Title: The Bride's Bouquet
Author: Veritas-amore
Pairing: Rose/Scorpius
Rating: M – just to be safe.
Chapter: 1/1
Note: I really can't remember when I got the idea for this, but I'm pretty sure it was during school a month back. As is habit, I wrote half and left it abandoned on my comp for a while before I decided to resume it. Reviews earn my eternal love.
Summary: Rose can't stand weddings, especially when the bride throws her bouquet. Scorpius plans to change her stance on the whole situation.
The thing about being in your late twenties and seeing everybody but yourself get married is that you kind of start to hate the common words of proposal, marriage, wedding.
When you have as many cousins and friends as I have, weddings were common occurrence. There was always someone snogging someone, someone popping the question and someone marrying someone; it was almost a tradition to hold a yearly wedding for one of my many cousins. Last year had been James; he'd finally settled down with a Danish auror he'd met on one of his many trips for Gringotts. The year before that had been Roxanne and many years before that had been Victoire and Teddy's wedding.
I used to love weddings; everything about them was enjoyable. From getting dressed to the nines to getting drunk on the congratulatory champagne at the reception. What I had loved most of all however was when the bride threw her bouquet. I'd never really believed that in catching the bouquet you'd end up getting married next but it was a nice superstition and one I was happy to lead. I always used to stand in the middle of the flower-hungry troupe in the hope that I would catch the bouquet next. But wedding after wedding of failing to catch the bouquet and seeing everyone but myself get married did get disenchanting after a while.
So it was with disappointment when I got home to my flat on Monday evening to find a thick ivory invitation upon my coffee table. Wedding invitation, I realized immediately with a groan and threw my handbag and keys down in order to lift and inspect the intimidating, mocking mass of thick card and elaborate Edwardian curls.
Rose Weasley it read in impossibly neat cursive.
I didn't need to open it to know who it was from. Dominique Weasley, the second of my Uncle Bill's daughters was to be getting married to the young Defence Against the Dark Arts professor she'd met and fell in love with whilst interning as a trainee charms professor at Beauxbatons two years ago.
Naturally, as the only one of Fleur Delacour Weasley's children to truly indulge in her French roots, she'd wanted the wedding at a vineyard overlooking a river in the southern French countryside. This meant portkeying to her venue of choice in delicate, blithe dresses.
Sighing, I threw the card down and padded, stocking-footed towards my kitchen to pour myself a large glass of red wine and try not to dread the upcoming nuptials.
Having a wedding amidst stunning greenery, a flowing river and spectacular vineyards was an awfully beautiful idea and one I would have to steal for my own wedding. Should it ever occur.
The ceremony was due to start at midday and at eleven thirty I was walking around the picture perfect setting, greeting the many faces I knew and secretly marvelling the beauty of the century old chateau that claimed right to the many kilometres of land spread around it.
I edged closer to the chateau, keen to inspect it some more and smirked as Lily flew past me, red in the face, wearing a dress that looked more fit for a blast-ended skrewt and trying to swear in French at the sister of the groom who looked just as red in the face and just as horrid in the same dress.
Relieved did not even cover how glad I was that I had been relieved of bridesmaid duties at this wedding. Dom and I had never really been close; I'd always preferred her younger brother Louis who'd been a brilliant partner in crime during our Hogwarts years. We fell out of touch however when he gained a scholarship to study at the Salem Institute of Higher Wizarding Education in America but he was sure to be at his sister's wedding and I couldn't wait to see him again.
I was about to head into the chateau to explore when my mother's firm grip had clamped about my upper arm and was steering me away from the chateau towards a throng of our society friends whom I'd hated from a young age.
"Darling, the Thorntons are dying to see you," she said and I grimaced.
"Mum, you know I hate them," I muttered darkly but plastered a half-hearted smile when I caught the said Thorntons looking our way.
"I don't have much patience with them either, dear," my mum whispered with the aura of one revealing a deep secret and I smiled a small, trivial smile.
"Then let's not go to them," I suggested and steered her away from the direction of the Thorntons towards the large, quaintly decorated precipice that overlooked the wide, meandering river in the valley below. "It's beautiful here."
"It is," my mother agreed softly and rested her head against my arm, her eyes focused on the navy river glistening like diamonds in the May sunlight. "It makes me wonder when my little Rosie if finally going to get married herself."
"I'm going to become a grouchy, old spinster," I teased but there's a slice of insecurity in me that my words may hit too close to home for comfort.
"Nonsense! You're only twenty-seven."
"Twenty-eight in three months," I reminded her with a little dejected sigh. "I don't think I'll ever find the man I want to marry before I hit my thirties."
"Silly little Rosie," my mother chastised sweetly. "What is this stupid little notion you have of finding love and getting married before you're thirty?"
I remained quiet and gripped her arm softly. Wasn't twenty years worth of looking for Mr Right and failing enough to tell me that perhaps I wasn't destined to end up married?
"You'll find him, dear," was all she said before we spent the next few minutes basking in the sunlight and the silence, content to listen to the soft twittering of faraway birds and the murmurings of the guests behind us carrying softly to our ears.
My mother glanced back many moments later and her voice cut across my reverie. "Goodness, there's the Malfoys! What are they doing here?"
I turned and followed her gaze to see three familiar figures stood talking to Aunt Fleur. Refined, graceful Mr Malfoy with his recognizable hair and cane; poised Astoria Malfoy, the trophy wife beside her husband and to her right, a figure I'd known well over my Hogwarts years. Scorpius Malfoy was the product of wealth, sophistication and the haughty features of the Malfoys and softness of his mother.
His hair was as conspicuous as his father's but on this wonderfully sunny day it looked like freshly spun gold. His features were as strong and proud as his father's but there was smoothness in his face that was lacking in the elder Malfoy and shared only with his mother.
"Mr Malfoy helped Aunt Fleur at the Ministry when she had difficulties securing the internship for Dominique at Beauxbatons," I informed my mother.
"That's right, he did," my mother said slowly, the memory dawning. "I can't believe I forgot…. Come say hello."
"No," I shake my head and my mother frowned, displeased.
"Rosie, you know the Malfoys. And Scorpius was a classmate; don't be so rude."
Eternally adolescent; that's how my mother makes me feel most of the time. "Later, mum," I sighed. "I promise," I added when she continued to look sceptical. Her hard features softened into resignation before she kissed my forehead affectionately.
"Stubborn little girl," she chastised gently before walking towards the Malfoy. I watched her greet them, shaking hands with the older Malfoy and his wife and blushing as the younger Malfoy raised her hand to his lips suavely. My eyes rolled to the heavens. My mother was in her fifties and yet she was still capable of flirting and blushing around younger men; I vaguely remember once being able to do that.
Turning away from them, I returned to watching the river but had not lost myself once more in the tranquillity before a voice boomed out over the grounds, requesting the guests make their way to the ceremony site on the other side of the chateau.
Regretfully, I turn away from the river.
Dominique had never looked lovelier as I watched her talk to her guests with her husband by her side whilst sitting at my table and sipping on champagne. The ceremony had ended over two hours ago and I had spent the majority of the reception sat in my chair, champagne in hand and declining most offers for a dance;
"How about you exchange that glass of Chardonnay for some actual human company?" a deep voice asked with a laughing cadence and I turned round to see Scorpius Malfoy stood behind my chair, his own glass of champagne in hand and the other buried in his trouser pocket casually. I had never seen a man look more sophisticated. His voice was deep, rich and flowing with the lightest lilt of upper class egoism. It made my body melt in places I didn't know the body could melt. Hypnotism seemed a good word to describe the effect of his voice; I was sorely tempted to giggle out a ditzy 'yes' and jump into his arms but amazingly, I managed to summon some of the sarcasm I had inherited from my mother but more decisively, from my father.
"I'm terribly sorry but the champagne was just about to ask me for a dance," I quirked and lightly raised my glass to mock toast him before I hid my smirk behind the glass.
Scorpius laughed; if I'd thought there was no thing better than his voice, I was proven wrong. His laugh was disarming, made even more pleasant by the warm afternoon sun beating down gently on us. "I have a better idea," he said smoothly as he approached, champagne coming to rest on the tabletop.
"I'm all ears," I told him and in contrast to him, continued to sip happily on my champagne.
"I ask you to dance with me; you agree, enjoy it and kiss me on the cheek in gratitude for being such a gentleman. What do you say?" Scorpius asked -voice low and conspiratorial. Warmth spread through my body and settled in places it hadn't settled in for some time now.
I finally set my champagne down. "I'd be delighted," I managed gracefully as I took his extended hand and he lightly pulled me up before leading me towards the makeshift dance floor not too far away where there was already a number of couples dancing. The song was neither slow nor fast but Scorpius rested a hand at my waist as mine went to his shoulder and slowly pulled me along with him, leading as I was sure was customary for him.
"You didn't come to say hi," he said softly, staring down at me as we swayed past a couple whom I recognized as Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny.
"Excuse me?"
"Your mother said you'd come to say hi later on but you didn't. So I decided to disregard your rudeness and say hello myself."
He was smiling an enigmatic little smile that made me a little weak at the knees and his eyes had a twinkle amidst their grey depths, like a weak glimmer of sunlight on the sea on a particularly grey day.
"How kind of you," I replied just a little dryly and Scorpius replied with a small smirk. We continued to sway silently for a while, my eyes peeking over his shoulder at everything that fell within my gaze. I noticed my mother looking over at us fondly and forced back a grimace. My father wasn't too far away either, but his expression was certainly lacking all meanings of fondness. His lips were pulled into a scowl but he could never truly be too discontent with my taste in men; he wanted my happiness after all. Although, I'm sure he'd imagined my happiness to stem from a source other than Scorpius Malfoy.
The song finished and I sent Scorpius a smile and made to step back from him, but he kept his arm around my waist securely and pulled me closer. My heart sped up. My body temperature spiked. Any misgivings simply wilted away until there was nothing but silence and the beating of our hearts.
"How about that kiss then?" Scorpius asked suggestively as another song started – faster this time – and he made a show of pulling me along with him. My feet only just managed to move in time.
I was surprised by this sudden, teasing and subtle aggression but it had its allure more than I liked to admit, and I found myself desperately wanting to banter in a similar fashion.
"I'll give you a kiss, here," I breathed into his ear, pressing closer to him. "And if you should be so kind as to accompany me inside, I'll snog that smirk off your face." And then I mischievously pulled my lips across his cheek in a slow kiss, feeling internally giddy at the easy return of my flirtatious aptitude.
"What are we waiting for then?" Scorpius returned with a whisper and stopped our swaying to pull me by the hand away from the dance floor, away from the grounds and towards the chateau. I followed him without protest, enjoying the feel of my hand in his own far too much.
"Well, this is daring," I remarked lightly as we entered the sparsely occupied chateau and made our way up the magnificent staircase with quick steps.
"What?" Scorpius turned round to face me and smirked deviously. "Never snuck away from a wedding to go snog a guest in an empty bedroom?"
In all honesty, no. Although I definitely reminded myself to do so more often; I assumed they made weddings just that much more tolerable.
"You're the first person I've ever done so with," I admitted with a slight shyness that prompted a blush to my cheeks.
"I'm honoured," he said with a cocky grin that I knew had infuriated many a person during our Hogwarts years. Speaking for myself, I found it strikingly appealing.
Having reached the second floor landing, Scorpius pulled me towards the first closed door and to our mutual luck, when he turned the handle the room turned out to be neither locked nor occupied. I'd barely managed to get a brief glance around the room before Scorpius had closed the door and pushed me up against it, his hands devouring my waist and the soft chiffon above it as his lips neared mine.
I forgot all about the bedroom and blinked up at him with my chest heaving against his, willing his penetrative eyes to never leave mine. I wanted to taste his lips so badly. They were the kind of lips that you knew tasted of luxury and satisfaction.
"You look beautiful," he said calmly and pressed a delicate, almost-there kiss on my lips before pulling back a mere second later. In that brief second, luxury and satisfaction dazed my senses before they disappeared just as quickly as they had come.
"Chivalry only gets you so far," I reminded quietly despite knowing full-well that if he kept these antics up, it was going to get him into my pants. With very little effort.
"It gets me far enough," Scorpius grinned almost as if having read my mind. And then he kissed me fully.
I lost myself after that.
His lips caressed mine slowly yet with an eagerness that implied of restrained passion, his hands carefully wandering up my sides, around my back and back to my waist, rubbing the most wonderful sensations into my torso with this sequence. My reply was unrestrained; I kissed him back fiercely, meeting every taste and sensation of his lips and tongue with a moan elicited from the very back of my throat. My fingers entangled in his butterscotch hair behind his neck and slithered over the nape of his neck, down to his shoulders, creeping all the way to his chest before pushing the black blazer off his shoulders. His arms momentarily unwrapped from my bed to allow the blazer to pool at our feet before they were back on me and pulling me closer to his body.
I felt dizzy. Never before had my body and carnal instincts reacted so strongly to a mere touch a kiss, but his lips were a drug and I couldn't get enough. He pushed me against the door and pressed both hands to the hard wood by my sides, still feeding me delicious, warm, liquid kisses. I managed to free him of both tie and shirt –with much effort, for I refused to release to his lips– and allowed a deep, guttural moan as I felt the smouldering heat of his smooth chest.
"You feel so good," I breathed with a smile against his lips and my hands, of their own accord, roamed the firm texture of his chest.
"Don't I get the same dubious pleasure?" he teased as his mouth moved from my lips to my jaw, working down towards my shoulders to nip and place hot, wet kisses beneath the strap of my dress. A small gasp left my mouth and my eyes fluttered shut.
"Only if you promise to make it good." The words had left my mouth before I'd even thought of them, but they were appropriate and kinky enough for him to smirk against my skin in reaction.
"I promise," his voice said softly and he paused for a bit, nothing moving but the beating of his heart against my body… until his fingers found the zipper at the back and slowly pulled down.
I knew I wasn't going to regret what was to come.
"I think we're in unanimous agreement that the sex is going to be fantastic," Scorpius mused softly afterwards. I lifted my head up from the crook of his neck, my heart beating wildly at his words.
"Is going to be?" I repeated hoarsely.
Scorpius blinked down at me. "Well, yeah… you don't plan on repeating this?"
Was I just imagining it or was there an edge of disappointment in his voice?
"If it's just sex you want, then no," I said resolutely. I'd tried enough friends with benefits relationships to last me a lifetime and from my experience, things never ended well anyway. And it wasn't benefits I was looking for. I wanted a real relationship; someone to be serious about, to think about white picket fences and kids with him in the picture.
He remained silent for a few moments and I felt the resentment build within me. Fucking great. He's smart, sophisticated, funny, gorgeous… but he just wants sex. I made to get off him, no longer wishing to remain sprawled naked on his chest beneath the bed sheets but Scorpius pulled me back the moment I pushed myself off him.
I glared at him but he grinned at my expression before the amusement melted to something serious. "It's been ages since I wanted something more than a casual fling," he began gently. "I don't like to commit to someone so easily, and if you'd wanted just sex, things would be so much simpler. But you don't and I'm not willing to let you slip away, so… I want more than sex too."
He shrugged in a childish, nonchalant way that belied the uncertainty behind his eyes. I found myself smiling slowly but gradually at him before I leaned down to press a blithe, chaste kiss to his lips. "No cold feet once I'm preparing anniversary dates, all right?"
"Okay," he smiled and kissed me deeply for a long time, rolling us over so he was on top of me and allowing me to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer. This was bliss; I never wanted to leave this room again.
Scorpius pulled back with a lazy smile that only just sped up my now utterly content heart and said, "I think the bride might throw her bouquet any minute now; we should go."
He got off me and began to slip into his clothes, finding his discarded boxers first at the foot of the bed.
Feeling lighter than I had in months and knowing the familiar sensations of a new fondness were currently creeping over me as I took Scorpius in, I also got off the bed and quickly slipped into my underwear before shimmying into my powder blue dress.
"Zip me up," I requested of Scorpius and turned round so that my back was to him. He was behind me in a matter of seconds, one hand resting tenderly at my waist as he pushed my hair to the side before pulling the zipper up. His other hand went to rest my at my other side and he pulled me a tad bit closer before pressing a light kiss to the nape of my neck. My heart gave a leap of contentment and I melted a little into him. "This feels nice."
"Get used to it," he grinned into my ear before he pulled back and continued to slip into his tuxedo, briefly combing his hair back into place with his fingers, and Voila! As suave as you please.
"I'll go ahead," I said and offered him one more smile before I departed and tried to casually make my way back outside, my effort to keep a sloppy smile from my face wasted.
True to Scorpius' suspicion, there was a group of unmarried females gathering a few feet away from Dom who was laughing heartily whilst waving her beautiful bouquet tantalizingly in her hand. I hurried over to join them.
"Where've you been?" Lily asked curiously as I stood beside her.
"I've been here," I replied innocently.
She snorted in a don't-patronize-me kind of way. "I saw you sneak off with Scorpius Malfoy, Rose," she said silently with a smirk. "Do you know what they call that smile you're wearing? A satisfied smile. And I only know one thing that leads to that smile."
"So I snogged Scorpius Malfoy inside the chateau; jealous?"
"Just a bit," Lily smiled genially and honestly.
I grinned but offered no more words and swept my eyes over the watching guests in search for Scorpius, seeing if he had emerged. I found him stood next to his parents at their table, a smirk on his face that alleviated to a smile when his eyes found mine.
"Eyes on the bride, Rose," Lily rolled her eyes next to me, and I grudgingly turned to look back at Dom who had turned her back to us and was arching her arm in preparation. And unlike so many times before in the past, I didn't feel a resentful certainty that the bouquet wouldn't be mine; I felt hopeful.
My heart sped up a bit in anticipation and adrenaline spread through my body as I watched the bouquet soar through the air, approaching ever closer in miraculously… my direction! I raised my arms and only just caught it with the tips of my fingers, a bewildered smile slowly creeping up over my lips as the others groaned around me.
"Looks like our next wedding is going to your wedding," Lily grinned, but I wasn't listening because I'd turned my gaze to Scorpius and feebly shook the flowers in my hands with a disbelieving smile; entirely unsure of what his reaction was going to be.
Scorpius merely smirked and raised his right hand to flash me an empty ring finger.
And as simply as that, I knew that I still loved weddings.