Summary: Lily Luna Potter didn't care much for bad boys. So what if Scorpius Malfoy had the charm of the devil, the looks of a god and a motorcycle that would make Sirius Black proud? Lily X Scorpius

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all its characters are the creative property of JK Rowling. I do however own Raphael Emory and the events of this story. I also own Lily's scatterbrain-y and klutzy cuteness and Dom's cheeky schemeing.

Thank you aclorkworKat for fixing this chapter and making it tolerable. I'm not too fond of this chapter, it did not turn out to be what I wanted but it does take the plot forward so I'm not being mean to it completely. Thank you sweetie!

Important Note: I am moving to Australia in a couple of months so I don't know when the updates will start on this story after a while. I probably wont have much time once I'm there, therefore I'm trying to finish off this story as fast as I can. Hopefully get it done before I leave. That, of course, is no excuse for you all to slack off and not review. Right. So that's the end of my little rant.

Enjoy!

Black Velvet

Chapter 14: To Sleep Per Chance To Dream

The pillow felt soft against her cheek, as Lily lay awake. Her eyes drifted towards the watch on her bedside table, a muggle contraption that flashed bright red against the dark of her canopy. She turned, for what seemed like the thousandth time, unable to drift into sleep. She was going to have the most massive eye bags in the history of time tomorrow morning. Count Dracula would be proud, she mused to herself, letting a sigh escape her lips.

What was it about that boy that made her so restless? She had a wonderful, gorgeous, kind, sweet boyfriend. Yet, she felt ashamed to admit to herself that he simply…didn't make her feel the same way. Her heart just didn't beat in exactly the same breathless manner, nor did her stomach flip the way it did when she was with Scorpius. She stopped that train of thought, crimson tainting her cheeks in shame. What was she doing even comparing the two men? There was absolutely zero to be done. Scorpius was a good friend, and that was it.

A good friend that does funny things to your bits! A voice that sounded so oddly like Dominique's echoed from inside her mind. Fantastic. She now had a persona to incarnate her devil conscience. She sighed, turning once more to the other side. Why did things have to be so complicated? She certainly couldn't deny the thrill she felt running up her spine as he whispered those last words to her… 'Let me know when you want us to repeat this again.' Just thinking about it made her blood rush with excitement. He was just…so different from everyone she'd ever met in her life….so reckless, so carefree.

It contrasted so much with herself, her secluded life, all the precautions she'd been forced to take since that single incident so many years back…he just didn't care. A smile crept into her lips as she thought of that encounter with his motor bike, the way she'd just bumped into him in the middle of the night, how warm he had felt against her… Sometimes she wondered if certain events had been destined to happen, to help one overcome certain obstacles in life, and a very cheeky thought entered her mind, what if he had been brought into her life to help her overcome her fear of living.

She immediately dismissed it as the bollocks it most probably was. This was the type of silly romantic things her cousin Lucy would have said. Another sigh followed along with another toss on her bed.

If only she could shake deep grey eyes and blond locks from her mind and sleep.

…But, then again, who'd want to shake that particular hottie off their dreams? If you can't have him in real life… Dom's voice echoed into her thoughts once more, and Lily groaned.

She had definitely been spending far too much time with her cousin, if she was now the little devil standing on her shoulder. This was going to be one of those long, terrible nights. She only hoped she could have any rest at all. She should think about her boyfriend. Sweet, wonderful, dedicated, loving Lucas Jenner. But even as she tried to think of him, the burning feeling in her chest disappeared.

X

Fridays morning were, in Molly's opinion, the most entertaining morning of the week. Everybody was excited, even the stone-faced snobs at Slytherin table could be seen demonstrating some sort of emotion on Friday. Gryffindors were by far the most boisterous lot. Boys would yell across the table, asking girls out. Sometimes, they'd be accepted. And other times, they were shot down in the worst way possible. Molly glanced around the Hall. She frowned as she noticed Dominique and Blake Zabini sitting together.

Blake had his arm around the golden-haired Veela and was whispering in her ear. Dominique seemed extremely amused by whatever he was saying, judging from the sparkle in her eye and the ready laugh on her lips. Minutes later, Scorpius Malfoy and Astrid Nott joined them. Dom greeted them happily, as though she'd known them for ages. Molly turned back to her breakfast. Roxanne had told her about this. Dom was dating Blake now. She didn't know how she felt about it. Of course, she could understand.

Dom had never hid the fact that she found Blake very attractive. And to top it off, he was elegant, charming, a bit of a designer-whore, much like Dom herself, but the singular quality to be admired in Blake was that he was one of those people who got along with everybody. In a House that was full of snooty, irritable snobs, Blake was like a ray of sunshine.

In fact, how somebody like Blake Zabini ended up as best friend to Scorpius Malfoy was a mystery.

Beside her, someone sighed. Molly turned. Cassie sat down beside here, looking sad and forlorn. Molly quirked an eyebrow up. This didn't usually happen. Cassie looked terrible. Her clothes looked like she had literally pulled them on without sparing a glance to check if they were fresh or not. She could detect wrinkles and smudges all over her robes. Her tie was askew, she had pulled her hair into a ponytail, she wasn't wearing any makeup, even the corners of her mouth were turned down. Something was definitely wrong.

"Cassie, are you alright?" She ventured carefully. Cassie had been like a pillar of support since term had started and Molly couldn't help but feel as though something was very wrong with her.

Cassie shook her head slightly and turned to her with an eager smile, a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Oh! I'm ….fine! Absolutely fine, Molly."

"No, you're not." Molly replied. "What happened?"

As she shook her head again, Cassie stood and rushed from the table. Molly watched her go in alarm. She looked around, but nobody had noticed. Everybody was too busy watching Martin Stanton and Vikram Patil walk in circles around Gryffindor table on their hands. A dare, supposedly. She quickly stood and followed Cassie out. Cassie ran a corner. Molly followed and stopped as she saw Cassie disappear inside the girl's bathroom.

Inside, Cassie was slumped on the floor, crying softly. Molly rushed to her, "Cassie! What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Cassie flung her arms around Molly, sobbing uncontrollably. Molly braced herself before they both fell to the floor. She patted Cassie's back and asked gently, "What happened to you? Tell me."

Cassie wiped her tears and finally sat back. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Molly shook her head. "I want to help Cassie. Tell me what's wrong."

Cassie sniffed. She wiped her eyes again and shrugged. "I don't know why it always happens Molly. I….don't mean to, but sometimes I really hate Lily."

"Lily?"

Cassie rubbed her nose and let out a bitter chuckle. "Im sure she doesn't mean it. But it always happens, and I…I'm tired of it. I'm tired of losing."

Molly shook her head, trying to make sense of what Cassie was telling her. "I don't understand Cassie. What does Lily have to do with this?"

"You're right. You don't know; how could you? I never told anyone. But Lily knew."

"Knew what?"

Cassie took a deep breath and stared back at Molly with large unblinking eyes. "That I liked Lucas. I really liked him. When he asked her out, it hurt me so bad. And she said yes. She knew I liked him, but she still went ahead and…."

Molly squirmed uncomfortably. She couldn't deny that would have hurt but, it was a year ago and Lily and Cassie were by no means close so it shouldn't matter any more. And Cassie herself had moved on, wasn't she "madly" in love with Scorpius now?

"That's was a long time ago Cassie. And you and Lily, I mean, you've never been even friendly to each other."

Cassie nodded. "I know. I get that. I understand about Lucas, Molly. I mean I never even told him that I liked him. I can't blame Lily for that. But, now? This time? This time it's completely different. Lily knew I was dating Scorpius! And this time she's stolen him from me."

Molly felt as though someone had hit her full in the chest with a punching bag. "What?"

"He dumped me Molly. And now every time I see him, he's staring after her. He doesn't stop looking at her…ever!" Cassie began to tear up again. "He…I gave him everything Molly….I…I fell for him so completely and now, all Lily has to do is bat his eyelashes at him, and he's off, chasing after her! It's not fair!"

Molly slumped against the wall, trying to make sense of it all. "But, Cassie. Lily isn't like that. She would never…"

"No?" Cassie questioned. She laughed bitterly. "She knows he fancies her Molly. Any decent girl would back away. But she's encouraging him. Everyone can see it. Is that right?" She challenged Molly.

"But Cassie, I swear, Lily isn't like that. She doesn't get it. She's really gullible like that. She wouldn't recognise if a guy liked her until he was very direct about it. That's just how she is." Molly put a hand on Cassie's shoulder. "I swear, she can't help it, she doesn't realize."

"He broke my heart Molly. He….broke…my heart, just for her. I can't…I can't just let it go."

"And you shouldn't. But Cassie, he isn't worth it. You are such an amazing person, and if he doesn't get that, he's not worth crying over."

"It's easy for you to say Molly. You've never had someone use you and then throw you away. You don't know what it feels like." Molly quietly reached over and pulled Cassie into a hug. Her mind was in turmoil right now. Cassie needed support and friendship right now. She was hurting and lashing out because of that. She needed to help her through it. She needed to fix this, and she would start by talking to Lily. Her cousin probably didn't even realize what was happening but she wouldn't let Lily be used like this. If Scorpius now had his sights set on Lily, she would do everything in her power to stop him from ever getting close to her.

It was time to fight, for Cassie and for Lily.

X

Molly marched towards Gryffindor table, fully intending to speak to Lily. As she strode up to the table, Albus looked up at her. "Finally. You two brats decided to stop your silly little war?"

Across the table, Roxanne and Rose glanced at Molly momentarily before returning to their conversation. Molly shrugged. "Whatever." She looked to Lily. "We need to talk." She turned and walked back to the Ravenclaw table. Sitting at one end, far away from the Seventh Years, Molly beckoned to Lily and patted the seat beside her.

Albus smiled at Lily. "See? Everything is fine." Lily nodded grimly. She wasn't entirely convinced but, at least Molly had made an effort. She picked up her bag and walked over to the Ravenclaw table. Sitting beside Molly, she smiled happily. "So, what's going on?"

"Alright. Lily, listen carefully to whatever I tell you alright?" Molly looked grim.

Lily was slightly taken aback. This was not what she'd been expecting when she had followed Molly over. Her heart sank as she realized this wasn't going to be about making up and forgetting whatever nonsense had been going on for the past two weeks. She had a sinking feeling that whatever their problems were, they were about to metamorphose into something else, something infinitely worse.

"Okay." Lily answered uncertainly. Unable to contain her confusion, she asked, "Molly, why are you acting like that? What happened?" Lily asked softly, hoping that she'd masked the nervousness and dread in her voice.

Molly looked at her sternly. "Lily, I know this is going to come as a shock to you but I think it's for the best if you stop this silly tutoring thing you have with Malfoy."

Lily was lost for words. She simply stared at Molly. Dear Merlin, what was going on? What was wrong with everybody? Had they all inhaled a forbidden substance or something? First Albus, now Molly, who next? "What are you talking about?"

"You have to stop seeing Malfoy."

"Seeing Malfoy? You sound as though I'm carrying on an affair with him. We are studying together, that's it! Morgana's tits, what is wrong with you?"

"Lily, you don't know him. He uses girls and…"

"Stop right there. Just stop. First of all, Scorpius and I don't have that sort of equation. He barely tolerates me. He's only helping me out with Ancient Runes and that is it!"

"Lily, Scorpius isn't the kind of guy who would do something like that. He doesn't have the patience for it…"

"Would you listen to…" Lily froze. She blinked and remembered the same words thrown at her during a prefect meeting. Only it hadn't been Molly doing the talking. "Scorpius would never agree to tutor. He doesn't have the patience." They were Cassie's words, spoken in Molly's voice. Lily clenched her fists as she felt a wave of intolerable fury wash over her. Cassie was filling Molly's head up with nonsense and Molly was buying it all, believing in it.

She scoffed. "I get it Molly. Cassie told you all of this, didn't she?"

It was Molly's turn to be taken aback. "Yes, but…" She recovered quickly as she remembered her purpose once more. "That hardly matters. Lily, you can't trust him. He's just playing around. He is never serious and…"

"And it doesn't matter to me." Lily replied coldly. "For the last time Molly, he's not interested in me. He's just teaching me."

"He dumped Cassie without…."

"I don't care Molly. I don't know what happened between them. Neither do you. You can't go about judging people because of hearsay."

"Lily, how can you say that? Cassie is shattered. She is so hurt."

"Well I'm sorry about that Molly. But this is the same girl who's been making our life hell since first year, so forgive me, if my heart isn't bleeding for her right now. And whatever else you may say about him, Scorpius isn't a liar. He'd never trick someone like that."

"And you know so much about him, don't you?" Molly asked in disdain.

"I know that I can trust him." Lily replied quietly.

"How can you say that?"

"I don't know. Call it an instinct. I just…Molly…I just feel it in my gut…he would never hurt me." Lily answered. Molly shook her head.

"I can't believe you could be so callous about this."

"I didn't do anything Molly, why are accusing me like that?"

"You aren't listening Lily."

"No. You aren't listening." Lily stood and quietly walked away. Molly looked down at the table with a stormy expression on her face.

X

"That's your big plan? Wait for Jenner to do something stupid?" Scorpius snorted. "Really Weasley, I expected more from you."

Dominique stretched languidly and leaned back against Blake. "Sometimes, you just have to let stupidity run its course. Meddle too much, and it ruins a perfect potion."

Scorpius, Blake and Dominique were camped out at the Astronomy Tower. It was past curfew, but since none of them were particular about following the rules, they hadn't bothered to rush back to their Common Rooms despite the late hour. Astrid had left in time. She had to finish an essay and wanted to sleep, leaving the three of them together.

Scorpius shook his head. He watched Dominique snuggle against Blake and chuckled, "You know Weasley, I can leave if you want privacy."

Blake glared at him. "Shut up. We will make you leave in a bit."

"Right." Scorpius glanced at Dominique. "Hey Weasley, can I ask you something?"

Dominique glanced at him with an eyebrow raised. "What?"

He drew a breath. "Why do you all….you know…hover around Lily so much? What's that all about?" He watched as the smile faded from her face. She straightened and looked straight ahead, into the night. She drew a long breath and continued to look ahead, as though it wasn't the twinkling stars of the night she saw, but something else, something terrible.

Scorpius frowned. That was the last reaction he'd expected. But Dominique looked nervous, almost frightened as she turned towards him again. "Look Malfoy, I….I can't tell you. It's important, very important but…" She sighed. "Maybe, someday, I might tell you but for now, please don't ask me that again. It's not… my secret to tell." She looked back at him. Scorpius started at the intensity in her eyes. "Some secrets are better left alone."

Scorpius exchanged a glance with Blake, before shrugging nonchalantly. "Sure, whatever."

They were surprised by the sounds of voices coming from the base of the stairs. Scorpius listened closely. He could just make out the voices. His eyebrows shot up as he realized who it was. Of course, it was a Friday after all.

X

"…I'm glad you're enjoying your lessons. Ancient Runes can be challenging."

Lily smiled happily at him. "I know! I was such a mess last year, I barely passed but somehow Scorpius makes it look so easy. I actually felt confident today in class and that has never happened before."

Raphael chuckled. "Well I'm happy for you."

"Thank you." She glanced down at the piece of paper in her hand. "Um Raphael, do you remember the names of the Hufflepuffs we caught first?"

Raphael turned to her. "You don't know them?"

Lily blushed. "Um…no. I didn't really look…it was kind of obvious they weren't exactly decent so…."

Raphael laughed. Lily frowned at him. "Alright it's not that funny."

"Oh but it is."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

"Right now…yes, I really do." She shoved the door to the roof open and yelped as she took in the scene before her. Scorpius sat leaning against a wall, looking out to the stars while Dominique and Blake sat against the opposite wall. They'd been talking but had quietened as the door opened.

Lily put a hand on her hip. "What are you doing here? Dom! You're supposed to be sleeping right now."

Dominique waved a hand in the air. "Yeah, yeah I know."

Lily groaned. "I'll have to take points for this."

Dominique gasped exaggeratedly. "Oh, my stars! You'll have to take points!"

Lily scowled. "It's not funny. You could all end up in detention."

Scorpius chuckled. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"That's because she's never been in detention!" Dominique quipped.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow as he looked at Lily, who blushed. "How is that even possible?"

Lily shrugged. "It's not that difficult. You just have to do your homework on time, not bug the teachers, and generally leave everybody alone." She rolled her eyes. "And having brothers like James and Albus helps. They've already done everything. I know every trick in the book to stay out of detention..

Scorpius shook his head. "We have to do something about that. Never been in detention, you'll ruin my reputation. I can't have a student like that."

Lily scowled at him. "Excuse me. There's nothing so great about being in detention. What's so great about being in trouble anyway?"

Scorpius laughed softly as he got to his feet. "You don't know what you're talking about. No matter," He bent his head and whispered in her ear, "I'll show you just how great being in trouble is." He walked off without another word.

Raphael, who'd overheard the whole exchange, glanced at Lily, who was having a hard time hiding the rosy blush that spread over her features. She tugged at her collar.

"Um right, so that's that. Raphael?"

He shrugged, deciding to file that information away. "Just take ten points each." Nodding at Blake and Dominique, he too began his descent. Scorpius was walking just a few paces ahead. Raphael jogged to catch up to him. Scorpius glanced at him and stopped.

"What?"

Raphael shrugged. "What?"

"Just say what you had to say." Scorpius said shortly.

Raphael fought the urge to smirk and tried to look as innocent as possible. "What makes you think I wanted to say something?"

"You have that 'I-want-to-say-something' look on your face. Now, spill."

Raphael smirked. "I have to say Scorpius; this is possibly the first time that I approve of your choice. The daughter of the Chosen One, no less? And then you say, you don't have ambitions." Chuckling, he slipped inside Slytherin Dungeon, leaving Scorpius staring after him in bewilderment.

Scorpius hurried inside and followed Raphael down to their dorm. "Okay, obviously there's something going on in that devil-brain of yours, and you think you know something. But whatever it is couldn't be further from the truth, alright Raph?"

Raphael shook his head as he shrugged out of his robes. Fishing around in his trunk for his pyjamas, he glanced at Scorpius, "I know you're never going to admit it, so I'm not going to push you on this. Like I said before, I actually approve. So whatever your stance is on it, I'm with you."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "There is no stance, you insufferable git. Why don't you get that?"

Raphael sighed. "Alright, if you say so."

Scorpius nodded. "I do say so."

Raphael shrugged. "Brilliant. May I consider this conversation over?"

Scorpius ran his fingers through his hair. "Whatever. Sod off." He moved to his bed and collapsed upon it.

Staring up at the ceiling, he grimaced as he recalled the smirk on Raphael's face. So Raphael was "with him", he "approved" of his….whatever it was he felt about Lily. How very kind of him. Scorpius scowled. Stupid Raphael. He couldn't help but feel envious of his childhood friend. Raphael got to spend hours in Lily's company, wandering around the castle, and nobody cared, nobody was bothered. He turned on his side. And him? He had to resort to trickery, and conniving to get Lily to spend time with him. He let his head fall back on the pillow. Why was he letting one girl get under his skin? He was slowly becoming obsessed with Lily. He would check the entire Hall the second he entered. If she wasn't there already, his mood would plunge. If he saw her by chance in the corridors between classes, he felt inexplicably happy, like his heart was swelling to twice its size inside his chest.

He'd already established that his reaction to her went beyond the simple "forbidden fruit" analogy Astrid had been throwing at him before. It wasn't simply the fact that she was the perceived enemy's daughter. It wasn't even that she was a challenge, a girl already in a steady relationship and how fun it would be to steal her away from that idiot or even the slightly cruel desire he couldn't deny he had – to spoil little Miss Perfect. It was all this and so much more.

He suddenly frowned. And yet, there was something there. What was her family hiding? What secret did she have that was so terrible that Dominique had turned pale when he asked about it? What could have happened in the past that made a family of tremendously powerful wizards and witches watch over one of their own with round-the-clock promptness?

Sure, Dominique had told him not to ask her again. And he wouldn't. He'd just do a little digging of his own. It couldn't hurt.

X

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