Really sorry for the delay. I've had very little time to spare what with writing essays and working in a hospital. Hopefully this is better late than never. Thank you for your patience and understanding and thanks to Klaudia for your amazing beta work.

Chapter 51: Thwarting Lucius

The moment that Lily opened the study door, the scene before her was imprinted onto her brain. During that first second where the door swung open, time stood still; she absorbed every detail. The room's occupants were divided into two groups separated by Lucius' desk. Those behind his desk were Mr. and Mrs. Zabini and Lucius himself. All three wore smug expressions of satisfaction. Lucius sat at his desk with a scroll of parchment in his hands, caressing it as if it was the most precious object in his possession. It was clear to Lily that this parchment was Lucius' answer to something important in his life, a solution to all his worries. Blaise Zabini and his wife looked equally delighted as they flanked each side of the senior Malfoy.

On the other side of the desk stood Draco Malfoy with a hard expression on his face as he stared at his father and former classmate. He had a hand on his son's shoulder, silently cautioning him to restrain himself. Astoria was clearly livid with her father-in-law; she looked dangerous and Lily finally understood what Scorpius' friends had meant when they said they wouldn't want to get on her wrong side. Astoria had placed herself in between Scorpius and Margarita, giving each an equal sense of comfort and support. She had one hand on her son's arm and the other was holding a distraught Margarita in a half hug. Lily tried to assess Scorpius' expression but he was hidden from view. The only remaining person in the room was Narcissa Malfoy, who was set apart from the rest of the room's occupants. She hovered to the side at an equal distance from each group. She was watching uncertainly, analyzing the situation before her, while struggling to decide where she should stand: with her husband or the rest of her family.

A second after Lily began absorbing the scene in front of her, the door slammed against the wall. Her hand shot out to stop the rebounding door from hitting her, while the noise drew the attention of the people in the room. She ignored the exclamations and objections to her arrival, for she was focused on only one person, the man she loved. Scorpius' expression almost paralyzed her. It was one of despair and Lily felt his anguish hit her to her core.

Knowing to expect the worst, a numbness consumed her as a form of self-preservation. She had not had to revert to this shell since Hogwarts. However sensing the urgency of the matter before her, she knew it was the only way to keep herself in check, if she was to face off against her future father-in-law. She made several hesitant steps towards her beloved; she ignored everyone but him, while Teddy shadowed her steps protectively. If Lily had turned to look at him, she would have seen that he was taller and more imposing than usual. His metamorphic skills were changing his appearance rapidly and instinctively. He didn't like the looks on Lucius and Blaise's faces when they glared at Lily. It was as if they saw her as an obstacle that needed to be eliminated immediately.

"Scorpius." Lily said as she looked at no one but him. She was pleased to hear her voice was calmer than she felt. "I know you didn't want me here but I couldn't stay away. I had to."

She half expected him to be mad that she'd gone against his wishes. He had wanted to protect her from this, but Lily was starting to suspect this situation was not something she could be protected from. Whatever was going on in this room was life changing, and Scorpius knew it.

Scorpius stepped away from his parents, his hand hovering in the air towards Lily. He spoke her name pleadingly. Ignoring their audience, Lily rushed into his embrace. His sadness began to overwhelm her. She buried her face in his chest as his arms surrounded her. He held her tighter than usual but Lily didn't mind. She didn't want him to let go.

It felt as if they stood there like that for hours but it was more likely only seconds that had passed. "I'm glad you came," he said in a flat tone.

Lily leaned away slightly so she could see his face. The same torment was there and Lily suspected she now wore a similar expression without knowing the details of what was going on. "Lily" he breathed again as he stood before her, his hands soothing her crimson ringlets from her face. Tears pooled in her eyes but she refused to release them. With his silver eyes bearing down at her, Lily felt her lips begin to tremble but Scorpius gently stopped them with his fingers. He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her briefly. The kiss wasn't exactly passionate, but it was full of unsaid emotion; love, constancy, longing and desperation.

"I will fix this." He swore, his breath caressing her lips. Though he sounded determined to find a way out, there was an element of hopelessness in his tone.

"Fix what?" Lily asked and she winced at the flatness of her voice. Less than half an hour ago she had been blissfully happy, engaged and looking forward to living the rest of her life with Scorpius. Now, she wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen. She felt as if her whole world was about to end. She knew it was due to the man who decided at that particular moment to make his authority known to the intruder of a private family matter; at least to him, it was she that was the intruder.

In the background Lucius was yelling, demanding her to leave and saying she had no right to interrupt a family meeting. Astoria and Teddy responded but Lily didn't process their words. She was waiting for Scorpius to explain; to her, at the moment, it was only Scorpius that existed. This was their life that was being toyed with, their world slowly falling apart. In her mind, it was only the two of them, and she sensed Scorpius felt the same way.

In the moments it took for Scorpius to find his voice, several things happened. The study door opened again. Lily's parents entered the study with her brothers and Maggie. In a foolish act that in his mind saw as reflex, Lucius drew his wand, aiming at Lily to which Lily's family responded by drawing their own wands on him. In reaction, Scorpius tucked her protectively behind him, acting as a shield between Lily and his Grandfather.

"Aren't you satisfied with the damage you are causing?" Scorpius seethed. "You will not hurt her. It's already enough that you are trying to prevent our marriage by this sham of a betrothal."

Lily paled at the words as the room went still. This wasn't exactly the way she had planned to tell her family she was engaged, however the word betrothal had her reeling. She wriggled out of Scorpius' hold and stepped to his side. Her eyes were no longer on Scorpius but on the pale skinned man now sitting at the desk. Lucius Malfoy was cautious about the wands on him, already having lowered his. He remained seated with the scroll of parchment in one hand. His steely gaze was on Lily and she edged forward aware of the increasing tension in the room. She showed no fear as she met his gaze with undisguised hatred. She really did despise the man in front of her and doubted that would ever change.

In her peripheral vision she saw her parents watch her. They were standing with Draco and Astoria as they updated them with what Lucius had done. Maggie ran up to Margarita, who burst into sobs as soon as Maggie's arms were around her. Maggie dragged Margarita to a chair furthest away from their parents as she tried to comfort her. James and Teddy stood near her and Scorpius while Albus hovered by the door, his green eyes soaking in every detail. For a brief moment, Lily marvelled on how very much Albus resembled their father; he was studying the atmosphere around them all, as if deciphering a way to find a solution, waiting for his moment to step in.

"It is not a sham of a betrothal. Everything about it is legal and concrete. You know that, lad." Lucius shot back cruelly to his grandson although his gaze focused on Lily. "My lawyers have looked it over and yesterday I decided on the perfect wife for you. Margarita will provide you with proper, pureblood heirs."

As Scorpius protested that Margarita was more like a sister to him and that heirs were impossible, Lucius was only half listening. A malicious glean shimmered in Lucius' eyes as he held the scroll out for Lily to read. She took it with a surprisingly steady gloved hand and opened it with an air of detached emotion which would have made any Slytherin proud.

Gasps escaped her families' lips at the news. Words were spoken but Lily blocked them out as she read the scroll. She was furious and devastated at the same time but she wouldn't let Lucius win; she would not fall to pieces in front of him. Stepping back to Scorpius' side so that he could wrap his arm around her, she read the contract.

As Lucius had said, the contract told of a betrothal between Scorpius and Margarita. As she read on, she realized that there was no room for annulment and a divorce will not be sought until an heir was born. The idea made her sick as she wondered how Lucius felt it was his right to dictate the lives of others.

She read the contract twice as she examined it for anything she could use. It was an old fashioned contract and not generally enforced today; it was signed by Blaise and Lucius. Lily knew not to ask if the contract being signed by Lucius instead of Draco would make a difference. Lucius would have made sure that it wouldn't, it was likely that any blood relative could have decided their fate. She saw only a glimmer of hope in the date of the signatures.

"This thing was signed today." She said passing the parchment to Scorpius and focusing on only him. With her hands free she removed the glove on her left hand. Her engagement ring glistened brightly in the torch lit study. "We got engaged yesterday. That has to make the contract void." She pleaded, a single tear escaping and trickling down her cheek.

Scorpius wiped it away with his thumb and shook his head. "The contract would be void only if we were married or a previous betrothal was arranged," Scorpius said sadly. Similar contracts had been used in his family and families like his for centuries. He knew there were no loop holes. Marrying Lily would not be legally binding but that didn't mean he had to marry anyone else. There was no timescale set for the supposed marriage between him and Margarita. "This contract determines who I will marry if I ever marry," He explained and held her hands in his. "This isn't what we wanted but I won't let it prevent us from being together. I love you."

Lily nodded her head. She wanted to marry Scorpius and knew that more clearly than ever, all fleeting doubts were gone. However, if it was not possible to marry him then she would be happy just to live her life with him. She would not let Lucius tear them apart.

"Don't be foolish." Lucius roared as he overheard the couple and saw where it was leading. "You will do as you are told, you ungrateful brat. I got you a way out of this situation you got yourself in. You should be thanking me-"

Lucius never completed that sentence. Scorpius turned on his grandfather. "Thanking you? Why in Merlin's name would I want to do that? I love Lily and asked her to marry me last night and she said yes. I was happy, truly happy and you have taken that away from me. So explain to me why I should be thanking you." Scorpius said fiercely and Lucius blanched, eying his grandson as if seeing the real him for the first time. Suddenly, the elder Malfoy's mind was reeling.

Lucius had thought he was helping his grandson but doubt was creeping into his mind. Surely his grandson hadn't fallen for the girl; he'd hoped to get this sorted out before that had happened. As his confidence, wavered his anger increased. His pride was hurt, more so he was embarrassed that the Zabini's were here to witness his grandson's disobedience. This was not turning out how he had expected.

"You will do as you are told!" Lucius yelled, slamming his fists against his desk. "Do you think I will let you pollute the family name? I will not have my future great grandchildren being related to any one related to that Arthur Weasley." There was uproar as everyone yelled at once. Noise exploded around the room.

"You did this to my daughter because of an old feud with my father? Are you serious? Are you that daft?" Ginny began to seethe. "Are you to tell me that you decided to ruin the lives of not one, but THREE young people, just to spout some Pureblood nonsense and to spite my father?" Ginny's expression was turning murderous; as her threats began to spill forth on the formidable Malfoy, a mother who had to watch one of her children suffer because an old notion would relate to Ginny Weasley Potter; in fact that mother was Astoria Malfoy, who was still glowering at her father-in-law and very much looked as if she were to assist Ginny at any moment.

Harry managed to restrain his wife from causing Lucius any physical harm but there was no way he was going to save him from any verbal abuse. He wanted to kill Lucius himself for what he had done to his little girl. He would take the contract and have both Percy and Hermione look over it. The two of them combined knew the law better than any other lawyer in the wizarding world. They would be able to find a solution. For the sake of his daughter's happiness, they had to.

Maggie was yelling at her parents, saying that they had no right to make this decision concerning any of their lives; for they had never been proper parents to them and she was going to make sure that they wouldn't be able to do anything like this again. As Maggie gave her parents a tongue lashing, Draco was trying to calm his father. Astoria looked as if she was talking herself out of murdering him, as well as making sure Draco stood between her and her target to prevent her from striking the elder male. Narcissa Malfoy silently continued to observe the room, her eyes as watchful as Albus' had been, who was now entering the bedlam that was occurring at the moment with a determined expression.

Albus began to talk urgently with Teddy and James until he left the room with Teddy in tow. Lily saw them go but there was no room to feel hurt by the apparent abandonment. Fury was the only emotion she could feel. She tried to contain her anger as the torches began to flare dangerously, reacting in response to her emotions.

She had thought her connection with fire through her emotions was under control; then again she was rarely angry these days, therefore she hadn't tested out that theory. Now was not the time to let her anger get the better of her. There may be one man in the room she wouldn't lament the loss of, but the majority of the room's occupants were people she loved and cherished.

Scorpius immediately felt the change in the room, noting the torches flare up and looked to Lily.

"Lily look at me and only me," he pleaded quietly before anyone could pick up on the situation. She did as commanded, her eyes not straying from his silvery orbs. "Breathe slowly and deeply," he urged and slowly Lily began to match her breathing to his. She couldn't help but find the action soothing. Scorpius managed to smile at her, yet the smile didn't reach his eyes. "He can't stop us from being together. I won't allow it, even if it means I have to give up everything here."

Lily's eyes widened in alarm as she processed his words and caught their meaning. "You can't give up your family. Think of your parents." She gasped in shock, her anger now controlled and the torches now dimmed to their normal gleam in the study.

"You are my family now, love. My parents would never abandon me, nor abandon us. They would understand my choice. If my options are living this lifestyle without you or a different life with you, there is no choice. I choose you. I'll always choose you."

Lily felt more tears trickle down her cheeks. They were beyond being controlled so she didn't bother to try. Scorpius pulled her figure against him so that she could hide her tears. They stood there until they heard James approach them. Scorpius and James held each others gaze.

"We need to talk," James whispered urgently. "But not here." Scorpius nodded in response and Lily raised her gaze to meet her brother's. He winced when he saw her face and stroked her damp cheek with his hand. Lily saw the meaning and compassion blazing in his brown eyes. Somehow, she knew what he had to say to them was of paramount importance. She nodded as well, and James caught the attention of the Zabini twins, encouraging them to follow. He then spoke a few whispered words to his father; Harry looked solemn but agreed to whatever his son had said.

"Where are you going? Don't walk away from me, boy." Lucius demanded as he noticed the group of five leaving. Scorpius halted and urged the others to continue through the door. Lily was the only one who remained at his side, her hand held firmly in his. Scorpius turned to his grandfather.

"What are you going to do that you haven't already done?" He asked in a defeated tone. James' urgency had given him hope but he wasn't foolish enough to warn the older man of anything, yet. "You win, but you have lost the right to demand anything more of me. We will be back. I promise you that."

He refused to allow Lucius a moment to respond. Having said all he had to say for now, he walked out of the room with Lily. The older generations remained in the room to continue their discussion, or in Astoria's and Ginny's case, a shouting match of utter disgust and anger that had Lily more than happy to leave in her father's capable hands.

The couple joined the other three and they headed towards the main part of the house. "What is going on?" Lily croaked, now that they were out of the confines of Lucius' study.

James' eyes flickered down to the ring on Lily's finger, the diamond ring with a band of silver and gold intimately entwined with encrusted emeralds and rubies. "Albus thinks he has found a solution and it has something to do with the ring Scorpius chose for you."

"What kind of solution?" Scorpius and Margarita asked at once.

"I don't know exactly but I do know he thinks it can trump that contract Lucius wrote up. He's going to meet us in the library. They may already be there, Teddy's with him." James conspiratorially whispered to them and they sped up their pace as they headed to the library. It didn't take long as the tall structure housing the library was joined by the elder Malfoys' wing from the rest of the mansion.

Lily could hardly believe their luck if it turned out to be true. Anything thwarting Lucius' plans seemed impossible, yet Lily couldn't help but hope as her heart beat wildly at such a possibility. She wondered what could beat a seemingly airtight contract. She glanced at Scorpius, who was looking straight ahead. She suspected he felt her gaze on him, because he squeezed her hand encouragingly. His posture told him that he was sceptical but hopeful at the same time. Her gaze then brushed over the twins. Maggie was visually optimistic and confident that her love had found a way to fix the trouble her father had gotten her sister and best friend into. Margarita appeared less confident. Her gaze flickered around them nervously, almost as if she was looking for someone. A moment later, Margarita's eyes met Lily's. Lily recognized something in her friend's gaze, something that she would see in her own eyes if a mirror was at hand. Margarita was in love with someone and worried he would be lost to her. A moment later Margarita looked away, breaking eye contact.

Lily didn't have time to dwell on the realization that Margarita was in love. The group were soon walking through the double doors of the library. As James had suspected, Albus and Teddy were already there. They stood by an ornate mahogany table. Albus had placed a box of ancient looking scrolls on the desk with several pieces of parchment out on display.

Lily ran to her brother, hardly daring to believe that he had found a way out of this mess. "Jamie said you might have found something that can help us," she explained, wanting her brother to confirm it in person. The others gathered around the table also wanting an explanation.

"I think so but I'm not entirely sure." Albus spoke quickly but clearly. "These parchments are from the Malfoy vault when Scorpius was searching for the ring. They are letters between Gwendolyn Selwyn and Tiberius Malfoy." Lily recognized the names as the couple her engagement ring had originally belonged to. "They're not written in Old English, Celtic or any other language spoken during the 11th century that we know of. That's why we ignored them when Duanne, Scorpius and I were doing research. But you know me, I can't resist a puzzle. Not with my profession."

"Please get on with it, Al." Scorpius urged impatiently.

"Sorry." Albus said apologetically. "They're written in code!" He exclaimed and was clearly excited by the news. "However, I didn't know this until I found the painting of them." He indicated to a painting that was in the library, recently brought out of storage and leaning on the desk. Albus motioned the others to take a look at the parchments he had laid out, but Lily was captivated.

Despite the urgency of the situation, Lily couldn't tear her gaze away from the painting once she glanced at it. The woman was tall and slender with vivid red hair and an oval face. The resemblance between Gwendolyn and Lily was obvious. She wore what looked to be Gryffindor robes while the man was dressed in silver and green. He was taller than the woman and much boarder. He had waist length platinum blonde hair similar to Scorpius, although his length was much longer than his apparent descendant. They were practically identical to her and Scorpius; Lily was awestruck of the uncanny resemblance. She wondered if anyone else had picked up on it as she had; she refocused her attention to the situation at hand. Everyone one else had continued to listen to Albus.

"The border of the painting has the codex drawn into it. With it I was able to translate a few of their letters into Medieval Latin and then to English. However, this entry is of particular interest. It didn't translate into Medieval Latin but Cumbric, which is an extinct language that was spoken in Northern England and the Scottish lowlands in Medieval Britain. It being an extinct language makes my confidence in the translation a little iffy at best." Albus sighed.

"I know the language, oddly enough." Scorpius explained. 'We have a few books on the upper floors written in this particular script. There wasn't much to do in the house when the weather prevented me from spending any time outside so I taught myself to read it."

"Brilliant!" Albus beamed. "Here's the parchment in Cumbric and here is my attempt at translating it." Albus said, passing the two pieces of parchment to Scorpius.

Scorpius took them and headed to another desk, lighting a lamp so that he could examine them thoroughly. Lily sat next to him and watched him work. He would read a line of the Cumbric scripture and then a line of Albus' translation, making amendments when required. As Scorpius read the translation a smile began to spread across his face; Lily's heart felt immediately eased the moment he spoke to Albus.

"You're translation was correct where it matters. If this still holds, I think we have our solution. How confident are you with deciphering the code?"

"I'm confident. With the codex I would have cracked the code in my sleep." Albus snorted rolling his eyes. "I've been stewing over the implications since I translated it. I was working up to telling you about it but then this happened and suddenly I'm not as bothered about it as I was." Lily and the others listened to the conversation, and all were equally confused.

"Will you please tell me what's going on." She demanded switching her gaze between Albus and Scorpius. Teddy, James and the Zabini sisters looked just as interested to hear their explanation. Scorpius moved his chair nearer to Lily and handed the parchment to Margarita so she could read it. Turning back to Lily, he reached forward and brushed a lock of Lily's hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He reached for her left hand and held it so that he could see the ring that was truly perfect for them.

"The ring is spelled." He said simply. "Something I should have checked more thoroughly before I gave it to you and I am truly sorry for that. Knowing my family history, it could have turned out worse. As it happens it is the answer to our problem."

Lily gave her love a pointed look and he continued. "It seems Gwendolyn and Tiberius had a similar predicament to ours. Back then, the Selwyn family weren't as noble as they are considered today. It also didn't help that Gwendolyn was rumoured to be a Seer, a form of magic that wasn't exactly celebrated back then. Visions of the future were considered Black Magic in medieval Britain. Black Magic was deemed more dangerous than the Dark Arts. Knowing the future meant you could change it and that was forbiden. Tiberius was afraid that his parent's wouldn't approve of the match. He cast a charm on the ring that meant that once it was on her finger, no one could keep them apart."

"Not approving of the match! That doesn't sound like a Malfoy at all." James smirked.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, too overjoyed to respond to James' sarcasm. "The charm that was, and I'm sure still is cast on the ring, binds the giver and receiver with a contract as sure as any betrothal. According to this contract," He began and reached over for the original coded parchment. "Once the ring has a wearer, the spell is activated and cannot be broken. Lucius cannot do anything to break us apart because when I gave you that ring last night and you accepted it...well...Lily, what I'm trying to say is that according to the old magic in this ring, in its own magical contract, we were married when I placed that ring on your finger."

Margarita looked elated and hugged Maggie, who shouted in utter triumph and glee, congratulating Lily and Scorpius, not aware of the fact that Lily had gone still at the revelation at the idea that in essence she had been married for 24 hours.

"Married." Lily whispered incredulously. If the charm remained, then she was married and she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about being married already. However, it was definitely preferable to the alternative. "How do we test whether the ring is still spelled? I don't want to get my hopes up until I know for sure," Lily admitted.

"I'm certain this contract is still good but we'll test it now if you are up to it. We'll go back to Lucius' study and if the ring is indeed spelled, then skin contact should destroy it in some way," Scorpius explained calmly.

Feeling nervous, Lily took a deep breath. "We need to do this now." She agreed. She didn't think she could bear waiting for the answer but then she didn't know how she would react if it didn't work. To be given hope and then to have it taken away on the last hurdle would be utterly cruel after all that she and Scorpius had gone through to come this far.

Scorpius helped Lily to her feet. "If this doesn't work, love, then we will resort to Plan B. I'm not giving you up no matter what Lucius says."

Lily nodded and linked arms with Scorpius. She knew how confident he was that this was going to work. She saw the same confidence in the faces around her. But she still couldn't allow herself to feel that confidence in herself. "Lets get this over with." Lily said nervously and turned to the others in turn. "Are you coming with us?"

They all grinned in response. "If this comes off then I wouldn't miss it for the world." Maggie grinned as she came to hug Lily tightly before returning to hug her sister.

"But if it doesn't then we want to be there for you." Teddy replied, stepping forward to place his hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"But it will work." Both James and Albus stated confidently.

"It has to." Lily and Margarita agreed simultaneously.

With that decided the seven of them returned to Lucius' study. The atmosphere was as tense as they had left it. Everyone quietened and theirs bodies turned to the entering group. Lucius didn't complain about their entrance this time. If he was curious about their disappearance then he didn't show it. He just sat at his desk with the contract rolled out in front of him. Lily couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with the man for him to appear so cold and distant from the concern of his family. She wondered if he felt any guilt for what he had done. Narcissa remained standing to the side of the room. Her eyes met Lily and Scorpius before returning to her husband. Lily thought she saw softness in Narcissa's gaze but couldn't be certain, the connection had been fleeting.

Mr. and Mrs. Zabini still stood by his side. Their piercing gaze was on their daughters but their expressions weren't as unreadable as usual. They were suspicious about the obviously uplifted mood of the seven. They doubted that Margarita had accepted her betrothal, not with Maggie by her side. Lily wondered what they were thinking. She suspected they were cursing Maggie and no doubt Lily for their influence on the formerly reserved Margarita. Until Lily had become friends with the Slytherin twin, she had been quiet and eager to please her parents. After the friendship blossomed, Margarita had started acting for herself, which her parents hadn't appreciated nor approved of.

Harry and Ginny rushed to Lily while Scorpius' parents went to him. Lily's parents embraced her, offering comforting words. Harry assured her that he was going to have Percy and Hermione look over the contract to see if anything could be done. She drew them to side to quietly reassure them.

"It's okay, we think we have a solution," Lily breathed quietly but Lucius heard her.

"A solution!" Lucius scoffed from his position by his desk. "The only solution is for Scorpius to marry Margarita and forget about the redhead."

Lily felt her family tense around her. Scorpius stepped forward, taking Lily's and Margarita's hands in his. "Lets do this." He grinned to the girls before leading them to stand before Lucius' desk. He then stared down at his grandfather, his expression hardening at the sight of him.

"I'm going to say this plainly so you understand. Margarita and I will never marry. Neither of us want it. If we cannot find a way out of this contract, you will."

"Why would I do that?" Lucius spat, standing so that he would have to look up to his grandson.

Lily was impressed with how intimidating Scorpius could be. It was not something she often witnessed. Lily exchanged a glance with Margarita and saw the surprise in her eyes. He was smirking at his grandfather's attempt to appear intimidating. "For the sake of the heirs you want. You will not get any if you force this wedding on us." He looked towards Margarita and then back at Lucius. "As I keep saying, Margarita is like a sister to me; heirs are impossible and so is the continuation of the Malfoy name." Scorpius stated and Lucius stared back coldly.

"Luckily, we think a solution has been found." Margarita grinned meeting her parents eyes. "You see there is a contract tied to the engagement ring Scorpius gave Lily, that precedes your contract by centuries. Lily! Scorpius!"

Lily showed of her engagement ring while Scorpius placed the coded contract and the translations on the desk for him to read. Lucius nostrils flared angrily as he read. "Impossible." He growled and he began answering the angry questions coming from Blaise. He was furious at what Lucius was saying as he read out the old contract. Whereas the majority of the room's remaining occupants were slowly showing their delight, yet still waiting for the ultimate result.

Lily took the opportunity to place her left hand on the contract that she hoped would be void. For the first second nothing happened. As a sinking feeling began to consume her, she realized how much hope she had had that this plan would work. She was about to look at Scorpius when her hand began to tingle. Staring down at the contract, she saw the ink begin to swirl around the page before it disappeared. Laughing in relief she flung her arms around her love and he swung her around. Their parents watched them with smiles on their faces knowing that they were happy, while inwardly relieved that all had indeed worked itself out.

Blaise and his wife on the other hand, looked furious. "Come with us." They demanded of Margarita but she held her ground. For the first time, she stood up to her parents with the confidence of her sister and Lily, who immediately went to her side

She regarded them coldly and as Lily watched, she realized that any warm feeling Margarita had once had for her parents had vanished. She no longer saw them as her parents but as strangers, strangers she had no regard for.

"I will not come with you now." She assured them in a formal tone. "Nor do I feel inclined to grant you any further requests. I do not wish to see you again."

Margarita's parents stared back at their daughter in shock. They understood that they had lost this fight but they had yet to understand the absolution in Margarita's tone. After a fleeting look towards Lucius, Blaise grabbed his wife's arm and walked her out of the office. Lucius watched them go and turned his steely gaze on Lily. "You may have wormed your way into this family, girl, but I will never accept you. And you-" He said turning to Scorpius. "I will have nothing further to do with you." He declared furiously declared.

"I never thought you would be that accommodating old man." Scorpius answered back coldly, which surprised Lily.

With a slightly dejected expression, Lucius Malfoy stormed out of the room.

The room's occupants remained momentarily still after Lucius vacated the room to follow Blaise Zabini and his wife, each absorbing how the meeting had turned out. Lily was too relieved and surprised by the turn of events to do anything other than to return to Scorpius' embrace. Scorpius didn't object, he held her close resting his cheek in her hair. From behind her, Lily felt her father move towards the door as if to guard it. Lily understood his motives, for she didn't like the madness flaring in Blaise Zabini's eyes when he realized his daughter wouldn't be marrying Scorpius after all. Margarita's defection from them solidified his disgust for his twin daughters. She didn't want to be anywhere near him when his temper blew; she felt her father shared her feelings. It was a good thing Margarita and her siblings were all staying elsewhere tonight.

Astoria made an unlady-like snort. "Don't worry, dear. Lucius has never accepted me. It doesn't make much of an impact." She said softly and Lily smiled over to her mother-in-law. It was weird to Lily to know that she was already married. It was all happening quicker than she had expected. Lily began to wonder how different her life was going to be now. For all intensive purposes, she was a Malfoy.

As the conversations began to buzz around her, a certain Malfoy caught her attention. Narcissa Malfoy stood calm and collected after her husband's outburst, as if she were immune to it. She made no move to follow him immediately. Her expression was unreadable but her steadfast gaze met each of the remaining Malfoy's in turn. Whether as a silent acknowledgement of her husband's foolishness, or something else, Lily couldn't be certain. Her gaze then shifted to Lily. Lily stood tall in reaction and met her gaze unblinkingly. No words were uttered as the elder Malfoy surveyed Lily; none were needed. After a long pause, Narcissa walked gracefully towards Lily and raised her hand to lay it gently on Lily's shoulder. Lily knew instinctively what the gesture meant. Narcissa Malfoy, with all her Pureblood ideals, had accepted Lily as one of her own. With that, Narcissa left the study and the cheerful exclamations burst forth more exuberantly.

The atmosphere in the room relaxed completely. Astoria approached Lily first and kissed her on the cheek before doing the same to her son. The act was more awkward than it should have been since Scorpius refused to relinquish his hold on her, and Lily was more than content to continue with the contact.

"I'm so happy to have you as part of the family, Lily. I will speak to you later but now I have to see if some damage control is needed for my guests. We're used to scandal of course but I don't want to bring it on Hamfast's Orphanage for Magical Children." Astoria sighed. "Come on, my love. I need you to be your most charming self and help with the auction." She winked at her husband and he snorted. Before he left with his wife, Draco made his apologies for his father and the fact that he'd made the situation worse by his actions to keep the genuineness of their relationship from Lucius. He wished he could have protected them from the anguish Lucius had made them and Margarita feel.

Both Lily and Scorpius waved away his apologies, for they knew his intentions had been to protect them and neither held him responsible. Lucius was the only one to blame for his arrogance and paternalism.

With no reason for any of them to be in Lucius' study, everyone followed Draco and Astoria to the main part of the house. Harry and Ginny watched their children walk ahead of them, glad to see them all happy. Scorpius and Lily walked with an arm around each other and Lily clasped her free hand with Margarita's. She was happy, almost as happy as she had been earlier that day. She wondered, however, since they had been so close to ending the day on a disastrous note, why she wasn't as relieved or as ecstatic as the rest. Something niggled in the back of her mind. She couldn't put her finger on it yet, but her concerns were slowly becoming clearer.

Maggie walked with Albus eager to rejoin the party. She flitted between complaining vocally about her parents to thanking Albus for finding the way to help her sister. Every time she thanked him, she kissed him; with every kiss Albus was feeling less inclined to join the party, wanting to be alone with his girlfriend. As Albus fought his urge to drag Maggie to a secluded part of the mansion, James and Teddy hurried to rejoin their wives. They knew they would be wondering what was going on, and now that they knew their sister was well, they would no doubt fill them in. Every so often they glanced back at Lily. They found it strange to think of her as all grown up and married, but they supposed they would get used to it soon. They had no idea that Lily herself was also struggling to accept that fact as well.

As the group approached the ballroom they saw a lone figure leaning against the wall. He straightened when he saw them approach and pushed himself away from the wall. As Lily got nearer she realized the figure was Brian Finnegan. She felt Margarita's hand jolt when she too saw Brian and Lily suddenly understood. Margarita was in love with Brian. It was odd to discover such a fact when the two had never seemed more than friends. However, Lily knew why Margarita would want to keep the relationship from her parents, for Brian was a half-blood. Her parents had already proved they would do anything to have her tied to a Pureblood. But Lily couldn't see why Margarita would keep it from her friends. Not that Lily could judge, she had done the same thing when she'd dated Scorpius the first time when they were still at Hogwarts.

"Go to him." Lily said without hesitation and released her hand. Margarita turned to Lily, surprised and nodded her head. Without further delay she hurried to Brian's open arms.

"Took them long enough." Both Scorpius and Maggie muttered as they watched Margarita bow her head to kiss Brian. Lily was left with the feeling that Margarita had loved Brian for a long time. She wondered if that love had started back when they were at school. If it hadn't been love then, she was certain Margarita had had feelings for him since their school days. She remembered her initial shyness around Brian; the fact that during the Halloween ball Scorpius had said his dance partner had wanted to dance with Brian; and how they had stayed up by the campfire during the Quidditch world cup. Considering that, Lily was happy to see her friend finally happy in love. Thinking about happiness, Lily urged Scorpius to stop and nodded for her family to continue into the ballroom.

"Is there somewhere we can talk?" She asked and Scorpius nodded. He didn't look confused, he looked as if he'd been expecting her question. He walked her to an empty living room that was larger than the floor plan of her family home. It was one of the more formal rooms, rarely used. There were smaller day rooms which were cosier than this one. Lily found herself memorizing the layout of the house that was to be shared with her soon, which brought her back to the present matter at hand.

Lily sat in one of the ornate armchairs while Scorpius seated himself in the one next to her. "What's on your mind, Mrs. Malfoy?" He asked light-heartedly.

Lily laughed lightly, fidgeting with her hands. "Actually that is pretty much what is on my mind." She began uncertainly. She didn't want to sound ungrateful but she realized the thought of being married terrified her a little. After all she'd only been engaged twenty-four hours. "I'm grateful for the charm on this ring but I'm not ready to be married yet. I was wondering if we could continue as if this was a normal engagement."

Scorpius' grin broadened, "That sounds reasonable." He admitted.

Lily was pleased by how well he reacted. "And I want a wedding." She told him. "A big wedding with all our family and friends there. Well I'm not too bothered if Lucius decides not to turn up."

Scorpius laughed and stood up. "Me neither," he agreed and held out his hand to held Lily up. "Of course, we'll have a wedding. I want that too. It will take some planning and we'll enjoy this time as if we were only engaged. Besides, I doubt my mother would forgive me if we didn't have a ceremony."

"Then that's settled." Lily grinned and they began walking to the ballroom where all the guests gathered. When Lily and Scorpius entered, the auction was already underway. After the auction, they would announce their engagement. The reactions from the guests would be more positive than that of Lucius' had been. An announcement would even be posted in the Daily Prophet and a stream of congratulatory letters would pile up outside her flat. Thankfully Lily wouldn't see Lucius for the rest of the evening and for a long time after that. She was pleased to know that he would know longer be a threat to her.

So, What do you think of this chapter? Once again I apologise for the wait. Next time should not be so long.