The YuleBall at Potter Manor was in full swing. Scorpius looked on from his seat. The Malfoys had been invited to the ball before but Draco, Astoria and Narcissa had always politely declined. Scorpius now knew why. It was the same as last year, though the hateful glares and mean comments had lessened, there were still those who would readily call him a Death Eater.
He looked at Nina, giggling in a corner with Lily, Lyra and a bunch of other girls he didn't recognize apart from Megan Dursley, a Ravenclaw from his year. Scorpius and Megan were friends of sorts, not because Albus and Rose forced them to be in each other's company. Megan and Scorpius became friends because a lot of the other students at Hogwarts bullied Megan for belonging to a family responsible for torturing Harry Potter as a child.
If Scorpius didn't know any better, he would have resented Mr. Potter too, but he knew that Harry Potter would be furious if he found out that people were bullying Megan for existing. He was surprised and intrigued by Megan's wisdom; the girl had taken all the nasty words and deeds in her stride. Things had died down after James and Albus joined forces to teach a couple of kids a well deserved lesson.
"What are you doing out here?" Victoire asked taking a seat next to him.
"Nothing. I was just thinking." Scorpius replied not taking his eyes off Carina.
"Don't worry. She is doing well. It will be fine in no time." Victoire said looking thoughtfully at the group of giggling girls too.
"I hope so."
"She told me about how much Lily and you helped her." Scorpius said after a long moment of companionable silence.
"I didn't do anything." Victoire replied with a smile, "Lily did it all."
"Really? You want me to believe a ten year old is a mind healer?"
Victoire laughed, "No. She came to me for advice. But how many ten year olds have that compassion?"
"Not you too." Scorpius groaned.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No. It's just that ever since I got back, all Carina has talked about is Lily and how great she is. Lily this, Lily that. Lily taught me how to ride a bicycle, Lily taught me how to play football, Lily taught me how to fly! What is SO special about Lily anyway?"
"If I didn't know any better I would say you are as jealous of Lily, as she is of you." Teddy said, sitting next to Victoire and kissing her cheek.
"Ugh! Please keep the display of affection for times when you are not around me. And why would I be jealous of a toddler?"
Victoire and Teddy exchanged an amused look.
"Okay, if you say so." Victoire said trying to suppress a grin.
"Vic, don't egg him you know he is jealous."
"Of course he is."
"I am not."
"So jealous he is going green." Teddy said with a sly grin.
Scorpius jumped to his feet, "I am not jealous of her!" He yelled before stomping away fuming at the preposterous idea.
It was later in the evening when Scorpius had visibly cooled off that he went looking for Carina so that they could return home. He was about to turn a corner when he heard voices that belonged to Carina and Lyra.
"Oh! Come on, Nina!" He heard Lyra whine, "Just try one."
"No, thanks. I like the low fat, bitter ones. Try some, they are actually good." Nina replied.
"Nina, I love you." He heard another voice say, "But these taste horrible. I will stick to the sugar coated balls of death. Thanks."
"Delia!" Another voice laughed, "They are not so bad!"
"Really Lils?"Nina teased, "Go ahead try some then."
"Okay, they are horrible. But some day you would end up stuffing yourself with our version of chocolate covered strawberries. I promise." Lily said.
"Did someone say chocolate covered strawberries?" Alex's voice piped up.
"Oh yeah! They are delicious, here try some." Nina said.
There was a moment of silence, followed by violent spitting and swearing.
"That's horrible! It's a monstrosity. Why would you do this to me Nina?" Alex asked horrified.
Scorpius could hear all of them laugh and his jealousy gnawed at him. Carina was his sister; he was supposed to be her best friend, her only friend. Here she was, laughing with his friends and her so called friends. It wasn't like he resented her making friends, but he didn't like the fact that she didn't need him to protect her all the time.
"I see twiddle dee and twiddle dum, but where is twiddle doo?" Lyra asked.
"Who?" Alex asked.
"Scorpius." Albus said.
"Oh yes! Where is my brother?" Nina asked, "I thought you three were like the three Musketeers."
"Ah! Nina! Quoting Muggle Authors, what would your ancestors say?" Someone chided Nina.
"Probably disown the whole lot of us." Nina said merrily. "But fraternizing with a Malfoy, what would your ancestors say, Delia?"
"Probably that we are family and I am getting to know my fifth cousin, twice removed. Also, that Malfoys were sharp business people thus, read the offer documents carefully."
A round of merry laughter followed this exchange as Scorpius fumed in his hiding place.
"Are you going to stand here and eavesdrop or are you going to join us?" A voice asked from his side.
"Hello again, Dursley and I don't know what you mean by that." Scorpius replied.
"Oh please! Get over yourself. You are not a smooth liar." Megan said, rolling her eyes. "Now are you coming or should I tell the others that you are eavesdropping on them?"
"I don't want to join them." He replied stubbornly, "I am waiting for Carina, we have to go home."
"Okay." Megan said with a shrug. "Suit yourself. Hey! Carina!" She called out, "Scorpius is here. He thinks it's time for you to head back home."
"Coming." Carina called back.
"You didn't have to do that." Scorpius hissed at Megan who smirked back.
"But I did. Thank me later, Malfoy." She said as the others reached them.
"Hi!" Lily said tiredly, as she arrived arm in arm with Carina. "Would you like a chocolate covered strawberry before you go?" She asked offering him a plate of chocolate covered strawberries.
"He would take the whole bunch." Carina said, "He is crazy about this stuff."
"He wouldn't because he is too full right now." Scorpius said glaring at Carina, who smirked at him.
"Come on! Since when have you been too full for chocolate covered strawberries?" Albus asked in disbelief.
"Since now, apparently." Alex said, looking Scorpius critically.
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my brother?" Carina asked.
"Ha. Ha. I am in splits. Its so funny." Scorpius replied annoyed.
"Don't worry about them." Lily said, "They are just being stupid."
"No, they are not being stupid." Scorpius snapped, "Carina, are you ready to go? We are getting late."
"Woah there, Scor. Are you alright?" Albus asked alarmed at his friend's foul mood.
"Just peachy." He replied shortly, "Now can we go already. Come on." He said grabbing Carina's arm and dragging her away.
"Hey!" Carina protested but the look on Scorpius' face silenced her. She gave Lily a confused look before letting Scorpius drag her away.
Alex and Lyra followed soon and the group dispersed. Lily however, stood frozen at her spot, her eyes shining with tears.
"You okay there, Lils?" Albus asked.
"What did I do?" Lily asked, tears pouring down her eyes, "Did I say something wrong? Why was Scorpius so mad at me?"
Albus hugged her, "No. He must be really tired, also, some guests are really mean to him. Its not your fault. Don't worry about it."
Albus walked with Lily to the children's room. The room was already filled with the rest of the Weasley-Potter-Lupin clan. Victoire and Teddy were sitting in a corner with Dominique and Lucy, they weren't allowed to sleep in the children's room since they declared that they were dating each other.
"Hey, Flower! Why the long face? Is everything alright?" Teddy asked pulling Lily on his lap.
Lily snuggled into him and sniffed before nodding. The rest gave Albus quizzical looks.
"Oh nothing. Scor was in a bad mood and he kind of snapped at Lily and now she thinks he was mad at her."
"Come on, Lils."Dominique said with a sly grin, "If he was being mean to you, it means he likes you."
"Dom!" Lucy protested as Lily screeched, "eww!" and Albus snorted loudly.
"Lily, don't listen to Dominique." Victoire said.
"Of course I won't!" Lily said sounding horrified, "He is Carina's brother and Albus' best friend and Teddy's Cousin! He is like family. Eww. No. That is gross."
"I am glad we had that cleared up." Teddy said, "Now, Lily. Remember to look at every guy you ever meet the same way. Every one of us is related because we had common ancestors, Adam and Eve, so everyone is family."
Lily started giggling at this, as the other girls made noises of protest.
"Stop brainwashing her!" Lucy said, slamming her book down.
"He is not brainwashing her." Albus said smirking.
"Yeah! I am giving her true facts."
"You just had to add fuel to fire, didn't you?" Rose hissed in Albus' ear.
Albus grinned, "Would you like some popcorn to go, the show is starting." He replied.
"You are an idiot, Al. But this is going to be fun." Rose replied with a laugh.
"Teddy." Victoire said, raising her voice above the squabble between Lucy and Teddy. "You do realize that by your logic we are related and hence I cannot really be with you."
"Score! You go sister!" Lucy cheered.
"Eh! Wizards, especially Blacks were famous for inbreeding." Teddy replied tousling his hair carelessly.
"What's inbreeding?" Lily asked suddenly.
"Nothing you should be worried about, Lils." Teddy said hurriedly.
"Teddy Remus Lupin." Lily said, jumping up her hands on her hips, "You tell me what inbreeding means or I am asking Mum or Andromeda."
"That was a low blow, Lils." Teddy said giving her a hurt look.
"Then tell me already come on!" Lily said jumping impatiently, now joined by an equally curious Hugo.
"Well…" Teddy started, "In simple terms it means that cousins or siblings marry each other to keep the blood pure."
"Why would someone do that?" Hugo asked, his distaste visible.
"Well, some people believe that they are better than others and thus they would want to keep these better genes to just their family or people who are worthy."
"That is weird." Hugo said shaking his head.
"Yeah." Lily agreed, "I love Hugo and Jason and all of you, but I am not marrying anyone. That is just gross."
"Lily!" Several voices protested at the same time, soon after Dominique changed the subject and the conversation flowed easily.
The night soon gave into random conversations lasting till two in the morning. By the time Lily had fallen asleep on Roxanne's arm she had forgotten about Scorpius' rudeness.
Carina slept peacefully too, she had been a little upset with Scorpius' behaviour but she had brushed it off as a mood swing.
Scorpius however had stayed awake for long in his bed, his mood darker than ever. He had tried to tell himself that his shortness with Lily Potter was well found as she was trying to steal away his sister. But he couldn't get rid of the big, brown reproachful eyes that haunted him. He sighed tiredly, before writing a letter to Albus, apologizing for his behaviour. He knew he should have written a letter to Lily, but try as he might, he just couldn't bring himself to talk to her even through letters.
"I can't believe I still can't go to Hogwarts with you." Carina said indignantly as she sat on top of Scorpius' trunk.
"Relax, kid." Scorpius said ruffling her hair, "You will be there soon enough."
"But I want to go now!"
"You know, Carina is a lot like you." Andromeda told Narcissa as they watched the two children fondly. "I still remember the storm you used to brew when we left for school."
"Yes. I was very jealous back then. I thought I was missing out on the good life." Narcissa said with a smile.
"It seems unreal to me." Astoria said thoughtfully, "I cannot imagine a little Narcissa throwing a tantrum. I mean I can't imagine you throw a tantrum at all, you have always been so elegant and graceful."
"You know, even I can't imagine mum throw a tantrum at all." Draco said sipping his tea.
"Yes, well it is quite difficult to imagine all that now." Narcissa said, "I mean would you believe me, if I told you that Andromeda here, cursed off Guinevere Avery's hair during our spring ball, because she had been mean to Regulus."
"Yes. I can actually imagine her do that. However, Andromeda looks like about 18 years old in my mind." Astoria said.
"I was seventeen actually."
"Oh! They believe that you were the wild child but they won't believe that I could throw a tantrum." Narcissa muttered.
"Come on Cissy. We know you were the spoilt brat when we were children. I will always vouch for that."
"Oh so that's where he gets it from." Astoria said.
"Who?" Narcissa asked.
"Draco. He is a spoilt brat."
"I am not!" Draco protested loudly.
"You kind of are." Andromeda said with a smirk.
"I am not spoilt."
"Actually Dad, you kind of are." Scorpius called.
"I am not! Ask Carina."
Carina giggled, "Daddy you kind of threw a tantrum when the healer made us wait for 2 hours. But its okay, you are the good sort of spoilt."
"What is the bad sort of spoilt then?" Scorpius asked.
"You." Carina replied, "And don't give me that look. Lily was only being nice to you at the ball, you didn't have to be mean to her and you didn't even apologize."
"Scorpius!" Narcissa chided him, "What kind of behaviour is this? You were not only rude to your host, you did not even have the decency to apologize to her?"
"I apologized." Scorpius said loudly, blood flowing to his face. "I sent Albus a letter that very night."
"But you were mean to Lily weren't you?" Astoria asked.
"Yes." He mumbled.
"Scorpius, you know how we feel about mumbling. Speak up." Astoria commanded.
"Yes." He said loudly, "But I just can't apologize to her. I can't, I can't, I can't. I don't want to talk to her. I don't even like her!"
"Scorpius, no one is asking you to like her. You just have to apologize to her. Now, come along, we will go apologize right away and then you could floo back to school." Astoria said getting up.
"But-"
"No buts, young man. Do as your mother says." Narcissa chided.
Scorpius sent a pleading look to Draco. "I am sorry, Scor but your mother is right. You must apologize to the person you were rude to."
"You never apologized to Mr. Potter or Mrs. Granger-Weasley or the other Weasleys for being mean to them at school." Scorpius shot back.
"I-"
"He does have a point, doesn't he?" Narcissa said looking thoughtfully at Draco.
"Mum, no." Draco said getting up from his.
"I don't think this was up for discussion Draco. Now come along, let's start with apologizing to Mr. Potter then."
"You will find the whole lot there." Andromeda said. "They are all leaving for Hogwarts from the Manor."
"That's even better." Narcissa said brightly. "We could just take Scorpius' things with us. He could leave from there. Now come along Draco."
"Mum, may I please stay back with Lily for a while too?" Carina asked.
"Well, we will have to see dear. If Lily doesn't have plans you may."
"Thanks a lot Scor." Draco groaned as he watched his wife, daughter and aunt leave through the floo.
Scorpius smirked, "You should have just sided with me. It would have saved you a lot of trouble."
Draco gave him a funny look, "No, unpleasant as this task at hand is, I would rather do this and teach you the difference between right and wrong than take an easy route and let you have your way. Now come on, in you go."
"You know I am quite proud of you." Narcissa said, as soon as Scorpius vanished in the green flames. "You did what we could never do. Lucius and I never corrected your mistakes or set examples for you. You are a good father Draco, better as a parent than we were to you."
"That is not true mum. I realize now that parenthood doesn't come with a handbook. You did what you thought was best for me. I am doing what I think is best for them. Sometimes I wonder if that is good enough."
"All parents worry about that." Narcissa replied with a smile. "Now shall we?"
AN: So, I am sorry for such delayed updates, but I have a hectic work schedule. Anyway, please do read and review. If you are new here don't forget to follow or favourite us apart from writing up a review. Next up, I would either be updating Yours Forever Prongs or Lilies on your Graves. So hang in there.
Hope you had a fun time reading this.
Much love,
The fishes.