Author's Note 1: Merry Christmas all! This is here in case you don't read Author's Note 2 :D
It was going to be hard to see Scorpius go.
Lily didn't like to think about it too much because it tended to make her upset but the fact that Scorpius was leaving Hogwarts for good in a couple of days was getting to be too hard for her to avoid. They had decided not to talk about it until the end of the summer so that they could enjoy their time together as much as possible. But Lily couldn't help herself from thinking about it, about how different Hogwarts would be like without him, about how different their relationship would become. So much was about to change and admittedly Lily didn't think she was ready for it to.
The only silver lining was that Ariana and Phoebe knew exactly what she was going through. Albus and Franklin would be leaving soon too.
"How are you feeling Lils?" Ariana asked as the pair of them snuggled up in Lily's bed, spooning each other. Dominique was already in the shower, along with Rainbow, while Phoebe and Violet were still asleep.
Lily sighed softly, a small pout pursing her lips. "Hogwarts will never been the same now," she answered quietly, absentmindedly circling her thumb on the back of her best friend's hand. "The castle is going to be so quiet without them all running around making chaos."
"We're growing up," Ariana replied with a light laugh. Lily smirked too, knowing Ariana was starting to sound like her mother. "Soon we'll be leaving too."
Rolling over with a groan, Lily tucked her legs on top of Ariana's and faced her best friend. "I guess we should try and make the most of this time before it disappears," she sighed taking a deep breath in and letting it out audibly. "So let's seize the day!" With little energy, Lily pushed back her covers and climbed out of bed, picking up her hairbrush from her bedside table whilst walking towards Phoebe's bed in the corner.
It took a while, like it always had, but Lily finally managed to make Phoebe, who simply yawned elegantly and sat up in her bed. "Morning guys," she exclaimed, far too excitedly for someone who had just woken up. "You will never believe what happened to me last night!" Reaching out, she pulled Lily onto her bed, stealing her brush at the same time to untangle the dyed pink ends of her hair. It was a Muggle thing apparently, called dip-dying.
"I think we can guess something happened," Ariana replied coyly, climbing out of her bed with the covers still wrapped around herself. "You were out really late, Miss Warren."
"Stop acting like your mother, Ari," Lily laughed, pushing Ariana as she fell onto Phoebe's bed beside the two girls. "Now tell us what happened?" she said, turning her attention back to Phoebe.
Phoebe clasped her hands together in front of her and sat up a little straighter. "Franklin and I are getting married!" she exclaimed, a gigantic grin spreading across her face and lighting up her blue eyes.
"What?" Lily blurted out, her jaw unhinging as it dropped to the floor. "Marriage?"
At that moment, Dominique walked into the dormitory with a towel wrapped around her body and another wrapped around her hair. "Who's getting married?" she asked innocently, rubbing moisturiser on her face and holding onto her towel at the same time.
"I am," Phoebe chirped up.
Out of pure shock, Lily watched as Dominque's towel dropped just like her mouth, forming a pile on the floor, which left Lily's cousin standing naked in their dormitory with tiny droplets of water trickling down her body. Lily immediately averted her eyes, more for Dominique's modesty than her own embarrassment.
"Towel!" Ariana barked, covering her eyes with her hands dramatically.
Quick to react, Dominique retrieved the towel and wrapped it around her body, falling onto Phoebe's cramped bed. "You're getting married Bee?" she asked, her voice still sounding astounded.
"You're so young!" Lily exclaimed, offering her friend a soft smile.
"Plus you're not technically old enough to get married," Ariana added, pausing for a second with a thoughtful expression on her face. "At least I think you're not old enough."
Phoebe was quick to roll her eyes. "Would you guys just chill?" she exclaimed loudly, throwing her head back in an audible sigh. "Franklin and I aren't planning on getting married any time soon, not until we've both left school at least. He asked me to marry him to consolidate our relationship, to show he's serious about it even though he'll be officially leaving Hogwarts in a couple of days."
"You aren't even boyfriend and girlfriend!" Dominique replied in a perfect octave higher. "I'm glad Franklin has made a move on you but I think he took it too far," she stated, cuddling up to Phoebe and wrapping her arm around her.
"We're as good as," Phoebe defended, fiddling with her fingers in her lap. "Besides that's a choice we've both made. I've never wanted us to be boyfriend and girlfriend and now we're not. We're so much more than that."
Lily shuffled closer to Ariana, letting her wrap the duvet around the both of them. "Why have you never become boyfriend and girlfriend? You've been together for so long."
"It's not that I don't want him to be my boyfriend," Phoebe sighed. Once she started, she didn't stop. "After my dad died, my mum became really depressed. She never left the house, rarely even got out of bed. I was eight years old and I had to learn to fend for myself. And then one day, I woke up and my mum was making pancakes. That night she came home with a complete stranger and a week later, he was her new boyfriend.
"She had the worst taste in men," she continued, her hands clenching into tight fists. "They all had different faces but were all the same. Every one of them treated me like shit, like I didn't matter. All they wanted to do was bang my mum. I was just an inconvenience. My mum doesn't care about what they do to me. She hasn't cared about me since my dad died."
Tears welled up in Lily's eyes. She'd known nothing about any of this and she'd known Phoebe for five years now. Some friend she was.
Curling up into Dominique's side, Phoebe continued talking, although her speech was much more strained. "When I found out I was a witch, it was the best news I could have ever had. Finally I had the opportunity to escape the place I could no longer call home. And then I came to Hogwarts and I met you guys and I fell in love with Franklin and I could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. I hope that once I leave Hogwarts, I can become a psyche-witch and make a home for myself, away from my mum and all of her drama."
"You want to be a psyche-witch?" Ariana questioned, with a raise of one eyebrow.
Phoebe nodded, visibly fighting back the tears in her eyes. "I want to help people overcome their problems before they become my mother. It's what my dad would want. He was the Muggle equivalent – a psychologist."
Checking her towel was secured, Dominique placed her arms around Phoebe's shoulders and pulled her closer. "I'm absolutely certain your dad would be so proud of you," she whispered comfortingly.
"I know he would be," Phoebe replied shakily, pushing her blonde and pink hair from her face. "And to answer your original question, I never wanted a boyfriend, especially not after watching my mother date. But when I met Frank, it honestly was like love at first sight. He gave me hope for love when I had none."
Reaching over to the chest of drawers, Ariana pulled out a tissue and handed it to Phoebe, who wiped the tears that were streaking her cheeks. "You've grown up with the term 'boyfriend' meaning nothing to you, so when you met Franklin, you didn't want to label yourselves as something meaningless."
"We simply dated," Phoebe said shakily.
Lily tried to lift the mood, seeing as it had taken quite a depressing turn. "Did he get you a ring then or was it all just words?" she joked, smiling brightly at her friend as she dried the last of her tears.
The three girls watched as Phoebe buried her hand under her pillow and pulled out a small, red, velvety box. "It's the most beautiful ring I've ever seen in my life," she murmured quietly, popping the lid and sliding the ring onto her finger. Then she held out her hand so they could admire it jealously. In unison, Lily, Ariana and Dominique gasped loudly, watching as the light danced across the small diamond on a simple band.
"How did he afford this?" Dominique asked, outrage in her voice. "This isn't something you can buy with your pocket money."
"He spent the holidays working, saving all of his earnings," Phoebe replied softly, admiring her ring with a sparkling smile. "Isn't he the best?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.
But Dominique did anyway. "I've met better," she sighed with a smirk. "Now how about we get up and eat some breakfast because frankly I'm starving." Climbing off the bed, Lily's cousin moved to her bed and threw open her trunk, rummaging around her clothes.
"Dom's right!" Phoebe said excitedly, jumping out of bed and wrapping her dressing gown around her body. "Hurry up and get ready so I can go and see my fiancé," she squealed, suddenly being distracted by the window. "My fiancé!" she squealed again as if she liked the sound of it on her tongue, before hurrying into the bathroom.
Shaking her head, Lily climbed off of Phoebe's bed and through open her trunk, searching for something to wear. "I'm glad she's happy," she said softly, throwing a pair of black leggings onto her bed. "By the sound of it, she deserves at least that."
"Did you know that about that?" Ariana asked, tying her hair up into a smooth ponytail. "Her mum, I mean."
"I knew there were issues but I never knew what," Lily replied, selecting a pale blue Arrows t-shirt that was a bit too big for her, seeing as it belonged to Scorpius. "I can't believe she never said anything."
Just in her matching underwear, Dominique leaned over and stole Lily's dress from inside her trunk. "I guess it explains why she never made it out over the summer or Christmas holidays," she concluded, slipping Lily's blue tartan dress with a Peter Pan collar over her damp hair that was already drying. "Oh thanks Lils," she added as a second thought.
"You're welcome," Lily remarked sarcastically, changing into her fresh underwear. "At least she found Franklin. He's the best thing that could have happened to her."
"But marriage?" Dominique hissed in a hushed voice, eyes darting to the bathroom where the shower could be heard. "Isn't that a bit too soon?"
Ariana rubbed concealer onto her face, picking up her compact mirror. "We always said that she would have been the first out of all of us. Unless you went and got yourself pregnant," she added, pointing her mascara at Dominique.
"You've still got two more years," Lily joked, dodging the pillow her cousin quickly threw in her direction.
####
"I was thinking we do something different this year," Scorpius asked, pushing a strand of her soft hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. His hot breath could be felt on her ear as he rested his head on her shoulder. "Unless you want to go to the funfair again?"
They were all sat on top of the Astronomy Tower with the sun high up in the July sky. After having breakfast, they had all decided to go to the Tower and hang out, seeing as they had no classes left. Everyone had gone off into the little groups naturally: Phoebe and Franklin were acting all lovey-dovey in the corner, Ariana and Albus were playing Exploding Snap with the loser having to kiss the other, Hugo and Rainbow were watching Dominique and Sebastian play Wizard's Chess and Lily and Scorpius were tucked up, reading the same book together. The only person not with them was Kaleb, who said he was too busy writing a letter home.
Marking the page and closing the book, Lily turned around in his lap, looking up at him with a small smile. "I honestly don't mind," she murmured quietly as she ran a small hand through his messy hair. "As long as I get to spend the day with you, I don't know mind what we do."
"In that case, I might just lock you in my room for the day," Scorpius replied with a smirk on his face. "Although I might not let you go," he added in a pretend-concerned voice, fixing his hands on her hips and tugging her closer into his body.
"I think our parents might have a problem with that," she said in a seductive voice. Slowly her hand left her book and ran itself up his muscular chest, curling around his neck and pulling him down so their lips softly touched.
In an instant, warmth wrapped itself around Lily's body and as a reflex, she pushed herself up against his body, forcing his lips onto his in a kiss filled with passion and love. Their lips started to move with each other and a lot more would have happened if a black chess piece hadn't hit Lily in the back of her head, causing her to pull back in pain.
From the other side of the Tower, Albus coughed loudly, another chess piece poised in his hand. "Please stop it before I throw up my lunch," he pleaded, making vomiting motions behind Ariana's back.
"Ari, can you win the next round of Exploding Snap and do something about that constant talking?" Lily sighed, closing her eyes with her lips moving to linger back on Scorpius'. "Now where were we?" she continued quietly to just him as she opened her eyes to look at his dark grey ones, a smirk curling her lips. She felt a surge of energy as Scorpius pressed his lips hard against her own once more and Lily was immediately wrapped up in the kiss, falling against his chest.
But she was still very aware of her friends around the pair of them so reluctantly pulled away. "How about we go to the cinema?" she asked in a hushed voice, running her hand from his neck down his chest. "I know how much you like popcorn?" she added teasingly with a little wink.
His face lit up like a little boy's would on Christmas Day, causing Lily to bite back a smile. The fact that Scorpius found the Muggle World so alien and fascinating still made Lily laugh. "Could we get the salty and the sweet?" he asked excitedly, hands framing her face.
"Maybe I'll let you have the blue icy drink that you like too?" Lily added, teasing him a little. She pecked him on the nose with a little kiss and settled back into his lap.
"That takes care of that then," Scorpius replied with a self-satisfying smirk. "We'll go to the cinema the day after we go home," he added, kissing her on the forehead with soft lips.
Everyone was suddenly interrupted by Dominique getting to her feet and dusting her hands on her jeans. "Shall we go and get some dinner?" she asked loudly, running her hands through her hair and lifting it up into a ponytail. "Then maybe we could go and play a little game of Quidditch?" Once everyone agreed, apart from Ariana who had quickly opted out due to her complete lack of coordination on a broom, they gathered their things and left the Astronomy Tower, heading for the Great Hall.
"Did Frank tell you about what happened between him and Bee?" Lily asked quietly. The pair of them were at the back of the group, following the rest of them but happy to trail behind. Their fingers were interlocked between them, swinging as they walked.
With a little tug, he pulled her into his side to kiss her on the top of her hair, which was becoming easier to do seeing as he was growing and Lily was stunted in growth. "He told us he was going to do it a couple of weeks ago, said he bought the ring over the Easter holidays. It was only today when we saw the ring on her finger that we knew he'd finally popped the question."
Lily lifted their interlocked hands and wrapped his arm around her, placing her other hand on his chest, turning slightly to face him. "What do you think about it?" she asked, smiling up as his dark grey eyes.
"It's not like they're getting married instantly and it's not like they haven't been together for a while. But they're happy and that's all that matters," Scorpius replied, planting a kiss on her forehead. Then his lips curled into their usual smirk. "Plus I get to be his best man!"
"You kept that quiet!" Lily exclaimed, struggling to keep walking and looking at Scorpius at the same time. Thankfully he was used to her clumsy tendencies and managed to keep her upright with a tight grip.
Scorpius' smirk stretched further. "I guess Franklin realised how good I look in a suit," he joked, giving her a cheeky wink as Lily let out a little giggle. "He didn't just ask me though. Albus, Kaleb and I are sharing the role."
"Just try not to put any excess weight on from now until the wedding. It's a long two years and I'd hate for you to not look your best in a suit," she warned, knowing he was going to retaliate with some arrogant reply.
In response, Scorpius simply threw his head back in laughter. "I will always look this good Lil," he laughed, his smirk bright and big. "That is something you don't have to worry about."
"Oh thank goodness," she sighed, feigning relief.
At that point, Scorpius pulled her into the Great Hall, where they were instantly hit with a wall of chatter as the students were tucking into their dinner. He steered the both of them to the nearest end of the Slytherin table where all of their friends were converging. There Lily sat down next to Scorpius and Ariana, facing Hugo, Dominique, Rainbow and Sebastian.
With a small clearing of her throat, Ariana called out over the noise. "Guys! I had an idea about this summer and I'm sorry boys but it only involves the girls." Beside her, Lily saw her boyfriend tune out, getting Albus attention behind her back, the same as Sebastian and Hugo who immediately started dishing up food.
"Bumblebee, let your boyfriend breathe for a second and listen to Ari," Dominique ordered, pointing a warning fork at Phoebe as she detached herself from Franklin, who wore no sense of embarrassment on her expression. "Now continue," Dominique added more gently, nodding to Ariana before stabbing her salad.
Ariana poured a goblet of pumpkin juice and "I got a letter from my dad the other day and he's opening another hotel resort this summer in Hawaii. He said that I could invite some friends along for the opening and I thought we could make it a girl's holiday? What do you guys think?"
"Are you kidding me?" Lily immediately blurted out. "It's Hawaii! Of course I'm down for this, no doubt!"
Dominique and Rainbow both agreed, thinking it was unbelievable that Ariana was even offering this. However it was Phoebe who would have the most trouble going, seeing as her family don't like her to be around witches and wizards. "What do you think Bee?" Rainbow asked, taking another mouthful of food.
"Even if I have to slide down my drainpipe like a fireman's pole, there is no way I'm missing the opportunity of a lifetime to fly to Hawaii," Phoebe said excitedly, leaning over Franklin. "I'll just leave in the middle of the night and say I'm staying with the Longbottoms. Would you help me break out baby?" she asked Franklin, smiling up at him with her big brown eyes that they all knew would turn him weak.
"For you, anything!" he quickly replied, kissing her briefly on the lips before dotting kisses up her face and into her hair.
Grinning up at all of the girls, Phoebe beamed with happiness. "I guess we're all going to Hawaii this summer!" she squealed excitedly, which initiated more squeals from the rest of the girls.
"I'll send a letter to my dad tonight so he can start sorting out the dates of everything," Ariana murmured, probably more to herself as everyone began to dig in to their dinners.
Hot breath tickled Lily's ear warmly, sending shivers down her spine. "I'm so jealous you're going to Hawaii," Scorpius whispered, kissing Lily's temple softly.
"That's not fair," Lily accused, her fork heading for her mouth and stopping halfway. "You got to go to America a couple of summers ago with all of the boys. Now I'm doing the same with the girls. You're just jealous that you won't get to see me in a bikini," she said, winking at him before swallowing her food.
Scorpius rolled his eyes, smirking coyly as he looked her up and down on the bench. When they started going out, the idea of Scorpius scanning her body would make her blush and feel very nervous but now, she would simply look at him in just the same way. "There are plenty for days in the summer to see you in a bikini," he replied quietly, twirling his fork around his plate. "It's the fact that other boys will be seeing you in a bikini."
Lily nearly choked on her food. "You can't seriously be jealous," she spluttered out. But the smirk had dropped off Scorpius' face when she looked over at him. "Oh you are!" With a light laugh, Lily leaned her head on his shoulder and uses her hand to tilt his head down to look at her. "I love you!" she declared, stressing the last word. "No random Hawaiian is going to change that so unfortunately you are stuck with me for as long as you'll have me."
"Forever then," Scorpius responded, kissing her firmly with lingering lips. "I love you too."
There was another loud cough followed by a gagging sound. Lily twisted in her seat and frowned hard. "Can I please finish my food before I throw it all back up again?" Albus growled with a deep scowl.
As Scorpius started to retract back and turn to his dinner again, Lily watched a Scorpius-like smirk morph itself onto her brother's expression. A flicker of defiance bubbled inside Lily and as a response, she dropped her fork, catching Scorpius' attention, and secured his face in her hands, crashing her lips onto his.
When she pulled back, she smiled cheekily Albus, whose jaw was partially unhinged. "Your food's going cold," she commented nonchalantly, turning back to her food and smiling into her plate.
"You're simply amazing sometimes," Scorpius whispered into her ear.
"I know," she whispered back.
###
After dinner, they decided to go with Dominique's idea and play a little game of Quidditch. They didn't have enough for two teams and not everyone wanted to play so they played a smaller version with no Seekers, only a Keeper, two Chasers and One Beater. Rainbow, Phoebe and Ariana decided to sit the game out, leaving the teams uneven until Kaleb finally joined them, looking a little uncomfortable though.
In the end, Scorpius, Kaleb, Dominique and Sebastian won, something Lily knew she would never hear the end of.
Once they had stored all of their brooms away, Albus piped up and suggested lounging around on the Grounds whilst the sun fell behind the Forest. Slightly exhausted from their game, they all willing agreed, not even managing to make it to the big oak tree where they were heading. Instead they fell on a random patch of grass with everyone falling on one another.
Lily was partially lying on Scorpius' outstretched arm, playing with the fingers of his hand while he combed through her curly hair softly. Meanwhile, she had her feet up on Kaleb's lap, which he hadn't been happy about at first but after a flicker of a smile from her, he slowly warmed to. Rolling over, she couldn't help but smile as she saw all of her friends happy, lying on each other and laughing. It made her feel all warm inside.
"Hugo," Albus said loudly, killing any other conversations so everyone was focused on him. "Scorpius and I wanted to ask you someone, seeing as you are the only one who can really answer this."
"Don't involve me in this Al!" Scorpius warned. "You were the one who wanted to know."
With a roll of his eyes, Lily watched her cousin look up from plaiting Rainbow's multi-coloured streaked hair. "What can I help you with Albus?" he asked tiredly, knowing just as well as Lily that his question would probably be a stupid one, just like every other question Albus has ever asked out of curiosity.
"From a gay point of view, who is more attractive? Scorpius or me?"
Whatever Lily had been expecting, she was definitely not expecting that. Laughter literally blurted itself out of her mouth and she was rolling into Scorpius' chest, giggling into his shirt, while her boyfriend rolled his eyes in embarrassment for his best friend.
Hugo ummed and ahhed for a while, not really knowing how to answer. "I think you need to find another gay," he finally said, pressing his lips firmly together. "Seeing as you are my cousin and Scor's my other cousin's boyfriend, I can't look at either of you in an attractive way."
Clearly this wasn't the answer Albus because his face dropped into a sad frown. "You worry me sometimes," Ariana said, sitting up from the grass to run a hand down his face attentively. This brought out a small smile on Albus' face.
"If my ex-boyfriend Nate is spending the summer with his grandma again, I could ask him your question," Hugo offered, referring to Nate, a guy Hugo spent the majority of last summer with. He was a lovely guy, who treated Hugo in the perfect way, but he was a Muggle and when the holidays were over, so was their relationship.
Lily felt her legs being thrown onto the ground aggressively and when she glanced over, she saw Kaleb storming away from, back up to the castle. Even as his body moved further and further away, she could see the tension that was built up in his entire body and she frowned hard, looking over to Scorpius. He too wore a worried expression.
It was Dominique who blurted out what they were all thinking. She generally had no filter. "What is up with him?" she asked, being the first to turn back from watching Kaleb leave. Everyone either shrugged or didn't say anything.
More and more often, Kaleb had been simply upping and leaving without a word and after a while, everyone had realised that it was better to let him cooled down on his own. He would tell them what was wrong with him when he felt he was ready to. At least that's what Lily hoped because she could see the toll it was having on Scorpius and her brother. Both of them were hurt that something was clearly wrong with their friend but if he wouldn't tell them, they couldn't force him to.
It was exactly how things were with Hugo, so Lily knew how helpless Scorpius felt and she did everything to help comfort him.
"Maybe with all of us girls going to Hawaii, you, Albus and Franklin can try and get Kaleb to open up to you," Lily murmured, trickling her fingers across his soft cheek. At her touch, his worried expression softened. "He'll come around and tell you soon enough."
"I hope so," Scorpius replied, kissing her nose briefly before smiling down at her in a genuine smile.
Feeling confident in herself, she smirked at him. "I know so," she whispered, reaching up and pressing her feet into the ground so she could kiss him fully on the lips, lingering there whilst they smiled against one another.
"Hey Scorpius," Albus called out, interrupting Lily's moment with her boyfriend. Both of them propped themselves up, turning to face the rest of the group, who all had split into their own little conversations. "Do you want to head to the kitchens? Get everyone some snacks and drinks?"
It was obvious that they were having a silent conversation with their eyes, indicating that they needed to talk. But Lily knew it was probably about Kaleb so she allowed Scorpius to get up without much protest. Instead both Lily and Ariana watched their boyfriends hurry up to the castle with their heads bent together deep in discussion.
"They're worried about him," Ariana mused quietly, fiddling with the hem of her dress.
Franklin piped up. "We all are," he added, turning Lily's head to him and Sebastian. "He's spent this entire year like a different person, throwing himself into his studies and barely doing anything else - just reading lots in the library."
"That's understandable," Hugo chimed in, tying off the end of Rainbow's braided hair. "I mean it is your N.E.W.T year and I'm sure he just wants to get a good set of grades like the rest of you guys."
Running a hand through his hair, Franklin let out a loud sigh. In response, Phoebe scooted closer to him, gripping his hand in hers tightly. "That's the thing. He's reading Muggle books, borrowing some of the ones Scor has. It wasn't too long ago that Kaleb used to laugh at Scorpius for reading those books."
"I just hope that Kaleb decides to tell you guys what's wrong sooner rather than later," Lily resigned, looking back up at the castle and seeing the receding figures of her boyfriend and her brother.
###
"There must be something we can do to get him to tell us what's up," Albus sighed, throwing his hands up defeated. "It just feels like we're giving up on him. What if he never tells us what's wrong?"
Trying to reassure his best friend, Scorpius slapped his hand on Albus' back. "Trust me, your sister is a lot of things, including a really good kisser." He watched as Albus' face screwed up in disgust reflexively before continuing on. "But she was right when she said he'll tell us eventually. I told her the same thing for Hugo years ago. When he's ready to deal with it, we just have to make sure we're the first ones there for him to talk to."
Albus shrugged slowly. "It's just so frustrating," he groaned, kicking the grass aggressively.
"Just chill," Scorpius advised, casually looking out over the Grounds.
It was there that he spotted black figures moving out from underneath the cover of the Forbidden Forest, looking shifty and on-edge, their heads whipping around their surroundings. Judging by their height and build, he would have guessed that they were all men, but it was hard to say in the darkness of the night that was falling on Hogwarts. Scorpius caught Albus' attention and the pair of them slowed down, watching the small group make their way around the Black Lake, near the big oak tree.
"They don't look like students to me," Albus whispered quietly, his hand instinctively whipping out his wand and raising it slightly.
Scorpius had to agree with him. The men he was watching were much taller than any student he had ever met and seeing as he was in his last year, he would have recognised if any of them had been students. "We need to tell Professor Creevey," he quickly breathed.
After a firm nod from Albus, the pair of them sprinted towards the castle.
###
Blowing out a loud breath, Lily sighed to herself and threw her head back so she was staring at the night sky. "What the hell is taking them so long?" she vented, frustrated. When Scorpius and Albus had left, the sun had been setting behind the Forbidden Forest. Now night had officially fallen, opening the sky to the moon and stars. "I'm going to find them," she quickly resigned, knowing that no one was actually listening to her.
"I'll come with you," Phoebe offered, hopping to her feet and surprising Lily in the process. "I need to talk to you about something anyway." She brushed the grass off of her hands and then linked arms with Lily, the pair of them setting off for the castle.
"What did you want to talk about?" Lily asked almost instantly. She was very eager to know.
Deliberating, and obviously teasing Lily in the process, Phoebe pursed her lips together and screwed up her face. "It's nothing too important," she replied nonchalantly, waving a flimsy hand around. "I was just wondering if you'd be interested in being my maid of honour at my wedding – when it finally happens that is."
"Are you serious?!" Lily cried out in pure shock. And when she looked over at Phoebe's smiling face, she knew that she was. "Merlin's beard! Of course I would to be your maid of honour! I can't believe you would ask me." Filled up with happiness and excitement, Lily jumped on Phoebe and wrapped her tightly into a big hug. "Thank you so much!" she cried excitedly.
Phoebe let out a little laugh and started walking again, making Lily pull back. "I know I picked the right girl for the job," she joked, linking her arm back up with Lily's. "This means that you're in charge of my hen party."
"Oh wait! I know this one," Lily said, smacking her hand on her forehead. She recognised the Muggle phrase somewhere. "That's when we celebrate your last night of freedom as a single woman?"
"Well I don't want it the day before the wedding but it's basically that yes," Phoebe replied positively beaming with happiness. "Ariana's been teaching you well."
It was true. When it became evident that Scorpius was always going to turn to Lily when it came to queries about the Muggle world, whether she knew the answer or not, Ariana had decided to help teach Lily the ins and outs of being a Muggle, which was essentially sat with big bowls of popcorn watching Muggle TV for hours.
"We have to have a girly night at mine this summer and watch Bridesmaids. Ariana made me watch it and I've never laughed so hard in my life," Lily exclaimed excitedly, clutching at Phoebe's arm tightly. "It's the best example of what not to do for your hen party!"
"I'm placing this responsibility in your hands," Phoebe joked, giggling along as they skipped across the grass. The castle doors were now in sight. "I'd say don't mess it up but I know you'll be fine. You have two years to plan!"
A stroke of genius hit Lily, like a light bulb going off above her head. "You should get Ariana to design the dress!"
"Oh my god, yes!" Phoebe cried out loudly, squealing with excitement.
There was a flicker of movement in her peripheral vision that drew Lily's attention towards the Black Lake. It was there that she saw someone lingering by the big oak tree where she often met Scorpius. For that reason, Lily felt drawn to the tree, curiosity taking over. "Scorpius?" she called out, letting go of Phoebe so she could cup her hands around her mouth. "Scorpius Malfoy, if that is you hiding down there, this is not funny!" Immediately, Lily started striding down the Grounds.
But the closer she got, the colder she felt. A sensation of dread and woe dragged her gut down, making her wish she'd never started walking down. Either Scorpius was playing a very nasty practical joke or something worse was about to happen. Lily could just feel it.
Her worst fears came to life as whoever was lingering by the tree, moved away, allowing the moonlight to outline them. They were bigger than any student Lily had ever seen, with a lot more bulk on their bodies. And when Lily realised there were four of them, she instantly knew it wasn't Scorpius and she turned around frantically.
"Run!" she screamed to Phoebe, who had been trailing behind her.
With a glance over her shoulder, to see that they were in fact closing the gap between them, Lily dug the balls of her feet into the grass and pushed off running. When she next looked back, she saw that one of them had pulled their wand out, and instantly she pierced the air with her screaming.
"Stupefy!" the man yelled, aiming his wand directly at Lily just as a red stream of light whizzed through the air and hit her directly in the chest. She was flung through the air, bombarding into Phoebe's body and knocking them both to the floor. Lily landed funny on her arm and definitely heard something crack inside her. As the pain coursed through her body, she tried to get back up, only to cry out in pain again and give up.
"Look what we have here," a deep man's voice echoed, the same voice that had casted the curse at Lily. "I think we hit the cauldron tonight men. Not only is she a Weasley but a Potter too."
"I believe the Muggle bastards call that hitting two birds with one stone," another man added, laughing at himself until he realised no one else was and trailed off to silence.
"But what about the other one?" a different voice questioned. As he said that, Lily managed to open her eyes and saw Phoebe struggling to get to her feet, her wand gripped loosely in her hand.
"Oh the friend?" the first man replied, laughing a loud and deep laugh that seemed to echo around Lily and make her want to curl up into a ball and hide. "Kill her!" he ordered.
Just as Phoebe raised her hand, looking past Lily at the men who had attacked her, one of their attackers shouted one of the most formidable curses Lily had ever learnt about. Never did she think she would have heard the words and yet, one man shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"
And Phoebe's wand fell from her hand lifelessly.
Instantly, Lily screamed. Her heart felt like it had been crushed into a million pieces as she watched one of her best friends slump back onto the ground, the life leaving her as her big brown eyes rolled back for the last time. Feeling pure hatred in her heart and allowing it to swell up inside her, she bit past all of the pain and got to her feet, backing up to protect Phoebe's body.
Her attackers were too busy laughing to notice her pulling her wand out of her sock and aim it at the four men. Now that she was closer, Lily could see how ragged and tired the men looked, with dark eyes and long beards. As her hand touched Phoebe's and realised how cold it was quickly becoming, Lily felt herself burn with rage and she raised her wand, shouting the first spell that came to mind. "Bombarda maxima!"
Light burst out of her wand and all four men were sent flying back, three of them rolling back down towards the Black Lake. The last man only flew a few feet back but still fell to the floor.
Feeling a small bit of relief, Lily fell back to the ground, gasping in pain as her body was overcome with exhaustion and pain. Her hands immediately cupped Phoebe's face, hoping that she would open her eyes and smile up at her. Knowing it wouldn't, Lily sobbed into her chest, breathing in Phoebe's perfume and clinging to it.
I need help, Lily quickly thought, but she didn't want to leave Phoebe by herself.
She gripped her wand tightly, wiping back the tears that had slipped down her cheeks, and pointed it back at the castle. Thinking of Scorpius and how much she wished he was here with her, to protect her and make everything better, she sniffed back more tears and called out, "Expecto patronum!" A white mist exploded out of her wand, morphing into a snake. "Go and find Scorpius," she whispered and watched despairingly as the snake set off for the castle.
"Oh, that's cute," a low voice drawled. Lily's head snapped up and saw one of her attackers, the man who didn't get blasted too far, getting to his feet and gripping his wand tightly. She raised her wand but it was quickly spelled from her hand, flying off behind her. "You're calling for Malfoy's son. I had heard young Draco had had a little boy. That makes me his great uncle in-law." Like a panther, the raggedy black haired man skulked closer.
"Now it's time for the fun. Crucio!"
###
Pacing back and forth in the Headmaster's office, Scorpius couldn't help but think of Lily, praying that she was safe and far away from the intruders. As long as the men ventured no further from the Black Lake and his friends didn't move from their spot on the other side of the castle, neither of their paths would cross and Lily would be safe.
"What is taking your dad so long?" he sighed, halting his pacing and staring at his best friend who was tapping his foot nervously on the wooden floorboards. Scorpius wasn't known for his patience and waiting for Harry to gather his Aurors was excruciating for him.
From his chair in front of the Headmaster's desk, Albus ran his hands through his hair nervously. "I don't know dude!" he snapped, getting to his feet in a flash. "Stop stressing me out!"
"Boys, cool it," Professor Creevey cried out, slamming his hands on the desk as Scorpius and Albus faced each other aggressively. "There's no point in you fighting each other because that will help nothing." Slowly the boys broke apart, Scorpius returning to his pacing and Albus falling back into the chair, his head in his hands with fists full of hair. "Now try and calm yourselves. This isn't the Second Wizarding World and Harry Potter is no longer seventeen years old. He has trained an elite force of Aurors who specialise in handling these situations. They'll arrive any second now and take care of everything."
As if Professor Creevey had predicted it himself, the fire burned brightly with green flames and out stepped Lily's father, followed by four other Aurors, two men and two women, all of whom were kitted out in black with potions and knifes hanging from their belts. Each one of them had their wands tightly gripped in their hands.
"Where are they?" Harry immediately barked, his body tensed up with adrenaline. "Explain!" he ordered, spotting Albus first.
Trying to be as quick as possible, Albus launched into the story of the four men emerging from the forest. Whilst he spoke, Scorpius paced faster and faster, tapping his wand against his leg. As Harry asked his son some questions, Scorpius was distracted by the burst of light that flew in through the window. Quickly everyone fixed on the ball of light that circled around Scorpius, changing shape and forming a snake.
Scorpius stumbled backwards, gasping in shock. "It's Lily's Patronus," he murmured, panic instantly filling his heart up and dropping it into his stomach. His gut was telling him somethingbad had happened. "Lily's in trouble!" he announced, looking up at Harry and Albus, whose similar faces wore identical expressions of worry. "Didn't you hear me? Lily's in trouble!"
"I heard you Scorpius," Harry countered, his voice echoing around the Headmaster's office. "Let's go!" he ordered to his Aurors, who looked at each other and headed out of the office. Harry patted Albus' shoulder and then started heading out.
"We're coming with you," Albus said, getting to his feet and standing next to Scorpius, who was still looking around himself at the disappearing Patronus.
Stopping at the door, Harry looked back and shook his head. "That was Lily's Patronus!"
"And Ariana's out there too," Albus added.
"Fine!" Harry snapped, throwing his hands up in the air. "But stay back when the spells start flying. I want to handle this with no causalities so you have to listen to me and do everything I say," Harry ordered, nodding his head and then stalking out of the Headmaster's office.
Scorpius and Albus ran to catch up.
They quickly re-joined Harry who was discussing strategies with one of his Aurors in a hushed voice. Instead Scorpius simply tightened his grip on his wand, wishing he could run as fast as his legs would carry him. He needed confirmation that Lily was ok. She had to be in his arms, his lips pressed hard against hers like they were never going to leave. Then he would stop panicking.
As they reached the side entrance that would take them closer to the Black Lake, Scorpius heard a distinct scream and felt his heart fall. "Lily!" he called out, his voice breaking under his worry. "I'm coming Lily!" And without a second thought, Scorpius pushed through the door and started pounding down the Grounds towards the four men who had their wands pointed at Lily and were laughing loudly.
Behind him, he could hear Albus and Harry calling out his name but he ignored them, focusing on getting to Lily as quickly as possible as another scream of hers pierced the air. The four men noticed Scorpius running towards them, along with the group of Aurors that were no doubt following and immediately reacted, sending curses and hexes. Scorpius dodged as many as he could, skidding to the floor.
The nearer he got, the louder the shouts became, surrounding him in noise to accompany the flashes of light. All Scorpius could focus on was Lily, who was on her knees, slumped over in obvious exhaustion. One of the men, who hadn't concerned himself with the Aurors, crouched low over Lily. Using the first curse that came to mind, Scorpius flashed his wand but the spell missed, skimming his long black hair and revealing a face that looked oddly familiar to Scorpius. His dark black eyes met his and a smirk crawled on the man's face – a smirk of pure evil and menace. He appeared to whisper something to Lily before pointing his wand at her and sending her flying into the air, landing in the big oak tree's branches and crashing through, reaching the ground with an echoing boom.
"LILY!" Scorpius screamed, running as fast as was humanly possible for him. While the men quickly made their escape, heading back into the Forbidden Forest, Scorpius reached Lily's side and folded her into his lap. "Baby, it's me, Scorpius!" He pushed her blood matted hair from her face and gasped at the sight of her cut and bruised face. "Lil, can you hear? Please say you can hear me!"
A feeble hand reached upwards, caressing his tear-stained cheek. "Scorpius?" Her voice was weak and quiet, but it existed and that was all he needed to hear.
"Merlin's beard! Lily, stay with me now," he sighed, kissing her lips briefly before snapping his head back. "HARRY! Lily's here! She's hurt pretty badly," he called out, flickering his attention back to Lily, whose eyes were fluttering shut. "No, no, no! Lily, stay with me," he cried, tears freely tumbling down his face. His hands were on her face softly, frantically skimming her skin trying to find signs of life.
"I love you," she whispered, her hand falling from his face and her eyes rolling to the back of her head.
Panic bubbled inside Scorpius, filling him up and bursting outward in the form of chest-heaving sobs. He kissed her lips softly but her lips were cold and lifeless, causing streams of tears to fall. "Don't leave me Lily," he cried into her hair, burying her face in his chest. "I love you too Lily. Just please don't leave me!"
Author's Note 2: That was intense wasn't it!?
Thanks to much persuasion from misspotter94 and speedsONEandONLY, I decided to upload this chapter! It's the longest I've ever written for this story (so far) and I hope you liked it. Actually you may not like it but I hope you were entertained.
My heart was literally pounding by the end of this chapter when I was writing it and I hope I made the whole event feel realistic - as much as a murderous man breaking into a school of magic can be - and it had you hooked.
I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas that involves lots of eating and unwrapping presents. Please review because I especially want to know what you thought about this chapter. It can be your present to me :D
See you next chapter - which I've already started writing :D