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

Part 107: People change as life continues

Lily wasn't sure how long she stayed with James that evening, but it was late when she got home. She had stayed until James had practically fallen asleep in his despondent and self-loathing state. And with everything she had learned in that one night, and all the things she learned about her brother . . . it hurt her to see him like that. She now understood why maybe her parents never just unlocked his door themselves. They didn't want to see him like that either.

Lily was tired when she finally stumbled into the bedroom. The light was on, and Scorpius was sitting up in the bed, looking tired but yet alert. Lily just silently changed for bed, and quietly slipped under the covers. It wasn't until she laid her head on the pillow that Scorpius look over at her.

"Are you ok?" he asked gently.

Lily closed her eyes and brought a hand to her temples. "I am, but James isn't. I don't think I've ever seen someone in such a depressing state."

"Did you give him hell for putting your parents through all this?" he questioned.

She sighed. "Yeah, I did . . . I'm going back over there tomorrow, though."

"What for?" Scorpius sounded confused.

"Because he needs help. Despite what happened tonight, I'm still worried," she admitted.

"James Potter needing help?" Scorpius almost scoffed. "He needs an ass kicking. I think he got what he deserved."

"He's still my brother," Lily argued. "So I'm going to help him out."

"What?" Scorpius exclaimed. "After everything he's done to you?"

Lily finally opened her eyes and sat up. But she didn't look at Scorpius. Only her lap. "Scorpius, he's my brother. I can't just ignore the situation he's in."

"He ignored everything he put you through!"

Lily rubbed her temples. "It's complicated. And he didn't ignore what I went through. It's just that when James gets mad . . . his priorities get a little mixed."

"And that justifies all that he's done?" Scorpius scoffed.

"I'm not saying that it justifies it. And he's not either. But thinking of all his mistakes wouldn't justify anything if I ignored him, especially now," Lily countered.

"It's called karma. He got what he deserved," he muttered.

"He thinks so too," Lily retorted dryly. "He sits in his flat all day and blames himself in the most unhealthy way. And the last thing he needs is someone else saying the same thing! He's done the best with what he had. He knows he messed up. But I think he can fix things, but he just doesn't know how or where to start."

"Because he's a selfish, idiotic, jackass," Scorpius stated.

"And he's my brother," Lily argued.

But Scorpius just kicked the blankets off of him and got off the bed. "Whatever," she heard him mutter.

"Where are you going?" Lily said with a roll of her eyes.

"A different room!" he snapped. Then he stormed out to the hallway, slamming the door behind him. Lily just turned off the light and laid back down. She was too tired to deal with anything else at the moment. A seven-year-old exhaustion was finally coming to its peak.

Although Lily woke up a little later than usual that next morning, Scorpius was still already gone. If she slept late, he usually at least woke her up to say goodbye. But not this time. But with her current anger and irritation at his reaction to her decision, she didn't really care. She ignored it and went through her morning routine of eating breakfast, setting out food for both Salazar and Regal, and then left to go and see James.