(A/N- Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews!

XloveXconquersXallX- who, by the way, wrote me the most amazing birthday story ever! Go check it out for all the Harry and Hermione lovers in the world, it's called Always Been You.

And for all my other reviewers and loving readers- Beeeecks, amama123, misspotter94, midnightstar19, Bonnie McCullough, Elizabeth, SSJJ92, Lilu'u Malfoy, Dizzy0305, xxjenlovexx, , Draco's favorite witch, and my anonymous reviewer- you guys are the best!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and even though it is my birthday, it's not the end of the story. Do you guys want me to finish it soon? I need to know when to stop it, or it could go on forever, and I don't want it to end up as one of those amazing stories that takes a week to read and has some 60 something chapters. I just don't think I can do that. I need to end it so I can stop replacing my homework with fanfiction! But I will post another long story- I'm debating between Fred and Angelina and Astoria and Draco. Any suggestions?

Please review! All of them would be amazing birthday presents

Chapter 21

Scorpius P.O.V.

"My mother's here," I tell Lily quietly, my gray eyes worried. Her eyes widen slightly in surprise before she nods slowly, swallowing hard.

"And she's here about us," She says softly, and I nod.

"Nothing's going to get between us, Lily. Nothing," I remind her, and she smiles slightly. Her smile fades as she takes a deep breath, looking up at me.

"I have to tell my parents, Scorp." I don't let my apprehension show, but nod slowly instead as she continues. "I can't keep going like this. They can't know through someone else…they'll be furious, I know, but…" She shakes her head. "I need to tell them."

"Of course." Lily smiles, the expression strained, and looks up at me. "I could Floo tonight, I suppose. Teddy gave me Floo powder the last time I saw him, and I could use the Gryffindor fireplace."

"Lily, I want to come with you," I tell her slowly, knowing she won't like it.

"Scorp…they'll be even angrier. At you, and me, too…it's not a good idea. Maybe Al should come, or…" She looks up at me, her face white. "Godric, Scorp, I haven't even told James. I can't believe…" Lily takes a deep breath, then nods decisively.

"I'll tell James, and then I'll go to my parents."

"Lily, I want to come with you," I repeat, more firmly this time, and before she can speak, I continue. "No, listen. They won't like it- I know it- but I have to try to explain. We're together, and they need to see that." Lily looks at me, her hazel eyes worried, before sighing.

"Alright, that…it makes sense." She offers me a half-hearted smile. "I'd feel better with you, anyway."

…

James P.O.V.

I grin triumphantly as my chess pieces engages in a wrangle with Luke Longbottom's king, before Luke's king throws his crown down in surrendance.

"Checkmate!" I exclaim, sinking back in my seat. Luke grins good naturedly and collects up his pieces, waiting for the occasional piece to repare itself before offering me his hand to shake.

"I'll get you next time," He promises, and I raise my eyebrows.

"I wouldn't be so sure," I grin, and he pulls out his wand and twirls it around absently before leaning in and lowering his voice.

"So, is it true, then? Lily and Scorpius?" I frown at his expression, too interested for my liking.

"They're together, I think," I say slowly. "Why do you care?" He doesn't answer my question but glances over his shoulder before continuing.

"I don't want to spread rumors, mate, but people are saying…have you seen the ring she's been wearing? I get it if you don't want to say anything…it doesn't look good, I know…but I was just wondering if you knew anything about it." I stare at him for a second, trying to remember who we're talking about, before laughing.

"Is this a joke? Lily? No, she's not bloody well engaged!" I grin at him slightly, rolling my eyes, and he shrugs.

"Alright. I'm just saying what I've heard."

"You must be mental…my sister's in fourth year, in case you've forgotten." Luke grins uneasily.

"Yeah, I don't know why people even bother…" As the talk returns to Quidditch, I spot Lily walking into the common room over Luke's shoulder, her hand in Scorpius Malfoy's. I sigh and stand up.

"I'll be right back," I tell Luke, before walking over to my sister. "What's he doing here, Lily? I know he's your boyfriend, but people won't take well to having a Slytherin in the common room." I grin at Malfoy easily.

"No offense, mate."

"None taken," He replies steadily. "But we need to talk to you."

"About…Quidditch?" I guess wildly, my smile slowly fading.

"No," Lily says slowly, biting her lip. I sigh, remembering what Luke said, my feeling of dread growing. I don't want anything bad said about my sister, especially involving blokes.

"Let's get out of here," I mutter, gesturing to the portrait hole. Lily smiles nervously as Scorpius leads the way out and into an empty classroom. As she pulls their entwined hands to her lap, my eye catches on something on her finger. A ring.

Godric, Luke wasn't making it all up.

"Lily, what is that?" I demand, my fists clenching. "Are you trying to- to encourage the rumors?"

"Rumors?" Lily's face turns pale, but she raises her eyebrows. "What rumors are we talking about?"

"Well, I mean- Lily, it's a diamond ring! What are people supposed to think?" Lily stares at me for a second, and Malfoy's jaw clenches before Lily speaks.

"That we're engaged? That we love each other?" I laugh harshly before I register her words. Looking from Scorpius, whose face is dead serious, to Lily's whose worried face is brave, I shake my head, my mind pounding. She's kidding. She's not serious.

"Lily, don't mess with me."

"I'm not!" She hurries to grab my arm as I start to stand up. "James, please, you have to understand. It was the only way!"

"Understand what?" I roar. "That my fifteen year old sister is engaged? Are you mental? Do you even know what- why? Lily, this is crazy. If you expect anyone is ever going to come close to understanding what your messed up mind is thinking of, you're fooling yourself." She bites her lip, swallowing hard, but I'm too angry to think straight. This can't be happening. I turn to Malfoy, his face infuriatingly calm.

"And you!" I yell, pulling out my wand. "What did you do to her? Knock her up? Do you think this is funny? Do you think my family- Lily's family- is going to understand?" He shakes his head, his gray eyes dangerous, but I turn away. "I don't expect you to understand, Malfoy, but in our world, in our family, marrying in school for blood or whatever other stupid reasons you have isn't right, and it's not bloody happening."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand, either," He says evenly. "I know it's not right, but we love each other."

"Love. Right," I scowl, eyeing them disgustedly. "This is never going to happen. Lily, Mum and Dad…they'll go mental. They won't let you." Her jaw tenses, and my anger boils as I see Scorpius's arm wrap around her. Without another word, I walk away.

Lily P.O.V.

"How about the Slytherin common room, then?" Scorpius asks quietly, his eyes worried for me. I attempt a smile and watch James's retreating back before nodding.

"Yeah, I…I still need to tell them."

"I know," He murmurs, as I rummage through my pocket before I retrieve the packet of Floo powder.

"Here we go." We make our way down to the dungeouns silently, and the Slytherin common room is surprisingly empty for once. I glance up at Scorp, surprised, and he smiles softly.

"It's lunch, Lily." He hesitates. "No one will miss us. It'll be okay. We'll get you back in time for classes." I don't bother telling him that I'm more concerned about getting out of my house alive than getting to time on Potions, but I nod.

"Thanks, Scorp." His eyes flash with concern before he nods, carefully slitting open the packet of powder and handing it to me.

"Ladies first," Scorpius says quietly. "Lily, are you sure…?"

"I can do this," I tell him firmly. If I don't go now, I'll never work up the courage. But I feel far from a Gryffindor right now. Grabbing a pinch of the powder, I step into the fire before I can look back.

…

"Mum?" I call, stepping out of the kitchen fireplace. "Mum?"

"Hello? Who is it?" My mum's voice, muffled by the ceiling over my head, sends a wave of guilt through me as I remember what I have to tell her. She'll be so disappointed, and angry. Merlin…

"Mum, it's Lily!"

"Lily?" With a crack, Mum appears in the kitchen. "Lily- what are you doing here!"

"And you always told James not to apparate indoors," I tease, but I can barely stop my voice from shaking. She doesn't notice, though, pulling me into a warm hug.

"Well, I missed you. I don't suppose that's why you're here, though- to visit your mother?"

"Not quite," I say slowly. "Um…Mum, I…I have something I need to talk to you about. Something important." Concern flickers across her face, and she pulls out a chair for me.

"Should your father be here for this?" She's interrupted by the fireplace's roar before Scorpius comes skidding out, covered in ashes and soot, but still as attractive as ever. As my mum registers who it is, her lips press in a tight line.

"And Malfoy needs to be here, as well?" She sends me a hard look that I'm sure is supposed to remind me of the letter she sent, but I merely sigh and nod slowly.

"Scorpius, Mum," I correct her pointedly. "Yes, and…if Dad could be here…I think…"

"Yes, of course," She says slowly. "I'll get him now…I'll just be a second." She shoots Scorpius a warning glare before walking into the fireplace herself. I pull out a chair for Scorp and he sits down carefully, performing a quick cleaning spell beforehand.

"Nice place," He remarks, and I attempt a smile that comes out as a grimace.

"Yeah, it's…it's home." Scorp smiles at me reassuringly and takes my hand, the warmth helping to soothe my nerves. I'm starting to think it wasn't a good idea to bring Scorpius, though. I doubt it'll do much to calm them.

"Let me speak," I tell him quietly, swallowing hard. He nods, his eyes trained on me.

"Of course, love." I smile at him and tighten my grip on his hand, the moments agonizingly long before my mother reappears, my father quickly in tow. He's just coming from the Auror office, with his Ministry robes, but his eyes flicker to our entwined hands before he smiles warmly.

"Lily, sweetheart," He exclaims, pleasantly surprised, before I stand up to hug him. "What a surprise." He inclines his head to Scorp, and I'm grateful that my father is as levelheaded as anyone. "Scorpius."

"Mr. Potter," Scorpius quickly exchanges, reaching out to shake his hand. We don't waste much time on small talk, though, and it becomes clear that my mum has filled Dad in when they both take a seat, their expressions turning serious.

"What brings you here, then?" Dad asks, his brow creasing in a frown.

"Mum, Dad…" I look both of them in the eye, taking a deep breath. "I know you're not going to like this, but…I need to tell you something, and…" As I see Mum's face darken dangerously, I bite my lip and open my mouth to erase her assumptions.

"No, Mum, it's not…I mean, it's not what you think," I say quickly, barely meeting her eyes, and she studies me sharply, her brown eyes hard.

"You're not pregnant, Lily? Or having sex with Scorpius?" Her words are clear and cut straight to the point, as usual, something I'm painfully aware of as my cheeks heat up.

"No, it's not like that," I mumble, before meeting Scorpius's eyes in reassurance. He offers me a smile, and I look away and start to talk. "Scorpius and I love each other," I say quickly, focusing on my hand entwined with Scorpius's.

"Lily-," My dad says quickly, a frown on his face, but I meet his eyes pleadingly.

"Please don't say anything until I'm finished…you'll understand, I hope, better, at least, when I'm done." He reluctantly nods, and I continue, my eyes back on our hands.

"We love each other, but we couldn't be together." I take a deep breath. "Scorpius has had an arranged marriage for a while now with Arabella Flint, and as long as that lasted, Scorpius and I couldn't be together." I swallow, the hard part coming, and chance a glance at Mum and Dad's expressions, which are quickly growing stonier, but are still open. "Mum, Dad…I love Scorpius, I really, truly love him, and I've never been surer of anything else. He's always been there for me, and I know you'd both like him." The next words seem to come forced from my throat. "I'm engaged to Scorpius." I look up slowly, and Mum's face seems to be turning redder by the moment. Dad's is shocked, too, and I think it takes them both a moment to recover before Dad forces a few words out.

"You're…engaged." I nod, and Scorpius hand tightens even more on mine.
"Lily, this is…this can't happen," Mum tells me, her eyes closed in an effort to control herself. "I don't know what you're thinking, but…" She shakes her head. "You know, Lily, I thought the Malfoy's letter was crazy, and I didn't know what they were thinking. I was sure they were just trying to protect some crazy pureblood line of theirs, but this…" She takes a deep breath. "Well, it seems we both have a reason to worry."

"Why can't this happen?" I whisper. "Why does everyone think it's so crazy?"

"Because you're…you're fifteen, Lily!" Mum shrieks, standing up. "Did you think we would understand whatever you're thinking? You're not getting married until you've found a man who you know you love who you've spent time with! Until you're well of age! You can't run away with Scorpius Malfoy because you think you're in love and that it has to be now!"

"I've spent time with him," I say quickly. "Mum, I do love him, and it does have to be now. He'll be married to Flint before I'm out of school unless we do this. We're just engaged, we're not marrying until we're both out of school!" As Mum's eyes flare dangerously, Dad grabs her hand and gently pulls her down, leaning forwards across the table to speak to me.

"Lily, I understand that you might care for Scorpius." He runs a tired hand through his hair. "I don't think it's fair that Scorpius doesn't get a choice of who he marries, but it's not uncommon with…with families like the Malfoy's. Pureblood families preserving their lines and marrying into each other's families has been in the wizarding world for centuries." Scorpius stiffens next to me, but I squeeze his hand. "And you can't get between Scorpius and his parents, Lily. This is for him and his parents to work out, and until then, you can't do this."

My mum, who seems to have composed herself somewhat, nods in agreement.

"Lily, you'll have all the time in the world with him if you'll just be patient. It's not worth getting engaged and married to Scorpius behind their back if you can do this the right way." She purses her lips. "Besides, Lily, I understand being young and in love- really, I do- but I don't think you're giving this enough time. Did you even consider what people would think of our family after this? You don't want to ruin what people think of you with something like this."

"Mum," I say, swallowing hard, "I don't care what people think of me. We're getting engaged no matter what, though. I knew nobody would be on my side, but I did it anyway, because I love him."

"Now, listen-," She retorts, her voice growing, but Scorpius interrupts.

"They have a point, Lily."

"I-," I turn to stare at him, as do my parents. I never thought he'd be on their side. Never. "What? I thought- I thought we both knew-,"

"I know, Lily, I know," Scorpius murmurs. "But we don't have to be alone." He turns to my parents, who regard him with more respect now. "We are getting engaged, no matter what," He says firmly, quietly, with all the confidence in the world. "We thought both our parents wouldn't understand, and well…mine don't." He smiles at me, and my love for him grows by the second. "But you…you do."

"Now, I wouldn't say we-," My dad starts with a frown.

"No, you don't like it, and maybe you don't even understand," Scorpius agrees quickly. "But you love Lily, and you're willing to try and make her happy." His voice grows quiet. "I wish my parents were like yours, Lily." I feel tears blur in my eyes, but I'm not sure what they're for. Even my mum is quiet, and I smile back at Scorpius.

"But Lily, if you could be happy, and if we could do it the right way, with you old enough, with years of being together before we marry, with both our parents approving…I'd give anything for it to be like that." He turns to my parents. "Maybe if we could all talk…with my parents, as well…"

"Talk?" I hold my breath as Mum stares at him. "Yes, that would be…I'd like that." She sends a strained smile at him.

"You two should get back to school," Dad says finally, standing up slowly. As Scorpius nods, recognizing our dismissal, Dad stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

"You're good for Lily," He says softly, his eyes locked with his. "Take care of her."

"I will, sir," Scorpius says firmly, turning to smile at me, and I reach over to hug Mum tightly.

"Oh, Lily," Mum murmurs into my hair, and I feel tears start to prick at my eyes. "What did you do?"

"I'm sorry," I whisper, the words almost inaudible, and she pulls back slowly, tears in her eyes as well.

"We'll owl you," Mum says softly to me. "Be careful." I nod, then follow Scorpius into the fire.

(A/N- Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated!)