Birthday Wishes Always Come True - Wish Upon a Star
written by: albe-chan
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, recreational drug use, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!
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When Lily woke up Friday morning, she was no closer to figuring out just how she would get out of the castle grounds undetected, or how, if she should manage that, get back in without setting off Merlin only knew how many alarms. She got a brilliant idea to sneak out of the castle, possibly during some kind of crisis, like a herd of desks attacking one another in the Great Hall, or something to draw attention at the very end of dinner. Then she could sneak out, and find a way to meet up with Scorpius. But who to ask to be guilty of causing her desired diversion? Lily could think of only one wizard she could trust enough and might actually do it. So she found Carmichael on break, and asked him to take a walk with her after lunch.
The dark eyed Ravenclaw, who'd looked surprised and questioning, why she was seeking him out after pretty much telling him she was done hooking up with, and probably hanging out with, him, agreed to meet her, and Lily tried to think positive, through the rest of her morning, about the coming evening. She met Carmichael, after sitting anxiously at the Gryffindor bench, playing with her food instead of eating it, then, when she saw, from her covert spying on Carmichael, him get up from lunch, she followed.
"I need a favour," Lily said without preamble as soon as they'd passed the front doors. Carmichael smiled a little, dimple faintly appearing as he turned to look at her.
"A favour?" he repeated.
"Yeah," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "A favour. Will you do it?"
"What is it?" Carmichael said automatically. "So I know what I might possibly be committing myself to beforehand."
Lily licked her lips, but pushed through the inherently awkward vibe between her and the stoner Ravenclaw now. The redhead had been putting in significant effort, both in class and out, to improve her grades, even if it wasn't nearly as much fun as skiving off with Carmichael. And Carmichael… He was the same as ever. And although she was positive she felt nothing other than amusement and lust for the dark haired young wizard, still, Lily couldn't help but wonder if she'd only ever been a convenience for him, as he'd sort of been for her.
"I don't want to tell you," she finally said, and Carmichael smiled properly.
"Yeah? And why is that?"
"Because you'll say no," Lily said automatically. But she was desperate, and desperate times called for desperate measures, after all. It was either ask Carmichael for help, half knowing what his price would be, to see Scorpius, or just not see him and owl him an apology, hoping to Merlin he wanted to risk meeting her again.
Carmichael's dark brows shot up at her honesty. "Probably," he said, and they stopped walking abruptly. "Tell me what it is, and we'll see for sure," he added, half smiling, a hand going around her waist.
Lily redhead sucked in a breath. "I want to sneak out of the castle. And I need a diversion to do that. A big one." Instantly Carmichael shook his head.
"The gates will be locked, guaranteed," he said, "and if you can get past them, which I doubt, you'll still trigger loads of security enchantments. The whole boundary is designed to keep the students in."
The redheaded witch glared at him. "How do you know?" she demanded.
"I read it," Carmichael said simply. "In Hogwarts; A History, Volume Two."
Lily pushed a hand through her hair, feeling desperate. "Look, can you just let me try?" she sighed. Carmichael smirked ever so slightly.
"No."
Lily shook her head. "You're such a jerk, seriously. What's with your aversion to helping people?"
Carmichael grinned at her, moving closer, right up against her and directly in her personal bubble, and said against her ear, "Nothing in this life comes for free. I'm just looking out for my slices of pie."
Lily shook her head, because that sounded stupid. "Look, what's it going to take for you to do this?" she demanded.
"A miracle," Carmichael said, and kissed the side of her mouth. "Are you smoking a joint with me or not?"
Lily sighed, but shook her head. Because although part of her was more than tempted to get high and forget her troubles, if only for awhile, and relax, she knew it wouldn't last, and she'd want to recapture it with a vengeance. "No," she said lightly, and was pleased when he frowned at her. "I'm going to be a big dork and go work on my Charms," she said, and sighed. "See you, Carmichael."
"You're lame when you're straight edge, Potter," he said, even as she stepped away from him.
"Probably," she said, feeling even more pleasure that she got to stick Carmichael with his own barbs. She had to figure out her thing with Scorpius, if ever it was to happen before later in the evening when she was set to meet him, out on her own apparently.
Lily went back up to the castle, deep in thought, and, as was her habit, wasn't paying much attention as she wandered back in from outside, straight into the Entrance Hall busy with students going in and out from luncheon. So it wasn't at all surprising that she walked into someone, knocking herself out of her thoughts, the person she'd knocked into barely flinching as she fell on her arse, hurting her pride even more than her tailbone in the process. Because she could hear people laugh, and was certain she heard whispers around her, of people no doubt making some sort of comment about her, and she wanted to sink into the floor, almost as badly as the time in First Year she'd tripped coming in through Gryffindor's portrait hole, half the House laughing at her.
"You alright, Potter?" asked a soft voice, and Lily looked up in shocked surprise, because she was positive that was MacDougall's soft brogue, asking her if she was alright. She looked up, confirming it was indeed the tall, broad shouldered Hufflepuff, and her face went impossibly more red with her blush. Because now she was beyond mortified.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said, and even though she kind of wanted to just have a pity party right there, she accepted his hand and pulled herself to her feet. "Seriously, I just hurt my pride more than anything," she said when he looked at her with obvious concern.
"Sorry, I didn't even see you."
Lily shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."
"What were you thinking about so deeply?" MacDougall asked, even as they wandered off to one side, to be out of the way of other students, the other wizards with MacDougall leaving them, half laughing, half irritated.
"Who says-?" Lily began, trying to sound innocent, but MacDougall chuckled.
"Give me some credit, Lily. I may be a lot of things, but I'm not oblivious. You were probably wandering on instinct, head down, thinking about something that's bothering you." Lily's brows shot up, because that was a pretty good analysis of pretty much exactly what she'd done. "Which begs the question," he said, smiling a little, brown eyes warm and soft as ever, "what were you thinking so hard on?"
Lily sighed, but, she was desperate. "I need the world's biggest favour, and no questions asked about why," she admitted. MacDougall's brows lifted a little.
"Is it illegal?" he asked.
"No," Lily said firmly. It was only sort of extra fucking not allowed to the point where it almost was. Hell, for all she knew, it could be illegal, but she didn't know, so she was going with no.
"What sort of favour?" he asked.
Lily shook her head, not wanting to ask MacDougall, because she owed him enough already, but wanting to see Scorpius, even if just for a second, even more. "You have to agree not to tell anyone, even if you say no," she said.
"Sure thing," he said easily.
Lily licked her lips, pushed a hand through her hair, and sighed, stalling. "Fine," she finally mumbled. "I need a big enough diversion to distract most, if not all, of the school, so I can sneak out and go to Hogsmeade."
MacDougall laughed at her, and Lily felt her temper flare, even as she scowled. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Christ, Potter, you want to sneak out, so you thought a huge diversion would help you?" he chortled.
Lily shot him a death glare that bounced off, because he merely chuckled again. "So what if I did?" she snapped. She wanted to grab her wand from her pocket and curse him, but settled for shoving against the solid wall of his chest. "A simple no would have been sufficient, Evan!"
He grinned, even though he'd stopped laughing at least. "If you wanted to sneak out, Lily," he said softly, lifting a brow at her, as if questioning her sanity a little, "why wouldn't you just use that map of the school you don't have? I've heard there's secret tunnels all over the place."
"I don't have a map of the school," she lied. MacDougall shrugged. "But if I did, it would probably be a great idea to look at it." She grinned hugely, then lifted onto her toes and hugged Evan. "Thanks a million," Lily said, pulling back, and MacDougall grinned.
"If anyone asks me, I'm not lying for you," he said, then waved as she headed up the stairs to her dorm to get the Marauder's Map. Twenty minutes later, she was, undoubtedly, the luckiest witch on the face of the planet. Because there on the Marauder's Map, were several secret tunnels, some inside the school, some in the grounds, and some with notes beside. Three were marked as blocked. A fourth was marked, by a simple NO. But the one that Lily decided upon to sneak out was labelled, 'to Honeydukes' cellar'. Which sounded like, even if she was stuck down there, she'd at least have something to snack on, and she might even find the secret stash of caramel filled Chocolate Cauldrons.
So, at six o'clock, because Lily figured she'd be smart to give herself extra time, and after she'd gulped a hasty dinner, the redheaded witch was sneaking along the corridors to the entrance the Marauder's Map marked for the secret passage to Honeydukes', the statue of the One-Eyed Witch. She peeked at the Marauder's Map, inside the pocket of her hoodie under cloak, and saw herself in the passageway, beside the entrance. She blinked, and the there was a tiny word beside her on the Map. Dissendium. Lily tapped the statue and muttered the incantation, and gasped as the witch's hump slid open, revealing a slide. "Holy shit," the redhead breathed, looked down the dark passage, screwed up her courage, and climbed inside, wriggling at little, because it was a bit terrifying. And then she let go, and slide down a dark slide, until her feet crashed into earth and she fell on her arse.
Getting up and cursing, Lily followed the passageway, heart hammering the whole time and for what felt like forever, and then, at last the passage ended and she got to an overhead door, with a convenient ladder leading up to it. She climbed up, opened the door, and found herself, if the delicious sugar, chocolate and various fruity flavoured smells were any indicator, in Honeydukes' cellar. "Holy Merlin, it worked," Lily breathed, because she could hardly believe her luck. She'd gotten out of the castle, and she was going to see Scorpius! In her excitement, the redhead hurried toward where she could see stairs in the vague part light from a window somewhere, and bumped into a box of something that thunked to the ground, heavily and quite loud. She winced, even as a light when on, and ducked behind some boxes as a door opened and feet came down the stairs.
"Show yourself!" a voice said, and Lily felt her heart all but pounding in her throat. "Do it now, or I start throwing curses next. I know someone's down here!" the voice said, and Lily heard the feet finish descending the stairs. "I warned you. Reducto!" the voice cried, and Lily saw a box to her left, about two feet away, crumble into a pile of smoking dust.
She stood up straight, arms in the air guiltily, and said, "Please don't curse me!"
Lily saw a young woman, probably late twenties, staring back at her. She had elfin like features, a slight build, and challenging posture. "Who are you, what are you doing here, and what the hell do you want?" the little woman snapped.
"I'm Lily, I'm here because this is where the tunnel brought me, and I'm just trying to meet up with this guy I really like, and kind of love, and I'm hoping he's going to maybe love me again." She realized how utterly pathetic the words sounded as soon as they were out of her mouth, and Lily blushed massively. "I mean-"
"How old are you?" the woman demanded.
"Sixteen," she admitted, and then added, for good measure, "and a half. Closer to seventeen, really."
"An underage runaway? " the woman asked, face registering shock.
"I'm not running away," Lily said firmly. "I'm going to go back to school. I just…" She realized it sounded stupid, but swallowed, and said the words aloud anyway, just in case this witch wanted to curse first and ask questions later. "I want to go see someone, someone who's not at Hogwarts anymore, so I'm just sneaking out for a bit."
The witch, with her petite build and stature, looked up at Lily as she approached her. "I should turn you in to the Headmistress, you know," she said casually, tapping her wand absently on her palm. Lily's hazel eyes flicked down to it, feeling afraid, even if she had her own wand in her jeans.
"Are you going to?" she asked, already cringing, braced for the inevitable.
"No," the woman said. "I remember being sixteen and a half, or even closer to seventeen, and wanting to sneak out of school to see my boyfriend who'd graduated the year before." Lily's mouth dropped open in shock, brows shooting up. "But, just a head's up, if he's anything like my boyfriend was back then, he's probably actually a douche bag." The woman arched a brow when Lily merely stared at her gormlessly. "Well? Are you going?"
"Wha-?" she began, then shook her head, cutting the word off, and pushed past the woman, because she was already late, and if Scorpius wasn't there, she'd probably cry in frustration.
"If you're not back by nine, I will turn you in, though, sweetheart," the woman called after Lily as she hustled up the stairs. And Lily didn't doubt the woman would follow through. But she'd have a couple hours at least, and that sure as hell was better than nothing.
The young redheaded witch hurried out of Honeydukes', jogging toward the Three Broomsticks, trying to stay in shadows, just in case. She slipped behind the pub, and her heart, buoyed up on adrenaline and joy, sank abruptly. Because the little area behind the pub was deserted. Tears threatened, but Lily blinked them back fiercely. She was late, after all, and Scorpius probably got tired of waiting, and-
"You came," said a voice from the deepest swath of shadow, and Lily literally jumped, whirling, hand pulling her wand on instinct, even though she was underaged, and she was sure she'd get in a world of trouble should she be caught using magic, outside school. And then Scorpius stepped forward, removing his Disillusionment Charm, and Lily gulped.
"That wasn't nice!" she snapped.
Scorpius shrugged. "I had to make myself scarce after Madam Rosmerta found me out back here twice."
Lily tried to be angry, but she couldn't help but smile as she looked at Scorpius as he approached closer still. "Well, here I am," she said, because the grey eyed blond, looking handsome and serious, moved right into her personal bubble, and her stupid heart couldn't help but hope he would kiss her.
"Here you are," he said, and looked like he was fighting an internal debate, one hand hesitantly resting on her waist. Lily licked her lips, sucking in an unsteady breath, and then Scorpius rumbled, "I'm fucked," before he pulled her close and crushed her mouth with his. Lily's heart all but soared, and even as he kissed her hungrily, she melted all over him, her arms moving with easy remembrance around his shoulders as his tongue pushed into her mouth. "Fuck, how did you even get out?" he finally rumbled as they broke apart, his lips searing a burning trail down her neck.
"The Map," Lily admitted. She was sure if Albus had told anyone about the Marauder's Map, it would be Scorpius. The blond pureblood looked surprised as he pulled back to look at her. "Yeah, you can say it, I'm a genius."
"I can't believe he gave it to you," Scorpius admitted. He shook his head, and then smirked, and the redhead groaned as his hands slid up her torso from her waist, over the swells of her breasts lightly, far too lightly, and up her neck to cup her face. "Lily," he said, then sighed, and put his forehead against hers. Lily tried to refrain from pouting that he obviously didn't want to kiss her. "I'm not going to lie to you, darling, I want you. I really want you. I want to Apparate us to my flat and have you all bloody night long."
"I have-" Lily began, but Scorpius kissed her again.
"But I can't." The redheaded witch tried not to feel her heart breaking all over again at that. "Don't get me wrong," he said fiercely. "I want to. Fucking Salazar's whore, I fucking want to, because I'm a greedy, selfish, glutton for punishment. I'd do it in a fucking heartbeat if it didn't make me awful. Which is why I can't."
Lily frowned, opening her mouth to demand he explain himself, demand he tell her what the bleeding fuck he was on about. Even if she felt like an idiot for thinking for one glorious moment nothing had changed for Scorpius and his feelings for her either, Lily wanted him to either make his point or bugger off. "Scorpius-"
"Look, I…" He shook his head. "I had this whole speech planned out, but all of it's fucking gone, because you're bloody gorgeous, and I've missed you so fucking bad this year, and it's not been the same. It's…" He shook his head and Lily frowned hugely. "I'm not in school anymore. I'm bloody eighteen years old. A fully consenting adult wizard."
"So?" Lily demanded.
"And you're sixteen, and still at school, and it's kind of technically illegal for me to do anything more than hold hands with you." Scorpius looked like he didn't like admitting that fact out loud.
Hazel eyes narrowed, because if this was his way of trying to let her down gently, she would curse him. "You were seventeen last year," she said, trying to remain calm. "Just as much of an adult wizard, and it didn't seem to matter so much if you did anything with me back then." Scorpius sighed.
"Lily," he said, and she hated that tears stung her eyes when he pulled her close once more, his long lean frame curving around her, his body heat warming her through, his scent bringing myriad memories to mind. She closed her eyes, wanting to hang onto that moment forever, and doubly so when his mouth brushed her ear. "I was still at school last year. It didn't seem like such a big deal." The redhead blinked her stupid traitorous tears away.
"So what then?" Lily asked, not caring that she sounded petulant, and almost like the child he was half accusing her of being.
Scorpius pulled her closer still, and Lily hated herself for it a little, but she clung to him greedily. It had been so long… So long. And yet he was there now, and real, and solidly comforting, hugging her back. "So until you turn seventeen, darling, I'm not willing to risk my career, or more importantly your reputation, by doing anything that could have bad side effects."
"Except asking me to sneak out of the castle."
Scorpius smirked into her neck, then pulled back, and Lily bit her lower lip. "You'll be fine. Did Al give you the Cloak, too?" The redhead shook her head. "Selfish bastard. I'll see if I can nick it from him, and then you'll get out no problem." He paused, suddenly looking unsure. "If, you know, you still, erm, want to. I mean, I am still interested in helping you with your Charms, if you like," he said. "Your basic nonverbal spellcasting is much better, but your Counter Charms still suck nonverbally, Lily."
The redhead tried to breathe normally. It didn't work. "That's kind of rude," she said, even if she knew he was probably right. She hadn't practiced Counter Charms at all since she'd seen him last, either. "But alright. If you can pinch the Cloak from Al." Lily didn't want to risk expulsion by sneaking out any more than strictly warranted. But she really wanted to see Scorpius more often.
"Consider it done, darling," he said, and then, to Lily's delight, he pulled her close again and kissed her soundly. "How long do you have before someone will think you've gone missing?" he murmured.
The redhead bit her lip. "I have to be back before nine," she said. "At least, going back." She didn't mention her little run in with the petite and surprisingly cool witch who'd given her a free pass. Lily doubted Scorpius would like knowing she'd been caught, and she was too embarrassed to be forthcoming. Scorpius merely nodded.
"That works," he said, and although he moved away from her, making her joy flatten a tiny bit, there was nothing better, she was positive, than having Scorpius Malfoy kiss her like that. Like she was his, even as he told her he was hers. It made her heart ache for him, and she knew leaving would be impossible, but she would enjoy the limited time with him. Even if she was probably doomed for expulsion anyway for doing so.
For the next couple hours, after Lily had Apparated Side Along with Scorpius to his flat, where they remained fully clothed and in the living room, she practiced her Counter Charms for a little, before they began to talk of other things. The young redhead remembered the summer after her fifteenth birthday, and how she and Scorpius would just sit and talk, and, like they had so many times the summer before, eventually they both fell silent, sitting on the window ledge to his fire escape in his Muggle apartment building.
When she looked at her watch at last, as the sun began to set in earnest, Lily noticed it was already quarter to nine. "I have to go," she said sadly, breaking the companionable silence. Their arms were touching, and their thighs whispered close together, and the redhead wanted him with a fierce, consuming hunger. It was more than her desire for Evan or Carmichael had ever been. It was the needing Scorpius to prove to her it hadn't all just been silly teenage hormones and great chemistry between them.
"Alright," Scorpius said heavily, and they climbed back off the windowsill, standing in the bloody hued light of the setting sun.
Scorpius grasped her hand to Disapparate back to Hogsmeade, but then Lily, feeling desperate for something more and having tried the entire time to work up her courage to say it, blurted unceremoniously, "I love you."
The blond pureblood smiled. "Good. Because when you turn seventeen, I'm going to do my damndest to make sure you know precisely how much I love you back. Thoroughly, and vigorously, and preferably often."
The redhead blushed, and then Scorpius took her hand, Apparated her to outside Honeydukes' Sweet Shoppe in the shadow of a large tree, pressing her back up against the rough bark. "I'm going to miss you," she breathed, kissing him hungrily as his mouth covered hers and then devoured it.
"Not as much as I'll miss you," he rumbled. Lily moaned softly, because she had to go, but she wanted nothing more than to stay.
"Write me," she said between fervent kisses, "a proper letter or two."
Scorpius pulled back to look at her, dark grey eyes shadowed. "You haven't read the last one I sent." Lily frowned a tiny bit, but then she peeked at her watch and saw she had only minutes.
"If I read it, will you send-?" she asked, stumbling over a tree root and looking down to right her feet as she slid from between him and the large maple. But when she looked up, Scorpius had gone, and she groaned, even as she hustled back into Honeydukes'. The little witch was waiting, a brow raised.
"Cutting it quite fine, aren't you?"
Lily tried not to scowl. "Um, I just…"
"I get it," the witch said, smirking. "Go back to the castle, sweetheart. And if you want to come through my Aunt and Uncle's shop at night like this on the regular, there'd better be some gold in it for me."
Lily's mouth dropped open again, but she snapped it shut, nodded, and headed back behind the counter and to the cellar. "Thanks for not ratting me out," she said, looking back over her shoulder. The witch grinned.
"Hopefully the school doesn't have any kind of security enchantments over that tunnel," she said cheerfully.
Lily frowned, but climbed back down, hoping to Merlin there wasn't anyone else, save those who'd taken a shifty at the Marauder's Map, new about the secret tunnels. She made her way back through the tunnel, and climbed out the slide to the castle. All was quiet, and Lily hurried up toward the Fat Lady's portrait, knowing she'd have to wake the stuffy old broad up, and get a tongue lashing for being out of bounds past curfew.
But up she went, through the castle, taking a couple choice shortcuts, and in no time was rousing the Fat Lady and giving the password. And while she got a sleepy, "It's awfully late to be disturbing me!" Lily got off otherwise scot free, and was thanking her lucky stars when she at last slipped into the common room.
It was all but deserted, and Lily made a beeline for door that lead up to the girls' dormitories. "Did you have fun, Lily?" asked a voice from a chair before the burned out fire, and Lily grasped her wand, biting back a scream and a hex, even as Professor Longbottom stood up and came toward her. "Come now, did you really think no one knew about that tunnel?" The redhead, who'd dropped her wand, felt her stomach drop. "The question is," her Head of House continued, "where did you go and who did you go see?"
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