I'm finally posting this, I also have revised Chapters 1 and 2. I would love if you went back and looked, it flows a bit better now. Also I've also started Scorpius' view point, Chasing after the Flash. Anyways, lots of love. Read and Review :). Next chapter should be up shortly.
Chapter 15 – The Burrow
"Everyone sit down sit down!" Grandmum Molly called for everyone as she whizzed her wand and carried a basket of bread in her other hand. "Harry dear would you grab those plates?" She motioned to some plates on the top shelve.
"Yes of course Molly," Harry answered smiling at Ginny as she took a seat next to where he would be seating.
"James not yet!" Ginny shouted from across the table as James grabbed for some bread.
"Sorry Mum," James place the bread back in the basket and with one swift look from his mother took it right back out placing it on his plate. Lily stood in the door frame watching her family shuffle around each other; they looked like any normal muggle family would except for the flying dishes that were whizzing around, conversations buzzing from each other of the added on dinning room that could fit a large army in Lily's opinion and in a way they were an army. She looked from her Uncle George knowing that he was missing not only his ear but his other half; to her Uncle Bill who's face was scared from the werewolf attack and then at her own father she grinned, when she looked at the lightening bolt scar now fading into his wrinkles, one of many scars that he was covered in. Her family was an army, a very good army at one point and yet they were so happy now, as if none of it happened. Lily felt a surge of pride in her family standing there watching them laugh with each other – it all seem surreal to think about who they had been.
"Lily dear, take a seat next to Teddy would you? Can't have you hovering in the door frame now can we." Her Grandmum told her firmly as Lily smiled taking her seat.
"Mum, take a seat." Ron told her eyeing the food on the table, everyone seem to be hungry as well as Grandmum Molly eyed him.
"Now that everyone is seated can we eat?" James asked with hope in his eyes and everyone started chuckling even Percy.
"Before we start, I would like to say something," Teddy stood up and his voice boomed through the large room, and Victoire stood up next to him clearing her throat loudly, James groaned quietly. "We would like to say something," He chuckled and she gave him a bright smile. "Now, we know that it's been awhile and…"
"We're getting married!" Victoire beamed from ear to ear as the words came bursting gracefully out of her mouth and there was a silence as everyone processed the news before a bunch of cheers and finally rang through the room. Lily jumped up and gave Teddy a huge hug.
"That's what you almost told me?" Lily asked as she hit him in the shoulder,
"Yeah, not to great at secrets am I?" Teddy chuckled giving her a light punch back.
"Congratulations, now you'll officially be part of the family, finally." Lily hugged him again and then went to hug Victoire.
"Lily, we wanted to tell you before but we promised we wouldn't tell." Victoire smiled brightly at her.
"I'm just happy it's finally happening!" Lily laughed with her.
"You know I didn't think he was going to for awhile there," Victoire laughed and hugged her tightly.
"You're completely mad, he's completely and totally in love with you." Lily laughed with her cousin as Victoire admired her now fiancé.
"Yes I suppose so, good thing I'm completely and totally in love with him." She grinned brightly and Lily let her cousin talk to everyone else as she took her seat again. There was a bunch of chatter around her and she really was excited for Teddy and Victoire but she still couldn't shake this miserable feeling from her core. They were so ecstatic and purely happy, and Lily felt like a bunch of loose ends. Everyone calmed down after awhile and seated themselves again to Grandmum Molly's relief nothing had gone cold. Lily vaguely listened to conversations around the table, the standard how they were doing at school, what they thought they might want to do when they were done, mostly though it was either the older boys talking like her brother who was coming up on his last year or there was more talk of the now being planned wedding.
"So when were you planning on?" Harry asked the pair and they looked at each other smiling.
"Sometime next summer we were thinking." Teddy announced and there was nods and understanding from around the table.
"Why so late?" Lily piped into the first conversation the whole night without provocation.
"Lily we have a rather large family, it's quite hard to plan such an event on such short notice." Hermione answered her from across the table in a matter of fact way.
"Yes yes, of course our family is a factor Aunty Hermione but I'm just curious is all." She would rather they be getting married this summer even though six months was clearly not enough time. "They've just waited so long is all."
"Yes well, this one couldn't get over his nerves." Victoire laughed like bells and everyone including Teddy laughed.
"She's quite intimating you know." Teddy chuckled kissing her check.
"Wellz zhe iz my daughter after allz." Fleur piped in and Bill smiled lovely at his wife with a chuckle. The rest of dinner was rather uneventful in Lily's eyes and she made no real effort to socialize with anyone at dinner except Teddy and Victoire. Later that night when the adults had magical helped Grandmum Molly clean the dishes and everyone had gone to their rooms, Lily and Hugo laid casually on the couches in the homey living room.
"What's going to happen when we go back?" Hugo asked her quietly just in case someone else was up.
"Who says I'm go back?" Lily answered in a whisper and Hugo raised his eyebrow at her. "I figure it's what? A year and a half until the trace is gone and I could survive without magic until then." She half joked.
"Almost a year for me." Hugo chuckled.
"Exactly, you could come with me." Lily yawned and felt her eyelids getting tired.
"Lils, you're not running away from a Malfoy." Hugo yawned while he tiredly answered her.
"I'm not running – I'm just avoiding the situation all together."
"The whole thing seems pretty simple to be Lils."
"How do you mean?"
"You either like him or you don't – in which case I could hex him for you but I expect it's the first since you would have done it before I could even blink." Hugo eyed her and Lily sighed heavy.
"How is it that simple? We hated each other for almost forever and we were just becoming friends Hugo. AND then he goes and kisses me. Should it be that simple? Can it be that simple? Am I overthinking it?" Lily ramped in her tired state.
"I truly think you need some sleep Lils." Hugo chuckled rolling onto his back.
"You're no help." Lily huffed.
"You're over thinking it." He chuckled his eyes feeling really heavy.
"You're under thinking it." She chuckled and her eyelids fluttered shut. "It can't be that simple," she mumbled before falling asleep.
They both were woke up by a huge bang coming from outside.
"Bloody hell." Hugo rubbed his eyes and yawned.
"What in Merlin's name is going on out there?" Lily stretched her arms out and let out a sigh. Never sleep on her Grandparents' couch again she reminded herself.
"Come on then Lils." Hugo motioned for her to follow him outside.
"Give me a second." Lily yawned throwing her jumper on and racing after him. She stepped outside to her Uncle Charlie and Louis jousting to very large tables.
"Ah just in time you two." James announced to them as a large grin spreading across his face.
"In time for what?" Lily yawned and looked at him with worry.
"We're just about to start a Quidditch game – you in Lils?" James grinned a toothy grin.
Lily rising to the challenge gave a similar grinned right back, "Of course." She simply answered him. They assembled themselves into teams – Harry, Ginny, Bill, Ron, George, Charlie, and Teddy on one side of the field and James, Albus, Lily, Fred, Roxanne, Victoire and Louis on the other.
"Take it away James." Victoire grinned at him to take the lead that James jumped to with pride.
"Now the other team is definitely skilled…" James started his pep talk as younger team gathered around. "But I have confidence in us, we're much younger and much more spry then them, bunch of old folks over there, we'll destroy them."
"My fiancée is over there, James." Victoire pointed out and looked over her shoulder to the other team who was huddled together in a similar matter.
"There is no fiancée in Quidditch Vicky." James countered back and everyone started howling, Victoire included.
The teams grabbed their brooms and headed off to the field close to the Weasley House where 6 wooden hoops were set up. Dominique carried the box of Quidditch balls to the center and called out to both teams.
"Everyone ready? I want a clean game from all of you! I'm not performing medical attention on anyone this year." Everyone chuckled in union. Lily kicked off from the ground with Roxanne and Vicky as everyone else did from the other team, James flew towards the hoops, Albus followed Harry as they went up, and Fred and Louis prepared for the bludgers to come at them. Before the game could start Teddy flew over to Victoire's side kissing her on the cheek and whispered something in her ear that caused her to giggle and blush before flying back over to his side. Lily felt a surge of jealousy for their easygoing relationship again and forced herself to focus on Dominique.
"Vicky what did I say?" James yelled,
"Oh shut up, James." Victoire called back and Lily laughed at her brother who was grinning.
Dominique released the snitch first; the little golden ball zipped around Albus and Harry before flying away. Next she released the two bludgers carefully as they flew up into the air and last she threw up the Quaffle Victoire wiped after it getting there before Ginny could. With that the game started; Lily flew ducking to miss a bludgers to catch up with Victoire. Victoire flew past Teddy and Lily swore she saw her wink at him before passing the Quaffle to Roxanne on her other side who wiped towards the hoops. Victoire had been a wicked Quidditch player back in Hogwarts, or so Teddy told Lily. Roxanne threw the Quaffle towards the hoops but Ron knocked it out of the way and into Ginny's hands as she whizzed past her daughter towards James; Lily trailed after her as her mother looped in and out of their family. Ginny threw the Quaffle towards her son and James unable to stop the Quaffle became more serious. He sent it flying over to Roxanne who was waiting near, zooming past everyone and passing it off to Lily. Lily dodged her Uncle Charlie would was hitting a bludger towards her before Fred hit it out of the way with a huge grin. Lily flew under Teddy with grace; she entire focus was on the rings that her Uncle Ron was guarding. Whizzing in and out between people she faced the rings and threw the Quaffle towards the right ring. It sored through the open hoop and Lily felt like she was on cloud 9.
The game continued back and forth in a similar matter until around lunch Harry managed to catch the snitch, winning the game for the adults. During the game George had sent a bludger towards Louis who wasn't paying attention breaking his arm in the incident. Fleur came rushing out furious with George before Dominique quickly mended his arm and he was up flying around again. Fleur was frosty towards George for the rest of the Break. Although Louis harbored no bad feelings towards his Uncle – he and George laughed about it later.
James congratulated Lily on great goals telling her she should try out next year for the team. Lily protested towards her family telling her such things, she again told them as she always told them; Hugo and her were perfectly happy watching from the sidelines.
The rest of the break was for the most part uneventful; Lily and Hugo did a lot of sitting by the fire and helping their Grandmum bake. The Weasley-Potter kids challenged their parents to a massive snowball fight; they ended up winning this one feeling much better about losing to them in Quidditch. Ron then challenged everyone to wizard chess; Hugo and Ron's game was by far the best to watch Lily thought. They were both extremely good; Hugo ended up beating his father after two hours.
Lily tried her best to get Scorpius off her mind and focus on being with her family. It was no use though, ever second that Lily wasn't doing something his grey eyes or his lips were on her mind; she couldn't shake him. The last night her anxiety hit a new level, her thoughts were filled with worry of the next day and unwilling to let her sleep, she creped downstairs for water.
"Dad?" Lily asked approaching him quietly. "What are you doing down here?" Harry shuffled and put down the papers that he was reading over.
"Oh Lily, just couldn't sleep. What's wrong my girl?" He motioned for her to sit down beside him as he took off his glasses rubbing his temple and placing them back on the bridge of his nose.
"Long day?" Lily gave him a small smile and sat down crossed legged on the couch beside him. She had always been interested in his work when she was little but as she grew she noticed how stressed he sometimes got. Lily knew from a young age that she would never want to do what her father did unlike her brothers who were both interested in becoming Aurors.
"Nothing for you to worry about my flower." He gave her a smile, laugh lines appearing only when he did. "Why are you up so late, you should be in bed?"
"I couldn't sleep either." She answered quietly; her thoughts were too muddled.
"Too excited to go back?" He asked her, she figured he was remembering his Hogwarts days that were entirely different then hers.
"Yeah, I guess that's what it is." She shrugged not seeming too excited at all. "Can I ask you a question Dad?" She asked him slowly.
"Of course Flower, what is it?" Harry gave her strained smile.
"You will always support me in whatever I do right?" She asked him softly.
"Of course, that's what we're here for."
"And you'll be proud of me?" She tested him with small questions first.
"Of course? Are you trying to tell me something?" He asked her his lips pressing together nervously.
"I don't know yet." She answered honestly and thought for a minute, "Even if it came to boys? Maybe even one's that the family may not approve of?"
"You're not dating a death eater are you Lily?" Harry's face turned bright red with unbelievable embarrassment – he clearly didn't know how to have this conversation with his little girl and Lily almost laughed.
"No – no Daddy!" Ex-death eater's son maybe, she thought.
"We only want the best for you – " Harry choked out.
"Yes Dad."
"We want you to have a good life Lily, a childhood – without worry. Something we didn't have at your age." His mind seemed to go somewhere else, to the stories he used to tell her when she was little.
"I know Dad,"
"You should know that we would always support you and love you no matter what choices you make." Harry finished glassy eyed; maybe it was his long day or the hour of the night but Harry could see his little Lily had grown up in front of his eyes. "We want you to have the best life you can have."
"I know Dad." Lily smiled at her father whose childhood was taken away from him without a moments notice. "Thank you Dad." Lilly stood up and gave Harry a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You should let Mum know you can't sleep again." Harry gave her a stressed smile. "I love you Dad." Lily smiled softly at her Dad.
"I love you too my girl." He whispered back to her.
Lily creped back into her bed as quietly as she could. Lying there she let her thoughts drifted to a happier place then before. Hugo didn't seem to care or be too shocked at all. Maybe he was excepting it. Was everyone else? Did she want this to happen? Did she want to risk their new friendship and have everything just fall apart? But he was the one who made it different. He was the one who forced it to change. And he was the one she wanted to be with. She fell asleep hoping for things to turn out well the following day.