After The End.
Scorpius Malfoy stood at the window of his personal penthouse suite in Luxe, the hotel he co-owned with his best friend, Alex Zabini. Down below the grounds were illuminated by magical lights as the hotel played host to its opening night. That very evening those closest to Scorpius and Alex, along with a decent smattering of reporters and celebrities, had gathered to celebrate the opening of Luxe – which with any luck would quickly become established as one of the top, luxury hotels in Wizarding France.
It had taken Scorpius and Alex three long years to get to where they currently were, and Scorpius prayed that all the hard work was going to be worth it. After events in Britain had led them to change their plans for the future, it had taken the two wizards almost six months to find the perfect spot for their hotel. It had then taken them nearly another six months to buy the land at a reasonable price as the wizard they'd been dealing with had tried to charge more once he found out he was dealing with a Malfoy. Luckily, Lucius was on hand to help out and with his assistance a fair deal was eventually struck.
While they were doing the deal for the land, the first plans for the hotel were drawn up, but it was still a few months after that before work had been finally able to begin on building the hotel. It had then taken just over a year for the hotel to be built to Scorpius and Alex's specifications. Then came the decorating and outfitting of the hotel, and finally for the last few months, Scorpius had been in charge of hiring the staff that would run their hotel. Now everything was in place for Luxe to open to the public, and hopefully become such a big hit that Scorpius and Alex would be able to plan their next venture.
But before that, it was opening night and only those with invitations would get to experience the luxury Scorpius and Alex had created. Come tomorrow the hotel would be open for public bookings, of which they already had a substantial amount, but this evening it was all about friends, family and gaining publicity for their launch.
Knowing that he should be getting downstairs, to ensure his guests were greeted properly, Scorpius turned to call into the bathroom to ask his girlfriend if she was ready, but instead his voice caught in his throat as at that exact moment his girlfriend, Lily Potter, emerged from the bathroom. Lily's stunning, long red hair was pinned up on top of her head, with a few carefully teased strands framing her face. She was wearing a floor length strapless black dress with a shimmering star pattern, only it wasn't just a random pattern. The stars were perfectly placed to make up the constellation Scorpius was named for.
"Aren't you going to say something?" Lily asked as Scorpius continued to stare, his words failing him.
"You look amazing," Scorpius finally managed, his eyes still glued to the design on her dress. "That dress is very..."
"Unique, statement making," Lily offered when Scorpius trailed off, clearly unsure how to finish his sentence.
"What statement are you trying to make?" Scorpius asked quietly.
"I would have thought that was obvious," Lily laughed. "I've practically wrote your name across my dress. I would say the message was very clear. I'm yours."
"Are you?" Scorpius questioned, his grey eyes rising to meet Lily's bright emerald green ones.
The truth was, Scorpius was hopelessly in love with Lily, but he had no idea if they had a future together. When they'd met, he hadn't shown an interest in a witch for a year, not since his kidnapping ordeal. But he and Lily had just clicked, and she'd gotten under his skin so much that he'd invented excuses to return to Britain, just so he could see her. During those visits a romance had formed, and for the last eighteen months, the pair had been a couple. Scorpius had visited Britain as often as he could, and Lily had visited France as often as she could. But at the end of the day they still lived in two different countries, and Scorpius couldn't see that changing any time soon.
Before they'd even met, Lily had signed up for healer training at St Mungo's, and she'd only just begun her three year training programme when they'd first met. She now only had a year to go, but after that it was inevitable that she would be offered a job at the British hospital. As for Scorpius, he had the hotel to run and even though he and Alex had plans to expand their empire all over Europe, it was going to take time, and nothing like that could happen until their first venture was a success. And to make sure it was a success, Scorpius was needed in France.
"Yes Scorpius, I'm yours," Lily said softly, drawing Scorpius out of his musings. "Just like I would like to think you're mine."
"You know I am," Scorpius assured her with a smile as he took hold her her hand and pulled her closer to him. "I just wish things were different. I wish we didn't have such different lives on different sides of the channel."
"What if we didn't?" Lily asked. "What if we lived in the same country?"
"You know I love you, Lil, but I can't live in Britain," Scorpius said with a gentle shake of his head. "Not only am I needed here, but I can't live there after what happened."
"I know that," Lily assured her boyfriend. "And I would never ask you to live somewhere you weren't comfortable. But what if I lived in France?"
"What about your family?" Scorpius questioned. One thing he'd learned pretty quickly about Lily was that her large extended family meant the world to her and that the Potter/Weasley clan were extremely close. "I can't ask you to leave them."
"You're not asking," Lily pointed out. "Besides, living in two different countries isn't such a big deal. I can still see my family all the time. But I want a future with you, Scorpius. I want to be with you."
"I want to be with you too," Scorpius replied. "But what about your training? You've only got one more year to go and then you're fully qualified."
"This may sound strange, but they have hospitals in France," Lily joked. "In fact I've already arranged to switch my final years training to a hospital in Paris. I'm all yours if you want me."
"Of course I want you," Scorpius laughed, swooping Lily up into his arms and swinging her around. "I do hope you haven't found somewhere to live, because I want you with me. We can base ourselves here, or there's home, or we can even find somewhere new for us both to live."
"I don't care where we live, as long as we're together," Lily announced, smiling widely at her boyfriend's excitement.
"We will be," Scorpius replied. "I can't wait to celebrate."
"We can do that downstairs," Lily chuckled. "We really should be going. People will be waiting for you."
"I was thinking more of a private celebration," Scorpius said in a low voice as he wrapped his arms around Lily and placed a lingering kiss on her lips.
"Later," Lily promised, giving Scorpius's backside a squeeze through his smart trousers. "But for now, your public awaits."
Knowing that Lily was right, and the opening of the hotel came first, Scorpius put aside his desire to take his girlfriend to bed and instead, he escorted her down to the ground floor, where the action was taking place. With Lily by his side, Scorpius greeted guests and reporters as they made their way to the large ballroom, where the main body of the party was taking place. Even though all the ground floor was open to the guests, and people were encouraged to explore, all the food and drink was being served in the ballroom, and it was where the majority of people had congregated.
A quick glance around the room revealed the family Scorpius loved so much, and the people who had come to be an important part of his life over the last few years. Obviously Hermione and Draco were in attendance as proud parents, along with Blaise and Daphne. Then there were Lucius and Narcissa, who were there to support their grandsons, not to mention the fact Lucius was their main backer. Friends of the family included the Notts - Theo and Tracey, and the Longbottoms – Neville and Luna. And of course, there was a decent smattering of Potters and Weasleys in attendance.
Both of Lily's older brothers were present, along with her parents, who these days were close friends with Scorpius's parents and the two couples spent a lot of time together. Lily's Uncle Bill, who had played a part in saving Scorpius three years ago and had struck up a friendship with Lucius as a result, and his beautiful wife, Fleur, were also present, and so was her fun loving Uncle George and his wife, Angelina. George and Angelina were another couple who were close with Scorpius's parents and often visited France. Lily's grandparents had sent their best wishes, but hadn't made the trip as they'd been babysitting some of the younger members of the family. The other noticeable absence was Lily's Uncle Ron, but that wasn't a big surprise as things were never more than politely cordial between him and Scorpius's family. Unlike Harry, he'd never managed to repair his friendship with Hermione, and even after all this time, Scorpius still got the impression that Ron was jealous of Draco and the fact he was married to Hermione. It was all rather sad in Scorpius's opinion, and even though he'd never warmed to Lily's uncle, he did hope that one day Ron would find a life of his own and stop longing for something that was never meant to be.
"There you are," Alex declared as the couple entered the ballroom. "I was beginning to think the pair of you had run off and left me to handle everything alone."
"I wasn't going to leave you on our big night," Scorpius chuckled. "But I'm sure you've managed to cope with the attention," he added as a stunning blonde witch he didn't recognise passed by and gave Alex a flirtatious smile.
"It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it," Alex retorted with a grin.
"You're incorrigible, Alex," Lily laughed.
"Why thank you," Alex replied with a smirk. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've been chatting to a lovely young witch who writes for The Daily Prophet in London, and I see Albus has fixed his attention on her. Sorry Lily, I've got to go and stop your brother from muscling in on my territory."
Scorpius and Lily chuckled as they watched Alex head over to where Lily's brother was chatting to a pretty brunette witch, and slide effortlessly into the conversation. Within a few minutes Albus wandered away with a roll of his eyes, but if he was disappointed to lose out to Alex, it didn't last long as he quickly started chatting to another pretty young witch.
"I always thought James was the charmer in our family, but since becoming friends with Alex, Albus is quite the flirt," Lily laughed.
"Alex does tend to bring people out of themselves," Scorpius admitted with a chuckle. "If it wasn't for Alex, I might well have hidden myself away after what happened to me. But he wouldn't let me. Even when I wasn't interested in girls, he constantly dragged me out for a drink. He said that one day I would be ready, and when that day came, I would never find anyone sitting at home."
"He was right, you never would have found me if you had been moping around at home," Lily said.
"It's funny, isn't it, I might never have found you if the worst thing to ever happen to me hadn't happened," Scorpius mused. "If I hadn't been kidnapped, I wouldn't have been back in Britain for the trial. And if our parents hadn't reignited their friendship due to my kidnapping, we wouldn't have been at the same party. In a funny sort of way, the worst event of my life led me to the best thing that's ever happened to me. It brought us together."
"I prefer to think that fate brought us together," Lily said with a slight shudder. Even though she hadn't known Scorpius at the time, she hated to think of the ordeal he'd gone through when he'd been kidnapped. "I believe certain people are meant to be together, and we're two of those people. I believe that no matter what, we would have found our way to each other."
Scorpius wasn't sure he believed things were so simple, but he had to admit that Lily's faith in them belonging together was nice. Given the solid, loving relationships he was surrounded by in his parents, grandparents, godparents and even Lily's parents, Scorpius certainly believed in soul mates. He truly believed his parents were meant to be together, and he truly believed that he and Lily were meant to be together. The circumstances surrounding their meeting didn't matter in the end, the only thing that truly mattered was that they were together, and if Scorpius had anything to do with it, they were going to be together forever.
The End.