That Summer Chapter VIII
Lily Potter was a woman on a mission that morning. One could tell by the decided way she walked down the stairs of her family home. And if the determined look in her hazel eyes wasn't enough clue, the slight upturn of her chin let everyone know not to get in her way.
She paused on the living room to get a handful of floo powder and turned to look at her brother. Albus was in Frank Longbottom's house with his friends from Gryffindor but James was sprawled on the sofa. He had been spending his first summer after Hogwarts working with Fred at uncle George's store and if he wasn't out with his friends, one could usually find him in the exact same position he was at that moment. Dead centre with his legs spread, a console between his hands and eyes glued to the telly.
He looked up from his game briefly before his eyes went back to the screen. "Going somewhere, lil' sis?"
There was no suspicion in his voice as there would have been in Albus' and for that Lily was glad. James was protective of her, sure, but never overly so. Maybe it was because with Albus and her Dad there was enough overprotectiveness going around but he never was as overbearing as they were.
"Yeah, see you later," she shot him a charming smile, hopping he wouldn't press for more information but she didn't have to. He barely looked her way as he sent her a kiss.
"See ya'," and that was that.
Lily shrugged and let the powder she was holding slip through her fingers at the same time she announced clearly Alicia's address.
She was amazed at the sight that greeted her. The living room she stepped into was the most beautiful she had seen so far. The floor was made of pure white marble and was covered in some places by Persian rugs and the walls were littered with big Victorian windows that reached the ceiling.
There were a couple of comfortable looking settees and two sofas around a small wooden coffee table. The paintings on the wall were all about the sea and the blue on the canvas complimented the colour of the furniture nicely.
Lily was completely blown away by how beautiful everything was.
She made a full turn around the living room and was so entranced with the posh mansion that she almost jumped three feet in the air when she saw that the double doors right in front of her were open. Someone was standing there.
"Salazar's bollocks!" Her hand went to her heart to see if she could slow its erratic beating.
The man on the doorway was tall and lean. He was wearing a silky blue muggle suit with a crisp white shirt underneath and no tie. He was holding a suitcase in one hand and a muggle styrofoam cup of coffee in the other and his eyes held no surprise at seeing her there even if one of his eyebrows were raised.
"Who are you?" He asked at last.
Lily was caught for a moment thinking that this man was undeniably hot and felt her cheeks flush. He had a chiseled face and smooth black hair and his skin was just a touch darker than Alici—
Bloody hell.
This was Alicia's dad. This was Alicia's dad and she'd just cursed in front of him.
When he just continued looking at her expectantly Lily shook herself out of her stupor and answered his question.
"Lily Potter, sir." She cleared her throat and tried to compose herself. "I'm terribly sorry for just barging into your house like this."
His eyebrows rose even higher.
"Potter?" He asked incredulously before he composed himself. An amused sort of snort escaped him. "Are you friends with my daughter?"
"I'd like to think so, sir," Lily tried to keep her tone of voice steady and polite like she usually did when talking to a teacher or someone older.
"I heard about Saint Potter's offspring joining our house, but I guess I couldn't truly believe it unless I saw it with my own eyes," Blaise's gaze was analytical as it settled on her.
"I can't say I haven't heard that before," Lily replied truthfully and perhaps a tad more spirited than what was warranted.
"One would think so." The man muttered almost as if to himself before releasing a sudden huff. "Well," he crossed the distance between the two of them and set his briefcase down before offering her a hand, "it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. Potter."
Lily sputtered as her widened eyes followed his hand. This was the first time a classmate's parent treated her like an equal right off the bat. Usually she had to win them over with her carefully crafted charm and grace.
Suddenly remembering herself, Lily quickly moved to shake his dark hand.
"Likewise, Mr. Zabini," she made sure to meet his gaze unwaveringly and was rewarded with a kind of surprised grin from him.
"'Pleasure to make your acquaintance.'" A voice mocked from the entrance to the living room. "What are you, father, a hundred years old?"
Alicia was leaning on the doorjamb, looking as flawless as ever even in simple sweatpants and cropped shirt. She grinned at her father teasingly before her eyes fell on Lily. A slightly surprised look crossed her features before she settled for a raised eyebrow.
"Cute," Blaise spoke before Lily could, "but do you know what's even cuter? When you were five and didn't make fun of your sweet, old father."
Alicia snorted.
"You are neither sweet nor old, father."
"See," he smiled at his daughter and the crowfeet at the corner of his eyes were the first and last indication of his age, "that's why you're my favourite child."
"I bet you tell Anton the same thing when I'm not in the room."
Blaise laughed. "I would never!" He winked at his daughter before offering a nod and a smirk to Lily. "I have to get going, I'm already late as it is."
"I thought you were already at work, what are you still doing here?" Alicia asked him while he moved past Lily to the fireplace.
"I was almost there when I realised I'd forgotten my briefcase." Blaise shot her a lopsided smirk when Alicia shook her head at him. "I'll be going now. It was nice to meet you, Ms. Potter."
And with that he was gone in a swirl of emerald green flames before Lily could reply.
She turned to Alicia with a raised eyebrow and tried to contain what she was sure was hysterical laughter bubbling in her belly. The other girl smiled at her.
"He seems to like you," she offered and Lily couldn't keep from snorting in amusement at that.
"I don't know about that," Lily stepped closer to her and kissed her cheek in greeting.
"Hey, love, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" She mocked her father's way of speaking.
"Sorry to have come unannounced like this." Lily said as they made their way to Alicia's room. "I need you to get dressed. We're going out."
Alicia laughed a bit as they climbed up a beautiful set of stairs. The white marble continued from the living room through the hallway to the steps where it was covered in the middle by smooth blue velvet.
"Nonsense, you're welcome here any day at any time." She offered Lily a small, kind of sheepish grin that had her chest filling with warmth. "Mind telling me where we're going, though?"
Lily smirked mischievously at her.
"We're going to help Malfoy with his ridiculously empty flat."
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Felix didn't answer them when they texted him. He didn't even pick up the phone when they actually called him. Lily got worried after the fifth unanswered call but Alicia assured her that he was probably just with his family because of the party today.
"Party?" Lily asked as Alicia pulled on some jeans and a light shirt to match Lily's outfit.
"Yeah, Xander turns 17 today."
"Xander Nott?"
"Yep."
Alexander Nott was Charlie's older brother and Felix's cousin. He was in Scorpius' year and a beater for their team. Lily quite enjoyed his company. He was the classic heartbreaker but seemed to sense he had no chance with Lily because he treated her like one of the boys. He had made her feel part of the team this year but they weren't exactly close.
Lily and Alicia went downstairs to the living room chatting amiably. Alicia went through first and quickly disappeared in the flames. Lily grabbed a handful of floo powder before she stepped into the heath and announced Scorpius' address clearly.
She felt the heat of the flames before the world started to spin around her. After a while she saw his living room and stepped out of the fire into the spacious room.
Lily could hear Alicia in the kitchen rummaging in the cupboards.
"I'm going to make some coffee, you go on and wake Scor up," her voice was almost lost because of the sound of water running.
Lily hummed in consent before moving to the hallway that led to his room. The door was open and the light streaming from the windows was almost blinding.
Lily had no idea how he managed to sleep so late without curtains.
He was a sight laying on his belly, tangled with his dark sheets. His hair was a mess around his head, blond tresses reflecting the sunlight and slightly tanned skin shinning.
Lily carefully made her way to the side of the bed he was turned to and sat down next to his head. She brushed his hair away from his face and lowered her mouth to his year.
"Wake up," she muttered before taking a quick bite at his earlobe.
He didn't.
Lily huffed and leaned back to see his face. His brow was slightly furrowed and his nose the slightest bit scrunched but he didn't seem any closer to waking up.
Time to up her game then.
She moved to his ear again and started pressing kisses from the top to where it met his neck. She moved the kisses to his nape where she bit down. Hard.
Scorpius groaned.
Lily tried not to smile in victory before she used her tongue to circle the area she abused. By the time she started sucking on it she knew he was awake because she suddenly found herself underneath him with only the sheets beneath them.
"Morning," she said cheekily when he blinked his eyes open and tried to focus on her.
"Potter?"
He looked so confused, sleep still clinging to him stubbornly as he supported himself above her.
"Hmm," she hummed an answer before moving her mouth to his jawline.
"I—" he started to say but was cut off by a groan when she simultaneously hooked her legs around him to bring him closer and sucked on his pulse point.
"Oh, for Salazar's sake." Alicia said from the doorway. "I didn't come here so you guys could shag."
"Fuck off, Ali," Scorpius mumbled in her neck.
Lily sniggered but pushed him off her as Alicia made her way back to the kitchen.
"Come on, get dressed, we're going out."
"Out?" He still looked a bit confused but sleep had been replaced by arousal and now his cheeks were a bit flushed.
"Yes," Lily pushed herself out of his bed and tried to pull him with her, "we're going to decorate your place today." She pulled on his hand some more, but he didn't budge. "Malfoy, come on, I don't have all day."
"I don't want to go out," he raised an eyebrow at her making her huff and let go of him, "I want to stay here on this bed and fuck you all day long." He said in the low smooth tone he usually reserved to the bedroom. The way his voice was still rough from sleep was positively sinful.
Lily felt her cheeks burn immediately as heat pooled low in her belly. He seemed to know the effect he had on her if his wolfish smirk was anything to go by.
Lily rolled her eyes and steadied her voice.
"Take a cold shower and get dressed. There's coffee in the kitchen when you're ready."
And with that she left the room. It was one of the hardest thing she had to do because if she was being completely honest with herself, what he suggested sounded like a much better idea than going out but nevertheless. She was a woman on a mission and that mission was to furnish his whole apartment.
Or at least buy him some bloody curtains.
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They spent the day shopping.
The first thing they bought was some curtains for all of his flat including the bathrooms. From there they alternated between muggle London and wizarding London to buy random appliances and furniture. It was quite fun and the hours seemed to flow by because it was suddenly time for lunch.
They went into a muggle restaurant near the entrance to the Ministry and asked for a table in the back. When they were seated and waiting for their orders, Lily's phone rang. It was Felix.
"Hey, Felix," she answered before taking a sip of her white wine.
"Hello, darling, sorry I didn't answer before. I was helping the family set up Xander's party."
In the background she could hear Claren Nott, Charlie and Xander's mother, asking him to let go of his muggle contraption and help change the sofa.
She laughed.
"It's all right. I was just wondering if you wanted to furniture shop with Malfoy, Alicia and I," she explained.
"Oh, come on," he complained, "I can't believe you guys went out without me."
"Sorry, love," she replied apologetically while Scorpius and Alicia both sniggered.
Scorpius stole the phone from her too fast for Lily to react.
"We're absolutely not sorry, you wanker, you should have come."
Lily looked at Alicia and they both shared an exasperated look. Scorpius huffed a laugh and looked at her.
"Felix is inviting you to the party," he said.
Lily shook her head. "No way, I heard it's basically a family party."
"She doesn't want to go because she thinks the snakes will eat her alive," Scorpius said into the receiver.
"Hey, I didn't say that!" She exclaimed outrageously. She wasn't scared, she just didn't think it would be polite to attend something like that.
Scorpius grinned at her.
"Xander wants to talk to you," he passed her the phone.
"LILY! LILY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"
"You don't have to shout, Nott, I can hear you just fine," Lily laughed.
"You absolutely must come, Lil' P!" He lowered his voice just a bit but still continued to shout.
"If you say so..." Lily shook her head at that.
"YES! See you soon then." He went silent for a bit. "Oh, shit. Felix! How do I turn this bloody thing o—"
Then the call was disconnected.
"Well, I guess I'm going then," Lily shrugged her shoulders at Scorpius and Alicia.
"Great!" The other girl grinned happily at her. "Want to go buy something to wear today? We can change in my place and walk there."
"Not necessary." Lily shook her head. "If you guys could Apparate me home, I'll change real quick then floo to your place."
Alicia pouted.
"Do you have a swimsuit to wear? It's going to be a pool party..." she trailed off. "Are you absolutely sure you don't want to go shopping?"
"Yes." Lily laughed a bit and tried to ignore the puppy eyes being directed at her. "Unlike you I don't have the money to be shopping every week."
"You're no fun..." Alicia muttered to her wine.
When they finished their lunch, Scorpius Apparated her to the Apparition point in Godric's Hollow and left after sending her just a wink and a rushed 'See you later'. It was probably for the best that he didn't linger in her family's lane — uncle Ron and aunt Hermione lived there too and it was just too unpredictable for him to stay long — but she would have liked something more as a goodbye. She shook the silly thoughts from her head and set down the street.
Lily walked to her house quickly and was relieved to see there was no one there. She tore her clothes from body in a rush, not even bothering to put them away.
She had to be quick or they would be late.
She chose a bikini aunt Fleur had given her from her last visit to France. It was a one piece with a beautiful flower print that complimented her colours and she had never worn it before.
She paired it with white sandals and some cutoffs, grabbed a jacket, a sun hat and her purse and then left.
When Lily stepped out of the fireplace, Scorpius and Alicia were already waiting for her in the living room.
"You look gorgeous," Alicia complimented her as they made their way down the street.
Alicia lived close to Charlie and Xander in Lancaster Lane. It was where most of the wizarding high society lived nowadays and there was not one terrain that didn't contain a mansion. Most of the purebloods had chosen against living in the same manors they used to live in during the war be it because of all the bad memories or because they were taken by the Ministry. Lancaster Lane was where those who had stayed in Britain relocated to.
"Thanks! You too, darling," Lily shot her a smile and tried to focus on anything but the feeling of Scorpius' arm brushing hers every now and then.
The Nott's mansion was as beautiful as she remembered it from last summer. She had only seen the living room briefly and Charlie's room when she'd been there but from what she remembered the decor was impeccable.
Lily followed Scorpius and Alicia through the side gates that lead directly to the backyard and was immediately struck by how loud it was.
They must have charmed the place because the minute she stepped foot in their back lawn, the Midnight Thestrals could be heard blasting through speakers she couldn't see. House Elves had charmed bright colourful drinks and frozen bottles of butterbeer to float around the pool area where everyone sat.
Mathew Flint and Jonathan Corner, two Slytherins from Scorpius' year and Xander's best friends, were inside the water with Charlie. They were the first ones to spot them and they immediately started waving enthusiastically and hooting.
Lily suspected the colourful cocktails weren't as virgin as she first thought.
They were still quite far away from the pool — their backyard was ridiculously gigantic — but Lily could now see that the back of the ground floor was completely made of glass.
Everyone's parents were sitting in the living room in small groups and drinking white Elven wine. It took a moment for that information to sink in but when it did she promptly pulled on Scorpius's arm to make him walk besides her and let Alicia guide the way.
"Your parents are here," she hissed in his ear.
"Yeah?" He looked down at her with a frown.
"You brought me to a place where your parents could see us?" Lily asked incredulously. Surely he had some kind of ulterior motive, because letting any adult see them together this early in their… whatever-they-had-going-on was just a dumb move.
"They're not seeing anything, Potter." He rolled his eyes at her but she could see a shadow pass them. "Chill."
"I don't know if you've noticed," Lily tried to reign in her temper at his obvious dismissal, "but the wall is made of glass, Malfoy."
"Quite the observational skills you got there." He snorted and the only thing Lily wanted more in the world at that moment was to punch him in the throat and run the hell away from there. Something must have shown on her face because Scorpius's eyes while still cold and unreadable softened a bit. "I'll keep my distance, okay? They won't suspect anything unless you give us away."
Lily suddenly realised that he was feeling at least a fraction of the unease she felt. Scorpius also didn't want his parents finding out about them and that would have comforted her if another realisation hadn't set in.
He was apprehensive because he thought she would give them away.
That stung a bit, honestly. It made her feel incompetent and sad and because she was feeling incompetent and sad she felt angry. Who the fuck did he think he was? Was she just another of his fangirls in his eyes? Did she really appear that desperate around him?
She would show that stupid arse. He wanted her to keep her distance and to play cool? Well, she was going to be a fucking glacier.
For the rest of the party she didn't look at him. Felix distracted her right as they reached the pool, hugging her and spinning her around as Alicia and The Big Arse went inside to talk to their parents. She gave Xander a birthday hug and said hello to the boys.
Charlie seemed particularly happy to see her and she caught herself feeling the same. He was one of her best friends and it was always a welcomed experience to see him over break.
Claren Nott came outside to greet her and to tell her that she could make herself comfortable, that all the adults would most likely stay inside and let the 'kids play' outside. Claren was a serious woman but Lily had long since won her over and was always treated with respect.
During the whole party there was only one incident when Felix decided to jump with her into the pool but Lily didn't mind much. The heat had been getting to her and she had felt herself close to snapping at Scorpius. Felix's way of preventing a fight was unconventional, sure, but it did the trick.
She left way after the sun had already set without uttering a single word to Scorpius.
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Astoria Malfoy twirled her white wine graciously as her husband played distractedly with the ends of her tidy ponytail. They were seated around one of the tables overlooking the backyard with her sister and her husband and Theo Nott and Pansy Parkinson, talking about their children.
She kept her attention divided between the conversation going on around her and the kids outside. Though they could hardly be called kids anymore, she mused.
They were all of age and Scorpius was living on his own. Even before her son turned seventeen, the tales they shared about their children shenanigans at school were cringe worthy at the least.
Not to mention that one time she and Draco had arrived early from a date because of a fight and caught Scorpius in a rather compromising situation with Amanda Bulstrode, a Slytherin witch two years older than him. Astoria had never seen a girl get up from their knees so quickly before.
A flash of red caught her attention outside.
"Who's the girl?" She asked the group, interrupting whatever Pansy was saying about how she thought Felix was gay.
They all turned to look as Felix picked up a svelte red-haired girl and threw her over his shoulders. He smacked her bikini clad arse soundly before jumping into the pool with her. The girl's shrieked 'Felix!' could be heard even from inside.
Draco raised an eyebrow at Pansy.
"Still think he's gay, Pans?" He said with a smirk.
Pansy huffed and mumbled something about having taught the boy better manners than that. Astoria looked away from the scene when she heard Blaise bark a laugh.
"That right there, ladies and gentlemen, is Lily Potter," he said.
"Potter?" Draco spluttered from besides her, almost choking on his wine.
Astoria merely raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, that's Dray's precious enemy's daughter?" Pansy asked teasingly before a delighted laugh escaped her.
"Potter isn't my precious anything, Parkinson," Draco snarled viciously but was wholly ignored by the rest of them.
"Yep," Blaise said, "she flooed to my house earlier this morning, looking for Ali."
"Why didn't you tell me this?" Daphne asked while hitting his arm with her free hand.
"Sorry, dear, completely slipped my mind," Blaise tried to placate her.
"So it's true," Theo said speculatively, "a Potter in Slytherin."
"Scratch that." Pansy shook her head in disbelief. "A Potter who is close friends with our children."
Everyone hummed in agreement with that statement. Never in their wildest dreams — or rather, nightmares — would they have imagined the Potter and Weasley offsprings being friends with their kids.
"She was very polite this morning," Blaise looked to be almost lost in thought, "the perfect example of a Slytherin lady." He nodded. "Completely different from the stories we hear of the rest of the Weasley bunnies back at Hogwarts."
"Do you think Felix fancies her?" Pansy cocked her head to the side.
Daphne snorted into her cup.
"No more than he fancies Alicia, darling." She grinned thoughtfully. "It seems like our babies have a new best friend."
They all watched as she got out of the pool and squeezed the excess water from her dark red hair with far more grace than her whole family put together. Felix got out next to her but in a movement that was almost too quick for them to see she pushed him back in while making it look like she accidentally hit him with her arm. If it wasn't for the devilish smirk on her face, Astoria might've believed her.
Pansy laughed outright as her son broke the surface once again and immediately began shaking his head to get water out of his ears.
"Idiot." She said fondly. "He should have known by now not to mess with a Slytherin girl."
"She is fast," Draco muttered, barely hiding the appreciation in his voice.
"I heard that she's a Seeker for Slytherin's team," Theo provided and with that the conversation changed to how great their old house's Quidditch team was right now and how they won House Cup.
However, Astoria tuned them out as she focused her eyes on the Potter girl.
She possessed far more grace than expected of someone not born into it. She made sure to dry herself with her wand and to style her hair in a ponytail much like Astoria's before applying more sun blocking lotion on her shoulders.
The girl seemed to fit in just fine with her son's closest group of friends and that was intriguing.
She sat next to Alicia while Felix left to get them more drinks like she had done that many times before. But she couldn't possibly have been this close to them, Scorpius had never written any letters home talking about a possible friendship with a Potter.
Perhaps he didn't consider her that much of a friend as the other two did? He was sitting quite pointedly at a distance from her.
Too obviously so, Astoria thought with narrowed eyes.
Lily Potter had her back slightly turned to her son while she engaged Alicia in conversation. It didn't seem forced at first glance but that coupled with the fact that her son seemed to have measured the exact distance between them to be considered appropriate raised Astoria's suspicions.
Suspicions those that were confirmed when the girl got up to assist Felix and brushed past Scorpius without a single glance in his direction. She could feel the coldness in the action even from far away.
But it wasn't the girl's actions that made her eyes widen minutely as she finally understood what was going on.
It all would have been expected behaviour between a Malfoy and a Potter if her son hadn't reacted the way he did. It was nothing for the untrained eye or for someone who didn't know him like Astoria did. Merely a glance, inconsequential, some would say, but Astoria Malfoy knew better.
She stood quite a while in silent amazement because her son's eyes had watched the girl go and the minute she returned with their drinks, he avoided her gaze.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!
I'm so sorry this took so long, but you guys have no idea how hard this chapter was making itself to write hahaha Writer's block hit me full force and I was close to giving up on this fic altogether, tbh. Thankfully, I managed to get past it! I've been doing some editing on the previous chapters because, honestly, you guys, it was a mess. There's still so much more I want to write for this story, I hope you all stick around!
Again, I can't thank you guys enough for all the reviews, follows and favourites I got until now. You guys rock! Let's see if we can up our game this chapter and try 10 reviews?
I hope you liked Astoria's POV, there's more to come.
See you soon,
~JulietteDeschemps