Lily POV

I sat in my windowsill, stroking my owl Sultry's head, while I read ahead in my Advanced Potions for Fifth Years. It was getting late and everyone was heading to bed. As my peers returned to the dormitory and fell asleep I always found myself sitting alone in the Common room, cursing my insomnia. Tonight being no exception. Tonight I was sitting here instead of finding a seat by the fireplace downstairs. Scorpius had broken up with my cousin, Rosie, on the Hogwarts Express and she was still devastated. She thought Scorpius was going to propose on her birthday. She had thought they were meant to be forever. She refused to eat in the Great Hall and avoided seeing him if at all possible. She had one class with him and apparently came in last and sat as far away as possible then left three minutes before the class got out so as to avoid him. First she came to me for advice and help but quickly came to loath me. I hated the conversation but couldn't get it from my mind:

"Scorpius said he didn't love me, that he loved someone else, but I know it's not true Lily. I know he cares for me. I thought we would continue dating passed graduation and he would pass down some expensive family heirloom then maybe one day we would settle down together and have some kids and maybe my father wouldn't hate him so much once he got to know him. I don't know, I just thought everything would work out in the end. Did you cry when you two broke up?"

"I cried every night for months, don't you remember? I talked to him just before Christmas break my fourth year. We dated for a year and a two months and suddenly it was over, gone, all faded into the past. You sat with me and trash talked him while I stained the couch with my tears. Don't you remember any of this? All I ate was cookies then I jumped out of the moving train. None of this is ringing a bell?"

"Yeah but I don't mean that kind of crying; mourning in agony at his absence. You were putting on a show because you were so young and couldn't handle the stress. I mean for real."

"Rosie, that wasn't some show, I was hurting. I wasn't aching because of the family heirloom or my fortune I might have married into. Everything that marriage would have brought I would have given away for Scorpius' companionship. I was really genuinely aching."

"Not as much as I am now. When he told me it wasn't going to work out I wanted to try to convince him that we would improve together and everything would be fine but he just walked out. Looking back it seems stupid now but I asked about the Malfoy jeweled necklace, the one the boys give their future brides, the one he kept in his pocket. He told me it was promised to someone else and I couldn't have it. I thought he carried it around while looking for the perfect moment to present it to me. But we were so close and he hasn't dated many other people and our relationship was the most passionate of all of them and clearly the best. Right?"

When I didn't answer she turned and looked at me and before I could change my expression she realized what I was thinking. I had been holding the green star-shaped charm on my necklace and daydreamed while my eyes looked blankly at the crimson carpet. Once I realized she had stopped ranting I looked up at her. She was fuming. Had she realized the meaning behind my innocent appearing motions? Maybe I could play it off as something else, like I got distracted thinking about homework or Quidditch.

"You. He promised it to you and you gave it back didn't you? I should have known right away. Where else would you have received that giant green stone? I thought you had bought some costume jewelry on a Hogsmead trip and just wore it all the time because it was your new favorite piece. All this time I've been dating a guy who used me. I guarantee it.

"Lily, don't talk to me ever again."

She got up and returned to her Ravenclaw Common Rooms and since then I hadn't so much as greeted her or attempted to sit next to her during meals. If I got anywhere near her she burst out crying or attacked me physically, emotionally, or magically if she was in the mood. I had been to the hospital wing twice for hit-and-run hallway jinxes since that conversation. One of them was exactly like the first one I had been hit with when Scorpius and I started dating. Some mysteries were solved with time. Rose had been the one who attacked me the first time. Aside from being attacked at random, it made enjoying the Common room nigh impossible. I wouldn't go sit down there unless it was after 3am. Why did she still come to the Gryffindor Common rooms anyway? She had all of Ravenclaw commons, which I hear were beautiful and very comfortable, to roam but she still came into my space. My thought's were disturbed by a hard knock on the glass next to me, two of my dorm mates rolled over and sat up once they recognized the owl and thick parchment it carried. Scorpius.

Lily,

Would you meet me in our old familiar place tonight at two am? I really need to talk to you. We need to catch up and I have to apologize for my absence and for events I have accidentally caused you pain with. I heard about what your cousin did to you after I called it off and I'm truly sorry about letting it slip about the necklace. She shouldn't have ever known about that. I have other things I need to tell you in person. Please come.

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy

Squeals escaped every mouth as I read my letter aloud after some pleading. This was is second note since calling it quits with Rosie and so far I had only written back to tell him that I didn't want to talk to him. I talked myself out of reading the next note that came while my dorm mates told me it wasn't to late to write back and go. Once again the age old question came up: would I go, could I not this time? He sounded so sincere and this on was more then his usual, "Meet me in the usual spot, 1am." After shrugging and telling them I couldn't care less about him they let out their sarcastic phrases and told me they would be awake when I got back. I loved these girls, they knew me better than anyone, well, almost anyone. One of them went and told our other room mate who was sitting in the common room. She told me they had whispered so that Rose, who was crying in the chair closest couldn't hear my news. Rose was in Ravenclaw, I wished she'd stay there.

Around one thirty they wished me luck and told me to note everything so as to accurately tell every juicy detail of conversation. I promised and instead of risking a run-in with Rosie I mounted my broom, opened the window, and flew out to the grounds below. Once on the floor I crept back into the castle and shuffled in to the room where Scorpius and I used to sit for hours and talk. Being cautious I hid in the ceiling-high and classroom-wide cupboard until Scorpius arrived. Hidden in the darkness I stared to feel lonely and was glad that this loneliness wouldn't last much longer. Scorpius knew I would be early, which would force him to be, at the latest, on time.

On time, no early, super early. He shuffled next to me in the closet and grasped my hand before I had time to see his face. I automatically knew the touch of his soft fingers. My hand used to never be without them. A sniffled sounded and was muted by the hardwood doors along the hide away.

"Scorpius, you ok?"

"I was terrified that you wouldn't come and then I would have to sit here all night, just in case you got out later or didn't notice the owl until morning, or couldn't sneak away. I just thought you wouldn't come in general. You haven't before and I've waited here every time just in case you changed your mind. Every night I think you lay awake hating me and everything I've put you through..."

I couldn't hate him. Why would I hate him? We broke up because he was growing nearer to death by hanging out with me, my family hated him, and now they hated him even more because of Rosie's "truth's and rumors".

"Scorpius, you are still one of my closest friends."

"You haven't actually said much to me since Rosie visited this summer. I feel like..."

Scorpius POV

The moisture dropping from my eyes were quickly turning my light grey collared shirt darker. Lily moved to comfort me, I moved closer to her and relaxed a bit as her arms held my shoulders then the door to the classroom opened. Immediately we both silently extinguished our wands and charmed the cupboard doors to remain locked until we personally unlocked them. I tried my hardest to breathe easily until the intruder left. Perhaps it was just one of the prefects making their rounds. I hoped.

"Scorpius, are you in here?" A tragically hurt sounding voice came into our hiding spot through the key holes in the dark cherry wood boards. There was only one person who would come looking for us tonight. Rosie Weasley. Again her voice called out as she began trying every handle on the wall we hid inside. She attempted to unlock them with every spell she knew as both of us held our breath.

"Scorpius I heard about the letter you wrote to Lily. The whole school is buzzing with rumors of you two sneaking off tonight and eloping. I hate to break your heart but Lily is already in bed. She went to bed at eight according to her roommates. I saw her sleeping myself. Obviously you don't mean anything to her. She doesn't care to give it another shot. My family would never allow you to get close to her again anyway. They hate you after what you did to me and they all think Lily did the right thing to call it off when she did. You best start looking for a new owner for that stupid gaudy necklace, Lily won't ever want to see it again and neither do I. Just leave my family alone. Don't ever speak to any of us ever again. You hear me, ever again. Once I graduate in a few months I never want to see you ever again either..."

She started crying and ran from the room. Both of us sat there, finally allowing ourselves to breath normally and I couldn't help but think about what she just said. Albus had known about this a few weeks now, or since the beginning of the development and some of my other family members were bound to have heard by now. Would Rosie tell her parents again? It seemed a bit childish for a seventh year, then again, so did her speech to the empty room. I was terrified. What if they tried to get between us or prevent our relationship from becoming what it was before. Lily made a unimpressed noise. Apparently that speech meant nothing to her. I locked the door to the classroom with the same spell as the one containing us in here. In the open air my legs folded under me and I fell onto my knees and held my head in my hands as I tried to take my teary eyes off the detail and natural grains of the floor.

"You should go back to your dormitory. We shouldn't be here alone having this conversation. I don't want to hurt you anymore. Please go."

" Why would you call me here only to be dissuaded by stupid Rose and her empty threats? I'm obviously not in bed sleeping and I'm here so you obviously still mean something to me. I want to see you again after this conversation and I don't want to be sad when I go to sleep tonight. Why did you call me here?"

"I can't stand the thought of not spending time with you like we used to. I can't get through my N.E.W.T.'s without the knowledge that the moment I get out of them you will be there after your O.W.L.'s willing to listen to me rant about stupid questions and make me laugh and forget about them until I get the results this summer. I know usually it is the person who called off the relationship who comes crawling back and tries to set things straight. I know you had your reasons and they were very good but I also know you still feel the same way about me. You care more and more about me each time we see each other. You hated seeing me with Rosie just as I hated seeing you with Tom. Can we eventually get back together? Promise me we can get back together after you leave Hogwarts. We can make our families reconcile and put the past behind and we can take out our attackers if our father's don't catch them first."

"If we are planning on dating again why would we wait? I want to get back together tonight. I am just as sick of being alone and watching you with other girls. We both know we're a perfect match and I've really missed you Scorpius."

"You have no idea how much I've missed you this past year, Lily Potter."