Copyright Disclaimer: I still don't own the canon characters or locations / and I still definitely don't own Elsa and Jack. I own the OCs, and the ideas I write.
Jack and Scorpius were in Diagon Alley with the Potters, shopping for school supplies. With Lily going into her fourth year, Scorpius and Albus into sixth and James plus Jack into seventh, a lot of stops had to be made.
First, they stopped at Flourish and Botts. Upon entering the store, Scorpius gasped. "Rose would love that book over there!" Mr. and Mrs. Potter slightly smirked, but the rest of the group rolled their eyes. Lily, more annoyed than the rest, had donned the cold demeanor Jack's uncle had been known for.
"Scorp, you haven't stopped talking about Little Rosie since we stepped off the train in our first year," Albus sighed.
"I know, but-"
"Merlin, just go gush over your books alone!" Lily cried, stalking off to find her textbooks. Her siblings and Jack followed, leaving the Potter parents to deal with lovesick Scorpius. "I am so sick of him!" she muttered.
As Lily marched through the rows of shelves, the three boys following her gossiped amongst each other.
"You know, Lilykins has been crushing on Scorpius a while now," James mused.
Jack grinned, "I know. I've seen her pine after him at the lunch table while he drones on and on about some escapade he went on with Rosie."
Lily stomped a little louder than she probably intended, and Albus flinched. "Shut up!" he hissed to Jack and James. "She can probably hear you with your horrible whispering skills. You know that Lily has Mum's temper."
As if by magic, the girl in question whirled around angrily. "Well, Jack and brothers dearest, if you want to keep talking about me - do it where I can't hear you! If you keep gossiping Mum won't care what made me hex you and she'll put you to degnoming duty next Sunday, just you watch."
"Magic's forbidden outside of Hogwarts," James countered unsuccessfully. Jack knew his best friend was actually pretty afraid. He himself almost jumped when Lily pulled an expression that could rival a werewolf's snarl. For fifteen, she was quite the display of emotions.
"Dear Merlin," Albus asked in alarm, "do you think it's that time of the month?"
"Even if it was, Rose told me that the imbalanced hormones aren't the only reason girls are so touchy." Scorpius had somehow snuck up behind the rest of the boys, startling them.
Albus rolled his eyes in response, forgetting about his sister for a moment. "Bloody cheesecakes, Scorp. Do you know how idiotic you sound; constantly rattling off some facts Rose told you?"
Scorpius looked offended, but Jack knew Albus was right. Scorpius went from confident, well-educated Slytherin Quidditch captain to unsocial, obsessed and cheesy shmuck just thinking of Rose. Not only that, but it seemed to be breaking Lily's heart. Everyone knew she was temperamental sometimes, but she became plain volatile when Scorpius mentioned Rose too often.
"You know, let's just go to Madam Malkin's. I have horrid-fitting robes that Mum said even magic can't fix," James said before walking off to find his baby sister.
The group reconvened and left the store, and on the way to Malkin's Jack felt a tug on his jumper. It was Scorpius. "Yeah, little cousin?"
"Jack, is it really that bad?"
Jack sighed, looking at Lily fiercely hugging Albus' and James' sides while walking. "I think it brings up more problems than you intend it to, mate." In return, he got a crestfallen expression from the pale-haired boy. "Don't worry, I'm sure they don't care as much as they seem to."
However, when Scorpius made a comment about how some dress robes would look fabulous on Rose only fifteen minutes later, he was left standing dumbfounded with the Potters while Jack invited a red-faced and infuriated Lily to go to Florean Fortescue's and pick up some ice cream for the whole family.
After getting some fresh air in the busy street, Lily sighed. "You know, I feel like I'm acting up. I don't think I have a right to be so jumpy and angry about this when Scorpius has the right to like whoever he wants." Jack knew that she was mostly discomforted by the fact that Rose had no boundaries around Scorpius.
Jack sometimes felt similar when he thought about Elsa's crush on Elijah Wood - and that Eli liked her back. Jack placed a hand on Lily's shoulder, "You know, Lily, it's okay to feel that way. Scorpius himself is being a little insensitive and isn't sparing our ears from his constant praise."
"I can't help it!" she groaned. "I hate that I have to just stand by and listen to his constant Rose-talk because I care about not ruining our friendship."
"Look- I won't deny that Scorpius may get together with Rose. Except," he added when Lily gave him a pointed, helpless look, "Rose doesn't have the courage of a Gryffindor. Hello, Ravenclaw? She's way too calculating and would overanalyze her relationship with him while stressing him out about Mr. Weasley. After all, Scorpius is into bold girls. Merlin knows how he picked up fancy on Rose. Be patient, Lilyloon. It'll all turn out okay."
Lily felt better after the pep and giggled, "How do you guys always find all these nicknames for me?"
Jack raised an eyebrow. "My dear, dear Lilyflower slash Lilykins just giggled! Does that mean that she's not angry anymore?" In return for his playful words, Lily playfully smacked him back. Dragging him to Florean Fortescue's entrance, she lovingly gazed at the friendly-looking establishment. Her father had donated money after the War to keep the parlor open, having been treated so nicely by Mr. Fortescue before the man had been killed.
Lily took in all her surroundings, from the familiar potted plants, the homey wallpaper, Elsa and Eli sitting snug beside each other.. Then the redhead realized what she was looking at. "Jack, look over there." Lily was excited upon seeing the couple, having been invited to the many slumber parties that she had attended at Vic and Dominique's house and hearing about Elsa's massive crush on Elijah. Over at the corner table, Elijah was feeding Elsa a taste of his ice cream and Lily squealed. "Elsa even got a haircut!" Elsa had gotten her hair cut to three inches below her shoulders, and it had been mid-back before.
Jack stiffened, thinking that Eli had finally gotten himself together and made a move on Elsa. However, he was obviously not very happy that the two were on a date. Judging by the bags next to them, they had been school shopping too. "Yay?" Jack scowled. They were both in Hogwarts Orchestra, they were both Quidditch fans, they were both brilliant and, last he heard, they were going to be the new Heads. "What a perfect couple."
Lily was shocked by the sudden sourness, but she realized that Jack could only be upset for one reason. "You like her, don't you?" Lily's tone was somewhat accusatory. "Oh, Jack, I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. You were always red with rage when you saw her chatting with him. When did it start?"
"First year," Jack said tentatively, gauging his friend's reaction.
"You know that Elsa's liked Elijah for just as long, right?" Lily pitied Jack and loved him like a brother, but she wasn't going to let him wreck Elsa's new relationship. "Look, I love Elsa. Along with my cousins, we're as close as sisters should be." Lily continued lecturing him, not caring that they were standing right near the doorway of the ice cream establishment. Thankfully, neither Elsa nor Elijah had noticed the tall fifteen-year-old and her blond seventeen-year-old friend. "Elsa has been waiting for this forever, and Elijah has clearly been waiting too. Elsa needs dependability in her life-"
"Lilykins, are you saying I'm not dependable?" Jack didn't know how to feel about her talk, but he knew better than to ignore her.
"Of course not," Lily shot. "I'm saying that you're more fun and parties, rather than libraries, studying and very romantic, well-planned dates. Keep in mind that I said more,not only capable of.Elsa is happy with Elijah, but she'll give you a chance if you keep in mind that you need to find the right timing." Lily smiled at him. "Okay, now I'm done. Let's go get some ice cream."
Jack walked her over to the line and her eyes lit up at the sight of the creamy delights. "What do you want?"
"Coffee," Lily replied. After ordering a cone for her; Jack chose birthday cake for himself, mint chocolate chip for Albus; chocolate for James; vanilla for Mr. Potter; and strawberry for Mrs. Potter, he was left wondering what his cousin would want. Lily noticed, and helped him out. "Scorpius likes pineapple coconut." After a raised eyebrow from Jack, she explained. "He bought me ice cream whenever you, James and Albus were off to the swimming pool."
"That'll be two galleons and ten sickles," David Preen, the employee who helped him, smiled. Jack recognized him from his earlier years at Hogwarts, but didn't say anything. He handed the sandy haired boy the coins and took half of the ice cream cones, leading Lily out the door.
Unfortunately for him, Elsa and Elijah were talking outside of the parlor. Even worse- Eli had seen Jack and Lily. "Lily! Hey, Jack!" Elijah grinned.
Elsa smiled just as happily. "Hello, Lily," she said, hugging the girl. "Hi, Jack. Who'd you come with today?"
Jack answered, keeping the discontent out of his voice. "We came with Lil's family and Scorpius. They're hanging around Madam Malkin's, I think."
"I think they're at Amanuensis Quills, actually," Lily corrected, "James broke his best quill yesterday, and the other ones he has are too run down to properly use ink. It's right next to Madame Malkin's, so we should probably go. Bye, Elsa, bye Eli! We'll see you at Hogwarts in a week." She quickly steered Jack away from the waving couple. "Gee, Jack, way to be subtle," Lily reprimanded. "You were practically turning tomato red. Just saying, it does not flatter your hair."
"I can't help it, Lil."
"I know. Let's hurry up before the ice cream melts, yeah?" Lily walked past Sugarplum's Sweet Shop when she noticed her cousin Victoire with her god brother Teddy walking out the door. "Wait, let's just say hi real quick." Lily practically pranced over to the beautiful couple, Jack following slowly behind.
"Hello, Lily!" Victoire kissed Lily's cheek while Teddy followed suit, but the older man thankfully didn't kiss Jack's cheek when his girlfriend did. That would've been awkward..Jack thought to himself. From the little smirk on Lily's lips, he knew she thought the same. "Jack, you're so tall now! You're almost as tall as Teddy, you've grown so fast!" Victoire kept talking, even though she'd seen Jack only a few months before. Teddy cut in.
"Vic, love, I think they're overwhelmed enough. You're four years older than Jack, not twenty. Now that we're stocked up on sweets, let's go find Harry and tell them the big news."
Turning to Jack with the slow-melting ice cream, Lily raised an eyebrow. "Big news?" she mouthed. Jack shrugged in response, and she sent one back in return. "Mum and Dad are by Amanuensis Quills, actually," Lily supplied for Teddy, who was leading the four. "Afterwards, we're stopping by Uncle George's. He just got his new collection delivered, and we all want to see him unveil it."
"Right ho, Lily! Lead the way." Teddy helped her by taking two of the cones off her hands. Next to Jack, Victoire smiled. Lily was practically Teddy's baby sister, after all.
It took a few minutes to get to the quill store, but after a chilling charm on the ice cream and a few distractions they successfully delivered the yummy cones. "LilyLove," Mrs. Potter handed Lily a bag; "I bought you some Muggle pens. They came in thirty colors, so you should like them."
"Thanks, Mum," Lily smiled. "Albus, James, Scorpius, get your arses over here and grab your ice cream! Teddy and I can't just stand here while him and Vic have some big news for us."
"Lily-" her mum warned, "watch your language."
Lily shrugged, "At least I'm not as bad as Uncle Ron." The three boys in question from earlier quickly took their treats and ate them up as soon as they could, which was expected.
When Mr. Potter finished his vanilla ice cream, he gave Victoire and Teddy the proper greeting. "You said you had news for us?"
Victoire looked nervously at Teddy, and Jack had a feeling he knew what was coming. "Well, Uncle Harry, Teddy and I meant to wait until dinner tonight, but you're right here - so why not? I figure Mum and Dad won't be thatangry that I told you first. Then again, Mum and her French curses always scare me." Mrs. Potter frowned a bit. It was unlike Victoire to ramble like so.
"What she means to say," Teddy said, "is that we're getting married."
The reaction wasn't mixed at all. Everyone was happy for the two, who had settled down together only months after Victoire had finished her education. Lily and her mother quietly squealed; Jack and the rest of the teenage boys properly congratulated the two; and Mr. Potter himself looked like he couldn't be any prouder of his godson. "Congratulations, you two. I can only imagine how the rest of the family will react," the Potter patriarch joked.
"Come on, Dad, it's 2022. They've had this coming for years!" Lily chirped. "I say we celebrate by heading over to Uncle Ron and Uncle George right now." The teenaged girl then started her march down Diagon Alley with Scorpius rushing to catch up with her - Jack found it ironic that Scorpius spent most of his time with Lily yet turned a blind eye to her.
Jack shook his head and ran to catch up with Lily, slinging an arm around her shoulder as James did the same to him. "I can't wait to see what your uncle came up with this time around," Jack grinned. "I have no doubt it'll give Filch a heart attack, though."
From behind, Victoire chastised him. "You are all too mean to poor Mr. Filch. He does have to watch you lot constantly, you know. He's been there for ages."
"We know, Victoire," Scorpius smiled. Jack knew that his cousin liked spending time around the Potter-Weasley family, and he got along really well with them. "We won't make him blow a gasket, we swear."
"You better," Teddy playfully warned. When they got to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, Teddy held the door open for them - every bit the guy Lily had bragged about.
"Teddy's the best!"Lily had insisted when she was nine. "He's kind, brave, humble, loves all of us, and I'm sure he'd love you."
Jack shook the thoughts away as he entered the fantastic store. He greeted both Mr. Weasleys and broke away to wander the colorful shop. As he was taking a look at some canary creams, Scorpius and Lily wandered by into his earshot.
"Lils, will you help me find something Rose would like?" Scorpius asked. Jack turned around a bit too quickly, completely aware of how Lily might've reacted.
To his surprise, Lily forced a smile. "Sure, Scorp. Her favorites are over there." The look on her face was too somber for Jack's liking.
"Geez, Lily, I said to be strong - not risk being crippled," Jack whispered to her retreating form. However, Jack admired Lily for having the guts. Merlin knew when he'd get some tips of his own.
Here it is! Chapter 1 of SDSM. Yes, Elsa and Elijah are really supposed to be in love, and I plan on giving their relationship more depth than how Jack likes to perceive it. What else am I supposed to write here? Well, I have the next chap planned, so expect it soon!
