Chapter Twenty Four

A/N: Thank you to ClaireBear1982, zip, No, lilyluna2468, Victorieweasley7 and Ginny2435 for reviewing. I'm so grateful for all your support.

Spring had given way to summer and before she knew it, Lily was boarding the Hogwarts Express to return home for the holidays. Her first year at school had been without major incident, especially when compared to the likes of her mother and father's days, but she could not wait to return home and see her parents again.

"Come on, Lily, you'll miss the train." Teddy beckoned. Aside from Lily and Caitlyn, to whom she had been bidding goodbye, the boy was the only one left on the platform. He had finally completed his N.E.W.T. examinations with acceptable grades to find a job in the Ministry of Magic, and so would not be returning in September. It would be strange without him, for her surrogate brother had been as much a fixture of her first year at Hogwarts at the castle and grounds.

As the train pulled out of Hogsmeade, Lily peered out of the window, watching the wonderful castle disappear into the distance with a sigh of dismay. 'It's only six weeks.' she reminded herself, feeling a pang of longing once it was gone. 'You'll be back before you know it.'

Besides, she would have six long weeks to spend with her family. Summer celebrations at the Burrow had always been something she had looked forward to all year round. A smile crept onto her face at the thought of being surrounded by family again. True, she had spent all year living amongst hundreds of students, but she still felt a little lonely when she was away from home.

Suddenly, Lily recalled the letter her father had sent her a couple of days earlier, and his request that she write back as soon as possible, which had completely slipped her mind. She had leant her owl to Caitlyn, whose own owl had been injured in a recent storm, and so she had no way to send a letter, even if she wrote it now.

Unwilling to let her father worry and knowing the trouble she would be in when they arrived on the platform, Lily decided to ask James if she could borrow his owl.

After an eventful run-in with her eldest brother, who was behaving like his usual obnoxious self, the girl decided to ask Albus instead; after all, he had always been nicer to her. With this in mind, she ventured into the Slytherin compartments, ignoring the hateful stares she received from the occupants- most of whom had not forgiven her father for his role in the Second Wizarding War- and concentrating instead on finding her brother. 'I don't know why I didn't go to Albus first.'

It was only when she found him that she realised.

Albus was sat in the very end compartment of the train, locking in animated conversation with Scorpius Malfoy. At the sight of the boy's flash of blonde hair, Lily almost bolted from the carriage, but no sooner had she taken a step backwards than her brother lifted his head and met her eyes.

"Hi, Lily." he greeted, much nicer than James had been, as he always was. Lily barely gave him a nod in response, for she was too busy looking at his companion; Scorpius, for his part, seemed to be avoiding her eye.

Lily felt a small bubble of anger begin to swell in her chest. 'He thinks he's too good even to look at me now. Well, he's a mighty Malfoy. Why would he wish to look at a girl whose only claim to being Pureblood descends through the Weasleys? I might as well be a Squib to him.'

"Lily!" Albus exclaimed, his voice tinged with frustration. He had clearly been trying to get her attention for some time. She flashed him an apologetic smile and he continued. "What do you want?"

"I leant my owl to Caitlyn and I have to write a letter to Dad." she explained, trying to look at her brother and not at his silver-haired friend. "Could I borrow yours?"

Albus sighed in frustration at the simple request, then shook his head. "I've already sent an owl off to the Burrow, to tell them we're on our way back."

"Oh." Lily simply replied, her heart sinking in her chest. She had been supposed to reply to that letter for days. Surely her father would be worried by now, and she hated to think of hurting him. "Isn't there anything you can do?"

"What do you want me to do, summon him back?" her brother asked, his tone making it clear that he did not really mean the offer. "I can't do anything, Lily. Anyway, you'll see him in a couple of hours, when we get back to London."

"But Al, I promised I would send him a letter!" she argued, realising that she was beginning to sound like a little child having a tantrum. People in the carriage had begun to stare at her, snickering at her childish outburst. 'Just one more piece of ammunition against me.'

"You can borrow my owl if you like." came a calm, measured voice from Albus' side. Scorpius had finally deigned to look up at her, and he seemed to be quite amused by the whole situation, judging by the twitching corners of his mouth. "My mother and father already know I'm on my way and they'll pass on the message to my grandparents."

"There you are, Lil, just borrow Sally." Albus instructed her, turning to face the window again, as if he had dismissed her.

With a huff, Lily accepted the offer, watching as Scorpius released the owl from its cage and attached the written parchment onto its foot. No sooner had the bird flown away that Lily was on her way out of the carriage, intent on seeking out Teddy again. However, something made her turn around to face the pair again.

"Sally?" she asked in confusion. It was an awfully Muggle-sounding name for a Malfoy's owl.

"Salazar, really," Scorpius explained with a smirk. "But I thought that sounded a little imposing. Anyway, Sally's a far nicer name."

He chuckled a little at his own explanation, clearly slightly embarrassed by the situation. And Lily was not quite sure why, but as she returned to Teddy's carriage and took her seat by the window, she realised she was chuckling too.

A/N: Please review, everyone! I know it's been ages, but I really want to know what you think!