Scorpius Malfoy did everything for a reason. Maybe his reasons weren't always justified, but they were reasons nonetheless. If he bumped into someone it was because they were in his way. If he skipped class it was because he didn't feel like listening to his teachers drawl on. If he slept with a girl it was because he found her attractive. But now Scorpius was in a compromising situation. He had the urge to kiss Rose Weasley and he couldn't come up with the reason.

They were in the astronomy tower sitting on either sides of the stone windowsills. Rose's legs were pulled close to her chest and her head was tilted up as she admired the stars. Scorpius was sat across from her and his eyes looking up as well. They had been paired up for an astronomy project and were supposed to be studying the stars, but Scorpius found himself studying something much more dazzling than the stars. He turned his head to watch her. She was beautiful, really. How had he not seen it before? All the times they had passed each other in the hallways and he had never taken the time to see her as something more than a 'Weasley'.

He broke the peaceful silence, "Rose?" She hummed in response, still gazing at the twinkling sky.

"How did we get here?" She finally turned to look at him, her blue eyes piercing his grey ones. He almost shivered.

"What do you mean?" She asked. He noticed that she cocked her head slightly when she didn't understand something.

"I mean how did we get , you and I, stargazing at midnight when just a week ago we wouldn't even have acknowledged each other?"

She grinned, "Well first of all, we're here because of school," Scorpius wasn't flushing. "But I wouldn't say I've never acknowledged you. I simply haven't had a reason to get to know you, which a suppose is a rubbish excuse, but it's all I've got. You never really gave me any encouragement to reach out, and I certainly didn't get any encouragement from my family." She laughed suddenly, "You know what my dad told me before I left for Hogwarts first year? He pointed you out and said 'That's Scorpius Malfoy. Make sure to beat him in every test.'" She smiled up at the stars. But her smile faded quickly, "Talking to you, even just over this project makes me wish that for once I had just ignored my father. I just," she paused as if not sure she should go on. "All I ever heard about your family was bad things. From what my family told me, I expected you to be a cold, heartless machine with no care for the thoughts or feelings of others. And maybe you are cold to an extent, but that has nothing to do with your family's reputation. I believe that there's something much deeper to everyone than past mistakes and prejudices." She paused again, taking a moment to return his gaze. "Maybe having a Malfoy for a father has given you a harder shell, but your bloodline doesn't define who you are, the choices you make today do, and I feel pretty sure you'll make better choices than your predecessors did." She ended and gave him a small smile that somehow said so much. When he didn't say anything, she cringed slightly, "Too much?"

Scorpius wasn't sure what to say. Everything Rose had said was true, but there was something about the bluntness and honesty in the way she said it. He was used to having people tell him the things he wanted to hear, not the ones he needed to hear. His parents loved him, he knew that, but they very rarely scolded him. They had given him good principles as a child but on the whole left him to abide by them on his own. And most of his school friends were too intimidated by who he was to tell him the truth. What Rose had said was so refreshing that it made him have to restrain himself from wrapping his arms around her small frame. So he distracted himself with another question.

"Rose?" She cocked her head slightly, inviting him to continue. "You're a girl right?" The corner of her mouth quirked up in amusement. Scorpius flushed, "Stupid question, of course you're a girl. What I'm trying to say is...well," was it getting hot? Scorpius tugged on his school tie a bit, allowing the night breeze to cool him down. "Um. If, if a bloke were to kiss a girl, theoretically, what might be his reason for doing so?"

Rose blushed slightly and turned her face towards the sky again. "Well, there are lots of reasons I suppose, maybe not all good ones though. It could be lust, drunkenness, regard, or occasionally," her eyes now locked on his, barely above a whisper she said, "love." Her cheeks then flushed wildly and once again Scorpius had to practically sit on his hands to stop them from enveloping the girl before him in his arms. What was the matter with him? This was Rose Weasley. Mousy, quiet, bookworm Weasley. But somehow by having a real conversation with her, his perspective had changed and suddenly she wasn't so mousy anymore and she wasn't 'Weasley' but just Rose. Beautiful, intelligent, delightfully honest Rose.

He asked one last question, "Rose?" He hadn't meant to say it so quietly.

"Yes, Scorpius?" And then he snapped. In one swift motion he was standing with his arms around her waist and her gentle figure pulled flush to him. He took one careful moment to look into her blue eyes, bright with anticipation. "May I kiss you?"

She nodded carefully "Yes."

And he wasted no time in pressing her tender pink lips to his. It was pure bliss. Her mouth moved with his, almost uncertainly. His grip on her was tender as if he was afraid she would shatter in front of him. Tentatively, her fingers reached up and tangled themselves in his pale blonde hair and Scorpius knew she wanted this, so he kissed her more confidently. He placed one hand at the base of her neck and tightened the grip on her waist with the other. She sighed slightly, fervently into the kiss. Despite their opposing backgrounds and history, there was something undeniably right about the feeling of her lips against his. Finally they broke apart, chests heaving and heart rate unsteady. He ran a thumb gently over the freckles on her cheek, too many to count, eyes locked on hers. And in that moment dozens of reasons flooded his mind why he wanted to kiss Rose Weasley. Maybe it was the way the moonlight reflected off of her short red curls, maybe it was the intimacy of stargazing at midnight, maybe it was the way she said his name 'Scorpius' instead of the usual 'Malfoy', and maybe it was just that he was in the right place at the right time with the right girl. Scorpius Malfoy didn't know for which of these reasons he decided to kiss Rose Weasley, but one thing her knew for sure was that he wanted to kiss her again.

And so he did.