Beyond The Borders: Lily Potter and Scorpius Malfoy

16. Fears and Doubts

I.


"Olivia Gabrielle Mason." Alix said seriously as she put her hands on the table with a loud thud. She looked at Lily and Alice dramatically as if she had just solved the most important crime of the century.

"Isn't she that sixth year girl from Slytherin?" Alice said, intrigued.

"Yes, and I saw her trying to seduce Scorpius with her gigantic tits." Alix cringed at the thought as she rolled her eyes.

Lily giggled. "What were they doing, exactly?"

"They were talking." Alix flipped her hair as she shrugged.

"See? That's probably nothing." Lily sighed with much relief. "They were just talking." Lily said with a reassuring smile.

"I don't like her, she seems . . . Shady." Alix frowned as she pouted her lips. It was probably her way of showing that she was thinking, but she looked sexy instead.









Did all the Slytherin girls look effortlessly hot?







Lily didn't want to know the answer.




"Well, I should go." Alix said. "Fred is waiting for me. See you around!" Alix waved at Lily and Alice before she went looking for Fred.





Lily didn't know what she felt about the issue because she never really worried about Scorpius cheating, although she was quite aware of the reputation he had before he started dating Lily.

It was most likely just another girl, swooning over him, especially now that he had just defeated four beasts in a row. She was always so understanding when it came to Scorpius' admirers. He was pretty popular and undeniably hot -- of course girls would love to capture his attention, but why would Alix make a big deal out of that one girl?



"Do you believe what Alix said?" Alice turned to Lily, still intrigued by the gossip they had just heard.

"Alix wouldn't lie, but she probably just misinterpreted what she saw." Lily shrugged it off as she played with the ends of her hair. "Besides, I trust Scorpius." She nodded in certainty.

"Huh." Alice blinked as she decided that she couldn't sway Lily into being an overly-paranoid girlfriend. "We should probably go eat supper."

"Good idea." Lily stood up as she linked her arm with Alice's.


As they walked along the corridors of the castle, they heard Hugo shout behind them. "Hey, wait up!" He caught up with them as he exhaled.

"Where have you been?" Alice asked.

"Detention. Fred and James tried to put an aging potion into Dominique's tea, but McGonagall saw me."

"I don't understand... Why you?" Lily sniggered.

"I forgot to hide." He muttered as his ears turned red with embarrassment.

"Oh, couz. You really do suck at pranking." Lily teased him as she poked his side.


"Sod off, Lils." Hugo looked away, nudging her as Alice laughed hysterically.

"What did you do in detention, then?" Alice asked as she bit her lip, trying to hold back her laughter.

"I had to put mandrakes into pots with your dad." He glared at Alice, his cheeks turning crimson red.

Lily laughed harder as Alice gasped for air.

"You basically saved me! I was supposed to do that this weekend for some 'quality time' with dad," Alice said. "But I know he just hates dealing with mandrakes by himself because he passes out with a mandrake's scream sometimes." Alice finished while Lily and Hugo's eyes widened in amusement.

"Professor Longbottom is the coolest Herbology teacher out there - I can't possibly imagine him fainting because of a bloody plant!" Hugo said with a laugh.

"Don't tell anyone!" Alice pinched Hugo's arm. "I think it's dad's little secret." They giggled as the three of them started walking toward the Great Hall for supper.





Lily saw Albus eating with his sixth year friends at the Gryffindor table when Hugo hurriedly sat down beside them and stacked his plate with food while his stomach grumbled.

"I am starving!" Hugo announced before taking a huge bite of his fried chicken.

Lily and Alice sat between him as they filled their plate with mashed potatoes and steak.

"Hey, Al! Congratulations for getting through the first round." Lily greeted.

"Thanks. Hey, look at this - it's the clue to the next task." Albus handed the locket to Lily.


She took the locket in curiosity as she stared at it while eating. "It's a locket. . ." She stated as if it wasn't obvious enough.

"What do you reckon is that supposed to mean?" Albus asked frustratedly.

"I don't know? Let me look at it later, we have until January, anyway." She gave the locket back as she started eating more of the mashed potatoes.


Alice vigorously nudged Lily as her eyes widened. "What?" Lily asked when she saw her friend looking nervous.

Alice gasped when she saw the girl beside Scorpius. "Isn't that Olivia? The girl Alix was talking about?!" She said with a worried expression. Lily frowned at how malicious Alice said it, but she quickly looked at the Slytherin table to find Scorpius.


He was sitting beside the girl as they talked, their eyes not even straying as they spoke, which Lily found a tad bit annoying.


But she wasn't jealous.



Not one bit.






Nope.






Alice slowly leaned unto Lily's ear as she whispered. "Tits."


Lily kicked her friend's leg under the table as Alice howled in pain. "Ouch you little arse!" Alice rubbed her leg to ease the pain as she glared at Lily.

"Shut up, people are looking." Lily scowled as she looked around the room.

"You shouldn't have kicked me, then! That bloody hurt." Alice scowled back.

Lily felt uncomfortable when people started staring at them. She felt her cheeks burn as she stood up from her seat.

"I'm full. See you at the common room." Lily said, walking away from the Great Hall as fast as she could.





II.


The wind was almost icy cold as fog covered the window of the Gryffindor common room that Saturday afternoon. December's weather was fast approaching and everyone was excited for their winter break. Meanwhile, Lily was sitting at the corner of the room, reading a book about a strange girl's adventure in another world. Lily didn't like the story, but she liked how the book described the obscure-looking creatures and plants that the strange girl encountered in her journey.

Rose came down from her dormitory as she went in the middle of the common room to announce something. Lily looked up from her book when Rose spoke up.

"Professor McGonagall told me that fourth years up to seventh years of the Gryffindor house will be having an hour of practice for the Yule Ball. Everyone should be in the Transfiguration classroom in ten minutes." Rose said as the blokes groaned while the girls gasped and hurriedly went to their dormitories to fix their hair.

Fred nudged Albus lazily after everyone had gone to their dorms. "Who are you taking to the Yule Ball?" Fred asked.

"Dunno yet. I'm thinking of asking Bowen, but I don't think she'd say yes."

"Marina's all in for the romantic grand gestures, mate. There's no way she'd say yes if you just 'ask' her." Fred shook his head in disapproval.

"Exactly. I'm nothing near romantic. I'm just gonna go alone." Albus sighed as he leaned on the couch.

James smirked as he bobbed his head behind Albus' shoulder. "I could help you with that."

"No way, bro. You're too cheesy." Albus chuckled.

"Girls love me. Why do you think I got Cassia?" He tilted his head to the side as a crooked smile appeared on his lips.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Marina would probably love it if you asked her, but I think she'd appreciate it more if you made a little effort." She sat beside Albus. "Don't just casually ask her." She said as she closed the book she was reading. "Besides, you rarely even talk to her. Don't you think she'd be weirded out?"


Albus suddenly stiffened and became uncomfortable. "W-we talk sometimes, err- during trainings and, and, and when she passes by the corridors?"

"You fancy Marina!" James gasped, clearly amused by Albus' sudden confession.

"Er-- can we go now? We're gonna be late." Albus became fidgety.


Lily laughed when she noticed. "You guys gossip more than girls do." Lily shook her head as she stood up with Albus. "Come on. We really are going to be late if we don't move now."

The Weasley cousins decided to stand up and go to the Transfiguration classroom together. When Lily and her cousins arrived, the room was already crowded and the seats were swept out of the classroom to give more space for them to dance. There was a big vinyl player at the centre of the room, waiting to be played.

"Let's get started." McGonagall said firmly as she stood up, gracefully from her seat. "Get a partner."

The girls started murmuring as the guys' silent groans echoed the room.


"Hugo, be my partner." Lily whispered as she grabbed her cousin's arm.

"Wait - who's my partner?!" Alice panicked.

"Ask your brother!"

"No way! Reece has Lucy with him."

Before Lily could think of someone who could dance with Alice, a tall bloke from their year approached Alice shyly.

"Do you have a partner yet?" The bloke asked silently, you could barely hear it.

"Hey, Jake. No, I don't have a partner yet." Alice said with a small smile.


Lily sighed with relief when Alice took the Jake Finnigan's hand to dance. At least she didn't have to dance with guilt, knowing that Alice had a crappy partner, but Jake was more than okay.



"Oh, for goodness' sake! Fred Weasley-- stop putting crickets inside Potter's trousers!" McGonagall shouted with frustration. "You. Here. Now."

The room was now filled giggles as James pushed Fred towards McGonagall. "You'll be my partner for today." She said.

"What?! No!" Fred protested. "Can I take detention, instead?" He asked, hopeful.

Everyone laughed while McGonagall stood straightly. "Put your hand on my waist." She demanded while a few people sniggered.

Fred groaned loudly as he did what he was told.

"Very good. Now, we waltz."


The music started playing as the students followed McGonagall's dance.

Hugo took a step forward and accidentally stepped on Lily's left foot. "Ouch!" Lily glared at Hugo.

"Sorry." Hugo said as his palm became sweaty. "I don't know how to bloody dance."

Lily pursed her lips, trying her best to avoid getting her feet stepped on by Hugo. Eventually, he got the hang of the dance.

In Lily's opinion, the practice was fun after all and it ended well with a delighted smile on the headmistress' face.


"This is enough for today. See you all same time, next week." McGonagall dismissed them.

Hugo sighed as he let go of Lily's waist. "Do you think we could sneak in the kitchen? I bet Winky would give us hot chocolate and biscuits."

"Are you sure I'm your best friend? Pretty sure your best friend is either food or Winky." Lily said with a laugh as they walked out of the classroom.

"What? I'm hungry! A man's gotta eat." Hugo said defensively as they went down the stairs, toward the portrait of the kitchen.

Hugo stared at it for a second before tickling the pear. The portrait slowly opened to reveal the huge kitchen full of little house elves.

"Hugo! Lily! Come, come." Winky beamed as she held their hands and lead them to two stools. "What would you like to eat, young reds?"

"Could we perhaps take a few biscuits and hot chocolate, please? It's freezing out there." Hugo said with a sheepish smile.

"Yes, sir!" Winky obeyed. "The blonde one from Slytherin was here a while ago, too." Winky said as she snapped her finger to reveal two cups of hot chocolate.

"Scorpius? He was here? What did he want, Winky?" Lily suddenly became interested as she mouthed a 'thank you' when an elf handed her a cup.

"Oh, he was with a girl, miss! With brown hair. They took a few chestnuts, yes, yes." Winky said as she put a tray of biscuits on a table.

Lily frowned, looking at Hugo.
"So they still hang out..." Lily muttered, looking down.

"They're friends, it's normal. We're doing it now and it doesn't mean anything?" Hugo tried to explain.

"It's okay, I'm not mad or anything. It's just... I haven't even seen him today or even the other day." She took a biscuit and nibbled on it.

"Go meet him today, then? We should probably go, anyway. We can't stay for long."

"Yeah, let's go." Lily sighed.

"Bring the biscuits with you, young reds!" Winky said as she gave them a bag full of them.

"Thank you, Winky. We'll be back soon." Lily smiled as Hugo took it.

"Go, Lils. Meet him. I promised Alice I'd go with her to Hogsmeade today, anyway."

"Okay. Thanks, Hugo." Lily hugged her cousin as they walked back to the Gryffindor common room.







"Puffapod." Lily said when the The Fat Lady asked for the password. The portrait opened as Lily and Hugo went inside.

"Hey, Lils! Where have you been?" Alice asked as she tailed Lily up to her dormitory. Lily looked at her weirdly. "Err... The kitchen? Why?"

"Nothing, nothing! Where are you going now?" Alice stood in front of Lily as she grinned.

"Inside the dormitory -- can you move, please?" Lily raised her eyebrows as she tried to push Alice away from the door.

"Yeah, of course." Alice stepped back as she watched Lily go inside their dorm.

Lily looked around the room to see if anything weird happened, but the room seemed perfectly normal. She put on her hoodie and a scarf as Alice watched her.

"You're weirding me out, Alice. Why are you staring?" Lily asked when she noticed while she looked in the mirror to fix her hair and her scarf.

"Where are you going?" Alice asked.

"The tree, I'm hoping to meet Scorpius there."

"Are you crazy? It's freezing out there!"

"Why do you think I'm wearing this much clothes, then?"

"Point taken." Alice shrugged.

Lily took her book with her before going down from her dormitory. At the stairs she saw a rock that looked like a heart. Lily stared at it for a moment before deciding to pick it up. At her touch, the rock instantly turned into a small beautiful butterfly. Its wings were yellow with little red details. She let go of it and watched it fly away.

As she went down, Lily saw another rock at the bottom of the stairs. The students silently watched her consciously pick it up as she touched it.

The rock transformed into a small lily flower. She couldn't help but smile, knowing that Scorpius was the only one who could transfigure a rock into something that beautiful.

Lily looked around the room to see if everyone was still looking...






They were.


She tried to ignore them as she followed the trails of heart-shaped rocks and watched patiently as they turned into different things. Her particular favourites were the paintbrushes and a bubble that popped which smelled like Scorpius' hair and shirt. Lily loved his scent and she found it embarrassing that he knew.

The trail vanished at the end of the castle doors.





When she went out, she saw Scorpius standing behind a bench.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked as she went to him.

"No, stay there." Scorpius said before turning back. "Orchideous!" He pointed at an open space as he conjured a bouquet of flowers from the end of his wand. It formed into big words that read:

"YULE BALL?"

Scorpius grinned proudly at his work as he turned to face Lily.




"Lily Luna Potter,


Before you, my heart was like those rocks. I was numb and I felt nothing near the feeling of love. I used to be a mess and I didn't know what my purpose in life was. I believed that I was nothing more than a disappointment to everyone - a disgrace, even." He stepped closer to Lily as he held her hand.

"But then you came along, Lils. You touched my heart and suddenly, my perspective in life changed and everything became beautiful because of you." Scorpius kissed the back of Lily's hand before continuing. "You accepted me for who I am and not how people thought I was."





Lily bit her bottom lip as she felt blood rush through her cheeks. Scorpius chuckled and pulled her towards the bench.

"I love you, Lily. I really do."

"I do, too." She said as she brushed her fingers through his cheek.

"So, will you go to the Yule Ball with me?" He finally asked as he moved closer to her.

"Yes. Of course, I'll go with you." She grinned and kissed him as she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly.

Behind the castle doors, Lily and Scorpius' friends awed and clapped for them. She didn't even notice that they were there, which made her more shy and self-conscious.

"I had a little help from Hugo, Albus, and Alice. The Fat Lady wouldn't let me in your common room, you see." He said with a chuckle.



















And with that, all her fears and doubts suddenly disappeared. She knew that Scorpius loved her and there was nothing more she could ask for.