Hope everyone had good holidays and a happy new year! I really like this even though it's kind of filter until the really exciting next chapter. Enjoy and Review :) Love love love reading all your reviews, makes me a happy camper! :)
Chapter 12 – Study Buddies
The nightmares refused to stop as holiday break slowly refused to come, before everyone was wishing for it. It was a week before holiday break and everyone had dates for the Yule Ball and it wasn't that Lily didn't get offers, she had many in fact; she had just turned down everyone as lack of interest in the whole thing. The thought now of going solo was beginning to sound more and more depressing as the date slowly approached. The Yule Ball falls on the day before holiday break as a tribute to Cedric Diggory.
As she was walking to class on the Monday before the Ball and she ran full force into Bryant.
"Lils, it's nice to see you." He chuckled as he stabilized her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Bryant, I'm never looking where I'm going." She apologized profusely.
"It's ok, don't even worry about it. How're you doing?" He looked at her seriously.
"I'm alright really, it's been like a month already. Although, this may seem like a weird question but do you have a date to the Yule ball?" Lily asked hopeful.
"Er, well no. Why?" He chuckled awkwardly, while turning a bright pink.
"Did you want to go together? As friends of course?" She asked with a giant grin across her face.
"For sure Lils, it would be fun. Let's do it." He laughed and high-fived her.
"Dress to impress Longbottom." She laughed as she walked away. At least that was taken care of.
As she walked into class, Hugo noticed her slight change in mood as he had noticed the rapid decrease in it lately and was getting really concerned about her; asking her questions and not leaving her side.
"You seem chipper this morning." He noticed cheerfully.
"I'm fine." She rolled her eyes, "I actually have a date to the Yule Ball now, if it's your business."
"You finally choose one!" Ivy piped in from behind them.
"Sort of." Lily chuckled nervously and Kenda gasped covering her mouth quickly. "What?" Lily turned around to give her a look.
Ivy gave Kenda a look before hissing, "Scorpius?"
"What? Are you crazy? We hated each other like a mouth ago. That's ridiculous, Scorpius and me? No." Lily laughed; she would have to tell him tonight. "What gave you that idea?"
Ivy just looked at Kenda, "What? How cute would that be?" She whined.
"Friends Kends, just friends." She laughed and turned back to Hugo.
"Who is it then Lils?" Ivy hissed from behind her.
"Bryant." Lily told them, "As friends."
"Smart move Potter. Your brothers will take kindly to that." Hugo chuckled.
"Thank you Weasley, I thought so too." Lily laughed.
"Hey there Malfoy." Lily yelled in his ear before taking her seat in the library. He had been helping her study for her OWLS and they were re-getting to know each other in the progress.
"What the hell Potter." He chuckled, "Was that really necessary?"
"Always." She opened her book was a thump and groaned. "How am I supposed to remember all of this?" She whined.
"You don't have too, you could always fail?" He teased her.
"Yeah right, Harry Potter's daughter, fail her OWLs, sure!" She rolled her eyes and pushed the book towards him. "Quiz me."
"Calm down Princess," He chuckled and she gave him a scowl, "Fine, what effect does a Draught of Peace potion have?"
"That's too easy!" Lily whined.
"Answer the question." He smiled at her.
"Relieves anxiety and agitation. Side effects are overdoing it can put you into a deep sleep. Next question." She waved her hand him and grinned. He closed her potions book and slid the The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection over to him.
"Vampires are widely known for sucking the blood of humans," Scorpius read as Lily interrupted him.
"We learnt about vampires like two years ago. Come on ask me a good question." She whined at him.
"Favourite time of the year?" He gave her a smile that made Lily's heart skip a bit.
"This time, Christmas. It's all so happy and I get to see my family. The rest of my family I mean," She chuckled, "I miss them." He smiled at her sweetly, "What about you?"
"Fall, we come back to Hogwarts." He said quietly and Lily gave him a look. "Not that I don't love my parents, I do. Surprising enough, they are great. You know how Malfoy's usually have arranged marriages?" Lily nodded as he continued, "They well – they married for love."
"That's really nice, what is it then, if you don't mind me asking?" Lily didn't push.
"It's my Grandfather, we don't get along to say the least." He chuckled awkwardly.
"Muggle lover huh?" She tried to lighten the mood.
"Something like that." He chuckled. "Shall we continue you?"
"Bring it on Malfoy." She laughed.
"Drawback to using non-verbal spells, other then the skill-level." Scorpius smirked at her and she scowled at her. Non-verbal spells were a sixth year subject but she wouldn't be beat.
"Drawbacks, drawbacks, the drawback to non-verbal spells would be … that … when you use them … you're more likely too … mess up." She mumbled and shook her head. "Not fair."
"Wrong Potter, the drawback to using a non-verbal spell is that when you cast said spell, it is not as powerful as it would be when spoken." He smirked and she admitted defeat.
"Fine, give me that." She said grabbing the textbook from his hands and skimming the page. "You do whatever, I'm going to study." She motioned with her hand and he chuckled as he started to fold paper. A couple minutes later he pushed the book from her hands gently and place a paper swan in front of her. "What?" She asked looking down at the swan.
"You're going to practice, now grab your wand." He motioned to the paper swan.
"What do you want from me?" She laughed grabbing her wand off the table.
"Make it move." He motioned again.
Lily cleared her throat and quietly said as she pointed her wand at the paper swan, "Piertotum Locomotor." The paper quivered and fell still again.
"Again, with feeling."
"Piertotum Locomotor!" She whispered loudly from her diaphragm, and the paper swan burst up and looked at her. Lily giggled and put out her hand for it to walk on to it.
"See you did it!" Scorpius laughed with her as the swan hopped onto Lily's hand.
"This is so amazing, can we name it?" Lily asked with a laugh.
"What do you want to name it?" Scorpius asked her and Lily smirked back at him.
"Princess." She and Scorpius burst into a fit of laughter. Madam Pince glared at them and they tried to control they're laughter.
"So how's the littlest Potter doing today then?" Scorpius coughed trying to control himself.
"I'm actually good today. I was talking to Kends and Ivy today right? Telling them about how Bryant and I are going to the Yule Ball together, and Kends she just out of nowhere just says how cute would it be if you and I went. She's crazy right?" Lily chuckled and Scorpius shifted, forcing a laugh through.
"Why would it be so crazy? I'm certainly good looking enough for you." He raised his eyebrows at her.
"Oh yeah, you're certainly good looking Malfoy. You have all the girls fawning over you." She rolled her eyes, yet her stomach also felt uneasy as she said that. For some reason it bothered her that all the girls were fawning over Scorpius Malfoy.
"Except you, of course." He slightly chuckled and Lily shifted uncomfortably.
"Except me." She smiled slightly and they lapsed into silence for a couple minutes. Except you, what did he mean by that. Did he want to take her to the Yule Ball; no he was just being funny. He could never take a Potter, friend's maybe but he would never see her that way. Why did she care if he didn't see her that way, he was her friend, her FRIEND, that's it, end of story.
"So Longbottom? Hufflepuffs are kind and sweet." He mentioned not looking up.
"Oh, no. Just friends." Lily said quickly, a bit too quickly.
"You're going just as friends when Lily Potter could be going with any boy she could want?" He raised his eyebrow at her.
"Sure, anyone boy." She chuckled sarcastically.
"Honestly Potter, you got two offers the other day when I was sitting with you, for all they could know I could have been your boyfriend." He started raising his voice a bit and then went back to looking down.
"But you aren't, maybe it's the way you call me Potter all the time instead of by my first name, you don't realize how many Potter's there is right? Or maybe it's the way we hated each other a month ago!" Lily slightly shouted at him as she started gathering up her things angrily. She wasn't sure when she had felt angry towards him but she knew she was angry with him now.
"You're right maybe I should go back to calling you princess then. Little princess Potter, then people might realize, oh yeah they hate each other, definitely not dating." He stood up to face her as he towered over her small stature.
"Oh well maybe I'll go back to hexing you every time you look at me again, then maybe people would get the idea." She fumed.
"Oh yeah, that would solve everything, sending me to the hospital wing every other day." He mocked her.
"Oh yeah, maybe I will." She glared at him, daring him.
"You're acting like a child Potter." He argued back and with a huff Lily stocked out of the library.
"I never hated you Lily." Scorpius yelled at her back and that made her stop for a second before rushing out of the library.
The nerve of him, who did he think he was. Scorpius Malfoy. He just had this way of infuriating her like no one else could and then she stopped to realized what they had just fought about. He could have been her boyfriend? How stupid was she? She turned around and Scorpius was walking towards her.
"First fight?" She shrugged and laughed.
"First fights are for couples Lily." He chuckled and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around him as he did the same and breathed him in; he smelled of musk with a touch of soap. Lily turned red in embarrassment as she realized she had never hugged him before, never felt his arms around her or had him this close to her before. He broke away to fast for her liking and she shook her head trying to get his scent out of her mind.
"We're not a couple," She reassured him, "And I don't mind when you call me Potter." She smiled.
"I think that's enough studying for one night?" Scorpius asked her.
"Yeah, I think so." Lily chuckled. They stood awkwardly staring at each other for a moment.
"Er, right then. Goodnight Lily. " He mumbled awkwardly.
"See you tomorrow Scorpius." They enhanced small awkward smile before making her way slowly back to the common room.
Why was it so hard for to accept that they were friends, they would get the occasional glance from an unfriendly Slytherin, but other then that everyone else had accepted it; even her family, why couldn't she?
The next morning Lily sat in her favourite spot in the courtyard as she did every time she had a nightmare, which was very frequent the last month.
"Nightmare?" Lily looked behind her to see Scorpius walking towards her.
"Isn't it always?" Lily sighed and gave him a smile. She didn't know why she had told him about them when only Hugo was the only one who knew, and he was family. Scorpius was well, a Malfoy. Something about the way he had asked made her tell him; although she had always left the fact that he was in them out. He sat down opposite of her and Lily admired how the sun made his blond hair glow. It was unfair for someone to look so beautiful.
"Do you remember your sorting?" He asked her softly. This was his way to make her forget about them, to ask her questions about herself.
"Of course I remember my sorting!" Lily laughed at him; this was such a weird question.
"Lily Potter!" Professor Longbottom boomed from the front of the room. A tiny red head came nervously walking up to the stage and sat down on the old stool. Professor Longbottom gave her an encouraging smile and Lily gave him a nervous one back, with that he placed the hat on Lily's tiny head.
"Mmm, another Potter I see. What to do with you what to do with you?" The Sorting Hat pondered over her. "Not like your brothers are you Lily? Much like your Mother, Ginny. Kind girl. She was the only girl too. Mmm. Not a bad mind on you, Ravenclaw would be happy to have you, or Hufflepuff, I see you're kindness. Maybe a bit of a challenge, cunning girl aren't you my dear?"
"Not Slytherin." Lily whispered to the Hat as she held her eyes shut firmly.
"Ah, I may have been wrong, more like your father than you know, must be…. GRYFFINDOR!" The Hat boomed and right before Professor Longbottom took the Hat off her head it said, "We except great things Lily Potter."
"He gave me a talking too…" Lily chuckled remembering it like it was yesterday, "Do you remember yours?"
"Oh yeah, he had a real fun time trying to sort me." Scorpius chuckled.
"What happened?" Lily looked at him curiously.
A tiny blond hair, grey eyed boy stood amongst the crowd of his soon to be fellow classmates. He patiently waited for his name to be call, uncertain of where he would be happy. Would he follow in his father's footsteps, doomed to repeat his mistakes. Finally Professor Longbottom called out his name, "Scorpius Malfoy."
The Room went silent as a young Scorpius walked slowly up to the old wooden stool.
"My boy, do you ever look like your father." Professor Longbottom told him before placing the hat onto Scorpius head.
"Ah, a Malfoy, I was worrying when I would see an other one of you. Not like you're father, are you boy?" The Sorting Hat asked him.
"No sir," Scorpius whispered back politely.
"Much more polite then your father," The Hat pointed out.
"Thank you sir," Scorpius answered getting nervous now.
"Of course boy, you're getting anxious. Now where shall I put you, fair mind, certainly kind enough for Hufflepuff, although the Malfoy's may burn me for that one. Let's see, brave aren't we? Change to prove we're different, but let's not be hasty. Surely you are like your mother, cunning in a different way. She was too polite like you. Well… SYLTHERIN!" The Hat boomed as Professor Longbottom gave him a kind smile and he went to join his cheering Slytherin table.
"He wanted to put me into Hufflepuff" Scorpius laughed remembering, "He also said my father was rude to him, I find that not hard to believe."
"You're kidding?" Lily burst out in laughter. Imagining a Malfoy in Hufflepuff, surely they would have burned the hat for sure.
"Yeah, he can't insult the great Potter family now can he." Scorpius chuckled teasing her.
"I'm sure if he had found a way he would have." Lily laughed, maybe it was the fact that the hat only saw the light of day once a year but he had a bit of an attitude.
"You excited for the Ball Lily?" Scorpius asked her and it was still odd when he said her first name, she wasn't entirely used to it yet.
"Yeah, I guess." Lily gave him a small smile, "My dress is beautiful, Vicky picked it out for me."
"Your cousin, the oldest one right?" Lily nodded, "Well I can't wait to see it. Better save me a dance Potter." He chuckled and a smile grew across his face.
"Count on it Malfoy." She smiled back at him.