The Riff Off
It was a Monday morning in the great hall, when it all started. Scorpius was staring moodily into his coffee at the Ravenclaw house table, his best friend Al Potter was sitting next to him eating his bacon and eggs with a vigor that Scoroius was used to seeing from him, put he wasn't really appreciative of the grunts of appreciation that sent egg flecks flying everywhere. Even there other friend Rose was far too awake at this hour considering it was a Monday, he was just about to ask why when an owl dropped a letter into her lap and She stood up almost in time with a dozen other students from various houses. He perked up slightly at this wondering what was going on.
A Gryffindor girl with long blonde hair started out,
"Na, Na, Come on," she was joined by another gryffindor and a hufflepuff girl, the few boys standing with started to grin. Like they were all in on a big joke. Then to Scorpius surprise, from the other side of Al, Rose stood and joined in, while the standing students continued their Capella background medley except for the Gryffindor girl who was repeated herself four or five times. Scorpius had never seen Rose sing, he knew she was a member of the a school singing club but he had never paid much attention. This blew him away, she opened her mouth and the words, they were not like her at all.
"Cause I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it," She had walked up to some random standing up Hufflepuff boy and was singing at him, with that glint in her eye that meant she was up to mischief.
"Sex in the air,"
Did she just mention sex? In front of the faculty?! Scorpius sneaked a look at the teachers they didn't seem to mind Professor Longbottom appeared to be humming along.
"I don't care, I love the smell of it," Since when did Rose know what the smell of sex was? Why wasn't Albus hitting the roof right now? Did he miss the owl post about it being opposite day or something?
"Sticks and stone may break my bones, but whips and chains excite me," What the merlins underpants was going on here. The men had started singing back, but Scorpius tuned them out as he kicked an apparently uninterested Al under the table.
"What the heck is going on Al? Why are they singing?!" Al, who had yelped at being kicked glared at him for a moment before removing his toast to answer.
"Rose was telling me about it last week, it's a riff off, they get sent a category of music and they have to sing songs at each other till they stump or surprise the other enough to shut them up. They are trying to attract new members." Well, it made slightly more sense now, Scorpius reasoned, large groups of people didn't normally go mad together after all. Not even at Hogwarts, Scorpius privately thought that was more of a Drumstrang thing. By this point the group had battled back and forth three or four songs, the boys were singing at the moment.
"It feels like the first time, It feel like the very first time,"
Scorpius watched as Roses' face lit up she made a funny zip motion with her hands. The boys who were singing shut up instantly. It must have been one of the rules, Scorpius thought idly. Rose was incredible, with that one motion she let her hair fall in front of her face and as she started singing, Scorpius noticed the tips of her ears had gone red, a sure sign she was embarrassed. Her voice was sultry and seducing,
"Touched for the very first time, like a vir-ir-ir-gin," The boys jaws dropped, and Rose lifted her head and brushed her hair back, Scorpius noted that she know longer looked embarrass, she looked like a craving he'd once seen of a greek goddess, she was powerful and sexy.
"When your heart beats next to mine,"
Applause broke out, and Rose lit up, the boys looked grumpy and wandered out of the great hall, like dogs with their tails between their legs.
"Let;s go Scorch, we have Herbology first greenhouse seven is on the other side," Typically of Rose to act like this was an every day occurrence.
"So this goes on all week?"
"Yip"
"Why?"
Rose turned to glare at him, and suddenly he had the feeling she had explained this all before but he hadn't been listening. He dropped the topic. Al would explain later.
It happened again in the corridor outside the Charms classroom, Scorpius was inside packing his bag when the owl flew over his head and dropped a letter into Rose's hands, she lit up again and immediately left down the hall, without even a second glance for him. He was not impressed.
He only got about five hundred metres down from the class when he stopped in his tracks, it was that Hufflepuff boy again the blond one. He had evidently beat Rose to the punch on the song thing cause she did not look impressed.
"Right from the moment that I met her saw her, I said she gorgeous and I vowed,"
Scorpius, did not like this hufflepuff boy. He had this smarmy look on his face like he knew he was winning.
"Here in town there's only she who is as beautiful as me," He actually smoothed back his hair at this bit, and Scorpius felt bile rise, he was just about to turn and walk away unable to watch when Rose stopped him.
Hold on, She mouthed. She did the sip motion, and once more the blond boy shut up, and he scowled too Scorpius was pleased to note.
"Can you imagine me? The wife of that boorish, Brainless, Madame Gaston, can't you just see it," Scorpius had started to smirk at the boorish bit, and decided he was going to ask Rose what the categories were once they'd finished.
"Madame Gaston, his little wife, No sir! Not me! I guarantee it! I want much than this provincial life! I want adventure in the great wide somewhere," Scorpius could tell she'd lost herself to the music by this point, this was a side of Rose he had never seen before, breathless with a passion for the music, Rose. He liked it, but it came with a bite of jealously, music was something he couldn't share with her. They shared a passion for everything but music, Scorpius could sing, but he was shy, the only shy one in there group. Off the quidditch pitch he rarely interacted with strangers. A side effect of having a famous death eater father, Al, Rose and him were best friends, but they had never addressed the war. He preferred it that way.
"And for once it might be grand to have some one understand, I want so much more than they've got planned," Was it his imagination or did Rose look at him as she sang that? The blond boy had disappear grumpy at having lost again.
It went on like this for a four days, on Thursday, Al called him out, on their way to the library, asking him why he didn't just join? After all he knew Scorpius could sing, summers at the Malfoys and Potters had shown him that (Scorpius had a habit sung in the shower, loudly). Even Al's mother had admitted Scorpius had a lovely voice. Ginny Potter did not like Scorpius, he was rather too cocky and too quiet for Ginny's taste. She was sure the shyness was hiding plots.
"I can't Al, I'd freeze up, and you know it," Al didn't look convinced and he didn't drop it either. Scorpius sometimes wished his best friend didn't know him so well.
Fate, did not Scorpius very much, this was well established, Fate had screwed him over on his first train ride to Hogwarts when the only carriage with space was the one that had Al and Rose in it. Fate had screwed him over in the fact that he would fall in love with his best mate, the female one, who also was the daughter of the one man his father hated more than anyone else in the world. Draco Malfoy still had a grudge against Ron Weasley, although got along with Harry Potter and Hermione Weasley quite well. He still called Al's mum Weaslette though so Scorpius tried not to let them see one another. Mrs Potter was very, very good at hexes, and that relationship didn't need anymore oil on the tinder.
Fate especially screwed him up when he walked into the great hall Friday Morning and Rose Weasley was standing there, with her hair pulled off her face by the band Scorpius had brought her for Christmas, with that look in her eyes, and all her music friend singing back up for her.
"Love, love me do, you know I love you, I'll always be true, so please-ease-ease, love me do-o-o,"
His heart felt ready to explode out of his chest and he knew that he'd lost this battle before it had really begun, Al had known, no doubt Rose had known, he certainly knew. He swallowed the lump in his throat and opened his mouth.
"Love me true, All my dreams fulfilled, for my darlin' I love you,"
The look on her face was worth it. She lit up, and grinned at him, passion in her eyes, and made the zip motion.
"Cause you Romeo, you were throwing pebbles and my Daddy said stay away from Juliet, and I was crying on the staircase begging you please don't go and I said, Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone,"
The great hall was silent now, and Scorpius knew he had turned a alarming shade of red. There was no turning back, he silently thank Al for years of summers spent listening to muggle radio stations that Mr Potter liked. He also realized he had gained back up singers including the annoying hufflepuff that had been song flirting with Rose all week. He made the zip motion. He took several steps closer to her
"Through the breezes, through the tress, your so pretty, your all I see, as the world keeps spinning round, you hold me right here right now, lucky I'm in love with my best friend,"
You could have heard a pin drop, everyone who had up until this point assumed he was a part of the music group had clicked that he, in fact, was not and that he was baring his soul to the daughter of one the saviors of the wizarding world, and him, with his father being a the youngest death eater, ever. She made the zip motion, and took five steps forward so she was right in front of him, the air was thick with nerves and Scorpius was pretty sure he had never felt this nervous in his whole life. He felt as though the last seven years of friendship with Rose had been leading up to this, and how did he express it, through fricking song. He was going to have to finish his year at home, being home schooled. She opened her beautiful mouth, there goes all hope that sh might kiss him. He was doomed.
"Wise men say, only fools rush in, But I can't help falling in love with you,"
This time Scorpius didn't even bother with the zip motion he was so ecstatic, he grabbed one of her hands in his, and slid his other one around her waist and kissed her. The great hall erupted in cheers. But neither Scorpius nor Rose noticed. Scorpius would find out much later that the hufflepuff boy he'd spent a week being jealous of, was very, very gay and interested in James Potter, of course. He also learn that the point of the riff off had been achieved, turns out they were trying to attract new members, Scorpius and Roses' big finale had brought ten new students in all hoping to find a romantic shy guy with a trouble past. Al and Rose had laughed till they cried over that. Scorpius only managed to not throttle them by reminding himself that throwing a book at one's girlfrined and her cousin was not detrimental to one's relationship with her.
Songs mentioned (in order)
S&M Rihanna
Feels like the first time Forgeiner.
Like a Virgin Madonna
Belle Beauty and the Beast
Belle Reprise Beauty and the beast
Love me Do the Beatles
Love me Tender Elvis Presley
Love Story Taylor Swift
Lucky Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliat
Can't help fallin' in love Elvis Presley
This fic was inspired by the riff off scene in Pitch Perfect (I haven't seen it just the riff off which is on YouTube). I wrote it while on bedrest after major abdo surgery. It kind of appeared out of no where, I hope you like it. I do, it has to be dedicated to my husband who is looking after our boy and myself while I am stuck on bedrest.
A song I wish I could have fit in was Could I have this dance by Anne murray, which my hubby and I danced do at our school ball in 2006.
It was meant to be a multi chapter fic, but I am not so good at finishing those so better safe than sorry,