Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Hello! Yesterday, I was writing the fourth chapter of my story Never Alone, when the idea suddenly struck me and so, here I am, writing a new two or three-shot, I'm not quite sure. It is something like a sequel to Never Alone. I hope you're going to like it!
Chapter 1
Lily Potter ran a hand through her hair, took a deep breath and entered the library. She saw him immediately – very few people in this school had the same silver-blond hair like Scorpius Malfoy – a sixth year Slytherin, her brother's best friend and undoubtedly, the most gorgeous guy at Hogwarts. He was sitting in the back of the library, engrossed in his book. His face showed deep concentration, one silver lock had fallen across his forehead without him noticing. Lily went to him. "Hi, Scorpius," she said.
He looked at her. "Hello, Lily. Are you looking for Albus?"
She shook her head. "Actually, I was looking for you. You see, the thing is, I need help. I have a problem with my Potion essay and I wondered if you - ?"
Scorpius looked at his own Charms book and suppressed a sigh. Then, he looked at Lily's red hair and shining brown eyes and found himself smiling. It was impossible not to smile in her presence – she must have been born with the ability to make everyone around her happy.
Yet, he had homework of his own to finish. "Can't you ask Al?"
Lily frowned. "I can't. He will mock at me for not grasping such a simple concept," she lied.
Scorpius sighed again. "He won't, but okay," he said, "let's see what I can do."
Lily left an hour later and headed straight for Gryffindor Tower with a happy smile on her face. The person she wanted to see was right there, in the common room.
"Hey, what happened?" her cousin, Rose Weasley, asked, closing her textbook. "You're practically beaming!"
"Do you think he fancies me?" Lily asked, instead of answering, and Rose laughed.
"I have no idea who he is, but I'll bet that he does fancy you," she said sincerely. There was not a single boy at Hogwarts who did not fancy the lively, bright, beautiful Lily Potter.
Lily grinned, obviously pleased with the answer. "I think that he might come to like me," she confessed, "but I'm not completely sure that he does. He hasn't asked me to go out with him, but as long as I know, he hasn't asked any girl yet, so – "
Rose's curiosity rose up. "He hasn't asked anyone out? And who is this strange guy, may I know?"
Lily blushed. "Scorpius."
Rose's textbook fell on the floor. "Scorpius, like in Scorpius Malfoy?"
"The very same one."
"Scorpius, our friend? Al's best friend?"
"Exactly."
"Scorpius Malfoy?"
"Close your mouth, Rosie, you're going to swallow some poor fly."
"But, Scorpius Malfoy? The guy never dates anyone!"
"I told you that."
"And you fancy him?"
"I do."
"But, but he – he doesn't fancy girls!"
"Oh. You mean, he fancies guys?"
"No!" Rose's face had become so red that it rivaled Lily's hair. "I just mean – well, I don't know what I mean. Does he like you back?"
"You have to find out."
"What?"
Lily smiled at her cousin. "I said, you have to find that out."
"And how am I supposed to do this?"
"Ask him."
Rose stared at her long and hard, trying to understand what Lily meant. "You want me to ask Scorpius Malfoy whether he fancies you or not?" she finally asked.
"Yes."
"Forget it!"
"But you're his friend! Surely you can do this for me?"
"Forget it!"
"Rosie – "
"Lily – "
Silence.
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An hour later…
"If it's not a Potter, it's a Weasley," Scorpius muttered. "I'll never finish this essay."
"Hi, Scorpius."
"Hi, Rose."
"Can I talk to you?"
"Can't you wait until tomorrow? This essay is really important and in case that you don't know, your cousin did not let me finish it."
"I know, I know, that's why I am here," Rose muttered and Scorpius could not help but notice the flush of her cheeks.
"Hey, are you ill?"
"What? No, no, I'm not. Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Lily wanted to know the answer."
"Oh. Go ahead, then. Ask."
Rose blushed even more. "Doyoufancyher," she asked, twisting a lock of her bushy brown hair between her fingers.
"What?"
"I said, 'Do you fancy her?'" the girl repeated.
Scorpius turned back to his essay. "No," he answered simply.
"No?" Rose could not believe her ears. "You don't fancy Lily?"
"No, I don't."
"Not even little?"
Scorpius frowned and crossed a whole paragraph out of his parchment. "Not in the least."
"Really?"
The blond boy sighed with exaggerated impatience without moving his head to look at her. "What's wrong with you, Gryffindors, anyway?" he asked. "How many times do I have to repeat the word, before it finally penetrates your mind? I – do – not – fancy – Lily – Potter. I – never – fancied – Lily – Potter. Is it clear now?"
"But I thought – "
Scorpius looked at her sharply. "You thought I fancied Lily?" he asked disbelievingly.
"Well, yes."
"Come on!"
He shoved his essay into his bag and took it with one hand, holding Rose's hand with the other. "Let's get out of here!"
"Scorpius!" she hissed. "Let me go!"
"The hell I will! You and I, we have a lot of explaining to do."
"Fine, we'll talk, but let me go! Everyone is laughing at us!"
Scorpius looked around. She was right: everyone in the library was looking at them with interest. He cursed under his breath and released Rose's hand. Pretending not to notice the looks that they were receiving, they left and by an unspoken agreement, went to the corridor that led to the Slytherin dungeons. When they finally stopped, Scorpius' anger seemed to have abated. He sighed tiredly. "Does Lily really want to know whether I fancy her or not?"
"Yes."
"But why?" he asked, and Rose could see in his eyes that he really was confused. She sighed tiredly.
"You're hopeless, do you know? Because she fancies you, silly. What other reason can she have?"
The Slytherin looked thunderstruck. "She fancies me?"
"Yes."
"Oh," he said softly, the surprised look never leaving his eyes. "Oh."
Rose felt angry again. "Really, why do you think she followed you like a puppy all those weeks? Why do you think she came to you today?"
"Her essay – "
"Oh, please! She could have written it half-asleep and even if she couldn't, she has Albus, me. James, Fred and at least four other Weasleys here to help her, and yet she came to you."
"Because she – "
"Because she fancies you, you dolt!" Rose felt like hitting him for his disbelief that someone might feel attracted to him. She still remembered the painfully shy boy that she and Albus had befriended all those years ago, always being condemned because of his father's past deeds. He had been used to being alone, to being avoided. He had made friends here, yes, but he's never asked a girl out – was his shyness the reason?
"Lily- fancies – me," Scorpius repeated, as if he could not quite believe this.
"I thought you fancied her too."
"You thought – Rose, it's Lily."
"I know who she is."
"But it is Lily. I've known her since she came here, when she was eleven."
"But she's not eleven now," Rose explained patiently.
"No, she's all grown up," Scorpius agreed. "I know that many guys fancy her." He kept silent for a while. "But I'm not one of them."
Rose blinked. "But, Scorpius, I've seen the way you look at her."
"And how do I look at her? Please, do tell."
"Well, when we're having lunch, you can't stop staring at the Gryffindor table," Rose said.
By some reason, her answer infuriated him. "And of course, Lily is the only girl sitting at the Gryffindor table!" he said through clenched teeth.
"No – of course no – Scorpius!" Rose gasped. "You fancy another girl! You do!"
"I never said that!" he replied defiantly.
"You didn't need to .Who is she? Why don't I know anything about this? For how long the two of you – "
"Rose – "
"I can't believe nobody told me!"
"Rose, I am not dating anyone," Scorpius said harshly. "So, go away to your Ryan, or Rob, or whoever, and leave me alone."
She suddenly gave him a strange look and the anger left her face. He sighed. "Look, Rose, I'm really sorry, I am. It's just, when you said that you thought I fancied Lily because of the way I look at the Gryffindor table – it got me angry, that's all. It's just, you got it all wrong. When I look at your table, sometimes I want – "
She kept looking at him. "Sometimes you want – ?" she prompted him.
"It's nothing."
"I know what you want," Rose said confidently.
"You don't know."
"I do."
"Tell me, then –"
"To kiss me," Rose whispered. "Like this."
Before he knew what was going on, he felt two soft full lips touching his own. He might not have much experience with girls – well, he had no experience with them – but he knew what he had to do now.
When they finally separated, gasping for breath, he looked at her and smiled. "Do you want to come to Hogsmead with me?" he asked, and her happy smile suddenly disappeared.
"I can't."
"But I thought – " he started, confused
"Scorpius, I can't date you. Not now, when I know my cousin fancies you."
"But don't you fancy me either?"
"That's not the matter. Lily said she fancied you first. I can't go out with you now."
"But can't you understand that I don't want to go out with Lily?" he asked gently, because the distress on her face made him feel terribly. "I want to go out with you."
"I know, I know. It's just – complicated. She's my cousin. I can't do this to her."
"Rose, even if it wasn't for you, I would have never, ever asked Lily out. She is not my type. You are."
"I know, I know – "
"And what are we doing now?"
She gave him a miserable look. "I don't know."
Well, it was obvious that there must be something that she doesn't know, Scorpius thought. But why did it have to be this, of all things?
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A. N. So, what do you think? Leave me a review? Please?
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