Author's Note: Hi there! Many thanks to my beta HayleyWilliams! She is the best! I hope you guys enjoy and please review!
Discaimer: I do own all of the Harry Potter books. Okay, so I own copies of the books. Whatever. A girl can dream.
The atmosphere of the Three Broom Sticks was hazy and crowded. Scorpius was on his third shot of fire whiskey as he stared at his best friend. White-blond hair clung to his forehead and he rolled up the sleeves to his crinkled white dress shirt.
He smirked at his dark red-headed friend. "Loosen up Weasley," Scorpius insisted in a deep voice and downed his third shot with a swift jerk of his arm. He smashed the glass back down on the table and wiggled his eye brows at Rose.
Rose snorted and turned toward Scorpius, "I don't really feel the need to get drunk in the middle of the week, Scorp."
Scorpius' smirk faded a bit before he started to grin. "C'mon Rose! Today is a day to celebrate! We are done with Hogwarts. Just think of it, we are getting out there, living our lives!" He waved his hand at the bar tender for another round.
Rose shrugged and tucked one of her silky red locks behind her ear. "You know, my father would not be very happy with you if he knew you were trying to get his little girl drunk." She flashed him a small smile that barely reached her eyes.
A shadow passed over Scorpius' face as a slight smirk played along his lips. "Your father would not be very happy if he knew I was doing anything with his little girl," he teased and winked at her.
Rose felt the crimson crawl up her cheeks, "You always sound so dirty." She shook her head.
Scorpius playfully scootched closer to Rose, "You're blushing," he said observing the color that began to appear on Rose's cheeks. Scorpius' breath was warm when it brushed over her face. He took one of her curls and wrapped it around his pale finger.
Rose leaned away from Scorpius and took a small sip of her butterbeer. "My father never really got over the fact that my best friend is a Malfoy. You know, the fact that you were a Ravenclaw even failed to comfort him," she pointed out wearily.
Scorpius leaned back in his chair and let go of Rose's hair. "I know," he replied, "I can feel his eyes burning a hole into my back whenever I come over for Christmas dinners at the Burrow." He downed his forth shot and signaled the bartender for another.
Rose frowned. "Stop it Scorp. Am I going to have book you a room for the night? You clearly aren't sober enough to apparate to the Manor and I am not taking you home with me. My dad would kill you." She turned to the bartender and cancelled Scorpius' order to ask for a cup of tea instead.
Scorpius smirked at Rose, "I am sure your father is the only thing holding you back from taking me home with you." He nodded at the bartender when his tea arrived. He gripped the mug with both hands and brought the mug to his lips.
Rose shook her head and sipped at her butterbeer again. "Sometimes I wonder why we are even friends," she said sighing, although already knowing the answer. Everyone wanted to be friends with the daughter of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, everyone but Scorpius. Scorpius was her greatest competition in school, his knowledge and indifference toward her intrigued her. After they were put together for a project, a bond was instantly formed. They have been inseparable since.
Scorpius brushed his blond fringe away from his face. "You mean best friend," he corrected and stared at his friend. He examined her face. He liked the way her hair was not completely red like the rest of the Weasleys' but a bit darker because of her mother's brown hair. He also liked the way her freckles lightly sprinkled over her face and he liked knowing that she hated them. He especially liked the fact that he could easily push her buttons.
Rose pulled at the hem of her skirt and tried to pull it over her knees. "Stop looking at me like you have seen me naked," she snapped and swiftly took a swing of the butterbeer.
Scorpius put on his famous smirk, "A man can dream."
Rose shifted in her seat and ordered another tea, this time for herself. "Yes, and dreaming is all you will be doing," she answered flatly.
Scorpius leaned against the counter and smiled. "So, Rose, what do you think our children will look like?"
Rose spit out her drink mid-swallow and started coughing. "W-what?" She sputtered. Her cheeks grew hot and she turned toward her friend.
He started taping his hand on the bar counter. "You know, I think they will be really cute. They will have my fantastic mouth and your pretty brown eyes. What I still cannot figure out is if they will have the Malfoy blond hair or the Weasley red hair." He mused.
Rose composed herself, "And what makes you think I am going to have children with you?" Her eyes narrowed as she watched him.
He kept his eyes trained forward, "Because it is all part of the plan." His long fingers traced circles on the table.
Rose scoffed, but her cold demeanor was melting. "And what plan is that?" She asked feeling somewhat curious to hear his response.
Scorpius trained his silver eyes on her briefly before saying, "The plan where I am a famous dragon trainer and you are a world renowned healer. The plan where we get married, get a place of our own and have lots of children."
Rose smiled, "I never knew you had my life planned out for me. I also never knew that you like children." She took a sip of her tea and looked up.
Scorpius gazed intently at her. "Not just any children, our children."
Rose felt her cheeks warm again. "So, when does my future as your wife start?"
Scorpius drew another long sip from his mug. "As soon as you say yes," he answered deviously.
She watched as his eyes challenged her to keep asking questions. She sighed giving in, "What exactly will I have to say yes to?"
He licked his lips and looked away from her, "My marriage proposal." He spun around quickly in his chair and faced her head on. "Screw it."He grabbed at his long forgotten empty shot glass and fumbled for his wand. He took Roses hand and gently placed the shot glass into it. He muttered a spell under his breath and the glass transformed into a ring. The ring was transparent and glittered. His silver eyes met her brown eyes, "Marry me?"
The glass ring felt heavy in her hand. It was a plain glass loop. It was pretty though. Rose took a moment to compose herself. "I am not going to marry you Scorpius," she stated slowly, "Your drunk and you are moving to Romania. I am going to stay here in London. Besides, you don't even know what you are talking about."
Rose fingered the ring a bit longer before extending her hand toward her friend. He took the ring and slipped it into his pocket. He smirked at her. "You'll want that back sometime in the future. Then our plans can start."
Rose grinned. "C'mon Romeo, let's get you home." She stood up and fumbled through her bag for some extra money to pay for their drinks. Scorpius smacked some bills on the counter and took Rose's arm. Rose smiled at him, "Thanks, next time I am buying." She guided him outside, steering him past wooden tables. The summer air hit their faces. Rose took a deep breath and let the fresh air fill her lungs.
The summer after their final year at Hogwarts was drawing to an end. Scorpius was leaving in a few days time to study under Rose's uncle Charlie. Scorpius fell in love with the idea of training dragons the first time he met Charlie. Of course, Scorpius would also take over the Malfoy family business, starting with the branch in Romania.
Scorpius was family to her. They had been best friends for years and no matter how sleazy he seemed, he was always there for her. He was her lifeline and Rose got a bit misty when she thought about him leaving. "I am really going to miss you Scorpius," Rose said when she met his eyes.
He gave her a warm smile. "Don't worry Rose. We will write and maybe we will even talk on those muggle things your mother is so fond of." He patted her on the shoulder; he took out his wand to apparate. Rose quickly leaned forward and kissed him softly on the cheek. "Our kids would definitely have Weasley hair," she whispered and handed him a small flask. "Here is the Weasley hangover cure. I snatched some from Teddy's stash."
Rose took her wand out and apparated back to the burrow. Scorpius heard the loud snap and touched his cheek. He could still feel the warmth of her lips against his cheek. One day, his plan would be set in motion. He could wait till then, till the day where everything would fall into place.
Rose rarely traveled, yet today she found herself in a foreign country wandering the streets after a hard day of work. Rose was called from St. Mungos to consult a case in Romania. She worked all day and promised her uncle Charlie that she would have dinner with him and his family that night.
She had approximately an hour before she had to be at Charlie's house, so she decided to explore the little outdoor market on her way into town. It is very cute, Rose thought as she ran her fingers over a pile of apples.
Rose loved apples. They were not exactly the most romantic fruit, but they were Rose's favorite. She picked up a plump red-yellowish one and rolled it around in her hands before setting it back on the pile.
"A rose for a rose," a deep familiar voice came from behind her. Rose whipped around with a grin already set on her face.
Scorpius stood in front of her and extended a yellow rose toward her. Rose took the rose in her hand gently, being careful to avoid the thorns. "Scorpius!" She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. "That is so cheesy! But thank you, it is beautiful." She said when she pulled back. She sniffed the flower to demonstrate.
"Rosie. How have you been?" Scorpius smiled. She looked good. He always thought she looked good though. Her hair was down and hit her shoulders; she wore a casual purple cotton dress. He broke eye contact as he took out his wallet, handed a few bills to the apple vender and bought a bag of apples.
He handed her one and took a bite out of his own. Rose smiled. "I am fine, tired, but fine. How about you? How are the dragons treating you?" she asked rubbing the apple on her shirt before taking a bite. Merlin, she loved apples.
Scorpius held up his bandaged hand. "Some of them like to play rough, but that is what I sighed up for," he answered coolly.
Rose gasped and quickly stuffed her half-eaten apple in her bag before taking his bandaged hand into her own. "What happened? Did you get it looked at? Didn't I tell you that playing with dragons were unsafe and a really bad idea?" She flipped his hand over and started fingering his bandage.
Scorpius gazed at Rose intensely while she examined his hand. He smiled. She had once told him that dragons were dangerous and that he was really stupid to want to train them. "I am fine Rose," he reassured her, "It is just a little scorch mark and I had a doctor already look at it. Your brother always comes home with wounds and you don't fuss that much over him."
Rose shot her head up. "I think my mother does enough fussing for the both of us when it comes to Hugo." She let go of his wounded hand and sighed, "I still want to look at that later, make sure your doctor dressed it properly."
A sly smirk slid across Scorpius' face, "So, you want to 'play doctor' later?"
Rose stiffened and frowned, "If that's what you want to call it, then sure." She looked warily over at her friend. He always had some sort of innuendo up his sleeve. Now that she looked at him properly, she could see faded bruises on his forearms and small scratches everywhere. It didn't make him any less attractive though. In a way, it made him look rugged and daring. She would never tell him that though. She would never hear the end of it.
"C'mon, let's start walking to Charlie's house; it isn't that far from here." He took her hand and tugged in the direction of his mentor's house. He felt a tingling sensation in his fingers and kept a firm grip on her hand as they made their way down the road.
Scorpius knocked on the red painted door. His fingers were still tightly intertwined with Rose's. Charlie swung the door open and Scorpius felt Rose's hand gently slip away. Rose hugged her uncle and his wife, while Scorpius did the same behind her. Charlie's wife smiled, "What a beautiful rose! Would you like me to put that in some water for you?" Before Rose could answer her yellow Rose was taken out of her hand and taken to the kitchen.
Charlie gave Scorpius a pat on the back and steered the pair to the table, which was already decked with food. The dinner went well. The table was packed with distant relatives and neighbors, just like the burrow was almost every day. She caught Scorpius staring at her a few times and found her cheeks grew warm every time. Rose heard tales of the dragons Scorpius and Charlie have trained and how Scorpius got his hand burned so severely. She also heard tales of the cousin's boy troubles (for Charlie had a daughter), and learned the recipe for Charlie's famous apple pie.
At the end of the night she and Scorpius said their goodbyes to Charlie and the rest of the family before heading off to Scorpius' house. When she first told Scorpius that she was coming to Romania to consult on a patient, he insisted that she come stay at his house. He said that since she had not visited him once when he moved to Romania five years ago, the least she could do is stay at his house and comment on how nice it is. Against her better judgment she agreed. This landed her where she is now, in his living room.
"So," Scorpius said as he closed the door to his house, "Do you want the tour?"
Rose smiled. "Would you except any answer other than yes?" She questioned selflessly and placed her purse down on his overstuffed couch.
"Yes is expectable, so is 'absolutely' and 'of course, Scorp! I have been waiting my entire life to get a tour of your house!'" Scorpius smiled and made his way toward Rose.
Rose winced, "Let's just stick with 'yes' then, shall we?" She then ventured out to the walls of the living room. There a hung picture of him and his parents. A picture of him standing next to a fire breathing dragon (presumably the one that burned his hand) hung in a frame above his fire place. One picture of him standing with Charlie stood on the fire place. The picture she picked up was a picture of herself and Scorpius a few days after graduation. She wore a yellow sundress and he wore a blue dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up and they were laughing. "Wow, I don't think I ever saw this picture! We look so happy." She turned around to face Scorpius who was still standing across the room.
Scorpius nodded. "Yeah, I miss us." He walk towards her abruptly and took her wrist gently in his hand. Rose's eyes widened at his sudden proximity to her. "C'mon, let me show you the other rooms," he mumbled before tugging her along.
They entered a very modern looking kitchen. The floor was marble and everything was stored away properly. The atmosphere of the room seemed cold compared to the casual feel of the living room." My mom did not think my living arrangements were 'proper' enough, so she told me that she was going to make a room of my choosing proper. I choose the kitchen, much to her dismay."
Rose chuckled and followed Scorpius into the next room. "This is my office. I use it to work on ideas for the family company. I would have to say that I spend most of my time here." He smiled and touched the desk.
Scorpius tried to steer Rose out of the room, but she was too intrigued. The room was not very big, but it fit his desk, chair and filing cabinet. What interested Rose the most was his giant bulletin board. It took up the entirety of one of the four walls. "C'mon Rose, my office is not that interesting." Scorpius shifting nervously as Rose neared his bulletin board.
She waved him off, "I want to see what you look at every day." On the board there were numerous news paper articles about Scorpius and the Malfoy Company, some pictures of his family and a few business designs he drew up. There were a few sketches or doodles of inanimate objects (Scorpius always doodles when he is brain storming). Rose was about to turn back to Scorpius and have him continue his tour when she spotted her name. She looked over the first essay she published in an obscure wizarding magazine about medicine. She looked at the essay next to it and found it was another one of hers.
After a few more seconds of identifying her old published work, she turned around to see Scorpius looking at the ground. His blond bangs hung over his eyes. "You found all of the articles I published," she stated calmly.
Scorpius still did not meet her eyes. "I am proud of you Rose. Of course I kept all of the articles you wrote. They were all really good."
Rose stepped toward him slowly. She only came to a stop when she was right up in front of him. She could have extended a finger and poked him in the stomach. Instead, she put a hand on his cheek and leaned. Her lips met his timidly at first. Before he could react it was over. Rose drew back and fear clouded her eyes.
Before she could question her previous reaction, Scorpius lunged forward and captured her lips a second time. This time his lips moved eagerly against hers. Her lips tingled a bit as she pushed him against one of the walls in his office. Their mouth moved in synchronization as she opened her mouth to allow him to deepen the kiss.
He fingered her hair and steered them toward his bedroom. Their lips only separated when they needed to breathe. Rose silently cursed the human need for oxygen. Eventually they found themselves in Scorpius' Bedroom. Rose fumbled at Scorpius' buttons and Scorpius drew back.
Rose looked up at Scorpius with question in her eye.
Scorpius was looking at her intensely. "Marry me." It was less of a question than a gentle command.
Rose could see he was serious. His words from five years ago came back to her. This was part of the plan. "Why?" Rose bought herself some time.
Scorpius chose his words carefully. "Because I love you and I am pretty sure you love me too. Because you are my best friend and I don't think there is anyone else in this world I would rather spend all of my time with - because it is part of the plan. It is always you who I see when I think of the future." Scorpius took one of her hands.
Rose was melting, "How? We live in different countries!"
Scorpius looked down, "I'll move. My father wants me to take over the family business, I can work there."
A few tears escaped her eyes, "But you have a life here."
Malfoy shook his head, "It doesn't matter. C'mon Rose, marry me." His eyes bore into hers.
Rose shifted from foot to foot. "Okay. Yes. I will marry you."
Scorpius' face broke out into a grin. He kissed her quickly on the lips and turned toward his bedside table. He reached into his drawer and pulled out a plain glass band. "I kept this all these years. I know it isn't much, but I thought that it held sentimental value. Plus tomorrow I can get you a proper one," he promised, and then slipped the glass band onto her finger.
"It is perfect." Rose smiled. She looked into his eyes. "Wow, we are really doing this." She leaned over and kissed his lips again. "I do love you too, you know."
Scorpius nodded, "I kind of figured." He felt a bit lighter though.
Rose sat down on his bed. "I think I like Romania." She glanced casually up at Scorpius. "Their hospital is state of the art, and I have a lot of opportunities there. Before you give up your dreams of taming dragons, maybe we could try roughing it down here."
Scorpius frowned, "We are hardly roughing it!"
Rose smirked, "You know what I mean."
A/N: Hey! Thanks for reading! Please push that big review button! It would really mean a lot to me! :)
This was written for a challenge posted by Writting2stayHalfSane: Two proposals. One where the lady says yes and one where she says no.
Please Review!