1) The What.
"Ow!" whined Rose Weasley as the hot hair straightener brushed her numbing ear. "Well, if you'd just hold still, Rose, it wouldn't hurt at all," grumbled Lily Luna. Rose sighed and returned to being disgruntled. "Come on, Rose! You're practically already betrothed to one of the HOTTEST wizards in the world," Lily said emphatically as she unclipped some of Rose's hair to straighten the next layer, "Have you ever seen him shirtless in Witches Weekly?" Lily fanned herself and whistled while letting the newly straightened strands of hair cool down. Rose loved Lily very much, like a sister, but sometimes Lily was a bit farfetched. Rose played Quidditch and studied more and wore tee shirts and jeans. She never wore make up and nail polish and cute dresses and super high heels like the rest of the girls, like Lily. She CERTAINLY didn't dream about having to get married to the boy who was the son of the man who was practically Uncle Harry and Rose's father's school nemesis. But this was the day she would be meeting the boy she'd be stuck with forever. I mean, it's not like she even WANTED to get married, let alone be stuck with a Malfoy as a fiancée. She wanted to meet someone and fall in love, not have her life chosen for her, even if her suitor was a sexy beast that every girl wanted. She sighed again because she had no choice but flinched as her ear was burned again. This was definitely not her kind of day.
However, far away, in Malfoy Manor, Draco Malfoy was pacing back and forth in front of one of the larger bedroom's doors, the room that belonged to the "young master" and Malfoy heir. The ebony grandfather clock on the floor beneath the floor of bedrooms struck 10 and Draco grew impatient. He halted his pacing and pounded on the bedroom door. "I certainly hope you're making yourself presentable," said the older Malfoy, "you're the one meeting his fiancee, not me."
A mere three seconds after he finished his sentence, Draco took a deep breath as his son emerged from the extravagant double doors, wearing a dark blue button down shirt with dark straight leg jeans folded at the bottoms. His hair was slightly messy, with platinum blonde lazily hanging low over his forehead and slightly curling outwards at the nape of his neck, only noticeably framing his slender face, and his trademark accessory, a necklace given to him by his grandmother, made of unicorn and thestral tail and a single shard of the Mirror of Erised, which was supposedly destroyed, only enough of the mirror to show a little bit of color from what one would want to see; Scorpius said he usually saw blue and Draco had once told Scorpius that he always saw a deep, chocolate brown. Grey eyes seemed uninterested in the future, what he was dressed and waiting for, but when his father looked longer, the younger Malfoy's eyes seemed to show more emotion than they intended—emotions like bravado, hope, and melancholy.
"Now, I think you won't be disappointed in this marriage," Draco said with a smile. Draco looked up at his still silent son, who had averted his gaze, instead looking at the staircase about ten feet away. "Scorpius," Draco said, in a soft tone just above a whisper while leaning forward, catching Scorpius's attention ,"the girl is Rose Weasley." Scorpius's eyes widened with shock and a mixture of uncertain joy and unadulterated anxiety and his lips parted slightly to whisper the name of the girl who silently rejected him so many times, who taunted him by just sitting in the library when he was there, who had e face that rivaled the beauty of mermaids and angels, who he had never forgotten. "Rose." Draco hugged his son tenderly and looked him in the eye. "I fell in love with a girl in Hogwarts, a girl like Rose. I know you still-" he paused here "-admire Rose Weasley, so hold on to her. Promise me this, Scorpius," Draco said with a certain level of wistfulness and joy in remembering the girl he once loved, some mysterious woman who probably got married and had children of her own by now. Scorpius could only nod as his father headed towards his study, as Scorpius stood still and looked out a large window directly in front of them, looking out towards the gardens, the fireflies that homered over white and red roses, and the full moon that would have awakened the werewolf within Remus Lupin, who would have been his father's cousin's husband, Scorpius's uncle, if he hadn't been killed in that bloody war. That bloody war. Scorpius wiped away a tear and walked towards away to some room elsewhere, trying not to think, trying to instead focus on the chiming clock's echo.
Lily spun the chair around and pushed Rose to stand up. Rose turned around and gasped quietly at the person in the mirror. A sleeveless dress draped over her figure with a high waist, emphasizing her slender waist, and flowing down until right above her knees from a scoop neck that revealed just a little cleavage, leaving much to the imagination, in black silk as dark as the night sky outside. A brushed silver necklace with a teardrop shaped onyx lay over her collarbone and a ring with a matching stone wrapped around her slender middle finger on her right hand. Her fingernails were painted a simple grey, uncannily matching the shade of the brushed silver on her ring and a pair of peep toe black heels made her feet seem so feminine. Her lips shone slightly in the light in a rosy pink and a dark line of black lined her piercing blue eyes and edged the ends with a wing tip. Her eyes lashes were darkened by mascara, but that was all the make-up she wore. Her hair was down in its normal waves but the top was just slightly straighter. Lily sighed dreamily. "You and Scorpius will be perfect," Lily said as she straightened the back of Rose's dress. "He'll fall right in love with you when he sees you tonight, Rose," she added as she peeked at Rose's reflection in the mirror.
Rose smiled at this, but she didn't know much about Scorpius. What was he like? Would he be as dreadful as the way her father had described Draco Malfoy? The clock hit 10 and Hermione Weasley rushed in. "Rose, dear, you look beautiful. It's time to go. Father has a portkey downstairs. Oh, I love you so much. It's YOUR night tonight, Rose," her mother rushed in one breath before ushering her down the stairs towards where her father stood ready to escort her to the Malfoy Manor. Hermione hugged her one last time and looked Rose in the eye, her own brown eyes searching Rose's blue ones for emotion the way a frustrated toddler would search his or her toy box for their favorite doll, before Rose walked toward her father and the portkey.
He had a bright smile on his face that warmed her heart. Rose knew he hated Scorpius's father a lot more than he was letting on, so it was a wonder why she ended up betrothed to the man's son. Her father's red hair was in disarray but he wore formal clothes, a two piece suit with a red shirt and gold tie. He leaned down to kiss her cheek and reached out. "Are you ready?" he inquired at Rose's pale face, "Don't worry. I've met him. He's a nice kid...Ravenclaw, you know." Her father seemed nervous about something, but she shook that thought off. She giggled anxiously at her father's House reference and, though wouldn't admit it to herself, she really was a little scared.
The doorbell rang out and echoed through the kitchens in which the house elves were bustling about, hurrying to make dinner and tea, through the study in which Draco Malfoy was reading the newest edition of "Quidditch Through the Ages", through the hallway in which Scorpius was observing the ring he had picked out and wondering how it would look like on Rose's finger. Scorpius's ears perked slightly at the sound of ringing that reverberated throughout the Manor and he heard his father's footsteps moving down the stairs. He decided to follow the sounds with mild curiosity. He found that his footsteps were much gentler in comparison to his father's heavy footsteps that echoed through the manor. He thought about all the differences between his father and himself.
He thought about Rose and her father. He knew of Rose's father –Ronald Weasley, he remembered–and his own father's bad history and wondered if it would affect Rose and himself. He stared at a mirror he passed by. His eyes glowed slightly at the thought of Rose again. He wondered if his eyes always did that at the mention of Rose; he had never bothered to check and no one would have mentioned it except his father, who was fairly sensitive to…the situation. Yes, the situation. He was lucky he didn't end up having to mate with a woman like the one who was, sadly, his mother. But, even though he loved Rose, he feared her reaction to the news of…what Scorpius was. There were already many obstacles. He loved Rose for a long time–ten years! –but he wasn't sure he could hold on to her if she wanted to melt through his fingers, out of his reach, if she would run from him before he could prove himself. Could he do such a thing?
Rose was nervous; the size of the manor in front of her did not help her anxiety. But when the door opened and the warmth inside eased the cold, she felt a bit of it melt away. She looked at the opening and the man who stood before them. An older man, probably as old as her father, with white skin and platinum blonde hair stood smiling down at them. She gasped; it was Draco Malfoy. Goodness, he seemed so friendly, completely unlike the way her father had described him. War and age take a toll on a person, she figured. The lines of age around his mouth and eyes that marred otherwise perfectly pale skin made him seem like an amiable person. She looked at her father who was returning Mr. Malfoy's smile and sheepishly grinned at the man who stood taller than both of them; Mr. Malfoy was probably somewhere around 6' 4". Draco took Rose's hand and kissed it gently before gesturing for them to enter. She removed her shoes and handed her cloak to a tearfully smiling house elf.
"What's your name, little elf?"
"Linlin, madam."
"Really? Oh, what an adorable name you have!"
"Young master Scorpius's betrothed?" it squeaked. When Rose nodded, the pink tutu adorned elf permitted one tear to roll down its face, a tear of joy. It scurried away as Draco Malfoy approached, probably in fear because of Mr. Malfoy's reputation as a fearful master, even though he may have changed; Rose was sure she would have done the same if she was Linlin, the elf. Mr. Malfoy began to walk towards what seemed to be a dining hall, so Rose and her father followed suit. Before she could enter the room, she heard a soft yet manly, strong yet weak voice call her. "Rose Weasley?"
Scorpius finally stopped thinking so hard for a minute and made his way towards the dining room, where he knew he'd find everyone. He glided down the spiraling staircase, sliding his fingers across the rails in a futile effort to calm his heartbeat. He could practically sense her walking hesitantly toward the dining hall and it killed him to control himself, to not go and grab her rig there and drag her to his bedroom and let the ela have its way, but he knew Rose would run from him if he didn't keep everything under control. It was still so difficult…He reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to go towards the dining hall when he saw the most beautiful red hair in large curls cascading down the back of someone mysteriously beautiful, clothed in black like an angel on this scarred earth. Then, it struck him as to who it was. "Rose Weasley?" he asked himself. She turned and her pink, glossed lips parted slightly in surprise. "Hello, Scorpius Malfoy," she gasped as she caught sight of him. Scorpius exerted extra energy into controlling himself as he walked slowly towards her, sat on one knee, and took her hand.
Such a beautiful hand it was, he thought as he stroked her fingers with his thumb and kissed it tenderly, in a way completely unlike Draco Malfoy's and not at all platonically. He looked up and saw her piercingly blue eyes gaze down at him as she blushed furiously, pink lips curved upwards in a subtle smile. She was so beautiful with her delicate and slender frame. He smiled as he stood up again, remembering that she hated being called skinny because she had been a Gryffindor Seeker for a year at Hogwarts, and led her to the dining hall himself, eyes downcast so as to hide their eerie, iridescent glow and the tears that he was fighting back. He could smell her perfume: jasmine, rose hips, and vanilla. Merlin, why did control hurt so much?
Rose gaped at Scorpius's back. Although she was only looking at his back, he was really impressive. She had dated twice: Lysander Scamander in her fourth year, who dumped her for Theodore Nott's daughter Caroline, and then a mysterious boy she met from Slytherin named Noel Riddle while in her sixth year, but he had been ill since birth and died early. Now, she had finished school at Hogwarts already though and had already turned eighteen years old in April. It was July now ,and she was going to get married? She wasn't sure how it had all happened —her ideas made her heart and mind race—so she simply concentrated on Scorpius's back. He straightened his back and she watched as him back muscles rippled. His skin seemed to glow in the light….except the nearest light fixture was a few feet away and was very dim. She sensed a dark revelation as they reached the dining hall, where her father fidgeted with his napkin as he discussed something seemingly important with Mr. Malfoy, who had a dark expression on his face, an expression he tried to mask as he looked up at the two teenagers who had just entered the room. Scorpius pulled her a chair and sat next to her, accepting the plate given to him by Linlin, the elf. She took an identical plate and began to cut the piece of steak before her, remembering all the mannerisms her mother taught her about what fork to use, where to put your elbows, and how to wipe your mouth. She took a sip of the classic strawberry milkshake that she had requested from another elf called Nat and looked up at Draco Malfoy, who was observing her as though she were a gem, scrutinizing her face and searching her soul. She flinched under his gaze and he snapped out of his trance, chuckling and turning to speak to Ronald Weasley who had looked up and swallowed his food and smiled, waiting for Draco's comment. Draco opened his mouth to speak, a sudden glint of seriousness and comfort. Comfort? Why would she need comforting? Something strange was going on…
Scorpius sensed his father's solemn thoughts and looked down to hide his torturous fear, seething anxiety, and glowing eyes. He knew Rose felt that something weird was going on and he wished he could have told her himself, but that was impossible. He had to keep the...thing...within him in check. His father cleared his throat and looked at Rose with a reasoning eye.
"Rose Weasley, you know why you're here I suppose, yes?"
"Yes, I do. I believe the reason is sitting...right next to me," She replied with a lopsided grin, gesturing to Scorpius. Scorpius averted his gaze once more and gulped down his water as though water was this new creation that some greater power bestowed upon humanity this morning.
"Rose, please be calm when I tell your this because it will change everything."
Her smile faded slightly and her attention was all Draco's now. Scorpius was tempted to rise and leave, an anger rising in his lungs, suffocating his common sense and train of thought, an anger directed towards his father, because he wanted to gain her trust before telling her.
"My grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy, had a surrogate mother. This surrogate had one secret she didn't tell the great great grandfather Malfoy, a secret that will affect you."
She took a deep breath, waiting for Draco to say something. When he didn't, she raised her voice two pitches with impatience. It was as if he were trying to assuage some pain in her, trying to nurture a love he knew was there. Rose, however, didn't want to play guessing games, and she definitely did not want to beat around a bush. She quietly snapped.
"Well, what is it? What is it with Scorpius, huh? What is this big secret? Do you intend on telling me or not?"
She stood up with a start and glared daggers at the older Malfoy as though doing that would reveal a secret. Ron stepped in, "Rose, you don't know what you're sayi-"
"I'm a veela."
Scorpius didn't realize he even spoke until everyone turned to look at him; he was still sipping his cup of water when he realized what he said and he choked when he realized he said it out loud. Rose paled.