Disclaimer: All of it belongs to the wonderfully talented JKR. Except the lyrics, which are Death Cab for Cutie's, the Title which is Dashboard Confessional's, and The Wizard of Oz, which is of course L. Frank Baum's.
Holy Macarole that's a long disclaimer.
On ward...
Dusk & Summer
Chapter One
Summer Skin
Squeaky swings and tall grass
The longest shadows ever cast
The water's warm and children swim
And we frolicked about in our summer skin
I don't recall a single care
Just greenery and humid air
Then Labor day came and went
And we shed what was left of our summer skin
On the night you left I came over
And we peeled the freckles from our shoulders
Our brand new coats so flushed and pink
And I knew your heart I couldn't win
Cause the season's change was a conduit
And we'd left our love in our summer skin
Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley weren't exactly friends. They were on friendly enough terms; they had to be since they had both been Prefects for the past two years together. However Rose, the sunny studious Gryffindor, had never counted Malfoy, the brooding, quick-witted Ravenclaw among one of her friends, nor she one of his.
Which is why on this particular sunny day, in early June, just before exams, Rose was slightly startled when Scorpius Malfoy stood before her and greeted her.
Truth be told, Malfoy had been watching her for the past few days. She was sitting next to the three-tiered fountain, found toward the back of the school. This particular fountain was erected after the Great Battle of Hogwarts, nearly twenty-five years ago. The fountain was part of the reconstruction of Hogwarts, and symbolized the great many lives that were lost in the horrible battle that was waged within the walls of the castle and on the surrounding grounds. Unfortunately for whoever made the decision to place the memorial fountain toward the back of the school, it was rarely ever used, and hardly ever had students milling around it, or reading the nearly fifty names etched around the base of the fountain. Most students preferred the elaborate fountain in the courtyard of the school or the green grass near the Great Lake for places to sit on hot summer days, such as the one near the end May, when Scorpius Malfoy started watching Rose Weasley.
He had been looking for his good friend Dylan Heyman at the time, when he came across a lonely figure reading. The green grass that lead from the school to the Forbidden Forest also lead right up to the base of the fountain, and therefore made a great place to settle into a good book.
Usually the sight of a lone figure, deeply immersed in a book, would not faze Malfoy. However, recently he had been noticing just how lovely his fellow prefect was and that day found it hard to take his eyes off her bright red head, that was bent between the pages of a book. He took a step back in the castle to watch the figure from afar.
She was reading, as usual, with her crimson locks flowing freely down her shoulders. She was biting the nail on her index finger of her right hand and looked; there was no other word to describe it, peaceful.
He wanted to continue watching her; he found that he couldn't move his eyes away. She smiled as she read something sweet in her book. He glanced at the cover. It seemed ancient, but not something he would find in the back recesses of the Library. It looked different somehow. But as he was trying to decipher what the girl could possibly be reading, a lock of coppery-silk moved and the golden reflection caught his eyes. He suddenly realized that he didn't care what she was reading so intently; all that mattered was that head of fiery hair, and that sweet serene smile.
"Scorpius!" Someone called in the distance.
Scorpius jumped, knocking his head against the door frame. He looked toward the voice with one hand over the newly formed bump on his forehead. It was his good friend Dylan.
"Hey. I was just looking for you."
"What are you staring at?" Dylan asked, trying to peak around Scorpius' broad shoulders.
"What?" Scorpius asked innocently, blocking Rose from his friend's view. "Nothing. Are we studying for Transfiguration together or what?"
"Yeah. Sure thing." Dylan responded, already forgetting about the figure near the fountain, and walking toward the library.
With one last look toward Rose, Scorpius followed him.
That was last week, and every day since then he had found himself going out of his way so he could walk past the figure by the fountain every day at the same time. He told himself that it was merely an infatuation, a weird fixation. He told himself that it would be beyond impossible to act upon his thoughts. He told himself that Malfoy and Weasley didn't mix. But he was beginning to find that he didn't care. Somewhere in the past week, running his hands through those red teasing locks had become more important than anything. More important than anything his father said, his friends did, or the tests that he would be asked to complete in the coming week.
She was playing with the necklace around her neck. He didn't know what the significance of this necklace was, but he wanted to find out. He knew that it carried some importance to the girl at the base of the fountain though, for every time she ceased playing with it, she would lay it gently on her chest, and hold her hand there. Almost as if she were assuring herself that it was still there. She did all of this without taking her eyes from her book.
The book. That was another mystery Scorpius was intent to solve. At first he didn't care what she was reading. All that mattered was that she was reading it, and smiling in that sweet way while she did.
But now his curiosity about the book was becoming a nagging sensation that plagued him throughout most of the day, cropping up at the most inopportune times. Today he had nearly missed a question in Herbology because he was too busy thinking about what could be hidden under that battered green cover.
This thirst for knowledge and the fact that Rose kept popping into his dreams at night in ways she really shouldn't, led him to do something quite unexpected that humid day in the beginning of June.
"Hello."
Rose looked up as a shadow appeared on the page of her book. Shielding her eyes from the sun's glare, she saw Scorpius Malfoy standing before her, a weird look on his face. It looked as if he was battling with something he wanted to say.
Tucking a strand of wild hair behind her ear and a bookmark in her current page, she greeted him warmly. "Hello," She said simply, if not a little confused. "How are you?" she added remembering her manners.
"Fine," He breathed. "And you?" He was fidgeting in his pockets now, and Rose could practically taste his discomfort.
"Very well." She was still looking up at him, confusion now very apparent on her face.
"That's good." Scorpius mumbled, looking toward the fountain at her back.
Rose looked at the fountain too, seeing nothing out the ordinary; she looked back at the awkward boy before her. She didn't know what had gotten into him exactly. He had always been the very image of poise at all the Prefect meetings, and never seemed the type to be fidgety and insecure. Where on earth did smooth, witty, relaxed Scorpius Malfoy go?
After a few, very long, moments of tense silence, Rose finally spoke.
"Is there something wrong?" She didn't know what she meant by it exactly. She didn't know if she meant with the school, with the Leaving Feast she and the other Prefects were supposed to arrange, or if she meant with him.
She had no idea what to say. He was just standing there, looking from the fountain to her and back again, and frankly it was beginning to give her the creeps.
He didn't answer, but looked directly at her, and the old book she clutched in her hands. His gaze was unmoving; he just stood there and stared at her. Finally giving up, and channeling her father's anger, she said crossly. "What on earth is wrong with you? Why are you staring at me? And what can I help you with?" She crossed her arms over her chest for added effect and glared in his direction.
Scorpius started. Seeming shocked by her presence, and looked about wildly. Almost as if he was caught out doing something naughty.
"Scorpius?!" Rose shouted, fed up.
"I'msorry," Scorpius exhaled, and turned tail and all but ran in the opposite direction, leaving a befuddled and mildly peeved Rose Weasley behind him.
Looking back at that encounter still turned Scorpius' cheeks bright red. He couldn't believe that he had just stood there gaping like a bloody idiot. And no matter how many times he thought about it, and ran that painfully embarrassing scenario back through his mind, he couldn't suss out why he froze up. Scorpius never froze. He always had something to say, was always the epitome of composure, and calm. She was just sitting there, being polite to him as always, and for some strange reason he couldn't say anything.
Groaning at his foolishness, he attracted the attention of his fellow classmates who were trying to review nonverbal spells before the Charms exam in three days. This isn't what he needed. Exam week was coming up, and he needed to study, he needed to focus, he needed to get this weird fixation on Weasley out of his mind. But even as he repeated this mantra in his mind, his eyes drifted toward the front of the classroom and sought out her red head. Sure enough there she was, rereading her notes furiously and waving her wand in the direction of the water goblet in front of her.
As he watched her under the guise of double checking a spell in one his reference books, he couldn't help but think of her reading another book, the sun playing with her hair, the green grass beneath her, her soft, delicate hands playing with the necklace tucked into opening of her collared school shirt, her lips smiling in that sweet way. Scorpius sighed.
Suddenly the figure he was watching so intently, with such passion behind his eyes, turned and looked toward the direction of the noise. She saw him watching her, her eyebrows scrunched in pensive contemplation, her lips pouted ever-so-slightly…
His breath catching, Scorpius began to choke, and his eyes flicked back to his work. Sweet Merlin, must he always act like such a fool in her presence.
Calming his breath, he couldn't help but wonder why Rose Weasley had such an affect on him.
Later that day, after dinner, and a quiet wander around the school to calm his nerves and collect his thoughts, he knew what he had to do.
"Rose!" He shouted, running up to her still form at the base of the fountain he was beginning to think as hers.
She looked up startled, saw him and rolled her eyes. Not exactly the reaction he was hoping for but at least she didn't run away. However it seemed as if she was well on her way to doing that very thing, she began gathering her things and stood up, and nearly managed to take a step before Scorpius met up with her. He grabbed her arm to stop her while he tried to catch his breath.
"What do you want now Malfoy?" She asked, a dangerous edge to her voice.
Not a good starting point, Scorpius figured, but it was better than staring at her like she was a beast to be defeated. Shaking his head, he tried not to think of the last twenty-four hours of sheer embarrassment, and focused on the task at hand.
"I came" pause for breath "to apologize." It was only now that Scorpius realized he was gripping her arm. Staring at his traitorous hand in wide-eyed terror, he quickly withdrew it as if he had been shocked.
"I see," Rose said, her voice clipped. Shrugging her should bag on; she crossed her arms and stared at Malfoy, waiting for the rest.
"I'm sorry. I was acting mad yesterday, and I really have no idea what came over me." Scorpius looked into her eyes hoping to meet forgiveness and understanding in them. Alas, what he saw was narrowed lids, and disbelief. He also noticed for the first time just how clear and blue they were. They were a deep blue, a startling blue. He was surprised that he hadn't noticed them before now, and made an instant decision that hers were the type of eyes that one could get lost in.
Shocked by how pansy his thoughts sounded, and determined not to think about just how close he was to her, he continued on in his botched apology.
"I am sorry," He said with a passion he felt. "I, for some very strange reason, just wanted to talk to you yesterday. And for reasons that still have to be identified, found myself overwhelmed by your . . . presence." Who had allowed that last bit to leave his mouth? Certainly not he. However it seemed like the right thing to say, because when he looked up from his trainers and caught her eye, she was smiling.
"That is the weirdest apology I have ever received." Rose said, taking her bag off her shoulder and placing it at her feet. "But thank you. Apology accepted." And with this she sat back down at the base of the fountain.
Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief, and mild embarrassment. He suffered from word vomit around her, and realized that it actually could be worse. She could be recoiling back in terror, or slapping him across the face. Really, all-in-all, word vomit wasn't nearly as bad as it sounded. However, now that he had apologized, he had no idea what to do next. Apologizing was pretty much the only plan he had, mostly because he didn't think he would make it even this far. He was sure she wasn't going to hear him out, and just run away from him. If she had done so, he wouldn't have blamed her, that's what he would've done. Lucky for him, she took the matter out of his hands.
"So what did you want to talk about?" She asked, blue eyes staring at him, afternoon sun playing peek-a-boo with her hair. Merlin did he want to run his fingers through her hair. He wondered if it was as soft as it looked.
Focus!
"Uh . . . " Scorpius began most eloquently. Inwardly cursing his lack of cool around her, he tried again. "Your book actually." Word vomit again. "The one you were reading yesterday." It was as if his mouth refused to let any words out that would not completely incriminate him. In a furious attempt at distracting her from his pink cheeks, he looked around before taking a seat in front of her.
"Oh," Rose said, surprised. She took the battered book out of her bag, and clasped in gingerly in her hands. "Why?" she looked up at him, and again Scorpius found himself slipping into the deep blue.
Shaking his head, like a dog does to rid them of water, Scorpius thought about his response. "No reason," He lied.
At this Rose just raised a disbelieving, slim eyebrow. The look clearly stated that she didn't believe him for a second.
'Because I've been watching you for a few days now, and I need to know what you've been reading that makes you smile the way you do, because it's slowly driving me crazy.' Scorpius winced as that thought nearly escaped his lips. Luckily what came out was "Because it didn't seem like a library book and I was curious."
Rose was quiet for a moment, and roved her eyes up and down the tense form ahead of her. Scorpius felt like he was being appraised for an auction.
"It's not a library book. It's a muggle book, and one of my favorites. One of the first chapter books I learned to read," Rose admitted with a pink flush to her cheeks.
Scorpius liked the way she looked with pink cheeks, and inwardly reveled at the fact that he had caused it. "Tell me about it," He asked, plucking at the green grass at his feet and twirling a few strands in his fingers.
Rose watched him playing with the grass blades. His fingers were deft and smooth, and for some reason she found herself momentarily entranced by his movements. "Why?" she asked him in a distracted voice.
He threw the grass blades aside. Trance broken, Rose felt as if she had come up for air. She looked him in the face.
"I..." He trailed off. He couldn't come up with a good reason why he should want to hear about this book. "I don't know." He chuckled a little bit. "Why not?" He countered.
Rose looked baffled and highly suspicious, but in the end she conceded. It turned out it was a book written by a muggle man by the name of L. Frank Baum. It was called "The Wizard of Oz" and was in fact Rose Weasley's favorite book for a very long time.
"My mum used to read it to me when I was sick. I have a bunch of different copies. Annotated versions, first editions, illustrated children's versions. All sorts." Rose was looking at the battered copy in her hands with reverence, and Scorpius was looking at Rose with predator-like intensity.
"Well, I've never heard of it," Scorpius said with finality. "Read me some," He said. It was neither a command nor a request. He crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back in the soft grass.
"Um . . . " Rose wanted to ask why he was so bloody curious. She wanted to ask why what she was reading was any of his business. She wanted to tell him to bugger off and go away. After all it wasn't like they were friends. But when she glanced at his relaxed form. Eyes closed, chest moving in a steady rhythm, look of absolute peace on his face, she found that the words wouldn't form. She couldn't bear seeing that look of peacefulness leave his face, and she certainly didn't want to be the cause of his ruptured serenity. Wondering when Scorpius Malfoy's happiness had become a factor in her decisions, she opened to the last book-marked page, and began to read.
"'Chapter eight. The deadly poppy fields. Our little party of travelers awakened the next morning refreshed and full of hope, and Dorothy breakfasted like a princess off peaches and plums from the trees beside the river...'"
And so it began. Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy became friends. They spent the next few nights there at the back fountain reading together. Occasionally Scorpius would throw in a question. Sometimes Rose would stop reading and they would get off topic, talking about frivolous things, and telling stories.
And it was somewhere around their third day out back at the fountain, when Scorpius Malfoy realized something. He found himself becoming aroused at the way Rose's mouth formed the words 'emerald city' and 'the great and powerful Oz'. And suddenly, he knew. It was as if the fog had lifted, and he could finally see across the way.
He had fallen in love with Rose Weasley.
End Chapter One
A.N. 2:
As always reviews are appreciated and reviewers are fabulous.
Let me know what you guys think of this...
Next Time: Rose divulges more than she would like and fantasizes in the middle of an exam.