Chapter Eight: Doubt and Stupidity

The next morning Scorpius found himself sitting on the edge of his parents’ bed, his throat dry, watching as his mother applied her make-up charms, smiling in the mirror at him.

“Did you have a nice time last night?” she asked, beaming at him as she ran the powder brush over her cheeks.

“Nice enough.” He shrugged, not meeting her eyes.

Astoria Malfoy laughed lightly, the sound like a bell. “I haven’t seen you smiling that much at one of my dinner parties in ages. I’m so glad your friend Lily was able to come. She was such a nice girl.”

Scorpius swallowed, the very thought of Lily forcibly reminding him of what she’d said last night. He hadn’t been able to sleep all night, cold and angry about what he’d seen, the way his father had looked at Lily’s mother causing his mind to reel with questions and doubt.

“Mum? Have… have you always loved Dad?” he asked suddenly, his fingers clenching and unclenching at his side.

He watched as his mother put on her jewelry, fastening the clasp of a pearl necklace around her neck. “Of course I’ve always loved him,” she answered with an airy laugh, her cheeks pink as she ran her fingers over the string of pearls, her smile softening. “That love may have changed in form over the years, but I assure you we’re just as in love as the day we first met, well, outside of Hogwarts.” she amended with a trilling laugh.

“You’re not ever worried that love might fade?” he asked, his voice unsteady. “That - that there will ever be any reason to divorce?”

“Scorpius…” Astoria breathed, turning to face her son. She quickly stood from her chair, her robes cascading down around her as she lightly crossed over to where her son sat. Scorpius swallowed, turning away, but she slipped her fingers beneath his chin, turning his face towards hers. “Dear, why would you ask such a thing? Are one of your friend’s parents getting a divorce?”

Scorpius averted his gaze, cryptically answering, “Her mum’s in love with someone else.”

“Oh dear.” Astoria cupped her son’s face in her hands until he finally raised his eyes to meet hers which were bright with sympathy and at the same time offering a sincere promise. “That will never be your father and I. You understand?”

Scorpius nodded, feeling his heart rise in his throat, disbelieving every word. He quietly excused himself and slipped out of the room, his mother’s smile faltering in his absence. She would have Draco talk with him; perhaps Scorpius would actually listen to his father. When Astoria sent for the House-Elf to find her son, however, she was informed that Scorpius had already left.

*

Scorpius stood on the front stoop of the small cottage, having taken the Knight Bus to get there. He frowned for a moment, wondering whether he was making a mistake by coming. At the same time though, he didn’t care. He had wanted to get out of the house and Lily’s place was the first place that came to mind, despite his earlier anger with her. Besides, it wasn’t as if he could go see Rose; she’d likely claim to have never known him if her parents got involved. The thought was enough to make his blood burn in anger.

Heaving a resigned sigh, Scorpius raised his hand and rapped his knuckles against the window paneled door. He heard the water running in the kitchen stop and wetted his lips, waiting until he heard footsteps and the front door opened. “Scorpius. We weren’t expecting you…” the woman trailed off, an expression of surprise on her face.

“Mrs. Potter. Erm, is Lily home?”

“She’s upstairs. Why don’t you come in and I’ll call her down.” She held the door open and Scorpius slipped inside, following the older woman into the kitchen, more than a little uncomfortable in her mere presence after the way he’d seen his father looking at her the night before.

Lily’s mother stopped at the bottom of the stairs, calling up to her daughter. “Lily! Friend of yours!”

Lily answered back that she’d be right down and Scorpius felt his discomfort lessen marginally at the sound of her voice. Soon he heard her footsteps coming and looked up just as she reached the top of the stairs. “Scorpius!” Her voice was breathless with shock, her eyes widening in surprise. “What are you doing here?” Scorpius opened his mouth to answer, feeling a pang of guilt as he saw the wary look in her eyes.

“Thought I’d come see you,” he said quietly, wishing her mother wasn’t standing within hearing distance, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I didn’t get to take you home last night,” he offered, giving her a friendly half-smile which Lily returned, her hand trailing down the arm rail as she came down the stairs, both of them standing around somewhat awkwardly once she reached the bottom.

“Erm, do you want to go somewhere?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Great.” She smiled then and Scorpius’ shoulders relaxed in relief. Lily turned to her mother, silently asking permission and Mrs. Potter dipped her head in response, nodding towards the front door. “Flag down the Knight Bus, then. There’s a handful of Galleons on your father’s desk if you two want to get anything to eat.” Lily nodded, thanking her mother and heading into her father’s study to grab the money purse.

“Ready to go, Scorpius?” she asked, moving towards the front door. The Slytherin boy nodded and followed her out, glancing back over his shoulder to see Mrs. Potter watching as they left, a troubled expression crossing her features that Scorpius had come to recognize all too often recently.

Ginny heaved a sigh once the door swung shut behind Scorpius and her daughter, more than a little tense with everything that had gone on in the last few days. She didn’t even know that Lily and Draco’s son had been friends until a few days ago. In fact, she hadn’t heard anything about him even as recently as Christmas and a part of her wondered if their friendship had started that suddenly. Moving into the kitchen, Ginny began tidying up as she tried to sort out her muddled thoughts. She had cried in Harry’s arms for what felt like hours the night before, shaken up after being in the same room as Draco Malfoy after nearly twenty-five years. She laughed weakly to herself, unable to comprehend how so much time had passed and everything only began cropping up again in the last few months.

First there had been Rose, coming by to have a cup of tea and ask for some advice over Christmas break. Ginny had told her everything, never intending to; it had just spilled out of her, wanting to tell someone, and truthfully, it had felt good. It had been nice to confide to someone, someone besides Harry who wouldn’t make her stomach coil with guilt. Part of her wondered if it had all started then, a very paranoid part of her, that was. She hadn’t even mentioned Draco’s name for years. In fact, the only stories her children had heard of their father’s schoolboy nemesis had been told by their uncle Ron. Harry never brought him up, knowing how uncomfortable it made Ginny. She had even begun to think she was over Draco, something she’d never before hoped to be. That had been before she cried her eyes out last night, of course. Right now, the idea that she’d never shed another tear over Draco Malfoy was only wishful thinking.

Suddenly, the fireplace lit up and Ginny whirled around to be greeted with her brother’s face, floating in the green flames.

“George! I just saw you this morning!” she exclaimed, “Albus said he had a wonderful time…”

Her elder brother cut her off suddenly, looking quite agitated, “Yeah, well, I try…” he chuckled, looking rather uncomfortable. “So, Gin, erm, you in a good mood today?”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why?”

“No real reason,” he said airily. “It’s just, well, I thought it was my duty, as your favorite brother of course, to let you know that James is in St. Mungo’s…”

“What?” she shrieked.

George waved a disembodied hand, trying to brush off his sister’s concern. “It’s nothing, he’s fine, he’s fine… just a slight explosion in the workshop. Probably a good thing you picked up Albus when you did now that I think about it.”

“George Fabian Weasley, I swear to God, I am going to flay you alive!” she stormed, making death threats and promising to kill him as she ripped on her cloak, shouting for Albus to come downstairs and telling him not to leave the house under any circumstances.

“Mum, I’m seventeen years old…” he complained.

“I don’t care, Albus! I’m losing my mind trying to keep track of where all you kids are! I never should have let your brother go to work for George!”

“What happened?” Albus asked, his eyes following his mother as she rushed around the house, grabbing her purse and her wand, preparing to Disapparate.

“Your idiot uncle!” she broke off, her face red and furious. “Stay inside!” she commanded one last time, Disapparating with an angry crack.

Albus turned his neck to see the offending uncle’s head, still floating in the flames and winced sympathetically. “Everyone in this family’s insane,” he muttered, turning to leave, sure he heard George muttering under his breath that he should have had Angelina make the floo call before he disappeared from the flames with a faint pop.

*

Bustling down the streets of Diagon Alley, Hermione Weasley led her daughter Rose through the crowds of shoppers, having looked through a series of local shops for a set of graduation robes for Rose, the end of her seventh year drawing close. “Mum, I really don’t like the navy robes, they’re too dark,” Rose complained, wanting a color that would lessen the severity of her very red hair.

“Rose, dear, the others were far too light and Professor Flitwick specifically said that all Ravenclaws ought to wear blue.”

“You’ve never cared about a thing as trivial as color choice before…”

“Then you agree; it’s a trivial detail. Come on, Rose, it isn’t that bad,” her mother pressed, pushing through the throngs of shoppers. “Besides, darker colors are much more professional, and stop fussing over your hair already! Merlin knows you have had a much easier time with it than I ever did!” Rose scowled but didn’t comment. Her hair may not have been as tangled as a briar patch like her mother's, but the red was like a beacon, making her stand out anywhere.

Just then, her mother made a noise of pleasant surprise, having caught sight of another redhead sitting outside of Florene Flortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor. “Oh, look, it’s Lily!” she exclaimed, pointing when her brow suddenly furrowed. “Who is that? Oh, my goodness, is that that Malfoy boy? Isn’t he in your year?”

Rose froze, her eyes following her mother’s line of sight to see that it was indeed Scorpius Malfoy who sat with her cousin, telling her some story that had her laughing hysterically, unaware of their witnesses. Rose swallowed, feeling as though something were constricting over her chest as she watched them, wondering what they had done together at the party the night before. “Mum, I need to ask Scorpius about one of our homework assignments. Can you wait here for just a bit?” she asked, her tongue like sandpaper.

Her mother’s eyes were narrowed suspiciously as she watched the two teenagers, looking as though she were studying a difficult formula. “I’ll come with you,” she said, looking determined. “I want to make sure that Lily’s alright. I wonder if Harry knows she’s here.”

Rose bit back the urge to argue with her mother and hurried forward, making her way to her two laughing friends. “Hey Scorp,” she interrupted, the blond boy’s eyes flitting up to meet hers, his expression suddenly one of surprise.

“Rose!”

“Erm, can I talk to you for a minute? It’s about that holiday homework we had, for seventh years…” she added, glancing at Lily out of the corner of her eye. Lily merely looked down at her ice cream.

“Sure,” Scorpius agreed somewhat stiffly, following Rose around the corner of the shop to discuss their homework.

The instant that Scorpius and Rose were out of earshot from them and vice versa, Hermione leaned in towards Lily, her brown eyes wide in concern. “Lily, are you alright?” she asked.

“What? Yeah, of course, Aunt Mione.”

“Are you sure? I didn’t know you hung around with Malfoy’s boy. Isn’t he quite a few years older than you?”

“Well, we do go to school together; I mean, it’s only expected we’d talk every once in a while, right?”

Hermione appeared unconvinced. “What were you doing running into him in Diagon Alley, though?”

“I just bumped into him that’s all,” Lily lied, glancing back to the direction Rose and Scorpius had disappeared to.

“But what were you doing here?” Hermione pressed.

“Wh-what?” Lily asked, spinning back around.

Her aunt pursed her lips disapprovingly and repeated her question. “I asked what you’re doing in Diagon Alley in the first place, Lily. Does your father know you’re here?” she asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Lily rolled her jaw, forcibly keeping her voice level despite her irritation with her aunt. “Well, no, but my mum does,” she explained, sighing in frustration as she realized her aunt wasn’t going to stop pestering her until she heard more of an explanation than that. “Look, I just wanted to visit the joke shop,” Lily explained, her eyes wide and truthful despite the fingers she’d crossed behind her back. If anyone would cover for her, it was her uncle George. She hated lying to her aunt Hermione, but really, the woman was grating on her nerves. As if there was anything wrong with hanging around with Scorpius, honestly!

“You don’t have any shopping bags from there,” Hermione observed.

“Well, no, I don’t as I haven’t gone yet. Like I said, I ran into Scorpius and we decided to get some ice cream, and here you are!” Lily gestured to her aunt still standing in front of her, arms crossed over her chest.

Hermione pursed her lips, looking as though she didn’t know whether to believe her niece or not,and Lily fought back the urge to roll her eyes. Really, it was no wonder Rose hadn’t told her parents about the Malfoys' dinner party, her mum would’ve probably died from shock and there was no telling what her dad would’ve done.

“Satisfied that I’m not consorting with the enemy?” Lily asked sarcastically, losing the last of her patience with her aunt.

Her aunt’s shoulders sank as she let out a sigh, murmuring under her breath. “I never said Malfoy was the enemy. I was just curious, is all.”

“Overly concerned, more like.”

“Lily…”

Just then the others reappeared from the side alley, Rose storming back over to her mother, not so much as glancing at her cousin. Lily only looked to Scorpius questioningly but he didn’t seem to notice. Rather, his attention was focused solely on Rose, his cold eyes furious.

“Let’s get going, Mum. Still have a lot of shopping to do,” Rose bit out, her entire body rigid, clearly wanting to leave.

Lily watched as her aunt’s expression became one of bewilderment, glancing back and forth between her daughter and Scorpius. “But, Rose, what’s wrong?”

Rose shot a venomous glance back over her shoulder towards Scorpius, glaring at him coldly. “Nothing that isn’t expected when you have to deal with a Malfoy!” she spat scathingly. “It’s unpleasant just being near them.”

Scorpius’ eyes narrowed, a muscle ticking in his jaw, his fury evident. He easily looped an arm around Lily’s shoulders saying, “Not everyone would agree with that statement, Weasley. Lily certainly doesn’t.”

Without a moment’s warning, he turned his face towards Lily and pressed his lips against hers. Lily sucked in a surprised breath as Scorpius kissed her, pulling back, but he held her head firmly in place, the corner of his lips turning up in a cruel smirk as he watched for Rose’s reaction. The older girl’s eyes suddenly filled with tears and she hastily escaped into the crowd, her shocked mother following after her. Finally managing to prop her hands against Scorpius’ lean shoulders, Lily furiously pushed him back, forcibly breaking away and looking up at him with a mixture of shock and hurt. There was a ringing crack as she slapped him across the face, leaving a handprint as angry as she was. Just then a camera’s flashbulb went off, drawing the attention of anyone who hadn’t already seen. Fighting back tears, Lily pulled away from him, running into the busy street and heading towards the Leaky Cauldron.

Scorpius threw his head back, groaning in frustration as his mind caught up with his actions and he realized his mistake. “Oh, shit!” he cursed. He leapt to his feet and rushed past the murmuring crowds, their unfinished ice cream forgotten as he raced after her.

“Lily! Lily stop!” he shouted, tearing after her retreating form. Her hair whipped behind her as she caught sight of him following her and she quickened her pace, racing through the inn and into Muggle London. She ran into the busy street, raising her wand hand to flag down the Knight Bus just as Scorpius screamed her name behind her.

“Lily, watch out!”

She whipped her head around, her eyes wide as she recognized headlights, her scream drowned out by the car’s horn blaring for her to get out of the way.