Fourth year
Saturday, October 31st (Halloween)
Scorpius took in the great hall with admiration and wonder. The decorating committee had outdone themselves with this year's Halloween dance decorations. The traditional pumpkins floated in the air above his head, rotating slowly. However, a new and ingenious addition to the pumpkins was a small hole, no more than four centimetres each way, slowly pouring some kind of punch into beautiful crystal bowls which hovered below.
Jars full of all different coloured flames – Scorpius saw a deep blue, a fiery red and a calm purple, among them – covered the tables and floated in the air, and were even on the floor in some places.
A stage had been set up at the end of the hall with the teachers' seats – which had obviously been moved – where the Weird Sisters had already launched into their first song, Do The Hippogriff.
Lavinia Bones clung tightly to Scorpius' arm as they navigated through the swirling mass of dancers to one of the glass bowls. As Scorpius filled a cup for Lavinia and himself, he took in her appearance. Her long, black, usually stick-straight hair had been curled and fell lightly over one tanned shoulder. The dress she wore – a floor-length, dark purple evening gown – accentuated her body in all the right places and complimented her beautifully. To him, she had never been prettier.
But then, she had never really been anything to him, not really. He'd barely noticed her; the shy little Slytherin who never seemed to really belong to the conniving, scheming house of snakes. Apparently, though, she had noticed him, and thought of little else since. And finally, after almost two years of infatuation, she had achieved her goal of going on a date with Scorpius Malfoy.
Worried her companion would be whisked away by another girl, she held on to him possessively all night, always keeping him nearby, and always in sight. Scorpius either didn't realise how apprehensive she was or didn't care, for he acted perfectly natural, hardly batting an eyelash when she insisted on accompanying him as far as the door to the bathroom, when he needed to relieve himself.
Still, she couldn't help but feel he wasn't quite as interested in her as she was in him. She knew that there was no chance he had been mooning over her for as long as she had him, anyway.
Lavinia sipped her drink and batted her eyelashes at Scorpius, who smiled at her.
"Let's dance," she said, dropping her cup back into the bowl and leading him into the throng of bodies. He gingerly placed one hand on her hip and one on her shoulder as the Weird Sisters launched into a slow, waltz-like song. Lavinia hadn't heard it before, and guessed it was from one of their new albums. She didn't really pay much attention to music; her time was taken up with schoolwork, friends and, of course, Scorpius.
The night seemed to fly past and soon, much sooner than she would have liked, they were leaving the great hall.
"Aren't you going to walk me back?" she asked as he began to bid her goodbye at the entrance to the great hall.
Scorpius bit his lip, clearly having an internal argument. "I would, I should," he said. "But I just saw Deamon over there, and I should go and make sure he's okay."
Though disappointed, Lavinia felt proud that Scorpius was so loyal to his friends. It must be hard for Deamon to see Scorpius with her; his girlfriend of almost three years had broken up with him a week before the dance, and now he was here alone. "Of course," she said, lightly running a hand down his arm. "I'll miss you."
Scorpius nodded distractedly, glancing back over his shoulder at Deamon. Lavinia sighed. She was losing him, and to Deamon.
In a sudden burst of confidence, she reached up and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did so. She felt Scorpius jump in surprise, but then he put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. She sighed happily into his mouth but then Scorpius pulled away, an expression close to annoyance on his face. It was there for just a fleeting moment, then replaced with a radiant smile. "I should take you back, shouldn't I?" he said, catching her hand between his. It felt warm and dry and right.
Lavinia nodded. "It's what a gentleman would do," she said, knowing he couldn't disagree with that. So they strolled happily back to the dungeons.
When they arrived outside Lavinia's dormitory, she hoped that he would kiss her again, but instead he glanced at his watch, a troubled expression on his face. "I must go and see Deamon now," he said seriously. "He needs me."
"Your allegiance to your friends is very… Inspiring," she said, looking up at him with adoration on her face. Surely he wouldn't just… leave? Without kissing her goodnight?
Scorpius wrapped her in a hug and kissed her on the cheek. "Goodnight, Lavinia," he whispered, before striding back out of the dungeons. Lavinia collapsed against the door and sighed wistfully.
There was a lot further to go yet, but she had made a lot of progress tonight. She allowed herself a small smile as she entered her dormitory and fell onto her bed, the ghost of their kiss still on her lips.
When Scorpius arrived back at the great hall, at first he couldn't see Deamon anywhere. Looking around the area he had last seen him moping, Scorpius finally spotted him at the side of the hall. He wasn't alone, though.
Scorpius looked away quickly from his best friend, who was currently entwined in a passionate embrace with none other than his ex-girlfriend, Skye Edgecombe. Knowing he would have plenty of time tomorrow to tell him why getting involved with her again was a bad idea, Scorpius left them to it and went to get a drink.
To be honest, he was slightly relieved to have had a reason to leave Lavinia. He was sure that were it not for Deamon, she would have found a way to keep him there all night. Still, that kiss was certainly something…
Scorpius had been unsure about whether she was his type, but it couldn't hurt to give the relationship a go, especially when she seemed to adore him so. And that kiss had certainly been something…
His musings were interrupted when a tall, brown-haired boy crashed into him, sending Scorpius – and his drink – crashing to the floor. "Woah, sorry," the boy cried, before taking off again with a cry of, "You'll pay for that one, Rose!"
Watching them go with amusement, Scorpius got back to his feet and brushed the non-existent dust from his robes. A few minutes later, a girl about his age with long curls of stunning red hair ran up to him, breathless, her face flushed with happiness and exertion. "Sorry about that!" she exclaimed. "Hugo's really clumsy, especially when he's had a bit to drink," the girl he assumed must be Rose winked conspiratorially at him.
He frowned. "There's no alcohol at the party…" he said slowly.
"In the punch bowl over there, there is," she said, gesturing vaguely with her small, pale hand. Then she held it out to him. "Rose Weasley," she said, giving his hand a shake and doing a mock curtsey. "And you would be?"
Scorpius' eyes widened slightly. So this was Rose, the Gryffindor daughter of Ron and Hermione. And the boy who had bumped into him, Hugo, must have been her brother in year two or three. He was tall, for a boy of no more than thirteen. Not taller than him, but still tall. He knew their parents had played a big part in taking down You-Know-Who, and his father hadn't really gotten along with them in school, but he made a split-second decision not to hold them accountable for any pain Ron and Hermione may have inflicted upon Draco – physically or emotionally.
"Scorpius," he told her. "Scorpius Malfoy." He waited for the inevitable shock as she, as he had, put two and two together. Her eyes widened slightly but she, like he, decided not to let that influence her opinion of him.
She grinned at him. "It's nice to meet you, Scorpius," she said sincerely. "I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."
"I look forward to it," he replied, winking playfully. And with that, the redheaded daughter of his father's enemies ran off back to her brother. He watched her go, feeling happier than he had all night.