Seventeen year old Lily Potter sat at the Gryffindor table, shooting a death glare at the Slytherin table across the hall. Valentines day was usually characterized with loud displays of affection, requests for dates, fireworks and many many flowers. This year, she was being followed around by the little green flying pigs, with little diapers and clutching cupid's bows. Though she complained about it, she secretly found them cute. She had named them after her father's and uncles' dead owls. She was glaring at the Slytherin table because Elpheba Flint had plonked her skinny, pale bum next to Albus and Scorpius. She tried not to smirk as she noticed the desperate look in Malfoy's eyes as Al got up to join his girlfriend at the Gryffindor table. Not that she had been jealous or anything – Malfoy was just quite amusing when he was cornered.

Truthfully, she was running out of reasons for turning her brother's best friend down. He was still an arrogant prat, more often than not she found his antics amusing. She often caught herself biting back a laugh as he loudly protested that he had taken a vow of celibacy and could not take Elpheba to the Valentines day ball that year. If nothing else, Malfoy was creative. She flushed slightly as Malfoy walked over to the Gryffindor table looking visibly shaken.

"Oi, that's mine!" Lily Potter did not share food. Especially bacon. She pouted as the Malfoy scion chewed loudly next to her, whining about the trauma of dealing with that 'scary banshee who won't touch a cream puff if her life depended on it.' It wasn't as though Malfoy hadn't taken her (along with most of the Slytherin girls) to Hogsmeade in his third year.

'Come on Lils, I need my strength. Besides, she might have laced all of my food with amortentia or something'

"I think Al's the one who needs to be worried. Sophie and Selena are giving him and Mads the look"

'You mean the same one you were giving me and Flint?' Scorpius grinned, noting the slight flush on Lily Potter's cheeks. His heart pounded slightly, as he tried to quell the hope rising in his chest. Maybe Lily was finally coming round.

"So… it looks like you'll be without a date this year." Lily looked at her shoes, as Maddie, Ellie and Rose gave her encouraging looks from across the table.

Scorpius breathed heavily as he tried to respond, 'I guess so… what about you?'

"Someone scared away all the boys who were going to ask me" Lily couldn't help but grouse. She was certain Xander had been about to ask her the night before when he had suddenly tripped, and she had seen a flash of white blond hair dashing away.

'So. Maybe we should go together' Scorpius tried to inject a jovial tone into his voice as he glanced at Lily. Her sudden silence unnerved him – he was half expecting to get hexed.

"A-alright"

Scorpius' heart stood still as forks clattered all around the Great Hall. Lily Potter was flushed, and she seemed to panic slightly as she took in the shocked reactions from her classmates.

"I mean – as friends, of course. Since we don't have dates"

Scorpius was silent. On one hand, he had an opportunity to escort Lily Potter to the Valentines day ball in his last year at Hogwarts. On the other, he wasn't about to pretend he was interested in going as her friend. He wanted to go with her on a real date.

'No.' His voice was soft, but firm as he felt his stomach plummet. He ignored the sharp intake of breath from Maddie Zabini sitting on her other side, and his best friends' sudden stare.

'Lils… I'll go with you as your boyfriend or as your date, but you can sod off with your 'just friends' label.' He sighed as Lily Potter got up and fled the hall, burying his head in his hand to drown out the remonstrations of her cousins and friends.

Lily Potter sobbed into her hands. Thankfully, there weren't any astronomy classes that night, and most students waited until after hours to snog in the astronomy tower. She didn't know why she was so disappointed, really. Malfoy had always been a git. She had probably only agreed to go out with him to shut him up, anyway. And to get rid of the sodding pigs anyway.

'That's a lot of bull and you know it, Lils' Lily blinked as her brother smiled crookedly at her. 'You agreed to go out with him because you realized that you've probably always fancied the sod'

Lily bristled, about to unleash her redhead's temper on her usually sensitive sibling when she caught the concern in Al's green eyes. She sighed.

"If he really liked me, he would have gone with me anyway. I would have come around."

'He was being honest with you, Lils. Plus, he's also a little bit thick, in case you hadn't noticed.'

Lily grinned slightly. He did have a point. Her smile faded as she remembered something that had run through her mind all through the school year.

"He doesn't really like me though. Not really. He thinks I'm just another pretty face."

'Lils, he's chased after you for the last four years. You know he's an arrogant berk – he wouldn't put up with being rejected in public every. single. day.'

"He said so, though" her voice was soft and slightly wobbly as she continued "When I asked him what else he liked about me, he asked what else there was"

Albus Potter was silent, inwardly cursing the stupidity of his best friend. Merlin, and he had the nerve to say Albus knew nothing about girls? At least Albus eventually asked Maddie out in a proper, normal manner.

'Look, Lils. I'm not saying you have to…marry him or anything' Albus really didn't know why he was having this conversation with his sister. Deep down, he knew he was almost as protective as James, he just hid it a lot better. 'Just – we have our Defence tests today. Sneak in and take a look. Then make up your mind' Albus smiled slightly as his sister hugged him, and stood up. He needed to give her some time to think, and he also had a girlfriend to spoil.

Scorpius Malfoy heaved a sigh of relief when his Defense group was called into the testing room. Only Al and Kyle had seen his fully formed Patronus. While he didn't like the fact that Teddy Lupin and the rest of the seventh years would now see it, he couldn't help but be relieved that there was no sign of Lily Potter in the room.

When his name was called, he walked to the front of the room with a slight swagger, pausing slightly as he heard a soft feminine chuckle from the back of the room. Turning around and seeing no one, he brandished his wand and closed his eyes, concentrating on a particular image on New Years Eve. The emotion in a pair of hazel eyes, the feeling of soft pink lips on his, small arms wound tightly around his neck.

'EXPECTO PATRONUM!'

Professor Teddy Lupin's eyes widened as a large silver wolf shot out of Scorpius Malfoy's wand. It was an exact counterpart to a she-wolf that had been conjured in that very room on the first day of classes. He bit his lip and looked directly at the pale blond teenager in front of him. His bright eyes focused on a spot directly behind the students and nodded slightly, before addressing his young half cousin.

"You do realize that wolves mate for life"

Scorpius nodded, numb. He had known for a long time that he was serious about Lily Potter, and he probably had messed up his one chance to prove that. He turned to leave the classroom when he bumped into a petite, solid form.

'L-lily?'

Lily Potter's whirling emotions had softened when she saw the genuine emotion in Malfoy's grey eyes. Merlin, she still didn't know what to make of the whole thing, but she did know that Malfoy probably did have stronger feelings for her than she had allowed herself to believe.

"M-malfoy?" She forgot the eyes of the other students as she impulsively pulled the tall, blond Slytherin into a kiss. After a moment's hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, running a hand through her long, red hair. The world spun as he moved his lips against hers, and he shot a death glare at his professor who had shot a separating charm at them. Cousin or not, Teddy Lupin was in for a long, long summer of pranks. Ignoring the loud whoop from Kyle Nott, Scorpius yanked his best friend's sister out into the hall.

"So, Lily – it looks like we both don't have dates to the ball tonight."

'So. Maybe we should go together?' Lily blushed as Scorpius pulled her closer and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"As friends?"

'Scor' Scorpius grinned at the use of his preferred nickname. 'I'll go with you as your girlfriend or as your date, but you can sod off with your 'just friends label' Lily grinned as Scorpius captured her lips into a kiss again. Now that he could freely kiss her without getting hexed, he didn't plan on stopping anytime soon.

"As my girlfriend, then."

Lily blushed as Scorpius took her hand and they made their way towards the kitchens. She couldn't help but notice that his fingers fit perfectly with hers. She raised an eyebrow when her boyfriend stopped short, a grin playing about his lips.

"Oi, Potter"

She scowled. Whenever he called her Potter, he was up to no good.

"Marry me?"

The halls of Hogwarts rang with laughter as Lily chased Scorpius down the corridor, calling him a presumptuous toerag. Above them, a painted image of James Potter senior put his arm around the painted image of his wife, smiling as she leaned into him. He picked up a mirror from his pocket and said his best friend's name.

"Oi Padfoot. You owe me ten galleons."

AN: I was going to drag this out longer but… it's valentines day! Hope everyone has a lovely day, and let me know in your reviews if you'd prefer an epilogue or a sequel to this (I have an idea for one already).