A/N: I didn't mean to offend anyone with the author's note on chapter 29. I just wanted to make sure that everyone understood why it sometimes takes me a longer stretch to release the chapters (and that doesn't include the fact that the chapters have never been less than 3k words). Anyways, hope everyone is well. It's half of noon on Thursday and I've not eaten breakfast (or lunch yet). I'm starting the chapter instead. 13 hours later: Oh, and the ending of this chapter… oops. That was not supposed to end up that way (you'll see what I am talking about). I blame the characters getting minds of their own and not listening to the damn plot line. Oh well… no harm done that I can't fix later, maybe?
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Disc: We know by now I didn't create the characters.
Cloak of Invisibility
Lily slipped the combs in her hair, the earring already in place in her ears. She stood in front of the full length mirror and couldn't suppress her grin. She was not the type of girl that stood in front of the mirror for hours admiring herself but she help but think that she was breathtaking. She blushed, her cheeks turning pink at the conceited thoughts. The accessories that the Malfoys had given her had been perfect, as if they had been created and chosen with Lily and this dress in mind. She grinned, knowing that they probably had been.
"You're breath-taking, Lily," Narcissa said genuinely. "Your date is a very lucky man."
"I don't have a date," Lily said shrugging in a very un-ladylike way. Narcissa smiled.
"The good thing about being a powerful and beautiful woman," Narcissa said as she led Lily out of the room and down the hall. "You don't have to have a date to captivate an audience of eligible and willing suitors."
"Oh, I'm not looking for suitors," Lily corrected Narcissa.
"I know, career first," Narcissa said. "But, you never know what tomorrow may hold."
"Too true," Lily said as she and Narcissa joined Draco to greet the guests as they arrived. Draco grinned at her, and Lily grinned back. She may have been born into a family of strictly Gryffindor students, but she was downright a Slytherin. For the first time she truly felt as if she was accepted and belonged. Even some of the older, more prejudice Slytherins embraced her as a daughter of the Slytherin coat of arms.
"Miss Potter, you must contact me the minute you graduate," one witch said as she pulled out her card and handed it to Lily. "As one of the higher benefactors of St. Mungo's, I can assure you prime placement into their Healer's program."
"Thank you very much, Madame Fuchsine," Lily said tucking the card into her little clutch. She had wondered if it was silly to carry one since she was living right up stairs. She was glad to have it, though Lily couldn't be certain she'd actually use the woman as a contact.
"You're welcome," the woman said as she left to find another person. Draco touched Lily's shoulder, causing her to jump.
"Sorry," Lily said grinning.
"I didn't mean to startle you," Draco said quietly. "I know you probably think you'll not want to call on Myrtle Fuchsine, but she could really help insure your career is successful."
"I've got some time to decide," Lily said.
"Just the rest of the school year and summer," Draco reminded her. Lily grinned.
"I've thought more on it," Lily said. "I think I'm going to tell my dad that I plan to follow the others and do a little worldwide sightseeing before I buckle down and start my life."
"I think he'll be thrilled to hear that," Draco said smiling at her. He hesitated before he hugging her. "You look really pretty tonight."
"Thank you for the earrings," Lily said blushing. "They're perfect."
"Ah, well," Draco said grinning, his face flushed slightly. He lowered his voice. "To be honest, my mother picked them out. I was never good with any of that stuff."
"No problem," Lily laughed. He grinned bigger.
"Thank you so much for the composition. My mother says you've promised to play it for us," Draco said. Lily nodded.
"Yes, I promised," Lily said.
"Lily!" Kate's voice rung out over the crowds.
"Looks like your sister-in-law has found you," Draco said as he patted her shoulder and left Lily's side as Kate swung her arms around Lily tightly.
"LILY!" Kate said and she squeezed Lily tightly. "Oh, I haven't seen you in ages. How are you? I heard that you made Head Girl. Albus and I are so proud, aren't we Albus?"
"We sure are, Lily," Albus said quietly as he looked around, a little more than uncomfortable at the scene his new bride was making. Lily grinned. Lily pulled away from Kate and hugged her older brother. "So, how's Malfoy treating you?"
"Draco's been really nice," Lily said smiling. She turned her ear to show Albus her ear. "He gave me these earrings for Christmas."
"Oh, I didn't mean Mr. Malfoy," Albus said quietly. Kate shot him a look and he quickly looked at his watch. "We'll catch you later."
"Oh, ok," Lily said slightly confused as she waved her brother off. Lily caught up with Nina and Shale, hanging out with them a bit until they wandered off to dance. It was, after all, the 200th ball. It was far more elaborate than the normal Christmas balls of past years, and Lily couldn't blame them for wanting to dance.
"Lily Potter, you look so beautiful," a voice said quietly and Lily spun around. Her face broke into a huge smile as Aiden Hill stood there, a smile on his face.
"Aiden, wow," Lily said as she hugged him. "I didn't think you'd be able to come."
"Hey, even Quidditch pros get to spend Christmas with their loved ones," Aiden said grinning and Lily blushed. "I cannot get over how absolutely breathtaking you are."
"Thank you," Lily blushed even harder. He laughed.
"Did you like my gift?" he asked. Lily smiled and nodded.
"You know I love supporting you," Lily said. Aiden beamed. "You are, after all, one of the greatest guy friends that I have."
"Oh, you too," he said though his smile slipped a little. He had to work a little harder to keep the smile on his face. He nodded towards the dance floor. "Would you care to dance?"
"I'd love to," Lily said as she took his offered arm. "You look so nice in that suit."
"Thank you," he said as he placed his hand lightly on her waist. Lily looked up at him, smiling as they joined the other Slytherins past, present, and future as they danced out under the seductive music of some obscure band Lily never followed. The music slowed down and Aiden drew her in a little closer until Lily was just a few inches from him.
"This is nice," Lily said quietly.
"I agree," Aiden said as the second song ended. He prepared for a third but Lily pulled away gently.
"I hate to ditch you, but I am so thirsty," Lily said. Aiden nodded and lead her to get a drink.
"Fire whiskey?" he teased. Lily's face went bright red and she laughed.
"I don't think so," Lily said laughing as she got herself something a little less dangerous to drink. She took a sip and smiled. She went to say something to Aiden but a hand rested on her shoulder. Lily looked behind her to see Damon standing there, grinning at her. She sat her drink down and threw her arms around Damon.
"Lily Potter, hot damn girl," he said grinning as he squeezed her. "I've not seen you in a year and a half and you went and turned into a right little hottie."
"I thought you and Scorpius were still back packing until the end of next summer," Lily said excited as she pulled away. Aiden slunk away as Damon slid his arm around her waist.
"Oh, Merlin no," Damon said shaking his head laughing. "Are you kidding? I missed the creature comforts of home. I left the group at the beginning of December. Do you know how good it feels to get to take a hot shower and sleep in your own bed after so many months away? It's heaven, Lily."
"Welcome back," Lily said grinning slightly. She had a nagging question but she was afraid to ask it. She didn't know if she could handle either of the answers.
"So, word got to me that you made Head Girl," he said. "I'm thrilled for you. So, you're like supreme ruler of the entire school now. Slytherin Quidditch captain and Head Girl, with all those extra classes, how in the world do you find time to relax or date?"
"I'll relax after N.E.W.T.s," Lily teased. He laughed.
"And dating?" Damon prodded gently as he lead her out towards the patio. This year, Narcissa had installed heaters. The snow was wet, melted, but the artificial warmth was inviting and only when the wind whipped toward them did Lily feel even the slightest hint of winter chill.
"No dating," Lily said simply as she smiled as she leaned her forearms against the rail, looking over the sparkly ground.
"Really? I'd have thought that the guys would have been lining up to date you," Damon said. Lily shrugged slightly.
"I think my power and position is a put off," Lily said as she looked at him. Damon nodded understanding. He momentarily looked to the door, causing Lily to glance there too, but no one was standing there. She returned her eyes to his.
"Did you get my post cards?" he asked distractedly. Lily's face brightened and she nodded eagerly.
"Oh, they were beautiful. Did you really go to all those places?" Lily asked as she looked at him interestedly.
"Yeah, look I know you told… well… that you said that you were going straight into the Healer's program, but you've got to do some traveling while you are young, Lily," Damon said breathlessly as his excitement spilled over. Lily could practically feel it in the air. His eyes went to that same place and this time Lily wondered if he was looking for someone, waiting for something.
"What are you looking for?" Lily asked quietly.
"Nothing," Damon said quickly. "As I was saying, if you only go one place, you have to at least go to the Dublin. There is so much history there."
"I've actually decided that I am going to put off school for a year and go traveling a bit," Lily said smiling. "The more I thought about you… guys… you know, going around and seeing all those pretty places you visited, it really got me thinking. I don't want to have regrets."
"Regrets are bad," Damon said nodding slightly. He was suddenly very serious. Lily could feel the difference in the air.
"Yes, they are," Lily said. She sighed. "You know though, some sacrifices are worth the regret later on. It makes it more bearable."
"I couldn't agree more, Lily," Damon said grinning. He offered her his arm. "I'd love the opportunity to dance with you, that way I can say I danced with the prettiest girl at the ball."
"My pleasure," Lily said smiling and blushing slightly at him as she took his arm. Damon rested his hand on hers and shook his head.
"No, you must know, the pleasure really is all mine," he said quietly as he led her back to the dance floor where they joined the other bodies of dancing people. Like Aiden, he held Lily a little closer than was probably needed but Lily didn't mind. For the night, she was allowed to pretend that she was the princess of the ball.
"May I cut in?" a voice said quietly and Lily felt her heart stutter. She pulled her face away from where she had been previously resting it on Damon's shoulder and looked up. Her breathing suddenly intensified, the rise and fall with every breath coming quicker and quicker. Her body tensed, seized as she looked into his eyes.
"Scorpius," Lily barely choked out in a breathy sort of way. He grinned, his hair mussed though he was dressed to the nines. He looked older, though how much could a year really age someone. He looked more robust, healthier. It was a good look for him.
"Are you ok?" Scorpius asked as his smile slowly slid from his face. Damon had already retreated, leaving Scorpius and Lily to talk among themselves. Lily took a minute more to try and compose her breathing and expression.
"I'm fine," Lily finally said as she took a quiet breath. "I'm just surprised to see you."
"We had a date," Scorpius reminded her with a grin. Lily felt her heart stutter again, and she was sure she was dreaming. She laughed.
"That we did," Lily said as she looked at him expectantly.
"You don't look happy to see me," he said quietly as his smile began to fade.
"It's not that I'm not happy to see you," Lily said as she looked into his eyes. "I'm just surprised. I mean, you slipped that note in with the invite your dad brought me when he invited me to stay all of Christmas Holiday."
"Yeah," Scorpius said as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "I wasn't sure I was going to come home then. I was still kind of… pissed… that you broke up with me."
"Yeah," Lily said slowly.
"But I got to thinking," Scorpius continued. Lily noticed that they had retreated out to the same patio area that she and Damon had talked on just a bit before. Lily glanced around and heat rose to her cheeks a bit. This was also the same place that she and Scorpius had first kissed, at the Slytherin Christmas Ball, way back when she was just a lowly first year. She grinned slightly at the memory.
"You got to thinking?" Lily asked as she focused on Scorpius, who was now staring at her.
"You look beautiful tonight," Scorpius said. Lily looked at him confused.
"What does that have to do with you thinking?" Lily asked. Scorpius shook his head.
"Nothing," Scorpius said. "I just… I feel like I am seeing you for the first time."
"It is the first time you've seen me in a year and a half," Lily reminded him.
"Not exactly…" Scorpius said blushing slightly. Lily looked at him confused.
"What do you mean 'not exactly', Scorpius?" Lily asked. He hesitated and Lily placed her hands on her hips. "What do you mean?"
"Well, ok, don't be mad, Lils," Scorpius said quietly. Lily raised an eyebrow, knowing that nothing good could be commenced with a statement like that.
"I'll do my best," Lily said as she looked at him. He had hesitated, waiting for her response.
"Ok," Scorpius said taking a deep breath. "I came home with Damon. We both were feeling homesick."
"Why would I be mad?" Lily asked unclear.
"I came here," Scorpius said. "That's why my dad picked you up so late."
"No… no, you couldn't have," Lily said shaking her head. "I would have noticed you."
"Would you have?" Scorpius challenged gently. "I could have taken polyjuice and morphed into a house elf."
"Don't be stupid," Lily scoffed. "Polyjuice is only used in human to human transformations. House elves aren't human enough."
"Ok, you got me there," Scorpius said. "I didn't take polyjuice, but I really was here the whole time."
"I would have seen you," Lily said crossing her arms. She could feel herself getting a little upset. "I'm not so self absorbed that I wouldn't have noticed you."
"Oh, I didn't mean to imply that," Scorpius said quickly, realizing what Lily thought he was accusing her of. He ran his hand through his hair. "I'm making a mess of things. Maybe I should start a little closer to the beginning."
"Yeah, maybe you should," Lily said as she fought the cross tone that was edging into her voice.
"Are you warm? We could go inside," Scorpius said suddenly. Lily nearly laughed. He had been concerned about her being cold that first time they found their selves out here at her first ball. How they had come so many years and they had the same situations re-cropping up.
"I'm fine, Scorpius," Lily said gesturing to the heaters. He grinned.
"Look, I was upset and I stayed that way for a long time. Yes, I enjoyed life out there, and you were right, I had to do it," Scorpius said. "Still, I couldn't stop thinking about you, I couldn't get over you. I hung on to every little shred of information that made it back to me. I'm sure listening to me piss and moan about you to Damon was annoying for him, and I felt guilty about it in the beginning until he told me that he talked to you. You have to understand, Lils, he didn't know that you were the one reason I wanted to delay. He promised that had he known, he'd have given me the summer. It wouldn't have made that much difference. I'd have still gone, but then I thought that you didn't care about me anymore."
"Ok," Lily said confused. "What does this have to do with you coming home in December and claiming to be in the house all this time?"
"Ugh, yeah, so I wrote that letter to you, pretty much dismissing you from my life and slipped it into the invite when I visited my father that morning before he went to deliver it to you. I had no intention on coming here tonight and seeing you," Scorpius said as he leaned up against the railing. "I was still angry and hurt that you were willing to cast me aside and give Hill another chance, just because he was going Pro."
"You know, I only said that right?" Lily commented. Scorpius nodded.
"I do now, but then, I swore that was the truth. Anyways, I returned back from my father's and Damon was looking all guilty about things because by now, he'd listened to me whine about you for about a year, and it ate away at his insides. He told me about the conversation you two had," Scorpius said. He continued to stare at Lily's shoes. "Damn, do those things hurt your feet?"
"A little," Lily said. She gave him a dirty look. He laughed and opened his arms to her. "Maybe you should finish your story, Scorpius." He nodded, dropping his arms. His smile faltered and he decided to continue.
"I went to Albus," Scorpius said.
"You went and saw my brother?" Lily asked incredulously. She couldn't believe he hadn't said anything to her. She would kill him if it wasn't for the fact that he was going to be a father. She thought back to the conversation she had not but a few hours ago with Albus. What had he asked? How Malfoy was treating her? Albus hadn't been talking about Draco like she had thought, he had been talking about Scorpius. Albus knew Scorpius was back. So had Kate, which explained the look Kate had sent Albus, ending their conversation rather abruptly. Lily frowned.
"I asked him if I could borrow his cloak," Scorpius said.
"You have dozens of cloaks," Lily countered. Scorpius laughed.
"Yeah, but your brother has a very special cloak that I don't," Scorpius said. Realization and understand flickered in her eyes.
"The Cloak of Invisibility," Lily murmured. Scorpius nodded.
"Yeah," he said. He looked suddenly really uncomfortable. "I kind of used it, spent the past few weeks following you around." Lily looked at him, horrified.
"You were following me?" Lily asked angrily.
"I never looked at you, not like when you weren't decent," Scorpius promised as he raised his hands in surrender. "I would never cross that line. I was there when you got your dress, but I kept my eyes close the entire time. I wanted the first time I saw you in it to be here. I prayed for the snow."
"How could you follow me and I not notice it?" Lily demanded. "How could you do that to me? Why? When did you follow me? Always?"
"Lily, I was upset and yet, I was drawn to you. Like a moth to a flame, I've never been able to resist you. I've had to talk myself out of so many things, first I convinced myself that you were too young for me, then that we were teammates, and then I convinced myself that you didn't love me," Scorpius said. "I was always careful to be very quiet and very still. I needed to be near you, and even if you didn't want me, I'd still be there, ready to protect you at a moment's notice."
"When? When did you follow me?" Lily demanded. She was shaking with emotion.
"I was there when you bought the sheet music, though I wasn't sure what it was for," Scorpius admitted quietly. "I was there behind you while you searched my home, looking for the music room. I saw you smile when you were in my playroom, imagining me no doubt at that tender age."
"Stop," Lily said as she covered her ears. "I don't want to hear any more."
"Lils," Scorpius said as he cleared the distance between them. He nudged her chin up to make her look at him. "I didn't do it to harm you, but only to torture myself. I can only imagine how much it must have hurt to read that note I sent you. Not to mention that cruel little statement that I included in the first box I gave you."
"Prove it," Lily said suddenly as she wrenched away from him.
"Prove what? That I wanted to torture myself?" Scorpius asked carefully. Lily shook her head.
"Prove that you were there with me in the music room or the playroom," Lily said. Scorpius nodded and took Lily by the hand, heading across the patios and bypassing most of the party guests. They entered the far side of the room and took the stairs silently. Lily was mad, but she couldn't help the way her heart purred at his hand gripping hers and for a moment, she pretended that they were holding hands.
Scorpius led her first to the playroom, pushing the wooden door quickly and leading her up the spiral staircase. He pushed open the door and froze, swearing under his breath. Someone had come in and cleared the room of the thick layer of dust. Lily looked at him in surprise, but he shrugged.
"There goes my showing you my foot prints in the dust," Scorpius said pouting slightly. "I was surprised you didn't notice them while we were up here. You touched the chalk board where I had written on it."
"Lucky guess," Lily said. Scorpius took her again by her hand and headed to the music room. He flicked his wand, lighting the room's million of candles, the lights glowing warm and flickering.
"Ok, you sat here at the piano, first playing some insanely complicated piece then you began to write furiously, as if you were possessed by the music," Scorpius said. Lily crossed her arms.
"Anyone would have guessed that," Lily said. Scorpius sighed.
"Ok, how's this for details," Scorpius said. "At one point, you placed your head back on the bench, staring up at the ceiling while tears spilled down your cheeks. At first I was worried you were sad, but you had a smile across your face. The tears concerned me, but I had only ever seen that smile on your face when we were together, when we were in love."
Lily was silent, her mouth slightly open as she looked at him bewildered. He was telling the truth.
"The music," Lily said quietly after a moment. Scorpius nodded.
"Yeah, that music was beautiful and eerie," Scorpius said. "I was moved to tears myself, though I don't exactly know why."
"You cried?" Lily asked. Scorpius blushed.
"Not like a sobbing baby, but yea, I had tears running down my face every time you played it," Scorpius said. He took a shaky breath. "And you played it a lot while you worked out the kinks in it."
"Yeah, I did," Lily murmured as her fingers silently touched the highest key. She didn't depress it, just hovered with her finger on the key.
"What was the song about? The one you wrote," Scorpius asked. Lily looked at him and smiled slightly.
"Your father told me about Jean and Simone Malfoy," Lily said. She looked at him, not realizing that he was standing so close. "I didn't know what to get your grandmother and father for Christmas, so I composed a musical piece that expressed everything I felt when your dad told me the story. What you heard was Simone and Jean's story: L'amour, De perte, et Déplorant."
"Love, Loss, and Lamenting?" Scorpius asked breathlessly. Lily nodded. His fingers reached out for her and she felt the light brushing of his finger tips as he drew the locket away from her skin. "You're still wearing this?"
"Yes," Lily said in the same breathless sort of way. His eyes met hers with questions, silent questions that seemed to be causing turmoil inside of him. "You seem to think that there was a time that I ever stopped loving you, Score. In all honesty, I've been selfish because I hoped I still staked a claim on your heart."
"You still love me?" Scorpius asked with surprise.
"Yeah," Lily said.
"Good," Scorpius said as a smile curled his lips. "I still love you too."
He leaned forward and lightly kissed her, their eyes closed as they breathed in each other slightly, sampling each other's life force ever so carefully. They pulled back slowly, eyes still closed. Neither wanted to open their eyes, for they both feared that if they opened their eyes they would learn that this had all been a dream and neither could bear the thought. Scorpius laced his fingers in hers, pulling her close, his eyes still closed. He lowered his mouth to her ear.
"I don't want to ever be away from you like that again, Lily," Scorpius breathed as he pressed his face against her face. "I love you more than words could ever express. I'm sorry I believed that you didn't love me, I should have known better. I should have fought for you. I plan to fix this, all of this, if it takes the rest of our lives to do so."
"The rest of our lives?" Lily breathed.
"Yeah," Scorpius said. "You will always be a part of my life Lily. Now and forever."
"I will," Lily said. Scorpius pressed a kiss to her neck slightly.
"I don't have anything, Lily," Scorpius said. "There are no excuses that I can come up with. I love you. You're not too young. I think that you were never too young."
"I love you, Score," Lily said as her mouth met his again.
"I love you, Lils," Scorpius vowed.
"Your room or mine?" Lily asked. Scorpius opened his eyes in surprise.
"I… I didn't mean that," Scorpius said. Lily bit her lips slightly.
"I know, but I do," Lily said quietly. "I'm ready. I'm not afraid."
"Are you sure?" Scorpius asked. Lily nodded once.
"It's what people do when they're in love," Lily said as Scorpius' mouth crashed down on hers for a moment before he led her out of the music room and down the hall towards his room.