A/N: Apologies! I thought this would be much longer, but be glad it's not, because it would have been in stasis for quite a bit longer! Not much in the way of overarching plot, but lots in the Scorily department (if you catch my drift!) As always, I really hope you enjoy. Special thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and to Kaoruko Hina and their spectacular Scorily fanart! Every one of you makes my heart happy.

I don't own HP, cause then why would it be on ?

ENJOY!

Lily was having a proper dream, for once. She was kissing him again, running her fingers along his jaw, trying to memorize every groove and the feel of his skin. She felt blazing underneath his touch- wild, but in control. Then the scene changed. The world folded in on itself, and the music swelled. The air quivered. Dom, Lily, Molly, Rose, Roxie, Lucy- and two women Lily didn't know- stood in a curved line, wearing matching sage coloured dresses. The sun beat down harshly, and Lily fervently hoped she wouldn't sweat down her dress. The music stopped and everyone turned. The sun grew closer, and the people spun, spun, spun in dizzy circles. Someone had been sick on the grass-

Lily woke up in her sunny bedroom, and kicked her covers off of her sweltering body.

So much for proper dreams. At least Victoire was going to have the decency to favour her ginger-haired cousins when she finally decided on her wedding colours- the wedding was looming ever closer (August), and with the New Year just passed, the issue was becoming quite pressing. In fact, with everything else going on, it had almost slipped Lily's mind that there was going to be a wedding at all.

The last day of Christmas holidays was always bittersweet, but Lily was feeling a new kind of dread. There was no privacy at home (or the Burrow, or the Leaky Cauldron), and the thought of escaping her brothers for more than minutes at a time made her practically giddy. She couldn't wait to dig herself back into all her Divination business and be alone in the tower with Scorpius, and- and other things she tried not to dream-

But then there was Lysander. Faithful, unassuming Lysander. He was one of her oldest friends, and he was her boyfriend, but she knew what she had to do. She had to end things. Even if, Merlin forbid, Scorpius never ever wanted to put his lips to hers again… She couldn't go back to the way things were before. She couldn't go back to pretending his sloppy kisses were setting her heart on fire, or that she thought of him as anything more than a very lovely person that she didn't want to snog.

And she really, really hoped Scorpius would like to kiss her again. Just the possibility gave her a small shiver, and she smiled to herself, remembering the nice parts of her dream.

Still dressed in her pyjamas, she wandered slowly downstairs. For once, she didn't feel bothered about seeing the future. The more frequently it happened, the more used to it she became. It was still jarring when he found herself by the lake with the Lady, but even her presence had become a comforting one.

It was inconvenient to be handed the larger puzzle pieces, the ones she couldn't quite piece together, but she didn't mind being privy to the small, inconsequential details. For instance: she knew Victoire's wedding colours, though she did not know herself; she knew that Flitwick was giving a pop quiz on cheering charms the first day of term, and she knew Herbology would be cancelled on February the 11th, due to inclement weather. Unfortunately, despite the number of things she did know, she did not know how she was going to break up with Sander.

Where were her visions when she really needed them?

The last week of holidays had been different, to say the least. While she and Scorpius had not kissed again, she knew it was on both their minds. They had gone to the annual New Year's celebration at the Leaky, but (luckily) the Scamanders had opted to spend the holidays in Bavaria. If Alicia knew she was distracted, she didn't let on. Bless. Lily really did try to keep the smouldering glances between herself and Scorpius to a minimum.

The holidays had made Lily and the others lazy, and they all dragged their feet eating breakfast and getting their trunks around. Lily deliberated for a full ten minutes on whether or not wearing the bracelet Lysander had given her the previous summer would make things better or worse when she broke his heart. Ultimately, she decided to drape it across the little enchanted, opal elephant Luna had given her so long ago: just another relic of a much simpler time.

King's Cross was already packed when they arrived at a quarter til 11, so goodbyes were somewhat hurried. Lily was separated from the boys almost immediately, and she steeled herself for what was to come. She wasn't sure of the advisability of breaking up with him on the train, but she didn't know if she could go the entire journey- or even one more moment- pretending she was even half as besotted with Lysander as he was with her. Of course, it would ruin everything. Would he ever talk to her again? Would Lorcan?

"Lils! Over here, doll!" Alicia called from inside her car.

Lily joined her and was relieved to find it was otherwise empty. Alicia patted her head as she sat down beside her and leaned her head on her shoulder.

"What's wrong, love?" Alicia asked.

"Oh, nothing, I don't know. Tired, I suppose," she deflected.

"No, I don't think that's it," Alicia frowned. "You were acting weird the other day, too. Now tell me, what's bothering you?"

Lily sighed and lifted her head, and looked her in the eye.

"I have to break up with Lysander."

Alicia's eyes grew comically big and she gasped.

"But- why?! You guys are so cute together! It's a good match!" She insisted.

"Leese… I just realized I don't feel that way about him, okay? He's adorable, and a lovely person, but I just don't think we're right together. I miss the way things used to be when everyone was just friends and we could hang out and I didn't have to worry about him wanting to snog me constantly or touch me or walk me to every single class-"

"Wow. Nice to know how you really feel, Lils," came a hurt voice from the door.

Lily's stomach filled with ice and dread. All the ways she'd imagine doing it in her head -all her carefully thought out apologies- it wasn't supposed to happen like this.

"Sander! Wait!" She cried, turning around. But it was too late; he had already taken off down the train, racing to be as far away from her as possible. She tore out after him.

"Lysander! I'm sorry, please, wait. I didn't mean-" she called again.

He stopped short and faced her, eyes blazing. Lily looked around nervously and bit her lip. People were beginning to stare, poking their heads out of sliding doors.

"You didn't mean what, Potter?" He said coldly.

"I didn't mean for you to find out like that!" She moaned. "I'm so sorry, San, you are one of my best friends! I never meant to hurt you-"

"Really?" He laughed. "Then tell me something Lils, if I'm so adorable and lovely, tell me- why am I not good enough for you? I've liked you for years, waiting for you to notice me, and this is all I get? Two months and a consolation prize?"

Lily gaped at him, speechless.

"I don't want to be just your friend, Lily." He said coldly.

"San-"

"Don't." He interrupted. "You'll only make it worse."
He walked away and she watched him, standing there sheepishly and suddenly feeling quite exposed. She walked quickly back to her shared car with Alicia, and was mortified to find that Hugo and Lorcan had made themselves cozy while she and Lysander had their very public breakup in the hall.

Lorcan glanced at her sympathetically and patted the seat next to him.

"It's okay, you know. He'll get over it." He shrugged.

Lily looked at him doubtfully, but took the seat anyway. She felt low, and lower than low.

"He's just a romantic, is all. Soon, all of this will blow over, and it'll be like old times."

"You think so?"

"Don't worry, I know my brother!" He assured her.

Lily groaned and buried her face into Alicia's jumper. She wanted her mum. Or to be alone, (she couldn't decide), and despite the fact she felt rotten and sick over everything, she found she also felt an incredible amount of relief that it was over. A weight had been lifted off her chest, but she hadn't even realized it was there until it was gone. Maybe her life was far from perfect, but at least she had made it through breaking up with Sander alive.

While her friends tried to make the most of the journey, they allowed Lily to sulk in peace. Although, the nature of her sulking was her secret to keep. Now that she had broken up with Lysander, it concerned her- would Scorpius want to break up with Willa? It wasn't as though they'd talked about it, or made any promises.

It had only been a kiss.

What happened between them was real, and spectacular (Wasn't it?), but that didn't necessarily mean what he had with Willa was so disposable. She realized she actually didn't know a whole lot about their relationship at all; it's not like Scorpius talked to Lily about what he got up to with his girlfriend, and she generally avoided the vicinity whenever she was around. Other people could be so unpredictable.

It had taken exactly four-and-a-half minutes for word to spread to Albus and Scorpius's compartment that Lily had broken up with Lysander in the middle of the train. Al whooped in celebration, and Scorpius allowed himself a guarded smile. He hadn't been really sure she was going to break up with Lysander, just like he wasn't sure at all how he'd be able to do the same with Willa. (Though he really hoped he could manage it a bit less conspicuously.)

"Finally!" Al cheered. "Of course, Lysander is an alright guy, but Lily shouldn't really be dating anybody, and I've been saying it for ages…"

"You didn't think Scamander was an alright guy two weeks ago," Scorpius mused.

"Well, he was dating my sister then, wasn't he? That's like one of those rules, isn't it? You can't date your friends' old girlfriends, always have your best mate's back, and any guy dating your sister is a wanker."

"Any guy?" Scorpius asked nonchalantly.

"Any guy, Scor. That's the rule!"

"That sounds like something your uncle made up," Scorpius scoffed.

"What can I say? Uncle Ron is a smart man."

"Isn't your dad your uncle's best friend?"

Albus shrugged.

"That's different. What do you care anyway?"

Scorpius made a show of rolling his eyes.

"I don't, just wondering," he mumbled.

Their conversation was interrupted by a dainty knock on the door. Before either one of them could move, it opened to reveal Willa standing there, one hand on her hip.

"Scorpius, dear," she drawled.

"Erm, hi," was Scorpius's brilliant greeting.

"I'm just going to pop off and, erm…" Albus mumbled before swiftly exiting the compartment.

Scorpius sat awkwardly while Willa stared at him, but made no move to get up and greet her. He knew he should do or say something, but he was at a loss for words.

"You aren't wearing your scarf," Willa observed dryly.

"Oh! Yea, well, erm, I'd already packed it, so…" he stammered.

She scoffed.

"It was very expensive," she insisted.

"Yes, well, as I said…"

She sighed impatiently and sat down next to him.

"Scorpius, I did a lot of thinking over the holidays, about where our relationship is going."

He gulped and pulled on his collar. This had been exactly the type of conversation he'd been hoping to avoid. What did she expect from him? He couldn't see himself with Willa to the end of dinner, let alone the rest of his life.

"Where do you see "us" in a year?" She asked, peering at him closely.

"Well," he started slowly, "I suppose I haven't given it a whole lot of thought…"

She huffed and folded her arms.

"That's the problem, Scorpius! I don't feel like we're putting the same amount of effort into this relationship. You're not turning out to be the boy I thought you were," she sniffed.

"Well, erm, I suppose not," he agreed, not allowing himself to hope (beyond all hope) that the conversation might be taking a favorable direction, after all.

"I really wanted us to work, we were the ultimate power couple- popular, good looking, passionate! But our passion has died, my love. We were but a struck match, bright, flickering, and fleeting… Now, know I will always care for you, and don't get upset or cause a scene, but I think we should see other people."

She placed a hand on his arm and peered at him earnestly, as though she expected him to break down in tears. Scorpius refrained from rolling his eyes, and made an effort to look wounded (but not too wounded) before speaking.

"That might be best," he said, nodding sagely.

Was he really going to get off this easy?

A flash of annoyance crossed her face.

"I hope we can still be friends," she simpered, trying to get her clearly well-rehearsed narrative back on track.

"Yea, sure," he agreed. He scratched his head and shifted uncomfortably.

They sat there awkwardly for a moment, before Willa rose and walked off, swaying her hips purposefully from side to side. Scorpius let out the eyeroll he'd been holding back. Now that she was his ex-girlfriend, he no longer felt bad about being annoyed by her silly one-sided games. Everything was a carefully calculated move with her; keeping up with her contrivances was exhausting.

Al peaked his head into the compartment. Once he saw Scorpius was alone, he let himself back in and plopped down on his previously-vacated seat.

"Wow, you sure worked fast," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Scorpius gave him a dirty look and laid back across the seat.

"It wasn't like that," he explained, "We broke up."
"Broke up? Broke up?! Mate, are you touched?" Al asked incredulously.

"It wasn't working out," he shrugged.

"She's the prettiest girl in school!"

Scorpius didn't agree, but he wasn't going to tell Albus that.

"I can't believe you," Al said, shaking his head like he had water in his ears. "Well, at any rate, misery loves company. Teagan told me, in no uncertain terms, that she wasn't interested in developing our friendship.."

"Oh, wow. Merlin, Al. That's rough," Scorpius consoled in his best attempt at sympathy.

Maybe Al wouldn't feel so downtrodden, if only he knew the truth! Well, it wasn't Scorpius's secret to tell, anyway. He had his own secrets, thank you very much, without having to worry about Rose's, as well.

Scorpius briefly considered wandering off to find Lily, but he knew that it would probably lead to questions neither of them could yet answer. What would he say to her, anyway? There were no scripts for this. She was still his best friend's little sister, and they still had the future to worry about, and all the rest.

He managed to resist the urge all the way to Hogwarts. Thought the difficulty of the relationship was a compelling reason to stay away, he longed to be beside her. He knew she must be feeling awful over her breakup with Lysander, no matter how set her mind was. (She had a big heart like that.)

However, he was equally keen to avoid anymore melodramatic encounters with Willa, so he'd stayed put in the compartment with Al, content, for the time being, to play exploding snap and speculate on the few final matches of the house cup.

It wasn't until they were settled down in Gryffindor tower that Scorpius allowed himself to seek out Lily. She was been unreachable at dinner, anyway, as snug as she was between Alicia and Hugo. She'd opted to relax with them in the common room, as well, and Scorpius found himself distracted from the current conversation. (Quidditch again, or was it something else?)

"Sorry, erm, I have to go speak with Lily about our tutoring schedule, now O.W.L. revisions are starting…"

Al looked at him like he was touched.

"Seriously? Term doesn't start until morning. Can't it wait?"

"Well, best to not put it off…"

"Aw, come on! We've only just sat down."

Scorpius grimaced and set off, walking cautiously towards Lily and the other third years. She seemed to be in a conversation with Alicia, but he could tell she was deeply distracted.

"Erm, Lily, a word?"

He felt like a dunce for feeling so nervous; this was Lily! Just Lily. Lily, whom he had known since they were kids, who liked reading muggle novels and kicked arse at Quidditch. (Just beautiful, lovely Lily.)

She shot him with a look that almost knocked him off of his feet. If she hadn't quickly jumped up and pulled him towards the direction of the disused reading room, he would have stood there looking dumbfounded for quite awhile.

Now that he had her alone, he felt clammy and unsure of himself, and the feeling was wholly disgusting. Lily was one of his best friends: would they be able to get their groove back?

"So…"

"So."

"So we kissed," he breathed, finally saying it out loud.

"Yes, we did," she whispered.

Before he could stop himself, his hands were in her hair, feeling and pulling. Their lips found each other quickly, and they attacked each other with all the vigor expected of a clandestine kiss in a dark part of the castle. Scorpius was vividly aware that they were one turned door knob away from being exposed to all of Gryffindor house, but the allure of finally was far too great for him to care. There was nothing like it- nothing quite like the way he felt when he was hers.

Eventually, they pulled apart, and he pressed his forehead down to hers, silently memorizing the moment.

"We keep meeting like this," she gasped, and they both laughed. They stood shaking in each other's grasp, overcome with the surreality of the situation. He was pleased to find they could still laugh together, like maybe their feelings hadn't gotten the best of their friendship.

Once they had composed themselves, Scorpius stood back and looked at her seriously, still confused as before, but now assured that it would be alright, anyway.

"What do we do now?" She asked him, his confusion mirrored in her face.

"I'm not sure, Lils. Same as before I guess, except now-"
"More kissing," she suggested, a coy smile playing on her lips.

Quidditch practice was cut short by a freak blizzard. They had only just taken to the air when the snow began to whip about them in sharp, painful gusts, and Tyrsa was forced to order their retreat to the shelter of the locker room. They were all a sight to behold: hair stuck up in frozen chunks, and faces glowed red with cold. Lily hit Scorpius with a warming spell and wink, and he regained feeling in his aching limbs. (He'd have to thank her properly later, when Al wasn't around.)

He surreptitiously watched her as she ran her wand through her icy hair, sighing softly as the heat reached her scalp. The others caught on to her useful trick, and soon the whole team was running their wands down their frozen limbs, emitting various sounds of relief as they rediscovered their nerve endings.

Scorpius thought perhaps this unexpected free time would be best spent with a good book and Lily by the hearth in the North Tower, and hoped they might be able to slip away for an hour or more, before Al and O.W.L. revisions came to drag him back into the thick of things.

"Hurry Up!" Al chided beside him. "Megan Creevey mentioned she'd be in the fourth floor reading-room tonight and I want to chat her up."
Scorpius crinkled his nose in distaste. Megan Creevey, a rather excitable girl in Lily's year, was just one in a recent series of girls Albus had been "chatting up" following Teagan's gentle rejection. It seemed to him that Al's desire to find a girlfriend had less to do with actually wanting one, and more to do with proving he could get one.

"Er, no thanks, mate. I think I'm just going to-"

"Study. Yea, I know." Al grumbled. "That's all you do anymore: study. You've become such a bore since Willa broke up with you, Scor! You can't hide behind your books, you have to get yourself back out there! Get back on the saddle, find another fish in the sea!"

"What- what does that even mean?"

"Oh, you know! I mean, she may be the most attractive girl in this school- and I can't even date her, thank you very much- but there are other girls out there. You just… you shouldn't wallow, is all."

"I'm not wallowing, Al. I assure you, I am perfectly happy not dating Willa."

They argued quietly while the rest of the team changed, and Scorpius felt a physical ache inside himself as Lily shot him meaningful looks from the doorway. Al bent down to tie his shoes and Scorpius took the opportunity to mouth "Tower?" at her over his shoulder. She nodded and sped off out the door before Al had lifted his head up again.

"Okay, mate. You have fun with all of that, I'm going to look over my Charms notes. Flitwick hinted there might be a pop quiz tomorrow."

This was technically true, though he didn't plan on studying too hard.

"What?! You're actually ditching me, your best mate? You're my wing man, you are essential to the operation"

"Your- excuse me? Nevermind. Look: I'm sure you can handle Megan Creevey on your own. I don't want to sit around talking to some girls, alright? I've got...stuff."

He felt bad about the dejected look on Albus's face, but the pull of the North Tower and Lily's warm smile were too strong to resist. After a hurried goodbye, he slung his bag over his shoulder and turned his collar up against the cold.

Scorpius ran across the grounds, eager both to be with Lily and escape the chill.

The castle felt crowded and stuffy as he picked his way through; he wasn't used to being on the main levels this time in the evening, and it wasn't very much to his liking. He could hear students milling about the Great Hall, and others lounged on the staircase. He pulled his collar closer to his face, hoping no one would recognize him and slow him up-

"Scorpius," drawled a familiar simpering voice.

He gave a resigned sigh before turning around.

"Yes?"

Willa stood with her arms folded, surveying him regally. Ever since their breakup, she was under the delusion she held some sort of weird, feminine power over him. (It annoyed him to no end, but Lily found it quite humorous.) Scorpius half-suspected she had only dated him in the first place so she could acquire an ex-boyfriend with whom she could manufacture drama and have meaningful, cryptic exchanges.

"Everything alright?" She asked with an arched brow.

They'd had this same exchange that morning, and on Monday during lunch, and on Saturday after the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw match, and she always peered at him as though she expected him to shed a tear and profess his undying love.

"Quite alright," he stressed, hurrying along.

"Scorpius, wait-"

"Look, Willa, is this important? Cause if not, I've got somewhere to be, and you're slowing me up."

She made a show of being taken aback.

"Just because we're not together doesn't mean I don't care for you, you know! I only wanted to make sure you were okay-"

"Listen, things are fantastic. Really, I swear. If you truly, desperately need daily updates on my emotional well-being, all inquiries may be sent by owl. Now, if you'll just excuse me-"

"Oh, Scorpy, you're hurting, I know. You don't have to-"

He let out a frustrated grunt and sped off, feeling the minutes wasted like a physical wound. She continued to call after him- may have been actively pursuing him down the corridor- but he slipped off into one of the lesser-known passages and escaped her pecking.

Finally, he reached the North Tower and slipped inside the classroom.

"I thought you'd changed your mind!" Lily exclaimed from the rug.

She scrambled upright, but he joined her there on the carpet. He relayed his argument with Al in the locker room and the encounter with Willa on the staircase, and soon she'd fallen to a fit of giggles.

"You said what? 'All inquiries may be sent by owl!' You really said that? Oh, Scor, that- that's brilliant, that is, oh Merlin, wow…"

She wiped a tear from her eye and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. He gave a grin and allowed himself to feel clever.

"Did you want to go over Transfiguration notes, or go through the Oracle- ?"

"Relax," Lily whined, "When do we ever get an opportunity like this to lay about for a bit? You know, I do grow tired of reliving my bloody dreams."

Scorpius sighed and thought, not for the first time, that he was recently having a bad influence on her. Ever since they'd begun this new stage of their friendship, they'd been focusing less and less on the task at hand. Lily's pre-Christmas precognition had all but been forgotten in the excitement of being with each other. But they hadn't fought in ages, so why would he start one just then, when everything was going so well?

He reached out and laced his fingers with hers, content to let it drop, for the moment.

Ignoring a problem didn't make it go away, but it was a nice thought.