Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter.
Note – I'm sorry this took so long to get done. My life got really busy. But to make up for it, I made it a bit longer than I originally was going to. Anyways, a bit more drama, moments alone for Scorpius and Lily, and a bit more light shed on the growing friendship between Hugo and Scorpius. And of course teasing from the Slytherin boys. Anyways, read and enjoy.
Rebel Malfoy
Chapter Thirty-Three: The Longest Week
Scorpius jumped off the Hogwarts Express, Lars following after him. "Ok, so our things are loaded. Are you guys going straight to the prefect compartment?" Lars inquired.
"Probably," Scorpius sighed. "Are you sitting with us?"
"Well as much as I enjoy watching you snog your girlfriend, I told Tanner I'd join him this time around," Lars mocked with a grin.
Scorpius rolled his eyes, but smirked. "Very funny, but no need to be jealous," he retorted.
Lars just laughed. "I'm going to find my parents, before Mum hunts me down. I'll see you later."
Scorpius gave a nod and a small wave. He shoved his hands into his pockets, wondering if he should go and find his parents, or if they were still talking with Mr. and Mrs. Flint. But before he had time to consider it, he felt two arms wrap around him, and a soft voice enter his ears. "Hi there."
Scorpius relaxed and smiled as he took Lily's hands into his, and turned to face her. She was smiling brightly, making his chest feel warm at the sight. "Hello there, beautiful," he greeted, before leaning down to kiss her once, then twice, keeping each of them chaste, in case her father was nearby. "I was wondering when I would see you."
"I've been looking for you since I got here," she teased.
Scorpius smirked. If she was looking for him, she'd probably want to see his parents as well. "Mum and Dad are just over there. Want to see them?" he inquired.
She nodded happily. "Of course."
He draped his arm around her shoulders, and led her to where he last saw his parents. He was right, they were still talking to the Flints. But as soon as they came into sight, his mother smiled.
"Lily! There you are!" she greeted happily, before pulling Lily away from him and into a hug. Scorpius shook his head. Amazing how his mother seemed to act as if she hadn't seen Lily in years, yet it'd only been days since the Slytherin family dinner.
Lily laughed, probably thinking something similar. "I thought I would see you before I got on the train," she explained.
"Well, we're glad you did," Draco stated, before hugging Lily as well. Scorpius raised a curious brow, but smirked. His father wasn't usually so affectionate, but Scorpius wouldn't complain. He liked that his father approved of his choice for a girlfriend.
"Are you ready for your fifth year?" Astoria inquired.
Lily nodded once. "Yeah. I'm sure this is going to be a better year, even with O.W.L.s." Scorpius almost scoffed. Any year without James Potter around was a great year!
"So, this is the famous Lily Luna?" Mr. Flint commented.
"Oh!" his mother immediately looked back to the couple. "Right! Sorry. Lily, this is Marcus Flint, and his wife Michelle."
Lily smiled at them politely. "It's nice to meet you," she greeted.
"A pleasure," Mr. Flint said with a nod. "Shannon talks about you fondly, as does Adrian."
Scorpius grinned. "Not surprising. Adrian loved having a better Seeker on our team," he laughed.
Before they could talk more, the whistle from the train blew loudly, signaling its coming departure from the station. Draco looked at the two of them. "Well, we better let you kids get on the train."
His mother immediately hugged him. "Have a good year, sweetheart."
He smiled gently. "I will, Mum."
"Behave this year, and do a good job in your classes," she continued.
Scorpius nodded as he pulled back from the hug a little. "I will," he promised.
"And don't you go and give that girl any trouble," Astoria teased with a small smile.
Scorpius chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of it," he assured.
Then his mother was moving to hug Lily. He looked to his father. "I'll see you at Christmas," he stated.
His father clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't get into too much trouble."
Scorpius smirked. "I'll do my best."
"Go on," Astoria told the two of them. "You don't want to miss the train. Go, go."
Scorpius sighed and looked to Lily. "Shall we?"
She gave a small nod. "Yes, we shall."
"My things are already on the train," he mentioned as they walked toward the train. "So we can just head straight for the prefect compartment."
"Good, let's get this talk with Albus over with. And get ready, because according to Hugo, and Rose's incessant babbling, Rose is Head Girl," she warned.
Scorpius scoffed. "I would bet that she's not as bad as Molly Weasley was," he replied. "That girl was insufferable." While Molly Weasley had never discriminated against Slytherin House, she was just an annoying person in general. She complained if your tie was crooked! She was just too stuck up and snobby.
"No doubt," Lily agreed. "She's insufferable in normal company."
Upon entering the prefect compartment, Scorpius scanned who was already there. Head Boy and Girl, Lucy Weasley, Lily's other cousin Louis. He wasn't bad. But then he caught sight of Scamander sitting down as well.
"Looks like Lana and my cousin are still outside," he mumbled, trying to ignore Scamander. But he could feel the kid's eyes on him as they sat down. Louis immediately began to talk to them, and soon Tanner and Lana came in, joining the conversation. But Scorpius could still feel Scamander's eyes on him.
Scorpius let his glance slide to Scamander, and they locked eyes. He wasn't glaring, but just staring at Scorpius through narrowed eyes. For a brief moment, Scorpius thought about kissing Lily, showing off the fact that he'd won. But he refrained, and turned his attention back to the others. Scamander was nothing to worry about. He was a coward, not a fighter.
"Ok," Rose Weasley announced loudly, "so it looks like we're all here and accounted for." Scorpius almost groaned. She sounded too excited for this.
"So, Rose Weasley and I are your new Head Boy and Head Girl," Potter droned.
Lily scoffed quietly beside him. "No shit," she mumbled. Scorpius smirked, trying not to chuckle.
"Now," Potter continued to prattle on, "we plan on holding things the same as we did last year, but with a change."
"It was the headmaster's request that we have more inter-House pairs for patrols. So after we all kind of get used to things, we will be dividing you into pairs with people of a different House," Weasley mentioned, "and perhaps sometimes of a different year."
"So, who is patrolling the train?" Lana questioned, obviously bored.
"Well, we've decided that your first patrols of the year will be with someone from a different House, since the train won't need a lot of time to get used to," Weasley stated.
Lana rolled her eyes. "That was not the answer to what I asked."
Potter glared. "How about a little respect, Goyle?"
Lana gave him a snarky look. "How about you bite me, Potter?"
"Don't be a bitch, Goyle," a fifth year prefect snapped.
Scorpius glared now. "Don't call my sister that!"
"Everyone, be calm!" Weasley addressed loudly, silence settling after her words. "Now, to answer your question fully, Albus and I decided that we would choose those prefects today."
Potter sighed. "How about . . . Lily, you and . . . Lysander go first." Scorpius immediately looked at Scamander then, glaring. He wasn't sure what he desired to do more. Tell Scamander to patrol by himself, or hex Potter for being an idiot.
Before he could do either one, the door slid open, and Professor Slughorn poked his head into the compartment. "Sorry to barge in," he said cheerfully, not really sounding apologetic.
Potter grinned. "Not at all, sir. Another gathering of students in a compartment?" Scorpius scoffed to himself. What a kiss ass.
"Alas, no," Slughorn said, with almost a sad sigh. "I'm hoping to borrow Lily from you all. I need to talk about something important with her, and it might take a while."
"Oh. That's no problem at all, Professor," Weasley replied. "Gary, you can take her spot patrolling with Lysander. Lily, go head. One of your housemates can fill you in about the rest of the meeting later."
Lily gave a nod, before looking at Scorpius, and giving his hand a squeeze. He gave her a smirk, and she followed Professor Slughorn out. He sighed silently once she was gone, and prepared himself for what would probably be a very boring ten minutes.
"I thought that would never end!" Tanner complained as they walked out of the compartment.
"Merlin does my sister know how to drone on and on about pointless things," Hugo groaned, shaking his head.
"I feel bad for you," Lana told him. "You've been living with that drone for years now! How do you do it?"
"I restrain myself from blowing off my ears," Hugo mocked. The four of them laughed, but stopped when a compartment door opened, and Lola stepped out, smiling. Although Scorpius noticed that it was mostly directed at Hugo.
"Hey, guys," she greeted. "Meeting over already?"
"Already?" Scorpius scoffed. "More like finally."
Lola rolled her eyes, but continued to smile. "Where's Lily?"
"Slughorn took her somewhere. She'll find us afterwards," Scorpius assured as he walked past her into the compartment, Lana following his lead.
"Well, I'm off to hang out with the others. Later," Tanner said with a wave.
Hugo opened his mouth, probably ready to follow Tanner's lead and leave, but Lola spoke first. "Hugo, want to sit with us?"
Hugo ruffled his own hair, looking a little uncertain. "I don't know. Some of my friends are expecting me," he commented.
"You'll see them at the feast," Lola pointed out. "Just sit with us for a few minutes, at least."
Hugo shoved his hands into his pockets, but finally grinned and nodded. "Ok, sure." He moved inside, and took the seat between Scorpius and Lana.
Lola closed the door behind them, and took a seat across from him. "So, do any of you have to patrol the train?"
"Nope," Lana said as she relaxed into her seat.
"As if we would anyways," Scorpius scoffed. "Nothing ever happens on the train."
"More like, as if you would pull yourself away from Lily for a second," Lana mocked.
Scorpius gave her a smirk. "Well where's Justin?"
"With the band. I didn't feel like putting up with Dominique," Lana said, which was explanation enough.
"So, Hugo, are you excited for fifth year?" Lola asked, feigning a polite tone, while her grin was much more flirtatious.
But it was as if Hugo didn't notice. "A little. While the idea of important and stressful exams sounds worse than the smell of a troll, it's nice to be out of the house. Plus, I'll get a little space between me and my sister."
"Let me guess," Lana said. "She's overbearing and controlling when it comes to her little brother?"
Hugo gave a nod. "Yeah. Sometimes, I understand, and it's helpful. But most of the time . . . it's way too much."
"At least you only have the one sibling," Lola replied. "Try having two older siblings who are constantly in your business, and then having to look out for seven little siblings, two that constantly never leave you alone at school."
Hugo raised a brow, but then laughed. "Yeah, that would suck."
"At least there's a decent age gap between you and your older siblings," Shannon commented. "Thanks to Adrian being only a few years older, he has access to my business all the time! He knows all my friends on a personal level, and still comes home to irritate me during breaks."
"Yeah, but I think Martin Pritchard is much worse than Adrian," Lana mentioned with a laugh.
"No one is worse than Martin," Scorpius agreed.
"Story of my life," Lola grumbled with a pout.
"So baby Potter is the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain?" Tanner questioned. Then he laughed. "This year will be a breeze!"
"I'd bet they don't win a single game," Lars said, laughing as well.
"Have you heard about who might be trying out for Will and Dante's positions?" Lance asked Scorpius with curiosity.
But Scorpius shook his head. "No, but I'm not worried. I've got a great practice schedule put together, and some amazing plays to work on and perfect."
The entrance to the common room slid open, and they could then hear the hushed whispers of first years entering, as well as Lily and Christian Vaisey speaking. Scorpius sat up straight as the group stopped walking.
"Excuse me," he muttered. He ignored the comments and laughing of the team as he got up and approached the group.
"And really, that's about it," Christian said. "Any questions?"
One kid was quick to speak. "When's the first Quidditch match?"
"November," Scorpius answered as he came to them. Lily smiled at him, and he wrapped an arm around her, a kissed her on the forehead. Giggles erupted from the first years, but he ignored them as well. "Excuse me," he said with a smirk, "but I'm going to steal her away for a moment."
He took her hands, and pulled her away from the first years, and toward the wall. She laughed gently. "What are you doing?" she teased.
Scorpius continued to smirk. "I'm getting ready to kiss you," he replied, before placing his lips gently on hers.
She kissed back briefly, but then spoke into their kiss. "I have to go," she mumbled, reminding him of her having to meet with the headmaster.
"Go later," he retorted before kissing her harder.
"I'll be back soon," she promised as she attempted to pull away from the kiss. But he just followed her, letting his lips continue to press against hers. "Scorpius," she giggled, but he knew that she was serious.
He groaned before finally pulled away, instead resting his forehead against hers. He wasn't exactly ready to let her disappear. "When is soon?"
"Soon. It shouldn't be too long. I promise," she assured, her fingers drawing small patters into the skin of his arms.
Scorpius sighed, but moved his lips to her ear. "I'll wait for you," he promised in return.
He noticed a tiny color of pink flush across her cheeks. "So, am I allowed to go now?"
He moved back so that he could look at her fully, but kept his hands on her hips. "One more kiss," he insisted. "Then . . . I guess you can go."
She laughed at him, but then began to reach up to her tiptoes. So he leaned down, and kissed her again. As much as he wanted to deepen it, he kept it short. Then he let her go and watched as she left the common room.
"You two are so cute it's disgusting," Lana mocked as she came to stand next to him.
Scorpius just shrugged, giving her a smirk. "What's your point?"
Lana rolled her eyes, but smiled. "You are way too happy, dear brother."
Scorpius chuckled. "I didn't know happiness was a crime." He sighed as he walked over to the couches, Lana following behind. "So, how are you and Justin?"
Lana shrugged. "Fine," she replied.
"I've got to admit, I never expected you and Justin to become an actual couple," Tanner admitted. "I thought one date and that'd be it."
Lana looked at him through narrowed eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"That you two are really different, is all," Lance said, almost quietly. Scorpius smirked. That kid was obviously still a little too nervous around the opposite sex.
"Don't opposites attract?" she mocked.
"Or they explode when in contact," Lars countered with a grin. "So please, don't let it get messy. The guy's our friend, after all."
"Good morning, sunshine!"
Scorpius woke with a start, but then felt his heart race as he looked to the right . . . but the bed was empty. He scowled. Lily . . . she'd slept here last night . . . where did she go?
Mitch, who had been the one to wake him up, looked over the empty side of bed, just as curious. "What are we looking at?" he asked.
Scorpius rolled his eyes as he shoved his friend aside and got up. "Nothing. By the way, don't do that again."
Mitch raised a brow, but it slowly dawned on him, and he grinned slyly. "Lily slept here last night, didn't she?" he guessed.
Scorpius couldn't help but smirk. "Yes, she did. So don't do that again. You're lucky she left early this morning, or she'd have killed you."
"If she's anything like her cousin, I wouldn't doubt that," Mitch laughed.
The guys took their time to get ready, all of them still trying to fully wake up. Scorpius was pretty sure that Rex went through the entire process with his eyes closed and ready to snore. As they all trailed down the stairs to the common room, Scorpius paused and looked up at the girls' staircase, wondering if Lily would still be up there.
But Mitch seemed to read his mind. "She's probably already at breakfast. After all, she obviously woke up way before any of us did," he commented as he led Scorpius to the door. "Besides, it won't kill you to not walk with her to breakfast."
"Yeah. For having such a short relationship, you became whipped fast," Rex mocked with a laugh.
Scorpius rolled his eyes, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"He was whipped before he started dating her," Lars added, laughing along with Rex.
Now Scorpius reached out to shove Lars into Rex, both of them continuing to laugh as they stumbled. "Sod off," he muttered. "At least I have a girlfriend."
"Oh, he's got a point," Mitch chuckled.
"It does make the both of you look lonely and pathetic," Justin teased.
"Hey! At least I've had a girlfriend at one point!" Rex argued. "Lars is the pathetic one."
"I'm just so good-looking that I come off as intimidating," Lars retorted.
They all laughed now. "Yeah, I don't think so, friend," Mitch replied.
"Ok, ok, so we won't give Scor any trouble about being whipped . . . for today," Rex said with a grin. "But you're fair game starting tomorrow."
Scorpius chuckled. "Ok, fine. But I'll just go back to calling you pathetic."
"Sounds like a good plan," Rex joked as they entered the Great Hall.
Scorpius immediately scanned the Slytherin table for Lily, and found her sitting with the girls from her year. They all seemed to be laughing about something. But Mitch threw his arm around Scorpius's shoulder.
"Don't even think about it!" he said with a laugh. "You're sitting with the guys today. You can see her at lunch."
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Fine. But if Dominique comes over, then I get to go and sit with my girlfriend."
"That's not fair!" Lars exclaimed as they sat. "You'd leave us to deal with her?"
"Damn straight," Scorpius stated.
They sat down, and immediately began to fill their breakfast plates and eat. Tanner soon joined them, as did Lance. And Scorpius wasn't sure if Rex was still trying to poke fun at him, or if he was now trying to make Lance blush, as was his habit.
"So, Scor, how long before you and Lily Lu have sex?"
Lance spit out his pumpkin juice and Tanner choked on his toast. Scorpius just groaned as he swallowed the bite of pancake he'd been chewing. "You are such a prick," he muttered.
Rex just grinned. "Just a question."
"How necessary was that question?" Lance muttered, his face bright red.
"Very. Have you thought about it?" Tanner asked, looking at Scorpius with an eager look.
Scorpius scowled. "Don't sound so excited," he grumbled. "And, Rex, it hasn't been that long since you last asked it. Do you really think my mind has changed?"
"No, last time I asked if you've thought about it. Now, I'm asking how long before you think it'll happen. Besides, it's not like anything you say will be permanent. Just your thoughts."
Scorpius ran his hand over his face. "I don't know. Honestly."
"Well, let me ask you this. Have you two talked about sex?" Rex asked, and Scorpius was a bit surprised at such a serious question.
"Is that something couples talk about that early, though?" Lance asked, his cheeks still a little pink, but looking curious. "I mean, you and Lily haven't been dating that long, have you?"
"Around two months," Scorpius told him. "And no. We haven't talked about it."
"Well maybe you should," Rex replied. "Better to get the awkward conversation out of the way now."
"Like you would know about that kind of talk," Justin scoffed.
"I've heard about it, though, which is just as good," Rex defended with a grin.
"He does have a point, though," Mitch said thoughtfully. "I mean, I'd imagine that it's best to talk about it. Find out where you both stand on the issue."
"And you would know about it?" Lars mocked.
Mitch grinned. "No, not at all. I'm too rogue to date before having sex in a relationship."
"What horrible punishment is this?" Rex complained loudly as the boys, minus Lars, and Dominique walked out of the Potions classroom. "Who gives homework on the first day?"
"Every professor teaching seventh years?" Justin guessed. Normally Scorpius would have joined the others in teasing Rex for his overreactions, but he was busy grimacing himself as he looked over the neatly scripted words on the parchment in his hand, outlining the essay they were to write by next lesson.
"Maybe I can get Lily to help me," he mumbled. He hadn't been paying much attention in class. He kept getting distracted, mainly laughing with Mitch as Rex tried, and failed, to get a Ravenclaw girl's attention.
"You're lucky to have a girlfriend that's awesome with this crud," Rex grumbled as he let the parchment crinkle in his grip. "I can't even remember why I continued taking this class!"
"Because Justin and I did," Mitch reminded.
"Hey, Malfoy!"
The group stopped, and Scorpius almost groaned at the sound of that voice. Albus Potter. They turned, and he and Creevey were approaching, Virgin Weasley nowhere in sight.
"What do you want, baby Potter?" Scorpius asked dryly. Not that he had any plans for first break, but he didn't really want to waste it on Potter.
But Potter walked with an exaggerated swagger, and it made Scorpius scoff. "You know, no one in my family is very happy with you," he said mockingly.
Scorpius just raised a brow. "And I care why?"
"This should be good," he heard Dominique mutter.
"I heard my dad talking to my mum. Says that . . . well he's not real keen on you seeing Lily," Albus said patronizingly.
Scorpius rolled his eyes, and now Dominique scoffed. "Really, Albus? You came here to do your daddy's bidding for him? Please, if he wanted Scorpius gone, it would have happened. If anyone knows how to make a body disappear, it'd be the Head Auror," she mocked.
Scorpius smirked at the pink tinge coming to Potter's cheeks. "And, honestly, Potter, I could care less what your father thinks of my dating Lily. It's not going to change anything."
But unlike his brother, Albus didn't seem bothered. Scorpius narrowed his eyes slightly. If he'd have said something like that to James Potter, he'd have been tackled to the floor by now . . . What was his game?
"Truthfully? I could care less about who you date," Potter said with a shrug. He was too casual, and Scorpius didn't trust it.
"Then what the hell is the point, Potter?" Rex demanded, obviously just as confused.
Potter ignored him. "I mean, why should I be concerned with the fact that you want to date a tramp?"
Before Scorpius could lunge at Potter, and maybe rip his tongue out before tearing apart his throat, a sharp and swift jet of yellow shot past him, and right into Potter's forehead. He then began to cough uncontrollably, and bent over at the waist as Creevey rushed to his aid.
Scorpius looked over to see Dominique with her wand pointed directly at her cousin. But then, just as swiftly as the spell shot, she slipped her wand back into her bag.
"What the hell, Dominique?" Albus demanded as the coughing slowed, if only a little.
"Well Malfoy here was about to kill you, and when it comes to actual fights, you choke," Dominique said in a flat tone. "I thought I'd just skip to the end and save you the blood loss."
"And almost kill him by choking him?" Creevey exclaimed.
"I can take Malfoy on!" Potter argued, one last rough cough following.
"You can't beat your sister in a Quidditch match," Rex scoffed. "What makes you think that you could take Scorpius on in a real fight?"
"You're going to think that when Gryffindor crushes you this year," Potter hissed.
"Face, baby Potter, your brother played favorites," Scorpius growled, his anger still boiling. "He never picked real talent, just his family and friends."
"I have more talent in our returning players than you do in your entire team!" Potter argued.
Scorpius stepped closer, leaving little space between them. "Really? Because I'd bet that if you had to choose your team based on real talent, I'd still have my whole team returning and we'd crush you in November. Like we always do."
"Really? Well why not?" Potter said arrogantly. "We both make our entire teams try out again. We pick real talent and skills. And we'll see who wins the Quidditch Cup this year."
"Potter, you can't even beat us," Scorpius scoffed. "What makes you think you'll take the Quidditch Cup from us?"
"You've been talking a bit game ever since I became captain," Potter muttered. "Are you starting to get scared? Finally realizing that your team just doesn't compare?"
Scorpius clenched his fists, but kept his anger in check. Taking a swing at the Head Boy would not be a great start to the year, especially since he could hear Slughorn's loud voice around the corner, and Potter would love a chance to go and run like a child to rat Scorpius out.
"I have all the confidence in my team," Scorpius said in a low tone. "Maybe if you did, your team would actually win more." Then he stepped back toward the others. "Come on, I need to post the tryout date in the common room."
But just before he turned his back, he looked at Potter firmly. "By the way, baby Potter, if I ever hear you say something like that about my girlfriend again . . . you better wish that there's someone around kind enough to save you. You can't hide behind professors forever, and I don't think Dom will be so kind ever again."
"Oh, that's a given," Dominique muttered as she examined her nails.
"Because if I hear it again . . ." Scorpius gave a little scoff, "well, it won't be pretty."
Scorpius ignored the others' comments and jokes as he made a beeline for the Entrance Hall, to go out and book the pitch for tryouts. The sooner the better, and he wasn't going to let Potter beat him . . . which was why he hated that Potter's words about Lily were still getting to him.
Scorpius glanced down at Dominique, who was silent as Mitch, Justin, and Rex complained about Potter and Gryffindors. "Thanks," he muttered.
She didn't look at him, but raised a brow. "For what?"
"For stopping me. I didn't hear Slughorn around the corner until after you stopped me from attacking Potter. So thanks," he grumbled, still unhappy that Potter didn't fully get what he deserved.
"While I would have liked to see you put my cousin in his place, I didn't want it to end early because a professor got in the way. Albus would never learn then," Dominique said simply as they approached the pitch.
"Always like that, is he?" Scorpius mumbled. At least he only dealt with the Potter brothers at Hogwarts, or his occasional run-in when picking up Lily or visiting Diagon Alley. But Dominique was not only stuck with them during the holidays, but also as a Gryffindor.
"Now that James isn't here to throw his ego around, Albus stupidly believes that he immediately inherited his brother's status," Dominique stated. "So you should expect to hear from his a lot more. He has yet to realize that not only will he never fit his brother's shoes, but he's never going to be able to take you head-on like James did. He doesn't yet accept the fact that he's just a coward with a big last name."
Scorpius didn't get a chance to talk to Lily until lunch. Well, he'd kind of avoided talking to her straight after first break. He had wanted a chance to calm down a little before telling her about tryouts.
Unfortunately, he was still furious at lunch. Every time he saw Potter in a class they shared, his previous anger came back ten times stronger. But he figured he couldn't avoid talking to her all day. Plus, if she found out about tryouts happening in two days instead of from him directly, she would definitely know something was up. Best to just tell her himself.
"Lily," he called as he walked toward where she and the other fifth years were sitting for lunch.
They all turned to look at him, but Lily stood up, and it was obvious that she had noticed something was wrong. "Scorpius, what is it?" she asked softly.
Scorpius stopped walking, trying to reign in the lingering anger he felt. "Change of plans. Quidditch tryouts will be in two days. Everyone is going to have to defend their position."
She eyes widened slightly with surprise. "What? I thought you were just going to fill in Will and Dante's spots? And I thought you were waiting a couple of weeks." He could see her urge to ask even more questions, but the last thing he wanted to do was explode into a rant. At least not during lunch.
"There's been a change," he muttered before turning to walk back to the guys.
But she grabbed his arm, and looked at him with concern. He was starting to feel like an ass. She was obviously worried, and he was being a jerk . . . but he was still too furious.
"We'll talk about it later. I promise," he replied before gently pulling away, and walking off.
"Stop brooding."
Scorpius turned to look at Lana, who hadn't even looked away from her Arithmacy homework. He was working on the Potions essay, but kept thinking back to the encounter after said class.
"I'm not brooding," he mumbled as he went back to reading over the chapter for information.
"I can feel your tension and attitude from here," Lana retorted as she dipped her quill into the ink. "You are totally brooding. And you're worrying your girlfriend. She's looked over here five times in the last ten minutes."
Scorpius discreetly looked across the common room, where Lily sat with Lola and Jace. They all seemed to be working on homework of their own. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"I don't mean to worry her," he groaned quietly.
"You don't have to try or intend to worry her," Lana quipped. "She cares about you, and thus will always worry about you when you don't open up and talk to her."
"So I should tell her the truth about what her brother said?" Scorpius scoffed. "I think that's the last thing she needs on her mind."
"If it had been from James, maybe," Lana disagreed. "But she can easily take anything Albus Potter has to dish out. I don't think the two of them were very close to begin with."
Scorpius tapped his foot quietly, thinking about that. "But if I tell her what's really pissing me off, then I'd have to tell her about what else he said. About how her whole family hates us dating. I know that would bug her on the inside. Plus, I don't think she'd take the fact that her own brother said he could care less about her easily."
"Well you better decide what to do, because here she comes," Lana warned.
Scorpius turned his head, and sure enough Lily was approaching them. She had a firm expression, but there was still that soft look in her eyes. "Come on," she said simply.
Scorpius didn't argue, but grabbed his things, and followed her up to his dorm room. The guys were gone. Lars was working on his own homework, while the others had band practice. So he dropped his things and shut the door. He couldn't help but pace around as he thought. Did he tell her? He was sure it would weigh on her mind, and he didn't want to do that to her . . . but shouldn't he tell her?
"Are you going to tell me what happened today?" she demanded from where she sat on his bed.
Scorpius stopped moving, but didn't look at her, instead just scowled at the wall. His mouth felt dry as his anger trickled back into his veins. He licked his lips. "I had a run-in with the little Potter," he spit out.
"And?" she questioned. "What happened?"
Scorpius sighed as he tried to relax his shoulders, and moved to sit next to her. But the anger . . . it was hard to push away. "We had an argument," he said vaguely. He couldn't. He couldn't tell her all of it. "It spun out of control, and suddenly we were making challenges. So now we're both making everyone retry for their positions, proving who has the better team, and who is going to win the Quidditch Cup."
She raised a brow. "And by challenge, you mean . . .?"
"I was able to avoid a bet," he replied. He'd learned his lesson about bets after Mitch was forced to cut his hair all those years ago.
Suddenly, he felt her fingers running through his hair. As nice as it felt, it wasn't enough to completely get rid of all the tension. "Scorpius, there's something more to this. This is a simple challenge, and I know you have confidence in our players. What else happened?"
He almost groaned. She was way too perceptive. He avoided her eyes. "I just hate your brother is all," he said simply. "He irritates me." Not a lie . . . just not the real answer to her question.
But if she knew he wasn't being honest, she didn't call him out. Instead she continued to massage her fingers through his hair. Slowly, he felt himself relax as they sat in a comfortable silence. It felt so nice. He rested his head onto her shoulder, letting his eyes close.
He liked this. This comforting feeling. Something to help push away that anger that always seemed to be in the background of his mind. He let himself fall back onto his bed, pulling Lily down with him. She gave a slight yelp of surprise, making him smirk a little at the cute sound. He wrapped his arms around her as she moved to rest on him comfortably.
He sighed as his body fully relaxed into the bed beneath him, and the warm body beside him. He was certain that right now in his life, this was something he could never again live without. Someone to calm him when anger coursed through his body. Someone to comfort him when he was conflicted. Someone who could relax him just by being beside him.
And someone he would anything for.
Scorpius couldn't help but watch as his girlfriend soared around the pitch with ease. It was obvious to him that she was only putting in half of her energy into this tryout, and he didn't blame her. The others that had tried out didn't have a fourth of her talent and skills.
He absentmindedly circled her name on the clipboard in his hands. No reason to act like she wasn't getting her position back this year. He looked over at those waiting to tryout still. It was a pretty big turnout since word had gone around that he was opening all positions this year.
"All right, I want the ones trying out for Chaser to step up!" he yelled out as Lily landed. She was the last one to try out for Seeker, not that many others had tried. He caught her eye briefly, and as she passed by him, she reached up and kissed him lightly. Scorpius let his shoulders relax and briefly lose a bit of their tension. But catching sight of the Gryffindors up in the stands brought it back in a flash.
Potter had brought his little crew to ensure that Scorpius didn't cheat on their challenge. He didn't trust them. Not one bit. He was waiting for Potter to do something stupid. But he pushed it to the back of his mind as he watched the Chaser tryouts.
Lance dominated, as usual. Scorpius knew that kid would go far in this game, and he got better every time Scorpius saw him play. But once Lance's group had finished their tryouts, he almost groaned when he saw who was coming up next. The last group was a group of second and third years.
"Get in the air!" he commanded, and almost screamed when one of them immediately fell from his broom. "Merlin help me," he mumbled. He sighed as he observed and called out instructions.
To his surprise, little Bobby Pritchard was part of the group. While his broom wasn't trembling, Scorpius could see the kid was nervous and uncertain of what he was doing. Scorpius questioned if the kid had ever actually played before. But the kid made his first shot, although barely. And his teamwork was on point. Whenever he seemed to think he was unable to make the shot, he passed it to someone else. But Scorpius saw a few times where the kid had an open shot, but made a pass.
"Lack of confidence . . ." he mumbled to himself. "Fixable." But the kid was young and obviously inexperienced. On the other hand . . . he wasn't terrible.
"Keepers! You're up!" he called once he'd called the last group back to the ground.
As the last part of the tryouts went by, Scorpius was able to easily pick who would take Dante's spot. Hank Harper. An unusual build for a Keeper, a bit blockier than average, but he was surprisingly quick.
Scorpius rubbed the back of his neck after tryouts had ended. Without a word to any of them, he brushed by everyone and walked into the locker rooms. He wasn't sure how long it'd been since he'd felt this tense, and it had been like this since his run-in with Potter. He immediately stepped into the captain's office in the locker room, not wanting to hear the chatter of all those that had tried out. He needed another Chaser, but he wasn't sure what to do. He stared, scowling, at the paper with the names of those trying out for Chaser.
"Scorpius?" While Scorpius hadn't wanted to talk to anyone, he couldn't help but feel that small bit of relief at the sound of Lily's voice. He didn't look at her though, instead continuing to look at the paper in front of him, his eyes flitting between the two names he was trying to choose between.
"How did the Keepers do?" Lily asked.
"Decent enough," he mumbled. "I'm choosing Hank Harper. He's got a bigger build than the usual Keeper, but he was good, and he's quick. With one of our brooms and more practice, he'll be excellent." Of that he was sure.
She came to stand next to him, but then brought herself up to sit on the desk. "And the rest?"
"You're keeping your spot," he assured, although he knew that wasn't what she was asking. "You creamed the others. Lars is keeping his spot . . . and Tanner is as well." That had been a difficult choice too. "Courtney was very good for a fourth year, but Tanner's got more strength. Her aim may be dead on, but Tanner's is almost as good, and he's got more of a force behind his hits."
"And Chasers?"
Scorpius almost groaned. "Lance was great. That kid gets better every time I see him in the air. But that doesn't help my next choice."
She tilted her head slightly in question. "What do you mean?"
He sighed. "Well, there were two good kids that could both easily fill Will's spot as Chaser. The only question is do I go with the older one, who has had a bit more experience playing the game, or do I go with the younger one, who I'd guess has only seen the game being played."
"Go with the younger one," she said simply. "He'll be at Hogwarts longer, giving him more time to get better at the game, plus we won't have to replace him as quickly."
Scorpius gave a nod. She had a point. Plus, Pritchard was trainable. He didn't have an arrogant attitude. Scorpius ran his hands over his face before going through his hair. "I'm going to make sure we crush Gryffindor after this," he groaned.
He hadn't noticed that Lily had moved off the desk, but he soon felt her hands on his shoulders, her fingers massaging the knots from his muscles. "We all want to crush Gryffindor after all this. I'll make sure Potter ends up in the Hospital Wing during our match," she replied.
Scorpius placed one of his hands on hers. "No one is safe on that team except for Hugo. I don't know how, but it seems that after James Potter left, he distributed his arrogance throughout that House. They're almost all unbearable." He thought back to Dominque's words. How baby Potter was now trying to step into his brother's shoes. Scorpius wasn't going to let that happen, even if he had to knock the kid down a peg every day.
"Hugo tells me the exact same thing," Lily mentioned with a sigh.
Scorpius tried to relax again, so he gently pulled Lily around to sit in his lap, and rested his cheek against her hair. There was that flowery scent again. "This has been one hell of a week," he grumbled.
She pulled away from him, but before he could protest, she looked at him softly, and pushed his hair away from his brow. "That means it can only get better," she replied.
Hoping she was right, he leaned forward to kiss her shortly, but firmly. But he knew a quick kiss was out as soon as he felt her fingers curling through his hair, pulling him closer. He held her sides firmly, keeping her close to him. Her shirt bunched up a tad under his grip, and he let his fingers gently brush along the exposed skin. He felt her shiver beneath his fingers, so he let one hand slide slowly to her back, before resting his palm against her back. Her skin was warm under his hand.
He pulled his lips from hers, but refused to move them from her skin as he skimmed across her cheek, before reaching her ear. He nipped her earlobe gently before moving to press his lips against her neck. He felt her hand slip under his Quidditch robes and he almost shivered at the feeling of her warm hand on his skin.
But before he could attempt to shrug the robes off, a knock sounded harshly at the door, making them jump. Scorpius grit his teeth, trying to hide his irritation, and failing. "What?" he yelled.
"Chill out!" Tanner yelled back. "We've all showered and changed, so get out here and tell us the results!"
Scorpius closed his eyes, thankfully able to push that irritation away now. Tryouts . . . that's what was important right now. "One second!" After all, he'd have to change first.
Lily ran her hands through her hair, pushing the pink away from her eyes. But she smiled at him. "I'm going to go out and wait with them. Ok?"
Scorpius nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to change quick."
She kissed him softly, and this one was quick, before she left him to himself. Scorpius ran a hand over his face. How was it that she seemed to completely distract him from his problems? He smiled a little as he circled Bobby Pritchard's name on the list, before leaving the room to go and change back into his clothes.
Before walking out, he checked over the names once again. He smirked. All of his old teammates were returning. He had to remember to shove that fact into Potter's face later. He grabbed the Quidditch uniforms before heading to the door. He stepped outside, and raised a brow at the first thing he heard.
"Oh please!" Tanner exclaimed, laughing. "Lance, you are a fourteen-year-old boy. You've had those thoughts. And, Lil, tell me, what were you and our captain doing in his office?"
"Not that!" Lily argued, a blush light on her cheeks.
Scorpius rolled his eyes. He didn't even want to know what had started it.
"Not far from that!" Tanner joked. Scorpius reached out and smacked the back of his head as he passed. "Ow!"
"Shut your mouth, cuz," he stated.
"Yes, sir," he heard Tanner grumbled.
Scorpius turned to face them all. "Ok, so I've got our main roster. List of reserves will be posted later. Our Seeker will obviously be Lily Luna," he announced as he tossed her a uniform. "Our Beaters will be Lars Goyle and Tanner Zabini."
Scorpius almost chuckled at the obvious relief and enthusiasm as his cousin caught his uniform. "Our new Keeper will be Hank Harper, and our Chasers will be me, Lance Higgs, and Bobby Pritchard," he said as he tossed them their uniforms.
Scorpius looked over his new team once more. "Ok, now our practice times will be posted with the new reserves list, so keep an eye out, or just ask me. That's all, you can go, except for the team."
Scorpius crossed his arms as he waited for the others to trail off. But then he looked at them. He had confidence in this team, even his two new members. "Ok, I'm glad that you guys did good enough to keep your spots. Now, just a note, I want to kill Gryffindor. I'm not going to let Potter think he got me. We've still got all our old players, plus two great new ones, and we're going to kill them!"
"Hey, Malfoy!" Scorpius tensed immediately. "You cheating snake!"
They all turned to see the Gryffindors approaching them. Scorpius sneered and glared at them. "You got a problem, baby Potter?" While the others laughed, the air was still tense around them all. Scorpius scanned the group, and felt like groaning. Virgin Weasley was with them. If Potter said something stupid, he wouldn't be able to shove his foot up Potter's-
"Yeah! You cheated on our bet! You clearly didn't choose the ones with the most talent!" Potter cried.
Scorpius scoffed, but Lily moved forward, glaring at Potter. "You're just pissy because you have no faith in your players from last year. You don't think they can match the skills of others, because you know that your brother just played favorites while he was captain!"
Potter turned his attention to her, and glared vehemently. Scorpius tensed, waiting for Potter to utter one derogatory word. "Watch your mouth, kid."
"Watch your mouth, Albus!" Scorpius raised a brow at the sound of anger in Hugo's voice. The tall Gryffindor moved away from the other lions, and glared at his cousin. "Scorpius picked the ones with the better talent and skills! You can't call him out just because these guys have more experience and talent in their game."
Scorpius edged forward, as did the other Slytherins, to backup Hugo, who stood firm, glaring at his cousin and fellow Gryffindor.
Potter glared at Hugo now. "What House do you belong to, Hugo, because I'm starting to question your loyalties? Are you a Gryffindor, or a snake?"
Scorpius felt his hands clench into fists, but Hugo stalked toward Potter, and towered over him. He glared down at Potter. "I'm a Gryffindor, Potter, and don't forget that!" he said in a low hiss. "But I'm their friend! Not yours!" Then he backed up, coming to stand with the Slytherins again. Scorpius gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"You tell 'em, Hugo," Lars said with a nod.
"Can't blame you for not wanting to be friends with complete jerks," Lance scoffed.
But Potter scoffed too. "Real smart, Huey. Team up with cheaters," he looked at Scorpius, "liars," he looked toward Lars, before finally at Lily, "and a tramp."
Scorpius wasted no time before moving forward and slamming his fist into Potter's face. Potter hit the ground like he'd been shot by an Unforgiveable, and Scorpius gave him a good kick to the stomach, before leaving his foot there, threateningly. "If I ever hear you calling her that again, you better hope that you drop dead before I get to you. Otherwise, I'll make your death painful!" he snarled.
As he expected, Virgin Weasley was quick to protest. "Get off him, Malfoy."
"Shove off, Weaslette," Lars quipped.
"Yeah, go bore your boyfriend to tears. We really don't want to hear it," Tanner said snidely.
Scorpius pressed his foot harder into Potter's stomach before lifting it. He stepped back to the others before wrapping his arm around Lily, who was glaring at baby Potter. Weasley turned to Hugo. "And Hugo Arthur Weasley, apologize to Albus, and go back to the common room. You're acting like a child."
Scorpius noticed how Hugo's face darkened as his sister spoke. "Well you act like a bitch." Scorpius couldn't contain his laughter at the complete shock that came across Virgin Weasley's face. "You think you're all high and superior just because you're Head Girl? You got that by kissing ass. You're nothing but a stuck-up, annoying bitch."
Scorpius was honestly a bit surprised by the amount of venom in Hugo's voice. Not even the twins seemed that vicious toward each other.
But his sister only narrowed her eyes, looking at Hugo firmly. "Do I really need to write to Dad?"
Scorpius even scoffed at such a weak threat. Hugo just crossed his arms. "Go ahead and see if I give a shit. I'm sick and tired of dealing with a bunch of stuck-up, snotty fakes!"
Scorpius could feel Hugo's desire to say more, or even throw a punch toward one of the Gryffindors. So he took hold of Hugo's shoulder. "Come on, guys," he said as he began to lead Hugo away. "We've got to celebrate Hugo joining our nest of snakes. Come on, buddy."
He took Lily's hand in his then, and the Slytherins left the stunned and shocked Gryffindors in the middle of the pitch.
"Way to tell 'em, Hugo!" Tanner exclaimed with a grin.
"They're so annoying," Hugo grumbled, obviously still in a slightly sour mood.
Scorpius could understand that. "Trust us, we know. So if anyone can teach you how to deal with them on a daily basis, it's us."
"Yeah. It involves a good dose of hexing kittens and witty banter," Hank joked.
"We'll get you through it," Lily assured. "After a while, it gets easier to ignore them, unless they provoke you, which sadly happens too often."
Hugo chuckled. "What do you do when they provoke you?"
Scorpius smirked lightly. "We bite back harder."
"You know, we could always just skip dinner," Scorpius teased before pressing his lips back to Lily's. Tired of listening to Lana and Dominique's before-dinner banter, he'd stolen Lily away to a hidden alcove in the dungeons, if only to get a few minutes of quiet . . . and alone time with his girlfriend. "We could just go to the kitchens."
She smiled against his lips. "I have to go to St. Mungo's tonight," she pointed out, barely breaking their kiss.
Scorpius almost groaned. "When are you going to leave?" he asked, his lips brushing hers with each syllable.
"After dinner," she replied, her fingers playfully brushing the skin under the collar of his shirt.
Scorpius responded by letting his own hands slide underneath the fabric of her shirt. "We've got time then," he murmured. He pressed himself closer to her, a warmth wrapping its way around him.
"Not that much though," she teased.
Scorpius let his lips slide down to her throat. "Just enough." As his hands roamed gently up her sides, he nipped softly at the skin near her pulse.
"Scorpius, I have to go to St. Mungo's later," Lily reminded, "please don't leave a mark."
He couldn't help but smirk a little. "I'll try," he assured, before lapping at where he'd bit. But then he moved his lips, as his hands worked further up. His thumb brushed across her ribcage, and he hesitantly swiped his finger a little higher, brushing the edge of her bra. He waited for her to stop him, to pull away, but she never did.
So, deciding to take that chance that Dominique had mentioned, and the guys constantly pushed him to do, he tugged lightly on the bottom of her bra. He did nothing else, giving her one last chance to protest or push him away.
She did pull her hands away, but to his surprise, she placed them on his cheeks and pulled his lips back to hers in a scorching kiss. He groaned, momentarily distracted by the heat and passion behind her lips, and sucked lightly on her bottom lip. She moaned in return, and Scorpius finally took the chance, and moved his hand to fully cup around her breast, only her bra between their skin.
She gasped almost immediately, and Scorpius hurried to move his hand and pull away from the kiss. But he couldn't lie. He wanted to do it again. He felt a heat rising in his body, building slowly in his lower abdomen.
But he was a bit more concerned, mentally, about if he'd just crossed a line. "I'm sorry," he whispered sincerely. "Was that a bit too much?"
She shook her head, a blush heavy on her cheeks. "No, no. Not at all," she reassured, surprising him once again. Then before he could speak, she kissed him again just as passionately as before. Taking her cue, he moved his hands back, and felt that heat rise again.
He really wouldn't be against missing dinner today.
Scorpius sighed with boredom as he sat in the common room. He wasn't sure what to do with himself with Lily gone to see Duncan for a few hours. The others were working on homework, but he'd finished his earlier.
"Thinking hard?"
Scorpius turned his head in surprise to hear Hugo's voice. But sure enough, the Gryffindor was approaching him, his hands in his pockets. Scorpius gave him a friendly smirk.
"No, just bored," he quipped. "What are you up to?"
Hugo just shrugged. "I got bored too and thought I'd rather be bored down here than in Gryffindor Tower at the moment."
Scorpius gave a nod. "Fair. Well, have a seat and share my boredom."
Hugo chuckled as he sat down. "Well where's Lil? I'd have thought she'd be with you."
"It's the day she goes to see Duncan," Scorpius stated.
"Oh, that's right," Hugo replied. Then he grinned. "Little boring without her around?"
Scorpius smirked. "A little, yeah. I just don't have any homework to distract me."
Hugo nodded in understanding. "I'm just choosing not to do mine," he joked lightly. Then he sighed as he seemed to settle more into his seat. "So, can I ask you a question, as your girlfriend's cousin?"
Scorpius raised a brow. "You aren't going to threaten me like Dom did, are you?" he teased.
Hugo laughed. "No. Lily can take you on herself, plus any threat I could give would probably pale next to Dominique's."
Scorpius chuckled. "Ok. Then what is it?"
Hugo fiddled with a crease in his pant leg. "You're in it for the long run, right?" Scorpius nodded mutely. "Good."
Scorpius raised a brow once again. "Did you think I wasn't?"
Hugo smiled. "No, I was sure you were. But it's one thing to assume, another to hear."
"Are you worried about her?" Scorpius questioned.
"Very worried," Hugo admitted. "You're like . . . the one bright spot in the hole she's been buried in since her Sorting. And . . . I guess I'm just worried about what'll happen once you graduate."
Scorpius couldn't stop a scowl coming to his face at the thought. Graduation . . . so far away, yet still an uncomfortable and touchy topic when it concerned his relationship. "What do you mean?"
Hugo shrugged absently. "Most couples break up. Some mutually once summer comes, others because the distance and time becomes too much. Now, I'm not saying that you two would end up like that . . . but there will be time and distance separating you . . . and I worry about what that'll do her."
Scorpius ran a hand through his hair. "She's strong," he mumbled.
"She's only strong for so long," Hugo quipped calmly. "Eventually, things break her down. And I'm just afraid that I won't be enough to keep her grounded or fill the gap you leave here."
"You're her best friend," Scorpius argued. "You mean a lot to her."
"I'm barely strong enough to fight my own problems," Hugo whispered.
Scorpius looked to the lone Gryffindor. While his red hair was more of a ginger, and his eyes were an ocean blue, Scorpius noticed something strikingly similar between him and Lily. The soft and slightly defeated look in his eyes. Something he'd seen in Lily before, when things had gotten drastic between her and James.
"Hugo," Scorpius addressed, gaining the kid's attention once more, "you know that you're more than welcome down here anytime. Don't feel like you have to make an excuse about seeing Lily. If you need an escape, our password's yours."
Hugo gave a small smile. "Thanks," he mumbled. "Sometimes . . . I get so angry, that I think I'm going to snap. But then the anger fades, and I'm just tired. Tired of dealing with the arguments and accusations. Tired of the lies and arrogance of those around me. The expectations . . . they're exhausting, no matter who they come from."
Scorpius nodded in understanding. "Expectations are the hardest thing to overcome. Most of us down here from the old families understand that. Like I said, you're welcome, if you ever need to just blow off steam or escape."
"I wish that was enough to make things ok," Hugo said with a small and dry chuckle.
"I'm not sure if there is something that makes everything ok," Scorpius mentioned. "But . . . well it's a start."
