A/N: This one took FOREVER! I'm so sorry for the delay. I just had one of those weeks. Every time I sat down to write, i just couldn't. But anyway. Here it is. It's not quite all that I wanted. I was going to make it longer, but just wanted to get it up. The next update will hopefully not take as long! Please review and let me know how you like it. I struggle writing Quidditch scenes. I'm not sure why. They just don't come naturally to me. There probably won't be many more in this book.
If you haven't yet, check out my new story post "First Kiss" - I've posted a couple fragments of writings I had already completed for future Scorpius/Lily years. Some of the fragments will likely show up in later years of this book. But if you're impatient with how slowly Lily and Scorpius' relationship is progressing (due to age) then maybe you'll enjoy those posts in the meantime :)
As always, thank you so much for all the reviews and messages. I love hearing that my readers are truly enjoying my story. I thrive on feedback! XOXO
Chapter Six: Game Day
The mid-November morning of the Slytherin and Hufflepuff game arrived along with the first snow of the season. Lily had not slept as well as she would have liked before a game, and climbed out of bed feeling more than a little anxious. Eight weeks of rigorous Quidditch training had finally led Lily to her first official game. Despite having played the final game the previous semester, Lily considered this game her true first as she was truly a part of the team now.
Julianne obligingly woke early with her and accompanied Lily into the bathroom to get ready for the day. While Lily showered, Julianne set out her uniform and the green hair ribbon, which Julianne had decided was lucky and must now be worn at all games. While she continued to wait for Lily, Julianne dressed herself in a pair of black trousers a green shirt and a black wool coat with her favorite green and white striped scarf. She put her hair up and started on her makeup.
After her shower, Julianne tried to convince Lily to wear makeup, but Lily insisted that wearing makeup during a game was ridiculous. She did allow Julianne to fix her long hair with a fancy braid with the green ribbon weaved throughout the braid.
Once Lily was dressed in her uniform silver pants, emerald green game robes, and her black leather flying boots, Julianne insisted they go to breakfast even though Lily claimed she did not want to eat.
"You have to," Julianne said. "You can't just not eat every time you have a game. You'll need your energy and strength and you know it."
Lily consented and followed her friend upstairs for breakfast. Kenny was still fast asleep in bed, but Lily knew she'd wake, dress in a flash, and rush up to breakfast to shove as much food into her mouth as possible just before the game. Doing things last minute was her specialty.
"Don't be so nervous," Julianne said. "You and I both know that you're going to be spectacular!"
"What if I'm not fast enough? The Hufflepuff seeker is really fast!" Lily said. "I was watching them practice last week."
"Okay, first of all, do not torture yourself by watching other teams practice," Julianne said. "Second of all, trust yourself! You're going to be great! Especially since James has loaned you his broom for the game. You said it yourself, that broom is the fastest on the market."
Lily knew everything her friend said was true. She took a deep breath to calm herself as they entered the Great Hall. She noticed the Hufflepuff team instantly. They all sat together in the middle of the Hufflepuff table. Their black and yellow uniforms stood out strikingly against all the other students bundled up in winter coats. Many of the students, however, were wearing yellow scarfs to support their house. Glancing at the Ravenclaw table beside it, Lily noticed most of those students were also wearing yellow in support of Hufflepuff. Some even sported yellow and black face paint. She had a feeling if she looked to the Gryffindor table, she'd see the same, but she chose not to. Instead she led Julianne to their table on the far left of the Great Hall and the girls took the first empty space on the bench they found.
Lily stared blankly at her empty plate for a few minutes until Julianne seemed to notice. With a slight huff, Julianne started loading up Lily's plate for her.
"You have to eat," she said.
Lily smiled slightly at her friend and began eating the fried egg and toast her friend had served her.
"Tea or juice?" Julianne asked.
"Tea please," Lily said.
Julianne poured the black tea for Lily and then fixed it with a splash of cream and a dash of cinnamon, which she knew was how her friend liked it.
"So how are we going to celebrate after you win today?" Julianne asked.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Lily said.
"Oh please," Julianne said. "You know you'll win."
Lily shrugged, not quite able to share her friend's overwhelming confidence.
"Morning Potter!"
Lily managed a slight smile as Kale Perk slipped onto the bench beside her and started loading his plate with toast and bangers. She watched in slight wonder and horror as he started shoving food in his mouth.
"Are you going to eat all that before the game?" She asked.
"Of course," he said. "How else will I have enough energy to fly?" He glanced at her plate and seemed to notice she had only barely taken a couple bites of her meager food there. "You need to eat more," he said.
"I'm too nervous," she said.
"What've you got to be nervous for?" He asked. "You're a great flier."
"It's my first game though," she said. "And Hufflepuff has a great seeker."
Kale glanced up at someone approaching and waved them over. "Malfoy, Goyle, come help me convince Potter to eat something."
Lily blushed under the attention as Scorpius and Leo sat down across from her, Julianne, and Kale and started fixing their own plates.
"Why aren't you eating?" Scorpius asked.
Leo piled food on his plate. "You've got to eat before a game," he said. "It's a requirement."
"A requirement?" Lily asked.
Leo shrugged. "It should be."
Lily smiled at the guys' encouragement and added some bacon to her plate. "Happy now?" She asked.
"Don't let the nerves get to you," Scorpius said. "You'll do great."
Lily didn't feel like discussing the game anymore, even though everyone was being very supportive. She was nervous enough as it was and felt the need to detach herself from the anxious anticipation she was feeling. She ate in silence, trying to tune out the myriad excited chatter filling the table around her; students talking about the game, some predicting the outcome, some mentioning her by name, curious about her abilities as seeker, some discussing the likelihood that she would fail. She didn't want to hear any of it at that moment though. All she wanted was to focus on her food, streamline her thoughts to only what she was putting in her mouth and shut out anything else that was trying to creep in her mind at that moment—the plays she had run through with Payne every day that week, the maneuvers she had been practicing with Kenny, Kale, and even occasionally Rose, and especially the knowledge that more than likely the fate of that day's game would heavily fall upon her shoulders.
Lily jumped with Julianne placed a hand on her arm, pulling her out of her quiet.
"I'm sorry, what?" Lily asked, knowing by the expression on her friend's face that she had missed a question.
"I asked if you wanted more tea?" Julianne said.
Lily hadn't realized she had finished her tea, but she shook her head. "I'm good, thanks."
"Well if we're all done then, let's hit the pitch!" Leo said. He stood up, snatching one more piece of toast from the table. "Game time!"
Kale stood swiftly and followed Leo's lead. Scorpius stood more slowly, straightening his game robes as he did.
"Coming?" He asked Lily, who still had not budged from her seat.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, coming," she said, trying to force herself to refocus on the task at hand.
Julianne stood with Lily, instantly ready to be her moral and physical support. The girls moved around the table, joining up with Scorpius at the door. As they headed out, Kenny came barreling past them, bumping unintentionally into Lily as she pushed her way into the great hall. Lily stumbled from the unexpected contact and fell towards Scorpius. He put his arm out to catch her and helped her find her balance again.
"Oy Krum! Watch it!" He called after her.
Kenny waved a hand over her shoulder, acknowledging that she had either not heard or not cared. "Getting food!" She shouted. "Won't be late!"
"She's going to make herself sick eating so fast before the game," Scorpius said, giving a slight frown in Kenny's direction.
"That's just her way," Lily said. She realized she was still holding on to Scorpius' arm and released him quickly. "Let's get going."
Lily took Julianne's hand and started walking quickly towards the pitch. Scorpius kept up with her fast pace easily with his long legs.
When they reached the pitch, Scorpius headed towards the locker room while Julianne parted from Lily with a hug and hurried off to take her place in the stands to watch the game with Leona, and Lily knew Louis and Hugo would likely find the girls as well. Lily stood there for a moment, staring into the partially filled stands. She knew people were still trickling out from breakfast and she anticipated a full crowd by time the game started in thirty minutes. It was the first Quidditch game of the year; everyone would be there.
She shivered slightly, both from nerves and cold. A thin layer of snow had settled over the grass, and when she let out a deep breath a frosty cloud formed in front of her mouth. It was going to be a hard game flying in that type of cold, but fortunately Lily enjoyed the cold and snow and had never let it stop her from practicing her flying growing up.
She let out one more icy breath before heading towards the locker room to finalize herself for the game and listen to Payne's pre-game pep talk.
…
Historically, the Hufflepuffs were not known for having the strongest Quidditch team. Growing up, discussing Quidditch with her brothers, her dad and Uncle Ron and Uncle George, Lily knew that the Hufflepuffs were the easy team to beat. They weren't known for their competitive or aggressive spirits. They didn't tend to focus on their offensive maneuvers as much as other teams and their captains were never particularly determined. Since gaining their newest Captain, Alec Newton, a particularly focused and experienced sixth year, however, things had been changing for the Hufflepuff team. Newton was passionate about Quidditch and everyone know he had grand desires to play professionally. In the course of only eight weeks he had established a strong team and trained them hard. Hufflepuff was no longer an easy team to beat.
Newton himself played keeper, and Lily had often overheard Payne lecturing Scorpius on his need to improve his keeper skills to compete better against Newton. The beaters, Emily Dawson and Iris Faton, were likewise known for their talent and teamwork. Lily at least felt confident that she was a faster flyer and stronger seeker than their fourth year seeker, Drew Kennedy. He was a good flyer, but from what she knew and had observed of him, he tended to easily get distracted and lose focus on what he was supposed to be doing, which Lily knew could only benefit her in the search for the snitch.
The game that morning lasted for nearly two hours. It was not their longest game, but the entire game felt like it was constantly going in fast motion. The chasers on both sides were evenly matched and flew speedily and aggressively, keeping their attempts to score nearly even. The beaters were likewise well-matched. Leo and Geoff were a tough duo for most teams to beat; they were best friends and worked well together, and they also didn't fear repercussions from potentially hitting a bludger too hard. Dason and Faton, however, were smaller and flew somewhat faster. They stopped most bludgers the Slytherins sent at the Hufflepuffs, including the particularly fast one Geoff had tried to beat towards their seeker. It would have likely taken him out of the game, since he had not been paying attention well at the moment, if Emily Dawson hadn't flown between him and the wild bludger and hit it in the opposite direction.
Lily spent the majority of the game at a higher height, observing the game as well as keeping her eyes out for the golden snitch. She liked staying high during games, feeling that it kept her out of the action, and also gave her the best vantage point for all events. She had noticed other seekers tended to go lower during games, staying below the action.
This particular game had Lily feeling on edge. From her height she had been able to see how close the game was the entire time. She had seen the bludger that had narrowly missed Kenny, and the five shots Newton had blocked in a row. She saw how hard Scorpius was playing; she could see it in the way he flew back and forth frantically, his expression hard, as he desperately blocked shot after shot. She could see the tension building and felt her team losing their spirit.
As they neared the top of the second hour, Hufflepuff was ahead by thirty points. Lily felt her fingers going practically numb inside her leather gloves as she hovered just below cloud level. She had been searching for the Snitch, but hadn't even seen a glimpse of its golden shimmer yet.
Glancing down towards the action of the game, she noticed Payne staring at her. His face was set in a tight-lipped scowl, his eyebrows furrowed. Deciphering his expression from that distance was tricky, but when his scowl softened into an expression of almost pained desperation, she realized he was trying to tell her that he was counting on her to win. Payne knew they were struggling against Hufflepuff's well-trained team.
Lily glanced at the other teammates quickly, taking note of their current status. Kenny and Kale looked as tired and desperate as Payne. They had been playing hard as chasers, trying to out fly the Hufflepuff chasers, and score as many goals as they could, but Newton had stopped more than they had expected. Leo and Geoff alone looked to still be enjoying themselves, but Lily knew they never got tired of hitting bludgers. They were currently flying close together, lauding about something, but Leo had his bat poised at the ready and Lily saw one of the bludgers soaring towards them. He hit it hard and it flew off towards Newton. She felt momentarily hopeful, but he ducked easily out of the way, leaving Leo and Geoff glaring and no longer laughing. Only a minute later, Hufflepuff's beaters sent the other bludger directly towards Scorpius in payback for Slytherin's attempt at their keeper. Scorpius was not quite as fortunate as Newton. Lily watched in a slight panic as the Scorpius tried to swerve out of the way, but the bludger clipped his arm. He doubled over in obvious pain, cradling his arm to his stomach. He stayed on his broom though, and seemed determined to keep at it.
Lily couldn't explain her need to check on him, but she had turned her broom towards him and flown down to his level before giving it a second thought.
"Hey, you okay?" She asked, hovering close.
His jaw was set and his eyes were narrowed in a way she didn't often see. He kept his left arm tucked in to his stomach and didn't answer her.
"Scorpius, you need to get to to the hospital wing," she said.
"And leave the goals complete unprotected?" He asked, scoffing at the idea.
"You're no good with only one arm," she said.
"I'll manage," he said.
She flew closer, trying to get a look at his arm, but he kept it away from her. She glanced at the others and saw they were busy down at the other end where Kenny was trying to score.
"How bad is it?" She asked.
He started to answer but just shook his head. "Find the snitch, yeah? End the game," he said. "Then I'll go the hospital."
Lily felt more determined than ever. She nodded and flew off away from him, her eyes searching everywhere. Glancing down at the Hufflepuff seeker, she saw he had started searching a little more actively as well, no longer staying put beneath the action, but now circling around the outside of the pitch.
Lily circled high once again, looking down on everything. She flew outside the pitch, making a wide circle, still staying higher than the other seeker. After another fifteen minutes, Hufflepuff had scored multiple times against Slytherin. Scorpius had managed to block a couple goals as well as he could with only one working arm, but they were definitely taking advantage of his situation. When she finally did see the snitch, she almost thought she had imagined it. The slight flash of gold came from low near the ground, at the opposite side of the pitch from where she was. She took a quick glance towards Kennedy, and saw he was turned the opposite way at the moment and hadn't noticed, though he was much closer to it than she was. To avoid him realizing that she had seen the snitch, Lily started moving closer in a slow, casual way, trying to appear as though she were still looking and had not actually found it. When she was finally more than halfway there, she leaned low on her broom, gripped tightly, and pushed it forward as fast as it could go. She felt the wind whipping her face as she flew faster and faster towards the snitch. It was still hovering close to the ground.
She was only a couple yards away when Hufflepuff's seeker seemed to catch on. He turned his broom around and chased after her. The snitch jumped, momentarily going higher, and then straight back down to the ground. Lily was coming in fast, and so close to the ground, she knew she would crash. She reached out, ignoring how close the other seeker was now behind her. Just before she reached the snitch, she let go of her broom, letting it fly out from beneath her body. She clamped her hand tightly around the snitch as she tumbled to the ground, rolling and skidding in a very ungraceful sort of way, until at last she was splayed out on her back, her robes twisted around her body and hair in her face. Taking a deep breath though, she raised her arm high in the sky and unclenched her first, revealing her catch.
"Lily Potter has caught the snitch! Slytherin wins the game! 270 to 220." The announcer's voice echoed around the pitch as the Slytherin team and classmates erupted with cheers.
Lily chose not to move for a moment. Her body ached from the rough crash to the ground, and she felt suddenly very cold again. In only a couple minutes though, students were flooding the field, her teammates included, and she knew it was time to get to her feet or be trampled.
She pushed herself to a sitting position, and saw a hand in front her face suddenly, offering to help her. Pushing hair away from her face, she grasped the hand and was pulled to her feet. She realized it was Payne when his strong grasp almost lifted her completely off her feet before stabilizing her on the ground. A moment later though she was lifted off her feet again as his arms caught her up in a tight hug.
"Potter you were brilliant!" He said, swinging her around briefly before setting her back down again.
She was caught up again in a moment though by a joint hug by both Leo and Geoff. She was surprised, since they very rarely showed emotion, let alone enthusiasm. She was less surprised by the hug she got from Kale, because she had learned over the past few weeks that despite his slightly daunting dark features and hulking size, he was actually quite an affectionate friend. Kenny offered a typical high five, and then Lily turned to Scorpius. He was smiling at her, but she could see the pain in his expression.
"Malfoy needs to get to the hospital," she said firmly, a little surprised and frustrated that no one else had yet suggested it.
"You should probably get checked out too," Payne said. He touched a finger to her cheekbone and she winced. She hadn't realized how badly she had scraped up her body on the crash, but looking down she saw her pants were torn above the knee, and there was blood pooling there on the fabric, and though she couldn't see the injury, her arm was aching as well.
"Fine," she said. She didn't think she really needed a visit with Madam Rougal, but figured she wouldn't argue about it right then.
"If she doesn't keep you, we'll see you in the common room later for celebration!" Payne said.
Lily nodded and motioned to Scorpius. "Let's get this over with," she said.
He followed her away from their teammates and off the field. Lily had wanted to stay and look for Julianne, Leona, and Louis, but she knew if she didn't force him, Scorpius would likely try and ditch the hospital altogether.
They walked silently together up to the castle, both exhausted from the game, and starting to feel their injuries more as they separated from the excited crowd. Lily knew hers weren't serious, just superficial cuts and bruises, but she still felt significant pain and would look forward to some healing ointment. She could only imagine the pain Scorpius was in, but he wasn't saying anything about it. She tried to see his hurt arm, but he was keeping it close to his stomach.
"How bad is it?" She asked him as they reached the door to the castle.
"I've had worse," he said.
"That's not exactly an answer," she said.
He shrugged.
"You don't have to pretend with me, you know," she said.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
She was quiet for a moment, wishing that she hadn't said anything. He waited for a response though so she sighed and continued. "You can always be honest with me," she said, trying to explain herself in a way that wasn't confusing or too forward. "I know sometimes you put on a certain face for other Slytherins, and you seem a bit tough or even mean sometimes, but you don't ever have to act with me."
He didn't answer right away.
"Sorry…maybe I shouldn't have…" she said.
He stopped her with a slight smile. "It hurts something awful," he said at last. "I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to finish the game, but I knew Payne would have had my head if I had left them hanging like that."
They had reached the hospital wing by this point. Lily opened the heavy double door for them both.
"If you hadn't have caught the snitch when you did, I would have probably crashed out from the pain," he said.
"I'm glad I did then," she said. "I'm sorry you got hurt at all."
He shrugged. "We all know the possibilities with Quidditch," he said. "You're hurt, too."
"Not really," she said. "I probably don't even need to be here."
He gave her a smirk, and she felt like she could read his mind. Before she had a chance to answer, Madam Rougal emerged from her office and quarters at the back of the large hospital room.
"Good morning," she greeted them with a kind smile.
Lily had only met the healer once before the previous year when Louis had eaten a bad batch of one of Uncle George's candies that he had shipped to Fred and Roxie. Louis had spent twenty four hours in the hospital with a stomach ache, rash, and ears three times larger than normal, and had left the hospital with a thirst for vengeance against Roxie and James who had fed the candies to him. Lily had visited with him frequently at that time, doing homework with him, and promising never to speak of his ears; she knew it was hard for him to not look perfect.
In Lily's opinion, Madam Joyanne Rougal was kind. She was just a tad younger than Lily's own mum, with soft brown hair that she wore in a single plait down to the middle of her back, and gentle cinnamon-brown eyes. From conversations with Professor Longbottom and her parents, Lily knew that Madam Rougal had not only completed her healer training, but had also studied muggle magic in London before being recruited by the Headmistress to join Hogwarts' staff, which Lily had thought was especially interesting. She had only been on staff for three years, but from the chatter that circulated the school, Lily knew she was well-loved by most students and staff.
"What sort of scrapes have we gotten ourselves into today?" She asked, her eyes taking in the condition of both with a practiced swift gaze.
"Quidditch mishap," Lily said. "He got hit with a bludger."
Madam Rougal pursed her lips together. "Ah, another Quidditch injury. That does tend to be a popular one around here." Her eyes roamed Lily's body. "You too, I see?"
"Me? No, I'm fine, just bringing him here…" Lily said. She felt eager to return to her common room for a shower, and not at all interested in getting stuck in the hospital for a night.
She heard Scorpius scoff beside her and could feel him smirking at her. Madam Rougal narrowed her eyes slightly and shook her head.
"Miss Potter, I have been a doctor and healer for many years. I am very aware when someone is injured and someone is being untruthful," she said. "Come now. Let's get you both into beds so I can make inspections."
Lily realized by her tone that arguing was useless. She and Scorpius followed Madam Rougal to two beds against the left side of the room. She flicked her wand and a drawer opened beneath both beds and two plain white hospital robes floated out and dropped neatly on each bed.
"I'll draw the curtains around the beds here so you can change," she said, and she did so promptly.
Lily barely had time to roll her eyes at what she felt was the unencessity of it all before she found herself enclosed within the privacy of the heavy white curtains. With a sigh, she obediently removed her boots, Quidditch robes, shirt, and silver trousers. Once she was undressed she realized Madam Rougal's worries may not have been wholly undeserved.
It seemed almost the entire left side of her body had been scraped or bruised in some way. Her left knee was cut and bleeding and there was bruising up and down her thigh; her hipbone sported a large bruise; her left arm was scraped raw with bruises forming behind the scrapes; and though she couldn't see it her cheekbone felt tender and sore when she spoke or smiled.
She covered herself with the white robes and then pulled back the curtain to let the healer know she was ready to be seen. She noticed Scorpius' curtains were still drawn.
"Scorpius, you doing okay?" She called out to him.
He grunted slightly in response. "Yeah," he said. "Just taking longer than normal with only one hand. I'm good."
She sat on the side of her bed and waited for Madam Rougal. She came over a moment later, carrying a collection of bottles and cloths.
"How are you feeling?" She asked Lily.
"A little sore actually," Lily admitted. "I guess I didn't realize how hard I crashed."
Madam Rougal seemed satisfied with the honest answer and instructed Lily to lie down on her right side so she could begin inspections. She started with Lily's knee, then worked her way up to her hipbone, folding the robe out of the way to expose the areas she was working on. She waved her wand over her leg, while muttering a quiet incantation. When she finished the healing spell, she took one of the ointment bottles she had placed on the table beside Lily's bed and applied a thin blue cream over all the scrapes and bruising on her leg and then covered it with cloths.
"It'll start to feel better soon," she said. She put the robe back in place just as Scorpius' curtains opened.
"Mr. Malfoy, have a seat on the bed there, and I'll be with you in just a moment," she said.
"You can see to him first," Lily said. "His injury is much more serious I'm sure." She glanced at him as he sat and noticed him cringe as he accidentally put pressure on his hurt hand. When he noticed her watching, he forced a smile.
"I'll tend to him in a moment," Madam Rougal said. "You are just about finished here." She repeated the healing process with Lily's arm and cheek and finally stepped back when she had finished. "Please stay still on your right side there so you don't irritate the bandages for a little while."
Lily obediently stayed on her right side, which left her staring directly at Scorpius as Madam Rougal began inspecting his arm.
"Hmm…" She said, holding his arm up carefully. "Your wrist has been completely crushed." She shook her head. "Honestly, I will never understand the appeal of that violent game."
"It's not always violent," he said. "I jut didn't get out of the way in time."
"You can fix him though, can't you?" Lily asked. She had seen her brothers healed from some worse injuries when they were younger and got into dangerous situations with their cousins.
"Of course I can," she said quickly. "It will take a little while though and it won't feel very nice." She searched through her bottles and then handed him a small one full of a soft orange liquid. "Drink this," she told him.
He took the bottle and drank it obediently, but squeezed his eyes shut while he did so and coughed harshly after. "That's disgusting," he said.
"Yes, unfortunately with all our magical abilities, we can't seem to make healing potions any less disgusting," Madam Rougal said with a slightly apologetic tone. "That will help ease the pain as I begin the incantation to reset your bones. They will take a couple weeks to heal completely. During that time I will wrap your wrist to keep it stable and you will need to come and check in with me every other day for a fix up, alright?" Scorpius nodded to all she said and she began the incantation on his wrist.
Thirty minutes later, Madam Rougal was once again in her office, after having insisted that both Scorpius and Lily remain in bed for at least an hour so she could inspect how the ointments were working. Scorpius seemed content to stay and rest in silence for the hour, but Lily found herself quickly bored.
"Do you think they're partying without us?" Lily asked after a long silence.
"Maybe," Scorpius said. "Knowing Payne though the party will last all day and night."
She sighed. She didn't really care too much for parties, but she would rather be anywhere besides the hospital at that moment. She wanted to talk to Julianne and see Leona and Louis. Saturdays were some of her only days to see her cousins and friends outside of Slytherin and she hated wasting it away.
Scorpius seemed to read her distressed thoughts. "I'm sure she won't keep you much longer," he said. "You'll be able to run off and party in no time."
"What about you?" She asked.
"I don't know. Crushed bones can be kind of serious," he said. "My dad got his leg crushed when I was younger. He was in St. Mungo's for a couple days."
Lily nodded. She knew it was serious. Her dad had had crushed bones as well. As had her brother Teddy. She just hadn't wanted to say anything earlier because she didn't feel it was right to worry Scorpius with it.
They fell silent for a while longer. Madam Rougal was in an out tidying her supplies and checking on them occasionally. They had missed lunch, but neither had been very hungry, so Madam Rougal had brought them tea and scones to hold them over until dinner.
When dinner hour arrived, Lily started feeling more anxious than ever. Scorpius had fallen asleep over an hour ago after another potion from Madam Rougal, and so Lily had been stuck alone with her thoughts and the subtle burning sensation along the whole of the left side of her body as a reminder of just how bored and miserable she currently was.
Lily had never done well with pain. She had plenty experience with it, unfortunately. Growing up she had been particularly accident prone, as many in her family enjoyed pointing out. She would trip over own feet standing perfectly still. She had never been too terribly injured, but even a cut that needed to be stitched or a fractured finger that needed to be magically healed would cause her an excess of irritation and anger target towards whomever was healing her, usually her mum or Aunt Fleur. She hated the smell of hospitals and the overly clean feel of the rooms and robes. And right now in her silence, she was feeling especially trapped and angry.
She had just decided to demand Madam Rougal allow her to leave when the door opened and a loud herd made their way into the room, led by Payne and Kenny. When she realized the entire team had come, Lily sat up in bed, shook her messy hair out of her face and greeted the group with a smile.
"We are going absolutely bonkers over how long you two have been kept here," Kenny said, hopping up onto the end of Lily's bed.
Leo and Geoff sat on Scorpius' bed, none too kindly waking him from his potion-induced rest.
"Oy! Wake up, mate!" Leo said, shoving Scorpius' legs out of the way.
"When's she going to release you guys? We've been trying to party, but it's not the same without our star player!" Payne said. He leaned over Lily, seeming to inspect her injuries, but Lily doubted he knew much about healing. "You look fine to me."
"I feel fine," she assured him. "Madam Rougal said I'd be able to leave by dinner, which I think is around now, isn't it?"
"Yep!" He said. "So let's get going! We'll get the party going good and proper."
"I'm not sure I'll be out tonight," Scorpius said.
Payne frowned. "I'll talk to her," he said. I can be very convincing."
Lily rolled her eyes at his confidence.
"Give it your best shot," Scorpius said, though Lily could tell he didn't have high expectations, nor did he seem to care much either way.
Madam Rougal emerged at that moment. Lily wondered if she'd be angry at the appearance of the entire Quidditch team, but she merely smiled at them as she came to check on her patients. Stepping around Kenny's legs which were sprawled off the side of Lily's bed, Madam Rougal removed the cloths from Lily's face and arm and inspected the progress. Without a word she moved over to Scorpius and inspected his wrist.
"Miss Potter, your wounds are healing quite nicely. I am going to send you with a bottle of the ointment I used and I would like you to apply it yourself before bed and first thing in the morning. And if you shower, be sure to apply the ointment after as well. Can you do that?" She asked.
Lily nodded.
"Then you may leave. I sent your dirty Quidditch things to the elves to be cleaned and mended. You will have to go on in the robe you are wearing," she said.
Lily slipped out of the bed eagerly, but waited to hear Scorpius' fate.
"Mr. Malfoy, it might benefit you to stay the night for rest, however, I can see your friends are eager for you to join them," she said. "If you feel comfortable returning to your room for the night, I will wrap your wrist and let you leave, but I expect you to return in the morning for inspection."
Scorpius nodded solemnly and stood as well. "Thank you, Madam Rougal," he said.
Lily murmured her thanks as well, picked up her boots, Leo picked up Scorpius', and the team departed form the hospital wing together.
"Now we can party!" Payne said. "Quint's getting all the goods together. We can go straight to the room. There will be plenty of food there. No need to get dinner."
Lily couldn't help but laugh at her Captain's enthusiasm for teenage debauchery. She wasn't eager to drink anything Quintin might procure for the party, but she was eager for a shower, to see Julianne, and to eat. And even though rest sounded nice, she was also excited to spend the evening with her teammates and friends. She felt happy knowing that she had friends who had come to seek her out in the hospital and make sure she would be a part of their party. At that moment, Lily knew she was truly happy as a Slytherin.
A/N: Look forward to Dueling Club starting next chapter. Who should Lily have to Duel first? Let me know what you think! Cassie? A Scamander? A cousin? Review and give your opinion!