After what had felt like a terribly long winter, flowers began to bloom around Hogwarts and Spring arrived. It was finally time for the Easter holidays. Lily was looking forward to this year's term break more keenly than she ever had before. Albus was due to be discharged from St Mungo's just in time for Grandma Molly's birthday, and they would all be able to celebrate together at Grimmauld Place.
Lily spent the majority of the first few days back home hanging around in Albus's room, playing exploding snap and reading quidditch magazines with him. Though she had worried that he might be feeling irritable or detached after his long stay in the ward, she found that on the contrary, he was more calm and collected than ever before, as though in the short space of a few weeks he had grown more mature by several years. Their shared experience of finding themselves unhappily entangled in Raleigh's evil plans only seemed to have helped them to grow closer. Lily never mentioned the Professor or anything about what had happened and neither did Albus. For now they were content to put everything aside and just enjoy being teenagers on their spring holidays.
James on the other hand was still terribly wound up about all the bad press that had been coming out about their father. Most mornings he stomped around the house in a temper. It was only when Ginny told him over dinner one evening that she had threatened to tender her resignation over the article that mentioned Albus and Lily that James finally seemed to brighten. Apparently the editors at the Prophet had been so worried about loosing their star quidditch reporter that they had promptly fired Edward Blishwick to appease her.
'Good riddance!' James declared stabbing at his roast chicken with a fork.
'He's sure to find another outlet to write for though' Ginny sighed. Her eyes flickered over to where her husband stood serving a dessert of creme brûlée he had hurried back from the office to make. 'Editors love the way he writes…it never fails to grab the public's attention'
'How about we stop talking about the papers for a moment' Harry suggested, taking his seat again. 'I bet you'd be pleased to know that John has passed his penultimate Auror's test and made it to the final interview round'
'Of course he has' James said dismissively, 'He's such a bloody nerd, if he can't get in no one can'
Lily's gaze found it's way to Albus. She couldn't help but think about what Carrow had said about Albus's chances of getting into the Auror office having dwindled thanks to Raleigh's actions. She doubted whether her father would consider it when assessing his son's suitability for the job, but Harry wasn't the only one who determined who was able to successfully become an Auror. It was up to a whole committee of witches and wizards, and though she didn't want to believe so, Lily felt that there was a likelihood they wouldn't look kindly upon someone who had helped a suspected murder even if they had done so under the imperius curse.
To Lily's relief however, this thought didn't seem to have occurred to Albus because he appeared unfazed by the topic of conversation and went about quietly consuming his dessert.
On the afternoon of Grandma Molly's birthday party, Lily fiddled with her hair in front of her bedroom mirror. She was wearing Victoire's old black dress robes again. She could have asked to buy new clothes for the occasion like her cousins had, but Lily would much rather have a new set of Chasers gloves and it seemed a waste not to make use of perfectly good dress robes. Especially since she had hardly grown an inch since the tournament at Beauxbatons and they fit her like a glove.
Lily was terrible at doing up her own hair without Rose's, or indeed Poppy's help. As such, she spent several frustrating minutes shoving pins in it only to give up and use the ribbon Scorpius had given her for Christmas to keep it together in a messy plait which seemed passable by her admittedly low standards.
Downstairs she heard the sound of her grandmother entering the long slender entrance hall and being greeted by her mother. Lily saw herself smile in the mirror at the thought of tonight's dinner party; there had been a lot of disruption of late and it had been a very long time since they had had a family gathering of this size. Uncle Ron, uncle George and uncle Percy, not to mention Rose, Hugo, Lucy, Roxanne, Fred and Teddy would be there. Even her aunt Hermione, who had been incredibly busy since taking up the huge responsibility that came with being Minister for Magic, had said she would make sure to get there in time for dessert.
Lily put on a little of the lipstick Victoire had gifted her last Christmas knowing it would make her grandmother happy to see her looking done up for the occasion and bounded downstairs to greet the Birthday woman. But halfway down the stairs, Lily felt a shiver go up her spine. Something was very wrong. The atmosphere felt suddenly tense and she could hear hurried whispers coming from the kitchen below.
'Mum, I really think we should ask Lily- not just jump to conclusions. It might not be- it could be a fabrication…' Ginny could be heard saying in a hushed tone.
Lily stopped abruptly almost tripping over a step at the sound of her own name.
Then she heard the unsettling sound of her grandmother crying.
'We have to warn her Ginevra- did you not warn her about associating with his kind?' Molly lamented.
Lily frowned, her heart beating fast.
'Warn me about what?' she asked, stepping down the last few steps and into the kitchen.
There was a loud noise of paper rustling as Ginny immediately thrust whatever she and Molly had been looking at behind her back.
'Lily' Ginny's face went pale as she addressed her daughter.
Lily looked from her mother's face to her grandmother's. Molly Weasley looked as though someone had died; her face was stained with tears and her nose was running a little. Upon seeing Lily she let out another long, sorrowful wail.
Ginny looked at her mother with an exasperated expression before turning back to her daughter.
'Lily, we don't want to upset you. This could be a little… surprising'
'What is it?' Lily's voice rose and her chest heaved in trepidation. She'd never seen her grandmother so upset- at least not since James had vandalized her signed copy of 'Magical Me' by Gilderoy Lockhart.
Ginny looked her gravely in the eye and slowly took the magazine out from behind her back.
'We need to ask you if this is real' she said swallowing hard.
Lily looked down at the magazine in front of her. Splashed across the top were the words 'Witch Weekly' in large pink letters. But it was what was underneath those letters that made Lily's stomach flip and her entire body start to sweat. Her eyes widened, her lips parted and she let out a small whimper of shock.
Underneath those awful pink letters was a moving photograph- a very close up photograph of Scorpius.
Scorpius with his lips on her lips.
Scorpius with his hands on her neck and his thumbs brushing her cheeks affectionately.
And there she was kissing him back just as passionately.
Their faces took up the whole cover, every movement of their lips and flutter of their eyelids as they moved against each other clearly visible.
The colour drained from Lily's face and her hands shook violently. She looked up at her mother and grandmother with an expression of utter horror before instinctively turning on her heal and running back up the stairs.
'Lily! Lily wait!' Ginny yelled up after her with concern. Her calls were drowned out by the sound of Molly's distressed wails at the realization that Lily's reaction could mean only one thing; that photo was no fabrication.
Lily throttled back into her room and slammed the door shut behind her. She let herself fall back into the door and slid down it into a heap on the floor, breathing heavily.
Her mind raced. Witch weekly. The cover of witch weekly. How many people would see it? All of magical England? Perhaps some of France and America too?
The thought made her feel suddenly nauseous.
Could she stop it? Get her mother to make a complaint to the editors; stop the sale of it?
But of course not- if her grandmother had it then it was already out there. Already printed. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of copies. Of that photo.
Lily gulped. That photo. Judging from the studs in Scorpius' ear and nose it had to have been taken when they kissed on Halloween. Her face burned, her entire body hot with embarrassment.
There was a loud thumping sound and Lily jumped, pulled out of her muddled thoughts. It was Ginny knocking on the door behind her.
'Lily- dear please come out. You- you're not in trouble. Of course you aren't- we just need to...need to figure this out' Ginny pleaded through the door.
Lily stayed silent. She didn't know what to say. What was there to say?
'You need to tell us what's going on with you and this Scorpius boy… just explain so that we can make sure there are no false rumors going around-'
Scorpius, Lily thought with a jolt. She had to warn him.
Lily hurriedly got up off the floor and ran forward to open the window and call for Weebles. He swooped up into her room and she immediately went about writing a short note to send Scorpius;
Our photograph is in Witch Weekly. My family's seen it. Be careful.
She didn't know how, or of what, he was supposed to be careful but in her current state of mind she couldn't think of anything else to say. She quickly attached the small piece of parchment to Weebles' leg and instructed him sternly to give it to Scorpius and Scorpius only.
As Lily watched Weebles fly off into the distance, she could still hear her mother pleading through the door.
She sighed deeply.
She would have to face this. There was no other way but to go back downstairs and explain. Lily gathered her wits about her, took a deep breath and opened the door.
Seeing the look of nervousness on her daughters face, Ginny silently pulled her into a tight hug.
'Come on' she said gently, giving Lily an encouraging smile. With an arm around her shoulders she led her downstairs to where Grandma Molly was still weeping in distress. Only now Grandpa Arthur was standing by her side looking incredibly uncomfortable as he tried to console her.
'Come now dear, don't cry, it's just a photograph… we'll figure this out' he mumbled, sounding stiff and terribly unconvincing.
Lily stopped in front of her grandparents and looked down at her hands, which she was twisting together nervously.
'It'll be alright dear' Ginny said, standing by her side and softly rubbing her shoulder.
Lily gingerly stepped forward and took her grandmothers hands in her own.
'Grandma- I know you might have heard some bad things about Scorpius's family- I know they weren't, well that they weren't on the right side in the war but-'
'Not on the right side? Not on the right side?!' Molly wailed incredulously. 'Lily, they were death eaters! Their lot are responsible for the rise of the dark lord! For the death of Teddy's dear parents- and of your grandparents! For the death of- of-'
Molly's lower lip trembled and she looked as though she might break at the seams from her grief. Arthur quickly put his hands on her shoulders and gently squeezed them as though hoping the physical act of holding her together would keep her together mentally too.
'-of my dear boy, your late uncle Fred' Molly finished with a heartbreaking sob.
Lily's gaze fell and she stared at the table, unable to face her grandmothers grief stricken eyes.
'I know that Grandma- I do' Lily whispered. She swallowed hard and forced herself to speak louder. 'But Scorpius- he has nothing to do with that. And he's a good person, if you had ever met him you would see that-'
'No my poor dear- you've been tricked!' Molly exclaimed, throwing her head back and looking at Lily with alarm. 'I know what their lot is like. I was at Hogwarts with his grandfather! Always seemed so charming, so handsome. A very popular boy that Lucius Malfoy. Fooled all the girls, he did- but he was rotten to the core-'
'Mum-' Ginny cut in quickly, putting a hand to Lily's shoulder again. 'Please, we can't jump to conclusions. None of us have ever even met the boy-'
But Ginny was interrupted by a loud knock at the front door. She let out a sigh and hurried off to open it. Moments later Ron's voice could be heard in the hallway getting louder and louder as he approached the kitchen.
'Ginny! There's something you need to see. Something terribly distressing I'm afraid. Quite shocking indeed. It concerns Lily-'
Ron stopped abruptly upon reaching the kitchen and finding himself face to face with a very annoyed looking Lily. He looked from her to Molly, who was still letting out loud, heaving sobs seated at the small breakfast table.
'Oh...' Ron exhaled awkwardly. 'Already seen this then?'
He held up a copy of Witch Weekly in one hand and Lily lunged forward to tear it out of his grasp so that she could get it out of everyone's line of vision. She threw it angrily in the sink and inexplicably caused a stream of water to burst out of the tap above drenching it.
'Lily! No magic outside of Hogwarts!' Ginny scolded her, hurrying forward with her wand out to stop the stream of water.
'Hey! That cost almost a whole Galleon you know-' Ron exclaimed but he swallowed the rest of his sentence upon seeing the death glare Ginny sent his way.
'A galleon you've just contributed to the magazine that is prying into my daughters private life!' she yelled at him.
'Well I didn't know you already had a copy...' Ron muttered sulkily.
Rose and Hugo peered awkwardly out from behind Ron who still stood frozen in the doorway. Upon seeing Lily, Rose pushed past her dad and ran over to throw an arm around her in comfort.
'I'm guessing you didn't get the 'talk' then' she whispered to Lily sympathetically as Ginny forced Ron down into one of the chairs next to Molly so that he could comfort her.
'What 'talk'?' Lily shot back in confusion.
'The 'no dating Scorpius Malfoy talk'' Rose hissed under her breath.
'I've heard it almost a million times. Dad gives it to me at the beginning of every semester'
Lily shook her head at the ridiculousness of it all. She'd never seen her uncle exchange even one word with Scorpius and yet he'd felt compelled to warn his daughter away from him. She looked over at her Uncle Ron with renewed annoyance. He sat with a comforting hand on Molly's back whispering to her.
'It's alright mum. Remember when Ginny went out with that twat Micheal Corner? That only lasted about three seconds…'
'But I LIKED Micheal Corner!' Molly exclaimed, missing Ron's point entirely.
'Who on earth is Micheal Corner?' James asked lazily from the doorway.
Lily shot around in alarm. She could see Albus standing behind him. The pair were in their good dress robes, ready for the dinner party. They both looked equally confused to see Grandma Molly in tears and everyone else standing around looking shell-shocked.
Lily ran over to the table to grab the other copy of Witch Weekly before her brothers could spy it, but just at that moment there was a tapping on the glass of the kitchen window. A large black raven was perched on the windowsill outside.
It took her a few moments to realize this was the raven that had delivered Scorpius's presents all those years ago when they had spent Christmas in the Room of Requirement.
Lily forgot about the magazine momentarily and ran instead to the window. She opened it up and held out a hand into which the bird dropped a small piece of folded parchment. Lily heard an outraged gargling noise come from behind her signaling that James had seen the magazine.
'LILY- WHAT? WHAT? WHAT- IS- THIS?' James spluttered loudly and stupidly in her direction.
Lily let out a sigh, closing her eyes. She still couldn't believe this was happening. She heard Albus muttering and tutting under his breath, seemingly unsurprised.
'Merlin Lily- I told you this would happen…'
Lily ignored them both and quickly opened up the folded parchment, hoping whatever Scorpius had to say about this sorry situation would somehow be comforting.
But she had no such luck.
Lily's eyes bulged and her heart thud upon reading the neat, cursive writing in front of her.
'No! No!' She exclaimed in despair.
Ginny rushed forward to see what was wrong as James continued to have a meltdown in the middle of their kitchen.
'SCORPIUS MALFOY? MALFOY? LILY WHAT WHERE YOU THINKING?'
'What is it dear?' Ginny asked hurriedly, taking the piece of parchment out of Lily's stunned hands to look. She looked down and gasped under her breath.
'Oh Merlin…'
The small piece of parchment read;
Don't worry- I'll come over and explain.
Lily looked up at her mother with a pained expression.
'He's coming here! Mum he's coming here-!'
Lily felt panic flood her veins. She did not want Scorpius to see her family like this.
'Yes, not such a good idea right now' Ginny agreed hastily. 'Perhaps owl him back and let him know now is not a good time. He's welcome of course some other time- after, well, after I've explained all this to your father-'
Lily's stomach clenched with dread; her father. He was still at the Ministry but the moment he came home he would find out. He would see it. That photo. In fact, maybe he already had.
'THE BOY WHO THREATENS PEOPLE WITH UNFORGIVABLE CURSES!? THE BOY WHO SPENDS ALL HIS TIME READING UP ON DARK MAGIC? YOU CHOSE TO SNOG THAT BOY?!'
James was still yelling in the middle of the kitchen and his descriptions of Scorpius were causing Grandma Molly to gasp in despair that her suspicions about his character had been confirmed.
'SHUT UP JAMES!' Ginny roared, sending the entire room into a tense silence.
Lily ignored them all and rushed around looking for a quill and ink.
She tried to find the right words to put it politely but in her current panicked state all she could think of was; Don't come. She lent on the kitchen bench and began to write, but her shaking hands caused her to blotch up the paper and need to start again several times.
'Lily hurry dear, he might be on his way…' Ginny said quietly beside her.
Lily took a few deep breaths, steadied her hand and went about writing;
Scorpius, please don't come. Now is not a good time.
She folded it up and held it out to Scorpius's raven. The bird just blinked back at her.
'Please take this to Scorpius and please hurry' she begged, willing the menacing looking creature to listen to her. The raven cocked it's head to the side before opening it's large, sharp beak to take her parchment.
To Lily's surprise it flapped its wings and flew not outside but inside. It shot past her stunned looking relatives and down the hallway towards the front door.
Lily rushed after it, a feeling of dread tugging at her heart. Just as the bird reached the end of the long, slender entranceway, the doorbell rang.
Lily skidded to a halt in front of the door. She groaned internally. It couldn't be. It truly couldn't be.
But it was.
She gingerly opened the door to find a very nervous looking Scorpius standing on the doorstep, wearing a pair of ripped black jeans, an old grey t-shirt and the dusty brown apron that he wore when helping his father with the shop. He must have come directly from Knockturn Ally and thus arrived so quickly. The raven immediately flew out and deposited the parchment into his hand.
'Lily-' he gasped as he took the parchment from the bird. He looked more stricken than Lily had ever seen him.
'I don't know how this happened- but I think we ought to explain this to your parents and-
Scorpius stopped suddenly and looked her up and down in surprise.
'You- you're dressed nicely' he noted looking at her dress robes.
He absentmindedly opened up the parchment and began to read as more words tumbled out of his mouth.
'Anyway I thought- I thought I should really help you explain seeing as how this is sort of my family's fault for being so notorious and all and- oh'
Having let the words on the parchment sink in, Scorpius's face became even paler.
'S-sorry. I'll- I'll go-' he spluttered turning around quickly and making to disappear as fast as he had appeared.
'No, Scorpius-!'
Lily rushed out and grabbed his wrist.
'You're welcome to come in Mr Malfoy'
Lily and Scorpius both turned quickly around at the sound of Ginny's voice. She was standing in the doorway looking much more together and calm than either of them, beckoning for them to come in.
'Go on. You've come all this way' Ginny said gently giving him a kind smile.
Scorpius looked at Lily's face to see if it was okay. Lily looked back at him blankly, her mind racing. This did not seem like a good idea.
This did not seem like a good idea at all.
But the thought of sending him away sent a pang of guilt through her.
She took his hand and they followed after Ginny into the house and down the hallway towards the kitchen. Ginny opened the door and went in but Lily stopped, hesitating. She didn't want Scorpius to see the mayhem their photo had caused.
'Mr Malfoy has kindly made his way here to come and introduce himself- so behave, all of you!' Ginny could be heard yelling sharply to the inhabitants of the kitchen.
Lily had a feeling she was talking mostly to Ron and James but Molly's sobs subsided and she hoped that her grandmother might have also taken the hint to get herself together.
There was an awkward moment in which Lily stood frozen blocking Scorpius's path into the kitchen and Scorpius looked at her in bewilderment.
'Should we go in then?' he asked eventually, his voice strained with nervousness.
'uh-huh' Lily squeaked, trying but failing to sound casual.
Scorpius looked at her for a moment as she stayed frozen still before he walked in ahead. Lily quickly snapped to her senses and followed him in.
She was relieved to see her grandmother had stopped sobbing and was instead looking intensely at Scorpius with wide, unsettling eyes and a blank expression.
James looked him up and down disapprovingly whilst Albus, who hadn't see him since he had tried to strangle him in the dungeons, avoided looking at him all together. Hugo's mouth was hanging open as he watched the reaction of the adults just as keenly as he did Scorpius. Uncle Ron looked on with the same expression Lily remembered him having when as a small child she had shown him a spider she had caught with her bare hands; it was a sort of mixture of fear, alarm and concern.
Rose, at least, gave him a kind smile.
'Hi Scorpius' she said pleasantly.
'Hi Rose' Scorpius replied, returning the smile with gratitude.
Seeing this, Ron grabbed his daughter by the hand and pulled her protectively towards himself.
'I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you already had guests…' Scorpius said to Ginny looking at the unfamiliar faces of Uncle Ron and Grandma Molly nervously.
'Oh we're just having a little get together- it's Lily's grandmother's birthday today…' Ginny said shrugging casually.
'Oh-oh dear' Scorpius eyes flickered back towards Lily in alarm and around at all her relatives assembled in their good dress robes.
'I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have intruded-'
He made to leave but Lily grabbed him quickly by the upper arm stopping him.
'It's alright, you're here now-' she said quickly under her breath.
'Yes, please do stay for dinner- Lily's father will be here shortly and I'm sure he'd like to meet you' Ginny said hurriedly.
Scorpius gulped and Lily saw a flash of trepidation in his eyes. He looked down at his own torn old clothes and back up at Lily with a strained expression.
'It's fine- you're fine. Please stay' Lily urged him quietly.
'Is that your grandmother at the table?' Scorpius asked under his breath.
Lily nodded, looking over at Grandma Molly's tear stained face. A number of unrecognizable expressions were now running across her features and Lily began to worry that the photo of her and Scorpius had caused irreparable damage to her state of mind.
Scorpius turned hesitantly around to address her with a smile.
'Happy Birthday Madam'
Something appeared to crack in Molly's expression and suddenly she was wailing again with a newfound level of anguish.
Lily put her hands on Scorpius's back and ushered him out of the room.
'Oh Ginerva, he looks just like him! Just like him!' Molly howled as Lily slammed the door shut after them.
The colour once again drained from Scorpius's face. Lily pulled him as far away as she could manage, into the drawing room.
'Did I make your grandmother cry? On her birthday?' he asked hoarsely.
'It's alright- it's alright. She's always a bit emotional-' Lily said hurriedly.
This could not be going any worse, she thought to herself.
The pair jumped at the sound of the front door bursting open in the hallway. Loud thudding footsteps made their way up the hall and Lily could hear her Uncle Percy's voice calling out.
'Ginverva! GINERVA! Have you seen this?'
Lily let out a groan and covered her face with her hands.
'Your daughter! Canoodling with a Malfoy! Canoodling Draco Malfoy's son!'
Suddenly the door to the drawing room burst open and in walked Uncle Percy holding up a copy of Witch Weekly and looking around for his sister.
'Canoodling Lucius Malfoy's grands-'
His eyes widened in shock upon seeing Scorpius and Lily standing alone in the centre of the room looking just as stunned to see him.
'S-Oh-oh-ohhh' Percy finished clumsily. He dropped the magazine in surprise and slowly backed out of the room without another word.
Scorpius walked forward reluctantly and picked up the magazine.
Lily winced upon seeing the photo again. It filled the page and was so terribly, awfully intimate.
'That's…that's worse than I was imagining…' Scorpius said hoarsely.
'Didn't think it was so big… and on the front cover…'
Ginny marched into the room and grabbed the magazine out of Scorpius's hands.
'Oh don't worry too much about that dear' she said with a strained smile.
'AND WOULD YOU LOT STOP CONTRIBUTING TO THEIR SALES?' she roared towards the kitchen.
'Come help me set the table you two' she directed them with forced composure.
'Yes Mrs Potter' Scorpius replied politely.
'So, your family hasn't seen this yet I take it?' Ginny asked in an unusually high tone as they walked towards the dining room.
'No- they haven't' Scorpius confirmed gravely.
'Probably for the best' Ginny commented lightly.
'We're just waiting on Harry, Lily's uncle George and Aunt Hermione and then we can start-' Ginny said conversationally once they had made it to the dining room. She handed Scorpius and Lily a bundle of cutlery each.
Scorpius swallowed nervously.
'You mean- you mean to say the Minister for Magic is coming here too?' he asked anxiously.
'Yes' Ginny smiled with weary pleasantness.
Scorpius dropped a number of forks and knives and quickly bent down to pick them up again.
'It's just my mum' Rose said walking into the dining room with a chuckle.
'But she's- she's the smartest witch of the age, the author of several notable books on the topic of Magical creatures and peoples- not to mention she is widely thought of as the best Minister for Magic the British Wizarding world has seen for centuries-' Scorpius gushed.
'Why don't you ask for her autograph then Malfoy?' James sniggered pompously as he and Albus walked into the room and each took a seat at the table.
'James' Ginny warned him.
'She also has a really good right hook- might want to ask your dad about that one' Ron smirked, taking a seat too.
'Ron!' Ginny growled.
Scorpius looked back at Ron in confusion but wasn't game enough to question further and went about setting the table instead.
'Scorpius is a bit like mum actually- very studious' Lily was very glad to see that Rose had appeared by her side with bundle of serviettes to help set out the table.
'And he has the best grades in our year-' Rose went on looking over at her father with a challenging smile.
'-just like mum did'
Ron grunted dismissively in response.
'Only in the subjects you don't beat me at' Scorpius responded appreciatively to Rose.
'Why are you dating this dunce then?' Albus muttered motioning to Lily.
'Shut it!' Lily growled but she was surprised to hear the sound of her mother laughing.
'Perhaps you could help Lily a little with her studies?' Ginny suggested to Scorpius congenially.
'He already does mum' Lily muttered sulkily. 'Has been since first year'
'Since first year?' Ginny frowned in confusion.
'We've been friends since first year. This… the more-than-friends part has only started recently-' Lily explained flushing slightly. Her relationship with Scorpius- she didn't even know what to call it. And words such as 'dating' seemed terribly awkward to use around her family.
'But- why didn't you tell anyone?' Ginny asked in surprise.
Lily avoided her eyes.
'Just never came up' she muttered dismissively.
If Scorpius hadn't have been there she might have told her the truth; that seeing her father think Scorpius might be the culprit behind her having been cursed in first year had lead her to believe that their friendship was best kept a secret. After all, if saving her life wasn't enough to convince her family that he was a good person, what would be?
'Hello! We're here! Grandma Molly? Happy Birthday!'
Lily jumped at the sound of Teddy's voice yelling down the corridor. She dropped the rest of the cutlery onto the table and hurried out into the hall to find that Teddy, Aunt Hermione and her father had all returned together from the Ministry.
Harry smiled brightly and stepped forward to hug her. Lily's stomach exploded with nervousness at the thought that he might not be smiling in a few moments time when he found out who she had brought to dinner.
'Something wrong Lils?' Harry asked looking at her with a bemused smile. 'You look like you've seen a ghost'
'So… you haven't… seen it yet?' Lily asked gingerly looking around at the three Ministry officials and wondering vaguely whether the Ministry had a subscription to Witch Weekly or not.
'Seen what yet dear?' Hermione asked curiously.
'Nothing' Ginny said happily appearing behind Lily and giving her a quick squeeze on the shoulder.
She leaned over her daughter to give Harry a kiss on the cheek and whispered calmly to him.
'Lily has brought someone for you to meet'
Harry's eyes flickered towards Lily's anxious expression and back to his wife's calm smile again.
'Not this boyfriend Albus keeps hinting at I hope' He joked.
Ginny's calm expression didn't falter but Lily let out a little squeak of nervous laughter which caused Harry's face to become much more serious.
Seeing Harry's reaction, Hermione laughed and gave him a slap on the back.
'Oh Harry- come on. Lily's fifteen now. She's not going to be a little girl forever. Honestly, you and Ron are just as bad as each other. Did you know he lectures poor Rose every semester about not dating Draco's son?'
'Yes, how ridiculous' Ginny said loudly and firmly. Lily closed her eyes and hoped to Merlin that their conversation was not loud enough to be heard from the dinning room.
'Anyway- come along then' Ginny said forcefully, just as much to Lily as to Harry.
Teddy skipped along excitedly behind Lily and grabbed her by the arm as they walked down the hallway.
'Did you really bring your boyfriend Lily?' he whispered excitedly in her ear.
Lily pulled her arm out of his grasp and rushed forward to make sure that she would be there when Harry entered the dinning room.
Harry made it in just ahead of her and she saw him stop abruptly. Lily rushed around to get to Scorpius's side and as she did her father's expression of complete and utter shock came into view. Scorpius had been sitting down but jumped out of his chair upon Harry's arrival and he now stood staring anxiously at her father.
The two looked at each other for a few awkward moments as everybody else looked on in dead silence before Scorpius hurried around the table and extended his hand to Harry.
'Sorry for interrupting your family dinner Mr Potter. My name is Scorpius-'
'-Malfoy' Harry finished for him, a look of bewilderment clouding his features.
Scorpius swallowed hard, his hand still extended out towards Harry who hadn't moved an inch.
'Yes' he said quietly, seeming to loose all confidence in an instant.
Lily moved over to stand at Scorpius's side and Harry turned to her stunned.
'No…' he exhaled in disbelief.
Lily looked back at him indignantly.
'No what dad?' She shot back challengingly.
Harry blinked. He looked from Scorpius and back to Lily again, seemingly unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
'Harry' Ginny hissed trying to prompt him to take Scorpius's outstretched hand.
But he didn't- he just stood absolutely still with his mouth gaping open.
'Merlin' Teddy muttered loudly under his breath from where he stood in the doorway next to an equally surprised looking Hermione.
Scorpius's outstretched hand began to droop but Lily lunged forward to grab it before it fell back to his side and with her other arm took a hold of her fathers wrist. She forced his hand into Scorpius's and pushed their arms up and down in an involuntary handshake.
She then pulled Scorpius towards the door exclaiming loudly that they needed to get more serviettes. On the way out they passed Uncle Ron who said loudly to Harry;
'Take it you haven't seen the magazine yet then mate?'
'What magazine?' Hermione asked sharply as they pushed past her and Teddy to get out into the hall.
Lily quickened her pace. She didn't want Scorpius to be there when he saw it.
They made their way back to the drawing room, past the kitchen where Grandma Molly was still sitting sobbing with Percy and Grandpa Arthur who were trying to calm her down.
Lily felt absolutely mortified.
She turned around to face Scorpius who was looking more green than pale now after having met her father.
'I'm so sorry…' she began but Scorpius shook his head quickly.
'It's alright. Don't apologize' he looked rather numb and the words tumbled awkwardly out of his mouth. 'I knew this would happen- well maybe not the part about your grandmother crying on her birthday- but the other stuff I sort of expected…'
Suddenly there was a howl of laughter from the dinning room, which Lily knew instantly was Teddy's.
He rushed down the hall and moments later he had joined them both in the drawing room.
'Witch Weekly! The cover of Witch Weekly! You really have outdone yourself!' Teddy exclaimed in delight, doubling up again with laughter.
Lily looked over at him in annoyance.
'Sorry Lils' Teddy managed to wheeze out between laughs. 'It's just- you really are exceptionally good at making things interesting'
Teddy rushed forward to grab Scorpius's hand and he shook it vigorously as he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes.
'Nice to meet you Mr Malfoy- I wish I could say I'd heard lots about you only Lily hasn't mentioned a thing. Not a darn thing. Which is why, as you can see, it's quite the surprise for all of us. Most particularly Mr Potter- but don't mind him, he's a good bloke so he'll come around'
'Right, yes, thank you' Scorpius spluttered in response, surprised by Teddy's warm welcome. 'Sorry… who are you again?' he asked apologetically.
'Ah but of course- so many new faces' Teddy smiled understandingly.
'That's Teddy' Lily explained 'He's sort of- well he's my brother'
'Oh' Scorpius responded, looking confused. 'I thought you only had two…'
'The resemblance is uncanny, isn't it?' Teddy said with a grin.
Lily, knowing what was coming, let out a groan.
'Well… no actually…' Scorpius replied hesitantly. He was looked Teddy up and down shyly when, in a matter of a few seconds, Teddy transformed his face into a freckled, red-headed version of it's usual self.
Scorpius blinked several times as though he wasn't sure if he was really seeing what he was or if his mind was playing tricks on him.
'Are you a Metamorphmagus?' he inquired.
'Well now' Teddy said sounding impressed as he promptly turned back into his blue haired, freckle-less self. 'Most people don't get there on the first go'
'Scorpius knows a lot about magical conditions' Lily said with a sly smile, pleased to see Teddy's trick fail for once. 'He's studying to become a Healer'
'Is he now?' Teddy raised a teasing eyebrow at the hint of pride in Lily's voice, causing her to blush a little.
'Well anyway do sit down!' Teddy said motioning to one of the antique velvet couches. 'Ginny says to wait here until the storm has passed'
Lily winced, wishing he wouldn't phrase it that way but she sat down and pulled Scorpius down to sit next to her too.
Teddy sat down across from them with an excited smile on his face. He crossed his legs and looked them both over with a mischievous glint in his eye.
'So, Mr Malfoy-' he began eagerly.
'Scorpius' Scorpius said with a nervous smile.
'Scorpius- what is it that you like about Lily then?' Teddy leaned forward with interest.
'Teddy!' Lily blushed.
'You don't have to answer that' she said quickly to Scorpius before turning back to admonish Teddy.
'Oh go on!' Teddy pleaded, looking like he was having a thoroughly enjoyable time. 'James has just said that he thinks you're doing this to look good so it would be best if you had a good answer prepared; you know, just in case someone asks you over dinner'
'James said what?' Lily hissed through grit teeth. She made to get up to go berate James but she stopped suddenly at the sound of Scorpius's soft voice.
'I like that she's very honest about herself with everyone- she doesn't put on airs… and she's really determined, especially when it comes to helping others. And… I like that she makes flowers bloom when she's happy' Scorpius looked down at the floor and Lily could see that his cheeks had turned a faint shade of pink.
'Right. Good' Teddy grinned leaning in closer. 'And what about appearance-wise?'
'TEDDY!' Lily's ears had turned a bright shade of red and she made to shut Teddy up by putting her hands over his mouth. But Teddy just laughed and grabbed her wrists playfully, pushing her onto the lounge beside him and tickling her.
Scorpius looked on in surprise but then a smirk crept onto his face and he said loudly, yet somewhat sheepishly;
'Lily's got really beautiful eyes and wonderful freckles'
Lily felt the heat rise to her face and she quickly rolled off the lounge and out of Teddy's grasp so that she could lunge forward to stop Scorpius from talking.
'You don't have to answer!' she wailed trying to press her hands over Scorpius's mouth. But he batted them away as Teddy roared with laughter.
'And the way her ears turn red when she's embarrassed-' Scorpius continued chuckling at Lily's discomfort.
'You say one more word Scorpius and I'll-' Lily began threateningly but stopped when she saw Scorpius's smile fade and his eyes widen at something over her shoulder. Lily turned quickly around to see her father standing in the doorway.
Lily quickly jumped off of Scorpius and sat up straight next to him on the lounge to face her father.
Harry slowly walked in looking very grave. All the laughter from a moment ago had ceased. Even Teddy was watching Harry with a certain amount of trepidation.
Lily noticed that he had the copy of Witch Weekly in one hand and she squirmed nervously.
'So I think we should probably talk about this-' Harry began, holding up the magazine slightly but seeming reluctant to look down at it himself.
Scorpius quickly stood up off the lounge.
'I'm sorry Sir' He spluttered. 'About the kissing thing- I mean-'
A flash of panic crossed his face.
'I don't mean I'm sorry about having kissed Lily- I'm not sorry about that. That was nice-'
Lily winced uncomfortably, looking up at Scorpius and willing him to stop talking.
'I mean I'm sorry about having been caught… But not because I'm worried about the consequences of course! I just meant the trouble it will cause you and-'
Lily tugged on Scorpius's sleeve.
'It's okay- just sit down' she instructed him. She pulled on his arm, forcing him awkwardly back into a sitting position next to her on the lounge.
Harry just looked at them silently, mulling something over.
'I'm the one who should be apologizing' He said slowly and deliberately.
'It's not your fault that this… article…' he glanced briefly down at the magazine before quickly lifting his gaze again as though the sight of it might burn his eyes.
'…that this article was published is not your fault. You both have nothing to do with what happened during the war with Voldemort'
Scorpius looked up in surprise.
'And the timing of this… it's very suspicious. As you might have heard- I've been having troubles at the Ministry. Today was more troublesome than ever. So I think that this may have been a sort of vailed attempt to darken my reputation by using you and your family. So…I'm sorry that it's come to this'
Scorpius blinked back at Harry. This was not the reaction he had expected.
'It's alright Sir… If we had let you know about us earlier perhaps it wouldn't have come to this…'
'You can call me Harry' Harry said quickly. 'Or Mr Potter if that's more comfortable'
Harry held out his hand and Scorpius scrambled to get up and take it.
'Yes Si- Mr Potter' Scorpius said hesitantly shaking Harry's hand.
'So how long has… this… been going on?' Harry asked, trying but failing to sound only casually interested.
Scorpius looked over at Lily.
'We've been friends since my first year' Lily said. '-best friends' she added defiantly.
'I thought Lysander was your best friend' Harry said frowning.
'Well yes- he is too' Lily replied firmly. 'Lysander is like my Ron and Scorpius is like my Hermione' she explained.
'Under that Logic, shouldn't it be Lysander and Scorpius that are snogging?' Teddy chuckled.
'The point is that, as you know dad, it's not impossible to have two best friends' Lily said loudly ignoring Teddy.
'Right' Harry nodded, still looking cautiously at Scorpius. 'Shall we have dinner then?'
Teddy, Lily and Scorpius followed Harry back down the hall towards the dining room. On the way there they again passed the open door of the kitchen where Percy and Arthur had now been joined by Hermione and Ginny in trying to comfort Grandma Molly.
Lily tensed as their conversation came within earshot.
'He looks just like him!' Molly said again in a terrified tone.
'I don't think so' Hermione said 'He's much better looking than Draco ever was'
'That's for sure' Ginny agreed with a snicker.
'Not Draco- Lucius Malfoy!' Molly wailed. 'The resemblance is uncanny-'
'That doesn't mean he will act like him!' Ginny groaned in frustration. 'Mum, please! Just try to calm down and get to know the boy a little. If you still think he's evil after dessert we'll talk to Lily about it then, okay?'
Lily turned around to look Scorpius apologetically in the eyes. But he was looking off at the furnishings around him, pretending not to hear.
A/N: The dinner will continue next chapter... :)
