Lucky
They say that the brain is a very powerful thing. It stores memories, holds knowledge, and warns you of danger. But the brain is also a strange thing, for it recalls things at seemingly unimportant moments in your life. It’s in those moments of seemingly random recollections that we realise how lucky we really are.
I wake up for the fourth time tonight from the screeches coming from the next room. Groaning, I roll over in my bed, causing my blankets to rustle. I grope for the light on my nightstand. Every night for the last month, it’s been the same. Every night, I am woken up every two hours, only to be fully woken up at seven in the morning. I miss the days when I could go to bed, sleep through the night, and wake up at noon the next day. Quite honestly, I’m exhausted, sore, and cranky. But I couldn’t be happier.
I still haven’t managed to turn on the lamp. I feel an arm fall against my waist and a soft tickle against my ear as Scorpius whispers, –It’s okay, I’ll get it this time, try to sleep.â€
He slips out of bed with barely a sound, something I was never really good at. I close my eyes and try to fall back to sleep, but it’s no use. The crying is too loud, and no wonder, both of them are upset.
I finally find the lamp, switch it on, and stumble out of bed. When I look in the door of the nursery, I see Scorpius try to hush the babies down by singing a lullaby that his mother must have taught him. It’s moments like these where I really see how fortunate I am to have a husband as great as he is.
We met at Hogwarts in my second year. I was Keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and he for the Slytherins. I had gone out to the Quidditch pitch the night after I made the team to fly around and possibly try to practice with the spell my Uncle Ron had taught me to bewitch Quaffles. Scorpius had shown up that night, too. I would find out later that he would go down there whenever he needed to blow off steam. He said that the feel of the air on his face made him feel freer.
I was attempting the spell Uncle Ron had taught me when he came flying onto the pitch. To my horror, instead of it flying at me, it flew and whacked Scorpius in the face.
–What the hell was that?†he yelled. He hadn’t been in the best of moods when he came out, and the Quaffle to the face certainly didn’t help matters.
I sat, frozen, on my broom. I knew it was Scorpius from sight – almost everyone did. He was a good Quidditch player, excellent really, and he was often the topic of many common room conversations amongst the girls in fourth year.
He rounded on me. –What the hell was that for?â€
–I...I’m so sorry!†I cried. –I was trying to bewitch the Quaffle to fly at me, for practise, but it appears that it didn’t work.â€
–You don’t say?†he snarled. I remember being so terrified in that moment that he’d hex me. It must have shown on my face, because something in his eyes softened. –New pick?†he asked.
I nodded. –Keeper for Gryffindor.†As if it wasn’t obvious without me saying so. It’s unlikely that a Seeker would be bewitching Quaffles to fly at them.
He looked at me. –So this is James’ new pick. You look a little small for a Keeper, you know.†I did. Keepers were often a lot bigger than I was. Scorpius was a prime example. He was fairly tall, even then, and he had broad shoulders. I shrugged.
His eyes rested on my hair. –Wait. Red hair? You have to be part of the Weasley clan.â€
I blushed. –That’s not why I made the team though.â€
–Really?†He asked. –So what’s your name?â€
–Lily,†I said, perhaps a little defiantly.
–Lily, as in Lily Potter, James’ sister?†he laughed. –Keeping it in the family, I see.â€
–I won that position fair and square!†I hated it when people assumed something because of who my family is. Unfortunately, it happened a lot.
–Really?†he said again.
–Yes. I’ll prove it to you. Take shots at me.â€
–I can hardly share Slytherin tactics with you,†Scorpius sneered.
–Well, it’s a good thing you aren’t a Chaser then, isn’t it?†I quipped.
He caved and took some shots on me. I saved nearly all of them. –Well, you aren’t terrible,†he stated once he had thrown a good amount of Quaffles.
–Told you,†I gloated. – I could take some shots on you, if you wanted to practise.â€
This was how Scorpius and I got to know each other. Anytime we’d run into each other on the pitch, we’d fly together and practise together.
In my fifth year, Scorpius helped out in an OWL tutorial group that my cousin Dominique had started after her fifth year to prepare students for their OWLs. It was then that things began to change. I soon found myself unable to speak in coherent sentence around Scorpius. I was exploding potions and messing up simple spells. When he asked what was going on, I gave a million excuses in fast succession. It was as if his presence had made me into a babbling fool. Once I began to fancy him, I didn’t know how to talk to him. He must have known what was going on with me, everyone else did. Regardless, he must have felt the same way, because after Christmas, he asked me on our fist date.
After his completion of Hogwarts, we continued our relationship by writing each other countless letters and him coming to visit me on Hogsmeade weekends. It was hard to get to him, though, as he spent the next four years in Healer training, which was a lot of work both at St. Mungo’s and outside of it.
I can still remember the first time he told me that he loved me. It was during one of our Hogsmeade trips. It was the first one of my sixth year. Scorpius and I were simply strolling hand in hand in the streets when he turned to me, grabbed both of my hands in his, and said that he knew he loved me. I hugged him and told him that I loved him too, which was true.
In my seventh year, Scorpius surprised me by turning up in Hogsmeade unexpected. He brought me out to dinner where he presented me with a promise ring. It was our two year anniversary, and Scorpius explained to me that he loved me more than he had ever loved anyone before and that he was really committed to our relationship. I smiled like a fool, and kissed him right there.
After Hogwarts, I moved to Romania to work with my Uncle Charlie for two years in order to obtain my dragon keeper’s licence. Most guys would have given up after four years of being apart, but Scorpius stuck with me, writing me as often as he could and remaining faithful. I returned after the two years to study Welsh Greens in a Scotland reserve. Scorpius moved up there with me to work as a Healer to the dragon keepers. We spent a lot of time by the ocean, just walking, hand in hand, and stealing kisses as the sun set.
On our fifth year anniversary, Scorpius proposed. We were at the ocean, walking barefoot in the sand at midnight. The stars were so bright here, with no smog to block their light. I was looking up at the stars, searching for constellations when Scorpius stopped us.
–Lily,†Scorpius said. I turned to look at him. –I’ve been thinking of a way to do this, and I really don’t think that there is any better way than doing it this way.†He took my hand in both of his, and knelt on the sand. –Lily Luna Potter, will you marry me?†He pulled a small silver ring with a emerald in it. I was absolutely speechless, so all I could manage to do was nod.
He smiled and slid the band onto my fourth finger. He leaned in and gave me the gentlest, most beautiful kiss I had ever had. We broke apart, and I looked into his eyes. They were all twinkly and he had the happiest smile on his face.
I moved back in to kiss him again, only this time, it was deeper. I knew in that moment that this is what I wanted more than anything: to be with Scorpius.
We were married before my twenty-first birthday. In six months, we were expecting.
Scorpius was the one to break the news to my parents that we were expecting twins. I was too nervous to make the announcement myself. I had no idea how one told their parents this. My parents were absolutely thrilled to be finally getting grandkids.
Scorpius endured my difficult pregnancy with me. By the time I was ready to give birth, I was crabby and a nightmare to be around. He even braved telling me that he wanted to name our children after constellations, following the Black family tradition three days before they were born.
–You’re telling me this now?†I was completely unimpressed.
–Well, we haven’t decided on names yet, and I think it’s time we did,†Scorpius explained.
–Well, what are we going to call them, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor?†They were the only names of constellations that I knew, besides Scorpius, Draco, Andromeda, and Bellatrix.
–Don’t be silly, Lily. I was thinking Cassiopeia and Andromeda if we had girls and Perceus and Hercules if we had boys.â€
–Cassiopeia is nice,†I caved. –But no way would I name a kid Hercules, and you do know that naming the boy Perceus would be almost like naming him after my Uncle Percy, right?â€
–Would you rather we called him Draco?†Scorpius smirked.
–Do you want to call him Harry?†I countered back.
He laughed. –No, I wouldn’t.â€
When it came time for me to deliver, Scorpius help my hand the whole time and let me call him every name in the book. I screamed at him and nearly crushed his hand, but Scorpius just held on tight, and wiped the hair and sweat off of my forehead. He whispered encouraging things to me and told me that he loved me every time I told him I hated him and wanted to hex off his balls.
Now, Scorpius is an amazing dad to Cassiopeia and Perceus. He does everything he can for them when he’s home, because he knows how tired I get. The twins adore him, and I’m rather fond of him myself.
I smile as I watch Scorpius bounce Cassie in his arms while he waves a stuffed rabbit at Percy.
–Shhh!†he attempts to hush Percy, who his screaming at the top of his lungs. Cassie has finally managed to calm down and is sleeping contently in his arms. –Your mum is trying to sleep.â€
I come and hold my arms out to grab the screaming baby. –I was hoping you’d be able to sleep,†Scorpius says as he hands me the sleeping Cassie instead and takes Percy from his crib and begins to rock him.
–Not with these two going at it,†I point out.
Half an hour later, the babies are both asleep. The hush in the room creates a happy contrast to the screams. We lay the babies back in their cribs and head back to bed. I lay there, with Scorpius by my side, his arm draped over my waist, and I know that I am one lucky woman.
Lucky by Maple_and_PheonixFeather
Story Notes:
This was written for SPEW007 2012. The prompt was "Hush".
A huge merci to Ellie who betaed this!
Chapter Endnotes: Thanks for reading and please review :)