He wanted to explain, that was all, and take whatever hex she felt like dishing out, and then maybe things could get back to normal. Now that the whole of Hogwarts was aware they’d been sneaking around (courtesy of two first years who’d followed Harry, hoping for his autograph), Scorpius wanted them both to face everyone down. However, Lily had surrounded herself with her cousins at every opportunity and hadn’t ventured beyond Gryffindor Tower unless it was to eat, attend lessons, or practise Quidditch.
In an attempt to force her to speak to him, Scorpius had been on his way to the Quidditch pitch when Vaisey had stopped him. And that’s when the ‘incident’ had happened.
“No doubt you’ll be thrilled to know that Mr Vaisey is not seriously hurt and is now back in your dorm, Malfoy!”
Scorpius looked up at the sound of his house master’s face and attempted a smile. It was not a good idea as his head of house stared coldly back.
Professor Zabini had been at school with his dad, and over the years, he’d visited Malfoy Manor for various occasions. He’d been Scorpius’ Potions master for three years, but had only been appointed the Slytherin head of house in September. “Precisely what possessed you to hex him a day before the match?” he asked Scorpius. “Were you so annoyed at being dropped that you didn’t care about jeopardising our chances in the Cup?”
“Didn’t think you were that bothered about Quidditch,” Scorpius muttered.
“I’m not!” the professor snapped. “Personally, the game has always bored me, but I would like Slytherin to retain the Cup if we have a chance. So, Malfoy, I would like you to explain exactly why you considered it necessary to punch our captain. You can hardly play his position, after all.”
“It had nothing to do with the bloody match!” Scorpius exclaimed. He bit his lip, aware he really shouldn’t be speaking like this. “Sorry, sir, Vaisey just ... got to me, that’s all.”
There was a long silence. Scorpius gazed gloomily at the floor awaiting his fate. What the hell did it matter? He’d lost his place on the team, and Lily wasn’t speaking to him. He might as well end up in detention for a week; it wasn’t going to change a thing.
Professor Zabini sighed and walked around to his side of the desk where he lowered himself into his plush leather chair. “In all the years I’ve known you, Scorpius, I’ve never seen you lose your temper quite like that “ and certainly not with a Slytherin.” He paused. “What did Vaisey say to you exactly?”
“Nothing,” Scorpius mumbled.
“So it was just a fit of petulance, then?” Professor Zabini raised one eyebrow. “Come on, Mr Malfoy, you’re not talking to an idiot. I am perfectly aware of what happened yesterday between you and Potter’s daughter. Was Vaisey ragging you about that?”
Scorpius gaped at his house master. Merlin, if he knew, it would only be a matter of time before someone told his dad.
“He wanted to borrow my broom,” he replied, thinking quickly. It wasn’t exactly a lie. Vaisey had been dropping hints about the Firebolt X, and it was only when Scorpius had told him where to go that the insults about consorting with ‘red-haired Gryffindor sluts’had come flying through the air.
Anger had rippled through Scorpius, and before he’d known exactly what he was doing, he’d punched Vaisey in the face “ hard. He rubbed his knuckles morosely. They still hurt, but the pleasure he’d got when he’d heard Vaisey’s nose crunch made it all worthwhile.
“All this over a broom,” the professor drawled, and Scorpius knew he didn’t believe him.
“Sir,” he began, then swallowed. Professor Zabini inclined his head, so he continued, “What exactly did you hear about me and ... er ... Mr Potter’s daughter?”
“That you were caught in a compromising position with her,” Professor Zabini replied. A whisper of a smile appeared on his face, but the next second he looked impassive again. “Mr Potter wanted to hex you into next week - or at least deduct house points - but was reminded that he was only a guest lecturer. So whilst he can award or deduct points in his lesson, discovering his daughter in the Astronomy Tower with a Slytherin “ however unsavoury “ was beyond his remit.”
The professor leant back in his chair and, this time, the gleam in his eyes was unmistakeable. Scorpius had no doubt that his house master had been the one raising objections on Slytherin’s behalf.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Vaisey is going out with Miss Bletchley, isn’t he?” Professor Zabini enquired mildly. “Your ex-girlfriend, I believe.”
“Uh huh,” Scorpius replied, not totally sure where this conversation was going.
“So, in any case, a lover’s quarrel really isn’t any concern of mine,” the professor stated in a bored tone. He waved his hand at him dismissively. “You may go, Scorpius, but I don’t want to have to talk to you again. If you and Vaisey cannot get along, then perhaps you should move into another dorm. I know the fifth years have a spare bed.”
Scorpius glowered. “That won’t be necessary, sir. I’ll stay out of Vaisey’s way.” He stood up and moved towards the door, but as he did, there was a large whoosh from the fireplace. Scorpius stayed where he was as a figure emerged from the hearth, coughing and swearing as the Floo dust caught in her throat.
“Merlin, Zabini, aren’t the Slytherin fireplaces ever swept properly?”
Scorpius hid a smirk as he saw his house master looking extremely discomforted as a familiar-looking witch stepped across the floor. “Scorpius, you are dismissed,” he called.
The witch looked over and stared at him. “Hello, Scorpius,” she said with a smile, looking him up and down. “Are you in trouble again?”
“Not exactly, but he doesn’t have time to chat ... do you?” Professor Zabini said, sounding ever so slightly flustered now. “Scorpius, stay away from the girl as well.”
“Ariadne?” Scorpius queried. “Sure. I don’t want to be anywhere near her.”
“I mean Lily Potter, of course.”
Scorpius nodded meekly and opened the office door, but couldn’t resist a small grin at the witch who was staring at him in bemusement. He liked Professor Zabini’s wife. Under her maiden name of Brown, she was a journalist for the Daily Prophet, and although she wasn’t often at Hogwarts, her visits always coincided with the Potions Master being in a far more lenient mood.
On closing the door, he heard her gasp. “Blaise, you’re not seriously suggesting that Draco Malfoy’s son is seeing Harry’s daughter.”
“They were,” he heard Professor Zabini reply, “but I rather think it’s over now.”
Lavender laughed. “That is a shame. I do like a good romance, especially when it concerns a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. All that reckless abandonment...”
Scorpius didn’t move but pressed his ear to the door, intent on hearing everything they had to say.
“I’ll have Draco on my case if I allow it to continue,” his professor replied, sounding amused.
“I think Draco is the least of your problems,” Lavender replied. “Just wait until Ginny finds out. That’s when the Howlers will fly.”
Scorpius stayed a minute or so more, but it appeared they had no more to add on the subject, and when he heard the sound of giggling, he assumed his professor had other things on his mind and left hastily.
As he walked back to the common room, he pondered Lavender’s remark about Lily’s mum. Why would Mrs Potter be angrier than his dad?
Then he scowled. It hardly mattered now - Lily didn’t want anything to do with him anyway.
He genuinely did not know why it bothered him so much. She was not in the same league “ looks-wise “ as Ariadne, or even that awful Ravenclaw who’d flirted so blatantly with him on the train, but Lily Potter had something and it kept her niggling in his thoughts.
Muttering the password ‘Boomslang’, he strode into the common room where he was assailed by silence.
Johnson Vaisey was sitting in the armchair nearest the fire with Ariadne sitting on his lap. His brother, Gerald, stood by the hearth, warming his hands, and Scorpius could see the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team dotted around the common room. All of them were glaring at him.
“Aww, Vaisey, how sweet,” Scorpius drawled. “Not only do you have your own special nurse, but a whole host of bodyguards, too.” He smirked as Flint stepped closer to Vaisey’s chair. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hit you again.”
“How many did you lose?” Flint asked coldly.
“How many what?” Scorpius replied. “Dragons? Nargles? Sorry, Flint, I have absolutely no idea what you’re on about.”
“Points, you jerk,” Flint snarled. “How many effing points did you lose us for punching Vaisey?”
Scorpius smirked. “Nice to see where your priorities lie.” He walked towards the staircase leading to his dormitory. With any luck, the others would stay in the common room, and he could try to work out in peace what the hell he was going to do about Lily.
“How many?” Flint’s voice echoed around the room.
“Go and check the sodding hourglasses if you’re so bloody bothered,” Scorpius muttered. He knew they were itching to hex him. He probably deserved it from Vaisey, at least, but he had thought Flint might have kept out of it. He gripped his wand as he heard footsteps following him down the stairs.
“What’s your plan, Malfoy?” Flint shouted. “Hand the Cup to Gryffindor so you can get into her knickers?”
Furiously, Scorpius turned around to face Flint only to find a wand aimed directly at him. “Of course not,” he replied, through gritted teeth, wondering if he could disarm Flint before the other boy realised.
“Then why did you whack Johnson, and why won’t you lend his brother your broom?” demanded Flint.
“Gerald can barely handle a Cleansweep Eight,” Scorpius retorted. “There’s no bloody way I’m letting him on my Firebolt.”
“And punching Johnson?”
“Run along and check the hourglasses, and you’ll see that Professor Zabini didn’t deduct anything.”
Looking puzzled, Flint lowered his wand. “I thought ...” he began, but at that moment, Scorpius cast a Disarming Spell and neatly caught Flint’s wand. Flint stepped back, eyeing Scorpius warily. “S “ sorry,” he stuttered.
Scorpius leant in closer and pointed both wands in Flint’s face. They’d always got on reasonably well, but Scorpius was not going to be pushed around by a sixth year. “Don’t ever threaten me again, you twat, or next time I’ll hex your bollocks off.”
He could see sweat beading on the younger boy’s face as he prodded the wands under Flint’s chin.
“I-I-It’s just that you’ve changed recently, “Flint replied, his voice shaking. “You dropped Quidditch, and some of us thought that ... er ...”
“Go on,” Scorpius insisted.
“We ... er wondered if that Potter girl had hexed you, or fed you a Love Potion, or something,” Flint murmured darkly.
Astonished, Scorpius gulped and stepped back. He lowered both wands and handed one back to Flint. “You seriously think Lily Potter has drugged me?”
“It’s crossed my mind,” Flint replied. He looked straight at Scorpius. “You’ve not been around much recently, and Johnson said you were a right suck-arse ... er ... he said you were really polite to Harry Potter in the lesson.”
“Because he’s a good teacher!” Scorpius exclaimed. “Why, in the name of Merlin, wouldn’t I want to get on his good side? I cast a Patronus in that lesson, Flint. I did it before Potter’s frigging son. It’s got sod all to do with his daughter, or bloody Slytherin loyalties, and everything to do with the fact that I want a decent career when I leave this place.”
“Oh...” Flint’s face broke into a smile and he started to guffaw. “That makes sense. Career move and all that. Merlin, you must be so pissed off at being discovered.”
Scorpius closed his eyes. That wasn’t what he meant. Seeing Lily Potter had nothing to do with who her father was ... at least ... he didn’t think it did.
“I’m going back to my room,” he mumbled, walking away from the grinning Flint.
“Your Firebolt X,” Flint said, placing his hand on Scorpius’ shoulder. “Can Gerald use it tomorrow?”
“I ...” Scorpius paused. He was about to explain again that it wasn’t because he was bitter about being dropped, but had everything to do with the fact that the Firebolt X needed a classy rider, and Gerald Vaisey could not be called classy in any sense. But he stopped. He didn’t owe any of this lot a thing. Gerald wanted to try the broom, then why bloody not? “Sure,” he amended, and smiled at Flint. “I’ll fetch it now. Perhaps Vaisey would like to practise first.”
Half an hour later, with downcast eyes and a sigh, Scorpius walked back into the common room and handed his broom over. Gerald’s eyes widened appreciatively, and he started to mutter his thanks before a look from Johnson silenced him.
“Glad you’ve seen sense,” Johnson said to Scorpius. “Or did Professor Zabini tell you to give it to us?”
Scorpius shrugged, neither confirming or denying the assumption and sat down on the armchair opposite Vaisey and Ariadne. He was careful to keep his face straight as he heard Gerald boasting that he’d catch the Snitch in record time.
Only if you no longer fly like a constipated pig, Scorpius thought.
Because he was an arrogant tosser as well as a bad flyer, Gerald had not practised on Scorpius’ broom at all. As the Slytherin team strode onto the pitch and stared out the Ravenclaws, Scorpius leant forward in his seat. The Ravenclaws made a good team. They’d lost to Hufflepuff by the merest of margins and would be after a good result to keep them in with a chance of winning. In the past, Scorpius had always enjoyed playing the Claws. It was just as competitive as against Gryffindor, but with less of the intense rivalry. A pang of regret gnawed at him when he saw Gerald Vaisey mount his Firebolt. Bloody hell, I should be playing, he thought. This is so sodding unfair.
He scanned the Gryffindor stand, trying to get a glimpse Lily, hoping against hope that she’d shoot him a sympathetic glance. But the only redhead was her cousin, Rose, and Scorpius doubted she’d be remotely friendly.
A gale of laughter ran through the stadium, interrupting his miserable thoughts. Looking down, he saw Gerald flying about a foot off the ground, the broom twisting and turning fiercely. As Gerald gripped harder and tried to pull the Firebolt into line, it began to buck.
“Interesting technique from the new Slytherin Seeker,” Scorpius heard the commentator say. He groaned when he recognised the smug tones of Hugo Weasley. On glancing upwards, he groaned again, for alongside Hugo sat Lily’s mum and her brother, James.
“We have the Prophet’s Quidditch correspondent here, folks,” Hugo announced to the crowd. “It looks like she could be in for a helluva match.” Back on the pitch, there was a yelp from Gerald, who finally loosed his hold and was sent soaring through the air, landing with a thump onto the cold ground. “Or at least, we hope there’s a match,” Hugo continued. “The new Seeker looks as jumpy as an Erkling hit with a Tarantallegra. ”
Scorpius snorted; Hugo was himself sounding like he’d been hexed with a Colloquialism Curse, the way he kept throwing in random phrases. Trying to impress those who mattered obviously wasn’t just confined to Slytherins.
“What the hell have you done to the broom?” Vaisey shouted as he flew straight towards Scorpius. “My brother can’t fly on that.”
“I warned you,” Scorpius replied, injecting a bored tone in his voice. “He isn’t good enough. You should Summon him a Cleansweep Five, or ...” he paused and examined his fingernails, “you haven’t officiallystarted the match yet, Vaisey. You could play me.”
Vaisey stared at him, appearing to consider his offer. But then he looked to Scorpius’ right and shook his head. Following his gaze, Scorpius found he was looking straight at Ariadne.
“I thought you were the captain, not her,” Scorpius murmured.
“I am. Gerald plays. I’ll cast an Anti-Bucking Jinx on the broom.”
“Over my dead body!” Scorpius yelled. “That broom has been specifically crafted for me. You’re not going anywhere near it!” He drew his wand and, loud enough for everyone to hear, he Summoned his Firebolt X.
“Oh, and now the ex-Slytherin Seeker, Scorpius Malfoy, is taking away his toy,” Hugo drawled to the laughing crowd. “The Firebolt X is renowned for its unpredictability. That could explain why Malfoy isn’t flying today, either. It takes a flyer of courage to even mount it.”
Catching his broom with one hand, Scorpius glared at Vaisey and then at the commentary box. Without another thought, he mounted the broom and soared high above the seats. Flying directly towards Hugo, he started to shout across at him. The pent-up fury of the past two days spewing out with every word.
“You better hope I’m a good flyer, Weasley. Otherwise you’ll end up Thestral bait!”
He grinned as he saw Hugo’s frozen face and laughed when he saw fear flick into James’ eyes. “Where’s your famous Gryffindor bravery now?”Scorpius demanded, accelerating towards them.
Then, just as he was about to hit the box, he caught sight of Professor Zabini watching him intently. With a sly wink, Scorpius swerved upwards, skimming Hugo’s head with his shoe.
“Scorpius, get back to the dungeons,” his professor ordered calmly. “But apologise to Mrs Potter first.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Lavender said placatingly, smiling as she leant forwards to touch Mrs Potter on the arm. “I remember another flyer crashing into this box when she was annoyed with the commentator.”
Ginny smiled at Lavender, but when she turned back to Scorpius, the smile had gone. “You’re not a bad flyer, Malfoy. But I don’t think you know a thing about team spirit.”
“I’m not on the team, Mrs Potter,” Scorpius said politely. “And I do apologize if I scared you as much as I seemed to scare your nephew and son, but I don’t like being called a coward.”
She didn’t reply, but merely raised her eyebrows, so deciding he really should go now, Scorpius flew down to the edge of the pitch and walked away. He was pleased his head of house had confined him to the dungeons, because he had no wish to watch Slytherin get hammered into the ground today.
About halfway back to the castle, Scorpius heard a roar from the stadium and knew the match had started. Resisting the urge to look back, he instead mounted his broom again, deciding to fly the rest of the way despite knowing that if he were caught he’d be in even more trouble.
Sod it, he thought. He had so few opportunities these days, and no one was around. They were all at the match. He kicked off, felt the rush as the cold air hit his face and began to laugh. This was flying. This was glorious. How the hell did he think he could have given this up?
He flew towards the lake, swooping low and feeling the spray as the surface rippled in his slipstream. Swerving from side-to-side, he delighted in the acceleration of his broom and the utter joy he felt when it reacted to his every command.
“Hugo Weasley, you’re an ARSE!” he screamed at the top of his voice and then started to laugh as he drove the broom ever faster.
He didn’t see the Giant Squid until it was too late. Zooming along the length of the lake, his body streamlined against the handle, he missed the tentacle as it broke through the water’s surface, slapped him hard and swept him onto the bank. He landed on his arse, in the mud, and the Firebolt crashed onto his head.
“Nice flying, Scorpy,” mocked someone. “At least the broom had a soft landing.”
He looked up, not surprised in the least to see Lily Potter standing over him, apple in hand.
“I was doing well until that bastard Squid got me,” he muttered. There was a pause as he looked at her. He knew he had to say something; he needed the chance to explain, and he’d been waiting for time alone with her for two days. But now he was tongue-tied. The apologies sounded trite on his lips, and she didn’t look in the least like she wanted to forgive him.
“Lily,” he began, “can we talk?”
“About Auror applications?” she asked, scorn rippling through her voice. “Why didn’t you just ask me for a reference?”
“I sh-should have told you,” he stuttered.
“Yes,” she replied coldly, turning away from him. “I don’t like being used, Malfoy.”
“I wasn’t,” he protested. “At least “”
“At least what?” she asked, still not looking at him but not walking away either.
“I didn’t mean to,” he admitted.
“Oh, well, that’s all right then,” Lily said, the tone in her voice making it perfectly clear that it was far from all right. That things couldn’t be less all right than if he’d screwed her senseless and left without a word.
“Lily, please listen.”
“No,” she said. “All I’ve done for the past two days is listen. I had Rose lecturing me, Al having a go, Hugo is furious and Dad...” She sighed. “Dad is being very sweet, but horribly patronising. I’m done with listening, and there’s nothing you can say that will make any of this better.”
“I’ll withdraw my application,” he blurted out.
“Dad’s hardly likely to accept it anyway,” she replied, adding, “and your Daddy would never agree to you becoming an Auror.”
“I don’t need his permission,” Scorpius growled. “I’m of age.”
“Auror training won’t keep you in flashy brooms,” Lily retorted.
He was still sitting on the bank; the waves from the lake were soaking into his robes. Cold, wet and sore from where he’d landed, he knew he cut a pathetic figure. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I never wanted to hurt you.”
Lily sighed but started walking again. “Teddy warned me about you,” she called over her shoulder. “He’s the one person I should have listened to.”
“I want to keep seeing you,” he said. “We could be a proper couple, Lily.”
She faltered, and taking that as a sign, Scorpius stood up and jogged towards her. Standing behind her, he placed one hand on her shoulder and another round her waist, drawing her back to him and dropping a soft kiss in her hair. He felt her relax into him and smiled. It would be okay now, he thought.
“Come to the Valentine’s Ball with me,” he whispered in her ear. “We can show everyone that none of this house stuff matters.”
“You must think I’m so naive,” she replied softly. “One small kiss and an apology, and you think I’ll come back to you.”
“Huh?” he asked, puzzled.
“Valentine’s Ball, Malfoy. You’ll take me to that, and then when Dad realises you’re not such a bastard, he’ll accept your application. Isn’t that what your plan is?”
“NO!” he protested. “Lily, there’s no plan!”
Freeing herself from his grasp, she turned to face him. “I don’t believe you. You always have a plan.” She took a step back and raised her hand when he tried to move towards her. “Besides, I already have a partner.”
“Already?” he said, and laughed, knowing she was bluffing.
“Harry Cootes asked me this morning,” she replied acidly.
That shocked him. “I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time,” he muttered. “After all, he’s such a prat, it must be like being with your brothers and cousins. How fabulous.”
“Shut up about my family!”
“Why the fuck should I?” he demanded, raising his voice now. “Your family can’t keep quiet about me, can they? Ah, forget it, baby Potter. I should have realised that you’re far too young and can no more go against your sodding brother and cousins than I can hex without a wand. Not sure why I was so bothered“ your novelty is rapidly wearing off.”
He knew he’d gone too far when she turned her face away from him to hide what looked like tears welling in her eyes. But as he reached out his hand, to apologise and try to make amends, she jerked away.
“Is this novel enough for you, Scorpy?” she hissed as she hurled a Bat-Bogey Hex at him.
Sinking to the ground, he clutched his face. The hex had hit him squarely in the face, and his eyes were watering so much he could barely see.
He wanted to scream after her. Rail at her for being a little bitch, but he knew he deserved it. If he wanted her back, it would take far more than a mumbled apology.
“You wanted to see me, Malfoy.”
Scorpius looked up from the Firewhisky he was nursing in his hands and into the cold, dark eyes of his cousin.
“Call me Scorpius,” he replied, gesturing for Teddy to join him at his table. “After all, we are related.”
“Doesn’t make us friends,” Teddy stated, but he sat down anyway. “What do you want?”
“Someone to listen to me.”
“I’m not sure you deserve that, not after the way you treated Lily.”
“I was stupid,” Scorpius admitted. “I made a mistake not telling her about the application, but me seeing Lily had sod all to do with that Auror application.”
“Yeah, right,” Teddy replied. He stood up, and Scorpius thought he was going to leave, but instead he approached the bar and signalled to Aberforth that he wanted a drink.
“I filled in the application form long before I was ever seeing Lily,” Scorpius explained when Teddy rejoined him. “I looked through everything over the summer holiday, and when I got back to Hogwarts, I decided to apply.”
“So why did you send the application form in four months later?” Teddy asked in disbelief.
“Because I knew I didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of being accepted. Not with my background.”
“Yet you still sent it in. That doesn’t add up, Malfoy,” Teddy said, picking up his drink and taking a long, slow sip.
“Because Lily told me what a great bloke her dad was “ that’s why!” Scorpius exclaimed. “She said he gave people chances, and I believed her.”
Teddy studied him thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair as he perused Scorpius’ face. “If I offered to talk to either Lily or Harry, which one would you choose, Scorpius?”
Scorpius licked his lips. “Li ...” he trailed off. He knew he should answer Lily, but if he were honest ...
“Okay, I want to get back with Lily. I want her to understand that I wasn’t using her, although, yeah, I admit that I did think seeing her wouldn’t exactly harm my chances with her dad. But...”
“But what?” Teddy’s voice took on an interrogatory tone.
“But, I’m realistic enough to realise that Lily isn’t my whole world,” Scorpius said quickly. “I know the easiest way to get you onside is to tell you that I love her and I want to marry her “ or some rubbish like that “ but we’ve been together for less than a month, and how many relationships last outside Hogwarts?”
Teddy smiled slightly. “Well, Lily’s parents, for one thing, Rose and Hugo’s, Fred and Roxanne’s, too. I’ve known Victoire more or less all my life,” he added.
Scorpius rolled his eyes. “What a joyously happy family you must be,” he said, trying to keep the scorn out of his voice.
“Yep, we’re a bundle of laughs,” Teddy muttered darkly. He drained his drink. “Look, I appreciate your honesty. If you’d said Lily, I wouldn’t have believed you, anyway.”
“So you’ll help me?” Scorpius asked hopefully. “You’re on my side.”
“I’ll tell Harry exactly what you’ve told me,” Teddy replied, “but I’m not on your side, Scorpius. And I won’t speak to Lily. You want her back “ you earn her back. Given the grief she’s getting from her family, she’s better off out of it.”
“You’ll be pleased to know she’s seeing Cootes, then,” Scorpius said gloomily. “I’m sure the family will love him.”
He took a slug of his drink, feeling the Firewhisky sear his throat, and slunk into the back of his chair. “I had a fall during the match against Gryffindor “ totally lost my nerve “ but your ... er ... I don’t know what the relationship is, but she says you’re like a brother.”
“I think of her as my sister,” Teddy said quietly. “Go on, tell me what Lily did.”
“She got me flying again.”
“James told me you’d been dropped,” Teddy said neutrally.
“I quit, and didn’t get reinstated when I changed my mind,” Scorpius replied, hoping that Teddy would recognise that there was a difference. “We’d lost to Gryffindor and I got the blame.” He shrugged. “Slytherin lost to Ravenclaw last week, and the new Seeker’s crap, so perhaps they’ll ask me to come back.”
“And you’d return to the team? You can’t win the Cup now.”
Scorpius’ eyes gleamed. “One last chance to fly at Hogwarts “ to catch the Snitch. You bet I would.”
There was a silence, yet it wasn’t uncomfortable. Scorpius finished his drink, and after a while, Teddy offered to buy him another.
“Victoire dumped me once for this prat called Chester McLaggan,” Teddy said when he returned with the drinks. “Didn’t last long. She was just incredibly hurt and angry with me.”
“You think Lily will forgive me?”
Teddy grimaced. “She’s stubborn “ all the Weasleys are “ but has a heart as big as a lion’s, so I think she will.” He paused and raised the glass to his lips. “Be careful, though, Scorpius.”
“Careful of what?”
“Well, cousin, you might not think Lily means that much to you, but those Weasley witches are a bloody hard habit to shake.”