Chapter Twenty Nine

A/N: Thank you to imdefinitelynotaserialkiller and Silverstar for reviewing.

It was a mad idea. Lily had said that the moment Scorpius made the suggestion and every time after. They had only been together a week- no one but Caitlyn and Albus even knew that- and yet Scorpius wanted to spend their Hogsmeade weekend together.

It was not that she did not enjoy spending time with her boyfriend- a word that still sent sparks of happiness through her veins- but their relationship was so private, a cosy little bubble where no one but the two of them existed. Lily was just not sure she was ready to lose that.

The young woman wrapped a crimson scarf around her neck, running her palm over her hair to smooth it down. She had donned her usual jeans and cardigan, deciding against dressing up for the occasion. She did not want to give the game away.

"Ready to join the branches of the lovebirds?" Caitlyn teased, from where she stood leaning against the doorway. She looked like the cat who had found the cream, a kind of smug satisfaction that Lily was not sure if she found irritating or endearing.

"Technically, we joined them a week ago when we snogged in the corridor." Lily pointed out. Caitlyn rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but amazingly, no one saw you then, so it doesn't really count." her friend assured her, chuckling good-naturedly. Despite her nerves, Lily could not help but laugh as well. "Seriously though, Lily, don't worry about it. People might talk about you for a bit, but they'll get over it. You can't put your life on hold for them."

"Yeah, you're right." the redhead sighed, making one final attempt to tame her mane before heading for the door. If magic had not worked, there was nothing to be done. 'Besides,' spoke that encouraging little voice inside of her. 'Scorpius won't care what your hair looks like, as long as it's still attached to you.'

Sure enough, when the pair of friends reached the foot of the staircase, Scorpius stared at Lily for a good few seconds before he managed to speak.

"What's the matter?" Lily questioned. She was smiling, but the smallest of fears began to bubble in her stomach. Maybe Caitlyn had been wrong about him.

"Nothing!" Scorpius explained, holding his hands up. He shook his head for a moment, trying to clear the cotton wool feeling. "You look nice, Lil. You look really nice."

"Thanks." she answered, trying to tame the blush rising in her cheeks. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Caitlyn wink as she headed out to wait for them in the courtyard. She tried to ignore her, never an easy feat. "So, where do you want to go first? I need to get some more sherbet lemons from Honeydukes- someone ate all mine- but after that, do you want to go to Zonko's? Or do you want to have a look at some books?"

"How about lunch in The Three Broomsticks?" Scorpius suggested. Lily tried to conceal her wince, but she was not quite fast enough. The boy sighed, resting a hand on her arm. "Lil, what's the matter?"

"Nothing." she assured him. Scorpius raised his eyebrow. "It's just… don't you think it's a bit public? In shops, we can blend in, but everyone will be at the pub. I'm just worried everyone's going to look at us."

"So what if they do?" the boy shrugged, smiling at her. "Lily, you're my girlfriend now, okay? And I don't care who knows it. Actually, I want people to know. I want to act like a boyfriend around you and not have to worry that we'll get seen."

"I want that too." Lily professed, then bit her lip, wondering whether she should continue. "I'm just a bit worried that my parents will find out. My dad and yours don't exactly have the best of relationships; he might try to stop me seeing you. Not to mention the House barrier thing."

"Oh, the Houses barely count!" Scorpius exclaimed, though he was not sure it was true. When the four Hogwarts Houses had been restored, barely a month after they were disbanded, the old prejudices had been restored just as quickly. Perhaps they had never truly gone away. "As for our dads, they need to get over it. It's been twenty years since they were at Hogwarts, their little feuds shouldn't even exist anymore."

"Some problems just last forever, no matter how stupid they are." The words slipped out before Lily could stop them. She did not think about the implication until she saw his face fall.

"What are you saying, Lily?" Scorpius' voice was cold, emotionless. It was just the way she had imagined he would sound, when her father had warned her against befriending a Malfoy all those years ago.

"I'm not saying anything!" Lily sighed in frustration. Why did he have to analyse every word that came out of her mouth? "But my dad means everything to me, and I don't want to hurt him."

Scorpius stepped back as if he had been slapped. She might as well have struck him; it would probably have been a great deal less painful.

"There's only way for this not to hurt anyone's feelings, Lily, and that's for it not to happen at all." he muttered, after more than a minute of silence. Lily's eyes fell to the floor, her lip trembling, but Scorpius grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Is that what you want?"

Lily could not speak, the only sounds she could make were pained gasps as she tried to control her tears. A minute ago, she had been so happy. Now she felt like her world was falling apart. She loved Scorpius so much. But she loved her parents as well. Whichever she lost, it would leave a hole in her heart that could not be filled. In the end, she told the truth. "I don't know."

Scorpius shook his head, stepping back from her. She tried to move towards him again, but he held out his hands to stop her. "Fine. If that's what you want, that's what we'll do. You can keep your parents happy and proud of their little girl, and you can find a boyfriend they'll actually approve of. I couldn't care less."

The boy's voice broke on the final word and he ran out to the courtyard, trying to catch up with a group of Slytherins from his year who had been late to leave. Lily breathed in and out, her throat burning, her stomach twisting into a knot. She had never experienced heartbreak before. No one had told her the way it overtook her whole self.

She was vaguely aware of Caitlyn coming towards her, wrapping her arms around her shoulders as she sank down onto the steps. The girl whispered comforting words to her, but she could not hear them. Her eyes were streaming with tears, blurring her vision, until she was half-blind. She was almost glad for the tears then. They meant she could not see Scorpius hurrying away from her.

A/N: I'm so sorry! I'll have the next update soon, please review!