Author's Notes: I honestly love the Albus/Scorpius exchange and the Lily/Ginny interaction in this chapter. And I love Ginny, I pity her for what she had to go through with Lily, I really hope that you don't see any bashing in the way I portray her here. She's just a poor mother whose daughter had been taken away from her and who now is just trying to hang onto something that is not there any more. But I love her. Thank you my dear, dear reviewers. You're the best reviewers I could ask for! You always make my day. Enjoy the chapter!

Ah! Also a little notice: I've just posted the very first instalment of my "The Blossom and the Dragon" series. It's a one-shot and it's called "Pride". The series is a Draco/Pansy story of love, lust, infidelity, torture, murder, life and death. I'm extremely proud of it, but it's very different from this story. But just in case someone is interested I'll tell you that updates - this one-shot is followed by a 210,000-word-long story and more one-shots, drabbles and two-shots - will come every Saturdays (honestly, once a week is more than enough, since chapters are up to 22,000 words). It's beta-read and it's good. I'm so excited! Okay, you can go and read the chapter now!

Chapter Four

"I missed you last night."

"Sod off, Al," grunted Scorpius.

"No, I swear, I missed you," replied the dark haired Auror, "I was almost going to cry."

"Can you just shut up?"

"Lily cried…"

Scorpius turned his head so quickly, he felt his neck creaking. "Did she?" he asked softly.

"Nah," he replied, "she was alright. Rose stayed over for the night. Didn't even remember she had a boyfriend." He looked at him and grinned, "Come on, tell me what's wrong…"

Scorpius stopped in his track. "Listen, Al, if you don't shut up, I'm going to give you a very good reason for being here at St Mungo's."

"We've a good reason."

"Yeah… no, we don't." The Tilden Toots case was a not a good reason. He wished he was in Knockturn Alley with James at that moment, checking the Black Market for illegal pieces of unicorn being sold in some dodgy alley.

"Auror Potter, Auror Malfoy," said a tall Healer with a moustache. "We've been expecting you."

"I believe you have all the papers ready for our perusal," commented Scorpius. Honestly, the sooner Albus convinced himself that there was nothing shady there the better.

"Yes," replied the Healer, "if you can follow me, I'll—"

"Albus, Scorpius," called Healer Pye, waving a hand as he walked out of a room. "Do we have an appointment and I forgot? Is that why you're here?"

Albus shook his head. "No, Healer Pye," he replied, "we're investigating a case."

He nodded. "I see," he replied, closing a folder he held in his hands. "How's Lily?"

"She's well," replied Scorpius. He hadn't seen her for the whole day and he honestly felt as if he couldn't really reply to that question. Was she well? Albus said she was, but Albus was as sensitive as a teaspoon, of course he wouldn't have been able to tell if Lily was upset that he hadn't gone to pick her up or that he hadn't showed up at Grimmauld Place without telling her. He sighed. To think that if Mrs Potter had reacted differently to the ring, he would already be engaged to her and probably now sporting a very good headache after having gotten drunk the night before.

Instead he had left Grimmauld Place, gone back to the Manor and gone to bed without touching his dinner. He hadn't slept at all, thinking all the time about Lily and how worried she must have been not to see him for the whole day, and then he had devoured his breakfast that morning before going to work.

And now he was standing in St Mungo's with Albus, and even though the night before he hadn't drunk at all, he could still feel a slight headache kicking in…

"Is everything alright, Scorpius?" asked Healer Pye.

"No, it's not," replied Albus at his place, "he's been quiet and moody all morning… Well, not that he's much different from the other days, now that I think about it…"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "How can I not be moody when I am forced to work with a subject like this?" he asked the Healer, nodding towards Albus.

The Healer laughed heartily, thinking it probably a joke. Well, it was not. Albus was always cheerful and always trying to understand what was wrong with people by being the most annoying person ever. How could one not be moody around him?

"Right, lads," said the Healer, "good luck with your job. I'll see you soon."

"Thank you, Healer Pye," replied Scorpius.

"Have a good day," Albus told him.

Healer Pye took a few steps and pushed another door open. "Ah, Mrs Phyllis, I see the swelling has gone down…"

The door closed at his back and Scorpius and Albus glanced at each other before they turned to look at the Healer who was patiently waiting for them. "Can we go?" he asked them.

"Yes, yes," replied Scorpius, "the sooner Auror Potter convinces himself that there's no case here the better."

Albus glared at him, but didn't reply. Honestly, what could he have replied anyway?

The Healer guided them down a long corridor, then up some stairs, then down again, then through a maze of offices and archives covered in papers, then down some more steps and finally through a door labelled 'Criminal Archive'.

"Here you go," said the Healer. He pointed towards the table where some folders lay already open. "We've prepared the reports for you. In duplicate as you asked."

"Thank you," said Albus, walking inside. "Shall we come and find you once we've finished here?"

The Healer nodded. "Yes, I'll be in my office upstairs," he replied, "good luck with your job."

Scorpius nodded as he walked inside as well, and the Healer finally closed the door at their backs. The room was small and the walls were covered in old folders and papers of ancient and more recent cases. Very probably Lily's folder was there as well. A thick pile of papers with all the details of the abuses and rapes and tortures she had undergone with Nott.

"Well, come on Auror Malfoy," said Albus, pushing the chair in front of him with his foot. When had he sat down? "It's in duplicate."

Scorpius rolled his eyes as he dragged himself to the table. "I wonder what we're going to do after you've convinced yourself that this case is not a case," he told him as he opened the folder.

"And I'm wondering what you're going to say after you've convinced yourself that this is a case," he retorted.

Scorpius shook his head and looked at the papers in front of him. Surely, that was a joke. There were barely a dozen of lines about Toots. Merlin, if that wasn't a joke, he didn't know what to think.

Tilden Toots was already deceased by the time he'd reached the hospital. His wife had found his lifeless body in the study, with a half-drunk cup of his famous Fanged Geranium and Honking Daffodil infusion near his hand. However, upon further testing, the infusion was shown to contain traces of hellbore— a poisonous plant that swiftly brings death upon its user when large quantities of it are used. No other plants were shown to be present in the infusion or in Mr Toots' digestive system, nor were other methods of death detected on his being.

And that was all.

"Okay," said Scorpius, "I promise I won't say, 'I told you so,' when you agree that there's no case here."

Albus looked at him. "You are joking, right?" he said. "Mr Toots was not an incompetent. Someone must have slipped him the hellbore."

"Someone who?" asked Scorpius. "His wife said that, yes of course, many people went to see him, but he was just a gardener, Al, people don't go around killing gardeners."

"We have to go to the WWN," said Albus, not listening to him, "maybe someone had contacted him there. Maybe someone threatened him."

"Who? Someone whose rose bush died after he had followed Toots' suggestions?"

Albus nodded forcefully. "You should see my grandma talking to her lilies," he retorted, "as if they were people themselves."

"So?" snapped Scorpius.

"People go crazy over their flowers and plants," he told him, "Aunt Luna would kill for her Dirigible Plums."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "This is ridiculous…" he grunted.

"Why would Toots have hellbore in his house if it was poisonous?" snapped Albus.

"He was a gardener," he replied, "I have no clue why he would have it in his house. Maybe for some potion? Or to study it? I don't know! Do I look like Professor Longbottom?"

Albus' eyes snapped open as he gaped at Scorpius.

"Oh no," said Scorpius, shaking his head, "no. No. No!"

"We have to."

"The only thing we have to do is closing this case," said Scorpius sharply.

"We can go this afternoon," continued Albus. "Yes, we better go and Floo Call Hogwarts to see if he can receive us." He stood up and walked towards the door, completely ignoring Scorpius in the process.

"Al," he called him, "Al! Wait… oh, Merlin's beard! At least wait for me."

Albus stopped dead and turned to look at him. "Yeah, well… how do we get back to the Healer's office?" he asked, staring at the corridor to his right and then his left.

Scorpius shook his head. "No clue," he admitted, "Lily would remember…"

"Yeah, she would," agreed Albus. "Well, I'd say right."

"I'll follow you," sighed Scorpius.

And obviously, it was left.

oooOOOooo

"I said I'm sorry already, Hugo!" snapped Teddy. "You try to follow all the Auror matches at work, follow your own case, go back home and take care of your two-year-old son whose mother is knackered after she has worked for the whole day as well and go to bed at ten only to be waken at eleven by said son because he had a nightmare and have him sleeping in your bed and punching you regularly throughout the night!" He took a deep breath and looked at Harry and Ron, they were snickering not so subtly at him. Oh well!

"You paired me up with my sister's ex-boyfriend," repeated Hugo for the umpteenth time. "I can't work with him! It's… it's awkward!"

"It's your sister's ex-boyfriend, not yours Hugo," pointed out Ron.

Hugo glared at him. "You wanted to hex him, Dad," he replied gruffly.

"And I didn't, did I?" he told him evenly.

Hugo rolled his eyes. "Listen, Teddy, please, make me work with anybody else," he pleaded, "anybody… James?"

"James is working with Rose," said Harry calmly, "and Scorpius is working with Albus."

"Well, Scorpius has always been friends with Emeric," suggested Hugo, "pair them up. I'll work with Albus."

Teddy took a deep breath. "Listen, I'll have you doing some office work," he told him coaxingly, "you won't even have to see him."

Hugo sighed. "But I want to follow a case…"

Teddy rolled his eyes. "I wonder if you'd be here complaining about your partner if I wasn't your cousin, the Head Auror wasn't your uncle and his Deputy wasn't your father, Auror Weasley."

"Of course I'd be," grunted Hugo, "and I'm sure I'd be taken more seriously."

"You'd be sent to fetch ink bottles and parchments for your colleagues if you did that to someone you didn't know…" muttered Teddy.

Hugo rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "So, it's a no?" he asked sharply.

"It's a no," replied Teddy curtly. "Find a way to collaborate with him. He is surely more mature than you are… he didn't come to protest about his partner."

Hugo's cheeks flushed slightly, but he huffed before nodding curtly at them and finally walking away.

Teddy took a deep breath. If he could he would already find Hugo another partner, but all of the Aurors were already working on something and to be quite honest, Hugo had to pull himself together and try to work even with the young man who had just left his sister after almost five years of steady relationship.

"Is it tougher to be an Auror or to be a father, Teddy?" asked Harry with a grin.

Teddy glared at him. "Can't decide," he replied, standing up and walking towards the door. "I'll see you later."

"Teddy," Harry called him, "can I ask you for a favour?"

"Sure, Harry."

He seemed to take a deep breath before saying, "In case Scorpius might not make it to the school to pick up Lily in the upcoming days, would you be a lamb and bring her to Grimmauld Place?"

Teddy smiled and nodded. "No problem," he said, "is everything alright?"

Harry nodded. "I hope so."

"Sweet. Well, I'll see you later." And with that he left the two Aurors alone.

oooOOOooo

Lily scooped up little Alfie in her arms. "Oh no," she cooed him, "don't cry. Are you not feeling well, Alfie? Are you missing Mummy?" She rocked him gently in her arms and the boy leaned his wet face against her shoulder, sniffling soundly. "There, there, Lily is here," she told him, patting his back.

"Lily!" cried Remus. "Lily, look!" He held up a drawing of a tall stickman with a blue bush on top of his head and another slightly shorter one with blonde hair and a flowery skirt. In-between there was a really small one with green hair. Just like Remus at that very time.

"Oh, it's beautiful, Remus," she told him warmly. "This is your best drawing yet."

The child gloated blissfully at her words and he went back to adding something to the paper. A big yellow dot with lines coming out of it.

Alfie sniffled again in her arms.

"Oh no," said Lily, bobbing him up and down gently, "no, everything is fine, Alfie." She raised her hand to touch his forehead, but he was cool and really did seem fine. "You want your teddy bear?" she asked him, caressing his head. "Let's go find your teddy bear, Mummy always puts it in your bag, doesn't she?" She walked back to Alfie's little chair and grabbed his bag with a hand while she kept rocking him with her other arm. She brought the bag on her desk and started to open it and rummage through its content. It wasn't an easy task with an arm busy supporting the child.

There were some nappies, a small, soft blanket, a bib, a dummy in a little plastic container, crayons and an apple. But no teddy bear.

"Oh Alfie," she told him dejectedly. "Mummy forgot your teddy bear." She rocked him a bit more and looked disconsolately at the content of the bag. "Do you want your dummy?"

The child nodded on her shoulder and sniffled again, his little fingers flicking some of her red hair. She fiddled with the plastic container until she managed to open it and offered the dummy to the little boy. He opened his mouth and started to suck on it quietly, his big, clear tears pooling at the corner of his eyes.

Lily closed the bag and leaned her head against the child's, patting his back soothingly. Alfie was not a very talkative little boy, but he had never cried for apparently no reason. Something was going on with that child, surely she would have had to talk to his mother that evening when she came to pick him up. Yes, Lily would have confronted her, even if Scorpius had advised her not to.

He couldn't really understand all the little signals that the children sent them, but she did.

oooOOOooo

"A nice necklace for your girlfriend, lad," slurred an old man behind the counter, "lapis lazuli from Egypt to bring out the blue of her eyes."

"He is not my boyfriend!" protested Rose with far more revulsion than James thought it was flatteringly. "He is my partner, we are Aurors and we are investigating a case here."

The man looked at her and put down the necklace. "I'm sorry, Auror," he said oily, "I didn't know you were on duty. Such a pretty lady, though, wouldn't you buy a pair of earrings?"

"Listen," said James sternly, "we're not here to buy." He folded his arms across his chest. "We're here to ask you a few questions."

"I'm an honest merchant who only buys and sells perfectly legal goods," he told them with a toothless smile. "Anything you buy here has its own certificate, Auror."

James narrowed his eyes as he glanced around himself. Yes, of course… an absolute honest man. Just like the other fifty shop owners they had gone to talk to. Nobody knew anything about unicorn blood or horn powder or unicorn fur, and those who sold either fur or horn had showed them the documents that certified the origin of the products.

James and Rose had been subtle and hadn't let anybody know what they were looking for – the first thirty times or so that they had walked into a shop, but now… now they were just losing their patience and probably coming to the conclusion that whoever had slain those unicorns did not have any will to sell the blood nor the fur or the horns. That or everybody was lying to them, which was very possible. They were just investigating, they couldn't open the closed doors of the dodgy back shops as if they had a warrant. Not yet at least.

"And I don't sell unicorn parts," huffed the man behind the counter.

Rose rolled her eyes. "How do you even know we are looking for unicorn parts?" she asked annoyed.

"News get around quickly in Knockturn Alley, love," he told her with a sneer.

James folded his arms across his chest. "Alright," he said, "we'll have a look around. Don't go anywhere."

"Wouldn't dream of," he replied, "I've a business to run here."

James nodded towards Rose and she glared at the man before following James through the high shelves. "We are wasting time," she sighed, "those people are not going to talk and if they were, they wouldn't have anything to say anyway."

"You think that whoever slew those animals didn't do it for the money?"

"I don't know," she replied, "did you remember the unicorns? They had been dead for a week, but their bodies were not rotten. Unicorns don't spoil, maybe they are waiting before selling parts on the black market."

James looked around themselves at the jars and vases exposed there. There was a jar filled with a green liquid and a bunch of eyes which seemed to follow them as they moved, there was a plant that tried to reach Rose's wildest curls with its tentacles, and there was an ampoule with a bubbling pink cream that sent a foul smell.

"Let's go," sighed James.

"Where? Another shop?" asked Rose, her voice almost dejected.

He shook his head. "No, it's clear that we're not going to achieve anything today," he replied, "let's go to the Leaky Cauldron to have a pint before we go home."

Rose looked at him in disbelief. "We still have an hour of duty," she reminded him. "If anything we've to go back to the Ministry."

"Teddy said that your ex-boyfriend and your brother are doing some office work," he told her, "are you sure you want to go back to the Ministry?"

She darkened and for a moment James was sure that she would have told him that yes, she would have endured the sight of her ex-boyfriend for an hour rather than finishing to work earlier. Instead she nodded. "Okay," she agreed, "let's go to the Leaky Cauldron."

"I'll buy," he told her as they walked towards the door.

"No, you won't."

"I insist," he told her with a smile, and with a rather loud sigh of defeat, Rose agreed to be treated to a pint of Butterbeer.

oooOOOooo

Hermione blinked as she stared at Ginny. "Oh," was all she could say to her. She didn't know if she were more surprised for the fact that Scorpius had asked for Harry and Ginny's permission to ask for their daughter's hand in marriage, or for Ginny's rather brusque reaction to it.

She shouldn't have felt surprised for either thing, really.

"I don't think he's going to come to dinner tonight," murmured Ginny, tapping her fingers on the cup of tea in front of her, "it's the second night in a row and… and if he doesn't…"

"Lily is going to ask you questions," Hermione finished for her.

Ginny nodded. "Or she's going to go to the Manor to find him," she sighed.

"And if Scorpius tells her what happened…"

"He's not going to do that," scolded Ginny, "he is an adult, he doesn't want to… he knows that…" Her voice trailed away, she didn't seem to know what Scorpius seemed to know.

Hermione smiled softly at her. "He is an adult now, isn't he?" she asked quietly.

Ginny looked at her and nodded. "Yes," she replied.

"And he really, really loves Lily," she continued, "when Emeric left Rose, she came home and kept asking why she couldn't find someone who loved her like Scorpius loves Lily."

Ginny lowered her eyes to stare at her cold tea. "Yeah… and she loves him back…"

"Well, you know, if I were you, I'd be happy that you could leave your daughter in such good hands…"

"I am happy," protested Ginny, "it's just… it's too early, for crying out loud! She's only twenty-one…"

"Exactly," replied Hermione, "it's not like I was married at twenty-one or your mother already had Bill at that age." She smiled slightly. "Or Harry's mother was married and had Harry even before that…"

Ginny glared at her. "I didn't come here to listen to you saying that I'm wrong," she said pointedly.

"What did you come here for?" asked Hermione sweetly.

"To hear you saying that I'm right, that it's too early, and that Lily should live with me until she is eighty…"

Hermione nodded. "I think you are right, Ginny," she said in her most convincing tone of voice, which was not very convincing at all, "it's too early for your daughter to marry, Lily should live with you at Grimmauld Place until she is eighty…"

Ginny glared at her again, but Hermione just grinned at her, the red-headed woman would have seen it, sooner or later she would have seen that she could not find someone better than Scorpius for Lily.

oooOOOooo

Scorpius peered through the ajar door of the Ladybird Room. Lily was deep in conversation with the same tall woman who hadn't been particularly nice to her two nights before.

The woman looked particularly nervous, the bruise on her cheek seemed to have disappeared, even though Scorpius couldn't be sure for her hair was covering most of her face. She had her son in her arms and was replying hastily to Lily's questions. Scorpius held his breath to hear what they were saying. It was something about a teddy bear and then about little Alfie crying his heart's content that afternoon.

Scorpius pushed the door open and walked inside, trying to listen to the conversation.

"I know," she said quickly, "I couldn't find it. I looked everywhere for it, just couldn't."

"He really missed it," said Lily gently. "I'm sure it'll pop out…"

"Yes," replied the woman, "I'm afraid I have to go now though. Thank you." And without another word to Lily she brushed past Scorpius in a hurry and walked out of the door. He tried to turn to follow her with his eyes, but Lily's arms were already around his neck.

"Scorpius!" she cried, kissing him over and over again on his lips and cheeks. "I missed you so much last night. Are you alright? Did something happen? I was worrying!"

He brought his hands to her back and hugged her tightly, inhaling her scent. Merlin, he had missed her too. "Yes, yes," he croaked in her hair, "everything's alright."

She tilted her head back and looked into his eyes. "What happened?" she asked seriously.

He shook his head. "Nothing," he replied, "I swear. I just… I just need to stay at the Manor for a few days, that's all."

She looked at him, crestfallen. "What? Why?" she asked. "What do you mean? You… you are not coming to Grimmauld Place?"

He shook his head again, his hands rubbing her back soothingly. "Not for a while, no," he replied. It was going to be painful. Ever since Lily had graduated from Hogwarts, they had never been apart for more than twelve hours. No, he joked that he needed his daily fix of Lily with her and she giggled happily at that, but it was no joke, he did need her. Desperately.

She grabbed his Auror uniform, her brown eyes widening. "But why?" she whimpered. "Is it something I did?"

"Oh no, Lily, no," he assured her, lowering his head to kiss her.

"Then what is it?" she asked, ducking away from his lips. "Is it because… because I don't know how to cook?"

He blinked at that. "Beg your pardon?" What was she talking about?

"Because I wouldn't know how to take care of you?" she asked, dejection in her voice.

He furrowed his brow without understanding. "Lily, what are you talking about?" he asked back.

"Betsy said that she cooks for her fiancé," she told him. "I don't know how to cook, nor how to clean, nor do I do all those things that girls do for their boyfriends, is that… is that why?"

He chuckled slightly. "What? No," he reassured her, "absolutely no… I… my mother wouldn't even know which way to hold a palette knife. And you have Taffy, remember? She can do anything you want her to do."

Lily seemed to consider his words carefully, her pale forehead creasing with the lines of concentration. "Really?" she asked softly.

"Yes," he replied forcefully, "and I wouldn't want you to ruin your delicate hands in the kitchen, anyway…" He took one of her hands between his and rubbed it delicately before bringing it to his mouth to kiss it. The strong smell of crayons filled his nostrils.

"So what's wrong, though?" she asked. "I don't understand."

He took a deep breath. Of course she wouldn't let it go. He was burning with desire to tell her everything. To tell her about her mother and then tell her about the ring and ask her to marry him right there and then. And if she said yes, he would have scooped her up in his arms and brought her to the first church he could find in that secluded Welsh village and he would have married her that very instant.

Naturally, then her mother would have killed him, locked her in her room and thrown away the key and then she would have had a heart attack.

"Nothing's wrong," he replied calmly, "I just… I want to spend some time with my parents… my mother… that's all."

She bit her bottom lip. "You miss her," she told him.

"Yeah," he replied softly. He didn't. Well, he saw her almost every day, there was no reason for him to miss her.

"I understand," she told him seriously, "I would miss my mother too."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her comment. Of course, Mrs Potter was omnipresent. "Glad you understand," he whispered as he hugged her again.

"I'm going to miss you, though," she murmured against his neck.

"Same here," he told her, kissing the top of her head. Merlin, he was going to miss her. He didn't even know what could have happened now that would make her mother change her mind about the wedding. For all he knew, he was only going to see her before someone came to pick her up at work or in the weekends now…

"Am I interrupting something?"

Scorpius sighed loudly at Teddy's voice. Yes, he was, as always. He wanted to tell him just that, but Lily was already disentangling herself from his embrace and was going to say hello to his cousin.

"Are you here to take me home?" she asked him, standing on tiptoes and kissing his cheek.

Teddy nodded. "Unless Scorpius wants to do it…" he told her, looking at Scorpius.

He shook his head. "I'm expected at the Manor," he replied.

"Is everything alright?" asked his cousin, knitting his eyebrows together as he shifted the weight of his son from an arm to the other.

"He is missing his mother," replied Lily seriously, and Scorpius groaned and flushed at that.

Teddy tried unsuccessfully to stifle a chuckle. "Well, that's cute…" he said.

"Thank you," grunted Scorpius. "Lily, I'll try to swing by tomorrow, okay? Before Teddy comes."

She nodded as she went to him to kiss him goodbye. She tried to kiss him properly, but Scorpius felt Teddy's prying eyes on him and cupped her face and placed his lips on her forehead.

"I love you," she whispered.

"Love you back."

He let her go and nodded towards Teddy. "See you tomorrow," he told him with a sigh.

"Have a nice evening at the Manor," replied Teddy, but somehow there was no malice in his voice, as if he really meant that. Of course he did mean that, Teddy grew up with no mother nor father, he could have teased all he wanted but surely – deep down – he was just jealous that Scorpius could spend time with his parents if he wanted to.

"Thank you," he replied quietly. He glanced at Lily once more, smiling at her, and then he walked out. The cold air of Wales slapped his cheeks mercilessly as he made his way to the Apparition point and finally disappeared.

oooOOOooo

"Scorpius is not coming for dinner," announced Lily as she walked into the kitchen that evening, "and probably he isn't coming for quite a while."

Harry glanced at Ginny and she looked back at him, apprehension in her eyes.

"Oh," she said, "did he say why, Lily dear?"

She nodded as she sat on the chair next to Harry and leaned towards him waiting for a kiss on her head. "He misses his mother," she told them, "he wants to spend some time at the Manor."

Albus cocked an eyebrow and Harry saw Ginny glaring at him, but their son didn't seem to take notice of that. "Sweet," he grinned, "when you get married, Lils, you can all move in with your mothers in a big house…"

"Al!" snapped Ginny. "Be nice."

Lily beamed though, and Harry wondered if she was thinking about marring Scorpius and that was what made her so joyous.

Ginny seemed to feel the urge to change the subject. "Taffy made some meat pie and mashed potatoes, Lily," she told her with a smile, "hope you are hungry."

She nodded eagerly. "I'm famished," she replied, "Alfie didn't stop crying all day long. I skipped lunch to stay with him."

"Oh no, Lily, no," said Ginny seriously, "don't skip lunch, otherwise I'll have to come down to the school to make sure you eat properly."

Albus leaned in closer to his father. "She'd love that, wouldn't she?" he whispered not quietly enough, because Ginny glared at him once more.

"Where's James?" asked Lily. "Aren't we waiting for him?"

Harry looked at Ginny and she glanced back at him. "I don't know where he is," said Ginny. "Harry?"

"No idea," he replied. "Didn't he Floo Call?"

"Not here," replied Ginny.

"Shouldn't we go and look for him?" asked Lily worriedly. "Maybe he is hurt. Maybe he's been kidnapped." Her brown eyes seemed to widen on her fair face.

"I'm sure he's fine," said Ginny gently, "maybe he's just working late and didn't look at the time."

Lily fidgeted with her cutlery. "But Mum, you always say that I have to be on time, that you worry."

"And I do," she replied, "but James is an Auror. He knows how to take care of himself."

Lily lowered her eyes and pressed her lips together. "And I don't?"

"Of course you do, that's not—"

Luckily, at that moment, a green light lit the kitchen and they heard laughter, a crashing sound and more laughter coming from the living room.

"See?" said Ginny, looking at the door. "He's fine. He's here."

James stumbled through the door with Rose in tow. He had his arm around her waist and she was grabbing his robes. They were both rather flushed and their eyes seemed to be shinier and darker than usual.

"He's here alright," said Albus, cocking an eyebrow in their direction, "not quite sure about the fine part."

"Well," slurred James, "good evening, family…" He let out a small burp and Rose laughed.

"Evening, Potterssssss," said Rose, dragging the 's' for comic purposes, her tongue between her teeth and spittle falling from her mouth.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Are you two… are you two drunk?" he asked them slowly.

"No!" protested Rose. "Drunk? Us? How dare you Uncle Auror!"

Albus looked at his father. "Uncle Auror?" he mouthed.

"Ooops," she laughed, as James chuckled with her, "I meant Uncle Potter, Sir…"

Lily giggled in her seat and Harry looked at her and shook his head, but a small smile found its way to his lips.

"We were worried, James," scolded Ginny, "you could have Floo Called to let us know that you two were having fun…"

James rolled his eyes, but the motion seemed to make him sick and he had to blink a couple of times afterwards. "I'm not Lily, Mother," he slurred, "I don't need baby-sitting."

His statement was followed only by Rose's laughter. "Baby-sitting," she repeated, "weird word…"

"I don't need baby-sitting," murmured Lily, looking at Ginny. "I don't, right?"

James grabbed Harry's back of the chair and dragged his feet and Rose's to Lily. "Oh yes you do," he slurred in a baby voice, "because the bad man took you away when you were a little shrimp…"

"James!" screeched Ginny.

Harry's jaw set and he looked as Rose seemed to furrow her brow, probably the idea that that was something that he shouldn't have said was crossing her fogged brain.

"What?" asked James slowly. "That's why she can't do anything… she's still a babyyyy…"

"James," murmured Rose, touching his arm.

Lily raised her big eyes on her mother, tears already pooling at the corners. "I'm not a baby," she said, "right?"

"Yes, you—"

"James, that's enough," thundered Harry. "You are drunk, go get a Sobering Potion from the bathroom and don't come back here until you've cleared your head."

"I am not…" The words died in his throat as his complexion turned a bit green and he had to hurry towards the sink to throw up. The sour smell of vomit filling the kitchen.

Albus groaned. "Oh, gross James," he complained. "Get out…"

Rose seemed to turn a bit green herself as the smell reached her nostrils.

"Rose, get yourself to the loo before you join your Auror partner there," ordered Harry in his I'm-the-Head-Auror-and-you-did-something-wrong voice.

She hurried, bumping in the door frame on her way out.

"And you, get out of my sight for tonight," thundered Harry to his first born. "Go back to your flat and come to see me tomorrow morning in my office."

James raised his pale face to look at him through cloudy eyes. "Dad…"

"Go," he said with finality. He muttered a spell and cleaned the sink with a flick of his wand.

James nodded slightly as he dragged his legs towards the door and into the living room. The kitchen plummeted in a deafening silence, broken only by Ginny fiddling about with the plates and the meat pies.

"See?" she finally said, her voice nervous. "Nothing to worry about, he was just having questionable fun with Rose…" She placed the meat pie in front of Lily, but their daughter didn't look at her nor thanked her as she used to do.

"I'm not hungry," she said instead.

"But you just said—"

"I changed my mind."

Ginny swallowed. "No, no, no, Lily, you have to eat, that's not healthy and you even skipped lunch, that's not… that's not good…"

"You can't tell me what to do," she said, raising her eyes to finally look at her mother.

Ginny's expression hardened. "Yes, I can," she replied, "I'm your mother."

"I'm not a baby!"

"I never said you were," pointed out Ginny feebly. "But you are hungry, and Taffy worked all day to make the meat pies. You… you are not being polite…"

Lily's bottom lip quivered. "That's what Nott always told me," she murmured, "to be polite."

Ginny collapsed on the chair, eyes wide. "I… I didn't mean to…"

"Can I be excused?"

"No," snapped Ginny. "You have to eat."

Lily's plate broke in two with a loud crack and everybody, even Lily, seemed to startle. She looked at the plate and the half-ruined meat pie almost frantically. "I'm sorry," she murmured anxiously, trying without succeeding to put the two pieces back together. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay, Lily," said Harry gently, "you are tired. You said you had a long day with the children crying… don't worry."

She nodded and lowered her eyes, suddenly meek.

"You… you don't have to eat if you don't want to…" whispered Ginny.

"I'm… I'm hungry," she murmured back, picking up her fork to start to eat.

"Wait, dear," said Harry. "Reparo."

"Thank you, Dad," she whispered as the plate pieced itself together.

Albus took a deep breath. "Can I have some meat pie too?" he asked softly.

"Sure, Al, yes dear," replied Ginny, "here."

"Thank you, Mum," he said. Then he looked at his sister. "Hey Lils, what do you think about going to a party this Saturday?"

"A party?" asked Ginny, her voice high pitched as she looked at Albus with eyes sparkling with too many emotions for one night.

Albus nodded nonchalantly. "Yes, I saw Roxy today and—"

"You saw Roxy?" asked Harry with a sigh. "James got drunk and you went to see your cousin, is any of my sons working in these days? Or is it only my daughter?" He looked at Lily, and she smiled at him, but she still seemed slightly upset from the incident with the plate.

"I was working, Dad," he replied indignantly.

"Working in your Uncle George's shop?"

"She wasn't at the shop," he told him, "she was at the radio. Visiting Malcolm."

"Lee Jordan's son?" asked Ginny, poking her meat pie without eating it.

"They're kind of an item now," said Albus, "anyway, she said that she finally managed to move all her stuff into her new flat and she's throwing a house warming party this weekend… She invited us to go."

"Who's us?" asked Ginny slowly.

Albus shrugged a shoulder. "I was there with Scorpius, she invited the two of us," he told her, "told me that James and Rose already know, and to tell Hugo. Told Scorpius to bring Lily… So, you want to go, Lils?"

"But Saturday is our mother-daughter—"

"Yes!" she said, cutting off her mother and looking at Harry. "Please, Dad, can I go?"

Harry smiled at her, but before he answered he glanced at Ginny. She was staring back at him, gnawing at her bottom lip anxiously.

"I don't see why not," he replied, looking back at Lily.

She beamed at him as she threw her arms around his neck to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Dad! Thank you!"

"Well, Roxanne is quite rude not to invite us as well," said Ginny sharply, finally cutting through the meat pie with her fork.

Albus snorted. "How are we supposed to have fun if she invites old people like you, Mum," he chuckled. "I plan to get drunk."

"No," snapped Ginny. "You plan to look after Lily."

"Let Scorpius do that," sighed Albus, "he is her boyfriend." He brought a forkful of pie to his mouth and looked at his mother. "And look after her for what? It's just us cousins and a few of Roxy's friends."

"And I can take care of myself," pointed out Lily.

"Of course," replied Ginny sharply, putting down her fork. "I'm sorry, I don't feel too well, I think I need to lie down." She stood up and, without looking at her children nor her husband, she walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

Albus sighed loudly, but pushed another bite of meat pie in his mouth and chewed noisily on it. Lily, on the other hand, looked as if she was on the verge of tears as she poked her meat pie just like her mother had done.

"Lily," said Harry softly, "eat, darling. You had a long day."

"But Mummy…"

"Mummy is going to be alright. I'll talk to her… you eat, okay?" Harry stood up and caressed Lily's head as he stepped towards the door. He walked past the open door of the loo and noticed that Rose had fallen asleep with her head against the toilet. He sighed as he walked in there to pick her up.

She stirred gently against his chest and mumbled something about James being an idiot, but didn't wake up. He laid her down on the couch and covered her with a blanket. Then he turned towards the stairs and took a deep breath as he started to walk up the steps to his and Ginny's room.

oooOOOooo

Ginny slipped the buttons of her shirt into their holes one after the other. Her hands were shaking, her sight was blurred with unshed tears.

They had spent the first few years since Lily's return in pure bliss, her and her daughter. Always together, even at Hogwarts, where Ginny had taught Quidditch. Spending time together, sleeping in the same bed, talking for hours…

And now… now Lily was growing apart from her. Lily was feeling the urge to have her own life. Lily didn't want her mother to protect her anymore.

And the most rational part of Ginny knew that it was right, that that should have happened sooner or later, that it only meant that her daughter was healthy and wanted what every young lady wanted. But her heart told a different story. Her heart didn't want to let her go.

There was a soft knock on the door and Ginny hastily brought her hands to wipe away the tears. She closed her shirt tight around herself and choked out a, "Come in."

The door was pushed open and Harry walked inside, he looked at Ginny, but she couldn't hold his stare and had to lower her eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked her softly.

She nodded, but didn't reply.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She swallowed, raising her chin to look at Harry. "Talk about what?" she asked. "About my daughter wanting to have her own life away from me?"

Harry crossed his arms on his chest. "Ginny, I know it's going to be hard," he told her, "but we can't keep her here forever. She is not a little girl anymore."

"She's never been a little girl, Harry," she replied quietly, "she doesn't know what it means to be a little girl. Is it a crime if I want her to… I just… I just want her to…" She didn't know. Saying that she wanted her to never leave her and be forever her baby sounded too egoistic, even though it was the truth.

"Ginny—"

The door opened slightly, causing Harry and Ginny to turn to look at it, Harry's words died in his throat.

"Mummy?" said Lily, her voice small and almost whiny.

Ginny swallowed. "Yes, Lily?"

"Would you sleep with me tonight, please?" She bit her bottom lip and looked at her almost fretfully, her hand fidgeting with the hem of her sweater.

Ginny didn't look at Harry. She heard Scorpius' words from the night before. Lily didn't want to sleep with her, Lily just did it because she knew that Ginny wanted her to.

She pushed them at the back of her head.

Scorpius didn't know anything.

"Of course, Lily," she replied, smiling warmly. "Of course I'll sleep with you tonight." She went to her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Of course," she repeated, "Mummy is here, you don't worry about anything."

And when Lily hugged her back, Ginny felt her heart flutter.