Scorpius ran his fingertips along the spines of a row of large, leather-bound tomes. Albus was at Quidditch practice this afternoon and Scorpius thought that getting in some last minute studying would probably be a good use of his free time. The first exam was only nine days away, and Al's last game of the year only three days before that. It felt as if the whole world was closing in around them, and Scorpius' stress levels were through the roof. He'd made a pact with himself, though; that he would make sure to see Al's last game, since he'd chickened out of the previous one. He'd told himself it was due to studying, but he knew deep down that that wasn't the reason he'd missed it. The real reason was far more petty, and it wasn't worth seeing that disappointment on his friend's face again because of it. That only left him just over a week of studying, and he was determined to get the most of out those eight days as he possibly could.
His finger stopped on the dusty spine of a book entitled 'Magical Woods and Properties' and he grinned to himself as he pulled it off the shelf. Under his left arm were tucked four other books, and the bag slung over his shoulder was heavy with even further reading material. He looked at the cover briefly, before making his way over to a table at the back of the library and setting up a work station. He always chose to study at the back; it was much quieter here, and if one could ignore the occasional couple snogging behind the Magical Remedies bookshelf, it was generally free from distractions, too.
He pulled his quill inkwell from his bag, before opening up his leather folder and leafing through various notes until he found what he was looking for.
'Willow is associated with femininity, luck, and emotion. It is an ideal wood for magical wands and tools because it is already perfectly aligned to the movement of magical energy guided by will. It reacts to the will of the one who wields it, enhancing it accordingly. Therefore, the stronger the will, the more effective the wood.
It is linked to the Moon and the planet Mars, and also to the elements of Earth and Spirit.'
This was far as his last studying session had seen him. He'd noted down the page number on the corner of his parchment, so he flicked quickly to it, licking his lips absent-mindedly, and began to take further notes.
He noted down the properties of Rowan and Oak, Walnut and Bocate, before reaching Bloodwood and pausing briefly to remind himself that Al's wand was carved from Bloodwood. It was redder than any wood he'd ever come across before, and it had fascinated him somewhat when he'd first seen it. Suddenly very curious, he hunched forward over his book and read what it had to say.
'Bloodwood has the ability to utilise elemental energies. The wood itself can channel and enhance the effect of all elemental energies, but the degree to which it can do so depends upon the person utilising the wand. For example: Bloodwood would enhance the ability of a Pisces to perform Water elemental magic far more greatly than it would a Leo. In the same vein, a Pisces might find it much harder to perform Fire elemental magic when working with the same wand, since that element is the opposite to their primary.'
Scorpius raised an interested eyebrow and took note, wondering if Albus knew any of this - or even cared. It was unlikely, he thought, but he'd bring it up later, perhaps, if for no other reason than to save himself from listening to Albus waffle on and on about Quidditch for hours. Licking the tip of his thumb and forefinger, he turned the page in his book and continued to take notes on Ash, Maple, and Purpleheart.
He wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed; the sun had moved several feet across the floor and the library seemed slightly emptier than it had done previously. He stretched a little, arching his back and feeling his spine pop delightfully all the way down, then sunk back into his chair. He'd give himself another hour before he went and got ready for dinner. His stomach was beginning to feel rather painfully empty and his eyes were starting to ache behind his glasses. With a quick flex of his fingers, he picked his quill back up and hunched once again over his work. He'd been writing for all of five minutes before he was interrupted.
"Hello."
Scorpius jumped out of his skin and dropped his quill in terror. The voice had come from somewhere very close to his right ear and seemingly out of nowhere, since he'd heard no one approach. He spun round, with his heart in his mouth, only to come face to face with a beaming Lily Potter.
Instantly, Scorpius felt his face flush with embarrassment, and he cleared his throat before leaning down to retrieve his quill from the ink-splattered floor. "Uh… hi," he said, trying to sound as cool and nonchalant as possible, as if he hadn't just made a complete spectacle of himself.
Lily smiled brightly at him. "Hi," she said again. She sat herself down on the chair opposite him and leaned forward, resting her chin in both of her hands. "What are you reading?"
Scorpius blinked at her curiously, then cleared his throat. "Magical Woods and Properties," he said, lifting the book slightly so she could see the cover. "It's… uh… for my Charms exam."
Lily leaned further forward to look at the picture on the cover, then sat back again. "That's very interesting," she said, still smiling. "What's your wand made out of?"
Again, Scorpius blinked at her. This wasn't the Lily Potter that Albus had described to him. That Lily Potter was quiet, shy and retiring – this one, however, seemed the complete opposite. Both times she'd spoken to him she'd been strangely forward, and even though he found it somewhat unnerving, he couldn't help but be intrigued by her lack of reserve. "Ebony," he said, plainly, flicking absently through several pages before he found it.
'Masculine and Feminine in equal measure, Ebony is best known as the most powerful magical wood.'
"That's cool," she said, reaching into her robe pocket and pulling out her own wand. "Mine's Rowan. James always teases me because he says Rowan is a man's wand, but I don't think it is." She twirled it a little and grinned. "Do you think it's a man's wand?"
"I… uh… no?" Scorpius said, feeling more than a little lost for words. It wasn't that he disliked Lily – he didn't know her well enough to dislike her – it was simply… well, simply that. He didn't know her. He looked around briefly, in the vain hope that someone he knew would come round the corner and distract her, but no one did.
"I didn't think so," she went on, sliding her wand back into her robe pocket. She looked up at him again, flicking a strand of bright red hair from her face and Scorpius noticed, quite randomly, that the clips holding her hair back had small, fluffy bumblebees on them. "James says I'm not meant to talk to you, you know?"
Scorpius nodded, remembering what Al had said the other day. "I know," he replied, then ventured to ask. "Why not?" It wasn't as if it really mattered to him one way or the other if James Potter thought him worthy enough of his attention, but he was curious to know if there was any sort of logical reasoning behind it, just in case, for some reason, it started affecting Al. Not that it would, of course, but still…
Lily shrugged and rolled her eyes to the side a little, seemingly looking at the corner of the ceiling above Scorpius' head. "I don't know," she said, sounding a little distant. "Maybe because you're Draco Malfoy's son. Mum's always going on about your dad. It's annoying, actually. She and Al can get into arguments that last for hours, sometimes." She was silent for several moments after that, then smiled and returned her gaze to his face. "I think she'd like you if she met you, though."
This was probably the most awkward, surreal conversation Scorpius could ever remember having. He had absolutely no idea what to say. He was running his fingers back and forth over the corner of his book nervously, trying to think of some sort of response. He imagined he looked rather foolish sitting there like a goldfish, with his mouth hanging wordlessly open. "Er…"
"Are you going to Al's game on Saturday?" she asked after a while. The smile on her face didn't falter once.
Scorpius nodded. "Yeah," he said, relieved to have finally uttered a coherent syllable.
Lily nodded. "That's good. He's been hoping you would, but he knows you're busy so he didn't want to ask."
Scorpius felt his gut clench nastily and he tried to suppress his feelings of guilt. He would make this game, he told himself again, pushing the pad of his thumb hard into the corner of the book, as if to emphasis this point.
"He's playing against Gryffindor, so James will be hoping he'll lose, but I always cheer for Al, whoever he plays. You have to root for family, don't you? I mean, that's only right, isn't it?"
Scorpius nodded, simply because he couldn't think of anything to say. Merlin, but he felt stupid right now. Perhaps he should make some sort of excuse and go back to the Common Room where he was less likely to be bombarded with impossible questions. He looked down at his book again and was just about to make up something about needing to go take a shower when Lily yawned and stretched across the table from him.
"I'm hungry. Dinner should he ready soon, shouldn't it?"
Scorpius shrugged. "Probably," he said, giving a small nod. She had to be right, since he could see through the library window that the sky was starting to turn a dark shade of orange. His stomach grumbled just then, as if hearing his thoughts, and Lily grinned at him. He felt his cheeks flush again.
"I'm going to go, then," she said, pushing herself up from her seat. "Nice to meet you, Scorpius. See you soon."
He watched her walk off, through the long line of bookcases, and out of sight round the corner. He kept his eyes fixed on the spot where she'd vanished for a while, then shook his head, frowning. What a spectacularly strange girl, he thought, reaching for his bag and stuffing his books inside. He wondered what Al would make of this when he told him.