Romance Blossoms.

To celebrate Lyra finishing Hogwarts, Draco and Hermione arranged to throw a big party for their youngest child. As well as getting Lyra to invite all her friends from school, they made sure invites went to their family friends and the rest of the family.

On the day of the party, Blaise and Daphne arrived at the Malfoys to help prepare for the party. Scorpius and Alex also showed up to help, and soon everything was in hand. Leaving the men to decorate the back garden, Hermione and Daphne sorted the food and drink before heading off to make sure Lyra wasn't having any clothing emergencies.

"Scorp, can I ask you something?" Alex asked as the two boys hung the remainder of the enchanted lanterns on the trees in the large back garden.

"Sure," Scorpius replied.

"How would you feel if I asked your sister out?" Alex asked, shooting the words out as quickly as he could.

Stopping in his tracks, Scorpius turned to his best friend in confusion. "Did I just hear you right?"

"It depends. What did you hear?"

"You want to ask Lyra out," Scorpius said in disbelief.

"I do," Alex confirmed. "But you're my best friend, and I don't want to do anything to jeopardise our friendship."

"But my sister?" Scorpius frowned, Alex's request still sinking in. "She's my sister."

"I know who she is, Scorp," Alex said, trying not to laugh at his friend. He doubted laughter would help Scorpius come to terms with the fact that his best friend fancied his little sister.

"Do you fancy her?" Scorpius questioned.

"Obviously," Alex replied, unable to stop himself from rolling his eyes at his blond friend. "That's why I want to ask her out."

"How long have you fancied her?" Scorpius asked.

"A while," Alex said with a shrug of his shoulder. "But I wanted to wait until she left school before asking her out."

"But she's my baby sister," Scorpius protested. "You've known her forever."

"Is that a problem?" Alex asked. "Surely it means I'm less likely to hurt her. You may be my best friend Scorp, but I also consider Lyra a friend as well."

"This is so odd," Scorpius muttered, dropping into a nearby seat and abandoning the lanterns they hadn't yet put up. "My best friend and my sister."

"If it's a problem, I won't ask her out," Alex offered.

"But you want to, and I can't stand in the way of your happiness," Scorpius said with a sigh. "The idea of you two together is just weird. It'll take some getting used to, I guess."

"She might not say yes," Alex pointed out, sitting down in the chair beside his friend. "I could ask her and she could turn me down."

"As if that's going to happen," Scorpius snorted. "No girl has ever turned you down."

"Your sister is hardly the sort of girl to fall at my feet," Alex argued. "If anyone's going to turn me down, it'll be Lyra."

"I guess I give you my permission to ask her out," Scorpius said.

"Thanks mate," Alex replied with a large grin.

"What's going on here?" Draco called as he and Blaise wandered over to their sons. "Why have you stopped decorating, you've nearly finished."

"We'll get right onto it," Alex said, jumping to his feet and grabbing another lantern.

"So what was the delay about?" Blaise asked as Scorpius also got up and returned to hanging the lanterns. "It looked as though the pair of you were having a deep conversation."

"Alex was just asking my permission to ask Lyra out," Scorpius replied without thinking.

"He what?" Draco gasped.

Scorpius winced at his father's shocked expression. "Sorry mate," He offered to a worried looking Alex.

"Nice one, Scorp," Blaise chuckled.

"Is he serious, Alex?" Draco asked, focusing his attention on his godson.

"Yes," Alex admitted. "I guess I should ask your permission as well."

"She is my daughter, so that might be an idea," Draco replied in a serious tone.

Hanging the last of the lanterns, Alex turned to Draco as he prepared to face the father of the girl he wished to date. Despite knowing Draco all his life and thinking of him as family, he was wary of the blond wizard's reaction to his request. Draco was notoriously protective of his family, especially his daughter, and Alex couldn't help but be worried in case he didn't think he was good enough for Lyra.

"So," Draco began. "You want to ask Lyra out."

"I do," Alex confirmed with a nod. "Of course, I wouldn't dream of doing so if you had a problem with that."

"You are two years older than her," Draco pointed out. "Not to mention much more experienced."

"I would never push Lyra into doing anything she wasn't ready for," Alex reassured Draco. "I have the upmost respect for your daughter, and all I want is the chance to make her happy."

"I can't ask for more than that I suppose," Draco replied with a smile. "You can ask her out Alex. But just so you know, if you hurt her, you'll regret it. You may be my godson, and are like family to us, but I won't stand for anyone hurting my little girl."

"I swear I won't hurt her, Draco," Alex vowed.

"Although she does have to say yes," Blaise pointed out. "All this talk could be in vain if she turns him down."

"Since when have witches turned down the Zabini men?" Draco asked with a laugh. "No witch turned you down Blaise, and Alex is every bit as charming as you. I'm sure Lyra will say yes."

"Let's hope so," Alex muttered, his nerves kicking in now he had permission to ask Lyra out.

"Come on, let's go and get ready for tonight," Scorpius said.

Heading back into the house, the men set about getting ready for the party. Draco confided in Hermione what Alex was going to do, while Blaise told Daphne of their son's plans. With both sets of parents, and Scorpius, aware of what was going to happen, all eyes were on Alex and Lyra when the party got underway a few hours later. Alex was fully aware of the attention, whereas Lyra was oblivious to what was going to happen. She was just happily enjoying the evening.

"Hey Lyra," Alex said, offering the younger witch a smile as he approached her.

"Hi," Lyra replied. "Are you enjoying the party?"

"I am," Alex said. "So, do you have plans now you've left school?"

"I'm going to train to be a Medi-Vet," Lyra replied. Even though she'd had that ambition for years, it was all she really wanted to do.

"That's great," Alex said with a smile.

"And how's your career going?" Lyra asked. Alex had signed for a professional quidditch team upon leaving school two years ago, and he'd recently broken into the first team. "Is the fame going to your head?"

"I'm coping," Alex answered. "Although the wages are pretty good, meaning I can afford to go to the best restaurants. Maybe you'd fancy having dinner with me one evening."

"Are you asking me on a date, Alex?" Lyra questioned, gaping at her brother's gorgeous best friend. She'd long thought Alex was gorgeous, but she thought he just saw her as a younger sister.

"I am. So what do you say, will you go out with me?"

Lyra's face broke into a large grin as she nodded her head. "I'd love to."

Thrilled with the answer, Alex leant down and pressed his lips against Lyra's. What had been a spur of the moment kiss took a deeper turn as Lyra wrapped her arms around Alex and heartily kissed him back. From across the room, their parents chuckled at their children's behaviour. They'd all been confident that Lyra would accept Alex's request for a date, but they hadn't expected the pair of them to start kissing in the middle of the party.

"What do you think?" Draco asked his wife as they watched the young couple. "The real thing?"

"Quite possibly," Hermione replied. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."