Warning: there is some coarse language (including the the f-bomb) in this chapter.

Lily shifted uncomfortably in what was usually the student's chair of the Headmistress' office. Apparently Vector had been somewhat concerned for how Lily was coping, and after finishing her workload for the day, she had decided to venture down to the dungeons to her quarters. Lily could understand Vector's surprise at the fact that of all the things she could have walked in upon, she had turned the corner to see Lily hex a fellow employee. This amused Lily slightly, but not for too long, because she knew just how much trouble she was in.

This was not like when she was a student and she had hexed Alastair Bailey for cheating on her; her parents would not be called up to the Headmistress' office to berate her or rescue her from trouble. She was a fully-grown witch, accountable for her own actions, and not only this, but she was a Professor that had just set an extremely bad precedent for her students.

Though after tonight she doubted they would be her students anymore; she and Scorpius had both been warned for yelling at each other. Physical violence was another thing entirely. In fact she half-expected her father to arrive at the Headmistress' Office to throw her in Azkaban for attacking another wizard. Miserably, she reflected that she didn't care what happened to her now. She did feel slightly sorry for her relatives, however; being the daughter of Harry Potter, this information would surely leak its way into society and spread like wildfire.

She sat there numbly as Vector spoke to her, pallid with a mixture of shock and anger. Lily barely took in a word of what she was saying, aside from the fact that she would "not tolerate this type of behaviour in my staff, no matter what they're going through!"

After the past few days, Lily was glad to be packing her bags and leaving, no matter what it meant for her future. At the moment nothing really mattered. She felt as though she was having an out-of-body experience; Lily was a passive observer of her own existence, a spectator on the outside looking into the rapid downward spiral of her life. But Lily wasn't upset, and she didn't cry; she just felt numb. She couldn't wait to go home and see her parents.

A knock on the door alerted her to the presence of someone else in her quarters. She didn't really want to turn around and talk right now, she just wanted to reflect in silence. Eventually, she turned around, and was surprised by who she saw. Standing there, a slightly wary look on his (apparently healed) face, was Tristan Saunders.

"Hi."

"Um, hi," she replied, wondering why he wasn't hiding from her in the furthest place possible. He must think I'm psychotic, she thought to herself, sighing. "I'm really sorry about what I did before… I just sort of lost control, I wasn't thinking straight. I'm sorry."

"That's okay… I mean I'd be angry if I were in your position, too. Granted, you didn't really give me a chance to explain myself, but… well, I thought I should make things right. I'm really sorry about Friday night," he began awkwardly, apparently trying to choose his words before speaking. "James told me that… well, he said you and Scorpius had broken up during the Christmas break. He said you were interested in me but didn't want to look like you were on the rebound, so… I probably should have asked you if it was true, before I... I'm sorry. I can't believe Vector… I can go and talk to her if you like, straighten things out."

Lily shook her head. "No. It's kind of you to offer, but there's really nothing you can do, even if you wanted to. And besides… I think I just want to go home. If I can't sort out my problems without doing something childish like hexing someone, I probably shouldn't be teaching impressionable teenagers, should I?"

They both laughed at this.

"Well, I should continue packing, and leave before any of my students come and make me explain why I hexed you," she said, returning the grin he gave her, "but good luck with them."

Tristan laughed. "Yes, good luck for the future. They say it's a small world… I'm sure we'll see each other again, so… bye for now." He extended a hand for her to shake, which she took with a smile.

"See you around."

With a nod, he left the room and Lily continued her silent packing. While going through her cupboard, she picked up the black leather book she had used to record all of her potions information in. If it weren't for this little book, it's possible she and Scorpius would never have gotten together. This in mind, she placed it as delicately as possible in her trunk before taking one last sweeping gaze at her now-empty quarters. Well, this is it, she thought. Picking up a handful of floo powder in one hand and her trunk in the other, she cast it into the fire and stepped into it, shouting the name of her parents' house, her destination, 12 Grimmauld Place.

It was unusually dark in the house as she stepped out onto the hearth. At first Lily wondered whether or not her parents were home, but she could see the flickering of candlelight coming from the kitchen. "Mum? Dad?"

There was movement in the kitchen. Soon enough, her mother, who seemed dressed for a special occasion, popped her head out of the kitchen. "Lily? What are you…" Ginny's eyes travelled momentarily to the trunk, and before she could meet the eyes of her adult daughter, Lily had started crying.

"Lily, what's wrong?"

Her father had soon joined them and Lily proceeded to share with them every detail of the events since Friday. Harry had been disbelieving of her claims about James, until she reminded them of his behaviour toward Scorpius on Christmas day.

She spent much of the next week sitting around the house listening to the wizarding wireless and ignoring James, who had attempted to apologise but gave up when she turned her back on him. Her parents were at a loss for what to do; Lily had, of course, dated at Hogwarts, but she had always picked the right boy, it seemed, for it had nearly always ended on good terms or without much upset. They'd never seen her so upset about something before.

Ginny had tried to comfort her, give her advice, but gave up eventually. All people, she realised, Lily included, dealt with things in their own way. Harry had tried to cheer her up, joking that now she could work at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, so long as she didn't hex the customers, but unfortunately this had little effect. Usually he could coax a laugh out of her, but all he received was a small, sad smile.

Albus wasn't quite sure what to do either, but that was because he had no idea what was going on. All he knew was that Lily and Scorpius had broken up, she had been fired from Hogwarts, and that James was somehow involved. But he had no idea how all those things linked together. He'd tried to ask Lily, to no avail, which truly shocked him because out of everyone, he was always the one to succeed in cheering her up. It was frustrating knowing only sparse details.

However after a couple of days of silent observing, he noticed that James was the only one not talking to her regularly. Albus decided to take a different tack; if he confronted James about it, he could get him to fix whatever had happened or at least figure out how to deal with Lily.

Walking up the stairs, he quickly decided on a nonchalant approach; perhaps he would get more information that way. "Where is it tonight, Jamie?" he said casually, leaning against the door frame of James' room; he knew very well that James was going out with friends. "Or should I say who."

James snickered at the insinuation. "If only my life were that exciting, Al. I'm going to Avalon like I do every week, remember."

"Of course, how could I forget? So, I hear you're the one responsible for the whole Lily fiasco,"

James grunted, the first sign that he was about to become defensive. In Albus' eyes, that all but affirmed his guilt. There was no answer from James.

"Ah, so you did break them up. I thought so. I suppose you're happy though. You wouldn't have wanted him as a brother-in-law anyway."

Irritated, James snapped back at this comment immediately. "Come off it, Albus, do you really think things would have gone that far? They went out for what, a couple of months? I'm surprised his family didn't end it earlier. Plus, she's only twenty-three, she doesn't even know what love is-"

"Oh, so love has an age restriction now? I wasn't aware of that fact. Funny how it wasn't like that when you went out with Adrienne Dav-"

"That was different!"

"How, James? How was it any different from this?" asked Albus heatedly; he now knew this fuss was all because of James, James knew how to fix it and he was doing absolutely nothing about it. "Oh that's right, Lily didn't stoop so low as to break you up. Neither of us liked her, but you know what Lily said? As long as you were happy we'd learn to cope with it. Admit it James, you've been an arsehole, no two sides about it. She was happy and you completely fucked it up, and now you're the only one who can make things right. You can let Lily wallow away her youth in self-pity, or you can admit you're a prick and do something about it. Your choice."

Satisfied that he had made enough of an impact, Albus went up the half-flight of stairs to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. Now all he had to do was wait. James had a conscience, and if that didn't make him guilty nothing would.

James leered at the door to Albus' room, knowing it achieved nothing. He'd been feeling guilty all week; yes, he'd wanted Scorpius and Lily to break up. If she had decided to go out with Tristan it would have been even better, as James knew he could trust him. But of course, nothing had happened as he planned. His plans certainly hadn't included any form of hexing, or Lily losing her job.

Now that he thought of it, the whole time he'd been thinking of how much he hated Scorpius, how much history their families had; he hadn't really stopped to think of how much the guy meant to Lily. He had assumed it had been nothing serious, but now that he knew otherwise, James had never felt more selfish or guilty in his life. He wanted to apologise to Lily, but had no idea where to even begin. Now, however, he knew he couldn't escape it. He'd just have to wing it.

Previews – Thought I'd do something a little different and have a summary and a quote!

It's beginning to seem that Lily's foolish decisions and those of her family will impact her future forever. She has two small victories, but they bring her no closer to what she really wants; Lily appears to have no intention of disturbing the perceived happiness of Scorpius. Meanwhile, Scorpius is about to make one tiny, seemingly simple choice that will place the reins of his life squarely in the hands of his father. Will they both just stand back and let it spiral out of control, or try to regain what they have lost, namely their chances of happiness together?

XXX

"Why bother talking to you when everything goes in one ear and out the other, or somehow gets lost in that empty, over-sized head of yours?"

Disclaimer: Unfortunately the Harry Potter universe in its entirety does not belong to me. Excuse me while I weep a little.

Author's Note: Random facts about this chapter: the special occasion Lily walked in on was Harry and Ginny's wedding anniversary, Avalon is a wizarding club, and another character in this chapter is effected as a result of the break up... but who, and how? And last of all, I just love Albus; he's a sweetheart. I'm quite excited about the next couple of chapters… I've written up to chapter eighteen, so if I get more reviews than usual I might update faster ;)