Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter.
Note – I am so sorry that this took so long! My life got really busy, really quick! So with that, I apologize for any mistakes I didn't catch when I read through this. But, I hope you like it. We're just about to get to where they get back to Hogwarts again, which will be Scorpius's final year. I know it's taking me forever to update, but I promise that I have not abandoned this story! So read and enjoy!
Rebel Malfoy
Chapter Thirty: Dinner, Ice Cream, and Birthday Parties
Scorpius smirked at the note in his hand. It had obviously been hastily written, and he could practically read the writer's hesitance and slight irritation.
Lily. She wanted to meet with him at the Leaky Cauldron. She was calling it quick and an emergency. It made him curious. It had been a few days since Scorpius had visited the Potter household, and he'd only gotten to see Lily when she worked. But today was her first day of freedom, so he had been hoping to spend it with her anyways, despite how Mitch had told him the guys were all going to the Avery house to hang out for the day.
Scorpius quickly got dressed. He wore a simple shirt and pants, and didn't bother with his hair. This was Lily after all. She wouldn't care how much he put into his appearance. So once he was ready, he conjured a simple daisy, then Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron.
When Scorpius stepped inside, he looked around at the seats. She wasn't working today, which she had planned so that she could spend her first day ungrounded doing whatever she pleased. He found her at the counter, sitting, waiting. So Scorpius moved silently toward her, and leaned in toward her ear.
"Hello, beautiful," he greeted as he placed the flower in front of her. She took it from him, and Scorpius sat down beside her.
She looked at him, smiling, and giggled slightly. "Hey, there," she greeted.
Scorpius smirked. "So, why the quick and emergency meeting?" he inquired.
Now her smile turned into a slight grim look. It was almost amusing. "Well, my mum wants you to come to dinner tonight," she said, almost as if it was the worst thing ever.
Scorpius just raised a brow. This was a surprise. He was sure her father would never want him at the house with how he'd acted the last time. "Really? Ok, why not." Better he go and try to make a good impression, rather than seem like he was scared or guilty of something.
"They know we're dating," she warned.
Good. "All the more reason for me to go," he insisted.
She just sighed, obviously not completely happy about the idea. Something told Scorpius that she hadn't been the one to come up with the idea in the first place. "If you're sure."
"Your dad hates me?" Scorpius guessed.
She ran a hand through her hair. "Sort of," she admitted. But then she let her hand drop. "Do you mind if we go somewhere else? The rest of my family is out looking at some flat James wants to rent, and I don't want to see them in case they stop in for lunch."
Scorpius nodded, having one place in mind already. He just hoped she didn't take it out of context. "Yeah, I know the perfect place," he told her as he took her hand.
He took her to the back space between Diagon Alley and the inn, and Apparated her to one place she'd never been. His flat. When their feet hit the ground, Scorpius watched as she looked around, curious. And now he felt as if he should have cleaned it up a little bit more. Not that it was filthy, but it wasn't tidy.
"Where are we?" she asked as she moved to look around.
Scorpius chuckled a little. She looked cute with curiosity in her eyes. "This is my flat," he told her. "Your family won't bother you here, and I thought that you might want to see it."
She gave him a smile. "I like it," she told him.
Scorpius sat down, watching her look around a little more. "I'm glad to hear that. Because I was thinking that, now that you're no longer grounded, I might bring you around here some times," he told her. "If you don't mind," he added quickly, not wanting to imply anything.
But she grinned as she sat down next to him. "I think that's a great idea," she replied. "It is nice to be free of my chains after a freakin' month of being locked away."
Scorpius chuckled as he leaned closer to her, letting his lips brush her cheek as he spoke. "I'll bet. Now you can breathe clean, and lion-free air," he joked.
"I just can't wait to be surrounded by level minded Slytherins again," she murmured softly.
Scorpius thought of the guys, who were all at Mitch's house. "Well, I could probably get a few of them over today. Sound good?"
She grinned. "That is the best idea I've heard yet."
Scorpius smirked. "Give me a minute to Floo them all."
Getting all their friends together in Scorpius's flat was probably the best idea. Scorpius was happy to see Lily smile freely and enjoy herself. And he had to admit that he liked the idea of having another big get together at his place before going back to Hogwarts.
But now all he could notice was how nervous Lily seemed to be at the idea of him having dinner with her family. While he was curious as to what was making her nervous, he didn't ask. Instead he just gave her hand a squeeze before they entered the Potter house.
"Mum! Dad! I'm home," she announced to all in the house. "Scorpius is with me!"
Before he could blink, Mrs. Potter was entering the hall with a friendly smile. "Hello, Scorpius," she greeted happily. "How are you?"
Scorpius gave her a smile in return. "I'm fine, Mrs. Potter. And you?"
"Well, I'm sure Lily has told you about her brother moving out. With that over our heads, I can't be my happiest, but I'm making due," she replied, still smiling sincerely.
"I'm sure this house will be much quieter," Scorpius joked lightly, trying to seem polite. Truth be told, all Slytherins had been celebrating how quiet Hogwarts was going to be without the eldest idiot Potter brother.
Mrs. Potter laughed softly. "I have no doubt about that!" Then she waved them forward. "You came just in time. Dinner is ready, and the boys are waiting at the table."
Scorpius could feel Lily unconsciously tensing beside him as they walked into the kitchen. Scorpius wasn't surprised at the tense air, or the looks he got. Untrusting eyes from Lily's father, and fierce glares from James Potter.
"Can we eat now?" Albus Potter whined.
"Albus Potter!" Mrs. Potter scolded, and Scorpius almost laughed. But he instead just hurried to sit with Lily, who was looking at her father.
"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Potter," Scorpius said politely.
"Scorpius," was Mr. Potter's terse reply as they began to eat.
"So," Mrs. Potter broke the small silence, "what did you two do today?"
"Yes, what did you do?" Mr. Potter said with stern suspicion, mostly looking at Scorpius.
Scorpius tried not to seem as nervous as he felt under the scrutiny of the Chosen One, and gave a simple and safe answer. "Well, I took Lily out and we met up with a few of our friends. I figured that she might like to see the others after being grounded."
"That must have been fun," Mrs. Potter said simply.
"So, you're seventeen now, Scorpius?" Mr. Potter almost demanded, still looking at him through narrowed eyes. Scorpius could see Lily wanting to roll her eyes.
Scorpius just gave a nod. "Yes. My birthday was last February," he replied. Lily had mentioned that her father had been pointing out the differences in their age. Scorpius personally didn't see the big deal himself.
"That must have been a good day. First day as a man," Mr. Potter commented, almost like it was a challenge.
Scorpius shrugged. "I guess. Really, I feel no different." After all, he'd been at Hogwarts then, and he'd secretly used magic at home once or twice, since the Trace had its flaws.
"So, you'll be eighteen this coming February?" Mr. Potter pointed out.
He nodded again. "Yes. That's right."
"Lily's birthday is coming up soon," Mrs. Potter commented lightly, while giving her husband a stern look.
But Mr. Potter just kept glaring at him. "Yes. She'll be fifteen."
Scorpius tried to divert the subject, not sure how to reply in a way that would help him. "Just brings you even closer to O.W.L.s," he teased, looking at her now.
"Ha, ha," Lily mocked dryly. "Find amusement in my suffering."
Scorpius smirked and took her hand, giving it another squeeze. "You'll do fine," he promised. The girl was crazy smart. After all, what thirteen-year-old got an O on an O.W.L. in any subject!
"You must be eager for this year," Mr. Potter interjected. "After all, it is your last."
Scorpius sighed a little. That was still a little weird to think about. His last year going to Hogwarts. Plus, Lana's words about relationships separating due to graduations and distance . . . "No, actually, I know I'm going to miss Hogwarts," Scorpius replied, pushing away those thoughts. They just started dating. No point in thinking about a year into the future.
Scorpius tried ease the tension between himself and Mr. Potter, but it was proving futile. It didn't seem to matter if he acted polite, charming, or casual. And that was why he was surprised once the dinner had ended.
"Scorpius, would you mind if you and I talked while Lily and her mother clean up?" Mr. Potter asked, his voice hinting at it being private, and that he was sort of demanding that Scorpius talk with him.
Scorpius just nodded. "Of course, Mr. Potter. Lead the way." While Scorpius felt that he should have expected something like this, part of him was panicking a little. Was this where he murdered Scorpius and disposed of him?
Scorpius followed him into what he assumed to be a study by the desk in the middle of the room. But Scorpius was still a bit too nervous to look around, and instead just sat down. Mr. Potter moved around the desk to sit across from him, still looking at him sternly through narrowed eyes.
Scorpius waited, but Mr. Potter wasted no time. He pointed to the door. "That's my little girl out there," he stated. "My only little girl."
Scorpius nodded. "I know that, sir."
"And I am not afraid to take action to anyone that hurts her, do you understand that?" Mr. Potter demanded.
Scorpius wanted to point out the actions of his own two sons, and their actions against Lily, but he bit his tongue. He was trying to win the man over, at least a little, not point out his faults. "Yes, sir."
"So, just what are your intentions, boy?" Mr. Potter demanded lowly.
Scorpius cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair, messing up the neat style he'd had to work for. "Well, I really care about Lily. She's very important to me. And . . . I really like her." Scorpius ignored how lame and shallow that sounded. Like didn't really describe it, but he didn't know how else to word it.
"I would never think of hurting her," Scorpius continued. "I mean, she's one of my best friends, relationship or not. And, I don't know how the future will work out, but I'm in it for the long run. And . . . well I personally hope that we last through good times and difficult times. She . . . well, like I said, she means a lot to me."
"Have you ever been in a relationship before?"
Scorpius sighed. "Well, yes, sort of. I was only thirteen, and it wasn't really a big thing. I would say that being with Lily really my first real relationship."
"And what exactly is that you plan to do after graduation?" Mr. Potter questioned.
"Well, I'd honestly like to be an Auror," Scorpius admitted a bit sheepishly. "I've always known that I wanted to be something like an Auror or a hit wizard, catching dark wizards and helping people, but I've sort of leaned more toward being an Auror."
"It's tough," Mr. Potter warned.
"I know. That's why I lean more that way. I want the challenge, sir. I want something that's going to challenge me every day," Scorpius assured.
There was a short knock on the door before it opened, and Scorpius turned to see Mrs. Potter walking in. "Sorry to interrupt, but, Harry, why not let the boy go and see Lily for a bit before he goes?" she said, almost teasingly.
Mr. Potter looked like he wanted to argue, but didn't. "Fine," he sighed. "We'll talk more later."
Scorpius nodded as he stood up. "Yes, Mr. Potter." He gave a smile to Mrs. Potter, not wanting to thank her aloud in front of her husband, who was still giving him a surly look.
"She's in the living room," Mrs. Potter informed him as he left.
"Thank you," he said quietly as he hurried toward where Lily was waiting. She was pacing around the room when he walked in, and she gave him an expectant look as he walked in and sat down on the couch.
"Well?" she demanded as she sat next to him.
Scorpius raised a teasing brow. "Well what?"
She playfully smacked his shoulder. "No games."
Scorpius chuckled. "Ok, ok. Well, he interrogated me on my intentions, past relationships, future plans, and moral character," he listed.
"And?" Lily urged.
Scorpius shrugged, still teasing a little. "And I answered his questions. How I answered those questions . . . well I'll let you guess."
She smacked his shoulder again, but was smiling. "That's not fair!"
"Maybe my answers were personal," he laughed. "Maybe I don't feel like sharing them."
She just rolled her eyes. "You are such a jerk," she mumbled under her breath.
"Ah, it's always fun to meet the parents of a Weasley girl," Mitch joked.
Scorpius smirked as they sat on his couch, eating lunch. "I've meet them before, although now that I'm her boyfriend, her dad hated me. But I expected as much."
"I've found that it's always good to have the mother on your side," Mitch laughed. "Dom's dad doesn't say a word to me when Mrs. Weasley's around. And when he does say something critical, she'll snap at him and it's hilarious!"
Scorpius raised a brow. "You do realize that Dominique will probably end up like her, right? So you're getting a glimpse at your future."
Mitch laughed. "I can only hope," he continued to joke.
Scorpius just chuckled and shook his head at his friend. "So, how's the band going?" he asked. Usually, Mitch talked about the band all the time. But since learning that Will was quitting, he'd been strangely quiet about it, only mentioning that they were looking for a new singer.
Mitch shrugged. "Good. Since we've got a permanent new singer, we're able to do serious practices again."
"So you did get a new singer?" Scorpius inquired. Mitch only nodded. "Who is it?"
Mitch grinned. "Not saying. We're keeping it that way until you see us perform live. So it's a surprise."
Scorpius just laughed. "You guys are so weird," he teased.
"And you enjoy that about us," Mitch quipped. "Trust me, you'll be shocked when you see who it is."
"Well then I guess I'll just have to take your word for it," Scorpius laughed.
"You know you're super curious," Mitch joked. "You might explode from curiosity before you even see us!"
Scorpius just laughed at his best friend. Between girlfriends and Mitch's band, they hardly spent time together like this anymore. "We need to go back to hanging out more," he commented.
Mitch nodded, smiling. "Yeah. We definitely do. And now that you've got his awesome flat, we can do it all the time!"
"Anytime you need to get away from your brothers, come on over," Scorpius assured him.
"Ah, I can't do that to you, they'd probably follow me!" Mitch laughed. "But if I can shake them off my trail, you can count on it!"
Scorpius watched Lily with a bit of amusement. He'd picked her up after she finished working a lunch shift, but she had insisted that they buy an ice cream before heading to his flat for the rest of the afternoon.
Currently, she was sitting on his couch, her legs pulled under her. She was animatedly eating her ice cream, each spoonful looking bigger than the last. Scorpius chuckled. "Have you not eaten or something?"
Lily shook her head. "No, I haven't. I've been starving for hours, and when Hugo mentioned ice cream, I started craving it!"
Scorpius just chuckled as he watched her finally finish it off. He took the empty bowl from her hand and set it down, before leaning forward and swiping off a bit of leftover chocolate from the corner of her lips.
She blushed lightly as she looked at him, and Scorpius couldn't help but lean forward to kiss her. He had intended for it to be a short and chaste kiss, but when she immediately responded, Scorpius couldn't help deepen the kiss, letting his tongue brush across her lips. He could easily taste the chocolate of the ice cream she'd just eaten. Her lips parted softly beneath his, and Scorpius took the opportunity to deepen the kiss even more.
He couldn't help but groan quietly as he felt her fingers running gently through his hair. He let his hand move to her waist, his fingers curling around her firmly, but gently as well, not wanting to grip her too hard.
When she moaned softly under his lips, Scorpius felt a warmth that was like a fire running through his veins. It settled low in his stomach, making his entire body feel warm. He pulled away from the kiss, but instead moved his lips to her neck, pressing kiss after kiss along the column of her throat.
He could feel one of her hands moving to his arms, her nails scratching his skin lightly. It wasn't painful, but sent a small shiver through his skin. It was almost like his skin was tingling with each brush of her fingers, and each scratch of her nails. Scorpius absentmindedly rubbed circles into her side as he brought his lips back to hers. He felt her sigh with contentment in the kiss, so he carefully pressed a bit more firmly as he rubbed shapes into her side. She moaned softly.
Smirking a little at the idea of having found out that Lily did have sensitive spot, he let his hand move up and down her side, massaging as he did. He was rewarded for it immediately, as she kissed him harder. But just as he started to respond, his hand slipped a little too high and he brushed against the side of her breast. He quickly pulled his hand down, as if burnt, and his heart pounded nervously in his chest.
But she didn't pull away from the kiss. She didn't even miss a beat. Scorpius almost scowled. Had she not noticed his slip up? He hoped so. The last thing he wanted was to push her, or move too fast . . .
But he couldn't lie to himself, and he kind of wanted to do it again.
"So, Scor, you have to tell us… how far have you gotten with Lil?" Rex asked eagerly as the guys and Lana walked around muggle London.
Lana rolled her eyes. "Of course that's your first question," she mocked.
Scorpius rolled his eyes too, avoiding his friends' eyes. After the first time he'd accidently let his hand move up to far, Scorpius had only done it once or twice more. Lily never seemed to notice, and Scorpius wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Part of him admittedly wanted to just stop shying around and to just go for it . . . but he wasn't really sure what Lily would do if he did something that bold. "We haven't been dating that long, Rex," he pointed out, to Rex and himself.
Rex scoffed. "So? Time means nothing. So . . . how far?"
Scorpius sighed. Why did Rex always seem to ask the questions that you never wanted to answer? "Is there a reason you're so curious?"
"Scor, you are dating one of the hottest witches at Hogwarts, who also happens to be a cool person. And we're your best friends. You're supposed to tell us these things!" Rex argued with a grin. "Come on. How awesome is it?"
Scorpius couldn't help but smirk a little. "It's awesome," he said vaguely.
"There's more than that!" Lars urged, grinning as well. All the guys were grinning like idiots and teasing him.
But Scorpius still smirked, unable to stop the bit of pride he felt rising. "I mean, we haven't been dating that long, so we really having done much other than snogging a bit when we're actually alone together."
"So, you've never thought of taking it a little bit further?" Rex hinted.
All the time lately. But Scorpius just kept looking ahead. Lana was the one to speak next. "Well duh! He's a guy, of course he has," she mocked.
Scorpius scowled at her. "Wow, thanks, sis. Nice to know you have such a high opinion of me," he muttered.
Lana just shrugged nonchalantly. "Face it, all guys think about moving to the next step as soon as they hit a new one," she said calmly.
"You have the loveliest opinion of men," Lars scoffed.
"Give her a break," Justin defended. "I mean, is she really wrong?"
"I didn't say she was wrong," Lars pointed out. "She could be a bit more optimistic about it, though."
"Back to the point," Mitch intervened, "what is the next step for you and our beloved princess?"
Scorpius shoved his hands into his pockets. "Depends on your view."
"Have you felt her up?" Rex asked bluntly, dodging Lana, who attempted to smack his shoulder.
Scorpius scratched the back of his neck. "Well . . . no," he replied. Not on purpose at least, so he wasn't sure if that really counted.
"Think you two will make it all the way?" Rex inquired.
Lana gave him a look that was a mix between incredulity and disgust. "He just told you he hasn't even felt her up, and you jump to them having sex?" She just shook her head. "Wow, you really are an idiot and a boy."
Rex just shrugged of her insult, still looking at Scorpius. "So?"
Scorpius sighed, looking anywhere but his friends. Honestly . . . well he actually hadn't really thought of that. Sure, he'd had the occasional wet dream about it, but he never actually considered the reality of that. And frankly, now that Rex had put the idea in his head . . . it brought that warm feeling in his skin and gut. He quickly pushed the idea from his head before he actually began to imagine it.
"I don't know, Rex," Scorpius replied simply. "I mean, I'd like to think that Lily and I's relationship will last, but even if we do . . . it won't be for a while. I'm not going to rush her into anything."
"I know that," Rex defended. "I'm just asking if you think it'll happen."
Scorpius shrugged. "I mean . . . it could happen."
Rex began to grin. "Yeah. He definitely wants it." Then he and Mitch laughed before high-fiving each other.
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Sod off," he muttered, although grinning a little.
"Well, here we are!" Mitch announced as he stopped walking. In front of them was where Mitch had gotten his piercings.
Lana looked to Scorpius. "You're really letting him convince you to pierce your eyebrow?"
Scorpius shrugged. "Why not? I mean, if I end up not liking it, or it becomes a hassle, I can just take it out."
"Good point," Lana agreed lightly as they walked in. "Be sure to take a picture of Lucius's face for us."
Scorpius smirked. "Anything for you, sister."
"Scorpius Malfoy, what the bloody hell is that on your eyebrow?" Draco asked with exasperation, although with no real anger.
Scorpius smirked as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I pierced it. Went to muggle London and got it done," he said simply.
Draco just shook his head. "Never would I imagine letting someone poke metal through my skin," he muttered.
Scorpius just chuckled at his father. "Anyways, I heard Lily was coming to work with Mum today. Where are they?"
Now his father smirked as well. "They're in your mother's workroom preparing," he told him.
"Thanks," Scorpius said before quickly hurrying to the hall and up the stairs. But just as he made it to the second floor, his mother was marching toward him, an eager smile on her lips.
"Scorpius! Just in time, I need your help with something!" Astoria said gleefully.
Scorpius just raised a curious brow. "Really? With what?"
"Lily's birthday party! We're going to throw one here, and I need your help putting together an invite list of all her friends!"
Scorpius thought about that. Lily's birthday . . . it was getting close . . . what the hell should he get her? But he gave his mother a smile, pushing back his sudden fear. "Of course, Mum."
"Thank you! Now, I've got to set the backyard up, so why don't you keep Lily company for me," Astoria said with a teasing smile before leaving him alone in the hall.
Scorpius just shook his head, smirking, and hurried to where Lily was probably waiting. He found her standing in front of the full-length mirror, looking herself over. Her hair was pulled up, but the ends curled lightly. She wore practically no makeup, just enough to bring out her eyes more, and to make her lips shine with a pale pink hue. The dress she wore made Scorpius gulp. It was thin, and left part of her upper back bare to his eyes.
"You look ravishing," Scorpius complimented, finding it hard to stop his eyes from roaming over every bit of bare skin he could see.
She jumped and whirled around to look at him. But despite her initial shock, he could see a smiling edging around her lips. "Scorpius! What are you doing here?"
Scorpius made his way toward her, still looking her over a little, but mostly at how tempting her lips looked in such a pale and innocent shade of pink. "How could I miss seeing you all dressed up and pretty?" he teased.
Instead of blushing like he thought she would, she seemed to notice something, and gasped. "You pierced your eyebrow?"
Scorpius laughed at her shock. Everyone seemed so surprised. "Yeah, Mitch and the other guys talked me into it a few days ago. Like it?" He wouldn't lie: if she didn't like it then he'd take it out.
She reached up, and Scorpius felt her delicate touch brush along the skin around the thin hoop. "It looks good on you," she replied. Her actions had brought her so much closer to him, and Scorpius couldn't bring himself to stop from leaning forward even more.
"I'm glad," he whispered, his lips brushing against her with each syllable. "So, my mum caught me in the hall and told me to start planning a party for you. What's that about?"
She sighed, and Scorpius smelled the faint sent of something fruity. "I made the mistake of telling her my birthday was in five days. Now she insists on throwing a party for me."
Scorpius chuckled. That definitely sounded like his mother. "Really? Well, I should start planning. Mind if I throw it on the sixth?" What better day than her actually birthday?
And apparently she agreed, because she smiled brightly, making Scorpius's heart pound just a bit harder. "Well, it would get me away from my family. I'll see if I can convince my grandparents to let me go to a different party. Maybe after a 'birthday lunch' I can go," she thought aloud.
"I'll start planning it then," he promised. Then he finally gave into the temptation, and kissed her soundly. He could taste the fruity scent from before, although he couldn't exactly place what it was. He was a bit too focused on how soft her lips felt under his.
"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, you better not be messing up the lip gloss I put on her!"
Scorpius pulled away from Lily in surprise, and turned to see his mother standing there, obviously amused, but also very excited.
Scorpius just sighed, but grinned. "Of course not, mother," he replied.
Astoria laughed, and Scorpius could feel her happiness and glee from where he stood. "You know, I'm a little hurt, Scorpius. My own son doesn't tell me that he's dating such a sweetheart," she mocked lightly.
Lily blushed a little, and Scorpius just shook his head. "Well, Mother, you never asked," he teased.
Astoria just smacked his shoulder as she walked past him. "Oh, Lily, hon," she commented as she put her arm around Lily's shoulder, "you are in for a treat. Malfoy men are just so much fun to deal with."
Scorpius just internally groaned as Lily laughed. "Yeah, I figured that out," she joked.
"And since Scorpius is a lot like his dad, I can warn you about a few things now," Astoria told her, still smiling. Scorpius sighed, groaning a little again.
Lily continued to laugh. "That sounds wonderful!"
Scorpius felt his cheeks get a little warm as he thought of what his mother could tell Lily. "Don't you have pictures to take?" he mumbled.
"We can always talk while she does," Astoria mocked, still grinning. "And I think Lily needs a bit of warning about how difficult Malfoy men can be."
"You get even more difficult?" Lily teased. "And just when I thought I'd seen it all when it came to you."
Scorpius rolled his eyes as he repressed the urge to smile. "Well, I'm going to hang out with the other difficult Malfoy man. Perhaps Dad will at least cut me some slack." He could hear them still laughing as he walked away and down the hall. But he finally smiled. At least his mother was happy with their relationship . . . then again she was probably the most elated about them finally dating, Scorpius thought with an amused smirk.
"Get kicked out for kissing the model?"
Scorpius lifted his head to see his father standing at the staircase, looking at his son with amusement. Scorpius just smirked. "How did you know?"
"Well when I heard your mother tease you about smearing lip gloss, I naturally assumed," Draco said casually. But then he gave Scorpius an honest smile. "Good choice, son."
Scorpius just shrugged, a little sheepish under his father's praise. "I thought so," he agreed. In fact, he thought it was the best decision he could have made when it came to girls.
"An awesome birthday party at Malfoy Manor? I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Mitch exclaimed with an excited grin. "This is going to be epic!"
Scorpius smirked. "Well, I don't just want you to be there to party. I thought maybe you and the band could perform."
Mitch's grin actually seemed to get brighter. "Yes! That would make it even more awesome! Will could even have his farewell concert! We have to do it!"
Scorpius just chuckled. "Perfect. I'm glad you agree."
"I'm going to tell the guys! I'll come back later!" Mitch promised, before running out of Scorpius's flat.
Scorpius smirked at his friend's excitement. But then he looked over at Lana, who was reading some article in some girl magazine. She'd come over about fifteen minutes ago, claiming that she wanted to get out of the house. "Hey," he said, nudging her from where he sat.
Lana looked at him from the corner of her eye. "What?" she asked.
"So, what do you think I should get Lily for her birthday?" Scorpius inquired. He was still drawing a blank, but Lana always seemed to have good ideas about these kinds of things.
"Take her on a date to get her out of the house," Lana muttered dryly.
"That's a good idea, despite the fact you say it as a reflection of how you feel at the moment," Scorpius mocked. "What's wrong?"
Lana sighed. "I just don't want to be in my house. Lars has a bunch of the guys over, and they're being annoying and talking about Quidditch."
Scorpius looked her over, and took a wild guess. "Dante's there?" She tensed. "What's going on between you two?"
Lana didn't look at him, but closed the magazine. "Nothing important," she mumbled.
"Lana, don't lie to me," Scorpius mocked gently. "What's wrong?"
Lana avoided his eyes, but sighed. "We've decided to break up, effective the day after Lily's party, ironically enough."
Scorpius looked at her with surprise. "What? Break up?"
Lana nodded, "Yeah. We talked about being apart for a year . . . and we agreed that it would be best. We've given ourselves a few more days together though."
"Then . . . why aren't you with him now?" Scorpius demanded. He still couldn't believe this! Lana and Dante . . . while they were an amusing couple, they were somehow perfect for each other! Them not being together . . . it seemed weird.
Lana pulled her knees to her chest, trying to seem nonchalant, but Scorpius thought it was a bit obvious that she wasn't exactly happy. "Because . . . I wanted to just get it over with, personally. But . . . Dante insisted that we stay together for at least one more week, when we made the decision."
"I still don't get it," Scorpius said, shaking his head.
"I don't want to tie him down," Lana replied. "I don't want to be an anchor in his life. Besides . . . my dad pointed something out that made sense."
Scorpius looked at her with confusion. "What did Uncle Gregory say?"
Lana bit her lip before sighing. "That Mr. Montague was really old-fashioned, and wouldn't be surprised if he was already arranging Dante's marriage."
While that idea didn't shock him too much, as Mr. Montague really was old-fashioned, he was surprised that his uncle had told that to Lana. "Your dad said that to you, knowing you were dating Dante?"
"I can't blame Dad for saying it, he's no genius," Lana scoffed. "And . . . well he had a point. Mr. Montague always seemed . . . disinterested in the fact that we were dating. Almost like he didn't think it would last. Maybe because he planned on marrying Dante to some other pureblood."
"Shouldn't you talk to Dante about that?" Scorpius pointed out. "Dante would never go for it."
"I don't want to be the reason he and his dad fight. If Mr. Montague tries to arrange a marriage and Dante fights it, I want him to fight because it's his choice and because he wants to. I don't want to be the reason they fight," Lana replied. "Maybe it's stupid of me, but it's just what I think."
"I just care that you're happy," Scorpius retorted.
Lana grinned. "I don't need a man to make me happy, Scorpius. I'll be ok, with or without Dante in my life."
Scorpius gave her a nod, but wasn't sure if he completely believed her.
