Obliviate

Tension

My Girl... My Girl... My Girl? The words rang through Lily's mind over and over again. What did this mean for their friendship? Was it over? What was this now turning into? Or was Lily overthinking as usual? 

"You know, if you wanted some alone time with me, you could've just said so..." Scorpius laughed with blood still oozing from his nose. Both of them were heaving for air after having run up two flights of stairs. Lily grabbing him by the nose and lifted it up to stop the bleeding "Ow!" he hissed, though the sound came out almost playful. 

"Shush. Hold still," she murmured. "I need to keep reminding myself to stay calm or happy at least for the sake of the Seedling..." The Seedling wasn't much of a Seedling after a couple of days. It had grown about a foot, its roots pressing against the glass walls of the jar. Hiding it under her bed had worked at first, but now... now it felt like trying to cage a storm. That small space would never be enough again

"Have you come up with an idea on where to plant it yet?" his voice muffled as her fingers kept pressure on his nose.. 

"No..." She forced her mind away from the warmth of his skin beneath her touch. Hiding it from the Death Eaters was proving harder than she'd hoped. Underground had almost worked, until they'd been frighteningly close to finding it. "Have you heard from your father?"

Scorpius' eyes hardened, "Not from him directly, he was taken to trial and since has been under surveillance by Aurors, his anger has now been directed at my mother." Lily let go of Scorpius' nose and her fingers trailed down his cheek, feeling the soft patchy stubble starting to grow. His gaze locked on hers, and the hard edges in his expression softened, pupils dilating.

Her breath caught. Up close, she could see the faint ring of green encircling his grey irises. She began to pull away, but his hand closed over hers, firm, certain, drawing her a step closer until there was hardly space between them. "From the moment our eyes met at the station all those years ago, I knew there was something between us," Scorpius said, his voice low, almost reverent.

Lily's heart hammered against her ribs. "I did too," she breathed before she could stop herself.

The air between them was heavy now, charged, fragile. She coughed, stepping out of his reach as if the contact had burned her. "We should clean up before someone finds us... and I need to deal with my brother."

The flicker of disappointment in his eyes was impossible to miss. His voice was softer now, resigned. "Maybe that's not such a good idea with what we're trying to achieve with the Seedling... Let's meet up later to go over ideas where we could hide it, it won't survive under your bed for too long..." 

***

After Lily and Scorpius had washed the last traces of blood from his face, they slipped into the Great Hall for dinner with their house. The moment they stepped through the doors, a ripple of curiosity passed through the room. More than a few heads turned their way, late arrivals always drew attention, but tonight's whispers carried the added weight of the earlier commotion with James. He sat two tables away, eyes fixed on his plate, the dark bruises blooming under them like ink stains. They ate in near silence, both aware of the watchful glances that followed them.

Later, when the common room had emptied and the fire burned low, they sprawled together on the couch, the flicker of the hearth throwing soft shadows over the chessboard between them. Lily moved her knight forward with a decisive flick, only to watch in mild horror as Scorpius' rook smashed a hole clean through its side.

"So," he said casually, leaning back with a faint smirk, "ideas on where we should plant our dear Seedling friend?"

Lily's lips pressed together as she studied the battered board. "Dad told me stories about this place called the Shrieking Shack..."