I had meant to enter this story in the Write Your Own Epilogue to DH contest but I submitted it wrong. Anyway, here it is, enjoy!

(romance)

A LESSON IN LOVE

Scorpius Malfoy had a secret. The truth was, there were a lot of things about him that people didn’t know. All anybody mostly saw was the 16 year old Slytherin student who was now in his sixth year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. They saw a shy, somewhat restrained and aloof boy who would one day become a powerful wizard, but that was only part of the picture. What they didn’t see was his love for Lily Potter, daughter of the great Harry Potter himself.

It had all started innocently enough at the beginning of term. Scorpius was sitting at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall when he first noticed her, walking by looking lovely and innocent with her long red hair and big blue eyes, on her way to her own table. “Hi, Scorpius,” she said to him, and that had been the start of something big. It was funny, in a way, he thought, that the two of them should find themselves together all of a sudden, yet they were never fully aware of each other until that day.

From that day on the Gryffindor and Slytherin spent a lot of time together, sharing stories, taking walks together, pondering homework and just generally getting to know one another. Now Scorpius wanted to take Lily to his parents’ house and introduce her as his girlfriend but he wasn’t sure whether they would accept her or not, especially his father. He thought about his father with a sigh.

In the old days, he knew, his dad and Lily’s dad had been huge enemies. The differences and rivalries between the houses were a lot more pronounced in those days, and no houses were greater rivals or hated each other more than Slytherin and Gryffindor. Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter were civil to each other today, at least, and he knew the reason why, because Harry Potter had saved his life and his dad would never forget that. Scorpius’ father would never be close friends with Lily’s dad, everyone knew that, but there would always be respect and a grudging admiration there. Still, how would his dad take this kind of news? He didn’t want to make him angry or hurt him in any way.

Scorpius had been sitting in the exact same chair where he had first spoken to Lily thinking all of these thoughts when he saw her approaching. “Hey, you look deep in thought! Is anything wrong?”, she asked. Her face always lit up when she saw Scorpius, anyone could see it. He had his father’s good looks, the same silvery blond hair and silver gray eyes, just not quite as haughty, more open and accepting. That was what Lily loved most about him. Their being in different houses didn’t matter to them, they didn’t give it a thought. It only mattered to their parents, and they both knew it.

“No, not really,” Scorpius answered. “I was only thinking how great it’s going to be when we tell our parents about --- about us. I’m just a little nervous about it.”

“I know what you mean,” Lily told him with a slight smile. “I’m a little bit nervous, too. I’ve heard all the stories about how our parents used to hate each other, back in the really bad days before we were born. Things aren’t that way anymore though, Scorpius, you know that. They have to accept that we’re together, that’s all there is to it!”

“Maybe, but what if they don’t?”, asked Scorpius, ever the pessimist. “I really like being with you, Lily, you know that. I feel like I’ve finally found somebody I can share things with, somebody that matters. I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t, I promise,” Lily laughed. “Everything is going to be just fine, just trust me and you’ll see.”

“Okay, I’ll try,” said Scorpius, wanting with all his heart to believe her.

“Do you want to go to my parents’ house this weekend so I can prove everything is going to be all right?”, Lily asked. “We can start with them, and then talking to your parents will be a cinch!” The school term was almost over, there only a few days left. Lily could see Scorpius’ nervousness and thought the sooner the better for getting this meeting over with.

Scorpius felt a pang of nervousness. “Do we have to do it so soon?”, he asked.

“Yes, because if we don’t do it now we might not ever do it. Especially knowing how emotional you get about this kind of stuff and everything!”, Lily said, poking Scorpius in the arm. “It’s okay, though, because I understand that about you. I don’t think anyone else would,” she said, rolling her eyes playfully.

“Oh, and what about you, always getting on me to do this and do that! You don’t ask for much, do you?”, Scorpius retorted, joking back with her. He was happy she had such a take charge, move ahead forward attitude, you would never know she was the younger of the pair by two years. The two of them balanced each other out, and that was great. If only their parents would see that!

Scorpius thought for a moment. “Well, okay, I guess we have to do it some time,” he said. “It is probably best to get it over with, it’s probably only going to get worse the longer we wait, like you said.”

“Yeah, of course it is,” Lily agreed.

”Well, come on then, let’s take a walk down to the orchard,” Scorpius said. The orchard was a favourite spot for the two of them, they loved the fresh air and the beauty of the place was so relaxing to them.

Lily stood up, and together they walked through the entrance of Hogwarts down to the orchard. Today was a quiet day for the two of them, they just wanted to sit and hold hands and relax before they faced the ordeal of telling their parents that they were dating.

After what seemed like no time at all the light started to fade in the evening sky. Both students knew it was time to head back to their respective dorms and get some sleep so they could prepare to face the new day. Scorpius told Lily, “Let me walk with you back to Gryffindor Tower so I can spend a little more time with you before you have to go.”

“Sure,” agreed Lily, happy to have his company just a little longer.

Once they reached their destination Scorpius didn’t want to let Lily go, but he knew he had to. Finally they hugged each other and Scorpius gave Lily a kiss and said, “You know, with you I feel like I can face anything, even telling our parents about us.”

“It really is going to be okay,” Lily assured him, kissing him back quickly. “You better get back to the dungeons before it gets really dark and someone starts looking for you.”

“Sad but true,” said Scorpius, turning to leave and, ever the romantic, giving a courtly bow to Lily as he did so. “I’ll see you soon, Lily.” With those words he began his lonely walk back to the dungeons, thinking it really was a miracle that the two of them had managed to keep their secret for so long. They were careful, no one suspected a thing.

All these things had happened five days ago. Scorpius had been thinking about their last meeting over and over again. The memory made him so happy he lost track of time. Already, without his realizing, the moment had arrived for the dinner with Lily’s parents.

Things were going to be much harder than even Scorpius expected. There was no way he could have prepared for this.

When Scorpius walked into the home of Harry and Ginny Potter, he couldn’t believe his eyes. There were both his parents sitting at the table waiting expectantly. One set of parents would have been hard enough for him, but both? He felt sick to his stomach. How could this have happened? Then suddenly, it dawned on him. Lily had to have asked them to be here tonight, but why? He wasn’t ready for this, he would never be ready for this, surely she knew that. Why had she betrayed him?

“Don’t freak out, just trust me and let’s get it over with,” Lily whispered to Scorpius as they entered the dining room together, noticing what she had heard muggles describe as a deer in the headlights look in his eyes. “It has to come out in the open someday and everything will be all right because we were meant to be together.” She gave his hand a squeeze and winked at him.

Scorpius wasn’t so sure, but he took a seat and prepared to face four very important people in their lives. There were two other people there, too, Lily’s brothers James and Albus, but he wasn’t worried about either of them.

Scorpius considered each person individually. There was his mother, Luna Lovegood Malfoy who had always been a pretty understanding person, very easy to talk to and confide in. He wasn’t so worried about her. Then there was Lily’s mother, Ginny Weasley Potter, she was cool, too. Then you came to Harry Potter, possibly the greatest wizard who had ever lived. At one time he had fought against Slytherin, how did he feel now? And last of all there was Scorpius’ father, Draco Malfoy. He was heir to the proud and scornful saga of the Malfoy family where the bloodline had to be kept pure and Slytherins stuck with other Slytherins. He gave a small shudder.

It was best just to get it over with, Scorpius decided with a small gulp. “Everyone, Lily and I have something we would like to tell you,” he started, hesitation in his voice. “I’m not even sure how to say it.”

Suddenly Lily decided to take over the explanation, to Scorpius’ relief. “You see, we’ve found out that we want to see more of each other. We really like each other,” she stated simply. Scorpius looking around, fearing what was going to happen next. He wasn’t at all surprised to see a look of shock on his father’s face.

“Scorpius, you are a Slytherin. You know you can’t possibly be that close with a Gryffindor, it simply isn’t acceptable. Your grandfather and I have been telling you this for years.” Scorpius’ father had a look of scorn and disgust on his face. Things were bad. But then, his mother interrupted.

“But Draco, you know that that’s not true. Slytherin doesn’t always have to stay only with Slytherin. After all, look at the two of us,” Scorpius’ mother said in her soft voice which he loved. She was always a comfort to him, though he knew there were some who found her strange. “Who would have ever thought that I would end up with a Slytherin? None of those things matter, the important thing is how two people feel about each other deep down. Search your heart, at one time I’m sure you never would have believed that you would end up with me.”

Her words had an amazingly calming effect on Scorpius’ father. “Well, maybe you have a point, Luna, but a Gryffindor? You know how my family feels about that.” But he didn’t seem as angry as he had a few moments earlier. He seemed a lot more willing to listen. “No offense,” he added quickly, gesturing in the direction of Lily’s parents.

“It doesn’t matter. If it wasn’t for a Gryffindor you wouldn’t even be here today. We both know that,” Scorpius’ mother answered, giving a knowing look toward Lily’s father. “Harry and Ginny are two of the best friends I’ve ever had, they’ll be my friends for life. What difference does it make what house a person was sorted into? Forget your family traditions and beliefs and give our kids a chance. The things that were true back when you were a child are no longer so true today.”

”It’s true, things have changed a lot since those days,” Lily’s mother said. “If Scorpius and Lily like each other, there’s no reason they shouldn’t see each other.”

Scorpius’ father sat there in deep thought for what seemed like an eternity but was actually only a matter of a few minutes. Finally he said, “Well, I suppose there might be a chance they belong together. Maybe we should give them some time to see if they really want to stay with each other.”

It was a great victory and the whole table knew it, especially Scorpius and Lily. Scorpius was relieved that things were going this well, much easier than he expected. His mother truly was a wonder, she had such a magical way with his father, and he was grateful and very lucky to have her, he knew.

“What do you think about this, Mr. Potter? Is it okay if I go out with your daughter?”, he asked the great wizard hesitantly. He hadn’t said a word up to that point.

Slowly, Lily’s father turned and spoke. “There was once a time when these things would have mattered to me. I think Luna has put it very well. Now we all know better. Lily’s happiness is the most important thing, after all, and if she’s chosen you then you must be the right boy for her,” Lily’s father said. He smiled at both Lily and Scorpius as he reached his hand to his forehead, lightly touching his scar.