A/N The story switches perspective, I hope it isn't confusing. The italic name at the start indicates the name of the new narrator.

Chapter 1

Lily

The corridors were crowded as usual and I was struggling to find an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express. I had walked nearly the whole way up the train when I finally came across an empty one. I went inside, sat by the window and waited for my friends to find me. I hadn't been waiting long when my cousin and best friend Hugo Weasley found me and came inside. Mum was one of seven children so I have a lot of cousins but I get on with Hugo the best. All my cousins have bright red "Weasley" hair and are all in Gryffindor with me; I'm in my fourth year this year.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

"They already found a compartment."

"Ok I'll just-"

"-but it's sort of full," he said nervously. "So I came to keep my favourite cousin company."

"No, Hugo, its ok you can go back to them," I said glumly.

"And leave you all alone? Not likely, James'd probably hex me for making you sit by yourself," he laughed.

"I'm serious, go," I insisted. "I'll deal with my overprotective brother myself."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive," I said, "I want to finish my book anyway."

"Alright, see you at the feast then Lily," he said as he left.

I moved to the corner of the compartment and grabbed out my book. It was nice having some peace and quiet; there's always something happening at home, whether it's my brother James nearly blowing the roof off or my other brother Al up or there's a member of our huge family over, home could never be called quiet.

I was getting quite into my book when the compartment door slid open and someone sat on the seat opposite me. He was crying and I don't think he saw me, he must have assumed the compartment was empty. He curled his legs onto the seat and put his arms around them, shuddering and sobbing loudly. I looked up from my book, saw the unmistakeable blonde hair of Scorpius Malfoy and let out a small gasp. Scorpius was the son of Draco Malfoy. My Dad, Harry Potter, and Draco Malfoy were arch rivals when they were at Hogwarts together. When Dad and Uncle Ron see Draco at the train station every year all they do is stare at each other. I hadn't seen Scorpius at school much; he's in the sixth year with Al and my cousin Rose so they had a few classes together but he's in Slytherin so I hadn't seen him much before. Even with a red, tear streaked face he was stunningly handsome, with beautiful grey eyes and an attractive pale, pointed face. He heard my gasp and glanced up, nervously at first but once he realised who I was, his eyes became cold and he stared at me loathingly. He continued to stare at me and it started to become uncomfortable. I wondered if I should say something when he spoke.

"Safrina dumped me," he said emotionlessly. Safrina Parkinson was a sixth year Slytherin girl that was well known for being a bit of a player before she was going out with Scorpius, apparently some things never change.

"Oh," I said. I had never been in a more awkward situation. "Why?" I asked.

"Because she's a stupid cow," he said through clenched teeth, "she's been cheating on me all summer. I knew she used to be like that but I thought she had changed."

Was it wrong that I was noticing how his white blonde hair fell perfectly into his sparkling grey eyes? Or how his arms were flawlessly toned underneath his grey T-shirt? I knew I shouldn't have liked him, but he was very good-looking.

"I can't believe she cheated on me!" he cried breaking into a new wave of sobs. "I can't - hic - believe I - hic - didn't notice - hic."

Before I knew what I was doing I was on the seat next to him putting my arm around him in a comforting manner. "Nobody can tell they're being cheated on, especially over the summer when you don't see them as much. Did she say who it was with?"

He nodded, "Bertold Zabini." I knew the name; he was on the Slytherin Quidditch team. "He was there when she told me. I had to leave to stop myself jinxing him into a jellyfish. I came in here to cool my head, I thought it was empty."

"Obviously not," I said sarcastically.

"Mmm," he mumbled and then cried, "I can't believe she'd do this to me! We've been going out since third year for Merlin's sake!" He broke into new tears and cried into my shoulder, I could feel my shirt getting soaked; poor Scorpius.

After a few minutes his tears stopped but we continued to stay sitting in that way: with his head on my shoulder and my arms around him, rubbing his back.

When the lady with the food trolley came past Scorpius sat up straight, rubbed his eyes (did I mention they're a stunning sparkling grey?) and I moved back to my seat. We looked at each other awkwardly for the next minutes in silence but my head wouldn't shut up.

'That's Scorpius Malfoy' part of my brain was shouting to me 'your Dad's arch nemesis's son!'

'But he's so handsome,' another part of my mind was saying, 'you did the right thing in comforting that attractive boy.'

My internal argument was interrupted when Hugo came into the compartment; he had already changed into his Hogwarts robes. "Hey, Lils! I was just seeing how you were goi-," Hugo began but his words cut off once he saw I wasn't alone in the compartment. "What's Malfoy doing in here?" he asked me as though Scorpius couldn't hear him.

"Everywhere else was full," I told Hugo, unsure of how much to say.

"Oh," Hugo said thoughtfully, then turned to Scorpius, "maybe you should rack off for a few minutes so Lily can get changed, Malfoy."

"Hugo, maybe you should rack off too?" I suggested forcefully.

"Alright, see ya Lils," Hugo said cheerily and left our compartment.

"I should go back and get changed, we'll be there soon," Scorpius said quietly.

"Yeah," I said for lack of better words, "umm Scorpius?"

"Yeah?"

"How much of this do you want me to tell people? You probably don't want the whole school knowing about all of this and you definitely don't want James knowing you were kind of hugging me and you probably don't want people knowing you were crying onto my shoulder and you probably don't want people knowing that you talked to me at all with the whole 'our parents a hate each other thing' and," I took a deep breath, "I'm rambling aren't I?" I tend to ramble in awkward situations.

"A little bit," he smiled. His aforementioned gorgeous eyes looked even more breathtaking when he smiled, his whole face lit up and with almost all of the blotchiness was gone his face was captivatingly handsome.

"I have a habit of rambling," I said smiling with him.

"You can tell people whatever you want to tell them, but I like the story you told your friend," he said.

"Cousin," I corrected.

"Cousin," he smiled, his eyes lighting up. "I better go get changed, we'll be there soon."

"Ok," I said, "Bye, Scorpius."

"See you, Lily," he said as he left.

I got changed into my robes and when we arrived at Hogwarts I had barely made it off the train when Hugo and my other best friend, Abbey Miller, found me.

"Lily, I'm so sorry we didn't sit with you. We weren't sure you'd be able to find a compartment so we got one, but before we could find you it filled up. Roxanne was there and she brought Mark, and he brought Eric. So with me, Hugo, Ellie, Lorcan and Lysander in there it was full. I'm really sorry Lily," she rushed out her apology.

"It's fine," I said shooting Hugo a 'don't-say-anything-about-Scorpius' look, "I got a lot of reading done."

"Come on let's get to the feast, I'm hungry," grumbled Hugo.

Scorpius

That stupid cow was cheating on me all summer! I knew she used to be like that but I didn't think she would do something like that anymore. With Bertold Zabini! What does he have that I don't? I suppose it would be stupid to try to work out what goes on in Safrina Parkinson's mind. I'm glad I left the compartment; otherwise I would have ended up hexing them into cockroaches.

I paced the hallway a few times, thinking, before I realised I was going to break down. I ran into the first empty compartment I saw, sat down, curled my legs up and began to cry. I don't cry often (I hadn't cried in about 5 years) but when I do, I completely break down. I heaved massive sobs and felt my face becoming saturated.

I heard a small gasp and realised I wasn't alone in the compartment. I looked up nervously and saw a girl with bright red hair and some very cute freckles sitting opposite me. My gaze turned colder when I realised who it was: Lily Potter, the daughter of my dad's school nemesis. She would surely tell everyone that I was crying, not that I actually care that much but its uncomfortable being the laughing stock of the school.

We continued to stare at each other until I finally decided to break the silence, "Safrina dumped me." I don't know why I told her that, I doubt she even knew we were going out.

"Oh," she said. She looked very uncomfortable, but I couldn't help noticing the sprinkle of pretty freckles on her nose and the way her red hair shined in the sunlight, "Why?"

"Because she's a stupid cow," I said becoming infuriated again, "she's been cheating on me all summer. I knew she used to be like that but I thought she had changed." If she was going to tell the whole school I was crying, she might as well get her facts straight. "I can't believe she cheated on me!" I cried breaking into a new wave of sobs. "I can't - hic - believe I - hic - didn't notice - hic." I'm a mess when I'm upset.

She sat beside me on the seat and put her arms around me. She was trying to comfort me, "Nobody can tell they're being cheated on, especially over the summer when you don't see them as much. Did she say who it was with?"

I couldn't find my voice at first so I just nodded then said, "Bertold Zabini." A stupid git! "He was there when she told me. I had to leave to stop myself jinxing him into a jellyfish. I came in here to cool my head, I thought it was empty."

"Obviously not," she said sarcastically. She was even prettier up close; we were sitting so close I could have counted her freckles if I wanted to.

"Mmm," I mumbled and then I exclaimed, "I can't believe she'd do this to me! We've been going out since third year for Merlin's sake!" I broke into another set of tears and cried onto her shoulder, she was very sweet for comforting me when I had never spoken to her before.

When I stopped crying we stayed holding each other for a few minutes, until the lady with the food trolley came past and I sat up straight. I rubbed my eyes and she moved back to her seat. I felt a little bit sadder when she moved away from me; with her next to me I didn't feel quite as alone.

We sat in silence for a few minutes and I began thinking about how pretty she was. Lily seemed to be thinking about something as well, she had a small dimple on her forehead from the effort of her concentration. She was probably thinking about something important, nowhere near as trivial as my thoughts. There was no way she would ever even look at me in that way, there was too much rivalry between our families.

Our thoughts were interrupted when one of Lily's friends came bustling into the compartment, he didn't appear to see me at first.

"Hey, Lils! I was just seeing how you were goi-," her friend began but his words cut off once he saw me. "What's Malfoy doing in here?" he asked Lily as though I couldn't hear them.

"Everywhere else was full," Lily told him, she seemed uncertain of what to say.

"Oh," her friend said, then turned to me, "maybe you should rack off for a few minutes so Lily can get changed, Malfoy."

"Hugo, maybe you should rack off too?" Lily said bluntly. I didn't think I had seen Hugo around school much.

"Alright, see ya Lils," Hugo said cheerily and left our compartment.

"I should go back and get changed, we'll be there soon," I said quietly.

"Yeah," she seemed unsure of what to say again, "umm Scorpius?"

"Yeah?" I said, not sure where this was going.

"How much of this do you want me to tell people? You probably don't want the whole school knowing about all of this and you definitely don't want James knowing you were kind of hugging me and you probably don't want people knowing you were crying onto my shoulder and you probably don't want people knowing that you talked to me at all with the whole 'our parents a hate each other thing' and," she came up for air, "I'm rambling aren't I?" Her rambling was nice and she looked nervous. I tend to have that effect on people, it gets rather annoying sometimes but I suppose it just comes with being a Malfoy.

"A little bit," I smiled.

"I have a habit of rambling," she said smiling back. Lily's caramel brown eyes lit up when she smiled and she got a dimple on her left cheek. It was now my mission in life to make her smile as much as possible so I could see her dimple.

I thought about what she said. It would be annoying if people found out I was sitting with Lily; the rumours would start the second people found out and she was right about me not wanting her brother finding out about us 'kind of hugging'. James was a seventh year and could be quite intimidating when he wanted to be; I had a feeling he would be quite protective of his little sister.

"You can tell people whatever you want to tell them, but I like the story you told your friend," I said, I didn't want to come off as a stereotypical bossy Malfoy.

"Cousin," she corrected me. I had less competition now that I knew Hugo was her cousin, not that Lily would ever like me.

"Cousin," I said smiling, hoping she would smile too. "I better go get changed, we'll be there soon."

"Ok," she said, "Bye, Scorpius."

"See you, Lily," I said leaving.

Lily

The start of term feast never ceases to amaze me. The four house tables covered in mountains of every food you could think of; I probably gain a few kilos at every feast Hogwarts has. Not that I'm not well fed at home (my mum and Nanna are amazing cooks), but the food here is just extraordinary. When we had eaten our fill and I began to feel considerably fatter, we began to trudge up to Gryffindor tower. Before I got further than the Entrance Hall, I heard someone call my name, so I wheeled around to see Scorpius walking towards me. Abbey raised her eyebrows at me looking slightly confused.

"Hey Lily, I just realised I didn't thank you for before on the train, so … thanks," he smiled, his ash grey eyes twinkling.

"You're welcome," I smiled back.

Abbey waited for Scorpius to be completely out of ear shot before saying slyly, "What that all about?"

"He came into my compartment on the train," I began, "I suppose he was just thanking me for not telling him to rack off."

"Oh," Abbey said. I had the feeling she didn't quite believe me, but she didn't push it. We walked up to Gryffindor tower and went to the dormitory we had shared since first year, which now had a sign on it reading 'Fourth year girls'. Roxanne Weasley and Sophie Finnegan were already there; Cassandra Macmillan, the other girl in our room, was probably making out with one of her many boyfriends.

"Hi Lily," Roxanne, one of my many cousins, said to me, "Sorry about on the train, I told Mark he shouldn't have let Eric sit with us but he wouldn't listen." Roxanne had been going out with Mark Bell since our second year; Mark's in his fifth year and plays on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Its fine, Rox," I said. "How was everyone's summer?" And with that we all started telling each other the stories of the exciting things we got up to over the summer, changed into our pyjamas and climbed into bed.

In the morning, after Professor Longbottom (Head of Gryffindor house) handed out our timetables, my oldest brother James came to sit with me, Hugo, Roxanne and Abbey at the breakfast table.

"Hello, my favourite sister," he said grinning. Nothing good can come out of James Potter grinning. "Hello, Hugo, Roxanne, Abigail."

"Hi," they responded dully; they didn't like being called by their full names.

"I'm your only sister, but hello, my not favourite brother; to what do we owe this displeasure?" I asked.

"Be nice Lilian, you might hurt someone's feelings," he said, still grinning.

"James Sirius Potter, you know my name isn't Lilian! Now tell us what you want or go away!" People say I'm very like my mother when I get mad, I suppose it's because we're both constantly yelling at James.

"Sorry Lils," his grin fading, "I just wanted to let you know that Quidditch trials are going to be next week, so you should keep practicing." Of course, I thought, all James ever talks about is Quidditch, and this year he's the captain of the Gryffindor house team.

"Ok, make sure you tell me when trials are," I said, my tone indicating for him to leave.

"Alright Lils," he said grinning again, "See you."

"Ugh, you are so lucky you don't have James for a brother," I complained.

"I have Fred though; he's just as bad," grumbled Roxanne, then remembering what James had said she perked up. "Quidditch starts soon that'll be good, I hope I make the team again."

"I reckon you will," Hugo said.

"Yeah, being the captain's cousin has its perks," said Abbey, "Not to mention being the captain's best mate's sister."

"I don't want to be on the team because of who I'm related to," whined Roxanne.

"I suppose it's a good thing you're a fantastic beater with great aim then," I said cheering her up.

"Hmm, I suppose," said Roxanne, not convinced. "We better get to herbology or Professor Longbottom will give us detention on the first day."

The next day on the way down to lunch from Transfiguration we could hear a group of students having a shouting match.

"We broke up two days ago!" yelled one boy angrily.

"I thought you said you were ok with us," another boy said heatedly.

"Yeah," the first boy said sarcastically, I had I feeling I knew it was, "I'm totally fine with one of my friends to go out my girlfriend of three years after two days of us being broken up."

"What's the proper grace period then, if you think that's too soon?" snarled one girl in reply.

"More than two days if you have any common sense, but apparently you don't!" the boy shouted back as we turned the corner into the corridor they were in. It wasn't a pleasant sight: Scorpius was standing in the middle of the corridor shouting at Safrina and Bertold, who appeared to be holding hands. There were several stunned looking spectators. Scorpius's face was red with rage and his hair was sticking up in all directions in his fury.

"I don't need your permission," Safrina screeched to Scorpius, "you could go out with the next person to walk past-" which happened to be me ... awkward "-for all I care!"

"I thought you might have had a bit of common courtesy but it seems that you don't," Scorpius spat at her and then turned to Bertold, "and I thought we were friends!"

"Scorpius, I'm sorry-" Bertold began.

"You cheated on me all summer! All summer!" he stormed off and without thinking I followed him to an empty classroom.

He was crying; his normally pale face was red and blotchy. I sat on the floor beside him and put my arms around him like I did on the train. "Why do we keep meeting like this?" I asked. He didn't say anything in reply but he put his head on my shoulder and I stroked his shimmering white blonde hair.

"We should really start meeting in more pleasant circumstances," he said quietly.

"Do you want to talk about?" I asked gently.

He shook his head, "I overreacted. I didn't expect them to stop seeing each other, but I would have liked it if they kept the PDA to a minimum when I was around."

"Mmm," I agreed, still stroking his beautiful, radiant hair. He put his well-developed arms around me and we sat holding each other. We stayed sitting that way until the bell rang for the end of lunch.

"We missed lunch," he said.

"Yeah," I replied.

Scorpius

It was after Defence against the Dark Arts when I saw them together for the first time. I was on my way down to lunch when I saw Safrina draped over Bertold and they were kissing. I couldn't think straight with the anger pounding in my head.

"What do you think you're doing?" I bellowed.

"Scorpius, I'm sorry mate-" Bertold began.

"We broke up two days ago," I shouted.

"I thought you said you were ok with us," Bertold was getting angry now.

"Yeah," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm totally fine with one of my friends to go out my girlfriend of three years after two days of us being broken up."

"What's the proper grace period then, if you think that's too soon?" seethed Safrina.

"More than two days if you have any common sense, but apparently you don't!" I shouted back. My rage was at its peak, I don't think I had ever felt this way before.

"I don't need your permission," Safrina screeched to me, "you could go out with the next person to walk past for all I care!" She seemed to have moved on a bit faster than me.

"I thought you might have had a bit of common courtesy but it seems that you don't," I yelled to Safrina, then turned to Bertold, "and I thought we were friends!"

"Scorpius, I'm sorry-" he began but I cut him off. He wasn't sorry he did it; he was just sorry I got mad about it.

"You cheated on me all summer! All summer!" I stormed off into an empty classroom and broke down for the second time in three days.

I didn't notice someone followed me until she spoke. "Why do we keep meeting like this?" Lily asked with a hint of humour in her sweet voice. I put my head on her shoulder like I did on the train and she started stroking my hair, it felt pleasant and comforting.

"We should really start meeting in more pleasant circumstances," I said quietly.

"Do you want to talk about?" she asked tenderly. Her caramel eyes were full of sympathy towards me.

I shook my head, "I overreacted. I didn't expect them to stop seeing each other, but I would have liked it if they kept the PDA to a minimum when I was around."

"Mmm," she agreed, still stroking my hair. I put my arms around her petite body and held her until the bell rang for the end of lunch.

"We missed lunch," I said.

"Yeah," she replied.