Scorpius sat in the hallway with his bag packed and ready. He was taping his foot impatiently. He had contacted Lily immediately after he had the OK from his dad, and they had been talking ever since. Harry had finally told Lily to put the mirror away (Lily had opened the parchment away from prying eyes, so they didn't know about that) so she could help get things ready for Scorpius' arrival.

He had been packed and ready in moments, and now he had nothing to do but wait. He hated waiting. He sat on the stairs, near the fireplace and huffed in annoyance. Scorpius dug into his bag, looking for something to entertain him until the Potters arrived to get him.

He pulled out the book James had given to him for Christmas. He had been so excited about leaving that he had yet to look through his new book. Scorpius began to flip through pages, not really in a reading mood.

As he flipped, something fluttered to the floor. Intrigued, Scorpius looked down at the back of a photograph. A note was written on the back.

After hearing about you, I figure you are just the kind of friend she needs. I heard about the little joke Dad played on Lily. Nice playing along. Thought you might like to see the photo that goes with the story. Just don't let Lily know I sent this to you. James

Scorpius flipped it over to see a small naked Lily knee deep in mud. She was laughing, and holding up her chubby little arms wanting to be lifted out of the mud. She had beautiful red curls, and rosy cheeks. Scorpius laughed, looking at the figures in the background laughing. She really had been a cute kid.

He didn't get a chance to check for more photos because just then a head appeared in the fire. It was Harry. "Is it OK to come through?" Scorpius nodded, and tucked the photo away.

Harry came through the fire, followed by Lily. Scorpius rushed to hug her tightly. As they dusted themselves off, Scorpius went to let his dad know they had arrived. By the time he made it back, they had sent on his bag. Draco came in the room and nodded at Harry.

"Thank you for letting us take Scorpius for a few days. Lily is very excited to get to spend some time with him. We will bring him back the day after the party if that is alright."

"That should be fine." Draco looked at Scorpius. "Behave yourself. Your mother and I will see you in a few days." He put a hand on his sons shoulder and gave him a customary squeeze.

"Of course sir." Scorpius followed the Potters to the fire. Lily was the first to step into the fire. She threw in some floo powder and shouted "Rose Haven" and she was gone.

When Scorpius stepped out of the fire, he was met with quite a sight. He was in a warm, bright kitchen. A large table sat with a white table cloth. There were fresh flowers in a vase. The kitchen just seemed warm and inviting and huge, though from the looks of all the people, it had to be otherwise no one would fit.

In the kitchen stood Ginny Potter, James, Albus, Rose, Hugo, Blain, Harry, Lily, Ron, and another woman he assumed was Rose and Hugo's mum, Hermione. They were all talking. Lily ran to his side and pulled him towards everyone.

Introductions were made and Lily added, "Not everyone is here of course. They won't show up until tomorrow, but I think Teddy will be here tonight and maybe Lor and Ly."

Scorpius looked up at Lily, "How may people will be here tomorrow?"

Lily began to list names, "Let's see, everyone already mentioned, Teddy's grandma, Andromeda, Uncle George, Aunt Angelina, Fred, Roxy, Uncle Bill, Aunt Fluer, Victorie, Dominique, Louis, Uncle Percy, Aunt Audrey,Molly, Lucy, Uncle Charlie…"

Scorpius' eyes began to widen. He hadn't expected so many people, and Lily was still going strong. "… Aunt Luna and Uncle Rufus, Aunt Hermione's parents, Grandma and Grandpa Weasley, Professor Longbottom and his wife, Hannah, Hagrid…"

Scorpius held up his hands in surrender, "OK, I give up. There is no way I will remember all those people."

Lily laughed, "Most of the people are family, so I wouldn't sweat it. I mean you already go to school with most of them, you just don't know the adults. We don't usually have everyone together, but Teddy proposed to Victorie a few months ago, so this is a way to get together to congratulate them. Most of the attention will be on them and the upcoming wedding."

"When is the wedding?"

"Not for awhile. They want a long engagement. I think they are going to wait a few summers but Teddy told her that he wanted other guys to know she was taken in the meantime." Lily was laughing.

Albus and Rose came over. Albus looked at Scor, "You'll be staying in my room. Come on." They headed upstairs. Albus' room was warm and inviting. The walls were covered by quidditch posters. The room looked out over a huge field and garden. The sun was out, making the snow glisten. Just past the garden, Scorpius could see the edge of a deep blue lake.

"Wow, this is great."

"Check out the ceiling if you want amazing."

Scorpius looked up to see sky. Someone had painted the sky as if you were looking up at the quidditch pitch. As he watched, Scorpius saw a team take flight. They were the school teams. One was Gryfindor and the other was Slytherin. They started playing.

"That is amazing."

"Yeah, the teams change regularly, so I never get bored with it." Albus looked up at the ceiling along with Scorpius. "Dad and Mum did this after I was born."

"Hey, you guys, lets go play quidditch!" James came running in. It took no time at all before all the kids were out playing. Lily and Scorpius were playing seeker. James and Hugo were on one team and Albus and Rose were on the other.

It was wonderful. Being an only child, Scorpius never really had pick up games of quidditch. It was usually planned to have a game with his friends over the summer. He and Lily were pretty evenly matched. "Consider it practice, Scor. You're going to need it."

Lily had flown up next to him and whispered in his ear. Scorpius took her up on her challenge. It soon became war between the two seekers. They were diving, rolling, and shooting straight into the air. They seemed to spot the snitch at the same time. Both shot for the ground. Scorpius reached his hand out, he could feel the tiny wings hit his fingertips. Just a little more, but then Lily's small hand closed around the tiny golden ball. The two pulled up, Lily with her arm up triumphantly.

Albus and Rose began to cheer. The teams had been close, so the snitch had won them the round. The teams flew to the ground for a quick celebration and a short break. Scorpius slung an arm around Lily.

"Next time, Potter." Lily smiled at him.

"You're good Scor. I think you may give me a run for my money."

Amazingly, he didn't feel disappointed at not catching the snitch. He had been really evenly matched with Lily, and he felt really challenged for the first time in a long time. He was grinning like an idiot.

Lily looked at his smile. "I know what you mean. That was some amazing flying. Wanna try again?"

"You bet!" Scorpius and Lily shot into the air. The teams continued to play on below them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They played game after game. For every game that Lily won, Scorpius matched her. Finally both teams were worn out. They all headed into the house tired, but happy. When Scorpius heard about the number of people to expect, he had been overwhelmed, but now he saw a room full of people, and yet he was having the time of his life.

The kids now all sat on the rug in the living room. They sat around with the adults. There were small conversations going on around them. Ron and Harry were playing a game of wizards chess. Ron was winning.

Albus and James were playing a game of exploding snap. Hugo was watching the two. Rose was reading a book by the fire. Ginny and Hermione were sitting on the couch, talking quietly. Every once in awhile, they would look up at the chess game and smile.

Lily had her sketch book out and she was lost in thought. Scorpius sat taking it all in. There was a knock on the door. Harry stood as a young man came into the room. He walked right up to Harry and gave him a hug. "Teddy, I was wondering when we would see you."

The young man smiled, "Hi Uncle Harry. Sorry, Grandma was baking and she wanted to talk while she was doing it. I think the house is getting a little quiet now that I've moved out."

"Teddy!" Lily came out of her little world and realized that someone else had joined the room. She ran to the tall youth and was swept into a hug. "Lily Bean! How's the first year going?"

By now, everyone was up waiting for their hug from the newcomer. He was hugging Ginny and spotted Scorpius. "Well well well, I know that look. You must be a Malfoy. I heard Lily was making friends, but I didn't expect you."

Scorpius stood up. "I'm not sure if I should be insulted or not."

Teddy laughed, "Relax. I'm from the same family, so I hope it wasn't a complete insult. How are you cuz?"

Scorpius gave Teddy a confused look. Harry stepped in. "I think you're second cousins. Your grandmother and Teddy's grandmother are sisters. His mom and your dad are cousins." It clicked with Scorpius.

"Sorry. Dad doesn't talk about you much." As soon as it left his mouth, he realized how snotty that sounded. "umm, sorry, I didn't mean it to come out like that." Lily giggled, and put an arm around his waist.

"Don't worry about it. Grandma doesn't talk about your side much either, so we are even. Nice to meet you."

Teddy was tall with a definite sense of style. He was cool. He had a pierced ear and the latest style in clothes. His hair was pitch black with shots of turquoise running through it. James was now standing next to Teddy.

With a spot open for exploding snap, Hugo sat down to play with Albus and the room settled back down. Teddy and Harry talked a bit as James took on his uncle playing chess. Teddy had just finished auror training and was now working for Harry at the ministry.

That was how the evening went on. People got up and changed who they were sitting and talking to, and people changed what they were doing, but the family stayed in the living room. It was so comfy here, sitting with the Potters. Was this what it would be like to have a large family? What it would be like to have siblings?

As he lay down on the extra bed placed in Albus' room, Scorpius thought about the differences between the two families. He watched the quidditch game going on above his head. It looked like the Chuddley Cannons this time. They were practicing rather than playing a full game. Scorpius fell asleep with a smile on his face.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The next day was full of activity. The group yesterday had been large for Scorpius, but nothing compared to the group that descended upon them the next day. The entire Weasley clan was there. Lily whispered to Scor, "This is why we have such a large kitchen. It seems like everyone congregates here when we get together."

People seemed to be everywhere. It was loud and boisterous. Teddy and Victoire were always surrounded. Grandma Weasley had spotted Scorpius and immediately hugged him hard. He had thanked her for the sweater with big eyes. He was starting to feel crushed with all the people.

They all seemed intrigued at the thought of a Malfoy at the Potter/Weasley Christmas party. He and Lily were bombarded with questions. He received so many warnings that he could not quote them back to the group. He was hugged, slapped on the back, and pulled in every direction.

At least Lily stayed with him the whole time. She smiled at him, "Just wait till the friends start showing up."

Scorpius looked at her with fearful eyes, "There are more!" She laughed.

"Of course. This is a small gathering so far." At his look, she seemed to take pity. "Want to go outside? I could use some space."

He followed her out. They spent an hour or so in the peace by the lake. He was feeling calmer about the crowd. He could handle it. He was a Malfoy after all. With this mantra running though his mind, they plunged back into the crowd.

By now he had lost track of names and relations. He was floating in a sea of people. He thought his head was going to explode. Lily stayed by his side, sensing his unease, but that just meant more people. Her friends Lor and Ly, the twins were with them for awhile. They were a quiet set of twins, so that helped him. Before long, they wandered off to go see Hugo. The house began to smell of delicious food and stomachs started to rumble. Soon the crowd was moved outside.

Warm tents were set up outside with tables of food. They took their seats and soon the talking ceased. Everyone's mouth was full. Lily leaned over, "How are you doing?"

"Better, now that they stopped asking me what my intentions are."

"Just be grateful Teddy and Victoire are here. That was their main focus. You would have been given the third degree if they hadn't been here."

Teddy looked up at the couple, they were surrounded even at the table. He shuddered at the thought of having the full Weasley clan descend upon him at one time.

"Lily, you have a very intimidating family."

She just smiled and the two went back to enjoying the food.

With full stomachs, the activity settled down. Scorpius found he was growing used to the crowd. They were calm now, sharing stories and talking. Some were even starting their goodbyes. Scorpius realized that he had not seen any of Lily's siblings for some time. He asked Lily about it.

"Oh, well we all have friends here. I am sure they have run off with them." Just then, Scorpius saw Rose. She was laughing at someone in the crowd. He couldn't see who it was. He went back to talking with Lily.

Every once in awhile, he would glance up, and as he did, the sea parted for an instant. His heart stopped. There was Rose, laughing with a girl in the crowd. The girl was beautiful. She was tall with olive skin and long, long, hair. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her.

"Lily, who is that?"

"Who?"

He pointed to the girl talking with Rose.

"Oh, that's Melinda. She's a 3rd year Ravenclaw Rose knows. Her dad works with my mum at the paper."

All of a sudden, the party didn't seem so intimidating.