Disclaimer: I'm not JKR, nor her publishers and agents, so this is not for fame or fortune. This is for fun and nothing more. Well, maybe a little more.
Disclaimer (2): This is an entry for the House Competition being hosted by MoonlightForgotten.
(Themed - Hogsmeade - Revealing a secret/s)
Rose wandered through Hogsmeade, by herself as it were, because Albus had gone off on a bit of date. Well, he'd thought it was a date but later on he would discover that it wasn't a date so much as a ploy to get him to buy her some sweets so she could buy herself some fancy parchment and quills. She knew Albus fancied her, and she took advantage of his occasional absent-mindedness.
Upset wasn't the word that described her feelings when she'd stopped at each store and looked around for something that caught her eye. Of course, many things were intriguing enough to purchase. Her parents never questioned how she spent her money, always the thought was that she'd spent it wisely, and generally she did by not spending it at all. She rationed her school supplies and committed much to memory so that she could purchase trinkets of scholarly interest.
Except when she'd go to Madame Puddifoot's for sweets and tea. It was quiet because of all the cooing and romantic whisperings, so it made for a great place to read the Daily Prophet. On that day she'd been planning on reading three days worth of news, and she ordered enough food to justify the time it'd take for her to complete the task.
No, upset wasn't the word for it. Rose had felt peaceful, she'd say to anyone who might ask. Then Scorpius showed up unexpectedly.
"Bit odd to be here alone, eh?" He'd snapped, but he meant it playfully. As her father had suggested, he was the only competition she had in the classroom. Her mother always moaned and groaned what a waste of potential his father was, being so brilliant and scholarly at Hogwarts only to continue the indulgent trades of his father. However, she'd never considered Scorpius 'proper' competition the way her mother thought of Mr. Draco Malfoy. No, Albus and Scorpius were friends so she just thought of him as another face in the crowd of friends they had between families. And sometimes she might compare her test marks to his just to see if they were still neck and nec56trfygtk – they always were.
Rose folded the paper down, knowing at the time she looked a lot like Grandma Molly when she would enjoy her "quiet time" in the kitchen at the Burrow. She could hear her voice clearly; "I raised seven red-headed whips, and I loved those years of my life, but hear you me this is my time and I intend to spend it quietly!" Everyone knew better than to Floo to Grandma's house without asking first, and they knew to be on time too.
Even her voice had the same high pitch quality when she responded; "I like to read the Daily Prophet." Quickly she'd flipped the newspaper back up and started reading again, and lifted her cup to drink some of her tea while Scorpius just sat across from her for extra measure.
"A date with the Prophet?" Scorpius said softly, "At Madame Puddifoot's?"
"It would seem so, yes" Rose barked at him through the thin pages of paper separating them. She did not need to see him to know he wanted to mock her for being – well – essentially as awkward as he always was in his free time. Once he'd been caught hiding in the library so he could finish reading a book that couldn't be checked out. Others laughed at him but Rose asked where he'd hid and if he thought it would work for someone else.
Rose tried it a few weeks later.
It did not work.
"I think I can help you, if you'd be willing. You know," he laughed, "because this looks kind of pathetic. I just care about you and don't want anyone to laugh at whatever is happening here." Rose scoffed while he continued his charade of chivalry. In the end, she accepted his offer. Really, if she hadn't accepted she'd have heard about it from Albus later. He always looked after Scorpius; worried he might be condemned to the same reputation his father had at Hogwarts. Albus wouldn't let that happen, nobody deserved to feel outcast and he made sure that this was never the case if he had any say in the matter. As a Potter, he always had a say on every matter. Uncle Harry always told people it's genetic, a sort of arrogance at that age, and he'd be grown out of it before his time at Hogwarts was over.
So Rose smiled with feigned politeness, set her newspaper down, and glowered at him from her side of the table; "Help yourself to anything you'd like, Malfoy. My…" She watched him immediately consume a whole pasty and spill a cuppa when he yanked it to his side of the table, "…treat."
Thing was, though, that it actually went quite well. Rose didn't want to miss the chance to read the Prophet because she'd planned this all week. So Scorpius agreed to a proposal she'd made, which was that they'd each read one of day of the papers and then they'd share what they'd read with the other. Hours passed by without them even realizing the late hour. It wasn't until Albus sauntered in with pure defeat in his every movement that they knew they'd spent the whole afternoon together. And, truthfully, it'd been perfectly pleasant. Scorpius had a way of delivering news in the most obnoxious way that had her laughing the entire time they'd spent at Madame Puddifoot's and Rose felt a bit sad when it was time to leave. Albus waited uncomfortably at the side of the table when Scorpius made a suggestion; "Why don't you go get a chocolate frog for the road, eh? Grab me one too – I feel like we'll get a new card today!"
Scorpius and Albus were on a mission to collect every chocolate frog card between the two of them, as most boys seemed to be doing at that age. Rose hoped, secretly, that they'd stop obsessing over it the next year. She'd noticed many of the fifth year boys had become more enamored by their romantic and academic futures than their silly hobbies. With any luck, Albus would match Scorpius' academic dedication and she'd be able to have an intelligent conversation when both of them were around.
"Today was nice." Scorpius stated with no expression on his face, no personality to his voice, and no indication that he'd meant anything by the comment.
Rose was like her mother, though, and she couldn't help but reveal her actual feelings about the afternoon; "I really enjoyed it. Maybe we should do this every week!" After she made her statement she bent to stuff her belongings back into her bag, so she'd not seen Scorpius slip closer to her. In fact, because of this she elbowed him in the gut when she jerked to stand up after putting her bag over her shoulders.
"I'm so sorry!" Rose shouted, her hand having moved up to touch his forearm. This was her habit from playing with Hugo, who could not predictably fake being hurt. Sometimes he was actually in pain, others he was just trying to gain an advantage. Even her father didn't wrestle around with him because nobody wanted to deal with that extra required caution.
Scorpius smiled, though, and stood quietly for an awkward amount of time. Rose was about to step away, having thought he'd lost his train of thought or saw something outside, but his opposite hand shot up to mimic her own motion perfectly. The split second that it took for him to lean in passed in a dreamy haze.
She'd been conflicted at first when his lips landed on her cheek, but by the time he'd pulled completely away from her face her heart was settled. Scorpius wasn't his father, and she wasn't her mother. They were not rivals and liking him wasn't against wrong. Eventually Rose would say he should have asked her first. Rose might have turned down the offer because it would have startled her too much. As he left he shouted back to her; "I'll see you next week!"
So the next week came and went, and much of the same happened. Scorpius shared with her his news in a goofy tone, mocking most anything he disagreed with because he thought he knew better. Rose considered that perhaps he did, coming from an intelligent set of parents, but did well to debate the ideas with him. In turn she shared her bits with a cool tone that resembled so closely her mothers that were someone could not see the two – the listener may have believed Rose to be her mother. It was even possible for Scorpius to sound as much like his father.
It continued that way for nearly a month before Rose finally confronted Scorpius on their carriage ride back to Hogwarts, one they managed to get alone because they'd left so late that they'd nearly missed their ride. It was a straightforward conversation, as Rose approached the topic simply; "Was that your plan all along? To have a date with me without my knowledge?"
He'd joked, "I never meant for you to think it was a date."
"Liar." Rose smirked.
"Perhaps." He pretended to ponder the possibility, "Though you made it easy – for it to be a date. You showed up alone! I didn't even have to trick someone to leave." They watched each other with wide eyes.
As if Rose would have had anyone sitting with her that day, and he'd have known it. Rose didn't talk to boys for any particular purpose, and especially not boys she didn't already know from her childhood. Family were her only friends, really, other than a few study partners she'd gained over the years. Rose was not a social butterfly and to think she'd have a date of any sort was almost preposterous.
Of course, many had thought the same of her mother in her fourth year. And it turned out she'd been snogging a famous Quidditch player in secret. Viktor Krum took her to the Yule Ball and kept in touch with her for years. They'd almost reconnected at Uncle Bill's wedding, actually. Rose accepted it wasn't as farfetched as it felt, but the reality was no less tangible. She'd not had anyone in mind to take as a date to Madame Puddifoot's until Scorpius snuck up on her and made one out of her perceived solitude.
"Had you been planning it long?" It was an innocent enough inquiry.
Scorpius made a face; "What would be the socially acceptable answer?"
"Any answer, since I don't care much for what is socially acceptable." And she really didn't, much like her mother at that same age. Even her father was a bit socially backwards, something genetically passed from Grandpa Arthur everyone had long ago decided.
Scorpius thought a moment and fiddled with the package in his hand, a new well of ink that shone with a tint of green in the right light, and then he responded quietly; "All year."
But he did not stop; "And last."
Scorpius admitted in another flourish; "Since we'd been able to come to Hogsmeade I've been trying to find a way to ask you to come with me."
Rose couldn't believe a fourteen year-old boy might've wanted to go on a date when there were tests and assignments to finish at any point in time, but her desires had been starkly different from her peers. Even Scorpius showed more humanity than she'd garnered until he kissed her. Sometimes she wasn't even sure what she felt about him was normal. Sure, she'd seen other girls fawn over boys – some even fawned over girls. It all seemed strange to her, as if this was something so far off she'd probably not even need to figure out because she'd just know.
But, as it were, she did just know.
"Well, I'm okay with it. I like it, I mean to say." Rose shared.
Scorpius smiled but she acted as though she couldn't see, something her mother did when she didn't want her father to think she'd put a lot of thought into something. It seemed to work for her, though Rose never quite knew how, but she kept doing it. There was no better proof.
Rose switched to his side of the carriage, smoothly and without hesitation, and left her hand on the seat next to him; "Bit odd, isn't it?"
"Sitting alone in Madame Puddifoot's?" It was obvious he was nervous, but he breathed in forced amusement afterwards anyway, "Definitely."
Rose had meant that it was odd she, an almost exact replica of her mother in every way but her appearance and appetite, would be falling for Scorpius, whom was exactly the same as his father except in his show of emotions. Nobody ever talked much to her about Mr. Draco Malfoy, but when he was mentioned around her mother there was a look in her eye. Her father never noticed, and probably nobody else as far as she could tell either, but it was apparent to Rose at the very least.
Too often Mrs. Hermione Weasley would complain of Scorpius' father and his wasted talents, his lack of a legitimate career, and the social distance he keeps from everyone. Rose noticed how her father didn't care for him, and enjoyed that he kept his distance when Scorpius was around to play with Albus during holidays. Her mother's gaze always drifted to him with a grunt. Sometimes she shook her head, others she would roll her eyes, and even once she'd told him that he could at least do something with his trading wares besides let them collect dust. Rose saw in the months that followed he didn't escort Scorpius much after that day, though he was never fully absent. Sometimes he watched her mother, too, but he was much harder to read.
Rose often wondered, despite the love her parents share, if there was something that might have existed between her mother and Scorpius' father were their circumstances different. They seemed compatible in many ways, after all. Even when Scorpius would talk about his father at school, it was not unlike the stories she'd shared of her mother.
"I'm happy." Rose declared with her head tilted toward him.
Maybe this was the destiny all along, that Rose would be like her mother and Scorpius would be like his father. Eventually they'd have a moment where everything clicked because their parents had fought to make it possible for someone of pureblood descent and someone from Muggleborn ancestry to come together happily, romantically even, and enjoy a world where no judgment would be cast upon them when they followed their hearts.
She felt then that she'd been overthinking it, that it was more consideration than was needed for a young blossoming romance. Still, she would find herself glad for it decades later when she'd ship own children to Hogwarts, side-by-side with her husband – Scorpius Malfoy. Twins, by some miracle, each a perfect blend of their parents; "Do you reckon they'll be recognized as Weasleys or Malfoys?"
Scorpius shrugged his shoulders, "I don't think it much matters, does it?"
"No, I don't think it does." Rose agreed. Their hands effortlessly interlaced as they prepared to return home where their parents would be seated for a spot of tea. As they stepped off of the platform, Rose silently thanked her mother for the sacrifices that were made in order for her to enjoy such an incredible life with someone she truly loved.