Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters

Lily rifled through her clothes for over an hour and still couldn't find a dress she liked enough to wear to the Christmas party. Vera sat on Lily's bed flipping through a muggle beauty magazine. Lily's frustration was building and she felt like giving up.

Vera sensing this got up from the bed and began helping Lily. She found a purple dress that Lily had worn to one of her parent's formal parties, but Lily made a face. "Maybe we should go to Diagon alley?" Vera offered trying to help alleviate some of Lily's growing irritation.

"We don't have time for that," Lily let out a frustrated sigh and pulled at her hair. "The party is in two hours and I haven't even showered." She reached in the closet and pulled out a simple black dress. She had forgot about the dress that still had the tags on it. The dress was made from a silky material with thin straps, a sweetheart neckline and lacy bottom. She had originally bought it to wear to one of her father's work dinners, but ended up staying home that night with a cold. She hadn't even tried the dress on. She figured the dress would have to work seeing as she was running out of time and needed a shower. Despite being low on time she took her time in the shower, washing away the stress and worry the upcoming party was causing her. She hadn't seen Scorpius since she had been home from school. He and Albus, along with her father had been very busy working on a new case. They were lucky to have the night off for the party. Once out of the shower Lily ran a brush through her wet locks and began working on her makeup. Vera had come into the bathroom and began working on hers as well. Lily's makeup was tasteful and a bit understated. She wore light eye shadow that highlighted her hazel eyes and a single layer of mascara that made her dark lashes even longer. She put on a clear lip-gloss to accentuate her full lips. After a satisfied nod in the mirror she ran her fingers through her curls that cascaded down her back and brushed her bangs to the side. She then stepped out of the bathroom to change into her dress.

The dress fit like a glove and it emphasized her curves in all the right places. She didn't have an exceptionally large chest like Vera, but the sweetheart neckline gave her the illusion of a larger chest. The waste curved to her shape and the dress ended just above her knees showing off her delicate legs. Vera stepped out of the bathroom as Lily was taking the dress in.

"It looks perfect on you!" She cried. She had finished her makeup, which was much more dramatic than Lily's. Her eye shadow was dark and her cheeks were highlighted with blush, which Lily hadn't even thought to use. She opted for a bright red lipstick that made her plump lips stand out from the rest of her face. She looked gorgeous as usual. Lily felt a pang of jealousy at her friend's beauty, but remembered that she was her best friend. Vera's hair was pinned up in an intricate updo, with just a few stray hairs fallen out. She slipped into her silver dress that was entirely too short, but made her slim thighs appear luscious. The top was strapless and barely held in her chest. The dress had a belt that wrapped around her petite waste. She slipped her feet into the matching heels and looked towards Lily. "What do you think?"

"You could get any guy you want," Lily smiled as she searched for a pair of shoes. "But that's true all the time."

"Not Scorpius," Vera picked up a pair of red heels and handed them to Lily. "He only has eyes for you."

"And how do you know that?" Lily admired the shoes and was pleased at how they popped with the black dress.

"Albus told me," she grinned at Lily's shocked face. She couldn't believe her brother would say something like that, and when did her best friend start talking to her brother?

"Since when have you two been talking?" Lily tried to sound casual but Vera hadn't seemed to notice the struggle Lily was having.

"Just when I see him around here." She was admiring her dress in the mirror and hadn't noticed Lily's change in attitude. "He's pretty cute, you know." It wasn't a question, just a simple statement.

"Vera," Lily grabbed her friends shoulder and turned her around, "you can't use my brother for a rebound."

Vera looked offended. "I know that Lily. I would never do that." She paused thinking for a moment before she spoke again. "Nate and I were never that serious. I was only upset at his cheating because it hurt my ego, not because I actually cared about the git." She turned back to the mirror. "So," she emphasized her words, "if something happens between your brother and myself, it wont be a silly rebound thing, at least on my part."

Lily still wasn't sure how she felt about the idea of her best friend and brother, but she decided to let it drop. After all she was going on a date with Al's best friend, roommate, and work partner. "Ok," Lily relaxed a little, "You ready to go? I'm sure their waiting for us." Vera nodded before taking one last glance in the mirror before heading down stairs.

The two girls were giggling about their previous discussion as they walked down the stairs. When Lily looked up she was shocked to see Scorpius standing there talking casually with her two older brothers. She had been expecting to see him at the party, but felt her heart jump at the thought of him picking her up for their date. She quickly composed herself as he turned and smiled at her. Lily couldn't help but smile back. He looked dashing in his dark gray dress shirt and black tie. The dark colors accented his silver blonde hair and light grey eyes. His hair looked neater than usual, but still had that playful tousled look to it, only more tame than usual. When the girls reached the guys Lily overheard Albus complimenting Vera, but was quickly distracted by the handsome blonde standing in front of her.

"You look−" he started, but was interrupted by Harry Potter.

"Everyone ready?" He asked the room of people. Everyone responded yes in unison. Scorpius held out his arm for Lily to take. She looked for Vera only to see her apparate with her arms around Albus. Lily looped her arm in Scorpius' ready to apparate to her grandparent's home. Scorpius lingered behind the others, and once her parents had apparated he turned toward her.

"As I was saying you look lovely." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a white Lily. "It's not as beautiful as you," he handed it to her their hands brushing together. Lily felt the electric run through her. "Shall we?"

"Yes." Lily hated the feeling of apparating, but always put up with it because it was such a convenient form of transportation. She took a moment to get her barring before walking into the party. The house was nothing extravagant, but was filled with Christmas decorations and had enough room to accommodate the Potters, Weasleys, and their guests. The room had a few tables sat up with seating and a large space for dancing. There were already several guests there and Lily scanned the crowd looking for a familiar face. Soon enough she spotted her cousin Rose and walked over to her arm in arm with Scorpius. "Rosie!" Lily hadn't seen her cousin since her summer break and the two were quite close. Lily unhooked her arm with Scorpius to hug her cousin. "How are things working with your mum?" Lily began questioning her cousin.

"Good, but I miss Hogwarts terribly. I miss the library." She complained as she turned to Scorpius. The two had been acquainted at Hogwarts through Albus. "How are you, Scorpius?" She asked politely before eyeing her cousin. Lily shrugged as Scorpius answered.

"I'm well, thanks." He smiled at the girls as they continued chatting about all the things they missed doing together at Hogwarts.

"Well," Rose looked around as if looking for someone. "I should be going. Lorcan should be here by now." Lily wanted to ask how things were going between them, but Rose spotted Lorcan and made a beeline for him.

Lily turned to ask Scorpius if he wanted to dance when she saw a familiar face and froze. Teddy had seen her too and was staring intently at her. She wasn't sure why she still had feelings for the guy that broke her heart. She hadn't seen or heard from him in over five months. She assumed that was the reason his appearance at the party shocked her so much. She figured he would keep avoiding her and she wouldn't have to worry about seeing him. But there he was grinning at her with his intense eyes and currently fire red hair. She turned away from his gaze and led Scorpius to a corner where the two could have some privacy. She could feel Teddy's eyes on her as she reached for Scorpius' hand. The two made it halfway across the room when James stopped them.

"Lil, do you mind if I steal your date for a minute?" He had a mischievous grin that told her he was up to something. She looked at Scorpius who looked unsure.

"Sure," Lily let go of Scorpius' hand. "Just don't do anything Stupid James." She turned to Scorpius "I'll be by the drinks." She watched the two men walk through the crowd as she made her way to the refreshments. She had only been there a moment when she saw Teddy making his way towards her. She wanted to turn and walk away, but was frozen in place.

"Hi," he said as he reached her. Lily didn't trust herself to speak so she just nodded. "So," he looked away from her into the crowd, "I see you're here with Malfoy." There was no denying the bitter tone his words held.

Lily couldn't help the anger that was bubbling up inside of her. He had no right to care who she was with. "Yes I am." She said firmly. "What's it to you?"

He turned his gaze from the crowd back to her. His brown eyes smoldering as he spoke in a throaty voice. "I told you Lils, he's not good enough for you."

"Then who is, Teddy?" She crossed her arms in frustration. "You? Because last I remember I wasn't good enough for you." She waved her hand before he could speak. I don't want to do this now." She turned to walk away as he reached for her wrist and caught her hand. "Be careful Teddy, others are around and we don't want to give them the wrong impression." She yanked her hand free. She could hear him call her name as she walked away, but chose to ignore him.

When Scorpius came back he told her about James' idea for a minor prank to pull at the party, but Scorpius suggested he find another partner so he could spend his time with Lily. Lily found the sentiment sweet and appreciated that he hadn't left her alone to play some prank with her immature brother. She reached for his hand when she saw two familiar faces. Vera and Albus were making their way toward Lily and Scorpius from across the room.

"Hey you two," Vera slurred slightly, "don't you just make the cutest couple!" Lily had seen her friend drunk at parties before and wasn't surprised that she had draped herself across Lily's brother.

"I don't know," Albus said swaying on his feet. "We'll see if it lasts, "he playfully slapped his hand on Scorpius' shoulder. "Just kidding, buddy," he turned to Lily. "Scor's a good guy," his face was serious behind the alcohol. Lily smiled at her brother. Even when he was drunk he was looking out for her.

"Have you seen Cassie?" Lily hadn't seen her blonde friend the entire night.

"Only for a moment," Vera giggled. "She was making out with Hugo in a corner." She wavered a little before continuing. "I guess they made up!" She let out a loud laugh and Lily tried to join in, but didn't quite pull it off.

Vera and Albus eventually wandered off claiming they needed more drinks, meanwhile Lily found her gaze wondering to Teddy. She noticed he had plopped himself next to a busty blonde who wore entirely too much makeup and not enough clothes. They seemed to be enjoying their conversation and every so often she would see him look up at her, especially after he did something like running his hand along her thigh. She turned her attention away from the nauseating pair and back to her date a little too late. He noticed her distraction.

"Lily, are you ok?" He wrapped his arms around her waste as Lily tried to evade the question by smiling.

It didn't seem to satisfy him so she responded with a simple "Of course." He led her to the dance floor just as a slow song came on. He pulled her close, which she would have enjoyed only a moment before, but now wasn't entirely sure. Lily looked for James before spotting him with their cousin Fred clearly intoxicated. She quickly glanced toward Teddy again who was now leaning in toward the blonde, but looking directly at Lily. She quickly averted her gaze and tried to focus her attention on Scorpius. He leaned in toward her as he whispered "I've missed you," she felt the blood rush to her cheeks as he continued, "You look stunning in that dress."

She pulled back a little to look at him, "You think so?"

"Of course," he brushed the back of his hand gently across her blush. "You always look beautiful." Lily could hear the sincerity in his voice as she rested her head against his chest. He twirled her across the dance floor, maneuvering her easily. The song ended as Scorpius pulled back from her. "Would you like a drink?" Lily nodded.

As she watched him make his way to the refreshments she felt someone tap on her shoulder. She turned to see the one person she wished she could avoid. She glared at Teddy before he cleared his throat.

"Can I speak with you, please?" She noted that his hair was still fire red and his expression deadly. She nodded mutely. "Not here, somewhere else."

"I cant just leave my date," part of her wanted to go, but she knew it wouldn't be sensible at all. "If you have something to say, say it here."

Teddy let out a frustrated sigh, "You always have to be difficult."

"No, Teddy. I was never the difficult one. Do I really have to remind you?" Lily just wanted him to leave at this point, but he remained.

"Look Lils," Lily hated that he still called her that. He lowered his face to hers and looked into her eyes. His hair softened to a pink color. "I think I made a mistake."

Lily was taken aback. Wh-what?" She stuttered out.

"I was wrong. Maybe we could make it work." He seemed to be struggling with words. "I don't like seeing you with Malfoy. We should be together."

Lily felt her Weasley temper bubbling up in her. On one hand she still had feelings for him, but on the other she couldn't believe his nerve. She was here on her first date since he broke her heart and he was ruining it. Of course she was tempted to take him up on that, but she let the temper win over.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she cried. "You think you can break my heart and then just change your mind?" She saw a look of hurt cross his face, but chose to ignore it. "It doesn't work like that Teddy Lupin." She saw people starting to look and lowered her voice. "I am not a toy. You either love me or you don't. We've known each other for long enough that you should know by now." She waited for him to answer, to tell her he did love her. When he didn't respond, she nodded. "I thought as much." She turned and dashed away from the metamorphogus that broke her heart.

She could feel the tears welling in her eyes and tried her hardest to fight them off. She ran straight to Scorpius as he was pouring their drinks. He saw her face and dropped the cups. Red liquid spilled out of them, but he didn't care. He extended his arms for Lily as she ran to him and crushed her body to his. He ran his fingers through her hair as she looked up at him. She hadn't been able to keep the tears from spilling over. "Can we get out of here?" She tried to hide the pleading from her voice but was sure he could hear it.

"Of course," he led her to the front door where their jackets hung. Lily noted that Teddy's leather jacket hung not too far from Lily's pea coat. Scorpius grabbed their coats as he led them through the front door. He held Lily's out for her to put on before they walked to the front gate of the house. Once outside of parameters he turned to Lily. "Home?" he asked.

"Actually," Lily hesitated, "Well I was thinking we could go somewhere else," she smiled shyly. "If you want," she added quickly.

"Sure, where to then?" He asked as he held his arm out for her to take.

"I was thinking I could take us," her eyes gleamed almost mischievously. Scorpius didn't think twice about it as Lily grabbed his hand and apparated them away from the party that was still happening inside.

AN: Ok so nice long chapter! Please don't hate me! Lily cant help but still have feelings for Teddy. I mean she has loved him since she was nine. But she definitely has feeling for Scor (who wouldn't!). So the story is starting to heat up. Also I didn't have a chance to put in more about the other characters, like Vera/Albus and Hugo/Cassie, but that's coming up.

Thanks again to everyone who has read/reviewed! Special thanks to bets2010. I will be posting the one shot I have written and see where it goes from there. I am hoping to have that up tomorrow! Let me know what you guys think!