Chapter Twenty

A/N: Thank you to Emigrace16, ClaireBear1982 and annadb0611 for reviewing.

Lily had had no intentions to return to the mentoring program, not after the embarrassment she had suffered at its hands, but found that she had little choice in the matter, not when she was being marched in the direction of the library by the Head of Hufflepuff House, a frighteningly tall woman who could not have been more dissimilar to Professor McGonagall, the Head of House her parents had received. It was not often that Lily envied her parents' generation their time at school, but this was one of the rare occasions on which she did.

"Now, today, you are not going to run away." the professor instructed her, in her usual dulcet tones laced with strictness. "You are going to sit with your mentor for the required amount of time. You are going to behave yourself and you are not going to shame our House by making a spectacle out of yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yes, professor." Lily sighed, but her Head of House had not waited around for a reply, and was already several feet away, the heels of her boots clicking against the flagstones. Lily rolled her eyes, knowing the woman could not see the gesture, before she turned and crossed the threshold of the library.

At first, she could not see Malfoy, and for a moment there was a brilliant hope that he had refused to attend the session. That way, she would be able to curl up in the corner with a good book or two, her favoured mentors in life, and she wouldn't have to go through the embarrassment of seeing the boy again. Unfortunately, when a gaggle of Ravenclaw girls had dispersed, giving a clear view of an isolated table at the back of the room, Lily saw that she had not been so lucky.

Scorpius did not look phased in the least, chatting away with his cronies, who had once again abandoned their mentees in favour of their friend. But then again, Lily doubted that he could truly be phased by anything, for he seemed such a calm collected soul, while she was the opposite, if anything.

Not willing to wait for another half an hour for him to notice she was waiting, Lily cleared her throat pointedly, as her mother often did when James was causing mischief at home. She had expected him to perhaps be startled, but when he looked up at her, he did so slowly. 'He's known I was here since I set foot in the library.' she realised, having to fight all her own instincts to prevent herself from forcefully wiping the smug smile off of his face.

"Go on, boys, go and see your little first years." Scorpius instructed, his voice a petulant little whimper, like an imitation of a small child. They dispersed quickly, leaving Lily alone with her mentor. For the first time, she wished that the cronies had stayed with their leader; perhaps it would have been a little less awkward if they had.

Scorpius nodded towards the seat across the table from him, silently giving her permission to take a seat. Having never liked being told what to do, Lily remained standing, leaning defiantly against the back of the seat. Malfoy did not react and continued as if he had never wanted her to sit.

"I didn't think I'd see you here again, after what happened last time." he spoke, more serious now than he had been with his fellow Slytherins, yet still too smug for Lily's liking.

"Trust me, I don't want to be here." she returned defensively, a little too fast. 'Why am I letting him get to me? He only wants to get a reaction, that's why he's doing this.'

"That makes two of us." he told her, his smirk almost unbearable now. Lily clenched her fists beneath the table, thanking Merlin that she was not like her eldest brother. James would have punched Scorpius in the face by now, even if the boy was their brother's closest friend.

They stayed silent for a while, both glancing awkwardly around. A couple of the Slytherin boys seemed to be bullying their Hufflepuff first years, while outside, practices for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team were taking place.

"I'm sorry." Scorpius told her, breaking the silence, and Lily did a double take, wondering if perhaps she had been daydreaming and had heard him incorrectly. She still wasn't certain until he continued to speak. "I shouldn't have been so mean to you. You're only a kid."

"I'm not a kid!" she exclaimed, reverting to type by arguing immediately. Scorpius was not offended in the least- in fact he was chuckling at her reaction- but still Lily apologised for her rash behaviour. "Sorry. You're trying to apologise and I'm just being... me. Sorry."

"Don't worry." he responded with a laugh. Lily smiled to herself. She had not heard Scorpius laugh in the past; it was a sound she would like to hear more often. "I just hoped that we could start over. I want to try and be a good mentor, even if I'm abysmal at everything else. So, what do you think? Should we call it quits?"

Lily could not remember having felt angrier with any boy in all her life, yet she found herself agreeing without delay, relieved to finally put an end to their argument.

"I think that would probably be for the best." she told him, still not quite able to believe she was being this amicable with a boy she had loathed ever since she had first started at Hogwarts. "It might make life easier for both of us, especially when you're best friends with my brother."

"That's sorted, then. We can start over." Scorpius told her with a smile. He held out his hand for her to shake. "Hello, I'm your new mentor. Scorpius Malfoy."

Chuckling under her breath, Lily took his hand and shook it. "Lily Potter. I hope we're going to get on very well."

Scorpius pulled his hand away, lingering just a little too long. "I hope so too."

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