QUINZE

godric's hollow!

WHEN LILY ARRIVED at the Potter house in Godric's Hollow, she was nervous, to say the least. She stood outside the door for a good ten minutes, trying to figure how to say hi if any member of the family opened the door for her. 

She had one of her trunks packed with winter necessities, as well as a nice dress for New Years ( and her birthday, not that they'd know it ). After what seemed like hours, she finally knocked on the door.

"Hello?" someone asked as they opened the door. Then bright blue hair was seen and then an even brighter smile. "Lily! We thought you'd never come!"

Lily was relieved that it was Teddy who had opened the door. "I got a little bit lost, I'm not familiar with this neighborhood," Lily lied ( though it wasn't entirely false as she had never been to Godric's Hollow before ).

"Well, you're here now, come in! Come in!" Teddy said as he motioned for her to come inside.

Lily's heeled boots clicked on the wooden floors as she entered the Potter house. Realizing that there was no turning back, she resigned herself to the reality of her situation. She set one of her trunks down and took off her coat to reveal cuffed jeans, a black belt, and a white sweater. 

"James! Lily's here!" Teddy called up and then he turned to look at her. "So, how have you been? How's Hogwarts? I heard you're the Head Girl now, bound to happen, but still congrats!" 

Then, a loud crash was heard, then a thud, then a bloody hell! , then footsteps running down stairs and finally James Sirius Potter was seen in all of his glory with disheveled hair, a slightly askew cream-colored sweater, wrinkled jeans, and falling grey socks.

"Hi," he breathed out. Then as if remembering what was happening, his ears went red and he fixed his appearance. He cleared his throat a couple of times and then spoke: "you made it!" 

Lily laughed a little, "I did," she said with a smile as she cocked her head to the side. "You alright there, Potter?"

"Peachy," he said with his million-dollar smile. She smiled softly and looked at him, waiting for a cue of where to go. 

James did not realize that she didn't know her way around, so he stood, looking at her. All the while, Teddy was looking between the two and silently begging James to realize that she had in fact never been to his house, let alone this neighborhood.

"Your house is nice," Lily commented politely, nudging him to the answer that she'd never been here before. "Is that the living room in there?"

James snapped out of it. "Sorry, yeah, yeah. Here is the living room, everyone should be in there. Here, I'll get your bags," James offered as he swooped in and carried her trunk in one hand ( flexing the veins in his arms, which Lily enjoyed looking at ) and her small backpack in the other. 

When they walked in, Lily saw two boys standing in front of a group of red, brown, and blonde heads. Then she looked to see what they were staring at and she saw platinum blonde hair. A pit in her stomach formed at the position that Albus had put Scorpius in.

"Malfoys hate muggleborns and they hate Weasleys. Why is he here?" Ron exclaimed, remembering how insufferable Draco was. 

Scorpius was silent, taking all of this. He didn't dare speak. He was aware that people hated his father for his choices, but he thought that just maybe the family that was revered as heroes might accept him too. 

Lily heard it, she knew that Ron Weasley was better than this. He was blinded by senseless childhood hatred, which was warranted after the hell that Draco Malfoy put them through, but on his son. She knew what she had to do, even if it meant the family hating her.

"Scorpius!" Lily exclaimed as she ran in and hugged him tightly. He instantly smiled at another friendly face, knowing who it was by the lavender shampoo that she used. He hugged her and spun her around slightly. 

"I didn't know you were coming," Lily breathed out when they separated.

"I didn't either, Al asked me on a whim," Scorpius replied, a small smile forming on his face. 

"Hello Albus," Lily said with a bright grin as she hugged him as well. She caught the eye of James who was lit up and grinning as he understood what she was doing. She winked briefly at him. Lily then turned to face the rest of the family.

"Thank you so much again for letting me stay over the holidays," Lily said with a polite smile as she tried to look everyone in the eye to make sure they knew she was sincere. 

Most of the family was shocked as a Malfoy had just enthusiastically greeted a muggleborn. But Ginny, Hermione, Angelina, Victoire and Fleur ( who honestly didn't care ) recovered quickly.

"Of course sweetheart, our home is your home," Ginny said with a kind smile as she headed over to Lily sporting jeans, an old Harpies jersey, and socks. "We weren't expecting George and Angelina to stay with us during the holidays, so is it alright if you share with our Lily?" 

Lily grinned and looked mischievously as Lily Luna, "of course it is!" 

"Good, good. James will help you get settled upstairs. Oh! And do you have any allergies or anything?" Ginny asked.

"No, but thank you so much!" Lily replied with a wide smile. Before she turned around to head upstairs with James, she ran and gave Scorpius one more hug ( which he gladly reciprocated ).

"I'm so glad you're here," Lily whispered to him. He hugged her a little bit tighter. Lily then turned back to James and nodded up the stairs.

"So up here are me, Al, Lunes, and my parent's rooms. But since all of the family's here, I'm sharing with Fred and I guess Albus is sharing with Scorpius. You'll be sharing with Lunes," James said as he opened Lily Luna's bedroom door and walked in. 

Lily Luna's room was exactly what Lily expected. She had pink walls that were teaming with posters of various things from wizarding bands to Holyhead Harpies player posters. Clothes were stuffed in her closet ( whose doors were slid closed, but the mess was seeping out a little bit ).

Her bed was pushed against the left wall and was white and raised little. Under it was white pull out drawers that Lily could only guess as to what they were filled with. Her sheets were white with rosettes and she had a pastel pink duvet. Across from her bed's end was the sliding door closet that was stuffed with socks and sweaters.

In the middle of her room, was a bedside table and her desk ( probably ) pushed to the middle to make way for Lily's bed that was pushed to the other wall. It was a simple bed with a white wire bed frame, and white sheets and duvet, but it was perfect. 

James set Lily's trunk down next to her bed and waited for her by the door.

"So I'm down the hall," he said as he pointed three doors down to a white door with a red 'J' on it that looks like it was magical and a Gryffindor pennant hanging on it. "Next to me is Al." James pointed to a white door with a green 'A' on it. "That's the girl's bathroom." James then pointed to the door in between Albus and Lily's room ( that was as well closed ). "It has all the muggle stuff: shower, toilet, sinks, all of it. The one next to my room is the boy's bathroom. Down there." James turned around, facing another door ( that was not initialed ). "Is mum and dad's room." 

James then moved away, down the hall towards his parent's room, and snapped his fingers. A ladder unfolded itself and a trap door opened at the top.

"Up there is the attic, it has three  more rooms where Rose, Dom and Roxanne, and Louis and Hugo are. Downstairs in the guest rooms are Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione, Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur, gran and grandad, and now I guess Uncle George and Aunt Ange," James explained.

"You have a really big family," was all Lily could say. James smiled brightly.

"Yeah, I do, but that's not all of them. Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey couldn't stay, Teddy and Vic are going to their apartment for Merlin knows what, but they'll be here during the day and Uncle Charlie's back in Romania doing a dragon intensive," James said.

"Honestly, I'm a bit jealous. It's always been just me and my dads," Lily confessed.

"Well, you have us now," James said kindly with a soft smile and bright eyes.

Lily hugged him. He smelled so good — like his shampoo that smelled slightly like almond, the soap that his parents used to wash his sweater, and just kind of like James. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes.

"Lily! James!" someone called as they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. They jumped apart and turned to see who it was.

"What do you want Rose?" James asked, slightly annoyed.

"Nothing, nothing. Continue as you were," Rose said with a wide grin and evil eyes. James rolled his eyes.

"What did you need though?" He asked again.

"Your mum says it's dinner time," Rose confessed before turning around and running back downstairs.

"I swear to Merlin I'm going to kill her," James breathed out as he glared at where she once was.

"Why?" Lily asked, confused.

"If Rose knows something, then everyone will know eventually," James said. "And my family is very big on jumping to conclusions."

Lily just nodded, not saying a word. 

"We should probably go down," she eventually said quietly. James nodded and then a small smile crept onto his face. 

"After you, madame," he said playfully as he held out his hand in reference to down the stairs.

"Why, thank you, monsieur!" Lily said as dramatically as she could as she descended the stairs.

"But of course, madame, I am a gentleman," James replied. Lily giggled a little as she reached the bottom. She waited for James, who she then followed into the Dining Room. 

She would be lying if she said that this house looked to be the same size that it does on the outside. It was much, much larger on the inside. As they walked in, she was greeted with possibly one of the biggest tables she'd ever seen. 

"James, please help Lily find a seat amongst ... everyone," Ginny called as she grabbed the dishes that Molly had prepared out of the kitchen.

During the holidays, there was a silent agreement that the kitchen was Molly's domain until the end when it was returned to Harry. The only ones allowed in to help were Harry, Fleur, and Audrey ( who wasn't present ). 

James managed to sandwich her in between himself and Victoire, across from Scorpius. Once everyone was settled and the food was finished being passed around, the questioning of the two newest table members started.

"So, Scorpius, how did you and Albus meet?" Ginny asked kindly, sending the boy a smile. 

He sent down his fork and wiped his mouth using his napkin ( let it be known that Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy had impeccable manners ). 

"We're in the same house as Hogwarts, Mrs. Potter," Scorpius replied.

"Ginny, please," Ginny offered kindly. Scorpius nodded solemnly. "Well I think it's lovely that Albus has friends in his house, don't you think so Harry?" Ginny gave her husband the look of death. 

"Of course, Gin. What would I be without my Gryffindor friends?" Harry said with a small smile. If he was being completely honest, having a Malfoy at his dinner table was the least of his worries, you know, being the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and also having basically seen his parent's reincarnation at his godson's wedding and all. 

"Dead," he heard Hermione mutter under her breath. Ron struggled to hold it together. 

"Do you play quidditch, Scorpius?" Harry asked the blonde.

"Yes, sir. I'm seeker for the Slytherin team," Scorpius replied.

"And a bloody good one at that. We almost lost to you guys because of you. He rivals even you, dad," James commented as Albus shot him a grateful smile. 

"Yes, I remember your father was quite good as well," Harry said. This made the room tense a little bit. The tension was easing as they separated him from his father, but the reminder caused it to relapse. 

"What is your favorite team?" Ginny asked.

"Well, the Holyhead Harpies are obviously a great choice, and the green matches with practically everything at my house. But you have to promise not to tell my dad my real choice," Scorpius said as he looked around the room. "Chudley Cannons." Scorpius cringed, ready for them to berate him for his unusual choice.

The room fell deadly silent.

"I know they don't really win, but I have faith," Scorpius added.

"Were you really born with your blonde hair?" Ron asked, narrowing his eyes at the boy.

Scorpius looked taken aback and a bit panicked, "yes? May I ask why, sir?"

"Because you're sounding like a Weasley," George finished for Ron as both men broke out into a grin. Scorpius's cheeks went slightly pink and he started laughing nervously, not sure if it was a trap or not. 

"So, Lily, what do your parents do?" Ginny asked, directing the attention to the Ravenclaw girl.

"One runs a bakery and the other is an anesthesiologist," Lily answered with a slight smile.

"Really?" Harry asked, knowing what she was talking about. In fact only Harry, Hermione, and James knew what an anesthesiologist was at the Weasley-Granger-Potter table ( and friends ). 

"Yes, he works at the local hospital," Lily said with a smile.

"Oh your mum must love working in a bakery," Hermione sighed as she could nearly smell the freshly baked goods that wafted out of the one near the Granger-Weasley house.

James Sirius, on the other hand, was quite alarmed. He hadn't told his parents because Lily hadn't permitted him to, but he knew that she wouldn't lie. Yet, when he looked over at her, she was positively calm.

"My papa actually runs the bakery," Lily corrected in a kind tone.

"But I thought your dad was an antesteesolgist?" Ron asked.

"My dad is, yes," Lily said, letting them work it out. One by one the light bulbs went off in their heads. Hermione's eyes widened.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to assume — " Hermione blurted.

"It's fine," Lily said with a soft smile. "You aren't the first and I'm certain you won't be the last."

"Honestly, heteronormativity is undermining the fabric of the Wizarding World," Hermione huffed. Lily laughed lightly, not really knowing what to say. 

"And you're in Ravenclaw house?" Ginny asked, seeing that the girl became uncomfortable.

"Yes, but I was almost sorted into Slytherin," she said with a smile as her eyes darted to Scorpius and Albus briefly. 

"And you're Head Girl with James over here?" Ron asked.

"Well obviously Ronald, look at her," Hermione grumbled hitting Ron's arm slightly.

"Yes, sir, I am," she said as she smiled briefly at James. 

"And from what I hear, you both have an interesting relationship," Arthur piped up from the other end of the table.

"If by interesting you mean nonexistent until a couple of months ago, then yes sir. James had a tendency, let's call it to try and flirt with me every possible chance he could get," Lily explained as a couple of wolf whistles were made by Fred and Hugo. "And it was quite annoying because he never took no for an answer." Lily narrowed her eyes at James, who only sheepishly smiled in response. "But once we became friends, he stopped."

"Well, it seems as if he's grown up, haven't you boy? You're a fine young man now," Arthur boomed. 

"Well I think we both had a bit of growing up to do, sir," Lily said. Ginny smiled softly at the girl's self-awareness. She could've put the blame entirely on James ( which he most likely deserved ), but she instead chose to also recognize her faults.

"Lily, dear, what is it that you want to do, after Hogwarts I mean?" Molly asked kindly.

"Well, I'd quite like to become a healer. I don't like the idea of hurting someone, but I also want to help the aurors as they've tried to recruit me — " Lily explained.

"And been unsuccessful," Harry added. Lily smiled slightly.

"I'm a pacifist at heart, so I don't think I could willingly hurt someone else. But I've heard that they have healers that specialize in working with aurors. Trauma training and all of that, so I'd quite like to do that," Lily finished.

"Well, that's quite admirable, dear. What about you Scorpius?" Molly asked, turning the attention to the blonde.

"Well, I'd quite like to be a healer as well. But I'm torn between general care and applying to work at Hogwarts. Nevertheless, Lily and I have talked about her becoming my overseer during my first year," Scorpius said, looking at Lily who smiled kindly. 

Albus was gazing at Scorpius, proud of him for giving such an honest answer. For making an effort with his family. He stuck his hand down his shirt and felt the chain tuck under it, strung around it, a ring. The very ring he'd bought the previous year when he realized he was absolutely, madly in love with Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. 

The rest of dinner went about the same: asking the two guests questions until George said something funny and they shifted to going down a spiral of memories. 

Good food was enjoyed and laughter was shared at the Potter table that night. They eventually warmed up to Scorpius, realising that he was not his father, but also that people change, especially after wars. 

James was the happiest he had ever been in his entire life ( apart from the time when he won his first house cup ). The love of his life was getting along smashingly with his family. Could his life get any better? 

"Well, I should start to clear the table," Ginny huffed, not looking forward to doing the dishes.

"James and I can do it!" Lily offered, standing up and grabbing a couple of plates along the way.

"Yeah! We can do the dishes, mum," James said, popping up and grabbing the plates out of her hand and kissing her on the cheek. He then dashed into the kitchen and started the hot water in the sink.

Ginny Potter was standing in shock. Who was this boy and what had he done with her son? Not once in his life had James Sirius Potter ever volunteered to do the dishes. When she yelled at him to do them, even then he barely did them. 

But, low and behold, there he was, with Lily Edwards ( who Ginny had become quite fond of ) scrubbing dishes the muggle way in the kitchen. 

Eventually the entire table was cleared and it was down to the last few dishes in the sink. Lily and James had come up with a strategy to get them efficiently ( Lily soaped and scrubbed and James washed and dried ) so they were done pretty quickly. 

This allowed Ginny Potter to sit comfortably with her husband as George told them a story about him, Fred and Filch from their Hogwarts days. That is, until she heard a shriek and a loud laugh.

"James Potter, how can you get soap on the ceiling?" Lily asked as she laughed. "You weren't even using the soap!"

"It's one of my many talents, Lily flower," he said as he smiled smugly. 

"What am I going to do with you?" Lily huffed as she turned back to washing.

"Marry me?" James offered.

"I feel bad for your mother. She had to raise you," Lily quipped back.

"You hurt me too much, Edwards," James said as he mocked being stabbed in the heart.

"You are such a drama queen," Lily teased. 

"Only for you, darling," James replied as he went back to drying them, earning him a hit on the shoulder. "You know, for the reputation of a goody two shoes, you sure do hit people a lot."

"You're right, with the reputation of a goody two shoes, I think even you'd be surprised with everything I've gotten away with," Lily retorted, pulling a smug smile. James smiled and shook his head. 

Once they had finished drying the dishes, James grabbed Lily's hand and dragged her upstairs. He prayed to Merlin that Fred wasn't in his room quite yet and when he flung the door open, his prayers were answered.

"I want to show you something," he said as he started to search around his room. Lily looked around it and thought about how it so fit him. 

The walls were crimson and littered with quidditch posters from the Harpies, Puddlemore United and the Cannons. Each of them was signed by the player. Overall, his room was a mess with clothes strewn everywhere and his bed unmade. 

His sheets were covered with little golden snitches that danced around the fabric. His duvet had a large Gryffindor crest on it and the lion roared every once in a while. 

Across every surface were little knickknacks like quidditch tickets or figurines. It truly was James as a bedroom.

"Well I'd hope so, I was beginning to think that you brought me up here to snog," Lily joked. James looked up at her with a mischievous grin.

"Well, if you'd like," he teased. Lily gave him a pointed look. "Your words not mine."

"I did walk into that one, didn't I?" Lily asked as she shook her head and laughed. 

James tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around to him holding a small plant. She was visibly confused.

"Merlin, do you not remember?" James asked.

"You know I don't remember anything," Lily shot back.

"That's right. We were in second year herbology, which you're rubbish at by the way, and you told me I couldn't keep this plant alive because I was reckless. Well here it is, 5 years later," James replied, holding his plant proudly.

"What a way with women you have, James. Insult her and then try and prove her wrong," Lily teased.

James shrugged, "I try."

Lily burst out laughing at his nonchalance. 

"You are absolute rubbish as herbology though," James said while chuckling a little bit.

"That doesn't mean that you have to remind me!" Lily exclaimed.

"James! Lily!" Ginny called up to the two teens. 

"Coming mum!" James called back. 

"We better head back down," Lily said, looking at James.

"Yeah," he replied, not breaking eye-contact with her. She looked away first, naturally. 

Lily quickly ran down the stairs, James following closely after her. She was greeted with a large tree and many boxes.

"Merlin! I almost forgot!" James exclaimed.

"Wait do you all decorate the tree together?" Lily asked, amused.

"Yeah," James replied, scratching the back of his neck. 

"I love it," Lily whispered in awe.

James smiled at her and led her towards the tree that was surrounded by his family and Scorpius. 

Molly handed Lily an ornament and Scorpius an ornament. 

"Go ahead," she urged. They both placed their ornaments on the tree and once they did, the rest of the family started joining in. 

At first, Lily didn't think that the poor tree could hold the amount of ornaments that they were shoving onto it, but she had forgotten that they were magical. 

The adults used spells to lift the kids up so the top of the tree could have just as many decorations as the bottom. 

Once they had finished, they all took a step back and admired their work. 

"It's a tradition in my family that once everyone's together, we decorate," James whispered to Lily.

"That's so sweet," she whispered back. 

She was amazed by the tree. Because they were magical, the decorations moved around, skating or twirling around the tree. It was truly a spectacular sight. 

"Thank you for inviting me," Lily said to James. He just smiled down at her. 

hey!

Update: I did not think I'd have to say this, but if any of you have a problem with Ron, take it up with me pls and thank you

Why I think Ron is justified in questioning Scorpius: Draco was horrible to them at hogwarts. he called hermione a mudblood without remorse and joined the death eaters out of his own free will ( only discovering that he actually didn't want it after the fact ). he tried to get hagrid fired for no goddamn reason. he enabled rita skeeter and dolored umbridge ( willingly ). he routinely threatened hermione. and above all, he was racist and classist. the worst part is -- he got away with all of it. finally, it is well known that ( example a: draco himself ) values and behaviors are passed down in families ( in real life too as, generally, we learn our morals from our parents ), so it's only natural that in the interest of protecting their family from him that they would extend that assumption to his son. naive, considering how scorpius actually is ( but they don't know that just yet ), but not far fetched based on what they've experienced. no tea, no shade, but this is my pov :)))))