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sanalaylaContinued from last post....
When we finally made our way out to the field, I saw that my parents had transformed it into a Quidditch field. They'd actually managed to conjure up goal posts and fixed them on either side. There were a long row of brooms to choose from, lying on the grass and I could see the various participants trying them out. A trunk was nearby, kind of vibrating, and I knew that it held the various balls necessary to play. I wasn't sure where my parents had managed to hunt one down at this time of night, but I didn't question it. My Gran was talking to my parents, rather loudly, and telling them they had better make sure to leave the field exactly how they found it when the game was over.
All around us, people were conjuring up chairs and sofas to be able to watch the game more comfortably. The entire wedding party was outside, in full force. Even the people who weren't playing wanted to see how the match would go. I heard Neville say to his wife that he would bet on Ginny's team winning.
Uncle Percy overheard and said, "I'm willing to wager three galleons on that, Neville. Harry was a fair Seeker in his day. And Teddy is fantastic."
Within minutes, all the guests were jumping in and placing their own bets back and forth, amidst a lot of laughter and commentary.
Scorpius conjured us an overstuffed, plush love-seat and, as we down, he looked at me curiously. "Who would you put your money on?"
"You mean in a match with my mum against my dad?" I gave it some thought. "Uh… neither. I learned a long time ago not to figure out the odds in that case. It can go either way."
Scorpius looked out across the field, where my parents were playfully attempting to prevent each other from getting the good brooms. "Your father won't just let her win?"
"Oh, Merlin, no!" Alarmed at the mere idea of it, my eyes widened as I stared at him. "My mother would hex him into oblivion. And my father would never do it, anyway. He hates to lose."
My uncle George stood out in the middle of field and put his wand to his throat. In an amplified voice, he announced, "All right, family and dear friends. We are gathered here today to celebrate the joyous occasion of Teddy and Victoire's impending nuptials. However, before we can do so, we must first celebrate the joyous occasion of Team Gold's victory over Team Red!"
In response, there were a lot of boos that came from my mother's side of the field, where she'd gathered with her team.
Uncle George ignored them. "All right, then. Let me list out the players, so folks won't be confused. Not that it won't be confusing enough, because half the people look identical from far away. Team Gold is led by the famous Harry Potter. He once defeated Voldemort – but can he defeat his own wife on a Quidditch field?"
"George, just get on with it," my father interjected, rolling his eyes. "We haven't got all night."
"Potter, I'm trying to drum up some excitement and tension, here," Uncle George responded.
"There's enough excitement, George," Aunt Angelina said, with a smile. "Just get on with it, will you?"
"All right, all right," Uncle George said. "Since my wife is making me, I guess I'll get on with it, then. On Team Gold, we have Harry Potter as Seeker; George Weasley as Beater; Theodore Lupin as Beater; Ronald Weasley as Keeper – not that I was FOR that decision, mind you, but Potter's his best mate; Albus Potter as Chaser; Hugo Weasley as Chaser; and Fred Weasley as Chaser – and I'm sure he'll do well, because if he doesn't, his father will hex him."
I saw Fred roll his eyes at his father, while Uncle Ron was glaring daggers at his brother.
"Now, on the other side," my uncle continued, turning towards my mother's group with a smirk, "is Team Red. It consists of James Potter as Seeker – who looks rather scarily like his father at the moment, and it's going to be interesting to see father and son race for the Snitch…."
"George. Honestly. Get on with it!" This time it was my mother who interrupted.
"I can't believe I'm the only one who appreciates the generational irony," my uncle told her, but he continued, "Victoire Weasley will play Keeper. Bill and Charlie Weasley are Beaters – bad decision on my sister's part, because they're both older than Methuselah. They're more likely to have their bones crushed by the Bludgers than they are to beat them."
I saw Uncle Charlie and Uncle Bill exchange an amused look and they laughed good-naturedly.
"And, next, we have the famous ex-professional Quidditch player, Ginny Weasley-Potter, who's to play – what else? – Chaser. Along-side Ginny is the most beautiful woman on the planet, Angelina Weasley. Oh, and Rose Weasley will play Chaser, as well. I almost forgot about her."
Rose called back to him, "Thanks, Uncle George. Love you, too."
He winked at her. "Your ego can handle it."
Rose grinned back. "True enough."
"Now, we'll go over the rules," Uncle George said, as the entire field groaned. We'd thought he was done. "Since we have a wedding to attend tomorrow, we decided that we couldn't play by standard rules. After all, the bride and groom need their rest. So, there's a time limit of two hours or when the Snitch is caught, whatever happens first. The team with the most points at that time will be declared winner. It will come as no surprise to anyone that Hermione will keep score. Neville Longbottom has graciously agreed to serve as commentator."
Aunt Hermione walked up to him and said, in a wry tone, "Thanks, George. I think. Anyway," she put her wand to her own throat and began over the rules very quickly. She finished up with, "And, Teddy, you may not change into someone else during the course of the game to confuse people. And no other funny business from anyone. Anyone who cheats will have to answer to me." She gave everyone a stern look and they all looked properly intimidated. Then, she pulled out her wand and opened the trunk, releasing the Snitch and the Bludgers. She took out a Quaffle and tossed it up in the air. "Off you go then!"
Every player immediately took off into the warm summer sky, each one doing their own part. My mother immediately made two goals in quick succession and then shot my dad a triumphant grin. He ignored her and focused on finding the Snitch.
Snuggling back into the comfy sofa, I watched them play silently, attempting to keep up with what was going on. Even though Neville was commenting rather frequently, it was difficult to keep track. That was one the reasons I never really got into Quidditch. Everyone moved so fast, and there were so many people, it required too much concentration and focus to know what was going on. Of course, in my family, it was blasphemous to say that, so I typically kept that thought to myself.
After a while, I started to zone out and even closed my eyes. It had been a long day, and I felt it catching up to me. From far away, I heard Scorpius say, "You want a blanket?"
"Sure," I mumbled, as I burrowed in deeper into the cushions a soft cloth settled over my body. The next thing I knew, someone was shaking me awake. "Wake up, Lils. I can't believe you missed everything!"
Blinking my eyes open, I saw Rose standing over me. My head was resting against a very hard surface and when I sat up, I saw that I'd been sleeping with my head on Scorpius's chest. In front of my entire extended family.
Flushing a bit, I straightened and asked Rose, "Uh… who won?"
"Your mother," Scorpius answered, his grey eyes sparkling with amusement. "James caught the Snitch, and your mother scored more than the three Chasers on the other team combined. They trounced your father's team."
With a grin, I looked over towards my mother's team, who were in the midst of celebrating. They had used their wands to hoist James up in the air and they were singing, "Potter is our King!" He looked incredibly happy, and I knew that most of his happiness came from beating our father.
Glancing around, I saw that neither of my parents were anywhere to be found. Which more than likely meant that my mother had gone after her gold. Getting to my feet, I said, brightly, "All right, well… I'm off to bed."
"Oi, don't forget our deal," Al reminded me, as he came up to us, his hand in Sabena's. "Scorp's staying with you and Elaina. James is probably going to go off and find some Veela."
"Oh, right." Suddenly, I felt uncomfortable about my own suggestion. "Uh… are you sure? What if Mum and Dad find out?"
"Mum and Dad? Let's face it, they're not going to know anything that's going on." Al looked a little disgusted as he said this.
It was true. I felt rather repulsed myself. "Right."
Scorp put his hand on my lower back as we walked, silently, back into the inn with Rose, Albus, Sabena, and Daniel in tow. I felt every nerve ending tingle with awareness each step of the way. Once we got inside, we headed towards my room, branching off from the other two couples. The room was empty; we'd beaten Elaina to it.
I turned to face him, slowly, and – for whatever bizarre reason – I felt shy and awkward. It made no sense, given that we'd had sex plenty of times and even spent the night together two other times. But, now, with my entire family in the rooms surrounding ours, it just seemed to be at a whole other level. Maybe Albus was right and I did have the emotional maturity of a five-year old.
"So," I said, clearing my throat, fixing my gaze on some point past his shoulder. "That was a nice game, huh?"
"I suppose." Scorpius gave me an odd look. I didn't blame him. "Although, you slept through most of it."
"Yes, I was knackered." I headed towards my suitcase and, with a flick of my wand, moved it onto my bed. Unzipping it, I started to sort through the clothes while I explained, "I had a deadline. Finally going to get an article published. I mean, it's buried on the third page, but it's a start, right?" I pulled out pajama bottoms and an old t-shirt, along with the small pouch that held my toothpaste and toothbrush.
"Yes, it is." Scorpius had been watching me and when I turned to face him, my things in my arms, he smiled at me. "I should go get my own sleeping things, I guess. Before Al casts an impenetrable spell or something."
"Right." I nodded.
But he didn't move. Instead, we both stood there, staring at each other. Finally, Scorpius moved closer to me, eliminating the distance between us with a few long strides. He reached out and tugged on a long, wavy strand that had fallen out of my loose ponytail. He stretched it out all the way and when he let go, it bounced back. Gooseflesh broke out all over my body in response and I shivered.
I was just about to toss my things onto the other bed and grab him to snog him senseless when he broke the silence. "Lily… I want you to have dinner with my family again. Try to get to know them."
Utterly thrown off, I stared up at him confusion. "Um… ah… okay."
"I can't promise you Quidditch matches on a summer evening or even half the excitement your family seems to generate," he said, in a wry tone. "But… they're decent people. I want you to give them a chance."
"Of course." Clearly, this had been bothering him. I smiled reassuringly. "Look, you have to put up with James, right? It's the least I can do."
Scorpius gave a pause at that, but he smiled. "Right."
Then he moved even closer to me and slid his hand across my nape and cupped my head, pulling me up to give me a hard kiss. The things dropped from my arms as my hands stole around his waist, my fingers curling into the soft fabric of his jumper. Without stopping or breaking away, he stepped back until the back of his legs hit the other bed and he fell back, with me following on top of him. Straddling him, I fed him kiss after kiss, while his hands roved down my back and then under my shirt, his fingers seeking out the back of my bra.
He'd just managed to get to it when I heard someone exclaim, "Sweet Mary, mother of Jesus! Why didn't you LOCK the damn DOOR?"
Letting out a sigh of frustration, I jumped off of him, right as he scrambled out from under me. Without giving it much thought, I tossed a pillow onto his lap as we both looked towards Elaina.
"Sorry," I said, feeling a little flushed and knowing that, once again, I was bright red. Damn my bloody Weasley genes.
Scorpius seemed to be handling it better than me. Which made me wonder how many times he'd been caught in this particular sort of situation. "Sorry, Elaina," he said to his partner apologetically. "Did you know I was staying here tonight?"
"Yeah." She gave us both a dirty look, but it was clear she trying not to laugh. "But you're not staying with Lily on my bed." She pointed her wand towards the empty space on the other side of my bed and, saying a quick spell out loud, she conjured up a cot. "THAT'S where you're staying, partner. And," she added in a warning tone, "There better not be any hanky-panky. I'm a light sleeper. And I don't need that kind of trauma."
Scorpius and I exchanged a look.
"Right, of course," I answered, with an emphatic nod. "We'll be good. I promise."
"Well, I'm going to get my things," Scorpius stated. He turned to me and gave me a quick kiss right before he apparated away.
When he was gone, I used the opportunity to quickly change into my sleeping clothes, while Elaina was focused on getting her own sleeping clothes out. By the time Scorpius came back, we were both in our own bed, settling down for the night. After we all said good night to each other numerous times, with Elaina issuing a few more threats for good measure, we all fell silent.
Even though I was exhausted, I couldn't sleep. Apparently it was just me, because I heard a steady snoring sound coming from Elaina's bed almost immediately. After tossing and turning for another ten minutes, I whispered to Scorpius, "Are you awake?"
I heard rustling from his cot and he said, in an amused voice, "Yes."
I turned towards him, onto my right side, my hand under my cheek. "Is she always this loud?"
"Yeah." He laughed softly and said, "Lumos." His wand cast a small, soft glow that only covered my side of the room; Elaina's side was still dark. "She's also not a light sleeper, even though she thinks she is."
Sitting up a bit, I looked across at Scorpius. He was wearing an old t-shirt and, under there, I knew he was wearing a pair of loose jogging pants. He looked like he needed a shave already and, for some reason, it made him look younger instead of older. Maybe because he didn't look as polished as he normally did. He looked more… approachable. And that gave me courage. "I need to tell you something."
"What?"
"I think I'm in love with you," I told him, solemnly. My heart was racing and I held my breath. I had never said that to anyone before. In fact, I'd never even really thought I ever would say that to anyone.
Scorpius didn't laugh, like I expected him to. Instead, in a very serious tone, he answered, "That's good. Because I think I'm in love with you, too."
The sick feeling in my stomach lessened and was replaced by a sort of giddiness. With a wide grin, I leaned across the divide between our beds and lightly kissed him. When I'd settled back into my own bed, he extinguished the light. After a few moments, I felt his hand find me and he linked his fingers through mine.
With a smile, I closed my eyes and fell asleep, still holding onto his hand.
When we finally made our way out to the field, I saw that my parents had transformed it into a Quidditch field. They'd actually managed to conjure up goal posts and fixed them on either side. There were a long row of brooms to choose from, lying on the grass and I could see the various participants trying them out. A trunk was nearby, kind of vibrating, and I knew that it held the various balls necessary to play. I wasn't sure where my parents had managed to hunt one down at this time of night, but I didn't question it. My Gran was talking to my parents, rather loudly, and telling them they had better make sure to leave the field exactly how they found it when the game was over.
All around us, people were conjuring up chairs and sofas to be able to watch the game more comfortably. The entire wedding party was outside, in full force. Even the people who weren't playing wanted to see how the match would go. I heard Neville say to his wife that he would bet on Ginny's team winning.
Uncle Percy overheard and said, "I'm willing to wager three galleons on that, Neville. Harry was a fair Seeker in his day. And Teddy is fantastic."
Within minutes, all the guests were jumping in and placing their own bets back and forth, amidst a lot of laughter and commentary.
Scorpius conjured us an overstuffed, plush love-seat and, as we down, he looked at me curiously. "Who would you put your money on?"
"You mean in a match with my mum against my dad?" I gave it some thought. "Uh… neither. I learned a long time ago not to figure out the odds in that case. It can go either way."
Scorpius looked out across the field, where my parents were playfully attempting to prevent each other from getting the good brooms. "Your father won't just let her win?"
"Oh, Merlin, no!" Alarmed at the mere idea of it, my eyes widened as I stared at him. "My mother would hex him into oblivion. And my father would never do it, anyway. He hates to lose."
My uncle George stood out in the middle of field and put his wand to his throat. In an amplified voice, he announced, "All right, family and dear friends. We are gathered here today to celebrate the joyous occasion of Teddy and Victoire's impending nuptials. However, before we can do so, we must first celebrate the joyous occasion of Team Gold's victory over Team Red!"
In response, there were a lot of boos that came from my mother's side of the field, where she'd gathered with her team.
Uncle George ignored them. "All right, then. Let me list out the players, so folks won't be confused. Not that it won't be confusing enough, because half the people look identical from far away. Team Gold is led by the famous Harry Potter. He once defeated Voldemort – but can he defeat his own wife on a Quidditch field?"
"George, just get on with it," my father interjected, rolling his eyes. "We haven't got all night."
"Potter, I'm trying to drum up some excitement and tension, here," Uncle George responded.
"There's enough excitement, George," Aunt Angelina said, with a smile. "Just get on with it, will you?"
"All right, all right," Uncle George said. "Since my wife is making me, I guess I'll get on with it, then. On Team Gold, we have Harry Potter as Seeker; George Weasley as Beater; Theodore Lupin as Beater; Ronald Weasley as Keeper – not that I was FOR that decision, mind you, but Potter's his best mate; Albus Potter as Chaser; Hugo Weasley as Chaser; and Fred Weasley as Chaser – and I'm sure he'll do well, because if he doesn't, his father will hex him."
I saw Fred roll his eyes at his father, while Uncle Ron was glaring daggers at his brother.
"Now, on the other side," my uncle continued, turning towards my mother's group with a smirk, "is Team Red. It consists of James Potter as Seeker – who looks rather scarily like his father at the moment, and it's going to be interesting to see father and son race for the Snitch…."
"George. Honestly. Get on with it!" This time it was my mother who interrupted.
"I can't believe I'm the only one who appreciates the generational irony," my uncle told her, but he continued, "Victoire Weasley will play Keeper. Bill and Charlie Weasley are Beaters – bad decision on my sister's part, because they're both older than Methuselah. They're more likely to have their bones crushed by the Bludgers than they are to beat them."
I saw Uncle Charlie and Uncle Bill exchange an amused look and they laughed good-naturedly.
"And, next, we have the famous ex-professional Quidditch player, Ginny Weasley-Potter, who's to play – what else? – Chaser. Along-side Ginny is the most beautiful woman on the planet, Angelina Weasley. Oh, and Rose Weasley will play Chaser, as well. I almost forgot about her."
Rose called back to him, "Thanks, Uncle George. Love you, too."
He winked at her. "Your ego can handle it."
Rose grinned back. "True enough."
"Now, we'll go over the rules," Uncle George said, as the entire field groaned. We'd thought he was done. "Since we have a wedding to attend tomorrow, we decided that we couldn't play by standard rules. After all, the bride and groom need their rest. So, there's a time limit of two hours or when the Snitch is caught, whatever happens first. The team with the most points at that time will be declared winner. It will come as no surprise to anyone that Hermione will keep score. Neville Longbottom has graciously agreed to serve as commentator."
Aunt Hermione walked up to him and said, in a wry tone, "Thanks, George. I think. Anyway," she put her wand to her own throat and began over the rules very quickly. She finished up with, "And, Teddy, you may not change into someone else during the course of the game to confuse people. And no other funny business from anyone. Anyone who cheats will have to answer to me." She gave everyone a stern look and they all looked properly intimidated. Then, she pulled out her wand and opened the trunk, releasing the Snitch and the Bludgers. She took out a Quaffle and tossed it up in the air. "Off you go then!"
Every player immediately took off into the warm summer sky, each one doing their own part. My mother immediately made two goals in quick succession and then shot my dad a triumphant grin. He ignored her and focused on finding the Snitch.
Snuggling back into the comfy sofa, I watched them play silently, attempting to keep up with what was going on. Even though Neville was commenting rather frequently, it was difficult to keep track. That was one the reasons I never really got into Quidditch. Everyone moved so fast, and there were so many people, it required too much concentration and focus to know what was going on. Of course, in my family, it was blasphemous to say that, so I typically kept that thought to myself.
After a while, I started to zone out and even closed my eyes. It had been a long day, and I felt it catching up to me. From far away, I heard Scorpius say, "You want a blanket?"
"Sure," I mumbled, as I burrowed in deeper into the cushions a soft cloth settled over my body. The next thing I knew, someone was shaking me awake. "Wake up, Lils. I can't believe you missed everything!"
Blinking my eyes open, I saw Rose standing over me. My head was resting against a very hard surface and when I sat up, I saw that I'd been sleeping with my head on Scorpius's chest. In front of my entire extended family.
Flushing a bit, I straightened and asked Rose, "Uh… who won?"
"Your mother," Scorpius answered, his grey eyes sparkling with amusement. "James caught the Snitch, and your mother scored more than the three Chasers on the other team combined. They trounced your father's team."
With a grin, I looked over towards my mother's team, who were in the midst of celebrating. They had used their wands to hoist James up in the air and they were singing, "Potter is our King!" He looked incredibly happy, and I knew that most of his happiness came from beating our father.
Glancing around, I saw that neither of my parents were anywhere to be found. Which more than likely meant that my mother had gone after her gold. Getting to my feet, I said, brightly, "All right, well… I'm off to bed."
"Oi, don't forget our deal," Al reminded me, as he came up to us, his hand in Sabena's. "Scorp's staying with you and Elaina. James is probably going to go off and find some Veela."
"Oh, right." Suddenly, I felt uncomfortable about my own suggestion. "Uh… are you sure? What if Mum and Dad find out?"
"Mum and Dad? Let's face it, they're not going to know anything that's going on." Al looked a little disgusted as he said this.
It was true. I felt rather repulsed myself. "Right."
Scorp put his hand on my lower back as we walked, silently, back into the inn with Rose, Albus, Sabena, and Daniel in tow. I felt every nerve ending tingle with awareness each step of the way. Once we got inside, we headed towards my room, branching off from the other two couples. The room was empty; we'd beaten Elaina to it.
I turned to face him, slowly, and – for whatever bizarre reason – I felt shy and awkward. It made no sense, given that we'd had sex plenty of times and even spent the night together two other times. But, now, with my entire family in the rooms surrounding ours, it just seemed to be at a whole other level. Maybe Albus was right and I did have the emotional maturity of a five-year old.
"So," I said, clearing my throat, fixing my gaze on some point past his shoulder. "That was a nice game, huh?"
"I suppose." Scorpius gave me an odd look. I didn't blame him. "Although, you slept through most of it."
"Yes, I was knackered." I headed towards my suitcase and, with a flick of my wand, moved it onto my bed. Unzipping it, I started to sort through the clothes while I explained, "I had a deadline. Finally going to get an article published. I mean, it's buried on the third page, but it's a start, right?" I pulled out pajama bottoms and an old t-shirt, along with the small pouch that held my toothpaste and toothbrush.
"Yes, it is." Scorpius had been watching me and when I turned to face him, my things in my arms, he smiled at me. "I should go get my own sleeping things, I guess. Before Al casts an impenetrable spell or something."
"Right." I nodded.
But he didn't move. Instead, we both stood there, staring at each other. Finally, Scorpius moved closer to me, eliminating the distance between us with a few long strides. He reached out and tugged on a long, wavy strand that had fallen out of my loose ponytail. He stretched it out all the way and when he let go, it bounced back. Gooseflesh broke out all over my body in response and I shivered.
I was just about to toss my things onto the other bed and grab him to snog him senseless when he broke the silence. "Lily… I want you to have dinner with my family again. Try to get to know them."
Utterly thrown off, I stared up at him confusion. "Um… ah… okay."
"I can't promise you Quidditch matches on a summer evening or even half the excitement your family seems to generate," he said, in a wry tone. "But… they're decent people. I want you to give them a chance."
"Of course." Clearly, this had been bothering him. I smiled reassuringly. "Look, you have to put up with James, right? It's the least I can do."
Scorpius gave a pause at that, but he smiled. "Right."
Then he moved even closer to me and slid his hand across my nape and cupped my head, pulling me up to give me a hard kiss. The things dropped from my arms as my hands stole around his waist, my fingers curling into the soft fabric of his jumper. Without stopping or breaking away, he stepped back until the back of his legs hit the other bed and he fell back, with me following on top of him. Straddling him, I fed him kiss after kiss, while his hands roved down my back and then under my shirt, his fingers seeking out the back of my bra.
He'd just managed to get to it when I heard someone exclaim, "Sweet Mary, mother of Jesus! Why didn't you LOCK the damn DOOR?"
Letting out a sigh of frustration, I jumped off of him, right as he scrambled out from under me. Without giving it much thought, I tossed a pillow onto his lap as we both looked towards Elaina.
"Sorry," I said, feeling a little flushed and knowing that, once again, I was bright red. Damn my bloody Weasley genes.
Scorpius seemed to be handling it better than me. Which made me wonder how many times he'd been caught in this particular sort of situation. "Sorry, Elaina," he said to his partner apologetically. "Did you know I was staying here tonight?"
"Yeah." She gave us both a dirty look, but it was clear she trying not to laugh. "But you're not staying with Lily on my bed." She pointed her wand towards the empty space on the other side of my bed and, saying a quick spell out loud, she conjured up a cot. "THAT'S where you're staying, partner. And," she added in a warning tone, "There better not be any hanky-panky. I'm a light sleeper. And I don't need that kind of trauma."
Scorpius and I exchanged a look.
"Right, of course," I answered, with an emphatic nod. "We'll be good. I promise."
"Well, I'm going to get my things," Scorpius stated. He turned to me and gave me a quick kiss right before he apparated away.
When he was gone, I used the opportunity to quickly change into my sleeping clothes, while Elaina was focused on getting her own sleeping clothes out. By the time Scorpius came back, we were both in our own bed, settling down for the night. After we all said good night to each other numerous times, with Elaina issuing a few more threats for good measure, we all fell silent.
Even though I was exhausted, I couldn't sleep. Apparently it was just me, because I heard a steady snoring sound coming from Elaina's bed almost immediately. After tossing and turning for another ten minutes, I whispered to Scorpius, "Are you awake?"
I heard rustling from his cot and he said, in an amused voice, "Yes."
I turned towards him, onto my right side, my hand under my cheek. "Is she always this loud?"
"Yeah." He laughed softly and said, "Lumos." His wand cast a small, soft glow that only covered my side of the room; Elaina's side was still dark. "She's also not a light sleeper, even though she thinks she is."
Sitting up a bit, I looked across at Scorpius. He was wearing an old t-shirt and, under there, I knew he was wearing a pair of loose jogging pants. He looked like he needed a shave already and, for some reason, it made him look younger instead of older. Maybe because he didn't look as polished as he normally did. He looked more… approachable. And that gave me courage. "I need to tell you something."
"What?"
"I think I'm in love with you," I told him, solemnly. My heart was racing and I held my breath. I had never said that to anyone before. In fact, I'd never even really thought I ever would say that to anyone.
Scorpius didn't laugh, like I expected him to. Instead, in a very serious tone, he answered, "That's good. Because I think I'm in love with you, too."
The sick feeling in my stomach lessened and was replaced by a sort of giddiness. With a wide grin, I leaned across the divide between our beds and lightly kissed him. When I'd settled back into my own bed, he extinguished the light. After a few moments, I felt his hand find me and he linked his fingers through mine.
With a smile, I closed my eyes and fell asleep, still holding onto his hand.
