. Maybe.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" The annoyance at Scorpius' other side questioned.

"Nah," was the instant reply. "Why waste my breath on the likes of someone like you. Besides, Scorpius is pretty smart. I'm pretty sure that he has already picked up the key factors of who you are."

The blonde preened inwardly at her praise.

"What do you mean 'key factors', Potter?"

And then the preening ended. Didn't they know when to stop. They were giving him a headache. It was like watching a tennis match. One that never ended, with him stuck in the middle.

"I mean that he knows your name. He knows that you are an annoying are…" She glanced back to see if her mother was still within hearing range before continuing, "arsehole," she lowered her voice to just above a whisper. Scorpius had to hide a grin at her apparent fear of the older Potter woman. "And he knows that you shouldn't be here!" She finished with a dramatic flourish of her unoccupied hand.

She tightened her grip on Scorpius' hand and pulled him up with her, never giving Chase a chance to reply. "Let's go," she said in an overly chipper voice. "We're about to be called to dinner."

He had no idea how she knew that, but sure enough, the dinner bell that Mr. Weasley had had installed for get-togethers like this went off just shortly after they started walking to the door.

~SL~SL~SL~SL~

They were all gathered around the tables that had been set up under magically enlarged and warmed tents in the back garden. Molly Weasley had really outdone herself this year with the food and decorations. Oh, he knew that the rest of them chipped in to help with everything, but he also knew that the matriarch of the family was not only a force to be reckoned with, but also the one who was truly in charge. He also knew that she was probably the reason that he was sitting between Rose and Albus, and across from Lily and the Scamander twins.

This did not bode well.

When he first saw the seating arrangements he wondered why in Merlin's name the good matriarch would put Lily anywhere but near her best friend. But then he saw that said best friend was sitting next to his best friend and things became a little clearer. Still. He didn't want to be next to Rose and he didn't want to be amused by the way that the twins were flicking Lily's hair back and forth between them. (She was doing a fine job of ignoring them, or at least pretending to ignore them). Her eyes were dancing with laughter when she glanced up at him.

Chase was sitting on the other side of Rose. She was flirting madly with him and Scorpius wondered mildly if she had found herself a new conquest. It would go a long way in helping clear away these rumors. He was aware that he may appear to be brooding and jealous but he couldn't help appearances right now. He was rather upset with the idea of these rumors floating around. Already he had come face to face with an irate Ronald Weasley. It was lucky for him that Mr. Potter was also there. And while he couldn't decipher the black haired man's thoughts, he was certain that the auror was anything but angry with him. Mr. Weasley however… Well. There was nothing he could do for it now. He was, however, rather upset at losing the esteem of this wonderful family.

He felt a light kick to his foot and looked up into the bright eyes of Lily. She gave him an impish grin that seemed to be reassuring in a strange sense, and then turned back to the twin on her right, who it was going on about some explosion or another.

Something strange happened though. Her eyes glazed over and her spine stiffened. She seemed to stare off into the distance for a moment. The twins' laughter trailed off and there was a momentary silence around their little area of the table. He felt Albus and Rose stiffen next to him at the same time. He remembered something like this happening back at the Potters' home the first night she was home.

"Teddy and Victoire are going to make an announcement soon," she murmured. And just as suddenly as it began, her gaze cleared and she grinned broadly. "I'm so excited for them!" Then she looked at Rose and glared. "Don't ruin their moment!"

Rose huffed but was unable to answer. Teddy had stood up just then and asked for everyone's attention. He seemed a little nervous as he glanced around the room. But then he focused on Victoire and grabbed her hand and they were suddenly both beaming at each other. It was such an intimate moment but nobody seemed to mind. Everyone in the room was smiling at the two of them.

"Well, go on then, Teddy! Tell us what's got you up there!" Someone yelled.

Teddy cleared his throat. "Right. Yes. So, Victoire and I wanted to tell you all that we are expecting our first child next summer!"

There was much applause and congratulations and crying, (why was there crying!?) after this pronouncement. Men stood and clapped Teddy on the back, while women went and hugged Victoire. Many of the people that were sitting at Scorpius' table stayed where they were though, and that didn't really surprise him, as there were too many people were swarming the happy couple.

He was happy for his cousin and his future. Certainly. Teddy was one of the best people that he knew. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel as if something was off. Not necessarily with the announcement, but with something else. There was a foreboding tension in the air that was surrounding him, and he knew he wasn't the only one who could feel it. The Scamander twins eyes didn't seem as joyful as they were moments before, Albus had shuddered as if a cold chill had gone up his spine, though it was rather warm in the tent, and Lily's lips were pursed in an angry pout.

He felt something flare to life in his mind as he was taking all of this in. There was some new thread that was being formed, something familiar but still distant all at once.

As the chatter died down and people began returning to their seats, Rose stood and drew their attention to her.

"Oh Merlin. No." Cham muttered from the other side of Albus.

"I'm so happy for you both!" She simpered at them. Teddy's eyebrows raised and Victoire's face was set in confusion at how her younger cousin was acting. Rose continued. "You guys have been trying so hard and it's just so exciting!"

Teddy found his voice and though looking incredibly bewildered he attempted to thank her for her courtesy. But Rose had other ideas and trampled right over him.

"In light of this joyous news, I thought that it would be a good time to also share mine and Scorpius' happy news! We're going to have a baby too!" Her overly cheerful voice reverberated throughout the now silent room. There were no congratulations. No happy exclamations. None of the men clapped him on the back – not that he wanted them to – and none of the women came over to hug Rose. Also not what he wanted to happen.

Everyone was staring though. At him, and also her, but he felt like it was mostly himself. And he was floundering. He was lost in a sea with no anchor. Nothing holding him in place. He figured this was what a panic attack must feel like, though he couldn't be sure. He had only ever heard of them before. The only thoughts going through his mind were of how she could possibly do this when there was no truth to it, and more importantly: why?

He looked around to see if he had any support; Albus had nothing but disappointment on his face (thanks for believing in me, Mate.) There was nothing to be found but pity on Cham's. The hellion squad looked ready to murder, though who they wanted to kill, he couldn't say for sure. He couldn't bear to look at Lily. Her estimation of him had come to mean a lot in the short amount of time that they had known each other. The idea of her disappointment in him made him cringe, even when he knew how untrue Rose's claims were.

It was Ron though that made him beyond weary of the situation that he found himself in. Rose's father was furious. Even more so than when Scorpius had come across the man and Mr. Otter earlier. Ron's face was a shade of purple that Scorpius was sure could only be found on blueberries, and he would swear until his dying day that there was actual steam coming out of the man's nose and ears. (And the blonde was certain it wasn't a WWW product).

"Err. Right. Well. That's a um…lovely thought, Rose. And well, congratulations on being pregnant. But, yeah. It's not mine." And then he bolted out of the tent as fast as he could.

~SL~SL~SL~SL~

Lily and Cham stood at the same time, murderous expressions on their faces. Lily had known Rose was going to try something stupid tonight. And with Chase here, it made it that much worse. They didn't need any outsiders working on this with them. And Lily had no trust for him. He was a worm.

~SL~SL~SL~SL~

Rose cringed a bit from the pure anger on her cousin's face, but she straightened her spine and held her head high, meeting Lily's piercing glare head on. She would not fail in this. Lily and her friend would not stop what was to happen. She, Rose, would for once be victorious over her cousin.

To Rose's immense consternation, once again, Lily did the opposite of what was expected of her. The glare melted from Lily's face and she grinned. Then she turned to her uncle. "Things aren't always what they seem, Uncle Ron. And those we love most," she looked back at Rose for a moment, "can sometimes turn out to be backstabbing liars."

Her exit wasn't near as dramatic as Scorpius' flight, but her parting words did what she had meant them to do, and the people that the words were meant for were left with much to think about.

Obligatory Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other awesome things you may recognize in this spiffylicious story.

A/N: Thank you to all of my lovely readers and reviewers. You guys are amazing! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Leave a thought for me, please?

Until next time!

CHEERS!
Jeni