"That was such a good lesson," Lily beamed as her and Dominique left their Ancient Runes class.
Her cousin was still aggressively jamming her books into her bag. "It was only a good lesson because you know all of the basics already." Flicking her blonde hair back, Dominque took a deep breath and let it all out. "Let's just get to food, shall we?"
"It's not my fault you didn't read any of the books Aunt Hermione gave to you this summer," Lily mumbled as she linked arms with her cousin. That earned her a scowl.
Lessons were over. The halls were fairly quiet so they took a shortcut that would get them one hall away from the Entrance Hall where they are meeting Ariana and Phoebe. As they appeared from behind the tapestry, Lily knocked into a fourth year in her House.
If Dominique didn't have a firm grip on Lily, she would have fallen over.
"I'm really sorry," she said, a bright blush burning her cheeks vividly. "I wasn't looking where I was going."
"It's fine," he said, brushing his cloak slightly. "No injuries." His hazel eyes were staring at her brightly, never straying away. It was kind of weird as Lily shuffled her feet awkwardly.
Thankfully, Dominique pulled on Lily's arm. "We need to go else we'll be late." Lily smiled kindly, like she had been raised to do, before ducking her head and letting her hair hide her. They were halfway down the hall when the mysterious fourth year shouted to her.
He was still stood by the tapestry, wearing a slightly dumbfounded expression. "You're looking really good today Lily." A blush blossomed but thankfully, Lily was being pulled around the corner by her lovely cousin instead of having to stutter an awkward 'thank you'.
"Do you know him?" Dominique asked. But Lily just shook her head in response.
The Entrance Hall was crammed with students, all who were probably meeting up after morning classes. Lily and Dominique both reached up onto their toes and tried to point Ariana and Phoebe. It wasn't that hard. Both of them were perched on the stairs, Ariana's face painted in disgust and boredom. Phoebe was firmly attached to Franklin as they locked lips. That explained Ariana's pained expression.
"Oh give it a rest!" Dominique cried from the bottom of the stairs. Phoebe pulled way long enough to smile brightly at them before taking Franklin's hand firmly and running down the few steps, falling behind them as they started towards the Great Hall and the smell of food.
Instead of sitting themselves at Gryffindor's long table, the group made their way to Slytherin because it was a special day.
"Happy birthday Albus!" Lily squealed, hugging her brother from behind. She kissed him quickly on the cheek before he could protest and pushed Kaleb up the bench so she could sit down. "I've got your present in here somewhere." She rummaged around until she found the package wrapped in silver paper and smiled brightly as she handed Albus his present.
Opposite Lily, Dominique seated herself between Scorpius and Ariana. "Ah food!" Her eyes lit up and she started piling potatoes on her plate. "Oh yeah, happy birthday Al!" She looked up from her plate to offer him a smile before tucking in.
"Slow down there Dom!" Scorpius warned jokingly.
"She missed breakfast this morning because she forgot to do her Ancient Runes homework," Lily explained, trying not to look Scorpius in the eye. "She brought this hunger all on herself."
Quickly swallowing her mouthful, Dominique cleared her throat and frowned hard at Lily. "If you had just let me look at your work, I wouldn't have missed breakfast."
"And let you learn nothing?" Lily exclaimed in mock shock. Their part of the Slytherin table broke into a fit of laughs, causing the surrounding students to zone in on them. Dominique defiantly stuck her tongue out and continued eating. "Now open your present Al!"
A smile stretched across his face as he ripped the paper off of Lily's present, revealing a t-shirt of his favourite Muggle band. "Aw this is awesome Lils. Thankyou!" Albus gave her a brief hug before holding his t-shirt up to get a better look at it.
"I thought you'd need it for this," Lily said secretly. She reached back into her bag, found the small envelope and presented it to a confused Albus. Nodding to him, Lily watched as he pulled out four tickets to his favourite band's concert in London this summer.
"Lily, this must have cost so much!" Instead of a quick hug, Albus slapped both of his hands on Lily's cheeks, squeezing her lips in a weird position and kissed Lily's forehead hard. "You are officially the best sister ever."
"I try!" Lily smiled, flicking her hair off her shoulder dramatically. "I got four so Franklin, Kaleb and Scorpius could go with you."
"Cheers Lilykins," Kaleb said, nudging her shoulder. Lily giggled as Albus grabbed her in another tight hug and squeezed her.
The timid voice of Ariana broke the laughter. "Here's your present Albus." Untucking the hair from behind her ear, she hid her face from everyone and passed a rectangular box wrapped in ribbon, across the table. As she looked up, Lily caught her eye and smiled. Being the centre of attention was never something Ariana liked. Thankfully, everyone had focused on Albus as he opened the box.
He pulled at the knot and lifted the lid. "Wow, thanks Ariana, it's really... What is it?" From the box, Albus revealed a small wooden girl, definitely of Oriental descent, in a patterned dress and palms together in her chest.
Underneath a thick curtain of hair came Ariana's voice. "It's a wooden statue I found in a market while in Japan this summer. It's supposed to be a lucky charm. I thought it would help you, seeing as you're taking your O.W.L.s this year."
"He needs all the help he can get," Scorpius teased.
"Thanks Score," Albus said sarcastically, flicking a fork-full of peas at him. "All jokes aside, thank you Ariana. I'll get Outstandings in every subject for sure." At this, Ariana pulled back her curtain of hair, a shy smile on her lips.
Everyone started tucking into their food at this point, talking animatedly about their classes and what was happening this evening. Lily thought about throwing a party for Albus but the older boys seemed to dodge the idea. It wasn't until James turned up during the middle of lunch, that Lily understood why her brother was being so secretive.
"Afternoon snakes!" James cried, announcing himself in a dramatic manner as normal. "Happy birthday Al. Party at the Shack tonight?"
Peering around Al, Lily stared at her brother. "Where's the party?"
"Lily you're not coming," James replied flatly.
"And why not? Albus is my brother too."
Dominique flipped her hair over her shoulder and cleared her throat, wanting James' attention. "If you don't let us come, there is a very unfortunate chance that Professor Creevey might find out that you're leaving the grounds this evening. Wouldn't that just be a big shame and a waste of all that Butterbeer you've smuggled?"
"Fine! The four of you can come! But no more else I'll spend my entire time making trips to the Willow and back all evening," James said, running a hand through his hair. He was looking up at the enchanted ceiling and Lily knew he was sorting things out in his head. "I need to talk to Fred. Meet me at the greenhouses at 6!" At with that James was gone.
"We better get to class as well," Lily said, checking her watch. She collected her bag and arose from the bench at the same time as Ariana.
Dominique was still fussing with her scarf. "Oh heaven forbid we were late to Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Wilson might actually frown at Lily."
###
"Can I borrow this sometime?" Lily whispered. It was starting off to be a weird evening for Lily. She was holding onto her brother under her father's Invisibility Cloak as they walked through the silent grounds of Hogwarts. Although she wasn't sure where they were going, it looked like they were heading for the Weeping Willow.
"Lily I can't imagine my little sister having any need for such a item. Why would you need to sneak around?" James murmured, peering down at an old piece of parchment that he hid from Lily for the most part.
"I'm not as innocent as you think I am," Lily said defiantly. Her Weasley temper flared up at the idea that her brothers still regarded her as a baby.
"To me you are; else I wouldn't get any sleep at night." James slowed his step as they approached the Weeping Willow, wary of its flailing branches that were swinging wildly. "Hit it Fred!" A hand appeared from a hole at the base of the tree and pressed hard on a knot in the tree's trunk. The branches immediately froze still in the air. "Off you go," James said, giving her a little shove.
Hurrying under the suspended branches, Lily sprinted to the base of the tree's trunk, keeping her eyes fixed above her. She heard Fred's voice telling her to follow and without a second thought, Lily was on her hands and knees, crawling through the small space where her cousin had just disappeared. She couldn't see two feet in front of her so she pulled out her wand and muttered "Lumos." Further on, she could see Fred's shoes so she hurried after him.
The path dipped into a slope and Lily had to tuck her wand into her waistband. She needed both hands to steady herself. "Are you alright back there?" Fred called. Lily shouted her reply and carried on. But she didn't have far to go and soon Fred's shoes had disappeared and she was being helped through a trap door. "Just head on up the stairs." Then he went back into the tunnels.
She knew she was in the Shrieking Shack. But she recognised Hogsmeade in the distance and put two and two together pretty quickly. The stairs were old and creaking under the weight of her. At the top, all the doors were closed but Lily heard a high pitched laugh and pushed open the door in front of her.
The room was fairly big with tall ceilings and walls that had been obviously stripped and repainted. There were several random pieces of furniture scattered around the place. At the far end of the room, Lily spotted a few barrels of Butterbeer - they must have been what Dominique was referring too.
"Lily!" Her cousin Roxy came bounding up to her, wrapping her long brown arms around Lily's small shoulders. It made Lily feel even smaller. "Let's get you a drink." She pulled her way through the room and Lily tried to recognise everyone. She saw Scorpius talking to his cousin Eve, with Kaleb leaning on the wall beside them. Franklin and Phoebe were talking quietly in the corner. Albus was in the biggest group, wearing the t-shirt Lily bought him, smiling brightly surrounded by students of all Houses in his year. It was a big turnout.
"How are you Roxy?" Lily asked, finding a couple of armchairs.
Balancing her glass between her legs, Roxy tied her hair in a high ponytail. "I'm good. I've got myself a date for next week's trip to Hogsmeade."
"Who?"
"Nick Johnson from Ravenclaw."
"Brown hair, blue eyes, always reading Muggle books in the library?" Lily had seen him a couple of times while she was doing her homework.
With a big smile on her face, Roxy nodded her head at Lily. "I managed to get him to leave the library and ask me on a date. It just shows you don't need Veela charms to be so irresistible."
"But it never hurts," Dominique said, leaning against the back of Lily's chair. She took a glass of Butterbeer from a passing Slytherin in Albus' year as he walked past her. He opened his mouth, ready to argue for his drink back when Dominique blew him a kiss, bombarding the poor boy in Veela charm before falling into a chair next to Lily, leaving the boy slightly stunned.
"Chin chin!" Dominique said, holding her borrowed drink into the middle for a second before drinking half of the contents.
"Roxy," Lily said, speaking her mind. "How did you guys find out about this place?" It had been annoying Lily's curious nature since she found out where the tunnel led her.
"Uncle Harry told Teddy about passageway because it was built for his father Remus when he was at Hogwarts. Teddy decided to clean the place up and use it as a place to hang out. I think Vic told me that Teddy felt closer to his father while he was fixing the place up. He showed it to me, James and Fred when we arrived. And even though loads of people are here, no one but those in the family know how to get here."
"So it's a family secret?" Dominique asked.
"I guess so."
###
The party was amazing. Everyone was drinking and having loads of fun. Ariana had quickly arrived after Dominique, which Lily was thankful for because it wasn't long before boys started to gravitate to Lily's part-Veela cousin. Leaving the flirting behind them, Lily and Ariana had spent some time with Phoebe while she detached her mouth from Franklin's. They then moved on to Eve, Scorpius' cousin. Afterwards, they found Kaleb who was teasing Lily about her height.
"Can I borrow Lily for a second?" It was Scorpius, looking very handsome in grey shirt tucked into jeans. Lily nodded, passing her drink to Ariana and standing up and brushing her hands on her jeans. Smiling uncontrollably in the twinkle in his eye, she walked behind him, out of the room. "I want to show you something."
They walked down the hall, distancing themselves from the loud chatter coming from behind the door. Scorpius held another door open for her and followed as she stepped inside. It was a small room, about the size of the bathroom at the Burrow. The walls were plain white apart from the far side wall. There were handprints cascading up the wall.
"It's the wall that everyone signs when they come here for the first time." Scorpius was behind her, looking up at the wall just as Lily was.
She crouched down, tracing a big red hand at the bottom of the wall in the middle. Underneath, it had been signed by 'Teddy Lupin - 2013.' Lily's mouth dropped open. As she looked at all the hands, moving up the wall, she found Victoire's delicate handprint. Higher up on the wall, she found James' and Fred's and Roxy's and Albus' and Scorpius'. Even Rose had been here. As she placed her hand up against Scorpius', she was nudged in the back.
Behind her, with a tray of blue paint in his hand, Scorpius smirked. "Your turn!"
Looking down from the paint to the wall, Lily rolled her eyes in annoyance. "It may have escaped your notice but I don't think I'm tall enough Scorp."
"Just hop up on my back then." She just raised her eyebrows. "Don't worry, I'm sure you're not as heavy as you look."
For that, she slapped him playfully on the arm.
Scorpius crouched over slightly steadying himself against the wall. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and jumped up. Her legs were wrapped themselves around his waist and settling himself, Scorpius stood up straight. "Here's the paint." He lifted the tray over his shoulder.
The paint was really cold and squelched under her fingertips. She found her spot on the wall and leaned up, placing her hand just above Scorpius'. Then from his pocket, Scorpius produced a Muggle pen called a Sharpie. Lily signed her name and the year. "Very nice," Scorpius said, lowering her to the floor.
"I'm honoured," Lily said.
"You know I think you look really cute but it's missing something." He scanned her outfit and put a thoughtful expression on this face. "I know!" In a flash, he dipped his finger in the paint and smeared it down her nose. "That's better."
"I think you're missing something too." Without giving it another second, Lily ran her hand through his hair, adding blue highlights to his white blond hair. "Oh you look like a whole new person."
"I can't believe you did that Potter!"
But Lily didn't wait around. Giggling to herself, Lily ran out of the room and down the hall. With a look behind her, seeing that Scorpius wasn't following her, she ducked back into the party. The first person she spotted was Phoebe who hurried up to her. She looked very excited and was practically bouncing as she made her way over to Lily.
"Franklin just asked me to the Halloween Ball," Phoebe squealed, gripping Lily's shoulders and jumping up and down.
But Franklin and Phoebe had been in their non-official relationship for months now. "Weren't you always going together? Sorry but I just assumed."
"Nothing's official with us. I feel like we're only getting to know each other but I'm not ready to put a label on it," Phoebe said, leaning against the wall and twirling a strand of hair around her face. "But I'm glad that I'm finally happy."
"Well if you're happy then so am I! And I guess I better take Oscar up on his offer so you won't be at the Ball by yourself." A couple of days ago, Lily's friend Oscar Rutherford, a fellow Gryffindor, had asked to take Lily to the Halloween Ball. She wasn't sure if the girls were going too. Now she had no excuse though she had been holding out for Scorpius to ask her, like always.
Then Phoebe's expression screwed up in confusion. "Why do you have paint on your nose?"
Author's Note: This chapter took a long time to write and I did have to cut some bits out but I hope it's still coherent. Anyway Lily and Scorpius are getting so cute and I can promise major development in the next chapter - it's one of my favourites! I hope you like this story and if you have any thoughts or issues, just review!
