The summer had flown by. Scorpius couldn't believe that he was back on the train to Hogwarts. Over the summer, he had talked to Lily constantly, thanks to the little mirror and the parchment. His dad had even allowed him a two week trip to see the Potters. Scorpius had not dared to invite Lily over to his house though. Draco may be allowing the visits, but he was hardly going to allow a Potter into his house, at least for the time being.
It had been a wonderful two weeks. They had played quidditch almost every day. They had run down to the lake to have lunch or to go boating. The Potters had small row boats and there was a tiny island in the middle of the lake. The island even had a small copse of trees. A bit like their own tiny forest. It had been a place to get away from the chaos.
The two had spent every waking moment together. Scorpius had even joined in the festivities for Lily's thirteenth birthday. It had made him laugh. Her birthday was on Halloween.
"Why are we having your party so early?" Scorpius asked as they set the table at the Burrow.
"Because I am off to school, so my parents won't get a chance to help celebrate with me. Albus and James have birthdays closer to Christmas and summer, so we celebrate those birthdays when everyone can be home for holidays."
It had been almost perfect. He and Lily were inseparable, well until a certain friend of Rosie's showed up. Melinda had been thrilled when she saw Scorpius. It had been weeks since they last saw each other. She threw herself at him, and he blushed a deep crimson. He didn't know why, but it was really awkward to be hugged like this in front of Lily's family. He had to remind himself that Lily herself had hugged him like this when he had shown up for the summer holiday, and he had not felt embarrassed.
That entire day, Melinda had clung to him. He had no chance to pull Lily to the side to give her his gift. It was not a gift he wanted to give in front of everybody, but Melinda was not letting him go anywhere without her. What had happened to the carefree girl he had dated last year? This one was clingy and talked to him like he was three!
Lily had been laughing the entire day about it too. She whispered in his ear, "I like the new arm extension."
He had glared at her smiling eyes and growled, "Âne Nu, I would watch it if I were you."
But he had spoken too loudly. Mel turned from her talk with Rose, her arms still possessively wrapped around one of Scorpius'. "What did you call her? Anne? Her name is Lily."
Lily started to laugh and Scorpius turned to Mel, "It's just a nickname I gave last year."
Rose smiled, "Yeah, one only you are allowed to use. I don't think anyone else would dare."
Mel gave a stiff smile to Lily. "Oh? And why is that?"
Lily glared at her cousin and gave Scorpius a warning, "If you tell, I swear to you, I will not be responsible for my actions."
Rose was laughing, "That's why. I can't believe that she allows Scor to use it. Of course they are really close."
Mel was looking confused. "That's nice. I guess most guys don't get really close to their friends' little sisters."
Scorpius looked at her, "Huh?"
Mel smiled, "Well Albus must really like that you take so much time to make his little sister feel included. I noticed that you really spent a lot of time doing that last year."
If looks could kill, Mel would be dead. Lily looked at her with blazing eyes. "That 'little sister' is standing right here. And why would you assume that Scor is here to see Al? Have you seen them spending any time together today?"
"Well, no. But who else would he be here to see?" Mel was generally confused.
"Me. Remember, the one that introduced you two. I am the friend Scorpius came to visit."
"But, no offense, you are two years younger." Her words stopped, and she looked from Scorpius to Lily. Realization dawned, "Oh. I see. So Lily is the amazing friend you have." Scorpius watched a slight change come over Mel. She gripped his arm a little tighter and gave a cold smile to Lily. She turned away and began to talk to Rose again. Rose, meanwhile, was giving Lily a pointed look, and Lily in turn was fuming. Why do I feel like I missed something really important?
The mood between Lily and Melinda had been tense ever since that. Oh well, guess things can't be perfect. He was sitting on the train with his Slytherin friends. It had taken him a half hour to shake Mel off his arm. She had followed him until he had slipped into the Slytherin compartment with a promise to come find her later.
Leaning back against the door, he heaved a sigh of relief. Freedom at last. He opened his eyes to see Persephone and Oz staring back at him. Persephone was laughing, "Still dating the little Ravenclaw are you?"
Scorpius threw himself to the bench and crossed his arms, "Why are girls so bloody difficult? She was funny, and sweet, and a great kisser. Now, I can't get her to leave me alone. What the hell happened over the holiday to make her change?"
Persephone was laughing. "That's what you get for dating a Ravenclaw."
"Not helping." He noticed that Oswald was quiet. "What's wrong with you?"
Oz finally looked at him. "So, your girlfriend is the reason it took you so long to get here?"
"Yeah, what else would it be?" Scorpius looked at Oz, who seemed to be debating the answer. What was this? Oz was quiet, and then he looked up and smiled.
"Good, then you were just going through a phase." It was said so quietly, that Scor wasn't sure if it was said at all. "What?"
Oz looked up, "Nothing. So other than your wacky girlfriend, how was your summer?"
The friends sat in their compartment, talking about summer and school and quidditch. At least this was normal. Scorpius sat back and enjoyed the ride.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A few weeks later, it seemed that the train ride was the only thing that had been enjoyable. Even his mornings with Lily had been ruined. Melinda had noticed that he was never at breakfast. He had told her about taking the morning for himself after practice. Unfortunately, she had also noticed Lily's absence.
"So, when you take your morning, are you all by yourself."
Something about her question irritated him. It was his time with Lily. It was still his favorite time of year, and if she knew about it, it would no longer be sacred. Well, it was time to bring out the clever Slytherin. "Look, Mel, I really enjoy our time together, but I have a routine after practice as a way to unwind. It isn't that I don't want you there"
She looked put out, "but you don't want me there. Just tell me, are you there with Lily?"
"What does that matter?"
"So you are!" Now she was angry. Again he asked himself what had happened to the sweet, laughing girl he had known last year.
"Merlin, Mel. Lily is my friend. She and I have sat together every morning for over a year now. We just sit and talk and relax. I don't see the problem."
"If you don't see the problem then we have nothing to talk about." Mel turned with angry tears and stormed off. Merlin, he couldn't take much more of this.
The next day, he sat talking to Lily.
"I swear, Âne Nu, I don't know where it went wrong. I am ready to pull my hair out. Lord, what is wrong with sitting here with you in the morning?"
Lily smiled as she glanced at him, "You are so clueless aren't you?"
"Yes! The other day, she asked me what my nickname was for her. When I told her I didn't have one for her, she got pissed."
Lily shook her head sympathetically. "Oh, Dumas, it's a girl thing. Do you have a nickname for anyone but me?"
He shook his head, smiling a little at the new name Lily had found for him. If I have to put up with that stupid nickname, then you have to too, Dumbass. Soon it had been shortened to Dumas and it had stuck.
"That's the problem. Last year, I was just a little girl that you saw occasionally. Now I am competition."
"Competition? Competition for what?"
"Dear Lord, Scor, look at me! Am I a boy or a girl?"
"Well a girl, but what has that to do with anything?"
"Oh you poor pathetic thing. How did you manage to land a Ravenclaw when you are this dense? I am a girl. Mel just realized that I am the close friend you are always talking about. That means that we have a relationship and as far as a girl is concerned, that makes me competition."
Scorpius jumped up, "But we are just friends! It's not like we are sitting here snogging!"
Lily sighed, "I know Scor, But Mel thinks we are. That is why she is clingy, and demanding more attention and wanting to know if you are out with me. That is why she is upset over the nickname."
"How did we get back to the nickname?"
Lily shook her head. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she tried again. "OK, one more time. I am a girl. You and I have a relationship, and before you start interrupting, a friendship is a relationship. That means you and I share certain things that you do not share with her. You gave me a nickname, but you didn't give her one. She sees that as something making me more important in your life and that makes her angry, jealous, and insecure. I am also very close to your age, and I like to think I am reasonably attractive. That means that she sees the time we spend together as a chance for me to take you away. That means she doesn't like you to have a friend that is a girl."
Scorpius was staring at her. "That's it, she's jealous? That's what this is about? There is absolutely nothing to be jealous about!"
Lily looked up and laughed, "Yes, it is about her being jealous. You could always give her a nickname and spend less time with me. That might help."
Scorpius sat back down and leaned back. "Right now, I'm too exhausted to think straight. Who would have thought having a girlfriend was this much trouble."
XXXXXXXX
Scorpius went for another week, trying to figure out a nickname for Mel. He always seemed to be lost in thought, and he was very distracted. He and Lily were walking back from the library. It was fairly deserted in the hallway, so he wasn't worried about his friends seeing him with Lily. At least he could always count on her. Nothing seemed to upset her. Not stupid comments he let slip out, or his irritation about his girlfriend. She was keeping him grounded and sane.
What would he do without her? They were passing the staircase, when a wand pointed from behind a tapestry. Before he could blink, Lily had slipped and began to tumble, head first, down the stairs.
Shit, Lily! Scorpius didn't know what to do. Without thinking, he drew his wand and shouted a cushioning charm, hoping it would help. Her body tumbled down the flight of stairs and she hit the landing. He was by her side in seconds.
"Lily? Lily, are you OK?"
She sat up, a bit disoriented. She finally spoke, "Ow. What the hell?" After a quick look, to make sure she was OK, Scorpius began to breathe again.
Scorpius tried to help her up, "I don't know. We were walking and all of a sudden you were falling."
He got her righted and when she tried to walk, she slipped again. She landed hard on her butt. "Ow!" Scorpius made her sit down.
This time, he began to check her over more thoroughly. He checked arms, and legs, and her head. He ran his hands over the limbs to check for breaks. He checked for cuts and bruises. Finally he looked at her, "I think you may be OK. But why can't you stand up?"
They tried to get her to stand, but the minute she tried to move, she almost fell again. The only thing that saved her was Scorpius' arm around waist, keeping her upright. Her legs were shaking, and finally it dawned on them both. They looked at each other and said, "Jelly-Leg Jinx!"
After a quick counter jinx, the two ran up the stairs, looking for the culprit that had hexed Lily. No one was up there, but around the corner came a small group of Slytherins. Shit! It was his group of friends! And he was standing with Lily. Shit shit shit!
Grayson was the first to spot him. "Oy, Scor, what are you doing here?" Then his eyes fell on Lily. "And what the hell are you doing with little Potter?"
Scorpius panicked, his friends didn't know about Lily. He dropped his arm quickly and he put a mask in place. "Nothing. She just had a little tumble down the stairs. I was helping her out. Nothing of great importance."
He glanced at Lily, hoping she would understand why he was doing this. One look at her face and he knew that was wishful thinking. Grayson looked at the two and shrugged, "Well then, leave the little one and let's go. Dinner time!"
Scorpius walked over to his friends and they turned to leave. He glanced back at Lily, but she refused to look at him. He could see her arms shaking in anger. He went to put a hand on her shoulder. He whispered, "Are you OK?"
She looked up, without looking him in the eye. "Lily, you know they won't understand, please Lils, tell me you understand."
She just shook his arm off. "Go catch up to your friends. I am of no importance." Lily pushed past him. He felt a heaviness in his chest. He wanted to run after her, to explain, but the Slytherins were waiting for him. He followed his friends. When he looked back at Lily, he found that she was limping slightly. He almost ran to her, damn his friends, but then she looked up fully and he saw the tears. It was the only thing that stopped him. He was in shock. He had made Lily cry, and now he didn't know how to make it better.