This is my attempt at a multichapter story, which I said I wasn't going to do but I think I can finish. This will probably end up being about three or four chapters when I'm done.
The first time they met was at a masquerade ball at the ministry. They had known each other for years, actually, at Hogwarts, but they were in rival houses and had hardly acknowledged the other's presence.
When she descends down the steps towards the ballroom floor, she catches his eye immediately. She is dressed in a subtle, silky emerald green dress that floats around her as she walks, and her mask is a matching shade of green, covering the upper half of her face.
Her hair is pulled back into a loose bun at the nape of her neck, curls falling to her ears and framing her face. It's an unmistakeable red color, and he knows who it is right away.
But he still begins making his way through the crowd, over to her.
She walks down the steps, carefully lifting her dress so she won't trip. She is certainly not the most graceful of creatures, and with so many people watching her to fall down the stairs would be humiliating.
She notices a slender man slipping through the crowd towards her. He is wearing a black mask but his hair is a familiar platinum blond that brings her back to several vague moments at Hogwarts.
He reaches the staircase when she is two steps from the bottom, proud of herself for making it that far. Not being as cautious as she was previously, the heel of her foot catches on the stair and she loses her balance. The man calmly grasps her hand in a perfectly natural way, steading her so it looks like he is just inviting her to dance.
With a subtle inclination of his head, he does just that, and she nods and smiles her thanks for saving her.
And so they dance. Both of them had danced before, of course, but never exactly like this. It's like the whole world swirls around then in a whirl of light while they float and spin, like they're dancing through the stars in the sky, an electric charge surging through both of them.
And then it's over, and when they break apart the crowds sweep between them and they are separated. She spots him again, but just as she is beginning to make her way over again someone taps her on the shoulder. It's Samuel Thomas, who her parents adore. With an apologetic glance at the blond man, she turns to Samuel and puts on a fake smile to please her mother.
While they're dancing she keeps seeing the man, who is now dancing with someone else, but he is always gone before she could process it.
The night goes on, and several dances later they find themselves dancing together again, and when the song ends they still hold onto each other so they won't get separated and they dance until the night ended.
Once the music stops playing one of her cousins runs up to her, excitedly recounting her night, and with a goodbye smile to the man she follows her cousin out the door.
Instead of going home, though, she goes to the balcony, watching people flood out of the building and sort of half hoping to see the man she danced with. When there are no more people, she just stares at the stars.
"Bright sky tonight," a voice from behind her remarks.
She turns to see the man, still wearing his mask, leaning against a pillar.
"Yes, so many stars," she says. "Each one seems so insignificant compared to all of the other ones."
"And yet each one of those is probably a million times bigger then us," he says.
"We are just tiny insignificant life forms on a tiny insignificant dot next to a single insignificant star."
"Compared to the stars, we don't matter one bit."
They stand in silence for a minute. It's not awkward silence, nor is is warm, comfortable silence. It's thoughtful silence, both of them pondering how much anything they really mattered, and thinking that their minds thought the same way.
Finally, she says, "I have a question."
He looks at her. "Yes?"
"I think I know this already, but what is your name?"
"Scorpius," he says bluntly. "Malfoy."
She doesn't look surprised. "I never believed my father about you."
"He has reasons to hate my family," Scorpius says. "Are you Rose?"
"Weasley," she says.
He nods. "I thought so."
She sits up on the railing of the balcony, looking down at the four-story drop beneath her.
"Don't fall," Scorpius tells her.
"I won't."
They talk for what seems like a few minutes but is really several hours. When she starts yawning and he looks at his watch and realizes it's midnight, both of them know they have to go.
"We'll see each other again, I hope," she says.
He nods. "I can't tell you how good it is to talk to someone who thinks like me," he says, "if you know what I mean."
She smiles. "Me too."
"Do you know where the Forest of Dean is?" he asks.
She nods. "My mom took me there once."
He looks at her meaningfully. "I'm free Friday night."
"So am I," she says, smiling.
Looking at his watch again, he says, "My mom will be worried sick. I'll see you Friday."
He disapparates with a crack which makes the silence that follows all the quieter. Rose stays a little longer, staring up at the sky, remembering the feeling of dancing like they were among them.
Thanks for reading! I would appreciate some feedback. Merry Christmas!