Lily's POV

It was Valentine's Day and our final Hogsmead trip of the year. Tom had the whole day planned out and had a packed schedule. I had been told to bring a warm set of clothes and a cool one. He also said to practice my sneaking, as we would be out after hours. I couldn't wait to see what he came up with. It had been a while since I had an adventure, much less one after hours. It would be nice to be on a date and not have to worry about looking over my shoulder. At the same time, the instant I saw Scorpius picking at his food in the Great Hall I felt bad about the previous thought. Everyone knew I would give everything to be going with Scorpius if we didn't have to worry about attacks. On the other hand, Tom was so sweet and generous and was everything I needed him to be at the perfect moment. He was the kind of guy who would be there when ever I needed him. Gentleman, in the dictionary, would have his picture next to it. The word described him perfectly. It was a nice change to not be dating the school eye-candy mischief maker extraordinaire. Tom was a respectable figure. He was going to end up a prefect next year if the teachers noticed his grades and behavior as I had.

Out in the chill I felt Tom lace his fingers in mine and sighed as his soft lips pressed against my forehead just beneath my knit hat. We meandered down to the little town and laughed and talked and admired each other the whole way there. As we turned the corner I noticed the shadow of a grotesque figure showing on the other wall. When I turned to look my eyes found a tangle of Scorpius and Rose snogging and pushing each other against a stone wall, the stone wall Scorpius and I had hoped to share our first kiss. It was too close to that first memory to sit well with me. Would he really stoop that low to get to me? I wasn't sure if his little session was meant to be. Scorpius looked more like he was trying to escape then return the gesture. He noticed my wandering eyes and seemed to plea for forgiveness. I nodded and continued on my way. Tom seemed to sense the tension and apologized that I had to see such disturbing images so soon into our date. Always the gentleman. First we went to the prank shop and I refreshed my stocks and purchased a few new things to try out. Tom hated pranks and always seemed to be so matter-of-factly in all his dealings. We were opposites in that respect.

After we were done there Tom led us to a clothing shop where a ice blue box was pulled from under the counter and handed to him. I was told to go in the dressing room and put on the dress inside the box. It matched the color of the box and felt light and liquid-like but was oddly warm, as if enchanted to keep it's wearer warm. It was a few inches sorter in the front to allow for easy walking but trailed behind me a good foot. This dress had an open back with a pale while ribbon lacing me up inside it. This was the best dress I had ever seen. Easily. I admired it in the dressing room and knew I had to be the best dressed girl in Hogwarts today. For the first time in my life I felt like a princess. When I came out of the dressing stall Tom told me I look ravishing and more beautiful than ever. A white fur shoulder wrap was placed around me and we left with our fingers laced and warm in each other's embrace. Tom was a dream come true.

We sat down and talked for a hour or so in the Three Broomsticks and sipped butterbeer before I was led into an empty field surrounded by trees. Tom melted the snow in a heart shape for us and magicked two soft chairs in the center and we sat looking out on the little, snow covered village. I loved today. It was beautiful out here. It was beautiful to be sitting here. Tom was the most beautiful person I had ever met. He was all I could think of. Tom. Sitting here next to me. Loving on me. Giving me the world and expecting nothing in return. The perfect gentleman. I crawled into his lap and curled up against his chest as I rested my head on his collar bone.

"Lily, you are perfect and I love you so much."

"I care for you as well."

His smile lit up and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tighter into him. In his eyes and ears that was exactly what he had wanted to hear for the last month, perhaps even before then. In his ears I had said the same thing he had. In my head I had come that much closer to saying I actually loved him in return. Tom pulled me up and led me back through the town. We turned the corner and walked to the side of a shop. Potpourri seemed to ooze out onto the street and the air smelled too sweet to breathe. As we came out to the front of the shop a sickening feeling burst in my stomach. Last year I stood in this exact place and laughed as my back turned towards this pink drenched shop. Tom was trying to be sweet. He didn't know about that favored memory or that I hated the color pink or that the very smell of this place churned my stomach. We walked in and sat at the most private table near the back of the store. A tiny lady took our order then made he way through the maze of single couple tables towards the kitchen in the back. This tiny crowded tea shop seemed to house every couple in Hogwarts. All but one. I noticed there was an absence of bright blonde hair in here, which was fine by me.

Tom was staring into my eyes as I attempted to look as though I was quite pleased with his choice of tea shops. I wanted nothing more than to get back to the castle or go back to that little field with Tom. Anywhere more private than here. At this moment I could use a good snog. We sipped our creamy Chai teas and watched each other as the others were watching their other halves. My stomach lurched as I drained my cup. The brim of the delicate porcelain blocked the door from my view but as the bell rang, signaling new arrivals I knew exactly who had come in the door. I could sense his presence. Rose was dragging a nervous and disgusted looking Scorpius into the shop. She giggled at his expression and led them to a table just two away from ours. Scorpius was facing me but his eyes focused on the table in front of him. Quite suddenly his eyes snapped up and locked with mine. I felt sick. I needed out of here. Tom, who hadn't looked away from my eyes, noticed my already pale skin grow whiter and followed my gaze. He shot the rest of his tea and led me past the table where that demy-god of a guy sat.

Out in the open air I threw up the breakfast, the butterbeer, the tea, and anything else I had snacked on that morning. Why had seeing him had this effect. We had made fun of people who sat in that shop and ogled at their significant others. Now he had walked in to find me straining to feign happiness and contentedness as I sat with my new boyfriend. He seemed to feel the same as me but was better able to control his urge to purge. Tom led me back to the castle and dropped me off at the Gryffindor tower. If I felt better later we would sneak out after hours for the more adventurous part of our date. After seeing what remained of my connection with Scorpius shatter nothing inside me wanted to leave the tower until I had classes on Monday. Tom was perfect for me and if he was as perfect as I thought he would visit me in my Common room and wait until I completely recovered to bring me back out into the school, the Great Hall, to the many places where Scorpius lurked.

Scorpius POV

Rose was easily the most physical person I had ever met. Every morning she seemed to rise up like a goddess of lust and beckon me to her. Her love was forced and aimed and provocative. I refused to do more than kiss her and though I knew she wanted more, wanted what I had offered to Lily the night before our final night as a couple, but I refused and played dumb. She tried her best to always look seductive. She had the plumpest lips and the tightest form fitting clothes. Her eyelashes were long and thick and her hair seemed to shine with that perfect Weasley-copper glow and frame her face. Once we reached Hogsmead she wasted no time in pulling me into a public corner and attempting to snog my face off. When I urged her for more privacy she pulled me in closer and forced my back to a wall. Rosie was a girl who knew what she wanted. Luckily I was a man who knew what I wanted; it wasn't her. I looked up to find the most beautiful girl in the world watching me with a hurt expression clear on her face. She looked as though she wanted nothing more than to hide her face in her scarf and run. After a pleading look she nodded and continued on her way, her Band-Aid of a boyfriend leaving with her.

After a few minutes of snogging Rosie back she allowed me to guide us into the Three Broomsticks where we had a quick butterbeer before she led us back out and into another corner. My lips would be chapped if she kept up at this rate. Something in the Valentine's Day air seemed to have infected her with Lover's fever and she was soaking it up. We went behind the post office after I was able to get a breather and the snogging continued. If I hadn't been dating her to sky on Lily I would have walked away after the first snog session. She needed me. She needed an outlet for her pent up frustration and I needed her as well for an entirely different task. Each kiss I gave was matched by a silent apology to Lily. If I pretended it was her in front of me or eagerly pulling me into dark places I would have been so much happier. My insides felt a spark each time I saw Lily but a roar of jealousy sprouted when her hand was wrapped in Tom's, as it so often was.

After a few more dark corners and alley ways Rosie squealed and told me we HAD to go to the best place ever before leading me towards the rose-scent drenched tea shop Lily and I had desperately avoided every Valentine's Day. I tried my hardest to tell her I hated their tea or that I wanted someone alone but she wasn't having it and I found myself seated at a table with my back to the wall. Anyone who walked in the door wouldn't see my sickened expression but that was the only bonus of my seat. We ordered and I kept my eyes on the table. Someone moved and I smelled a familiar perfume. My eyes seemed to intertwine with Lily's as she sat uncomfortably two tables away. I wanted to stand and scream at her stupid boy toy, "SHE NEEDS AIR YOU IDIOT!" A minute later Tom was rushing her out of the shop as quick as he could. Why had he not noticed sooner. She was obviously hating this place as much as I was and he had kept her here longer than I could ever stay. Her teacup was empty but he still had the audacity to finish his portion before helping her.

They would go back to the castle and Lily would call off the rest of their date due to the pit in her stomach. She would stay there until Sunday night at the earliest but would probably play it safe and return to the public eye on Monday. Ever since we broke up she had become so delicate and sensitive. I knew Tom might have been what she needed at the time but I also had a feeling she had more feelings for him than she let on. Lily was used to being watched and gossiped about and as such she was private with most things. It made me uneasy how private she had become. I started dating Rosie to stay informed without thinking about what that would do to the relationship between her and Lily. Recently I had begun to think it the worst idea I'd ever had. Now I was stuck with Rosie and Lily didn't tell her much due to the betrayal.

I finished my coffee and waited for Rosie to empty her cup. She kept getting lost in thought as she admired my bored expression and didn't drink for a few minutes when this happened. Her drink got too cold to drink before she had finished half of it and soon we were out in the cold air and she was leading me off to a snogging corner, no doubt. I couldn't stand another smothering press of lips today so I gripped my stomach and complained that she was pulling too fast. When she saw the fake illness spread across my face she admitted to being tired and said we should go back to the castle. While we walked I slowed my pace more and more until we walked a few steps and stopped for a few minutes as I clung to a tree or crouched to hold my gut.

"You should probably get to your room and sleep as long as possible. I hate to see you sick like this. Promise me you will go straight to the dungeons and rest when we get back?"

"I couldn't do much else. I promise. I hate to ruin our evening, my love, but something didn't settle right in my stomach. Once we get back my body will be ready to explode if I move much more tonight. Promise you aren't angry for cutting our date short?"

"No, of course I'm not angry. You are sick. Everyone gets sick and needs rest."

We made it back and she walked me to the basement floor before excusing herself for the evening. With a soft kiss on my cheek she flounced off to, hopefully, the Ravenclaw Common room to gush about our date and repeat the exact number of kisses shared and hide outs found. I doubted she would go check on Lily. Their friendship had long since past. I planned on visiting Lily and cheering her up, secretly and discretely. She wouldn't actually 'see' me so I had to be tactful in my check ups. I sent a note to her cousin, one of the ones who shared the dormitory with her and let her in on my plans. I got a note back shortly after with an abrupt ok.

At nine pm I put an illusion charm on myself and snuck out on my broomstick. A dozen flowers had been delivered to my dorm room an hour earlier and I had sent one of the red roses to Rosie via owl. I placed my purchased silk calla lily out of my pocket and tucked it in with the eleven live roses before flying up to the window in Gryffindor tower. As promised Lily's cousin opened the window as she chatted amiably to Lily who sat admiring her new dress on her bed. I set the roses on the windowsill once it was within reach and they became visible as my fingers left them. With a gasp they were pulled inside and handed to Lily who whispered my name when she pulled the silk flower out of the rest of the bundle. The red haired beauty came to the window and leaned out as she looked around.

"Scorpius, if you are still out here you should talk to me. I'm having a rough night.

Dare I risk it? I dared. My charm dissolved.

"Lily, I'm sorry I made you so sad earlier. It has never been my intention to hurt you. This is kind of my apology. From now on I'm leaving you alone. I'm not following you or trying to win you back anymore. If we are meant to be it will take time and a bit more maturity and perhaps some dead pureblood freaks. I will always love you though."

"I will always love you too Scorpius. Thanks for the roses and the lily. I'm sorry I reacted so poorly. You would think I should be used to seeing you two together."

"No one should have to see their soul mate with someone else. I understand how much it hurt you. I ache when I see you with Tom."

She threw her arms out and closed them as I flew into her reach and returned her hug. I tried top pull away but she wasn't having it. Lily did the unexpected and kissed my neck before blushing and pulling away. Wasn't that considered cheating? She obviously didn't care.

"We can't openly be friends, I know, but it would be nice if you occasionally sent me an evening note telling me how your day was or what exciting thing happened. Now that I know it pains you to see me with him I will try to keep out of sight when I am with Tom if you try to keep out of sight with Rose. There is no need to cause each other more pain. We've done quite enough damage this past month."

"I would love to tell you about my day and hear about yours. I would also be glad if I never saw you and Tom together again."

"I never said you wouldn't see me with Tom. He is one of the greatest friends I have ever had. I won't snog him in front of you or anything."

"You snog?"

"Of course! We are dating. What did you expect?"

"Hand holding, whispering sweet nothings, dates, friendly conversations."

"Who are you trying to kid? You spend more time snogging than breathing these days. I hear all about it from so many different people. Most students in my year are convinced you sleep together by now. The joke is that you two are connected at the lips."

"Oh is it? Well why would you want to keep in contact with me then, huh? Lily, trying to keep in touch with her ex who wants nothing more than to have both cousins fight over him? Hmm? Do you think that's what I want?"

"I think you want what ever you can get as long as you can get it. If you are going to have that sort of attitude just stay out of my way, don't talk to me, and certainly don't tell me about your day. I don't care to know. Stay away from me. Let me live my own life. I hate who you've become. Go back to your dungeon, Scorpius and don't so much as glance at me from now on."

I shrugged and once again made myself blend in to my surroundings. Before I could sneak back into the castle I heard a soft thud come from the earth below. A few crinkled white things floated past and on closer inspection I realized they were all separate parts of the silk lily. Last year I had given her that 'love you until the last flower dies' note. This year she had all but destroyed the last flower. I discovered that I loved her even after the last flower died. Looking up into the sky I whispered, "Goodnight Lily, I love you. Always."