"Why did I agree to this Ariana?" Lily moaned, her face in her hands as she fell backwards onto her bed. "I'm like freaking out right now!"
Looking up from her copy of Witch Weekly, Ariana raised one eyebrow at her best friend and blew out a deep breath. Her long chocolate hair was pinned up in rollers and her toenails were freshly painted and still drying in front of her. With a roll of her eyes, she dropped the magazine into her lap and folded her arms across her chest. "Lily, you need to calm down before you work yourself into a panic attack. It's just a formal dance."
Lily rolled onto her side and propped her head up with her elbow. "Just a formal dance?" she blurted out in pure surprise. "It's the freaking Annual Slytherin Ball. I can't calm down." Instantly Lily jumped to her feet, running her hands through her damp hair. "Don't tell me to calm down," she ordered, pacing her bedroom. "I'm going to meet Scorpius' parents tonight."
They had still been at school when Scorpius had asked Lily to accompany him to the Slytherin Ball this Christmas. Immediately she had said yes without really thinking about it, only knowing that she had always wondered what happened at a Slytherin Ball. But now she was regretting her decision.
At first, she had panicked about what dress she was going to wear. She spent the entire day with Ariana, looking at shoes and dresses and bags and accessories but nothing complemented Lily's hair and her body type. It got to the point where instead of buying a dress, they bought a long sheet of fabric from Muggle London – Ariana was going to design and make the dress herself.
Then Lily realised that she would be meeting Scorpius' parents for the first time, which sent her into a fit of hyperventilation. It would be virtually impossible to avoid them, seeing as this year the Ball was being held at Malfoy Manor and his parents were the hosts of it. But it was too late to tell Scorpius she couldn't go. The only silver lining was that Albus was taking Ariana, which meant they were basically going together.
Instead she just took a deep breath and pushed out all the nervousness embedded in her body.
"What if they don't like me?" Lily mused out loud, biting on her bottom lip. "What will that mean for Scorpius and me?"
Ariana pushed herself up off the sofa and hobbled over to Lily, being careful to walk on her heels so her nails weren't ruined. "Lils, you need to calm down or else you'll sweat off your make-up," she stated, hands firmly on each shoulder. "Mr and Mrs Malfoy would be fools not to see how amazing you are. They'll see how much to care for their son and that will be the end of it. Just don't worry." Ariana stared her best friend off and waited for the tension to decrease in Lily's shoulders. Only then did she smile.
"Besides," she added, hobbling back to the sofa, "they like Albus so they'll definitely like you."
Lily smiled softly and let out another deep breath. "Thanks Ari. What would I do without?"
"Probably die," Ariana joked, picking up her magazine again and casually flicking through the pages.
Meanwhile Lily decided to finish drying her hair the Muggle way instead of waiting for it to dry naturally. She plugged in her hairdryer and a few minutes later, Lily's auburn looks were warm and dry. "Shall we get started on my hair?" she asked, looking over at Ariana, who again lowered her magazine and beckoned Lily over.
"Are we plaiting this half then?" Ariana asked, as Lily sat down in front of her on the floor with a brush and some bobby pins in hand. Lily nodded slowly and then held up all of the tools. Her fingers started tracing lines on the left hand side of Lily's head, which she brushed through and then began pulling hard as she twisted the strands of her hair into a French plait that stretched to the top of her neck. There Ariana pinned the braid in place and merged the rest of the hair over her right shoulder. With a little bit of brushing and a little bit of hairspray, Lily's hair was finished and looked flawless.
"Ariana, you have talent!" Lily said with a bright smile, admiring her hair in the mirror. The simple style went well with the make-up Lily wore – a soft smoky-eye look with a dark plum lipstick and a hint of blush. "If you don't harness this style in the future, I may have to kill you myself."
"Very funny," Ariana mocked, faking a laugh and pulling the rollers out of her hair. Springy curls bounced down past her shoulders, which she shook out and ran her fingers through until the curls loosened to a soft wave. "Let's get into our dresses."
As usual, Ariana looked amazing in a floor-length, lacy, black dress that had a teasing slit up the side that just about showed her knee. The lacy neckline stretched all the way up to her collarbone and showed off her amazing assets.
It was Lily's turn next.
"This is beautiful," Lily gasped softly, spinning around in the mirror. Ariana had picked out a dark emerald colour fabric, a very Slytherin colour, and had miraculously turned it into a floor-length, figure-hugging dress that had an asymmetrical dress and one long sleeve on the opposite side to shoulder where all of Lily's hair was gathered. Holding onto the wall, Lily balanced herself as she slipped into a pair of dark plum heels that matched her lips. "Again, if you don't do this as a future career-."
"I know, I know, you'll kill me," Ariana interrupted dramatically, handing Lily her locket, rings and snake bracelet. "Now let's go downstairs because I swear I can hear your brother's impatient pacing two floors up."
"Let me just get my bag and Scorpius' present," Lily quickly exclaimed, balancing her way to her wardrobe and picking up her small clutch bag and the big, brightly wrapped, Christmas present she'd spent ages choosing for her boyfriend. "Ready!"
Seeing as they were in heels, it took a short while to descend the staircases but once they had, Lily called out before leading the way into the kitchen. She got a little kick out of seeing Scorpius' jaw drop as she walked into the room, and with a quick glance at Ariana and Albus, saw that she wasn't' the only one.
Lily was blown away too. Obviously, Ariana had filled Scorpius in with what she was wearing because his suit was a dark plum colour that matched her accessories. The darkness contrasted with his messy blonde hair that was styled perfectly and made his grey eyes burn brightly.
"Wow!" they muttered simultaneously, gravitating to each other across the room.
"You look beautiful," Scorpius murmured. He took her spare hand in both of his and brushed his lips across the back of it. "So beautiful!"
Lily giggled softly and blushed under his stare. "You don't look too bad yourself," she remarked.
"Aw Lily," her father exclaimed, walking into the kitchen with his mug in his hand. "Honey, get the camera!" he called over his shoulder before turning back to his daughter with a goofy grin. "Are you too old to give your dad a kiss?"
"Of course not," Lily replied, placing her belongings on the table and wobbling over to her dad. He pulled her into a squeezing hug and from behind her, there was the flash of a camera. "We're going to be late Dad."
Harry swiftly pulled back. "Oh, of course. Don't want you making a bad first impression with Draco Malfoy!"
"Thanks," Lily said sarcastically. "Like I wasn't worried enough before."
"Ignore him," her mother said, sending a scowl in Harry's direction. All of a sudden Lily was pulled into another hug by her mum, who was very gentle so she didn't ruin Lily's hair. "Have a lovely evening and don't worry about what time you come home, just have fun!" Ginny whispered directly into her ear.
Slowly Lily made her way back to Scorpius, collecting his present and her bag before allowing herself to be scooped up into his arms and led to the fireplace. "Don't worry," he whispered as they ducked under the mantelpiece. "My parents are going to love you." With a soft kiss on his cheek, Lily waved goodbye to her family as Scorpius threw down the Floo Powder and called out for Malfoy Manor.
The room they Flooed to, was big and grand, with a small chill in the air that made her shiver slightly. It was also very empty. "Are we early?" Lily asked, turning in Scorpius' arms to face him. "There's no one around."
"I made sure we Flooed to one of the other rooms," he said softly, taking the box from Lily's grip and placing it on a nearby table. "That way, I can do this without anyone watching." He cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her head up, just as Lily reached up on her tiptoes instinctively – she was still a little bit smaller in her heels. Their lips easily found each other and shared a short but passionate kiss.
Lily giggled as she looked up at Scorpius. "I'm glad we took the long way round," she said seductively, grinning big. Then she fumbled for a tissue in her bag. "However I don't want your parents to meet me and see lipstick smeared all over your lips," she laughed, licking the tissue and cleaning the lipstick off from around his lips.
"Do you remember when you did this to me just before Teddy and Vic's wedding?" Scorpius asked with a smirk on his face as Lily rubbed off the last traces.
"That wasn't my lipstick though, was it?" Lily answered with a laugh, tucking the used tissue back into her bag and then rubbing her lips together to even out her lipstick.
Like a perfect gentleman, Scorpius linked his arm around Lily's. "Are you ready?" he asked, to which Lily replied with a shaky nod. He smiled reassuringly and then led her out of the room, supporting her in her heels. They exited into a large foyer made of so much stone.
In comparison to Potter's Cottage, Malfoy Manor was a bloody palace. The stone slabs that made the walls were decorated with engravings and plaques, probably showing the broad history of the Malfoy household. Above Lily was a crystal chandelier and a balcony and even a fireplace that as still burning a few green flames. There were two gigantic staircases that both led up to the balcony and presumably, the ballroom, seeing as that was where Scorpius was leading Lily.
The entire time, Lily's mouth was unhinged in pure awe. "It's massive," Lily murmured out loud. It was a good thing Scorpius was holding onto to her, because she was so busy looking around that she forgot to pay attention to where she was going.
They stopped outside a pair of tall wooden doors that had silver coiled snakes as doorknobs. Scorpius squeezed Lily's arm tightly and then knocked twice. From inside the room, a loud voice boomed above the gentle music, announcing "Mr Scorpius Malfoy and his companion, Miss Lily Potter." Magically, the doors swung inwards, revealing an enormous ballroom, decorated in green and silver, filled with party-goers who were all glaring at her.
Lily gulped hard and held onto Scorpius as she literally stepped into the snake pit. She tried to smile but didn't seem to have control of her body. It was still in shock at what she was seeing. Behind Lily, the doors slammed up and slowly the conversations picked back up, probably quickly turning to the topic of herself and Scorpius.
"It was exactly the same when Albus first came to the Ball," Scorpius whispered in her ear as he pulled her through the crowd, occasionally smiling at men and women. "Everywhere he went, people were staring."
"Did they eventually stop?" Lily asked hopefully, hiding half of her face behind her hair.
Softly, Scorpius kissed her on the cheek. "I think I can see Al and Ari over there," he said, steering towards one of the tables that surrounded the middle of the room which was supposedly the dance floor.
However his lack of answer to her question didn't go unnoticed by Lily and she was starting to think this was a bad idea. To avoid any awkward eye contacts, Lily kept her head tilted to the floor, focusing on her feet – which is why she didn't see Kaleb coming.
"There's my Lilykins," he said happily, wrapping her up in a surprising hug that instantly put a smile on her face. "I don't know whether I'm allowed to say this," he said, glancing over at Scorpius who was simply smirking, before turning back to Lily and picking up a hand in both of his, "but you look beautiful!"
"You can say it," Scorpius replied, stepping up to wrap an arm around her waist. "As long as they remain just words," he warned as a joke, laughing lightly as he in turn, hugged his best friend.
"Yo Kaleb," Albus called out from his chair. Lily peered around Kaleb's broad shoulders to see her brother and best friend with their arms wrapped around each other with smiles on their faces.
"Your date just left," Ariana said in a small voice.
Instead of any type of reaction Lily thought Kaleb would have had, she certainly didn't expect to see him simply shrug his shoulders and fell into the nearest chair, grabbing a bottle of Butterbeer off the table. "Like I care," Kaleb responded, kicking his feet up on another chair and scanning the dance floor. "My mum made me bring her but she's the most tiresome person here. All she does is look at herself in the mirror."
"Won't your mum be angry?" Lily asked, letting Scorpius lead her to a chair.
Again Kaleb just shrugged. "I'm not even sure what her name is."
"It's Brogan Tavenport," Ariana answered, running her hand through her curls. "She's in our year."
Lily did a double take, looking from Ariana over to Scorpius and back again. "Are all the Slytherin's in our year here?" she asked, really hoping the answer would be no.
Opposite her, Albus let out a little laugh. "Of course Lils. Why do you think it's called the Slytherin Ball?"
"Does that mean Scarlet's going to be here?" Lily asked quietly, just to Scorpius. He looked at her with a solemn face and slowly nodded. Instantly her heart fell into her bottom in despair. This was possibly the worst news she could get. That and the news that Scorpius' parents didn't like her and wanted them to break up – but right now, Lily could only handle one drama at a time.
Scorpius ran his hand down Lily's cheek in a soft caress. "Don't worry about it Lil," he reassured her. "She won't bother you. Not unless she wants her parents to know that she's not a virgin anymore."
"I just don't want to see her at all," she replied in a hushed voice. "As much as I want your parents to like me, I will punch that cheating whore if I see her." Closing her eyes, Lily took a deep breath and let out all the anger in her body.
When she opened her eyes, Scorpius was much closer to her face. "I'll be here for you at all times," he whispered, kissing her lightly on the lips. "Now let's go and get a drink."
Lily held her hand out, smiling as her boyfriend was the perfect gentleman and helped her to her feet. He guided her through the staring crowds to the small bar that had been erected in one of the corners, where they found Scorpius' cousin Percy, with his date for the evening Hannah Banks, a soon-to-be very famous model.
While Scorpius and Percy talked about Percy's career as the Reserve Keeper for the Caerphilly Catapults, Lily was left to talk to Hannah about what the young model knew best – fashion. "I absolutely adore your dress Lily. Such a beautiful fabric and design, where did you get it from?" the girl asked in a mildly thick Welsh accent. Her smile gleamed white as she tossed back her long, jet-black locks.
"Oh," Lily gasped, taken back slightly as her question. Looking down at the dress Ariana had made, Lily felt a big swell of pride. "My best friend designed and made it for me," she said, looking around in an effort to find Ariana so she could introduce Hannah to her. "It's hard to find something that matches my hair colour."
"I will make sure I get Percy to introduce me to her," Hannah replied. "That is if I can ever get him to stop talking about Quidditch to everyone."
Scorpius pulled Lily closer into his side. "Do you not like Quidditch?" he asked Hannah, immersing himself in the girls' conversation.
With a light laugh, Hannah looked from Percy to Scorpius. "I am a witch, am I not?" she joked, beaming with her envious smile. "I love to watch Percy play, although half the time it scares me to death. But I know that there is more to life than just Quidditch."
"She does come to support me at every game, whether I play or not," Percy interjected, kissing her on the cheek several times until she giggled quietly.
"Is Eve here yet?" Scorpius asked, sipping on his drink. "I've got to ask her what she wants for her birthday. Mum's orders."
"Last time I saw her, she was over by the food table, staring into the chocolate fountain with a crazed look in her eye," Percy laughed, pointing across the ballroom.
Both Lily and Scorpius laughed, knowing Eve's love for food quite well. "That girl's hunger could easily match Albus'," Lily remarked, placing a hand on Scorpius' chest as she looked over his shoulder. Her eyes were scanning for Eve but also for Scorpius' parents. Neither could be seen.
Politely, Lily and Scorpius made their excuses to leave, saying how much of a pleasure it was to meet Hannah and see Percy again, before they took their drinks and left, diving back into the mass of people. They skirted around the dance floor, smiling to themselves when they saw Ariana forcing Albus to dance with her. Lily's older brother looked like he was in pain. In a flash, Scorpius left Lily's side, only to reappear seconds later with Ariana's camera. He took a quick picture of the pair before giving the camera for Lily to stow in her bag. Then they continued across the room where they found Eve and a boy dipping strawberries into tall chocolate fountain that flowed dark, milk and white chocolate.
Strutting up to his cousin, Scorpius laughed joyfully. "You are so predictable sometimes Eve!" he exclaimed, distracting her from the fountain long enough to realise it was Scorpius and Lily
A chocolate-smeared smile broke out of her lips and she hurried to hug the pair of them, squeezing them tightly into her body. "Oh, here are my favourite love-birds," Eve cried, attracting a little bit of attention from those around them. "You two are just so cute together."
"You've got chocolate on your face," Lily stage-whispered, handing Eve one of her tissue. "Wait," she exclaimed, pulling out the camera and taking a picture of Eve with her chocolate grin. "Thank you."
"I'm going to get you back for that," Eve warned, pointing a finger at Lily before wiping the chocolate from around her lips. She looked behind herself and gave a little start, reaching back to pull the tall boy she was with to her side. "This is Tom by the way, my date for this evening."
The blonde-haired boy, who was even taller than Scorpius, looked familiar to Lily. He smiled brightly as he stepped up to shake Scorpius hand. "It's nice to meet you both," he said in a deep voice, moving on to shake Lily's hand too. "Eve's told me a lot about you."
Suddenly it clicked in Lily's head and she realised why he seemed familiar. He was Tom Ellis, a Ravenclaw in Eve's year, the one everyone thought was taking growth potions because he came back one summer with muscles and an extra foot in height.
"How's it feel to be hanging out with the snakes?" Lily asked, smiling to Scorpius who was pulling Eve to the side. "It's a bit scary, isn't it?"
"Terrifying," Tom replied with a bellowing laugh. "I did have to endure a gruelling lecture from Eve's dad about how I'm not Slytherin. Like I didn't realise that before."
"Something to look forward to," Lily said shakily, gulping hard against the lump in her throat. She still hadn't met Scorpius' parents yet and the longer she waited, the more nervous she felt. Already there were butterflies in her stomach. "I haven't met Scorpius' parents yet."
Tom looked suddenly guilty. "I'm so sorry. Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be fine. I mean, you're actually going out with Scorpius, I'm just here as Eve's date."
"Lily, don't worry about it," Eve said, joining in the conversation. "I was talking about you with my Aunty on Christmas Day and she is just so excited to meet you. Already she likes you."
Scorpius returned too, swigging on his glass of mead. "I've tried convincing her of that but she don't believe me," he said softly, kissing Lily's temple softly.
"Oh and I have those pictures I promised you Lily," Eve said excitedly, a coy smile on her lips. "They're at home at the minute but I'll find you on the train and give them to you."
"Are they of…?" Lily trailed off, raising her eyebrows and moving her eyes in Scorpius' direction.
Eve's smile widened. "Oh yes!"
"I can't wait!" Lily exclaimed, knowing that the very pictures Eve was talking about were the embarrassing photos Scorpius that she had promised him. "Although I may have to lock them up in Gringotts so he doesn't get his hands on them."
"I don't like the sound of this," Scorpius groaned, wrapping his arm around Lily's waist. "I'm going to take her away before you tell her any of your stories," he warned, carefully scowling at Eve.
"What? Like the time you broke your arm when you tripped and fell out of the open window?"
"Goodbye Eve," Scorpius called back, immediately dragging Lily away before she could even say goodbye.
That didn't stop her laughing though. "How did you manage to fall out of a window?" she managed to get out between fits of laughter. The whole scenario was completely crazy.
"I fell out of the window in our treehouse when I was five, although I'm still convinced that it was Eve that pushed me," Scorpius replied, scowling back at Eve, who just cheekily waved.
Together they circled the dance floor again, where Scorpius was stopped a few times for short chats. Each time, he introduced them to Lily, who smiled brightly and stood close to Scorpius, paying attention to what was being said and trying not laugh when Scorpius was dripping sarcasm to his father's business associates. She was occasionally asked the odd question, to which she replied to politely, looking to Scorpius to check she was saying the right thing.
"We've been together for nearly six months now," Lily said softy to the wife of a broom designer Scorpius was talking to. "Although it feels like it's been longer than that." She looked over at Scorpius with a smile on her face and rested her head on his shoulder attentively.
"And can you believe that in all that time, he's never once brought her home to meet us?" a gentle voice exclaimed loudly.
Lily's head snapped up immediately as her attention was drawn to the beautiful woman making her way towards her. She was absolutely breath-taking, in a silver gown that trailed behind her. Instantly, Lily knew who it was – she had the same cheek bones as Scorpius and the same genuine smile that she occasionally saw on Scorpius' lips.
"Hello Mother," Scorpius replied caring, leaning over to kiss his mother on the cheek. "Allow me to introduce you to…"
"Lily Potter," a voice drawled out. Draco Malfoy. An older version of Scorpius stepped out from the crowds of people and wrapped an arm around the waist of Scorpius' mother gently. His stare bore down on Lily, who gulped hard and felt her hands becoming sweaty.
Pulling her in closer, Scorpius offered Lily a squeeze of reassurance. "Hello Father," he said politely.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Lily said quietly, finding her voice. "You have a beautiful home here."
"Why thank you!" Scorpius' mother exclaimed, clapping her hands together in excitement. "I've been busy redecorating everything since Scorpius' grandparents have moved out. I feel this is more modern and elegant."
"It's definitely beautiful," Lily assured her.
Smiling warmly towards her, Astoria seemed to float towards Lily, looking her up and down. "I absolutely love your dress Lily. You simply must tell me where you got it from. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before," she cried excitedly.
When Lily spoke, her voice was quieter than what she wanted. "My best friend actually designed my dress for me," she said softly. "She's here this evening with my brother."
"Then I must meet her because she must be a genius," Astoria exclaimed. "I must get Albus to introduce us so we can talk about her beautiful creations."
"You'll have to drag them off the dance floor first," Scorpius joked, peering around Lily and seeing his best friend laughing with his girlfriend, appearing to enjoy the dancing now. "Ariana likes to push him into things he doesn't like to do. It's good for him."
At this point, Draco stepped up to them. "So why has it taken so long for Scorpius to introduce us?" he asked in his low, intimidating voice. "We had Albus here as soon as possible."
"That's because I didn't want you to scare her off Dad," Scorpius joked with an identical smirk to his father. "She put up enough of a fight when I was trying to win her over. I didn't want her to fly a mile in the opposite direction when she met you."
Lily dipped her head to hide the blush that was burning her cheeks.
"Malfoy men don't chase their women, son. We let them come to us," Draco replied, placing a hand on his son's shoulder.
The perfectly high-pitched laughter of Astoria Malfoy rang all around Lily, like beautiful bells chiming. "That's not how I remember it darling. Didn't you actually fly to another country to an effort to capture my heart?"
"Of course you are the exception to the rule," Draco quickly assured his wife, kissing her attentively on the cheek.
"Don't worry Mr Malfoy," Lily said suddenly, not knowing where the surge of Gryffindor courage came from. Instead of panicking though, she embraced it. "Scorpius didn't make it easy work either. Nothing about our relationship has been easy."
The self-serving smirk of Draco's lips made Lily feel queasy. "I'm glad to hear it," he said with a definitive nod. "I would be disappointed if my son went through all that for nothing worth his time."
"Dad!" Scorpius exclaimed loudly.
Astoria flipped her brown hair over her shoulder and tusked at her husband. "Ignore my insensitive husband," she said kindly to Lily. "I'm just so happy to meet you. You simply must come round more often."
"Of course Mrs Malfoy," Lily answered, too scared to turn the spectacular woman down.
"I think I'm going to take Lil on a tour of the house before Dad decides to offend our relationship even further," Scorpius replied. His voice wasn't venomous though so Lily knew he was merely joking.
With a soft smile, Lily said, "It was a pleasure to meet the both of you," and then let Scorpius lead her towards one of the many doors that came off of the ballroom.
The more of Malfoy Manor she saw, the more Lily loved the place. Astoria was a true genius because she managed to find the right balance between the modern times they were in along with the traditional feel that always accompanied magic. Overall the house was simplistic in its appearance but still homely and just downright beautiful.
After walking down many hallways and staircases, Lily found herself being led into Scorpius' bedroom. It was less Slytherin than what she had expected. His bed covers and curtains were a midnight blue and all of his furniture was made of dark mahogany. The focal point of the room was his four poster bed that looked like Lily could fit in it at least four times, it was that big.
"How did my present for you get here?" Lily asked confusingly, pointing to the festively-decorated box that sat in the middle of his bed. The last time she had seen it, it had been on the table in the room they had arrived in.
Scorpius laughed, unbuttoning his jacket and taking it off. As he flung it on his pillow, he sat himself on his bed, patting opposite him to Lily. "I had one of the house elves bring it up here," he said softly. Something must have changed in Lily's face because he quickly started rambling. "But don't worry. We pay them. I mean they don't want to be free, they want to work but my dad makes sure that they are paid well and have days off and everything."
"Calm down sweetie," Lily said with a giggle, cupping both of his cheeks in her small hands. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I'm not my Aunt Hermione." Letting one of her hands slip from his face, Lily nudged the box closer to them, presenting it to Scorpius. "Now open your present!" he ordered.
A smirk crept up on his lips as he took the box in his hands, pulling off the lid dramatically. "Oh Lily, you didn't have to do all this," he replied softly, reaching over to kiss Lily on the lips before taking out all of the gifts Lily had bought her. Inside there was his favourite hair gel, his favourite aftershave, his favourite book he had been hinting at all term, his favourite cookies, along with his favourite picture of the pair of them that Ariana had taken that she had framed for him. "This is amazing."
"I'm glad you like them," Lily replied, kissing him solidly on the lips.
Scorpius piled everything back into the box and placed it beside a sleeping Belle. "Do you want your present now?" Eagerly Lily nodded, watching as Scorpius delved into his bedside table drawer, revealing an envelope. "Merry Christmas Lil."
Her fingers popped open the seal and pulled out a card with Scorpius' elegant writing on it. "To my beautiful Lily, as I thought of what to get you for Christmas, I looked up to the sky from the Astronomy Tower and suddenly I knew. So for our first Christmas present together, I bought you a star, so you'll always be next to me in the sky." Upon further inspection of the envelope, Lily found another piece of card which was a certificate claiming that there was a star in the sky called Lily. "Oh Scorpius I can't believe you did this for me," she exclaimed, throwing herself into his expecting arms.
"It was nothing," Scorpius murmured, running his hand through her hair softly. "I'm just glad it made you smile."
Lily pulled back, keeping both hands on his shoulders. "Thank you so much," she said, looking into his grey eyes. Oh damn it, she muttered to herself, I think I love him.
With a genuine smile on his lips, Lily watched as he leaned in closer, cupping his hand under her chin and tilting it upwards so their lips easily found each other. Lily was filled with trepidation, her mind reeling with its recent realisation. Instead of thinking about it, she threw herself into the kiss and onto Scorpius quite literally. As her lips moved with his, she seductively ran her tongue across his bottom lip, teasing him as her hair fell around them. A growl grew in his throat as he rolled Lily over so he was hovering on top of her, his hands exploring the curve in her hips while hers knotted themselves in his hair.
When they finally pulled apart, Lily was breathless. It was only then that they realised how far they had gone. Her lips felt a little swollen from all the kissing and she could taste blood from her gum that must have come from Scorpius biting her bottom lip. As Scorpius sat up and buttoned the top few buttons of his creased shirt, she gulped guiltily and retrieved his tie, wrapping it around his neck.
"Merry Christmas Scorpius," she said softly, kissing him shyly on the cheek before finding her bag and looking in the mirror. Her lipstick wasn't as smudged as she thought it would have been. With a little touch-up and some smoothing of her hair, it looked as if their make-out session had never happened.
Scorpius ran his fingers through his styled hair carefully and then helped Lily to her feet, where she smoothed her dress and scooped her hair over one shoulder. "Shall we continue with the tour?" Scorpius asked, and after packing her present in her bag and tucking it under her arm, Lily took his outstretched hand and together they left Belle to her sleep.
Hand in hand, they continued their tour, heading in the general direction of the ballroom. To tell the truth, Lily was still very flustered from all the kissing. Her head was all over the place that she was hardly listening to Scorpius talk about the various rooms they were passing. Only one thing brought her out of her train of thought.
"Scorpius!" the girl squealed, running down the hall and jumping straight into his arms. She gave him a visibly tight hug, a soft brown skin contrasting with Scorpius' pale complexion and blonde hair, as Lily simply stood back and just watched. When the girl pulled away, she turned to Lily with a smile on her face. "Hi, I'm India, Scorpius' girlfriend."
She must have been about four or five, with soft brown skin that matched her hair. She was dressed in a very frilly and very pink dress that had little flowers printed all over it. Her smile was her brightest feature by far, in Lily's opinion, stretching wide and exposing little dimples in her cheeks.
Crouching down, Lily wobbled slightly in her heels, a smile on her lips. "It's lovely to meet you too India," she said softly. "My name's Lily. I'm Scorpius' girlfriend too."
"Ladies, ladies," Scorpius exclaimed dramatically crouching down with Lily so they were all at the same height. "There's no need to fight over me. I'm sure there's enough to go around." He smirked charismatically, kissing both India and Lily on the cheek.
"We can share him," India squealed in excitement, throwing her arms around Lily's shoulders and squeezing her tightly. When she pulled back, she turned to Scorpius with her hands cupped around her mouth. "She's really pretty," she whispered, although Lily was closer enough to hear her.
"I know," Scorpius stage whispered.
With a cheeky smile, Lily beckoned India over to her with her fingers. "I think you're really pretty too," she replied softly. "And I especially love your dress India," she said, brushing out the frills in her dress.
"Indy!" a voice echoed through the halls, with Isaac Zabini suddenly appearing at the end of the hall. "There you are Indy! I've been looking for you all other the place. Mother's going crazy!" He took a few brief steps towards them, frowning at India with his arms crossed.
India just scowled at her older brother. "I was just looking for Scorpy," she said with a pout of her dimpled face. "And I met Lily too."
"You best get back to your mummy and daddy," Lily said quietly and encouragingly. "They are probably worried sick." With the help of Scorpius, Lily got to her feet and held out a hand for little India. "I'll take you back," she said as she gripped the small dark skinned hand.
They walked hand in hand back to the ballroom, with India spending the entire time asking about what Hogwarts was like. It was scary how much Lily was reminded of herself at that age, always wanting to know how Teddy was at school, and then James and Albus later, so to the best of her ability, she answered all of India's questions, until they were sneaking back into the ballroom.
"Let's go and find Mum then," Isaac sighed, fist-pumping Scorpius before taking India away, but not before Lily heard her saying how much she liked Lily.
When she turned around to look at Scorpius, she saw Scorpius smirking at her with his arms folded. "So you're sharing me, are you?" he asked jokingly. "Is this a common rule for all women or just you and India?"
"Don't get any ideas Malfoy," she warned him, stepping up to Scorpius and stroking her hand down his cheek. "I can handle you cheating on me with India but no one else," she said, reaching to kiss him on the lips swiftly.
"I can't say I'm not glad to hear that," Scorpius replied, wiping his hand across his lips, sensing the smudge of lipstick she had planted on his lips. "Now would you like to dance Miss Potter?"
"I thought you'd never ask, Mr Malfoy," Lily replied, nonchalantly placing her bag on a nearby table and holding her hand out.
With a gentle touch, he took hold of Lily's hand and pulled her towards the swaying bodies. Both hands quickly fell to her hips whilst Lily's wrapped themselves around his neck. With Scorpius leading the way, she stepped from side to side, resting her head on his chest. They moved in time to his heartbeat, which was thundering in her ears. Her eyes gently closed and her mind drifted off.
Yep, Lily thought to herself, I definitely love Scorpius Malfoy.
Author's Note: Who is proud of me for posting this so soon after my last update? Not my university lecturers, that's for sure! But oh well! I really wanted misspotter94 to post as soon as possible and because I got this chapter done pretty early, I thought I would post this as motivation.
Our love birds are simply enjoying their love. And Merlin's beard, Lily is starting to think she loves Scorpius! Holy Hippogriff, this is so exciting! Who thinks that it may be happening a bit too fast? I can't tell because I've been writing these characters for so long and I know what happens so let me know if you think it's too soon!
Again there will only be one or two updates from now until Christmas but on Christmas Day there will be a major plot twist exposed! Who's excited?! Until then, suffer loudly through your reviews!
LOVE YOU ALL :D