So I know it's been FOREVER since I've updated, but please forgive me. I've been having a seriously terrible time with writer's block and I can't seem to shake it anytime soon, so updates are increasingly scarce. D: Also, I just can't find the inspiration to write that one-shot and maybe after I get through my writer's block I will go back and attempt it, but Thanks to everyone who has updated and I'm so excited about how close we are getting to 100 reviews! Your opinion is very important to me, so please don't overlook the little blue review button at the end! I love all of you who have been supporting my story! Onwards with the story FINALLY!
Chapter 21: State of Emergency
"James, why the hell are stalking me?"
Lily was not in a good mood. A week of the rumors about her and Scorpius had seriously depleted her patience, and James, who had been stalking her ever since that stupid girl had read Skeeter's article, was not helping at all. The strain gave her a constant, throbbing headache, and she was furious at all of the stares and whispers directed at her. Could people at least try to be a little bit more discreet? She had not even got to see Scorpius since that article suddenly appeared. Neither of them had the opportunity to sneak away.
"I'm not stalking you! I'm watching you!" He put on a look of almost mock outrage at the very thought that he would be stalking his baby sister.
Lily smacked him upside the back of his head. "Merlin, if you weren't my brother, I would beat the crap out of you for being a creeper."
"Ouch!" he yelped. "What the hell? Is it your time of month or something?"
She smacked him upside the head again. "Go away, you prat."
"No," he defied, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not letting you out of my sight because the moment that I do, you'll run off to go snog Malfoy."
She couldn't resist. She smacked him again. "Listen closely: I am not going to go snog Malfoy because we are not dating for the zillionth time!" Lily sighed and rubbed her forehead gently, trying to ease the pounding. This had been no doubt the worst week of her life. Before James had a chance to reply, she stalked away, through the halls. She had been on her way to the common room, but as soon as she reached Gryffindor Tower, she stormed into her dorm, her face red with fury. She fell onto her bed and screamed into her pillow to relieve some of her tension.
This was not happening. This was not happening… She tried to chant those words in her head, convince herself that it didn't matter, but it did. Lily was almost ready to admit to the world that yes, she had snogged Scorpius many, many times, if it only meant that they would all leave her bloody well alone. She felt ready to crash and burn, and she couldn't handle the looks she got anymore. She had lost count of how many bloody people had asked her if she was pregnant!
Unable to sit still, stewing with her own tension, she sat up and left the dorm, going down to the common room. Kids of all ages wreaked havoc, her cousin Fred trying to blow up the couches. Hugo, the only cousin almost as young as her, had found a relatively peaceful corner where he had curled up to read a book, much like Aunt Hermione would do. Lily went to him and sat down beside him. "Hugo, can I talk to you?"
He shut the book with a snap. "Thank Merlin. Mum's making me read that book and Rosie's enforcing it. It's so boring!"
Lily smiled wanly. "Hugo, do you think that I'm dating Scorpius? Do you really believe the lies?"
His brown eyes bored into her, making her feel like he would mind-read the truth right out of her. "I think you should stop PMS-ing about this to me, and just go talk to your boyfriend."
"WHAT THE HELL!" she shrieked, standing up. "Why does everyone think I'm flipping on my period? AND HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"
Her face was turning the color of a cherry but freckled Hugo just sat there calmly, looking up at her. "First of all, good work on shouting to the world that you might be on your period, second, you need to calm down. Thirdly, I can tell, because you're protesting so vehemently. If he weren't your boyfriend, you wouldn't give a damn about putting up a fight and you'd still hang out with him, no matter what anyone says."
She flushed with embarrassment but muttered, "Why do Aunt Hermione's kids have to be so damn smart?" Hugo grinned proudly. "Shut up, Hugo."
He shrugged. "I never said anything."
Her glare with bright emerald eyes cut off any further argument, and she stalked out of the common room, muttering to herself about how there was no more privacy in this damn world anymore. If Hugo could tell, did that mean the others could too? Nervously, her stomach knotting painfully, she reverted to chewing her nails. It was a nasty habit, true, but the nerves had to be released somewhere. The corridors were empty for the most part, and she passed only a few students, most on their way to the library to finish up some forgotten essay. She pushed her hair out of her eyes, staring down at her shoes as she walked. Suddenly, she slammed into someone and stumbled backwards and would have fallen if there hadn't been a wall. The paintings behind her complained and said many rude things, and, as she straightened her dress, she fired the words right back at them.
"Are you alright, Flower?"
Lily blinked, finally paying attention to whoever she had run into. Scorpius was staring at her with amusement glinting in his eyes. Of course he already knew she was perfectly fine by the strength of her vehement curses but had asked out of the formality ingrained into his mind since childhood. Scorpius looked fine, maybe a little tired and worn around the edges, but considering the weight of gossip around here, Lily thought he seemed as though he had done very well, except for a cut on his cheek that hadn't been there when she'd seen him at breakfast this morning. "Scorpius!" She ran into his arms and hugged him tightly, resisting the tears that wanted to pour from her spirit in relief. His cheek rested on her head, and she realized just how much she had missed this. "I missed you," she told him in her small voice.
She could almost hear him smile. "How are you, Flower? I know things have been hard, but—"
Lily pulled away from him. "I'm fine, Scorp. I may be ready to murder every bloody person at Hogwarts, but I'm managing. And you?" A sudden intuition kicked in. "Where did you get hurt?" Her finger hardly traced the cut.
To her mild surprise he blushed and his silver eyes looked away from her face to her free hand, which he took in one of his. "It's nothing you need to worry about, Lily."
"I'll decide if I'm going to bother worrying about it," she asserted.
His eyes flickered up to her face again where he saw the short temper rising and decided it was best to simply give in. "I, uh, got into a little skirmish with some of the guys from my Quidditch team…"
Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"
He shuffled uncomfortably. "Um, well, they may have been making lewd jokes about… us, and I may have punched one in the face and it may have ended with us hexing each other…"
"Scorpius!" Lily wasn't sure whether she should be furious or concerned or all sweet that he had protected her name. None of them seemed like good alternatives. "You can't just, just run around bopping people on the head when they start talking about us!"
"You didn't hear what they were saying!" Beneath the warm grey, she sensed the hurt he felt. Their voices were rising too quickly, but Lily didn't think she could handle a fight between them.
The thought of being cut off from him as well made her quiet and she almost whispered, "Fine, I'm sorry. We're both on edge right now and we can't let it get to us."
He sucked in a breath as though he was about to yell again and then he paused, definitely not expecting that. "Oh," he relaxed. "I'm sorry you have to go through this," he told her in his soft, melodic voice. Scorpius cradled her head in his hands softly and kissed her forehead, his lips leaving a burning ring of fire and electricity that made her ache to be able to kiss him. But this time they were certain they heard footsteps and murmuring voices. Exchanging a look, both left, unable to say another word. Lily ran the opposite direction, careful that her shoes weren't heard on the floor until the unknown students were well out of earshot.
After running for what seemed forever, Lily slowed down catching her breath and trying to decide where she should go. She still had two hours to kill before she had to show up to detention, and she had been eating supper in the kitchen the past week like most of her other meals to avoid people staring at her. What had happened to her piles of homework? With a frown she realized the professors thought it was too close to Christmas for anyone to give out homework. She supposed she would just go to the kitchens and talk to Winky and get fat, but when she looked to see which way to go, she realized she didn't immediately know the way to the kitchens from here. The area seemed familiar, but she didn't remember where she was. Just one of the many corridors with many empty and unused classrooms. Cursing, she found a door that was cracked opened and wondered if there might be someone in there.
Lily's heart beat nervously. Why would someone be down at this end of the castle anyways? Quietly she approached the door and pulled out her wand for good measure. She pushed open the door a little by mistake and it creaked open loudly. Her breath caught, but no one was in the room. The empty classroom was dusty, probably hadn't been used since before her father was here by the amount of dust that was hardly disturbed. The tables had all been pushed to the sides and the windows were covered with black drapes, but through the dim light, she made out a huge shape on the other side of the room. "Lumos," she muttered softly and the tip of her wand ignited with a burst of light. A mirror with Latin inscribed on it. A tidal wave of sudden déjà vu swept over her suddenly, and she whirled around, trying to be certain that the door hadn't locked and trapped her inside again. It was still wide open. With bated breath, she waited for that haunting voice to creep out at her and whisper, "poor Lily," like it always did.
The only sounds she could hear was her labored breath and the adrenaline pumping in her ears. She should leave, she knew she should. But curiosity called her. She had been attacked at the Quidditch pitch, but she never stopped going there; why should she be so terrified of this one tiny classroom? Bravely, she took a deep breath and stepped farther into the room, her emerald eyes flickering back to the door every few seconds. Purposefully, she avoided the grand mirror that stretched to the ceiling as she examined the desks or anything else that might have some clue as to what the purpose of this place was. A sort of writing was etched into one of the desks and she smoothed away the dust, coughing loudly, to read it. "James Potter and Lily Evans Potter," the desk's writing almost seemed familiar, reminding her of Albus's writing style but had little differences, too. With shock she realized that it was her grandparents.
"Are we enjoying snooping in old classrooms?"
Lily almost choked when she gasped and jumped simultaneously, thinking for a moment that it was her, but the voice was wheezy, and too deep to be female. She turned around but no one was in the room. "W-who are y-you?" she asked, her voice wavering.
A chuckle filled the room and she couldn't help but think that she had heard that strangely familiar voice before. "Do you not know me, Miss Potter? One would assume that after all of the times that you have spoken to me in the Headmistress's office that you would remember me."
Her eyes widened and she finally recognized the voice and the source of sound. She had been so intent on avoiding the Mirror of Erised that she had completely missed the now-filled painting of Albus Dumbledore. "Professor Dumbledore!" She scrambled over to the painting to see his electric blue eyes staring out at her with that glint of amusement. "Why would you have a painting in this dusty old room?"
He chuckled. "I believe I should be asking you why you have ended up here yet again."
Her cheeks tinted pink. "I wandered off again."
"Strange that you would end up in this particular room twice by chance."
"Honestly, Professor!" she insisted, "I came here by accident!"
Once again, his light chuckle filled the room. "I have no doubt that you are telling the truth, but I am simply pointing out the coincident that you would come across this room not once but twice."
"Is it more than a coincident?"
His blue eye sparkled, telling her that she had gotten it right, but she was immediately frustrated by his answer. "I have not the power to tell you that, for only you truly know the answer. This is not a matter of my opinions or suspicions, but a matter of what you know and what you believe."
"So…" she struggled to keep up with his logic that was nowhere near to being touched by a fourteen-year-old-girl. "So, if I believe that it's not a coincident, then it isn't…?"
"What do you believe?" he asked with infuriating smartness.
She frowned. "Fine. You could have just not told me."
He chuckled. "Many times it is as though we are looking at life through a fog, unable to see more than a few steps ahead of where we are now. We blunder through the fog, occasionally tripping and making mistakes, but eventually, the fog will clear away and the sun will shine brightly. We will have no more troubles or problems, and it will seem as though our lives are perfect."
"But the fog could always come back," she returned, picking apart his little analogy. "We can never depend on anything. It could start raining after the sun shines, or even snow. How can we ever be sure that the sun will shine?"
"Exactly," he agreed. "But many times, those curious muggle weather-men will warn us."
Lily rolled her emerald eyes. "But how rarely often are they even right? And you sort of lost me there. I'm not sure I understand you."
Dumbledore smiled pleasantly at her. "In a way, although it is rarely accurate, they predict the future, much like you do yourself."
She raised her eyebrows. "So I'm a… weather-woman?"
"In a way," he clarified. "You, and you alone, know when the next storm will blow over, and when the next disaster will strike."
"But I can't even remember what I'm saying," she protested. "You should ask Scorpius, or James, or Albus, or Rosie. They all know what I see, but they never tell me."
"You may not remember it, but it is always within your mind although you never realize it yourself."
Lily, who was very tightly strained at this point, glared. "I don't understand this."
"Alas," Dumbledore sighed with a shake of his head and a smile. "As difficult as it may seem now, the pieces will fit together later. I remember your father saying that he didn't understand so many times." In the picture, he took a piece of candy from the bowl on the table next to him and popped it in his mouth. "There is only one more thing I have to say to you, Miss Potter. Beware this mirror. Though it may show you what you wish for, it is still a fantasy. Your father also stumbled across this mirror once, and he became very attached to the image it held for him, and I hope that you are not the same."
Lily glanced at the large mirror that was only reflecting the empty classroom at the moment, although she remembered what Scorpius had said about it. She waved slightly as Dumbledore stood up and walked away from the painting, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. She tentatively took a few steps over until she stood directly in front of the Mirror of Erised and waited or something to happen.
A little movie seemed to play out as soon as she stepped forward. Scorpius ran in, and she had to double-check that he hadn't really entered the room. In the mirror, he picked Lily up and spun her around, before he kissed her gently. But Albus and James were watching, along with her mum and dad and all of the Weasley family. Instead of getting furious or angry, they smiled and laughed, James and Albus silently saying something that made mirror-Lily blush, making fun probably, and many of them shook hands with Scorpius, smiling and patting him on the back. Suddenly, Draco and Astoria Malfoy made an appearance, and both gave mirror-Lily a hug. Mr. Malfoy fell into a group with her dad and Uncle Ron, and they chatted like they had never been enemies. Narcissa appeared, too, and Grandmum welcomed her like her own sister. The Malfoys all hugged Teddy, treating him for once like their own family. The scene slowly took more form, and they all seemed to be crowded outside the Burrow, like many of the gatherings the family had. Mirror-Lily and Scorpius stayed glued to each other, shamelessly holding hands and at one point, she whispered in his ear and they snuck off to the line of trees not far away. The scene followed them to where they talked silently and exchanged light kisses until James caught them, and playfully teased them about it, giving the blushing pair a terribly hard time.
Lily felt like she couldn't breathe. Her fingers slowly traced the cool glass, and she wished so desperately that she could just slip right in to that perfect world, where everyone accepted her and Scorpius for what they were, and their parents weren't fighting or acting like they were stepping on eggshells around each other. James didn't care who she was dating and neither did Albus although they both teased her endlessly, but that was to be expected from brothers. She didn't know if she stood there motionlessly for hours or for minutes or for seconds, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the perfect scene before her. She wanted so badly for it to be real.
Something startled her out of her trance, something poking her, and she screamed like the world was coming to an end. Laughter sounded loud and clear, and Albus pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, grinning happily."Albus!" she squealed, hitting him half-heartedly. "How did you even find me?"
He grinned and waved the map in front of her face, his floppy black hair hanging in his eyes. "You never showed up at the common room again after Hugo made you go AWOL, so I had to look for you. It's about time for dinner anyways."
"Oh," she said simply, remembering that there was a real world other than the mirror-world where everything was perfect. She glanced at it forlornly for a moment, and she and Scorpius snogged in front of anyone they wanted. Lily blushed, hoping Albus couldn't see what was there.
Unfortunately he noticed and he peered around her, taking in the Latin inscription and the glass that wasn't necessarily reflective. "This is the Mirror of Erised?" She nodded and he stepped around her until he was in front of her, peering at the glass as though analyzing it. His emerald eyes grew huge and he pointed excitedly. "Look, look, Lily! It's Grandmum and Grandad, from Dad's side of the family! And Alicia! She's—" he cut off, blushing. "OOhh…"
Lily rolled her eyes at the inflection of his single word. "It's not going to happen, Albus. Just leave it be and don't waste your time. Shouldn't we be getting to dinner where a real Alicia is waiting for you?" She tugged on his arm to no avail.
"Look, Lilsies! Mum doesn't care and neither does Dad!" He smashed himself so close to the mirror that his nose was touching it. "And James isn't even making fun of me for once!"
"Because it's not real!" Lily snapped, pulling on his arm harshly until she dragged him a step or two away. Albus shook his head, falling out of his trance.
"What was that for? You stood there like an idiot for forever! Why are you being so hypocritical? Let me have five minutes more!" Lily had almost never seen him so vehement about something, except for when her parents thought they might send her to St. Mungo's. She took a startled step backwards, her hand releasing his arm.
"Albus, it's not real, and we need to promise each other that we will never come back here. Watching a fantasy will never make it come true." Her voice shook, but she knew how difficult it would be not to return. How could she forget something so enchanting? "C'mon, Al. We should go to dinner."
Albus took a wistful glance at the mirror and them to her outstretched hand. He sighed. "I really hate your logic." He took her hand and let her lead him away. Lily shut the door tightly behind them and cast a charm to lock it so that at least they'd have to think twice about coming back. Grinning, they suggested a competition and raced down to the Great Hall, Albus winning by a fraction of a second. They stumbled into the Great Hall with red faces and aching sides from laughing and running. For the first time in a week, it was nice just to mess around and have fun with her brother. As they laughed, Lily dragged Albus over to the Slytherin table and sat him down beside her. He looked a little uncomfortable with all the funny looks they were receiving but Lily thought, to hell with it, and greeted Scorpius and Alicia with bright smiles.
Lily and Alicia ended up switching seats, bringing around the end of any conversation with either Al or Alicia. Scorpius grinned nice and bright when she sat down right next to him. "Nice to see you around again."
She grinned, her whole face lighting up. "I'm extraordinarily tired of drama."
"I second that."
She punched him lightly in the arm. "Whatever happened to practicing? I still fail horribly at dancing."
He nudged her slightly in return. "Yeah right. My feet tell me to say that you are the most magnificent dancer I've ever come across just so I won't have to teach you anymore. But my head's telling me that you'll probably hex me if I let you make a fool of yourself."
"Are you kidding me?" her light little laugh cut through the loud voices of every other student at Hogwarts. "I wouldn't just hex you; I'd do so much worse."
He saw the glint in her eyes and shakily murmured, "Oh, dear sweet Merlin… When do you want to do those lessons again?"
She laughed. "I actually have nothing tonight. Are you too busy studying for your OWLs?"
"Are we planning our next date, lovebirds?" Zabini snickered from the other side of Scorpius, who promptly punched him not-so-softly in the gut. Julian doubled over, gasping for breath and laughing. "That… was worth it."
"Shut up, Zabini," Scorpius said with one of his deadly looks, but Lily put a calming hand on his arm.
"Do you want to come enjoy our date with us, Julian? It's not going to be much of date."
That put his light out. He frowned. "Gross, no. I don't want to watch you two suck each other's face off all night."
"Bring Rosie," Lily suggested. "And we can ask James and Albus and Alicia. Hell, let's make a party out of it."
"That sounds pretty good to me," Scorpius agreed. "C'mon, Julian. Hang out with your girlfriend."
"Fine," he huffed with slight disappointment. Everything was set in motion before the meal was over. Alicia and Albus were excited and James thought he could woo Kathleen if he took her dancing. Rosie squealed and was delighted when a blushing Julian asked her, and Hugo got invited with his Ravenclaw girlfriend, Sara-Lynn Harksen. The rendezvous point was set for the Room of Requirement.
Rose and Lily walked there together, their brothers running late, giggling about how it was sort of exciting that they would be having a fake sort of ball. When they got there, they were the first ones, and Lily paced in front of the wall three times. The room was larger than what she and Scorpius used, and there was a plethora of fancy high-heeled shoes. Kathleen and Sara-Lynn arrived at the same time, talking about the Weasley/Potter clan. Alicia and the guys were the last to arrive, the Slytherins and Gryffindors coming in separate groups. Although there was a bit of unease between Scorpius and Lily's brothers, lively conversation started up, and everyone began to feel more comfortable.
James threatening to leave of boredom because he was only here to impress Kathleen, but it was working too well for him to actually act on the impulse. Scorpius suggested that they actually get around to ballroom dancing and he put on the music. James wrinkled his nose while the girls giggled. Feeling lightheaded, it was almost too natural for Lily to slip into Scorpius's arms as all the other couples were doing. Scorpius smoothly led her into the music, and she tried to concentrate on the dance steps although her mind was really calculating how long it had been since she was truly this close to Scorpius. Occasionally, someone would yelp when their foot was stepped on and a low murmur of speech was always kept up, but neither of them said anything. "Oops," she said, biting her lip, when Scorpius yelled out rather loudly.
James, of course laughed, dancing nearby. "Merlin, Lilsies, he'll have to have his feet amputated by the time he's done dancing with you."
"Shut your piehole, James." She glared, but everyone else, including Scorpius laughed.
When they resumed dancing and James had diverted his attention to not stepping on Kathleen's feet, Scorpius whispered gently in her ear, "You're so adorable when you're angry at anyone else but me."
Her heart sped up a little, but she growled, "Well, if you keep it up, I'm not going to be adorable for much longer."
He only pulled his mischievous crooked smile, which distracted her and she accidentally stepped on his foot, much, much harder this time. The force made him lose his balance, and they both toppled over, collapsing in a heap on the floor. The breath whooshed out of her lungs, and she tried to catch herself, only jarring her wrist. Everyone stopped dancing suddenly and rushed over to the pair in a tangled mess on the floor. Albus helped Lily off from on top of Scorpius, and Julian and James helped Scorpius up. His nose was bleeding, and his arm had been twisted at a horrible angle as he grunted in pain. "Oh, Scorpius, I'm so sorry!"
"Ibs Nofing, Flower." His good arm moved to cover his nose to staunch the bleeding. She ignored the pain in her wrist and rushed over to him, a hand subconsciously moving to his shoulder, careful not to touch his arm that was limp at his side.
"No, it's definitely not 'nothing'. I freaking broke your arm!"
"Lily, relax," Julian intervened before they both got into a ridiculous fight. "Madame Pomphrey will fix him up in a heartbeat."
"I broke his arm!"
James snickered. "Good work, Lily." She smacked him upside the head. Again.
They helped him out of the Room and down the corridors, Lily hovering nearby but hesitant to get too close. She must be cursed with clumsiness that affected everyone except her. The other girls went back to their common rooms, and James, Hugo, and Albus escorted them back. She bit her lip, but Scorpius kept trying to make lame jokes about his predicament. "Dink aboub it, Flower," he said, hindered by his bloody nose. "Nowb we can bothb hab crookeb nobes."
"If I hadn't already almost killed you tonight, I'd smack you right now," she muttered to which he grinned before wincing.
"What happened here?" Lily looked up to see Madame Wilkinson looking down at them with one of her disapproving sneers.
Alicia spoke up, thankfully for Lily who didn't think she could speak up. "Scorpius was teaching Lily how to dance, and she screwed up and they both fell. He fell on his arm and got smashed in the nose. We were taking him to Madame Pomphrey."
Wilkinson nodded before she turned to Lily with that ugly sneer that she so despised. "Miss Potter, don't you have an appointment you should be keeping?" Her cold eyes pierced Lily, but she didn't understand what the headmistress wanted from her.
Realization dawned on her. "Oh, crap!" She pulled off her heels and raced down the corridor, the shoes clacking together in her hands. "I'm sooorrryy, Madame Wilkinson! I'm so freaking sooorrryy!" How could she have forgotten about detention? She had been going to it every night since September! Filch was going to murder her, and he wouldn't do it nicely.
She ignored her friends asking where she was going as her feet slapped on the cold stone floor down the steps, not stopping even when she almost tumbled down the stairs. She burst right through the door, almost smacking Filch in the face. She gasped for breath, trying to sound respectful. "I'm so sorry. I forgot."
"How could you forget detention?" Filch snarled.
"I just did. There's no excuse for it."
"There sure as hell isn't! You'll make up for the lost time, you can bet on that." She winced. His greasy hair hung in strings around him and he handed her the box of cleaning supplies. He dragged her by the arm into a corridor that wasn't in use much anymore and had layers of dust everywhere. He shoved her into the first room and the stirring of dust had her coughing. "When this corridor is done, you can leave. I'll come back every hour to check on your progress. Wand."
She glared at him as she handed over her wand. She looked back to the room and sighed. This was going to be a long night. She dusted and moped and had piles of dust filing up plastic garbage bags. It took her two hours just to finish the first room, and Filch made her go back and clean some more because it wasn't his version of spotless. Her lungs filled with the dust until she choked on it and wheezed until she could gain something of a fresh breath. She scrubbed the stone floor of the corridor with five brushes that turned the color of wet soot and sparkled until it was more like glass than stone. Lily gritted her teeth together and tried to complain as little as possible, knowing she deserved… most of it. But he held true to what he had threatened, and Lily didn't go back to Gryffindor Tower that night. Her arms and back ached from bending over and even her neck and legs ached from the pressure that wasn't usually applied to them. At four in the morning, she fell asleep while she was scrubbing the door to the third room, but at least Filch was nice enough not to kick her awake. He 'nudged' her with his foot. Her clothes were smeared with dust, grime, and her skin and hair made her feel like she had just attracted all the dust to her like a magnetic force. She didn't really care though. All night, her mind dwelled on Scorpius and how he was; she worried over him, a tense ball of nerves twisting and growing larger and larger.
The sun startled her out of her work when it finally managed to appear through one of the now-squeaky-clean windows and the sky bled orange and red, calling to the world to wake up and start a new day. Filch came in to check on her five minutes after she noticed, and she asked, "Please, can't I go now?"
"Have you finished cleaning this entire corridor?" She shook her head. "Then, no!" he barked at her rudely, and she flinched. "When you finish your job I'll let you go."
"But I have classes!" she protested.
"Work!" he yelled and left without further argument. She wondered vaguely if she could strangle him and get away with leaving the country before her dad found her. Another coughing fit distracted her from planning Filch's murder, and she wearily returned to her task.
Madame Wilkinson came in an hour later with Filch, and Lily could have cried with relief, thinking that Wilkinson would let her go. Maybe, if she skipped breakfast and grabbed something at the Hospital Wing, she could check in on Scorpius before classes started unless he had already left. "How is your work going, Miss Potter?"
"As well as it can, ma'am. I've worked as hard as I can all night."
Filch made a noise in the back of his throat and rolled his eyes, attracting the attention of Wilkinson. "Puh-lease. She fell asleep while she was supposed to be working!"
"How can you expect a fourteen-year-old girl to stay up all night and work herself to the bone? I'm not freaking Merlin!"
"Watch your tone, Miss Potter," Wilkinson warned severely. "I do not believe that you have realized the seriousness of the infraction you made. We cannot have people like you performing the Unforgivable Curses and getting off with a few freebies, just because your father is the Head of the Auror Department at the Ministry. If you cannot realize the severity of such a crime, then it is simply plausible that you will work all night and study all day. If you wish to skip detentions, then this will be your punishment. But until I see fit that you have realized what a horrible crime you have committed, these night-long detentions shall continue. You are to meet Filch immediately after your classes are finished."
"How am I supposed to eat?" she asked incredulously.
"Mr. Filch will provide you with some sustenance."
"Like poison," she muttered under her breath.
"Excuse me, Miss Potter?"
"Nothing, Ma'am, just committing these details to memory."
The glare that Lily recieved warned her against any more mouthiness. "Get to Breakfast, and straight to class."
She breathed a sigh of relief, and shakily made her way to her feet, quick enough to snatch her wand out of Filch's hands. Her eyes were itchy with tiredness as she hurried up to Gryffindor Tower to take a shower and grab some clothes that weren't grey with dust. Stumbling down the stairs, she had enough time to run into the Great Hall to grab a plain pancake that she viciously ate as she ran down to Potions. Her mouth full of pancake, and her eyes barely open, she stumbled right into Alicia. "Good grief, Lily. You're going to kill someone!"
"Haven't I already done that? How's Scorpius? Where is he? Is he still in the Hospital Wing? Did he stay there all last night? Did Madame Pomphrey fix his arm? How does he feel? Does he want to hex me?"
"Ask him yourself, Lily," Alicia said with exasperation.
"I can't!" Lily whined. "Wilkinson and Filch are in league to have me murdered!"
"Lily, I'm sure you're only overreacting, and I have to get to class or else Corche will murder me. Sorry, Lils." Alicia waved and turned to run down the hall, her loose dark hair flying behind her. Lily ran the rest of the way to Potions and collapsed into her chair just as class started.
"Where have you been?" Hugo demanded, sitting in the row behind her. "No one's seen you since you ran off last night apparently."
She glared. "I forgot about detention. I guess I'm lucky I haven't been expelled yet."
"What happened?"
She put her index finger to her lips as her head drooped onto her books in front of her. "Shhhhh... Lily needs sleep..."
He rolled his eyes, and Slughorn came over and slammed his hand on Lily's table, startling her from the sleep that had already overcome her. "Hell," she muttered under her breath as the Potions teacher began his cheerful lecture on Polyjuice Potion. Lily struggled to stay awake in all of her classes, failing the most in Professor Binns's class, the only reason she wasn't competely passed out was because she was too busy worrying over Scorpius. Even when she was concentrating on her work, he still echoed in the back of her mind and came to the forefront at a moment's notice. The day passed through mostly in her dreams, and at the end of the day, she trudged down the path to the hallway. She cleaned until her palms were rubbed raw pink and she could no longer find the energy to continue. Not caring who would yell at her, she slipped to her knees right on the shiny stone floor she had just finished and relaxed on her side, her frazzled red hair forming a sort of halo around her head. Curled up on the floor, she couldn't even use the pain to keep her awake before she yawned once and slipped into much-needed sleep.
"Flower, you need to wake up." Someone lightly shook her shoulder, and she swatted them away.
"Heck, no," she mumbled.
Did she imagine the familiar light chuckle? "Flower, if you don't wake up, Filch will catch you and be furious."
Well, she said quite a few things about Filch and where he could stick his fury that would have gotten her grounded for months.
"Lily Luna," the voice said more forcefully. "Wake up right now, or else I will have to leave you here."
"Uuuggghhh," she moaned, but Lily opened her bleary eyes to see a perfectly healthy Scorpius looking down at her with a lopsided grin. Just the sight of him made her smile slightly. "What are you doing here?"
"Busting you out of detention," he answered, helping her off of the floor, careful of her hands. He looked at the half-clean room, and, with a flourish of his wand, finished the job for her. "Do you think that will get you past tonight?" She only nodded, collapsing into his arms with exhaustion. His arms wound around her waist, and she sighed into his warm chest, listening to his steady breathing.
"Scorpius, I'm sorry," she whispered into his chest, wondering if he heard her.
"And what would you be sorry for, Lily?" he asked gently, kissing her hair.
"I didn't mean to break your arm and run away."
He almost laughed, but stopped himself just in time. "Lily, don't worry about it."
She glared at him before relaxing into him.
"C'mon," he said, taking her hand and leading her out the door. "I'd better take you to Gryffindor Tower before you collapse."
"But I wanna stay with you!" she protested in a whiny voice.
He laughed. "It'll be fine, Flower. In a few days it will be Christmas break, and you will have a party to see me at."
"It's really that close?" she asked with a yawn.
He nodded and kissed her rose-colored lips softly before picking her up and carrying her back to the tower.
Bleh! I worked on this for like a month! I'm super sorry it's late, but I already have a lot of the next chapter done (and it should be a REEAALLYY exciting chapter) and so hopefully it won't take me so long again. The next chapter is really long, and I've already written out 11 pages which isn't even the entire thing! So don't forget to review, and thanks to everyone who put this story on their alerts because I have like fifty now! :) Also, thanks for all of the support I had and people asking me to update because it means a lot to me that people like this story so much! :) Please review! ;)