Another chapter! They always make my days so much better! Lol this week has been extremely chaotic at school, but I love writing this and always make room for it. Thanks for everyone who reviewed because I've gotten ten from like the last three chapters! So, I've looked back at my first few chapters and such and I kinda realized how not-so-great they were, plus, I had like three tons of mistakes that I made without realizing it, but I guess that's only to be expected a bit, so sorry if I ever confused anyone! So I think I've jabbered enough, without further ado, I present to you chapter 12 (!).

Chapter 12: Exploration Day!

Lily grew quite happy once she had realized what it was that made her so weird. She couldn't be more relieved that she wasn't crazy, she was just seeing things. Duh. Of course, Wilkinson didn't like that expression (apparently some crazy people do see thing.) and Professor Trelawney came to the Headmistress's office herself just to explain it to her.

While her parents and teachers were occupied in talking, Lily found herself loitering around the two paintings of Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape. Both of them were smirking, which was very unlike Professor Snape, and she found herself quickly irritated. "Why are you giving me that look?" she snapped, unable to keep her cool anymore.

"I'd never thought I'd live to find a Seer that wasn't absolutely crazy," Snape chuckled, poking lightly at her for fun. Dumbledore chuckled with him as well.

"Well, you didn't," she snapped rudely… can you really be rude to paintings? "You're dead, remember? You're only a painting." If it was possible, she must have gone to the limit of offensive things to say.

They both only chuckled more, as though sharing some secret. Secret. Like the Secret Good Luck Charm of Scorpius. Merlin, she simply had to know who it was. She looked around her, like she had when she was about to steal the cookie jar as a child. She faced the wall, and her eyes went blank. She blinked, and the distance had disappeared.

"You shouldn't do that," Dumbledore advised her. "Sometimes, you may not want to know the future."

She glared at him angrily, being unable to see Scorpius introducing his secret girl to her. She knew she wasn't supposed to. Trelawney had warned her about that. She only did it rarely. Excuse her inquisitive nature of having to know as much as she could.

OoOxXxOoO

At dinner that evening, she managed to sit with her Ravenclaw friends, and chatted with them about what had happened to her at the Quidditch Game. For some reason, she was unable to tell them just exactly why she had almost fallen off her broom, or why this was the first time in a month that she'd sat with them.

James and Albus Potter found themselves discussing her condition with a certain Scorpius Malfoy, as Lily seemed perfectly fine. Key word: seemed. If there was one thing that the sons of enemies could agree on was the girl only a table over with her back to them. All three were concerned about her and her safety, watching her like hawks, and the common goal at least made them civil to each other.

"There. You see that?" Scorpius pointed to her discreetly. He was leaning over the table after finishing his meal, talking to them quietly. Lily had gone rigid and still. "She's dipping into her… talent again. She gets all still and her eyes go blank and it's really creepy."

Before he had even finished speaking, she unfroze and her laughter was barely heard over the Gryffindor chatter. Lizzy and Kayla on either side of her laughed, too. Albus gave the Slytherin a skeptical look. "Are you sure? How do you even know?"

"Because I watched her do it twice today during Quidditch practice," he stubbornly explained to Al. "Except she holds it longer there. She knows what she's doing, even though she's not supposed to do that. It's infuriating."

"Well, we can't just let her keep doing it, can we?" James asked, his eyes trying to burn a hole through her back almost. "Besides, everyone says that Trelawney couldn't consciously make a true prediction if it hit her in the face. How is Lily controlling it?"

The younger boys shrugged. "We could always ask her…?" Albus frowned.

Scorpius shook his head and straightened up. "She hates it, but just shake her out of it a little and tell her not to do it again, I guess. That's what I did the second time it happened today and she looked ready to plot my murder. I've got to go; Julian's giving me a funny look."

He walked away, leaving the two boys to watch their sister. "Should we tell Dad?" Albus asked.

James hesitated for a moment. Then he shook his head as she laughed again. "She's just figured out that she's not crazy and that she's not going to be sent to St. Mungo's for mental problems. Lily doesn't need to be chewed out the day right after Mum and Dad left."

XxXoOoXxX

Scorpius knocked Lily off course and sent her and her broom spiraling away before she could regain control and speed right back to where he was, trying to get the snitch before he could. Every day after classes, they would meet up at the Quidditch pitch for a 'rematch'. Scorpius lost to Lily absolutely every game they played, but he insisted that he was going to win one of these days, even if he had to keep practicing until Seventh year. Since it was Sunday, the pitch was free, so they had been playing since early morning. But the sun was already high in the sky and the cool air was rather distracting.

Winter had come and was now rapidly disappearing. Quidditch had been played like normal, and Gryffindor was on their way to winning the Quidditch cup and the House cup. Most of the snow had melted, leaving the grass and the rest of the outdoors dripping wet.

Lily and Scorpius stretched out their hands, his reaching a centimeter further. The gold snitch fluttered around and suddenly changed directions, speeding downwards. They both fell into a dive, spiraling around each other to get a better angle at the snitch. Lily pressed herself as flat against her broom as she could, trying to go just a tad faster at all over him.

Just before they hit the ground, Lily pulled up, with the gold object trying to escape the cage her hands made. "Ha!" she exclaimed. "Why don't you just give up, Scorp? You know you can't beat me!"

` `He glared at her and muttered, "I'm just holding out on you."

She snorted delicately as they landed gracefully on the ground. "Yeah, as if. I must smell something awful. And I'm starving."

The blonde-haired boy looked at his watch and cursed. "Lunch ended an hour ago. Now we don't have anything to eat until dinner! I'm never going to survive that!"

Lily giggled as she pulled some fresh clothes from her bag and started walking towards the girls' showers. "'Course we do! We can just go to the kitchens."

When she returned, her hair now almost a dark brown from how wet it was, Scorpius asked, "What were you talking about?" He ran a hand through his wet blonde hair and straightened his clean shirt.

"I can't believe it!" Lily exclaimed with a laugh. "Where did you think the food from the Great Hall came from?"

He shrugged. "Well, this place is where you learn to do magic, right? Or was I just imagining the Transfiguration classes and the broom-flying?" He smiled at her, his perfect white teeth shining in the sunlight.

She laughed. "Boys," she said to herself, shaking her head. "No, you can't make food with magic. It's some sort of dumb rule that Aunt Hermione told me. It's impossible to remember. No, the house elves make the food. I can't believe you've never been there! I went down there like my first day of school!"

"Well, aren't you quite the explorer?" he asked cheekily, poking her side, making her double over and cross her arms across her stomach. She laughed again, dodging his next attack.

Suddenly, she grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the school looming above them. "Come on. You've got to have been to more places other than just your classes. I mean, do you only go to the rooms you use at your house?"

"Yes," Scorpius answered seriously. "My house is practically the same size as the castle, Flower. I get lost just walking to the dining room every morning."

Lily actually blushed, turning slightly pink. "I forgot about that. But seriously, where have you been besides your classes?"

"Ummm," his face twisted in concentration. "I've been to the Slytherin common room, my dormitory, the library, and the Great Hall."

She laughed again as he seemed to think it was some accomplishment. At least he could get an award for going to the most visited places at Hogwarts. "Well, there are the kitchens, the prefects' bathroom, the Room of Requirement, someone else's common room, and—oh!" she exclaimed suddenly, stopping and turning on him with excitement. "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade? I haven't been in like a week!"

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her. "How are we supposed to get to Hogsmeade? The next trip isn't until two weeks from now, and how did you go there last week? And I don't break the rules by going somewhere I shouldn't." He smirked, "It almost sounds like you should follow my advice, Flower."

She rolled her eyes and began pulling him towards the castle again. "You're more like a newbie than a proud fourth year. Today, you shall become an honorary member of the Marauders!"

"The what?"

"Well, it's like a group of the Weasley/Potter kids that like to do stupid things. Technically you can't be a real marauder because it can only be Weasleys or Potters, with the exception of Teddy, but he's my go-brother, so he sort of counts. And you have to be a Gryffindor, which you aren't, and I'm pretty sure that if I asked if you could be one, they'd laugh in my face and shun me as a marauderette."

"Chatty today, are we?" Scorpius noted with another smirk and a chuckle. "But where did you come up with the marauders as your name?"

Lily laughed and after they entered the castle, she pulled him towards the dungeons. "It's what my grandfather and my god-grandfather and Teddy's dad used to call themselves. They were the most infamous students at Hogwarts for their rule-breaking, and if it wasn't for them, I doubt we'd know where half of this stuff was. They were so amazing. And smart, too, very smart. They're notorious for having the most detentions ever. Even Uncles Fred and George couldn't compete with them."

Scorpius laughed to himself, maybe it was the promise of warmer weather in the area, but she usually didn't talk this much. "Well, then they must have been something if your uncles weren't even as good as them." But he thought he knew why she was so much happier. "So, what did you see?" he asked casually.

Her bright pink blush gave her away as she mumbled, "Wh-what are you talking about?"

He snickered and she sighed, knowing she was caught sneaking looks into the future. Her brothers hated it when she did that, and on the occasions that her parents caught wind of it, the only thing that kept her dad from sending her a boatload of Howlers was that no one could know of her talent except for those that had to. Scorpius was excellent at deciphering when she slipped into the misty world of the future by what he called the vacancy in her eyes.

"I just wanted to check that Jordan wasn't planning a practice for us tonight." She grimaced, waiting for the berating she would get. They just didn't understand that the murky part of her brain was always working overtime and she felt like she had to stretch the muscles sometimes to keep them from cramping up.

His face wrinkled in disgust. They were standing in front of a painting of a bowl of fruit, but he didn't seem to notice as he faced her. "That McLaggen, the captain? He's a prat. I don't like him."

Lily glowered. "Merlin, Scorp, he's a really awesome guy. You would understand that if you weren't always cursing the Gryffindor team and its captain as loudly as you can. He's really cool."

Scorpius made a noise similar to a snort. "Oh, yeah, he's so awesome because he hits on girls that are four years younger than him. That is so gross, Flower. I hate it when he hits on you and your brothers don't do anything about it. I swear the next time he tries to do that again I'm going to punch him into next year."

Lily shifted uncomfortably but met his grey eyes without hesitation. "Muggles do that kind of stuff all the time. Most of those celebrities marry with ten year differences. Four years is not that big of a deal, Scorp."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, the guys marry girls ten years younger for better sex and the women marry guys ten years older than them for the money they'll get when the old coot dies of too amazing sex."

Lily smacked his arm with a scowl. "That is so not true, and you know it! A lot of them do it because they really love each other. Merlin, not everything is about sex." She paused before she said with a smirk. "Oh, right, to fourteen year old boys, the world revolves around sex and getting a girl into his bed. So sorry."

"That is so not true!" he said, both vaguely realizing that their voices were beginning to rise with anger. "And I'm fifteen, prat!"

"Really?" she asked with mock-ignorance. "By your maturity level, I would have assumed that you were two. Just because a boy likes me doesn't mean that you have to hate the guy!"

Suddenly, the fight left Scorpius. He sighed. "Fine, I'm sorry, Flower. You're probably right. It's still unsettling thought that he just has to sneak some disgusting insinuation in at every conversation I'm around you. I swear, he sees you like a piece of meat."

She smiled. Once she had won the fight, she tickled the pear on the picture which swung open to reveal a kitchen bustling with house elves carrying gigantic trays, some having to levitate their load. "Well, I'm always right. But let's fight later, I've spent the last of my calories chewing you out and I am ready to starve."

They entered the kitchen, only to be stopped by a tiny house elf with a pink bow tied around one of her massive ears and a little purple sweater that had been clumsily knitted. "Mistress Potter!" the little female house elf squeaked, pausing in her transportation of the large dishes full of éclairs. "You have come again! Winky has missed Mistress Potter!"

Lily smiled and kneeled down until she was eye level with her. "Hello, Winky. I missed you, too. This is my friend, Scorpius Malfoy. We're terribly hungry, and we hoped that you would find us some food."

Winky nodded. "Of course, Winky wants to please Mistress Potter, but Winky does not know the Master Malfoy. Winky knows what Mistress Potter would like, but what does the Master Malfoy want?" Her big inquisitive eyes the size of tennis balls looked to Scorpius for an answer.

He seemed a bit surprised but said, "Uh—umm, do you by any chance have some pudding? And probably a sandwich too, please." He looked to both of them for approval.

Lily hid her smile but nodded. "Thank you very much, Winky."

The house elf bowed deeply, the trays still perfectly balanced. "Of course, Mistress Potter and Master Malfoy. Winky will personally bring the Master's and Mistress's food at once." Then she raced away, navigating smoothly between all of the other house elves.

"You act as though you've never even seen a house elf before," commented Lily as she stood up and brushed off her clothes. "Don't tell me that Malfoy Manor, the grandest mansion in Great Britain, has no House elves."

He chuckled, more at ease once Winky was gone. "We have tons of them. Father only wanted to keep the ones that we needed, but they begged him not to make them leave. He gave them all their freedom, but they refuse to leave. Mother just has them keeping the dust from building up most of the time. With just the three of us, there's not much need for them."

She smiled and sat down at a nearby, vacant table, Scorpius following suit. "Yes, we have one house elf; I love him to pieces. I wanted to play dress up with him when I was six." Lily smiled at the thought of the wrinkled old house elf smothered in the frilly pink scarf and fairy wings. "Technically, since I gave Kreacher clothes, he was allowed to leave, but he didn't want to. He loves my dad to death because my dad gave him a locket from his former master."

Scorpius chuckled. Then Winky materialized out of the chaos of the kitchen and set a huge platter in between the pair. "Winky brought the mistress and master what they asked for! Does Mistress Lily or Master Malfoy need anything else?"

Lily shook her head but suddenly said, "Winky, I think you might be familiar with Scorpius!" He looked at her like she was crazy and Winky turned on the red-head with big, reverent eyes. "See, Winky, Scorpius's father knew Dobby!"

Winky gasped like women who had heard the most astonishing gossip ever. She turned on the extremely confused boy with tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "Oh, Dobby! Dobby was ever so kind to Winky! Dobby always helped Winky, especially when she needed it! Oh, Dobby!" She wailed and then began to cry.

"Oh, there, there," Lily said, rushing to comfort the little elf. "Dobby was one of the best house elves I've even heard of. He was so brave and amazing."

Winky sniffled and nodded. "Winky knows that. Winky must leave Mistress Potter and Master Malfoy and clean herself up, so that Winky looks presentable."

As she made to move away, Lily sternly said, "Winky, please stay away from the butterbeer, and don't hurt yourself. Understand?"

Winky nodded and sniffled again before she left. When Lily returned to her seat and began pulling a sandwich towards her, Scorpius asked her, "Who the hell is Dobby?"

She smiled knowingly. "Dobby used to be the house elf of your family, Mr. Malfoy." She giggled. "My father tricked your grandfather into letting him go when he was twelve. When my father was imprisoned in your home in the war, Dobby came and saved everyone, including my auntie and uncle and the old Mr. Ollivander and a goblin that were captives of Voldemort."

"Ahh, of course," Scorpius nodded, leaning back in his chair, now working on his chocolate pudding after inhaling two sandwiches. "It always has something to do with my family's awful past."

"Oh, Merlin, no, Scorp!" she said blushing a bright red. She was so thick! Couldn't she have been sensitive? "No, your family is full of good, too!"

He snorted. "I bet you can't name a thing good that we've done."

"Your grandmother lied about my father being dead," Lily answered instantly, without the slightest hesitation. "If it wasn't for her, my father would have really died and Voldemort would have enslaved everyone! And your father helped mine find all the Death Eaters and send them to Azkaban. We could still be living in fear of raids if it wasn't for him! And all the charities your family has done over the years! You don't give yourself enough credit, Scorp."

Scorpius tried to hide how amazed he was about her extensive knowledge of his family. He chuckled. "You know more about my family than I do! Perhaps you know more about your dad than he does!"

She blushed a pale pink and lowered her gaze at the compliment. "I just love hearing about it. Sometimes I wish I could be as amazing as my dad, but that's impossible. He defeated the greatest Dark Lord there ever was and ever will be. I can't compare to him…"

Scorpius stiffened, thinking of her black eyes as she had lain in the hospital bed. One darker than He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named comes…. He shook his head, clearing the thoughts away. "Yeah," he mumbled quietly.

"Are you done?" Lily asked obliviously, peering at his empty pudding bowl. "I want to show you some of the other places."

"Yeah," he said, plastering a smile on his face to keep her from worrying. She didn't know about that prophecy and she didn't need to. He stood up, helping her up by offering his hand. "Although, what if we get in trouble?"

Lily laughed right in his face at the worry. "We won't get caught. I don't have the map or the cloak, but we can manage. First we'll see the prefects' bathroom, and then we'll go to my common room and get the stuff to go to Hogsmeade. We'll visit the Room of Requirement and then go get some butterbeer to celebrate your honorary status as a marauder!"

He smiled but said, "How do you know how to get to all of these places?"

She led him out of the kitchens, waving at all the house elves, pulling him by the wrist almost like her was a dog on a leash. "Well, I'm not a Potter for nothing, thank you. Dad told us about these places but he wouldn't tell us how to get to them. Until James stole the map off of his desk."

"What map?"

"As a marauder, anyone is allowed to use the Marauder's Map; it was made by the original marauders themselves. It shows a whole map of the school and where everyone is at every point in time. It's quite helpful when avoiding Filch."

She tugged him along until they got to the Prefects' bathroom. She said the password that James had told her, and they entered. The room was taken mostly by a gigantic bathtub in the middle of the room with various spouts that would give off hot and cold water, pink or yellow bubbles. Above it was a painting of a mermaid, brushing out her long, blonde hair.

Scorpius looked around with wonder, but the mermaid hissed at them to leave, or else she would tell the next prefect or head that walked through her doors. Lily gave her a very rude hand gesture and a few colorful curses, but they were forced to leave.

Next, Lily toted Scorpius all the way up to the painting of the Fat Lady. The painting rolled her eyes. "Seriously, I've told you Potters a thousand times over that this is a place for Gryffindors! Not all their little friends, too!"

"Honeydukes," Lily said, interrupting her with the password. The Fat Lady grumbled but allowed them both in. Ignoring the stares the she and Scorpius were receiving, she raced up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. She flew to the one labeled with a five and opened the door.

Lily staggered backwards into Scorpius with her hand over her mouth and nose. "Oh, Merlin," she moaned. The room was a disaster. Old butterbeer bottles were strewn across the floor along with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans that were collecting at least ten different kinds of mold. Socks, boxers, any clothing article you could imagine covered the floor in massive mountains. The only things that looked relatively clean were the beds and the trunks which were practically empty. "That is so gross on so many levels."

She ventured into the room, using her hand as a feeble gas mask, gagging at the awful smell. Scorpius remained pressed against the wall, his hand over his nose. She went over to the nastiest bed which was James's of course, and knelt down on the ground, looking under the bed. Behind a mouldy pizza box (where would they have even gotten pizza?) was a familiar, small box that still looked fairly neat.

She pulled it out and opened the cardboard box. Inside was a ratty old piece of parchment and a soft, silvery cloak. She pulled them out and shoved the box back under the bed with her foot. She raced out of the room, slamming the door behind her, gasping in the clean air, not tainted with toxic fumes.

The pair erupted into fits of giggles and chuckles. "Merlin, that is so gross," Lily said, still giggling.

"I'm amazed that the nuclear bomb they call a room hasn't blasted away the Gryffindor Tower." Scorpius laughed again. Both of them found themselves clutching their sides and wiping away tears.

"Come on," Lily said, "we still have to see the Room of Requirement." She led him right back out of the common room, seeing as there were too many suspicious faces lingering there for him to get a good look at the place.

She led him through weaving corridors until she randomly stopped in front of a blank wall. "What room would you most like to see right now?" she asked him, a smile at her lips.

He thought for a moment. "My room. Back at the mansion. Why?"

She smiled and stepped to one side of the corridor. "Pace back and forth three times in front of this spot and think about how you require, you need that room."

He nodded, obviously confused, but did as she said, looking at her every time he passed. Lily had to stop him when a large, dark colored door appeared out of nowhere. He looked at it with surprise. She nodded to the doorknob. "Go ahead. Open it."

He looked at her, seeming as though he was checking that she was still there. Scorpius took a deep breath, his hand on the doorknob, before he twisted it and lightly pushed in on the door. They both gasped when they saw what was behind the door. A large king-sized mahogany bed was on one side of the room, and silver and green decorated the walls in swirling patterns. The clothes in the closet were neatly hung and the large window across from the bed looked out onto the Quidditch pitch, far in the distance.

"Wow," Lily managed, trying to keep her mouth from hanging open. "This is your room? Back at your own house?" When he nodded cautiously, she laughed and skipped around the enormous room. She picked up every object she saw and examined it until Scorpius explained to her what they were. She stopped at his dresser, looking at a familiar, wooden box with surprise. "Aww!" she cooed teasingly. "Little Scorpi has his own jewelry box!"

"Ha-ha," he answered humorlessly, walking to her side and gently taking the box off of its perch. "This was some of my grandmother's jewelry. She still has plenty, but she claims that she hasn't worn it since she went to Hogwarts, years and years ago."

"But why is it in here?" she asked with confusion, watching carefully as his fingers ran over the engraved surface of the unopened box. She had one at home that was much less beautiful and it was mostly filled with the plastic beads she wore as a little girl. "This is your room, not hers."

Scorpius shrugged. "She was going to just throw the necklaces and bracelets and earrings away. I remember that I had admired them when I was very little because they were so sparkly." As Lily stifled another giggle, he said, "Go ahead and laugh it up. I just thought that they would be wasted if she did that, so I took them off her hands."

Lily gently took the box from his pale hands and undid the clasp. She gasped. "Scorp, these are so beautiful!" The glittering objects nestled into the velvet lining of the box shimmered up at her, her eyes shimmering back with happiness. Scorpius led her over to the bed and they sat down as she poured over each piece of jewelry.

Lily delicately removed each item and ohhed and ahhhed over each one. Diamonds sparkled on almost every one of them with the exception of rubies and sapphires. Scorpius explained to her that many were goblin-made and unique; it wasn't something you could just walk into JCPenny's and find on the clearance rack.

Scorpius chuckled to himself over her fascination. Girls, he thought to himself, they fall for anything that sparkles and looks pretty. "You can keep one if you want," he told her. "It's not like I'm going to be wearing a matching set to the next Ministry Ball."

Lily didn't laugh but gazed at him with astonishment. "Oh, no, I couldn't take these! Do you realize how precious they are? Give them to your girlfriend or something," she mumbled and began cautiously replacing the jewelry.

Scorpius stiffened at her words. Did she already know? Did she know what he wanted to tell her? Alicia didn't spoil it, did she? Girls would override a promise for what Alicia claimed was the 'Girl Code.' She didn't do it this time, did she? Next time, he decided that he was going to make sure that she was under an Unbreakable Vow. He subtly shook his head.

Lily had replaced all of the items in the box and stood up to replace it on the shelf. She could tell that something had changed when they looked over the jewelry, but she wasn't sure what. She didn't really meet his eye as she said, "Are you ready to go to Hogsmeade?"

He stood up. "Sure, let's get out of here."

Lily pulled out the cloak and her map. She gingerly motioned for him to get under the cloak, and after he had disappeared, she followed after him, both hunched in a slightly uncomfortable stance. With her wand, Lily pointed at the map and whispered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

As the ink spilled across the page, becoming rooms and pacing people, Scorpius watched in amazement. "How could someone have accomplished such a thing?"

She smiled at his surprise. "My grandfather was tied for the top of his class with my grandmother. It isn't surprising, really, considering how talented he and his friends were. Ready to go? You have to stay close to me if you don't want Filch to see a floating pair of feet."

As they left the Room of Requirement and followed the corridors until they would reach the statue that guarded the pathway to Hogsmeade, Scorpius said, "So this is what you used wasn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" she whispered since they were alone in the hall.

"That night, the first night at Hogwarts. I could've sworn I saw a flash of you for a moment and then you disappeared. You were using this weren't you?"

Lily smiled at the thought of their prank and how she had tripped in the corridor right when Scorpius rounded the corner. "Yeah, my brothers weren't happy about that one. They said I could've gotten all of us in trouble and had Dad's cloak confiscated."

"So that's how all of you guys pull off those stunts," he mused, putting various pieces together.

"Yup," she answered, stopping suddenly and causing him to stumble in to her. "We're here."

She muttered the password to the statue which moved to reveal the staircase downwards. They walked in the dimly lit path, using their wands to guide them, having abandoned the cloak, knowing that no one would find them. When they reached the cellar of Honeydukes, they hid under the cloak and snuck up the stairs. Lily made them walk out into the frigid air to remove the cloak where no one was looking and then walk right back in.

The attendant didn't even care that they were obviously students, letting them browse all of the shelves. Not many were there, and they quickly chose Sugar-Quills and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and licorice wands. They easily sauntered around the little village, only cautious of the teachers that might have decided on a break from the whining kids. They went in to the Three Broomsticks and purchased a small case of butterbeer with only six bottles from Madame Rosemerta who laughed and joked with Lily, familiar with children randomly showing up for butterbeer, especially after a Quidditch game win.

All too soon, the pair decided to go back and hang out in the Room of Requirement again, thinking it was too risky to stay, especially as Scorpius saw Professor Slughorn singing about Firewhiskey. They snuck back and this time, the room became the Gryffindor common room. They curled up on the couch before the warm fire and dared each other to eat the Every Flavor Beans. They laughed and made fun of each other whenever one ate something like broccoli, or, as in Scorpius's case, bug-flavored.

Lily sighed when they had run out of the candy and relaxed back into the couch. "I had a lot of fun today, Scorpius." She smiled as she reviewed the events of what they had deemed 'Exploration Day.'

But he sighed, his heart beating rapidly. "Lily, I have to tell you something. I wouldn't let Alicia tell you because you don't deserve the rumors, only the truth."

Lily got a little nervous and felt herself growing much to warm, from the fire probably. "You can tell me anything, Scorp. Just spit it out, I can handle whatever you throw at me."

He took a deep breath. "I'm going out with Sammy Everston."

Except that. Lily shrunk into the couch, letting her mind whirl. Sammy had to be the biggest slut in school. Once Lily had thought that boys rated sluts on a scale of one to Rose, but she was even worse than Rose, making her look like an angel. "O-o-oh," was all she said.

Scorpius looked at her with those melted grey eyes filled with compassion and concern. "I mean, you're like my best girl friend. I want to know that you're okay with this." He leaned towards her, waiting for her response.

She swallowed, her mouth feeling too dry. She didn't know why she was acting like this. Sammy had another boyfriend every week. Surely, this would just go through her system and she'd leave him in no time at all. But that would hurt Scorp. He would only date her if he liked her. She moistened her mouth enough so that she could talk, stumbling over her words. "Th-th-that's gr-great S-Scorp." She put on a fake smile. "B-but if she h-hurts you, I-I swear, I-I'll k-kill her."

He chuckled and relaxed back into the sofa, letting Lily breathe freely again. "You're a great friend, Lily. Alicia threw a fit when I told her."

"Yeah," Lily mumbled, hiding behind her hair. After a moment, she stood up, avoiding his eyes that would make her feel warm and safe. They wouldn't work this time, she just knew it. "I-I've g-got some homework I have t-to finish. I-I'll s-see you t-t-tomorrow, Scorp." She didn't wait for his reply. She left, sullenly. She trudged up the stairs to her dorm, refusing to talk to anyone. And although she really wanted to, she didn't let herself cry. She just knew that Scorp would get hurt.

Dun, dun dun! How much do you want to murder Scorpius right now? Ha-ha. Well, next chapter, you'll get to see another side of Lily that, thankfully, even her brothers didn't realize she had. Only Rose can see her new side clearly. Mwahahaha! Sorry I was late in posting it! Please review and tell me what you would think of a bad-girl Lily! Love ya!