Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter.
Note – I am so sorry for the long wait! Just know that I am not abandoning this story! My life has gotten really busy, and just recently I've had some serious medical problems that have taken my attention. But I promise you guys that I am working on this story whenever I have the time. All I can ask is that you guys be patient with me. I'm so grateful for you fans that have stuck with this story, despite how slow I am lately. So please, just read and enjoy!
Rebel Malfoy
Chapter Thirty-Six: The Ups and Downs of Love
Scorpius grabbed another piece of toast and some bacon, still a bit hungry, despite having already eaten a full plate.
Despite the conversation going on around him, he was more focused on Lily . . . who was sitting silently and completely spaced out as to all that was happening around them. Her plate was even untouched, still full of food. He could see the uncertainty and nervousness in her eyes.
Today was the day that she would be talking with her parents, who were coming to talk to her about a recent headline in the Daily Prophet, titled "Potter Prodigy," by Rita Skeeter, which was a big load of crap about rumors of Lily denying her family name. The story had obviously been given to Skeeter by some of the governors, who Lily didn't really see eye-to-eye with. She had been furious when she'd read it, but ever since being told that her parents were coming, she'd been nervous and almost a little afraid, it seemed.
Scorpius took her hand, but she didn't seem to notice. He gave it a tiny squeeze. Still, no response. He sighed. He moved his hand to her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly, and giving it a little shake.
Finally she blinked, and turned to look at him. "Hmm? What is it?" she asked.
Scorpius raised a brow. "You all right?"
She avoided his eyes. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well you haven't said a word all morning, and you haven't eaten," Scorpius pointed out. He dropped his hand back to hold hers again. "Nervous?"
Lily sighed as she finally picked up her fork, and began to pick at her food. "I just know that this conversation with my parents isn't going to go well," she mumbled. "Somehow, someway, it's going to end with some form of an argument."
Scorpius gave her hand another squeeze. "Just go in with an open mind, be understanding, and stay calm," he suggested.
"I just . . . it's like it's impossible for me!" Lily whined softly. "For some reason, any time my dad and I talk, we end up arguing. He just . . . treats me like a kid, and makes me feel like he blames me and is disappointed in me all the time! It's like I can't make a single mistake in my life!"
Scorpius leaned forward to place a kiss on her temple. He knew that Lily hated to sound whiny, so the fact that she wasn't hiding her frustrations was a sign that she was more nervous and scared than he'd thought. "No matter how it goes, just remember that I'll be waiting in the common room for you," he reminded. "And you can tell me all about it, or you can just rant and rave, and I'll quietly listen."
Lily finally cracked a smile as she looked at him. This time she was the one to lean forward, and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "Thanks," she whispered.
He smirked. "Anything for you, princess."
"You ever worry about your future?"
Scorpius looked at Lana curiously. They were in Potions class, sharing a table as they all attempted to brew the Shrinking Potion. While Scorpius knew he was on the right track, he was beginning to think he'd added too much of one of the ingredients, because his was a little more yellow than green.
"Um, occasionally," he admitted. "But not a lot. Why?"
Lana shrugged. "I don't know. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I mean, sometimes I feel like I have no real ambition to go out and find some steady nine to five job, you know?"
"And that worries you?" Scorpius questioned.
"A little. I mean . . . it's a bit unpredictable, and I'm not a fan of surprises," Lana replied. "But at the same time, I know I'd probably be miserable with some desk job, or working as a retailer." She looked at him. "What do you worry about?"
Scorpius turned back to his potion, trying to concentrate on not screwing it up. "Well, mostly I sometimes worry if I'll even be allowed in the Auror Department. I mean . . . I'm sure the whole country will be skeptical of having a Malfoy in the department."
"Probably doesn't help that the head of the department doesn't really like you at the moment," Lana teased lightly.
Scorpius gave a small smirk, but inside he felt his worry rise a little. That was a big part of his worry. The one person who could decide his future career disliked him for dating his only daughter. But . . . he couldn't, he wouldn't, break up with Lily. She mattered more to him. Sure, he wanted to be an Auror, but mainly his dream and desire was to catch and stop dark wizards and witches. He could easily do that as a Hit Wizard too.
"I don't think you should worry, Lana," Scorpius said, hoping to push the thoughts of his own future away. "Sure, you may have an unsteady career choice, but as long as you love it, then I think you should go for it. Personally, I'd rather be poor and happy, than rich and depressed."
"Coming from the guy who has more money than he probably could imagine," Lana joked, although she smiled at him. "Thank you, though."
Scorpius gave her a smile in return. "Any time. Besides, I think everyone in our year is starting to worry about their futures. We're not far from having to go out and live them, after all."
Lana raised a brow as she looked past him. "Really? What about Rex over there? Is he included in that, or is he an exception?"
Scorpius turned to see where Rex was working. His potion was being stirred at too fast a pace, and was starting to smoke a little. But he hardly noticed, too interested in playing some imaginary drum beat on the side of his table.
"Rex is an exception to every normal rule."
"This nonverbal magic sucks!" Lars complained as he glared at a quill sitting on Scorpius's bedside table. The five boys were sitting in their dorm room. Scorpius was staring blankly at his Herbology book, not really taking any of the information in. Mitch was strumming a few strings on his guitar, Rex and Justin were looking through some musician magazine, while Lars was attempting to practice nonverbal magic for Defense Against the Dark Arts. He was trying to summon Scorpius's quill to his hand, but so far, it hadn't budged.
"Concentration is the key to nonverbal magic," Scorpius recited dully.
"It's still stupid!" Lars groaned as he dropped onto his bed.
Mitch set down his guitar. "Anyone else hungry? I could use a snack from the kitchens."
"Anything to get away from this book," Scorpius agreed as he put the textbook aside.
"I'm game," Lars said as he popped up from his bed.
"I'm good. I ate enough at dinner," Justin sighed, his eyes scanning an article.
"Yeah, go on without us," Rex replied.
The three of them left the dorm room, and began to make their way down the stairs to the common room. But just as they reached the bottom, he noticed Lily hurrying toward them. He smirked. He hadn't had a chance to see his girlfriend since breakfast, and she hadn't even been at dinner. Maybe she'd like to join them. "Hey, babe," he greeted. "Where were you, ya missed dinner?"
But she ignored his question, and grabbed his wrist tightly. "We need to talk now!" she demanded as she began to pull him back the way he came. He glanced back to the guys with wide eyes, but they looked just as surprised and confused.
Rex and Justin were still where they'd left them a minute ago. "Hey, Lil, Scor," Rex greeted.
Lily glared at them, and even Scorpius felt a bit hesitant at the sight. "Get out," she commanded firmly.
Rex and Justin quickly obeyed, and hurried to leave the room. Rex leaned toward his ear as they passed. "Good luck, bro," he whispered.
Scorpius closed his eyes for a moment, and bit back a groan. Even Rex could tell that he was in trouble somehow. Once the door closed, Scorpius opened his eyes to look at Lily, who was looking sternly at him in return.
Scorpius fidgeted a little where he stood. "Is everything all right, babe?" he asked carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was to say something stupid and have her explode on him. She seemed irritated enough.
She was glaring at him now, and it made him worry a little more, if that was possible. "Where were you and the others when I was studying with the girls last night?"
Scorpius thought about it. What had he been doing last night? "We were hanging out around the common room. Why?" He didn't remember studying, or practicing for Defense Against the Dark Arts.
She gave him a challenging look. "Oh, so you and your friends weren't out jumping Logan Murdock and Cody Thomas? That wasn't what made you demand that I stop modeling?"
Scorpius gave a nod. So she found out. Well . . . he had figured she'd find out eventually, but he hadn't thought of exactly what he'd tell her yet. "Yeah, we were out doing that too," he admitted. "Why do you ask?" Last he knew, those two little idiots were still in the Hospital Wing. How had she found out?
She rolled her eyes at him. "You beat up two little boys! Five big guys jumped two little boys!" she exclaimed.
Scorpius shrugged. Technically, there were six of them, but he knew that telling her that would just piss her off more. "Shouldn't have had sick thoughts toward my girlfriend," he replied calmly.
Lily groaned. "You're impossible!"
Scorpius relaxed a little. She was seeming more irritated rather than furious. If he kept calm, she might not tear his head off. "You didn't mind when I hit Potter after he called you a tramp," he pointed out.
"Yeah, but these boys didn't actually do anything to me," Lily countered.
"They treated you like a tramp in their heads. I consider it just as bad," he retorted firmly, but still calmly.
She just rolled her eyes once more as she leaned back against the door. "I think I actually give up," she mumbled.
Scorpius chuckled, very, very relieved that her anger seemed to have faded enough that she was less likely to kill him. He moved closer, and placed his hands on the door, caging her. "Good, because you're stuck with me," he teased as he leaned closer, their lips brushing with each syllable. He kissed her fully, biting gently on her bottom lip. She parted her lips beneath his, and he swept his tongue along her lips, before brushing her own.
Lily sighed contently as she pulled away from him. "I guess I can live with that," she mocked.
Scorpius smiled. Merlin, he loved this girl.
Scorpius scowled as he flipped through his notes. They weren't for any class. They were for Quidditch. He'd been writing down new plays and strategies since tryouts, but now that their match against Gryffindor was getting closer and closer, he seemed to be studying them even more, trying to figure out the best way to crush them!
He heard the loud screech of a chair scraping along the floor. He glanced up, and groaned under his breath when he saw that Dominique had dragged a chair to his table, and was looking at him with a mocking gleam.
He looked back to his notes. "What do you want, Dominique?" he mumbled.
"What's this I hear about you admitting you're in love with my little cousin?" she quipped.
Scorpius looked up immediately, locking eyes with her. How did she . . .? "Did Mitch open his mouth?" Scorpius demanded.
Dominique grinned. "Truth be told, he didn't really need to. I had my suspicions already. He just confirmed them for me."
Scorpius sighed as he put his notes down. "So what about it? Here to threaten me again?" If that was the case, he could accept it. Dominique was one of the few Weasleys that Scorpius would accept a threat from. One, because she would definitely follow through on it. But also because she did truly care for Lily, even if she never said it aloud.
Dominique crossed her arms. "No," she replied. "I guess I'm just curious as to why you haven't told her."
"You haven't told Mitch you love him," Scorpius countered dryly.
"Our relationship is full of a lot of unspoken words," Dominique stated. "We don't have to say them, we know. But can you say the same? Does Lily just know about your feelings?"
Scorpius looked away, knowing she was right. "She's only fifteen," he mumbled quietly. "I don't want to . . . rush her in any way. Admitting my feelings might be a bit too much, especially so early in our relationship."
"Lily has rarely given a damn about age," Dominique argued dryly. "If anything, she's usually more annoyed when people consider her too young for something. And maybe you're right. Maybe it will surprise her. But doesn't she deserve to know?"
Scorpius gave her a critical look. What was she aiming for? "What's your game, Weasley? What do you get out me telling Lily how I feel?"
Dominique rolled her eyes, but this time she looked away. "Surely you've noticed it too. How quiet she is lately, spaced out in her thoughts. Almost despondent unless someone's talking to her. She's been like that ever since she met with her parents. She hiding how she's really feeling."
Scorpius ran a hand through his hair. He had noticed. It was hard not to. "Yeah," he agreed. "She's always like that after any confrontation with her family. It doesn't last forever."
"I just think she could use something good right now. And hearing that you love her . . . it just might do that for her," Dominique retorted, finally looking at him once again.
Scorpius looked to his notes again, unsure of what to say.
"Just consider this. Are your nerves and fears enough to stop you from ultimately making her happy and cheerful again?" Dominique questioned.
"For once, you're too optimistic. For all you know, she could reject me, get freaked out, not feel the same, the list goes on," Scorpius replied.
Dominique just grinned. "No. That's for all you know. I, on the other hand, tend to know a lot more than you."
"Have you ever been so cold that you can no longer feel your face?" Hank grumbled.
"I don't even think I have fingers anymore," Lance retorted as he slowly attempted to peel his gloves off.
Scorpius rolled his eyes at his teammates. They'd all been complaining about the cold, and they complained even more when it had begun to rain in the middle of practice. "Quit complaining. You sound like a bunch of little girls."
"Are you implying something, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy?"
Scorpius froze at the sound of Lily's voice. He turned to give her a tentative smile. She, meanwhile, just gave him a dry look. At least she didn't look pissed. "Why I would never," he said quickly.
She gave him a fake smile before walking into the girls' showers.
"Way to shove your foot down your own throat!" Lars laughed.
Scorpius just rolled his eyes again as he headed for the showers. "Sod off," he mumbled.
While everyone else had felt the need to complain about the cold, Scorpius had kept silent about it. Truth be told, he had been freezing too, and now standing under the hot spray of the shower felt bloody fantastic! Feeling slowly started to return to his cold and numb body. But once he'd warmed up, he made his shower quick, not wanting to waste time.
Once he'd finished getting dress, he waited for Lily to come back into the locker room. But time began to pass, and the other guys all began to finish up and leave, and Lily had yet to emerge. Had she left already? He looked at her locker. It was open, and her broom was still leaning against it.
He walked over to the door leading to the girls' showers, and knocked. "Babe? You still in there?" he called out.
It was a quiet moment before he heard her reply. "Yeah, I'm just drying off."
"Well, I'll wait for ya out here then," he promised. Then he walked back to his locker, shutting it. Bobby Pritchard was heading for the door, his broom in his hands. "Good job out there, Pritchard," he complimented.
Bobby gave a sheepish smile. "Thanks. I'll see you in the common room."
Once he left, Scorpius was the last one, waiting patiently for Lily. She stepped out after a quick minute, smiling at him. She grabbed her shoes, and began to slip them on. They were quiet as she tied them up and shut her locker. But when she grabbed her broom, she looked at him.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked quietly.
He gave a small smirk. "I'm thinking that I have the most beautiful and the loveliest girlfriend in the world," he replied, locking eyes with her.
A small blush surfaced across her cheeks as she stood from her seat. "You seem very sure about that," she said softly as she walked toward him.
Scorpius smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. "I am. I've yet to see anyone more beautiful, and for the most part, I have been around the world," he joked. He pushed her bangs from her face, letting his thumb brush gently along her cheek.
"You are quite the charmer," she teased lightly.
He just shrugged casually. "I call it being in love."
Scorpius froze as soon as the words left his mouth. His heart began to pound harder and faster in his chest, and he could hear it in his ears. He gulped quietly, fear rising in his stomach. How had he let that slip? Why was he so stupid? He'd just said it without thinking!
He blinked a few times, focusing back on Lily. But she seemed just as shocked at his words as he'd been. She wasn't smiling . . .
Scorpius opened his mouth to speak, but as soon as he did, she pulled away from him. "I've gotta go!" Then she was gone, practically running out the door.
Scorpius stared blankly at the empty space in front of him. He slowly fell back against the lockers, and slid to the floor. His body once again felt cold and numb, but this wasn't because of the rain or the weather outside. He couldn't hear his heart beating in his ears anymore. He wasn't sure if it was even beating at all anymore.
She didn't love him. She ran. He had scared her off. He had moved to fast, got too serious too quick . . .
She'd left him. Alone.
"Scor?"
Scorpius blinked a few times as he slowly turned his head. He felt his neck crack a few times. His whole body felt stiff. How long had he been sitting on the locker room floor?
Mitch was walking toward him, looking casual, but with a bit of concern in his eyes. He sat down next to Scorpius. "What's up?"
Scorpius gulped as he turned to stare back at the floor. What was up? Well, he'd told the girl he loves about his feelings, she ran and rejected him, was probably trying to figure out how to break up with him, his entire body and soul felt dead and cold, and he'd been sitting so long that his ass was numb now.
"How'd you know I was here?" Scorpius whispered.
"Well I noticed that you hadn't come back to the common room. Lars said this was the last place he saw you, so I thought I'd check here," Mitch explained. But then his voice softened, and that concern that Scorpius had noticed seemed to really show. "Something happen?"
"I'm an idiot," he mumbled. "I screwed up and told Lily how I felt…" He trailed off, unable to continue speaking. His heart seemed to tighten and squeeze with just the thought.
"What are you talking about?" Mitch asked. "How you felt…?"
"I told her that I loved her."
Mitch sighed. "Oh. Well, it obviously didn't go well. What happened?" Scorpius just shook his head. He didn't wanna think about it, let alone say it! Mitch slapped a hand on his shoulder. "Ok, you don't wanna talk about it. That's fine. How about we get you off this floor, and up to the dorm?"
"That's going to help?" Scorpius said dully.
"We'll get you drunk! I think Rex's still got a bit of that firewhiskey that he snuck in after the last Hogsmeade weekend. We'll get you so drunk that you'll forget your name, let alone whatever happened tonight!" Mitch assure as he stood up. He held out his hand to Scorpius.
Reluctantly, Scorpius took his hand, and groaned a little as his bones cracked as he stood. He felt stiff and uncomfortable all over. How long had he been sitting there?
Mitch just grabbed his broom, and continued to push Scorpius along. "Come on, let's get out of here. The cool air outside will clear your head."
But Scorpius hardly felt the cool air when they stepped outside. He still just felt numb. Numb and . . . scared. "What if she breaks up with me?"
"She won't."
"I just made her run from me."
"No you didn't."
"How do you know that?" Scorpius demanded. "She just . . . she just up and ran! I . . . I scared her off. I was right all along! I moved way too fast for her, and now she wants out!"
Mitch sighed, keeping his hand on Scorpius's shoulder. "Scor, I can't speak for her personally, but there is something I can tell you about Lily Lu. She truly cares about you. You're important to her. Sometimes, you're the only one that can lift her up and make her happy when her family troubles start to bring her down. So I doubt that she's just going to run off or break up with you that easy. She cares about you too much."
"She practically ran away from me," Scorpius mumbled. "She didn't even want to stay around me for another second. I screwed this up."
"Just give it one night. Wait until the morning, and then talk to her. Isn't that what Lana always says? In a relationship you've got to talk to one another, right? Just have hope, my friend."
But no matter how hard his friend was trying to reassure him, Scorpius had no hope at all. Just fear. Fear that he'd scared off the one girl that meant the world to him.
"You think it killed him?"
"Can shock kill a man?"
"I'd imagine heartbreak could."
Scorpius closed his eyes, trying to ignore the guys around him. He hadn't wanted to get up this morning. Waking up without Lily beside him had been a slap to the face, and a reminder to the stark reality that he had scared her off. But Mitch had dragged him out of bed, and then to breakfast. The guys hadn't been told everything that had happened after practice, but they'd picked up a vague idea of why Scorpius seemed dead this morning.
"Lay off him, guys," Mitch defended. "Besides, it's depressing to talk about. We need to cheer him up, not remind him of how bloody terrible he feels."
"Well I think it's about to get worse. Looks who's coming our way," Justin mumbled quietly.
Scorpius tensed up, knowing exactly who Justin was talking about. His heart began to beat harder in his chest. So hard, it almost kind of hurt. But unlike the others, he didn't turn to look at her. Part of him was at war with himself. While he didn't want to prolong his suffering, and just wanted Lily to just break up with him, he also wasn't ready to lose her.
"'Sup, Lil," Mitch greeted, eyeing Scorpius cautiously.
Scorpius just ignored him, and stared down at his plate . . . which was completely untouched.
"Hey, Mitch." Lily's voice was soft and sweet . . . and the thought of hearing that same voice break his heart made the pain even worse. "Hey."
He knew her whispered greeting was toward him. But he couldn't make himself look at her. "Hey," he mumbled in returned.
She was quiet for a small second, which to him felt like an eternity. But finally, she spoke. "Um, can I talk to you after first class?"
"Don't you have to teach Potions?" he grumbled. The last thing he wanted to do during his first break was have the girl he loved stomp on his heart.
"I'm telling Slughorn that there's something I need to do . . . if you're not doing anything," she said hesitantly.
He sighed under his breath, but shook his head. "No, I'm not."
"Ok. I'll see you in your dorm room then?"
"Ok."
She didn't say anything else, but he could hear the sound of her shoes clicking on the floor as she walked away.
Once she was out of earshot, Mitch spoke. "Ok, that was not the face of a girl that wanted to break up with you," he said assuringly. "More like she was scared that you would break it off."
Scorpius just stood up from his seat and grabbed his things. He didn't want to talk about it, and didn't want to think about it. So he walked away, his heart still beating harshly, his mind still racing.
Getting through first class was dreadful. It felt like it dragged on forever. And the more Scorpius sat there at his desk, the more he just wanted the day to be over. He wanted Lily to just get it over with. He didn't want to drag this out anymore.
He also got a bit angrier as the day went. Not at Lily, or anyone else, but at himself. When he reached his dorm room, he kicked the door shut, and ripped off his tie. How could he be so stupid? Why did he always screw things up?
Deciding that he didn't feel like going through the rest of his lessons and pretend he was fine, he began to undo his shirt. But when his fingers began to stumble on the buttons, he gave up, dropping onto his bed in a huff.
Why did he always mess things up?
A knock sounded at the door. He felt his body tense at the sound, knowing who was behind the door. He sighed. Time to get it over with. "It's unlocked," he called out.
There was a pause before the door opened. Scorpius took in a deep breath through his nose. He still wasn't ready to look at her. Call him a coward, but . . . being reminded of how beautiful she is would only make this situation worse.
"So . . ." Lily hesitated, before continuing, "How was your first class?"
"Same as always. What did you want to talk about?" he demanded. No skirting the issue anymore. And this time if she started to run, he'd go after her. If she was going to break up with him, he wanted her to do it now.
He heard her sigh softly, and he felt his mattress dip as she sat beside him. Still, he stared up, refusing to look at her. "Can you please stop talking like that? It scares me," she whispered.
He almost scowled. "Like what?"
"Like you've been around a Dementor too long."
"Maybe that's how I feel," he snapped, trying to reel back the anger he felt toward himself, and pain he'd been feeling since yesterday.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Perhaps I feel like I can't be happy. After all, I admitted to loving a girl, and she ran away from me. I don't know, maybe I'm overreacting!" His anger soon saturated his voice.
"That's what I want to talk about," she said quickly.
Scorpius tightened his hand into a fist. Here it comes. "If you're breaking up with me, then just do it. Don't drag this out with a conversation!"
"How about you shut up and I explain something," she quipped.
He gulped silently, but finally, turned to look at her. She looked as she did any other day, beautiful. But there was that worried gleam in her eyes, and her expression was soft. And there seemed to be the tiniest blush spreading across her cheeks.
"Look, Scorpius . . . when you told me that . . . I was surprised," Lily admitted. "It kinda shocked me, and . . . I didn't know what to say."
"Saying 'I gotta go' was the perfect thing to say," he grumbled.
"But once it all sunk in," she continued, "I thought it over. And . . . and well it didn't take long to realize that . . ."
Scorpius sat up quickly, his heart beating faster. But this time, he felt alive and almost anxious. This . . . this didn't sound like a break up. So . . . "That what?" he urged.
She locked eyes with him then, and that concern he noticed earlier seemed to slip away. "I do love you." Scorpius felt his entire body sag with relief. Like he'd gone from as heavy as lead to as light as a feather. His heart soared within his ribcage. She . . . she actually loved him! His surprise seemed to take away his ability to speak. She . . . she really loved him?
"I don't care that I'm fifteen," she added, "and I don't care if we apparently haven't been dating that long. I still love you."
The relief flooded into his body, pushing away the previous pain and fear. But . . . "So, I'm not . . . crazy for feeling that way?" he mumbled.
Lily just shook her head. "No. And even if you are, then I'm ok with being crazy with you."
Scorpius smirked at her teasing tone, scoffing a little. "That's comforting." He shifted a little before looking back to her again. "So, you aren't going to break up with me? You don't think I'm too . . . possessive or quick-moving?"
She smiled at him, and it reassured him even more. But when she leaned forward to brush her lips against his in a small kiss, he felt like the world was back to the way it was. "I think you're just right," she murmured.
Scorpius kissed her in return, but didn't prolong it. Instead he pulled away, and dropped onto his back, pulling her down with him. Lily didn't resist, and laid beside him, resting her hand on his cheek. Her thumb brushed gently along his cheek.
"So, you really love me?" he asked playfully. "Despite all the problems I include?" He was amazed how easily and quickly he came to feel better. It was amazing how hearing her say that she loved him, could ease his fears and heart so quickly.
She laughed lightly. "I think I bring about more problems than you do, so I wouldn't even go there," she pointed out. "And secondly, you may be overprotective and a primitive ass, and you may have a tendency to be violent towards those that irritate you. But your pros outweigh the cons. Besides, I even love the cons about you."
Scorpius smiled as he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close so that he could rest his cheek on her hair. "I think that I fell in love with the right girl. Good work for my first try."
He felt her trace circles on his arm. "Scorpius . . . did you really think that I was going to break up with you?" she asked.
"Can you blame me?" he replied. "I mean . . . you just ran without saying anything. I thought I'd moved to fast and scared you off."
Her hand squeezed his bicep. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I never meant to do that to you."
"You wanna make it up to me?" he asked teasingly.
"I'd do anything," she promised.
"Tell me you love me a dozen times more. I'm a bit of a spoiled brat, you know," he joked.
She giggled, her breath fanning against his neck. "Well that's easy enough. I love you, Scorpius Malfoy, even if you are a spoiled brat."
Scorpius chuckled. "That's all I need."
"I can't believe they canceled the Hogsmeade trip this weekend!" Rex complained loudly. "I mean, do the governors hate us too? Why do the students have to suffer?"
"Honestly, I don't get it either," Justin admitted. "I mean, they're not really winning many allies within the student body."
Scorpius was only barely paying attention. He was more interested in distracting Lily, who was sitting across the common room with the other fifth year girls, who were apparently trying to study.
She was silently giggling at him, then mouthed the words, "I love you," to him. He placed his hand over his heart and smirked. "I'm honored," he mouthed back.
"Scorpius Hyperion!"
Scorpius jumped, and whipped his head back around to see that Lana had joined their little group, and was looking at him intensely. He looked at her curiously, and a bit hesitantly. "Um, yes?"
She looked ready to roll her eyes. "While I'm glad that you're no longer moping around, you and Lily have become disgustingly sweet."
Now Scorpius rolled his eyes. "One day, I fear that my girlfriend's going to break up with me, and you make it sound as if I was a zombie for months," he grumbled.
Lana simply ignored him. "Anyways, moving on from that, I have a serious question for you. How is the Quidditch team doing?"
Scorpius raised a brow, curious. Lana never asked about the team. Lana didn't even really like Quidditch! "Um . . . they're doing great, as always. Mostly we're just working on some teamwork and dynamics with our new teammates."
"You're going to be able to crush Gryffindor, right?" Lana demanded.
Scorpius scowled. "Without a doubt. Why?"
"Because if I have to hear Potter bragging about how good his team for much longer, I'm going to choke him out. And not just him. I'm tired of having to sit through Arithmacy with a few of his giggling gold-diggers, who all go on and on about it too. You need to shut them up!" Lana hissed, her annoyance showing.
Scorpius scoffed. "They're not going to have a chance. That's our goal for our match with them. To kill them! By playing fair or getting a little dirty, I could care less," he promised. "Either way, it will be done."
"Good. Because if you lose, I'm denouncing you as my brother," she mocked.
Scorpius smirked. "Well I love you too, dear sister."
November came quick, and that meant the day of their match against Gryffindor was closing in on them. And Lana was right. Potter was bragging an awful lot about his team, despite the fact that they had yet to beat Slytherin the last four years. And the more Potter talked, the more Scorpius wanted to shut him up.
But even though Quidditch was on everyone's minds around Hogwarts, Scorpius tried to give his team a little bit of a break. He didn't want to exhaust them before the game. And he tried to find ways and time to relax himself.
Scorpius felt completely relaxed and warm after leaving the Prefect Bathroom. It was the best way to come down from the adrenaline of an intense workout, which he was now doing twice a day, all to keep himself in shape for the match.
He stepped into the common room, and immediately headed for where Lily sat with Hugo. "Good evening, beautiful," he greeted.
Hugo grinned. "Why thank you for the compliment. I did try with my hair today," he joked.
Scorpius rolled his eyes, but smirked. Lily bit her lip, obviously repressing the urge to laugh. "How was your workout?" she asked as he sat next to her.
"Good. At this point, I'm just eager to crush those little kittens," Scorpius replied. "No offense, Hugh."
Hugo dismissed it. "None taken. I'm tired of hearing Al brag too. Not that I think my team can't beat you guys in points, but Albus isn't as good a Seeker as he thinks. And it's the Snitch that matters."
"Hugo! What are you doing down here?" Lola exclaimed as she approached them, books in her hands.
Hugo grinned. "I'm always down here," he retorted. Lola set down her books, and immediately sat in his lap.
Scorpius moved his attention to his own girlfriend, a question now on his mind. "So, you found out what's up with Jace yet? It feels kinda weird without him around as much." Lately, Jace had been avoiding them. . . Well more like avoiding Lola. But no one but him seemed to know why.
Lily just shrugged. "No clue. Something to do with Lola though," she told him.
He could tell that Lily was a bit annoyed that two of her best friends were avoiding each other. "I'm sure it'll blow over soon," he assured as he placed an arm around her.
"Hopefully it ends by the match next week. Last thing we need is a downer at our victory party," she joked.
"Is Hugo coming to that, by the way?" Scorpius inquired as he began to play gently with her hair. Very few students from other Houses were ever invited to their victory parties. Dominique was an exception of course, and now Hugo. But Scorpius wasn't sure if Hugo would really want to celebrate losing, which Scorpius and team were determined to make happen.
But Lily nodded. "Yeah. As he claimed, 'any time Rose or Albus get beaten is a time for a party.' Besides, I don't think Lola would let him skip the party."
Scorpius laughed a little. "I doubt he'd skip a party she'd be at anyways," he pointed out.
"Ok, I have a question!" They turned to see that Lana was taking a seat in one of the armchairs next to them. Scorpius was about to tease her, but she spoke before he could. "Is it wrong to take the virginity of a guy that you know you'll never love?"
Scorpius immediately groaned. "I don't want to hear about my sister's sex life, Lana!" he complained. He already hated the fact that she even had one to begin with! The last thing he needed to hear were the details.
"Is Justin wanting to?" Lily asked, seeming to ignore his discomfort.
In fact, both girls seemed to be ignoring him now. "Yeah, he does," Lana replied. "And I was ok with it until I found out that he was a virgin, and until Rex joked about how Justin has been saving it for the one he was 'madly in love with.' So, would it be wrong of me?"
"Can I leave?" Scorpius requested.
They still ignored him. "Well you have two options," Lily said. "You could tell him that you don't think you two should, although if not handled correctly, it could lead to a breakup. Or you can have sex with him, assuming that he's ok with the fact that you aren't in love with him, or on the basis that he wants to have sex with the girl he loves, even if she doesn't love him. Either way, you've gotta talk to him."
Lana sighed. "I don't know. Maybe we should break up. I mean, I never thought Justin and I would last, and I'd hate to lead him on."
"Can you discuss this somewhere else?" Scorpius demanded, finally gaining their attention.
Lily smacked his shoulder, and Lana rolled her eyes. "Oh, can it, Scor."
"Excuse me for not being fascinated by my sister's sex life," he quipped
"I'm not fascinated by yours and Lars's, but you guys still talk about sex around me!" Lana pointed out. "And I never really need to hear that Lars felt up Ashley Anderson, or that you've slipped your hand up Lily's skirt."
Scorpius tensed a little, as he could feel Lily looking at him now. He could tell that she was amused, but he still avoided her eyes. "Well, it's nice to know that I'm a subject around the common room when I'm not around," she teased.
"Not the common room, just the guys," he defended. He paused. That still didn't sound good. "Well, you're not a subject either . . ."
Lily laughed at his attempts to save himself. "It's ok, Scor. It's not like I don't talk about you with my friends."
Scorpius finally looked at her, a little surprised. "You talk about me?"
"Well not to Lana. I don't want to subject her to listening about her brother's love life," Lily joked.
Scorpius gave her a dry look. "Yet I'm forced to listen about hers."
"I don't ask you to listen," Lana commented coyly.