Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter.
Note – First of all, sorry for any mistakes that I missed. I using a different laptop with a different program, so if it missed something, and then I missed it while reading over it, again, my bad. Anyways, here's the next chapter! I think a lot of you will be excited at how things are beginning to develop for Scorpius. It has some very important scenes for Scorpius and the way he's dealing with growing up and changes. So enjoy!
Rebel Malfoy
Chapter Twenty-One: Strange Feelings and Urges
Scorpius sighed as he waited for his order. It was finally time for the first Hogsmeade trip, and he was happy that Lily was with them. Lana must have heard wrong, because Scamander was nowhere around. He almost scoffed. A date! That just didn't seem like Lily. He almost laughed at his previous worry.
Ever since they left the school, Scorpius found himself feeling much better. Lily had indeed joined them, and she'd had the genius idea to trash the Gryffindor common room. He was excited, and it even made him give the woman behind the counter a big tip when he took his table's order. But he almost tripped as he came to them and heard their conversation.
"Surely Lily Lu's not the one with the crush?" Justin said.
Scorpius scowled, those previous feelings coming back, along with confusion. "Lily Lu's got a crush?" he asked as he put down the tray with their order. He was so confused! Was it a date or a crush? Was it even Scamander?
Lily rolled her eyes, but she was blushing pretty heavily. It made Scorpius's throat tighten. "It's not a crush. I just happen to have a date," she replied, obviously trying to play it off.
Scorpius tried to keep from clenching his fingers. But he couldn't keep from scowling. At least the other guys seemed to be on his side. "What?" Lars exclaimed.
"Do we approve?" Mitch questioned, looking at the others.
"With who?" Scorpius demanded. He was tired of being confused and feeling like this. Lily wouldn't lie to him.
"Whoa!" Lily exclaimed, stopping them all. "Ok, since when did I have six older brothers?" she demanded. "I mean, I already have two that I hate. Do I need more?" Scorpius scowled deeper at her avoidance.
"Well us Slytherins have to protect our House's princess," Mitch replied.
"We can't let some creep snag a date with her," Lars agreed.
"Who is it?" Scorpius demanded, getting more annoyed. He felt weird again.
Lily groaned, and Scorpius ignored at how his sister was rolling her eyes. "Ok, first of all it's with Lysander." Scorpius tried to get himself to relax. Lana had heard right. "And second, he's not a creep. He's actually a really sweet boy, and he's cute. And thirdly, I don't need a hoard of boys coming to my rescue. I can take care of myself," Lily finished.
Scorpius still scowled. Why? Why was Lily choosing to go out with that kid? He was . . . a coward! He was small and a pushover! How could he protect Lily from her family! Not to mention he was close to her family, and a pushover around them too!
"Lysander Scamander? That twiggy little dork?" he stated, looking at Lily. What did she see in him?
Lily scowled now. "He's not a twig!" Scorpius almost scoffed. "And what's wrong with Lysander? I mean, he's never hated anyone because of their House or their family. And he's not a jackass."
Even Mitch was scowling a little. "Well, we still get to talk to him before this date," he insisted. Scorpius was happy that he wasn't the only one being protective.
Lily just rolled her eyes again. "Whatever you say," she retorted.
Scorpius tried to ignore that weird feeling in his stomach as they moved off the topic and started to joke around. But it was difficult, even when Will hit Rose Weasley with a piece of food. It was a while before it left him, and by then the older boys had dragged them all to the Shrieking Shack.
"Where are we?" Jace asked curiously.
Rex rubbed his hands together, too eager to see their fear. "This, kiddies, is the Shrieking Shack."
Scorpius was a bit surprised. While Lola and Jace looked shocked, Lily simply looked excited. She even walked closer to the fence and leaned closer.
"Isn't that the most haunted house in all of Britain?" Lola asked in a soft voice.
"Yeah," Justin said with a grin.
"No one has ever gone inside it and come out," Mitch said, trying to sound spooky.
But Lily didn't seem fazed. "Are you scared?" she mocked them.
Will scoffed. "Let's see you go in there!" he retorted.
Scorpius was about to smack him for suggesting such a thing, but Lily didn't look scared. "Fine. I will," she said simply. And without hesitating, she climbed over the fence.
Panic rose in their group. "Lily, he was bluffing!" Lola said as she ran to the fence.
"Yeah, I wasn't serious!" Will agreed.
But Lily only shrugged as she kept walking. So Scorpius hurried to jump the fence too, and catch up to her. When he caught up to her, he grinned. "I couldn't let you go in there alone," he explained. "Besides, I don't believe in that dumb legend anyway. I've never heard any ghostly sound coming from this place." Still, Scorpius felt a bit of hesitation. But when you hear so many horror stories, that feeling is bound to show up just a little.
Lily shook her head. "It's not haunted," she stated. "My dad told me. It was a fake story, because there used to be a werewolf at Hogwarts. He came to this house on full moons. The story kept people away. It was Teddy's dad, actually," she whispered, glancing back at where the others were now hurrying to join them.
Scorpius nodded. "Ah. That does make sense. So, it's just an empty house?"
"Yep," she assured. When they moved to open the front door, there was no knob, and Lily was unable to push it open. So Scorpius moved her aside, and gave it a swift and strong kick. It swung open with a loud creak. After a quick look inside, both of them stepped inside. It was filthy, but sturdy.
"Ok, we've stepped inside, now let's go!" Lola said, obviously a bit scared.
"I'm with Lola," Tamara said hesitantly. Scorpius almost laughed. He wasn't used to seeing Tamara actually scared.
Lily rolled her eyes. "It's not haunted, guys," she admitted. "My dad told me all about it. A werewolf used to stay here on full moons. It was a long time ago."
Scorpius looked around as Lily explained, and the others questioned it. Scorpius wanted to roll his eyes at them all. They were scared, even with a reasonable explanation in front of them.
"So," Rex said suddenly, loudly, "this place could just be an awesome place to hang out?"
Lily grinned. "Pretty much," she agreed.
Tamara just raised a brow. "Ok, this place is filthy, and I'm not hanging out here," she retorted.
Even Justin rolled his eyes. "So picky," he mocked quietly as he pulled out his wand as he and a few of the others started to clean off the dust and filth. Scorpius had to say, he liked the idea of hanging out here. It gave them a place to hide while they drank, and it there was an even less chance of something dangerous coming at them than hiding in the outskirts of the forest.
"When is Aaron coming?" Lana asked.
"Four o'clock. Gives us two hours before we have to head back to school," Lars replied.
"What time is it?" Scorpius inquired.
Rex checked his watch. "Three-fifty."
"I'll head back and get the stuff. Be back soon," Mitch offered before stepping outside.
"So, what's the plan?" Rex asked after they had gotten rid of most of the dust and filth.
Lars sighed. "Well, we save the firewhiskey for later tonight."
"After we mess with the Gryffindors." Scorpius grinned at just the thought.
"Definitely," Lily agreed.
"That means we'll have to sneak it into the school though," Lana pointed out, looking at Scorpius and Lars.
Scorpius scowled. Over the summer, Mr. Goyle had talked about how the headmaster was telling him to check over students returning to Hogwarts, all because rumors had gone among the staff about students bringing in banned items and toys into the school. "She's got a point," he mumbled.
"Well," Lily spoke up, "Teddy once told me that there's a secret passageway into the school that leads to Hogsmeade. If we use that, then we could just leave the stuff here and then come back later tonight."
Scorpius looked at her with surprise and excitement. And he wasn't alone. "Really? Where?" Justin asked eagerly.
Lily shrugged, now looking hesitant. "I'm not sure," she admitted. But then something seemed to come to her. "But I know how to find out. But we will have to get into the Gryffindor common room," she said with certainty.
"No problem," Will assured.
Jace was practically bouncing with excitement. "This is going to rock!"
Mitch came through the door with a grin. "Guess who came early!" Aaron followed in after him.
Aaron just grinned as they all greeted him, and he held up a bag. "I had a few extra minutes before practice," he said casually. Aaron going on to be part of the Appleby Arrows was famous among their House. Just as it was still big news to hear about Trevor March.
Mitch took the bag from him as he and Lana began to mock each other teasingly. He set it in the middle of the floor and began to pull things out. He looked at one curiously. "You got some muggle stuff?"
Aaron gave a shrug. "I thought I'd make you all try something different. But the firewhiskey is still in there," he assured.
"Found it!" Mitch announced, holding two bottles with a big grin.
"I threw in a few butterbeers as well," Aaron mentioned. "I wasn't sure what all to buy you guys."
"No worries Supplying minors is good enough for us," Lana joked.
Mitch grabbed a bottle of something that even Scorpius didn't recognize. But the liquid inside was as clear as water. "All right, I say that our three newcomers go first."
Scorpius tried not to chuckle at Lola's hesitant expression as she eyed the bottle. "I'm still not sure," she mumbled.
Mitch rolled his eyes and looked to Lily. "How about you, Lily Lu? Will you go first?"
Scorpius thought that Lily might show at least a little hesitance, but to his surprise she just shrugged and took the bottle. He watched as she didn't seem to even question her actions as she took off the lid, tilted her head back and took drink.
Like the others, Scorpius watched as she pulled it away from her lips. "So?" Mitch questioned.
Scorpius watched as she licked her lips, probably tasting it again. "It's not bad actually," she replied.
Jace sat up at her words. "Hand it," he said, holding out his hand. But unlike Lily, his body flinched when he took a drink, making them all laugh. "Merlin, that's strong," he said before coughing a little.
"Well, Bunny?" Rex teased Lola, using her new nickname. "Are you going to try it?"
Jace held out the bottle, but she only stared at it for a moment. But then she finally grabbed it and took her first drink. She looked like she was close to spitting it out, her hand quickly covering her mouth. Scorpius laughed with the others as Rex quickly took the bottle from her.
"That was gross!" Lola said, looking ready to gag.
"You get used to it," Lars assured.
Scorpius smirked, agreeing fully. You did get used to it, and that helped. Anything to take a moment and not think about a single, stressful, personal issue.
Scorpius did his best to stay absolutely quiet. He and Lily were sitting in a hidden passageway, not far from the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Thanks to an Extendable Ear, they were waiting to hear the password, so they could come back and cause havoc that night.
He looked at Lily, who was sitting across from him. With the small space lit up by his wand, it was easier to see. Her hair was pulled up, although it was a bit messy from goofing around earlier. And she wore a Holyhead Harpies shirt and jeans. It was an outfit that suited her. A reminder of her having a date flashed through his head, but he quickly pushed it away.
Lana had been right. He couldn't always worry about her. Lily was more than capable of taking care of herself. Besides, Lysander was a wimp. Like he could do anything to her . . . right?
"So, how are you and Elisa doing?"
Scorpius forgot his previous worries at the sound of voices. He vaguely recognized the girl's voice, but he couldn't think of a face to match it.
"Same as always. Just fine."
Scorpius looked at Lily at the sound of that voice. James Potter.
"Must get boring after a while, same old, same old," the girl blatantly flirted.
"Eh, I guess. But I'm used to routine." Scorpius rolled his eyes at Potter's stupid little joke, and at the obvious flirtatious tone in his own voice. What an arrogant prick.
"Well, maybe sometimes you and I could perhaps break that routine?" the girl commented.
Potter chuckled. "I thought you liked Elisa? I thought that you two were friends?" Scorpius almost scoffed. Like Potter was really concerned about that!
"We are, and I do like her," the girl said, probably lying. "That's why I think we shouldn't tell her. Spare her the heartache. Besides, I happen to like you a lot more than I do her." Scorpius rolled his eyes. This was why he found most girls annoying. They could be so fake or backstabbing. Thankfully there weren't many girls like that in his own House, and he did his best to avoid them.
Potter laughed like an idiot. "You know, with your cunning, you could have been a Slytherin. But you're much bolder than a slimy Slytherin." Scorpius clenched his fist, wanting to jump out and hit Potter. Once for thinking this girl could be one of them, and another for his insult towards his House.
"Is that a 'no' then?" the girl asked.
There were no words after that, and Scorpius had an idea of what was happening. He scowled as he carefully moved the tapestry, but then dropped it. "They're snogging," he whispered. Like he had needed to see that!
But then he looked at Lily again. She was so quiet, but Scorpius could see the surprise in her eyes. It was obvious that, while she hated her brother, she had never thought he'd stoop so low as to be a cheating boyfriend.
"It's known that James Potter has never said no to a pretty face. So how could he say no to such a gorgeous face as yours," Potter said. Scorpius rolled his eyes. He thought that just made Potter sound more like an ass. Like a girl had to be pretty for him to even associate with her.
"Babbling Botany."
Scorpius felt his spirits lift at that. Their password! He couldn't stop the smirk from coming to his face.
After a moment, Lily looked at him. "Take of the charm," she whispered.
Scorpius did as she said and watched as she pulled the string from her ear. He did the same, and began to pull the Extendable Ear back to them. Once he had it, he handed it back to her. The surprise was still in her eyes.
"Let's get out of here," she mumbled.
Scorpius checked to make sure the hall was empty first. "Hurry, come on," he said once he was sure. They hurried out and began to walk casually down the hall, away from the Gryffindors' den. Scorpius killed the light from his wand, and looked down at his Prefect badge, consciously making sure it was still there incase problems happened to arise.
"I can't believe James," Lily muttered. "I knew he was an ass, but that was . . ." her voice trailed off, obviously lost.
"Ad with Lyla Stretton," Scorpius scoffed. Once he'd seen the girl snogging Potter, he remembered her easily. "The girl is a complete idiot. And Elisa was much better looking," he commented with a shrug. Not that Elisa was much of a sight either, though.
Lily just shook her head. "He'll take any attention he can get," she mumbled.
Scorpius just shrugged again, not sure how to make her feel better on this one. "James Potter doesn't care who gets hurt as long as he gets his dick wet. And if more than one girl will do it, then that's just icing on the cake," he said. And it was true. Rumors ran around about James Potter and his many escapades. Slytherins often joked about it, but boys from other Houses always sound impressed, or the girls were envious of his choice of witch for the week.
But Lily had apparently never heard or thought of that part of her brother. "That's disgusting," she grumbled
"Some guys are like that," Scorpius replied. "And some guys wish that they were cool enough that it would happen to them."
"Not all guys are like that," Lily disagreed. "You aren't."
Scorpius chuckled, his cheeks feeling a little warm at the happiness in her words toward him. "Yeah, but I find most girls annoying, and not worth the time to date."
"But you're still a guy with hormones," she teased. "So there's hope for your gender."
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Because I happen to find most girls my age annoying?" He laughed. "Whatever you say."
And despite her teasing him, he was happy to hear her laugh again.
Scorpius looked around the Gryffindor common room curiously. Obviously, it was his first time being inside. The fireplace gave a dim glow to the room. It was weirdly hot in the room, making Scorpius glad that he was wearing a normal shirt. He couldn't imagine having to wear a jumper in here!
"How expectant," Rex muttered as he looked around.
Lars was looking at the stairs. "Which one leads to the girls?"
"The right," Lily told him.
So Lars took a step on the first step of the left staircase. Nothing happened. "Lu's right," Lars said. "Ok, guys take the guys, and girls take the girls. Let's cause some damage," Lars said eagerly.
"Just remember the warnings," Scorpius told them. They'd come up with warning signals and sounds on their way here, just in case.
"We know the code," Lana muttered as she and the girls moved up the stairs.
Scorpius and the boys went up the boys' stairs. They were silent even in their footsteps as they moved.
"Scor and I will take the sixth years," Mitch whispered suddenly.
Scorpius raised a brow, but he followed his friend. It was dark inside. Mitch lit his wand, but kept it pointed at the floor, keeping it from waking up the room's occupants. And the first one that Scorpius could see was James Potter. He felt the usual urge to hit or hex him, but restrained himself. He was on a mission here.
So Scorpius and Mitch started. Mitch began to go through some of their clothes, changing them all to the color pink. Scorpius began to mark their walls, first with the word "LOSERS," but then continued with crude drawings of dead lions, and any other insult he could think. Mitch tore pages out of their textbooks, even shredding some pages so that they couldn't easily be fixed. Scorpius found a few pages of homework, and immediately began to tear it apart, leaving the shreds of paper all over the floor, mixing them together. He laughed silently when Mitch stole all the laces from their shoes, shoving them into his pockets.
Scorpius had to admit that he hadn't had this much fun in a while. He and Mitch eagerly left the room once they were done, and went to help the others. By the time they were done, they knew it would take some time to fix what they had done.
The boys were all still laughing quietly when they finally went back down the stairs. They found the girls waiting around for them. But Mitch seemed to notice someone was missing.
"Where's Lu?" he asked.
Scorpius felt a tiny bit of worry as he scanned the room. She wasn't here! "She's not with you?" Lana asked. "She said she was going to one of the boys' rooms."
"I'm right here." They turned to see Lily coming down the stairs.
Scorpius sighed as he looked at her. "What were you doing?" he asked curiously.
She grinned at him and held up a blank thing of paper. "I was getting our way out of Hogwarts. Plus, I thought that I should leave James a little warning."
"Will it terrify him?" Justin question with his own grin.
Lily looked smug. "He'll certainly watch himself. And if I did my job right, he'll soon be quite single," she said mockingly.
Scorpius looked at her brightly. "You mean, you left a note for his little whore?"
Lily rolled her eyes jokingly. "That's a pretty general group," she mumbled, making them all laugh. Then with a flick of her wand and one spell, she turned the boys' staircase into a slide.
Mitch sighed with happiness. "You are brilliant, Lily Lu," he complimented as they began to leave.
Lily sighed in return. "I know," she said, before laughing with the rest of them.
Scorpius should have known that things wouldn't go as smoothly as they seemed. As they left the Gryffindors behind, and began to talk, a distant voice was heard.
"Who's there?"
They all tensed and stopped in their tracks. The voice was unrecognizable. That meant it wasn't anyone who would help them.
"Run!" Lars hissed.
They took off running, and despite their tries to stay quiet, their footsteps echoed through the halls. They continued going down hall after hall, hoping they could reach the staircases before being spotted, but suddenly, Lily stopped running.
Scorpius stopped at as well, only to see her staring at that piece of paper she took from her brother. He wasn't the only one that noticed. "What the hell are you doing?" Rex hissed. "We've got to go!"
But Lily seemed unfazed, and now oddly not worried about the trouble they could be in. She unfolded the paper, and Scorpius was curious as to what it was. Was that . . . what a map? But, it had been blank earlier.
She was quickly folding the paper again, and looked that them all. "Follow me," she said in a quick and hushed tone. Then she was running again. But she seemed very certain of where she was heading.
"What the hell was that paper?" Tamara asked as they ran.
"Just follow me!" Lily insisted. "I'll explain later!"
They did as she said, and Scorpius trusted Lily to know what she was doing. But after going down a few halls and a case of stairs, she came to a stop in an empty hall. What was the plan?
Tamara was getting impatient and worried, though. "What the hell are we doing?" she demanded.
Scorpius rolled his eyes at her. "Just trust her!" he hissed.
Lily ignored them though as she placed her hand on the wall and began to quickly walk. Scorpius recognized what she was doing. It was the same thing she'd done when she found the hidden passageway outside Gryffindor Tower. There must be a passageway hidden somewhere. And his hunch was correct when, suddenly, her hand seemed to disappear into the wall.
She looked back to them. "Come on! This way."
Scorpius felt a bit weird walking into a wall at first. But then again, it was just like the platform King's Cross, when you thought about it. He just had never thought there'd be something similar at Hogwarts.
"Dude, a hidden wall? That's genius!" Rex exclaimed, excited as he looked about. Now that they were safe in an unknown passage, they all had relaxed and began to walk.
"Now, what was that map you had?" Tamara question, no longer worried, but understandably curious.
Lily pulled out the map, set it on the floor, and unfolded it for them all to see. She explained of how it was created by her grandfather, and basically passed down through her family.
Scorpius was interested in how nothing seemed to get by the map. And as he looked, he could see a few dots moving, with names over them. "Are these dots people?" he inquired.
"That's another brilliant thing about it. It shows you everyone in the castle, and where they are. It's not fooled by anything," Lily said with a smile.
"That's genius!" Lars said with a grin.
Lily sighed. "Problem is, we can't keep it. James is going to notice that it's missing. He'll be ready to blame anyone for it."
Scorpius rolled his eyes. And Slytherins would be on the top of his list. Especially his sister. But Lana had another thought. "How are you going to get it back to him without knowing it was you though?"
Lily didn't seem worried. "Simple. During Christmas break. I'll slip it into his room while he's at work. Then he'll simply believe that he left it," she explained.
"Or suspect you even more," Mitch pointed out.
Lily just looked smug. "Of which he'll have no proof. I'll be fine."
Rex looked closer at the map. "So, how are we getting back to the Shrieking Shack?" he asked.
Lily looked at it as well. "As odd as it sounds, we'll have to go out through the Whomping Willow. All the other exits lead to inside one of the shops. It looks like the Whomping Willow will take us somewhere different than a shop."
Justin scratched his cheek as he seemed to think. "But how do we get by a tree that attacks people within its radius?"
Lily shrugged as she folded back up the map. "The map usually tells you secrets once you're close enough. So let's go get Jace."
To no one's surprise, they found Jace alone in the common room, passed out on the couch, laying in a slightly awkward position that looked uncomfortable. He'd probably wake up sore and with a crick in his neck.
"I can't believe you guys didn't take him to his bed," Lana said as they walked outside the castle. The girls had taken Lola to her room after she'd passed out earlier in the day.
Scorpius waved it off. "Oh, he's a big boy." It was a lesson many of the boys had learned already.
Figuring out the secret to the Whomping Willow wasn't too difficult thanks to the map. Once they had basically frozen the tree, Lily moved forward to find the secret passageway. After looking around the roots of the tree, she led them into what looked like a long underground tunnel. They continued to let Lily lead the way as they walked through the tunnel. The only door looked to be a rickety trap door that Lily easily pushed open. And what they walked into surprised and excited them.
"Awesome! It leads right to the shack," Scorpius said with a smirk.
"Perfect!" Mitch exclaimed as he climbed out of the tunnel.
As they set up the room, using candles to provide light, and not using any magic to be safe from the Trace, the room was finally comfortable enough for them to relax.
Mitch picked up the bag of their hidden stash of bottles. "Game on, guys!"
Scorpius stared at the bottle in his hand. It was only his third, and he hardly had a buzz. He was starting to think that his tolerance was building. This might have annoyed him a few years ago, but his mind wasn't consumed by thoughts of his anger towards his grandfather, or his anger at the world's hatred toward him. Instead, he was caught up in thoughts about change.
He was in his fifth year now, over half way done with his studies. He was Quidditch Captain now, something he'd dreamed and thought of since he started hanging out with Trevor March, back in his first year.
Lana, she was finally showing serious feelings for someone. Funny enough, it was Dante, the guy she'd denied a second date before. He had seen them sitting by each other earlier, talking solely to each other as they drank.
Mitch, Rex, and Justin were taking their band seriously, and were constantly practicing and writing songs of their own. For once in Mitch's life, he was thinking about his future, and finally taking it seriously.
And Lily . . .
Scorpius glanced to his friend now. She'd been standing by one of the windows, staring up at the sky for a while now. Like she was lost in some deep thought. Scorpius took a drink before getting to his feet, barely wobbling, and walked her way.
"Thinking hard, Lily?" he asked as he stopped next to her.
Lily turned to look at him. She gave a small, barely there smile, when she saw him. She sighed softly. "Well, as long as I can still think, I thought I'd better think while I can."
Scorpius chuckled. Like he'd done at her age, Lily had done her own amount of drinking, probably to forget her troubles and life issues. But she still seemed to be well in control of herself. "Understandable. Knut for your thoughts?" And while she was in control, it was obvious that something was on her mind.
She glanced out the window again, and shook her head. "No, you can just have them." She paused for a brief second, wetting her lips as she let out an almost silent breath of air. "I was thinking about what would have happened if I'd become a Gryffindor at the Sorting."
Scorpius sighed as he leaned against the wall. He was right. She wasn't far enough to forget. But she seemed to be far enough to keep from breaking down. "Hmm. And how are those thoughts going?" he asked.
"I'm just thinking of how different my life would be," she explained simply, although her voice was still quiet. "I mean, I wouldn't have become a Seeker my first year. In fact, I probably wouldn't be a Seeker at all. James always wanted me to be a Chaser. And I'd probably end up like Albus and Hugo, little clones of James. So I'd probably be an idiot, and I'd have no respect for a relationship."
"Not to mention you'd probably lose respect for yourself, eventually," Scorpius added before taking another drink.
"Exactly!" Lily agreed. "But, on the other hand . . ." Her voice trailed for a moment, and Scorpius knew that her next words would be the real thought that was haunting her. "I'd still have my family. I'd like being at home, and . . ." She trailed again, and simply rested her forehead against the glass of the window.
Scorpius looked at his drink. Was she regretting her Sorting? He could understand her thoughts, her desire to have her family back on her side again. That was all ripped away from her because of something that wasn't her fault. He could understand that.
"So, do you regret being a Slytherin?" he asked, looking at her again.
She looked at him now too. She didn't look like someone with such a heavy regret. She didn't even look sad or upset. Not even in her eyes. Instead her eyes showed that the alcohol was affecting her more with every small sip. "No," she stated with honest sincerity. "I'm really glad that I'm a Slytherin."
Scorpius couldn't help but smile. That was good to hear. "We all are," he told her. They both gave a small laugh before looking out the window again. And now that he was at least close to being drunk enough, he decided to bring up the one topic he'd avoided all night. But he took another quick drink first. "So, Lysander Scamander, huh?"
When he glanced at her, he noticed that tiny blush on her cheeks, and that she was smiling. "Yeah. Surprised?"
Scorpius shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. But that nagging feeling returned, although it was a bit weaker now. "A little. I guess I didn't expect you to go on a date with someone. At least not this young," he admitted. Apparently he was drunk enough that he was just spitting out honesty.
Lily rolled her eyes at him, but she didn't seem annoyed. "I'm thirteen, Scor. It's not overly young. Besides, it's just a date, not a honeymoon," she teased.
"He's older. My age. We don't have the purest thoughts," Scorpius warned. Which was true. He may have found a witch interesting enough for him to think things like that, but he had those annoying dreams. And witches seemed to be all boys his aged talked about, and they never spoke like the gentlemen girls thought them to be.
"Yet I don't see you jumping every girl in sight because of your thoughts," Lily pointing out.
"He's still fifteen," Scorpius said, bypassing her argument. "He might expect you to put out." He wasn't going to admit that part of him was trying to scare her into backing out, but . . . he was concerned!
But of course, Lily wasn't the type to be scared off. "And I promise you that I won't throw my panties at him," she mocked dryly, rolling her eyes again. "Why are you so anti-date all of the sudden?"
Scorpius shifted where he stood, his thumb absentmindedly running around the edge of his bottle. How could he explain the way he felt when he himself didn't understand it? "I'm not anti-date," he mumbled. He looked at her, desperately wanting to describe the feeling. To be able to understand it himself. "I'm just . . . I . . . I just don't want you to get hurt." That was true, and that was one of the feelings, but . . . it wasn't the most pressing one.
Lily's blush came back, but she still rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Scorpius, but I can take care of myself," she assured.
Scorpius took a deep drink this time, hoping that maybe he could get that feeling to go away. Then he sighed. "I know you can, Lily. Just know that I'll always be there to kick some ass for ya," he told her.
Now she gave him a smile again, and Scorpius felt his body relax a little. "I know," she whispered. "And I really do appreciate it. You're a good guy."
The feeling surged again, and Scorpius wasn't sure if it was going to go away now.
As the days passed, and October came, the staff was an in fury trying to figure out who had trashed the Gryffindor dorm rooms. So for the first time, Scorpius and his friends didn't rub their victory in the Gryffindor faces, so as not to be caught. It wasn't easy for them at times, but Scorpius knew they would all keep their secret.
"I'm just saying that she's good looking," Rex said casually as the boys walked into the Charms classroom.
"But she's a Gryffindor. Could she be trusted?" Justin pointed out.
"I don't think I'd date her . . . just snog her," Rex laughed.
"Who are we talking about again?" Scorpius asked as they sat down.
"Ashely Anderson," Lars told him.
"And she was brought up how?" Scorpius inquired. He'd been a bit caught up in his own thoughts lately.
"She was walking ahead of us," Mitch replied.
"Just this one assignment!"
Scorpius glanced to the door where he saw the Scamander twins entering. The one with short hair, Lorcan if he remembered correctly, seemed to be begging a favor from his brother. Scorpius looked at Lysander as he walked past them and sat not far from the Slytherins. What did Lily see in this guy? He didn't look particularly strong or even cool. He just looked . . . well awkward.
"You said that last week about Herbology," he heard Lysander tease his brother.
"Come on, Ly!" Lorcan insisted. "You know I'm terrible at Potions!" He looked like he was about to say something else, but then he locked eyes with Scorpius. Scorpius did his best not to tense at being caught staring. "Did you need something, Scorpius?" Unlike others from Ravenclaw, Lorcan had no malice or hostility in his voice when speaking to Scorpius, no matter how briefly.
Scorpius simply shook his head before looking back to his own group, who seemed to still be talking about the Anderson girl. But Mitch seemed to have caught him staring too. "Lily going out with the kid is really bugging you, huh?"
Scorpius sighed. "I guess. I'm just . . . worried," he mumbled.
Mitch grinned. "Worried? Well that's one way to put it."
Scorpius scowled at his friend's tone. "What does that mean?" he demanded.
But Mitch ignored him, and jumped into the others' conversation.
"I'm sorry, you plan on doing what?" Miley Flint demanded. While she was now finally willing to sit near Mitch, she had yet to actually speak directly to him since their break up, and her discovery of his escapade with Trixie Kimball.
It was dinner in the Great Hall, and Scorpius personally felt a bit off. Normally, Lily'd be here, but the headmaster had taken her on some kind of trip for the day, and there was no telling when she'd get back.
Rex looked at the others casually. "I said that I plan to kiss every pretty single girl in school. I think that's a good goal."
"That's idiotic!" Lana retorted.
"Why? It's the best way to go about things. Then I don't have to date them, but I at least can say I kissed her," Rex said, as if it was obvious.
"I got a galleon that says he gets slapped by at least four girls," Lars chuckled.
"Four? I'd bet six," Mitch laughed.
"That is disgusting," Miley muttered with narrowed eyes toward Rex.
Rex only shrugged. "Hey, I never said I was a standup guy. And who knows, maybe one will catch my interest, and I'll go out with one."
Lana rolled her eyes and shook her head, but then looked at Scorpius. Her face became slightly concerned. "Hey, Scor, are you ok?"
Scorpius looked at her and raised a brow. "What?"
"You've been quiet today, and you've been a little odd the last few days. Are you ok?" Lana repeated her question.
Scorpius rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm fine."
"You haven't eaten much," Lana pointed out quietly.
Scorpius looked to his plate of food, which was half eaten at least. But he would admit that he'd only been pushing his food around the plate for the last few minutes. "I'm fine," he sighed.
"If you're sure," Lana said cautiously, like she didn't fully believe him.
Scorpius scowled a little. Then he sighed and stood up. "I think I'm going for a run," he muttered. Then without another word he left the table and head for the door.
Lately, his friends seemed to use that tone with him. Like they didn't believe him when he said he was fine. Or they acted like they all knew some big secret about him. Frankly, it was annoying him. But at the same time, he was feeling a bit conflicted. He wasn't sure what it was anymore, and it only confused him.
He hurried through the dungeons toward the common room. He felt that a run might clear his head a little, and maybe help him figure things out. When he reached the common room, he moved toward his dorm room, already loosening his tie. Once the door was closed behind him, he quickly began to change into something more comfortable to run in, instead of his uniform. He stuck his wand into his back pocket, just in case he ran into someone like Potter, and headed for the stairs. But he was stopped by someone he hadn't expected to see yet.
Lily was in the common room, her hair a bit wild from running it seemed. But he was happy to see her back. They were all curious to hear about the trip she'd been taken on.
"Lil?" he called out to her as he moved down the stairs toward her. "When did you get back? The others have all been waiting to hear about your day." But he stopped when he really saw her. He saw something that he never thought he'd see. There were tears in her eyes, and a few had already run down her cheeks. His chest tightened with concern. "What's wrong?" Had she had a run-in with her brothers? Had Scamander done something?
Lily looked up at him quickly, surprised to see him, but she quickly looked away and tried to wipe away the tears. "Nothing's wrong," she muttered, anger in her voice, leading Scorpius to believe that maybe he was right about what had upset her.
But he knew that before he could go and hex her brothers or Scamander, whoever'd done it, he had to make sure she would be ok, and comfort her like a friend was supposed to. So he took her wrist, as she was still trying to hide her tears. "I'm not dumb, Lily. I know something is wrong. What is it?" he asked gently.
But she didn't answer. Instead she seemed focused on controlling her breathing. Scorpius could understand being upset. Sometimes you just didn't want to talk about it. He'd felt like that before. Like when he'd just started fighting with Lucius, and the reality of who his grandfather was hit him hard. But Mitch had always been there for him. He'd never been alone.
Knowing now what might help her, at least a little, he began to lead her toward the stairs. "Come with me," he whispered.
Lily didn't fight him as he led her up the stairs toward his dorm. He made sure to shut the door before leading her to his bed. "Get up here," he instructed. Again, she didn't fight or argue, but moved to sit on his bed. Scorpius followed her up and shut the curtains around them, in case any of the guys came back from dinner early. Then he pulled out his wand and whispered a silencing charm, because it was obvious that Lily hadn't wanted anyone to hear or see her cry.
"Scorpius, I don't want to talk about it," she mumbled. Scorpius looked to her. It was darker with his curtains closed around them, but he could tell from her low tone and voice that she was still upset, most likely still had tears in her eyes, and possibly still crying.
Scorpius shifted to make himself comfortable. "That's fine," he told her quietly. "I understand. But even when I don't want to talk, I also hate to be alone at those times." He would admit that there were times he'd push people away when he was upset, but he also knew that it never helped, and sometimes just made it worse.
She was quiet for a moment, but then he heard her sob quietly. "Thank you," she whispered.
Scorpius felt his throat tighten along with his chest. He hated hearing that sound. Hated that she was so upset. He was now starting to think that not even her brothers could have caused this. He reached toward her and brushed away a few tears. "It's ok, Lily," he assured. "And if you want to talk, I'll listen," he promised.
He could hear her take in a breath. But she finally spoke. "Professor Brown took me to St. Mungo's to meet a little boy with Vanishing Sickness. He's eleven, yet he might never get to go to Hogwarts. And they can't fix him, and he might die!" Another sob made it past her lips, and Scorpius now understood her distress. "Why would that happen to such a nice boy? He didn't deserve it!" She buried her face, trying to hide the fact that she was still crying. But it was obvious by the small tremors that shook her.
Scorpius wasn't the best person at comforting others, and he'd never really had to do so for a crying girl. So, trying to think of things that used to sooth him as a kid, he stroked her hair, trying not to blush at how weird he felt doing so. "Not everyone deserves the bad things that happen to them. I know. It sucks." That was the story for every Slytherin.
But that didn't seem to matter to Lily. "He's just a little boy," she whispered.
Scorpius sighed. So that was it. And he thought that he now understood why Professor Brown took her there. She saw him as just an innocent little kid, undeserving of how life treated him. But Scorpius knew that the same had applied to her at her Sorting. She didn't deserve the way her brothers treated her. And Professor Brown wanted her to see that it happened to a lot of people, but they could still be happy about it. But true to Lily's nature, she was concerned about herself, her problems, or her anger. She was concerned about this little boy's life.
So that was what Scorpius addressed when he hugged her, trying to help her feel better. To get her to stop crying. "I'll be ok, Lily," he whispered softly. "Whatever happens, it'll be ok. I promise."
He continued to comfort her until her emotions seemed to tire her out, and she fell asleep, her head resting against his shoulder. Scorpius felt his face flare with heat when he noticed that she'd fallen asleep, but he was careful when he laid her on his pillow. He briefly considered waking her up, but he didn't want to risk her waking up and becoming upset again. Besides, sleep might be what she needed. So doing his best not to move around too much, he slipped off his shoes and quietly placed them on the floor, before moving to lay on the other side of the large bed. He didn't want her to feel awkward when she woke up, but he wasn't keen on sleeping on the floor either.
He looked toward Lily briefly, not seeing much of her in the dark. But he could hear the soft intakes of air as she slept. Scorpius sighed as he closed his eyes. He wasn't sure what they would say in the morning, but as long as she was ok, then so was he.
Scorpius ran quickly through the empty halls. He could hear both Potter brothers trying to catch up to him, but they were behind, and he'd gotten a nice head start on them. Thinking of his prank on them made him smirk.
He'd been patrolling the halls for younger students out after curfew when a sight in the library caught his eye. James Potter and his little brother surrounded by a big group, and James Potter simply bragging about anything he could think of. Taking the chance to have quite a few books fall on their heads was too great for him to simply walk away. But at the same time, he was alone against two Potters, and he knew his chances of beating them both with ease wouldn't happen. But he knew that Mitch and the band were practicing, and leading the Potters there would be the icing on his prank. But before he could even get there, something happened.
"What the hell!"
Scorpius turned his head, but then skidded to a halt at what he saw. Albus Potter was hanging in the air, as if someone was holding him up by the ankle.
James Potter only looked confused. "What the hell, Al?"
"Get me down!" Albus demanded.
Scorpius started to laugh, unable to contain it. "Wow, and I thought all the air was in your head, not your foot!" The sight was too great! Whose genius doing was this?
Then James Potter's legs began to move awkwardly and uncontrollably. It made Scorpius laugh even harder as Potter squirmed and got rid of the spell, but panted and shook. Potter looked furious as he looked behind him. "Who's there?" he screamed.
Potter was answered with a chunk of his bangs slicing from his hair. Potter stumbled back, his hand on his now crooked bangs. "What the hell is going on?" Scorpius tried not to laugh at the crack in his voice.
"That's not a good look on you, Potter. I can see more of your face," Scorpius laughed. Who was doing this? It had to be a Slytherin. Maybe Mitch and the others had heard the commotion?
Suddenly Albus Potter dropped onto the floor with a thud. He groaned. "Who the hell is out there?" Slowly, he began to stand up. But once he was up, a jet of water suddenly appeared and slammed into his face.
Albus Potter began to cough. "What the-!"
James Potter was getting more furious with every second. "Show yourself!" But then he was thrown backwards, landing harshly on the floor. But he was quicker to get up than his brother, and now he looked uncertain, and frightened. Scorpius smirked at the look.
"Let's get out of here!" Albus exclaimed, afraid himself as he began to run.
James Potter followed his brother, but still looked at Scorpius. "You're still a dead man, Malfoy! I'll get you back!" Then he was gone like his brother.
Scorpius finally laughed fully, unable to keep it in anymore. And to his surprise, someone else was laughing too, a familiar laugh. Lily stepped out from behind a large statute, her wand in her hand. Scorpius stopped laughing, but smirked. "The princess comes to my rescue," he chuckled as he met her halfway down the hall.
Lily grinned. "Not all princesses turn out to be damsels in distress."
Scorpius chuckled a little. "How did you know where I was?" Even though he was supposed to ask why she was out after curfew, he didn't. After all, she had just saved him from having to run down several more halls. And it'd been entertaining.
"I was sitting alone in the potions room looking at the map when I saw you running from the idiots. In fact, I should probably head back there," she sighed.
"I'll walk you," Scorpius assured, making her smile.
"So why were they chasing you?" she asked as they began to walk.
Scorpius explained his prank to her as they walked. She seemed to agree that the chance shouldn't have been ignored. They soon made it down to the dungeons.
"So, I must be a terrible knight if the princess has to come save me," he teased.
Lily laughed. "Oh please. Let's ignore the macho image," she mocked as she opened the door to the classroom.
Scorpius followed her inside as he laughed. "Ah, don't worry. I'm not upset about anything like that. In fact, I like that you came to my rescue. I think a girl with a smart and cunning attitude is hot," he joked as he sat down with her at a table.
She blushed a little, but still rolled her eyes at him. 'Thank you, I feel so complimented," she said dryly.
Scorpius chuckled. "You should. I rarely think that of girls," he said, keeping his teasing tone.
Lily came back with teasing tone of her own. "Why is that? I rarely see you interested in any girl since Layla. Some might begin to think things."
Now Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I'm just not interested. Most girls aren't very interesting people. I get bored listening to them talk. They have nothing good to say," he replied.
"Boring conversationalist, another thing I can add to my list of traits," she quipped.
Scorpius laughed. Merlin did he love her ability to keep up witty banter with him. It was fun. "Believe me, you are never boring," he told her. "I'm just saying that most girls are. Not all of them."
Lily grinned. "Well not all boys are great with words. I think Derek Bole is a great example of that." After all, Derek Bole pretty much never spoke at all.
But Scorpius wasn't going to back down. After all, that Scamander kid didn't seem like a smooth talker, himself. "Is that something you look for in a guy?" he teased.
"I find that the ability to speak is very attractive in a guy," Lily said with a laugh on her lips.
"So are you saying that I'm attractive?" Scorpius questioned with a smirk.
He'd expected her to blush, but she still grinned. "Did you expect me to say that you were ugly?"
Scorpius only shrugged this time. "Well with your upcoming date with Scamander, I just thought that your sights would be on him," he said.
"Just because you agree to go on a date with someone, doesn't mean that you can't notice that someone else is also attractive," Lily replied simply.
Scorpius chuckled. "So you've always thought that I was attractive?" he fished.
She sighed. "Kind of hard not to. It's a bit obvious."
"Really?" Scorpius mumbled. Did she really think that of him? So he wasn't weird for thinking that one of his friends was attractive? She had similar thoughts?
"A lot of girls think the same. You just never notice," Lily pointed out.
Scorpius thought about that. "Really?" Then he sighed. "Well, doesn't matter. I don't find most of those girls appealing. You're the exception," he said with honesty.
"Are you calling me attractive?" she teased, repeating his earlier question.
Scorpius smirked at her challenging tone. "I am actually. In fact, I find that you are one of the more appealing girls that are at the top of my list."
She raised a brow. "Really? Who's at the top?" she asked, her curiosity staining her voice.
Scorpius chuckled. "Haven't decided yet." Then he leaned closer to her. "But don't worry. You are a contender for the spot."
Up close, he was easily able to see her blushing, but he was taken in by much more. Like by how her eyes seemed almost darker in this moment. Or that he could feel her breath fan against his cheek warmly. And he could smell some kind of flowery scent in the air around her. Shampoo maybe?
He was beginning to wonder how he ended up in this position. From joking to . . . this. That feeling was back, and he was beginning to think that he wasn't the only one that could hear his heart pounding. His nerves felt tense, like they'd snap at any moment. But then his eyes glanced down, and caught sight of her lips. Quickly he snapped his eyes back to lock with hers, hoping his eyes didn't betray the strange urge that he'd felt at the moment.
"I'm sorry that took so long – Oh! Mr. Malfoy! How delightful to see you here!"
Scorpius moved back quickly as Professor Slughorn entered. He tried not to scowl at the strange way he felt. "Thank you, sir," he said politely. "I heard that you had a meeting with the headmaster, so I thought I would come and keep Lily company while she waited."
"Well you're welcome to stay and observe if you would like," Slughorn told him.
But Scorpius felt like that wasn't a good idea. Not with this weird feeling in his chest. Not with the strange, yet not awkward, air that had gathered between him and Lily. He stood up from his seat instead. "No, I'd better go actually. I have to patrol tonight, and if your clock is right, I have to start soon," he lied. He started an hour ago. "Perhaps another time."
Slughorn simply nodded. "Well then, I'll see you in class tomorrow then."
"Of course," Scorpius sighed. Then he looked at Lily, wondering if that weird feeling was still between them. "I'll see you later, princess."
While she was still blushing, Lily still looked at him teasingly. Like normal. "Later, Sir Malfoy."