Mostly AU from the others.

Prompt: "Dispute"

In the two years since they had started dating, Lily had never quite figured out why Scorpius enjoyed baiting her so much. He often made some rather unnecessary, in her opinion, comments about a variety of things: how she dressed (whether it was fashionable, inappropriate, or how it clashed with her hair), how her hair looked (how it was frizzy before it rained or limp by the time she went to bed), how she ate porridge (like it was going to splatter everywhere if she didn't eat it carefully). For many small things, he had to say something to get a rise out of her—which it never failed to. She was the daughter of Ginny Potter, and she wasn't going to take any sort of mistreatment sitting down.

Most times when he said something, she fired a retort back. Sometimes if the retort was particularly amusing, Scorpius would laugh; other times he would keep the commentary rolling until she either found a way to shut him up or she managed a quip that would prompt an amused smile. Generally, she took this as a quirk of his and let it pass.

Today, however, she stormed straight into her dormitory and flopped onto her bed, pull the hangings shut lest one of her roommates might find her and ask her why she was crying. Which she most certainly was not because that would mean that Scorpius had gotten under her skin today, which would mean he was in fact human and not an insect not worth her time like she had shouted at him in the library no less. Madame Pince would have thrown her out if it weren't for the fact she was already busy storming out. Scorpius had tried to catch up with her but she managed to slip into a shortcut, and even if he wanted to talk to her now, she was safely hidden into her in the Hufflepuff Cellar and he couldn't follow even he tried.

She was just about finished not crying when she heard a gentle knock at the door. Confused that someone had actually bothered to knock, she pulled the curtains back as she saw Iris Medici poke her head into the room.

"May I come in?" she asked. Lily sat up and nodded; her eldest brother's girlfriend slipped in and then let herself plop unceremoniously on the bed across from Lily's. "I saw you race in here and I was a bit worried. Did something happen?"

The innocent question brought back the hurtful remark that that…that…brat had said and she felt the sting of tears prick her eyes. Blinking rapidly to stall the tears, she sat up and tied one of the curtains back as she composed herself. When she finally trusted herself to speak without breaking down, she turned back to well-meaning seventh year. "Just had a spat, that's all."

Iris cocked her head to the side much like a curious puppy. "With one of your friends?"

"With…with Scorpius," she spat in distaste.

"Ah." Iris paused. "Was it a bad spat?"

Suddenly, she couldn't hold it back and she stood up. "I can't believe I ever saw anything in him," she yelled. "He's a pig headed…egotistical…insufferable…pig!"

Iris sportingly didn't note the redundancy of that statement. "You know, I said the same thing about James quite a lot."

Anger derailed for a moment, Lily couldn't help but stare. "But…that's just James."

Iris shrugged. "Yes, well, Scorpius sounds an awful lot like him at times."

Lily sniffed and fell back on her mattress. "James doesn't tell me that I look like a colorblind fashion reject."

"Well, he did tell me that my ideas were so 'simple' and 'charming' once."

Lily stared with wide eyes. "He didn't," she denied then paused. "And you kept dating him?"

"Well, he didn't mean what it sounded like but I did give him hell for that one," Iris giggled.

"I would have walloped him around the head," Lily suggested but then paused and gazed at her knee socks. Her mother had made them for Christmas, and while her mother had inherited her grandmother's talent for cooking, she had most certainly not gotten the knitting ability. Still she liked the gold and brown knee socks, no matter what Scorpius said.

"You know, our house's colors just aren't quite as flashy as the others," Iris sighed, catching on to the problem of the socks.

"That doesn't mean he had to say I was a reject."

"Well, no, but do you really think he meant it like that?"

Lily gave her a queer look. "How else was I supposed to take it?"

"He was commenting on the socks, right? While it isn't the best ways to go about it, he probably thought that it made sense."

Lily glared at her suspiciously. "And how are you so sure?"

Iris shrugged. "He's a boy; of course he would say something like that. Besides, you're the one who's been dating him since two years ago," she raised a brow at her. "What do you think he really meant?"

Lily tapped the toes of her trainers together. "…well, at the moment I think he's the biggest git in world…but he probably didn't think I'd storm out of the library after blowing up at him."

Iris pulled a face at her. "In the library? Girl, are you trying to get the whole school buzzing? God, you better go find him and save him before your brother and cousins get him. You could beat him up yourself then," she added with a bright smile.

Lily raised her brows at her but sighed a bit. "Well…I could do with giving him another piece of my mind…"

Iris grinned. "Thatta girl. Give him hell."

Reenergized by their talk, Lily hopped up off her bed and followed Iris out. She bade her farewell then headed out through the Common Room's portal and began her search to find Scorpius. Although she doubted he was still there, she peeked into the library before fleeing as Madame Pince turned to glare at her. Noting that he didn't appear to be there, or at least not hiding amongst the bookshelves, she began to check any place she could think of. She was half convinced that she should find Albus and borrow the Marauder's Map when she looked out a window to see a pale head of platinum blond in the courtyard below. Gambling that it might be him, not many people had the shade of blond hair really, she hurried down in time to nearly run into him as he tried to walk in.

At first they had awkwardly stumbled back and then fumbled to say something. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke. "Fancy a walk on the grounds?" he asked tightly, conscious to the many stares they were getting. She nodded and he led them out of the courtyard.

They walked quietly, neither quite ready to test the waters after the row from earlier.

"I…" he began. She watched him attentively but he seemed to lose his courage and turned his face back to the ground. "I didn't mean to…that is, I hadn't meant to…"

"Offend me?"

He flinched. "Upset you. I just…I didn't think that you'd…take it like that…"

"And just how was I supposed to take it?" she retorted waspishly. "You told me I was a colorblind fashion reject."

"I didn't say you were a fashion reject," he insisted.

"You insinuated it."

He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "girls" before clearing his throat. "I just…" He paused and looked at her. "There's no way I'm getting out of this one without a lump, is there?"

She gave him a chilly look. "Try apologizing. It works sometimes, you know."

He sighed. "I'm sorry I upset you."

"And?"

He looked at her like he was wondering what more she wanted from him. "…and for insulting your socks?"

"Don't sound very sure," she pointed out.

"Hey, I'm trying here!" he huffed, kicking a stone, sending it skipping over the ground.

Lily didn't say anything in reply and they fell back into a strained silence. Finally, she spoke. "I forgive you."

He looked at her expectantly. "And?"

She frowned at him. "You were the one who insulted me."

"You were the one that insinuated that my mother produced me with a pig, need I remind you."

She winced. "I did?"

"Among other things. In front of the whole library. I'm going to have to hide from your family for weeks before I get clobbered, you know."

"Well, I am sorry about that," she giggled. "Call it even and forget the whole thing ever happened?"she offered, raising her hand to shake on it.

He smirked and took hold of her hand, pressing a kiss onto her knuckles, prompting a dark blush. He looked up at her sending shivers down her back before he straightened. "Shall we go get a snack?" he suggested.

She smiled and tightened the grip on his hand. "I think triple fudge biscuits sound good."

"Death by chocolate it is," he grinned. They walked in amiable silence until the front entrance to the school.

When they did reach the doors, Albus, Hugo, and Rose stormed out glaring daggers at him when they saw him. "Scorpius! I've got a bone to pick with you," Albus called as they stalked over.

"We've got a bone to pick with you," Rose corrected him.

Scorpius's eyes went uncharacteristically wide and Lily giggled at him before coming to his rescue.