Chapter 18

"Oh, come on you big doofus. Up! Up!"

Someone was tugging on her sleeve. Lily blinked, and the room came into focus. It was a dark room, the only light was coming from an open door at the other end. There was a ratty hat on a stool and a mirror looming over her, and a black-haired, black-eyed spunky someone was pulling on her, wearing Slytherin green.

"Sarah." Lily said dully, sitting up. Sarah smirked. "Me Sarah. You Lily. This Room of Requirement. Come-and-Go Room. Hogwarts. You speak English?" Lily smiled a little, and her chin fell to her chest. She was exhausted, as though she had just run a marathon. Her eyes focused more on her shirt… on the emerald tie and the little green badge…

"Slytherin!" Lily screamed suddenly, leaping to her feet. Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Remember? God, I didn't give you amnesia when I knocked you out, did I?" Lily was thrown by this. "Knocked out?" She asked. "Yeah… you were taking a while, so I came in to see what was keeping you, and you were staring into this mirror, and then you had a little heart attack and cracked your head on the foot." Sarah explained.

Lily nodded slowly, and then threw her arms around her friend. "I missed you so much. And I'm glad I'm not in Gryffindor, and you aren't in Ravenclaw." She said. Sarah stared at the wall opposite and awkwardly hugged her friend back. "Mmkay…" She muttered.

Lily straightened up again. "What's the weather like?" Sarah stared at Lily, dumbfounded. "What's the weather like?" She repeated flatly. Suddenly, a window materialized, showing grey skies. Lily didn't even question the fact that there couldn't be a window if the Room of Requirement was on the inside part of the castle, she started towards the door.

"Now where are we going?" Sarah asked, tagging after Lily. "I'm going to the Owlery." Lily said. "Sorry, but I gotta go alone. Why don't you go congratulate James on his Beater-ness?" Sarah smiled a little, and they went their separate ways.

With every step, Lily's heartbeat grew quicker. She couldn't be bothered with all the classic wake-up hugs and "You were there! And you were there too!"'s. She knew where she was going, but she didn't really know why. She was in a kind of daze… a determined daze.

"Potter!" The voice made her jump and whirl around – it was Douglas Conrad. "Uh, hey…" Lily said slowly. "I just wanted to say that I heard what your brother did to the Parker twins…" His face split into what could almost be called a grin. "Thank him for me!" Lily smiled, relieved that he hadn't barked at her… then again, the Slytherin common room break-in would never have happened here…

Lily kept going, out across the grounds. Just as the Room had predicted, the sky was an angry grey and an annoying kind of rain was falling; little drops that managed to find Lily's eyes every time. She trekked on, the heavy smell of worms and wet leaves pressing down her throat and up her nose. She reached the Owlery, climbed up the stairs, and ducked into the shelter.

It was a little warmer in here. Darker, and smellier, but better than outside. It was quiet too… there were a few soft hoots from one of the levels above, and the ruffling of feathers. And a voice.

"Imperio… oh, come on…" The voice was male. Lily looked around but couldn't see anyone. She put a foot on the first set of stairs. "Hallo?" She called. There was a little scuffling noise from the floor above, it sounded like someone had jumped. "Who's there?" The voice snapped, cold now. Lily ignored it and continued upstairs.

"Ah… it's just you, Potter." Scorpius said, visibly relaxing a little. But he still looked tense, afraid and guilty – caught in the act. "You're practicing the Imperius curse?" Lily asked, surprised. Scorpius' eyes darkened. "It's my own owl; I can do what I like!" He said defensively, and sure enough there was a barn owl perched loyally on his arm.

"I'm not… accusing you… I was just curious." Lily said. Her tongue felt like it had swollen to twice its size, it was heavy and not working properly. Her heart was pounding. She couldn't help feeling a little intimidated by the third-year, what was she doing?

"Wull…" Scorpius said, and gave her a jerky nod. "You can stay, if you like." He added, quieter. Lily nodded and watched Scorpius carefully. He pointed his wand right at the owl. "Imp -" He couldn't finish his sentence; his owl had just nipped the end of his wand curiously with his beak. Scorpius swore, and then hastily apologized, seeing the eleven year old in the corner.

Lily smirked. "S'okay, I've heard worse from my uncle. Here, you're probably too close, let me hold him." She held out her arm. Scorpius studied her for a moment, and then clucked his tongue and jerked his head. The owl fluttered onto Lily's arm instantly. "Why're you bothering? This owl'll do anything for you!" Lily exclaimed, marveling at its obedience. Scorpius shrugged.

"Imperio!" He said again, forcefully. Lily couldn't see what was happening, but Scorpius grinned. Suddenly, the owl fluttered into the air a little and landed on Lily's head. She laughed and held out her arms for the owl to walk back and forth across. Scorpius made it fly into the air and hoot something that sounded remarkably like "Ode to Joy".

Finally, he let the owl go. Its eyes became more focused; it ruffled its feathers indignantly and flew up to a perch. Scorpius and Lily were still grinning at each other.

"You know… Lily… you aren't that bad for a first year. In fact, you're pretty bad-ass." Scorpius commented. Lily had to double take at the use of her first name, but quickly recovered. "Thanks… and what do you mean?" She asked. "Well, you know, that spectacle on the first day was pretty awesome, and you being all different from your family… you're just so out there." Scorpius explained. "I mean, a Potter in Slytherin?" Before, Lily would have been offended, but now she laughed. "I know! Well, I suppose it's a good thing… otherwise I wouldn't have met Sarah, and I definitely wouldn't be laughing it up with a Malfoy."

Scorpius smirked. "I dunno why our families are so uppity. Even after Harry saved my dad's life at the Battle of Hogwarts, he still trash-talks him around the house. 'Oh look at that… Potter's in the paper again… what a fame hog…'" Scorpius said, imitating Draco's sneering tone. "I completely agree though. It's annoying sometimes… not saying that dad loves every minute, I'm pretty sure he hates it too. But, you know." Lily said.

Scorpius nodded. "Why does your brother hate me so much?" He asked, a question that completely threw Lily. "I dunnoh, do I? I guess he's just proud…" Lily said. "He is to Gryffindor as your dad's dad was to Slytherin… incredibly proud, proud of his house and his heritage. He doesn't show it, but I know he thinks it's a crime I landed myself in Slytherin."

"Hey, it wasn't your fault." Scorpius said. Lily only noticed now that he had steadily been picking his way over to her as they spoke, and now he put a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, it's just like you said… otherwise, we never would be here." Lily flushed furiously, and Scorpius smiled a little. He put his finger on her cheek, it was cool but Lily's cheek only burned more.

Scorpius chuckled quietly. Their eyes met… brown and grey. But Scorpius' eyes weren't the same cold grey Draco's were – they were deep and soft and soothing in a way. Lily's heart was pounding. She wanted more than anything to thrust herself forwards, but she stayed her ground. Luckily, she didn't have to stand there long.

Scorpius' lips had barely brushed hers when she threw her arms around him. One hand on his back, and one in his hair. She felt Scorpius' hand on the back of her head, and she bumped against something – the wall. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered, except that Scorpius stayed by her side and never left.

They had to break apart at some point. Lily was breathing deeply, and Scorpius seemed out of breath entirely, his chest was heaving. Their foreheads stayed pressed against each other, so that all Lily could see was Scorpius' eyes. They twinkled, and he pressed his lips against hers again. Oh, if James could see her now…

By now you should all be breathing a sigh of releif. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EVERYONE! Lily back in Slytherin is my gift to YOU! YAAAAY! I'm happier too. And MUCH happier, now Lily's crazy dream came true. Now I only have a really loose idea of what's gonna happen next, so any ideas would be GREAT. Inbox me or comment, please?

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