Archive of Our Own ^beta

The Assistant

written by: albe-chan

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned, and any similarities with real life is purely coincidental. This work may contain MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (mentions of sex, nudity, etc.), and/or violence. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! You have been warned!

XXX

Lily Potter smoothed her skirt for the seventeenth time, nervously checked her watch yet again, and resumed her unflinching stare at the plain, white door across the luxurious waiting area. She was applying for a job, a job she really wanted, as well as needed, and she chewed her lip with anxiety, wondering what could possibly be taking so long. She'd applied to the dream position only three days ago, hardly thinking she'd get the job or even be considered, but after getting an owl telling her to come in for a follow-up interview, the young witch had very quickly turned into a complete nervous wreck. It wasn't that she felt unprepared, or unqualified for the job - if anything she had more credentials than was strictly necessary - it was that she'd never been very good at sucking up and playing polite with high-powered Ministry executives, and she was certain that interviewing for an assistant's position for the Undersecretary to the Minister would require both. That and the last candidate had been in there almost half an hour now, and Lily began to worry she may have been forgotten entirely.

Just as she resolved to knock on the door, it opened and the young woman who'd gone in so long ago came out, smiling broadly and adjusting her skirt, which seemed to have ridden up slightly. "Thanks for considering me for the position," she purred over her shoulder to whoever was doing the interviewing. "It's been an absolute pleasure."

"The pleasure was mine. We'll let you know, by owl, the results of your interview in a couple days' time," replied a deep, definitely male voice that Lily found oddly familiar, but before she could put a finger on who it might belong to, the other young witch was striding across the reception area, looking smug, and cast the redhead a condescending look.

"Good luck," she said, and laughed as though at some private joke as she continued on to the hallway that would lead to the lifts.

Lily opened her mouth to reply, disliking the feeling that it was her the other woman was laughing at, but just then, the deep voice from within the office called her name, and the redhead stood up, quickly smoothing her skirt once more, and snatched up her bag. Her stomach churned and her mouth went dry as her nerves spiked, but she forced herself to exude cool confidence as she crossed to the door and stepped over the threshold into a largely appointed, very well decorated office.

A young wizard with white-blond hair and steely grey eyes, clad in a pair of sharply stylish charcoal robes, sat behind a large mahogany desk, a sheaf of parchment in front of him, smirking up at her and looking more than slightly dishevelled. "Lily Potter," he repeated, standing up and offering his hand. "I'd introduce myself but it seems a tad unnecessary."

"Scorpius," Lily replied blankly, shock rendering her motionless. She merely stared at his proffered hand, gaping a little at her brother's longtime best friend who continued to smirk at her. "What are you-? Surely you aren't-?"

The blond laughed, sitting back in his chair and waving her into one of the ones opposite. "Indeed, I am. Newly appointed Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic; well, relatively new, at least. Albus didn't tell you?"

Lily shrugged as she sat. "Why would he do that? It's not like I really c-" She cut herself off before she put her foot in her mouth as rambled on about not really caring about Scorpius' career achievements, but the pureblood seemed to know what she'd been about to say anyway. "Anyway, congratulations I suppose," she continued trying to cover her embarrassment.

"Thank you," Scorpius replied, looking at her curiously. "So, down to business." He glanced down at the mess of parchment on his desk, plucked out what appeared to be her resume, and looked back at her. "I see you're very obviously qualified for this, and I've no doubts you're more than capable, but I will admit, I'm a little surprised you applied."

"In my defence I didn't think you-" Lily stopped herself again and changed tack at top speed, "I mean, that's to say rather, I want the experience. And like you said, I'm more than qualified, so-"

"You do realize the full breadth of what your duties would be, of course?" Scorpius cut across smoothly. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, looking slightly amused. "This position, though coveted I'm told, has a notorious turn-over rate. Hell, I've already been through four in the last six months. You'd have no days off, no weekends, absolutely no holidays, and I can guarantee you won't be able to maintain a relationship; you'd be on call every hour of every day." He cocked a brow at her, almost as though he doubted her and the level of her dedication.

"I'm aware of the necessary sacrifices. And as for relationships, I don't have them; at least not in the sense you're thinking," she replied coolly, tossing her long, deep red hair over one shoulder.

Scorpius' brow went up a fraction, his gaze turning appraising, and he sat back, steepling his fingers before him as he regarded her. Her hazel eyes flashed away self consciously for a moment, but she forced herself to meet his gaze again and hold it. "So you're willing to do whatever I ask, whenever I ask it?" he drawled.

Lily's mouth hardened into a line; she positively loathed being underestimated. "If it pertains to the job, sure," she replied.

The pureblood chuckled to himself. "That's the issue, Lily; I am the job when it comes to being my assistant. If I need it, I need you to know without being asked, if I forget something, I need you to remember before I realize I've forgotten it, and most important of all, if I look bad in pretty much any way, you, honey, look worse. Still game?"

"I can do that," she said firmly, sticking out her hand. "And so long as you never call me honey again, I'll be at your beck and call." She smiled sweetly and the blond grinned.

"Excellent. You start Monday, be here six o'clock sharp, coffee black with two sugars and piping hot sitting on my desk, and the newest figures for the benefit luncheon expenses. I swear that goddamn event-planner is trying to bleed the Ministry dry." Lily, who had quickly jotted the instructions down in a little black-bound notebook, nodded, facial muscles relaxing as it hit her that she'd just landed a pretty impressive position in the Ministry support staff, one that many young witches would curse for, and she grinned, eyes bright with excitement.

"Got it. And thank you, so much," she gushed, quickly gathering up her things. "I promise you, you won't regret this decision!"

The blond inclined his head slightly. "I should imagine I won't regret it in the slightest," he murmured as she walked quickly to the door. "Oh, and Potter?"

She turned back, face innocently curious, looking as eager to please as a new puppy. "Yeah?"

"When you come in Monday morning, if you're wearing those shoes, you're fired. That's all." He waved her out and, stunned, the redhead exited, looking down at her shoes. They weren't that bad, she reckoned, and maybe he was just trying to be funny. She pursed her mouth and headed home, unable to let the shoe comment dampen her high spirits at having landed the assistant position. Sure, she probably only got the job because she happened to know Scorpius and he was best friends with her brother, but Lily also knew she was the best person for it; she was organized, efficient, hard-working, and meticulously professional. She smiled as she exited the lift into the Atrium and headed toward the bank of fireplaces to Floo home, thoroughly pleased with herself and excited to start working, even if it had to be for Scorpius Malfoy.

XXX

The next evening Lily met up with her cousin Rose to celebrate her new job and get the tall, auburn-haired beauty's impressions of Scorpius, seeing as she was the same age and had been in the same House as him in school. She pushed open the door of the Three Broomsticks and spotted Rose immediately despite the crowd and noise. Her cousin was flirting with a particularly good-looking warlock, who seemed just as interested in Rose as she was in him if his roving gaze had anything say about it. Lily caught the other woman's eye and waved slightly and Rose grinned in return, throwing her a wink.

Lily watched her cousin whisper something to the man, touching his arm gently, and then sashay away toward her. "Lily, I thought I told you to look fabulous," Rose chided, frowning at Lily's jeans and t-shirt. She folded her long arms, pouting dramatically, somehow looking even more beautiful. "How are we supposed to truly celebrate and find you a good date if you insist on going out in jeans?"

"Rose, what's the point in trying when you're bound to outshine every woman in a six-foot radius?" the redhead asked with a chuckle. "And I don't need any dates, I've got better things to worry about."

"Oh you're too sweet," Rose replied, her blue eyes sparkling as she hugged Lily. "Seriously, though, I'm going to teach you how to be a bitch one of these days. You make the rest of us women seem like bitches. And darling, there's always room for a date or two. Besides, I'll bet you haven't been laid since you and Marcus broke up."

"Rose, I don't think-" Lily began, frowning and looking around, hoping no one had overheard.

"Ugh, fine," Rose sighed. "I won't bring it up again, but seriously, Lily, if you don't use it you might just lose it." She grasped Lily's hand and pulled them to a table, sliding fluidly into her chair and tossing her long, curly auburn hair. "So anyway, congrats on the new job! You haven't told me a thing about it, though, so spill. It's at the Ministry, right?"

Lily sat down across from her cousin and smiled, feeling exhilarated about the position all over again, still in awe she'd gotten it. "Yeah, it's an assistant position for one of the top Ministry officials," she said, unable to stop the wide smile spreading across her lips.

"Ooh! Who is it? Is it someone I know? Godric, I hope it's not that absolute clod, Humphrey Dickens, from the Department of Transportation. It's not, is it?" Rose's face turned from excitement to distaste to curiosity so fast Lily had to blink to marshal her thoughts. It had been awhile since she'd seen Rose and she'd forgotten how much she talked.

"No," she said finally. "But that's why I wanted to tell you in person, because you do know who it is."

Rose's brows shot up and she leaned in closer. "Who?" she demanded.

"It's Malfoy. Apparently he's the new-"

"Senior Undersecretary!" Rose practically screeched, eyes going wide in shock. "Oh. My. Godric. Lily, please, no, tell me you didn't get the position as his assistant!"

Lily stared blankly. "Yeah, I did." She felt apprehension creeping up her spine. "Why?"

"That little bastard!" Rose practically growled, brows drawing together and an angry light flashing in her cerulean eyes. "Lily, do you know how many assistants he's been through?"

"He said four in the last six months," she replied automatically. "But they can't have been very good at their jobs if they all didn't last that long, I mean-"

Rose snorted loud enough that a pair of middle-aged witches at the next table looked over. "Oh Lily, you're so naive," she sighed, looking at the redhead a little sadly. "Darling, they weren't hired because they'd be good at the job."

Lily's brows contracted in confusion and the sense that she was missing something obvious was growing inside her. "Then why would-?"

"Obviously he hired them for one thing," Rose said patiently. "Fucking. You know, the mattress mambo, the horizontal shuffle, the naked-"

"I get it!" Lily said sharply as the middle-aged witches looked over again, this time curiously. She could feel her face going red and gulped, trying to be rational and not just a puddle of embarrassment. "Look, I don't want to speculate-"

"Lily," Rose drawled, looking gorgeously furious, "no one has to speculate. It's been plastered through all the gossip columns. Scorpius doesn't hire assistants to get the job done, he hires them for their bodies and willingness to put out, and every time one of them starts to get lofty ideas about being the next Mrs. Malfoy, he fires them and finds a new hussy." Her gaze turned almost pitying. "Please don't tell me..." She trailed off, gesturing significantly.

Lily's face went impossibly redder. "Rose! Godric, no!"

"Good, because if he tried I'd-"

"Have to get in line," Lily cut in, feeling a little nettled after learning this. Was that really why Scorpius had hired her? To try and get in her pants? "Look, that's not going to happen, so he'll either have to fire me on my first day when I make it perfectly clear I'm not going to sleep with him, or he'll have to keep me around to do the actual job I thought I was applying for."

Rose's mouth pursed. "That little bastard," she murmured, but then her face brightened. "Well, either way, if he tries anything, you tell me and I'll curse his bollocks off. And if he's come to his senses and decided to find a hussy he doesn't have to pay for, then good for him. And you. I know you'll do awesome." She turned serious again. "But if he tries anything, and I mean anything-"

Lily waved away her cousin's threats. "I know. And thanks." A waitress finally made her way over to them, taking their orders (martini for Rose and a glass of elf-made wine for Lily) and melting back into the crowd again. "Oh, and I need to ask you a favour," Lily added, smiling a little. "It's a bit bizarre, but..."

"What is it, darling?" Rose asked, plucking an invisible bit of lint from her bright red halter dress.

"I need to borrow some shoes." The other witch's brow furrowed.

"Sure," she said automatically. "Any particular reason, or...?" Her blue eyes went huge. "Don't tell me you have a sexy date!"

Lily shook her head, wondering why everyone seemed so concerned with her love life, or lack thereof. "No, I need them for Monday morning. Scorpius told me if I wore my shoes he'd fire me, and I only own the one pair of heels. And I don't think sneakers count as appropriate footwear."

Rose's tinkling laugh drew the eyes of half a dozen men around them. "He didn't!" she gasped as their drinks arrived. "Oh Merlin, that sounds like him. If there's one thing I know about Scorpius Malfoy, he likes things around him to be pretty." She sipped her martini and looked over Lily. "Yeah, come by tomorrow morning and you can raid my shoe closet. Hell, take as many as you like, I have too many, and that gives me an excuse to go shoe shopping." She paused as though unsure she should speak, but then added, "By the way, Lily, what d'you plan on wearing?"

The redhead paused, wineglass halfway to her mouth. "Uh... To be honest I hadn't really thought of it. I have a couple suits, and some nice dresses, though, so I suppose-"

"Meet me tomorrow morning, ten o'clock. I'm taking you shopping."

"Rose, really I have-"

"Darling, I'm in the fashion industry. I wear some of the most beautiful gowns and couture in the world. Trust me, you need to go shopping, because there is no way I'm letting my cousin go into the Ministry wearing whatever you might have in your closet."

Lily frowned, feeling offended. "Thanks," she grumbled.

Rose smiled, bumping her glass against Lily's. "Don't be offended," she said quietly. "You know I think you're gorgeous, and I've tried more times than I care to admit to get you to dress better, so now that you don't have the excuse of being a student, or being 'too busy', or being in a relationship, I'm going to make you over. Trust me, when you walk in there Monday, Malfoy's going to regret hiring you."

"Rose, is that really the best plan? I kind of need this job to pay my rent."

The auburn-haired witch merely smiled, looking pleased with herself. "Oh trust me, you'll keep the job. As long as you don't let him bewitch you with his damn good looks, I can guarantee you'll outlast anyone who's held the position." Lily was confused as to how her looking fashionable would make Scorpius want to fire her when he'd told her to get better shoes, but nodded and took a drink of her wine.

"If you say so," she murmured, shrugging and pushing her concerns aside. "So, tell me what's new with you."

XXX

Scorpius checked his watch as he strode purposefully through the Atrium toward the golden lifts that would take him up to his office. It was only two minutes to six, and he smirked as he wondered if Lily was ready for him. It had been at least five years since he'd seen her before she walked into his office to interview as his assistant, and she'd looked better, far better, than he remembered. Of course, he'd never really taken much notice of Albus' little sister in the first place, as Lily was always somewhat quiet and bookish, and even after she'd matured into a young woman, he found it difficult to look at her as anything more than the tomboy who used to follow him and Albus around at school, tattling on them when they told her to go away. But now... He sighed running a hand through his hair. Even in her ugly clothes and those god-awful shoes, he'd been unable to help noticing she was most definitely a woman, and one with a great body to boot. Her long red hair had been just as flashy as ever, but less frizzy than he recalled, and she'd definitely been wearing make-up enough for him to notice.

He tapped his foot as the lift opened up, and he strode down the plush carpeting toward his office, nodding at a few co-workers who wore hangdog, Monday expressions, smirking to himself as he wondered if Lily had taken his advice about her shoes. Certainly he wouldn't actually fire her for something so unimportant, but she'd seemed to take him at his word, and it amused him to think she was so literal. Or naive.

"Morning," said a bright voice as he turned into his office suite, and he glanced down to find Lily at his elbow, steaming coffee in one hand, a neat stack of parchments in the other. Scorpius, however, didn't see the coffee or expense report. He couldn't look away from his new assistant. It had to be Lily, because she still had the same eager expression she'd worn at the end of the interview and same flaming red hair, but everything else about the slightly mousy young witch had changed, and drastically.

She was wearing four-inch, stiletto-heeled boots that were done in a soft caramel-coloured leather and came to just below her knees, a pair of very fitted deep burgundy jeans and a billowy, oversized white blouse she'd belted that exposed a generous portion of creamy shoulder. Scorpius gulped, finally looking into her eyes, noticing as he did that she'd ramped up her make-up with dark liner and twisted her long hair into a messy bun atop her head. "Morning," he managed to reply, clearing his throat. "I see you took my advice on the shoes."

She shrugged, brushing a stray wisp of hair that had escaped her bun off her face. "My cousin Rose pretty much held me at wand-point to get a new wardrobe after I told her about this job, so I figured what the hell."

"Ah, Rose Weasley," Scorpius said, his tone clipped. "I see. She's well, I assume?"

"As always."

"Lovely. Enough pleasantries," the blond said briskly, settling himself behind his desk as Lily placed his coffee and the parchments in front of him, "I need to get in touch with the Departmental Heads to revise the budget drafts for the next quarter and tomorrow is my mother's birthday, so send flowers or whatever you think is appropriate and leave me the card to sign after lunch."

"You don't want to pick it out yourself?" she asked incredulously, pausing in her note-taking.

He glanced up at her sharply. "Do you want this job or not, Potter? I told you what the expectations were, so if you're not up to it..."

"No," she said quickly, "I never meant- That's to say, I don't think- I mean, I can do this, I-"

"Excellent," he interjected and glanced down at the report before him. "So since you're capable, I'd appreciate less questions whose answers are obvious, and more listening. Now then, I'm expecting an owl from the Muggle Liaison Committee, so the moment it arrives I'd like to be notified. Until then, I'm busy." Lily nodded and departed swiftly, not noticing the way Scorpius glanced up from the parchment to watch her stride away from him, silver gaze fixed on her ass.

Lily spent most of the morning attempting to familiarize herself with Scorpius' day-to-day schedule and personal contacts, but the previous assistant had kept terrible records and clearly didn't include the majority of information. The redhead had done her homework on Malfoy, quite literally, over the weekend, reading every single gossip article about him, researching his family line, and even cajoled every single memory, impression or insight Rose had for Scorpius. But there was still a large gap of information and she was growing frustrated when the angry click of heels approaching made her glance up.

A very pretty, petite blonde witch stormed up to Lily's desk and leaned down aggressively into her face wearing an ugly expression and looking outraged. "Looks like he didn't waste much time," she snarled, and Lily's nose wrinkled as she caught a whiff of alcohol. "Where the fuck is that lying sonofabitch?" she demanded.

Steeling her courage, Lily swallowed and met the bloodshot brown eyes, forcing herself to be calm. "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific," she said politely. "But if you mean Mr. Malfoy-"

"Of course that's who I mean you stupid fucking bitch!" the blonde snapped.

"I'm afraid he's indisposed. If you'd like to book an appointment for a later time, I-"

"Are you fucking serious?" She laughed a little hysterically and then slammed her fists down onto Lily's desk. "I don't give a bleeding fuck if he's indis-fucking-posed! I want to talk to that bastard right NOW!And you, you're nothing but a fucking ginger-headed whore, y'know that? Don't think you're any different than any of the others, either. Nothing but a convenient fuck, you are."

Before she could control her temper, Lily reached for her wand and had it pointed at the blond's throat as she stood up. "Listen lady, I don't know who you are, or what your deal is, but you're out of line and out of control. Now you can walk away or I can call for security."

"Go ahead," the other woman taunted spreading her arms wide and swaying a little. "Go for it. Do your fucking worst." Tears began to slide down her cheeks, smearing her already-smeared mascara even more and pity wriggled uncomfortably in Lily's belly and she lowered her wand slowly. "That's what I fucking thought," the woman sobbed. But then, as though a switch had been flicked, she was furious again. "So where the fuck is he!?" she screeched.

"Janet, you shouldn't be here," said a deep voice from the far side of the space, and both Lily and the blonde looked around to see Scorpius leaning against the door frame, arms folding and looking displeased.

"Should I call-?" Lily asked, unsure, but Scorpius merely shook his head as Janet pasted on a seductive grin and turned away from the redhead.

"Ah, looks as though you aren't so indisposed," she purred, slinking toward him. "I need just a tiny word with you, in your office. It's...private." The blonde witch glanced pointedly back at Lily, who was watching the exchange with a blank expression.

"Go home, Janet," Scorpius replied, not moving and sounding bored even as she sidled right up to him. "I'm busy, and you've been drinking."

"It'll only take a few minutes," she crooned, reaching out to put her arms around him, but he caught her wrists. "Unless you'd like to draw it out," Janet added, thrusting out her cleavage.

Scorpius' eyes narrowed and he glared at her with contempt and distaste. "You're embarrassing yourself," he said coldly, and released her.

"You're a piece of shit," the blonde snarled, the sexy temptress bit evaporating. "A real class fucking act, y'know that?" The tears started again and the pureblood grit his teeth. "I thought we had something. I gave you everything you could've ever wanted. I did everything for you, everything!"

"We had a business arrangement, Janet, that's all."

"Fuck you!" she shrieked, and slapped Scorpius hard across the face.

Lily, who didn't realize she'd been holding her breath, let it out in a whoosh, watching as Scorpius' hand twitched toward his wand in his pocket, unsure what to do. "Goodbye, Janet," Scorpius growled, and turned away, slamming his office door shut in her face. The blonde broke into sobs, and turned away, glaring at Lily who merely stared back, white-faced.

"What are you looking at?" she wailed. "You just wait! Soon enough you'll be here, you'll be me, and you won't think this is so funny!" She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, and Lily swallowed.

"I don't think it's funny," she said quietly, sitting back down, looking away. She heard heels clicking slowly toward the hall before they paused.

"You know the worst part?" Janet murmured, and Lily looked up, meeting her teary blue eyes and shaking her head. "You're not even prettier than me. I could've understood if you were at least prettier than me." And with a sob, she turned into the hall and disappeared. Lily stared after her for several long moments before shaking her head. She felt sorry for Janet, genuinely sorry, but she couldn't help but feel, too, that the woman had brought unhappiness upon herself. Yet, seeing Janet so clearly heartbroken and Scorpius' obvious lack of caring or empathy cemented her vow that she would not end up like that. She wouldn't allow herself to get involved emotionally, and her relationship with Malfoy would remain strictly professional.

XXX

Nine Months Later

"Morning," Lily said, falling into step beside Scorpius the moment he stepped off the elevator, passing him his usual coffee and a stack of parchment. "Here are the records you asked for."

"How d'you do that?" Scorpius asked, rubbing his eyes, exhausted, and gulping coffee gratefully as he accepted the stack of parchments. He'd had a very late night and very little sleep, courtesy of the young lady who was presumably still asleep in his bed, and was feeling nettled by Lily's unquenchable perkiness and uncanny knack for knowing exactly when he arrived, despite the hour.

"I listen and I take notes," she replied smartly. Scorpius glared.

"I meant how d'you always know exactly when I'm going to get off the damn elevator?"

"Oh," she said, smiling widely. "Easy, I just put a Supersensory Charm on the elevator, and tweaked it so it would only go off when you specifically get off on this floor."

"When did you do this?" he asked, and Lily shrugged.

"About a week after I was hired." She switched her clipboard and notebook to the other arm. "I figured it would be better to be prepared for when you come in early." She smiled brightly. "Or late," she added pointedly, glancing down at her watch.

Scorpius grunted, and the redhead could tell he was impressed, though he'd never admit it. "Is this all of them this time?"

"All the ones they sent over, but Peabody said he'd send on any more that may have been 'temporarily misplaced'."

"Good," Scorpius said as they turned into the office. "Owl him and tell him I want them no later than tomorrow afternoon."

"It's done, I sent it out when the first batch came in, but I'll send him another. Also, you've got a ten o'clock appointment with the Inter-Departmental Liaison, she's angling to merge the Committee for House Elves in with the Beast and Spirit Division and is practically frothing at the mouth to get the Minister's ear and make her case, so she'll probably push you to ask him, and I've booked you in at the Leaky for lunch with Cadbury to go over the proposal for the new Educational Grants, and your mother owled, she needs you to contact her ASAP, wouldn't leave a message with me, but it sounded important. Oh, and you've got the charity gala tonight for St. Mungo's Hospital. Horace should have your dress robes waiting when you get home and there's a car scheduled to pick you up at seven, unless you'd prefer to Apparate."

"Which would you prefer?" he asked, sitting down and flipping through the stack of parchments idly, not noticing the redhead's stunned expression.

"Uh, sorry, what?" she stuttered.

Scorpius glanced up at her. "Which method of transportation would you prefer?" he repeated slowly, as though speaking to someone who didn't have a full grasp on the English language.

"Why does my preference matter?" she asked, the dull weight of dread that she was about to be asked to do something unpleasant settling in her stomach.

"You're coming with me," the pureblood replied, cocking a brow as he smirked lightly at her. "I don't have time to ask anyone, and I can't go without a date, so you can tag along this time."

"I can owl Andrea, or Cindy, or Mandy, or whoever your latest companion is and ask them," Lily said hurriedly, waving her hand as though to brush away the suggestion she go with him to the event. "I'm sure whichever girl it is will be thrilled, so I'll get on that right away and get back to you." She smiled nervously and the blond grinned back, looking incredibly like some sort of large, predatory cat stalking cornered prey.

"No, it's really much simpler if you just come instead. Besides, I'm in meetings all afternoon, so I won't get the reply even if whoever you owl responds. And her name was Andrea, but I doubt she'd answer back politely if you were to owl her." The blond sat back, looking his assistant over with appraising eyes, realizing that Lily was actually decidedly attractive, which had only happened a few times in the last half year. Her long, vibrant hair waved over her shoulders and down her back today, free from its usual bun, and contrasted with her plain back wool dress and slouchy grey boots perfectly. "So," he finally continued, prying his gaze away from her curves to her unenthusiastic expression, "now that that's settled, I suppose I should let you know it's a black-tie formal event, so wear something extra-nice, and since you won't decide, we'll take the car. Be ready for seven-thirty."

Lily merely gaped at him, trying to think of a way out of going, but she'd learned rather quickly that once Scorpius set his mind to something, he made certain it happened. Finally, after a few long moments where the blond waited patiently while staring her down, Lily sighed. "Fine. But I better get a pay-rise or at least a bonus for this. And I'll have to leave a bit early if you really want me to accompany you; I don't own anything appropriate."

Scorpius rolled his eyes but grinned wickedly. "I don't mind inappropriate, for the record."

"Duly noted," Lily retorted dryly.

At three that afternoon, two hours before she was 'off the clock' (which was a joke because she was bothered just as much at home as in the office by the pureblood), Lily finished off her finalized version of Scorpius' schedule for the next morning, sent out the last few memos to various Departments, and gathered her coat, hoping Rose would be home.

She hurried from the Ministry and Apparated to Rose's doorstep, knocking quickly on the door and chewing her lip nervously, praying her cousin would be in. To her undying relief, the door opened and Rose stood there, wearing designer jeans and a tank-top eating a banana. "Oh thank Merlin," Lily sighed. "I need your help. I need something black-tie formal that doesn't scream 'I'm a giant whore'."

Rose cocked a brow. "Should I ask?"

"Not if you love me," Lily replied as her cousin let her in and she slumped into the closest chair. "Just please, find me something to wear."

"Well follow me, darling, and we'll take a peek in my closet. Tell me you're not going to the St. Mungo's thing, though. I can't think of anything else tonight you'd need black-tie for." Lily knew Rose was well-connected and very close with many Ministry executives and hotshots, and wasn't surprised she knew about the charity gala.

"Yeah," the redhead grumbled as she followed Rose upstairs and into a large room her cousin had turned into a closet with dozens of drawers and cubbies for shoes. "Are you going?"

"Of course, Lily," Rose chided playfully. "My gown took six weeks to design and fabricate and it's being express shipped for tonight, there's no way I'm not going. But," she turned to face Lily, hands on hips, looking stern, "more importantly, who are you going with?"

The redhead looked away guiltily, knowing already what Rose was going to say. "It's for work, actually, so I-"

"For what?" Rose demanded. "Not work, so stop trying to pull the wool over my eyes. That philandering arse wants you to be his arm-candy more like! Damn it, Lily, I don't like it. There's going to be a lot of people there, and a lot of those people have nothing better to do with their lives than talk about other people, and darling you're like fresh meat in the lion's den for them. And the press will be there, and those gossip column bitches will speculate on everything you do and don't do and imply the worst."

Lily was a little touched by Rose's obvious concern for her reputation, but also felt a little nettled. Of course she knew exactly the sort of people who'd be there, and had assumed she'd be mentioned in the gossip column, but she was merely the assistant, and planned to act as such that night, and not Scorpius' date. Instead of saying all this, of course, the redhead countered the considerate sentiments with a smile, murmuring, "But maybe I'll finally meet someone worth categorizing as a hot date there."

Rose took the bait as expected and immediately her whole demeanour changed. "Oh snap, I can't believe I didn't think of that! Ooh, now I need to find you something sinfully fabulous." She looked at Lily and her mouth quirked to the side as her inner stylist took over. "Nothing boring, nothing plain, and definitely no black; everyone and their mother will be wearing black. Something with colour, or maybe some sparkle, and definitely nothing short." She waved her wand and gowns plucked themselves from garment bags hanging in a neat row and gathered together on a rack that Rose Conjured. "Let's see, what else. You'll need shoes, and knowing you you'll want a purse to hold your shit." She waved her wand again and choices laid themselves out before her.

The redhead watched, a little in awe of her cousin's efficiency, and watched as the tall, long-legged witch pulled out a turquoise silk gown and held it out expectantly. Lily shook her head and Rose pulled out an emerald chiffon dress instead, but Lily shook her head again. Though beautiful, the gowns both seemed too fussy for the redhead's taste. She turned down a cream-coloured ruffled number next, and then an eggplant grecian-inspired look before Rose pulled out a shimmery, slinky golden number. "No, absolutely not," Lily said automatically, but Rose put the gown aside and began selecting shoes for Lily. "Rose, no, that's way too-"

"Hush. You won't pick, and I'm not going through every damn dress in here until you decide, so I'm picking for you. Besides, it's going to look fabulous on you, and that's really all that matters. D'you like these?" She held out a pair of red pumps and Lily groaned, giving in without a fight.

Precisely at seven-thirty the car pulled smoothly to a stop at the curb in front of Lily's apartment complex and she hurried downstairs, glad it was dark so Scorpius' driver wouldn't see the less-than-desirable neighbourhood she lived in in broad daylight. She slid into the back seat and was startled to see the pureblood was already there, dressed in all black, perfectly fitted robes, smelling deliciously like some expensive cologne, and looking just as startled at her appearance as she'd been at seeing him. "What?" she asked self-consciously, reaching for her bag to pull out a mirror and check her hair and makeup.

She'd allowed Rose to subject her to even more beautification after they'd selected Lily's outfit, and now her long red hair billowed in big, sexy curls around her face and her lips were painted a bright blood red. The golden gown that caught the light and glittered with only the slightest movement clung in just the right places, the low back and deeply plunging neckline accenting her ass and breasts to perfection, also complimented her creamy pale skin tone and hazel eyes and made any jewelry unnecessary. Scorpius gulped, trying to remember she was his assistant, and more importantly, Albus' sister, and it would be against the man-code to try anything with her. "Nothing," he managed to rasp out. "You look..." He tried to think of words that didn't sound crude, but could only come up with, "Bloody brilliant."

She grinned and blushed a little, feeling slightly flustered by the compliment and too exposed. "Thanks," she said in a small voice. "Er, you do too." They settled into a slightly uncomfortable silence on the drive to the venue, Lily staring out the window trying to ignore the awkward tension that being in the blond's company outside work wrought in her, and Scorpius trying to silence the unsavoury thoughts the redhead's outfit brought on.

Upon arriving, a valet opened Lily's door for her and she climbed out carefully, trying to avoid stepping on the hem of her gown, smiling gratefully as the young wizard offered her a gloved hand in assistance. Scorpius materialized at her elbow and offered her his arm, and despite her hesitation Lily took it as he lead her up the steps and into the building. Immediately as they stepped through the wide double front doors, the overwhelming din of a crowd of people talking and shouting and flashing photos hit Lily like a brick wall; she certainly hadn't been expecting something quite so boisterous.

"Brace yourself," Scorpius said quietly, and she glanced up to see his face set into a dazzling smile, and with the practised ease of having done it countless times before, the pureblood drew her forward with him into the mass of people in a slow-moving sort of line around which members of the press, assorted assistants, and photographers crowded, all trying to interview or at least snap a picture of someone of importance. "And at least try to smile, Potter," he added, glancing down at her as people began to notice Scorpius' arrival.

Lily smiled automatically, even though she felt as though she might be sick at any moment. "I'm not sure I can do this," she murmured.

Scorpius released her from his arm and brought it around her, hand resting on the small of her back, warm and somehow reassuring against the exposed flesh just above the dip in her gown. "You're doing fine. Just breathe and relax. Though I'll admit, I wonder how it is you can organize my life down to the minute and yet go faint at the thought of being the centre of attention. It's almost worrisome, really."

Lily didn't know whether to be be amused or exasperated, but she realized she had forgotten, at least for a moment, that people were now taking her picture and shouting random, half-unintelligible questions at them. She grinned with genuine gratitude and lifted her chin slightly. "Thanks," she whispered, and then beamed out at the photographers, who went wild snapping her picture.

They made their way through the line, Scorpius occasionally stopping to talk to people he knew, Lily doing her very best to remain calm and collected as she subjected herself intense and highly public scrutiny. Finally, after what felt like hours to the redhead, they reached the end of the press assembly and after turning down a short hallway they came to another set of wide double doors that two white-robed butlers waved them through to a grandly proportioned room with a glass-domed ceiling. The volume in this room was much more subdued, just a low murmur of conversation occasionally punctuated by the odd laugh and the clink of champagne flutes toasting together. "Champagne?" Scorpius asked, guiding her, his hand still at the small of her back, toward the bar.

"Please," she replied, accepting the glass of bubbly gratefully. "Thank Merlin that's over," she sighed, taking a hearty swig of her drink, "although I think my face might be permanently stuck like that now." She rubbed her jaw as Scorpius ordered himself a whiskey.

"That was only the appetizer, Lily," he chuckled, finally releasing her as they headed away from the bar into the middle of the room.

"What?" she asked, brow furrowing, but before the pureblood could elaborate, a short, very plump man with an impressive moustache and beard accompanied by a tall, waif-like young lady whose face was smooth and devoid of emotion sidled up to them. "Malfoy! Good to see you, m'boy!" the man rumbled, patting his belly jovially and grinning.

Lily glanced up at Scorpius to see him smiling rigidly back. "Humphrey," he said, inclining his head to the other man, who was a good foot shorter than the tall, lean blond. "You're looking as well as ever."

"Can't complain!" Humphrey chortled, twirling his moustache as his dark, beady eyes slid pointedly over to Lily. "Nor can you, by the looks of it, eh?" He elbowed Scorpius playfully in the ribs and the redhead saw him disguise a grimace with a smile.

"Yes, this is my-"

"Assistant. I'm his assistant, Lily Potter," the redhead said briskly, sticking out her hand and forcing a smile. Although they'd just met, she already didn't particularly care for this Humphrey fellow, but was determined to play nice.

"Oho! Assistant, eh?" His gaze darted to Scorpius then back to Lily before he took her outstretched hand in his small chubby one, bending to kiss it. "I'll bet you're quite handy to have about the office!" He chuckled at his own joke, not noticing Scorpius' smile fading, eyes fixed on Lily's cleavage. "Yes, I say, I wouldn't mind some 'assistance' from you, young lady!"

"Indeed," Scorpius replied icily, mouth a hard line. "Excuse us, Humphrey, I've just spotted an old friend of mine." His hand closed around the redhead's arm, pulling her away with him rudely.

"Scorpius, I-" Lily began, but he silenced her with a fierce glare, silver eyes piercing.

"Do me a favour, Potter, and allow me to make the introductions," he bit out.

Lily's brows rose and she looked pointedly at his hand on her arm. He released her and she folded her arms across her chest. "Why?" she demanded. "I'm capable of-"

"I'm aware of your capabilities," he cut across her, "and they don't include the navigation of politics within the Ministry. You go around telling these people you're my assistant, and what does that say about me?"

The redhead's eyes narrowed. "So I'm supposed to pretend I'm your - your...date or something!?" she hissed. "I don't bloody think so!" She swallowed her champagne and placed the empty glass on a passing tray. "That's not what I signed up for, so-"

"It is exactly what you signed up for, and if you want to have a job come Monday morning, Potter, you'll pretend to be whatever I tell you to pretend to be. I will not have you making me look the fool, and I'm not going to have you ruining my reputation," he snarled in an undertone, aware that people were watching them.

She laughed, but it was humourless. "Your reputation?" she whispered incredulously. "Merlin forbid you tarnish your glowing track record."

Scorpius took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and stepped closer to Lily, who titled her head back to maintain eye contact as he leaned down and said softly against her ear, "Do you want to keep your job or not, Potter?"

"You're a prick," she whispered back as he drew away, and to her surprise, he grinned widely at her.

"I'll take that as a yes. Good decision."

"Don't flatter yourself. I need the money and you'd be sunk without me," she said smoothly, plucking a full glass of champagne from another passing tray, "I'll pretend for now, but you owe me, big time." Scorpius rolled his eyes, placing his hand at her back once more.

"Whatever you say, Potter," he intoned sarcastically.

She grinned up at him, looking to all the world like a doting date. "Good. In that case, I say you're giving me the week leading up to Christmas off. Thanks boss."

The pureblood had to bite down on his tongue to keep from snorting; he'd thoroughly planned to give Lily some time off for the holidays, despite what he'd told her during her interview and how he'd interrupted her last year. "If you insist," he replied calmly, leading her toward a large group of young wizards, all accompanied by a beautiful woman, all of whom looked Lily over with interest while their dates glared her down. "Now just smile and pretend you're-"

"Hopelessly besotted with you?" she supplied coolly.

His hand twitched in time with the corner of his mouth and then his palm flattened against her skin as he pulled her slightly closer. "I was going to say actually having a decent time, but that works as well. Just think, a whole week of vacation if you manage to pull this off for me."

The redhead could picture it; the sleeping in, the long hours spent curled up with a good book, and most of all the prospect of seeing her family for a proper meal. She looked up at Scorpius, hoping her lust for a proper vacation without him interrupting or bothering her passed for the undying adulation his girlfriends normally wore around him and downed her champagne quickly. If she was going to do this, she figured alcohol could only aid her poor attempts at acting. "Consider it done," she said solemnly.

To her surprise, Lily found it wasn't nearly so terrible as she'd thought it might be, having everyone assume she was nothing more than Scorpius' date. Perhaps it had been the dozen or so glasses of champagne she'd had, but the redhead was actually enjoying herself thoroughly, and it was bizarre, but she was also surprised at how incredibly attentive and adoring Scorpius had been with her. Of course, she told herself firmly, it was just an act on both their parts, but it was still nice to have a date who walked her to the powder room and waited outside for her to finish, to have an escort who made sure her glass was never empty, and mostly, to be introduced to so many famous and important Ministry witches and wizards like she belonged among their ranks.

The evening was winding down and she was feeling pleasantly fuzzy when Scorpius said against her ear, "I'll be right back," before disappearing somewhere, likely to track down more whiskey or a bathroom. Lily waited patiently, watching the few couples waltzing in a large space in the centre of the room that had been cleared for dancing without really seeing them. "Well I'll be damned; if it isn't Lily Potter," drawled a familiar voice from behind her, and the redhead turned, face breaking into a wide smile when she spotted who'd spoken.

"Luke!" she cried, eyes drinking in the tall, darkly handsome wizard who stood before her in midnight blue dress robes, arms wide. She darted forward and hugged him close for a moment before releasing him. "What are you doing here?" she demanded as he held onto one of her hands as though loathe to let her go.

"Strictly business. I've been named the new St. Mungo's charity representative, so I've been trying to persuade all these old rich people to donate enough money to fund a new floor for the hospital." His keen blue eyes roved over her gown and back up to her face. "What brings you here and wearing a dress to boot?"

Lily laughed, feeling truly comfortable for the first time all evening. "It's kind of a long story. Basically, same as you, business."

The young wizard cocked a brow. "Don't tell me you're one of these hard-nosed Ministry officials. I mean, it's been awhile since I've seen you admittedly, but I never would've pegged you as power-hungry, Lily," Luke teased. "In fact, I distinctly remember you telling me you'd have to be 'blind in both eyes and dumber than a concussed troll' to work at the Ministry."

She pushed him in the chest with her free hand, enjoying the brunet wizard's easy smile. "Well I told you it was a long story. No, I'm not an official Ministry employee, at least not really. I'm an assistant for one of those power-hungry officials we used to make fun of."

"So what brings you here, then? Isn't this a little high-brow for a lowly assistant?"

Lily smacked him now, glaring. "You're still a right pain in the ass Luke Marshall. No, I'm here as sort of a favour for my boss, kind of as a stand-in date."

"Stand-in date?" he drawled, laughing and dodging another attack. "How professional sounding." His gaze softened and he pulled her close. "So where is your boss then?"

"Dunno," Lily replied, mesmerized by his sky-blue eyes just as she'd been at seventeen years old. "He's probably been sidetracked by some stuffy old rich person you've conned money out of."

"I've missed you Lily," Luke said seriously, "and you look as beautiful as ever."

She blushed, enjoying the flattery. "And you're still a silver-tongued charmer."

"Guilty as charged." He grinned, eyes twinkling. "So d'you think your boss would mind if I stole you for a quick dance?"

"I don't see why he should." She allowed him to lead her to the dance floor, following his lead as he spun them out amongst the other dancers, his movements graceful and confident. "I haven't forgotten the last conversation we had," she reminded him as they twirled around the room.

He chuckled, face alight with the usual air of boyish mischief. "I didn't expect you to. I'm sorry, y'know...for everything. The way things turned out between us."

Lily shrugged. "I'm not. I learned a very important lesson that day."

"Which was?"

"Never trust a man." Luke laughed freely and the redhead grinned appreciatively. "And that no matter how much you might want to hold onto some things, sometimes it's best to let them go. Besides, I'm over it."

"You wound me."

"Good," she retorted without malice. "But it really is wonderful to see you again."

"Ah, I knew you couldn't stay mad and bitter forever," he murmured, and as the song came to an end, he kissed her gently on the mouth. It was softly romantic, reminding her of days long past where her only cares were schoolwork and Luke. She sighed, relaxing into his arms, but before she thought to reciprocate, the loud sound of someone pointedly clearing their throat and Luke pulling back made her turn.

There stood Scorpius, arms folded, looking quietly enraged. "If you're finished, Potter, we need to leave," he said in clipped tones, not looking at her. Instead he was staring down Luke, as though the man had committed some heinous offence.

Lily looked back at the brunet, who looked equally amused and disdainful at Scorpius' arrival. "Well, it was great seeing you," she breathed, biting back a girlish giggle.

"Likewise. Owl me sometime and we can catch up."

"I will," she replied, smiling and giving him one last hug before turning away and following a stiff-backed Scorpius out of the grand room.

"Who was that?" he demanded as he strode angrily down the short hallway to the entrance, Lily hurrying to keep up.

"An old friend of mine from school. Why d'you ask?" she asked, hoping she didn't twist an ankle in her heels.

Scorpius's mouth clenched into a hard line. "No reason," he snapped coldly.

It wasn't until they were stepping back into the car that it dawned on Lily that Scorpius was acting suspiciously jealous. "You're not jealous?" she asked incredulously, stifling a laugh as she slid onto the seat next to him, leaning forward to try and catch his eye.

"Don't flatter yourself," he snarled.

"You are!" she cried, unable to hold back the giggle this time.

"I am not," Scorpius said, narrowing his eyes at her. "I'm merely disappointed that you chose to break our little agreement."

"What agreement?" Lily asked, sobering slightly.

"The one where I promise you a week's vacation in exchange for the simple task of acting like a respectable date for one singular evening." His lip curled slightly at her. "Shame you couldn't even last a few hours without falling for the first wizard who dropped a line on you."

"I'll have you know," Lily retorted hotly, "that I in no way broke our agreement. I was dancing with an old friend, and-"

"Looked like he was more than a friend," Scorpius interjected icily.

"Why should it matter to you? I only came as your stupid date because I had to!"

"Yes, and in those last five minutes you destroyed what little progress you made doing so," he snapped, eyes glittering coldly. "Part of the reason you get paid is to make me look good, Potter, and you snogging someone after publicly appearing as my escort looks pretty fucking bad." Lily folded her arms, biting her tongue and clamping her mouth shut to prevent herself from retorting, and glared hard out the window as they melted through traffic toward her apartment. They were only a few blocks away when Scorpius finally broke the strained silence and said tonelessly, "Don't bother coming in tomorrow, Potter."

The redhead whirled to face him, furious. "You can't fire me because I-!"

"Something urgent has come up and I'll be away for the next week or so," he interrupted as though she hadn't spoken. "Reschedule everything and owl me the details for next Monday."

Instantly, Lily felt bad. In all the time she'd worked for him, she'd seen just about every facet of his personality, but she'd never seen the bleak set of his aristocratic mouth or the resigned light in his silver eyes he now sported. "Is everything okay?" she asked softly.

Almost as though it had never happened, Scorpius' face smoothed into cool, detachment. "That is neither your concern nor part of your job description, and is therefore impertinent," he said dismissively.

"That doesn't answer the question," she pushed, and wished she hadn't as his expression darkened.

"Are you incapable of taking a hint?" he asked dangerously.

Lily swallowed, not sure if she should answer this time. "Er..."

"I'll take that witty, cutting reply as a no then," he bit out as they pulled up to the curb. Lily opened her door, not bothering to say goodnight, but Scorpius, surprisingly, got out as well. "I'll walk you to your door," he said stiffly, looking around at the run-down, heavily-graffitied building across the street, the rubbish-strewn sidewalk, and the Muggle hookers at the far corner distastefully.

"Don't bother," Lily snapped.

"Don't be absurd," he said, keeping pace with her easily as she hurried toward her building. "This neighbourhood is unsettling at the best of times."

"Yeah, well, not all of us can afford to live in mansions," she murmured, heading for the stairs, the blond right behind her still. He cracked a tiny smile.

"Does your boyfriend know you live here?" he asked as they stepped out onto her floor and he glanced at the water-stained carpeting and peeling wallpaper.

"Jealousy doesn't suit you," Lily replied, smiling acidly over her shoulder as they headed down the corridor. "And if you're referring to Luke, he's not my boyfriend."

"Oh yes, how silly of me," he drawled, "if you had a boyfriend you'd undoubtedly get laid a lot more and you wouldn't be wound quite so tightly."

Lily, who had stopped at her front door, turned around, her hazel eyes blazing ferociously, and acting on sheer impulse, shoved Scorpius as hard as she could in his solid chest, succeeding only in making him grin and herself more furious. She raised a hand, as though to shove him again, but this time the blond caught her wrist and pulled her hard against him, his other hand pressing against her back where it had rested most of the evening and holding her there. Not that Lily tried to pull away, as in the next breath Scorpius bent his head and kissed her hard on the mouth. It was demanding, and passionate, and intensely erotic, but above all it was wholly and mind-blowingly perfect. She sighed, melting against him completely, opening her mouth to him as his tongue traced her lips, hands sliding up his chest to grip his shoulders, and let herself go for one glorious moment.

And then, just as she thought to kiss back, Scorpius had pulled away, staring down at her with molten silver eyes and breathing unevenly. He looked equally confused and shocked, and there was something akin to guilt on his face, but in the next moment he grinned. "Let me know if ever you want help unwinding," he breathed, watching with amusement as her brain kicked back into action and she went from dazed to outraged. "Goodnight." And with that, he turned away abruptly, walking back down the hall toward the stairwell, leaving her looking after him.

Lily was pissed, but mostly at herself. She had let him get to her, something she thought she'd grown out of and gotten past, but mostly, she abhorred the thought that when he'd kissed her, she'd actually liked it, and worse, had wanted more. She shook herself and quickly let herself into her flat, closing the door and leaning back against it, taking a deep breath and feeling glad that Scorpius wouldn't be in for a whole week. Hopefully by the time he came back from whatever urgent business he had, she mused, she'd be able to forget what had just happened and the rest of the night. Lily headed to her bedroom to change and vowed to herself again that she would be immune to Scorpius and all his charms; she had a job to do, and she wouldn't compromise it by losing her head and letting the handsome blond have his way with her.

XXX

Lily somehow managed to reschedule and rearrange all of Scorpius' various meetings and appointments, although it somehow managed to eat up a large portion of the week. The rest of her work days she spent organizing the office and trying to ignore the persistently recurring memory of Scorpius' searing kiss the last time she'd seen him. She told herself firmly that she had been a fool, and that any more little lapses in judgement like that and she may as well turn in her two weeks notice. For Lily was certain that if she allowed herself to let him kiss her whenever the mood struck him it would undoubtedly lead to more, larger lapses in judgement on her part, and she would end up like the other women who allowed themselves to be used.

Yet, try as she might, the redhead couldn't banish the flashes of the memory from cropping up at random intervals; the way he'd felt against her and the way he'd kissed her, the heady scent of his cologne and the mellowed whiskey flavour of his lips and tongue, and most frequently the way his silver eyes had burned her after he'd pulled back. Every time she relived one of these sensations, however much she longed to dwell on them, Lily instead reminded herself firmly that he was, in essence, her boss, and she wouldn't taint the professional relationship she had with him, even if she were interested. Sure, he was charming when it suited him and undoubtedly handsome, she mused, but he was also conceited and arrogant, and the redhead knew he was capable of cruelty and ruthlessness. This is what she told herself firmly; that he was too cold, too snobbish, and she didn't really even like him that much, so there was no point in setting herself up for failure.

She owled Scorpius his new schedule for when he came back, fully expecting a reply commenting on the busy life he would be leading to catch up for the unexpected absence, but to her confusion, the owl she'd sent out returned without any response whatsoever. Worrying she may have upset him, she spent the weekend drawing up an alternative schedule for the blond, moving the most agreeable people around and praying she would be able to change their appointments yet again should he choose the revised version.

Scorpius arrived at six in the morning on the dot, looking as he ever did as he stepped off the elevator and held his hand out imperiously for coffee, which she'd had ready and supplied promptly, face inscrutable. Her stomach knotted with anxiety. "Did your urgent business turn out well?" she ventured softly as they strode into his office.

He looked pensive for a moment and then shrugged. "You might say that. It was accomplished, anyway." His tone was flat and deflected further questions, so Lily fell silent. "My first appointment is six-thirty with Melvin from Department of Mysteries?" he asked.

"Yes, but I can sw-"

"Alright, let me know when he's here. That's everything for now, you can go." He waved a hand vaguely, shifting through his parchments to find something pertaining to his meeting, and the redhead bit her lower lip. She had the distinct feeling Scorpius hadn't thought whatsoever about the kiss, and as she went to her own desk, she firmly told herself yet again to pretend it had never even happened.

When Melvin arrived Lily got him settled in the conference room and poked her head into Scorpius's office. "Come in, close the door," he said briskly. Brow furrowing, Lily slipped inside, eased the door shut silently, and the next thing she knew, her boss had backed her up against it, mouth over hers, tongue pushing into her mouth. Shock froze her for an instant and then he pulled back. "You can still have your week off for Christmas, Potter," he said.

She could only blink at him, then nodded wordlessly still too stunned to speak. Had he really just-? "Your six-thirty is in the conference room," she murmured, and Scorpius grinned, silvery eyes roving over her.

"Excellent. Thank you." She stood aside as he went out and slunk slowly back to her own desk, staring down at her day planner riddled with notes and appointments and reminders without seeing it.

By lunch, Lily was starving and her brain felt mushy. She hadn't been able to stop obsessing over the kiss in his office. What in hell had the blond been playing at, kissing her like that for no reason at all? And damn it, why did she keep wondering, half hoping he would do it again?

"Get your bag," Scorpius said, emerging from his office. She blinked, staring, and he rolled his eyes. "Godric Gryffindor, Potter, relax. I had a shitty week, and believe it or not you're the one person I see on a daily basis, so it was just an expression of being glad to be back Now get your bag."

"Why do I need my-?"

"We're going to lunch. You have four seconds, or we'll leave your bag behind." Lily snatched up her navy leather tote, tossed her day planner into it, and threw her jacket over her arm. It was already October, although it was still warm, but she was willing to bet the wind had picked up already outside.

"You don't have a reservation anywhere," she mumbled, slipping her coat on and coming around her desk. He grinned.

"I'm sure we'll figure out something," he replied. They ended up at the Leaky Cauldron. Scorpius waited until the food arrived to address the real reason he'd asked her for lunch. "Did you hook up with that fellow from the charity gala?" he asked as Lily bit into her roast beef sandwich.

Her brows drew together. "I don't think-"

"It is my business," he interrupted. "I'm going to the States next week." Lily already knew this, as she'd been the one to book all his accommodations and various Portkey tickets as well as set up his meetings stateside and have all the appropriate arrangements for his packing made. The Minister and his support staff would be going for a fortnight to confer on foreign policies with the North American branch of wizarding government and set up a trade agreement that Scorpius had been key in facilitating.

"I know," she said. "That doesn't explain why it matters if I've gotten together with an old friend or not."

Scorpius grinned. "Sure it does. You're coming with me."

Lily blinked. "Um, what?"

"You're coming with me," he repeated. "You booked the Portkey reservations, right?" She had. She'd assumed he'd be taking whatever latest bimbo he'd taken a fancy to having in his bed with him.

"I can't," she said automatically. He arched a blond brow.

"Certainly you can. I'm going to be busy, and I'm not settling for some American trying to figure out how to have my damn shirts pressed properly and getting my car where it needs to be. It was almost a disaster when I was there for only two days in August."

Lily stared. "But who's going to take care of everything here?' she asked. Scorpius shrugged.

"I'm certain you'll figure that out. So, I was asking if you hooked up with your boytoy because you're going to be away for awhile. Believe it or not, I'm not fond of the idea of having some irate wizard showing up the second we get back on the twenty seventh demanding to know precisely what I've been doing with you."

Lily almost laughed. "It won't happen. Trust me, the only man in my life other than you is Ogden." His brow furrowed. "Firewhiskey," she replied, then smiled.

The blond smirked. "Good. What time is our Portkey for?"

"Seven."

"Be ready to go at six."

When they got back to the Ministry, a horrible thought occurred to Lily. "Wait," she said, eyes widening, "I only booked one hotel room. I assumed you were taking your girlfriend of the week, so I didn't bother to-"

The blond pureblood chuckled and waved away her concern. "There's usually a couch in the room, Potter. I'm sure you'll fit on it. You're what, without the heels? Five two?"

She glared. "Five four."

"Exactly, you could probably even fit on a loveseat. Let me know when my two o'clock gets here." She glared some more as he disappeared into his office, cursing him silently, then looked into getting her own room.

When the day of their departure arrived, the redhead was in a bad mood. She'd been unable to find another room in the whole damned hotel, and as she stood waiting by the front door of her apartment building, her large duffel bag packed to maximum capacity, she tried to tell herself she could manage sleeping on a couch for two weeks if need be.

Once she was in the car, she stared pointedly out the window, trying to tell herself this was business, nothing more, even though there was a flutter of excitement in the pit of her stomach. She'd never been outside Europe, and wondered what life was like across the pond.

"You seem upset. Was the boyfriend disappointed you'd be leaving?" Scorpius drawled from across the car's interior as they magically merged through London's heavy traffic.

"There is no boyfriend," she said crisply.

"Then why do you look so miserable? I'm the one stuck in meetings for the next two weeks with my ass on the line at the end of it all should anything fuck up."

Lily pressed her lips together. She didn't want to say she didn't want to be going, because that wasn't true, she just wished she could be going with someone else. Or even by herself. Pretty much, she was nervous and hesitant because she was going with Scorpius. He hadn't made any move to kiss her again, or even so much as mentioned that they had ever kissed in the first place, but she'd noticed him looking at her in the last week, not so much as his assistant, but with an intense kind of scrutiny. It unnerved her to say the least.

That and Lily couldn't shake the warning Rose had left her with. "He's the devil in disguise, Lily," she'd said, blue eyes stern. "And he's up to something I'll bet. Just don't let your guard down."

"I've never been to the States," she said at last, even as they pulled up to the International Portkey building. "I'm not sure what it'll be like."

"Probably cold," Scorpius murmured as they climbed out of the car and went into the warehouse exterior. Inside was a plush lobby area, and Lily quickly handed over the tickets to a tired-grumpy looking Portkey Agent, who gave her directions to the correct area.

"Seven o'clock New York City," called a magically enhanced voice after they'd checked their baggage. "Last call for the seven o'clock to New York City." Lily put a finger to the old bucket that would transport them across the Atlantic, and looked up at Scorpius as the seconds ticked down.

"You'll be fine, Lily," he said quietly. "And just think, in four weeks after we get back, you'll be on holiday." He smiled slightly and she grinned back, then felt a sharp tug behind her navel as they ripped through time and space and her feet landed firmly upon hard concrete a few moments later.

They were in a building very similar to the one they'd just left behind, and after collected their bags, they followed several other travellers out to the main thoroughfare. Voices shouted over the din and echoed magically across the large space and Lily had to take several deep breaths to calm herself enough to figure out where they were supposed to be going.

As she'd arranged, there was a car waiting to take them to their hotel, where Scorpius would meet with the Minister of Magic and various other Ministry executives for breakfast at eight. She couldn't resist looking out the car window as they slipped through tiny spaces in the heavy flow of traffic, her eyes wide at the sheer size and populace of New York.

They got to the hotel, the very best magical accommodations in the city, and were shown to a very nice suite. Lily looked at the massive king-sized bed and then the buttery white leather sofa. Close enough. She sighed, setting to work unpacking as Scorpius went to change for breakfast.

"Potter, what on earth are you doing?" he drawled as she finished up. "We've got breakfast."

"I don't," she replied. He rolled silver eyes.

"Yes, you do. Get dressed." She looked down at her black skinny jeans and dark purple blazer over the mint blouse.

"But why would I go to breakfast? It's for-"

"I need you to take notes, and you're my unofficial plus-one for this trip, Lily. So get dressed, unless you plan on wearing that."

"What's wrong with this?" she asked defensively. He glanced at his watch.

"Nothing, but the Americans are probably expecting you to show a little more skin." She frowned.

"Well too bad," she muttered. He laughed.

"If you insist, Lily. Where's my-?" She handed him a stack of parchments she'd had ready in her tote bag. "Ah, excellent. And my-?" She held out his jacket. "You really do think of everything," he rumbled.

"That's what you pay me for," she said. "Though I might want a raise after this."

Scorpius smirked. "We'll see." He glanced at his watch, then reached up and pulled the chopstick that had been securing her utilitarian bun in place. Her damp crimson waves tumbled around her shoulders. "Much better. Don't forget, while you're here, you're representing our government, Potter. Try to put a little effort in."

She narrowed her eyes, snatched the chopstick back, and crammed it into her tote. "Duly noted. Make self look like a bimbo. Got it."

After breakfast came an hour of introductory meetings for Scorpius where Lily was sent to wait with various other assistants and aides, all of whom wore dark suits, looking extremely buttoned up compared to her. She was tempted to put her hair back up as a middle-aged woman in severely-cut black robes glared at her, but Lily merely scribbled away in her day planner, trying to figure out a semblance of what she would wear to the various appointments she hadn't known she'd have. Luckily she'd over packed, as was her habit, and although she felt bummed she wouldn't get to wander the city like a real tourist, she was glad she wouldn't be showing up to any meetings in her ratty old jeans.

After the meeting, she and the others left out of the serious talk, were taken aside by their employers and Lily scribbled furiously, nodding as Scorpius spoke about setting up more meetings with the American side of things to go over the finer points of detail the Minister couldn't be bothered with.

Once they were on their way down to lunch in the hotel dining room, Lily sprang at Scorpius. "You set me up back there," she snapped.

He raised a brow, pulling out her chair for her. "How so?"

"Everyone else was wearing all black very business-like robes. Why would you tell me to show more skin?"

He grinned. "Because I like being able to find you in a crowd." She bit back the rude retort to that.

"I have red hair, Malfoy, it shouldn't be hard."

"That, and the American wizard they have as Senior Undersecretary here-"

"He's called the Chief of Staff," she cut in. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Whatever he's called, he kept commenting how it takes our end too long to finalize things. I figured why not provide the man some excuse as to why we're so slow." Her brow furrowed and he grinned. "Needless to say he's shocked we get anything at all done with 'pretty redheaded assistants looking good enough to eat' around us all day."

Lily felt her face going red as she blushed and Scorpius chuckled. "Well that's still not very nice," she mumbled, even if she was a little flattered.

"Imagine what he would've said had you been showing a little more skin like I said," the pureblood teased. The afternoon was filled with more meetings between Scorpius and the American Chief of Staff, and Lily sat in the conference room, taking notes and passing the odd thing to Scorpius as he needed it, making sure his coffee was at his elbow before he asked for it at three, and avoiding meeting the eyes of the American, a Mr. Reynolds, who she could feel staring at her as he talked.

Much later, when Lily was sitting down to dinner with Scorpius, she was feeling tired and grouchy. Reynolds had come up to her at the end of the meeting and offered her triple what Scorpius was paying her to come to America and work for him instead, promising to make the move 'well worth her while'. She'd politely declined smiling through the urge to jab her wand into his eyeballs.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I can't wait to get back to Britain," she said after they placed their orders. The blond grinned.

"Missing home already?"

"Yes," she admitted. "I don't know how you do it." In the months she'd worked for him, Scorpius had gone away overseas at least a half-dozen times.

He shrugged. "You get used to it. And it's probably harder when you have people to miss." He delivered the comment with his usual quirk of the mouth that hinted at a smile but there was a resigned look in his eyes that made her wonder.

"Who do you miss when you go away?" she asked. His grin was sincere this time, but his silver eyes were still resigned and there was a definite hint of sadness there.

"Very few," he replied. She wanted to push the subject, but she was nervous. She didn't have the escape of her own apartment right now, and she didn't really want to end up having to share a hotel room with him furious like the last time she'd pushed him concerning clearly uncomfortable subjects. "This time there's only a couple to miss," he murmured.

She looked at him from under lashes. "That doesn't really answer the question," she replied.

He grinned widely, silver eyes sparking. "Sure it does. Normally when I'm away I miss you, but as you're here with me, there's one less to miss." Lily blinked, trying not to blush, but it was damn near impossible. "Did you schedule a wake up call for the morning?"

"Five thirty," she said quietly. She glanced at her watch, gaped at it, then realized she hadn't reset the time. "Though with the time change, maybe I should-"

Scorpius shook his head. "Five thirty works fine." He glanced up at her over his glass of wine. "Unless you need time to adjust and compensate for jet lag." That got a tiny laugh from her.

"Since when have you worried about my sleep patterns?" she asked arching a brow. He frowned.

"That's not particularly complimentary."

"You called me out of a deep sleep at three in the morning two weeks after starting for you."

Scorpius grinned a little at that, sitting back. "I was testing you." Hazel eyes narrowed very slightly.

"You made me kick some poor woman out of your apartment for you."

His grin only widened. "After that I figured you'd be up for anything."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I walked out of last Christmas dinner for you. My Nan was furious."

Scorpius shrugged. "Business calls, Potter." She shrugged back, although that one still rankled a little. "If you want to get ahead, you make yourself available when no one else is."

"Don't I know it," she mumbled as appetizers and drinks arrived.

"That's why you're the best, Lily," he said, toasting her. She lifted her own glass and smirked.

"And Godric forbid you don't have the best, of course."

"You said it yourself, I'd be sunk without you."

The first week passed uneventfully enough, Lily going to meetings for the most part, making sure everything went as smoothly as possible, and then her boss dropped the bomb on her. The official gala to celebrate the momentous occasion of a highly revised and more profitable trade agreement between the magical continents. And it was the Saturday before they left. They were booked home on a late morning Portkey that Sunday. And when Scorpius tossed it out oh so casually the Wednesday before, Lily almost choked.

"Obviously you're going with me," he finished, grinning at her.

The redhead shook her head. "Not unless I go shopping. I don't have a single piece of clothing with me that's black-tie appropriate."

Scorpius glanced at his watch. "How long do you need?" They were walking to yet another of the endless meetings to get everything finalized in time.

She shrugged. "How long can I have?"

His eyes roved over her speculatively. "Take an hour at three."

The redhead bit her tongue and forced a smile. "I might take longer. I'm not a model size, so finding something off the rack is going to be a nightmare," she warned. He rolled his eyes, then handed her a wizarding account card.

"Get whatever you need. Be back by four-thirty latest." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "And the only parts of you that aren't model sized are the best parts anyway." His mouth brushed her cheek and he continued walking down the corridor toward the conference room. She could only stand there, half shocked, half horrified for a second, then realized it was still not even two, and hurried after him. She got back to the hotel at four fifteen, dress safely ensconced in a garment bag.

The gala was set to start at seven, but Scorpius wanted to be there early, always networking, and she was ready at six thirty Saturday night, staring at her reflection in the mirror of the bathroom critically.

Her hair was a mass of giant, sultry curls that held amazingly with the brisk, late October weather here in New York, her make-up flawlessly timeless with a red lip, dark liner and thick mascara around her eyes, but she really wasn't at all sure about her dress. Sure it fit the bill, and the saleswoman had been effusive in her praise when Lily had first tried it on, but now… She shrugged. There was nothing for it. She literally had no other options.

She stepped out of the bathroom as Scorpius was putting cufflinks in and paused, staring at her for a long moment. The redhead glanced down at herself and bit her lower lip. "It's too much, isn't it?" she asked.

Scorpius could only shake his head. It was more like not quite enough. Godric, he'd thought the last evening gown he'd seen her in had been revealing… This dress was a very deep version of some kind of aqua or turquoise or whatever it was, two swaths of gauzy material wrapped around her breasts, across her torso and around her neck, the bottom long and floaty, all sheer hints of a million shades of greenish blue and the odd peek of her creamy legs.

Then she turned, grabbing her little handbag and he could see her entire back, from nape to the base of her spine, just to the top of her tailbone. He gulped. She turned back, then came over, smelling like lilacs and vanilla and reached up, fussing with his tie. He had to consciously restrain himself from kissing her.

"And here you were worried you wouldn't find a dress," he rumbled. He couldn't resist looking down at her cleavage.

She grinned. "If it were my dime, I don't think I would have," she replied. "We'll consider it my Christmas bonus."

He shrugged. Whatever the sum, it was worth it. Hell, she could've drained his account entirely and it still might have been an equal trade off. "You're going to get hit on a lot," he said as she patted his tie, satisfied at last.

"I hope so," she said, and he wasn't sure if she was joking or not. He frowned when he hoped she was. He finished with his cufflinks. "Are we Apparating?"

"Yes." He held out his hand and a moment later, they arrived at a predetermined spot in Central Park, hurried across to a very posh building, and on up toward the thirtieth floor in a glass, see-through elevator.

"D'you think they can see up my dress from down there?" she asked absently, edging further from the edge as they rose. Scorpius laughed, and, without thinking, leaned in and kissed her, cradling her face in both hands.

"If they can, lucky them, but I doubt any native New Yorkers are looking up," he rumbled after breaking away.

"You really have to stop doing that," she breathed as the door pinged open. He cast her a sidelong glance.

"I couldn't help myself. It's the dress."

She shook her head, half-smiling. "Then I want my Christmas bonus anyway." He put a hand on her exposed lower back and lead her forward into the party. "And you just paid twelve hundred Galleons for that kiss."

He almost choked on his champagne and she giggled. "I better get more than a goddamn kiss for that price," he muttered, but if she heard him, she made no notice.

"Did you bring your speech?" she murmured an hour later. Scorpius patted his empty breast pocket, seeing his speech, scribbled on a slip of parchment, on a dresser back in their hotel suite. She pressed a copy into his hands as he was announced and he kissed her cheek.

After he spoke, the American Chief of Staff said his bit, then the President and Minister spoke, but Lily barely heard them. She was counting the hours left she had to be in this lovely bustling city. She hadn't done anything remotely touristy. And that sucked. She'd wanted to at least see the Statue of Liberty. After all the speaking was done a trade treaty was signed by the country leaders and then there was much toasting, and milling about.

Lily's face was starting to ache from all the smiling when Scorpius breathed against her ear, "Let's get out of here."

"Yeah right," she said, dropping her smile long enough to finish her fourth glass of champagne.

"All serious," he said, and watched her eyes go wide. "Come on," he said, and grabbed hold of her hand half-dragging her toward the exit.

"You have to stay," she hissed, trying to get her hand from his firm grasp. He smirked at her.

"You need to lighten up, Potter." She frowned.

"That's not what you pay me for," she said frostily.

"Then you're off the clock." She snorted, but he kept on. Once they got to the elevator he pulled her against him and kissed her again, all the way down, half tempted to take her against the glass wall. Instead he merely held her against himself with one hand tangled in her hair, the other against her back, the edge of his pinky brushing the dip of her gown. "Have I mentioned this dress is worth every penny I paid for it?" he murmured as the doors pinged.

Lily sucked in air. "No," she rasped. "But that makes me feel a lot less guilty. I also dropped some change on these shoes."

"Can you walk in them?" She rolled her eyes. "Never mind."

Once they were outside, across the street in Central Park, he pulled her close again. She only had a flimsy shawl to ward off the chill, and he took his jacket off, and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Close your eyes," he breathed. She arched a brow, but acquiesced, and then they were Apparating.

When she opened her eyes, she gripped him tightly for a moment, then let out a breath. "Where are we?" she whispered, eyes huge.

"The torch observation deck of the Statue of Liberty. It's closed to the general public, but, well, we're not the general public, are we?" She looked out at the view, taking it all in for one long moment.

"This is amazing," she breathed, moving away from him to look out at the view of New York, stretching in a hundred million lights across the black water. She looked back at him, smiling slowly. "I don't know how you do that."

He tilted his head, confused. "Do what?"

"Figure out what's in my head and then make it happen." She smiled. "I was thinking I wanted to at least see the Statue of Liberty while I was here, and now here I am."

He moved over to where she stood looking out. "Welcome to my world," he murmured, and then she turned and lifted her head, and he kissed her and it was long and slow, sweet and perfect. Her tongue roved sinuously against his own, her hands smoothing over his shoulders and down his chest and stomach, his own fingers tracing her tempting curves in that whisper soft dress. He wanted to rip it off her.

When he pulled away she breathed, "We should go back to the hotel."

It was music to his ears. When they got upstairs, he was hard and aching for her, hardly waiting to get in the door before undoing the clasp at her neck to reveal her to him.

She stopped him as his hands brushed over her collarbones with a hand on his chest. "No." Scorpius almost ignored her, but when he looked at her, he could see she was serious. "We can't do this."

"Why not?" he demanded immediately, but that was his prick talking. As he assumed, she frowned.

"You know why. It's not… You're my boss. You're the job. I'm not throwing that away for one night of-"

"Who says it has to be one night?" he asked, and cursed himself for talking with his dick instead of his brain far more often than was advisable. His redheaded assistant scowled like the one time he'd asked if she had PMS.

"Stop, I'm not going there," she snapped.

It was his turn to scowl. "Will the boyfriend at home be upset?" he asked, unable to contain himself. Son of a cock sucking Slytherin, he couldn't hold back around her. Not in that fucking dress, not when every fiber of his being wanted her.

"How many times do I have to tell you I don't have a fucking boyfriend, Scorpius?" She pushed at him, just as she had the last time he'd seen her in a dress that brought out his jealous streak like nothing else. And then, like the Hogwarts Express at full tilt, it slammed into him. He was in love with her. He stared down at her accusingly, wondering how on earth she had done it. Scorpius didn't love people. Especially women. No. But there it was, that smug little feeling deep down, possibly somewhere in the heart region. She'd wormed her way in and become an integral part of his life.

And yet, here he was, thinking about cheerfully maiming some faceless man for having the gall to date his fucking assistant. And that thought almost made him laugh. His assistant. Yeah right. More like the sun that rose every day. She was there, even when she didn't know she was, always at his beck and call, always going out of her way to accommodate his needs and wants before he even had to think. And she put him in his place more than he liked but as much as he warranted most of the time. Lily was the one to remember things like a copy of his speech, or his favourite tie when he forgot to pack it, and always, always, did her very best to be as objective as possible in his personal affairs.

"You're fired," he said, rebelling against the revelation.

She stared at him. "Excuse me?"

"You're fired."

The redhead stared at her boss for a long moment, trying to fathom what he'd just said. "You've got to be kidding me," she breathed.

His face went neutral, and he shrugged coldly. His voice was arctic when he said, "Unfortunately not. You're fired."

Her eyes widened. "Because I won't have sex with you?" she asked, her eyes narrowing just as rapidly as they'd widened. "That's going to look fantastic for you."

"It can look however you want it to look." She glared, then smiled coyly.

"Fine. I'm fired. You're fucked." Scorpius merely looked at her, but she saw the tense set to his jaw. "And now there's only one question." She reached up and undid the clasp at the neck of her dress, and it fell away. She licked her lips, chest heaving with mingled fury and arousal she couldn't seem to get a handle on, and she stared at him as his silver eyes devoured her. Her thumbs hooked into the rest of her gown.

"And what's the question?" he drawled.

She gulped, trying to tell herself she could do this, even if she never had, and felt foolish and gauche. "What colour do you think my underwear are?" she asked.

He stared at her for one long moment, then his mouth curved up on one side, looking again like a predatory animal, but a starving one, and she felt like a baby gazelle. "Do I get to see if I'm right?"

"Maybe." Her breath felt ragged and she kept up a positive mantra in her head. "So?"

"Not black," he murmured, looking at her. "But I doubt they match your dress either." He took the two steps toward her, and his hands smoothed around her waist and up, covering her breasts. She sucked in a deep breath, her nerve endings on red alert as he held her. "Not white, and not pink," he breathed, roughly, then thumbed her hard nipples. She huffed out a teeny tiny moan. "Red, maybe… But if I know you at all, you're not a fan of red because of your hair. So I'm going to say purple. A bright purple."

She sucked in another breath. Fuck, what was wrong with her breathing? "Close," she murmured, then gathered all her supposed Gryffindor courage and pushed her dress down. Her sheer silk thong was banana yellow. She'd considered a purple lace version too, but the yellow was more comfortable.

"Damn," he sighed, but his fingertips brazenly traced the thin straps of her tiny panties on either of her hips. "Does this mean we're having sex?" he murmured, pulling her closer, reaching around to grab her ass.

"No," Lily murmured, but that was a flat out lie. She wanted to, and bad. "I'm mad at you," she growled, tugging his tie undone furiously to emphasize her point. Anger was good. She could handle anger. She wanted to rip his shirt off, but settled for tugging the buttons undone instead. "That's a shitty thing, to fire me," she snapped. "And I'm going to have to start looking for work the second I get home." He didn't reply and she was grateful on some remote level. She tugged his shirt off him, pushing him toward the bed. "And I better get a fucking stunning letter of reference! I worked my ass off for you, you selfish bastard, and you thank me by firing me." Lily was well into stride now, and firing on adrenaline and the pretense of anger with her arousal bubbling furiously underneath it all. "I'm not training my replacement," she snapped, undoing his belt, "I'm not doing your schedule for next week like I planned," she undid his trousers and pushed them down, "and I'm sure as fuck not letting you fuck me, Malfoy."

The redhead pushed him again and he fell back onto the bed. He kicked his shoes and socks off, and put his hands to the waistband of his boxer briefs. "Does that mean you're going to fuck me, instead?"

"And just so you know," she murmured, shucking her banana yellow thong, kicking off her four inch stilettos at last, "I'm going to owl Luke Marshall, the wizard who dropped a line on me at the St. Mungo's gala, as soon as I get home, and I'm going to let him fuck me. You can worry about yourself, starting right now."

And with that, she turned firmly, trying to resist the lure of his sculpted abs and pecs and biceps and whatever other muscles that were perfectly defined across his arms and shoulders and torso. And then there was the thick outline of prick in his underwear. She closed her mind's eye to that. No use thinking about what she wouldn't, couldn't, have. But even as she thought that, she wanted him, wanted to run out of the locked bathroom and go to him and climb onto him and ride him to her own greedy completion.

Damn it, she was furious, but a larger part of her than she'd ever expected had been elated when Scorpius had fired her, because then it wouldn't matter if he fucked her brains out like she'd been thinking about nonstop since buying the damned dress with his money. She took a long hot shower and when she snuck out, the suite was deserted. Lily slipped into her makeshift bed on the leather couch and was asleep before she ever would have thought possible.

The drive to the Portkey terminal was silent the next morning. Scorpius, red-eyed and looking drawn and exhausted, frowned spectacularly the entire time. Lily avoided looking at him and stared out the window, wondering if she'd ever make it back to this bustling city again on her own. Somehow she doubted it. And in the light of morning it looked distinctly grubbier and much less romantic than it had from the Statue of Liberty last night.

When they got back, Lily stalked out of the Portkey building, wanting nothing more than to get away from Scorpius. She had to find another job, sure, but now she needed her cousin Rose's sympathetic shoulder and a bucket of her homemade margaritas.

The blond watched Lily march out of the International Portkey building and frowned. He had hardly slept last night. He couldn't shake the image of her, naked and tempting and looking for all the world like the epitome of his fantasy woman. But she'd bitched him out in short order and then she'd left him high and dry after telling him she was going to fuck some other sonofabitch. He scowled. He needed a stiff drink and a warm body.

Rather, he needed Lily, as a willing participant to his darkest fantasies, or at least organizing his life. She was right. He was well and truly fucked. But he couldn't take the words back now. Hell no. He'd said them, multiple times, and no matter that he felt bereft without her nearby, or that the thought of waking up in the morning and not seeing her at his elbow the second he arrived at work, left him feeling anxious and uncertain. She was gone, and he could handle it.

"Godric fucking Gryffindor," he snarled, pushing his way out of the building after her. He barely caught sight of her as she Disapparated.

XXX

By the time Christmas rolled around, Lily had found a new job with a married boss, who paid her twice what Scorpius had. She'd moved from her crappy, bad-area building to a much nicer, slightly larger apartment not far from downtown, and was relieved to find out her boss was happily married, with twin toddler boys. She was still at the Ministry, and still, technically, in the Minister's support staff ranks, but she worked now for the International Sporting Liaison to the Ministry. He was a much less demanding boss than Scorpius had been, and Lily was thoroughly happy with life.

Of course, there was still the thoroughly unquenchable desire for her former boss, who had indeed given her a glowing letter of recommendation and even a decent severance, considering what she'd done to him in the States. She wanted to hate him, wanted to feel nothing but resigned anger toward him, but it was impossible. She wanted him, and bad, and even hearing he couldn't find a decent replacement for her didn't make her feel any better. She was, simply, miserable without his cutting, sarcastic view of the world in her ear on a daily basis.

The redhead found herself missing his indulgent smiles, his biting humour, his often unexpected announcement of things that were earth-shatteringly colossal as if they were of little importance. But most of all, she missed him. Those rare moments where she got a real response from him, or he smiled conspiratorially with her at some third party. The tempting smell of his cologne, the way his blond hair fell into his eyes when he worked at his desk, and the way he talked over the rim of his coffee cup at her were like fading memories that she clung to now.

Foolish, she told herself, but it didn't help. She'd come to the slow, inexorable conclusion she definitely felt more for him than she ever wanted to admit to. She was pretty sure she was in love with her former boss. The realization had come when she'd taken Luke up on his offer to get together. The entire time, she'd compared him to Scorpius and found him wanting, and when he'd asked her to come round his place for a nightcap, she'd politely declined.

And just the thought of that, just thinking that four letter L-word, made Lily want to shout and punch something. When had it happened? How had he done it? She'd never been anything except strictly platonic with him until that stupid St. Mungo's gala, and even then, could a handful of kisses make her so sure of something so strong? Apparently.

She was headed home the last Friday before her holiday and was looking forward to time spent with her family, starting with drinks with Rose that night at the Three Broomsticks, as she got into the lift. Instead of going down, though, it went up, and she sighed.

At the top floor, someone got on and her eyes widened, breath catching as she looked across at Scorpius Malfoy. He stared at her, looking furious. His silvery grey eyes cut across to her and she stared back, trying to think of something witty and appropriate. "Lily," he said simply, then looked away. A sharp sting reverberated over her consciousness.

"Scorpius," she mumbled, then looked at her shoes.

"I hope your new boss realizes how indispensable you are," he said at last, and she glanced at him.

"He has a wife to handle the bulk of his private life," she replied, then kicked herself mentally. Why in the hell had she said that!?

"So, going home to the boyfriend to cuddle up and count down to Christmas?" he drawled.

She rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot."

He saw his lip curl, but before he could comment, she exited the lift and went to a Floo fireplace to head home.

"You don't Floo home," he said from behind her.

"I do now. I make more money now."

She reached for a handful of Floo powder. "I miss you, Lily. And not just as my assistant, although I've been living through a nightmare since you left."

"You fired me," she replied.

"That's because I'm an idiot."

She paused, then, hating herself, looked back. He looked truly lost. "I don't-"

He shook his head. "Even my mother misses you," he grumbled. "I forgot her birthday."

Against her will, Lily smiled. "That's because you're horrible at remembering dates."

"And yet I remember it was December second when I interviewed you, it was the fifth when you started for me, and you didn't mention it, but it was your birthday on June fourth this year. Which makes you twenty five, and a Gemini. The first night I kissed you was October eighth and I came closer than I ever have, before or after, on October twenty fifth, to having my way the the most beautiful woman in the world." He smiled wryly. "Unfortunately she wasn't interested."

Lily could only stare at him. "I…" She didn't know what, but as she looked at him, it became increasingly apparent she couldn't simply pretend he wasn't alive. The words came without thought. "Do you want me back?"

He looked back at her, mouth parted in shock. "Is that a real question?" he finally muttered. "Whatever you make, I'll triple it."

She looked at him and licked her lips. "I'm not replaceable. Say it." The Atrium was empty, as it was late and the last standard day of working for most Ministry employees now.

"You're irreplaceable."

"And you'll pay me what I make now."

"Anything." That got a smile from her. She had a feeling he'd go broke to buy her back.

"And," she took a deep breath trying to control herself, "you admit I was probably the best thing that's ever happened to you."

"Without a doubt," he agreed, and the admission threw her for one second.

"Then there's just one more thing," she murmured.

"That would be?" he asked. He had moved closer, and she sucked her breath in, and licked her lips.

"Whoever's been calling your bed their own, other than you, can get the fuck out."

He blinked, then smirked. "Did you think I fell into bed with the first woman who applied for the job?" he asked, even as he pulled her against himself.

"How am I supposed to know?" she snapped, looping her arms around his neck. He gripped her ass.

"I missed you," he rumbled. Lily felt her heart lift at the words.

"Surprisingly, I missed you too," she breathed as his mouth brushed delicately over her own. "I woke up at four in the morning for no reason the other night, and all this sleep is making me lazy."

"I'll whip you back into shape," he groaned, and then kissed her. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, claiming it, tasting her, pulling her flush against himself, and grunted as she kissed back. "Fucking hell, I missed you more than you could ever know," he rumbled as he kissed down her neck.

Lily hummed out a groan of agreement. Fingers burrowing under his thick robes, hands gripping the collar of his shirt, the redhead melted to him. "But I'm going to make one thing very clear," she breathed, and managed to pull back enough to look up at him. "I want you, and I'll sleep in your bed, or not sleep as the case may be, but I am not one of your floozies."

Scorpius' mouth twitched. "From the first day you walked into my office in those Godric awful shoes, Lily, you've never been one of them."

"Good," she said briskly, then pulled him down to kiss hungrily. "I have to meet Rose at seven, so you've got," she looked at her watch, "fifty one minutes to take me home." They were spinning away through the Floo network in the next moment.

Lily squeezed through the packed, sweltering crowd at the Three Broomsticks and spotted her cousin easily, being admired by almost every male in a six foot radius as she sat alone at a table. The redhead pushed her way past a group of rowdy warlocks who invited her to join them. She ignored the offer, slid onto the seat across from Rose and beamed at her cousin, who was glaring.

"Hey Rose, all ready for-?"

"What the fuck is that?" Rose demanded, pointing at the neckline of Lily's blouse. The redhead felt her face going the same shade as her hair and tugged it up.

"What's what?" she asked, taking a stab at ignorance.

Rose's blue eyes went huge. "Oh my Godric, you're seeing someone!" The auburn haired witch cackled. Lily grit her teeth. "Is he coming to Christmas at Nan's?"

"Hell no," Lily replied firmly. She frowned. "And I'm not really seeing anyone, I just-"

"Oh come on, Lily," Rose cut across her. "You've got a love bite on your tit, your hair looks like you just rolled out of bed, and you're still in your work clothes." Her blue eyes went impossibly wider. "Don't tell me," she whispered. "You're not having an affair with your new boss are you?"

"Rose!" Lily glared. Her cousin looked properly chastised. "Godric, no!" She frowned. "He's married." Rose scoffed as though that meant nothing. "He's happily married. And his wife is gorgeous, so I doubt he's interested anyway."

"So who is it?" Rose asked sipping her drink. Lily commandeered Rose's drink and downed it.

"Scorpius Malfoy," she said, knowing Rose would undoubtedly find out at some point. "Who, incidentally, I'm going back to work for."

Her cousin stared blankly, auburn curls framing her lovely face which looked slightly more pale. "Oh, Lily, please tell me you're kidding."

The redhead smiled tightly. "Nope."

"Why?" Rose demanded softly. "I mean, I totally get sleeping with him, you'd have to be dead not to want that, but why in the name of Merlin's balls would you want to work for him again?"

"He needs me." Lily tried to ignore the little stab of satisfaction at those words. "He forgot his own mother's birthday."

Rose pursed her mouth. "So? He also fired you, Lily. Couldn't he find a replacement?" Lily felt her temper flaring.

"Apparently not, at least no one as good as yours truly," she said. Rose snorted. "Look, I'm only telling you because I know you'll pester the shit out of me if I don't," she said firmly. "But you can't tell anyone else."

"That you're sleeping with him or working for him?" Hazel eyes narrowed.

"I never thought I'd say it, Weasley," she drawled, "but you don't get to sit there and judge my life choices. I thought you of all people would be happy. Haven't you been telling me for months to find a man? Oh, I know now. You must be jealous because I've got my shit figured out and you're still bumbling along trying to find the next Mr. Right-Now, is that it?"

Suddenly Rose smiled, face softening. "You're only mean when you're being protective," she teased. "You like him, don't you?" Lily felt her face heating guiltily. Was it that obvious? "You do," Rose said, sighing. "Damn it. I don't like it, but I'll admit, you're not the same girl who came to me asking to borrow shoes last year. Did you make the bastard grovel at least?"

Lily thought back to how she'd spent the fifty-one minutes before meeting Rose. "Oh yeah," she murmured, and both witches laughed.

A waitress finally came over and they ordered a pair of double martinis. Once the drinks came, Rose held hers aloft. "Well, here's to the new old job, then." The redhead clinked glasses with her cousin. "Even if he doesn't deserve you."

"Give him a chance, Rose." Her cousin rolled blue eyes. "There's a real person deep down in there. I've seen it."

Rose took a long drink. "Subterranean deep."

Lily let herself into her apartment after drinks with Rose around ten. Scorpius, to her surprise, was sitting in her living room. "How d'you know where I live?" she asked, dropping her bag and coat.

"It's on file." She put her wand on an end table and kicked off her ankle boots.

"Why are you here?" she murmured, pulling off her blazer. His silver eyes followed her movements.

"You told me you'd be sleeping in my bed." She arched a brow. "Or was that a figure of speech?"

She rolled her eyes, smiling a little, then began unbuttoning her shirt. "It was a figure of speech. I just put down a security deposit on this place." He licked his lips as her lime green bra was revealed.

"Have I mentioned I'm a fan of your lingerie?" he rumbled. She laughed.

"I think you said something along the lines of, 'if it's all this good, I must be dead'," she teased. "But we have business to discuss," she reminded him. He frowned, watching her unbutton her pants.

"I don't want to talk business," he grumbled. The matching thong for her bra appeared. "I want to take those panties off with my hands tied behind my back."

Lily shook her head and put her hands on her hips. "Focus, Malfoy. That comes later."

"So will you," he promised. That made her smile and her nipples harden.

"Business," she said firmly. He sighed, but looked back at her hazel eyes. "I need to owl out my two weeks' notice. You have to fire your present assistant, and I'm going to have to get my hands on her stuff if you want a decent schedule come the new year. And then you're going to have to write out my contract."

He waved a hand. "Consider it done."

She pursed her mouth. "Oh, and I kind of told Rose." Scorpius looked at her.

"Rose Weasley?"

"Do I know another Rose?"

"Do you?"

"No!" she snapped.

Scorpius groaned. "After I fired you last time she sent me a Howler."

Lily's eyes widened. "What?" She hadn't heard anything about this, although Rose had told her in no uncertain terms she'd given Malfoy a piece of her mind.

"It was waiting on my desk Monday morning. She's mean, that one. Never liked her." Lily bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"What did she say?" Lily demanded, slipping her pants off at last.

"Lots of things. Most of them true, all of them mean." Scorpius sat forward, drawing her closer by the hips. "Enough talk, can I take your underwear off yet?"

"Tell me what the mean and true things were," she breathed even as his mouth skimmed over her belly and teeth grazed temptingly across her hip bone.

"You're kind of bossy," he rumbled instead. Her fingernails bit into his shoulders through his shirt.

"I'll show you bossy," she snarled without venom. He smirked and swirled his tongue around her navel. "Tell me."

"She said I didn't deserve you, I'm an asshole of the worst sort, and I was lucky you were such a good person, or I'd be walking funny for the next month or so. Then she said I deserved whatever bimbo tried to fill your shoes, and you were better off without me interfering in your life." He smirked. "Your cousin seems to think the only reason you never got laid while working for me was because I didn't let you have enough time to get naked."

"And probably called you a bastard," she murmured, eyes closing as his tongue wrapped around her thong.

"More than once. Which isn't even true, but awfully mean. She also said if I ever laid a finger on you she would hex my bollocks into cement blocks and kick me into the Thames."

"Are you going to get naked?" she breathed, then reached around and unhooked her bra.

He grinned, silver eyes flicking up to watch her. "You seem remarkably blase about my impending death, considering I've got all my fingers on you." She shrugged, grinning wickedly.

"I'll plan you a nice funeral." She undid his first button. "Now get naked, and you can put more than just your fingers on me."

XXX

Lily woke up on Christmas morning to the warmth of Scorpius behind her, his rumpled, million thread count sheets tangled around their legs, naked and horny. Her lover was kissing her neck, his hand roving over her breast, tugging a nipple. "Merry Christmas," he breathed, and rolled her over. She sank down onto him, arching and stretching and smiled down at him.

"Do you want your present now?" she gasped as his hips undulated and he took her slow and lazily from below, holding her hips possessively. "I'll give you a hint, if you want to guess."

The blond grunted as she took control, hips rising and falling, impaling herself harder, greedily. "Does it require you moving from that position?" he rumbled.

"No," she hummed. She tossed her hair, then looked back at him, bending to kiss him. "Actually, it requires me to be in exactly this position."

"Lay it on me, honey."

She reached into the bedside table drawer. "Close your eyes," she breathed, smirking. She waited until he did, paused in her rhythm, and reached inside the drawer, checking to make sure he still wasn't peeking. Quickly she pulled his gift out, biting her lip to hold in the giggle, and quickly used it on him, clicking the Muggle handcuffs onto him, secured around his headboard. His eyes opened as the second bracelet closed. "Happy Christmas," she said, resuming her leisurely romp. He tested the durability, and she couldn't hold back her smirk.

"Clever," he said, and she could tell he was irked. Used to being in control for the most part, Lily had known a large part of him would rebel against the idea of being handcuffed, but when her Uncle George had showed her the trinket he'd planned to get his dad, her Gramps, for Christmas, she'd known it would be perfect.

"Does it make you uncomfortable?" she murmured, nipping his lower lip playfully.

"Having you on top? No. Being at your mercy? More than a little." She grinned. "But I'll admit they'll look very nice with your gift."

"What is my gift?" she asked, picking up the pace a little, teasing him, then settling back into a deep, torturously slow rhythm.

"You find out when you unlock me." He thrust up into her, enjoying her little moan of surprised pleasure.

"Mmm, that might be awhile," she drawled, pleasuring herself on him. He growled, tugging at the cuffs again. "Good thing patience is one of my many virtues, right?" she purred, and then covered his mouth with her own, kissing him roughly. Scorpius gave himself to her, not that he had much choice, and it was indeed some time before Lily released him.

"So where's my present?" she murmured, snuggling up to him.

"I'm not sure you deserve it. That little interlude has put you on the Naughty List for sure."

"Does that make you the welcoming committee?" she laughed. He pulled a long flat box out from under the bed, wrapped flawlessly in gold paper with embossed holly leaves. "When did you buy this?" she asked.

He waved a hand. "Just open it." She sat up, still naked, her hair a mess, a smile of pure excitement on her face as she tore into the little gold-wrapped gift, and Scorpius watched her. In the sated afterglow of phenomenal sex, he appreciated her stunning beauty and gentle, graceful curves. Godric, it was hard not to think, in moments like these, about how much he loved her.

Lily lifted the lid of the box and stared down at the necklace for a long silent moment. "I can't accept this," she whispered finally. He rolled his eyes.

"Sure you can." Her fingertips traced over the fine gold chain, the emerald leaves longer than her thumb nail, then, finally, the diamond petals of a Casablanca lily.

"No I can't," she breathed. He ignored her, reaching for it and putting it around her neck. She lifted her hair to one side so he could fasten it. His mouth glided over a creamy shoulder. "It's too much," she said, looking across at him.

"No," he said, looking at the slightly three dimensional bloom nestled just above the V between her breasts. "It suits you."

"Thank you," she breathed, and turned, pressing her mouth to his gently. It was a soft, romantic kiss and her heart thudded.

"You're welcome." He clicked one of the cuffs around her wrist. "Do you think it matches these?" he murmured, drawing a laugh from her. She slipped her narrow hand and wrist from the cuff, still clicked into place.

"They look much better on you," she said, then put a hand over her necklace. "Although you know I'm going to have to take this off."

"Why?"

She slipped from bed, sighing. "I have Christmas at my Nan's. And I have to stop by my flat."

He frowned. "It's still early." She grinned.

"Do you want to come?" she challenged.

"Will Rose be there?"

"Yup," she said grinning. He watched her picking up her clothes from the night before.

"You need to start leaving them here, Lily. My housekeeper already keeps that vile chocolate syrup you like in my cupboard, I doubt she'll think much of finding more than the odd pair of panties of yours."

"No," she said firmly. "We don't live together. And don't you knock Coco Choco Sauce! That shit's delicious." She looked around for her panties. He pulled them out from under his pillow.

"Looking for these?" He held them hostage.

"Yes. I need to shower, pass them over. And you still haven't answered the question. Do you want to come to Christmas at my Nan's?"

His mouth quirked to one side. "I'm still remembering the threat to drown me," he murmured. She put a knee up on the bed, determined to get her underwear back.

"Start practising Bubble-Head Charms," she advised. She held a hand out for her panties. He shook his head.

"Who else will be there? Is Al going?"

"If he wants to avoid a Howler from Nan he will be." She smirked. "You're not scared are you, Malfoy?" she snatched for her panties, crawling toward him. He held them out of reach.

"Not scared," he said defensively. "But I don't relish the thought of meeting your entire extended family in one fell swoop."

"You already know half of them," she breathed, crawling up his body now.

"They won't like me. I'm the boss from hell, remember?"

Lily grinned a little at that. It was more revealing than she reckoned Scorpius realized. "Then I'll handle the introductions," she murmured. "Do you trust me?"

He sighed, handed over her panties, and kissed her. "Unfortunately I might."

"Good. Then you're not an idiot. Come on, I'll protect you from Rose."

"If you insist, Potter," he drawled, looking apprehensive still.

Lily smiled. "This is going to be fun. Remember that stupid St. Mungo's charity gala and how I was nervous?" He nodded. "This is going to be so much worse for you than that was for me. Wait until you meet Nan. She makes Rose look nice." He paled a little.

"Now you mention it, I-"

"Nice try, Malfoy. Do you want to Apparate or shall we take the car?" She kissed him and flounced off the bed.

"It must be genetic, the meanness," he grumbled.

Four hours later Lily was trudging through ankle-deep snow in her grandparents' garden after they'd Apparated, with Scorpius's hand gripped firmly in her own, toward the back door of the Burrow. She looked across at his resigned expression and he met her eyes. "There's liquor in there, right?"

"Undoubtedly." She patted their joined hands with her free one. "Just smile and be charming."

Honestly, Lily was a little nervous herself, but she kept up a playfully teasing facade as they went up into the house. The kitchen was a bustle of movement, barely contained insanity and chaos to the untrained eye, and in the middle of it all was a plump, greying, sharp-eyed old witch who seemed to be the conductor of the insanity.

Scorpius realized it must also be genetic to be so damned organized. Molly Weasley had an eye on everything around her, and she beamed at her granddaughter as they walked in. The look she sent him could have frozen the ocean solid.

Lily hugged the aging witch. "Hi Nan. Need help with anything?"

"Who's your friend?" she asked without preamble.

Scorpius gulped, opened his mouth to answer, but then Lily was saying brightly, "Nan, please, you're scaring him." Molly Weasley frowned at him.

"Good." She looked back at her granddaughter. "Are you going to stay through to pudding this year, dear? You didn't get any last year, and I can't tell you how pleased I was to hear you've stopped working for the Malfoy boy after he dragged you out of a family dinner. What sort of decent person doesn't celebrate Christmas?" Lily sent him a pointed glance.

"Oh, I'll be here until you kick me out, Nan," Lily assured the other woman, who waved her wand behind her back and cleared up a mountain of potato peelings. "But where are my manners?" she said. "You asked about my friend. This is Scorpius Malfoy, Nan. Scorpius, my Nan, Molly Weasley."

The elder witch sent Lily a blazing look. "Pleasure to meet you," he said, making her a little bow. Molly Weasley looked at him, then back at Lily sternly, then the mountain of peeled potatoes moved to an industrious cutting board as carrots dropped into a vat of boiling water.

"Are you two sleeping together?" she asked abruptly.

Lily laughed even as the pureblood felt like he might faint. He tried to imagine his own Grandmother asking a question like that. He couldn't. "That's kind of a personal question, Nan," she said, and hooked an arm through his as they moved away. "But yes. Wouldn't you if you were my age?"

Molly's chocolate eyes sparkled, but she didn't answer, merely shooing them from her kitchen, even as more relatives tromped through the garden toward the house. "Dear Godric, I dunno if I can do this, Lily," he admitted as they moved into the sitting room, where there was barely room to stand without interrupting the half dozen conversations going.

"Relax, you're doing fine. Besides I've seen you navigate Ministry politics while deciding what you want to eat. I'll admit, it's a little disconcerting to think you go faint at the thought of meeting my vanilla relatives." She slanted her hazel eyes up to him. "Oh look, there's Rose." The pureblood cringed.

The blue-eyed, auburn-haired witch didn't pay him any attention as she kissed Lily on both cheeks, wishing her a Happy Christmas. "Holy Hufflepuff, where'd you get the bling?" Rose demanded, picking the stunning jeweled lily from Lily's chest. Scorpius grit his teeth, seeing Albus coming over, green eyes narrowed.

"You know where," Lily said, lifting it from her cousin's hands. She smiled up at Scorpius who was torn between using her as a human shield and staking a very public claim on her. Instead he smiled back, his fingertips teasing under the hem of her deep purple sweater against her back. "Which reminds me, did you get my gift?" Rose laughed.

"Of course. And I love it, darling. Mum will be pleased, anyway. I've got a total of five books in my apartment now." Lily pursed her lips but then Albus joined them, Rose smirking broadly. "I'm going to go get a drink," she said to no one in particular and disappeared. Albus hugged his sister then glared at Scorpius.

"Do I want to know why you're here?" he drawled, then looked back at the redhead.

Scorpius hesitated. "He's with me," Lily said pointedly.

"Why?"

Scorpius grit his teeth. This had to be some kind of torture. He wondered if he could fake an emergency at the Ministry, then nixed that idea. The sheer number of other Ministry employees present would make that plan backfire for sure. Lily looked up at her big brother, smiling in the way the blond recognized as the face before she went in for the kill. "Because I woke up in bed with him and inviting him along was the polite thing to do. It seemed cruel to have my way with the jerk and then ditch him all day."

Albus glared. Scorpius tried to smother his smirk. "Fine, don't tell me," he snapped. He looked pointedly at Scorpius, who was certain he would be cornered again if he was caught alone.

Lily pulled him away by the hand and they stopped after only a few steps as she bumped into her parents. Scorpius couldn't look them in the eyes. "Malfoy," Harry Potter said politely, and silver eyes jumped guiltily upward. "Give my regards to your father."

Scorpius dipped his head, wishing he had a drink. "I would, sir, but he's dead." A stark silence greeted that.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Draco was a good wizard." His wife looked as though she might privately disagree. Scorpius couldn't look at Lily.

"He had his moments," Scorpius said fairly. "He always spoke most highly of you, sir." Harry chuckled.

"I'll bet. So, you're taking up with my daughter?" Scorpius was glad he didn't have a drink, because he was sure he'd have choked on it.

"Er..."

"Yes, dad," Lily cut in. "Actually, we need drinks, so we're going over here." She pointed and half-dragged Scorpius away, whirling on him as he filled a glass with whiskey. "That week you were gone for," she accused. He shrugged.

"Bingo." Half the contents of his glass burned their way down.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.

He shrugged again, draining the glass. "It wasn't important." He smirked. "Besides, what would you have done? Given me a hug?" She gave him a hug now. He went very still.

"Yes. And I probably would've cried a whole bunch, too. But I would've been there." He slowly put his arms around her.

"It wasn't necessary," he said quietly. She looked up at him.

"And neither was doing it alone." She smiled a tiny bit. "Besides, you would have been paying me." He bent his head and kissed her as she lifted onto her toes and kissed back, then broke away as someone clapped him hard on the back.

"Malfoy," said Fred Weasley II.

"We need to borrow your, er, friend for a moment, Lils," said James Potter.

Scorpius cast Lily a 'save me' sort of look. She frowned. "Why?" she demanded.

"Tradition," Fred said, waving his hand airily, one arm around her date's neck.

"Long-standing tradition," James agreed. Lily's frown deepened.

"No," she said.

"It's really not up to you," James said, making a 'that's too bad' face at his sister.

"Definitely not," Fred agreed.

"I don't care," Lily snapped. James shot Fred a look, and Fred rolled his eyes.

"That reminds me, Lily, Roxanne was looking for you. Something about some kind of cookie recipe." Lily's eyes went wide.

"If you're jerking me around I'll curse you into next week," she threatened.

Fred grinned. "Would I do that?"

"Fred would, but I wouldn't," James said firmly. "I think I saw her upstairs somewhere."

Lily looked between her brother and cousin, then pulled Scorpius down and whispered in his ear, "I owe you one."

"You owe me more than one," he rumbled back as she pulled away then turned tail and disappeared. James slung an arm over Scorpius's shoulders.

"Come on, Malfoy. There's nothing to be afraid of." Scorpius disagreed as he was lead to the back door again and out into the snowy yard, then across to a dilapidated shed. He wondered if was being taken out back to get Avada Kedavra-ed.

"So a little birdie told me you've been seeing my sister outside the Ministry," said James as Fred opened the door to the shed.

"Seeing her naked outside the Ministry, Jamie," Fred added. James pushed Scorpius into the darkened shed. He reached for his wand.

"Put it away," came Albus's voice. A light came on and Scorpius stared at all of Lily's male cousins and her two brothers. Shit. The door closed behind him.

"So?" James asked tersely.

"I don't think that's any of your business."

"What about her working for you?" Hugo Weasley asked from a corner. Scorpius hadn't seen Hugo in several years, and he had grown significantly larger in the interim.

"Also none of your business."

James, who had put an arm around Scorpius's shoulders again, pulled him closer. "Is that your final answer?"

"Yes." He forced his face to remain indifferent, summoning his Ministry facade.

"He's uncomfortable," Albus said shrewdly. Scorpius sent him a glare. Albus beamed. "Sorry mate, but it is tradition."

"Shut up, Al," James said.

"Why would she want to go work for you again?" Fred asked. "You fired her."

"Because she wouldn't sleep with you," added Louis Weasley, the eldest one present.

"Is that true?" Albus demanded. "She told me you fired her because you two fought when you were in the States!"

"Shut up, Al," James repeated.

Scorpius chose his words carefully. "Yes, I fired her. No, not because she wouldn't sleep with me."

"Why fire her at all then?" Hugo asked. His large arms were folded over his chest.

"Ask her yourself. Because I'm an arrogant idiot." Fred laughed. The pureblood swallowed. One down. He looked across at Hugo. "And you can ask you sister, next time you have a chat with her about me, if Lily knows she can't keep a secret." Hugo frowned hugely but unfolded his arms, cheeks a dull pink. Two down. He looked at Louis, who seemed the least invested. "Speaking of rumours, Weasley," he continued, and he saw from the tiny tilt to the other man's mouth he knew exactly what Scorpius was about to say, "I'm sure you had your share of them just after you married that lovely wife of yours." Louis had married his boss's daughter when she was merely an intern in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

James was looking more and more disgruntled. "You still haven't answered the question, Malfoy," he growled.

"Which one?" he asked politely, trying to send the message telepathically he would ruin James in an instant if need be. "Am I sleeping with your sister? Yes. Though we don't get around to much sleeping. Is she coming back to work for me? Yes. Is any of that your business? Not in the slightest. Anything else?"

"Were you going to tell me?" Albus demanded.

"No." Green eyes narrowed.

"You sonofabitch."

"Would you have ever told her you'd shagged your way through her school friends before she even sat her OWLs?"

"Fuck you," Albus snarled.

"Wrong Potter," he replied, smiling, and then looked at James. "Are we done here?"

"I'm done," said Louis, nodding to Scorpius and pushing his way from the shed and making his way back to the house. Hugo and Fred followed. Scorpius looked at James again, then folded his arms.

"The real reason I was dragged into this freezing shed that looks like it might fall in on me at any moment, then?" Scorpius asked quietly.

"Tradition," James said, gritting his teeth, then, without warning, he punched Scorpius as hard as he could in the face.

"That's supposed to be my punch!" Albus snapped. Scorpius blinked.

"You hit pretty hard," Scorpius said, rubbing his jaw, biting back the rest of that statement. It already felt like it was swelling, and his lip was bleeding.

"Say it," James dared him. Scorpius narrowed his eyes.

"So you can hit me again?"

"He only gets one," Albus said, then looked at his brother. "Say what?"

"Shut up, Al," James said for a third time. He was staring at Scorpius. "I was waiting for you to say it when everyone was still here."

Scorpius shrugged. "I was going to. Lily wouldn't like it if I did, though."

"Say what?" Albus demanded.

Scorpius held a hand out to James, as if to say 'it's all yours'. James's jaw flexed, his mouth a hard line. "None of your business, Albus," he snapped furiously instead. Scorpius arched a brow and James glared, then shoved out of the shed still in a temper.

"Were you really not going to tell me?" Albus asked in the gathering silence.

"Really. Unless Lily wanted you to know."

Albus frowned. "It's supposed to be bros before hoes, y'know."

Scorpius grinned, but it hurt like a sonofabitch. "Hey, she's your sister." Albus frowned.

"That's gotta be against some kind of code. And if you make her cry, I'm pretty sure Jamie will break your whole face for you." Albus seemed over it. "So wait, if she's going to be working for you again, isn't that, like, unethical?"

It was, but Scorpius chose to ignore that. "Not really. I'm paying her to organize my life, not get naked for me." Albus frowned. "Sorry," he lied.

"No worries. We should go back in, though. Turkey's probably ready. Want me to fix your face?"

"If you could," Scorpius said, and his jaw went very hot and then very cold. He thanked Merlin Albus had passed his Healing testing with flying colours.

The green-eyed wizard smirked then chuckled to himself as they got to the back door. There was the sound of much shouting within. "What's going on?" he asked.

Albus grinned, then tried to smother it. "The womenfolk had a little intervention for Lily while we gents chatted with you. Sounds like it's not gone over so well." When Scorpius entered behind his best mate he saw Lily in the sitting room, a small crowd gathered, shouting at her cousin Rose.

"How could you?" the redhead demanded, wand in hand.

"It was for your own good, Lily," Rose said, hands up, clearly unarmed. "We only wanted to help-"

No one seemed willing to intervene and risk the redhead's wrath. Scorpius spotted Harry Potter quietly making bets with his brother in law Ron Weasley on who would emerge victorious. "Who do you put money on? It's kind of a thing when the women go at each other. You should've seen the one between Lily and Roxanne when Roxy got Nan's cookie recipe. Biggest upset yet." Albus murmured. Scorpius only shook his head.

He edged around so he was behind Lily. He'd never seen her so furious. "And did I ask for your 'help' at any point?" the redhead growled. "Did I ever ask you even for advice?"

"You should've," Rose said, brows drawing together.

Scorpius had a feeling Lily was about to curse her cousin, but then she laughed. "Wow, I'm to be asking you for advice? That's rich. No, tell me of your fabulous successes then, Rose. Go on."

The auburn-haired witch took out her wand, eyes sparking, cheeks going dark pink. A murmur went up through the crowd. Molly Weasley was still at work in the kitchen. Lily's grip tightened on her own. Scorpius was alarmed that no one seemed to find this beyond the norm. Godric, what in the hell was he getting himself into with these Weasleys?

"I've had enough failure to see it played out before me, Lily."

"I'll bet. And never quite enough success to spot that either, I imagine."

Rose smiled cruelly. "Shall we compare lists?"

It was Lily's turn to blush. "Just because I didn't board the first train that pulled into the station," she snarled.

Rose's eyes went wide. "You bitch," she said, shocked.

"Believe it," Lily said back. Her knuckles were white on her wand and a couple sparks shot out.

"Dinner," said Molly Weasley, coming in. "Lily, sit, or you don't get dessert. Rose, sit, or you'll have double." And just like that it was settled. Scorpius sat meekly beside Lily and conversation flowed around them. Lily didn't speak and he followed her lead.

After the dessert plates were cleared and Scorpius felt fuller than he ever had before, Lily looked at him. "Do you want to stay for coffee?" she whispered.

He shook his head. As people drifted away from the table, most of the women going to 'help with the dishes', which Molly had well under control anyhow, they snuck out. "So what was that about?" he asked after they'd Apparated to her flat. Lily got a bottle of wine from her icebox and spelled out the cork. She offered it wordlessly and he shook his head again. He felt like he might not have to eat for a week now.

"Rose told everyone," she murmured.

"I know, I had a chat with your brothers and cousins. Lovely bunch. Very protective." He didn't mention the punch to the head. She seemed in control of her temper now, but he was loathe to test it.

"I hate her." Scorpius rubbed a hand down her arm. He didn't know how to do this sort of thing. Normally his relationships were as superficial as possible, minus sex, which was kept free of emotional entanglements as well. But now, with Lily, this was all very new and uncomfortable. He wanted to make her feel better, but how did he do that? "Okay, I don't hate her," Lily sighed. "But I'm really mad at her. You're right, she's mean."

"I'm sure she was just trying to look out for you, Lily," he murmured. She shot him a dark look back.

"You want to hear what she said?" she asked, eyebrows shooting up. She sloshed wine into a mug.

"I can imagine," he sighed.

"She said, and I quote, 'He's so obviously using you, and you just can't see it because you have feelings for him'. Can you believe her?" She drank some wine. Scorpius could only stare. Had she just said-? Did she have feelings for him?

"Oddly yes," he said at last. "In Fourth Year she told me she was surprised they even let me attend Hogwarts, what with being a traitor and all that." He rolled his eyes.

Lily fought the smile. She'd heard about that one, even though she'd been a lowly Second Year. "I bet she's jealous," Lily said. "Damn, I should've said that." Scorpius shook his head.

"Unlikely. Not of me, anyway." Rose Weasley had made it perfectly clear as long as he'd had the misfortune of being acquainted with her that she didn't like him.

The redhead grinned. "That's funny, she told me in Fourth Year, so you and her would've been Sixth Years, that if you asked her out she wouldn't say no." She drank some more wine. "Then again, you didn't ask her out, so she probably got over it, but I bet it still bothers her. Rose has always been the gorgeous one."

"I can see why people think so." Lily shot him a filthy look. "I'm not saying I agree, honey. I like you just the way you are. And it's kind of sexy to watch you eat dessert." Lily blushed all the way to her hairline.

Rose was tall and willowy and lovely, and hard as a diamond in every sense. Lily was shorter, a little curvier, and softer in character. She was also all woman and her redheaded fiery temper hidden under her cool, unruffled facade. She was the sort of woman a man could marry and spend forever with, her lovely cousin at best a weekend away.

"Well that's good, because when I'm upset, I crave chocolate." She smiled a little. "My dad always said it had restorative properties after an emotional upheaval, but I think he's full of it. It just tastes good, and that's what makes me feel better."

"You always crave chocolate, Lily," he teased. She shrugged.

"Good thing I'm not a chocolate snob. The only white chocolate I eat, which isn't really even made from cocoa y'know so I dunno how they call it chocolate, is you." She finished off her mug of wine, eyed the bottle, then put it away. "Anyway, I'm going to get changed." She moved toward her bedroom, stripping her sweater, and Scorpius couldn't help but follow.

Lily smiled as Scorpius hooked a finger into her thong as she slid out of her jeans. "How many different coloured pairs of panties can one woman own?" he murmured.

"You'd be surprised. Lingerie is my weakness."

"Good to know." He tugged the scrap of purple lace down on one side. "Do you want me to stay the night?"

"Do you want to stay?" she asked, wondering… Godric, what if Rose and the others had been right? The thought had kept creeping up, all through dinner and dessert and even now. No. No, I refuse to believe it. They had to be wrong. She wasn't an idiot. She was twenty five years old damn it! A fucking grown woman, and she could do what she wanted, and even if she was being played, that was her failure to make.

"Is that a real question? I want you to move in with me," he rumbled. Her eyes went wide. She tamped down on the urge to giggle. She felt his lips brush gently over her neck. "Or I can move here. But I have better water pressure, and I'm rather attached to that place."

Lily sucked in a breath. "It's kind of soon," she breathed, her hands moving of their own accord to undress him.

"I've known you for almost a whole year. For me, that's a lifetime."

She almost laughed. "But that's a drop in the bucket for me. I…" Lily swallowed. Why not? She knew she was afraid to make a colossal mistake where Scorpius was concerned, but what's the worst that could happen? She got her heart broken, stomped on, and lost her really nice flat while being out of a job to boot. Okay, so that was a lot. But still… She wanted.

She pushed his shirt off. He already had his pants undone. "Then we'll wait," he rumbled. "Godric, Lily, whatever you want." Those last three words were whispered so softly she wasn't even sure she heard him correctly.

Lily wanted to say those three words. The ones she knew she wasn't allowed to say out loud. It would make everything fall apart if she did, and she couldn't bear that. Godric fucking Gryffindor, she was hopelessly fucked. But she thought them. I love you. She didn't say it. Instead she kissed him, tongue thrusting into his mouth, hoping to convey it without the need for words. When he brought her to completion she thought them again, biting her lip to hold them back, and held back a scream.

XXX

She went to work for Scorpius officially on January fourth. It was oddly comforting, being back in his offices. Most of the systems were in place, looking ignored for the most part, and she quickly picked up from what she'd been able to pick up after the last horrendous attempt at replacing her.

That thought made her smile. He seemed, literally, to be fucked in her absence. Luckily she had everything in order when they returned. The only difference from her last stint working for Scorpius was that her day started when his alarm went off at five, and she usually ended up showering with him. Despite retaining her flat, she still spent most of her time, at least during the week, at the pureblood's condo. She had even relented to taking ownership of a singular drawer in his built-ins and there was always a spare outfit in there. On weekends she went to her own apartment, usually with Scorpius in tow, and she made him take a drawer in her dresser in return.

For the next few weeks, all was well, and Lily soon grew used to her routine. Then came the International Dinner for the Ministry. As part of the Minister's staff, Scorpius had to go, and Lily was dreading going along. "Everyone's going to know," she finally said, the night before, still trying to catch her breath after he'd made love to her.

"Know what?" he murmured.

"That I'm-" she stopped herself. She couldn't finish that thought. "We're not public," she said instead.

"We don't need to be. You've gone with me before. You just need to be my assistant and point me in the direction of the people I need to talk to." Lily frowned at that. "And then I take you home and make you scream my name like you just did, honey," he rumbled, and smoothed a hand down her belly. Lily gasped, her arousal flaring again and arched into him as his hand went between her legs.

He looked surprised, but then his mouth found hers and, slipping a finger into her, he brought her to a breathless, perfect completion again. "Oh Godric," she rasped. His fingers were still within her and she groaned, writhing.

"Lily," he rumbled. Her body seemed determined to betray her.

"Scorpius," she purred, and his fingers rocked in and out of her, she sucked in a deep breath through her nose.

"You're killing me, Lily," he rumbled. She moaned, too far gone. He lavished her breasts, teasing her nipples, and then kissed his way slowly down her stomach. "Come again," he growled.

"I don't… I can't…" She whimpered, his mouth skating over the most sensitive place. "Oh Godric!"

"Yes," he growled. "Mine."

"Yours," she breathed, and as his fingers curled against her g-spot, she lost herself for a third time, her body finally sated, limp and exhausted as she lay catching her breath.

"Lily," he murmured, hand smoothing down her back. "I…" She felt him take a breath. "I…"

"Me too," she breathed. She didn't know how she knew, but there was a soft warmth in her chest that felt suspiciously like that four-letter L-word she wasn't supposed to say. And if he didn't feel it the way she did, at least she wouldn't be embarrassed.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me," he murmured, just as her brain disengaged into sleep.

The next evening found her in the turquoise dress she'd worn in New York, and Lily tried to appear as professional as possible. She barely even drank. After two hours, she was brutally aware of her arousal toward Scorpius. He'd, somehow against her better judgement, convinced her to go naked under her gown, and now that she was, she couldn't stop thinking about how easy it would be for him to simply slide her dress up and make love to her.

Bleeding fuck. She was in deep. "That's the Italian equivalent to you. The Minister is looking to strengthen the ties with Italy now that they've done it with the U.S." Lily murmured discreetly to Scorpius as an exceedingly handsome man with olive toned skin, dark hair and eyes, and blindingly white teeth approached.

"Excellent." The man made Scorpius a little bow as he introduced himself, and then his eyes slid very pointedly over Lily.

"I have noticed you have not asked your exquisitely lovely companion to dance," said the Italian in flawless English with just a hint of accent, who'd introduced himself as Angelo Capricci. "Although perhaps you British are too stiff for such exercise." He turned enigmatic dark eyes to Lily. "May I ask for your hand, mie bellissima fiore dai capelli rossi?"

Lily had no idea what he said, but Scorpius narrowed his eyes. "I'm not a very good dancer," she admitted.

He took her hand. "Nonsense." Lily glanced back at Scorpius as he pulled her onto the floor, and then tried not to step on his feet as he lead her in a slow, sensual waltz.

"I'm really not good at this," she breathed.

"You're doing very well. How long have you been in love with him?"

The redhead blinked and faltering on her next step. "Excuse me?"

The Italian grinned. "Your boss. He is such, yes? You are hesitant to touch him I noticed. But your eyes touch him with intimate knowledge."

Lily was tempted to slap this man. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking-"

"Oh come now, bellissima," he teased, then whirled her away from himself. "I am Italian, please do not insult me." He grinned, looking down her form pointedly. "Consider yourself lucky I am also respectful. I would not hesitate to devour you, bellissima, were you to suggest you might want me to."

Lily wanted to roll her eyes, but she was pretty sure he was serious. "Well you're going to have to starve," she said pointedly. He smiled.

"So you are in love with him."

Lily shrugged. What harm could it be to confide in this stranger? "Yes," she breathed. He looked at her for a moment.

"He does not know?" She shook her head. "Bellissima," he chided gently. Lily swallowed.

"He's my boss," she murmured.

"Mmm, but if he is your lover, does it please you to know many women here look upon him as though he were available to them?" She bristled and he almost laughed. "Bellissima, you are too passionate not to tell him." His gaze flicked away, over her shoulder for a moment. "And if I am not much mistaken, he feels the same for you."

"No," she murmured, more to herself to squash the hope.

"Then why does he look as though he is deciding upon which curse he would prefer to use upon me first?" he rumbled against her ear. His hand slid a fraction lower on her back, still within the realm of propriety.

"You're crazy," she murmured back, even as hope made her blush a little. Angelo Capricci brushed his mouth across the line of her jaw purposefully, his hand dipping a little lower on her back, past new-acquaintance territory, into date-zone.

"I will prove it to you," he said, then grinned at her as the music swelled in a grand finale. He dipped her on the last note, then brought her up and kissed her soundly. She gasped, pushing him back even as his tongue traced her lips, and then a warm arm came around her midsection.

"If you wish to keep your hands," Scorpius was saying darkly, "you will remove them from my date."

The Italian flashed Lily a pointed look. "My apologies, friend. She is very beautiful and for a moment I forgot myself." He looked at Scorpius. "Sei molto fortunato, signor Malfoy. Lei è molto innamorato di te."

Scorpius glared at him. "Fatti gli affari tuoi."

Capricci smirked. "Preferisci lei venire a casa con me?"

"Vai a farti fottere." The Italian made another bow, grinning, then departed. Lily frowned.

"You should have set up a meeting with him to-"

"No," Scorpius said firmly. Lily's frown deepened. "He's not the sort I prefer to do business with."

Lily frowned still. "Whatever. Since when do you speak Italian?"

"Since my parents bought their summer home in Italy." He grinned. "I was five. The staff was all native, and my nanny taught me." The rest he'd learned traveling in his adult life.

"I never knew that." She looked a little confused. "What did you say to him, then?"

"Nothing," he replied airily. "The standard chit chat." He rolled his eyes. "He thinks you're beautiful obviously. And he wanted to take you home with him."

She rolled her eyes back. "He mentioned as much." Scorpius grit his teeth. "Well, he said he would devour me if I gave him any hint I might want him to do that," she mumbled. Scorpius wanted to devour her right there.

"And what did you say to that?" he rumbled.

The redhead smirked. "I told him no thanks. He was very polite." Her smirk turned into a soft grin. "He's not my type, though." Now the pureblood wanted to take her home and make love to her until he couldn't move.

"Good to know, Potter."

By the time they got back to his condo, it was almost midnight. Lily melted into his arms the second he locked the door behind them and they didn't make it to the couch, let alone the bedroom.

The next morning, Lily woke to an owl fluttering onto the bed beside her, damp with rain, looking surly. She frowned, relieved him of his letter, and Scorpius mumbled from behind her, "Why are you awake, Lily? It's Saturday."

"Owl," she said distractedly as the bird took off out the window again. It was addressed to Scorpius. "It's for you."

He grunted and sat up, rubbing his face. The letter was opened in short order, and as he read it, his frown increased tenfold. "I don't fucking believe it," he snapped. Scorpius tossed the letter down and Lily frowned as she tried to read it. It was in Italian. "That bastard invited us to Italy," he snarled.

Lily looked at the blond, not comprehending. "What?"

"Capricci. From last night. The Italian who wants to take you home," Scorpius growled. He looked at her. "He's very explicit that he is only extending the courtesy of joining you to me for propriety's sake."

Lily swallowed. Well then. "Do you have to go?" Scorpius glared at her. "I mean, do we have to go? Can we just...politely decline?"

The blond sighed. "It's kind of for the job," he grumbled. "The Minister is pushing International relations." Lily bit her lip, looking at the letter that may as well have been written in Gobbledygook. "And the Italians are crucial trade partners."

"Then we'll go," she said softly, looking down at her hands. She didn't notice the way Scorpius looked at her, as though he would duel to the death any other who might try to stake claim upon her. She was too preoccupied thinking about the arrangements to be made, and trying to convince herself this wasn't some kind of romantic getaway.

A week later they were catching a Portkey to Angelo Capricci's little slice of heaven in Sicily. They landed in the town a mile out, caught the car Lily had arranged, and pulled up to the secluded villa nestled in the hills, looking out over the ocean. It was balmy and lovely, and Lily was glad she'd remembered sunscreen. "I still don't like this," Scorpius murmured.

Lily glanced across at him. "Why not? It's gorgeous here, and the only bed I'll be in on this trip is yours," she breathed, then kissed him, because they were alone in a car. They got out and Angelo, as he insisted they call him, greeted them pleasantly, talking to Scorpius briefly in Italian, the blond snapping something back.

Angelo didn't seem perturbed. "Come, bellissima. I will show you the arrangements," he said, linking his arm through hers. Then added in a low tone, "Your lover is very possessive."

Lily shrugged and didn't say anything. Once she was sure she wouldn't be overheard, she breathed, "What do you think you're doing, Mr. Capricci?"

"Please bellissima, call me Angelo. I am trying to see you happy with your lover, even if that man should not be myself."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "I can handle that myself, thank you."

Angelo smirked. "I doubt it bellissima, or else your boss would have nothing to fear from me taking you away from him. As it stands, I'm certain he's even now questioning if I've persuaded you to make love to me yet."

"Or he knows I'm not remotely tempted," she replied coolly. Angelo grinned, then kissed her, his tongue teasing the seam of her lips, his hands pulling her closer by the arms. "Nope," she breathed when he pulled away. "You're good, but you got nothing on him."

Angelo sighed. "Such is Fate. So, have you told him bellissima?"

"No."

"You are being a coward." Lily glared at him, again wanting to slap him.

"It's not so easy," she snapped.

"Certainly it is. You simply tell him."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I admit, I dunno how you do things here in Italy, but I, personally, don't do that. There's too many chances in that. It's the three words I can't say."

The Italian frowned slightly. "That is sad news indeed. But perhaps, bellissima, while you are here, you will absorb some of the Italian way. We are a passionate people, and perhaps sometimes too loud, but we always speak with our hearts."

"I doubt it," she snapped. Angelo arched a dark brow.

"Then perhaps your lover will be the first to come to their senses," he murmured, and then Scorpius came around the corner, looking furious. They unpacked and took the rest of the afternoon to settle in. Scorpius took her twice before dinner and then again before they slept, and Lily wondered if, just maybe, Angelo had been right about that absorption of the Italian way.

They breakfasted on a patio in the sun, a brisk ocean breeze whipping tendrils of Lily's hair that escaped her bun. Angelo joined them as they finished up, a leggy, drop-dead gorgeous blonde woman wearing a white sheath dress Lily could never pull off with him. Her eyes roved appreciatively over Scorpius as Angelo introduced her as his personal aide. Her name was Helena, and Lily had to force a polite smile as they briefly clasped hands in greeting. She almost bit her tongue off when the woman stroked a hand across the blond pureblood's forearm, saying something low in Italian.

Scorpius said something back that made her smile, then cut her icy blue eyes to Lily. The redhead told herself firmly to play nice, and the look that promised she would have her man was a figment of her imagination.

"Unfortunately, business is upon us," Angelo said, seeming amused by the exchange between Scorpius and his aide. He looked at Malfoy. "You have the figures?"

Lily waved her wand and they appeared at Scorpius's elbow. "Heavily revised, of course," Scorpius murmured, handing the parchments over.

Angelo almost frowned. "Are all you British so cautious?" he asked, flicking through the documents before handing them off to the blonde witch.

"Probably." Scorpius shrugged. "In business anyway."

Angelo arched a brow. "Helena, take signor Malfoy to my office so he can become acquainted with the rest of the proposal."

Lily felt a tightening in her gut as the blonde woman stood, ever so casually putting a hand on her lover's arm and leading him back inside the villa.

"Come, bellissima, let us leave them to their business," Angelo said, lifting her hand. She pulled it from his grasp.

"I would prefer to sit in-"

"No," the Italian interrupted. "Helena will manage." She grit her teeth.

"I'm sure she'll try," Lily muttered.

He laughed. "You have little to fear from Helena, bellissima."

Lily's hazel eyes narrowed. "Oh yes, because every woman is perfectly fine with a six foot tall runway model with an Italian accent putting her hands all over their-" She broke off.

"Your what? Employer?" Angelo asked pointedly. Lily glared.

"You know what I mean."

"Of course, but I am not the man who should know, bellissima."

"You're actually kind of annoying," Lily snapped.

He laughed again. "This I have been told. But come, weill walk on the beach and let your lover stew until he is courageous enough to close the deal."

Scorpius went over the Italian side of the proposal with only part of his brain. The other part was fixated on Lily, where she might be, what she was doing, and when he would be able to get her alone again.

"You seem troubled," Helena said to him, putting her hand on his arm. He looked at the woman, feeling nothing. Not so long ago he would have had her in an instant, naked and sprawled beneath him on the closest available surface, but now… He couldn't push thoughts of his redheaded assistant from his mind long enough to even entertain the thought. And even if he could, he certainly didn't have the desire to do so. The realization should have rattled him, bothered him, but all he could think about was cursing that smirking, pompous Italian bastard with every Unforgivable and then some. Twice. And then smash him into a million pieces to curse thoroughly on top of that.

"I don't like Italy," he replied, glaring down at the parchment before him, snorting. This trade agreement proposal was an abomination. He wouldn't bring it back to the Minister for anything, because the Minister would laugh at him then tell him he was fired.

"So you are not imagining Angelo and your assistant naked together this very moment?" she breathed. His eyes narrowed.

"No." He hadn't been, anyway. Now, however...

Helena smiled, then put her hand on his thigh. "Perhaps you are imagining yourself naked with her instead."

"I don't have to imagine that," he snapped. She grinned wider.

"She is lucky, then." Helena passed him some figures that made him roll his eyes. "May I ask you a personal question, signor Malfoy?" she murmured after a moment.

"Even if I said no, I have no doubts you'll ask anyway," he replied. Helena laughed, a silvery sound. Scorpius wondered if she might be part Veela.

"Even though she is your assistant, you have a relationship with her. How does this work?"

Scorpius frowned. "Work is work. In the office, Lily is exceptionally professional."

"Then how did you-?"

"I fired her. Which was a mistake at the time, because she'd become a necessary part of my life. Then I had to beg her back less than two months later." He smirked a little, remembering. He'd been very close to desperate when he'd stepped into the lift before Christmas and seen her, looking like some kind of angry angel. He knew he'd been a fool, but damn if he hadn't missed her. "She decided part of her requisites for coming back was having her way with me after hours."

Helena frowned. "She is very lucky," she said again.

Scorpius almost smirked. "No, she's damned smart. I'm the lucky one for having her." He looked at the lovely Italian. "You're wondering how to work out a similar arrangement with Capricci, aren't you?" Her cheeks went a delicate pink.

"Yes," she admitted quietly. "He is all business, but I long…" She shrugged, flicking through some parchments. "It is probably for the best, though." She gave a sad little smile. "Angelo is very dear to me. If I may only have his business side, I will take that."

Scorpius stared at her. "Does he have any idea?"

"No. Like I said, he is all business."

The blond smirked. "I suggest you quit on him, then." She shot him a shocked look. "All or nothing, Helena. Don't take no for an answer."

She shook her head, but he could see the wheels turning in her head. He shrugged; it was her life after all.

At the end of the week Scorpius and Angelo had bullied out a semblance of a treaty proposal, and both would take the revised versions to their superiors. By the time Scorpius got back to his condo, he was crazy for Lily. "Ugh, I miss the sun," she breathed, kicking off her boots. London was foggy, and damp and chilly.

Scorpius looked at her. She'd gotten a smidge of a tan while they were away, her hair streaked ginger along her hairlines from the ceaseless sun they'd weathered in Italy. "I miss knowing what colour your underwear is," he rumbled. After that first night he'd spent most of his time working with Helena while Angelo Capricci showed Lily around his home.

She smiled. "You're insatiable," she breathed, but kissed back as he backed her against the kitchen counter, then lifted her up to sit on it.

"I've been stuck in an office for the past six days, thinking about you lying on a beach, just out of reach. Damn right," he rumbled, stripping her slowly.

Lily pulled back. "Yes, it must have been terrible to stare at a beautiful woman for twelve hours a day."

Scorpius looked at her. She seemed angry. "The only beautiful woman there was frolicking without me." He unzipped her black wool dress and felt his temper flare when he noticed a very definite tan line across her shoulders, where a bathing suit had clearly sat.

"I wasn't frolicking," she said quietly.

"You have tan lines," he said, tracing one. "I have no tan at all."

"Does Helena have tan lines?" she asked. Scorpius grinned.

"Does her boss?" he returned. "You know she has a thing for him, right?" Lily snorted.

"Looked like she had a thing for you." Scorpius almost laughed. "This isn't funny," she snapped. "Godric, you can be such a prick," she murmured. "I don't even know why I thought it would be a good idea to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

She pouted. "Nothing. Never mind," she huffed, folding her arms. He unfolded them.

"Tell me," he demanded.

"No," she said firmly. His lips found her neck, and he nibbled his way down.

"Please?"

"No."

"Come on, Lily," he breathed, then licked her pulse point. "Tell me."

"No."

"You're being stubborn."

"You're being arrogant and pushy."

"Those are two of my better qualities." He pushed her dress off her shoulders. "Just get it over with and tell me, Potter."

"You just get over it, Malfoy, I'm not telling you."

"Please?" he breathed, bending to kiss down between her breasts, still trapped in the lilac demi-bra she wore that pushed her luscious flesh up and out to him. She hummed pleasurably and gasped as he tugged her brassiere down, taking a nipple into his mouth. "Pretty please?" he rasped. "With chocolate sauce on top?"

She shook her head. His teeth scraped across her other nipple once it was freed. She shivered. "Scorpius," she breathed, legs wrapping around him.

She was wearing the necklace, the jeweled lily sparkling up at him. He touched it, then looked into her hazel eyes. "I love you," he said. She froze.

"What?"

Scorpius almost laughed. He hadn't meant to say it, but now that he had he felt liberated. "I love you."

She pulled back, staring at him, mouth parted. "No." Scorpius blinked. "No," she said again, sliding off the counter. "You're not supposed to-"

"I don't care if I'm supposed to, Lily. I love you."

"Stop!" she snapped. "Stop saying it."

"Why? Look, I get it if you don't love me back, I'm selfish and arrogant and pushy, but Lily, you're by far the best thing that's ever happened to me. I don't want to stop saying it. I l-"

"No!" She stomped her foot. "Godric damn it, you're not supposed to say it!" She pushed him, furious. "Think it, feel it, know it, but you're not supposed to say it!"

"Why?" he asked.

"Because now I have to hand in my two weeks' notice!" He blinked.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked at last. "Are you quitting on me?"

"I don't want to," she said, hastily putting her clothing right, "but what option do I have? I can't work for you if you...if you...if-"

"If I love you?" he supplied coldly. "Don't bother with the notice, Potter."

She glared. "This isn't my fault," she snarled. "Don't turn this around on me!"

"I have no qualms whatsoever having you work for me, Lily. You're damn good at what you do, but if it's a choice between having you in my office or having you in my bed, it's not much choice."

Lily sucked in a deep breath, trying to reclaim her temper. She'd felt so furious he'd gone and said the three damned words she'd been holding in so long it was almost painful at times. Tossed them out as though it were of no consequence to boot. Except they weren't of no consequence. She didn't want to be known as 'Malfoy's girlfriend', or whatever. She couldn't stand everyone looking at her as though she were one of his previous bimbos. A good lay and a passable secretary. "I'll train my replacement, and set you up through the transition," she said, avoiding his eyes. She had been so close to saying those stupid three words that ruined everything, tipped that precarious balance.

"You misunderstand, Potter," he said coldly. She looked up, confused and then it hit her. It wasn't much of a choice, because she was a much better assistant than she was lover.

She stared at him for a long moment, then swallowed and nodded. "See you Monday," she said, turning away before she did something extremely foolish like start bawling. "Owl me if you need anything else," she added, and picked up her bag and walked out of his condo.

She took the stairs, and the tears started as she stumbled down the thirty one flights. By the time she got outside to Apparate she could hardly see, and prayed she would make it to her flat without Splinching herself.

XXX

February got colder before it thawed into a sodden March, which steadily dampened into April. Lily, though she had taken most of a weekend, several batches of brownies and a couple bottles of wine to deal, had managed to lock her feelings for her boss up in a tiny box deep down inside to ignore forever more. She still loved him, and sometimes in the twilight between waking and sleeping she would open the box and remember the short time she'd had him for. The redhead was certain, should she live to be a hundred, no other would ever have her heart like he had.

As the weeks and months trickled by at work, she threw herself into being more efficient than ever, never once letting her professional facade or iron control slip. She was kept busy, conferring with the Italian Magical Embassy as Scorpius and Angelo Capricci worked out a trade treaty that would bring in a significant amount of gold to the Ministry coffers, should it get ironed out and passed in legislation. To her surprise, she found a friend in Angelo's aide, Helena, as they owled each other almost daily, and were close in age and in similar romantic predicaments.

The only downside for Lily was when she'd finally talked to Rose. Her cousin had been apologetic and understanding, but when Lily told her the blond pureblood had chosen her professionally over personally, there's been a definite air of smugness as she hugged her and said, "Oh Lily, I'm so sorry, honey."

She finished up her letter, sent it out, and scribbled some reminders to herself in her day planner as she finished up for her standard work day. "Potter," Scorpius said from inside his office and she rolled her eyes.

"Malfoy," she replied, poking her head in. Silver eyes flicked up. They'd gone back to the formalities of last names since the disastrous return from Italy.

"Sit."

She went in and perched on the edge of a chair. "What's up?"

He leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. She'd come to recognize this as the thinking pose. "You've been invited back to Italy," he said at long last.

Lily looked away. "Oh. By Angelo?"

The blond wizard sneered very slightly and her mouth quirked up with black amusement. He might not want her, but apparently he didn't want anyone else to have her either. How typically male. "Yes."

"That's nice of him," she said evenly. His eyes narrowed.

"Unfortunately you won't be going." She smiled frostily.

"Whatever you say, boss. Do you need me to set up anything if you go?" She pulled out her notebook, looking expectant. That seemed to irritate him further. Lily felt a cruel stab of pleasure at that. If he wanted her to be the perfect assistant, she would exceed his expectations every damn day of the week.

"I'm not going either. The deal is, until the Italians can be realistic any rate, completely off. The latest figures Peabody was sent are a fucking joke. I don't know what that bastard is smoking, but the Minister isn't happy."

"Neither is the Italian President," Lily murmured. She just gotten word from Helena today that Capricci had a stripping down from the head honcho over there, wherein a lot of shouting was exchanged, hands were waved, and threats to quit and fire had been thrown out. In the end Helena had said Angelo was in a mood. Lily could understand that. Scorpius, the last week, had been changing his moods faster than Rose changed clothes during Fashion Week.

"Well when those fuckers can balance their budgets properly, instead of trying to gouge us to cover their asses, I'll be more than willing to reopen things. Until then, let them stew." He glanced at his watch. "That's all. Is my dinner reservation-?"

"At six-thirty, your usual table at The Gryffin's Door." She stood up, put her notebook back in her large purse and hefted it up on her shoulder. "See you tomorrow." She quickly headed out, grabbing her coat as she strode to the lift, tapping her foot impatiently she she waited.

She got into the empty lift, as most employees were gone at five or earlier, a full half-hour before she generally took off, and she sighed, shaking her bun out as the lift descended. It dinged open at the Atrium, and, to her shock, waiting for the lift was Luke Marshall. "Well, well, if it isn't the lowly assistant," he drawled. "Working overtime?"

"Look at you, in dress robes and all spiffed up. Did someone die?" she said, smiling back.

Luke laughed as she stepped out of the lift, hugging her close. "You look fantastic as ever, Lily."

"You look good, too, Luke," she murmured, and he did. He gave her a crooked grin.

"So, still working for Malfoy?" he asked. "I heard you left him for a few months."

Surely there was better news floating around the Ministry than that old bit? "I did. Gave him a taste of fending for himself." She smirked, "Of course, he came crawling back."

"You have that effect on men, Lily," Luke said, moving a little closer. He drew a finger down her cheek. "Eventually we all come crawling back to you." Her breathing hitched a little and she licked her lips. There was no electric thrum of arousal when he touched her, not like when Scorpius put his hands on her, but there was a warm feeling of definite like.

"I hope not. That could be a tripping hazard for me." Luke chuckled.

"Are you free for dinner?" he asked, glancing at the lift. She realized she must be distracting him from whatever business he'd come to the Ministry for and moved aside.

She hesitated, but then threw caution to the winds. "Actually, yeah." She'd made plans with Rose, but she knew her cousin would be delighted to be ditched for a date. Especially one that wasn't with her boss.

"Excellent." Luke grinned winningly. "Meet me at the Leaky at seven." He swooped in and kissed the corner of her mouth, just like he did when they were in Seventh Year and had dated for those wonderful last few months of school. Of course, he'd broken up with her not long after graduation despite promising they'd stay together, and she'd experienced heartbreak for the first time. The memory of that paled in comparison to her more recent one, but she shoved those feelings back down where they belonged. She reached up and mussed his hair for him, just like she used to way back when. His blue eyes crinkled at the corners.

"I have to run," he breathed. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," she said, heading to the fireplaces to Floo home and drop Rose an owl explaining how she was being ditched. The lift pinged and she glanced back, smiling a little over her shoulder as Luke got on and Scorpius stepped out. His grey eyes found her, pinning her in place, and Lily got the distinct impression he somehow knew she'd bumped into Luke.

She grit her teeth into a smile, gave a little wave of her fingers, and Flooed home. Once there she changed quickly and sent off a scribbled apology to Rose, making sure to include pointedly she was being ditched for the charming brunet wizard and not the pureblood, as she knew Rose would assume.

By the time she got to the Leaky Cauldron, the place was packed. "Wow," Luke said, standing when he saw her, and kissed her fully on the mouth in greeting. She smiled and slid into a seat.

"I ordered for you," he said, a little sheepishly. "Martini to drink, fish and chips to eat, right?"

Lily laughed. "Am I that predictable? Sounds great to me." She had a fleeting memory of their last date, and pushed the thought aside. This was different she told herself firmly. Drinks arrived and Lily sipped hers. "So, what's new?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes. "I just got a promotion, actually. You're looking at the official St. Mungo's Liaison to the Minstry of Magic."

"Fancy. Congrats. Does this make you a hard-nosed power-hungry official now?"

Luke grinned. "That depends. Does it improve my chances at all if I say yes?"

"No, but it might damage them a little," she teased.

"Then no. But it does come with a considerable raise. I make almost enough to afford to eat three square meals a day now." She laughed. "What's new with you? I've heard bits and pieces, but you know gossip."

Lily rolled her eyes. Surely people had better things to do with their time. "Well, I'm still with Malfoy," she sighed, then backpedalled. "Well, working for him, that is. Nothing more than strictly business." She gulped some martini.

"I heard you've been halfway around the globe for work. Do you enjoy it?"

Their food arrived and Lily didn't bother with a fork. "It's not bad. I don't get to be a tourist much, but I spent a week in Sicily, Italy in February, which was a nice change from snow and rain."

"Nice. So I have to ask, and feel free to tell me to sod off if you like, but there was a little rumour that snuck around that you and Malfoy were… Well, that things were a little more personal than professional between you two." Luke looked as though he didn't want to ask, but she admired his guts.

She rewarded him with the truth. "Honestly, yeah. There was a brief moment in time where you could say I put in a lot of overtime." She selected a chip. "Though I should clarify, most of that time I wasn't working for him directly."

"What happened?" Luke dug into his chicken pot pie.

She shrugged, wiping her fingers on a napkin. "I make a better personal assistant than lover, apparently," she said with a self-deprecating smile. Luke frowned at that.

"Well, I can't say I have any clue what kind of assistant you are, but if memory serves correctly, you must be the best in the business." Lily laughed.

"That's sweet," she said, then reached over and took a forkful of his dinner. "And I am the best in the business."

He stole a chip from her plate. "That means Malfoy is also the smartest idiot in the world." She smiled.

"Now you're using the silver tongue on me, Luke." He grinned boyishly.

"I hope it's working."

The redhead laughed. "It is."

When she got back to her flat, there was a reply from Rose, who told her to come by no matter the time. Unless she'd brought Luke home with her, of course, which she hadn't. She'd almost been tempted, especially when he kissed her goodnight, but she had work early, and he had late meetings. They'd made plans to get together for dinner again that weekend, though.

When she knocked on Rose's door, her cousin answered, already in her jammies. "Hmm, you went home alone?" she asked, waving Lily into the kitchen.

"I usually do," Lily sighed, nodding to the silent offer of wine.

"So how'd it go otherwise? And isn't Luke Marshall the cutie pie you dated in Seventh Year?"

"One and the same. And before you ask, yes, he's still a cutie pie. And dinner was good."

"Are you seeing him again?" Rose asked, passing her a full wine glass. Lily smiled.

"Yeah," she said, and giggled.

"When do I get to meet him?" Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh c'mon, Lily. He's the first one since You Know Who, right?"

"Even more reason to keep him away from you Weasleys." Rose smirked at that.

"Did you know it was five to one for you on Christmas? I heard Hugo and Fred arguing over whether money should change hands since no spells were cast."

"What was the decision?" Rose rolled her eyes and Lily grinned. She was aware she'd been considered the victor.

"Hugo had to pay half his bet."

Lily laughed as they sat on Rose's sofa. "Such a nice little brother you have, he always bets on you."

"I'm usually a sure bet. But you're the family favourite. I think you argue more than the rest of us put together." Lily rolled her eyes now. "But for reals, I wanna meet this Luke guy. Last I saw him he was all of seventeen."

"He was still sixteen. His birthday is in July."

"Godric, you still remember his birthday?"

"Rose, I remember everyone's birthday." The auburn-haired witch slanted a sly glance at her.

"What's Malfoy's birthday?" Lily opened her mouth to reply, but then shook her head.

"Who cares?" Rose clinked their glasses together.

"Atta girl!"

Lily met up with Luke at the Ministry on Friday. "Should I go home and change?" she asked as he greeted her in the Atrium with a kiss.

"Godric no. You might be overdressed as is." She arched a brow.

"Overdressed?" She looked down at her high-waisted, navy blue pencil skirt and cream coloured blouse she'd put with a sleek green cardigan. "Where are we going?"

"My place," he said, and then pulled her toward a fireplace. They went to his place and he cooked her an amazingly delicious chicken fettuccine alfredo. Lily stayed for dessert, which ending up being her. Luke, ever the gentleman, had taken her at her word when she said she was tired and should head home, after several hot and heavy moments that might have turned into Lily taking off more than just her cardigan. At the door, she hesitated.

"Don't take this the wrong way," she said, "but-"

"You don't like me 'that way'?" She took a deep breath.

"That's the thing. I don't know. I mean, I know I did, way back when. But now it's kind of weird for me." She bit her lip, looking at him through her lashes. "I'm not saying I'm not interested, I just-" He interrupted her with a kiss that only hinted at more.

"Then we'll consider it a work in progress. I'm easy, Lily." He grinned, tucking her hair behind an ear, but before she could say anything else, her communicator bleeped from the depths of her bag.

"Damn it," she muttered, digging through the jumble for it. She'd gotten the damn thing not long after Scorpius had hired her, and only used it maybe half a dozen times, as she was usually home to accept owls. "Hold that thought," she sighed, pulling the little black boxy thing out, pushing a button.

"Where are you?" Luke arched a brow as Scorpius barked the words at her.

"Out, what do you need?"

"I'm at the Three Broomsticks, and they confiscated my Apparition license." She bit her tongue to hold back the string of expletives. It was obvious Scorpius was in a shitty mood, and had undoubtedly been drinking too much.

"I'll be there in two minutes."

She made to end the conversation, but then Scorpius added, "You should've been here five minutes ago, Potter." He ended their talk and she took a deep breath, shoving the stupid communicator back into her bag.

"Duty calls," she murmured to Luke. He shook his head slowly.

"He's kind of a prick," he mumbled, then bent and kissed her again.

"The things we do to eat, right?" she replied, then smiled and headed out.

When she got to the Three Broomsticks, she found her boss arguing with a bouncer who looked impervious.

"Don't care who y'are," drawled the huge black bouncer. "You don't Apparate in that condition from these premises."

"Potter," Scorpius snapped as she drew up behind him. "Tell this buffoon to hand over my license."

She pursed her mouth, casting the bouncer an apologetic look. "I can Side-Along him." The massive man looked at her and shrugged, handing his card to her.

The pureblood cast the bouncer a filthy look. "And you can tell the owner they might want to triple check their liquor licenses," he snapped. "These things have a bad habit of slipping out of place at the Ministry."

The pureblood pushed his way out of the bar and Lily gave the bouncer another apologetic look. "Sorry," she breathed.

The guy shrugged. "If that's your boyfriend, you could do better, babe."

That almost got a smile from her. "Definitely not my boyfriend."

He grinned. "Good to know. Make sure he gets home in one piece, then c'mon back." Lily winked, smiling, and followed after Scorpius.

"What the hell were you doing?" Scorpius demanded. She glared.

"Apologizing for your appalling behavior. You should be ashamed of that spectacle."

His lip curled. "I meant when I called you. I sent an owl an hour ago, telling you to come get me at eight thirty. It's now five to fucking nine. What were you doing?"

"I went out for dinner," she replied coolly. She held her temper in. She'd learned Scorpius plus too much whiskey could be a volatile combination.

"Well, I hope it was a good one, because the Italians have gotten serious. We're going to Italy for the next month. Pack your bags, Potter, and book us a non-stop Portkey to Rome for Monday morning," he said, then held out his hand for his Apparition license. "Have the car pick me up at seven. And I mean seven, not five to eight."

"You can't Apparate like that," she chided, putting his license in her bag, ignoring the rest. She took his outstretched hand instead, but before she could Apparate them safely, he pulled her up against himself.

"I'm not drunk. Give me my license, Potter."

"No," she said firmly, pulling back. He moved with her, then his nose brushed up the side of her neck. Of its own accord her heart started thudding, her mouth went dry, and she felt her nipples go hard. "You might not think you're drunk, but you smell like you just crawled out of a bottle of Ogden's Finest," she said icily.

"You smell like vanilla and lilacs." He smiled, then kissed her, tongue pushing past her shocked lips. "Maybe a little drunk," he admitted. She stepped back and slapped him hard across the face. "Ow!"

"Do it again and I'll curse you silly," she snarled through clenched teeth.

"Bleeding fuck, Lily, that really hurt!" he said, holding his face, looking at her, shocked.

"Good. Don't kiss me, that's not part of my job description." Her lip curled in a very accurate impression of him. "You decided you didn't want that."

His silvery eyes narrowed. "I did no such thing," he said. "I chose the lesser of two evils."

"Save it for your conscience," she snapped. Before he could reply, she grabbed hold of his robes and Apparated them to the lobby of his building. She smacked him hard in the chest with his Apparition license. "Goodnight," she said, trying to reign in her anger.

"You really think I wouldn't like to have my cake and eat it too?" he demanded, following her as she marched out the front doors.

"Go home, Scorpius," she said firmly over her shoulder.

"Did you forget already that I'm not the one, for once, who had trouble committing, Lily? I was ready to jump in with both feet. And then when it got real you jumped out of bed so quick you might as well have been burned. Did you ever wonder why I fired you in New York? It's because I realized I was in love with you. I figured you had to be an anomaly and I panicked, because no other woman has ever inserted herself so fucking perfectly in my life until you! You were easier than breathing for me, Lily."

"And yet I'm still a better assistant than fuck buddy, right? That's why when push came to shove, you picked the assistant. I know my shoes are hard to fill, but believe it or not, I wasn't going to fuck you over again. Too bad Rose and all the rest were right, isn't it? I actually thought when you said you loved me you meant it. That you'd pick me as a woman over me doing the job."

"Bullshit." She whirled to face him, shoving him hard in the chest. He stumbled back a couple steps, but pushed on. "I picked the assistant because I could still look at you every day. Because you'd still be there, whenever I needed you, no matter what, guaranteed. The other option left no guarantees for me, and if you don't know by now I like a sure thing, you're definitely out of your league. I picked the coward's option, sure, but damn it, what was I supposed to think, Lily? I told you I loved you and you were about to hand in your two weeks' notice. Was I supposed to throw away my well-ordered life for a woman who couldn't even say she loved me back?"

Lily blinked. "I didn't-"

"Love me? Funny enough, I figured that out without your assistance." He gave her one last look. "Be ready Monday morning, seven o'clock sharp." The blond turned and walked back to his building, and if Lily didn't know better, she could've sworn his shoulders slumped with every step. She forced herself to look away, Apparating home.

In the shower, she let the tears run, mingling with the scalding spray, biting her lip furiously, trying to hold in the sobs. Godric, she'd been doing so damned good, ignoring the feelings she'd locked up, ignoring the underlying sexual tension she felt any time she looked at Scorpius. And now, like Pandora's Box, that she'd let a trickle out, the whole torrent burst forth.

She got out of the shower when the hot water ran out. She told herself firmly there could be no more crying because she was no longer in the shower, and it mostly worked. Lily got dressed in her rattiest, tattiest pyjamas and robe, knowing it might be the last time she'd see them for awhile and wrote a long letter to Luke, explaining she had to go, pleading for a rain check, trying not to promise anything. She didn't know what her schedule would be like once she got there.

Once she'd sent her owl out with her letter, she got to work on the handling of their trip. Lily tried to work herself into exhaustion, but by one in the morning she was still going strong, and sighed, trudging to bed where she allowed herself a few minutes of self-pity in the dark.

XXX

At eight fifteen Monday morning, Lily was in Rome, where they took a car service to the Italian Magical Headquarters. She slipped off her jacket, with the temperature change making it too hot as the rode in silence, and, as she was ignoring her boss as much as possible, didn't see his eyes tracing her curves through the lightweight cotton dress. It was modestly cut, but Scorpius could practically feel her body against his from memory as he looked at her.

"Bleeding fuck," he whispered, forcing himself to look away. If he saw her in a bathing suit, he might implode. The heat was ruining her attempts to have her mane tame around her shoulders, and he watched her graceful movements as she twisted it into a bun at the nape of her neck and secured it with that chopstick she always seemed to carry in case of hair emergencies. Scorpius grunted his annoyance. This was a bad idea, but he hadn't exactly been able to leave her behind. Not with the amount of work planned and duration of the trip.

"What?" she asked, looking up.

"It's hot in here," he lied.

"I know. Do you need a Cooling Charm?" He pictured in his mind's eye, her hard nipples straining at that damned dress and bit back a curse.

"No, we should be just about there." A few minutes later, they pulled to a stop. Capricci and his stunning aide welcomed them. The dark-skinned man kissed Lily on both cheeks, and the aide gave her a one-armed hug, then greeted him effusively.

"Come, there is much work to be done," Angelo Capricci said at last, and they went into a lift and down to a spacious office.

"Hai fatto un grosso errore mio amico," Capricci murmured to him as they sat and the women conferred privately.

"Care you don't make one of your own, Capricci," Scorpius returned. The Italian smiled.

"And yet I'm sure you do not regret it."

"You will if you try."

Dark eyes rolled. "Helena, the profit projections." The blonde witch arched a brow at Lily, but the next moment selected a parchment from the stack beside her and slid it over.

Lily found the entire first work week crammed full of dreadfully dull talking and arguing and revising, and was glad Helena was there, and that they'd gotten close. They passed notes back and forth as though they were at school again when their bosses weren't looking, sharing secret smiles and meaningful looks, and the blonde woman helped Lily get her bearings.

Lily had tried to book two rooms for the trip, but the Ministry Treasury Office didn't like that idea. She opted for a rather comfortable sectional in the sitting room of the lavish suite. The first Saturday morning, when they took breakfast in the formal dining room, there was a letter for Scorpius and her, inviting them to take a private Portkey to Angelo's Sicilian villa. Lily noticed it was written in Helena's flowing hand and didn't mention it.

"I suppose we'll have to go," Scorpius mumbled, then tossed the letter aside. Lily noticed a post script from Angelo, something in Italian, and tried to commit the strange arrangement of letters to memory.

They left for Sicily at ten. Lily wrote down the bizarre words as soon as she got back to her day planner, and tore the strip of paper off, then stuffed it into her bra. After the greetings and unpacking, they went out for lunch on a sunny veranda. Lily had worn a strapless dress in the hopes of getting a nice tan across her shoulders, but regretted it when Scorpius looked at her, eyes narrowing accusingly.

Angelo and the blond pureblood talked business after lunch and Lily wandered across the space as if admiring the view, covertly beckoning to Helena.

As soon as she could, she pulled the bit of parchment out of her bra. "What does this say? If it's right."

Helena frowned, looking at it. "I think it's meant to say, 'Se si può avere solo un fiore, non sceglieresti la più bella?'" Lily barely refrained from rolling her eyes.

"I don't speak Italian, Helena. What does it mean?"

"If you can only have one flower, wouldn't you pick the most beautiful one?"

"What does that even mean?" she muttered to herself.

"Why, who wrote this?" Helena smirked. "Maybe it refers to you, Lily."

"Unlikely," she said, though she went a little pink. "I'm not beautiful. I'm cute and annoyingly sweet." She cast a slightly envious look at the tall blonde. "Maybe he was was talking about you. You're gorgeous."

"Who?" Helena asked, bemused.

Before Lily could answer, the blonde's head turned as someone cursed fluently in Italian. Lily looked over as well. Scorpius was leaning back, looking bored and haughty, and Angelo was on his feet, looking forbidding. The women exchanged surprised glances. "What's happening?" Lily breathed, but Helena only shook her head. Lily wished she spoke Italian.

"Vaffanculo, si sporca figlio di una cagna," Angelo hissed, eyes narrowed.

Scorpius shrugged, but smirked. "Non sembravi in mente quando la scarpa è sull'altro piede." She saw his mouth quirk viciously, knowing this was about to be the kill. "Then again, perhaps you've realized I hold the upper hand here. Face it, Capricci, I have what you want. I'm merely proposing a fair trade agreement."

"Business," Helena murmured, but Lily wasn't convinced. The other man's dark eyes narrowed, but he seemed back in control.

"Vieni, Helena. Lasciamo i nostri ospiti per i loro affari privati," Angelo said sternly, and the blonde nodded once, gave Lily a little wave, and they went inside.

"What was that all about?" Lily asked, going back to the table. Silvery eyes roved over her for a moment.

"The Italian wants to have his cake and biscotti and eat them both." A slow smile spread over his lips. "I was making sure he knew the score."

"You talk in riddles," she said, getting up and making to go inside. Before she reached the door, he grasped her hand.

"We'd best leave them to their own devices for awhile. Capricci probably doesn't like me much right now." Lily bit back the snappy retort that she could see where the other wizard was coming from. "Let's go to the beach." Lily tried to picture Scorpius on a beach, in his crisp white shirt, perfectly creased charcoal trousers, and dragonskin shoes as he lead them down a stone staircase.

"I don't think we should-"

"Relax, Potter." He reached up and pulled the chopstick from her hair. "They'll probably be busy for awhile."

She pursed her mouth. "How do you know?"

That made him smirk. "Capricci has a lot of ground to cover and I'm willing to bet he likes to be very thorough. Come on, I've been looking out the windows at the ocean all week. I want to put my toes in."

"You're still talking in riddles," she grumbled. He didn't reply. They made it to the beach and Scorpius did, indeed, kick off his shoes and socks, and rolled his pants up to stick his feet in the ocean. "Cold?" she asked.

"A little. Come see for yourself."

Lily, sitting on the sand above where the waves had dampened it, shook her head. The breeze ruffled her hair and she wrapped her arms around her knees as she watched him. Her shoes, impractical at the best of times, had been discarded once they hit the sand and sat beside her. "I'm good here," she said as he arched a brow at her.

"Lighten up, Lily." She frowned.

"You say that like you're a carefree ten year old girl," she replied tartly. He laughed.

"If only. Just come put a toe in. It's not that cold."

"No."

He grinned. "I'll splash you."

She glared. "You won't." He grinned wider. "No, I'm not going to- AH!" He'd cupped a handful of chilly ocean water and flung it at her and the icy droplets splashed her chest and face. "That's cold!"

"Nah, it's not bad," he laughed. She got up, half tempted to curse him, but instead came at him. She lost her balance as he folded and they both fell into the surf that crashed against the pale sand.

"Shit that's freezing!" She choked, then jumped up, pushing him back down. "You're an asshole!" She was wet and sandy. Scorpius was soaked from head to toe, his white shirt clinging enticingly and she swallowed as he stood up, still laughing. His pants were like a second skin, and she had to force her eyes away. "I'm mad at you." She hooked her shoes in two fingers and stomped up the sand.

The breeze was mercifully warm, blowing her damp, sandy hair, but then Scorpius grasped her hand and pulled her against his soaked chest. "I like when you get mad," he breathed, then tilted her chin. She looked up into his silvery eyes, still laughing, and as his mouth came down, hers jolted up, meeting him halfway.

They went down again, getting even more sand-covered, and Scorpius rolled her atop him. She pushed her tongue into his mouth.

"We shouldn't," she murmured, pulling back.

"Why not?" His hand threaded into her hair, coming around the back of her head and pulled her down to kiss him again.

"It's unethical," she rumbled.

"Godric, Lily, I don't fucking care," he rumbled back. She swallowed, pulling back, out of his personal bubble.

"I do," she breathed.

"Then stop."

She stood up, brushing herself down. "It's not that easy," she murmured, although that wasn't exactly true. She only really cared because she doubted she could handle not having him again, and she rather liked her job, and there would be that horrible stigma of being the assistant-turned-girlfriend whom everyone would undoubtedly think was angling to be Mrs. Malfoy. But she also loved him, and wanted him, far more than she cared to admit even to herself.

"You still wear the necklace." Lily froze. How had he known? She'd always made sure the pendant was firmly tucked in if she wore it, and only when she couldn't bear not having a thought of him next to her, a talisman of sorts, since she couldn't have the flesh and blood man. She risked a glance back at him, still sitting in the sand, leaning back on one arm, looking like a god in his element. He tilted his head slightly. "Tell me you really didn't, don't, love me, Lily."

Her mouth parted in surprise. "What?"

"Tell me you don't love me, and I'll be your boss, nothing more, until you decide you don't want to work for me anymore."

She licked her lips and opened his mouth, but her vocal chords wouldn't make the words. She watched him stand up. "I don't want-"

"I'm not asking what you want, Lily," he said, sounding almost angry now. "I'm asking if you love me."

"That's not a fair-"

"Do you love me, yes or no, Lily?"

"I'm not being paid to answer silly questions like-"

Scorpius looked furious now. "Answer the fucking question, Lily, because you're being paid to do what I tell you to do."

She bit her tongue, trying to stem the words. "I don't."

"Don't what?"

The redhead sucked in a breath, then turned away. He grasped her wrist and she whirled, raising a hand to slap him again as she dropped her shoes, but he caught her other wrist. "I don't like you," she spat.

He grinned, every inch the starving lion. "That wasn't what I asked, Lily," he rasped. "I asked you if you love me, and since you don't seem to be able to say you don't love me, I have to assume you might."

"Your arrogance is astounding," she said icily.

"And it's equally astounding how frequently you resort to anger to cover up your feelings. Say the words, Lily. Four little words, and you can tell yourself whatever you want for the rest of your life, and you'll remain the best damn assistant I've ever had, and nothing more. Or you can tell me the truth, and even quit if you really want, and remain the best woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing in every sense of the word."

Lily stared at him. "I don't want to quit," she breathed. It was the closest she could bring herself to admitting the truth.

His mouth hardened. "You want me to say it again?" His hands were gentle as they moved to cup her face, even though they were sandy, and she felt a flutter of emotion in her chest. "I'll say it every day, every hour, every minute if you want me to, honey. I love you. I don't know how to stop it. I don't want to. I love you." She closed her eyes, terrified. Her breath came in raggedly, blew out on a choked sob. His mouth brushed her cheeks. "Fuck, don't cry, Lily," he rumbled, pulling her against his chest. Oh bloody hell, was she crying? She fought to reign in her emotions.

Lily opened her mouth to tell him she needed to go in, she had to shower and change, and they should probably check on Angelo and Helena at some point. Instead she whispered in a tiny voice, "I love you."

Scorpius stood very still. "I'm sorry, what?"

She opened her eyes, staring at him. "I love you?" Her brow furrowed as she said it hesitantly. She gulped. "No, that doesn't sound right," she mumbled to herself.

He bit his lip, trying to hold in the smile. "Try it again," he suggested. She frowned some more.

"I love-" Her eyes went wide as she broke off, suddenly realizing she was speaking out loud. "No."

He smiled. "You already said it, honey." She shook her head.

"No."

"You can't take it back. I heard you. Both times."

"Both-? No, no I was lying, I didn't-"

"No, now you're lying, Lily. Why is it so hard to say?"

She almost laughed at that question coming out of his mouth. She hadn't said it since she was seventeen, not to any man she'd dated, or slept with, or been even remotely close to. Not since the last time she'd said it to Luke Marshall, after working up the guts to do it for two weeks straight. It was right after graduation, and he'd smiled then told her in the next moment he thought they should break up.

Lily hadn't ever been able to say those three words to another man she'd been romantically involved with, because those were the kiss of death words. Think it, feel it, know it, but never, ever, say it out loud. 'Cause chances were, those kind of statements made things much more complicated than they should need to be, and the one time she had said them, she'd regretted it. "It's not," she said, defensive.

"Then say it."

She felt her temper flaring. "Why should I? So you can gloat? Beat your chest and bask in your victory? So you can use it against me, hold it over my head, or worse?" She shook her head, mouth pressed firmly together. "I don't think so." She tried to pull away.

"Why would I want to do any of those things, honey, when I could take you upstairs, kiss every single inch of you, make you scream my name, and tell you over and over again until you get sick of it that I am hopelessly and completely in love with you?"

His mouth brushed hers. "Scorpius, I don't like saying it," she breathed.

"That's because you don't like me and the rest of the world knowing you're all soft and gooey," he teased. That stung with the bite of truth. Most of her adult life she'd tried to be more like Rose, who was tough, and outright, and never seemed to get her feelings hurt for longer than ten seconds.

"Stop," she said half heartedly as his mouth brushed down her throat.

"No. You're soft and gooey," he said firmly. "I like it. I love it. And I love the way you smell. You always smell good. And I love the way you try to pretend you don't love me. Even if that also kind of makes me crazy." He sighed. "Godric, I love just looking at you, holding you, hearing you blather on about minutia like the progressive downturn of the wizarding economy resulting from a lack of young people with viable interests in supporting local commerce."

She frowned. "You're supposed to be listening to that minutia!" she snapped. He smirked, then kissed her thoroughly, leaving her breathless and arching into him.

"I do, honey. Every word." He traced the line of her strapless dress. "Mmm, except those lovely weeks when you'd try to talk about them after sex. I'll be honest, that I didn't much listen to. There were better things to focus on."

"Like what?" she growled, feeling nettled despite the words he was saying that slowly destroyed her resolve to keep her heart under lock and key.

"Like the way you hold that chopstick of yours between your teeth when you put your hair up, or the way your nipples look after I've sucked on them, or the way you stretch like a cat in bed. Hell, even the way your mouth moves when you talk versus how it looks wrapped around my prick. Lots of things." He grinned, running a finger down her cheek. "I also love it when you blush."

The redhead felt herself blush even more at that. "And...and if this doesn't work out?" she breathed. "I won't be able to work for you if we break up."

He grinned. "Duly noted, Potter. Now shut up and kiss me or I'll fire you. Again."

XXX

Six Months Later

"Where's my-?" Lily held out two ties, and he selected the black one. "And I need-" She handed him cufflinks. "And-" Before he could finish the thought she was tucking his speech into his breast pocket. Scorpius grinned down at his fiancee. "You really do think of everything."

"Almost," she breathed, smiling. "Do you think Angelo will be there tonight?" Scorpius frowned at that, his eyes roving down over her sleek, sexy ball gown. It was red, a colour she didn't often opt for, but this was a purply shade of the hue, and set off her creamy complexion and emphasized the depth of her hair colour. It also hugged her curves almost to the knee before flaring wide at the bottom, the neckline cut decadently low, the first piece of jewelry he'd ever given her nestled between her cleavage.

"I hope not," he growled. She sent him a secret smile.

"Stop, Scorpius," she said firmly. "You know he has biscotti."

The blond wizard frowned. "That doesn't mean he doesn't want cake," he grumbled. Lily rolled her eyes.

Just a few days ago they'd received a fancy invitation on an expensive ivory card, addressed in Helena's flowing hand, to a baby shower for the Italian couple. Lily had sent back a yes without thought. "He doesn't want cake. He's going to be having baby biscotti soon."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. The redhead was almost certain he thought every man on the face of the planet, except those related to her by blood, were trying to get into her panties. "I suppose he'll have to be," Scorpius replied.

"I hope so. And Helena. I want to see them." She glanced at the clock. "C'mon, we're going to be late."

They took the car to the official Ministry entrance, and descended in the golden lifts with an older couple, who acted far more lovey dovey than Lily could ever bring herself to be in public. Scorpius smirked the entire way to the Atrium, where the gala was to be held, as a large number of Italian government employees were slated to attend. Indeed, when they got there, it felt to Lily as though she were back at the Italian Magical Headquarters.

She noticed a large number of women looking her fiance over with blatant interest, and after accepting a glass of sparkling water from him, tucked her left hand around his arm, engagement ring glinting in the candlelight of a massive chandelier that hung in the center of the large room. He grinned at her then leaned down and kissed the corner of her red mouth. "It's sexy when you're jealous," he murmured against her ear.

She smiled back. "Does it get better knowing I'm also not wearing any panties?" she whispered. His grey eyes darkened hungrily.

"Very, honey." Before he could kiss her, she turned her head at the sound of her name.

"You came!" she gushed, releasing him to hug Helena, who looked glowing and radiant in an artfully cut silk gown that matched her eyes. She was still tall, and willowy, and exquisitely beautiful, but also noticeable pregnant now, a perfectly round bubble across her once-flat midsection. "Oh my Godric, you look fantastic!"

"Thank you," she beamed, then Angelo appeared behind her. He kissed both of Lily's cheeks, and smiled.

"You look very well, bellissima," he said. Scorpius's hand smoothed around her waist.

They chatted pleasantly for a few moments. The men about the event, a celebration of a very profitable trade agreement between the countries, the women about life in general, and Helena's pending baby in the next four months.

"So does he still have you chained to a desk?" Lily teased. Helena laughed.

"He barely lets me get out of bed by myself these days," she sighed, then gripped Lily's hand. "I cannot tell you, Lily, how much your friendship has meant to me. Were it not for you…"

Lily shook her head. "I take no credit. Though I'm sure Scorpius will." The blonde witch laughed. "So, have you found out what you're having?"

"Angelo doesn't wish to know." Lily smirked. Helena leaned in close. "I couldn't resist looking at the Healer report." She glanced around, but Scorpius and Angelo were talking in Italian, waving their hands. They appeared to be arguing. "It's to be a girl," the blonde whispered.

Lily held back a squeal. "Oh that's so unbearably amazing," she sighed. Helena giggled a little.

"Angelo is convinced it's a boy," she murmured. "I think that's why he won't look at the report." Lily snickered.

"What's so funny?" Scorpius asked.

"Nothing," said Lily biting her lip. She winked at Helena. "We should mingle."

They parted ways with the Italians and moved through the room slowly, Lily explaining between introductions with various Ministry official and diplomats what had been so funny. "You can't say anything to Angelo, though," she finished. "He's apparently convinced it's a boy."

Scorpius smirked. "I know. He mentioned it, that his heir was going to be his protege. I reminded him it could be an heiress and he refused to believe it."

"I think he's just too scared to think of a young woman with Helena's looks and his charm. Talk about grey hair." Scorpius laughed.

"And what about you, what's your preference, Mrs. Malfoy?"

"I'm not the Mrs. yet," she reminded him. "And I think if ever we had a baby, I would hope for my temper with your looks."

"Girl or boy?"

"Doesn't matter."

He smirked. "I would prefer your brain and looks and my mistrust of men if it were a girl."

Lily swallowed glancing away. "You talk about it like it's a sure thing."

The blond arched a brow. "Isn't it?" he drawled. Her eyes flicked back to him. "You might run my life, darling, but I'm not completely oblivious."

"I don't know-"

"Honey, you cry at the sight of babies now, your nipples have been hard for the last two weeks straight, and I saw you drinking chocolate sauce out of the bottle last night." She mouth dropped open. "And I saw the report you tried to hide in your desk yesterday after your 'routine check up' at St. Mungo's."

She huffed out a sigh. "I wasn't going to tell you until after the wedding." His brows shot up. "It's only two weeks," she mumbled.

"You should have told me yesterday." His hand smoothed over the curve of her bottom and she flashed him a warning look but he merely kissed her, pulling her against himself. "But I forgive you," he rumbled.

She smirked. "Well, that eliminates that from my endless To Do list," she sighed.

"That list is going to get a lot smaller," he murmured. "You're interviewing your replacements first thing Monday morning."

She snorted. "Unlikely." The blond frowned. "I'm not quitting until I'm too fat to move, so you can either deal with it, or face my wrath, Malfoy."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, but if you come in on Monday wearing your ridiculous heels, I'm going to take you over my lap and spank you. You need to start taking it easy."

She smirked. "I'll do as I please, Scorpius. And you'll learn to live with it, because you love me, right?'

He frowned some more. "I do love you, but-"

"Good. I love you too." She touched her necklace for a moment, then smirked. "You know, I hate to say it, but I told you you wouldn't regret first hiring me."

"I don't regret it. And I'm pretty positive I said that too."

She laughed. "Well, at least I'm still the best assistant you've ever had."

"And the best woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing," he added.

The End

XXX