The Time Lily and Albus had a Birthday Night Out

"Oh Lily, I'm so excited, I can believe you and Al agreed to this!" squealed Alice as they waited in line to get into a new club at the outskirts of Diagon Alley.

Lily couldn't quite believe it either, but it had been so long since she gone out for drinks and socialising, let alone clubbing, that she couldn't say no. Especially as it was for her and Albus' birthday (They were within a month or so of each other), so Alice was doubly invested.

It was a mish-mash of people that turned up for it too because of this - Alice and Scorpius were obviously connected to both of them, but then there was Dario, Hugo, Kat and Xander there for Lily and some of Albus' work mates he was close to. Even Teddy had turned up for them both!

"Not here for long kids," he'd said with a wry grin, "I think I'm almost too old for this."

"Age is only a number, Edward!" Al said with a grin.

They were at the front of the line when the bouncer did a double take looking at Albus, gave Scorpius a suspicious glance then mutely let them all through.

Kat snorted, "Definitely pays to hang round with you, Potter!"

He laughed, "There has to be some perks," he replied jokingly, grabbing Alice's hand absently as they made their way inside.

The place was packed and the atmosphere was humming. The DJ's station was hovering above the crowd and a remix of a popular wizarding dance song was blaring through the club. Even the long art nouveau portraits that lined the walls were dancing. Purple and blue witch fire flickered in time to the music and provided enough light to see by.

"This is amazing!" shouted Lily, "Like that place Dario and I took you to in Florence!"

"That's why I thought you'd like it!" Alice yelled back close to Lily's ear.

When they got to the bar the music faded to a low hum in the background.

"Clever bit of magic that," Hugo mused approvingly.

"Bloody relief in my opinion," Xander said, "I dunno how long I'll be here tonight Lil, got to get back home to Kels. We're painting the nursery this weekend."

Xander had married a lovely muggle born witch called Kelly Love, three years prior, and she was now about 6 months pregnant with their first child.

Lily gave him an understanding smile, "Of course. I'm just glad you could make it, Xander. It's good to see you."

Xander smiled back at her a little wistfully, which for some reason made Scorpius move a bit closer to Lily so they touched arms.

Lily flicked a knowing smile up at him, grabbed his hand and bumped her shoulder against his.

Xander's eyebrows rose into his fringe and disbelief. Lily was not normally one for casual displays of affection. She usually needed at least three drinks before getting to that level.

"Alright Malfoy?" Lily asked Scorpius, raising an eyebrow.

He let out a soft chuckle, "Just fine Potter. Drinking the usual tonight?"

"Same as always, you know me."

They'd known each other long enough that Scorpius hadn't needed to learn Lily's favourite drink, he knew it already.

Waving down a bartender he ordered a Gigglewater Sunrise for himself and a Misty Mojito for Lily, both wizarding variations on popular muggle cocktails.

"Alright!" said Alice, "Let's get this party started!"

An hour and a half later and three drinks down Lily was having the best time she'd had in ages, singing and dancing with her friends and dancing tantalising close, but not close enough for his liking, to Scorpius.

Clubbing, he thought was a particular kind of torture where you could get away with well over normal levels of PDA that only made wanting someone worse. Thank Merlin Teddy had just gone home, he would likely have gone all big brother and dragged Lily off the dance floor.

They were at the bar ordering more drinks and taking a breather when Alice came careening back into their circle in a very excited and classically drunk manner, "LILY! I've done a special birthday thing for you!"

"Aw Ally! Thank you!" yelled back Lily with an uncharacteristic goofy smile and over bright eyes, "What is it?!"

Just then the DJ dropped the music and grabbed the mike, "Excuse me for interrupting your vibe groovy babes! We have a birthday girl in the house!"

The whole club whistled and screamed and yelled.

"That's right, and her best friend has requested an absolute banger of a classic in her honour, so thank Lily the birthday girl for this one!"

"Runnin' like a hairy troll, learnin' to rock and roll, spinnin' round like a crazy elf, dancin' by himself…"

Lily's eyes lit up and she grabbed Alice's hands "This is our song!" she yelled.

"I know!" Alice yelled back, "Let's go!" They raced to the dance floor, wonky but stable.

Scorpius and Albus looked at each other baffled, "The Weird Sisters?!"

They watched as Alice and Lily jumped up and down screaming, "CAN YOU DANCE LIKE A HIPPOGRYPH, ma ma ma, ma ma ma, ma ma ma!"

Lily was laughing, throwing her hands up and dancing with reckless abandon in a way he'd never seen. She looked beautiful with her hair flying wildly around her, laughing and being just so utterly carefree he found himself grinning like a crazy person. Albus noticed and laughed at him.

"She was like this when she was little, before Hogwarts. She hasn't been this happy and herself in a long time. It's partly you, you know."

Scorpius wrenched his eyes from Lily to look at his best mate. "You reckon?" he asked, always having a slither of doubt if he was enough of a person for the force of nature that was Lily Luna Potter.

"I really do. I've noticed you guys together for a while now. Before I walked in on you snogging her up against the wall," he said with a smirk.

Scorpius had the grace to blush, "Yeah, sorry about that mate,"

"Yeah, yeah. What I mean is, that you work for each other. Lily gets stuck in her head sometimes and you pull her out. You lack confidence in yourself and she helps you see yourself clearly. You're a balance. It works."

"He's not wrong, Scorpius," Albus and Scorpius jumped and glanced over at Hugo, who had overheard their conversation.

"You can take this as absolute honesty, as you know that you and I never really…gelled."

Scorpius nodded. They didn't dislike each other or anything, they just weren't each other's kind of person.

"She's happier, lighter, less cold and Slytherin. She wears a mask less, which means she feels safe being herself. You give her that safety Scorpius. And I can respect you for that."

"I…thank you, Hugo," Scorpius said quietly, "That means a lot coming from you."

Hugo nodded. "You'll have to excuse me, Dario is…" he blushed, "Well, I think I'll go over and dance."

Scorpius looked over at Dario, he had a very warm smile on his face directed very singularly at Hugo as he made his way over.

"Huh," Scorpius said, just now realising that Hugo is gay.

"You didn't know?" Albus asked in amusement.

"I don't think it's ever come up in conversation and we've never spent that much time together."

Albus shrugged, "Far enough. I'm glad he's getting back out there, it's been ages since he's been with anyone. And Dario is a nice guy."

Scorpius just nodded as his gaze tracked back to Lily. The song had come right back around to the chorus again and they were still jumping and screaming the lyrics having the time of their lives. Lily caught his eye and waved enthusiastically, then gestured for him to some and join them.

Scorpius laughed and pushed himself off the bar. He was about to head over when a hand grabbed his arm.

He turned back to find it was Xander. "Scorpius," he said rather formally, "Please let Lily know I've gone home."

"Oh, ok, sure, no problem," he paused "... you don't want to tell her yourself?"

Xander shook his head. "Easier this way." Then turned and headed out the door.

Scorpius looked at Albus. "Was that weird or…?"

"It was weird." Albus looked thoughtful, stirring his drink with a straw. "They dated at Hogwarts, you know. He wanted to settle down straight after, get married, start a life. Was convinced she was his soul mate."

Scorpius frowned. "I know they dated, but not that it was that serious. It's a very…traditional pureblood mentality."

"Yeah, Lily freaked out. Well, her version of freaking out anyway. Very rationally told him no, they're too young, she has plans etc. Then left for Europe the next week. As far as I know she's never looked back. She came back for his wedding a few years back, but they haven't been as close since."

Part of Scorpius was very relieved to hear that. He looked over to Lily again and saw she and Alice were on their way back, the song had ended.

"Hey! Why didn't you come dance?" she tucked herself in under his arm and slung her arm behind his back.

"Sorry Pix, Xander said to let you know he'd headed home and then I got stuck yammering to your git of a brother."

"Oi! I'm right here!"

Alice giggled, "Don't worry babes, you're my git."

"Well that makes me feel better," Albus replied sarcastically.

"It should, because it means-," Alice leaned in and whispered something in his ear that made him go red and choke on his drink.

"Argh, come on Ally, not when I'm right here!"

"Oh you can't talk Lily! You've been undressing Scorpius with your eyes all night!"

Now it was Scorpius' turn to go red and choke on his drink.

Lily stepped back from under Scorpius' arm then looked him up and down very slowly and appraisingly a wide and very sexy smile creeping onto her face, her eyes burning into his.

Scorpius was caught like a deer in the headlights and took a sharp breath in, utterly at her mercy.

"Well," she said, arching an eyebrow, "Can you blame me?"

"Nooope, you are not doing that now, I have to live with you guys!" Albus wailed.

They all burst out laughing, and the spell was broken but Scorpius still felt hot under the collar and acutely aware of every place his body touched Lily's.

"Um, hi Al, Scorp." They all turned round in surprise and saw a very uncertain looking Rose, fiddling with the hem of her dress. "Alice, hey. Lily."

"Oh wow, hi Rose!" Al gave her a hug, "I thought you weren't coming?"

"Changed my mind, thought I'd get out of the flat for a bit, you know."

He smiled softly at her and nodded. "Well I'm glad you came, want a drink?"

She smiled back, a little stronger this time, "Sure. I'll have a…is that Hugo and Dario?!"

They glanced over at the dance floor to see Hugo and Dario snogging right in the middle of it, oblivious to the world around them.

They all laughed and Scorpius said, "Looks like they're having a great night!"

Rose's gaze flicked over to him and away before she turned and ordered a drink. Albus did the same while Alice excused herself to find the loo. Lily moved subtly closer to Scorpius, brushing his shoulder with her own. Scorpius unconsciously moved his hand to the small of her back, stroking her spine and smiling slightly down at her. She smiled back and leaned forward, resting her forehead on his chest and sighing contentedly. He kissed the top of her head gently, breathing the smell of her hair.

Rose chose that moment to turn back around. "What the actual fuck?"

They looked up quickly to see what had happened only to find Rose staring at them in disbelief.

"Are you, I mean is that," she gestured wildly between them, "happening?"

"Er, yes," Scorpius said awkwardly, "I didn't realise you didn't know, I mean-"

"How long?" Rose snapped, then raised a hand up in front of herself, "You know what, no, I'm not doing this tonight. I have enough going on in my life without this."

She spun on her heel and headed for the opposite end of the club, drink in hand.

"Ah, Rose!" called Albus, quickly following her into the throng of people.

Lily sighed and began to move away. Scorpius put down his drink and grabbed her hand, then pulled her up against him, his other hand moving behind her back to hold her close.

Lily's breath caught in her throat as she breathed in sharply. She looked up at Scorpius and was trying to gather her wits and say something clever when he surprised her and covered her mouth with his in a searing kiss. Lily wound her arms around his neck and pulled him closer and Scopius other hand slid upwards and tangled in her hair. The club faded away and Lily was aware only of her racing heart and burning desire.

They pulled away breathlessly to come up for air and Lily laughed softly, leaning her forehead against his. "What was that for?" she asked softly.

Scorpius nudged his nose against hers. "It's your birthday, Lil. Your night. You're allowed to be happy, even if others are going through a shit time. Don't let Rose make you feel bad about it."

A smile tugged at her lips and she pressed a soft, slow kiss against his lips. "I'm really happy Scor."

He nuzzled her nose again, "I am too, love."

"Argh, you guys, get a room already!" Alice exclaimed, and they pulled away from each other laughing.

"Lily Luna, never have I ever seen you so touchy feely! Let alone in public!"

"People grow and change, Ally!" Lily smirked, "Maybe I was just a red hot marshmallow all along."

"I knew it! You've been hiding under that Slytherin mask for so long you forgot yourself. Lucky our lad Scorpius is here to break you out of it."

"Oh, he can break me out of anything anytime he wants," said Lily, her smouldering gaze on her boyfriend.

"And that's my cue to go! Have you seen Albus? I feel the need for some unacceptable levels of PDA of my own."

That somewhat killed the mood, "Ah, he went to find Rose after she saw us…together."

"Oh, well, likely a no to the PDA in that case," said Alice with a frown, "No matter! There's always later!" she headed off in the direction they'd last seen Rose and Albus go.

"So positive," said Scorpius, shaking his head.

"Annoyingly so. Very hard to be pessimistic in her presence but I give it my best," Lily said with a slight laugh.

Scopius held out his hand, "Shall we dance, milady?"

"I would be honoured, good sir."

Another hour and another round of drinks later found Rose working her issues out on the dance floor with various strangers, Hugo and Dario had long since headed back to Dario's flat and Albus' workmates called it a night (Kat got one of their owl post addresses and also headed home). Lily, Scopius, Albus and Alice were leaning precariously against the bar.

"Mate," said Albus to no one in particular, "I'm bloody knackered and dreaming of my bed."

"I'm dreaming of your bed too," said Alice, wiggling her eyebrows. The effect was somewhat ruined when she yawned widely.

Lily laughed, then yawned herself, "Bed sounds amazing, but," she looked over at Rose on the dancefloor, "I'm a bit concerned about her."

They all frowned in unison.

"She needs to go home, but it's going to be a fight to get her there," said Scorpius knowingly.

"No guarantee she'll stay there either," mused Albus.

Lily shrugged, "Just ward her in and block the Floo, then she won't be able to get out until she's sober enough to reverse it. Rose is useless at magic when she's pissed."

They all looked at her with identical expressions of wariness, "Most people are Lil," said Albus, "You think you can ward and block the Floo in the state you're in?"

"I mean it might take a couple of tries to get the aim and movement right, but I think it'd be fine!" she replied confidently.

"And there is the perfect example of why you don't drink and charm, everyone!" said Alice with a laugh, "Looks like she's coming with us to your flat."

"Argh, must she?" asked Lily, "She barely tolerates me on a good day, I don't really want to ruin my Saturday waking up to a pissed off Rose."

"Whew, Lil, tell us what you really think!" Albus said with a laugh, "You should drink more often, I've learnt loads about you I'd forgotten tonight!"

"Sod off," she replied grumpily.

"Ok, time to go!" Scorpius said, "Al, go get Rose, we'll wait in case you need help."

They watched Albus wade through the mass of bodies on the dance floor to Rose, then as they started to argue with each other. A couple of the men dancing with her tried to tell him to piss off but once they realised who he was they backed right off. Eventually Rose came stalking back to them, red faced and furious, Albus following closely.

"I am perfectly capable of staying by myself! I am in perfect command of all my faculties!" she yelled, waving her arms and swaying alarmingly.

"Right, well, be that as it may Rose, we are heading home and would just love for you to come with us! Crash on Albus' couch for the night, it'll be fun!" Alice, ever perky, must have made it sound fun, as Rose immediately perked up.

Lily slipped subtly behind Scorpius out of Rose's eyeline in case seeing her caused her to go off the deep end again. Albus noticed and smothered a snort.

"Oh thanks so much, Alice!" Rose exclaimed, her mood completely turned around, "That actually sounds great, let's go!"

Apparition was out of the question in the state they were in, so their only option was muggle transport…or the Floo.

They all eyed the green flames warily.

"Well," said Scopius bravely, "Here goes!" He hopped into the flames and yelled, "Cosy Cottage!"

They all followed one after the other, Lily waiting until everyone else had gone. She took a moment before stepping into the flames to look back at the club and think back over the night. She smiled. It was one she would remember all her days.

Then she stepped into the Floo and was whisked away.

Lily blinked and opened her eyes blearily, wincing when she saw the sun streaming in through a gap in the curtains, then closed them again. Her stomach turned over in protest. She tried to move slowly to the side but was stopped by a large obstruction in her way. Using her hands to feel her way she deduced one Scorpius Malfoy was the cause of her woes. She opened one eye and admired the view of him half naked and spreadeagled in her bed before a flash of light from her bedside table caught her eye. Potion bottle. Hangover cure!

Manoeuvring herself slowly and carefully so as not to move her head too much or disturb the contents of her stomach she reached over Scorpius and grabbed one of the potions, swallowing it down in one go.

She held her breath as her stomach protested then gradually relaxed as she felt the cure work its way through her system, alleviating the pains and nausea. Didn't help the tiredness, but it was still worth it for the amazing night she'd had. She snuggled up to Scorpius and slung a leg over his, resting her eyes peacefully and letting herself just be still with her thoughts.

She must have dozed back off because the next thing she knew she felt Scorpius stirring and heard a distinct "Argh."

She yawned and stretched, "There's a hangover cure on the bedside table," she whispered.

"Thank Merlin," Scorpius croaked, then fumbled around for the potion and swigged it down.

She felt him relax after a moment, "Alright?"

"Better," he replied, a smile in his voice, "This is nice."

"It really is," Lily snuggled closer and sighed when he started stroking her side. She nuzzled his shoulder and he moved his head down to capture her lips in a soft kiss, which she returned with fervour.

They were just starting to get into a proper snog session when they were interrupted by a bang on the door.

"Breakfast in 10 if you're keen!" Alice's voice rang through the door, "So stop snogging and get downstairs!

"How does she always know, it's weird!"

"I don't know, maybe there's a seer line in the Longbottom family somewhere," joked Lily.

She kissed him softly before getting out of bed, just then realising she was clad in nothing but her underwear. Scorpius wolf whistled.

"Sod off," Lily laughed, then threw on a pair of tights and one of Scorpius t-shirts she had lying around.

Scopius hoisted himself with a groan and put on last night's clothes, then they both made their way down the stairs, holding hands. It wasn't until they saw Rose sitting at the table they remembered she'd stayed the night before. Lily was about to drop Scorpius' hand for the sake of peace, but Scopius kept holding on, giving her a knowing look.

Rose looked up as they came in, narrowed her eyes at their joined hands and Lily wearing Scorpius' shirt, but thankfully didn't say anything.

"Morning you guys!" sang out Alice from the kitchen, "Al and I have made you all a Full English, even found some baked beans in the cupboard!"

"Thanks Ally, this is amazing," said Lily, heading into the kitchen, "Anyone want a cuppa?"

Breakfast passed peacefully, if a little awkwardly. They recalled highlights from the night before, and much discussion was had about Dario and Hugo.

"Do you think they will start dating?" Alice wondered.

"Well Hugo isn't the one night stand sort of person, and neither is Dario, it's been awhile since either of them were with anyone, so I think it's likely," Lily mused.

"They look adorable together, too," Alice gushed, "They're both pretty good looking guys, and their curls are just the sweetest thing."

Albus fluffed his hair absently, but the gesture wasn't missed by Lily, "Don't you just think brown eyes are the kindest? Dario has lovely brown eyes," she said with a subtle wink at Alice that Scopius also noticed. Rose was looking at them in confusion.

Alice just smirked in response. "Oh yes, I just love brown eyes!" Albus was looking a bit startled now, "Sometimes I look at Al's green ones and think, hmmmm, colouring changing charm maybe?"

"Oi, hang on!"

The rest of them laughed as he looked indignantly at Alice, not realising he was being teased until that moment.

"Oh sod off you lot, it's too early to pick on me!"

"Honestly Albie, you know how much I love your eyes," Alice was still giggling.

"He's not the fastest broom on the pitch in the mornings," Scorpius chortled as Lily snorted.

Rose was looking at them all a bit oddly, clearly feeling left out of the comfortable dynamic they had.

"Tea anyone?" Lily asked to break up the moment a bit and was rewarded with a chorus of yes'.

She figured she may as well clean up while she was there, so she waved her wand and set the breakfast dishes gliding into the kitchen while the sink filled itself with hot sudsy water. A flick and a jab had the dishes dunking themselves into the sink and being scrubbed while a last flourish ensured a tea towel dried them off. She made sure it was all working how it should, then filled up the jug with a quick Aguamenti and popped it on, grabbing everyone's mugs and preparing their drinks.

"You're good at cleaning charms." Rose said out of nowhere. Lily stilled, then nodded meeting her eyes briefly before continuing to prepare the drinks. Everyone was silent.

"Years of cleaning a potions lab. I had to have Grandma Molly teach me a couple of her charms when I came back here for Xander's wedding. Scourgify only gets you so far."

Rose nodded, "Makes sense. I know some charms to organise files that I could do in my sleep."

"Necessity breeds mastery in a way."

"Indeed."

Scorpius, Albus and Alice were silent, watching the exchange like a tennis match, moving their heads back and forward.

Lily brought the tea down to the table and when she gave Rose hers, Rose nodded to her politely. Lily nodded back. It was the most civil exchange they'd had in years and Lily was partly relieved but also a fair bit suspicious. She mentally shrugged and figured she as long as Rose was civil there was no reason not to respond in kind, for Albus' sake if nothing else.

She sat down at the table and smiled at Scorpius when he bumped his knee against hers affectionately.

"So that is happening then? Officially?" Rose asked, gesturing at them both but looking at Lily.

"Yes," she replied simply but warily.

"Hmm. And you're happy then?" looking at Scorpius this time.

"Very," Scorpius said, smiling warmly at Lily who couldn't help but return it.

"Huh. That's…nice." She looked down at the table and drank her tea. As if on cue, everyone else took a drink from their cup as well trying to dispel the awkwardness.

"So, what are everyone's plans for the weekend then?" Albus asked cheerily, steering the conversation into safer waters.

It seemed to do the trick. Peace lasted the rest of the morning and Rose headed back to hers before lunch. She seemed pensieve. It was disconcerting for Lily, as Rose was typically a ball of vibrating emotion, good or bad. Seeing her a bit flat and reflective was strange, especially as she showed no animosity towards her at all. Lily kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

After thinking about it some more she figured she would take whatever peace she could get and continue the odd truce they seemed to have established. The less drama in life the better.