Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter.
Note - Well, I'll start off with an apology for how long this took to get out, and also for any mistakes in spelling in grammar that I didn't catch. But I hope you still enjoy the chapter, and let me know what you think.
Rebel Malfoy
Chapter Seventeen: Friends and . . . Girlfriends?
"You're not really going to do it, are you?" Tanner asked with wide eyes. He looked surprised, yet also eager.
"Of course he is! What better way to act as a gentleman, and yet rub it in Potter's face!" Adrian laughed.
Scorpius smirked as he fixed the cuff of the jacket Lily gave him. He had chosen to wear it, knowing it would make Lily happy, but also because it would bug Lucius. Win-win. But the idea had come up within the boys' group for Scorpius to Floo over to the Potter house and retrieve Lily. The idea had made them all laugh.
"Can you imagine? You get the approval of their parents, and take away their sister? It's perfect!" Dante agreed, a laugh waiting on his lips too.
So Scorpius found himself walking out of the room, and heading for the fireplace. What if the Potter boys were in the living room when he popped in? How great it would be to see their faces when he just strolls into their home!
And to Scorpius's delight, he was greeted by not only the Potter boys, but Rose and Hugo Weasley. He was a bit surprised at the sight of the Scamander brothers, but he had no problems with them. So he smirked. "Good evening, lions, and Scamanders. I came for Lily." He chose his words carefully, eyeing James Potter the entire time. He even missed how one of the twins quickly left the room.
James Potter was on his feet, and trying to look menacing as he walked toward Scorpius. "Get out while you can, Malfoy," he hissed.
Scorpius simply raised a brow. "Was that supposed to intimidate me?"
"James Sirius Potter, I hope you're being polite to our guest," Ginny Potter said with authority and a stern look toward her son, who quickly backed away. Scorpius did his best to send her a charming smile. After all, he'd only met this woman once. And also because behind her were other adults that Scorpius didn't really know, besides the hero himself, Harry Potter. One man, who he assumed was Rose and Hugo Weasley's father, looked at him a bit of distrust, but nothing more.
"Hello, Mrs. Potter. Lovely evening, isn't it?" Scorpius said politely.
Ginny gave him a smile. "Hello, Scorpius. I've already called to Lily that you're here. She should be down any second."
And she wasn't wrong, because the next thing Scorpius knew, Lily was in the doorway, looking at him with complete surprise. He took her smile as a good thing. "Hey, Lily Lu," he greeted. He was honestly a bit surprised at her attire. While he knew she wouldn't wear muggle clothes like he'd joked about in his letter, he hadn't really expected her to be in a dress, simply because she'd mentioned before of her distaste for them. She looked pretty and formal, and very Slytherin, in the green dress she wore. The color and style complimented her nicely.
There was the usual bit of color that came to her cheeks. "Hello, Scorpius. What are you doing here?"
Scorpius couldn't stop himself from feeling even more smug. "Well, I thought I would be a gentleman and come and get you. Plus, I quite like it here," he joked, doing his best not to throw a mocking look to her brothers.
He could see her own urge to laugh. "I'm not surprised," was all she said.
"When can I expect my daughter to be home, Scorpius?" Scorpius turned to Lily's mother smiling at him. It made him grin to know that she approved of him, and that it must bug the Potter brothers.
"Well, dinner is at six, and I think the earliest anyone has ever left was . . ." Scorpius thought about it momentarily, "half past eight o'clock? But if there's a certain time that you want her home, I'll make sure she's here by then."
He watched as Lily rolled her eyes at him as she approached him. "Suck up," she mumbled to him, making him smirk.
"Just have her home at a decent time," Ginny told him.
Scorpius nodded. "I can do that. Have a good evening," he said politely, still grinning.
Lily grabbed his arm as she rolled her eyes again. "Let's go," she told him.
Scorpius was able to contain his laughter until they Flooed to his home, but then he let it out. "So, I'm a suck up for trying to make peace in the Potter household?" he mocked.
She shook her head. "No, you're just trying to get my mum to like you, because you think it'll bug my brothers," she pointed out.
Scorpius playfully snapped his fingers. "Ah! My secret's out. So, I'm a suck up when I'm trying to get your mum to like me?"
"Yep," she said simply, but with a smile. "But I guess that's a not a bad thing. She usually has the final word in our house, so that might get you places."
Scorpius grinned. "All right! I'm glad to hear that."
She just laughed at him, but then seemed to notice where they were. "Where are the others?"
Scorpius snapped back to his previous objective, which was getting Lily to the party. "Oh! The adults stick us kids in the upstairs study. That's where the others are. Come on," he said, leading the way.
Lily followed beside him. "Who's all here?" she inquired.
Scorpius thought about it, and tried to start with how she might be happiest to hear about. "Um . . . Lola and some of her siblings. Jace, Lana and Lars, Mitch and all of his siblings. My cousins, the Boles, the Flints, the Vaiseys, and the Montagues," he listed, knowing that he was probably missing a few.
She raised a brow at his list. "That's a lot of people."
"A lot of kids," Scorpius agreed. "It's like . . . more than twenty at lest. Although, the older ones are usually with the adults, since they feel that they're too mature for us," Scorpius said as he rolled his eyes, thinking of a specific few. "Marty, Ginger, and Brandon are all with the adults now."
But Lily looked at him curiously. "Marty?"
"Lola's oldest brother," he explained. "The oldest Pritchard. He's a cool guy, not stuck up like Ginger. But he's working in my dad's department of the Ministry, so they're talking business. That's what most of the older men do at this dinner. Discuss business, our grades, and on the odd occasion, Quidditch teams." Scorpius knew that it was mostly business for his father, working in the ministry some days, and then spending his days off handling the Malfoy estate and business.
She grinned as they reached the second floor. "What do the kids talk about?"
Scorpius smirked. "Quidditch, the opposite sex, school, and how dumb the older kids look trying to be adults," he teased. Then he opened the door to the large study, and led Lily inside the cramped room. He honestly didn't know why his grandfather called this room a study. It was a pretty big room to simply be a study.
Without a thought, he immediately led her to where the guys were. Mitch noticed them first. "Hey, Scorp's back!" he told the others.
"And Lily Luna's with him!" Raven said with a grin of his own. "It's nice to see our star player joining us!"
She rolled her eyes, but smiled teasingly. "Nice to see you without dirt stains on your face," she said playfully.
Scorpius and the guys laughed, but even Raven chuckled at her joke. "Be careful, Lily Luna. I'm the new Quidditch Captain, so I'm your chance getting back on the team."
She just raised a brow, not looking worried at all. "Congratulations on becoming captain. But do you really think that you can get someone better than me?"
Raven's grin grew. "Oh, arrogant are we?"
"Just right," she quipped.
Scorpius was still laughing a little. "Face it, Rave, she's got ya beat on that one." Lily's skills as a Seeker were too great.
Raven picked up his drink from the end table. "True," he admitted. "It makes me wonder if I should even hold tryouts. I mean, I have to have a tryout for Aaron's old position, but I don't think any little second year is going beat what we've already got."
"What if one of the fifth years or someone else tries out though?" Lily pointed out.
Raven shrugged. "They better be good. At least better than some of the pathetic tryouts we had last year."
Dante laughed. "Don't be too hard on them. Besides, Tyson Derrick's not going to be trying out anymore, so we won't have a priss throwing a fit when he doesn't make it." All of them felt relief at the thought.
"Yeah, I don't think I'll be as nice as Aaron when someone throws a fit," Raven commented. Scorpius thought of Raven's temper at last year's tryouts, when guys had whispered and mocked having a girl on the team.
"I was a captain for three years," Aaron said, pulling Scorpius from the memory. "You learn to keep your temper in check."
"I'll be one for a year. They won't be that lucky," Raven stated. "I don't think I'll have Seeker tryouts. It's not like anyone's going to beat Lily here, so that'd be a waste of time. And I'll probably let Lars here keep his position. I'm too used to teaming with him as a Beater."
"Awesome!" Lars said with relief.
Scorpius jokingly sighed. "Well, Adrian, Dante, looks like we're going through tryouts," he teased. It didn't actually bother Scorpius to have to tryout again. It would be like a warm up for the season, and he always enjoyed the exercise.
"Oh, don't bitch," Raven said with a grin. "I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to hold the tryouts for you guys."
"You should tryout, Mitch," Dante joked.
Mitch just shook his head. "Nah. I don't do Quidditch. I mean, it's fun to watch and cheer for, but I'm not a big fan of playing the actual game."
"Wuss," Lars mocked.
Mitch just laughed. "Quick survey. How many upcoming fourth years here with a girlfriend?" Mitch raised his hand. Scorpius rolled his eyes, but thankfully kept his down. He wasn't upset to be single. "No, come on. U high, while I count," Mitch mocked.
Scorpius rolled his eyes again. "Same guys, how many of us aren't whipped," he jeered. Scorpius and Lars raised their hands, and as Mitch started to raise his, Lars smacked it down. They all laughed.
Mitch gave him a fake glare. "Hey, hey . . . shut up," he joked, laughing as well.
"You boys giving Mitch a hard time again?" They turned to see Lana standing near them.
Scorpius shrugged. "It's too fun to pass up," he replied.
"What do you want, sis?" Lars asked, his hands in his pockets.
Lana just rolled her eyes at his attitude. "I'm here to save Lil from this large group of stupidity." And with that, she took Lily's arm. "Come on. I'll help you save a few brain cells."
The guys all rolled their eyes as Lana pulled Lily away, but Scorpius watched them walk away. He was a bit impressed that Lily had stuck around the group for so long. Usually, the other girls left the guys alone, or just stayed quiet and rolled their eyes at any childish jokes. Perhaps Lily was just used to it now, after sharing a locker room for a year?
"I like that girl," Raven stated. "She's got spunk for a girl."
"She is absolutely fearless. I can't wait to see Lucius's face when she walks through the doors to the dining room," Mitch laughed.
"How was it at the Potter house?" Adrian asked eagerly.
Scorpius smirked. "Seeing the Potter brother's faces of fury was a gift of its own. But even better, their mother approves of our friendship, and completely rules over her sons. It's hilarious!"
"I can't wait to beat their asses in Quidditch again!" Raven muttered, his eyes fierce.
"Sucks that Potter's a prefect. You know he'll take advantage of it," Lars mumbled.
"Yeah, but I heard that Steve Parsons got Head Boy. He won't let Potter run around on Slytherins," Tanner mentioned.
Scorpius didn't know Steve Parson, the older Slytherin very well, but he'd always been a nice guy, not a snob like Tyson was after he became prefect. But Steve was someone that didn't tolerate others picking on Slytherins. That was a good sign for their House, if he really was Head Boy.
"What do you think those girls are talking about?" Adrian asked suddenly.
They all looked to the group of older girls, where Lana had dragged Lily away to. "Probably something stupid," Lars muttered.
"Most likely," Mitch agreed.
"So, my sister's boyfriend thinks she talks about stupid things?" Adrian quipped with a bit of a glare Mitch's way. Adrian was the protective type when it came to his sisters. Apparently, Miley had given him a verbal beating, which was why he was a bit accepting when it came to her relationship with Mitch.
"Adrian, they're girls. Half the time, they talk about pointless things," Dante retorted with a sigh.
Aaron nudged Scorpius. "What about you, Scor? I overheard about Layla Reeser's little crush on you."
Scorpius looked at him in surprise. "What?"
"Yeah, man, you never noticed?" Dante agreed.
"Things like that usually go over Scor's head," Mitch stated honestly.
"Layla has a crush on me?" Scorpius demanded. "Since when?"
"Sometime last year," Lars told him. "She always talks about you now."
"Are you going to go for it?" Raven asked him.
Scorpius scowled. Go for it? Layla was a friend! And a girl! Sure . . . she was . . . well cute, you could say. But . . . a girlfriend? He wasn't sure about that!
"Raven, Aaron, remember the days when we used to hesitate about girls?" Adrian laughed.
Raven chuckled. "It'll hit him, and probably fast. I still remember the day I actually noticed Stacy."
"Why don't you just marry her now and get it over with!" Dante mocked with a laugh.
"Yeah, you're already whipped like you were married!" Adrian agreed, laughing as well.
But Raven shrugged their comments off, not at all bothered by their teasing. "Not my problem that I'm a better boyfriend than you two could ever dream of being," he retorted with a grin.
Scorpius just kept quiet as they continued to mock each other. The idea of dating was still . . . weird to Scorpius. It wasn't that he didn't notice girls. He noticed too much how pretty or attractive some were. Sometimes, it was a distraction! And . . . he just didn't think there was a girl out there that he would find worth dating and being with.
Trying to hide the small blush on his cheeks, Scorpius looked down at his watch. "Hey, dinner should be ready soon. We might want to get ready," he sighed. He hated his part of the dinner, and he couldn't understand why his parents let his grandfather put them through it.
"I hate this part of the night," Dante muttered, voicing Scorpius's own thoughts.
"And with that, I'm going to go and join that adults," Aaron laughed. "Have fun, kids."
"Lucky prat," Mitch said as he shook his head.
"Well, let's get this over with," Raven muttered. But then he looked toward the girls. "Hey, girls!" he yelled. "We gotta pair up soon. Scorp says that dinner will probably start soon. So get over here!"
They waited for the girls, and Scorpius looked among them. He was going to have to be paired with one of them . . . His eyes stopped at Lily, and he smirked. He'd already made his choice.
"Ok, now obviously if you have a date, then that's who you're pairing with. That means, me and Stacy, and Adrian and Scarlet. Ok, the next oldest guy is Dante . . . so how about you and Miley?"
"Miley's Mitch's date," Scorpius reminded him.
"Oh! Right, I forgot," Raven said with a shake of his head. "Ok, so Mitch and Miley. So, Dante and . . . Lana?"
Lana shrugged. "Sounds fine with me." Scorpius scowled as he looked at her. Was she blushing?
Raven nodded. "Ok. By the way, remember this, guys. Because I won't," he said honestly. "Ok, now . . . next is Lars, and you're with Amanda, right?"
Lars nodded. "Yep, that's the plan." Scorpius now looked to his brother. He had brought Amanda as a date? Scorpius shook his head, bringing himself back to the current conversation.
"Ok, so next would be Scorpius," Raven mentioned.
"I call Lily Luna!" Scorpius said quickly, and with a smirk.
While there was a bit of pink on her cheeks, she rolled her eyes as she looked at him. "Lucky me," she joked.
Raven obviously wanted to laugh. "Ok, so we'll all get to Lucius Malfoy explode. Awesome!" This made them all laugh. "But, anyway. Next is Tanner, and you and Lindsey are going together as you planned." Scorpius smirked. Tanner had done all he could to avoid having to be paired with one of the younger girls. "So that brings us to Derek," Raven continued, and looked at the others. "Um . . . how about Megan? That cool?"
Derek had been silent since he'd arrived, and even now he just made a small noise and shrugged. Megan rolled her eyes, but was a bit more vocal. "I guess so."
Raven was used to his brother's silence, and just nodded. "Ok. Um . . . I think Xavier is next."
"Me and Shannon," Xavier said casually.
"Perfect," Raven said. "Ok . . . Jace, you and Lola?"
The two twelve-year-olds looked at each other, both disgusted and annoyed. Scorpius held back a laugh, but couldn't stop smirking.
"How about I go down with Emily? I don't care if she's a few years younger," Jace said, still looking warily at Lola.
"You sure?" Raven questioned.
Jace nodded quickly and with certainty. "I'm sure. I'd rather light myself on fire then go in with her." He motioned toward Lola.
"Really, because I'd rather just die?" Lola said dryly.
Thankfully, Raven cut in before the argument could start. "Ok, ok. So that means it's Christian and Lola. Everyone got that?"
"I'll tell Emily that she's in," Megan said as she walked toward the younger kids.
Scorpius felt like he did when he first dressed like a muggle to the family Christmas dinner. He was eager to see Lucius's face when he walked in with Lily. Their arms were interlocked as they approached the door.
Once they stepped inside the dining room, comments and whispers were made, and Scorpius couldn't help but notice the pleased smile on his mother's face. But his eyes soon locked onto Lucius. And Scorpius felt ecstatic. Lucius looked positively furious! A sneer was on his lips, his eyes were burning into the two of them. Scorpius couldn't stop himself from smirking with smug satisfaction.
When they were both seated, Scorpius watched the others file in, but couldn't help but glance at Lucius. The fury in his eyes still hadn't left. But not wanting to let the whole night be about his hate for Lucius, Scorpius finally focused back on the others coming in. And once they had all sat down, Scorpius immediately looked to Mitch.
"You two are just so adorable!" he mocked, looking between Mitch and Miley. "So sugarcoated. Despite Mitch being an idiot, and you . . . well I'd better be quiet. This is a polite dinner."
Miley's snide look was brief, and Mitch just shrugged. "At least I've got a girl. Unlike you," he retorted with a grin.
Scorpius shrugged his comment off. "Too much of a hassle. Plus it saves me from having to spend money on the useless things a lot of girls in our year want," he said, thinking of Adrian complaining about all the stupid gifts he'd had to get for Scarlet.
"You're just not as devilishly handsome as I am," Mitch laughed.
"Oh, I am the hottest of our year," Scorpius quipped, also laughing. And anyone would agree."
Mitch gave him a look like he was accepting a challenge. "Is that so? Well, Lola, who is the hottest guy in Scorp's and I's year?"
Lola looked over at them, a bit confused. "Um . . . Scorpius, I guess?"
Scorpius gave a smug smile. "Drat," Mitch muttered.
Miley rolled her eyes. "You two are such children."
Scorpius looked between Lily and Mitch, unable to keep back a smirk. "Coming from the girl dating one of the said children?" he pointed out.
Mitch grinned at his girlfriend. "Does this mean you'll spoonfeed me?"
Scorpius bit the inside of his cheek to stop his laughter, and Lily looked like she too was barely containing hers.
Miley just looked at her boyfriend. "I you ask me to, I will shove the spoon down your throat," she mocked with a raised brow.
Mitch just grinned. "Your love really knows no bounds, huh?"
"What is the newest whipped boyfriend complaining about down there?" Dante mocked from a few seats away.
Without blinking, Mitch picked up a sliced piece of carrot and threw it at Dante, hitting him in the face. "Sorry, I didn't catch that . . . and you're a Keeper, yet you can't catch a carrot?"
Dante just threw another piece of vegetable back at Mitch, who threw another carrot piece. The piece missed, and hit Raven instead, who looked accusingly at Mitch. He threw a piece of his biscuit back at him, but threw it too high, and hit Megan, who glared down at him. But just as she was about to retaliate, they were interrupted.
"So, children, are you all excited about going back to Hogwarts?" Mrs. Flint inquired.
They all looked to the adults, and Megan immediately dropped the biscuit in her hand back to her plate.
There was almost another food fight later that night, mostly due to Jace calling Lola dirty, and Lola responding by taking his hand and pressing it into the butter on the table. It was only broken up thanks to Shannon pointing out that their parents were there.
It was a little late into the night when Scorpius noticed the time, and finally remembered that he'd promised to get Lily home at a reasonable time.
I'm sure she won't care if I come home a little late," Lily pointed out as they came back to the fireplace.
"Perhaps, but I did tell her that I'd have you home. I would like to be a man of my word. It'll help her like me more," he said with a smirk.
She rolled her eyes, but smiled a little. "You try too hard."
Scorpius handed her the Floo powder. "Well, I'll see you on the train, Lily Luna."
She grinned at him, and Scorpius was happy that she'd had a good time. "Yeah, I'll see you then, Scorp."
Scorpius lingered by the fireplace once she was gone. He couldn't help but to smile. He'd actually had fun tonight, at one of these stupid formal dinners. More fun than he'd ever had at one. Even the procession had been a little fun.
"Nice to see that the trash has finally left the manor."
Scorpius's smile dropped immediately at the sound of Lucius's voice. He gave a stony look to the older man. "You sure about that," he muttered back. Lucius was more like the trash of the manor.
"I expect you to never bring that girl around here again, do you understand me, boy?" Lucius demanded.
Scorpius didn't flinch, nor did he let Lucius think he was intimidated. "Why don't you make me?" he muttered with a glare. Then he began to walk past the old man.
But a thin hand with a strong grip grabbed his shoulder. "Was that insolence, boy?" Lucius hissed.
Scorpius pulled his shoulder away. "No. It was defiance," he corrected before leaving the room.
Scorpius couldn't stop the tensing of his shoulders as he walked along Diagon Alley with his parents. They were doing a bit of last minute shopping before he went off to Hogwarts tomorrow, and Scorpius felt uncomfortable. He was overjoyed that his father had time to spend with him, but he hated how other people looked at them. Hatred, fear, mistrust, uncertainty.
He sometimes wondered how his parents never seemed bothered. Both were still walking forward, heads held high, and not even glancing at the stares others gave them. In fact, his mother was smiling as she talked with his father, and his father was simply listening, a little smirk of his own on his lips.
"Son, do you have all of your potion ingredients?" Draco asked, startling Scorpius from his thoughts.
"Oh, um . . . I mean, I think I have enough," Scorpius mumbled.
"Well, why don't we get more, just to be sure," Astoria said, still smiling.
But just as they reached the apothecary, Mrs. Goyle was stepping out, and Scorpius knew that the three adults were in for a long conversation, and he was in for a long wait. Scorpius shoved his hands into his pockets, and kicked an upturned pebble as he began to wander around the cobblestone walk.
"Hey, isn't that Malfoy?"
Scorpius's head perked up at the sound of his last name. He looked around, curious. But his curiosity left, and his anger appeared at who he saw. Two boys he knew to be Gryffindors, one that he even recognized by name. Kyle Matlock, Potter's friend.
Scorpius scowled, and stepped forward. "Yeah, it's me. Got a problem, Matlock?" he demanded.
Matlock scoffed. "Besides having to see your ugly mug?"
Scorpius rolled his eyes, now just a step or two away from the other boys. "That's clever. I imagine that comeback took you all day to think up."
The other kid just sneered. "Why don't you take your family of snakes and get out of here, Malfoy? You're not welcome."
Scorpius now glared at this other kid. "You have a problem with my family?"
"The world has a problem with your family!" the kid remarked, making Matlock laugh.
"Good one, Eric!"
Scorpius glared harder. He remembered now. Eric Kirke. He'd seen this kid around Potter a few times as well. "Tell me, Kirke, how many teeth are you wanting me to knock out of that fat mouth?" Scorpius growled.
Kirke glared back. "Is that a threat?"
"It's a promise if you say one more word on my family!" Scorpius retorted with a snarl on his lips. He looked down at Kirke with a harsh glare. He was bigger than this kid, and could probably take him easily . . . if them being in public wasn't an issue.
"Scorpius? Come along, son!" Draco called out.
Scorpius tensed, wondering how much his father had heard and witnessed. But he still glared at the Gryffindor boys. "Be ready, kittens, because come the train ride tomorrow, there will be no one there to protect you," he warned in a low tone, before turning his back and hurrying to his parents, who seemed to be patiently waiting.
Neither his mother nor his father said a word about his encounter when they entered the store and began to gather the things Scorpius needed. But it was obvious they had an idea of what had went on. His mother was continually sending him worried and concerned looks.
But Scorpius didn't talk about it. Not even when they returned home, and his father had looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain. Scorpius simply took his new things up to his room to pack them. He didn't want to explain. He didn't want to burden his father, because he knew that his fighting would possibly disappoint his father. And Scorpius just wanted his father to be proud, just like he was, even if their ways were different.
Scorpius sat impatiently in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. He and some of the others had already boarded the train and picked a place to stay the ride, but then had rushed to say last goodbyes, or find siblings.
Sighing, bored, Scorpius left the compartment and began to walk around the train. Perhaps he could find that snack trolley. But he stopped when a sight out one window caught his eye. Harry Potter appearing on the platform. Unable to stop a smirk, Scorpius moved fast to get off the train, and find the Potter family. Perhaps he could catch Lily while she was still near her brothers.
His luck was with him, because when he finally found her, she was with her family and some her cousins. His amusement rose when he noticed that she seemed to be looking around, as if trying to spot someone. Slowly, he moved just behind the family unnoticed, and leaned in toward her ear.
"Looking for someone?" he whispered.
It was difficult for Scorpius to bite back his urge to laugh when he saw her jump and whirl around, her eyes wide. He kept it to a smirk, and teasingly held out his arms for a hug. He was glad that she wasn't angry, but instead seemed relieved and happy as she laughed and hugged him. And he was also happy to see her brothers glaring at him, but unable to do anything.
"Scorpius! It's about time! I thought you weren't going to show," Lily joked as she pulled away from the hug.
Scorpius scoffed. "Oh, please! I was here before you were. You just didn't see me," he pointed out.
She raised a brow, looking at his hair. "Are you sure? That hair is hard to miss," she mocked.
Scorpius let her laugh. "Ha, ha. So tell me, how were the last few days in the lion den?" He felt like laughing at how irritated her brothers and cousins were by his presence.
Lily gave him a simple shrug. "Not bad. Surprisingly quiet for me. And the rest of your days?"
"Same. No fights, no arguments, no nothing," he replied, still smirking. He hoped that she wouldn't sense the slight lie in his words.
"Why don't you just get outta here, Malfoy!" James Potter said sneeringly, finally speaking up.
Scorpius repressed the urge to scowl at Potter's obvious disgust at his last name.
"James Sirius Potter!" Ginny scolded quickly. Scorpius felt a bit of satisfaction at seeing Potter being chided like the child he was.
But to play it off, he gave out a fake sigh. "If you insist. Shall we, Lily?" He held out his hand for her things, shooting a daring look at her brothers.
Lily grinned at him as she moved to hug her family and say goodbye. Scorpius waited patiently for her as she said personal goodbyes to both of her parents, and then one last one to her aunt and uncle before he took her things, and they made their way onto the train.
Scorpius led her to the compartment he and the others had chosen. "Here we are." With a slight heave, he got her trunk into the leftover space in the overhead compartment.
"Who's all been here?" Lily inquired as she took a seat.
Scorpius dropped down onto the seat across from her. "Me, Lana, Mitch, and Jace," he listed. "Now we're just waiting for Lola."
"Last I saw her, she was with her family," Lily commented.
Scorpius stretched out his feet. "Yeah, the big ass Pritchard family," he sighed. "I'm not sure if one of them starts Hogwarts this year . . . I think there's one that's only a year younger than her." Scorpius thought on it, but then shrugged. It was hard to keep on the number of kids in that family, let alone their ages.
"I don't know. Family is something me and Lola don't really discuss," she said softly as she rested her head against the window, her eyes slowly closing.
Scorpius smirked. "No surprise. You both have big ass families."
Mitch and Lana walked into the compartment then. "Hey, you found Lily Lu!" Mitch exclaimed with a grin.
Lily opened her eyes, and grinned at the two of them. "Hey, Mitch, Lana."
"Hey, Lil," Lana greeted as she sat next to her.
Mitch unceremoniously knocked Scorpius's feet to the floor and sat down. Scorpius playfully punched him the shoulder, only to get a mocking hit back. "Where's Miley?" Scorpius mocked. "You know, your owner?" He laughed, and the girls joined him, only Lily was a bit quieter about it.
Mitch dismissed it though. "With her friends. Like I was gunna sit with them the whole ride!" he scoffed. "I'd eventually AK myself." Then he brought out a girly tone to his voice. "You'll never guess what happened this summer! It was like, so awesome! But I totally missed you! Did you hear about that girl? Merlin, what a whore!"
Jace stepped in as they began to laugh. "What are we laughing about?" he asked as he sat down.
"About what Mitch's airheaded girlfriend is doing," Lana joked. Scorpius smirked. True Lana. Not afraid to be blunt and honest, even about her own friends.
Now Jace laughed too. "I'm sure that brings around easy laughs."
Mitch chuckled. "You guys are asses," he muttered.
Jace leaned back fully in his seat. "Where's dirty at?"
"Last time I saw Lola, she was with her family. She'll probably come and find us soon," Lily told him.
"You two bicker like a married couple." Lana's voice was thick with sarcasm.
Jace glared in disgust. "That's disgusting," he mumbled.
"What's disgusting?" They looked to where Lola was now entering.
"Your face," Jace quipped.
Lola glared at him. "You know, your face matches your jokes. Dumb."
"Ok, you kids, quit," Mitch laughed.
Scorpius shook his head. "I think we're in for a long ride."
The long ride extended into the year as the days after school began at Hogwarts started seemed to drag on. He had too many classes with Gryffindors thanks to his electives and normal courses. Both Potter brothers seemed to be more irritated with him, causing more fights and arguments between them.
Quidditch team tryouts worked out well for the team, as Will Nott was now their newest Chaser. They worked well together in practices at least. But homework was a killer, as professors kept reminding the fourth years that they would be taking critically important exams next year.
Scorpius yawned as he sat in the common room. He was sitting alone on one of the couches, studying over his Transfiguration book. Out of all the teachers, Scorpius was sure that it was Professor Bell who was handing out the most homework and difficult lessons.
"Hey, Scor, what are you doing?"
Scorpius turned away from his book to see that Layla Reeser had sat next to him. Immediately, Scorpius felt a tad bit awkward. The guys' words about Layla having a crush on him spun around in his head.
He cleared his throat a little. "Oh, hey, Layla. Um . . . I'm just studying," he said lamely.
Layla grinned as she looked at him. "I have a question for you."
Scorpius raised a brow. What? "Uh, ok. What is it?"
"What are you doing during the Hogsmeade trip?" Layla asked.
Scorpius scratched the back of his neck. "Well . . . I'll eventually be meeting up with the others to . . . hang out," he said vaguely, not wanting to bluntly talk about how they'd plan to go drinking, and then sneak it in and drink again. He'd honestly been a bit annoyed at his friends, who had all gone and made plans without him for the trip, leaving him to make his own plans until they met up later.
Layla seemed to know what he was hinting at. "Oh," she mumbled, obviously a bit disapproving, but then she brightened. "Well, what would you say to us maybe hanging out before that . . . like a date?"
Scorpius couldn't stop how his eyes widened with surprise. A . . . a date? A girl just asked him out? But . . . wasn't that the guy's job? Well . . . then again, it wasn't such a big deal these days. Maybe not what he'd been raised to think, as his mother was into him being a gentleman, but . . .
"Uh . . ." Scorpius stammered. What did you say to something like this? "Um, well, why not?" he finally said with a shrug. "I mean, it's just a date, right?"
Layla shifted a little, almost like she was nervous or something, but she smiled again. "Ok! Perfect! So, I'll meet you by the castle entrance?"
Scorpius nodded. "Yeah, ok. See you then."
"Way to go, Scor!" Lars congratulated him. The guys were all in the locker room, getting dressed, and waiting for Lily to show up. It had been a day since Layla had asked Scorpius out, and he'd only now gotten around to telling the others . . . Partly because it had taken him the rest of the night to get his head around the fact that he was going out on a date!
"Yeah, Layla's pretty, and has a nice body . . . for a fourth year," Will commented as he laced up his shoes.
"Where the hell is Potter?" Raven suddenly demanded.
"Right here," Lily stated as she finally came in. "Sorry, issue with kittens clogging the halls."
"Fine, just hurry and change while I talk," Raven sighed. "Now, I know there's a lot of time before our match against said kittens, but I want to crush them. This year, I want to seriously work on some defense, from our Beaters, to our Keeper, and even our Chasers' defensive maneuvers."
"And I will be doing what at practices?" Lily mocked as she slipped on the last of her practice gear.
"Doing whatever amazing magic it is that you do as a Seeker, Lily Lu," Raven said with a grin. "Don't worry. I'll keep watch on you, and if I think you're skills are slipping, then we'll start devoting time to getting you back on track."
"Whatever. Let's just get out there," Lily replied as she grabbed her broom.
Scorpius watched her as she left the locker room. Her irritation was a bit obvious. He sighed. Hopefully, a bit of fresh air and flying would make her feel better. But when practice finally ended, even through his exhaustion, Scorpius was able to see that Lily had something on her mind still. Probably whatever fight she'd been in.
So Scorpius jogged over to where she was putting away the Snitch, in hopes to take her mind off of whatever had her occupied. He caught her just as she began walking toward the locker room to shower and change.
"So, guess what," Scorpius said quickly as he walked alongside her. But then he felt like smacking himself. Guess what? What was he going to tell her? About his date? Wait! . . . That could work!
Lily glanced at him, but then seemed to think. "Um . . . you've decided that Lucius Malfoy is the nicest person you know?" she joked.
Scorpius chuckled and shook his head. "Nope, try again." It had to be a good sign if she was joking around, right?
She sighed. "Hm . . . I don't know. What?"
He gave a little smirk. "I've got a date for the Hogsmeade visit this weekend," he replied.
She raised a curious brow. "Really? With who?"
"Layla Reeser. She asked me out yesterday, and I figured why not. Mitch is being dragged to Madam Puttifoot's by Miley, and Dante's taking Lana out, so it's not like I had anything to do," he told her as they approached the door.
"Lana is going out with Dante?" she asked with shock.
Scorpius laughed as he held open the door for her. He had found it weird when he first heard too. "Yeah, he asked her out the other day. You missed it, her face was bright red, and she kept stumbling over her answer."
Lily shook her head as she smiled. "You are so mean," she said before she left to the girls' shower.
Scorpius's smirk grew a little. She seemed in a better mood now. He set down his broom as he made his way for the showers.
"I just don't know what you see in my sister," Scorpius heard Lars comment.
"She's a cool girl, and it's just date. Relax," Dante retorted.
Scorpius tuned them all out as he showered off the sweat and dirt from practice. He was tired and really hungry. But he knew that he couldn't go to bed right after dinner, because Mitch had finally written his own personal song, and actually wanted others to listen to him. Suddenly, a thought popped into Scorpius's head. Perhaps he could get Lily to listen too. It could keep Lily's mind off her own troubles, and Mitch would most likely appreciate her honesty.
So once he was finished and dressed, he hurried to the locker room, only to find Lily getting ready to step out the door. So he hurried to fall into step with her. "So, would you do Mitch a favor?" he asked quickly.
Lily raised a brow. "Sure, but why doesn't he ask me?"
Scorpius shrugged. "Embarrassed. Just don't tell him I said that," he said with a light chuckle.
Lily laughed. "So what is it?"
He smirked. "Well, he's been playing the guitar for a few years now, but he's not sure if he's any good. So he wants a few people to listen, so he asked me and Lana, but he thinks we'll be a bit biased and too nice. So will you come listen to him with us?"
She smiled. "Sure. When?"
Scorpius felt his smirk grow as he looked at her in the glow of the light from the castle entrance. "Be in our dorm room straight after dinner tonight. I'll be us guys, and then you and Lana. He's going to play a song that he actually wrote I guess."
"Well if he can write a song, then I'm guessing that he's going to be pretty good," Lily replied.
Scorpius shrugged. "Maybe. But he's skeptical. So just come and listen, and then we'll all decide if he's good or not," he joked lightly.
"So, Lily Lu's really going to be here?" Mitch asked a bit nervously, running his hand through his hair, making his inky locks stick up a little. Scorpius smirked, totally amused. He'd never seen Mitch so nervous.
"Yes, she said she would be here," Scorpius assured.
"Stop twitching and being nervous," Lana said with a roll of her eyes.
"Give him a break," Rex defended. "It can be nerve-racking the first time you play in front of a group. I remember how nervous I was when I first started the drums."
Lana raised a brow. "Drums?"
Rex nodded. "Yeah. My mum made me play piano at first, but then I couldn't take that boring old thing any more, so I switched to drums."
There was a short knock on the door before it opened, and Lily walked into the room. And finally Mitch looked a bit relieved. "Goo, I know Lily Lu won't be too gentle. She's always bluntly honest."
Lily rolled her eyes as she sat next to Lars. "You better be good," she mocked.
Mitch's grin wasn't as big or amused as usual, and it showed his nerves. "All right then. Since we're all here," he muttered as he picked up his guitar. He adjusted his sheet music, which looked like it'd been through hell, and stared at it for a short moment, before beginning to play.
Scorpius never actually got to hear Mitch play a full song, whether he'd written it or not. All he'd heard was him practice a little, or strum a couple of notes. But now, Scorpius was fully listening, and he was impressed by his friend. It was obvious that Mitch had not only been practicing all these years, but that he'd been practicing hard. The song was slower than what Scorpius had expected, but it was still fantastic. The notes blended together in a mellow tone of sound.
They all clapped when Mitch had finished, and Scorpius gave s friend an encouraging smile.
"That was really good, Mitch! What were you worrying about?" Lana asked. Scorpius was surprised by the lack of sarcasm in her voice.
"It was awesome," Rex agreed.
They all gave him assuring words, but Mitch looked to Lily, who had been silent throughout the song, and after. "And what do you say, Lily Lu? What do you think, and don't worry about being blunt and harsh? I can take it," Mitch said, rambling a bit, but grinning.
Lily smiled at him, her approval in her eyes. "That was the best I've ever heard someone play," she said honestly.
Mitch gave barking laugh. "Well, then I'm either really good, or you don't listen to much music," he joked.
Scorpius chuckled. "So is this what you're going to do for a career," he teased. "You gunna be a rocker?"
Mitch laughed, his nerves and worries gone now. He was at his usual ease. "Yeah, I think I might even dye my hair blue."
"I'll get the stuff for it," Lana joked, although Scorpius was sure she was serious.
Mitch's hair was blue by dinner the next day.
