A/N: Thanks to the reviewers. You make it worthwhile, and while this does seem a little less likely… maybe… there is a point to this chapter… and… just trust me. At least the chapters are fairly long, right? Right? Right!

Disc.: Plot yes, characters no.

Cakey Goodness

He had heard the rumors and had seen them together around school, but still every time Scorpius saw Lily and Flint together, it hit him like the first time. He could feel his heart crack and breaking each time. He nearly threw up that first time he saw them kissing. Even though he had missed their first public kiss, he had not been spared coming around the bend of a hallway to see Lily gathered up against Flint, their mouths together. It took all he could not to punch Flint in the face. They were ridiculously mismatched, Lily being so small and light and Flint being as big as he was. She weighed next to nothing as he scooped her up against him.

"Oh," Damon had said as he skidded to a stop next to the frozen Scorpius. They both couldn't look away.

"I… guess we know who she's been seeing," Scorpius said in a rather dead sounding voice. He turned and went back the way he had come.

Lily sat in the stands, cheering for her team as they played against Gryffindor on Tuesday's game. She had not been able to pass the doctor's assessment and was benched for good for things that weren't being spoken of, much to everyone's surprise. She had been disappointed and spent Monday trying to convince everyone to let her play. She even tried to talk Scorpius into pulling strings but he was feeling less than hospitable towards her and had walked away from her mid-sentence. He had hoped she would follow but she didn't. Instead, she had pouted for much of Tuesday morning, but couldn't suppress her grin as Malvo Flint kissed her forehead and took his seat next to her at breakfast.

Malvo, being a seventh year, dating Lily, a third year student, brought up a lot of gossip. Even the professors were not immune to gossiping and making speculations about the nature of the two's relationship. Scorpius would listen reluctantly to the whispers. So, it was not a surprise when he was jacked up against the wall by James.

"What the hell?" Scorpius said angrily.

"Why the hell is she with him?" James demanded. "I had a hard enough time understand why she was with you, but this… this I can't even begin to wrap my mind around."

"I don't know," Scorpius growled. "You think I like this any more than you do?"

"He's too old for her," James said angrily.

"I agree," Scorpius said with his teeth clenched.

"You told me that you would never hurt her," James reminded him angrily. "I want you take that back. I want you to hurt her, by hurting him. Anything to get him and her broken up."

"He's the captain of my team," Scorpius countered. "Not to mention that he's older and larger than me. It'd be suicide."

"I'm willing to risk it," James said. Scorpius laughed pushing James' hands off his shirt. James laughed too before getting serious again. "Isn't she worth it?"

"Yes," Scorpius said. "But if she's happy, really happy with Malvo Flint, who are we to take that happiness, even if we want to."

"He's too damn old for her," James snarled. "Half a decade almost."

"She'll be fourteen soon," Scorpius reminded.

"Not until the end of summer," James said. "And still, I think you are too old for her but it's a heck of a lot better than Flint."

"So, what do you want me to do about it?" Scorpius said.

"Well, for one, quit pretending that it doesn't kill you to see them together," James said. "We can all see through that brave front shit you've been pulling, except for her. Maybe if she knew you actually care for her, she'll come to her senses."

"She'll never come to her senses," Scorpius scowled. "I've tried before to get her to understand that none of the bad stuff matters. I want to be with her."

"Well, work harder, try harder," James said. He lowered his voice as a professor walked by, eying the two prefects talking in the corridor. "Look, I know what goes through our minds when we're with a girl. I can only imagine that at his age, they don't have the inexperience that holds them back."

"You're… talking about… sex, aren't you?" Scorpius clarified softly. James went a little pale.

"I don't want to think about it," James moaned. Scorpius shook his head.

"She wouldn't, you don't think?" Scorpius asked. James looked even paler and leaned against the wall quickly.

"I'd hope not," James moaned. He closed his eyes for a second. "Look, I don't want anything bad happening to her. She's my baby sister. I just know that she's really naïve and I'd hate to think that he would take advantage of her. And he will."

"You don't know that," Scorpius said. James raised an eyebrow at him.

"You did. You were her first real kiss, something she wouldn't even do with her boyfriend," James reminded him. Scorpius nodded slightly.

"Right," Scorpius said in an exhaled breath. "Good point."

"So, you have to do something," James practically begged. "I'd rather have you with her over him. At least give him a run for his money, will you?"

"I'll try!" Scorpius said frustrated as he stormed away.

Scorpius saw her sitting in the stands with Kate and Shale, cheering as he and the rest of the team took to the skies. She seemed to have gotten over her disappointment of being made to sit out in the game, the way she was going crazy over the team. She, Shale, and Kate were cheering and shouting loudly. He looked at her, his heart swelling as she seemed to be so happy. He decided that at that moment, he would do whatever it took to have her be that happy again around him. He had an idea what he could do it.

"Get your head in the game, Malfoy," Flint shouted at him as he blocked a bludger, sending it racing toward James Potter. "I'll call a time out and replace you if I have to."

"No, I'm good," Scorpius growled at him, pulling his attention off of Lily.

"Good," Flint shouted. "And stay away from Lily." He laughed loudly.

"Not a chance in hell," Scorpius challenged as he flew off. He played hard, scoring goals and dodging the bludgers as best he could. He was clipped by one, but nothing too major. It was a hard game, the Gryffindors hell bent on not losing twice to them in one season. Scorpius wouldn't admit it, because it was impossible to be true, but he could hear Lily above everyone else, cheering them on. In his mind, he changed it a little until she was only cheering for him.

They all played their best.

Unfortunately, Slytherins lost by ten points. The disappointment dripped from the Slytherins as they walked back from the pitch, mirrored in the steady drizzle that had cropped up un-expectantly. Scorpius watched as Lily congratulated her brother and cousin with giant hugs before heading back towards the door of the locker room to wait for Flint. Scorpius passed her slowly, having been put on broom duty.

"Good game, Scorpius," Lily said quietly. She smiled at him, touching his face before she realized what she was doing. She blushed and pulled back. "How's your arm?"

"Good," Scorpius said as her fingers twitched slightly. He pulled his gear off, rolling up his sleeve to show her the slight bruise already forming. "It's not broken or anything."

"That's good," Lily said as she smiled again, her fingers tracing the outline of the bruise. She grinned. "Shame we didn't win."

"Yeah," Scorpius said. He saw her shake the rain out of her hair. "Why not wait for Flint inside?"

"Only players are allowed in the locker room," Lily said. She took a shaky breath. "I'm off the team."

"You are?" Scorpius asked. He hadn't heard anything about it.

"Yeah," Lily said. She frowned. "Even if I could have gotten cleared, I'm failing Herbology. I'm on academic expulsion for the rest of the season."

"How can you be failing Herbology?" Scorpius asked narrowing his eyes. Lily shrugged.

"I stopped going to class," Lily shrugged. Scorpius had been surprised to hear that.

"How about this," Scorpius said mustering his nerve. "I'm not a fan of Herbology, but since there's not going to be any celebrating going on tonight in Slytherin, how about I try to help you get at least a passing grade."

"Ok," Lily said after a second. "Sure. I mean, Professor Longbottom is being really cool about it, if I can make up all the work he won't even tell my parents."

"Sounds like a plan," Scorpius said. "Say we meet in 30 minutes in the library?"

"Sure," Lily said grinning. Scorpius looked up at the sky.

"Come inside before you catch a cold," he said quietly, pulling her in by her hand. "I won't tell."

Scorpius looked away as Flint embraced Lily, his mouth practically crushing hers. Scorpius scrambled away, trying to get ready. He showered and shaved, making sure he looked perfect. He felt silly and foolish as he readied. He was just helping her study, nothing more. He could hear voices quietly arguing in the main locker room and he pressed himself in the shadows as he recognized Lily and Flint's voices.

"Look, Lily, I told you I'd keep it up for as long as the ruse remained intact," Flint said quietly. Scorpius couldn't see either of them.

"I didn't break the ruse, Malvo," Lily said. Her voice was a little thick and Scorpius knew she had either been cry or would be crying soon.

"I know," Flint said quietly.

"I don't understand," Lily said.

"Look, Lily, I did something really stupid, ok? I shouldn't have agreed to this, I should have known better," Flint told her quietly.

"Everything is going great, Malvo, really," Lily said. "Everyone thinks it is true."

"That's the problem, Lily," Flint said frustrated. "I want it to be true."

"What?" Lily asked after a full minute of shocked silence.

"Look, Lily. I told you, I'd pretend to be your boyfriend to keep the guys away from you unless the ruse became less of a ruse," Flint said very quietly. Scorpius had to strain to hear him. "Honestly, I thought that you'd fall for me and I'd have to decide to end it. I never, not once, in a million years have thought that I'd fall for you so completely. You're thirteen years old. I turn eighteen tomorrow. That alone should have knocked some sense in me, kept my feelings at bay. I can't let this continue, Lily."

"But… you said," Lily mumbled.

"I said I'd keep it up until it fell apart," Flint told her quietly.

"You fell for me?" Lily asked uncertainly.

"Yeah," Flint said.

"Why's that so bad?" Lily asked suddenly. It was as if the air had been sucked from the locker room. Even Scorpius could feel it from where he hid.

"Because I know you don't feel the same way," Flint said finally. "You may not see it but you're crazy about someone else."

"I can pretend," Lily offered. "I've been doing great so far."

"What kind of guy would that make me?" Flint said in a cool laughter.

"Malvo, please," Lily said. "Don't break up with me. Wait until the summer."

"No," Flint said.

"Why not?"

"Because, damn it Lily I don't want to pretend to be in love with you," Flint said angrily. He slammed his locker. "I thought I could do it, that's the only reason I let this thing go public in the first place. I told you I did a stupid thing. It wasn't falling in love with you. It was thinking that you'd fall in love with me too."

"H-how long?" Lily asked with a shaky voice.

"How long what?" Flint asked crossly.

"Have you felt this way? How long have you l-loved me?" Lily asked. Her voice was low, a whisper almost, and Scorpius knew she was crying.

"I was attracted to you from day one of Quidditch practice," Flint said regretfully. "Had I not been, I probably wouldn't have even thought of letting you try out. I already wanted you when we won the first game. I was in love with you the day you got hit with the bludger in the game against Ravenclaw."

"Then why did you agree?!" Lily asked him shrilly.

"I thought you might see me the same way I see you," Flint said regretfully. "You pretended well enough, but I could tell it when I kissed you. You're not in love with me. At least not like I am with you."

"Please don't do this," Lily begged.

"If you want, we can tell everyone that you broke up with me," Flint said coldly.

"Malvo, this isn't what I want," Lily said.

"I'm sorry if this is hurting you, Lily," Flint said, his voice warmer. "I never wanted to hurt you. Trust me, for as much as this is hurting you, it's killing me."

"Please," Lily begged again. Scorpius dared to peek. Flint dropped his bag and rushed her, scooping her up in his arms and kissing her heatedly. He pulled away slightly.

"Tell me you felt anything like I feel," he challenged. He looked at her face, seeing what he needed to see. He nodded once, putting her back on her feet. "Don't worry, Lily. You'll survive this, and we'll always have the Shrieking Shack."

"So, that's it then?" she said.

"Yeah," he said as he walked away from her. Flint picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulder. He looked back at her as he opened the door. "You'll invite me to your wedding, though?"

"You're such a masochist," Lily laughed through her tears.

"You'd better get a move on," he said shrugging. "I hope Malfoy has a better chance than I did."

"It's not like that," Lily said wiping her eyes as she followed him out the door.

Scorpius glanced at his watch. He had ten minutes to get to the library. With the knowledge it was all a ruse, Scorpius felt lighter, like he might actually have a chance with her. He sprinted into the library, Lily glancing up at him. She had tears in her eyes and wiped them away quickly, forcing a smile.

"Are you ok?" Scorpius asked taking a seat next to her. She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah," she said as she pulled open her Herbology text open.

"You don't look ok," Scorpius said. She made a weak face at him.

"Gee, thanks, Malfoy," she said rolling her eyes. "Just what a girl wants to hear."

"No, I meant… never mind," Scorpius said frowning. She laughed.

"I know what you meant," Lily said looking away. "So, you really think you can help me out with this Herbology stuff?"

"Yeah," he said as he scooted closer and put his arm on the back of her chair. "After all, I did take it two years ago, if you remember."

"Hmm," Lily said noncommittally as she bent over the book. She and he worked well beyond dinner, trying to get Lily caught up on her course work.

"So, Flint's the reason you were skipping Herbology?" Scorpius asked quietly, keeping his voice a whisper as Madame Pince passed near them.

"It was his free period," Lily replied not looking at him.

"That was pretty dumb of you, Lils," Scorpius said as he leaned closer to her. He pointed at one a line on her parchment. "I don't think pollination fits the sentence about the blooming of Horned-Tip tubers. They don't really have pollen."

"Um," Lily said as she crossed it out.

"Look, I wasn't calling you stupid, just your actions," Scorpius said. "You're really smart and to shirk your responsibilities because of your boyfriend is irresponsible. Especially when he has a duty to make sure that you are becoming the best possible you that you could be."

"No worries there," Lily said biting her lip.

"What do you mean?" Scorpius feigned ignorance.

"We… we kind of broke up," Lily said as her voice shook a little.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Scorpius said. She smiled at him, her eyes filled with tears.

"No you're not," Lily said. "But that's ok."

"No, really Lily," Scorpius said. "I'm sorry you're hurting."

"That's very sweet of you," Lily mumbled after staring at him for a few seconds. She blushed and turned back to her books. "I'm surprised that you don't want to know who broke up with whom."

"I figure you'd tell me if you wanted me to know," Scorpius said casually. He looked at how close his arm was to her, mentally counted the number of movements it would take to go from having his arm on the back of the chair to having her in his arms.

"What?" Lily asked as her eyes found him looking at her.

"Nothing," Scorpius said as a smile crossed his face. Heat crawled up his face and he turned back to her paper. "Finish up that last line so we can go grab dinner."

"Ugh, I don't really want to eat with all those people," Lily said as she picked up her quill and continued to write.

"You have really neat handwriting," Scorpius said after a minute of watching her write.

"Thanks," Lily said.

"I don't think I've ever seen it before," he murmured. She grinned at him.

"Probably not," Lily said. "There's been no reason for you to."

"I'll have to change that," Scorpius commented. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Lily asked. Scorpius shrugged.

"I haven't worked it out yet."

"You'll let me know, though, huh?" Lily smirked. Her stomach growled.

"You don't need to worry about it," he said. "Let's go grab something to eat."

Instead of heading to the Great Hall, Scorpius took Lily by the hand and led her towards the kitchen. Lily didn't resist, just followed him curiously. She had never been in the kitchen, so she was surprised at the warm and bright kitchen filled with house elves and delicious smells. Scorpius pulled her to the table and had her sit down across from her. He figured that he could look at her throughout the meal or try to touch her throughout the meal. With her recent break up not but an hour before, he figured that he'd take things a little more slowly than his body wanted to, and there was no sense in tempting himself.

"I've never been in here before," Lily murmured as overly eager house elves placed plates of food before them.

"Really?" Scorpius said. "I'm surprised your brothers didn't tell you about this. They visit here often."

"The way they eat, I'm not surprised," Lily said laughing.

"Now, you will have to keep it a secret," Scorpius said grinning at her. "We're not technically supposed to be in here."

"Ooh," Lily teased as she started eating.

The meal continued with an easy flow of conversation and Scorpius was silently cheering inside. She didn't seem averse to conversing with him. It was better than he could have ever hoped in a conversation with her. She laughed at his jokes, poked fun of the careful way he cut his meat, and in turn he teased her about the way she dipped her pot roast into her potatoes before eating it. He knew it'd end, the conversation, and he tried to drag it out as long as possible.

"Desert?" Scorpius suggested. Lily looked warily at the piece of cake the house elves had put between them. It was chocolate and looked positively to die for. Scorpius held the silver fork.

"I shouldn't," Lily said as she pushed her hand to her stomach. "I think I've already eaten more than a girl my age should eat."

"The house elves made it especially for you," Scorpius said. He stood and joined her on Lily's side of the table. "One little bite and they'd probably not be as heartbroken about you not eating the cake they made than as if you just walked away."

"Fine, one bite," Lily said rolling her eyes. She held out her hand to him, requesting the fork. He relinquished the fork to her and watched as she took a very small bite.

"Oh, that hardly counts as a taste," Scorpius coughed. He laughed and snatched the fork out of her hand.

"No, I took a bite," she laughed as he speared a huge bite with some fudgy icing. She tried to slide away but her wrapped his arm around her tightly, her laughed as the wrestled a second.

"You don't want the house elves to hurt themselves thinking you didn't like it," he told her as he held her tightly. "Now open up."

"It's too big," she complained as she wiggled around a bit. His grip on her was tight and he knew that he was pressing his luck with her, but he felt pretty assured about this move.

"You'll live," he laughed. She rolled her eyes and took the bite. She chewed and swallowed it down with a huge glass of milk. "Good?"

"You tell me," she said as he released her. She took the fork from him and speared an even bigger bite.

"Lily, that is twice the size I gave you," he laughed as he back up a little along the bench until his back was nearly against the wall. She got a wicked glint in her eye, climbing toward him.

"You'll live," she mocked as she leaned forward, balancing herself by pressing her hand into his thigh. Scorpius felt his body clench at her touch and his heart began to race. She dropped the fork swiftly and grabbed the large piece of cake, shoving in into his face.

"I can't believe you!" he exclaimed laughing as he pinned her to the bench underneath him. "You'll pay for that, Lils."

"No!" She shrieked with laughed as he rubbed his chocolate cake covered face on her face. "Oh, gross! Cake crumbs and fudge, all on my face. This is not very Slytherin of you."

"Maybe not," he chuckled as he let her up. She struggled to a sitting position as a house elf procured a bowl of warm water and wash cloth for them. He took it first, his hands clean. "Let me."

"Mm," Lily replied as she watched Scorpius wring the cloth off. She closed her eyes as he carefully washed her face free of the chocolate cake and icing.

"Perfect," he said as he finished with her hands. He had managed to get all of the stickiness off of her face and hands. She opened her eyes; slightly uncertain what the emotion was that was on Scorpius' face.

"I should reciprocate," Lily said grinning slightly. "I'm just glad you didn't decide to lick it off me."

"Damn, I should have. It'd only be fair," Scorpius teased. He closed his eyes, enjoying the innocent contact between the two of them. It was a few moments before he realized that she had stopped. He opened his eyes to see her staring at him, her blue eyes wide. Lily was biting her bottom lip hard and she looked like she was contemplating something. He hoped it was what he wanted, as well. He wanted to kiss her. Right then and there, he wanted press her up against the bench and kiss her until she was breathless. He smiled at her and stood, increasing the distance between them as he put the bowl on the counter by the sinks.

"It's getting late," Lily said as she glanced at the clock. "You probably have prefect duty."

"I do," he said. "I'll walk you back."

"Thanks for dinner," Lily said as she followed him out of the kitchen. "Sorry about the cake."

"It was fantastic," Scorpius said laughing. "I can't think of a better way to eat cake."

"I doubt you actually ate much of it," Lily teased. She glanced at him quickly. "It was good, though, you were right about that. It was one of the better meal times I've had in a long time."

"I feel the same," Scorpius said as he opened the portrait hole for her. "Sleep well, Lily, and we'll work on more of you Herbology make up work. No more skipping classes, either, or I'll tell your parents myself."

"Ooh, threats," Lily said. Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm serious, Lils," Scorpius whispered in her ear. "You're too smart to let one boy ruins your life. Don't let him."

"Mm, okay," Lily breathed her response. He pulled back and smiled.

"Good girl," Scorpius said. "Goodnight and I'll see you at breakfast."

"Goodnight, Score," Lily said smiling at him. She turned and headed into the common room alone. She immediately saw Flint and the memories from early flooded over her. He loved her and he had dumped her. She tried to smile at him but she couldn't convince her body to listen and instead she headed straight to bed. She spent the better part of the night dreaming dreams that she could never admit to having aloud.

Morning couldn't have come quickly enough for her.

"Mew," Asher meowed as he nuzzled her awake. Lily yawned and the cat licked her cheek. She laughed climbing free of her bed. She would join her brothers today and floo home for the long weekend, Wednesday through Monday, for Easter Holiday. She pulled on her favorite jeans and started searching for her favorite shirt.

"Kate, have you seen my blue shirt?" Lily asked. Kate looked up from where she was perched, tying her shoes.

"Haven't seen it," Kate said.

"Man, I can't find it anywhere," Lily said as she peaked under the bed. "Nina, Callie, have either of you seen my shirt?"

"No," the other two said as they began to dress. A knock came to the door and Callie opened it, Lily jerking a shirt over head just in time not to flash the prefects who were knocking, but just barely.

"We just wanted to get a head count of who is floo networking home for the Easter holiday," Elena said as she held a clipboard.

"I am," Lily said raising her hand.

"Me, too," Callie said.

"I'm going home with Shale," Kate said blushing bright red. Lily looked at her, grinning.

"I'm staying here," Nina said dejectedly. "My parents are off Merlin knows where."

"Oh, come home with me," Lily and Callie both said.

"Really?" Nina asked looking at them. "Lily, nothing personal, but I don't think I could think if I was around your cute brother the entire weekend."

"No worries," Lily said grinning. She turned to look at the prefects. "Oh, has anyone reported finding my blue shirt? I can't find it anywhere."

"No," the both said looking at each other and then back at Lily. Lily glanced down at the shirt she had pulled on and laughed.

"Never mind," she said giggling. "I found it."

"Third years, I swear," Elena mumbled as she and Scorpius turned and left the doorway. Lily laughed and closed the door.

"You're nuts," Kate teased. Lily threw a pillow at her and started hunting for her sneakers.

AN: I know, I don't normally do end notes, and Lily seems to be going through the boys fairly quickly. I promise that there will be a good reason (I hope). Dude... I'm up to 18 or 19 (I forget which)... so trust me. And don't forget to review!!