I skimmed over Lily's previous two years since there was no Scorpius in it. I felt it was important to write about had been going on with Lily, her friends and family over that time. She didn't just sit there feeling sorry for herself, she went on with things. I'm sorry if some of you felt it was boring. I also want to warn you that some chapters will see quite a bit of time pass but not to the extent of chapter 36. (I only 12 more chapters to write including the epilogue!)
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL
Chapter 37: Beater's Bat.
Lily sat back and watched the scene unfold with mild amusement. About half an hour ago she'd informed Alain Moreau that it wasn't a good idea for them to be together anymore. For the last half hour he had been ranting and raving in rapid French. Now Lily knew a few French words from her Aunt Fleur and it had been sufficient to get herself through her summer job there, but she couldn't keep up with what he was saying. A fact which she was quite happy with, she didn't need to know what he thought of her because she couldn't care less.
What she was interesting was his current behaviour. She couldn't believe he'd turned out to be such a spoiled brat, throwing a tantrum when he didn't get his own way. Being a famous Quidditch star had obviously gone to his head. Her two year old goddaughter was better behaved. Alain was so used to people fluffing his ego by telling him how wonderful they thought he was. It never crossed his mind that someone would his ego a knock by dumping him. Lily was glad that the fame hadn't gone to the heads of James and Louis like this, they would be unbearable.
Lily had had enough with his theatrics when the brunette began throwing things around his apartment and breaking them. She was immediately grateful that she had thought to break up with him at his apartment. She had originally thought it would go a little easier in his territory since he'd have the choice to throw her out. Now she was grateful she'd told him here and not at her hotel room because she would be tearing him a new one right now if he treated her belongings like that.
Making a beeline to the door, Lily left the apartment whilst Alain continued to rage behind her. She doubted he even noticed she was no longer in the room. Stepping out on to a street which was basically the French equivalent to Diagon Alley, Lily began to reflect on her relationships over the previous two years. She'd learnt a lot from them and believed that she was a stronger person than she had been at the age of sixteen because of them. She now knew what she wanted and what she definitely didn't in a relationship and other aspects of her life.
From the brief time she dated Chester Thomas, she learnt that she should only do something if it felt natural to her. A lesson she was going to put into practice from now on. She'd also learnt to deal with hostility from others when it came to her choice in boyfriend. Coleen and her group of Gryffindor girls hadn't liked Lily dating Coleen's ex. Before then, Lily had never really had to deal with hostility from more than one of her House mates. She found it easier to deal with than she'd expected. She didn't feel she needed everyone to like her anymore.
Her time spent in a relationship with Aiden Griggs taught her that she wanted to be in a relationship with someone who didn't crave the limelight. She couldn't abide it when people lied about her so that they got a story printed by Skeeter. She was also done with trying to hide things from her family. It was so much easier to be open and honest with them, otherwise they may start to believe there was some truth to the lies often reported about her. Joel Finch-Fletchley had taught her that relationships worked best if the amount a couple cared about each other was equal. She wanted someone who would adore her but only if she could adore them back. There was no point going along with anything if her heart wasn't in it.
Kallin Nott had taught her that she needed people in her life who could deal with the publicity being seen with her brings. Lily wasn't naïve enough to think that she could protect the people she cared about from Skeeter's vicious penmanship. They needed to be able to take everything with a pinch of salt and turn the other cheek when things were at their worst. It was a shame really that Kallin had been a bit of a loner and shied away from any attention, Lily had become quite attached to him during the time they'd dated.
It was also important that she surrounded herself with people she actually liked. Peter Cox had taught her that. She'd also discovered that her friends wouldn't turn their back on her if she decided to make decisions they didn't approve of. They hadn't abandoned her when she'd made the mistake of dating Cox, granted she saw the light quickly, but at least they had tried to tolerate him.
Being with Jaz had also reinforced the opinion that she should surround herself with people that she liked but in the opposite way Cox had. She got along with him really well although she never really considered Jaz to be an ex. They'd been more friends than actual boyfriend and girlfriend. There was no physical aspect to their relationship but they were exactly what the other had needed in their life at the time. Letting go of him had been difficult but it had been the right thing to do. Some things just didn't last forever.
Probably the most important thing she learnt from her ex's, she learnt from the muggle Taylor Lauren. She wouldn't change who she was just for some boy. She had a healthy dose of self respect. She liked who she was now and didn't enjoy people trying to mould her into something she wasn't. A fact which she was rather proud of.
Lily then turned her attention to her brief fling with Alain. She could add another criteria to her list of what she saw as important to her. That was self control. When thinking about it in context of a relationship she conceded that too much would be a bag thing. She enjoyed letting her hair down every once in a while, so to speak. She liked people who could do the same. What she didn't like was people loosing control of their behaviour like Alain had just done. Lily had long since managed to control her temper for the most part. It did still seep out occasionally when the people she loved were under fire, but she was only human after all. Compromise was also important. It couldn't go one person way all the time nor was it fair.
Musing over the qualities she liked in people, a thought unexpectedly occurred to her.
Suddenly feeling as if Hugo had hit the back of her head with his beaters bat, Lily froze.
There was one guy Lily knew that met all her criteria.
Scorpius Malfoy.
Collapsing into a nearby bench, Lily was stunned.
Surely she wasn't stupid enough to be still hung up on Scorpius Malfoy after all this time. There was no guarantee that he was the same person that he'd been then. She certainly wasn't.
The thought couldn't possible be true, could it?
Feeling as if that Beaters bat had slammed into the back of her head once more, Lily began to compare her boyfriends since Scorpius, with Scorpius.
Bringing Chester to mind, Lily couldn't find any comparison between the two except that they had both been on their House Quidditch team. When she thought about it further she acknowledged that she had been friends with Chester where as Scorpius and she had the potential of being friends. Chester was also a close friend to her cousin whereas Scorpius had been a close friend to her brother. She supposed there were similarities but she was probably thinking too deeply there. Unfortunately she couldn't deny that at points in her relationship with both of them, it had seemed as natural as breathing to her.
Surely the same couldn't be said about Aiden. No, if there had been any similarities between Scorpius and Aiden, Lily couldn't see them. Scorpius wasn't a fan of attention despite the fact that he often attracted it. He was the opposite of Aiden who went out of his way and even lied to get attention. Scorpius may have lied about the kind of person he was for self preservation but he'd never exploited anyone as far as Lily knew.
Confident that no more similarities would arise between her ex's, Lily thought about Joel Finch-Fletchley and cringed. They were very similar in the way that they treated her, especially when they were alone. They often made her feel like she was the only girl in the world, a fact which had encouraged Lily to break up with Joel. Maybe she had unconsciously seen the similarities there and couldn't deal with it just then.
The similarities between Scorpius and Kallin were a no brainer when Lily really started thinking about them. They were both Slytherin Prefects from ancient pure-blooded families. Their mannerisms were similar and they were both intelligent and disliked attention. Lily could definitely see the similarities there. She was also loathed to admit that Peter Cox was very much the git Scorpius had pretended to be. It was possible that she had unconsciously believed that he could have changed the way Scorpius had.
Lily was quite amazed that she'd managed to convince herself that she was over the Slytherin by the time she came to Taylor Lauren. Although the muggle was nothing like Scorpius, they did have one major thing in common. That was that they didn't get on with her brothers. Surely she hadn't dated him because of that similarity, Lily thought dolefully. From her track record she probably did.
Her mind swiftly turned to Jaz and she immediately wished they hadn't. Although their personalities were different, there was no denying the physical resemblance between the two. Their light blond hair was styled the same, their eyes both light. Even their face shape and features as well as their physique were similar. She really should have picked up on that sooner. She wondered why Rose or the twins hadn't pointed that out considering that they were in the know about her and Scorpius. Not that she would have believed them if they had.
Feeling quite the fool, Lily finally thought of Alain. The Frenchman certainly had Scorpius' arrogance but definitely lacked his self control.
Looking at each of her relationships like that, she realised that it was quite possible that she'd been attracted to them because they had reminded her of Scorpius in some way.
'How lame is that!" She muttered miserably under her breath.
Putting her love life aside, Lily walked over to a news vender and purchased a newspaper. Since it was not one Rita Skeeter had any input in, Lily thought she would be safe reading it. She wasn't that lucky.
The pages were dominated with articles about this afternoon's Quidditch World Cup final between England and Germany. There were also stories about the individual players. An entire page was dedicated to Lily's brother James. It was all about his engagement to fellow team-mate Amelia Wood. How that was relevant to the sport, Lily couldn't fathom. The engagement had occurred a fortnight ago and it was already common knowledge that Amelia's brother was married to James' cousin.
Shaking her head, Lily read on hoping to find something of interest within its pages that wasn't gossip about her family.
There wasn't really, although she was rather displeased to see that she made an appearance. There was a photograph of her and Alain arguing. Lily flung the paper in the nearest bin. She had no interest on reading what the paper said the reasons behind that argument were. She remembered it and supposed that his behaviour then should have prepared her for the show earlier.
He'd gone off on one when she had refused to go to the final with him since she was already going with her family and friends and didn't really want him to meet her parents. She now had good reason not to introduce them. Her cousins would tear him to pieces if they saw him behave like he had.
With little left to do, Lily headed to the portkey office with hopes of getting an earlier portkey to the campsite. Spending the rest of the morning getting ready for the World Cup and spending time with her family sounded like a wonderful idea now that she had got rid of her latest boyfriend.
x
As luck would have it, Lily did managed to get an earlier portkey to the campsite. After Lily greeted the French Ministry Officials on duty at the site, she headed towards the muggle owner of the campsite. He was a jolly looking fellow with a slight beard and a round belly. She sent him a dazzling smile in greeting and he had a dazed look about him when he grinned back at her. He shook himself out of it and held up his clipboard.
Lily greeted him in French but didn't fool him. "English eh?" He began in broad English dialect that sounded peculiar on the Frenchman's lips. "I bet you're happy as Larry that your team got to th' finals. I hear their history ain't good against the Germans. Maybe this will be their year eh?"
Lily's eyes widened in surprise that he knew so much. He read her expression well having probably had similar reactions all day. "Me wife's a witch and an English one at that! She's a good'un she is. Filled me in on that Quidditch game of yours. It sounds thrilling but I guess I'll be seeing it for meself pretty soon. Got me a band she did!" He finished brandishing the yellow band around his wrist.
Lily suddenly understood. Muggles were now allowed to attend wizarding events if accompanied by a witch or wizard. It was one of the Ministry's ways to try and integrate people's non magical relatives into magical society and attempt to battle the prejudices. The yellow wristband allowed the wearer to pass through the anti-muggle wards safely. Many of the ancient pureblooded families weren't happy with the development but many of the pro-pureblood laws had now been abolished universally.
"I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as you do watching your muggle sports." Lily assured him. She herself had been introduced to muggle sports by Taylor but he hadn't even bat an eyelid when she mentioned she didn't know much about his Football or Rugby.
"Aye, so my wife says." The man grinned with excitement.
Lily chuckled. She wondered whether his wife had taught him English as well since she doubted he'd learnt it in such a way during school. She could be mistaken though.
"We better get you settled in, name please?" He asked cheerfully.
"I'm Lily Potter, my family may already be here under the reservation for Weasley." Lily explained since she couldn't remember which name her family had used when they made the booking.
The man shuffled through his notes. "I see thee. Nine tents under the name of Weasley. You're in Plot D, easy to find you only have to follow the signs. They'll lead you all the way. I also have down that your family has already arrived and paid for the nights. A large family you got there, it must be nice."
"It has its advantages, there are never any dull moments that's for sure. I better be off, it's been nice seeing you. I hope you enjoy the match this afternoon." Lily said with a wave as the man turned to his next customer. She made her way to where her family were setting up camp using the clearly signposted maps, stopping now and then to greet people she knew from school.
Making her way across the fields, Lily was impressed with how well dressed people were considering they were in muggle clothes which was not the norm for them. The last World Cup Lily had attended had been when she'd been six years old. It had been hosted by New Zealand and the final had been between Australia and Ireland. Although Lily didn't remember much of the game, she could recall the peculiar tastes in clothes witches and wizards had. It was actually the photos she had of that day which inspired her to create her clothing range which concentrated on selling muggle-styled clothes to the Magical community. Lily recognised many of the outfits worn by the English supporters especially. No wonder Lucy had mentioned that their stocks were low, the outfits had all been purchased for attending Quidditch matches over the duration of the competition!
Lily heard her family before she saw them. Her cousins Fred and Roxanne could be heard over the rest, making wagers over the outcome of the match. As Lily moved closer she saw nine tents set up in a large circle with an open area of grass in the middle.
Fred and Roxanne stood among a group of their partner's and friends who were sharing a tent with them. They talked to an official looking wizard who was making a record of their bets. From who would win, to who would score first and which team would gain the most fouls. They made bets over everything spending a small fortune. Even Lily's Uncle George was getting involved in the action until his wife sent him a look of disapproval. He then busied himself talking to Oliver Wood and his wife Katie whom were bunking in one of the tents with them along with their youngest son and his friend. Their son and daughter Isaiah and Amelia were bunking with the rest of the England Quidditch Team.
Lily's Grandmother and Andromeda Tonks had obviously turned their noses up at the idea of cooking over the open fire outdoors and were in one of the tents, if the smell of roasting pork was anything to go by.
Entering the clearing Lily noticed some of her other family members. Her heavily pregnant cousin Molly, was sat in what looked like an armchair and was being fussed over by her parents, husband and his parents. Lily knew that they would all be stopping in the grander looking tent that was surrounded by pots of flowers. Lily wondered what her Grandfather had said about that but she guessed it wasn't that important if the owner of the site knew about magic through his wife.
Lily's Uncle Percy had been boasting all week that he had seats for some of them in the box with the British Minister for Magic. That was until he found out that Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny also had seats in the same box. Lily wished she could have seen his face. According to Lucy it had been quite the picture.
Lucy wasn't sitting with her parents and she had turned down the opportunity to sit with the other 'wives' and 'husbands' of the teams. Instead she was sitting with Lily and the rest of the party who weren't in the Minister's box or that family box that was reserved for those with young children.
Thinking about the children, Lily soon spotted her goddaughter and her family. Victoire and Dominique sat in chairs slightly more appropriate for camping than Molly's armchair. They were sipping non-alcoholic cocktails and discussing the benefits of being pregnant again. They could relax while their husbands did all the work.
Their husband's were holding their son's trying to figure out which one was Remy and which one was Luc. Remy was currently imitating his cousin's brown locks and brown eyes which was causing their fathers no end of confusion and the one-years olds lots of amusement.
Glancing at their mothers and seeing that they were unconcerned that their sons couldn't be told apart, Lily guessed they knew exactly which one was which and were waiting for their husbands to admit that they couldn't.
Two-year old Aimee was entertaining herself. Dressed in a white dress covered in red roses and was riding the toy broomstick designed for toddlers. Lily had given her for her birthday and it was quite safe since the broom only rose enough so that her toes skimmed across the grass.
"Aunt Lili" Aimee yelled gleefully when she noticed Lily enter the circle. "Looky Looky, I fly!" She exclaimed and looked so proud of herself, Lily thought she was the most adorable two-year old in the world.
"Oh wow!" Lily gasped and clapped her hands so that Aimee started giggling. "Just look at you go. You're so much better than Uncle Louis and Uncle Jamie."
Aimee began laughing hysterically at that. Hands letting go of her broom to wrap around her waist, Lily had to catch her goddaughter before she rolled onto the grass and dirtied her pretty dress. "You silly Aunt Lili! No one better than them. Uncle Louis and Uncle Jamie are best ever." Aimee giggled in Lily's arms.
"No one's better than Uncle Louis and Jamie, Sweetheart? Is that how it is?" Teddy asked his daughter having overheard her exclamation. He cradled his purpled haired son in his arms since the infant had got tired of his father fawning over Luc instead of him.
Aimee twisted in Lily's arms and smiled toothily at her dad. Shaking her head, her bubblegum pink curls wafted around her. "Silly Daddy! Mummy and Daddy bestest. I talks of flying." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"That's ok then." Teddy said stooping to kiss his daughter on the cheek. He shifted his son's weight so that he held Remy in one arm and reached out to Aimee with the other. She went peaceful from Lily to Teddy as he explained: "You're in that tent there, the others are in there now."
After a quick catch up session Lily entered the tent she'd be sharing with her cousins Rose and Lucy along with her friends Jess, Delia and the twins. Lifting up the tent flap, Lily was unsurprised to see that it was a lot bigger than how it looked from the outside. There was a large communal area and it branched off in several places where the bedroom and bathrooms were.
What Lily was surprised about, was that it wasn't just the girls in there. Her brother Albus was there along with Harrison, Hugo, Chester and Brian. They were all gathered around a large pile of merchandise they'd obviously purchased. Moving models of the players, red and white hats in support of England, badges, rosettes, posters and several pairs of Omniculars.
Lily joined them and caught up with what was going on. James, Amelia and Isaiah had been there earlier in the morning but had been escorted away to join the rest of their team. One of the usual Chasers was ill with Dragon Pox so Amelia was going to fill in for today's match. Lily was thrilled by the news and bet Amelia was as well, if a little nervous.
They all seemed pleased when Lily announced that she was no longer with Alain. Apparently they had all been having a go at Louis for introducing them. They'd all guessed what kind of a person he was but hadn't shared it with her. Lily made them promise to tell her if they thought something was a little of with her boyfriends from then on.
They were soon called for lunch and they all gathered outside to eat the delicious feast that had been prepared for them. Aimee decided she needed to be near Lily and attached herself to her godmother after lunch. This made cleaning up and getting ready for the match difficult so somehow Lily managed it.
"Time to go see Uncle Louis and Uncle Jamie fly!" Teddy told his daughter around two o'clock.
When Teddy tried to take Aimee from Lily this time, Aimee hung on to Lily for dear life. "No! Aunty Lili takes. I go with Lili." She complained tearfully startling both Teddy and Lily.
"But Aunty Lili isn't sitting with us. She goes with Uncle Alby and her friends." Teddy tried to explain but his daughter began sobbing, still grabbing at Lily's yellow sundress with her tiny fists.
"I. wants. Lili." She wailed.
Not wanting Aimee to get even more upset, Lily tried to compromise. "How about I carry you to your seats. Then I leave you with Nana and Papa Weasley, and I'll go join Uncle Alby? I need to be there so he doesn't get in trouble. How does that sound?" She said as she stroked the girl's back soothingly.
Aimee's forehead creased as she thought over Lily's suggestion as the two adults watched on anxiously. "Ok. You takes me and I stay with Nana and Papa. You may go looking after Uncle Alby." She said finally, nodding her head and stopping the tears.
A look of sheer relief came over Teddy. "Are you sure that's ok?" He asked out of politeness.
"It'll be fine, I'll just get one of the others to save me an aisle seat." Lily explained and sorted out arrangements with her friends.
x
Lily carried Aimee to the family box which the three infants shared with their parents, grandparents on their mothers' side, along with three of their great grandparents. Henry's side of the family being absent since they weren't sport fans. Aimee stuck by the deal she made with Lily and didn't complain when she went to her own seat.
The box was set up in grids of six seats along and three row down with a walkway between each grid. Lily found her family spotting her Uncle George first. It wasn't hard to miss the huge England top hat he was wearing, no wonder he was sat on the back row with his wife and the Wood family.
Jamie Wood's friend Archie Green noticed Lily and waved indicating that her seat was just down the steps from him. Patting him on the shoulder as she passed, Lily found her seat just off the aisle on the front row next to her cousin Lucy and in front of Rose. The match wasn't going to begin for a while since people were still getting to their seats, Lily turned to chat with her family and friends.
Rose sat next to her boyfriend Harrison who was deep in conversation with Albus about all the fancy Quidditch moves they'd attempted and how the Omniculars would capture them to their greatest advantage. They were already planning a family tournament one weekend once the World Cup was over. Rose and Maggie sat at either side of their men, tried to look interested but it was pretty clear that they weren't following the conversation since neither of them really liked Quidditch.
Hugo and Delia occupied the two remaining seats on the middle row. All decked out in red and white, Hugo was explaining to Delia how to use her Omniculars. It was quite impressive that their latest edition could record the entire match to watch as many times as they wished, from all angles. They were linked to a series of Omniculars already set up around the pitch.
Chester and Brian sat on the front row just below the couple and were also discussing Quidditch with Margarita who sat in front of her twin. Jess was also joining in and unlike previous years Jess was taking an active role in the conversation as they discussed which tactics England should use against Germany. As soon as she started dating an International Quidditch player, she'd made a point of studding the sport.
"England has the strongest attacking side but I don't think much of Fletcher and Robins." Chester was saying.
"They don't cut it as International Beaters, not compared to Lehr and Balzer." Brian agreed miserably.
"It's good that James is a better Keeper than Wieser. Wieser isn't all that good and her relies heavily on their defence. If our Chasers manage to keep attacking then they should score lots of goals." Jess boasted thinking of Louis and Amelia when she referred to 'our chasers.'
Margarita nodded in agreement. "It's their Seeker Kraus who England need to worry about. I haven't seen a better one, Sorry Lily but it's true." Margarita said when she noticed Lily had joined them and was looking their way.
"That's ok Margarita." Lily shouted over cheerfully, "I'd be the first to admit that I'm never going to make it as a professional Seeker. I may have got far in Hogwarts but in the real world the standard is way too high." She pointed out, receiving a raised eyebrow from her cousin Lucy.
"If you put your mind to it you could be that good. It's just you've set your heart on a different career entirely." Lucy muttered under her breath which had Lily smirking. If any of the others heard her remark, they didn't comment on it.
Lily still hadn't admitted to the rest of her family that she planned to and was already designing her own range of clothing. She was waiting for her NEWT results and to get a few things organised before she let them know. Lily turned back on her seat only to catch sight of the person occupying the seat across the aisle.
Feeling as if she'd received two simultaneous hits from a beater's bat; one to her chest and the other to her gut, the air left her lungs with a big whooshing sound. She saw and recognised in the same instant. He was immediately all she could see since everything else was obsolete. Dressed from head to toe in black, he was certainly a sight to behold. Scorpius Malfoy sat only a foot away from her.
From his leather jacket to his dragon-hide boots, he emanated a bad-boy aura that Lily found irresistible. She really hoped it was all for show since her Scorpius, the one she remembered and hung onto, wasn't a bad boy at heart. He seemed so different as he sat back so nonchalant in his chair. She acknowledged that he was bound to have hanged over the years and decided to study him further.
His blonde hair was different to how she remembered it. It was whiter and softer as it draped around his face in silky waves, licking at his jaw; a jaw that was more square than she recalled. Lily's fingers flexed as she had the sudden urge to run her fingers through his hair, to test whether it truly was softer than she remembered. Somehow she managed to resist.
His face was more masculine and a little less angelic, but Lily couldn't find anything to lament about that. She still found him really attractive. She wished she could get a full look at his face but that would mean him catching her gawking at him and she couldn't have that.
The haze that caused everyone but him to disappear, began to clear. Lily was all too aware of her heart pounding rapidly in her chest and her limbs a little shaky. She hadn't planned on seeing him again so soon after her realisation this morning, she wasn't prepared.
Realising that she was still staring at the blond with her mouth slightly open, Lily took a deep breath and looked to the people around him. Scorpius was sat next to a girl around his age, who was perched forward in her seat, leaning against the railing and looking around in awe.
She kept turning to Scorpius and the person at the other side of her whom she was blocking from Lily, and firing questions at tem. Her soft brown curls sprang playfully with the movement. Lily felt a stab of jealousy as her heart felt as if it stopped and her stomach churned unpleasantly. Scorpius looked fondly at the brunette when he answered any her questions.
Lily suddenly felt silly for not preparing herself for seeing him with another woman. It had been over two years since she and him had split up, of course he would have moved on like she thought she had done.
Lily knew now that she should stop staring at them but she couldn't help but examine the girl who had captured Scorpius' heart. She was very pretty with a round face surrounded by soft curls. There was something familiar about the girl but all Lily could think about was how her bambi eyes and rosebud lips reminded her a bit of Delia. That was the only reason she could come up with since she looked nothing like the Slytherin girls Scorpius had ever hung around with during school.
If Lily hadn't been paying as much attention to the girl, she probably wouldn't have noticed the yellow band around her wrist identifying her as a muggle. This surprised Lily and made her certain that it was the girl's resemblance to Delia that had Lily thinking that she'd met her before.
Although Lily felt utterly miserable that Scorpius had found someone else, she was glad the girl was a muggle. It meant that he was being more open about the type of person he was and was no longer hiding behind his mask. Lily took some comfort in that since she would have hated him to continue pretending to be who everyone thought he was.
Knowing that she was as great risk of someone seeing her staring at them, Lily spun pack in her seat accidentally knocking her handbag to the floor. The clatter had heads turning her way.
"Lily?" Someone who wasn't one of her family or their friends shouted.
Startled Lily stood up just as someone made their way down the aisle Scorpius sat on. Recognising the man coming towards her, she wrapped her arms around his waist when he pulled her into a tight hug. She was so grateful for the distraction since she felt as if tears were welling up over the fact that she'd missed her chance with Scorpius. She wouldn't ruin things for him if he had moved on, she wasn't that selfish.
"Oh gosh." Lily gasped stopping her tears as all the air rushed out of her lungs.
"Hey Duanne, how've you been?" She asked once he'd released her. She grabbed the rail for support, not wanting how unsteady she was feeling with Scorpius so close by. She focused on Duanne. He hadn't changed much in the last two years, maybe gained a couple of inches in height and a few pounds of muscle. Facially he'd not really altered, he was still as handsome as ever. She managed to smile at him.
"Not bad, not bad. Been reading all about you and that Moreau guy." He grinned and adjusted the England hat he wore in support for his home team. He wore a devilish grin on his face as he winked down at her.
Lily muttered something unintelligible in response which drew out a booming laugh from the former Slytherin in response. Lily gratefully allowed his presence to calm her. "Ah, so it's like that then." He chuckled. "Dispatched of another one have you?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "You needn't put it like that," She grumbled at first but her tone got breezy when she added trying not to glance down at the blonde only inches away from them. "But yes. I'm free and single once more."
"So all the single males should watch out then, eh?" He asked cheekily and gave her a gentle nudge with his elbow.
Her smile was genuine now. "Nah, I'm going to concentrate on more important things." Lily added failing to stop herself from glancing down at the blonde's head. Scorpius was currently facing the pitch but didn't seem to be paying any attention to her conversation with Duanne. That Scorpius was completely ignoring her stung but she didn't let Duanne see that. If he noticed her gaze falter, he kept the knowledge to himself.
"I'll believe that when I see it!" Duanne grinned, patting her fondly down on her back. For the first time she saw Scorpius react, he turned his back to her and talked to his girl. Lily continued as if she hadn't noticed Scorpius' actions.
Lily knew exactly why Duanne had said what he'd said and she wasn't happy about it. It was because of the menace Rita Skeeter and her trigger happy photographer who was pairing her with any wizard she happened to meet from the age of seventeen to thirty. She claimed them to be her love interest when in truth, she'd met them only the once- when the photo had been taken. "You shouldn't believe everything you read in the paper about me!" She told him.
Duanne of all people should know not to trust what was in the papers. He'd had a number of false accusations made about him in the past; fights that never happened and quotes he'd never said. He winced. "Touché."
Lily glanced back at her family and friends. They were all talking amongst themselves and none of them seemed to be paying any attention to them, not even Duanne's sisters. Lily would be surprised if they'd even noticed their older brother was in the same box as them, so enthralled they were by the excited chatter surrounding them.
As if to make it up to her, Duanne continued, drawing Lily's attention back to him. "You free Monday evening to catch up?"
Since Lily had basically cleared her schedule from now until her NEWT results arrived, she shrugged. She'd cleared it so that she could continue looking for a base to set up her own shop for her clothing label. Lucy was looking for another job and two cousins planned to go into business together. Lily still wanted to deal with the owner of Madam Malkin's for her more traditional designs, but wanted to have her own store to host her other ranges and had ambitions to expand. She currently only really designed outfits for adults and teenagers sixteen and over. Eventually she'd like to have a go at designing clothes for children. She was also interested in renting a flat but that was of lower priority.
"Should be if you can cope with the rumours it will no doubt spark." Lily said both to tease and to warn. "I doubt this match will run on. Anyways, I actually have a business proposition for you."
Duanne's ears twitched with interest. "If that's the case, we can make it a business lunch rather than meet up in the evening."
"That'll be fine!" Lily agreed and found herself glancing at the muggle girl who was watching them with a frown on her face. Lily managed to get a close look at the brunette. She had the niggling feeling they'd met before again but this time wasn't convinced it had anything to do with the girl reminding her a little of Delia.
The way the girl was frowning as she looked between Duanne and Lily gave Lily hope. She could have been wrong when she assumed the girl was with Scorpius, maybe she was with Duanne. Turning her questioning gaze to Duanne, Lily arched a crimson brow at him.
Reading her expression he suddenly looked appalled at himself. He turned to the brunette and grabbed her hand, helping her pass Scorpius when she got to her feet. "How rude of me. Lily this is my dear friend Ollie Jones, Ollie this is Lily Potter!" He announced pleasantly.
Lily's eyes widened in surprise when several memories suddenly slotted into place. Duanne had been writing to an Ollie during their school days. She wondered if it was the same Ollie and then remembered Duanne's words after he'd kissed her at the Valentine's Day Ball about two and a half years ago. "But you're beautiful! The most beautiful witch I have ever seen. I should have felt…something" Lily hadn't thought much about the emphasis on the word witch before. She recalled he had also made a comment about needing therapy. Coming from a pure-blooded family, his parents wouldn't take too well to their eldest son dating a muggle. No wonder he'd kept her secret, though their secret would be out soon despite them interacting in a way that claimed them to be only friends. You only needed to look at the fire burning in their eyes to now that they meant a lot more to each other than friends.
Lily refrained from looking back at his sisters to make sure they were still oblivious of them. She wasn't sure if they knew since neither of them had mentioned anything about this to Lily. Instead she smiled at Ollie. She was a bonnie wee thing about a foot shorter than Duanne. "Lovely to see you."
"You too," Ollie returned and a puzzled expression graced her face when she got a good look at Lily.
"I think I've met you before!" Lily mentioned, expressing what Ollie had been thinking.
As soon as Lily confirmed Ollie's suspicions, her whole face lit up in a smile. "Of course! You came to get a tattoo done, I never knew you were a witch!" She said the last sentence in a hush tone as if it was a huge secret.
Lily suddenly recognised Ollie as the receptionist at the tattoo studio, the one who didn't seem to have any tattoos. She looked so different dressed in the red and white sundress, than she had in the leather jacket and red tartan skirt she'd been wearing the last time Lily had seen her. Lily also remembered that she'd seen the two talking several years before and could hardly contain her relief that Ollie was Duanne's Ollie and not Scorpius'. Her smile like up her whole face.
"You have a tattoo?" Duanne asked in disbelief. Lily began grimacing since she had no idea whether he knew about the additions to his sister's skin and she didn't want to be the one to tell him. Ollie clamped her mouth shut aware that she'd said something she shouldn't have.
Luckily an announcement was made just then by the French Minister. He declared the appearance of the German team "Weiser, Behn, Fein, Thiele, Lehr, Balzer annnnd Kraus!" followed by the English players. "Potter, Watson, Weasley, Wood, Fletcher, Robins annnnd Swan!
"I'll catch up with you later." Lily muttered quickly and they all scrambled to their seats. Lily clapped loudly along with the England supporters as their team flew onto the pitch. Moments later the match began and more cheers erupted from the crowds.
Sitting back in her seat, Lily palmed the lily pendant she'd not taken off since the day she put it on. While she watched the Quidditch Final progress, she couldn't prevent her thoughts or her eyes drift to Scorpius. Knowing that it was a possiblility that he was single, she was determined to find a way to talk to him in private.
The sooner the better considering the cold shoulder he was giving her. She had to see him after the match since she didn't know when their paths would cross again. She would probably have to corner him since what chance did she have of getting him to talk to her if he wouldn't even look at her.
All she knew was that she needed to find out whether she'd left it too late to make amends, if he would forgive her and give her another chance so they could finally find out whether or not things could work out between them. If she had left it to late, then she'd have to concentrate her efforts moving on completely.
Scorpius is back - does a happy dance (I know it was only a little bit but the next chapter is mostly Lily and Scorpius). I was just wondering who you think should win the final: England or Germany?