The next few weeks reminded him a bit of last year. He went to the tree every morning, but Lily was never there. H tried to write to her in class, he tried to use the two way mirror, but she never answered. He tried to explain, but it was so hard when you couldn't find the girl.
Lily, I know you are reading this….come on Lily, you need to let me explain….Please?
Lily, if you don't answer I am going to hold my breath until I pass out. You don't want that on your conscience do you?
Please, Lily. Don't make me explain this way. I need to talk to you in person. I am so sorry, but they didn't need to find out like that.
He tried for days. He was getting no where. Albus and James didn't know what was going on, because they weren't hunting him down, but they knew something was up. Lily refused to look at him or talk to him, so Scorpius was getting curious looks from the two Potters he didn't want to talk to.
Halloween came and went. She had even sent back the birthday card. He was going mad. She wasn't talking to him, his Slytherin friends knew something was up and they were asking questions, and now he was drowning in school work.
He even went far enough to go to Blain. "Is she OK?"
They were in the library. "Honestly? I don't know. She isn't talking to any of us. She disappears in the morning and we see her later that day. We know she doesn't want to talk about it though. What happened?"
Scorpius put his head down, "I really screwed up this time. Merlin, how do I fix this?"
"Well, it would help if I knew what you did."
"I blew her off when Grayson and the others came around the corner. She had just fallen down the stairs, she was OK, and they came round the corner. I left her to stand with them."
"Oh, you did mess up big time."
"Thanks Blain, I already knew that, now how do I fix it?"
Blain and Scorpius lapsed into silence. Neither could come up with a solution. How did one apologize when you couldn't get the other person to listen to you? It was made worse by Melinda. She seemed to realize that they were no longer talking, and so she was clingier than ever. When they were out, Scor wanted to ask her about how to fix his problem, but she was jealous of Lily and he didn't need two girls pissed off at him.
At least, Mel was going back to being the carefree girl he had started to date last year. He actually wanted to spend the time with her again. He hadn't realized how much he had come to dread the time they spent together. Now, they were back to joking, laughing, and enjoying the time, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he was always thinking of Lily. That must have showed to Mel.
"Scor, what's wrong?"
"Hmm, what do you mean?"
"I mean, your mind is wandering again. We were having such a good time, and now it is like you are gone."
He smiled at her, "Nothing you need to worry about, I was just an idiot."
"Oh, what else is new?"
"Hey!" Scorpius gave her a playful push. She laughed.
"OK, really…what's wrong?"
Scorpius sighed. He thought about what Lily had said. Mel had been jealous of a female friend. What would she think if his thoughts seemed to be centered around that friend?
"Well, it's about Lily."
"Oh." Mel went a little cold. He could see her draw back from him. This was just so frustrating. He needed help with this.
"Look, I know you don't like her. I don't know why, but she is very important to me. She has been like that sibling I never had growing up. Do you have siblings?"
"Well, I have a little sister and an older brother."
"OK, now imagine one is mad at you. She is like that for me, Mel. I never had the sibling to play with or talk to. That is what I do in the mornings. You asked me once, and I didn't want to tell you. It wasn't that I was being sneaky, but it is new for me and I wasn't ready to bring anyone else into that. I would just sit and talk to Lily after practice. That's all, and now I have screwed up royally and she won't even talk to me to let me apologize."
Melinda was quiet. He could see her thinking about what he had said. "Mel, I need your help."
She looked up. "OK. I'll help you get your sister back, on one condition."
"What?"
"Tell me the story behind the nickname." Scorpius leaned his head back and laughed.
XXXXXXXX
It was time for the years first quidditch match. It had also been a month or more since Lily had talked to him. He was desperate. He would have loved to be out there watching her, but he knew he had to catch her here. That was why he was sitting on the floor in the hall next to the pitch. She had to come by this way and he was going to catch her.
He leaned his head back and listened to the crowd. They were playing Ravenclaw. From the sounds of it, one team was walloping the other. Considering who was on the team, he was pretty sure the Gryfindor team was winning.
Soon he was no longer listening to the game. He was running through what he was going to say to her. He had to make this better. He was lost in thought and he was surprised when he heard cheering and running feet.
The Gryfindor team was coming down the hallway, celebrating. Well, it looks like they won. He could hear James. "That was an amazing catch, Lily!"
"Thanks. You had some nice moves yourself."
They came around the corner, and all conversation stopped. He looked at Lily. She looked at him and didn't say anything. The team all looked at Scorpius. Fred, Albus, and James took their positions next to her, blocking her from Scorpius. He reached out for her hand, but stopped at the look the boys gave her.
"Please, Lily. We need to talk. Please."
James stepped forward, "I don't know what you did Malfoy, but if you think…." Lily put a hand on James' shoulder.
"It's OK, James. I'll catch you in a few minutes."
"Lily…."
"I said, I'd catch up." She gave a stern look to her brothers. The team slowly began to head down the hall. James stopped and growled at Scorpius.
"You make her cry again, I make you cry. Got it?"
Scorpius just nodded, but his eyes were on Lily. She was holding her broom. He reached for her hands, but she backed up.
"What do you want Scor?"
He looked at her. "I miss you Lily. What I did was stupid. I am so sorry."
Lily looked at him "You really hurt me Scor."
"I know that. I should have stuck by you when they came around. I shouldn't have left. I mean you were hurt and I just pushed you away."
"Yeah you did. I don't understand Scorpius. We have been friends for a year. I know you haven't really told your friends about us, but I never thought you would do that to me."
Scorpius walked up and hugged her. He took it as a good sign that she was allowing him to hug her. "I am so sorry. I should have told them about the fall, and I should have taken you to the hospital wing."
He felt her stiffen. "Scor, do you think that is why I am upset? That you didn't take me to the hospital wing?"
He leaned back, but kept his hands on her shoulders. "Well, that made you mad didn't it? You were hurt and I didn't help you out."
She pushed hard on his chest, trying to twist away. "You stupid git! That is not why I am angry." He kept holding her, trying to figure out what he had said wrong. "You are so daft. Merlin you boys are so bloody stupid!"
She managed to break away. Scorpius looked at her confused. "If that's not why you are mad then what did I do?"
"You truly don't know?"
Scorpius was miserable and it must have showed on his face. Lily lowered her voice and her face softened. "Scor, you told your friends I don't matter. You basically let them know we are not friends."
"Lily, you know what they would do if they found out."
"No, I don't. What would they do, tease you? After a few weeks, they wouldn't care."
"You don't know them, Lily. They would make life miserable."
She was getting angry again. He could see it in her eyes. "For a while maybe, but they would get over it. If not, they aren't your friends and you ignore them."
"You don't get it do you? I live with them Lily. I am not like you, I can't just ignore them. I have to live with them for a few years. I don't have your support group. My friends don't just forgive and forget."
"You would have me though and Blain and my family. We would be your support group. Don't you see? It hurt me that you walked away from me. That means you are ashamed of me, of our friendship."
"Lily, I miss you. Doesn't that count for something? I want what we had back. Please."
"If you're ashamed of me, I just can't do that. I can't go back to what it was, not knowing that you are ashamed. Please don't ask me."
With that Lily ran off. Scorpius stood in shock. Damn, what do I do now?
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
A few hours later, he had butterflies in his stomach. He had been thinking about what Lily had said. He was miserable without her. His friends had eventually accepted him dating a Ravenclaw hadn't they? They would accept this….eventually. And if they didn't, well he would rather be miserable with Lily than without her.
So he had come up with a new plan. He obviously needed to prove to her that he was not ashamed to be her friend and it needed to be done where others could see it. He sighed to himself, and this was the best thing he could think of. Merlin this better work, because otherwise…so help me, I will drag her out of the hall and make her believe me!
He entered the Great Hall. There was Lily, surrounded by friends at the table. He took a deep breath and headed over to the Gryfindor table. People stopped talking and stared. The room started to go quiet. Lily was talking to Albus, so she didn't see him coming. He put a hand on her shoulder. Lily looked up, startled. He looked at the place next to her at the table.
"Is this seat taken?"
Without waiting for an answer, he sat down and began to dish up a plate of food. Her mouth was hanging open. He reached over and popped it closed. "Can you pass me the peas my friend?" He slung an arm around her shoulder.
There was no way anyone could mistake the friendship now. He looked up at his friends at the Slytherin table and he waved at the stunned looks. He called to them, "I'm going to sit with my friend Lily today. I'll see you at the common room after dinner."
Lily was looking at him in awe. Before he knew what hit him, she had launched sideways and hugged him hard. He could feel tears on his neck. She whispered, "Thank you."
The two friends sat and enjoyed dinner. He knew it would be a long hard time in the common room later, but the smile on her face meant it didn't matter. He had Lily back. They laughed and joked as if the last few weeks had never happened. She leaned her head on her shoulder and he put an arm around her waist.
It was perfect. He didn't see the two sets of eyes watching him and Lily. Melinda was watching them, realization dawning in her eyes. The other eyes were dark, and burning with an intense hatred. "Just wait Potter, you will be mine one day."