Chapter 11

Lily had never felt as much ecstasy as she did when she kissed Scorpius. All perfectly manoeuvred moves of how she would react if he was to kiss her had flown out of her mind like a Quaffle would swish into the goal hoops in full speed. Her eyes had fluttered shut almost immediately, her racing heart began to run even faster, her fingers that had been entwined into that of Scorpius's, found themselves entangled into his hair when his hands wrapped around her waist tightly. Lily could only tell her heart to be still, she could only wish that time would freeze and that this moment would never end.

She stood on her tiptoes when he gripped her waist even tighter and her entire body was pressed to that of his. Lily had kissed once or twice before, but none of them compared to the sensations that Scorpius was making her feel. The tingles running down her spine and the feeling of having Scorpius so close to her was something she had never experienced before. She nearly groaned in disappointment when his lips detached from those of hers. But the sight of Scorpius grinning made her feel all the better. Lily's uneven breath slowed down as her hands rested on his chest.

"Merry Christmas, Lily," Scorpius whispered and Lily mirrored his grin, the blush on her cheeks intact.

"Merry Christmas," she whispered back, loosening her hold on him as he did on her.

Scorpius ran a hand through his hair, smiling as he could still feel her delicate fingers dancing through his strands. He suddenly felt glad he had used a good shampoo that morning, and immediately scolded himself for having thought of something so silly.

"We'll umm...meet for the flying lesson tomorrow, then?" He asked in a husky voice, catching his breath. It made Lily feel strange things all in itself. She gave a nod, unable to answer.

"I sh-should g-go back to my room," she muttered, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Of course," he said, just as nervous. Lily felt a bit at ease seeing that he was just as uncomfortable as her. "Uh, goodnight."

Lily began to walk towards the stairs. "Goodnight," she said softly and turned around, her cheeks still blazing as she slowly trudged up the stairs.

"Lily?" He called out quietly and she turned around silently.

"Will you umm...do you want to go to that pub with me t-tomorrow or umm perhaps later, or whenever you feel like it...its all up to you. But I'd like it if you came, its...it would be odd to sit there all by myself? Uh...would you...will you—?"

Lily almost chuckled at how endearing he looked when he was all flustered. "I'd love to," she answered, cutting him off and he snapped his head up from where he had been awkwardly staring at his shoes.

"Okay, uh goodnight then," he mumbled before dashing past her and up the stairs, fleeing into Albus's room and shutting the door behind him.

He let out a breath, softly pulling on his hair for having come up with such a disappointing way to ask a girl out. It annoyed him seeing that he was so nervous around Lily, and could barely speak in human ways. He had never had trouble in asking a girl out before. That was the easiest thing he could do, and being so flustered around Lily was a new sensation to him. New, but it was nothing compared to how brilliant it was to kiss her.

Scorpius had been waiting for this moment for so long, he lost count of how many times he had imagined kissing her. And everything else had vanished from his mind the moment she responded to the kiss. The other girls weren't even a smidge compared to how he had felt with Lily. Even though he had acted like the most awkward being ever while asking her out, at least he was relieved that she had said yes (not that he doubted it before but he certainly did due to his rotten way). But Scorpius couldn't help smile as he fell atop the bed and imagined what it would be like to actually call Lily his girlfriend.

A few doors away when Lily entered her room to find Rose sitting up and reading, she tried her best to conceal the smile and her red cheeks but it was no use since Rose immediately picked up that something had happened.

"What is it that you're not telling me?" She asked, shutting her book and eyeing Lily suspiciously.

Lily knew there was no point in hiding, and frankly she didn't want to. If it were up to her, she'd stand on the roof and yell out as to how amazing it was to kiss Scorpius.

"We kissed," she said as she sat on the bed, gathering her numerous cushions together.

Rose's eyes widened excitedly and she nearly squealed happily as she jumped over to Lily's bed and tackled her into a hug. Lily chuckled and hugged Rose back.

"Oh Merlin, how was it?" She chirped when they let go of each other.

Lily sighed dreamily.

"I can't tell you, Rose," she breathed. "It was wonderful...so, so wonderful."

"I am so happy for you!" Rose grinned gleefully. "Pesky boy finally cut the tension."

"He asked me out," said Lily.

"About time." Rose mockingly rolled her eyes and Lily smacked her arm playfully.

They spent a while talking about things and lost track of time as they did. Later when Lily dozed off and as did Rose, the lights faded out all by themselves and at the sound of the soft snowflakes tapping across the window, the house slept in silence.

Scorpius, who had fallen asleep with a grin, did wake up with one, but it soon vanished when he realized what he was supposed to do today. He sat up worriedly, wondering as to how he would put forth the news of the return of Bellatrix Lestrange's son. He was no better than his mother, if not the same. Scorpius despised the fact that he had such a family member. Grumbling a cuss to himself, Scorpius dragged his body out of bed and left to freshen up. Albus was still asleep, and Scorpius decided to wake him up later.

Half an hour later when the family had assembled into the dining room for breakfast, Scorpius's nervousness entirely disappeared. Lily's smiling face in front of him calmed his so easily repaired the jumbled mess of his mind, Scorpius couldn't understand how she had such an effect on him. He felt rather confident when they all took their seats and breakfast was served. It was a late morning since they had all slept quite late the previous night. The memory of his kiss with Lily was still fresh in Scorpius's mind, and he did nothing to push it away. In fact, he was awaiting the next chance for it to happen again.

There was a faint chatter, for last night's exhaustion had still not worn out, and Scorpius thought it the right moment to intervene and break the news. It was now or never. There was limited time and they would have to make some arrangements for protection. With a glance in George's direction, who gave him an encouraging nod, Scorpius cleared his throat rather loudly to gather everyone's attention. He tried to avoid Albus's groggy visage, James's scrutinizing gaze and Lily's straight face as he prepared himself to announce.

"I have some news to share with you all," he began, clamping his hands together underneath the table. The table looked at him patiently so he would continue. Scorpius didn't know where to start, so he just let words fall out of his mouth as they would.

"Most of you must know about a certain witch called Bellatrix Lestrange," he said, letting his eyes look around speedily so he wouldn't have to make eye contact with anyone for a long time to notice their reactions. Lily adjusted herself in her seat, not quite ready to let people know of her secret flying lessons, worried that they would stop. "What you probably don't know is that she has a son. I have confirmed news that he has come to avenge the death of his mother, and plans to attack your family soon. He already made an attempt at Lily the other night."

As he said that, gasps ran across the table and Ginny's hand trembled, letting the fork she was holding, fall onto the table loudly. Harry's hand immediately shot up to hold that of hers.

"He attacked Lily?" Harry asked incredulously.

Scorpius nodded. "Since that is out, its time for another revelation." He glanced at Lily once, who let out a sigh. "Lily has been taking secret flying lessons with me after dark."

Scorpius's eyes involuntarily stopped at James who was shooting daggers in his direction, as though he would hex Scorpius whichever chance he got. Albus could only stare wide-eyed.

"Please," he raised a hand when James was about to protest and possibly shoot a hex. "Let me finish. You can kill me later." Lily felt like chuckling for some reason.

"I will explain about the lessons, but there's another more important matter to dwell upon. Mizar Lestrange is a dangerous man. He Stunned Lily during one of our flying lessons. I'm guessing it was a warning of sorts...I'm not sure. It wasn't very bad, and Rose took care of her. We discussed this with George the morning after the attack and he suggested to hold this news until after Christmas, that's why the delay." Everyone glanced at George once who just shrugged in response, as though there was no other option.

"Dad confirmed in his letter that Lestrange is gathering a secret army of sorts, and wants to avenge his mother's death, since he was trained as a Death Eater, and holds a grudge against Harry Potter for having killed Voldemort. You might be warned through the Ministry if they were to find out about this, but I felt it my duty to warn you all."

There was pin-drop silence when Scorpius finished. The ticking of the clock was the only sound, and it seemed louder than it had ever been.

"Voldemort probably didn't know how many generations of kids he was going to inflict direct or indirect torture upon," muttered Ron, breaking the silence and everyone looked at him quietly, unable to say anything.

Finally, Harry sighed. "Well, I'm glad Lily's safe," he said. "And thank you, Scorpius, for having shared this important news with us. I did have a feeling that there was a threat and now it's been confirmed. Ron and I will go to the Ministry and spread the word to other Aurors. If this man is as dangerous as you say, we need to protect everyone around. I shall also make the necessary arrangements to protect Godric's Hollow."

He then turned to Ginny. "Don't worry, darling. Nothing will harm us."

Ginny didn't say anything, just stood up as though something had hit her, and rushed towards Lily to pull her into an embrace.

"You're okay, honey?" she cooed, holding Lily's face in her hands gently.

"I'm alright, mum," Lily whispered as tears brimmed her eyes and she hugged her mother close.

Scorpius suddenly felt relieved after having shared this burden with everyone. He didn't even bother looking at James who still seemed to be quite angry instead of worrying about his sister being attacked.

"Next time something like this happens, you inform us right away, understand?" Ginny said to Lily and she nodded, smiling.

"Alright, well," Harry said. "I don't want anybody to be scared and not be able to enjoy their holidays. Everything will be taken care of. We've defeated the darkest wizard of all time, I'm sure we can take on a Death Eater's son. For now, I just want all of you to be on alert, but still be able to live normally. Scorpius," he looked straight at him. "I'm aware that Lily wants to be a Chaser, and I appreciate you giving her lessons, but it would be much better if this was done in daylight, with everyone's knowledge. We need to be safe, and you kids should be given more protection anyway. So I'm going to request George to assist you in your flying lessons. That way you have an efficient teacher as well as adult protection. Is that okay, George?"

"We can set up a goal hoop or two in the yard," he smiled. "It should be fun training our little one here."

Lily smiled. At least they hadn't cancelled the flying lessons. She wanted to hug her father. Although she knew James would obviously protest. He confirmed her doubts.

"I'm not comfortable with Lily taking lessons with him," he said, glaring at Scorpius. "We're all equipped enough to help her out. She doesn't need him."

"I'm going to go with James on this one," said Albus. "Sorry, mate," he said to Scorpius who didn't know what to say. So he just sat there, staring at the untouched plate of food.

That had Lily fuming. What right did any of them have to protest against someone actually willing to help her, when they had turned her down before?

"I'm sorry, but I'd rather take lessons from someone who himself offered to help me instead of begging you all to do the same," she said. Rose nearly groaned. There was going to be another fight. "I've asked the two of you enough times to be turned down, and I'm not taking any more of this rubbish. Scorpius is going to give me flying lessons along with Uncle George, and you two," she stood up, pointing her index finger at the both of them, "are not going to say a single word against my decision because I really don't need any more of your interference in my life. Mum and dad are fine with this arrangement, and I frankly don't give a damn what you guys think."

With that, she threw her napkin on the table and marched out of the dining room, leaving everyone in stunned silence. Harry almost chuckled.

"Since that is settled," he said, finishing his breakfast. "George, I'd like you to make sure none of my sons interfere in this matter. I trust you to handle this. Ron and I are leaving for the Ministry now."

He stood up and was about to leave when Scorpius stood as well, confidence radiating off of him as though he was about to do something daring.

"I have to ask your permission for something, Mr. Potter," he spoke, taking a glance at James who was now busy glaring at his food as was Albus. George had left the kitchen when an owl arrived at the window.

"Go on," Harry urged.

"If you and Mrs. Potter are alright with it, would it be okay if I took Lily out to the pub today?"

Harry's eyes widened and Ginny concealed her smirk. It wasn't as though she hadn't noticed the obvious tension between Scorpius and her daughter. She had even discussed with Hermione, who had quite easily knew that this was going to happen soon. They had made a bet soon after to see when Scorpius would ask Lily out, and as Ginny had predicted, he wouldn't wait a day later than Christmas. Hermione seemed to think it would take a little longer. She was scowling at Ginny who gave a shrug. Hermione left to find ten galleons to hand over to Ginny.

"Well, you both aren't kids anymore," said Harry. "Go ahead. But make sure not to hurt her in any way or I will set loose both my sons on you."

Even though Harry was smiling, there was a hint of seriousness in his tone that Scorpius didn't fail to notice.

"I'll make sure not to," he answered, beaming and then with a victorious smirk in James's direction, Scorpius took his seat at the table and began eating his breakfast.

Harry and Ron took their leave while the rest of them finished eating. When they were done and Scorpius was walking out of the kitchen, James grabbed his collar and shoved him to a wall threateningly.

"You've brought yourself some trouble, mate," he snarled. Albus came up to stand behind his brother, not even half as furious as James. He placed a hand on James's shoulder and pulled him back.

"Let it be," he said quietly. "Lily is right. We've been arses to her all this time and we can't be angry because he's helping her. As far as them going out is concerned, we all knew this was coming sooner or later."

Scorpius felt like the happiest person in the world. Albus's sudden change in behaviour was something he wasn't expecting, and he didn't know what he could do to express his gratitude to his best friend.

"Are you serious?" James hissed, letting go of Scorpius and turning to face Albus. "Do you really want our sister to be going out with someone as frivolous as him?"

Before Scorpius could protest and give James a piece of his mind, Albus spoke. "She's not a child anymore, James. She knows what she's doing. Every day she sees him in school with a different girl, and yet if she's willing to go out with him then it's all her choice. We can't be breathing down her neck any longer. And besides..." He stepped past James and stood before Scorpius. "If you treat our sister like the other girls, Scorpius, make no mistake, our friendship will be as good as over, and you won't see the light of day. Do you understand?"

The seriousness on Albus's face almost made Scorpius smile seeing as to how much he loved his sister.

"I promise you, mate. She's nothing like those other girls."

That was all Albus needed to hear, and the lack of hesitation in Scorpius's tone reassured him enough to let this go on. James, although a bit unconvinced, decided to let it go and left along with Albus. Scorpius let out a breath of relief for not having lost his best friend. He didn't know what had made him publicly ask for Harry's permission to take Lily out, but now that he had done it, he felt much better that he didn't have to sneak around to show her affection.

He decided to go and talk to her when George burst through the front door, a panicked expression across his face as a crumpled letter fell from his hands.

"What's wrong, George?" Ginny asked, rushing out of the kitchen along with Hermione.

"Mum...it's mum..."

And just like that, colour drained out of Scorpius's face.