Bound for Glory
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, 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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A couple days later was Lily's last official day of class before she would write her exams, and while she was nervous, she was looking forward to seeing her friend Kelly. They'd talked briefly in class last week, after the blonde had been absent the week before, but Lily could tell something was off. And Kelly had talked only about Lily's upcoming wedding. So, though Lily wanted to pry as to what had happened with Kelly, and make sure she was okay, the other girl had, instead, helped Lily hatch a sneaky plan to possibly go look at flowers without her mother or Astoria present.
Kelly slid into her seat on the bell, looking harried, but grinned at Lily. "Ready for operation wedding flowers today?" she asked brightly. Lily smiled and nodded.
"You bet." Kelly beamed back, flipped open her books, and started taking notes as their professor started a review lecture.
As they walked out of Colour Theory, toward the coffee bar, Lily turned to Kelly. "You remember the plan, right?" she whispered, although even if her mother was in the parking lot, there was no way she'd hear her.
Kelly rolled her blue-green eyes. "Duh. Seriously, we're not in the FBI, Lily," she laughed. "It's going to be fine."
The redhead took a deep breath, because she had a feeling it was not going to be fine. But they would try. Her mother was scheduled to come pick her up, unless Scorpius managed to get out of court early, which never happened when he was presenting a defense, and Lily was dying to look at flowers for her wedding. But she wanted to go alone, at least without Ginny and Astoria, if only to get a feel for what she wanted and liked, not whatever her mother and soon to be in law had in mind.
The plan was fairly simple. Tell Ginny that Kelly needed a ride to her place, which would conveniently be above a florist Alexia had recommended the redhead check out, and then Lily would go 'hang out with Kelly for a bit'. They'd meet up with Alexia, which Lily hadn't precisely told Kelly, knowing she probably wouldn't be thrilled, and Lily would look at flowers with supportive friends, not picky mothers. She already had an idea in mind, and just hoped she could make it work.
Kelly ordered for them when they got to the front of the line, and Lily smiled weakly. "You seriously need to chill, Lily," Kelly said. "Your mom's gonna take one look at you and know something's up if you keep acting sketchy and nervous."
Lily took a deep breath and blew it out. That made sense. She bolstered her courage, told herself the plan was flawless, and forced herself to relax. "Right. We're just going to hang out at your place anyway," she said easily, and Kelly smirked.
"Exactly."
When Lily got to the parking lot she pasted on a smile for her mother, who still insisted on chauffeuring her daughter when available despite Lily having gotten her own vehicle, as she opened the car door, but didn't climb in. "Hey Mom, um, Kelly's car died. Can you give her a drive home?"
Ginny looked over at Kelly, who smiled, and she grinned. "Of course." The blonde and Lily climbed in, and they set off after Kelly gave the street address. "That sounds familiar," Ginny murmured, looking thoughtful, and Lily gulped.
The blonde, from the back seat, said brightly, "Oh yeah? You've probably been to one of the businesses below me."
Ginny glanced at her. "That's probably it," she said and smiled back at Kelly. Lily let her breath out slowly with relief. "Is your friend going to be in the wedding, honey?"
Kelly's smile faltered a little, and Lily frowned. She'd asked Kelly, but the blonde hadn't given her a precise answer. And, considering the circumstances and other wedding party members, Lily would understand if Kelly declined, although she'd probably still be bummed. "Maybe," Lily said for her. "Kelly's super busy, Mom."
Ginny frowned a little, then got a look that was eerily reminiscent of Astoria. A sort of evil pleasure, almost smile. "Should I ask if that's anything to do with my stepson?" she drawled in a teasing voice.
"Oh no," Kelly said lightly. "I don't think Albus would much care, Mrs. Potter. We're not exactly seeing one another anymore." So that's why Kelly's been all wedding. Lily felt bad, because she knew her friend had obviously really liked Albus, and hoped Kelly was okay if they'd split. And if she wasn't, Lily wanted to punch Albus in the face.
Ginny's eyebrows lifted as much as her Botox would allow and Lily sighed, glancing back apologetically at her friend. Kelly merely beamed. "I'm sorry to hear that," the elder redhead replied.
Kelly shrugged, glancing out the window. "Shit happens," the blonde mumbled. "And anyway, it's not a big deal. It's not like we were even serious or anything, and I'm sure he'll find someone else."
Ginny pursed her mouth a little at the cussing, but said somberly, "I'm so sorry."
Kelly smiled weakly, and Lily hastened to change the subject. "So did those prints you ordered ever end up coming, Kelly?" she invented wildly. The blonde frowned at her and Lily prayed her friend would cotton on.
"What?" she asked blankly and Ginny looked suspicious.
"Those prints you were telling me about. The limited edition ones." She turned around to face Kelly, giving her a significant look.
Kelly's eyes widened. "Oh!" She laughed brightly, face palming lightly. "Wow, blonde moment. I was thinking about my final for Photography and Publishing. I was like, 'What? Why would I order those?'" Lily fake laughed with her. "Yeah, they did actually. You should totally come see them, they're effing gorgeous."
Lily bit her lip. "It's kind of far to walk home from your place," she hedged, trying to sound believable to her mother, who looked distinctly suspicious.
Kelly rolled her eyes, then looked at Ginny pointedly. "Did you raise her to be so cautious about everything?" she teased. The elder redhead smiled a little.
"Probably."
"C'mon, Lily, just have Scorpius come get you whenever he's done his court thing." Lily was a little in awe of the blonde's acting skills, because she herself was almost buying that they were going to look at the nonexistent prints.
"I suppose I could," Lily said, and smiled a little. "Lemme text Scorpius now," she pulled out her phone, indeed sending a superfast message to him, but informed him that their plan was working, as opposed to have him come get her at Kelly's.
When they pulled up outside the little row of red brick shops along a swanky section of an up and coming neighbourhood, Lily saw the display for Flowers and Fun calling her like a beacon. "Oh, you live over a flower shop!" Ginny said, beaming, then looked around at Lily. "This is where I went for my flowers when I got married, honey. Oh, let's just go have a peek inside. They have the best flowers in the city."
Lily glanced back at Kelly, looking panicked. The blonde took control. "Yeah, they do have really great blooms," she said easily, undoing her seatbelt. "Let's go for a peek."
Before Lily could say anything, Kelly had jumped out of the car, and Ginny was hot on her heels. The redhead, feeling her heart sink, followed, although she was tempted to hide in the locked car. "Mom, I don't really want to look at flowers right now," she mumbled, trying weakly to stop what she knew was about to happen.
"Nonsense, Lily, honey," Ginny said. "You love flowers. This is going to be so much fun." Ginny pushed into the shop, Kelly behind her, and Lily at the rear, and she blushed as her mother's tone went from light and buoyant, to forbidding. "Lily Luna O'Shea-Potter-"
"Soon to be Malfoy," the redhead added in a grumble under her breath.
"-there had better be a damn good reason why your friend Alexia is here," Ginny said tersely. Kelly's blonde brows shot up.
"She's here?" she said, although not so much in surprise that such a chance encounter could happen, but with a guilty sort of half glare at Lily that made it seems obvious this was all planned out.
"Whoa, you invited your mom?" Alexia said, smiling a little as she approached, and then paused, taking in the tension. "Oh, this might be awkward."
Kelly narrowed her eyes at the petite asian woman but didn't say a word, for which Lily was grateful. Her mother, on the other hand, looked furious. "Lily, are you trying to exclude me and Astoria again?"
Lily sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "No, not really," she said on a second sigh, and pushed a hand through her hair, wetting her lips nervously. "It's just, kind of a lot to think about. And you and Bi-"
"Lily, show her some respect, please," Ginny snapped. Lily blushed.
"Fine. You and Astoria have, like, strong opinions on stuff." She shot her mother a frown. "I'm not excluding you." She bit her lip, trying to phrase her words carefully. "I'm just trying to get a feel for what I like. Flowers are my favourite, and there are so many options, I need to just have a moment by myself."
Ginny frowned. "That sounds like you're excluding me and your future mother in law, Lily," she sniffed, and pulled her cellphone out, flicked through her contacts, then put the phone to her ear.
"Who are you calling, Mom?" Lily sighed, hoping it wasn't Scorpius.
"Astoria," she said primly, and Lily's mouth fell open. When she looked at Kelly and Alexia, both of them looked back at her as if to say, 'good try'. "Hello, Astoria, it's Ginny. You're never going to believe what is happening."
Lily grimaced, and said quickly, "Mom, let's just look by ourselves."
And the redhead cringed when she heard Astoria all but barking, "They've gone and done something awful, haven't they!?"
"Not yet," Ginny, murmured, and then sighed dramatically, and Lily rolled her golden hazel eyes. "They were going to look at flowers."
Astoria gasped audibly. "No!"
"Yes," Ginny confirmed, and Lily, beyond caring, walked away from her mother and friends, moving into the florist's shop properly, marvelling at the gorgeous flowers on display.
"Can I help you?" asked a young, attractive Latino man who barely reached her shoulder in her flip flops, wearing a green shirt with the logo emblazoned on it.
"Sure," Lily said, smiling, and pulled her list from her pocket. "I'm getting married, but I want to do something not quite...traditional."
"There you are!" Ginny exclaimed, phone still to her ear, and then said, presumably to Lily's future mother in law, "There's a Mexican helping her," in a carrying whisper.
"Mom," Lily said firmly. She looked over and found Kelly glaring at Alexia, who seemed a tiny bit offended. "Focus up." She took a deep breath, and turned back to the consultant, who looked like he was regretting helping an attractive young woman. "I'm looking for not so much bouquets, but for each bridesmaid, a single flower, maybe with a tiny bit of greenery," the redhead told the young Latino man, who looked thoughtful. She handed over her list. "Do you carry these?"
"Astoria, get here now," Ginny hissed, then abruptly ended the call. "Lily, honey," she said, but the redhead held firm, shaking her head.
"I'm looking at what I want, Mom."
"I know, honey, but you have to think of the pictures, and the overall look of the event." Lily grit her teeth a little at that word, but forced a smile.
"I just want to get what I like," she said. "It's my wedding, and I'm going to do what I want, Mom."
Ginny paused, as if trying to figure out the best approach to take, then smiled indulgently. "Sure thing, honey. Just be sure to remind Astoria of that when she arrives." Lily bit her tongue on the rude response that snapped to her lips, but it was a close thing.
To her delight, the Latino guy cut in, then, and said they had what she'd requested in stock, and he could do some samples for them. "That sounds great," Lily said, even as her mother opened her mouth to protest.
Astoria arrived just as the samples were done up. "What's this I hear about choosing flowers?" she drawled imperiously, and Lily turned around, a smidge guiltily.
"Not choosing, just perusing," Alexia cut in smoothly, and Kelly pulled a politely amused face.
"That's exactly it. You're good at that, after all, right Alexia? I bet that's why Lily invited you." Kelly said with a slightly vicious smile, and Alexia's dark eyes narrowed.
Lily strove to continue on through the misery of the impromptu gathering, and smiled apologetically at the florist guy. "These look great," she said, picking up one of the sample non-bouquets. It was a white Calla lily, with the tiniest sprig of greenery, wrapped up casually in a white satin ribbon.
"No," Astoria said dismissively. The Latino guy sent Lily a smirk, and she was tempted to ask if he owned any firearms.
"Sorry, Mrs. M, but for a tiny second there, it sounded like you just said the word no," Lily said slowly. "And if my hearing isn't going, and you did say no, I'd like to be the first, but hopefully not the last, to finally tell you to shut the fu-"
"Lily!" her mother cut in.
The redhead glared. "No, Mom," she said sternly. "You said it yourself, I love flowers. This is the part I've been looking forward to the most. And if you and my future mother in law can't shut it, I'll be sure when I go next time, I'll be completely by myself." She sent Astoria a significant look. "Or maybe I'll just bring Scorpius next time. I'm sure he'd be fully supportive and we all know he has a great eye for pretty things."
"Obviously," Astoria replied with alarming disdain. "Wherever did you think that eye for the finest came from? Certainly not his father, Lily, my dear." She pulled a face as Lily, biting her tongue hard, picked up the next arrangement, a white orchid with just the slightest hint of pinky purple at the base of the petals, paired with an elegant palm frond. "That's far too tropical," Astoria murmured.
"I really like this," Lily said, ignoring her mother in law completely.
"Me too," Alexia said brightly, and Kelly rolled her eyes. "It matches the colours you seem to lean toward so far."
Lily couldn't help but blush, because she knew precisely what Scorpius would think of her colour scheme, and then Ginny said, "Lily, honey, you have to remember the venue," she began, and the younger redhead sighed, because this was turning out awfully.
"That one is also not going to come cheap," the florist guy said. Lily couldn't help but frown at that, and made a mental note to check in with Mr. Chin, her sometimes shady flower guy of preference, for his price. "Depending how many bridesmaids you plan on having."
Lily sighed, because she didn't much want to think about that. "This one's pretty too," Lily said, looking at her third option now, which was a big, fluffy white rose with a kiss of pink along the edges of the petals, and with the little sprig of ivy, it looked playful and fun. "But I do love that orchid," she murmured.
"I think you should definitely get what you like," Kelly said supportively, and Lily shot her a grateful smile. "And I actually really like that one too," she added.
"I'm still going to need time to think about it," Lily said, with an apologetic look at the sales guy.
"Thank God," Astoria murmured under her breath. The redhead smiled icily at her mother in law.
"For the bridesmaids, at least," she said. "I think those orchids will be perfect boutonnieres for the groomsmen, though," she continued, and felt a sense of satisfaction as Astoria glared.
Alexia grinned widely. "I'm sure they'll all love that."
Kelly snorted and Lily laughed a little, because she doubted either Albus or Constantine would much like it one bit. Which made it even better in her opinion. "What do you think, Mom?" she asked her mother. Ginny looked torn between telling Lily what she felt, which was probably agreeance, and not pissing off Astoria, who looked pissed Lily had ever even thought up such a scheme, let alone decided to actually do it.
"I think it will be a distinctly personal touch of yours, honey," she said with all the grace of a seasoned politician, and Lily rolled golden hazel eyes.
"At least now the pictures will look good," Lily said archly, and then thanked the guy who had helped her out. He urged her to come back with any more ideas and, of course, final order-making decisions.
"And for the record," he said, slanting Ginny a look of disdain, "I'm from Puerto Rico, not Mexico."
Astoria instantly turned from ice queen into a sly cougar. "Oh, I love that island. I've vacationed there several times," she said, and Lily decided that would be the best time to make her escape. She went out with her mother, Alexia, and Kelly, the latter of whom avoided eye contact, and Lily wondered what the tension between them could be. She had a sneaking suspicion it might be her green-eyed, black-haired and equally black-hearted, non step brother. And now that the gig was up anyway, Lily supposed she should offer Kelly a ride back to her actually not dead car.
"I can give you a drive home, if you'd like," Alexia said to the young blonde politely as they drew up to the silver BMW Ginny drove. Lily changed tack at top speed, and opened her mouth to tell Alexia that Kelly was riding with them.
"If it's no trouble," Kelly said with a tight, rigid smile.
"None at all," Alexia said lightly, even as Lily felt herself almost paralyzed with shock as Alexia turned back to her. "Give me a call when you're free next. We'll do dinner and dessert if you're not busy."
"Sure," Lily said, still numb with shock, even as her two friends, who as far as she had been made aware, weren't overly fond of one another, walked off toward Alexia's car.
"Let's go, Lily," her mother said tersely, and Lily sighed. She wasn't surprised she was given a lecture about proper floral arrangements and the need for a proper bridesmaid bouquet, and while she smiled and nodded with a few vague 'uh huh's thrown in, Lily barely listened. She wanted what she wanted, and she was going to experiment with a few things before deciding. Because flowers really were the part she was the most excited about. Only next time, she'd be sure not to bring anyone other than Scorpius.
Meanwhile, as Lily was being lectured on the way back to the Potter mansion, Scorpius himself was meeting his two best friends after giving his closing arguments in the Mercer case. He was hoping to hell he'd swayed enough of the jury, which he suspected he might have just pulled off, thanks to Lily's unknowing help, and his client would get off on the utterly baseless charges. He knew that a good number of clients were undoubtedly guilty, and yet defended them to the best of his ability regardless, but Scorpius truly believed his client, Frank Mercer, was innocent, and the easy target for what seemed a random killing otherwise. And, although he never counted his chickens before they hatched, he was fairly certain he'd convinced at least three jury members for certain. Then again, they could still be swayed if anyone who believed the prosecution felt strongly enough, and Scorpius knew human nature made a person's opinions fickle at best.
Nevertheless, the tall blond was feeling relatively elated, and in thoroughly good spirits, looking forward to hearing all about Lily's covert flower shopping when he got home, and seeing his friends, both of whom had seemed pitiably unlucky in love lately. Of course, that wasn't to say either of them weren't getting laid, but Scorpius had a feeling they were both trying to fill the shoes of a particular woman, with limited success on both their parts.
Constantine was already there, nursing a scotch and looking around with lazy confidence, even though Scorpius knew not a single woman in the room sparked his fancy. "Stop smiling," the dark haired man said as Scorpius slid gracefully onto a stool at the table. Scorpius only grinned wider. "You're no fun at all when you're a smug prick," he continued, ignoring the blond and glancing to his left, where a table of three young women sat and chatted happily.
"They're too young for you," Scorpius said, even as he flagged a server in the busy bar. It was officially happy hour, and the convenient downtown location of the bar made it a favourite for many office types, as well as an easy middle ground for Scorpius, Constantine, and Albus, all of whom worked right near the bustling city center.
"Fuck off, they're legal," Constantine said, rolling his eyes, and Scorpius chuckled even as Albus finally pushed into the bar himself, toeing the line of being late for the get together, as per usual.
"Just because they're legal doesn't mean they're going to like what you want to do to them," Scorpius shot back, even as the server finally caught his signal and came over. Albus plonked into a chair right as the tall, lithe waitress approached, her darkly tanned skin on display in her little black dress and her equally dark eyes roving over the trio of men with intrigue, even as her gaze settled with an entrancing smile on the blond.
"What can I get you?" the woman asked in a sultry purr, her eyes promising he'd enjoy taking her home and spreading her out upon the charcoal sheets in his playroom. However, the only thing Scorpius could picture was Lily, looking intense and utterly aroused, ordering the other woman around and telling him just how to punish the lithe, golden-skinned brunette.
"Double whiskey, neat, and whatever my detestably single friends with me might wish to drown their sorrows in," Scorpius said, and the waitress, to her credit, seemed to take the hint. She turned her attentions, instead, to Albus, smiling prettily, even if Scorpius knew she'd never want any part of Albus's predilections.
"A shot of the best tequila you've got and an old fashioned," Albus said succinctly, not even eyeing the server up, pushing a hand wearily through his dark hair.
Dark eyes flicked to Constantine, who merely tilted his glass appraisingly and nodded. "Another Glenfiddich eighteen year old, darling."
Once the server had departed to fill their order, Scorpius looked at his two best friends in the whole world and shook his head. "You both look like shit," he said lightly.
Constantine merely rolled his eyes, but Albus snorted. "I've been pulling eighteen hour days for the last two weeks trying to get my project back on schedule; I feel like shit too, Scor," he grumbled. The blond shared a smirk with the other dark haired man.
"Not to mention all those night you've been spending with Ian's loaner, no?" Albus rolled green eyes at that, but didn't bother to deny it.
"Nothing better than a righteous fuck with a woman who doesn't play games after a long day," Albus said, and Constantine toasted him and downed the last of his remaining scotch in one gulp.
"Amen to that. Who the fuck has time for a broad who thinks she's irreplaceable?" the dark eyed European agreed.
Scorpius chuckled darkly, and when both his friends flipped him off, he only chuckled some more. "You're both fools, but I'll hold my tongue mentioning it," he said lightly, even as the server reappeared with their drinks. "Tell me what else is new, then."
Constantine shrugged. "Maybe if you stopped staying home like a boring, married stiff, you'd know," he snarked.
Albus, however, shook his head, obviously not agreeing. "I'd rather he keep his damned dessert trollop at home. It's borderline nauseating to see that level of lovesick idiot in a public setting."
Scorpius flipped them both off in return, and as he took a sip of whiskey, conversation finally moved onto Albus's latest project, which Constantine seemed quite keen on.
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