A/N: Sorry for the long wait on this chapter, but I think it's pretty awesome! Tell me what you think!

Chapter Ten

Kiss Me, Love

In retrospect Albus should have known that Daisy wasn't the girl for him. Unfortunately he didn't know that at fifteen. He thought that she was the best thing that ever happened to him, he thought that he would spend the rest of his life with her. In truth she was everything he ever thought he wanted, so thinking he was fated to be with her forever wasn't half as delusional as it might have seemed.

She was smart and that was very important to Albus. He took his own intellect very serious and wasn't interested in being with a girl who didn't take it just as seriously as he did. The fact that Daisy would rather study with him then go to Hogsmeade and goof off told Albus volumes about how seriously she told her intellect.

She was shy and reserved, which suited Albus just fine. He didn't want a girl who would be mouthing off to her friends about their love life. Daisy just wasn't that kind of girl. She obviously wanted to date him, or she wouldn't have kissed him after Teddy and Victoire's wedding, but she was shy enough to be seriously put off when James walked in on them. Her reserved nature wouldn't allow her to be with him if James had told anyone. She wanted her private life to be private.

She was also very pretty and as much as Albus wanted to say that her physical attractiveness didn't matter as much as her other attributes, he refused to lie to himself about it. Her pale skin, freckle covered cheeks and light red hair all called to him on a base level that was so important to a teenage boy. Her short stature made him feel strong and manly. Her curvy figure shaped her body perfectly. She was a small, sweet package of loveliness and Albus felt that he would have been physically drawn to her even if he didn't care for her other more important attributes.

Daisy was sitting next to him, seemingly content being in his presents. They had talked and Daisy had agreed to be his girlfriend, but hadn't yet let him kiss her. Albus felt that it would take quite a while and quite a bit of privacy to get her comfortable enough to kiss him. There would be no kissing in public or snogging in broom closets for Daisy Doe.

And if Albus was entirely honest with himself, which he liked to be, the fact that he'd never get to kiss Daisy in public didn't bother him. He was just as shy and reserved as she was when it came to personal matters like snogging. Screaming at his siblings was something that the whole school needed to see. Because if the whole student body didn't see it, they would all think he was just like them.

If there was anything Albus didn't want it was for the student body to think he was like his siblings. Least of all Daisy. She didn't need to know that at heart he was just like his siblings. She wouldn't understand.

"Psst!"

Both Albus and Daisy looked up from their school books. Albus looked back and forth before turning back to his books.

"Pssstt! Al!?"

Albus looked up in time to see James give a quick wave and duck behind a stack of books. Albus sighed and turned to Daisy who had seen his brother's call. There was no getting out of this. James would just keep bothering them until Albus complied and found out what his brother wanted.

"I better find out what's up with him," Albus said, laying on the reluctance. He really wanted to sound like leaving her side was painful to him. The smile on Daisy's face told him that he had succeeded. "I'll be right back."

Albus got up and walked cautiously to the pile of books that James had vanished behind. Albus had a feeling that James wasn't planning on pranking him, his brother wouldn't have called him over if he was. James preferred his pranks to be partially the fault of the victim. If Albus had been just wondering through the library and saw his brother hiding behind a stack of books he would have been far more worried, but it was James one never could be too cautious.

Albus looked down the aisle but James was no where in sight. Thinking that he must have been mistaken and James did intend to prank him, Albus turned on his heels to make a hasty retreat, but before he could get back to Daisy a pair of hands appeared out of no where pulled Albus into a secluded corner of the library. The floating hands, which no doubt belonged to James, pushed Albus into a dusty, musty old chair before pulling the Invisibility Cloak off the body they were attached to.

"Dad told you not to use that for foolish purposes!" Albus chastised.

"Are you kidding, Al?" James asked, sitting next to Albus in an equally old and dusty chair. "I've only ever used this fine piece of cloth for intelligent purposes."

Albus scoffed. "What? You'd call kidnapping your younger brother from a date intelligent?"

"If that was what you two prudes call a date then you should be thanking me." James crossed his arms and attempted to look smug.

Albus just scowled at him. He didn't have to defend or explain his relationship to anyone, let alone his brother. James was too damn nosy for his own good and considering the state that his and Kira's relationship seemed to be in as of late, Albus wouldn't have asked him for advice anyway. Not that he thought he needed advice. Though a few words of wisdom concerning how to get Daisy to snog him wouldn't be remiss. But he wouldn't ask James. No he'd be damned before he asked James.

"What'd you want?" Albus asked, before he did something stupid. Like asked James for advice or punch the smug look off of his face. Though, Albus thought, the latter does have its benefits.

"Don't think for a moment that it isn't killing me to have to ask you this, but… ay mee ye heeel…p." Albus stared at his brother. The idea of punching him didn't seem overly violent all of the sudden.

Summoning what patients he had, Albus repeated, "ay mee ye heel-p?"

James sighed dramatically. "No! Why the bloody hell would I say, 'ay mee ye heel-p'? That's daft!"

"Well if the shoe fits," Albus said nonchalantly.

"I assume you're insulting me and shall therefore return the favor… Your so called girlfriend won't snog you because the stick up her bum has a stick up its bum."

Albus flipped James the bird and moved to leave.

"No! Don't go, you blasted fool!" James yelled.

"Why? Why should I stay when all you're going to do is insult me and my girlfriend?!"

"Because I need your help!"

Albus stopped dead in his tracks. It was a rare day when James Sirius Potter asked for help. Of course it was very often that James needed help and got it but he didn't get that help because he out right asked for it. He'd word his request it such a way that who ever he was talking to would realize that it was in their best interest to help him.

Now that Albus thought about it, the only time he could remember James asking for help was at Teddy and Victoire's wedding, but that seemed to be more a call of desperation then a request for help.

This was huge, if Albus didn't handle this situation right James might never ask for help again and Albus would never again get the chance to push his obvious superiority in his brother's face. Because to be honest the gloating that followed Albus helping James was the only reason that Albus would even consider helping his brother. Oh, sure they were brothers and that should be enough, but after all the problems James had created between him and Daisy, Albus wasn't in the most giving mood where his brother was concerned.

"What did you do?" Albus asked turning back to James. He asked the question gently so that James would know he was interested in helping and not in blaming him for whatever he'd no doubt done.

"I didn't do anything, but that isn't keeping me from having to deal with the consequences," James sighed.

Damn, Albus thought. Maybe he really does need help. I've never seen him so serious. Albus sat back down next to James.

"What's going on then?"

"I don't know if you know, but Rose was crying in the loo at Teddy and Victoire's wedding-" James began.

"Wasn't that when you got the bright idea to tell Uncle Ron that you had been snogging Kira?"

"Yes. But I just found out what got Rose crying in the first place last night." James sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Well, what was it?"

"Lily, yes our sister Lily, told Rose that Stephen would break up with her once he graduated. So Rose broke up with Stephen before he could and when Stephen asked her why she would think he'd break up with her once he graduated, she told him what Lily had told her-"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Albus interrupted again. "Let me get this straight. Lily told Rose that Stephen would break up with her, so Rose broke up with Stephen first, when Stephen asked Rose why she broke up with him she told him what Lily told her… right?"

James contemplated what Albus said for a moment. "Correct."

"All right you may proceed."

"So, Stephen got super pissed and decided that since he can't punish Lily, he'll punish me. I figure that if I can get Rose back together with Stephen he'll let up on me."

"How is he punishing you?" Albus asked.

"If I get one more detention I'm suspended from playing for the rest of the year," James said horror struck.

"I don't think he can do that."

"Sure he can he's the captain."

Albus sighed and shook his head. "I meant I don't think ethically he can do that. It must be against some rule or other to pick on an individual player. Besides if he hasn't suspended you before, there is no ethical reason why he could suspend you now. If we took it up with the Head of House, I'm sure something could be done about it."

"No, I don't want to do that," James said.

"But James, it's the easiest way to solve this problem."

"I know that, but if we talked to a professor about it they'll suspend Wood and I don't want that. He's in a lot of pain right now and I know he's not thinking very clearly. If I did bring it up with a professor and he got suspended I think he'll just get worse, besides some Quidditch scoots are coming to check out his performance, he has to be able to play."

Albus stared at James completely dumbfounded.

"I think that's the most selfless thing I've ever heard you say."

"Well, you see my problem don't you?" Albus nodded. "I've got to do something for my own sake, because lets be honest it'll be a cold day in hell when I go most of the year without getting a detention, but I've also got to do something about Rose and Stephen, they're miserable and Lily isn't too happy either," James added.

"I see what you mean," Albus mused. "But it's also not our place to go messing around in other people's personal lives. To a certain extent they have to figure it out on their own."

"To a certain extent?" James repeated. "Does that mean you'll help?"

Albus sighed, shook his head and then grinned.

"Yeah, I'll help."

The two Potter put their heads together and began conspiring.

---

On the other side of the library a very guilty Lily Potter stared at the object of her affection. If only he knew. He had such a regal way of holding himself, when he wasn't running away from her that is. He never slouched, which Lily quite liked. In her mind it meant that he was confident and Lily liked confident boys. But she wasn't about to tell him that, he wouldn't understand. He never understood anything she said to him. Plus he was too close to her brothers. The very same brothers who both knew about how she broke up Rose and Stephen. She hadn't meant to… Not really.

Rose had hurt her feelings by commenting on her romantic relationships, so Lily returned the favor. Now her cousin was miserable and Stephen was taking his anger at her out on her brother. Life just wasn't fair.

James, in his anger, would tell Scorpius how horrible she was and then Scorpius would finally forget about her and find another girl. A Slytherin girl who his family would approve of and Lily would be left with all her unresolved feelings for him. She would be just as miserable as Rose was. Perhaps that was exactly what she deserved. To be a miserable as the poor girl who had broken up with her boyfriend over a fact that Lily had pulled out of thin air.

Honestly, anyone with eyes could see that Stephen didn't want to break up with Rose, not even when he graduated. Not even when he became a huge Quidditch star with millions of fan girls all around the world. Not even when it got really tough to be with her. He would always want to be with her, everyone knew that… except for Rose apparently.

And now because of her completely fabricated insult James was going to be kicked off the Quidditch team. Because let's be honest there was no way he was going go the rest of the year without getting a detention. While Lily did realize that it would be very easy to simply tell a professor what's going on and get Stephen removed from the position of captain, but… Well, that wouldn't clear her conscience. In fact it would just make things worse.

Lily sighed. She needed to make this better and she couldn't possibly do it alone. Rose wouldn't listen to her. She'd told her cousin multiple times that she hadn't meant what she said, but Rose would hear none of it. When Lily tried approaching Stephen, he'd completely ignored her. She needed someone that both parties would listen to. Or at the very least someone who would listen to her. She couldn't stand the guilt anymore.

Her mind made up, Lily stood and made her way over to Scorpius. He was engrossed in his studies and thankfully didn't notice her presence until she was seated. She hoped that he would be too polite to run off on her with her sitting right next to him.

"Lily," he stammered, obviously completely shocked that she was sitting so close. "What are you… is there something I… what's… um…"

"I need someone to talk to, Scorpius," she said. "Everyones mad at me and rightly so I did something horrible." Lily leaned her elbows on the table and covered her face with her hands.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad, Lily," Scorpius said, soothingly.

"I told my cousin her boyfriend would break up with her when he graduated, so she broke up with him before he could and now her boyfriend is threatening to kick James off the Quidditch team if he gets another detention," she summarized. Lily looked over at him. "I'm honestly surprised you haven't already heard all this from my brothers. You seemed very chummy with them the other day."

"We weren't talking about anything like that," he admitted.

"It doesn't matter. I'm in deep shit of James gets kicked off the Quidditch team. What do I do?" she moaned.

"Um…" He looked so adorably confused, Lily just couldn't help herself.

"Oh, Scorpius." Lily threw her arms around Scorpius' neck and hugged him.

"J-jus-just a qu-quick quest-question," he stammered, putting an arm cautiously around her waist. Lily pulled her head from his shoulder and looked at him. Their faces literally centimeters apart. What she wouldn't give to close those centimeters. "W-why did you s-say th-that to your c-cousin?"

"She commented on my romantic past and how I've never been able to keep a boyfriend for more then two weeks. She really hurt my feelings so I said something I knew would hurt her feelings," Lily said, looking down.

Scorpius placed a tentative hand under Lily's chin forcing her to look up at him again. "I don't know what to say, Lily. But I am sorry that she hurt your feelings."

"I acted immaturely and now I have to deal with the consequences," she whispered.

"Have you tried explaining why you said what you did?"

Lily sighed and laid her head back on Scorpius' shoulder. "Of course I have! She won't listen."

"If she won't listen, I don't know how much help I'll be," Scorpius said, pulling back a bit.

Lily looked up at him and bit her lip. He gulped. "I just need someone to talk to you, you know?"

"I'll always be there for you, Lily," he promised. She smiled, looked down and then up again.

"I need someone who will me feel better when I'm down."

"I can do that."

"I need someone will always care about me and never judge me, if he knows I'm wrong," Lily went on.

"Lily I don't think I understand what you're talking about," Scorpius said.

"Kiss me, you beautiful fool."