A/N - Alright, here we go. I'm so excited for you all to see this chapter. It's back to a preferred length and well, practically every scene just screams drama. I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out and I hope you guys are also.
I wasn't writing very well until I read the news about Fantastic Beasts, and then that put me in a writing frenzy! Who else is excited?
Check out speedsONEandONLY - she just uploaded her first ever one-shot and it's amazing! One Time, check it out!
Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter.
I had to lick my lips as I slowly reached out to take the box out of his hands. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest, my mouth went dry as soon as I moistened it. I felt the eyes of the dozens of guests looking at the two of us; most of them wary, some of them dubious, a scarce few happy. I didn't dare look in the direction of Scorpius who I knew was standing with my brothers.
"Go on, open it." Scott encouraged.
I blinked once and took a deep breath before I picked the bow off the box and then nervously flipped the lid open.
I couldn't help but smile nervously and let out a deep breath when I saw a small shiny silver key sitting on the little black cushion.
"Oh thank Merlin." I heard my mother mutter out loud.
I looked down at the key in the box and then back to Scott with the obvious question on my face.
"I bought you a house. Here. A town house in London." Scott told me and took the key out of the box so everybody in the room could see it.
I heard nearly every single person in the room let out a huge sigh of relief when they saw the key and not a ring.
"You, you bought me a house?" I asked him quietly.
"Yeah, well us really. But your name is on the deeds." Scott told me; my feelings must have shown clearly on my face because he pulled his wand, which I rarely saw him use, out of his pocket and waved it behind him once causing the music to start back up and the lights to go off again. "Look, baby," Scott came to sit in a chair beside me. My mother and Astoria exchanged a disapproving look with each other and moved away from the two of us.
"I know why you're not happy in that flat. The last time we were there. . ., well -"
"I caught you having sex with two other women." I finished truthfully when he stumbled over his words.
"Yeah. I just thought if we lived somewhere new while we were here -"
"We're moving back to the States in like five weeks though." I pointed out. I did feel bad for him; not only was I throwing the very expensive birthday gift back in his face, but I thought he was going to propose and the horror was clear on my face.
Merlin, the horror was clear around the entire room.
"Look," I whispered and put my hands on the back of his neck, pulling him closer to me. "I'll accept the house and we'll move in tomorrow if you really want too but. . ., it's not the flat that I don't feel comfortable with." I admitted in barely a whisper.
"I want to be with you so much, but in England you're different." I told him truthfully, resting my forehead against his own. I know now wasn't exactly the time or place for this conversation but he brought it up. "And it scares me. You did drugs the other day. You were too high to pick your sister up from the airport -"
Scott broke away from me, he pushed my hands away and scoffed disdainfully. "Well aren't you a hypocrite?" he muttered as he stood up. He went to walk away but then he turned on his heels and leant over me, resting his hands on the back of my chair. "Don't you dare call me on drug use when you can't make it through the day without draining half of our potion supply. You think I don't notice you necking back up to fifteen bottles of sobering solution each day? You're pathetic, a joke and a hypocrite." he spat directly in my ear. I turned my head sharply and looked at him. His eyes scared me a lot. They held only one emotion; an emotion that I had already seen a few times, more commonly quite recently. Anger. Pure wild anger swimming in his eyes, clouding them over like a storm taking over a sky.
He pushed himself away from me then, actually moving my chair a couple of inches backwards.
"See you at home, junkie." Scott threw at me as he walked away from me.
I felt a small wave of butterflies flutter through my stomach at the thought of returning home to a clearly angry Scott. Flashbacks of him pulling my hair and gripping my neck came flooding into my head. Now more than ever I'm certain I didn't imagine that and he did hurt me, making me flinch in pain was his intent.
I watched him walk out of the party with his head held high. I wasn't the only person watching him leave. I saw my parents, the Malfoy's, Scorpius, my brothers and Dominique all glare after him.
Ed sent me an apologetic glance before he walked after his twin.
I just remained sitting in my chair, trying not to let the panic show on my face. I felt my body shaking slightly; not only was Scott incredibly angry at me - but he accused me of being a drug addict.
An addict.
Me.
Addicted to Sobering Solutions?
I'm not addicted. I can stop. I can stop any time I like.
I can.
About a half hour after Scott and Ed left the party, I was talking to Liam Tate, a guy from school who was in my year but in Slytherin. He told me he'd just been confirmed as the second member of the English Quidditch team after myself. I was in the middle of congratulating him and telling him how I was looking forward to Chasing with him when my mother came over, grabbed my arm and excused me.
Like I was five years old she took me out of the party and practically dragged me into an empty room several floors above the function room.
"Mum what's. . ., oh." I attempted to demand to be let out when I saw Scorpius sitting on the bed in the room glaring at his own mother who as alternating between glaring at her son and glaring at me.
"Sit." Mum practically pushed me on to the bed.
"Now will you tell me what's going on?" Scorpius asked his mother.
I just sighed and allowed myself to sit closer to Scorpius than I would have if we weren't seeing each other. "They know." I muttered and took his hand.
Scorpius looked from Astoria to my mother slowly before sighing deeply and running his spare hand through his hair. "How?"
"You called her babe!" Astoria scolded. "Scorpius - she is in a relationship! Has been for over a year!" Astoria hit Scorpius over the head.
"Hey!" Scorpius protested.
"And you! You were the one who left him!" Mum yelled, poking me sharply on the arm.
"Ouch." I grumbled, rubbing the now red mark on my arm.
"If you two want to be together then why don't you be together officially?" Mum sighed, pulling the dresser chair out and sitting on it.
I looked up at Scorpius who was looking down at me with a hurt expression on his face.
"We can't be together." Scorpius murmured.
"But we can't not be together, either." I whispered, tightening my grip on his hand.
Our mothers didn't say anything for a few seconds. Then they both just scoffed loudly and muttered under their breaths.
"What a load of rubbish." my mother practically yelled. "You love him -"
"You love her."
"Stop being cowards -"
"- and just be together."
"You're just scared of the fallout!"
"Move to America with her if you must!"
"Come back to England if you need!"
Scorpius and I watched our mothers yell at the two of us as if we were teenagers again in silence.
"Do you think we haven't thought of that?" Scorpius asked them both quietly. "My life is in England. Her life is in America. This is. . ., just a fling. A -"
"A sordid little affair is what it is." Astoria interrupted her son. "I thought she got all of that playboy stuff out of you the first time round. Apparently not." Astoria stood from her spot leaning against the dresser table and headed for the door.
"When this all goes to pan and you two have broken hearts, don't expect us two to clean it up." she told the two of us before she almost glided out of the door.
My mother got up from her chair and followed after Astoria but stopped in the doorway. She didn't turn to face us, instead she just turned her head slightly.
"Scott and Jessica may not be the nicest of people. Merlin knows I dislike Scott - but it's clear they both love you two so very much. Forget about breaking your hearts, what will you do when you have to break theirs?" Mum asked us softly. She didn't give us time to answer, she just left the room and shut the door behind her; leaving Scorpius and I alone in the room, almost choking in the disappointment from our mothers.
I returned to the party after my mother and former mother in law and pretended to be glad to see everybody again. I posed for photographs, danced with people, played drinking games, laughed and exchanged pleasant stories with friends and friends of the family. After a couple of hours though it all got too much and I needed to get out.
While people were pre-occupied with Rose and Dominique arguing a little bit, I slipped out of my boots, picked them up and silently tip-toed out of the function room. I knew where I would go.
I climbed the narrow steps down the hall from the function room until I was on the last step; then I pulled a string that was hanging from the ceiling so another staircase dropped down in front of me. I followed the creaky, rickety old steps up into the large attic where aunt Hannah and uncle Neville kept old furniture. I made my way through the attic until I reached the large window. It must have been years since this window was opened; certainly years since I was climbing through it.
Like whenever I was younger and sent here for the night while my parents had quality time together, I climbed up on to the roof of the pub and watched easily as the two worlds existed right beside each other. The muggle world blissfully ignorant to the wonders of magic that literally existed feet away from them.
I let out a deep breath as the cool night air lapped around me; blowing my hair around my head. The breeze was lovely and when I looked up, I saw hundreds of stars glittering away in the midnight black sky.
Idyllic, bliss, peace, a safe haven - that's what I'd use to describe my feelings right now. Sitting high up away from everybody and everything. I always find there's something soothing about being up and away from everybody, leaving everything below you. Letting the earths natural magic banish your problems away from you.
"You're not going to jump are you?"
I didn't get annoyed when I heard Dominique's voice; of course she'd know where to find me. When we were younger and still hated Polly, we tricked her into thinking Polly had made me jump from the roof. Dom and I stole a mannequin from the Quidditch store, stole a red wig from one of the guests in the pub and put my change of clothes on the doll. We made sure Polly would chase after me when she saw me smashing her favourite ornate doll to pieces in her room. When she followed me on to the roof, I hid behind a chimney and Dominique pushed the doll from the roof, sending 'me' falling into Diagon Alley.
"Remember when we convinced Polly she made me jump from here?" I asked Dominique when she sat herself down on a flat piece of roof with me. We both rested our backs against the roof tiles of the sloping part, watching the drunks in both worlds stagger. The only difference is on one side of the wall the drunks were wearing hooded jumpers, traveling in large packs and swearing. On the other side, they were wearing ratty old robes and screaming curses to each other.
"Our parents and Nev and Hannah nearly killed us. I actually thought our Dad's were going to spank us." Dominique told me seriously; she nudged me so I looked at her and smiled slightly when I saw two glasses of wine in her hands. I took one gratefully.
"My Dad took my broom and my mother sent me straight to bed." I sipped my wine.
"My Dad made me play with Molly and Rose at the Burrow for two weeks instead of going to your house." Dominique scowled.
I laughed lightly and automatically scuttled closer to Dominique when the breeze dipped in temperature.
Dominique laced her arm through mine pressed her head against my shoulder, allowing my to rest mine on her head.
"No I'm not going to jump." I whispered softly; she heard me even though the wind was picking up. "I'm not that brave."
"You're the bravest person I know." Dominique muttered.
"I'm not brave. I ran to America twice when things got tough. I'm cheating on a man who loves me with a man who has broken my heart as many times as I've broken his. I lied to my parents and brothers. I'm addict - I'm selfish." I amended myself quickly.
Dominique shook her head under mine. "You followed your head and your heart. You're allowing yourself a bit of happiness with Scorpius knowing it's going to break your heart. You're forcing yourself to pretend to be happy so your parents don't worry about you. That's brave." Dominique whispered.
I don't even know why I was surprised that Dominique saw through everything; we've been able to second guess each other since we could walk and talk.
"You're the brave one Dominique." I sighed. "You're the one who risks her life nearly every day. You're the one who willingly puts yourself in harms way for the safety of strangers. You're the one who is brave." I wrapped an arm around Dom and hugged her close.
I know it might have been cowardly of me but when I went home that night, I stayed in the guest bedroom. I woke up and quickly crept into the bedroom to get clothes. I dressed and then I went to a muggle cafe for breakfast.
A lot of words from my party were swimming around my head. My mother and Astoria reminding Scorpius and I about Jessica and Scott being genuinely in love with the two of us. Scott calling me an addict. Scorpius telling me after our mothers left that we should carry on with what we're doing. Dominique telling me I'm the bravest person she's ever met. Anthony telling me how proud he is of me.
After eating breakfast, I went along a muggle high street in London and signed myself up for the first gym I could find. I bought a set of gym clothes rather than go back to Scott's apartment and get my own.
I ran on an electric machine. I rode a stationary bike. I punched my emotions out of me. I swam all my feelings out of me. I lifted weights with my arms and legs. I threw a very heavy leather ball backwards and forwards with a muggle fitness instructor as I ignored him checking me out in my tiny shorts and crop top.
When I felt like falling asleep on my feet, I left the gym and apparated into Scott's apartment. He and Chloe were sitting around the kitchen table when I walked in still in my gym gear. I didn't speak to either of them. I simply grabbed a glass of water and went into my bedroom, showered and got into bed before Scott could get a chance to claim the bedroom we shared.
I did that for the next couple of days. I didn't even really speak to anybody. I ignored letters and phone calls from my mother and I knew Scorpius was busy with work because Dominique was so I didn't have to ignore him. I just carried on going to my new gym, pushing my limits and enjoying the feeling of being at my physical peak and pushing that peak higher still.
I was so caught up in my little world of blocking everything out with exercise that I was surprised when Scott forced himself to speak to me when I came home after the gym four days after my birthday.
"Before you lock yourself in our room," he grabbed hold of my arm and stopped me in the living room. "It's Dominique's birthday, remember? Your Gran persuaded her to have a family party at the Burrow." Scott told me quietly.
I let out a breath that I didn't even remember holding in; of course it's Dominique's birthday. September sixth. Four days after mine. I briefly scolded myself for forgetting but then I remembered I didn't forget, I already arranged her present, I just didn't think it was this soon.
"Um, . . ." I pulled my arm out of his grasp and headed for the bedroom, looking at the clock.
"Do you want me to go? Your Grandma and Mom came by here a couple hours ago searching for you and invited the both of us." Scott told me squarely, moving to sit on the arm of a chair. He folded his arms and looked me square in the eye.
"Uh, yeah. I mean, you were invited. It would be rude if you didn't show up. Let me get showered and I'll get changed and meet you there." I turned on my heel and headed for the bedroom. There I quickly pulled off the trainers, socks, lycra shorts and crop top and then headed into the shower. I washed the layer of sweat that clung to my body like a second skin and fingered shampoo into my hair to rid it of the greasy look and feel.
I dried my skin and hair with a quick flick of my wand and then turned to my wardrobe. I settled on a pair of skinny black jeans, a black vest top and a black blouse to go over the top. I pulled out a pair of black wedge heels and grabbed my usual black over the body bag to go with.
"It's a birthday dinner not a funeral." Scott noted when I came out of the bedroom to show him I was ready to go.
I just ignored his comment and went into the kitchen to grab the wrapped homemade present that was sitting in a cupboard. When I pulled the rectangular parcel from the cupboard I paused when I saw the potion box. Almost as if Scott had done it delberately, a row Sobering Solutions were positioned in perfect view of the entrance of the cupboard.
I ignored my palms sweating, my brow loading with a few beads of perspiration; I forced my heart to beat normally again and I banished the eager butterflies from my stomach.
"Let's go!" I shouted, closing the door on the full potion box.
Almost as soon as we landed in the Burrow's garden, Scott practically ran over to where Ed and Lucy were sitting in the kitchen.
The unusually hot British summer we had been enjoying lately had not surprisingly vanished, leaving the garden drowning under the immense heavy downpour so that meant all forty three family members had been forced inside. Meaning that the kitchen had been magically extended thrice over and the living room was straining to put up with the people in the family who won't or can't cook.
Fortunately for me, Scott can cook so he was drafted into the kitchen with his brother and Lucy.
"Are you two rowing?" Dominique guessed. The two of us were sitting on a windowsill, looking out into the heavy downpour. I was just looking out for something to do, but Dominique seemed to be checking on something. I don't know what she was expecting to find out there though; personally I couldn't see anything through the window thanks to the thick downpour.
"Yup. We haven't spoken at all since he stormed out of my party." I told her in a whisper; not that I needed to whisper. Over twenty people were cramped into the living room, eight of them children, meaning that the noise was exceptionally loud.
"Why?" Dominique was sitting opposite me with her feet resting on the wall that my back was resting on. I was mirroring her position but on the inside, closest to the window.
I just shrugged a shoulder and wiped a finger over the condensation on the inside of the window. I began to draw an intricate lily flower on the window in full bloom.
"Hey guys, how many want steak and how many want chicken?" Scott's voice caused everybody to look over to the kitchen door.
I glanced over at him once and then looked over at my flower; it now had water marks running through it. The once intricate pattern on the window was now ruined beyond repair.
A little while later I found myself sitting between my mother and James on a sofa; the three of us watching Roddie playing with baby Jamie.
"I can't believe she's gonna be three soon." Mum commented, looking at her granddaughter fondly. James nodded and voiced his agreement but I just tuned them out.
I tried, I have really tried over the past few months to try with Roddie. I've spent days alone with her, bought her tons of presents, played with her - but I can't get a bond with her. Every time I try to get close something comes up in my mind that sparks up a roaring fire over anything we might share and I push her away from me.
"Lily, are you alright?" James asked me, snapping his fingers in front of my face. I blinked once and looked at him.
"I'm fine."
"Your hands are shaking." James muttered, putting one of his own on top of mine. "Are you alright?"
I nodded and pulled my hands away from his; earlier I started getting a little cold so I grabbed somebody's jacket from the coat stand and pulled that on. I pulled the sleeves over my hands.
"I'm fine. I just haven't eaten today." I muttered, standing to my feet as quick as I could manage. I don't know why but I was suddenly glad I slipped my wedges off in favour of a pair of Grandma Molly's old fluffy slippers because I knew if I stood up in those I wouldn't be able to manage with the dizziness in my had.
Before he or my mother could do or say anything I walked out of the room - which felt like I was floating. I hurried into the kitchen and then quickly made my way to the bathroom which was thankfully empty.
I shut and locked the door behind me and just sat on the closed toilet seat, putting my head in between my knees and taking deep breaths to control the sudden shakes, sweats and dizziness that had come from no where.
"Somebody is on a bad come down."
I looked up wearily when I heard Scott's voice from the doorway. He was standing in the open door with an arrogant smirk on his face.
"What's the matter? I made sure the cupboard was stocked up on Sobering Solutions for you." he mocked, coming into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. He went to sit on the side of the bath and watched as I tried to take more deep breaths.
"That won't help babe." he said in a much gentler tone. He moved his hands to pull my hair out of my face and gently moved me into a sitting position. "You can't just go cold turkey. Not when you have forty family members downstairs. Six of whom are Aurors and two are Healers. They'll rumble you straight away."
I rested my back against the toilet tank and looked up at him, my head rolling slightly on my shoulders. In the ten minutes it took to be here instead of the living room with my family, my entire body was soaking in sweat and my hands and legs were wildly shaking.
"Help me." I whimpered; I hated how pathetic I sounded and undoubtedly looked but I had no choice.
Scott looked at me through pure pity before he put a hand inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a small clear pouch that had around two dozen small white pills in it.
"Here, take two of these." he tossed the bag at me and it took all of my energy to catch it. "Take two of these and within fifteen minutes you'll be back to normal." Scott stood up from the bath and handed me a towel and a bar of soap from a shelf and a rail beside him.
"Here, have a wash." he told me before he turned and left me in the bathroom.
Scott's tablets did help me, but I hated looking at his smug expression; he was right. After fifteen minutes I felt like I normally did after taking three or four Sobering Solutions at once. When people asked me what was with the sudden burst of energy, I lied easily and told them all I simply had something to eat. Scott actually lied for me first and told everybody this because he followed me up the stairs with a sandwich in his hands. I guess he ate it before he came into the bathroom with me.
I was glad that I had enough energy though; I was able to pay attention to that fact that Freddie introduced his girlfriend, Gemma Abbott, as Polly and Frankie Longbottom's cousin, and announced that they were expecting a baby. There was only Polly who wasn't surprised, but then with her being a Midi-Healer, she probably would be Gemma's Healer throughout her pregnancy.
"Oh, that means four more great-grandchildren!" Grandma Molly sang in a joyful tone as we all watched her sons put up a gazebo in the garden since the rain suddenly stopped and the clouds cleared. "Albus and Bex, Hugo and Polly, Freddie and Gemma and Molly and Bobby!"
The parents to be all either smiled proudly or bashfully.
"You know, a lot of my other grandchildren still haven't given me any great-grandchildren." Gran then turned her eye to the grandchildren who hadn't settled down.
I met Dominique's eye and saw her freeze for a moment before she wiped the emotion from her eyes.
"Rosie, Roxanne, Lucy, Dominique?" Gran questioned her granddaughters. For a second I thought she was going to question me but then I let out a sigh of relief. Dominique got up and left the table before Gran could question her.
Scorpius, who had shown up with Jessica and a gift for Dominique while I was upstairs, smiled sadly at me from his seat opposite me at the garden table.
"Gran, I work too much!" Lucy shook her head.
"I don't want children." Rose shuddered.
"Hmm," Gran just shook her head and looked over at Scorpius and Jessica and then at me and Scott. "and when will one of you two add to the family?"
I choked on my drink and Scorpius' eyes popped open wide.
"Oh. . . um, I haven't really thought of having kids." Scorpius admitted slowly.
"I am never having children." I told Gran seriously; I felt the looks of most of my family on my but I ignored their stars stubbornly.
"In a few years maybe -"
"No, Gran." I stood from my chair and grabbed my empty glass. "I am never going through that again." I walked away from the people around the table and headed into the house.
"You look like you're having as much fun as I am."
I whirled round from my spot at the sink where I was taking deep calming breaths to see Dominique coming down the stairs.
"Gran's just asked me if I'm ever having kids." I told her.
"She's getting insensitive in her old age." Dominique teased. She looked out of the window and into the sitting room and when she saw the men in the sitting room weren't paying us any attention she took my hand and pulled me into the pantry.
"Here - something to liven us up?" Dominique grinned and pulled a bottle of firewhiskey from behind a dozen loafs of homemade bread.
I smiled back at Dominique and laughed when she conjured up two glasses.
Needless to say when the two of us left the pantry forty five minutes later we were both in happier moods than previously. We had to share one of Gran's homemade loafs to line our stomachs so we wouldn't be sick, but we were sure she wouldn't mind.
"Is it time to give gifts yet?" Rose asked when Dominique and I fell into two empty chairs beside each other. "Me first!" Rose answered her own question and flicked her wand so that a large elegantly wrapped parcel came flying from an upstairs window and floated down in front of Dominique.
Dominique thanked Rose and opened the gift slowly and then grinned broadly. A very fine black leather jacket was folded up in a white box.
"I've been designing this for a few years but it's ready now. It's specially enforced with giant blood." Rose told Dominique when she picked it up and held it against her. "If you wear it on missions, curses would just bounce off of it. The leather makes it hard for knives to cut through it." Rose explained.
"There's a special pocket for your wand so when you're in the muggle world you don't need to hide it. I know you like using knives so there's pockets for a few of those too." Rose added when Dominique stood up and pulled the jacket on.
Dominique nodded and smiled a little before she grabbed a sharp knife from the table and tossed it over to Selena who caught it easily.
"Come on Sel, test it out." Dominique moved away from the table.
Selena grinned maliciously and eagerly stood up. "I've been waiting a long time to run a knife through you."
Dominique just smirked and ran at Selena as if she was going to attack her. Selena grabbed Dominique and slammed the knife into her back; if she was wearing a normal jacket, that knife probably would have sliced through her skin and delved straight into her spine but the special reinforced materials of the jacket bent the knife so the metal blade was at a right angle to the black handle.
"Thanks Rose, this will come in handy." Dominique grinned and then checked her appearance out in the window of the kitchen. "Not to mention, I look good."
A few people laughed at that but Dominique just took the jacket off and folded it back into the box. I watched as Dominique opened more gifts; she seemed to get the same haul as I did at my party, pretty bracelets, expensive looking rings, sweets, rare elf-wine and from Scorpius she got the same set of ridiculously expensive body care products.
"Wow," Dominique's mouth fell open when she opened Scorpius' hamper. "Scor, these are great!"
Scorpius just waved her thanks off and smirked. "We're going on another R.E. mission in two weeks, I want you to smell good if I'm gonna be stuck with you for days on end." Scorpius teased her.
Apparently everybody knew but me about them going on a Red Envelope mission because nobody tensed, nobody choked on their drink and nobody glared at the two of them.
Just me.
"Another one?"
Scorpius met my eye for a second and then looked away.
"We're going to Russia." Dominique told me quietly.
I'm not an Auror or anything to do with the Ministry but even I knew the Russians weren't to be messed with. I keep up to date with the news regarding the countries relationships with foreign countries so I know that Minister Shackelbolt is constantly arguing with the Russian Minister of Magic.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I looked at Dominique but aimed my question at Scorpius.
Dominique looked at Scorpius for a fraction of a second; telling me her answer. She thought Scorpius would have told me.
"Well how long are you going for?"
"A week, tops. Simple mission. Don't worry, we won't get hurt." Dominique assured me. "Well we won't end up in St. Mungo's." she amended herself after a moments deliberation.
I didn't say anything after that and just sat quietly, trying not to think that two of the people I loved most in the entire world were going around the world on a dangerous mission again.
"Hey, where's my present?" Dominique prodded me in the ribs, bringing me out of my dreamlike state.
I pulled her gift from out of my bag and handed it to her.
"You can't return this, I made it myself." I told her, handing the rectangular parcel over.
Everybody watched as Dominique opened it and pulled a simple pale pink book out. She put the book on her knee and flicked through what I knew was page after page of photographs of the two of us. The first one from when my mother and hers put the two of us together the day she was born; after that first picture it was like a time line of our lives. Our first Halloween when we were in identical black cat costumes in our fathers arms. Our first Christmas in matching elf costumes in Teddy and Victoire arms. The two of us crawling along the beach at Shell Cottage together. Learning to walk in the Burrow. Then two two of us peaking over Roxanne's crib, then the next photo the two of us looking into Aunt Audrey's arms at baby Lucy.
The photos progressed from us two being babies to us being toddlers and then to us being children. My favourite one was of us sitting on the staircase of the Burrow. The two of us in the photo would eat a handful of sweets and then burst out giggling because Rose and Molly came flying down the stairs crying for their mothers because we'd stolen their sweets.
It was clear how much we'd grown in the photos because a couple pages after the sweetie one there was one of us sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express with Roxanne, Lucy and Hugo. After that there was one of the two of us in our Gryffindor uniforms.
I saw Dominique smile and laugh, I looked down and saw her looking at one I instantly knew was when James took a photo of the two of us coming back from our first ever detention. We were covered in compost since Professor Longbottom made us clean his dirty mandrake pots.
Seven school years passed by with the two of us in photographs. In the odd one Roxanne, Hugo or Lucy was with us but when we reached the middle, Hugo disappeared because we didn't like his girlfriend, and then Lucy dropped out of school so the photos showed the two of us with Roxanne. In what was clearly our sixth year Roxanne wasn't in the majority because she was most likely off with some boy.
It was clear it was our sixth year because neither of us were smiling.
"I remember that." Dominique put the photo album on the table and tapped the photo of us two looking miserable. "It was my birthday." Dominique recalled.
I remembered it too but for different reasons; four days before this photo was taken I slept with Scorpius on my seventeenth birthday for the first time. I missed him terribly afterwards and not even Dominique's surprise birthday party in the common room cheered me up. Nor her, she was going through her depressed stage where she confronted her sexuality.
"That was the most morbid party we ever had!" Roxanne leant over the table and recognised the photo.
Dominique waved her away and smirked. "How would you know? You left the party to go make out with Liam Tate in his dorm room!" Dominique had everybody laughing at that and Roxanne blushed furiously and just rolled her eyes.
"Lily, this is the best gift ever!" Dominique turned more pages and smiled at the photos of the two of us out of school. There was pictures of us drunk - a lot of pictures of us drunk, pictures from my first Quidditch match, pictures of her graduation from the academy, pictures from when I was pregnant, a picture of her as my maid of honour on my wedding day and the most recent of the two of us a few weeks ago, pulling unhappy faces to the camera.
"I just wanted you to know that you're my best friend and you're the most important person in my life and I love you." I told her honestly. "No matter how far away we are - I will always be there and willing to drop everything for you." I reached across and hugged her tightly. "And you're going to make a fantastic mother." I whispered in her ear so only she could hear me.
Towards the end of the night most of the family went to their own homes. Teddy and Vic took their girls home, Selena and James took Roddie and Jamie, Louis and Zoey took their twins, Molly and Bobby took baby Roberta - who didn't answer to her full name, she only answered to Berta or Robbie. Polly and Hugo took baby Hannah home too. Uncle George and Aunt Angelina went home because they were leaving for France early in the morning for a holiday and a business trip.
"So, Scott, Lily, when will you two be moving into that house of yours?" Mum asked when we were all sitting outside; even though it was still a little chilly we were all outside because we had more space. Everybody just wore a jumper or a jacket.
I looked down to where Scott was talking to his brother, Lucy and Teddy down the other end of the table. He looked up from his conversation and met my eyes briefly.
"Um, . . .well we haven't really spoken about it yet Mrs. P." Scott looked at my mother after looking at me.
"Or at all." I muttered under my breath. I know some people heard it though.
"I think we were all relieved when you didn't propose." Ed teased his brother.
"Gee, thanks bro." Scott shook his head.
"No, I just mean, well you're not exactly husband material, are you?" Ed laughed.
Scott laughed once and ran a hand over his buzzcut. "No, I guess not."
"I wouldn't worry about that Scott." my mother said when she stood up from her chair. "Lily isn't exactly wife material either."
I didn't say anything, I just drained my glass of wine and held my empty glass out to her.
"Anybody up for a spot of catch on a broom?" Ed asked the family. "I need to get some practice flying in - that's if its cool to use some of your brooms, Mrs Weasley?"
Gran nodded her head and grinned down at Ed's manners.
"Yeah, I'll play." Scorpius stood up and rolled his shoulders out.
"Me too!" Freddie and Roxanne spoke at the same time and stood up.
"Hey if we're picking teams I call Lily." Scorpius laughed.
"I'll play." Scott offered.
Dominique stood up and grinned. "I'm playing."
Fred, Scorpius, Scott, Roxy, Ed, Dominique all looked down at me. Rose and Albus stood up too and they grinned down at me.
"Ed, we're not supposed to play." I reminded him with a slight groan.
"I won't tell, Preggo won't tell," Ed looked over to where a disgruntled Bex was sitting. "you won't tell and your family won't tell. . .come on Lil - chicken?" Ed smirked and made clucking noises until I stood up.
"Fine, but I'm captain and I call. . .Dom, Al, Scorpius and - shoot we need one more player to make it even." I picked my team and the scowled when I saw we were on uneven numbers.
"I'll play." Lucy offered.
"Alright!" I cheered. "I call. . .Dom, Albus and Scorpius as my chasers and I call Roxy as my keeper." I looked at Ed who nodded.
"Baby, you can be my keeper. Bro, Freddie, Rosie and I will be chasers." Ed grinned.
Pretty soon we all ended up bickering over the brooms but Ed and I scouted them all out for the two best ones. Luckily, James and I upgraded the Burrow's selection of brooms from the almost prehistoric Cleansweeps to Firebolts 101, Thunderclaps and Stormbreakers. They all got released during my sixth and seventh years so they were fairly old and nowhere near as fast as the caliber of broom Ed and I were used to playing, but they'd do.
"Alright, how do we know who kicks off?" Scott asked once we were all in the air; the parents and grandparents watching from below us.
"The old way?" Dominique suggested.
"Yeah." Scorpius nodded.
"What's the old - hey!" Ed yelled when Dominique zoomed forwards and knocked the muggle football we used as a quaffle out of his hands.
Pretty soon it was clear that my team were the dominant one. Ed was exceptional, Fred and Rose were average as chasers and Scott was actually very good - but my team were clearly better.
In school Scorpius and Albus played seeker, but they were seriously gifted chasers, Dominique would have played for the school team and probably got scouted - but she could never behave enough to be on the team and Roxanne actually was the school keeper in our sixth year when Hugo got kicked off the team for his poor grades so I knew she was brilliant.
It didn't take long for Ed to realise this and he just stopped mid air and started laughing when he saw the four of us fly in formation towards Lucy in the goals.
"Something funny?" I asked, flying over to him and tossing the 'quaffle' to Scorpius.
"This is the first time the two of us have played opposite each other." Ed commented. "And I'm actually a little apprehensive to go up against you next summer!"
I laughed and then nodded towards where Scott had wrestled the ball from Albus.
"You know, with a little coaching your brother could be great." I noted, watching Scott speed through the air towards Roxanne.
"Yeah I know. He has this air about him that whatever he turns his hands to he is good at. Sport, music, art, dance, business - he can do it all." Ed shook his head slowly. I looked at him for a minute and saw nothing but admiration and respect on his face.
"He's not that brilliant at being a boyfriend you know." I told him softly.
Ed let out a deep breath.
"You didn't let me finish." he muttered. "He's good at most things, except care for people. I suppose you can't really blame him. After what happened to Delilah and our Mom and then our Dad and then our Uncle - he doesn't like to let people in. Hell, he doesn't even let me in and I'm his twin!" Ed laughed a little.
I agreed with him and watched as Dominique played dirty with Rose.
"He lets me in a little but not so much any more." I admitted.
"Lily, what you have to understand is he was alone for so long. I mean, he toured the world for like five years consecutively. He had Taylor and that's it. Chloe was in school, I was training and playing. He had one night stand after one night stand - and then he was with you." Ed reminded me softly. "I'm not making excuses for him. I'll be the first to remind him and yell at him for doing crazy shit - but it is hard for him to let people inside his heart and his head."
I contemplated this as I looked at my boyfriend flying around, laughing and joking with my brother and cousins and the man I was having an affair with.
I watched as Scorpius clapped Scott on his shoulder and laughed with him; my mothers words from my party coming back through my mind.
As I watched Scorpius act completely fine with Scott I couldn't help but feel angry at his hypocrisy. Scorpius is sleeping with this guys girlfriend and then he's pretending to be friends with the guy? At least I don't pretend to like Jessica any more.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Scorpius grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me into uncle Percy's old room when I came out of the toilet.
"Nothing's wrong." I sighed and carefully and silently put the packet of pills that were in my hand back in my pocket before he knew I'd just taken another one.
"How much have you had to drink? Your pupils are seriously dilated." Scorpius put his hands on my face and pushed my head backwards so he could look down into my eyes properly.
"I'm fine. I'm just not feeling well." I lied and pushed him away from me.
I knew he didn't believe me but at that minute I didn't really care. I just wanted to go home and go to sleep. I just wanted to get away from everything and everybody.
"What's wrong?" Scorpius repeated and took hold my my hands.
"I. . .I'm having second thoughts." I admitted in a voice barely above a whisper.
Scorpius pulled away from me instantly, making me miss his touch just as soon. "About us?"
"About everything." I moved to sit on the bed. "About you, about Scott, about the Lions - I just don't know what to do any more." I told him completely honestly.
Scorpius moved so he was crouching in front of me.
"Lily -"
"We're hurting so many people." I told him. "You heard my mother earlier! She's disgusted in us! My daddy can barely look at me and Godric knows what your mum and dad think!"
Scorpius just shook his head and took my hands again. "Lily, since when did we care what people thought -"
"They're out parents!"
"Which means they'll always love us! They're just not very happy with us right now!" Scorpius argued.
I shook my head and pulled my hands away from him. "Scorpius. . .we're done. Again. For good. You need to be happy. I need to be happy -"
"But we're not happy! We're not if we're not together!"
"We can be! I'm happy in America! I am! I'll go back if that's what it takes!" I stood up from the bed and made my way over to the door.
"No." Scorpius grabbed me by the waist and turned me so I was facing him. I felt my back slam against the door and felt his front press against mine before his mouth was on mine.
He kissed me passionately and hotly, pinning me square against the door and roaming his hands up and under my shirt. His fingers set my skin on fire everywhere he touched me. He didn't seem to care that the doorknob was pressing into my back, or that there was a hook on the back of the door that was sticking into my head - nor did I care really, I just cared that Scorpius was kissing me and making me want him immediately.
"SCORPIUS!"
Scorpius jumped away from me when we heard Dominique's scream and at the same time the two of us ran from the room and down the stairs through to the garden.
Dad, Ron, Dominique, Hermione, Mum, Bill and Fleur were standing with their wands trained on the sky while Gran, Granddad, Albus, Fred, Percy, Audrey, Lucy, Scott and Ed were trained on the trees that led to a small forest. Gemma, Rose, Roxanne, Jessica and Charlie were pointing their wands towards the fields.
"Hilda!" Dominique snarled. "Her and that cousin of hers, on brooms - STUPEFY!" Dominique sent a jet of red light into the sky when we all saw a hooded figure swoop down past the Burrow.
The figure on the broom sent a jet of green light towards where Fleur was standing and it would have hit her if Scorpius hadn't dived and pushed her out of the way. Fortunately for him he rolled out of the way; literally missing death by a few inches.
Two more jets of green light flew down towards us, one narrowly missing Scott and the second hitting a tree, setting the branches on fire. A second figure joined the first in trying to kill us.
"Not my mother, you bitch!" Dominique screamed and ran towards a broom. We all watched horror-stricken when she mounted it and flew off after the figure who tried to kill Fleur before any of us could stop her.
Just as Dominique soared into the air, we all watched what looked like a black sack drop down to the ground from the second figure. Ron and dad advanced towards it slowly, their wands trained on the sack when it reached the floor, while Bill and Charlie covered them from behind, pointing their wands up at the sky.
I hurried forwards and took Bill's place beside my mother.
"STUPEFY!" I screamed, sending a jet of red light into the sky when I saw one of them point their wands towards us. I grinned smugly up at them when it hit the person, causing their broom to snap and their wand to drop from their hands. Their companion however caught them and slung them over their backs before the injured person could fall to the ground.
We all grouped together, our wands trained up high and watched, poised and ready for the attack, as Dominique chased after the now one and only broom. Apparently the flier was very skilled in multi-tasking because she managed to keep hold of whoever was now motionless, keep control of the broom and send green lights backwards to Dominique.
"IT'S MOVING! GET BACK!"
We all looked towards the sack when we heard Ron's yell. My dad and my uncles all jogged towards us backwards, their wands trained on the sack.
A couple of us, including Scorpius and myself, stepped closer to get a look at what was in the sack.
"It's a goblin!"
"It's an elf!"
"It's a kid!"
I didn't know who shouted what, but the third person was right sort of.
It was a kid who got out of the sack.
The kid looked no older than four years old.
The kid had waist length white blonde hair, a love heart shaped face, chocolate brown coloured almond shaped eyes and pale skin. She was clearly a girl.
I felt Scorpius let out a puff of air beside me the same time I heard the loudest, most pain-filled scream I ever heard in my life. It was only when I winced at the pain in my throat and in my chest that I registered that the sound was coming from my own mouth.
"NO! NO! NO, NO, NO!" I screamed over and over again. I felt arms wrap around me but I brushed them away and took a step closer.
I took a step closer towards what my beautiful little girl would have looked like if I hadn't had killed her.
Almost as if my voice was a trigger, the kid who looked like what my daughter should have looked like spoke.
"Mummy. . .daddy. . .mummy, why did you kill me?"
I grabbed at my hair and began pulling it, I clawed at my face - anything to distract myself from her voice; her perfect, beautiful voice that caused my heart the greatest pain it had ever felt.
"Daddy. . .why didn't you fight for me?"
Her voice was high but still childish at the same time.
"It's me. . .it's Olivia."
I fell to the ground and looked at her through the stream of tears that were escaping from my eyes. I felt myself begin to shake violently and I started pulling at my hair again as the young girl took another step closer to me.
"Mummy - why don't you love me?"
"I do baby!" I shouted above my sobbing. "I do love you!"
I felt another pair of arms wrap around me, pinning my hands to my side.
I watched as my daughter held her arms out to me. I heard beside me what was clearly a few of the men in my family restraining Scorpius from going to help our daughter.
"NO!" I screamed at my loudest when I saw Dominique jump from her broomstick before it even touched the ground. I watched with open, wide, terror filled eyes as she violently kicked my little girl in the back so she fell to the ground.
I screamed the same time Scorpius yelled at the top of his own voice as Dominique flipped our little girl so she was on her back and then straddled her.
I felt my heart rip open and tear itself up into a million pieces when Dominique brought her fist down onto my baby girls face, knocking her out cold straight away.
I hated whoever was holding me. I hated myself for not being able to give my daughter a kiss or a cuddle as Dominique prodded her wand deep into her neck and whispered a spell that sent my beautiful little girl shaking and thrashing beneath Dominique.
In a matter of seconds, the sight of my beautiful, dead daughter was replaced with an unconscious girl of about sixteen years old.
I was sitting with a thick blanket wrapped around my shoulders and Scott's arm over that.
It was him who had held me and wouldn't let me go while Dominique stopped the girl who was somehow pretending to be my dead daughter.
I watched as Dominique woke her up, then punched her until uncle Ron pulled her off of the girl.
Dominique simply shoved Ron away from her, sent a set of ropes around the girl with a silent spell and then flicked her wand so the girl was standing up.
"Who?" Dominique growled directly in her face.
When the girl didn't say a word Dominique just smirked and shook her head.
"Excuse my language Gran, Mum." she spoke before she reached into what I now recognised as her new jacket from Rose. She pulled out a small knife and took a step closer.
"Listen here you little bitch, I don't give a fuck if I'm an Auror or not. I don't give a fuck if my family is behind you - if you don't start talking I will fucking carve my name all over your entire fucking body so you'll remember who did that to you for the rest of your worthless life." Dominique stopped walking when she was right in front of the girl. She put the tip of her knife on the girls chin.
I didn't have to imagine how the girl was feeling - I was frightened by this side of Dominique.
"And I don't imagine that would be very long." Dominique smirked and looked over the girls shoulder. "See that big blonde guy? The one being held back by my cousins? Well you just impersonated his dead daughter and my oh my, he's a nasty bastard when he wants to be." Dominique looked at the girl who still didn't say a word.
With a deep sigh Dominique just scratched her chin and then shrugged a shoulder.
"I guess I have two minutes before my boss gets here and pours a vial of veritaserum down your worthless throat." she grinned and grabbed hold of the girl by her front ropes and literally slammed her on to the ground.
I flinched when I heard the sound of the girls head bouncing off of the hard floor, followed by a small pain filled cry.
"Enough!"
I had to admit, as much as I hated that girl and as much as I wanted to kill her with my bare hands, I was a little relieved when I heard my Dad's voice. I vaguely remember him apparating home to get the truth potion to interrogate the girl here rather than at the ministry.
Dominique kicked the girl as hard as she could in the stomach until Ron and Dad pulled her away from the girl.
"Bill, Charlie." Dad muttered. Ron was keeping Dominique back. Albus, Freddie, Ed and Percy were keeping hold of a still angry Scorpius and Scott was holding me.
My uncles picked the girl up and harshly pulled her head back by her hair so her mouth opened. Dad up turned the entire vial into her mouth and then rubbed her throat so she swallowed it.
"Do you know who I am?" Dad barked.
"Harry Potter."
"What's the date?"
"September seventh, two thousand and thirty three."
"What's your name?"
"Miley Keough." the girl spoke through gritted teeth but spoke honestly all the same.
"Riley Keough's sister?" Dominique shoved past our uncle and moved to stand beside Dad.
"Yes."
Dad and Dominique exchanged a look and then looked back at Miley.
"How did you manage to get the polyjuice potion to turn into what Olivia Malfoy should have looked like?" Dad asked Miley after a brief silence.
"My sister and cousin, Hilda, broke into Scorpius Malfoy's flat a fortnight ago. They stole some of his dead daughters hair from a little silver box in his bedroom. Not enough that he'd notice it was gone. They performed some tricky magic, some old magic my uncle Bruno taught them. They asked me to do a service to the family and to the greater good!" Miley shouted the last bit.
I couldn't help it.
I couldn't stop the vomit from riding up out of my stomach and splattering all over the ground in front of Scott and I.
"Your sister and your cousin just bought you a one way, permanent ticket to Azkaban." my dad told Miley after the sounds of me throwing up was finished.
"I have a message!" Miley shouted before Ron had a chance to apparate to the ministry with her.
"For Dominique Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy." Miley craned her neck to look round to look directly at Scorpius and then to Dominique who had moved to sit close to me on my other side.
"Uncle Bruno will escape from prison soon. He will come for you. He will kill you and your family the way you killed his." Miley told Dominique and Scorpius, sending out a chilly atmosphere.
A/N 2 - So. . .who thought Scott was proposing?
So, we've seen Lily being called out on her addiction, we've seen her block everything out (again,) we've seen her and Dominique have a few moments togther. We've Scott being a terrible guy again. We've seen her and Scorpius have a moment and we've seen just how low Hilda will go - so what do you guys think?