A/N: This is just a silly idea I couldn't shake, so here it is. Enjoy!

As always, I am not JK, so therefore I own none of this world *cries*

Anywho, thanks, all!

"I need to call in a favor," Albus slid into the seat beside Rose. His black hair was a mess, and Rose could see the hint of toothpaste on his lips.

"Late morning?" she asked, turning back to her book.

"Roooose!" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently.

"Albuuuus!" She mimicked. A grin spread across her face, which made Albus look at her pleadingly. She really did love her family, but her mind was on other things, and Al's favor was not on her to-do list. The winter holidays were fast approaching, and Rose still needed to pack, finish three essays, and mentally prepare herself for two weeks of Weasley-Family-Fun. "What favor?"

"I want to take Scorp to the wedding," he said.

"Scorpius?" Rose's nose scrunched up.

"Well, not as a date, you ninny." Al rolled his eyes. "I don't want to sit through Victoire and Teddy's lovefest without a friend there, but Mum said only dates can come. And I'm not about to ask a bloke out on a date, which leaves…"

"Me." It was Rose's turn to roll her eyes. Absolutely not. Scorpius Malfoy—a friend and fellow Slytherin to Al—was not her friend. He was barely her acquaintance. What was she supposed to do with him the whole time? It was going to be two full weeks of nothing but wedding activities. Even Christmas was going to be a Weasley affair. Plus, her father would never go for it. "No, Al."

"I knew you'd say that," Al quickly changed seats so that he was still in her line of sight. Rose had turned her body away, signifying the conversation was over, but Al just didn't seem to get it. He jumped from her left side to her right, forcing her to look into his green eyes. "So I decided to ask Ara."

"Ara?" Rose's nose scrunched up again.

"Not as a real date, stupid."

Rose felt her eyes narrow. "Doesn't this conversation sound familiar to you?"

"I'd ask her as a friend," Al continued, ignoring her sarcasm. "Both Scorp and Ara would know that this arrangement is purely for the fact that you and I have someone to talk to who isn't redheaded and loud."

"Al, no." Rose shut her book. She pushed her empty breakfast plate to the middle of the table, and it disappeared. Collecting her books and standing, Rose decided it best to head toward her first class of the day: Herbology.

She was half concerned that Al would follow her regardless of whether or not she said no. But he was a Potter, and therefore not nearly as strong-headed as some of her other relatives.

Rose couldn't see why she would agree. It was a dumb idea. Scorpius and Rose barely talked unless Al made them. A couple of times, Rose had to work with the blond in Potions, but they usually kept to the topic at hand. The hard part would be having to ask him, then ask her parents, then spend the first three days with Scorpius—and only Scorpius—until the family left for France. The wedding was going to take place on the eve of New Year's Eve in Paris. The wedding guests were to arrive in the city on Christmas Eve and sequentially participate in planned activities for the entire week.

And Rose knew Victoire well; she wouldn't let Al and Scorp skive off and do other things. She would make couples stay together, because it would be "oh so romantic" and all that nonsense.

No. Rose would definitely not be going through with this favor.

Potions was Scorpius's favorite class. It made him feel like he was actually doing something, because he got to work with his hands and not just his wand. Of course, he loved being a wizard, and wands were a direct relation to being such, but mixing ingredients really made him feel like his magic was real.

Professor Howell was talking about the test they would have before the break started.

"We'll review today with our partners. On Friday, everything will be individual work. I'm still debating with myself if I'd rather give an oral examination or if I should let you lot write out the answers."

Scorpius watched as his Potions partner, Rose Weasley, raised her hand. He felt himself smirking, already knowing what was coming.

"You know, Professor," Rose sat back in her seat once Howell called on her. "I doubt you want to read all those papers and grade an exam over the break. At least with an oral exam, you can grade it right on the spot."

Cheeky little thing. There were murmurs of agreement from the rest of the class. Rose was smiling smugly, which made Scorpius laugh. She looked at him with her piercing blue eyes then quickly turned away. So Al had talked to her already.

"Hm. I'll think about it, Miss Weasley," Howell smirked. He was used to her antics to get out of extra work. Scorpius knew Rose was extremely intelligent—she wouldn't be in Ravenclaw if she wasn't—but sometimes her bargaining with professors for less work made him see so much Slytherin in her.

"Right," Howell continued addressing everyone, "you can go through the book and see which of the last five potions we worked on that you think you'd need help with. Once you find yours, you can start brewing."

Scorpius turned to Rose, but she looked to be debating with herself whether or not to talk to him about what Al said. His silly prat of a friend wanted nothing to do with the upcoming nuptials of his cousin and honorary brother. In fact, Al had said on more than one occasion that he wished they weren't getting married at all. Apparently they fought all the time, and that wasn't good for anybody, according to Al.

Either way, it was happening. Victoire Weasley and Teddy Lupin were getting married, and it would be extravagant to say the least. Al really wanted Scorp there to balance the absurdity of the whole ordeal. He kept going on and on about bridezillas—whatever that meant.

"Rose," Scorp finally said. He figured he'd get it over with quickly. "I'm sure you've talked to Al by now."

Her head snapped up, her red, bushy hair bouncing around her face. She had three freckles on her nose, like a little triangle. Scorpius always wanted to connect them with his quill.

"Yes," Rose sounded strained. "And I don't think I'm going to agree with him."

"Yeah? I figured." Scorpius smiled, pulling Rose's already-open book toward him. "So I was thinking we could go over the Volubilis potion. I added too much Hellebore last time, which is why I think it turned green instead of blue."

"No, that was because I put in mint leaves instead of mint sprigs. They're not known substitutes for each other, so I think that made it green," Rose countered.

"Volubilis it is."

They got to work, only communicating when they needed to see what was next. Scorpius liked this, though. It meant he could concentrate solely on the potion. It wasn't uncomfortable working in near silence with Rose. It was peaceful.

"So," Rose dropped in mint sprigs, letting the potion simmer. They had about ten minutes before the brew would turn blue and the next ingredient could be added. "You knew I wouldn't go along with Al's plan?"

Scorpius looked at her. She was stirring the cauldron, but he could tell her eyes were unfocused. Did he sense guilt? Why was she guilty about saying no to her cousin's idiotic plan?

"Of course. The plan is stupid," Scorp started to measure out the Hellebore. Rose's face relaxed at his words. So she was feeling guilty about saying no. Well, no need for that. "Al needs to suck it up and deal with your crazy family. No offense of course."

"A little taken."

Scorp stopped pouring and looked at Rose, worried. He was only repeating what Al had said to him on numerous occasions. But then Rose smiled, and Scorp knew she was teasing. She began laughing at his momentary discomfort, and Scorpius couldn't help but think her laugh sounded almost melodious. Like little chimes tinkling in the wind.

"That's too much," Rose composed herself, grabbing the vial from his hand. For a moment, their skin touched, and Scorpius felt his chest tighten. Rose didn't seem to notice, so he busied himself with watching her. Chest tightening was normal for a boy of seventeen, anyways… right? "It says we only need a few drops of the Syrup of Hellebore."

After that, they both concentrated on the potion. It turned to blue, then finally the yellow it was meant to be Rose leaned over the cauldron, her hair wrapping around her face like a curtain. "It's not sparking."

Scorpius leaned in too, his brows knit together. "That's weird."

"I really thought we got it this time."

"Did you add the second batch of mint sprigs?"

He could feel Rose tense beside him, and for a moment Scorpius could only think of how close they were to each other. He turned his head until his own eyes landed on hers, not even a foot away.

"Damn," she whispered. "I forgot about that."

"It's okay," he straightened up. "We're better off than last time."

"Sorry, anyways," she smiled sheepishly. The three freckles on her hose crinkled with her smile.

"Don't be." Scorpius smirked back. He knew she had missed the sprigs. He also knew she added mint leaves instead the last time. In fact, he had added the required about of Hellebore the last time. One thing he tried really hard to do was let Rose figure out the potions. It wasn't her best subject, and he wasn't about to walk her through the steps. He wanted her to learn; she was top of the class after all.

His father was a Healer, so Scorpius had learned a great deal about potions early on. He was planning to join the team at St. Mungo's at the end of the school year. Al had told Scorp once that Rose was also interested in Healing, so the Slytherin had taken it upon himself to help. Subtly of course, but still. Helping.

The bell rang and Rose was off. It was lunch time, after all, and he knew she was going to meet up with her brother. It's what they did. It was annoyingly precious, really, and if Scorpius had had any siblings, he'd probably follow suit. But, instead, he had Al. And Al was going to be whining all through his meal about how awful the holidays would be.

Scorpius packed up his things, rolled his eyes, and prepared himself for the Albus-onslaught.

Hugo was at the Gryffindor table, sitting next to Lily and Louis. Rose sat across from the trio, smiling as identical faces looked up at her. They all had inherited the Weasley red hair. Hugo's was frizzy, like their mum's, while both Lily and Louis had straight locks. Louis wore his long like his father. All three looked like spitting images of Grandpa Weasley, however, with warm brown eyes and round faces. Of course, little nuances were there, showing that they were different. Hugo had almond-shaped eyes like their mum. Lily wore glasses, her eyesight clearly inherited from her father. Louis had a sharp nose and jawline, which was pure Fleur.

"You're late," Hugo chided.

"You're early," Rose countered. A plate appeared in front of her, and she began loading it up with sandwiches and sweets.

Lily was telling them about the Quidditch team practice from the other night. Rose almost told her cousin that she was revealing tactics to another team, but Rose wasn't going to go repeating what she heard. She wasn't a snitch.

"Connor is terrifying. He's saying that if we don't beat Hufflepuff in February, he's holding tryouts again. Mad, that boy is, and—what's he doing?" Lily's head snapped to something just behind Rose's shoulder. Quickly, the older girl spun around. Al was fast approaching the table, his eyes set on her.

Rose turned back around, letting her face fall into her hands. "Tell your brother to shove off."

"Why?" Hugo chimed in. She could hear the smile on his face. "What happened?"

"What happened is that, Rose," Al said from behind Rose. She instinctively spread her legs apart on the bench, hoping he wouldn't sit down beside her. (He did anyways. Right on her left leg, too.) "Our dear, beautiful, and loving Rose has refused me my well-deserved happiness."

Rose lifted her head to stare at Al. What an idiot.

She looked at her brother and two cousins. All three looked confused and a little bit apprehensive. Al and Rose were close, and they couldn't even imagine what would cause her to deny Al his happiness.

So, she did what any person would do. "Al's trying to go out on a date with Scorpius Malfoy."

"What!" Lily gasped. Al was spluttering beside Rose, waving his arms around and saying, "No—wait—uh—no—listen—wait."

Hugo was laughing, hard.

"It's about time you two lovebirds made a move. You're practically inseparable," Louis teased. Rose couldn't help herself; she looked back toward the Slytherin table, and there was Scorpius watching his friend with a scowl on his face. He had an angular face. Long, pointy nose. Sharp chin. His hair was a platinum blond color, almost white. Rose knew it was him in an instant.

To think, she felt guilty earlier for saying no. Her eyes met his for a moment, and Rose couldn't stop her face from blushing. Scorpius had emerald green eyes. They weren't light like Al's, but more so dark, like the forest roof on a cloudy day. She turned away quickly. She was only blushing because they were talking about Scorpius and he caught her—sorta. She shook her head and listened as Al explained the real reason for his lack of happiness.

"I want Rose to take Scorpius to the wedding. And I'm gonna ask Ara Waters. Then, we can swap people when we get there, and we'll each have a friend."

"That's idiotic," Lily scowled.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes." She said. "It's idiotic because Vic won't go for it. She'll know."

"Yeah," Louis added. "She's all about couples being together during the whole thing. I think it's her way of getting back at Dom."

"She's still upset?" Lily asked.

"Wouldn't you be?"

They were quiet for a moment, before Rose cleared her throat. The two sisters were known to go at each other's throats, and their latest row was practically earth shattering. Rose sided with Dom on the matter, but she didn't want to say it out loud. Because then she'd have to give her reasons, and she wasn't prepared for that yet.

"If you're serious about this, why don't you ask Roxanne to take Scorpius?" Rose turned to Al. "They actually talk to each other. Unlike me."

"You talk to Scorp plenty," Al waved her off. "Besides, Rox is taking Connor."

"Connor?" Lily interjected. "Connor, as in Wood? Connor, as in my Quidditch captain? Connor, as in he's going to make me do laps in Paris? Connor, as in—"

"Yes, Lily. Now shut up!" Al said.

"Are they dating?" Louis asked, looking down the table to the seventh year Gryffindors. Roxanne was leaning into Connor Wood. His hand was wrapped around her waist.

"Apparently," Rose sighed. She turned to Al again. "Okay, what if… Lily! What if Lily takes him?"

Al looked at his little sister. "Absolutely not."

"Yeah, Rose. I don't really want to go with anyone," Lily agreed.

"Rose, please!" Al's voice switched from determined to pleading. "I really don't want to go to this in the first place. It'll be torturous!"

"Albus. It's a wedding. Not the end of the world," Rose retorted.

"I don't like you right now," he crossed his arms and began to pout. It was one of his guilting techniques: he'd act like a five-year-old so that you'd laugh at him. Then he'd smile sadly, like you kicked him. Then you'd feel so bad, you'd give in. It worked really, really well with most of the family, because no one wanted to hurt anyone.

"Aw, Rose! Just take Scorpius. You won't even have to look at him!" Lily said.

Luckily, Rose was not swayed by a bit of acting.

"My answer is no, so please stop asking."

She stood up and directed herself toward the library. Before she left the Great Hall, however, she couldn't help but look back toward Scorpius. He was watching her now, a look of questioning on his face. Rose exited the doors, dread rising up in her throat. Maybe it was because she only glanced briefly at him, or maybe it was because she was walking too fast to really notice, but for a moment, she could have sworn she saw the hint of disappointment on Scorpius's face.

Rose didn't have any more classes the rest of the day, so she found herself sitting on her four-poster bed, outlining her Charms essay. It wasn't actually due until after break, but she liked Charms more than her other work. Besides, all she had to do was add conclusions to her already-existing essays. She had two more days to complete those. She was fine.

There was a tapping at her window. A snowy white owl was flapping lazily, trying to hover in her line of sight. Rose jumped up and let the beast in. It was a large bird, bigger than most of the owls at Hogwarts. Rose smiled.

"Hello, Heddie." The bird rested on her forearm. Rose was quite familiar with the owl; she was a present to Teddy from her Uncle Harry. Teddy even named her after Uncle Harry's old owl, Hedwig. But Heddie rarely responded to that name anymore.

The owl stuck out her foot, waiting for Rose to detach the message waiting for her.

"I'm sorry I don't have any treats here for you, old girl." The owl hooted and flew out the open window. Rose closed it. Snow was coming down slowly, and Rose wished that Heddie would have at least waited for the precipitation to cease. "Let's see what Vic has to ask now."

Rose tore open the letter, revealing a rather short message on ripped up parchment. Usually, when Vic sent her things, it was a long-winded, three-page ordeal ranting on about linens and flowers and charming her dress to appear whiter than it really was. So many wedding conundrums had ended up in a letter to Rose that this tiny piece of paper made Rose's heart sink. There was no care put into this; something must have been really wrong.

However, when Rose saw the scrawl, she let out a sigh. It was Teddy's handwriting. Therefore, all of the lack of care and concern wasn't something to fear.

Rose's eyes scanned over the words quickly. She read them again. And again. And, by the sixth time, she felt like jumping out her window into the chill evening air.

How dare he write her this.

Rose sank back onto her bed, her Charms essay forgotten. Her heart felt like a lead weight flopping around unceremoniously inside her chest. Her hand began to crumple the note. Then she threw it to the other side of the room. Then she closed her curtains, curled up, and stared at the midnight blue hangings. Then she sat back up.

There was no need to get like that. There was no need to start going through the motions—the same motions she went through last time, mind you—again. No, siree. She was not going to let this break her.

Rose glanced at the parchment beside her; in her zombie-like shock, she had spilled ink all over her essay. Damn. She ripped her curtains back and ran over to the crumpled note. Picking it up between her forefinger and thumb, Rose tossed it into her trunk. She could deal with that later.

Because now she was determined.

Scorpius was waiting for Al to sit down. At the moment, he looked like a prairie dog, neck elongated, eyes darting above the rest of the crowd. Scorp yanked on his dress robes.

"Alright, that's it," he forced Al into his seat. "I've had enough of this."

"Scorp, please! If I can just get her to come over, I'm sure I can convince her to—"

"You know," Scorp placed a plate of sausages in front of Al. "At the rate you're going, I almost believe you do want to date me."

Scorpius laughed at the horrorstruck look on Al's face. "You—but—no—wait—that's—wait."

"I know, I know." Scorp added a heap of potatoes to his plate. "This is your way of tricking Ara into dating you."

"It's not tricking!" Al gasped.

"Yes it is."

"No, it's not. It's just a well thought out plan that—"

"Well thought out as in you realized you could do this less than fifteen hours ago," Scorp sighed. "Look, mate, you are terrible with girls. Terrible. And I feel bad for you, but this plan is stupid and not going to work."

When Al didn't retort, Scorp looked over at his friend. There was a devilish gleam in his eyes and a large, toothy grin on his face. He looked like a deranged house elf if Scorpius ever saw one. His own eyes followed to where Al was looking.

A disheveled Rose was approaching them. Fast.

"What did you do?" Scorp hissed through his teeth.

"Don't know yet, but I think it's gonna be good!" Al looked too-pleased.

"Albus. Scorpius." Rose acknowledged them when she arrived at her destination. She hesitated for a moment, her nose scrunching up when looking at Al's face. Scorp elbowed his friend, trying to get him to stop, but the grin just spread more. Rose, finally ignoring him, turned to look at Scorpius. She sat down directly across from him.

Scorp sat up straight. Her eyes were piercing through his soul, or so he felt. Was she trying to burn a hole in his head? Her eyes may have been the color of the ocean, but they were definitely on fire.

"I've changed my mind. Scorpius, you're coming with me to the wedding."

"O-kay…" he whimpered. Where was his suave Malfoy-ness when he needed it?

Rose quickly turned to Al, whose smile had increased ten-fold by her announcement. Scorp was tempted to poke his exposed gums with a chicken leg, thinking it might make the boy stop.

"Albus Potter. You so much as lay a hand on Ara, I'll personally see to it you don't have that hand anymore, clear?"

Al could only nod.

"And also, I'm letting her know about this whole arrangement thing," Rose continued. Finally, Al's smile faltered.

"Wha-why?"

"Because I knew this wasn't just some clever way to hang out with Scorpius," Rose rolled her eyes. "Ara Waters may be in my house, but we're not that close. You're an idiot, Albus, and I'm not letting that poor girl anywhere near you without a warning."

"But I'm your family," he whined.

"And I'm going to have to make gingerbread houses and heart-shaped doilies with him all week," Rose motioned to Scorp with her head. "Ara gets to know why this is happening. Even if that's just a ruse in the first place."

Rose looked between both boys, sizing up their expressions. Scorpius felt his chest tightening again, and for a moment, he felt his heart beat faster. Was he excited to make heart-shaped doilies? He shook it off, pulling his gaze from Rose's.

"Alright then. It's settled," Rose stood. Scorpius watched her as she walked away, her skirt moving with her hips.

When he looked back at Al, Scorp was greeted with yet another Cheshire grin. Al winked.

"What?"

"You know," Al turned to the plate of sausages Scorpius had moved earlier. "I didn't do this for just me."

"Oh really?"

"Oh yes. Naturally, it's mostly for me," Al took a bite of his dinner. "Bu' I'm su' you…" he swallowed. "I'm sure you will get something out of this too."

Scorpius looked toward the Ravenclaw table. Rose was talking with Ara Waters. Her hands were waving around as she explained to the girl Al's plan. The pair of them looked over at Scorp and Al, and Rose caught Scorpius's eye.

He smiled at her and waved one of his hands. She looked much calmer now than she did when she first approached them. Rose waved back, and Scorp felt his chest tighten once again.

Maybe he should visit Madam Pomfrey; this couldn't be a good thing…

"Put your eyes back in your head, Romeo," Al snorted through his food. Scorp rolled his eyes. Then he looked back at Rose. She wasn't turned in his direction anymore, but he could see she was still gesticulating with her arms. Ara Waters was laughing. Rose's red curls bobbed back and forth, and Scorpius tried to imagine what her face was doing. Was she laughing too? Did her nose crinkle and hide away those three freckles?

Scorpius felt his eyes widen. Al's words replayed in his head, steam-rolling through any other thought he might have. I'm sure you will get something out of this too… Romeo… his chest tightening… Put your eyes back in your head… the disappointment when she said no… Romeo… I didn't do this just for me… Romeo…

Well. Shit.