Summary: Lily Luna Potter didn't care much for bad boys. So what if Scorpius Malfoy had the charm of the devil, the looks of a god and a motorcycle that would make Sirius Black proud? Lily X Scorpius

Rating: T

Pairing: Lily Luna Potter X Scorpius Malfoy

Finally posting this story! I have had a mind to try my hand at NectGen for quite some time now. Everyone who's waiting for updates on my RK fics, I will tackjle those next. As for now, do forgive the criminal mistake of abandoning the RK fandom to write this. Will be back there before long. I hope you will show me just as much encouragement here as you have for my Rurouni Kenshin fics.

Thank you aclockworkat, my phenomenal beta, who stops me from being lazy. This is for you!

Black Velvet

Lily's lips parted in wonder. Her emerald eyes gleamed as she looked around the ballroom and smiled. Stars were sprinkled across the enchanted ceiling like diamonds on black velvet, the soft glow of a thousand candles lighting up the face of everyone she gazed upon. Women draped in elegant satins and silks seemed to glide across the crystalline dance floor, with arms sometimes entwined with their partners and other times held high in the air as the beat commanded. The walls were papered with white silk, six massive chandeliers of shimmering crystal evenly graced the ceilings throughout the ballroom. Huge French windows at the end of the ballroom led out onto a terrace that was illuminated by thousands of glowing spheres charmed to float about. It was a night to remember, a night when the air itself hummed with electricity, a night where she just knew, with all her heart – something big was going to happen. Something that would change her life forever.

As she stood on the threshold of the ballroom, looking inside with all the delight of a child and the breathless anticipation only an almost sixteen-year-old is capable of, she caught sight of her cousin Victoire, sweeping past in Teddy's arms. Lily felt her breath catch in her throat, as she observed the couple: Victoire's eyes were glued to Teddy's and the entire world could be burning, because it was only her and Teddy that mattered. Lily let her teeth sink into her lower lip, nervously, as she once again wished for that. That intangible something that made Teddy and Victoire strangers in a room full of people who knew them, who'd grown up with them, like two lovers from a romance novel. It was Lily's greatest desire.

Lily Luna Potter longed to fall in love. It was no surprise really. She reasoned that she had her parents, not to mention her grandparents (both sets) to blame for. Rose would say she was genetically programmed for it; what could possibly be more romantic than Harry and Ginny Potter's love story: torn apart by war, devastation, death, a dangerous quest, the fate of the world hanging by a thread, predetermination and woeful destiny – she'd write it into a novel if there was even the slightest chance that her father wouldn't kill her. He wasn't being difficult; he'd just had enough people poking their noses in his business since he was born and frankly, he'd had enough of that to last several lifetimes. Then there were her grandparents, James and Lily Potter I – again, love in desperate times, war, prejudice, the uncertainty of staying alive, thrice defying the great Evil of their times.

Lily frowned and snapped out of her living daydreams. She could dwell upon her ancestors' love lives later, right now, she had to do something to kick start her own.

Looking around, she spotted her mother waving gently at her from a table in the front row. Nodding her head slowly, she carefully placed her feet one in front of the other, painfully aware that she had never worn such high heels, and if she could, she would murder her cousin Dominique, for talking her into them. Sleek and sexy Dominique had an inbuilt sixth sense that transformed everything she wore into a fashion statement. Hell, Dominique could probably wear bright red robes with huge orange polka dots and still end up looking as cool as a cat. Not for the first time, she rued the fact that neither of her parents had even an ounce of Veela blood between them. She felt like she was walking on stilts and it took every ounce of resilience to restrain herself from simply scooping up her heels and walking about barefoot. But she'd look like a right idiot if she tried anything like that, so she simply grit her teeth and ignored the spikes of pain shooting up the pads of her feet.

She grasped the back of a chair and pulled it out. , but only moments before she was about to sit on the elegant chair of her dinner table, a voice summoned her attention. "Lily? , sweetie, is that you?"

Lily turned her attention towards the voice, smiling as an elegant lady clad in a steel grey satin dress slowly made her way towards her. The woman was tall and stately, her eyes of the same colour as her dress and her aristocratic features bestowed an effortless grace upon her person. Her eyes gleamed with good humour. "I almost didn't recognise you."

Lily grinned, cheekily. "So good to see you too, Nana Tonks."

Andromeda Tonks smiled benignly before turning to the older, red-haired beauty at the table. "When did your daughter grow up?" She raised an eyebrow as Lily blinked and turned away. Andromeda's smile grew wider as she noticed the girl's reaction.

Ginny smiled, proudly sliding her arm around her daughter's waist. "I know what you mean; I didn't recognise her myself when I saw her." Lily rolled her eyes at this. Apparently nobody in her family had noticed the fact that she didn't wear nappies anymore, until a few hours ago. Wasn't that lovely? Nobody had given any thought to what a teenager, blossoming into a woman looked like. She'd been getting the 'I-hardly-recognised-you' routine, ever since she'd emerged from her room that same day. Her father had been the first, he'd taken one look at her, blinked in surprise and remarked, "Lil, is that you? When did you get so tall?"

Her eldest brother, James had smirked and said. "You clean up nice Lily-flower. Nobody would guess it's you."

Her other brother, Albus, of course had been the most annoying of the lot, indignantly demanding "What the bloody hell do you think you're wearing? Go change right now." He was such a prick, Lily had thought with disdain, he wouldn't know style if it hit him in the face.

She'd been out shopping with Rose and Dom when she had finally found it. She knew it was the dress the minute she'd laid her eyes on it. After two years of frantic and desperate begging, her parents had deigned to allow her to accompany them to this Ball; it would be the first Ministry Ball she'd experience in person and she wasn't about to show up in a potato sack. The dress was perfect: It adhered to her curves like a second skin. It was a black crepe affair with a classy boat-shaped neckline, accentuating her delicate collarbones. At the back, very sheer net covered her back down to her waist; the impact was inescapable. It felt as though her back was bare, when it actually wasn't. The dress ended a few daring inches under her bottom, showing off her slender, shapely legs seductively. It was a real grown-up dress. Dom had called it the "back me up against a wall" dress. Rose had been slightly more decent about it, as was usual.

Lily schooled her expression to one of polite interest and tuned out whatever her mother and Nana Tonks were talking about, more interested in seeing what was happening around her. She recognised a lot of people from school, mostly fifth and sixth years across house lines. It wasn't that she didn't know a lot of Seventh years, she just tended to avoid them. Most of the Gryffindor seventh years adopted Albus's protective attitude towards her and while it was sweet in the beginning, it was simply stifling now. Sadly, she knew very few Slytherins. She suspected that a lot of them were turned off by the Potter-Weasley clan in general and it actually had very little to do with her. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were little bit better, but the rigorous and relentless flirting was becoming a slight turn off. And it also annoyed her boyfriend grandly.

Lucas Jenner stood at the other end of the ballroom, watching her surreptitiously, between answering his parents with monosyllabic words. How cliché, she thought. His dark eyes grew wide as she casually turned her back towards him, pretending to look for somebody. But cliché was nice sometimes, and sometimes cliché was just the thing to make your toes tingle inside the high heels that will kill your feet before the night is out. Lily waited for it; the familiar tingling sensation that accompanied looking at Lucas Jenner, not just because he was her boyfriend, but because he was the most handsome boy she knew. She felt her pulse throb as he smiled at her. Pretty as picture, Rose would say. 'How often do you dust him?', Dom would ask. Alas, Dom had never liked Lucas.

She thought his eyes were shifty, that his brain was paralysed and that his attitude belonged in a book of fairy tales. Put simply, she didn't trust him with Lily at all. Lily grimaced internally at the thought of her cousin Dom, who liked men and, unfortunately, thought Lucas was still too much of a boy to get her approval. Lily still cringed at the memory of the row that erupted when her Aunt Fleur found her daughter, kissing one of her Dad's colleagues at last year's Christmas party. Needless to say, it was not pretty. Contrary to what most people thought, Dom didn't mean any harm by it. It was more of a joke than anything else, she had found it amusing. There was so much more to Dominique Weasley than simply being impossibly beautiful and poised. But, sadly, nobody seemed to understand. So Dom constructed this outrageous persona of a flirty, flighty girl and the irony was that few people ever realised that the girl hidden inside was as tough as nails.

Dom scoffed at the way Lucas held Lily's hand oh so gently, as if she were made of glass. She had trouble keeping her laughter under wraps as he always chastely kissed her forehead before walking away. No, Dom was not a fan of Lucas, but Lily really wished she would come to like him. It would make life so much easier, she thought with a sigh. After a while, it became tedious having to defend your boyfriend to your best friend, one she could not do without.

As he walked towards her, she let her eyes roam over his frame. His clothes the image of perfection, his shoes so clean they reflected like mirrors; his hair wavy and soft to the touch. He would stop before her and press his warm lips against hers. And then, they would dance. At this thought, her mind buckled violently. They would dance pleasantly, unlike Teddy and Victoire, because although Lucas was a gentleman, treated her like a princess, adored her with his eyes and words, was patient, and kind, and soft, and sweet, she wasn't in love with him. And in that horrific moment before he reached her side, she knew she never would.

"Lily," he breathed deeply, staring at her as though seeing her for the first time. "You look beautiful." She blinked, still reeling from the realization. Turning the corners of her mouth up, she was relieved but also annoyed to see that Lucas found nothing missing in her smile. He leaned close and kissed her forehead. She glared at him, making him laugh.

Setting his glass on the table, he pulled her into his arms, and softly closed his mouth over hers. Lily closed her eyes, eager to drown in his warmth, but he pulled away all too soon and led her towards the dance floor. Lily briefly caught Dom's eye and her wayward cousin was not impressed, rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to flirting with the man she'd been talking to.

Lucas held her close; his hand resting firmly in the small of her back. As they begun to move and sway across the dance floor, that knot of apprehension and doubt slowly begun to unravel inside her chest. Lily smiled, this time sincerely, and Lucas was captivated by the sudden fire in her eyes. As he twirled her around, she threw her head back, laughing. They were lost in their own world and Lily felt safe, once again. Maybe it wasn't time yet. Love was supposed to sneak up on you when you least expected it, why should this be any different? She could fall in love with Lucas one day, she was certain of it. The time just wasn't right. But it would be. Eventually.

X

Dom scowled; plucking a flute from the champagne triangle, she glided down the ballroom, and out the French windows at the other end. Making her way to the edge of the balcony, she nonchalantly approached the tangled mass of red hair, white dress and discarded heels that were Rose.

"Rose." She began, there was no response save for an annoyed grunt from her cousin's male companion. Dom rolled her eyes. "Oh Rosie…."

The red haired girl immediately sat up straight, her amorous mood utterly destroyed by the mention of her childhood nickname. "Tsk-tsk, Dom; how many times must I tell you never, ever to call me that?" Rose turned to glare at her cousin. Her blue eyes flashed dangerously. Dominique wondered in passing if she'd have to contend with the legendary Weasley temper that Rose had inherited in spades from her father. The boy lying underneath her on the bench sighed and gently extricated himself from the red-haired girl's arms.

"S'up Dom?" Damien Shacklebolt was one of the very rare, very few people who didn't provoke Dom's infamous Veela temper. He was a few years older than Rose and well on his way to becoming an Auror. He pulled his girlfriend onto his lap and gestured for Dom to take a seat. "You look like you want to punch somebody." His black eyes gleamed with mirth and he pulled Rose deeper into his embrace, unwilling to let her go. Auror training was tough and he had his father's colossal reputation to live up to. He hardly got the chance to see Rose these days, so he made the most of what time he got with her.

"What's the point?" Dominique huffed and sat down. She kicked her heels off. "Even if I did, he'd get patched up eventually and then he'd get to play the pity card as well. It's not worth it." She rolled her eyes in disdain, telling them exactly what she thought.

Rose stared back at her cousin, brow furrowed in concern. "Dom, what's wrong?" It wasn't like Dom to be glum, especially not at a time like this. Normally, she would be fighting off the offers to dance from the thousands of men who gathered around her wherever she went.

Dominique twirled the flute elegantly with her fingers and murmured, "Doofus Jenner." Rose and Damien exchanged an exasperated look before turning to her.

Rose groaned, unwilling to talk on this subject again after the first three hundred times. "Dom, I thought we were over this. You have to let this go. You promised Lily."

Dominique glared back at Rose, snapping testily. "I promised Lily I'd be civil to him. I didn't promise to be sincere about it."

Damien chuckled, thoroughly amused at how wholeheartedly Dominique seemed to loathe her favourite cousin's boyfriend. "I don't get it. Why do you hate that guy so much?"

Dominique sighed. "Because he's fake. He pretends to be oh-so-charming when he's just as crass as the rest of those losers trying to jump into Lily's knickers." She shook her head. "I don't know. I really don't trust him. I just get this really bad feeling from him. She could do much better." And she knew she was right. Lily was the sweetest person she knew and it drove her crazy how blind she was regarding Lucas. That guy was no good for her.

Rose glanced at her cousin and wrapped an arm around her shoulder comfortingly. "Dom, you're overreacting. Lucas is okay. Besides, he's pretty good for a first boyfriend. He pampers her a lot. You know she likes that." Rose slipped her feet into her shoes and flipped her hair over her bare shoulders, her lips quirking into a self-satisfied smile as she noticed Damien staring at her.

Not one to give up easily, Dom persisted. "He's corny."

"You're just looking for excuses to hate him." Rose smiled, recognising the signs that Dominique had run out of ideas to berate Lucas.

"He's Ravenclaw." Dominique mumbled.

"Oh shut up, Dom." Rose laughed. Damien shook his head, his lips split in a wide grin.

Dominique shrugged. "His hair is weird."

Rose and Damien groaned. "Dom…"

X

Having finished her dance with Lucas, Lily settled down onto her seat before her toes fell off in protest, while Lucas made his way to converse with his grandparents. He came from a long line of wizards who had remained firmly neutral during both wars. The Jenner's were an old family, not as old or important as the Potters or the Blacks, but old enough to have representation on the Wizengamot. She had never met his family formally and although Lucas kept dropping hints to introduce her to them properly, she never quite warmed up to the idea. She was the child of the Chosen One and niece of the greatest group of war heroes the Wizarding world had ever seen. The concept of staying neutral to preserve or protect your family was something she simply could not understand. She didn't hold it against Lucas, how could she? He, like her, hadn't been born then. Even so, she didn't know if she could trust herself not to react to a family of fence-sitters when her own family had suffered so terribly because of the war.

Shaking these gloomy thoughts away, she looked around the dance floor to find many recognisable faces; in recent years, the Ministry had made several attempts to incorporate contemporary Muggle culture into the Wizarding community. While a lot of the traditionalists viewed it as an unnecessary appeasement, the growing Muggle-born factions welcomed it as a move that was long overdue. And so, the charmed orchestra was gearing up to a salsa beat. Lily grinned as she spotted James burning up the dance floor with his girlfriend Katerina; they were the centre of attentions as James lifted her high in the air in a maverick dance move.

A mellow voice beside her spoke, "Does he ever quit showing off?" Lily laughed and spun in her seat to face a short girl with dark curly hair styled in a chic bob and humorous, intelligent brown eyes. Roxanne Weasley was easily her coolest cousin: nothing fazed her. Not Fred hitting a bludger straight to her head, not James nearly pushing her off the Astronomy Tower, not Dom kissing the boy she'd crushed on for ages 'by mistake', not even Rose when she was on OWL study prep. Roxanne was like their generation's Rock of Gibraltar; she never lost her cool, never spoke a word more than absolutely necessary and never, ever failed to get even. James reckoned that if you ever wanted a second in a duel, Roxanne was the one you called.

"Katerina's been gone for a really long time, I guess he missed her." Lily shrugged. Her brother's devotion to the fiery brunette was as surprising as it was sweet; everyone expected James to be some sort of ladies' man because he flirted outrageously with the entirety of Hogwarts' female population, excluding his cousins and sister, but the truth was he'd never even been on a date before Katerina.

"Hmmm, I guess that gives him a right to prance about. Where's Doofus?" Roxanne looked around with interest, stopping to smile as she caught the eye of one of their numerous cousins. Lily pursed her lips not bothering to rise to the bait. She couldn't comprehend how the two people she was closest in the world, inexplicably hated her boyfriend. Nothing brought Roxanne and Dominique together like their common dislike of Lucas.

"Stop calling him that. He has a name." Lily glared at Roxanne, who shrugged nonchalantly. She was unashamedly candid about her opinion of Lucas Jenner.

"Who has a name?" Damien Shacklebolt's velvety voice broke the icy atmosphere of the girl's table.

Lily and Roxanne both turned to greet the newcomers: Damien, Rose and Dominique. The couple slipped into the chairs beside Roxanne, while Dom fell into the chair opposite Lily.

Roxanne began to speak, but her voice was drowned out by a loud droning sound that made everybody stiffen. People on surroundings tables stopped their conversations and began to look around, searching the cause for all the commotion. Lily saw her father turn sharply before striding to the windows leading to the sundeck.

"What's going on?" Someone seated at the adjacent table tapped Damien's shoulder. Damien shrugged.

"What's that noise?" A man asked in irritation from the table beside them. Lily glanced at him sparingly and rolled her eyes as she recognised him as Ignatius Winters. Uncle Ron called him 'Whiner Extraordinaire'. The man had something to complain about every single time you met him.

Helena Tyndale sat with her daughter Persephone at a table behind them; she looked around nervously and gripped her daughter's hand. "Are we under attack?"

Lily kept her eyes on her father, her shoulders tensing as she watched him focus upon something outside the window, and then instantly her trepidation disappeared as he snorted, then shook his head before turning to the nervous crowd in the ballroom and waving everyone back to their seats. He smiled and gestured for everybody to return to their seats.

The strange noise had died down and since the Chosen One himself was telling them to take it in stride, people returned to their conversations and dances.

Even as her cousins speculated about the source of the strange noise, Lily stood and walked over to her father. She failed to notice the strained and tense expressions on the faces of the Malfoy family sitting a few tables away from her. Lucius Malfoy's once-elegant, silvery-blonde mane was now grizzled with greys. His shoulders were slightly bent but his eyes were as sharp and unrelenting as ever. He gripped the top of an ebony cane even as he glared at the man sitting beside him, who was pointedly avoiding his eyes.

Lucius curled his lip viciously and sneered, "I suppose we have your son to thank for this commotion Draco."

Draco took a small sip from his champagne flute before setting it down. He avoided looking at the older man as he replied, "I'm not sure I understand your meaning Father."

Lucius Malfoy snorted. "Of course. Why would you understand? Every time your son", he spat the word with such vehemence that the two ladies seated at the table glanced at each nervously, "does something to dishonour and discredit this family, you don't understand." The women looked towards the entrance to the ballroom with a fair amount of apprehension. It was not unheard of for the Heir of the Malfoy Family to have an acerbic verbal disagreement with the Pater Familias but they sincerely hoped that today was not one of those days.

Meanwhile Lily had reached her father and eagerly tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. Harry Potter looked away from the Minister of Magic with whom he'd been engaged in a conversation.

"Lily!" He looked at her with some confusion. "Is something wrong?"

Lily smiled innocently. "Can't a girl want a word with her father?" Her eyes twinkled and Harry groaned inwardly. Trouble was on the way when Lily got that look in her eyes. He could swear she got it from Ginny. He excused himself from Kingsley Shacklebolt and raised an eyebrow as his daughter tucked her arm around his and led him away.

"Okay," Harry raised an eyebrow as Lily dragged him towards the French windows. He chuckled as she looked around to check if anybody was within earshot. "What's going on, Lil?" Harry asked conspiratorially.

Lily blinked, pretending as though she didn't understand. "Daddy, what do you mean?"

Harry smirked. "Lily, I became immune to the Bambi eyes when you let a faulty broom prototype loose in Quality Quidditch Supplies when we went shopping for Hogwarts. What is it?" Harry casually picked up a champagne flute and quirked an eyebrow up at his daughter.

Lily tried hard to maintain a straight face, but failed to curb her bubbling laughter as Harry once more quirked his eyebrow. She couldn't help it. He just looked so funny when he did that. "Oh fine, you caught me. What was that noise? It sounded so weird."

Harry chuckled. "Oh that. Nothing. I presume one of the young blokes got a motorcycle. That's what the noise was. It was a motorcycle."

Lily felt her lips part in surprise. "A motorcycle? Really? Wait, you mean, like Sirius's motorcycle?" Her eyes grew wide and her entire face lit up with excitement. A real motorcycle! Her brothers never let her reach within touching distance of the legendary Morning Star as James called it. He thought he was so clever for it. Prat. What was so cool about calling the bike after its former owner? Anybody could do that.

Harry paused. His eyes seemed to glaze over as though he was seeing something else. Slowly, he turned to her and nodded. "Yeah, now that I think about it, it's a lot like his motorcycle." He shook his head. "Funny, how these things go. Forty years ago, if someone rode a motorcycle to a Wizarding formal like this, people would have been just as scandalised."

Lily bit her lip and looked to the door. Nobody had entered in the last ten minutes; with any luck, the person riding the motorcycle was probably still outside. She was still revelling in the wonder of it all when someone else came and commandeered her father's attention. As Harry walked away, the entrance to the ballroom became visible. She was suddenly possessed with the idea of seeing the motorcycle. She looked around quickly. Everyone was busy with their respective dance partners or talking, nobody would notice if she slipped away just for a minute. She could go and come back before anybody realised. Her breath quickened and her nerves tingled with the excitement of knowing she was doing something that was not allowed. Her parents were very protective of her and never allowed her any place where she'd be out of sight. Besides, it was only for a minute. What could possibly happen in the space of a minute?

Lily knew that if somebody caught her sneaking away from her parents just to go stare at a motorcycle, they'd call her crazy. But, it wasn't so simple. It wasn't just a motorcycle – not for her, at least. It meant so much more. Of all the stories her father had told her, her favourites were the ones which talked about Sirius Black. She blushed as she remembered her eighth birthday, when Grandma Weasley had made her this huge cake and asked her to wish for something, she had loudly proclaimed that she was going to grow up and marry Sirius Black, much to the amusement of all her family. She had been infatuated with the idea of him, and to an extent she still was.

She quickly made her way out to the grand foyer and slipped out into the gardens beyond which served as the parking space where people had parked their magically enhanced motor vehicles. She looked around in excitement, hoping to catch just a glimpse of it. As she turned this way and that, her heel caught on a loose pebble and she stumbled. A gasp escaped her lips and she held an arm out to brace her fall when she suddenly felt a steely grip on her waist. She felt her body being pulled against gravity, as someone yanked her back to her feet. Her cheek brushed against something soft and warm. Blinking, she looked up.

In the darkness of the night, she couldn't make out much of his face, but his grip on her waist was firm. She felt his lips shift into a smirk. Her stomach seemed to flip as a deep voice sounded in her ear like a whisper, "You alright, love?"

A shiver raced down her spine as his silky voice sounded in her ears, doing very strange and unexpected things to her brain. Her lips seemed to have stuck together and her mouth seemed stuffed with cotton wool. She swallowed thickly, "Gummmffft." She blinked in embarrassment, mortified that she couldn't even string together a comprehensible sentence.

He tilted his head to the side. A stray beam of light from the mansion illuminated silvery blonde hair that framed his face in bangs. His brows furrowed elegantly as he attempted to understand. "What?"

"Abundufff." She shook her head, cursing her fickle hormones for overpowering her common sense. He was just a boy, alright, make that a very very handsome I'd-snog-you-senseless-if-I-weren't-already-seeing-someone-else kind of boy. There was no need to act like a gobsmacked tart. She bit her lip and tried again. "S-sorry." Rolling her eyes at herself, she sighed, thanking the stars that her embarrassment was cut short.

He laughed. "There's nothing to apologise about, love. You okay?" He stepped back, letting go of her. The cold night air hit her side and she shivered through the thin cloth of her dress.

She looked back towards the mansion, knowing someone would be out looking for her soon. "Um, I'm alright. Oh, thank you!" She bit her lip. Great, she'd been so busy looking for the motorcycle, that she'd completely forgotten to thank the man responsible for saving her from a cut cheek and a ruined dress at the very least.

As the boy glanced up at her, she took some time to appraise him more closely; his skin was pale, his eyes a stormy grey, the air of aristocracy present on the way he carried himself. He gave her a lopsided smile. "Don't worry about it." He looked her up and down, eyes lighting in appreciation in some places. Lily frowned slightly and crossed her arms over her chest, nervous for some strange reason. "You waiting for somebody?"

Lily looked at him. "Oh, no. I was just -" Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I heard something and came out looking for it." She glanced up at him. He was staring at her with both eyebrows raised, looking very unconvinced.

"Of course. What'd you hear?"

"Well." Lily looked around again. "Somebody rode a motorcycle here. I just wanted to see it." She shrugged.

The boy stared at her intensely before breaking into a smile. "Is that right?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Yes."

"Well, you did come all the way out here, and you almost hurt yourself too." He slowly walked around her in a circle. Lily looked at him as though he was a madman. "Well, I reckon you're worthy then. Come on." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her deeper into the garden that had been turned into a parking space.

Lily tugged on her wrist. "Hey! Wait. What do you think you're doing?"

He pulled her forward. Lily was about to snap at him when she felt her lips part in wonder. There, in front of her, stood a gleaming, beautiful black motorcycle. She blinked. She looked at the boy, who simply smirked back at her.

"Y-you – I mean –this is your motorcycle?"

The boy ran a hand lovingly over it. "Yeah. Beautiful, isn't she?"

Lily nodded without a moment's hesitation. "Yes. Yes, she is." She stepped forward, her fingers itching to touch the shining steel. The boy stepped back. His eyes glinted in appreciation as she reverentially put her fingers on it. He leaned back and watched her, a slow smile stretching on his lips.

They stood silently, both lost in separate thoughts. For Lily, it was a moment of affirmation, of remembrance of a loved one. It was perhaps a simple thing for other people but to her, it was a symbol of a life lived dangerously, recklessly, without pause, without fear. She stood silently until the sound of another person's shoes echoed on the asphalt.

"Lily! Lily! Where are – oh, there you are!" Lucas appeared from behind a hedge. "Where did you run off to? Everyone's worried. And –"he suddenly noticed the other boy.

Lucas frowned, and slipped his arm around Lily's waist, pulling her away from the motorcycle. The spell had broken; Lily looked at him in confusion, even as his fingers grasped her body tightly. He glared venomously at the boy who stood half bathed in light of the charmed lanterns and half in the shadows. Lucas looked furious and it scared Lily a bit. She'd never seen him look like that before. "Lucas, what happened?"

Lucas tore his eyes away from the other boy to his girlfriend. "You just ran out of the ballroom Lily! What were you thinking?"

Caught completely by surprise by this new side of Lucas, Lily stuttered, "I-I just wanted –"

"That doesn't matter anymore. I've found you. Let's go." He glared at the boy standing nonchalantly in the shadows.

"But Lucas, wait." Lily firmly dug her heels in. She still had to thank the boy and she didn't even know his name. She turned to him. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even get your name."

The boy leaned against his motorcycle casually. Lucas gaped at Lily in disbelief, his wounded expression speaking volumes but she ignored him. She didn't know what his problem with the other boy was but he had helped her and her parents had raised her to acknowledge and appreciate that; it was not something she'd change for anything.

"Lucas." She tugged at his hand. He frowned but gave a slight nod. She looked at the other boy. "I'm Lily Potter and this is Lucas Jenner – "

"Her boyfriend." Lucas stated with great emphasis. The boy looked from him to Lily and very slowly raised an eyebrow. Lucas bristled and fought the irrepressible desire to go ape-shit on the cheeky bastard.

"Scorpius Malfoy," the boy replied silkily, stepping forward. Taking Lily's hand, he bent his head over it and gently brushed his lips against the skin of her hand. Lily's eyes grew wide and her lips parted in surprise. She could only stare at him in shock. Nobody she knew had the nerve to be so forward with her. Hadn't Lucas just introduced himself as her boyfriend? Speaking of Lucas….

Lily watched in shock as Lucas swept in front of her and yanked her hand away from Scorpius, who didn't look even the slightest bit surprised. He smirked at Lucas. Lucas looked like he was going to hit him. Alarm bells rang in Lily's mind and she snapped out of her trance. Tugging Lucas by the hand, she pulled him away from Scorpius. "Lucas, let's go. Lucas!"

Lucas's anger evaporated away as Lily beamed at him. "You're right." Lucas turned. He moved so he stood between Lily and Scorpius. "Lily, your father will be worried. We have to go back."

"Okay." She let Lucas wrap his arm around her, leading her back to the glittering lights of the mansion. Neither noticed the stormy grey gaze following them as they walked away.

X

"Where have you been?" Dominique hissed. Lily quickly got into her seat and discreetly slipped her heels off. She shrugged and shook her head.

"Just went out for some fresh air."

Dominique rolled her eyes. "If you were snogging your boyfriend, just say so; spare me the cover stories."

"It's not a cover story!" Lily hissed back. Roxanne suddenly nudged her. Lily looked at her distractedly.

Roxanne was staring at the entrance, smiling widely. She gestured towards the entrance with a slight tilt of her head. "Look what just walked in."

Lily and Dominique looked over. Dominique immediately sat up straighter. Lily felt both her eyebrows rise as she recognised the tall, lean boy who walked in. He was wearing a black tuxedo. He hadn't bothered to cover it with a robe; obviously the intention was to keep the look Muggle. Silvery blonde hair fell effortlessly in a just-got-off-a-broom style. He had high cheekbones, a straight, aristocratic nose and watchful grey eyes. He strode confidently through the ballroom until he reached the Malfoy table directly opposite from theirs, across the dance floor.

Dominique grinned. "Who is that guy in that gorgeous Armani suit?"

Roxanne glanced at her. "You don't recognise him? It's Scorpius Malfoy." Lily snapped her head up, eyes wide. Roxanne continued. "He's grown his hair longer. I remember he had it really short all last year." She grinned. "He looks delicious."

Lily watched carefully as he sat on a chair beside his mother, Astoria Malfoy and kissed her cheek. On his other side, Narcissa Malfoy gently raised a hand to his cheek and smiled at him. The situation seemed to tense as Lucius Malfoy sneered at him, but he offered no response save a single blank look in return. Scorpius stood and after exchanging a few words with his father, strode away.

As he walked past their table, his eyes caught Lily's and he paused. He looked as though he would have approached her, when a boy dressed in dark indigo dress robes grasped his elbow and engaged him in conversation. He threw a few more glances back towards Lily, causing her to feel a strange fluttering inside her chest, as he turned to walk away and flashed a smile in Lily's direction before he went.

Roxanne laughed and Dom bit her lip, trying to hide her smile. "Oh my god, I just came."

Lily flushed and looked down. He had smiled at her, and or some reason, that fact was sending tiny jolts of electricity racing down her spine. Quietly, she turned her hand over in her lap. She pressed the pad of her thumb over the spot where his lips had met her skin, and as his name slowly took over her thoughts.

Scorpius Malfoy.

Author's Note

Please comment