Summary: Rose Weasley has made her Christmas list, checked it twice, and sent it off to Santa. Now, all she had to do is wait for her gift to arrive.
Disclaimer: I don't own any recognizable content. All belongs to its rightful owners.
Under the Christmas Tree
I won't ask for much this Christmas
I won't even wish for snow, and I
I just wanna keep on waiting
Underneath the mistletoe
~All I Want for Christmas, Mariah Carey
The Burrow was filled with a loud cacophony of noise. Cheery voices filled the air. Christmas music emanated from within. Sounds of pots and pans clanging as a meal was prepared rang out. At one point, such loud, varied noise was commonplace; more recently the Burrow had fallen unusually quiet. All the children had grown, moved out, and had families of their own. Now, the noise only returned around the holidays.
Rose, who grew up with only one brother, was used to a more quite household. The noise of the Burrow always threw her off, made her feel slightly uncomfortable. However, her discomfort at that particular moment was not solely based on the volume level. She was anxious and uncomfortable for a very different reason.
As a witch, especially a fifteen-year-old witch, Rose didn't particularly believe in Santa Claus. He was a muggle myth, one presented to her by Grandpa and Gran Grander. However, at her time of need to achieve her desire, Rose had reached out to the mythical Santa through a letter.
She'd sent him her wish list, essentially. Though there was really only one thing she wanted, one thing on her list. It was something she'd wanted for the past four years. However, she'd never been brave enough to ask for it, to go after it. Even now, she wasn't really brave enough. She'd reached out, yes, but to a mythical figure she didn't even believe in.
She wasn't expecting much, but even the slightest bit of hope that Santa would bring her present had caused her anxiety and discomfort.
"Another one for Lily!" Grandpa Weasley called, drawing Rose's attention back to the events at hand. As the patriarch of the Weasley clan, Arthur Weasley had taken on the roll of handing out gifts to his grandchildren. Lily Potter smiled in glee as she was given a large, elegantly wrapped Christmas present.
"Here's one for Lucy and one of Moll," Arthur continued, handing out gifts. There were already large piles in front of each child, the result of having such a large family, with so many aunts and uncles. Arthur was trying to hand out one gift to each child before repeating, even though all the grandchildren were old enough not to care if one of them got two gifts in a row.
"And, next one for Rose," Arthur spoke, turning towards the eclectically decorated large Christmas tree. Before he could locate a gift with Rose's name on it, a knock sounded at the door.
"I'll get it," Ginny spoke, getting up from her parch on the arm of a couch. She was the closest to the door, and the one with easiest access to it. Arthur turned back to the tree and his hunt for Rose's gift.
"Rosie!" Ginny called from the door. Rose's heart skipped a beat at her name, and her hands began to quiver and shake. She slowly got up and walked towards the door, not hoping to believe that somehow Santa had come through for her.
She rounded a corner and the door came into full view. She froze, momentarily stunned. Scorpius Malfoy was standing in her grandparent's entryway, looking for to fine for his own good.
"It appears you have a visitor," Ginny spoke, giving her niece a knowing look. Rose returned her aunt's look with a confused one of her own, though she was feeling anything but confused. Santa, it appeared had brought her Christmas wish.
"He-hey, Rose," Scorpius spoke. Rose instantly honed in on the stutter. That was not normal for him; the Scorpius she knew was confident and self-assured. "Ca-can we talk? Somewhere private maybe?"
Scorpius added the last thought as the sounds of the Weasley family Christmas celebration emanated from the sitting room. The close proximity of her family was obviously causing him some sort of distress. Rose took a moment to take in the uncomfortable Scorpius, slightly enjoying the idea that he was currently feeling the same way she did whenever she was around him.
"Let me grab my coat. We can walk around the gardens. No one will come out looking for us. They're much too focused on there Christmas celebrations." Rose then ducked into the house to grab her coat and a hat and gloves. She quickly returned, worried that Scorpius may have left in the time it had taken her to grab her things. Luckily, Scorpius was still standing, slightly awkwardly, in her grandparents' entryway.
"Shall we, then?" she asked, motioning out towards the garden.
Scorpius and Rose walked through the gardens of the Burrow. They wandered, mostly aimlessly, through the snow-covered ground. In one corner the gnomes were up to their usual hijinks. Rose and Scorpius paused to watch them throwing snowballs at each other. Then, they continued to walk.
Not a word passed between the pair. It was so quiet that Rose could hear the rustling of the rabbits in the nearby trees and the chattering of gnomes from across the yard. Scorpius had brought her out here to talk, and he hadn't been doing much of it.
Slowly, the cold began to creep through Rose's coat. She wasn't sure how much longer she could stand to be outside, especially if they were just wandering around. Rose could justify being cold if there was an actual reason.
However, despite that, she wasn't willing to push Scorpius. If she tried to pull information out of him, he might completely shut down. And that, Rose definitely did not want. Simply spending time in his company was enough for her at this point.
But yet, she was still cold.
Finally, they wandered to a relatively secluded corner. It contained a small stone bench surrounded by a large arched tree. In the summers, Rose often spent afternoons reading on that bench. It was one of her favourite spots at the Burrow. Now, covered in a light dusting of snow, it looked like a postcard or a painting, absolutely magical.
Rose walked towards it as if in a trance, as if something about the bench was compelling her forwards. She didn't even worry about if Scorpius followed her or not. She just continued forward. Looking back on their walk, Rose realised that it had all been a long, circuitous route to that very bench.
She sat down on the bench and, despite the illegality of it, performed a warming spell on the area. Scorpius, looking quite frigid himself readily joined Rose on the bench. Sitting next to Scorpius on her favourite bench, Rose felt emboldened.
"So I thought you said you wanted to talk," Rose ribbed. A slight edge of concern filled her being as soon as she did. She'd liked Scorpius pretty much from the day she first saw him on the platform. However, all of their interactions since then had consisted of conversations around schoolwork or been mediated by Albus. Her cousin had ribbed his friend countless times, but Rose never had. She wasn't sure how Scorpius would take it coming from her.
"Yeah, I did," Scorpius responded, looking around the tree-enclosed bench area. Anywhere but her eyes. Finally, he stopped and focused on something above their heads. Whatever it was, he obviously didn't like it because he flushed red and then paled.
Rose looked up and flushed just the same as Scorpius. Hanging from one of the tree branches was a single sprig of mistletoe. It was probably hung there by her cousin Lucy with the intention of bringing boys back to make out.
But now Rose had stumbled upon it, and with the boy she liked. The situation could either go amazingly well, or turn awkward really quickly. However, the bench and the atmosphere surrounding it were still giving Rose a sense of bravery she so rarely felt. She quickly decided that any potential rewards outweighed any repercussions.
She leaned forward and kissed Scorpius.
At first he just sat there, most likely a little stunned. All Rose hoped was that he didn't pull away, or push her away. She'd asked Santa for Scorpius Malfoy to like her back for Christmas. Now, she would find out if she got her Christmas wish.
Finally, Scorpius broke out of his stupor and responded.
Santa, that mythical figure, had come through for her.
The end