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Scorpius was laughing with some of his fellow trainee graduates when Tyler Boot nudged him and Kyle Longbottom.
“Who’s the cute redhead? I don’t recognise her.” He stared at the witch that had just entered the large conference room, practically drooling over her.
Rolling his eyes, Scorpius turned to see who Boot was talking about. At first, he didn’t see a redhead, but then Head Auror Potter moved, and Scorpius could see her. He didn’t recognise her upon first glance, but Al calling out “LiLu!” and wrapping the young woman in his arms had Scorpius’s eyes widening.
“It’s Lily Luna,” Scorpius murmured.
“Baby Potter?” Boot whistled. “Damn. She’s grown up.”
“Don’t let her family hear you say that,” Kyle warned.
“Why? I’m just appreciating a perfect example of the female form,” Boot said with a shrug.
The other men snorted, Scorpius included even though he’d deny it later if accused.
“Not with the way you said it,” Kyle countered.
“We’ve seen how you’ve gone through women as most people go through tissues, Boot,” Scorpius added. “There’s no way her father, brothers, or any of her uncles and cousins would let you within a ten-foot radius of her.”
“And what, they’d let you?” Tyler Boot looked at Scorpius sceptically. He then looked at the other men. His lip curled. “Any of you?”
“I’ve known the Potter family since I was little,” Kyle replied with a shrug, “and Lily has always been like another little sister to me.”
“My father may not have gotten along with her parents when they were younger, but they buried the hatchet years ago. Plus, I’m best friends with her brother Al.” Scorpius narrowed his eyes at the other man. “I know for a fact that they wouldn’t let you near her. You’re also the type of wizard that she’d rather hex than speak with.”
“Okay, if you know her so well, then why don’t you go talk with her,” Tyler said. “I bet you can’t get her to kiss you at midnight.”
Scorpius shook his head. “I’m not going to take that bet, but I am going to go catch up with her since I’ve not seen her in a couple of years. Not since my final year at Hogwarts.”
Kyle snickered, “Smart man.”
“My parents didn’t raise an idiot.”
Before any of the other men could say anything, Scorpius disappeared into the crowd in the direction he had last seen Lily. Which just happened to be in the same direction as the bar.
“Appletini, please,” Scorpius heard her order.
The bartender glanced at him over her shoulder.
“Whiskey, rocks,” Scorpius answered as he stopped behind her.
The redheaded witch whirled around. She looked up at Scorpius and grinned. “I thought I recognised that voice.” She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “How are you doing, Scorpius?”
“Better now that you’re here,” he said with a wink.
Lily rolled her eyes. “You’re a mess.”
“Very much so,” Scorpius agreed. “Haven’t changed much from my Hogwarts years.”
“If you’re still spending time with my brothers, then I can see that.” Lily snickered at the aghast look on Scorpius’s face.
“Well, I never.”
She raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.
“Okay, fine,” he relented with a grin.
“Miss, sir, here are your drinks,” the bartender said as he slid two glasses towards them.
“Thank you,” Lily replied as she picked up her drink to take a sip. As she brought the martini glass to her lips, she noticed something reflecting in the lights. She looked at the bartender with a raised brow.
"Edible confetti," was all he said.
Lily hummed before touching the rim to her lips. Tilting her head back, she allowed the tart liquid to slide down her throat. She savoured the taste. Glancing at the man behind the bar again, she grinned. “Perfect. Thank you.”
He winked at her, “Anytime, love."
Scorpius stiffened beside her. He tried to hide his reaction, but he knew she had seen. If the flick of her eyes in his direction and her grin were anything to go by.
"Shall we go find somewhere to catch up?" Lily suggested. "It has been years since we last saw each other."
"That sounds like a perfect idea," Scorpius agreed.
The couple turned, and he led her over to an empty table off to the side
"How… How does he do that?" Tyler asked as she leaned over and kissed Scorpius's cheek.
The group had been watching Scorpius and Lily off and on since the couple had left the bar. And that had been well over an hour ago.
Kyle started to respond, but he was cut off by another voice, "Very easily. He's known LiLu for eight years, and he's probably been in love with her for half that time. That's not taking into consideration how long my sister has had feelings for him too."
The group turned to see Albus Severus Potter standing behind them.
"And you're just going to let him go and steal your sister away?"
Albus snorted. "Better him than you, Boot. At least Scorpius is a good guy and doesn't go through girls as you do."
Tyler snarled at Albus and stormed away.
"Was it something I said?" The smirk on his face giving him away completely.
"It's always something you say," Lily said as she and Scorpius joined them. She winked at her brother.
"Yeah, yeah," Albus muttered with a wave of his hand and a roll of his eyes. "What are you two up to now that you've decided to grace the rest of us with your presence."
Lily shook her head.
"Spending time with friends until midnight hits," Scorpius replied.
Albus looked at them closely. "That's all?"
"I might steal a kiss at midnight if he lets me," Lily said.
"Not if I steal one first," Scorpius told her.
"You two are disgusting," Albus teased.
"You would know," Lily retorted.
"Just don't let me catch you two," Albus said as he turned to leave the group.
Lily was tempted to say something about catching him more than once in a compromising position, but Albus was already gone.
The small group talked for a few minutes as Scorpius introduced Lily to the other guys before they started to disperse, leaving Lily and Scorpius with Kyle.
Taking advantage of the smaller numbers, Kyle grinned as he asked, "So, are the two of you dating now?"
Lily and Scorpius looked at each other. Scorpius blushed as he asked her, "Are we?'
She grinned and said with confidence, "Yes. Yes, we are."
Turning back to his partner, Scorpius shrugged. "There you go."
"About time," Kyle told him as he nudged Scorpius's shoulder.
"In Scorpius's defence, we haven't seen each other in a couple of years," Lily pointed out.
"True," Kyle relented. "It's incredible how much things change in only a couple of years and yet some things, like your feelings for each other, don't change at all."
Scorpius wrapped an arm around Lily's shoulder and pulled her close. "I'm glad those didn't change."
Lily smiled up at him. "Me either."
Dipping his head down, Scorpius pressed his lips against hers.
Wrapping her arms around his waist, Lily returned Scorpius's kiss.
When they separated, they found that Kyle had left to give them some privacy, or as much as one can get in a room full of people. They also found themselves surrounded by falling confetti and cheering partygoers as midnight had struck while they were otherwise occupied with each other.