History Lessons

Chapter Nine

Lily awoke the next morning to Jocasta's voice.

"Come on, let's get some breakfast! The train leaves at eleven, remember? It's almost ten now."

Reluctantly, Lily pulled herself out of bed and to the bathroom. She'd started packing the night before but she still had a lot to do. And she really didn't want to go down to the Great Hall...

"Do you think," Lily said to Jocasta, brushing her hair, "that you could grab me something from breakfast? I've got to finish packing..."

Jocasta sighed. "I'll meet you in the entrance hall, then, at quarter till eleven?"

"Thanks," said Lily gratefully.

"Who are you avoiding?"

Now Lily sighed. "Malfoy."

"Lily, if he's bothering you, just go tell -- tell Blaine!"

"No," she said firmly. "I'm just going to ignore it....After break it'll be fine, you know?"

The other girls left the dormitory, leaving Lily alone and packing. Really she didn't need an hour to pack. She was leaving most of her books and robes here, just out of convenience. Lily instead used this hour to practice forgetting everything that had ever happened between her and Malfoy. It seemed hopeless now, but in two weeks she could be a pro at it.

"You're packing, too!" Junia burst into the room. "I can't believe I left this to the last minute, I swear I meant to do it -- last night." She'd thrown open her trunk to find everything already inside, totally packed. She sighed loudly. "Those stupid Cauldron Cafés...you know, this always happens. I think they increase in potency over time," she added, giggling.

"What?" said Lily blankly.

"That stupid amnesia thing my Chocolate Cauldron Café Cookies do," she explained. "I packed last night, but I'd just forgotten!"

Lily froze.

"You going to come down? It's time to leave." She peered at Lily, clearly concerned. "You all right? You've forgotten something, have you? That's fine, you've got time to fetch it; I'll tell them to wait up for you, right?"

Lily didn't answer; she threw herself at the door, wrenched it open, jumped the stairs, sprinted across the common room, flew out the portrait hole, and ran at full speed to the ground floor. How could she have forgotten? Those Chocolate Cauldron Café Cookies -- the deadly mix between chocolate, caffeine and amnesia. She had no idea what had happened that night, but it had to have something to do with Malfoy. It had to.

She reached the marble staircase and slipped on the stairs, falling forward on the last couple steps and landing in someone's arms.

"Lily?"

Lily clung on tightly but didn't answer.

"We were just about to go find you," said another voice to her left. "You're almost late."

"Bad day?" another voice said kindly.

Lily nodded into Albus's shoulder.

"Cheer up," said Marcelle, rubbing Lily's back. "We're off to the Burrow! I think all our cousins will be there this year. And did you hear that Monica and Cosmin are engaged? He's coming up too!"

Lily finally stepped back. Marcelle, Albus, Rose, and Hugo surrounded her, looking worried. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jordan and Jocasta approaching.

"Here's some breakfast," said Jocasta, handing her a piece of buttered toast.

"Thanks," said Lily. "Have a good holiday."

"You, too," said Jordan. "And I'm expecting my share of Snackboxes on Christmas, right?"

"Right," she replied, and the two left.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Albus asked.

"Just a bad day," she replied, echoing Rose's words.

--

Lily didn't talk much on the train ride. She didn't talk much on the car ride to the Burrow. But once they reached their destination...

Well, Lily wasn't sure there was a place she liked better than the Burrow.

The Burrow had been, Lily was told, a small, lopsided home in a large yard. But Uncle George and Aunt Alicia had made a project of adding as much space as possible. Now still strangely shaped, the Burrow was easily twice the size it had been and thus the ideal gathering for the entire clan. George and Alicia now lived there year-round with George's parents.

Lily loved the character of the Burrow. She loved the way the floors became progressively smaller as you worked your way up the building. She loved the ancient chicken coop on the side. She loved the cramped kitchen and the ancient and magically elongated dinner table -- she had never seen one so big except for at Hogwarts. She loved the overstuffed sofas and the huge fireplace and the rickety stairs and the huge windows, even if they were a little dirty. She loved the orchard, which was perfect for hide-and-seek, and she especially loved the Quidditch paddock just beyond the trees. If there was ever something to keep her mind off of Scorpius Malfoy, it was the Burrow.

They were met at the door by Nan and Granddad, and, once inside, by five pairs of aunts and uncles and twenty-two cousins. The Hogwarts students were passed around the room from hug to hug. Everyone was in such high spirits, everyone laughing and discussing Quidditch and school and the weather. They eventually moved into the kitchen, using up every last seat at the table. The only newcomer was Cosmin Nicolescu, Monica's fiancé. Monica attended Durmstrang and Cosmin lived in the same village as the Weasleys in Romania. He sat between Monica and James, with whom he seemed to bond quickly.

Lily sat farther down the table between her cousin-in-law Jackie and her eighteen-year-old cousin Max.

"Found any lads at school yet?" Jackie asked her. "What about Newton?"

Lily made a face. Jackie always asked about her cousin Newton Kirke, who was a Gryffindor in Lily's year and, in Lily's opinion, completely undesirable. "Sorry, not yet," Lily replied as usual.

"All right," she sighed. "But next year, maybe?"

"From what I hear, she has caught somebody's interest," said Rose across the table.

"Rose!"

"Who?" Jackie asked.

"Nobody worth mentioning," Lily said grumpily.

"Isn't there that Ravenclaw friend?" Rose prompted.

"Erlack."

"Nothing wrong with Ravenclaw," Max supplied.

"Do we have to talk about this now?" Lily said desperately.

"Fine," said Jackie, "but I'm coming round the girls' room later, and I demand to hear the story then."

Dinner was followed by lounging in the family room, which was one of the rooms expanded by George years previously. While it had once contained two sofas and a couple odd rocking chairs, it now contained four sofas, several armchairs, the same old rocking chairs, and scattered pillows on the cushy carpeting. James stole Marcelle, Lily, and Hugo for a detailed analysis of the Quidditch team's progress and Clement's ability as a Captain. Over in a corner Lily could see Monica quizzing Cosmin on names.

"This I know," he was saying. "It is Liliana -- Lilja? -- with the red hair, Mariele with the yellow hair, and Jakob -- no, it is Jams with the black hair. And the young boy is Hugo."

"Almost..."

Albus and Rose were sitting on a large cushion together and playing with Charlotte, Victoire and Teddy's three-year-old daughter. Dominic and Heath were arm wrestling. George and Alicia were sitting with Ron, Hermione, and Lily's parents discussing something that looked serious, if their expressions were anything to go by. Lily's mother held a stack of photographs and was passing them around to the others, and Lily distinctly saw Aunt Hermione wipe away a tear as she held one photo.

Eventually Nan called for bedtime and they all trooped up the stairs. Each married couple had their own bedroom for the stay and the remainder stayed in large bedrooms that George had added ten years ago. The girls stayed on the fourth floor and the boys on the fifth.

Each of these rooms was covered with mattress from wall to wall instead of carpeting. They kept their trunks and bags on one side and pulled all the blankets they could find to the other.

"Come on, Rose, you've got no one?"

"I'm not that upset, honestly," Rose said.

"Matt Horton's not bad," Marcelle said.

"Yeah, I remember him," said Leah. "He was friends with Blaine Deverill. What about him, Rosie?"

"I dunno, better ask Lily."

Leah and Rebecca squealed in unison.

"Yuck!" Lily said. "He might fancy me, but I'm not interested."

"What about that Ravenclaw, then?" said Jackie, who had snuck up from her and Fred's room.

"No thanks."

"Well, who do you fancy then?" asked Marcelle. "Jordan?"

"No, not Jordan," said Lily. "I don't like anyone right now."

"Well, how about you, then, Marcelle?" asked Madeleine. "Do you still like Clement Plumpton?"

"What?" Lily gasped.

"No!" Marcelle squeaked, holding her face in her hands.

But Lily had seen Rose's face and did not like the look in her eyes as Lily had answered her cousins' questions. Oh dear. Rose knew something.

And, sure enough, she snuck around the group of girls to sit next to Lily on the edge of the circle. "Listen, I was talking to Albus after dinner."

"Oh."

"And he seemed to think something was happening with you and Scorpius Malfoy."

"Oh."

"And I thought it was rubbish."

"Oh?" Lily began to feel hopeful.

"But then I thought about how he's been acting lately...you know, when we're doing Head duties. And he started off the year same as ever, just indifferent and civil...and then he was friendly for a while. But then he was back to being all standoffish, and I wondered..."

"Oh."

"And Albus noticed exactly what I had...they've been working together in Herbology and they've been pretty friendly with each other."

"Oh...oh..."

"I mean, he still thinks he's a snob, and he is, but he's all right underneath it all, you know? Of course you know...But you've had a row, haven't you?"

Lily buried her face in her hands. "God, Rose, I've messed everything up."

And Lily explained everything to Rose, told her all about Hogsmeade and telling him stories and studying in the library and Blaine and, most importantly, about the Cauldron Café cookies...

"No way," breathed Jackie, and Lily suddenly realized that both she and Rebecca were listening in.

"Scorpius Malfoy? That's Draco Malfoy's son?"

"What about Malfoy?" Marcelle asked, confused, from the other side of the room.

And then everyone knew and was making suggestions left and right.

"Owl him right now, you have to explain!"

"No, wait until you get back from break."

"Don't take him back, Lil, you can do better than that."

"Wait for him to come to you."

"I still don't get what's wrong with Blaine Deverill."

When Lily finally fell asleep that night she did not feel any better about her situation.

~

Luckily the holiday spirit left little time for discussing Lily's love life. The next four days were spent decorating. It was Christmas Eve when they put the star on the tree and were finished. The Burrow was laden with silver and gold tinsel, boughs of holly and mistletoe, and brightly-wrapped gifts. Nan prepared a huge dinner that night and the family stayed up singing Christmas carols.

Lily woke early the next morning. The other girls in the room slowly awoke as well and, finally shaking Monica awake, they all trooped downstairs where all the boys were already waiting by the fireplace to open gifts. They passed the time with Exploding Snap while more and more people drifted downstairs, many of them woken by the loud bangs coming from the game.

Present-opening was a messy affair. It was hopeless to expect every cousin to get everyone else a gift, which was lucky, because the Burrow could only hold so many presents at a time. As it was, the floor was covered with wrapping paper and toys, books, and sweaters.

Lily was pleasantly surprised by the green sweater Nan had knitted for her this year. James had given her a broom-care kit to go along with the Nimbus he'd given her years previously. Her mum had gotten her a brightly-colored Pigmy Puff -- "Like the one I got when I was a fifth year," she said, remembering.

Lily seized an unopened present from the floor and brought it over to where Rose and Albus sat talking by the fire. "Here you go," she said to Albus. "Happy Christmas, Al."

"Thanks, Lily!" he said, taking it from her. "Listen, I got you a gift as well, I promise...but it's not here yet."

"Oh?"

"And I don't even know if you'll like it, but Rose says you will, or at least, that you should," he added.

"I'd trust Rose's judgment," Lily said. "Why's it going to be late?"

"Oh...er, well, I only ordered it yesterday."

Rose giggled inexplicably. Lily gave her an inquisitive look and Rose elaborated. "He's so rarely late with anything...it's just fun to see him so behind!"

Lily smirked at Albus, who was immediately indignant.

"Listen, Lily, it's worth waiting for, I promise -- and if it doesn't work out, I've got a back-up gift all wrapped and ready and everything. And before you laugh again, Rose, I've already got her an end of year gift picked out as well!"

"Ooh!" Lily gasped. "Is it like what James gave you when he left school?"

"Something of the sort," Albus admitted. Lily had always been jealous that James and Albus never told anyone what that gift was, though her father seemed to have some idea. Apparently it had first been Teddy who had passed it on to James.

"What is it?" she pressed.

"Guess!"

~

Christmas Day passed as happily as ever at the Burrow. Once Boxing Day arrived, however, Aunt Alicia was in a near panic.

The Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes Annual New Year's Party was just around the corner. It was a huge affair that took place in the main room of the store. She and George had Ministry permission to expand the size of the small space to the size of a ball room for the occasion once a year. It wasn't anything fancy or elegant, but between decorators and caterers and music, something always seemed to go wrong.

Lily spent her days at the shop now, helping Alicia wherever she could and spending breaks with her cousins and brothers, wandering down Diagon Alley. Rose would drag them into book shops, James would drag them into Quidditch shops, and Hugo had to be constantly reminded that WWW had limited wares for sale while Alicia was working and that he could peruse all he wanted after the party.

Walking around, Lily saw several people from Hogwarts that she knew, but there was no one of importance -- a fact emphasized by her cousin Rebecca, who whispered in her ear whenever a young man would walk by, "Is that your fancy-man?"

In truth, Lily didn't know what she'd do if she saw Scorpius Malfoy strolling down the street toward her. She wanted to apologize for the mistake and her amnesia, but at the same time she knew she wasn't to blame. She shouldn't apologize for anything! But she owed him an explanation, at least. But would he hear it? He was so damnably proud.

Would he even listen? He might've gotten over it already, might've moved on, forgotten about that Potter girl. All he ever did with her was ask for stories about the war; he was probably just trying to dig up dirt on her family. But that didn't make sense -- if he wanted dirt he could just ask his father. He just wanted an excuse to sneer at her in person as she tried to explain how a half-giant could be loveable. Oh, but he didn't sneer! Damn him! He was surprised and confused, though he tried to hide it, and he asked questions about Hagrid and wanted to know more, and he was impressed at his strength. He scoffed at the idea of training his all-giant brother, but Lily had, too, when she was told the story. "It must be a miracle," he'd said when she told him how well it had worked and how polite Grawp really was whenever she'd met him.

A miracle. Malfoy seemed to think everything she told him was implausible, impossible, a miracle. And once more, warm thoughts of the blond boy seemed to fill her mind...

But if he really liked her, really wanted her to forgive him, he needed to do a lot more than be pretty. Maybe she hurt him, but she had her pride, too! He acted like a snobby little brat to her.

"Psst, Lily!" Rebecca hissed in her ear. "Is that --?"

"Lily!" Someone seized Lily, coming at her so fast from the side even her peripheral vision couldn't help her, and picked her up off the ground in a bear hug. She squeaked against her will, struggling lamely a little bit, before she was finally back on the stone street.

"Hullo, Blaine," she said, looking up at him.

He grinned. "Lily!" he repeated. "What're you doing here? Listen, are you busy?"

"I -- er --" She looked beseechingly at Rebecca.

"Blaine," said another voice coming from behind Lily. "How are you?"

"Albus!" Blaine cried. "Wow, didn't expect -- though, I suppose -- sister --"

Lily was delighted to see the look of discomfort pass across Blaine's face at the sight of her older brother. "Oh, we're just out on a family gathering," she told him brightly.

"Yeah?" he said turning back to her. "Well, listen." He lowered his voice. "How about we double back a bit, maybe grab some coffee together, eh?"

Shoot. "My whole family's here, I've --"

"Yeah, they won't miss one more redhead, will they?"

Lily noticed, annoyed, that Rebecca was standing behind her with Albus and was of no help to her at all. Blaine noticed this too and reached out for Lily's hand. She quickly withdrew but still felt strong fingers clench around her own so tightly she winced. God, did he have to be so strong?

"Oh -- er -- hi --" And Lily looked up to see Blaine looking sheepishly upward and sounding more flustered than when confronted by Albus. And he was facing Lily's oldest brother James, who was now grasping her hand far too tightly and was glaring down the boy who had dared to ask his sister on a date.

Lily suddenly had great sympathy for her own mother, who had had not two but six older brothers looking out for her. James refused to let go of her hand but chatted lightly with Blaine, recognizing him as the Beater he'd placed on the team during his final year as captain.

Unfortunately, James found Blaine's Quidditch conversational skills entirely too intriguing. They stood there, Lily's hand hanging limply in James's, discussing play-by-play of the last match they'd played back in November. Lily was left to ponder what on earth would happen if James were to discover that she might've possibly been on the verge of a romantic relationship with Malfoy when, to her utmost dread, his name was brought up.

"Malfoy's a good Chaser, no denying," Blaine was saying, "but he's not fast enough to escape one of my Bludgers."

"Cor, Malfoy's still at school?" James said, disgusted. "I remember playing against him. Nearly had a temper tantrum when we won the Cup."

"I remember that," said Blaine. "Yeah, he's not any better this year. Smarmy git's even Head Boy."

"You gave him a run for his money, right, Lily?" James said, smiling down at her and shaking her hand in his.

"I let in a few goals," she admitted.

"Any girl would with that ugly mug staring --" Blaine stopped at the look on James's face.

"Lily does not get intimidated," he said evenly. "Come on, Lils, what happened?"

"I blocked his first two," she said, "including a penalty shot, wide open, and he was bent on revenge."

"Ah, well, you'll get him next time."

"There won't be a next time," Lily said. "He's a seventh-year."

"All the better!" And James led her away from Blaine without a parting word.

Only one day left before New Year's Eve. The crowd of cousins was out again on Diagon Alley to get themselves out of Alicia's hair. They mostly holed up in various tea shops and restaurants now, separating into groups because of the sheer size of their entire company. Now Lily was with James, Rebecca, Marcelle, Monica and Cosmin sitting at a round table at Corner Coffee at near ten thirty in the morning. They were currently playing with the amount of sugar James's coffee could absorb, then trying various spells get more in. Every now and then he'd take a hearty swig.

Now Lily added salt to the drink, claiming that it was too sweet and James was enjoying it far too much. James stirred with delight, eagerly rising to the challenge. When he took the first sip he immediately spat it out, getting both her and Cosmin with the spray.

Lily was ashamed when the first thought that came to mind was "If I run into Scorpius Malfoy on Diagon Alley today, I do not want to be covered in coffee." God, couldn't she just get him off her mind?

She excused herself to go to the bathroom to clean up, Cosmin following right behind. She ducked into the girls' loo, him to the boys', and rubbed water on the stain soaking through her new green sweater. Then, double-checking that she was alone, she cast Scourgify. The Ministry could never tell anyway who cast a spell; she wouldn't be caught.

She left the bathroom and began to find her way back to her cousins. The shop was crowded with a maze of tables and other customers and she kept having to say "excuse me" and "pardon" just to get by.

And then a boy walking in front of her just stopped in his tracks, nearly causing Lily to bump into him. "Pardon," she said, attempting to move around him, but there was a table in her way. He turned to look at her and Lily stepped back in surprise. Zabini. Lily sat next to him in Arithmancy but he never spoke a word and ignored her as fully as she ignored him. Now he glared at her through slanted eyes, obviously unwilling to allow her passage.

"Pardon," she repeated loudly, looking right at him before sliding by, brushing his arm in the process.

Cosmin was already sitting when she rejoined the table, taking her seat next to him.

"He does not like you," he said as she sat.

"What?" she said, surprised. Cosmin spoke rarely, something Monica claimed was because he was nervous of getting the language wrong.

"He," Cosmin said, nodding toward Zabini. Lily turned and saw that Zabini was now sitting at a large rectangular table facing theirs. Their eyes met but he did not look away. Also seated at the table were presumably his parents, a tall, dark man with his back toward Lily and a brunette with green eyes. The table looked so empty with only the three.

"I go to school with him," said Lily to Cosmin. "He's a Slytherin and I'm a Gryffindor. We don't get along." She wondered if Cosmin had any idea what Slytherin and Gryffindor were, but he nodded animatedly at these words.

"Yes, I know those! Monica tells me about your school. You stay away from Slytherin, yes? He does not like you."

"I stay away from most," Lily said carefully. "But they can't all be bad. There have to be some good Slytherins, right?"

James's mug fell heavily to the table. "Lily?"

And suddenly Lily remembered being nine years old, back when James was a third year, and he'd tell her about how nasty all the Slytherins were and how the Head of Slytherin was mean and nasty and how all of the Slytherins were stupid and gross and were bullies. When she had arrived at Hogwarts herself she'd stayed clear of the Slytherins' paths, and they returned the favor for the most part. They definitely weren't all stupid, but some were bullies and some were spiteful. But what about Elric Jones and his Hufflepuff friends? They were bullies of a sort. And the three Ravenclaws in Lily's Muggle Studies class were nearly unbearable in their merciless gossip network. And now she remembered with shame her own words just a couple of months ago:

"Is he really a Slytherin?" Jordan asked.

"What kind of question is that? I just told you!" said Devon.

"What he meant to ask," Lily said, "is whether he's a total slimy snot who surrounds himself with only the richest friends and those with the purest of blood."

That was only in October. No matter what Lily told herself, she knew she meant those words. That was what Slytherin meant to her. Slimy, snotty, self-serving, self-righteous bigots.

Malfoy was a little snotty. He was a little self-serving. He was definitely self-righteous -- but so was she. But he wasn't slimy and...bigot? And Lily grinned a little to herself there at the Weasley-Potter table in Corner Coffee. No. He wasn't.

"Let's go," said James, and Lily realized she hadn't answered him before. But her cousins were getting up, pulling on their coats, and Lily quickly followed.

"Why are we leaving?" she asked to no one in particular. Beside her, Cosmin shrugged.

"More Slytherin?" he guessed, and Lily whipped around to see Zabini still sitting with his parents, but they had been joined by another family of three. The two mothers were obviously sisters; both had the same perfect skin and dark green eyes, though the newer woman had dark blonde hair. And her husband beside her was pale, very pale, with hair so fair Lily wondered if some was white or if there was really such a shade of yellow. And then sitting facing his parents and away from Lily was another blond.

Lily could easily see his parents' qualities in Scorpius. The mixture of white and dark blond made his hair pale. The dark green and the cold colorless made his eyes a dark gray. His father's face was pointed, his mother's round, and so Scorpius had the sharp jaw but softened features.

Marcelle hit Lily with her elbow while buttoning her coat.

"Sorry," said Marcelle, backing up.

"Oh," was all Lily said. She turned back quickly, hoping she hadn't been caught staring. Malfoy and Zabini were cousins?

James stood like some sort of bodyguard watching -- and probably counting, Lily thought -- their cousins pass out the door. Obviously he had seen the Malfoys.

Lily was in shock. What were they doing here? And had Scorpius seen her? Did she want him to see her? Well, she knew the answer to that.

"It's bad enough you have to go to school with that git," said James once they were out on the street. "You don't need him butting into your holiday as well."

"Who was he?" Monica asked curiously.

"Malfoy," James replied. "Their whole family's former Death Eaters and Dark Arts fanatics."

"Oh!" Monica turned to look at Lily, who widened her eyes and shook her head. Don't let James know!

Monica thankfully took the hint and said to James casually, "So the youngest is still at Hogwarts? What year?"

"Seventh," said James. "D'you know he's Head Boy? I wonder who he bribed to get that."

"Is he rich?"

"Very."

Monica winked at Lily. "And what do you have against him?"

"Weren't you listening?" said James incredulously. "Dark Arts, Monica! The whole family's evil."

"And how would you know about Sco -- about the youngest one? He was how many years below you in school?"

"Like father, like son, Monica."

"And when was the last time you went around killing Dark Lords?" Marcelle finally spoke up.

James turned to her in surprise. "If there was one around, I'd kill him off. That's it, you see. My father is good. His is bad. Therefore, I'm good, and he's bad."

"That's rubbish!" said Marcelle angrily. "How can you judge something like that without even knowing him? He could have easily learned from his father's mistakes and become -- to use your simple terminology -- good!"

"There're the troops!" Lily's dad waved to them from a street kiosk they were approaching. "All right?"

"The girls think the Malfoys are good," James said immediately.

"That's not what I said!"

Harry Potter looked curiously at the crowd before him. He then turned to the kiosk's attendant, bade him good day, and led them over to the side of the street, out of the way.

"Now, what's this all about?"

"Monica asked about the Malfoys," Marcelle said, speaking up before James could. "James told her they were all evil, even Scorpius, just because he's a Malfoy."

"Like father, like son, eh?" said James, hoping for his dad's approval.

Harry sighed. "All right. Here's the Malfoy story.

"Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater, right in Voldemort's inner circle."

Lily nodded; she knew this. It was a fact she'd left out of every story she'd told Scorpius.

"He wanted his son Draco to join the ranks as well. Draco joined his sixth year."

That young?

"He...he made it possible for the Death Eaters to attack Hogwarts that summer."

She recalled telling Scorpius this story.

"Like father, like son," James repeated, but Harry held up his hand.

Had Scorpius known of his father's involvement? She tried to remember his expression...he'd avoided her gaze, though, for this particular story.

"He was supposed to kill Dumbledore, but he couldn't do it."

"What?" said James quickly.

"Dumbledore was offering him and his family protection. He knew Draco wasn't a killer, knew he couldn't maim his soul by taking a human life."

Lily saw James rolling his eyes; she understood. When you grew up in Harry Potter's household, everything and everyone was forgivable and forgiven. Here it was because although Draco's intent was murder, he didn't have the temperament for it.

"Draco was forced to follow Voldemort. He was cleared after the War."

"By you," sighed James, annoyed.

"Yes." Harry looked very stern. "Draco had very little choice. He was not a brave man, but he had good intentions. He hated what Voldemort was doing. And I'd be very surprised if Scorpius fell into Lucius's lot rather than Draco's."

James still looked very unhappy, so Harry sighed and added, "I'm sure that doesn't mean he isn't a right little git, but don't go accusing him of Dark magic, all right?" He sighed again. "It's almost lunchtime, have you lot eaten yet?" They shook their heads. "Well, don't expect Alicia to have sandwiches today; she's up to her ears with this gala. Take a couple galleons, James, here, and get a bite to eat. Meet up by seven at George's shop, okay?"

They nodded as one, James putting the galleons in his pocket, and turned to leave.

"Where should we go?" James asked, looking down the street.

"Isn't there a new Indian place?" Marcelle said.

"Oh, I can't eat Indian food," said Rebecca. "Doesn't sit well."

"Oh, look, that's Fred, Jackie, and Max," Monica said, pointing. Indeed, the trio had just rounded the corner into view.

"Looks like they've discarded some of their baggage," said Marcelle. "Weren't Rose and Al in that group?"

"Ahoy there!" called James, flagging them down. "You got rid of the kids?"

"They aren't kids!" said Marcelle, laughing.

"It's all relative," said Fred, reaching the group. "Yeah, they had some school project they wanted to work on, buy supplies for, something. I dunno."

"He's so responsible," said Jackie, rolling her eyes. "They went to Scrivenshaft's, or were headed in that direction."

"I got wind of a rumor, by way of Rose," said Fred, "that there's an exhibition going on at the Q, that new Quidditch shop -- they're unveiling some new broomstick and the manager of Puddlemere United is supposed to be there. What d'you reckon? Shall we go on over?"

"Is that the Windwhip?" James asked, interested. "I didn't know it was on the market yet!"

The group began to move towards the Q when Lily heard her name being called somewhere behind her. She turned curiously and saw Rose standing at a corner, waving her over.

Lily took a backward glance at her other cousins, who seemed fine to continue on without her, and jogged over to where Rose was waiting. "What's up?"

"Oh, I just need a hand with something really quickly," she said. "Come on!" She seized Lily's hand and dragged her around the corner and down the street toward the back side of Gringotts. Here the tall marble wall was just as imposing as ever though it now cast a large and deep shadow over cobblestones. There were fewer shops back here and more apartment buildings. And there, leaning against the marble wall --

Lily gasped and quickly turned to look at Rose, but she was gone, running away and turning the corner again.

Scorpius saw her now and stared. She shivered a little but walked forward.

He didn't move an inch as she reached him, standing two full meters before him.

Silence.

He sighed heavily. "Well," he drawled, his eyes boring into hers, "aren't you going to apologize?"

"For what?" she spat, suddenly on edge.

"Oh, I don't know, Potter," he said. "How about for being an utter --"

"I had amnesia!" Lily said hotly. "I couldn't help it!"

"You might've forgotten that night, but you can't have forgotten an evening, oh, three weeks ago? You admitted you'd rather keep your brothers in good graces than bother with me?"

"I said no such thing!" said Lily, turning red. "They're my family, of course I'm concerned about them! My brothers are good people, of course they'd question why I'd have anything to do with you -- I'm not even sure myself! Son of Draco Malfoy --"

"I am not my father," Malfoy said evenly, his jaw clenched.

"Prove--"

"My God, Lily!" he burst out, finally standing straight, away from the wall. "What else can I do? You're so oblivious! I've listened to you talk about brave werewolves and friendly giants and you think Sirius Black was a good man -- and I believed you. I've stood up for you, I've defended you, I've been in detention for you --"

"Detention?"

"Your friend, the one with the common sense of a fly, d'you know what people say about her?"

"Phoebe?"

"And everyone laughs at her and it's not because she's a nut, it's because they think her parents got what was coming to them."

"Her parents?" Lily gaped.

"Killed by pureblood extremists for some article they published," Malfoy said. "Didn't you know? You've been telling me stories about the mother, Luna --"

"Luna?" Lily felt weak. "Luna...was Phoebe Scamander's...?"

Malfoy looked a little disturbed now. "You were the one who told me. Your uncle owns The Quibbler now since the Scamanders' deaths."

Lily was horrorstruck. Her eyes were round and glassy but she only saw her friend, her strawberry blonde hair long and curled, a tall hatbox tucked under one arm and her wand stowed behind one ear...standing in Arithmancy, talking about death and bad people...

And Malfoy closed the distance between them and held her tightly, her head on his shoulder, his hands pressed against her back. She held on just as tightly, and though she knew they had never hugged before, this felt so familiar. His gloved hand ran over her head and down her hair.

Oh, Phoebe, she thought as tears threatened. But she couldn't concentrate with his beating heart so close to hers, with his breath on her ear...

She looked up, pulling back slightly, and his hands dropped. He stepped back, forcing her arms to fall as well. He looked annoyed. "They'll be wondering where you are."

Who? Oh....Lily looked around her, suddenly recalling that she'd been in Diagon Alley with her cousins this morning.

"They --"

"Don't."

She stopped. "Scorpius..."

He took another step away.

"So this is why you met me here?" Lily said loudly--he was so far away and still moving back towards the other end of the street. "To argue and accuse and insult?"

"Just taking your lead, Potter." And he finally turned away, leaving Lily standing alone in the shadow of the marble wall.

Why did he always win? He always got the last word, always got her so angry. Even after all her knowledge of the last war, he was the one who knew Phoebe better. Lily left the wall a very frustrated girl.

She caught back up with her brother and cousins, but Albus and Rose were nowhere to be seen for another half hour. When they finally joined them for tea, they were both red in the face from exertion and laughter.

"Boys," was the only explanation she gave to Lily as she took a seat at a restaurant table.