"I can't believe there's only a week of school left," Hugo mused, flicking through Ariana's notes on 17th century witch hunts. "This year's gone by so fast."
"I can't wait for the summer," Dominique squealed excitedly.
Playfully Hugo nudged his cousin in the ribs. "Hush up Dom, not all of us are spending the majority of our holidays in the south of France."
Dominique just stuck her tongue out, muttering 'jealous' from behind her copy of A History of Magic.
From across the table, Phoebe let out a loud breath. "I think I'll just be happy when all this revision is over and done with. It feels like we're taking our O.W.L.s." She threw her quill down on the table frustrated.
"Imagine what it will be like in two years time," Hugo replied dismally.
In response Phoebe just groaned, banging her head against the table, making Lily jump out of her train of thought with a start.
"Are you ok?" Ariana murmured as Lily rubbed her eyes tiredly and the others started discussing methods of escaping capture from 17th century witch hunts.
Shaking herself slightly, Lily smiled weakly. "I'm fine," she mumbled, laughing lightly at Ariana's frown. "I guess I'm just tired after staying up all night to revise Potions." Whilst talking, Lily tried to stifle her yawns, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Maybe you should go and take a nap before dinner," Ariana suggested worriedly. "The History of Magic exam isn't until tomorrow afternoon anyway."
After a loud sigh, Lily nodded sleepily. She marked the page on Salem witches she had ben trying to read and then close the book, glancing up at her best friend's satisfied smirk. "I'm going to head back to dormitory and get some sleep," she said addressing everyone. "I'll see you all at dinner."
"Have a good nap Lils," Hugo said, smiling as Lily got up from the table and exited the Great Hall with her books in hand.
The corridors leading Lily to Gryffindor Tower were empty. Everyone was either revising somewhere quiet, taking an exam or in class. The silence was oddly peaceful as she walked through the sunlight that was streaming through the long windows, warming her face. As Lily turned into another corridor around a sharp corner, she slammed into a human wall, crumpling to the floor with her books skidding across the stone.
"Merlin's beard, Lily are you alright?"
It took her a dizzy moment but then Lily realised it was Scorpius' voice talking to her, worrying about her. "I'm fine," she mumbled, holding her hand to her head. "Just a bit dizzy."
Scorpius picked up her books and then sat down next to Lily in the middle of the corridor floor. "I'd rest before trying to stand up," he said, handing Lily her books. He let his hand gently caress the back of her hand, sending shivers up her spine.
A smile grew on Lily's face along with a deep blush. She pulled the books to her lap and brushed the hair from her face. "How've you been Scor?"
It had been ages since Lily had been alone with Scorpius. After the date in the Shrieking Shack came an avalanche of exam pressure, more on Scorpius than herself. He had been spending every spare moment working hard as he revised with Albus, Franklin and Kaleb, practising spells and memorising key notes. The only time Lily really got to hang out with him was wither at meal times or when she was testing him on the pronunciation of spells. She knew he had promised her another date but there had just been no time for it. Lily was revising for her end of year exams and all of a sudden, the pressure snowballed until there was no time to do anything remotely fun or romantic. Lily missed Scorpius a lot; it was hard for her to have gotten so close to him and then to have things stand still and not move forward.
And he was a fantastic kisser - something else she missed.
Scorpius sighed loudly, leaning back on one hand whilst running the other through his messy hair. "I just finished my Defence practical. Merlin it was so easy. I don't even know what I was worried about." He smiled brightly, his entire body relieved of stress. "I bet you could take the exam today and you'd get an Outstanding for sure."
"Don't get too cocky!" Lily warned although she couldn't stop herself from smiling with him. "However I'm glad you feel so confident about it. Fingers crossed you don't get a Troll."
"Now you're just being mean Lils," he replied with a frowning smirk.
Reflexively, Lily pouted cutely. "When's your last exam?"
"Tomorrow night; we've got Astronomy and then I've finished my O.W.L.s," he said excitedly. Lily could see the relief wash over him at the idea of his exams being over and done with. "That's a scary thought."
"I'm sure you've done amazingly," Lily assured him, reaching over to take his hand but stopping herself abruptly. "You're one of the smartest people I know."
Seeing her hand move, Scorpius scooted closer with his eyes moving up and down the corridor, looking and listening for anyone. "I thought we could have that second date soon," he said in a hushed voice. He took one of Lily's hands from her books, gripping it tightly in his soft hands, his touch prickling her skin. "Maybe Thursday night? That way both of our exams will be over with."
"I'd love to," Lily said with a beaming smile before it quickly turned into a yawn. "I think the dizziness has passed." With Scorpius' help, his hand still fixed in Lily's she got to her feet, instantly being pulled towards the Malfoy boy. She looked up at him, melting under his grey-eyed stare and reached up on her tip-toes to brush her lips against his lightly. As she pulled away, another yawn broke out.
"You were up all night revising for your Potions exam weren't you?" Lily nodded with a blush of her cheeks as she saw Scorpius smirk across from her. "Go and get some sleep," he ordered, ducking down to plant a small kiss on Lily's lips. "I'll see you at dinner." He squeezed her hand before letting go and then walking the way Lily had come from, leaving Lily standing alone in the corridor.
Her fingers reached up to touch her lips, slightly shocked before shaking her head to herself and continuing on towards Gryffindor Tower.
###
Yawning to herself, Lily climbed out of her bed, itching her head as she kicked the blankets off her. She stumbled into the bathroom, tripping over one of her shoes, and groaned as she looked in the mirror. "Holy Hippogriff!" Lily's reflection showed that her hair was sticking up at all angles. She sighed to herself and winced harshly as she tugged a brush through her knots. Then she piled her hair into a high bun, fixed her tie and then left her dormitory, stopping to tuck her wand into her waistband.
"James?" Lily said, coming up short as she spotted her older brother on one of the armchairs in the common room. His glasses were sliding down his nose as he slept soundly, his books open in his lap. "Oh Jamie," she sighed, walking over to him. "James?"
He woke up with a start, the books in his lap sliding to the floor with a thud. "Yes Professor Flitwick!" he shouted before opening his eyes and blushing slightly. "Oh hey Lils," he said, as Lily perched on the arm of his chair and pushed his glasses up his nose.
"You're too tired to revise James," Lily said sternly, trying to channel her mother. "I'm sure you've done more than enough revision. You'll do fine in your N.E.W.T.s." Whilst she was talking to him, her hand stroked the brown hair from his face soothingly.
"Fine isn't going to be good enough to impress Alice. I have to do amazing," James said, slapping her hands away and frowning hard. He picked up his books, opening the one for his Charms class on the relevant page.
Lily scowled back at her brother. "Alice isn't going to care about the grades you get in your N.E.W.T.s."
"This is the only way I can think of that shows her that I can be serious and dedicate myself to something more than just my pranks." James stifled a yawn and closed his eyes as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"I understand that," Lily said softly. "But you won't be any use to anyone if you don't get enough sleep."
"Ok Lils, I promise I'll try," James said, pulling Lily in for a tight hug. "Oh before I forget, we're having a party on Friday to celebrate the end of all exams."
"I'll be there," Lily assured him, squeezing him extra tight. It was nice to be included in what her brother was planning since it was a rare occurrence. "I'm off to dinner now." And with a quick kiss on James' cheek, she hopped off the chair and left the common room, heading to the Great Hall.
###
Lily's last exam, History of Magic, went relatively well, although she wasn't sure on the exact dates she said in her essay and was too scared to look them up in her textbook. Instead she nervously paced around her dormitory or tried to distract herself by reading a book. Everyone else had accepted the fact that now the results were out of their control and were enjoying their last days at Hogwarts - apart from Albus who continued to hold the wooden Japanese girl Ariana bought him for his last birthday in the hope that it would bring him good luck.
Thursday night couldn't have come sooner for Lily. She was looking forward to her second date with Scorpius, mainly because who wouldn't when he was so good looking but also because he would most likely distract her from worrying about her results. She finished her classes, which were filled with fun lessons now that exams were out of the way and then hurried to her dormitory to take a quick shower. With the help of Ariana, she changed into a flowing lilac playsuit that cinched in at the top of hips. She Charmed her hair dry and with Ariana doing the back of her head, twisted her hair around her wand to make curls. Then with a touch of eyeliner and mascara and a smear of her vanilla lip balm, she found some socks and her black Converse, paired her playsuit with a black blazer and was on her way.
That very morning, Lily had woken up to Belle snuggling up on Lily's pillow, the white fur tickling her nose and making her wake up. There was another note attached to Belle's collar that told Lily that she needed to meet Scorpius inside the Room of Requirement - the name of the place Lily had slept in the night of the Valentine's Ball. According to him, a door would appear only for her. So this was where she was heading now, smoothing her outfit and being wary of other students that barely noticed Lily.
Sure enough, a door appeared for Lily as she arrived on the seventh floor and nervously she pushed it open and peered inside. As she stepped inside, she realised she was walking on grass. "Scorpius?" she called out, for it was dark in the room and it was taking her eyes some time to adjust.
"I'm here Lils," he called out, his voice emanating from in front of Lily. She walked towards it, blinking furiously until she could make out the outline of Scorpius sitting on a blanket stretched out on the lawn. "Come and sit down."
She did so, feeling Scorpius' arm wrap around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "Why is the Room of Requirement outside? How is this possible?"
"The Room changes to fit whatever I want it to be. Tonight I wanted to do a bit of stargazing," Scorpius murmured deeply. His hand ran up the length of her spine and tugged on her shoulder, bringing Lily to the ground with her head resting on Scorpius' arm.
Immediately Lily gasped, the air in her lungs catching on its way back out. Above her, where Lily had expected to see wooden beams and a stone ceiling, were millions of twinkling stars, burning brightly in what looked like the night sky. Some winked brightly into existence while others just remained motionless. The best part was that every so often, a shooting star would burn across Lily's vision until it fizzled out and disappeared.
"It's beautiful," Lily whispered after a minute or two of silence while Lily recovered from the shock. Her mouth was still wide open as she rolled to the side up against Scorpius' body and faced him as he stared up at the stars. "I can't believe you could even think up something like this."
He tore his illuminated grey eyes away from the constellations above them to look at Lily, his smile lighting up his face in a way Lily loved. "A beautiful view for a beautiful girl."
"Did you want some wine with that cheese Mr Malfoy?" Lily snickered.
Playfully, Scorpius shoved Lily and she fell back onto her back. Both of them were laughing although his was slightly mocking. Then he abruptly stopped, acting hurt. "This is the last time I try and be romantic to you Miss Potter," he said and Lily could hear the smirk in his voice even though she wasn't looking at him.
"How will I go on?" she cried dramatically, rolling back onto her side to curl up next to Scorpius and rest her head on his chest. "It really is beautiful though."
His arm wrapped itself around her body, his hand on her waist gently. "Anything for you," he murmured softly. Then his other hand drifted up above them, pointing at the sky. "Do you see that collection of stars over there?" Lily moved her head so she was in line with his finger that seemed to be pointing to a constellation that formed a scorpion, if all the dots were connected. "That's the constellation I was named after," Scorpius said just as Lily realised all on her own.
This made Lily look at the sky with a new perspective. She wasn't just looking at random stars, there were images and stories woven into the blanket of the night and suddenly Lily could see them. There was a wolf, howling to the hidden moon; the hunter Orion stalking his prey; a lion with its great mane twinkling proudly. It was beautiful for Lily, she could imagine just lying under the stars and watching the constellations interact, understanding the stories that followed. And this was where Scorpius found his name. That meant if Lily ever had children with Scorpius, something she had never really thought about, she would have to look to the night sky and find the name written there for her child.
"I never knew the stars had so much to tell," Lily whispered. Turning to Scorpius, she smiled brightly at him, watching him smile back with just as much enthusiasm. "Thank you for showing me this."
###
The final night at Hogwarts was split into two halves: the Leaving Feast and the party in the Shrieking Shack.
As Lily walked into the Great Hall in her official robes for her last feast as a third year, she was taken back by the decorations. Above her, the candles burned in a rainbow of colours and from the beams hung quivering banners with the Hogwarts emblem printed on them - they would turn to the banners of the winning House once it had been announced. Colourful streamers decorated the walls and glitter shimmered in the air, although it didn't stick to anyone or anything. There was an essence of sadness, seeing as this was the end of another year and for seventh years, such as James, Fred and Roxy, it was the official end of their education. However the overall warmth was excitement, especially those who knew about the party later on.
Hurrying down the aisle whilst holding onto her pointed hat, Lily found her friends already seated. She sat down between Ariana and Hugo, smiling at Dominique and Phoebe who were sat across from then. Surrounding them were Franklin and few other Gryffindors in his year that Lily wasn't too familiar with alongside James, Fred, Eddie, Roxy and Alicia who were all laughing with serious eyes that showed Lily that they were sad that they were leaving.
"Good evening students!" Professor Creevey cried, his voice echoing throughout the Great Hall that soon fell silent. Everyone's attention turned to the headmaster standing up on the podium as the bronze eagle flexed its wings as if to take flight. "It's that time of year where we have to say goodbye to those who have been with us for a whooping seven years. However there is still the matter of who has won the House Cup and what House is the winner of the Quidditch House Cup too." The entire Hall erupted into cheers, hands clapping and pounding against the table with aggressive enthusiasm.
At the mere mention of the Quidditch House Cup, Lily had caught James sitting up a little straighter and fixing his tie. She giggled to herself, spotting Alicia looking at him oddly, before turning her attention back to Professor Creevey who was trying to gain control of the students.
When the noise finally died down, the headmaster started up once more, his voice booming across the Hall. "It has been a fantastic season for Quidditch, I think we can all agree. There have been a few injuries and a few surprises but overall every House has played very well over the last year and given an amazing show for us all to enjoy.
"I was never one for Divination but I have a funny feeling that this year, we've only seen the beginning of some careers that will take the British and Irish League by storm. Perhaps there are a few world class players amongst you now!" There was another loud cheer while a snowy owl swooped down to the headmaster, a golden envelope attached to its leg.
"Let's get down to announcing the results," Professor Creevey cried over the noise, untying the envelope from the owl (that quickly flew off) and opening its wax seal. "In fourth place, earning their House forty points, is Hufflepuff!" Along with the rest of the Hall, Lily clapped, not really surprised. Lily had beat them in her first ever game and even Slytherin had in the last game of the season, despite Scorpius still being partially injured. "In third place, earning seventy points for their House, is Ravenclaw!"
Whilst clapping, Lily looked at Dominique across from her, rolling her eyes. Of course it would come down to Gryffindor and Slytherin in the end. On the one hand, Lily didn't want to hurt her brother and Scorpius but at the same time, she wanted to beat Slytherin into the ground, if not for her then for James. She knew what it meant for him. It was the legacy he could leave behind that was something he earned, not something that was handed to him because he was a Potter. For this reason, she crossed her fingers.
"I think we all remember the battle between the final two Houses. It was a skilful and very dramatic game that highlighted the best of Quidditch. But only one team can lift the Quidditch House Cup." On that queue, Professor Trigg and Professor Cattermole brought forward the Cup, placing it on a small table beside the podium before the headmaster relinquished the velvet cover. Every student leaned in to see the Quidditch House Cup, admire the gleam of the jewel-encrusted base and witness the scrawling of all past winners on its silver shape. What was most special about the Cup was that its handles were in the shape of the Golden Snitch's wings. "In second place, earning their House an impressive one hundred points, is Slytherin!"
The Gryffindor table instantly burst to life, creating a wall of sound as they jumped off of the bench, screaming and shouting, so loud that they didn't even hear Professor Creevey tell them that they had won and earned an extra one-hundred points. Lily was beside herself with happiness, climbing on the table with Dominique and jumping up and down, cheering. She found James quickly and leapt into his arms, holding on while he spun her around.
"Let's go and get the Cup!" Lily cried into James' ear and he quickly dropped Lily, grabbing her hand and pulling her up the table towards the High Table of professors. On the way, Lily was hugged tightly by Roxy and Fred, the latter insisting on putting her on his shoulders. "I can't believe it," she screamed down at Ellie as her and Franklin joined the team. They quickly found Liam and then made their way to Professor Creevey, Lily beaming with pride from her high position. It took a while because it felt like the entire House wanted to congratulate them, leaving Lily to get wave and occasionally high-five people from Fred's shoulders.
Finally they made it to the front, where Fred agilely lifted Lily to the floor and then the whole team walked up to Professor Creevey behind his podium. Each member of the team shook the headmaster's hand and then it was the moment. As Captain, James was handed the Cup and instantly he held it high into the air as the Gryffindor table burst into another round of cheering while the other students clapped and scowled.
Looking over at the Slytherin table, Lily was confronted with a lot of scowls. However she left out a laugh when she saw Albus, Scorpius and Kaleb cheering them on. "Whoa! Go Lilykins!" Kaleb called out embarrassingly, to which she just stuck her tongue, beaming from ear to ear at the support. When she focused on Scorpius, he seemed to beam with pride. He caught her eye and winked, making Lily's cheeks burned brightly as she laughed and cheered with her team.
They all shook Professor Creevey's hand again and then made their way back to the celebrating Gryffindor table, James with the Cup still held high. Lily quickly found her seat beside Ariana and Hugo once more and then looked to the headmaster as the cheering died down in anticipation of who would win the House Cup.
"Now onto what you are all waiting for," Professor Creevey announced loudly. "The House Cup has been around since the Founders of our beloved school first opened its doors. It allows for friendly competition between Houses and reinforces the value of teamwork. This year it was very close, one of the closest I've seen since taking up this position. In fourth place, collecting a highly respectable five hundred and twenty points, is Ravenclaw!"
Lily clapped politely along with everyone else but secretly felt very smug. "I guess it's just karma," she murmured into Hugo's ear, making him smile as they both looked at the scowling faces of Ravenclaw.
"In third place, with their points totalling at six hundred and seventy, is Hufflepuff," Professor Creevey declared with a wave of his hands.
Lily continued to clap and looked over at Dominique, who rolled her eyes as she clapped too. "What's the betting that we win the House Cup?" Dominique said loudly so Lily could hear over the clapping. In response, Lily just shrugged and looked back at Professor Creevey, awaiting the results.
"It's definitely a close one this year; only twenty points separate the winners of the House Cup with the House of second place. However there must be a winner. The House that came in second earned a tremendous seven hundred and ten points, which I think is amazing and should be applauded right now before we all get caught up on who wins." The headmaster led the clapping while the House Cup was brought out - it was a much bigger version of the Quidditch House Cup, made of gold with elegant handles instead of wings.
"That being said, the House that won with a fantastic earning of seven hundred and thirty points is.." And instead of announcing the winner himself, Professor Creevey flourished his wand from within his crimson robes and pointed them to the ceiling. Magically, the Hogwarts banners morphed into the banners of the winners, coloured with the House's very own colours accompanied with its emblem.
Red and gold took over the Great Hall, as did the image of a lion.
"GRYFFINDOR WON!" James proclaimed obviously and once again the table burst into enthusiastic cheering. Lily was quickly swooped up in the celebrations, beaming with pride as Professor Longbottom walked up to the podium to collect the House Cup. He lifted it proudly up in the air, eliciting another round of cheering and screaming and celebrations. It took a while to die down but when it finally did, Professor Creevey said that any more words would have to wait until everyone had eaten.
The food that evening was absolutely spectacular, even by Hogwarts standard. Dishes of all sorts appeared on the table piled high with some of the best food Lily had tasted. It was a fantastic feast, filled with chicken drumsticks, roast potatoes, pork chops and steamed vegetables that left Lily's stomach aching. Although it wasn't that bad because desert quickly followed and Lily went in for round two.
When everyone had eaten their fill and were well and truly stuffed, Professor Creevey took to the podium one last time to say some inspirational words. "It's the end of the year and that means that we say goodbye to the older students in our school, the seventh years. You've all been brilliant students and I've gotten the pleasure to get to know all of you, some more than I would have liked." At this, Professor Creevey's eyes frowned upon the Gryffindor table, more specifically at James, Fred and Eddie. "However you've all been a pleasure to watch grow into fine witches and wizards that will hopefully leave here as better people. We've taught you all that we could and I hope you take what you've learnt here and apply it to what you will experience in the future.
"With that being said, I think it's time I let you all go. I imagine there will be some fantastic and wild celebrations tonight but keep safe, have fun and I will see you all on the coaches tomorrow. Remember they leave at ten o'clock." Professor Creevey climbed down from the podium and then there was a flurry of movement as people started filtering out of the Great Hall.
Time to party!
Author's Note: Can we take a moment to freak out over the fact that I've written over 100'000 words for this story? Merlin's beard, that is crazy news!
I hope you enjoy this chapter and enjoy this little moments Lily and Scorpius share. The next chapter will include the party, a fantastic prank and a divorce! I'll leave you with that :D