In Fair Verona

Chapter Four

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Lily slammed her car door hard, lips turning down in a frown as she raced up the steps of Potter Manor. She ignored the steady sound of Molly's footsteps following her. Taking the steps two at a time, she ran up the grand staircase and turned left towards her room. Lily rolled her eyes as Molly winced but continued to whinge about what happened at the University.

What should have been perfect afternoon putting finishing touches to the auditorium for Daddy's address to the students at the University, had turned into a nightmare clean-up session ending with her losing her temper over the stupid graffiti. Try as she might, the paint wouldn't scrub off. Finally, she'd had the posters removed in frustration. It took all the strength she had left to convince Molly to drop the idea of going to the police and lodging a formal complaint against the blonde idiot who'd pulled a gun on her.

Lily held in a compelling urge to scream as Molly reiterated the need to tell her brothers and more importantly her father about what had occurred today at the University.

"I mean it Lil! Those Malfoys have gone too far this time. We should tell James at least." Molly's adamant tone grated on her ears.

Lily drew a breath, forcing her irate instinct to settle. "No."

"But Lily, he pulled a gun on you!" Molly fought the desire to shake her cousin soundly by the shoulders. She rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air in frustration as Lily shook her head firmly. "Why the hell not?"

Lily pursed her lips, her jaw setting with stubbornness. "I haven't worked so hard to be pushed out of the campaign now!" She sighed. "Molly, you know how James will react. As soon as he hears of it, he'll go looking for Malfoy. You know he doesn't think things through, just goes charging into any situation, without caring about the consequences. He can't afford any more trouble. He barely made it out the last time. If he finds out about this, there will be nothing stopping him from seeking out that idiot and dealing with him. And frankly – it's not something we need right now."

She sank into an armchair. "And Daddy will pull me off any campaigning duties if he even suspects I'm in danger. Molly, I can't…I won't let it happen."

Molly stared at her. "So this is it, then? We do nothing? Just sit here and hope nothing happens, until some other idiot decides he can pull a stunt like this."

Lily glanced at her and smiled craftily. "I said we don't tell my brothers. I never said anything about not getting even."

Molly grinned. "I knew it. I knew you wouldn't let him get away with it."

Laughing softly, Lily pulled her cousin into a hug. "Revenge is a dish best served cold, my love."

X

"Do you have any idea what you did today?" Tristan asked coldly.

Scorpius affected a yawn. "No, but you'll tell me. Go on then."

Tristan exhaled deeply, willing himself to remember the many reasons why he shouldn't throttle his cousin. "I'm not cracking a joke here Scorpius! I'm serious! If she goes crying to her family, there will be hell to pay. We can't afford trouble like this, not so close to the elections."

Scorpius cracked an eye open and leaned forward. "Yeah we can't afford trouble now, but then, neither can they." Smirking, he stood and ran his hand through his hair. "And she's not going to go running to her brothers or to Daddy dearest."

Arching a brow in clear disdain, Tristan turned to him, "Really? And how do you figure she won't?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Oh I don't know Tristan. Maybe the fact she didn't start screaming the minute I put a gun to her head might have tipped me off." A slow grin stretched across his lips. "She's not going to tell anybody."

Tristan scoffed. "If you think she's just going to let you get away with it, then you better reconsider. She's a Potter. I doubt she's ever let anything go."

Scorpius flashed a mischievous grin. "I'm counting on it. I'm sure she's busy plotting something. I can scarcely wait to find out what it is."

Tristan stared at him. "Don't you think you're taking this too lightly?"

"I'm curious." Scorpius winked at him.

"You're curious about her? Oh no. No, Scorpius. She's not someone you want to be curious about."

"Why not, pray tell?"

"She's a Potter! That's why!"

"It's alright Tristan. I'm sure she has all the appropriate lady bits, in spite of being a Potter." Scorpius chuckled in amusement.

Tristan groaned. He wondered when the conversation had turned to discussing Lily Potter's bits. Nothing wrong with them, he supposed, she was so well put together really. Large hazel eyes, creamy skin, faint dusting of freckles over her cheeks, and the tilt of her lips that screamed 'trouble'. He glanced at Scorpius.

"You're walking on thin ice Scorpius."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"This could blow up in your face badly."

Scorpius was perched upon the window ledge of his room, overlooking the rest of Malfoy Manor. He swung his legs over the ledge, landing on the shingles of the roof. This was his favourite spot in the centuries-old Malfoy home. Standing up here, looking over the sprawling mansion, he was filled with an invincible sense of being. This palatial house, the green lands stretching as far as the eye could see, the lake forming a border between their land and the modest village just beyond. This was his fiefdom, his to rule when he came of age and succeeded his grandfather.

"Exactly."

Tristan leaned out, cautiously gripping the side of the window. He watched in puzzlement as Scorpius stretched his arms wide open as the gusty wind swept past. "So, you're going to pursue her precisely because it's a bad idea?"

Scorpius glanced at him. "Did you see the way she screamed at me? Fucking annoying."

"So forget about her."

Scorpius sighed and bit his lip. A flash of vibrant red hair and stubborn hazel eyes in his mind's eye put an end to any thought of forgetting about her. Oh no, she would be so entertaining. She was trouble. She was perfect.

"Yes but, there won't be a dull moment with her." He chuckled as the germ of an idea began to take hold in his mind. He was not accustomed to be challenged or questioned. Born a Malfoy Heir, he had all he could desire and more. He wanted for nothing but the daily quest to turn his life into an adventure. He sought amusement and excitement above all else. Yes, the political game with the Potters was still on and it would remain so, probably until his dying breath. They would not ever see eye to eye. If either of the houses had been weaker or lesser in some manner, then perhaps this conflict would have fizzled out after a generation or two of scions butting horns over who got what share of the profit-pie of the city. But, as time passed, the feud became a changeling, morphing into anything and everything keeping the bad blood between the two noble families alive.

A Malfoy does not appreciate being questioned or challenged. He had been furious initially when the Potter girl had shoved her face close and demanded that he fix everything. He had been a breath away from laughing at her in scorn. Who the hell did she think she was?

But when she didn't cower or shrink away from him, he'd realized the potential she held. What a masterful diversion she would make from the constant ennui his position as Heir afforded him? As a plan slowly but surely began to build inside his mind, he smiled.

He would win her heart.

He would befriend her. He would tear away the wall standing between them and worm into her life. Oh but it would have to be slow and gradual. She had witnessed his arrogance and his wildness. She would now experience how gentle he could be. And when he had her eating out of his hands, he would spring the trap. He would crush her heart and watch as she drowned in shame and the humiliation of falling for the enemy.

He smiled, unable to contain the delight he felt as the prospect of crushing her under his feet.

"Lily."

Tristan could only stare in bewilderment as Scorpius doubled over and began to laugh.

X

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