(A/N- Thanks so much for the reviews! I love all you guys :) Ive been getting consistent reviews now. I cant believe Im almost to 100! It seems unreal. You guys rock my whole world and encourage me! Love you all xoxo

All my love and thanks to: midnightstar19, XloveXconquersXallX, Stromsten, , SSJJ92, BonnieMcCullough, and the anonymous reviewers.

Stromsten- Well, we shall see. But come on- shes not that hopeless, right?

And yeah, to everyone, lots of drama!)

Chapter 12

Rose P.O.V.

Avery twirls me around exuberantly, ignoring the muttered whispering of the properly dancing couples around us. A laugh escapes my lips, and I have to say, I'm enjoying it. I've long gotten over the fact that the Purebloods have been talking about us- well, me with him- and have started to have fun. I can relax with Avery, without having to flirt much at all. He does enough for both of us.

"Enjoying yourself?" He asks, as he pulls me close and we sway to the slow song playing.

"Yeah." I smile. "Thanks for inviting me."

"No problem." His lips by my ear cause me to shudder involuntarily. "Think we should slip out now?" It's more than just making Jason and Madeline jealous now. We've done more than enough of that. This is for us, and he's indirectly asking me if- well, if I want to take it any further than just our flirting and dancing. My cheeks redden- again- but I nod.

"Yeah." I shiver in anticipation as he pulls back and one of his hands brush my cheek before he reaches for my hand.

"As much as I love to be rebellious," He smirks, and I bite back a smile, "We should be discreet. I'd prefer it if this went unseen by my parents."

"Right," I agree, and the warmth of his hand sends a rush of excitement through me. We slip by the dancers and into the stone hallway and up the stairs. He pulls me into an empty room- a parlor, maybe?- and turns to face me. I find myself looking anywhere but him, and he gives me a smug smile before moving a hand to my cheek, forcing me to look up. I meet his eyes and freeze, and he moves closer to me.

"May I?" He asks, his gaze on my lips, and I'm so surprised he's asking that I laugh. "What?" He asks curiously, and I shake my head and move my hands to my chest before he leans in slowly, savoring the moment. His lips are an inch away from mine when I see a streak of silver from over his shoulder.

"Lily!" I gasp, pulling away.

"I- what?" He asks incredulously, reaching for my waist, but I shake my head. There's no time for explanations. I stumble out into the corridor and see her dress disappear around a corner- into the room we came from- what?

"Grimmauld Place!" I hear a muffled voice cry out, and, upon entering the room, I stare at the spot in the fireplace where she stood a moment before, the green flames slowly flickering out.

"Godric," I murmur, stumbling backwards. I feel Avery's strong hands catch me, but I'm too focused on Lily- or the lack of her- to feel nervous. He wraps his arms around my waist and lets out a sharp intake of breath.

"Wow. What do you reckon Scorpius did this time?"

"Avery!" I scold, unable to make my voice angry, though. I'm worried for Lily, of course…but Scorpius is so perfect, I can't imagine anything he'd do that would upset Lily. I cringe inwardly at my thoughts.

"Lily!" Scorpius's voice echoes through the hallways, and I shrink back against the walls in embarrassment. I've just managed to force back my jealousy as I see Scorpius and Lily together, and I don't want it to come back.

I can't help admiring his painfully handsome hair and perfect cheekbones, though, as he comes into the room, his gray eyes filled with worry. He turns to Avery and I in surprise, but doesn't dwell on it long.

"Where'd she go?" He demands, breathless. I gesture wordlessly to the fire, not meeting his eyes, and he lets out a string of curse words and slumps back against the wall.

"Scorpius?" Avery asked hesitantly, an unusual trait for him.

"What?" The blond asks hollowly. Avery clears his throat.

"Mate, you're bleeding…" I stifle a gasp as I see his knuckles, raw and bloodied.

"Ah." Scorpius is momentarily distracted as he mutters a charm and the blood clears away, leaving pink, new skin in its place. "That was…Darren…" He mutters.

"Darren Flint?" I speak up, tentative but confused. "What'd he do?" Scorpius shoots me a wary glance but replies.

"Don't know exactly, but he was talking about feeding her some pureblood crap about how I'm supposed to marry his sister." His distressed look pours out more emotion than I've ever seen from him, but my eyes widen as I hear his words.

"Is it true?" I blurt out without thinking, and he shoots me a dark look but doesn't reply. I swallow hard, and I feel Avery's arms tighten around me. Most pureblood families have had arranged marriages in the past to some extent, but the tradition's mostly died out since the war. Purebloods mostly end up marrying each other anyway, though.

"Do you know where she went?" Scorpius finally speaks up, and I debate on whether to tell him or not. Lily probably wants some space. When I don't say anything, Scorpius grits his teeth and waves his wand over the fireplace. Vividly bright green flames spring up in the ashes.

"It'll take me where she went," He says, sparing us a glance. "Cover for me, alright?"

"I don't think-," I start, but without another word, he steps into the fire.

Lily P.O.V.

I stumble into the drawing room, and thank Merlin no one's around. They've probably all gone to the Burrow already tonight, where we're all staying for Christmas tomorrow. That's where Rose and I were supposed to Floo when the ball was over. I wipe away a few stray tears from my eyes and make my way to my bedroom, where I sink down onto my bed and close my eyes, succumbing to the tears.

"Lily." I open my eyes a crack to see him, and my breath catches in my throat.

"How'd you come here?" I ask weakly, which is surprisingly the first thing on my mind.

"Magic repetition charm on the fireplace you Flooed from." He smiles softly. "N.E.W.." I sigh.

"Yeah. I figured."

"So, are you going to tell me why I just beat Flint in a Muggle duel? I have to admit, resorting to such crude methods did give me a sense of satisfaction." I take a minute to process his words, then my eyes widen.

"Scorp, you didn't." He smiles when I say his name and sits at the foot of my bed. I don't return the smile.

"Yes, I did." His gaze turns serious. "I know he said something to you about me, and I want to know what it was." I bite my lip, studying him. I have to know the truth.

"If I ask you something, will you tell me the truth?" His gray eyes meet mine, and after a second, he nods. I take a deep breath, but don't look at him. I don't want to get caught up in his spell. Not now.

"Are you engaged to Arabella Flint? More or less?" His expression hardens.

"Is that what Darren said?" I don't answer, and he sighs. "Lily, you know I love you."

"Answer the question," I whisper, his stalling cutting into me like a knife. I'm terrified for his answer.

"I'm…" He hesitates. "It's expected that we'll marry, yes…but I wouldn't call it engaged." I wince at his words.

"Okay." My voice sounds oddly fake. "Well. That's it, then."

"What?" Scorpius's voice is incredulous, and he reaches for my hand, but I draw back.

"No need to delay," I say, filling up with an eery confidence. "You don't want to disappoint your mother, do you? Go ahead. No need to wait. Date Arabella. Your future's already been planned out."

"Lily," Scorpius says loudly. "Stop it."

"Stop what?" I turn to stare at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"There was nothing to tell! It's expected, yes, but I'm not marrying her! Not unless you break up with me, and I wasn't under the impression that you were doing that anytime soon!"

"Well, I wasn't going to, not until you told me about your future wife!" I exclaim, jumping off the bed.

"My future wife?" His voice fills with rage, and Scorpius, with a great effort, takes a deep breath, calming himself. "Lily, listen to me." I reluctantly raise my eyes to his face and he steps towards me, his hand moving to brush my hair behind my ear. "You're overreacting. It's expected that I'll marry Arabella, but it's not certain. I have a choice, and I don't care about her, love. I love you, and that's all I care about now."

"You should have told me," I whisper, but I can't seem to step away. He seems to struggle with himself with a decision, before he sighs.

"I know, Lily. I'm sorry. But she means nothing to me."

"Your mother was so nice…" I mumble, and Scorpius sends me a pleading smile.

"She says she's happy for me with whoever I'm happy with." I want to believe his words.

"So she doesn't…Darren said…she was just-," I clear my throat. "She's not just going along with you and me because…because she thinks we'll break up before you're really serious about me?" His eyes flicker with surprise.

"I am serious about you." He sighs, and I finally lean into his embrace. "Merlin, Flint got what he deserved," Scorpius breathes. I smile somewhat reluctantly.

"I wish you wouldn't go around beating people up for me." Scorpius pulls back and smiles at me.

"Not for you, if it makes you feel any better." I raise an eyebrow, and his eyes intensify. "For me, because he upset you, and I can't stand that." Feeling slightly dizzy, I let his lips capture mine gladly, and I let my worries fade away.

(A/N- Gosh, Im such a sucker for happy endings. I couldnt bear to tear them apart! But dont worry, its far from the end. Lots more chapters to come! Reviews are loved. J Thanks, readers!)