Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters
Winter break had seemed such a long time away for Lily, but in truth the days began to blur together. She kept busy studying for NEWTS and hanging out with her friends. Her head girl duties also kept her quite busy. She hadn't heard from Scorpius in over a month, but that was to be expected. Both he and Albus had told her they were going to be occupied with a mission for an open-ended amount of time. She hadn't realized just how long it would turn out to be. She was beginning to feel nervous that he wouldn't be able to make their date. Outside of the castle was covered in a blanket of snow and it was one of the coldest days of the year so far. She was enjoying a warm cup of soup when she saw the familiar white owl with its token grey streak. Her heart leapt at the sight of the familiar bird.
"Hello Theseus," she greeted the bird. She quickly took the envelope with her name written in familiar writing. She tore off a piece of her toast and fed it to Theseus as she began reading the letter.
Dear Lily,
I am sorry for not being able to write you for so long. I was on a mission and I literally just got back home. Anyway, I wanted to discuss our date, as long as you're still willing. I think it would be best if I asked your father's permission seeing as I was hoping to take you to your parents Christmas party. I would also hate for Al to find out from someone else that I was taking you out. I hope all is well with you and I hope to hear from you soon.
Scorpius H. Malfoy
Lily tucked the letter in her pocket and sent Theseus on his way. She figured she would write Scorpius back during her free period. She finished the rest of her breakfast in a hurry so as not to be late to class. As she was walking down the corridor she spotted Vera and sped up her pace to catch up to her.
"Running late too, Lily?" She smiled showing her perfectly white teeth as they fell into step together.
"Yeah, I was reading a letter." She picked up the pace a little more. "What's your excuse?"
She rolled her eyes, "You don't want to know."
"You're probably right." Lily had suspected it was due to her best friends boyfriend Nate Zabini, but preferred not to know the mushy details.
"It's not what you think," she slowed down seeming upset over something all of a sudden. "It's just Nate." Lily waited for her to continue, but she didn't.
"Is everything ok, Vera?" Lily gently pried. She didn't want to upset her friend further, but she also knew that Vera wouldn't have brought it up if she really wanted to avoid talking about it.
"I don't know anymore," she was trying to hold back her sobs, but failed. "One minute I think things are fine and the next I think he might be cheating on me."
"Oh Vera," they had stopped walking and Lily put her arm around the dark haired girl. She guided them to a bench just off the corridor. They sat down and Lily charmed a tissue for Vera. "What makes you think he is cheating?"
"Well I thought something was wrong our first trip to Hogsmead. You remember when he disappeared?" Lily nodded as Vera continued. "And now he's always busy. He says he is going to study or hang out with friends, but I know all of his friends are in Slytherin and he's never in our common room." Lily had no words of comfort for her best friend as she began to sob. "And to top it all off I already told my parents I was staying here for the holidays to spend time with him."
Lily couldn't stand to see her friend in so much pain and before she knew it she invited her to spend Christmas at her house.
"Really?" She choked. "Your parents wont mind?"
"Yes really, you're my best friend. I don't like to see you like this," she lightly shook her trying to cheer her up. "I've got tons of cousins for you to choose from if you feel up for a rebound," she paused as she saw Cassie coming out from her muggle studies class, "But I think Hugo's off limits." She muttered. Vera laughed loudly at the last part of her comment.
The girls decided to skip their class instead of showing up late and went to explain to Professor Greenwood, since Vera and Lily were favorites of his. He said he would explain for them, but not to make a habit of it. It wasn't until after dinner that Lily finally had a moment to herself to sit down and reply to Scorpius' letter. Her hand shook slightly as she laid the piece of parchment in front of her. She had decided to go to the library to write the letter so she wouldn't have Cassie bothering her about it.
Dear Scorpius,
Hello, how are you? I hope your mission went well, and don't worry Al told me that you would be out of contact for some time. I am still looking forward to our date, and if you are up for the pressure then feel free to ask my father's permission. Let me know how Al and James take the news. That should be amusing. Well good luck with my father and brothers. I'm pretty sure my mum was hoping for this.
Lily
Lily didn't care for how stiff her letter to Scorpius had sounded, but after the third draft she decided to seal the evelope and send it away with one of the school owls. It was only two days before she received a response from him. She was in the middle of lunch when Theseus flew in. Vera had opted out of sitting with her house in favor of the Ravenclaw table. Lily looked up and saw Nate with his arm around a slightly familiar Hufflepuff.
"Who's that?" Cassie asked without any sense. Lily recognized the blonde girl from their year.
"It doesn't matter," Lily said quickly, but Vera had already looked up and saw what the two girls were talking about. Lily looked wearily from Vera to Cassie. For a moment Vera looked about to cry before she did something that surprised them all. She stood up from the table strode over to her house table and slapped Nate Zabini across the face. His dark curls fell in his face as his eyebrows shot up in surprise. He opened his mouth to speak, but Vera turned and walked out of the great hall. The two girls watching got up quickly and went after their friend. Once they reached the corridor where Vera was pacing they eyed her carefully. After a moment she turned to them and laughed. It was a loud melodious laugh.
"I've wanted to do that for so long!" She said between laughing and gasping for air. At this Lily and Cassie began laughing. The three girls sat in the corridor joking about how Nate looked dumbfounded when she left. And how the Hufflepuff, who Lily finally remembered recognizing her from catching her snogging different boys on several occasions, turned tomato red when Vera went over to them.
They finally cleared out of the hall and went up to their rooms, where Lily pulled out the letter she had been disrupted from reading. She didn't hesitate as she tore open the envelope.
Dear Lily,
I told your father and brothers about my intention to bring you to the Christmas party as my date. They were surprisingly ok with it. Your father had a talk with me, but otherwise appreciated my coming to him, while James warned me to tread lightly or he would curse me "back to my father's fifth year". His words, not mine. Albus on the other hand was completely shocked and requested that we "keep the snogging to a minimum around him". Again his words not mine.
I am truly looking forward to our date, as I hope you are. I would like to see you before then, though. Albus invited me to the train station with your family, so perhaps I will see you then.
Scorpius H. Malfoy
Lily could feel the smile spread across her face and for once did not try to conceal it. In truth she was a little worried about the reactions of her father and brothers, but it turned out she had nothing to worry about. She would be going home in only a few days and could not wait.
The next few days passed quickly for Lily. She had packed her things the day before and asked her mum's permission for Vera to spend the holidays with them. She seemed excited to have a guest and also asked Lily about Scorpius. Lily responded explaining that she and Scorpius were just friends, which was not a total lie. It's not like they had kissed or anything.
Once their last class was finished the girls made their way out of Hogwarts and to the train. Lily, Vera and Cassie boarded the familiar train and began discussing the upcoming Christmas party. Cassie had decided to attend so the three girls could be together. In truth Lily was sure she was coming for Hugo. It dawned on Lily that Hugo was not in their compartment with them as he usually was.
"Where's Hugo?" Lily asked Cassie. She assumed Cassie would know, seeing as the two of them had been spending more time together after their Hogsmead trip.
"How should I know?" There was no hiding the bitterness in her voice. Lily thought a moment before deciding against asking her about it. After all Hugo was her cousin, and if it came down to it she would have to side with him. When the trolley came around Cassie ordered her usual, Bertie Botts every flavor bean. Vera decided on lemon drops, while Lily couldn't eat. Her stomach was in knots thinking about seeing Scorpius at the train station. The train ride seemed to last twice as long as normal, and eventually Lily dozed off. Lily was woken by Vera who gently shook her saying they were only five minutes away. Lily quickly got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up. She looked in the mirror and noticed her usually neat hair was in disarray. She tried to comb it with her fingers, but settled on a loose bun at the nape of her neck. Her long bangs hung in her face as she gently brushed them to one side. She brought clothes to change into from her robes, but was wishing she had brought something else. The jeans and thick pink sweater just didn't seem appealing to her. Unfortunately they were her only options other than her school robes so she changed quickly and went back into her compartment.
As they pulled up to the train station Lily resisted the urge to look out the window for her family and Scorpius. She slowly stepped off the train and looked around for her family. Vera was standing by her side, both of them with their bags. Cassie had bolted almost as soon as the train pulled up to the station with a simple "See you at the party!" The two girls looked around for a moment before spotting Ginny Potter.
"Mum!" Lily called over the crowd. Ginny turned and saw the two girls. As the crowd moved Lily saw that James was with her, but her other brother, father, and Scorpius were missing. Lily's heart fell. When she reached her mother she couldn't help it as she blurted out "Where are the others?"
"I'm sorry dear," she leaned down to grab one of Lily's bags as James helped Vera with hers. "They were called in to work not long before we had to leave. Hopefully they will be there when we get home." Lily didn't hold out hope and just nodded as they made their way out of the station.
AN: Hope you all enjoyed it. I know it was a little slow. Next chapter will be the Christmas party and trust me, there will be a lot happening. Anyways I would like to thank everyone who is reading/reviewing as always. Especially thanks bets2010, marizacts, and SnowflakeBeautiful for reviewing diligently.
Also I have started a one shot. It's the Christmas party from Scor's perspective and I was wondering if you guys think I should just do the one shot or make a companion story to this one in Scor's perspective? Let me know what you think. Thanks!
