Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter.
Note – I feel like this chapter goes kind of fast, but it kind of has to. The rest of the fifth year might go fast, but things will start to slow down and get a bit . . . intense during Scorpius's sixth year. Anyways, big moment near the end of this chapter, something I think people have been waiting for. So I hope you enjoy it!
Rebel Malfoy
Chapter Twenty-Three: How Did This Happen?
After Slughorn's party, things were even tenser than usual between Slytherins and Gryffindors. With the incident with Dante, and then the party, it seemed like the hostility had risen dramatically. Scorpius was at least happy to see that Lily seemed better after one night of venting and feeling defeated. She seemed to be back to normal, even if she was still allowing her idiot brothers to stop her from even speaking with Scamander.
Scorpius ran a hand over his face as he entered the greenhouse for Herbology. He was tired, and almost considered just skipping classes. Their match against Gryffindor was coming up in a few days, so he'd been pushing the whole team harder. It was even exhausting him now.
"So, are we killing Gryffindor in the match?" Rex asked as they all took their spots.
Scorpius nodded. "Absolutely. I'm making sure of it."
Justin opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by a loud voice outside. "Is she insane? What is she thinking? Going off and dating an Avery!"
Scorpius closed his eyes in irritation at that voice, but Mitch just laughed. They knew who it was. Albus Potter. And it sounded like he was complaining about Dominique Weasley, who was now dating Mitch. While Scorpius wasn't the happiest about it either, he didn't argue or disagree with Mitch. It was his choice.
"Leave it alone, Al," Rose Weasley said calmly as she stepped into the door. She seemed to notice the Slytherins immediately, and avoided looking at them.
But as usual, Potter was an oblivious idiot. "Just when I think there could be nothing stupider than Lysander thinking of dating a snake, this happens!" he complained as he walked in.
Scorpius quickly moved from where he stood and stormed toward Potter. Lily didn't deserved to be talked about like that. She'd been through enough at that party! Scorpius grabbed his collar and slammed Potter into the wall. "You wanna repeat that, Potter?" he snarled.
Potter grabbed his wrists, but still glared at him with the same bravado of his brother. "Get off, Malfoy!"
"You say another thing about Lily, and I will curse you enough that your own mother doesn't recognize you!" Scorpius warned lowly.
"Malfoy, let him go!" Weasley demanded. "And you're a prefect!"
Scorpius ignored her. "Do you understand me, Potter?"
"I'll talk about whoever I want!" Potter hissed back.
Scorpius slammed him against the wall again. Potter's head hit the wall, and Scorpius saw him cringe. "Try again!"
"Scorpius!" This time it was Lana's voice, and her hands on his wrists. He looked at her, still scowling. But she was calm. "Let him go. Longbottom will be here in less than a minute," she warned.
Scorpius let go, and Potter dropped to lean against the wall, rubbing his neck. Scorpius refrained from elbowing Potter like he wanted to, and instead let Lana lead him back to the others. Sure enough, it wasn't even thirty seconds before Longbottom walked in and started the lesson.
Scorpius found himself unable to sleep the night before the match against Gryffindor. He was thinking over how their practices had gone, their chances, and how they planned to knock Potter out of the game. He knew that Lily would catch the Snitch. She was naturally faster than her brother, and the broom only added to that.
"You can't sleep either?"
Scorpius turned to see Lars was coming to sit by him on the couch in the common room. Scorpius sighed as he nodded. "No. My mind's still on tomorrow."
"Same here," Lars agreed. "I've been going over the tactics, and now I'm worrying if I'll be able to knock Potter out. I mean, we've practiced a lot with it, but Potter . . . he's got good instincts on the pitch, and he's hard to hit."
Scorpius nodded. He was right. He hated to admit it, but Potter was a great player. But it just reinforced the fact that they had to knock him out. "You guys have to do it. You can do it."
"I just wish there was a cheap way to hit him with a Bludger. I'd take the foul if it meant hitting Potter and knocking him out," Lars mentioned.
Scorpius thought about that. A dirty tactic . . .? "I have an idea!" Scorpius said quickly. "But it's extremely dirty, and it needs to be a last resort."
Lars sat up straight, looking at Scorpius with bright eyes. "What's your idea?"
Scorpius looked at him. "Don't tell the others, because this cannot leak to anyone!" Then Scorpius began to whisper in his ear.
Scorpius gritted his teeth when Potter intercepted his pass to Will. The day of the game had come, and it was honestly a slow match. He hated to admit it, but Potter had done wonders for the Gryffindor defense when compared to last year. Gryffindor was leading them by only a shot, but to Scorpius, it was a shot too many.
The bright side was that the entire Slytherin team was much faster thanks to their new brooms. And they had yet to miss a goal, because Lily had been right. When they all rushed at Hugo Weasley, it seemed to make him panic more.
"And Weasley scores again! That makes the score seventy to ninety, Gryffindor in the lead!" Meredith Macmillan cheered.
Scorpius tried to keep himself calm as he received the Quaffle, and raced down the pitch. Potter and Lucy Weasley were on his tail, but his speed kept him head. Adrian and Will came up to flank his sides, defending him. Suddenly, Rose Weasley shot in from the left. Adrian was quick to send a kick her way. He connected, and she spun away and down, beginning to fall fast.
Scorpius shot forward when he reached the goals and threw it to the far right. It sailed, and Hugo Weasley was too slow, and missed the save. While it brought them within ten, it wasn't enough, and Scorpius knew it was time for drastic measures. It was time.
"Lars!" Scorpius looked to where he'd seen Lars last. He locked eyes with him. "Drastic measures! Use the last resort!" he commanded.
Lars gave a firm nod and shot off. Scorpius moved back into the game as he followed after Lucy Weasley, who had the Quaffle tucked in her arm. And when she passed it to Potter, Scorpius couldn't be more thankful. This just made it even more perfect!
And as planned, Lars suddenly appeared in front of Potter, halfway down the field. And then it seemed to happen slowly, and Scorpius appreciated every moment. Lars reared his bat back, then with all his strength and precision, snapped the bat into the Potter's head, knocking him from his broom. Potter fell quickly to the ground.
Hooch was blowing her whistle immediately, calling for a Gryffindor foul shot. There were gasps and furious yells from part of the pitch and the Gryffindor team. But the Slytherins, the team and the stands, were cheering and laughing.
"Payback for my leg, Potter!" Dante yelled.
It was as Potter was being removed from the grass that he realized a fantastic thing. Until Rose Weasley returned to the game, Lucy Weasley was the only Chaser left for the Gryffindors.
Weasley took the foul shot, but Dante easily kicked it away and into Scorpius's hands. He shot down toward the other end of the pitch. He was already halfway down the pitch by the time Rose Weasley was able to get back into the air and rejoin her cousin in the game. Scorpius passed it off to Adrian, who quickly took a shot down the middle, scoring another ten points for Slytherin!
Gryffindor was shaken without their captain. They were nowhere near as good as they were before. They were obviously still giving it their all. One of their Beaters, Finnigan, was even able to hit Tanner with a Bludger. Although he'd tried to stay in the game, Madam Hooch sent him to the Hospital Wing, claiming that a lot bones had been broken.
"Could it be?" Macmillan suddenly exclaimed two hours into the match. "Albus Potter has seen the Snitch!"
Scorpius allowed a quick glance toward Lily, and saw that she and Potter were both chasing after a glint of gold. Thankfully, Lily was ahead of him. Scorpius then focused back the Quaffle, which was in Rose Weasley's hands. Will quickly popped it out of her hands, and made a fast pass to Adrian.
Unable to help himself, like everyone else in attendance, he kept stealing glances toward the chase for the Snitch. After flying high, then nose-diving, it seemed that the Snitch had now leveled out, but was heading for the stands. And Lily was keeping with it.
Scorpius didn't see Lily crash into the stands, but even he could hear the sound of a loud thump. He quickly looked toward her, and saw her slowly moving to the ground, leaning against the stands.
Scorpius hurried to fly down to meet her. He reached the ground just before she did, and once she did, he pulled her into a hug. "Great job, princess," he whispered, hoping she could hear him over the cheers and boos of the crowd. "How do you feel?"
Lily groaned softly. "My head's killing me," she mumbled, leaning against him.
Scorpius pulled away from the hug, but put his arm around her. "Let's get you out of this noise then," he replied, and led her away from the crowd and to the locker room. He looked her over as they walked. "You took a bit of a nasty hit. Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?"
Lily looked like she wanted to cringe at the pain she was feeling, and she seemed to be cradling her arm carefully. Was it broken? "Maybe later," she told him. "I feel gross, so I'd like to shower."
Scorpius looked at her, and could tell she was hurting. "Need help?" he teased lightly, despite being a bit worried.
She blushed, but rolled her eyes. "About as much as you do," she mocked.
Scorpius smirked. "Well, I don't need help, but I'd greatly appreciate it," he quipped.
She smiled now. "Keep dreaming," she said lightly.
Scorpius smiled back. "There's the smile I was aiming for. You just won us the game, be happy," he said softly, not wanting to make her headache worse.
"I am happy," she said as he opened the locker room door for her. "It's just taking a while to sink in." While the closed door shut out the crowd, it didn't stop the loud voices of the other guys.
"That was an awesome catch, Lu!" Dante congratulated.
"Amazing!"
"Nice job taking out Potter, Lars!" Adrian commented.
Lily's face scrunched in a bit of pain. Scorpius scowled at the others. "Hey!" he called. He sent Lily an apologetic look when she cringed. "Everyone shut up. Lily's head's hurting after that crash. Quiet down," he instructed.
The guys immediately did so, and gave Lily their own apologetic looks. "Sorry, Lu," Dante apologized.
Lily just dismissed it. "It's fine," she muttered.
Scorpius moved to his locker, but looked to Lily. "I'll walk you to the Hospital Wing when you're ready," he told her.
Scorpius rolled his shoulders as he showered. He closed his eyes and tilted his head up as the warm water washed down him. He was proud of his team, especially Lars. He'd knocked out Potter. Was it clean? No. But did Potter deserve it? Absolutely. But now he was going to have to scout out the other teams. Ravenclaw would be next, and he would be sure to watch them closely.
He was the last one out of the showers, and when he entered the locker room, he saw that Lily was still there, seemingly waiting for him. He kept quiet as he dried and dressed completely. Then he looked at her, and spoke softly. "Are you ready, princess?"
Lily sat up straight on the bench, still moving a little slower. "Yeah," she sighed.
Scorpius held his hand out to her. She took it, and he carefully pulled her to her feet. "Then let's get you out of here. We can see how Tanner's doing, too," he commented.
"We'll be there in a few," Dante told him.
Scorpius wrapped a supporting arm around her again. "Come on, princess," he urged. She dropped her head onto his arm, resting her head most likely. Scorpius moved his arm around her shoulders then, letting her head rest against him more comfortably. She was probably a bit dizzy from the crash hit.
"How do you feel?" he inquired.
"Tired," she muttered.
Scorpius gave her a little smirk. "Let's hope you feel better, because you know there's going to be a victory party," he warned teasingly.
She sighed, looking tired like she said. "I know."
Scorpius let a silence come between them, not wanting her head to throb. She really did look tired and a bit light headed. The Hospital Wing was almost packed, like always after a Quidditch game. And as usual, there weren't just injured players, but friends and teammates there to check on the injured.
There were quite a few Gryffindors around where Potter laid. Scorpius was only able to catch a glimpse, but he could see bandages all over Potter's body, especially his head. He looked to his cousin, whose arm was wrapped up.
"Ah, Miss Potter, what's wrong with you?"
Scorpius stayed by Lily as Pomfrey checked her out, brought her to an unoccupied bed, and diagnosed what was wrong with her. But when she had Lily take off her jacket, Scorpius scowled at what he saw. He arm was completely bruised from her shoulder to her elbow. It was honestly a disgusting color now.
"That's gross," Lily grumbled as Pomfrey left to get a potion.
Scorpius pulled a chair up to her bed. "You've got some pain tolerance, Lil," he complimented. He understood now why she'd been so careful about that arm.
Pomfrey returned with a potion for her. Then determined that a bruise was slowly forming on her head, and if the potion didn't help, then to go back to the Hospital Wing. Then Pomfrey left once again to retrieve a potion for the headache Lily had.
Lily cringed as she drank the first potion. "That's nasty," she groaned.
"How long do you think that bruise will be there?" Scorpius wondered.
Lily looked at it. "Probably through part of tomorrow. It is pretty bad," she admitted. But then she looked at him. "Looks like you've got a bruise as well," she mentioned.
Scorpius scowled. "Really? Where?" He didn't feel sore or in pain at all.
She reached out and touched his cheek softly. "Right here," she said before pulling her hand away.
Scorpius touched his cheek, his skin feeling warm where she'd touched. "Does it look bad?"
"Nah. It's not that bad. Does it hurt?" she asked.
Scorpius shook his head. "No, I don't even feel it. I must have taken an elbow during the game," he replied. Honestly, it only felt warm now, like his skin was tingling. It felt weird . . .
. . . But nice.
"So, what should I get her?" Mitch inquired as he and Scorpius walked around muggle London. The Christmas holidays had come, and the students were home. Now the two of them were shopping for gifts for their friends. More specifically, Dominque and Lily.
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Honestly, I think that no matter what you get her, she'd be able to complain about it."
"True," Mitch agreed simply, not sounding bothered. "But even when she talks a great gift down, you can tell that she does actually appreciate it. So I just have to find a great gift."
"Like your soul?" Scorpius mocked.
"No, she wouldn't call that great," Mitch laughed. "What about you? I thought you still needed to get Lily something."
"I do. I just have no idea what she'd like," Scorpius said with a sigh.
"Well let's try here," Mitch said, stopping in front of a store that Scorpius would have never stopped in front of before. It screamed of a place for girls. There were models of female clothes in the windows, all fashionably dressed. It was obviously no place for a guy.
Scorpius looked at him. "Are you serious?"
Mitch grinned. "Very. Now let's do it." And without giving Scorpius time to disagree, Mitch walked into the store. With a heavy sigh, Scorpius hurried to follow him.
Scorpius couldn't help but look around. "I don't think there's anything here that Lily would like."
"For one, Lily may be awesome, but she's still a girl," Mitch pointed out as he scanned a rack of shoes. "And two, she'd appreciate anything you got her. That's what makes her awesome."
"Still, I want to get her something she really likes," Scorpius retorted.
"Of course you do," Mitch replied with a shrug. And at Scorpius's confused scowl, his friend grinned. "You two are best of friends."
But Scorpius didn't trust his friend's tone. But he ignored it and gave in, and started to look for a gift. But even in this store, full of clothes and items for girls, he had no idea. But he wasn't alone, as he could see multiple guys of all ages, most likely looking for gift ideas too.
"Why not a necklace," Mitch suggested as he took Scorpius's wrist and brought him to a display. It was fully of different accessories from bracelets, rings, and necklaces of all different kinds.
Scorpius looked over the options. There were silver ones and gold ones. Some had different gems in them, some fake, some real. There were emeralds, rubies, and other expensive options. But Scorpius did see one he liked. One that he thought Lily might even like. It wasn't extravagant like most in the display, but he thought it was perfect.
"Can I see that one?" Scorpius asked the woman behind the display. When she took it out and handed it to him, he looked at it. It was a simple, silver chain. And it had a simple silver charm that spelled out one word. Princess.
"That's perfect," Mitch stated, looking at it too. "Are you going to get it?"
Scorpius nodded. "Yeah. I'll take it."
"So, this year we plan on taking a family vacation to Ireland," Astoria told her son on Christmas morning. They'd all opened their gifts, from each other and friends. Scorpius had gotten quite a few good ones. Lana had actually gotten him a few books on Quidditch tactics, and Lily had gotten him a bracelet that apparently blocked minor hexes. Scorpius knew he could make good use of both of those especially.
Scorpius looked toward his mother. "Really? Why?"
"Well I thought it would be perfect to go to the house on the beach. Perfect for the summer," she told him. "And your father does want to make sure that it's in good shape and the wards and spells are still working."
Scorpius nodded, but then looked back at her. "Is . . . is Lucius coming?"
"Of course, dear. I did say family vacation," Astoria pointed out.
Scorpius groaned. "Perfect," he mumbled.
"Don't complain too much, son," Draco replied as he sat down again, having returned with a mug of tea.
Scorpius raised a brow. "Is there a reason I should celebrate?" he quipped.
"Yes. This year, you should bring a friend with you," Astoria told him. "Because we obviously have enough room there, and this way you won't get so bored."
Scorpius felt a bit of a smile come to him. "Really? Are you sure?"
"We've already discussed it," Draco assured. "Bring whichever friend you'd like. We won't mind whoever it is."
Scorpius thought about that. Who would be the best to bring? The answer came to him easily. Someone that would love to come, someone Lucius would explode at seeing, and most importantly, someone that Scorpius just really wanted to go with them.
Lily.
"You're seriously going to invite Lily on a Malfoy vacation?" Lars whispered during the large Christmas dinner. "That's awesome!" They spoke quietly so there was no chance that Lucius could overhear them.
Scorpius smirked. "Absolutely. It'll be perfect. Lucius's head will explode," he joked.
"Yeah, that's why," Lana mumbled so softly that Scorpius almost didn't hear her.
He scowled with confusion. "What do you mean by that?" he demanded.
Lana looked at him, obviously not expecting him to hear her. "Huh? Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself is all."
"That doesn't explain what you meant," Scorpius argued, still confused and now getting a bit irritated.
"I know what she's talking to herself about," Lars cut in quickly. "And it's not about you. In fact, it's something stupid that she needs to drop."
Lana rolled her eyes at her brother, obviously not agreeing, but she didn't say anything else. But Scorpius wasn't sure if he believed them. His friends, especially Lana, Lars, and Mitch, had been acting strange and . . . secretive for months now. It was beginning to piss him off. But he wouldn't demand it out of them now. If he caused a scene at dinner, his mother would be upset with him.
But Merlin help them the next time they did that to him.
"I thinking inviting Lily is a great idea," Mitch commented. He and Scorpius were sitting alone in his room after the dinner. Most of the other families had left already, the Goyles included, but Mitch had hung back after his parents took his siblings home.
Scorpius looked to his friend. "Really?"
Mitch nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure Lil could use the break away from her family anyways. You could both use the time away."
"Me? What do I need to get away from, besides Lucius, who's going to be there?" Scorpius pointed out.
"From the others, myself and the twins included," Mitch stated. "Especially with how Lana's been lately."
Scorpius looked at him sharply. "You know what that's about?"
Mitch looked back at him, and Scorpius could see that he really wanted to say something. But Mitch finally just sighed. "Yeah, sort of. She's just . . . you know Lana. She hates when someone's oblivious to something so obvious, and it's hard for her to keep her mouth shut from pointing it out."
"Are you saying I'm oblivious to something?" Scorpius demanded.
"I didn't say that," Mitch said easily. "But, again, you know Lana. When she's frustrated like that, she takes it out on everyone until she feels better, which doesn't happen until it's out in the open."
"So what's her problem?" Scorpius questioned.
Mitch ran a hand through his hair, straightening the blue spikes. "Would you trust me if I said that you'll find out eventually?"
Scorpius gave his friend an exasperated look. "You're really going to pull that?"
"I'm just saying that you don't need to worry about it. Because you will find out. And my bet is that it will be because Lana will eventually open her mouth about it," Mitch assured him.
Scorpius gave Mitch a long look, but then shrugged. "Ok. I'm trusting you."
"As your friend, that's all I ask."
"I do wish you'd come down for at least a few minutes," Astoria sighed as she stood in Scorpius's room. Not only was it the evening of a fashion party that his mother had been planning for months, but it was also the night before Scorpius was to return to school.
Scorpius sighed. Despite it not being that late, he was already in his pajama pants, trying to deter his mother from dragging him to the party. He wasn't a fan of them. "Mother, I really ought to finish packing, I've been putting it off. Besides, the party won't take all night, remember? You, Father, and I will spend time together after," he assured.
Astoria gave a small smile as she brushed his bangs from his brow, smoothing them to the right. "I guess that's true. But, if you do get bored, always feel free to come join us," she reminded.
"Of course, Mother," he said with a nod. "Now get out there and see to your guests. I shouldn't be the only one to get to see you in such a stunning design." He gave his mother a smirk, making her smile. As always, his mother looked beautiful, especially in the dress she wore.
Once he was finally alone in his room, Scorpius looked around. Honestly, he still didn't feel like packing. But with not much else to do, he set about doing so. He wasn't sure how long he'd been sorting his things, but he was thankful when his door was quickly opened by Lana, and shut behind her.
He smirked. "What are you doing here?" he asked, putting down one of his robes, happy for a distraction.
Lana groaned as she sat on his bed. "My brothers and dad are being annoying, but I really didn't want to be dragged around the party by my mother either. So I ditched the guys at home and snuck in here," she explained.
Scorpius chuckled. Why was he not surprised to hear about Mrs. Goyle attending the party? "I'm glad you came. I'm bored. So, how have your last few days gone?"
Lana suddenly grinned. "Well, actually, I do have an interesting story," she hinted.
Scorpius sat next to her and raised a brow. "Really? Please tell."
"I got a letter from Lily not too long ago, asking to meet up at the Leaky Cauldron," Lana started, instantly peaking Scorpius's interests. "And when we met up, she told me that she now felt like rebelling against her father."
Scorpius interrupted then. "What happened between them?"
"Her story, not mine. Now, back to mine," Lana quipped, making Scorpius roll his eyes. "Anyways, so we went shopping to pick out some new clothes to help with a look she felt suited her better, and I think it looks better on her. I showed her how to best apply makeup to accentuate the look, and we even went and pierced her ears a few times."
Scorpius looked at her, stunned. "A couple times? Wait, what style are you talking about?"
Lana grinned. "Punk rock, like Mitch. We even went to the same guy to do the job. She says she plans to shock the Chosen One with it when we get back at the end of term."
Scorpius ran a hand through his hair, still surprised. "Wow. Can't wait to see that," he said with a chuckle.
"I bet," Lana said mockingly. But she still grinned. "Trust me, she looks great."
Scorpius shrugged. "I don't doubt that," he said simply.
Lana opened her mouth to speak, but weirdly enough, she didn't. Instead she just sighed, a small look of annoyance in her eyes. "Yeah, so why are you in your pajama pants this early?"
Scorpius knew he shouldn't have been surprised to see that Lily wasn't flaunting her new clothes, yet, but he would admit he was a little disappointed. He was a bit curious to see how she looked in such a different style.
But she was in clothes that he'd seen her in before. She was wearing what must have been a new sweater made by her grandmother. It was a deep green color, and while it didn't look too thick, it looked like it was warm. She wore a normal pair of pants, and her usual shoes. And to his delight, he could see the necklace he'd gotten her around her neck.
When she had sat down with him and Mitch in their compartment, she smiled at them. "How was Christmas for you two?" she inquired.
Mitch shrugged a little. "Ok," he answered easily.
Scorpius sighed. "Boring." Hardly even a fight with Lucius, which was rare during breaks. But Scorpius smirked as he thought of last night. "But, I talked to Lana last night, and she told me about your rebellion. Can I see?" he asked, pointing toward her ears, which were carefully covered by her hair.
She laughed freely as she pushed back her hair. In her ears were just simple studs at the lobes, and two silver hoops near the tops of both ears. Mitch leaned forward to look closely. "Wow," he mumbled. "Did you go see Rick?"
Lily nodded. "Yeah, he was the guy that did yours."
Excellent work," he complimented.
Scorpius still smirked. "I feel a bit left out," he joked.
Mitch looked at him seriously, though. "You should get a piercing. Can you imagine Lucius's face after learning that you got a piercing by a muggle?" he pointed out.
That made the idea of doing so very tempting, but the image of Lucius's face made Scorpius laugh. "That sounds perfect. Perhaps I should." Maybe over the summer?
Mitch looked his face over. "I'd go with a lip piercing. What do you think, Lil?" he asked.
Lily grinned. "That or your tongue," she teased.
Scorpius just shrugged as he moved to sit next to her. "Maybe I'll get both," he quipped as he flung an arm around her shoulders. He felt the chain brush against his wrist, making him look to her neck once more. "Anyways, I'm glad to see that you're wearing my gift."
Lily looked to the chain as well. "Oh, yeah, I love it," she said with a bright smile.
Scorpius ignored the pride that tried to well in his chest. "I'm glad. I love the bracelet by the way. I can't wait to test it out," he said with a laugh, planning on using it against the Potter brothers.
Mitch stood with a loud sigh. "I'll see you two later," he said with a sly grin. "I've got to find Dom."
Scorpius rolled his eyes, but said nothing but a goodbye to his friend. Soon it was just him and Lily in the compartment. So he stretched his legs out to rest his feet on the seat opposite of him. As he relaxed, he suddenly remembered that he had something else he needed to ask Lily.
"Hey, princess, you wanna do me a favor?" he spoke.
She gave him a curious look. "Depends. What is it?"
"Well, my parents plan on taking me on a family trip to one of the Malfoy houses near some beach, so I was wondering if you'd want to come," he offered.
Lily grinned in a teasing manner. "Isn't a family trip supposed to be just family?"
He laughed a little. "Yeah, but my parents said that I could bring a friend to keep me from getting bored, so I thought that you would be the perfect person to bring along," he told her.
"I'm glad you think of me as a way to fend off your boredom," she mocked, making him laugh again.
"So, do you want to come?" he asked.
Lily shrugged. "Sure," she said with a sigh. "I'll send my mum a letter and ask her."
"And I will send a letter to my mum. I know that she'll keep the news from Lucius. I'd rather it be a surprise for him," he said, his smirk growing at the thought.
Lily giggled softly, and Scorpius smiled at the sound. "Trying to send him into an early heart attack?"
Scorpius playfully held a finger to his lips. "Shh! That's a secret." He laughed with her this time.
"What a cruel guy," she teased, still smiling.
Scorpius just smirked again. "Hm. Perhaps I do take after Lucius then," he joked.
"I hate school!" Rex complained as the guys all sat around a table in the common room, homework and textbooks in front of them, scattered around.
Justin rolled his eyes. "We've only been back a week. It's only Saturday," he pointed out.
"And we already have this much homework! Two essays, three reading assignments, and a Herbolgoy assignment where you have to draw that dumb plant from yesterday and explain each part!" Rex groaned.
"What is taking them so long?"
"They're girls, they take forever to get ready."
The guys turned their head just in time to see Jace and Xavier walking past their table toward the stairs. "What's up, little brothers?" Mitch called to them.
Xavier looked toward them, then shrugged. "Nothing. We're waiting for Lily and Lola."
"And they're taking forever!" Jace complained.
Justin looked to Rex. "With how often the two of you two seem to complain, I don't know how you aren't related," he mocked.
"There they are now, so stop complaining," Xavier pointed out, looking toward the girls' stairs. The others did as well, but they were all silent. Scorpius thought his eyes would fall from his skull, and he could feel his jaw drop.
Lily . . . she looked so different and so . . . Scorpius didn't know how to describe it! For one, she was actually wearing a skirt besides her uniform skirt. It was denim, and a bit short on her, but she had black tights on under them. She also wore a thin black shirt that fell off one shoulder, and showed part of her midriff. She wore the chain she got him, and a few studded bracelets on her wrists. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, showing her new piercings. And she actually had makeup on. It wasn't a lot, but it brought out her eyes, and her lips looked . . . shiny?
"What she needs to top that off is to streak her hair," Mitch commented, knocking Scorpius from his thoughts.
"Damn, she looks good," Rex mumbled, his own eyes still following the girls walk down the stairs.
"Imagine the heart attack her dad will have this summer," Lars joked quietly.
Scorpius still couldn't talk, his eyes following Lily. He knew that she'd bought new clothes for a change in style, but . . . her looking so . . . different wasn't what he'd expected.
"Well Lana was right. It does suit her," Justin mentioned
"She's hot!" Rex exclaimed.
Normally, Scorpius might have scowled and thrown a crumbled wad of parchment at his friend, but he was still unable to look away from where Lily stood with her friends. It was almost like he couldn't breathe properly, like it was stuck in his throat. He couldn't look away from her, but his mind was unable to properly describe how she looked now.
What on Earth was this feeling?
Scorpius, now more than ever, didn't understand the way he was feeling. For days now, he'd been practically unable to look away from Lily whenever she was around. From her new clothes, to her new alterations to her uniform and accessories, to the bit of makeup she'd started wearing.
He just couldn't understand why! She was still just Lily. So why was it that he found his eyes wandering to look her way all the time now? And too his annoyance, it seemed like guys were constantly whispering about her, or commenting on how she looked. They seemed way too eager to look at her for his tastes.
Even now, while she walked away from the team's table in the Three Broomsticks, they all watched her go.
"I know I'm probably just being protective, but she looks too good in those jeans," Adrian grumbled, scowling as he watched Lily leave.
Lana, who had come with Dante, rolled her eyes. "That was the point of our shopping date."
"Well you did too good a job," Dante retorted as he looked back to the others, now that Lily had finally walked out the door.
Lana looked to Scorpius. "You thinks she looks good right?"
Scorpius shrugged. "Yeah, she always does," he mumbled his reply before taking a drink of his butterbeer. He didn't get why Lana was always asking him that. Lily always looked good. He didn't see why Lana was fishing for compliments on her work on Lily's new style. It wasn't like her.
"So, what now?" Lars asked with a sigh.
Lana stood up. "Now we continue our date. Let's go, Dante."
Dante sighed as he finished off his bottle, and put his money on the table. "Yeah, ok. See you around, guys."
"I've gotta go, too," Adrian said as he stood. "I told the guys I'd meet them after we were done. See you around."
Soon it was just Scorpius, Lars, Will, and Tanner at the table. But that didn't last long. "Hey, guys, what's up?"
They looked, happy to hear Mitch's voice, but then gritted their teeth with their smiles at the sight of Dominique Weasley with him. Why didn't they expect that? The two of them were always together now.
Will seemed much more relaxed around Dominique as the two of them sat down. "Hey, Mitch. Dom. What's up?" he greeted. Then again, Will got more time to adjust to Dominique thanks to their band practices.
"Well we came to get something to drink, and I caught sight of you guys just sitting here," Mitch said simply.
"Perfect," Scorpius said with mild sarcasm.
But Dominique had more sarcasm than Scorpius could ever hope to have. "Please, Malfoy, you are not my choice of companion either. I don't know how my cousin puts up with you," she mocked.
Scorpius gave her a mocking sneer. "Bite me, Dominique."
"I get the feelings that my cousin would enjoy that more than I would," she quipped, throwing Scorpius off a bit at the unexpected retort.
But Mitch chuckled and intervened. "You two kids play nice, now. Anyways, where's the rest of the team? I thought you were meeting today."
"We already did. The others all left," Lars explained.
"Guys!" Rex's voice was loud as he came hurrying toward them suddenly. Scorpius raised a curious brow. He hadn't seen Rex all day. What did he seem so excited about?
Mitch seemed just as curious. "What's up, Rex?"
Rex quickly sat down in Lana's previous seat. "You'll never believe what I just did!"
Lars shrugged. "Went on a date with a troll?" he joked.
"Actually figured out what one plus one was?" Dominique mocked, her tone much less friendlier.
Rex still smiled brightly, and shook his head. "Nope!"
"Just tell us," Tanner insisted with a grin.
Rex sat straight with obvious pride. "I kissed Lily Lu just now."
There was an obvious moment of silent surprise. But Scorpius couldn't believe it! Rex . . . he kissed Lily? Their friend? Why? And why did that make him more irritated than when she went on that date with Scamander? Why did it make him tense up?
"You kissed Lily?" Scorpius demanded, shock and surprise coloring his voice.
Rex simply shrugged. "Yeah, I did. And next chance I get, I'm gonna see if she wants to go out on a date for the next Hogsmeade weekend."
Scorpius couldn't really explain the tightening of his throat, or the irrational irritation he was feeling toward Rex. Maybe he was just being defensive of his friend. After all, Lily had been through a rough year when it came to dating. That must have been it . . . right? Had to be . . .
So why were the others looking at him from the corner of their eyes, like they expected some reaction from him? Scorpius just ignored him, hid how his hands clenched to fists, and tried to stop from gritting his teeth.
Scorpius would admit to being irritable the next few days. Could he explain it? No, not really. All he knew was that he didn't like the idea of Rex kissing Lily, or asking her out. In fact, he wasn't a fan of Lily dating some . . . some boy!
"So, have we figured what's got Scorpius's wand in a knot?" Lana asked as she walked with Scorpius, Mitch, and Lars to class.
"Even though he can pretend to joke about it with Lil, he's still seething about Rex kissing her," Mitch answered. Scorpius just elbowed him.
Lana rolled her eyes. "This is seriously getting ridiculous!" she groaned.
"Leave him alone, sis," Lars said quickly. "It's none of our business."
"Thank you," Scorpius mumbled.
"Like hell it isn't," Lana muttered, still annoyed.
Mitch attempted to change the subject, and stopped his little brother Xavier and Hunter Baddock in the hall. "Hello, brother of mine. Where are you two off to?"
"Class, duh," Xavier pointed out, although he was grinning from ear to ear.
Mitch noticed too. "What's got you in such a good mood?"
Hunter nudged his friend. "He's been like this ever since Lily agreed to go out with him!"
Xavier brushed his friend off, but the fifth years looked with interest. Not at Xavier, but at Scorpius, who had tensed even more.
Scorpius felt his jaw tense and his fists clench tighter. He didn't look at Xavier, but just kept glaring ahead of him. So Mitch looked back to his brother. "You asked her out?"
Xavier shrugged. "Yeah, sure. I mean, better do it before someone else does. Besides, it's just a date."
"Come on, we've got class," Lana reminded. They parted ways with the third years, and Scorpius could feel eyes on him again. "Well, just when you couldn't look more brooding than earlier, you manage to pull it off."
Scorpius ignored her as they entered the classroom. He took his seat in the back, but didn't move to take out his textbook or anything. "Your brother better not do anything stupid," Scorpius muttered as he glared at his desk.
"You are being way too serious about this," Lana said with a roll of her eyes. "What's Xavier gonna do?"
"Whatever it is, it better not be stupid," he grumbled. Mitch only shook his head and grinned.
But Lana was more than irritated. In fact, it seemed that she was about to explode, just as Mitch had predicted. "Why don't you just admit it?" she demanded.
Scorpius scowled at her. "Admit what?"
"That the real reason you're acting like this whenever she agrees to a date, or someone kisses her, is because you have a serious crush on her yourself, and you're being a possessive jerk, under the pretense of being the concerned best friend!" Lana said, her voice ending with a sigh. "It's so obvious!" After getting that all off her chest, she looked as if she felt much better.
But Scorpius stared at her with wide eyes. "I do not have a crush on her!"
"You totally do," Mitch quipped.
"Everyone can tell," Lars added
"Who the hell is everyone?" Scorpius demanded.
"Everyone in our House who's gone through puberty, and understands what it means to crush on somebody," Mitch laughed.
Scorpius still scowled. "Well I do not have a crush on one of my best friends!"
"You worry about her a lot," Lana commented.
"Of course! She's my friend!"
"You think she's pretty."
"Well everyone does! That's like saying the sky's blue! It's a fact!"
"You think she's really cool for a girl."
"Well she's not annoying like a lot of other girls."
"You're really defensive of her."
"You talk to her all the time, and about serious things," Mitch added.
"You smile whenever she does."
"You always look at her during meals," Lars listed.
"You invite her to hang out with you all the time."
"Enough!" Scorpius hissed. "That just means that . . ." But Scorpius couldn't continue, because he was confused. What . . . what did that mean?
Mitch leaned closer to his friend. "You care about her far beyond the normal. I've seen that you'd do anything for her if it made her happy. You hate when she's upset, and you've picked fights with not just your enemies, but you were ready to pick one with Rex, your friend, over her. And honestly, there's nothing wrong with you having a crush."
Scorpius's head began to spin. A . . . a crush? He had a crush. A crush on Lily. But . . . it made no sense...
Scorpius sat in the common room later that night, confused and bewildered. When had it happened? When had Lily gone from a friend to . . . more? And why? Scorpius sighed. None of this made sense. How did things like this happen?
"Are you still brooding about your feelings?" Scorpius turned his head to see that Lana was now sitting with him.
Scorpius scowled. "I don't get it! How did it happen? She's one of my best friends!"
"My guess is that you went from seeing her as a friend, to noticing she's cute, and then those two things melded to create your attraction and huge crush on her," Lana said with a roll of her eyes.
Scorpius shook his head. "But . . . she's a friend! I mean, yeah, she's cute . . ." Scorpius sighed when Lana looked at him with a raised brow. "Ok, she's gorgeous. But . . ."
"You also think she's cool, funny, smart, brave, and a great girl. You have a major crush," Lana stated.
"And there's nothing wrong with it," Mitch said as he and Lars joined them suddenly. But he was grinning. "Lily is a catch. She's got amazing looks for not even being fourteen yet, and she's an awesome girl. Just go for it."
"After all, I doubt she and Xavier last past the end of the year. Third year relationships rarely do," Lars agreed.
But Scorpius firmly shook his head. "No," he stated. "I am not ruining a friendship! And I don't . . ." He couldn't finish the sentence, not honestly at least, so he simply left the table and stormed off.
The next morning, Scorpius was still in a state of disbelief. He . . . he had a crush on Lily. He'd finally been able to say it and admit that pervious night before falling asleep, but he was still so . . . surprised at it. He'd never thought this would happen!
So when he walked down to head to breakfast, he stopped when he saw Lily coming into the common room. He quickly walked down the steps, hoping to speak with her. "Lily!" he called.
Lily paused in walking, and looked up to him. She smiled. It almost made him stop walking. It did make him smile, and Scorpius felt his chest grow warm. "Hey, Scor. What's up?"
Scorpius cleared his throat and smoothed down his hair. "Oh, nothing, just going to breakfast. What about you?"
"I forgot something in my room," Lily said with a sigh. "I figured I'd get it now instead of running back before class."
Scorpius found himself staring at her as she spoke. Her hair was up as usual, and her bangs swept right above her right eye. Scorpius didn't know much about makeup, but whatever kind she was wearing really seemed to bring out her eyes. And her lips shone in the light of the candle that flickered next to them. Her lips were pulled into the soft smile that he loved to see.
"Scorpius?"
Scorpius blinked, focusing back in on the conversation. "Yeah?"
Lily looked at him with a bit of curiosity, but confusion as well. "Are you all right?"
Scorpius nodded quickly. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he assured. "My minds all over the place since O.W.L. revisions last night," he lied.
She smiled again, this time sympathetically. "I'm sure you'll do fine, but don't burn out on us." She patted his shoulder than gave it a squeeze. "Anyways, I'll see you around?"
Scorpius nodded. "Yeah, of course," he replied. But once she walked away, he hurried out of the common room. A crush . . . yes, he had a crush on his friend.
And it was getting worse by the second!
