Leaning against the brick wall, Scorpius shook his hands out in anticipation, running them through his messy hair as the familiar red train pulled into Platform 9 ¾. It was officially the beginning of the Easter holidays, meaning Lily was coming home and would be for three weeks. He couldn't wait to finally be spending time with her, to wrap his arms around her and feel her lips press against his – they hadn't seen each other in months.

The doors to the train opened and students started pouring out, hurrying with their large trunks to find their family. Pushing himself off the wall, Scorpius stood by an already heavily pregnant Victoire, Teddy and little Dora, his eyes alert as he searched the platform for the tiniest hint of Lily's auburn hair. "I think I can see them," Teddy called out, closing his eyes and altering his body so he was a couple of inches higher. "Yeah, they are on their way over here."

Seconds later Hugo broke through the crowds of parents and children, leading the way as Lily followed. "Who missed me?" he cried, pulling his trunk up and holding his arms out. With a laugh, Victoire passed Dora off to Teddy and awkwardly hugged Hugo who was grinning.

Meanwhile Scorpius quickly pounced on Lily, not being able to contain himself any longer. He scooped her up in his arms, lifting her up off the ground and spinning her around in a slow circle. "Merlin, I missed you," he murmured softly, burying his face in her neck and smelling the familiar scent of her vanilla perfume.

"Who's Merlin?" Lily asked hoarsely with a hint of a laugh in her voice. When Scorpius pulled back, he saw that her face was serious and with that he returned her to the ground. "Is he your term-time boyfriend while I'm at school? Are you bisexual?"

"I really want to kiss you right now," he almost growled, pulling her up against his body impatiently.

As he did so, she leaned back in his arms and pulled a tissue out of her pocket. "I wouldn't," she said, sounding ill. "I've got the flu really bad." To exaggerate her point, she coughed into her tissue and dabbed her nose which was slightly red.

"I'll take my chances," he told her, a smirk on his face. Before she could protest, he dipped his head and planted a small and unsatisfying kiss on her lips. He wanted to do more but Lily probably wouldn't have let him with Teddy watching so closely. "Now we can both be ill and spend the rest of the holidays in bed together."

Lily gulped hard and bit her lip in such an unknowingly sexual way, Scorpius had to control his wandering thoughts. Then she pulled herself from his arms, making them feel empty and heavy. "Hi Teddy!" she exclaimed, wrapping one arm around her brother and rising up on tiptoes to coo at little Dora. "Where's the family?"

"Some of them are at work, the others are back at the Burrow getting dinner ready. Vic and I were in London already for a hospital appointment so we thought we would offer to come and collect you guys," Teddy replied, wiping the droll off of Dora's chin.

Victoire released Hugo and gently rubbed her large stomach. "Where's Dom?" she asked, peering around Hugo trying to find her sister.

Meanwhile Hugo moved to do a male version of a hug with Scorpius. "She's saying goodbye to her idiot of a boyfriend," he remarked, patting Scorpius on the back.

"She's got a boyfriend?" Teddy questioned, passing Dora off to Lily who was smiling and tickling the little girl's stomach. "Who is he?"

At that moment, Dominique pushed through the crowd with her lips a little bit swollen, evidence of a long make out session. "Don't listen to them, don't listen to them! They don't know Jesse so their opinions are invalid," she exclaimed, heaving a trunk to her side. Once she had, she wrapped her arms around her older sister, dodging the baby bump awkwardly.

Scorpius' mind reeled, recognising the name Jesse from somewhere. It wasn't the name of a student in Lily's year or his own but he knew a Jesse. "Isn't he the guy Eve dated?" he asked, looking at Lily, who nodded her head as she jiggled Dora who was interested in Hugo's hair and was trying to change her own hair colour to his.

There was a slight tension in the air, no one really knowing what to say.

"Mama!" Dora cooed, distracting everyone. The little girl was holding her arms out for her mummy, fists clenching and unclenching. Everyone laughed as Lily passed her back to Victoire.

Teddy clapped his hands. "Why don't we head back to the Burrow and get some food in us because I am starving?" They all agreed and headed for the exit of Platform 9 ¾, for the minivan Teddy traded his sports car for when he had children.

Doing as his mother raised him to do, Scorpius quickly collected Lily's trunk and scooped her hand up in his, kissing the back of her knuckles. "Are you feeling ok?" he asked worriedly, noticing the dark circles around Lily's eyes and how pale she was as they set off behind everyone else.

"I think I just need to lie down and have a nap," she told him, her voice usually small and weak. "I've had a terrible headache since I woke up this morning."

He pulled her closer into his side hoping it would comfort her. "Don't worry, you can sleep in the car," he told her softly, pausing slightly to plant a kiss on her head as he worried about his girlfriend.

###

The Burrow always seemed to be crowded, even if everyone wasn't there. It used to be overwhelming for Scorpius, who grew up in such a big house and that often entertained only a few people. However he'd grown to know and love his best friend's and girlfriend's family just as much as his own. The constant blur of bodies used to make him feel claustrophobic and constricting but now it felt cosy and like home.

Having Lily with him made anywhere feel like home though. She had slept the entire car journey south, while Scorpius, Hugo and Teddy chatted about cars and Victoire and Dominique sat in the back with Dora whispering in French. Her face was pressed up against the window, her hands under her head and her knees brought up on the seat too. All throughout the journey, Scorpius caught himself staring at her, thinking about how adorable she looked and how peaceful. But he also saw how little sleep she had been getting recently and from the lines in her face, how stressed she was, which worried him.

Now she was sat on the floor in the corner of the lounge, playing with Dora with little model toys of all the animals at the zoo. It had been Dora's birthday present from the pair of them. She looked relaxed and calm, the tension slowly ebbing from her body. Meanwhile Scorpius was sat on the sofa with his feet propped up on the coffee table, next to Hugo and Kaleb (who had come round for the food).

"Is she ok?" he asked quietly to Hugo, his eyes watching Lily as she played with a tiny zebra. His worry had been nibbling on his mind since they got into the car but he hadn't had the opportunity to.

Hugo took a swig of his bottle of Butterbeer and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think so dude," he said quietly. "None of us hardly see her anymore. She just goes to the library, goes to her classes and trains for Quidditch."

"Maybe she seems a bit off because she's ill," Kaleb added, leaning back in the armchair and reaching his hands above his head. "My mum always says I'm super grumpy when I'm ill."

Scorpius sighed, biting on his bottom lip anxiously. "You're probably right," he admitted, finishing off his Butterbeer in one final swig. Hopefully in a couple of days when Lily was feeling better, she'd be back to his beautiful Lily.

"Keep an eye on her though," Hugo said quietly, his gaze looking at Lily with a similar look of concern on his face that Scorpius had. "Something tells me there's more to this than the flu."

"Oh you're so foreboding," Kaleb laughed, ending the serious conversation and pulling it towards lighter topics that Scorpius tuned out of. He was too busy worrying what Lily could be bottling up.

It wasn't until Grandma Weasley announced dinner that Scorpius snapped out of his train of thought and came back to reality. He climbed off the sofa and swooped Dora up in his arms, making the little girl giggle excitedly. He then helped Lily to her feet and led the way to the big table in the kitchen, where people were scrambling for seats and plates and cutlery were flying through the air. Scorpius slid Dora into her high chair while Victoire stirred the bowl of baby food and Teddy rummaged through the baby bag and then he sat down next to Lily and Kaleb and grabbed Lily's hand under the table.

She blushed brightly and pulled her hand out of his, tucking her hair behind her ear and giving Scorpius a small smile. He wasn't happy about it, but he couldn't say anything with Lily's mother, aunts and grandma in the room.

"Sorry we're late," James shouted as he and Alicia came bursting through the door. "Practice ran over." They quickly took up their seats and everyone started piling food onto their plates.

"Where's Fred?" Grandma Weasley asked, hurrying around the table with a jug of pumpkin juice and filling up a cup for everyone. Honestly the woman never stopped. "Is he bringing Gabriella?"

James already had a potato stuffed in his mouth. Covering it, he swallowed hard and let out a loud breath. "What am I? His mother?" he retorted, his fork already plating more food until it became a small hill. "Sorry Aunty Ange," he added as a second thought.

"He said he wasn't coming tonight and that he sent you an owl?" Alicia answered in a more polite manner than James as she pushed the food around her plate.

Everyone laughed as realisation dawned on Grandma's face. "That's what it said?" she asked shocked, her face screwed up as she retrieved a scrap of parchment from the pocket of her apron. "Tell him that there is such a thing as too much ink." The table laughed again at the expense of Fred and then everyone started tucking into their meals and chattering away.

###

"Who's up for desert?" Grandma Weasley announced once everyone's plates were empty and stomachs were full to the brim. Dinner had been closer to a banquet and had filled Scorpius up to the point where he didn't think he'd need to eat anything for the next week. But at the mention of desert, and knowing that it was strawberry and raspberry cheesecake, he immediately perked up and found a tiny bit of room in his full stomach.

However James interrupted everyone, which was very unusual because he never refused food or got in its way. "Actually before we have desert, Alicia and I wanted to tell you all something," he announced, catching everyone's attention. Scorpius folded his hand into Lily's and this time after a pause she held it tight and her shoulders relaxed.

Holding onto Alicia, James got the pair of them to their feet and wrapped their arms around each other. "This may come as a bit of a shock to you," he started, looking at his girlfriend for reassurance.

"It came as a hell of a shock for us," Alicia added, laughing nervously as she tucked strands of hair behind her ear and nuzzling herself into James' shoulder. For a second Scorpius felt a tug of sadness that he hadn't held Lily like that in such a long time. It reminded him of how much he had missed her and all of a sudden, holding her hand didn't seem like enough.

"We don't want you to freak out because we're doing that enough ourselves. But we went and got confirmed the other day and thought it was time to tell you," James continued, fidgeting awkwardly which was very un-James like.

Sensing the beginning of a rambling, Alicia stepped in and put everyone out of their misery. "I'm pregnant!"

Everything immediately exploded around Scorpius and he was instantly swept up in the excitement of it all. They all clambered to their feet, running around the table to congratulate the expecting couple. Grandma Weasley was already crying and Lily's mother was on the brink, muttering to herself how she was going to be a grandma. With Lily by his side, Scorpius went up and hugged Alicia and shook James' hand, congratulating the pair of them. Then he stepped back and let Hugo talk to James.

As he pressed himself up against the wall, he caught sight of Lily, a tissue in her hand as she dabbed her running nose. She was leaning against her mum, who was definitely crying now, talking animatedly with Alicia and Victoire. She was smiling. For the first time since she had arrived back from Hogwarts, Lily looked like the girl he had at Christmas break.

But the smile didn't reach her ears, and this still worried Scorpius.

###

Stepping out of the Potter's fireplace, Scorpius dusted himself off and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up slightly. "Good evening Mrs Potter," he said softly, walking the length of the kitchen to hug his girlfriend's mum who was hovering over the stove. "Harry said he'd be another hour," he told her. He had just finished at the Ministry and was absolutely exhausted, dressed in his shirt and tie.

He wanted to go home and have a hot shower but decided to pop in and see how Lily was feeling before he did so. He'd spent the entire week at work worrying about her.

"Thanks Scorpius," Ginny replied, heading towards the fridge. "Are you staying for dinner? Would you like something to drink?"

Scorpius smiled and loosened the tie around his neck. "Oh no thank you," he answered, dropping his bag off on a nearby chair. "I have to have dinner with my family but I wanted to see Lily before I did," he explained, rummaging in his bag for the chocolates he ordered from Honeydukes the night before. They were Lily's favourites.

"Last time I checked, she was in the Den watching that television thing," Ginny replied, ducking into the cupboard for a bag of potatoes.

After muttering a thank you, Scorpius headed out of the kitchen and up the two flights of stairs, stopping on the little landing outside Lily's room. He could hear the sound of the television from behind the door of the Den and smiled, pushing the door open and peering inside.

In the middle of the sofa, curled up in a little ball and wrapped up in her duvet, was Lily, surrounded by small piles of used tissues. Clearly she wasn't feeling much better. However at the sound of the door opening, she did lift her head up and smile shyly up at him. "Don't you look tired," she said hoarsely, coughing into her duvet cover as she tried to make a joke.

"You're not looking your best either Potter," he laughed, striding around the sofa and falling into the space by Lily's head. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked up at him. "I bought you chocolates."

"Aw thanks Scorpius," she said weakly, taking the box and opening it. "My favourites!" Taking one out, she offered the box to Scorpius who shook his head and then placed the box on the table by her box of tissues. Then she settled back on the sofa, her head in Scorpius' lap.

Running his hands through her hair, his fingertips grazed her soft skin soothingly. "How are you feeling today beautiful? Any better?" he murmured quietly, watching as the yellow cartoon people with crazy hair ran around on the TV screen, the sound now turned down.

"To quote Ari, I feel like shit!" Lily sighed, snuggling up closer into her duvet.

Scorpius laughed, bending lower to place a kiss on Lily's temple. "I think you've been watching too much Muggle TV," he retorted, running a soft hand across her cheek. "That and hanging out with Ariana too long."

"Oh you are so funny," she replied, breaking into a coughing fit.

Worry spiked in him and he patted her back until the coughing stop. "Maybe you should get some sleep, you look really tired," he sighed once the coughing had stopped. His fingers barely touched her skin as he traced her hairline with his touch. Her skin felt very warm, almost feverish.

"Mum says I have to eat something first," Lily explained in a small voice. Her eyes looked very heavy and Scorpius knew she could easily fall asleep there and then. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"No, my mother has organised a dinner for Percy's birthday," Scorpius answered, already dreading the formal dinner.

Both sets of grandparents would be there, Lucius Malfoy looking down at him and making snide comments about his choice of job and his choice of friends and his choice of girlfriend. It wasn't something he wanted to deal with after a long day at the office but it was Percy's birthday and he was looking forward to catching up with him and Eve. He would have invited Lily too, had she been feeling better, but the proof she wasn't was lying right next to him, with a red, running nose and a pale complexion.

"I actually better get going," he admitted, not wanting to leave Lily like this. "I still need to shower and shave before the dinner."

Lily's lips curled up in a small smile, one that looked very strenuous. "Oh but I like a little bit of stubble," she said, her hand reaching up to stroke the shadow across his jawline.

It was the first time she had willing touched him since she'd come home, not that Scorpius was keeping tabs on that kind of thing. He hadn't realised how much she'd missed her touch; the simple graze of her delicate fingers had adrenaline spiking his blood in the ultimate high. He leaned closer into her hand and closed his eyes until the seconds past and Lily's hand dropped away.

"I hope you feel better soon," he told her sweetly, lifting her head up so he could get up off the sofa. Then he grabbed a cushion and lowered her head onto it, crouching down on the floor beside her. "I love you," he murmured, his lips reaching forward to kiss her nose and then her lips.

She blew out a long breath she had been holding in. "I love you too," she said, although her voice barely came out as anything more than a whisper.

###

Scorpius was having such a good week.

At work, he had been training hard, working out beyond his schedule, doing all the extra reading ahead of time and even looking into previous case studies to help him get ahead. All his hard work hadn't gone unnoticed either. Harry had decided to give him an entire weekend off, no workouts, no reading, and no homework.

In addition to that, Lily was feeling better. She wasn't lounging around on the sofa surrounded by piles of used tissues. And even though she still looked tired and had a little bit of a blocked nose, she had been up and about, sounding more and more like herself every day.

Also a postcard had arrived from Albus on Saturday morning, from Australia by the looks of the cheesy Muggle photograph of the Sydney Opera House. According to his best friend's tiny scrawl, he was having a great time travelling with Roxy, who was showing him all of the sights. Judging by the tone of the letter, he wasn't coming back anytime soon because he was having too much fun.

Scorpius was in such a happy mood that by lunchtime on Saturday, he had already decided to throw a party that evening, to celebrate everything that was going right in his life. Of course, Kaleb loved the idea and Franklin said he'd make an appearance after dinner with his parents in aid of Alicia breaking her news to the Longbottoms.

In the afternoon, after sending out Owls to everyone, Scorpius and Kaleb headed into Brighton, picking up Muggle and Magical alcohol along with snacks and everything they needed for a barbeque. Then they set up the equipment for the music and the food for that night and then headed upstairs to get ready.

When Scorpius was getting dressed in front of his floor length mirror, there was a surprising knock on his door. "Come in," he called out, buttoning his jeans up and reaching for a t-shirt. In the corner of the mirror, he saw the door open and Lily step inside.

She looked tired, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes surrounded by shadows. Her small body leaned against the doorframe, her head cocked to the side with a small smile on her face. "I heard there was a party," she said softly. Her voice still sounded a little hoarse but there was a little flush in her cheeks and a twinkle in her eyes.

"I didn't think you would come," he quickly replied, pulling his t-shirt over his head and crossing the room to wrap Lily up in his arms. Instantly a feeling of warmth enveloped him, making him feel like he was at home at last. Closing the door, he leaned back and ran a hand along her cheek, brushing the hair out of her face. "But I'm glad you did."

Her arms squeezed him tighter as she nuzzled into his chest. "I wasn't going to but then Hugo came round and managed to coax me off the sofa," she explained, leaning out of his hands. "What's the occasion for the party?" Smoothing her leather skirt down, she fell elegantly onto his bed, staying perched on the edge.

"Lots of things! Getting the weekend off; you coming home; oh and it's a hundred days until Kaleb's birthday," Scorpius told her, rummaging through his clothes trying to find his navy checked shirt. Slipping his arms inside, he forgot the buttons and fell back onto his bed with his head leaning on Lily's lap.

Immediately her hands started running through his hair, pulling at the little tufts of damp hair. "How has work been for you? My dad's not working you too hard is he?" she asked, her eyes focused on his hair.

Scorpius shrugged, his hand reaching up to stroke her forearm. "It's pretty exhausting," he sighed, closing his eyes and relaxing. "He's a good mentor though. I think he's putting me into some leadership seminars in my second year because as he keeps repeating, 'I have so much potential'."

"That's probably because you do," she joked, twisting strands of hair around her fingers. "I'm sure he just wants you to be the best!"

Opening his eyes, he looked up at Lily and smirked at her. "Enough boring talk about work and stuff, let's go downstairs and start this barbeque." She nodded, her lips pursed and they both got up, Scorpius taking her hand and leading her downstairs.

In the living room, Kaleb, Hugo, Sebastian and Ariana were sat around, drinking bottles of Butterbeer and laughing loudly as Scorpius and Lily hopped off the last step. "Shall we get this barbeque started?" he declared, releasing Lily's hand and clapping enthusiastically. He grabbed a bottle of Butterbeer for himself and headed outside with Kaleb.

"I'm so stoked for this party!" Kaleb exclaimed, opening the shed and heaving out the bag of coal. "We should have done this sooner."

Scorpius laughed and opened the lid of the barbeque. "I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much," he sighed, pulling his wand out from his back pocket while Kaleb poured the coal out. "Incendio," he murmured, pointing his wand at the coals and waiting for them to catch fire.

"Oh you are so whipped," Kaleb joked, walking back over to the shed with the coal.

###

"This is the best party ever!" Ariana exclaimed, falling back onto the sofa next to Lily and Eve. "Your parties always are, Scorpius!"

Ariana was having a great time. It was nice to actually go to a party without worrying about seeing Albus and feeling awkward and self-conscious. Her excitement had led her to get absolutely wasted, finishing off the bottle of vodka she had brought with her and moving onto the amazing combination of Firewhiskey and coke.

"Where are Hugo and Kaleb?" Lily asked, sipping the drink Ariana passed her and wincing at the amount of Firewhiskey in the drink. It wasn't mixed very well.

"Burning the food outside," Eve replied with a laugh, rubbing her lips together as she swigged her bottle of Butterbeer. Ariana looked at her confusingly which made her laugh even more. "They are too busy flirting with each other to watch the barbeque."

Scorpius kicked his feet up on the coffee table and wrapped an arm around Lily, pulling her into his side. "That's just tragic," he exclaimed, just as Olivia and Amar came stumbling into the living room from the garden, heading straight for the stereo. "Oh no, not again!" Scorpius muttered under his breath.

When the party started, everyone was in the living room dancing and drinking and making fools of themselves. But when the food was ready, almost everyone had practically ran outside, even though Kaleb had thoroughly burned the food black and crispy. Now that it was very dark outside, in dribs and drabs people started coming back in.

"Yes! More dancing," Ariana squealed, getting to her feet and pulling Lily up with her.

Her best friend immediately cried in protest. "I don't want to," she moaned, letting all of her muscles grow slack just as a loud dance track blasted out of the large speakers dotted around the room. Ariana pulled Lily even harder and spun her around, beginning their dance. By the fifth song, Lily was begging to stop. "Go and get Hugo, dance with him!" she shouted over the music, directly into Ariana's ear.

"And cockblock him?" she shouted back, rolling her eyes as she moved in time with the music.

Lily dipped her head down laughing to herself. "You don't have a dick Ari."

"Fine! I don't want to metaphorically cockblock him!"

"I'll dance with you," Sebastian's soft voice murmured directly into her ear, making her jump into his arms.

Spinning around, Ariana caught sight of Lily looking scared and disappearing into the small crowd of dancers, but it was completely forgotten once she looked at Sebastian's big brown eyes. "You know we need to talk," she said, leaning closer to him to make sure he heard her over the music.

"I thought you wanted to dance," he told her, a smirk on his face.

"And now I want to talk!" Ariana cried, grabbing hold of Sebastian's hand and pulling him through the living room and out of the front door, being instantly hit by the cold and brisk Brighton beach air and shivering. "So let's talk," she said in a quieter voice, the cold air clearing the alcohol from her mind.

"What did you want to talk about?" Sebastian asked casually, moving to sit down on the little bench outside the house. When Ariana moved to sit next to him, he pulled his wand out of his pocket and conjured a blanket for the both of them.

Curling up closer into the blanket, Ariana let out a long breath. "Where do we start?!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands into her lap. "We've been dodging each other since Valentine's Day and I can't get that kiss out of my head," she confessed, mentally kicking herself – why did she admit that?

There was an instant lull in the conversation, filled with Sebastian scratching his head and Ariana fiddling with the hem of the blanket.

"I can't stop thinking about that kiss either," Sebastian murmured under his breath.

"Then why have we been avoiding each other? It's so pathetic and first year of us," she replied, uncontrollably moving towards him as another gust of wind sent shivers down her spine. "Did I do something wrong?"

Immediately Sebastian pulled her into his side and ran a hand through her hair, his fingers lightly brushing her skin. "You've done nothing wrong," he told her quietly, his voice warming her. "It's me. All me, I promise."

"I don't understand."

"I tried so hard to make it work with Dominique. She was my best friend and I ruined our friendship because I followed my dick instead of my head. Yeah, I'm still friends with her but it's not the same anymore," he confessed, looking at her with such intensity. "And then we kissed and it felt so good so of course, I panicked and didn't want to ruin another friendship by doing anything."

"But by not doing anything, you're still ruining our friendship," Ariana exclaimed, sighing as she processed Sebastian's reasoning. It wasn't her fault. But then again it kind of was because she was the one who kissed him and started this whole thing. She ran her hands through her hair and leaned forward. "We've really made a mess of things, haven't we?"

He nudged her in the ribs and made her look up at him. "I don't know about you Ari but I want to make a go of this. That's why I've stopped avoiding you, because I've realised that I can't stop thinking about you. It's driving me crazy and I know it's very selfish of me but I want you."

An alcoholic-induced thought made Ariana smirk as she got to her feet and reached down to pull her wand out of her knee high sock. "I have my Apparating license and an empty house?"

"Meh! My brother throws crap parties anyway," Sebastian joked, throwing the blanket off himself and getting to his feet. He secured his hand in hers and nodded, as Ariana focused on her dad's house and Diaspparated the pair of them from the cold Brighton air.

###

Scorpius was spinning; the room was spinning; the house was spinning; the whole bloody planet was spinning.

He had definitely had too much Firewhiskey. When Franklin arrived back from his dinner, Dexter had insisted on everyone doing shots of the damn stuff and pretty soon, he was dancing with Eve like a complete idiot while his vision increasingly blurred and his words increasingly slurred. At some point during that time, Lily had disappeared and he hadn't be able to find her.

He stumbled out into the garden and instantly regretted it. "Oh please!" he exclaimed, falling back into the door, covering his eyes. "Kaleb you have a bedroom upstairs!" Dragging himself back into the house sluggishly, Scorpius stole a shot off the counter, downing it in one and wincing at the Muggle vodka. As he slammed the shot glass back on the counter, the world teetered slightly and he stumbled into Amar and Olivia, breaking up their kissing session.

"Dude, just go upstairs and lie down!" Amar exclaimed, pushing Scorpius off the pair of them. "You're bloody wasted!"

Taking the hint and the nudge, he stumbled and tripped his way upstairs, all the way to his bedroom. The door was unusually locked. "Ah shit," he slurred, clutching the door handle tightly as he swayed from side to side. Pulling out his wand, he held it out and muttered, "Alobamoro!" He tried the door again, but it was still looked. That was when he realised that his wand was facing the wrong way. "Let's try again. Alohamora!" This time the door opened and drunk Scorpius being drunk Scorpius fell into his room and landed on the floor with his face.

"Merlin's beard! Scorpius are you ok?" Lily's voice cried from somewhere.

"There's my sexy girlfriend," he cheered, trying to find his arms so he could push himself up off the floor. All of a sudden, arms were around his chest helping him to his feet. They didn't get very far and soon enough, they collapsed onto the bed. "Were you waiting up here for me all night?"

Lily looked beautiful. Her red cheeks were blushing extra bright and her cute little nose was red too. And even though her eyeliner was smudged and the dark circles around her eyes were still visible, she was so gorgeous and sexy that Scorpius couldn't help himself. His lips immediately found hers and he pushed her back onto the bed, his stumbling hands cupping her cheeks. Her hands were on his chest and then the kiss was broken and Scorpius was pushed onto his pillows.

Flipping her hair back, Lily huffed. "You're wasted Scorpius."

"That doesn't change the fact that I've missed you over the last few months," he replied, although he had a funny feeling his words weren't coming out exactly like he thought them. "I love you and I want to show you how much."

Her lips formed a little 'O' as she gulped hard. "I just don't feel very well," she said quietly, fanning herself and taking her cardigan off. Scorpius shuffled closer, leaning forward drunkenly to kiss Lily again to show her how much she meant to him. But he missed her and fell onto the floor. "You just don't give up do you?" she exclaimed, and this time she was outraged, hands shaking out in front of her.

"Please Lily, just come to bed with me," he pleaded.

"You're a drunken asshole!" Lily shouted, tears streaming down her face. "I can't believe you!" The next thing Scorpius heard was his bedroom door slamming shut.

###

Hugo knew two things when he woke up that morning. One, he wasn't alone. Two, he had the worst hangover ever.

Rolling over, he gasped as he came face to face with Kaleb, his hand shooting up to cover his mouth. Oh shit, he thought, mentally throwing himself into a wall. What had happened last night? How much had he drunk? How did he start out in the garden cooking burgers to waking up beside Kaleb?

And why did it have to be Kaleb?

He rolled over again and climbed out of the bed, wincing as the floorboards creaked under his feet. Waiting a few seconds, and then a few more, he slowly moved around Kaleb's room, retrieving his boxers and shorts. But he couldn't find his t-shirt.

"Is this what you were looking for?" Kaleb's voice called out, startling Hugo. He turned around and saw the older boy propped up on his elbow, Hugo's shirt in his hand. A Malfoy-worthy smirk was on his face and it was very sexy

Hugo leaned across the bed for his shirt, frowning when Kaleb snatched it away. "Can I have my shirt please? I need to go."

"And you were just going to leave without talking to me?" he retorted, finally giving him his t-shirt.

"What's there to talk about?" Hugo said with a shrug of his shoulders. "We got drunk, we hooked up, what else is there to say?"

Kaleb bit his lip, struggling with something inside himself. Then he blew out a breath and reached over to hold Hugo's hand in his. "I don't want you to go. I want you to stay with me in my bed all day and all night and then all day again. I tried dating other people and it didn't work out. They weren't you."

"Kay," he sighed softly, using the nickname that only he used. It was all moving too fast. He couldn't have a serious boyfriend, not when he was about to go back to school. He couldn't have a serious boyfriend when his parents didn't even know he was gay. "It's not the right time for us to be starting something. You have your training, I have school. Why don't we wait?"

"Until when?" he murmured, sitting up and leaning over to plant a kiss on his lips, moving lower with his lips until they were grazing his bare right nipple. "I'm not sure how long I can wait."

Hugo leaned back, frowning. "Summer?"

"You better be worth it," Kaleb sighed, falling back onto his pillow.

"How about I take my trousers off and show you what to expect?" Hugo smirked, throwing his t-shirt behind him and jumping further along the bed.

###

"Why does alcohol hate me?" Scorpius moaned, rolling over and groaning as he stretched his entire body out. There was a pounding in his head that felt like his skull was going to explode. He had a really dry mouth too. His morning was not going well so far and he'd only just woken up.

Taking it slow because the room still felt like it was spinning and he was pretty sure he was still kind of drunk, he sat up and frowned at his pillow. A folded piece of parchment was waiting for him, Lily's elegant writing across the front.

'Dear Scorpius.

I'm so sorry to do this to you. I absolutely hate myself, more than you'll ever know. I can't keep living like this though, and it's not fair for me to drag you along. I can't be with you anymore. I don't want to be with you anymore.

Please don't try and talk to me, at least not for a while. It's already too hard saying goodbye to you through this letter. I don't think I can bare to do it in person. I know that makes me selfish but just know I'll always love you.

I'm so sorry.

Lily.'


Author's Note: Apologies for how late this was. I know it's just an excuse but I have been going through some things, on top of a little block. But I'm getting back into it and I hopefully will have the next chapter out soon.

And just so you know, I hated breaking Lily and Scorpius up. I hope you liked this chapter from Scorpius' point of view and the little bits of Hugo and Ariana.

The next chapter will be a little bit of a skip ahead to Lily's last year. It's more of a filler but I hope you'll still like it. Until next time ...