Imperfection: A Scorily/Scorlily Fanfic

Chapter Fifteen: Marauding

About five weeks into the school year, Lily regains her happy demeanour through a prolonged correspondence with Luna, and is soon back to pranking and joking, though she never jokes about Draco.

Scorpius, knowing as he now does just how much she means to him, can't help becoming gradually happier himself, seeing her happy. He finds himself watching her more and more each day, and loving her more and more, too. But when Al comments on his strange behaviour one day at lunch in the Great Hall, Scorpius panics and won't speak to Lily for a week.

This only makes Al note his behaviour more, unfortunately.

The Marauders continue to operate, and at the end of October, in the Gryffindor Common Room, the day before the Halloween Feast-

"Roxy, I did it!" Lily yells, delight in her voice.

"Did what?" Roxy comes over to the table Lily is at and looks down. "Lils, that's a spare bit of parchment- it's pretty big, but that's it."

"Shh!" Lily hisses. "Hugo! Louis! Over here!"

"What is it, Prongs?" Hugo asks as he and Louis dash over (they know by now that when Lily calls, fun is in store).

"Watch this." Lily taps the large sheet of parchment three times with her wand, then whispers: "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Thin, spidery lines of ink spread across the parchment at the top.

"Messrs. Moony, Slinker, Padfoot, and Prongs are proud to present to you the Marauders' Map," Louis whispers as the words are revealed. "Sacré bleu, Prongs, this is why you got all "O's" in Charms last year, isn't it?"

Lily nods, grinning. "Spot-on, Moony, as always. Watch. There's more."

The ink lines continue to spread across the parchment, revealing a full-scale map of Hogwarts.

Roxanne claps a hand to her mouth to repress a squeal of excitement. "Prongs, is this- I remember Uncle Harry telling us about this, but didn't it stop working after Uncle Remus died?"

"This," Lily whispers proudly, "is an updated edition, Padfoot. I made it myself. Look, there's all our secret passageways, and when we find more, I'll add them in!"

"What're all those little moving dots?" Hugo asks.

"Look closer, Slinker. Goodness!"

Hugo leans closer to the parchment and grins with delight. "They're people! Look, here we are in the Common Room! Prongs, d'you mean we can track everyone in Hogwarts with this? No more getting caught by Snoutworth when we're exploring?"

Lily nods. "That's exactly what I mean."

Louis whistles. "That's bloody brilliant, Prongs. Good work."

"What do you say we take it out and test it right now?" Lily asks, grinning.

Louis hesitates. "I don't know, Prongs- I've got a Herbology paper due tomorrow and I'm only two inches above the one-foot requirement-"

"So you're done. Let's go!"

Lily taps the parchment once more with her wand, whispering, "Mischief managed." Then the four cousins get up and dash to the portrait hole, whispering and laughing to each other.

"Where are those four off to?" Scorpius asks Al. "Curfew is in ten minutes."

Al shakes his head. "When has that ever mattered to them? Don't be a spoilsport and tell on them, Mr. I'm A Prefect."

Scorpius laughs dryly. "Wasn't planning to."

His smile slides off his face hurriedly as he sees Rose watching him out of the corner of her eyes. He gives a feeble wave, but she only huffs and turns the other way.