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Note: I owe many thanks to WriterMerrin for her help and corrections (and there are dozens of mistakes for her to correct).

Chapter III

Rose Weasley usually spent her afternoons in the Hogwarts library. She enjoyed reading and studying very much. In her extended family, her mother and she were the only ones who loved reading. Thus, it was very rare that she would encounter any of her cousins within the library walls. That explained why she was so surprised to spot Lily in the library for the second time within the same week. The thought passed through her mind that she should offer to help Lily with her studying, to encourage this new habit of hers, but she quickly dismissed it. People already gossiped about her, frequently calling her a nerd. She did not need to be seen socializing with a much younger student, and one of another House to add to the insult. None of her classmates would understand why she would spend any time talking to a younger student. So she just greeted her cousin and returned to her own studies.

Lily noticed Rose, returned her greeting with an absent-minded 'hallo' and promptly found an empty seat at a corner table of the library to sit. She had slept like the dead the previous night, almost missing the morning wake-up call. Despite being tired, she was happy to have come out of the first session with her fanged tutor unharmed. If she was honest with herself, she would also admit that she had indeed learnt something, even if that something was a totally useless potion. So, she opened her Potions book and started reading the first chapter, one that she should have learnt by heart a couple of weeks ago.

...

Harry Potter looked over his morning paper at his wife. She sipped her tea while going through a fashion magazine. All three of their children were away at Hogwarts. Ginny and he were still young, and they could enjoy having the house to themselves if they wanted. Not that they ever did anymore. He loved his wife. He truly did. Sometimes, though, he wondered if they had anything other than their children in common.

Most of their talk focused on the children, as they both adored all three of their kids. James was their firstborn, their pride. Albus Severus, the most easygoing of their children, was their joy. Lily, their little girl, had had them wrapped around her little finger since she was born. Harry's thoughts turned once again to his children, and he pondered how different they were from each other.

He worried about all three of them. James was going through puberty and was prone to involve himself in trouble. Albus Severus was a quiet one, but tended to imitate his brother as much as possible. Lily was the one that worried him most. She was less forthcoming than her brothers, and she was often secretive. He still remembered that when she was five, she had managed to keep a frog as a pet for three months before they knew about it.

He frowned at the memory, but Ginny was so engrossed in her magazine that she missed his frown. When he rose to leave for work some minutes later, she kissed him absentmindedly and wished him to have a good day at work.

...

Right after her last class for the day, Lily returned to the underground laboratory. The one day respite had helped alleviate her tiredness, but had done little to ease her trepidation regarding the next lesson. She entered the room and immediately pulled to a stop. Gone were the table and cauldrons. The only thing that remained the same was the blackboard. She quickly read the instructions on it and groaned. It seemed that today's lesson was going to be about Charms and not Potions.

"I so hate foolish wand waving," she murmured.

Had Severus Snape considered himself to be capable of feeling, he would have smiled at the girl's words. As it was, he did not even smirk.

He moved forward for the girl to notice him, and immediately afterwards he started the lesson. He was as severe as ever, but he also took care not to overtax her.

At the end of the hour-long Charms tutoring session, Lily decided that it would be much better for her if she was a better student in class and managed thus to avoid these tutoring sessions. Whereas it was true that in just under one hour she had learnt how to perform a perfect "Lumos", it was also true that the lesson had been an extremely unpleasant one.

...

Draco kissed his wife tenderly. They had been married for fifteen years, and she was his light. He sometimes wondered at the miracle of the fact that she still loved him. He was no longer handsome, and he was well aware of his receding hairline and the pouch in his middle. And still, his beloved wife looked at him with stars in her eyes. The only thing that had ever caused them any grief in their marriage had been their inability to have other children after Scorpius.

Astoria returned the kiss of her husband, aware that something was on his mind. It had always been like that between them. She was always able to tell when something troubled him. She loved him, and she was as much in love with him as at their wedding. Fifteen years had done nothing to dim the strength of their relationship. She knew all her husband's secrets, even the one that he had once feared might dim her love for him.

"Is there something, you want to share with me?" she asked him softly.

Draco looked up at his wife and smiled. "Yes, there is. I have a task for Scorpius, but subtlety is required in the asking."

"It might be better then, if I asked him to do whatever it is you require. After all, he never says no to his mother," Astoria commented.

"You are right as always," Draco acknowledged.

"Then tell me, husband dear, what is it that we want our son to do, but are afraid to ask of him?" Astoria asked.

And he answered.

...

It was during the weekend that Lily finally had some time free. That was when she realized that she had no further clues regarding her tutor's identity. She had not found any time to read more about magical creatures. She briefly thought about looking into it, but then decided that there were better ways to spend the weekend.

Scorpius looked at the younger girl playing exploding snap with some other girls from her year. She was a plain one, despite her famous last name. He recalled his mother's letter and her request and wondered at it. Nevertheless, if his mother wanted him to do it, he would. He had always been close to his parents, and he would never knowingly do anything to sadden his mother. Well, other than smuggling fireworks into Hogwarts when he was eleven years old, sampling his father's firewhiskey when he was twelve, smoking one of his father's cigars when he was thirteen, and stealing a kiss from one of the waitresses at Rosmerta's the previous week.

Every first-year Slytherin knew that Scorpius Malfoy was their House's rising star. He was in his third year, but had such exceptional good looks that girls of all years swooned at the sight of him. He was intelligent and fiercely loyal. He was an excellent student and an even better Quidditch player. Thus, it was no surprise that all four girls turned red and hastened to welcome him when he sat next to them. The girls abandoned their game and immediately turned their attention to him. Scorpius asked them a few questions about their classes and pretended to listen to their inane answers. He did not fail to notice his classmates looking at him strangely for having voluntarily approached the silly first-year students. He chose to ignore the quizzing looks and turned this focus to the girls, and to one of them in particular. Lily Potter was more reserved than the others. His first impression was that she was an unexceptional, quiet girl. She was definitely better mannered and less arrogant than her brother James. Scorpius talked with the girls for a few more minutes, and then he left them, so as not to lose face for fraternizing with younger students.

...

Fifteen days later Raymond Hamilton attended the monthly teachers' session. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the progress of the students and to note any abnormal occurrences. He found these meetings boring but necessary. They often served as an early warning system in cases of problems. Just last year Roger Bragg's marks had slipped in all his classes. It had been pointed out in one of these meetings, and his Head of House had soon afterwards found out that he had started doing drugs. In this meeting, however, the news was the exact opposite. Apparently, Lily Potter had suddenly, in the course of just one month, turned into a stellar student.