A/N: I know it's been awhile. I know you probably hate me for making you guys wait this long. But Merry Christmas either way!

New old friends

Sleep didn't come very easily that night. I tossed and turned until the sun finally made an appearance. My lack of sleep had given me time to come up with a plan. But if I had any chance of being successful, I had to avoid Clara. So I left my bed before any of the other girls woke up. I glanced at my clock on the way to the washroom. It was too early to go to the Great Hall. I rummaged through my trunk for running clothes and a pair of trainers before heading out.

I slipped out of the room and went for a run on the grounds surrounding the castle. Whilst on my run, I refined my plan for handling Malfoy. There was a chance that if it wouldn't work I wouldn't be able to show my face around any Slytherin for a couple of weeks, but I was willing to take the risk. I was tired of being told what to do by James, Will and Scorpius. Arguing with James was worse than arguing with a wall. It was like arguing with a house elf—it left you with a sense of pity. Both James and Will were hopeless. But Scorpius? Scorpius inspired a strange kind of hope in me. A hope that not everything was black and white. A hope that I had a say in how my life turned out. With a renewed sense of commitment, I made my way back inside the castle.

After a quick shower, I got dressed and headed to the Great Hall. As I walked in, I spotted Hugo's brilliant ginger locks. The spot next to him had a perfect view of the Slytherin table, so I sat down between him and Olly. As I approached the table, I could hear Lorcan and Hugo arguing about brooms. It seemed that the two of them never stopped talking about Quidditch. Apart from Ron, Hugo had to be the biggest Quidditch fan in the family. He knew every statistic about every player and was practically a walking "Quidditch Through the Ages". Lorcan on the hand loved playing Quidditch and didn't mind entertaining Hugo.

"Lily, tell Lorcan that the Nimbus 4000 is the best broom to come out this year," Hugo pleaded as he noticed my presence.

"You've got to be kidding me, Hugo! Fat chance finding someone to agree with you!," Lorcan fired back.

I didn't really want to be dragged into their argument, but Lorcan had a point "Admit it Hugo, your loyalty to Nimbus brooms is unwarranted and a little embarrassing," I replied, causing Lorcan to grin. Before Hugo could come up with a defence, I spotted Scorpius take a seat across the room.

"Where are you going?," Hugo asked when I got up and started walking away. I didn't bother to turn around to explain. I had to keep going or I would chicken out. I walked to where Scorpius was seating and took the spot next to him.

"Hey," I said casually, whilst reaching for a piece of toast. The conversations around me all came to a halt. I thought that if I stayed calm, they would have no choice but to go back to normal. I was wrong.

"Are you lost, Potter?" Peggy Parkinson spat out.

"What's wrong Peggs? Didn't meet your blowjob quota for the month?" I shot back with just as much venom in my voice. The look on Peggy's face went from shock to embarrassment to anger. But she stayed silent as she got up and stormed out.

"Ouch! Nice one Potter!" Nick Greengrass yelled from lower down the table. This seemed to start up conversations again. A couple Slytherins even started to talk to me about the classes we had together. In a way, I just naturally blended into the group. Scorpius was notably quiet throughout breakfast. Eventually, I had to leave to get to my first class. I grabbed my books and left.

As I exited the Great Hall doors, I felt a hand on my arm. As I turned around, I saw Scorpius' amused face.

Looking around to make sure the coast was clear, he leaned in and whispered, "What kind of stunt were you trying to pull off?"

I replied with, "It wasn't a stunt, it was merely a demonstration. I needed to show you how well I fit in with your friends. Your excuses won't hold up for much longer."

"Well played. Maybe, the sorting hat really did make a mistake," he said with a small smirk.

"Yeah, maybe."

"So what now?" Scorpius asked as he took a step closer. We were now mere inches apart. From this far away, I could smell his cologne. It smelled like sandalwood.

"Now you stop treating me like crap and starting acting like the boy I met over the summer."

"I don't know how to be that boy here. There is a world of difference between Hogwarts and that small town. There were no expectations back there."

"Pretend that there are no expectations here."

He gave me an incredulous look. "I can't live in a make-believe world Lily when I'm trapped in this one."

"Hey," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're not trapped. You're in control of your life."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I can't," I replied, looking into his stormy eyes. "But I choose to believe that the choices that I make every day make a difference in how my life will turn out."

"Oi Malfoy!" a sixth year that I did not recognize yelled out. And just like that, our moment was over.

"I'll see you at dinner, Potter," Scorpius said with a smile as he walked towards his friends.

"Yeah, sure," I said to myself.

From that day, Scorpius and I grew closer. I would join him at the Slytherin table every now and then. He never joined me at the Gryffindor table. Which was understandable when I thought about how Olly and my brothers treated him. Occasionally we would meet up in the library after dinner. No matter what subject we focused on, it always ended the same; Scorpius waking me up from a deep sleep. Eventually, Scorpius started joining me for jogs in the mornings. The two of us would talk about any and everything. One day the topic of my dad came up.

"Can't your dad stop Skeeter from writing about you?" he asked.

"My dad has a lot more important things to worry about," I said with a bitter laugh.

"I'm sure he always has time for his princess," he replied, knowing that I hated the nickname.

"Let's not talk about it."

He stopped running. "Look at me. It's me. It's Scorpius. I know a thing or two about not liking your dad. You can talk to me."

"I just… I just don't want to depend on him too much in case he doesn't come home one day," I replied softly.

"Blimey! You can't think like that Lils. It's not healthy."

"Let's just keep running," I suggested, moving away from him.

"I won't push, but you can't keep this bottled up. You need to talk to your dad."

"Is that right? Have you got any advice on how I should go about it?" I asked, turning the tables. "Really when was the last time you had a heart to heart with your father, Malfoy?" The look on his face made me turn away.

"That's completely different and you know it!" he fired back. I was reminded of the marks I saw on his arm not too long ago. It made me regret bringing his family into this. Afterall, he was only trying to help.

"I'm sorry," I said to the ground. "I wasn't thinking." I looked up at him to see his reaction. His face was blank.

"Yeah, that part was obvious."

His comment stung, but I deserved it. "I'm sorry for lashing out. I'm just a little sensitive when it comes to my dad. I know you're just concerned and I appreciate it."

"Let's just keep going," he suggested, brushing past me.

"That's it?"

He stopped and turned around. "What else do you want me to say? Should I say 'I forgive you for attacking me when I just wanted to help'? That's kinda messed up Lil"

"I know. I'm working on it."

"I won't be your punching bag."

"That's a bit dramatic don't you think?"

"Yeah whatever Potter," he replied whilst turning to leave.

Things were awkward for the next couple of days. We avoided each other at meals. Until one day, I was sitting at the Gryffindor table and I felt someone slide into the spot next to me. I saw the mass of blonde curls out of the corner of my eye. I felt him lean into me.

"We make our own choices yeah?" he whispered in my ear.

I slowly nodded.

"Then choose to be my friend and I'll choose to be yours."

"Deal."