AN: Nice, long chapter (seriously, 1000 words more than the last one), so please review! A lot goes on, it felt weird for me to break this somewhere else.

Summer Break, Part 1

Lily disembarked from the train with laughter as she listened to Jordi speak. The year was over, finally, and she still felt elated. Slytherin might have lost the house cup to Ravenclaw, but they did win the Quidditch cup for the first time in years. It was no secret that Gryffindor had been vulnerable after the loss of James, but once the dynamic duo of Dom and Roxie were gone, there was no hope for them.

"I'd better hear from you this summer." He shoved her shoulder lightly. "Don't spend all your time with your superstar boyfriend."

Lily rolled her eyes at that. "You know he'll be busy, so will most of my family, so you better make time for me."
"Deal Potter." Jordi hesitates for a moment, but Lily takes charge and gives him a quick hug before shoving him away.

"I have to go, but I'll write you." She stood on her tip toes before she entered the crowd and soon caught a glimpse of the bright, Weasley hair that could only be her mother. She pushed her way through until she found Ginny, surprised to see her father right beside her. "Dad, I thought you were busy."

"It's good to see you, Bud." He wrapped his arms around and Lily eagerly hugged him back. He wasn't even dressed for work, his suit traded for jeans and a soft flannel shirt. "I was able to rearrange the schedules…" He looked to Ginny. "James has a game today, it's a Charity match for Christmas. I thought we could all go."

" Is Al coming?"

Harry nodded and then frowned. "I have an entire box to fill, usually I turn down these sort of things, but James was playing."

"He thought he'd invite the family," Ginny replied with an eyeroll. "Unfortunately, I have to report on it." She looked around. "Are we waiting for Vicky or Ron?"

"No, their tickets are at the booth, Hermione was supposed to get their early." Harry glanced down at his watch.

"Are we going to wait here forever?" Lily said as she leaned over to look at his watch.

"No, no, let's get to the car, see if we can bet the press there."

"Too late," Lily muttered, giving her mum a hug from behind.

The Quidditch game wasn't going to be the first she saw that summer, but it was certainly the best. Sitting between her parents certainly was interesting, her father leaned forward, one hand holding his head up with his elbow propped on his knee. Beside him sat Ron who was very vocal, much like her mother and the rest of the Weasley family. The only one who watched with similar quite interest, was her aunt Hermione, who had her hands clasped tightly and was biting on her lip every time James got hit by a bludger...which was more often than Lily thought necessary. The other team's defense was particularly nasty, Lily noted. The beater's were about twice the size of the ones that were supposed to be protecting James.

"This is why they shouldn't mix leagues, even for a charity match," Ginny muttered as reached in her bag to pull out a camera. She snapped a few pictures of the match and then let the camera drop to hang around her neck on a strap. "The other team is in Scorpius' league," she explained. "The match was supposed to promote a sort of camaraderie between wizarding London, but it obviously didn't work." She crossed leaned back in her chair as she took notes on a pad and groaned. "At least James isn't screwing this up."

"He got his flying from you," Harry said, looking at his wife with a smile on his face. Lily heard all the time about her mother's fantastic Quidditch skills, that she had been a professional player before she had her children and went into journalism. Her uncle's liked to talk about his skills, the fact he was the youngest seeker Hogwarts had in years, but he didn't talk about it. The only part of his past her father would willingly mention was after he married Ginny, questions about that were fair game. Questions died in Lily's throat, because she couldn't stand the look they'd cause on her father's face.

"Harry, you're being entirely too modest," Hermione said. "It's not you've never flown before."

"Ginny's the one with real talent," he responded slowly.

"Shut up, Harry," Ginny snapped. "Watch the game and do me a favor…" She took the camera from her neck and set it in Lily's lap. "Give it to your father and see to it that he takes pictures…" She dug around in her bag and pulled out a press pass that she threw over her neck.

"Gin, I'm rubbish with a camera."

"I know you're not Creevey, just get a few shots."

"Mate, she was talking about Dennis, you know he's working for the Prophet now," her Uncle Ron said as he patted his friend's shoulder.

"Give me the camera Lily, you know your father can never get a decent shot." Hermione held out her hand and Lily could of passed it, but instead she got out of her seat and walked over to where she sat, happy that Hugo moved to sit beside Louis. "Do you want to ask me something?" She poised the camera and adjusted the lens to take a shot before clicking multiple times. "You could ask your dad."

"You know I can't do that."

Hermione sighed and set the camera in her lap before leaning in closely to her niece. "Colin Creevey was the excitable kid that was very sweet. He loved to take pictures and Harry was his favorite subject. Harry Potter was his hero…" She sighed and looked over to where her husband and best friend were now talking intensely about the game. "In his sixth year he got kicked out of school because he was a muggle born, but he came back for the Battle." Hermione looked away and took a few pictures. "McGonagall tried to turn him away because he was underage, but he snuck back in."

The weight of the words hit Lily hard, so did the look on her aunt's face. "He was killed, wasn't he?"

"Harry was extremely upset over his death. He still talks with his younger brother, Dennis Creevey, who works at the Prophet. He's supposed to be a journalist, but he mainly takes pictures."

Lily just nods and spends the rest of the game next to her aunt, occasionally taking the camera from her to do it herself. The game is over fairly quickly, James' team put up a fight but the other seeker was clearly more experienced and better skilled for the job.

"Once your mother comes up I have to make nice with the press." He rolled his eyes at that. "I would recommend taking one of your cousins and waiting for James. We're going to go home and after we get a few pizzas." Harry ruffled his daughter's hair and gave her a side hug.

"Dad…" She pushed off from him and descended the steps, looking around the pitch. They waited long enough that most people still weren't in their seats, but there was a large group congregated. Usually some of the players talked with fans instead of heading straight to the locker room, something that James usually did. However, when she got closer she saw that men in front of her were wearing black shirts.

"Lil!" One of them shouted and made his way over. "I told Score he should have come, he wanted to sleep how lame is that." It was Lucas MacLaggan and his wide grin. "We just came back from a match abroad about an hour and a half ago."

"Very," she answered. "What are you lot doing here?"

"Charity game," he explained. "We were working the crowd, showing good sportsmanship… scouting the competition." The last part he leaned in to whisper. "Listen, a bunch of the guys were going to grab something to eat, drag Score's arse out of bed and celebrate our win, want to come with?"

Lily didn't get a chance to answer. The crowd of fans had disappeared, but then a group of reporters came forward, press passes dangling and camera's poised. One of the other men stepped forward, Stephen Myers. "Mate, get Lily out of here, the press will eat her alive," he mumbled before stepping forward to distract them momentarily. Lucas grabbed her arm and pulled her away doing his best to block her from the reporters.

They made their way around the pitch, circling back in the direction of the players. By the time she made it to the couches outside of the locker room her father and brother were standing there. "Lils!" James shouted.

"Bud, where on earth did you go?" Her father looked her over and then rested his eyes on Lucas who still had his hand on her arm.

"Dad, this is Lucas MacLaggan, one of Scorpius' teammates," she said.

"I met Lily at Malfoy's party, I started talking her ear off and then helped her dodge the press." He gave Harry a smile, but the older man still didn't look very amused. "Well, it was nice to see you, sir." He turned to Lily. "We on for tonight?"

"What is tonight?"

"The Thestrals just won their game, he invited me to come with him and the rest of the team." Lily looked at her father and brother, then back at Lucas. "It's my first day back from school, but thank you for the invite."

"I forgot you're still in school. Well, the team better see you around, we have to get some dirt on Malfoy." He patted her on the back and then left, without another glance at Harry. He led the way to the car and as they were walking she heard James grumble.

"I can't believe you're friendly with McLaggen. That guy is the most arrogant-"

"James Potter calling someone arrogant?" she teased and then bumped into him. "He's nice, and one of Score's friends."

He snorts at that. "I helped her dodge the press...I forgot you're still in school." He rolled his eyes. "For someone who is supposed to be so damn smart can't you realize when a guy is trying to flirt with you? He's a creep, especially if he's going after some girl that's dating his friend."

"Is this about Score?" She tugs him to a stop. Harry is in the car, head leaned back against rest and Ginny nowhere in sight.

"I could care less about you and Malfoy, just…" He runs his hand through his hair. "If you do go with the team, make sure Scorpius is there with you, hell take someone else too like Roxie or Dom or even Gracie. I know what happens when they celebrate a win and...You may be 17, but that doesn't mean you're invincible." He slings an arm around her shoulder and then ruffles her hair before giving her a small shove in the direction of the car. Ginny came not long after and soon enough most of the family was piled in the Potter house, boxes of pizza laid all of tables. Lily almost forgot about the offer Lucas had made her. Almost.

"What time are you going to be home?" Ginny asked as she saw her daughter scrambling about the living room looking for her other shoe.

"I don't know…" She looked up, her messy hair hanging around her face.

"Will you be with Scorpius?" Harry asked, coming in heading around the other side of the couch and holding up a black flat.

"Thanks, dad." She answered and put it on. "Not just Score, he invited a bunch of us… Jordi, Flint, Al, Regina…"

"If Al is going to be there, just make sure you get home at a decent hour," Ginny said. "If you're coming home past 10 have Al or Scorpius apparate you."

"Mum…"

"Lily, she's right," Harry said. "You may have, by some miracle, gotten your license, but I don't want to deal with you stumbling in the door, at midnight, missing an ear." He looked down at his watch. "When is this thing supposed to start?"

"Seven, but Score's coming here." Lily left to go up the staircase and didn't reappear until Scorpius showed up. He sat on the couch and attempted conversation with Harry while Ginny was multitasking between criticizing the daily paper and editing articles. "Scorpius." She crossed the room and pulled him to his feet. "Bye, dad, mum." With a laugh she tossed her hair over her shoulder as she led Scorpius out. Ginny sighed and set down her quill as Harry rubbed his eyes.

"We can't stop her." Ginny walked over to the couch and sat next to him, curling against his side.

"No, do you think it's taste of our medicine? It's what your mum told me."

"Absolutely not, she was easy compared to James."

Lily was still Lily, Scorpius knew that, but something had changed during her sixth year. Instead of a messy mane, it was loose curls. Her jeans weren't ripped, but skin tight. He watched as she tossed her head back with laughter as she talked with his teammate's. "Here you go," he said as he handed her a drink. "What are you talking about?"

"She was telling us about the time the two of you got caught in the common room. Guess you aren't a choirboy after all," Lucas teased.

"I take it she embellished the story." He looked down at Lily who was looking at him through her lashes. Her hand darted towards his and clasped it tightly.

"I would never do a thing like that." She took the cup from him with her free hand and planted a kiss on his cheek. "So, why exactly are you having this?" Looking around the room she saw Jordi talking with Flint, Regina had her arm around her boyfriend's as she talked to one of the beaters.

"Another promotional party," Stephen scoffed. "So just keep on smiling sweetie."

"Excuse me?" she questioned. Her hand dropped for Scorpius, but one of his arms went to her waist, pulling her a bit closer.

"The only Quidditch team more popular than the Thestrals is the one that James Potter is on," Lucas remarked. "That's what you get for having parents that survived the war and our Keeper dating the only daughter of the boy who lived." He lifted a cup to his lips as he tilted his head in the direction of a few people with press passes working the crowd. "I'd watch your back, Potter."

"You're joking, right?"

"I wish I was. Did you see the latest tabloid cover?" Lucas said as he stepped forward and rested a hand on her shoulder. Lily looked at Scorpius with raised eyebrows.

"McLaggan…" Scorpius said with an arm tightening around her waist. "I would like to avoid any further publicity."

"What?" she asked.

"Your cheating on Malfoy, honey, hate to break it to you." With those words Stephen gave her a smirk, gesturing for Lucas to continue.

Lily rolled her eyes as he withdrew a magazine from his leather jacket. There were several photos, one of them was Lucas with his wicked grin and a hand on her arm with Harry's stare focused at him. She let out a laugh. "No wonder why James hates you," she responded, meeting Lucas' eyes as she leaned into her boyfriend. "I think he may tolerate you, now." She looked at Scorpius. "Don't faint."

"Let's slip out of here. Follow my lead." Scorpius lead her out of the room, into an empty hallway. "Do you mind? I kind of wanted out of there."

"This is going to tarnish your golden reputation." She set her cup down on the a and rested her arms on his shoulders, fingers brushing against the back of the neck. "If someone catches us…"

"I've missed you," he interrupted. "I thought inviting you to this party would… The guys kept on saying they wanted to see you again, especially after they talked to you at the pitch." He touched her face.

Lily let out a laugh and leaned in closer, kissing him and letting her hands drift. "How long do you think we have?"

"Do you want to get out of here? You haven't seen my apartment yet and my roommate probably won't come tonight." Scorpius had pointed him out. He was a quiet bloke, a beater, and seemed pleasant enough.

"I haven't even seen Al yet, have you?"

"Lily…" Scorpius bit his lip. "You aren't going to see him. He asked me to tell you that he had a long day and didn't want to be out late."

"Don't lie to me."

"He's fine, his wrist is already healing-"

"What did he do?" she asked.

"He didn't tell me, it was an accident during a training exercise." He pulled away, only keeping a hand on her shoulder. "Al didn't want you to worry, he told me that you stress out enough and he knew that I haven't seen you since you got home."

"I… I just can't do this right now." She laid her hands flat on his chest. "Let's go to your apartment."

"You just told me know."

"Well, I changed me mind." Her eyelashes fluttered as she tilted her head until the space between their lips was so fractional they were nearly touching.
"Lily, I'm not taking you because you're upset."

She leaned in and pressed another kiss to his lips. "Take me because I want to be with you."

He seemed to contemplate this for a minute as he looked into her eyes. Finally, he sighed. "I'm going to tell coach that I'm leaving and then we can apparate." He planted a kiss on her cheek before leaving her. Lily backed up, tilting her head until she hit the wall. Closing her eyes she forced her mind to stay focus, to not wander, and grope for a vision until it came. She wouldn't do that. Not now.

Standing in a white room she looked down at what she was wearing. A robe, green and white, like a healer's. In her hands was a clipboard full of names and vitals and lists of potions that she didn't even know what did, but dream-her did. A bell sounded, so high it seemed to puncture her eardrums.

"Potter…"

"What do I need to do?"

"Head to the post-op wing," the older woman ordered.

"What? That was a warning sound, we're going to serious injuries in here in less than five minutes."
"They're aurors."

"So?" She tried to remain calm, but her heart fluttered.

"I'm so sorry, Lily, but hospital rules clearly state that you can't-"
"Can't what? I am the best at treating injuries from dark magic and was first in my class for-"

"Lily. Go. NOW."

Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the clipboard, and bit her lip with multiple scenarios running through her mind. When she calmed herself down enough to look at the supervisor she had a realization. "No. NO." The only possible scenario for her not being able to treat a patient was if they were family.

"Leave, now, and come down when your shift is over."

"Who is it? What…"

"Lily? Come on…" A hand touched her arm gently. When she opened her eyes, Scorpius was staring at her. "We fell asleep, I guess…"

She blinked blearily and saw the coffee table in front of them. Her empty bottle of butterbeer and Scorpius' now cold cup of tea. The tv played the end credits of a movie...She was surprised that he even knew how to work it, but apparently his roommate liked muggle things. "What time is it?"

"Uh...10:30…" Scorpius swiped a hand over his face and looked down at the girl still curled against him. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. "Usually, I'm the one who overanalyzes the situation and worries about your parents."

"My dad is going to be angry." She got off the couch and smoothed her shirt before looking around for her shoes.

"I'll explain it to him, relax."

"No. Don't tell me to relax, because all I'm doing is proving his point." She shook her head. "First mum, and then James, then my dad…" She found her shoes and shoved her feet into them. "He doesn't even trust me to apparte myself home. I'm 17 years old."

"Yeah, and when I was 17 my parents didn't want me apparating unless they knew I could make it home safe." Scorpius stepped forward. "No responsible person would let you leave this apartment alone."

"I am perfectly capable-"

"How much have you had to drink tonight?" he asked. "You just woke up five minutes ago, you're obviously distraught, and you got your license, what? Two months ago?"

"Can I not argue with you?" she questioned. "And for your information I only had enough alcohol to get a house elf drunk."

"Whatever." Scorpius looked away, but she knew he was giving her that stupid look of his. Did it matter that she had a drink or two at the party? She was legal and sober by now.

She looked at him with narrowed eyes. Still, when he held out her hand, she took it and closed her eyes. Before she knew it they were on her front porch. The lights appeared to be off, which was normal this time of night. "You got me home."

"That I did." He gave her a side hug. "I have a break in two weeks. No games for a bit, I want to see you then, alright?" A hand cupped her cheek. "I don't know what's going on, but...I am here."

She looked at him and nodded before giving a real hug, one of her embraces that made Scorpius feel like he was at home.

The next morning when Lily came downstairs for breakfast, she expected to be alone, but she found her dad, pouring himself a cup of tea. "Good morning," he greeted.

"Hey," she said and poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice and sat down at the table. "What are you doing here today?"

"Working from home, most of my department is out and I need to get this paperwork done." He gestured to the files on the kitchen table before he grabbed the butter out of the refrigerator. "Do you want toast?"

"Yeah." She looked down at the table and then back up at her dad who was busy buttering toast. At the sight of him, she had to bite back a laugh. Those stupid tabloid pictures didn't show this part of her father. The part of him that wore flannel shirts, liked cooking the muggle way... "Did you know about Albus?" She looked at him, saw how his hand tightened around the plate when he turned to take it to the table. "I take it that was a yes. Is there a reason you didn't tell me?"

"It wasn't serious and he's coming to dinner tonight, he'll tell you what happened himself."

"You can't protect me from everything."

"I know that." He shook his head, with a sad smile on his face. "What time did you get in last night?"

"Around eleven, I side-apparated with Score." She reached for a piece of toast and set it in front of her. "I'm not going to lie to you, because I know at some point Scorpius will tell anyway, I went to his apartment last night…"

He was already sitting down, his face fell a bit. "At least you're honest, and I actually knew you were dating someone." He sighed. "I just expected a stunt like this from James. If you were going to his apartment, why didn't you ask me beforehand?"

"It just happened and I was with Scorpius, we fell asleep watching a movie."

"And when I get a letter saying that you were caught with him in the common room after hours, then you send me letter saying not to tell your mum, and that there are aurors in danger."

"Dad…"

"I know that happened awhile ago, but… I trust you Lily and I trust Scorpius. Draco Malfoy may have his faults, but he raised Scorpius to be a-"

"Choirboy?" she supplied, thinking of the name that the guys on the team had given him.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Still, in good conscience… I don't want you going to his apartment alone, alright?"

"Fine, but isn't that sort of hypocritical when you invited him to come here whenever he wants?"

"This is my house and you two can't really do anything in a house that's part of the Weasley family." He laughed and Lily knew it was true. Someone was always popping in. Even if they were here alone, give it fifteen minutes and they would be interrupted. "Seriously, though, it terrifies me that you're growing up. Your mum jokes that James was harder, but he was…"

"Like you?" she supplied. "Aunt Mione says that Hugo acts like Ron, just the way James acts like you."

"There's a reason I don't tell you about my past Lily, a reason I keep you from the press…"

"I know." She looked at him. "But you can't keep on doing it. Not knowing anything drives me insane. I realize that you can't tell me much about your job, but keeping things from me makes it worse. I panic and then the visions start again. I told Score that I don't want to suppress or control them, they're a part of me,. but sometimes I don't know if I'm having a dream or…" She squeezed her eyes shut and remembered what she saw last night, still confused by it.

"Come here." Her father got out of her chair and knelt slightly so an arm could go around her shoulder in a side hug. "I am never going to stop worrying you or try protecting you, Merlin knows I've tried with Albus and James. James makes it impossible with all the scrapes he gets into and Al...well, there is only so much I can do when he decides to be an auror."

"Let's finish breakfast, and we can do something together before I have to run this into the Ministry." Harry gets to his feet and returns to his chair. The rest of the morning passes by in a mostly comfortable silence. About ten, Lily convinces her father to come fly with her, something he hadn't done in ages. By the time they are done, the wind has blown them all askew and their cheeks are flushed and laughter passes between them.