So Long and Goodnight

written by: albe-chan

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, I am making no money from this, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental. This work will contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing graphic sex, non-consensual sex and sexual acts, nudity, etc.), and mildly graphic violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

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Chapter One - December

It wasn't until she went to Sunday dinner at her parents' house, a tradition she'd tried to keep as much as possible, on a blustery and snowy day after Christmas, that Lily ever thought her world would change for the better. They'd been sitting round the table as they dished out plates and handed bowls of potatoes and carrots and peas and the platter with the big roast chicken, and the stuffing, and of course, the gravy. As always, her mother and father sat at either end of the table, Lily in the seat to her mother's right, her brother James to their father's right, his wife Cleo beside him. It had been many moons since Lily's own husband had graced the Potters' table, but no one mentioned it. That Lily, who had once been devoutly accompanied by Thaddeus, now came alone, and had for the past year, at least. Normally Albus would be to Lily's right, but his chair was empty, so Lily assumed he had other plans.

"So, Dad, I heard the Minister was talking to you about that Werewolf Reform Act." Lily frowned, because she'd heard of that, and her caseload had been centered, lately, around it. The Reform Act was a piece of legislation that was causing a media stir of late, because the sole aim was to undo the law Lily's own Aunt Hermione had forced through a decade and a half ago, that allowed werewolves to have equality opportunity rights should they choose to work, and to give werewolves the right to not disclose their condition on a job application. The premise of the original law that some asinine, in Lily's opinion, politician chose to target, was that Hermione Granger-Weasley believed being a werewolf was a medical condition, the same as having allergies, or being mentally unstable. Lily loathed the idea of reforming the current law, because some of her long term cases had been able to achieve great positions because of the law, once they'd come of age. And Lily had been proud to see them go on to bigger and better things, not being held back by what life had dealt them.

"He did," Harry Potter said, frowning at his elder son. "I don't like the angle they're spinning," he muttered.

James nodded, and Lily agreed. The Werewolf Reform act was being favoured because, mostly, greedy shop owners didn't like employees taking every full moon off, or sometimes a few days leading up to it as well, and the redheaded witch hated that money was somehow the driving force. That it wasn't fair the owners of businesses signed an employee on without knowing they'd be unavailable to work like a 'normal' person, and that was the reason the law was attempting to override those rights.

"It seems like utter bullshit to me," Lily said, feeling relaxed for the first time all week, around her family, and loved ones, people who didn't judge her, but loved her for her faults, or at least in spite of them. "These politicians have no bloody clue that all their hype and propaganda is weighing heavily on kids who aren't even of age to work yet! They don't think about the fact that some people who happen to be werewolves are also great students, and excel at Hogwarts, and are set to take their goddamn NEWTs in June! So what, that great student studies hard, and does Outstanding on all her NEWTs, and then suddenly, oh well, it doesn't matter, you'll never get hired because the one thing that bloody happened when you were ten years old makes you too unavailable? Bullshit!"

James chuckled, and then Lily heard clapping from behind her. She froze, fear clawing up her insides, threatening her facade, but she shoved it down and turned, seeing her brother Albus, looking surprised at her outburst, and a grinning Scorpius Malfoy, who'd been the one clapping.

"Bravo," he said quietly, and Lily had to look away, her face going pink, even as fear coiled, tight and heavy, in the pit of her stomach. She knew Thaddeus loathed her work, and the fact that she was passionate about her cases and the people they each were, and had told her, more than once, she'd have to quit at some point. She'd even been coerced to dropping down to part time and never taking on a new case. Lily had learned not to talk about her work to him, and for a terrifying second, feared that somehow he might find out she'd all but shouted her feelings out loud with righteous fury. In the next breath, she told herself she was being paranoid and yet didn't say anything more, even as Albus and Scorpius joined the table and everyone began eating once more. "You should think about switching careers, Lily," Scorpius said as the conversation about the Werewolf Reform Act resumed around them.

The redhead fought the urge to frown. "Oh?" she said softly, not making eye contact, feeling, as she did any and every time someone not directly related to her happened to be at Sunday dinner, which was distinctly uneasy, when Scorpius spoke directly to her. There was also the added element of having always, personally, found her brother's best friend attractive, and she was inherently timid around other wizards outside her family because her husband had, more than once, more than hinted he would never tolerate her being with, or even flirting harmlessly with or looking sidelong at, another. And the time he'd thought Lily had been encouraging another wizard to hit on her, after her second and last attendance at the Daily Prophet staff Christmas party, she'd been unable to Heal the bruises he'd left on her they were so dark.

"Yes," Scorpius said firmly, but softly. "You should go into Magical Law. I bet you'd make a helluva lawyer."

Lily blushed, but shook her head, peeking up at the handsome blond pureblood. She'd seen him, the odd time, at some of the social events the pureblood wizarding families still held every year, since being married to Thaddeus. But she'd never spoken to him, and he'd never gone out of his way, if they happened to be at the same event, to speak with her. Lily had always assumed he'd been forced to attend with his father, and she'd never been absent from her husband's side.

"Oh no," she said softly. "I don't think I'd be a very good lawyer," the redhead replied. "I'm not particularly confrontational," she said, smiling to cover her unease.

"Sure you are," Scorpius said with a tiny frown. "I remember back at Hogwarts, you used to argue with me and Al constantly." He smiled ruefully. "And you usually had us outwitted too, even if we never admitted it."

Lily blushed darker. "Still," she murmured, and looked away again, back at her plate. "I like my job now. I've no desire to change." She took a bite of food, barely speaking for the rest of the meal, and didn't see the way the blond pureblood looked at her curiously every now and then.

She took her leave soon after pudding was done, hugging her brothers and parents and sister in law, feeling sad she would be leaving until next week, going back to her least favourite place, but forced a brilliant smile on her lips and laughed and joked with her brothers and waved away her mother's offer of leftovers with a grin.

"See you," said with a cheery wave, and then headed out, Disapparating in the garden after passing the wards. Scorpius couldn't help but ask Albus, as his friend lingered in the garden for an after dinner fag, a bad habit he'd picked up on his last undercover Auror mission, why Lily seemed so different. Sure, it had been awhile since he'd last spoken to her, and she'd still been a Hogwarts student when he had, but even accounting for the fact she'd grown up and matured in the six or so years since then, he couldn't help but feel she'd become awfully soft spoken and demure.

He knew she'd married Thaddeus Nott, a reporter for the Daily Prophet and a pureblood a couple years older than himself he didn't know very well, and he'd even spotted her at the odd party his grandmother had thrown that he'd been forced to attend. But she'd always seemed the same from afar, on her husband's arm, smiling and looking perfectly at ease, and he'd always been so miserable and bored he hadn't wanted to interrupt her if she happened to be enjoying herself. Now that Scorpius had talked to her, or at her at least, and interacted with her, he couldn't help but wonder just why Lily had gone from a feisty, bold, brave young woman to a quiet, timid little mouse.

"What do you mean?" Albus asked.

Scorpius frowned, looking at the spot where she'd Disapparated. "She's different. You remember back in the day, Lily was always such a pain in the arse for us. Always wanting to know what we were doing, or where we were going, or who we were hanging out with. Hell, you remember the summer before Seventh Year, when she found out she got made Prefect, and spied on us and ratted out all the fun shit we tried to do at your place?" he demanded. That Lily had been almost unbearable on her quest for justice, and it didn't equate in his mind with the Lily from dinner who wouldn't even look him in the eye when she spoke.

Albus chuckled. "Yeah, she was such a nosy swot." He shrugged and puffed his cigarette, greyish blue smoke curling from the end of it. "I dunno. She grew up I guess," he said. Scorpius frowned some more. "Why does it matter?"

Scorpius shook his head. He couldn't put a finger on it, but for some reason, it bothered him. It felt like part of Lily's light had been dimmed, that she'd faded a little, and he wanted to know why, even if he felt like a fool a little for it. It was none of his business, and no one else seemed perturbed by her behaviour. Perhaps he was over analyzing it all. "I dunno," he admitted. "It's just...she seems different. And I could swear, when she turned around after her big speech about the unfairness of the Reform Act being put out, she looked afraid." He shook his head, because he couldn't be sure, but his gut told him she'd tensed from fear for a moment. "And last I knew anyway, which has been a long while admittedly, your little sister wasn't afraid of anything, least of all me, or you."

Albus tilted his head a little. "Yeah," the dark haired wizard said slowly, taking a thoughtful drag from his fag now. "Actually, now you mention it, Lily's kind of jumpy all the time." He frowned. "I mean, don't get me wrong, like you said yourself, mate, she's a little nutty and she can be a spaz at times, but she wasn't ever really jumpy before. But even a couple weeks ago, I accidentally let the wind get the door when I came out for a smoke after dinner, and she almost wet herself, and jumped about a mile when it slammed." Scorpius felt his suspicion roused, and his gut told him there was something deeper going on. "Look, she's probably just stressed out or something. I dunno, mate, but it's Lily. If she's got issues, she'll probably talk to Rose or Mum, not me, or you."

"Yeah," Scorpius said slowly as Albus outed his smoke and Vanished the butt and they headed in.

"Anyway, if she is stressed, I bet it's because she married a dolt. You should read the shite that pompous windbag gets published nowadays, because it's downright bigoted sometimes. I bet the rows those two have are legendary," he said, and smirked, as if picturing his sister and her husband rowing about their differing political viewpoints.

Scorpius snorted. "I'd almost feel bad for the idiot, but he probably deserves whatever she dishes out," the blond wizard muttered, recalling being on the receiving end of Lily's hexes before.

"Actually, if they do row at all, it's never in public," Albus said casually. "You can tell she adores the bastard, even if she probably wouldn't mind hitting him every now and then, but any time I've seen them disagree, Lily usually concedes defeat."

"And you?" Scorpius asked, feeling something settle uncomfortably in his gut at that.

"Me what?" Albus asked, pausing in the lounge as they walked back to the dining room.

"Do you like Lily's husband?"

Scorpius felt himself holding his breath, wondering why it mattered. He barely knew Lily, and the Potters' family dramas were absolutely none of his business. Why was he asking his friend if he liked his brother in law? But Albus, apparently, held no qualms divulging his family's secrets. "Do I like him? No. Thaddeus Nott's kind of a stuck up prick, honestly. But if Lily loves him and he loves her, which I assume they do, I can deal with him." Albus chuckled. "Would I be upset if they split? Only if the fucker broke my sister's heart." They continued back to the dining room, and Albus smirked wickedly. "You should hear what James says about him, though," he said loudly as they resumed their seats around the table.

"What I say about who?" James asked.

"Lily's husband," Albus said, looking smug, and Scorpius watched as James Potter's normally calm, smiling face, morphed into a scowl.

"Albus, that's enough," Ginny said, even as Cleo placed a hand on her husband's arm.

Scorpius looked at James with interest, even though he had a feeling whatever he might hear he wouldn't like any more than James did. "Come on, Mum," Albus said, rolling emerald eyes. "Even you said Thad's a snob."

Ginny looked scandalized and Scorpius saw Harry Potter's mouth twitch a little. "I did not!" she said firmly. "I said his mother is definitely a snob, and I'm surprised he didn't inherit it from her."

"But that he did inherit it from his father," Albus continued, and Ginny looked sternly at her son.

"I don't like that bastard," James growled. "He is a snob, he's got a shite attitude, and I know for a fact he's fucked around on Lily."

Scorpius's brows went up. "James, enough," Ginny hissed.

"He has, Mum," her elder son said stubbornly. "I don't care what anyone says." The redhead opened her mouth to reply, but then James said, "Why do you think he hasn't shown his face here again, Mum? He's a cheating bastard, and if he dared, I'd-"

"Do nothing that would be against the law, like assaulting him," Harry finished firmly, glaring sternly.

"What-?" Scorpius asked, feeling like he was prying into business he shouldn't be part of, but it seemed the Potters accepted him as one of their own.

"Lily's husband propositioned me, a little over a year ago," James's wife admitted. "Of course, I said no, told him he was disgusting, and informed Lily." She glanced at James. "It was at Christmas before last, and he'd been drinking." Cleo shrugged. "She seemed obviously upset, and they went right home, but it seemed like she wasn't surprised. If anything, it was like she was embarrassed he'd hit on me, and she kept apologizing."

By the time Scorpius got back to his flat, bearing an almost overflowing plate of leftovers courtesy of Ginny Potter, he'd found far more questions about Lily Potter than answers. And while a logical portion of his mind told him to leave it be, and not get involved, because it was not only none of his business, but also zero of his concern, he couldn't help it. He wanted answers, wanted to know more about the witch Al's little sister had grown into, and wanted to solve the puzzle that was Lily Potter. And the curious side of him was already theorizing, and thinking up how to find answers to his questions.

Whether it was because he'd kind of always had a fancy for her, not that he'd ever dared to act on it or admit it aloud to his best mate or his best mate's older brother, or because he just felt a deep rooted concern in his belly that there was much more beneath the shiny, jubilant surface Lily presented, he wasn't sure. All Scorpius knew for certain was that now that he'd come back to Britain for good, having transferred from an abroad position as a curse breaker for Gringotts' Bank permanently, he would figure out just why Lily was no longer the vibrant witch he'd once known and almost fancied. And even as he laid down to sleep, he began to think about just how he would go about getting behind Lily's guard and really getting to know her.

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