#millilu

281: RonanFirenze

      Ronan knew Magorian's burden in leading their colony. Sometimes the younger centaurs had fanciful ideas too revolutionary for their way of life.

      But then there were mornings like this, which Ronan shared with Firenze, that made him fret a little less about the future of the colony. Mornings like this made Ronan less concerned with Bane's thirst for war and Firenze's preoccupation with reading the future, because even Firenze knew to appreciate the sunrise with Ronan at his side.

      It was better to watch the sun rise together, with one's beloved, instead of divining the large star for a change.

282: MillicentLilyLP

      Lily's eyes lit up when Millicent emerged from the changing room at Malkin's in a twirl of violet sparkles. "Oh, Millie. It's perfect. We've found your color, luv."

      Millicent ducked her eyes and tucked in her chin. "I dunno if new robes are necessary, Lily…"

      But the Potter witch laughed. "One thing my parents know well is 'treat yourself.' You're having a reunion with your fellow Slytherins, Mils. Let's live a little!"

      Well, yes, there was that… But Millicent had yet to tell her girlfriend that she planned to invite her and introduce Lily Luna to the lot of them…

283: GeorgeHermione

      "I can't promise a fix for your ear," Hermione says a few nights after the Order's botched Seven Harrys plan. She works the pestle in the mortar nestled in her lap. "But there are potions to soothe the pain, salves…"

      George smiles, watching her work. He hates seeing her frown and worry over him, and he wishes he could offer an allaying word that would bring back her own charming smile.

      But, more than that, he smiles because watching her try for him does enough wonders for the ache as it is. And that's more than he could ask for.

284: ScorpiusJamesSP

      Al was forever groaning at his brother's pranks, so Scorpius took that as his cue never to give James the time of day. Besides, Al was usually wise about these things, and the best mates had made it the first five years of school without trouble so far.

      But that wasn't to say that Scorpius could resist the mischievous twinkle in the handsome elder Potter's eye…

      …and he was doomed the moment the seventh year Gryffindor caught him peeking, judging by the new brand of interested grin lighting up James' face when he and Scorpius next crossed paths between classes.

285: ChoHarry

      They give it a second try after the war, because Cho grew up with the idea that everyone deserves a fair shot. Why not her and Harry?

      And she's glad this is theirs. They both had some growing up to do, some catching up to do—he still has so much to learn about being part of a magical world, she still has so much to learn about his life living in the shadow of a Dark Lord—but she's glad they take this time now.

      She just wishes it hadn't taken war to put Harry's hand in hers again.

286: CharlieOliver

      He knew the team was in good hands with his junior. Oliver thirsted for Gryffindor's victory more than anyone Charlie knew. Oliver also wasn't a simple, bright-eyed lad anymore.

      Oliver grinned at him, yammering animatedly about Gryffindor's future as they stood one last time on the pitch reminiscing, since tomorrow they'd be on the Hogwarts Express heading home. His accent always turned thicker the more excited he got; Charlie wondered if Oliver knew. His heart squeezed, debating whether to point it out or to keep the adorable fact for himself.

      Ahhh, if only he had another year left at Hogwarts…

287: FredDaphne

      Fred keeps fighting in spite of the castle crumbling around him. He has loads of reasons to, but mostly—

      "Impedimenta!" he bellows at a masked figure, knocking them off their feet.

      —mostly he has a certain, rambunctious snake in mind, because he can't help but scan the sea of faces for her. He know she'll join the fight for her sister if she hasn't already, same as he joined for his family, and Fred wants to emerge on the other side of all this and greet Daphne once more and tease her for doting on Astoria like the old days.

288: AstoriaAndromeda

      She needed someone to teach her the good things about the old families, if anything good ever existed. But Astoria had no role models left, and Daphne knew just as little.

      It wasn't until Andromeda accepted her owled request that Astoria felt a kinship with her heritage at all. So one teatime became another…became another…turned into dinner… Somewhere along the way, lunch became the norm, too.

      When they began discussing the possibility of sharing breakfast, too, Astoria no longer cared much about heritage since the good to come out of this gazed into her eyes across every meal.

289: SusanErnie

      They were in a cycle, forever watching over Hannah falling—to pieces over her dead mother, behind in school, in love with Neville, beside herself as she determined her future.

      That was why falling together felt like the natural thing for Susan and Ernie, on Hannah's sidelines, even though it felt out of order, when the feelings (they named it—"love"—later) arrived, inconveniently and when they least expected.

      But perhaps it wasn't so bad, if they became the first one in each other's thoughts instead of Hannah.

      (Hannah watched over them, too; turns out she didn't mind one bit.)

290: DeanRon

      "What?! That's clearly a foul!" Ron pauses, looking to Dean for confirmation. When Dean nods, Ron gesticulates at the telly in Dean's flat. "Honestly! The ref hasn't blown his whistle or dropped a flag!"

      "Red card," Dean corrects.

      Ron pauses again, as he often does when date night is spent in, watching Dean's home team.

      "Football's fouls are a bit different, luv."

      "Right, right…"

      Dean grins as Ron returns to watching the match. Honestly, the real entertainment is beside him, because this Quidditch nut is cute when he's trying to grasp Muggle sports…even if he is still utterly confused.

Remarks for—

Ch287: :') Such a cute thought, that Fred and Daphne would bond over being doting older sibs.

Ch290: XD Couldn't get this image out of my head. How cute this would be, tho, with how much they love their respective sports!!!

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

                It turned out that Millicent could then take her time slowly growing into her body, but she felt it left her mind kind of blank. No wonder Pansy had used her as muscle all those years. No wonder Daphne and Tracey had never heard a word she said. No wonder the boys had never given her the time of day…though, honestly, she didn't quite care about that. The boys could go screw themselves, the way they tried to order Millicent around.

                Out on the street, Millicent removes one of her deeply pocketed hands and twirls a hunk of brown hair out of her eyes. Sweet Salazar, she feels old and young all at once. If she had stopped growing, would she stop growing into her body, too?

                Would her mind finally flourish?

                "Fuck it all to hell," the witch curses under her breath, and she marches up the street, looking for something—anything—to do.

                She happens upon a sweets shop with a peculiar sign of a silhouetted woman…mixing a cauldron. She has a feeling that maybe the place could be of interest and enters. Lo and behold, the shopkeeper doesn't sell only Muggle treats but Wizarding ones, as well.

                But that isn't the only thing of interest.

                There's a red-haired, fair-skinned, teal-eyed witch skulking about in the aisles, and it becomes a kind of game for Millicent to turn the corner and find the witch time and again.

                "What's your name?" Millicent asks, feeling not courage but impatience today, because she doesn't feel like being ordered around anymore and being expected to answer someone else's questions. She's got the questions, so she wants answers.

                "Lily."

                Good Merlin, how many English girls are named after some flower? But even though that idea runs through Millicent's head, she finds that it fits the younger witch nicely. She's got the white skin perfect for the flower's petals and her teal eyes are a little muddy to be as green as a stem, but her red hair is as vibrant as the nectars of the most gorgeous plants in the whole world.

                But her name's Lily Luna Potter, and Millicent internally squirms. Isn't it about time that she escape the Potter generation?

                But if Lily's got any Potter in her, it's…actually a mystery. The more Millicent finds she forgets about her bumbling and goes to the sweets shop "Lily-hunting," the more she understands that Lily Luna can't be any more different from her parents. Because Lily Luna Potter dresses so modestly that it's scandalous and smudges her eyeliner to make you look into her eyes and talks with a mildly clipped tone that makes you wonder if she's being harsh, informative, or sarcastic—or some combination of all three.

                And the more time that Millicent is around Lily Luna Potter, the less she feels like that bumbling girl she'd once been. And it scares her, to think that maybe she's done growing into herself and that maybe there's nothing else left for her. Nothing left to do, to say, or to be.

                And that's when Lily starts asking the questions. "Are you a Dark witch?"

                "No, and I never was."

                "Do you like gummy bears or gummy worms?"

                "I don't even know what those are—neither."

                "Don't you want to fall in love some day?"

                That had to have been the Slytherin in Lily speaking (and Millicent knows she's one of them snakes, because that was one of Millicent's questions). And Lily just patiently waits for Millicent to answer as Millicent actually takes a moment to sit down and think about the question because—truthfully?—Millicent never considered it before. She never saw herself as one of those girls who fall in love and talk about her goals and dreams. That's for someone like Lily, not Millicent. Lily must be confusing Millicent with herself, and the brunette says as much.

                It makes Lily pout sadly, and she reaches across the counter (because the owner apparently trusts Lily enough to watch the shop when he steps out with his wife) to twirl that same hunk of hair out of Millicent's dark eyes. "Oh, Milly-lilly…"

                For the first time in her life, Millicent Bulstrode is blushing, because Lily Luna might be saying "Milly-lilly," but Millicent is hearing "Millie [and] Lily," and suddenly she understands that her mind's never been blank. If it had been, then it wouldn't have filled up with a million and one ideas in that very moment, and the idea of red nectars as blazing as that red hair suddenly seems so perverted.

                And it's no longer two witches snacking on a batch of snap dragon crackers. It's two witches drowning in milkweed liquor messes, and Millicent is surprised that some thing like her could ever come this close to feeling human.

                But she loves and loses, for, in the morning, Lily Luna Potter is not there, having left the ghost of the touch of that red hair and fair skin on Millicent's arms, the ghost of the stare of those piercing teal eyes boring into the back of the brunette's head.

                Millicent now knows one thing. She's grown into her body, and now she's growing into her heart. Now if only her heart would grow with Lily Luna in it…

                She'd tell Lily, then, that she hadn't hoped to fall in love, especially as she already has—now.

:D I actually REALLY like this odd pairing… It's like how much I love Pansy/Dominique and Astoria/Rose. But I think I have plot bunnies for Millilu. X3

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew