Slytherin's Potter ( Scorpius Malfoy x Lily Luna Potter)

Part 101: Smile

The Hogwarts Express gave its quietest journey that day. The seventh years, all sitting in compartments close to each other, stayed silent. It wasn't that they were all still sad, although some were, but it was mostly because . . . what was there to say? As they thought of their classmates, they all realized that this could be the last time they'd see some of them. Because Paige Wilde had been right when she said it to Lily. What was the likelihood that they'd see each other after they graduate?

Lily was confident in the idea that she'd still see all her close friends . . . but what about the others? What about Randy, or Jaclyn? Or Connie Wood, or Jake Cadwaller? Would she ever see them again?

Lily looked around at her equally silent friends. Were they thinking the same thing? Or were they more occupied by their own problems? Were Megan and Hunter thinking about their upcoming weddings to people they didn't care for? Were Lola and Jace panicking on how they would tell their families that they would be parents? Was Xavier still worried about his time away from Liz?

Lily sighed as she relaxed into her seat. She had to stop worrying about it. They were things that she couldn't help with. Lola and Jace wanted to do it alone, Xavier was just simply worrying, and Megan didn't want any help. There was little she could do, but focus on her own problems and worries.

Instinctively, Lily glanced down at her ring finger. She had slipped the pretty diamond ring back onto her finger as soon as they'd boarded the train, and honestly loved how it would occasionally sparkle in the sunlight from the window. That was one worry. Telling her family of her engagement. And this time, she wasn't just worried about her brothers.

How many would think it was much too soon, or too rushed? Would her grandmother think it improper? Would her uncle Ron throw a fit? A million questions whirled in her mind. She tried to pick out who would approve and who wouldn't, but it seemed impossible. This situation was so unlike others she'd dealt with in her family. And just to give herself more time, she and Hugo had told their parents that they'd meet them at home, and to not bother showing up at King's Cross.

Not to mention the fact that she would be moving in with Scorpius tomorrow. Sure, her parents knew . . . But how would they take it once she really did it? After all, she was their youngest. The baby. The last child still living at home. All Lily could think about was that "empty nest" thing her grandmother had talked about one Christmas when she was little.

When they all arrived at King's Cross, they stepped off the train slowly, looking back repeatedly. The last train ride they'd have on the Hogwarts Express had ended. Then as the seventh years started to greet their parents again, or leave alone, Lily and her friends looked at each other.

Jace held Lola's hand, and looked at the others with a small and sort of sad smile. "Well, we'll see you guys around?"

"Are you guys going to tell your families now?" Shannon asked.

Lola nodded. "Why waste time? We're telling my parents first. Hopefully Martin's not home. I'd like to wait a bit before I tell him."

Megan sighed. "I've gotta get home. My dad wanted to discuss something that's supposedly important with me."

"Yeah, and my dad wants me to be dressed and ready for a business dinner tonight," Hunter said.

Hugo looked at Lily. "You gunna tell your parents about the engagement when you get home?"

Lily nodded. "That was my plan. What about you?"

Hugo gave Stacy's shoulder a squeeze. "I'm taking Stacy home first. Wait for me at Godric's park?" Lily nodded.

"So . . . this is it?" Izzy said softly and sadly.

"Well it's not the end," Xavier amended. "I mean, we're friends. We've been friends for years."