Scorpius Malfoy was not like his father. He was not cruel and vicious. He did not think that Muggle-Borns should be persecuted. He did not think so-called Pure-Bloods were superior. He was not interested in blood statuses. He was interested in intelligence and beauty. Anything beautiful and special and smart drove him in. And if that meant that he was interested in Rose Weasley, then so be it.
She was pretty, with long flaming red hair that fell in waves of curls down her back and huge brown eyes with hues of blue and yellow. She walked as if she didn't want to be seen, but frankly, that just drew Scorpius in more. The fact that she hated him kind of put a damper on things, but hey, can't have everything. She was intelligent and responsible, hastily writing down notes for every class, filing away unnecessary quotes for no reason other than to get a good grade. She wasn't tremendously antisocial. She just stayed with her own group. Not to mention her troop of cousins. Like a huge squadron. A mass. An army.
If he did anything to Rose that they didn't like, he would probably get beaten to a pulp.
But, that interfered with his plan. He was intrigued with Rose. What Scorpius Malfoy wanted, Scorpius Malfoy got. And he wanted Rose Weasley.
It was the fifth year for Scorpius at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had noticed Rose Weasley sitting between her two friends, Colleen Creevy, whose uncle had fought and died in the Second Wizards' War, daughter of Dennis Creevy, and Nina Longbottom, daughter of Luna and Neville Longbottom, who had both fought in the War- it was actually Neville who had killed the horcrux, Nagini, in the War and was now the herbology professor at Hogwarts- all sitting around the Hufflepuff table. He shook his head. What was she doing in Hufflepuff? She was more Ravenclaw material. She was intelligent and witty. She should be in Ravenclaw, or Griffindor like her parents. He laughed at himself; why should he worry? She was going to be his anyway, what was the point of caring about what house she was in?
"Good evening students!" Professor McGonnagol, headmistress of Hogwarts, called out. The entire hall shut up immediately. "Now, I know you are all starving, so I'll be brief. Welcome to our new students and welcome back to the older ones. Mr. Filch would like me to remind everybody that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students. To all those who wish to try out for Quiddich teams this year, contact your Head of Houses. Your timetables will be available tomorrow. Until then, let's eat." The tables immediately filled with food and Scorpius dug in, every so often sneaking a glimpse at Rose. He would get her. This was his year.
Rose Weasley walked up to the fifth year girls' Hufflepuff dormitories, laughing with her two friends, Colleen and Nina. Colleen was talking about something ridiculous she had done over the Summer holidays and Nina was rolling her eyes at the story. When they reached their destination, they hurried out of their clothes and leapt into bed, revelling in the familiarly comforting beds and pillows.
Rose thought again of the looks she had tried to ignore from Scorpius Malfoy. He was a git; he was rude and annoying and uppity and above all, he was a Malfoy. Their families were enemies and always would be. So why did she feel intrigued by him? What was so special about the holier-than-thou moron? Why were her dreams filled with shadows with white blonde hair and grey eyes? Why did his smile make her heart race and her breath to falter? Not that he smiled often. Most of the time, he just smirked, but seriously, his smile was something, really honestly something.
She shook her head, trying to stop thinking about him. It was then she realised that everyone in the dorm was grinning at her, waiting for her to say something.
"What?" She asked defensively. The girls cracked up and sniggered.
"Told you!" Colleen said. "She had the 'Malfoy' face on."
"What 'Malfoy' face?" She demanded.
"The face you get when you think about Malfoy." Nina replied, laughing. "Dreamily." She sang.
"Oh, Malfoy, take me in your arms and love me!" Colleen added mockingly. Rose threw her pillow at her.
"I don't fancy Malfoy, Col." She told them indignantly. "I hate the git."
"Uh-huh. You keep telling yourself that, Rosie." Nina smiled and rolled over. "Goodnight until then." Colleen shook her head, and threw Rose's pillow back at her. They both grinned before turning over and closing their eyes, waiting for sleep to come.
Rose loved Hogwarts. The ghosts that floated through doors and walls. The library that was filled to the brim with books. The teachers who seemed to know everything. The stairs that moved. Herbology classes filled with plants that wanted to eat you. Hogwarts really was great, but the best thing was the food. Meal times were always delicious and the bustling of people towards their seats. But as she walked with Colleen and Nina towards the Hufflepuff table for breakfast, she was intercepted by none other than Scorpius Malfoy.
"Hey Rosie," He smirked. "How were your holidays?" She raised her eyebrows at him and the girls grinned.
"Since when do you call me anything other than 'Weasley', Malfoy?" He chuckled smugly.
"What, we can't change and get along?"
"Nope, not you. Prats like you never change." He laughed.
"So that's what you think of me. That's fine. I can change that." He chuckled and stroked a hand down her cheek. She slapped it away.
"Don't you dare touch me! What the hell is wrong with you?" She growled. "You know what: don't even answer that." She grabbed Colleen's and Nina's hands and plopped down unceremoniously into her chair at the Hufflepuff table. She folded her arms across her chest and heaved out an annoyed sigh.
"Don't even think about commenting about that." She told her friends without looking at them, reaching for the bacon in front of her. Both girls grinned at each other before tucking into breakfast.
Scorpius had begun his carefully thought out plan and had started phase 1: Get Rose unarmed. Wear down her barriers and get her when she was vulnerable enough. That simple.
But apparently not.
She was not about to be uncomforted that easily. She was feistier than he thought. That was fine. It was no fun having something that didn't pose a challenge. She was going to be harder than he thought. But that was okay. He could wait.
"Hey Rose." Rose sighed as Malfoy plopped next to her in the library. She was studying for a transfiguration test that was coming up and she did not have the time for pompous gits right now. No matter how good looking they were.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" She groaned, not taking her eyes off her book. He chuckled.
"Cold, Rosie, real cold." He laughed, placing a hand over his heart. "I'm hurt."
"And because of that I am ecstatic." She told him, scribbling down a few notes with her eagle feather quill. Malfoy laughed, throwing back his head, shoulders heaving. He swooped on the hand holding her book page flat and took a firm hold of it. She tried to yank her hand away but he held fast.
"Shove off, Malfoy." She tried to push his shoulder away with her other hand but he didn't budge.
"You have lovely skin, do you know that?" He drawled.
"I have to study, Malfoy, make it quick." She gave him a fiercely frustrated look and rammed her fist under her chin.
"I don't think I could tell you what I want to tell you that quickly, Rose. You know, you shouldn't study so much. You'll get huge black bags under those gorgeous brown eyes." His fingers stroked under her eyes and she jerked away. He smirked. "Such a strong woman. Such a beautiful, smart woman." His thumb traced patterns on the back of her hand. "So intelligent, so brave, so loyal. All the houses in one magnificent girl. It makes me wonder if you could possibly be cunning like a Slytherin."
"Get to the point, Malfoy." She rolled her eyes. He grinned at her as he laid a hand over her cheek. "Get your filthy, scum hands off me."
"Come on Rosie, you know there's a connection between us." She did not like the way he said 'us'.
"There is no connection between us, Malfoy. You're rude, cold, arrogant, you don't even like me and have taken every opportunity to criticise me and my family." His eyes took on a look of concern.
"Have I hurt you?" He pleaded. She laughed cruelly, tossing her head back. His hand somehow managed to stay on her cheek.
"It's no more than I can expect from the son of a death-eater." She hissed.
"I am not my father." His eyes hardened for a second before softening again. What was his deal? Was he sick or something? "But I understand where you're coming from. I have been rude to you and your family. But I can change. I can change for you." She stood up quickly, jerking her hand away and picking up her quill and notes and book.
"I don't want you to come near me or my friends or my family. Death-eater scum like you never change." She turned on her heel and stalked out of the library. Scorpius bloody Malfoy!
Scorpius chuckled as she walked away, none too gracefully. She was so pretty when she was angry. Eyes flashing, hair escaping from its clasp. She hugged the books to her chest, and seemed to grumble to herself. He laced his fingers behind his head, thinking about how to make his next move. This was going to be fun.