That Dating Thing

by pixileanin

"I dreamt that you were naked, once. Ah, shite, I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?"

Written for The Houses Competition, Year Two, Round Nine

House: Hufflepuff

Year: 5th

Category: Themed Love (Romantic) and/or Feeling loved (in any way).

Prompts:[Setting] Fingal's Cave

Word Count (Google Docs): 4338

Betas: Aya Defar

A/N: "Proffer" is a real word. Fingal's cave is a real place. I'm relying on descriptions to carry the setting, not the Muggle name of the location to carry the story. Also, in fiction, commas are places where we want the reader to breathe. All of my comma usage is for stylistic purposes. Thank you for reading.

Title: This Dating Thing

Summary: "I dreamt that you were naked, once. Ah, shite, I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?"

---

Rose Weasley was finally going on a date with Scorpius Malfoy. It had taken her ages to finally admit, even to herself, that she'd taken a fancy to him in the first place. And then it had taken ages for her to actually say 'yes' to a date. But that was because it had taken him ages to ask.

It was the first Tuesday in December after she'd gotten home from Hogwarts, and her parents were at work. Rose had spent most of yesterday frantically picking out her outfit, and then changing her mind fifteen times. Hugo hadn't been much help. Her thirteen year old brother had quickly grown bored with her clothing antics and had gone outside into the cold, just to get away from her.

He'd mumbled something about wanting to see the unveiling of the Nimbus 3000 in Diagon Alley that afternoon, having thrown the Quidditch Today magazine open on the coffee table for all to see. That was today, on the same day as Rose's date with Scorpius. She half-wondered if they would eventually end up there, since Scorpius was such a Quidditch-Head like her brother and her cousins. But then he wouldn't have given her a portkey. No one needed a portkey to get to Diagon Alley from their homes.

Rose checked out the window, looking up into the clear sky. According to the tops of the trees around them, the air was still, with not a hint of wind. She wondered if she really needed the scarf that Scorpius had suggested, but then she really had no idea what to expect on her date.

Having their first date over Christmas Break, which at first had seemed like a brilliant idea because there wouldn't be an entire castle of people to hound her over the details, suddenly seemed like the worst idea ever, because there wouldn't be anyone for her to go to with questions… for the details… of which she had absolutely no clue.

Over the rooftops, an owl sailed over to her, and Rose barely got the window open in time for Squirrelbeak to land on the sill and proffer his leg to her. It was another small scroll from the Malfoy Estate. She untangled the message from his scrawny leg. It felt heavier than just parchment this time.

"You poor thing! I hope they aren't overworking you!" Rose scattered treats on the sill for the small bird, a new, young thing that had not been with the Malfoys for very long. But in the few days that she'd been home from school, she'd gotten to know the little owl quite well. He'd been visiting her every day with a note from Scorpius, hinting at their date. Rose had found the notes endearing, and also a bit comforting, since she'd been nothing but a bundle of nerves about it.

She'd been with Scorpius loads of times over the years. He was the best friend of her cousin, Albus, and they hung out together almost constantly. Together. In a group, along with Wren, and sometimes James, her other cousin. Maybe that's why Rose had such a hard time admitting that she had feelings for him. It wasn't as if she'd woken up one day and decided that she liked him as more than a friend. There were plenty of times she distinctly remembered waking up and not liking him for one reason or another.

Like that one time in Fifth Year that Scorpius Malfoy, the bloke that was always hot on her heels in class ranking for several subjects, had not only matched, but beaten her scores on three of their exams. In the same week. Albus' best friend, the kid with the snobby wardrobe and the colorful mouth was smart and worked hard. Yet he still had time to prank and laugh and have fun at school and act like he didn't have to take anything seriously.

But he had. He'd been taking his school work very seriously the whole time.

In the perfect little world inside her head, where everything made sense, and there was a logical equation to summarize what should and shouldn't be. I, it didn't add up that a bloke who had added cockney slang to his vocabulary just to annoy his aristocratic parents. A, a bloke who took so much joy in blowing up playing cards. A, a bloke who spoke his mind with little to no mental filter engaged, would be someone who she'd want to spend any more time with than she had to.

Then in Sixth Year, that same bloke had stood by her side when she snuck into the Ravenclaw Common Room to spy on the evil little boy who was taking over the castle. And Hhe'd been with her while her best friend was in a coma for a week, betting on Wren to recover fully and quickly, keeping Albus' spirits up as he nearly drove himself mad with worry. Encouraging Rose not to give up. Reminding them that Wren was strong and would pull through.

And so, with the support of her roommates Wren and Callie, who'd been confused at first by her declaration that she didn't hate Scorpius Malfoy as she had often professed before, but in fact, that she quite liked him in a way that had surprised even herself. She'd finally started behaving in a way that might match her feelings inside. It had been odd at first, adding a smile to the roll of her eyes at another one of his almost-but-not-quite tasteless-but-extremely-hilarious jokes. The whole side of her body tingled when she chose to purposefully sit next to him during study sessions with their group. She'd eagerly come out and rooted for him at the Slytherin Quidditch tryouts, even though it wasn't even her House, and he was probably already going to make the team… because he was good at that too, like Albus was. Soon she was, quite naturally, and without thinking about it, exchanging knowing glances with him when Albus and Wren started dating openly. Surprisingly, all she had to do was allow herself to act the way she wanted to around Scorpius, instead of the way she thought she ought to.

By the end of the term, it was quite easy for Rose to admit to herself that she fancied Scorpius Malfoy.

And then finally… finally… Scorpius had asked her to go on a date with him, considerately timing it for the Christmas Break so it wouldn't interfere with their schoolwork, and also because he'd wanted it to be 'about them' instead of 'what the rest of the school thought'.

Rose had almost swooned from the sheer consideration and sensitivity of it all. Actually, she had swooned, later, in the dorm room when she recited her story to Wren and Callie. And she'd cried a little too, overwhelmed with the magnificence and aplomb and character and…

She unrolled the parchment to see a few words scrawled in his handwriting.

Let's meet at eleven o'clock. See you soon!

Something clinked on the desk and rolled to the floor. Curiously, Rose bent down and found a small brass ring that had fallen out of the parchment.

Rose let out a little squeak, too excited to keep it in anymore, then she quickly looked around to make sure that Hugo was still outside. This must be the portkey that he'd been hinting about.

She looked herself over in the mirror once more. Her hair was up instead of down because of the supposed wind she would encounter. She had on a turtleneck instead of a low-cut thing, because of the wind. She had on a form-fitting coat with a belt, and she had her signature Gryffindor scarf, also because of the wind. Scorpius had said there was a lot of wind where they were going. And possibly that they might get a little wet. So she had gotten her mum to spell everything to be waterproof for the weather. She hope she wasn't over doing it, but she also hoped that she had done enough.

No, Rose. Don't do that to yourself. You just have to think positively. Of course Scorpius was going to like her. He already liked her. She'd overheard him talking to Albus on the train ride home, saying, "She said yes, so the hard part is over now."

Or was it?

Dating was hard, and she hadn't even gotten to the date part yet.

She picked up the brass ring and rubbed at its smooth, plain surface impatiently. It was ten forty-two in the morning, and they were supposed to meet at eleven o'clock, wherever this ring took her.

She wandered around the yard for a few minutes and then checked the time again. Five minutes to go was close enough. Rose slipped the ring onto her finger and disappeared.

Wind whipped the scarf violently around her neck, and Rose squinted through it to see where she had ended up. She was alone on a small, flat island with no trees, raised up hundreds of meters above the ocean. The surf lashed out against the rocks below. Part of her was upset about her hair getting whipped around, but she reminded herself that she'd been warned ahead of time.

She looked down, noticing that the rocks were all shaped into almost perfect hexagons. Some rose high up the side of the cliff side, jutting up in perfectly flat platforms.

Rose jumped when a hand clapped over her shoulder. Before she could turn around, a voice was very close, so close she felt the breath on her ear. "You made it!"

She whirled around, bumping arms and nearly screeched out. "Scorpius!" she shrieked, grabbing one of his arms to steady herself against the wind. His coat was buttoned all the way up, and his short blonde hair folded itself the wrong way over his head. It had been two and a half days since she'd seen him last, and somehow, he looked even better than the last time she'd seen him on the train. "You weren't exaggerating about the wind!"

He laughed, warming her insides, and then pulled her into a big armed embrace. He whispered something under his breath, and suddenly everything went quiet.

"Oh, a Shield Charm. Why didn't I think of that?" she said into his armpit. Even though she didn't need to, she stayed where she was, very conscious of his chin resting on her shoulder. Two and a half days suddenly felt like way too long to be apart.

Had they done this before? Been close like this? Had he breathed into her ear before, warm and intimate… they were so close.

Scorpius' chuckle vibrated deep within him. "I'm the one who's allowed to do it. You still have to wait two months before you can perform magic outside of school. Next time, you can do all the planning. But this time I've got it covered. Come on, there's stuff I want to show you."

Now that the wind was outside of their little bubble, she saw him properly, in a stylish overcoat (naturally) with his Slytherin scarf (of course) and some well fitting gloves.

Why hadn't she thought of the gloves?

As if he had read her mind, Scorpius took his gloves off, matching them neatly together like someone who took his time with nice things, folded them, and placed them in his coat pocket. He held his bare hand out to her, and she took it, almost without thinking. Holding hands felt almost as good as the hug.

"It's this way," he said, leading her to the edge of the cliff. Rose was surprised to see a small set of stone steps carved into the side. They moved slowly down the steps, against the cliff wall, getting closer to the sea.

"Where are we?" Rose asked.

"We're on the Isle of Staffa," he said. "Scotland, if you must know. My family used to go on picnics here when I was a kid."

"There's no one around," Rose said.

"Yeah," he said looking around. "No one lives here. I didn't think that part through. There's no reason to come here in December. I just wanted you to see it, because it's the nicest place I know. I was hoping to impress you, this being our first date and all. I didn't take into account the weather."

Rose felt bubbles fill up her insides. He'd already impressed her with the acquisition of the portkey and the timing. "I've never been anywhere like this before," she admitted.

"Just wait," he said.

The path in the rocks criss-crossed downward towards the crashing waves. The rocks here were almost perfect hexagons, like someone had fashioned huge building blocks together and transfigured them to stone.

"Who made this place?" she asked, curious at the large, almost perfect basalt columns growing up from the sea.

Scorpius paused and looked back at her. "That's the mystery. This place wasn't made by anyone. It just is."

Rose couldn't imagine a place not 'made' that would be so geometrically fashioned. The sea always carved out imperfect patterns in the rocks. She'd seen them, large, curved patterns, like the bluffs on the beaches that she visited on holiday with her own family. The place didn't feel magical, but it still felt magical at the same time. Scorpius squeezed her hand and led her farther down the path.

"Here," he said, reaching a more even set of square stones, lined up to form a walkway. "This was made, so we can get to the good part."

Rose gasped as they rounded the corner, and a large arch of stone pillars rose up in front of her. The entire arch was made of the same hexagonal rocks, jutting up as high as a mountain and running as deep as the sea itself. The arch led into a cave that wrapped around the island and Scorpius was leading her straight into it.

As the path narrowed, they became closer than before, their hands still entwined. Then he found a place to stop and led her around in front of him. "There," he said, pointing to the opening at the other end. "I wanted to show you that."

They had stopped in the middle of the cave. Blocks of stone jutted up on either side, with the water running straight through from one side of the cave to the other. The archway continued through the cave as well, opening on the other side, as if the whole thing was a tunnel. Through the archway, she could see another island, far away, framed in the outline of the arch.

It looked magical, without the actual magic.

Scorpius' arms wrapped around her, over her shoulders and down to her waist. She leaned back on him and stared out through the tunnel at the mysterious island framed in the archway.

"It's beautiful," she said.

"Yeah." His breath tickled her ear, and she leaned farther back against him until their coats were fully meshed together. "I've wanted to do this for so long," he said, making it sound like a confession.

"Bring me here?" she asked.

"Bring you anywhere," he said. "Touch you. Hold you. Just be close to you, like this." His arms wrapped tighter around her, his breath almost going through her.

Gone was the playful, humorous mood, and once again Scorpius Malfoy had surprised her. She hadn't been prepared for this. Rose was glad for the narrow passage and his chest at her back. She didn't know if she could let him see how much his words, the cave, the sheer magnitude of everything, affected her.

Rose's heart beat a little faster. She stared through the opposite side of the cave opening, at that tiny island framed by the arch of rocks. It seemed so far away, yet it was calling out to her, like she belonged out there, in that place she'd never been before. Her blood moved through her in ways that she'd never imagined. Little white caps brushed up against the rocks below them, like the wisps of electricity flowing through her everywhere that he connected with her, through the coats, through and through.

Was this one of those moments that she was going to replay over and over in her mind?

"Rose?" Scorpius shifted behind her. His touch that had saturated her before now felt light and hesitant. "Is… is this alright?"

She nodded, suddenly missing the intensity of the last few minutes, but she was unsure of what had changed.

She felt Scorpius pulling back and away from her, and her heart stuttered, more out of panic than nerves. She'd seen him with other girls before her, and he'd done way more than just hug them, and now she was finally alone with him, and there was this wonderful, intense, tingly moment, and it was all going south because…

"Scorpius," she said, feeling him stop moving.

"Yeah?" he answered. His breath wasn't near close enough. She wanted it back, next to her. Running through her. All along, she'd wanted to know what was going through his head, but she'd been afraid to ask.

He was like that island, far away, yet insanely close. Framed with the darkness of the cave, put in the spotlight of the sky peeking through the other side. She moved back against him, regaining contact, feeling his hands rubbing against the arms of her coat.

Echoes of 'why' bounced around inside her, like little needles of doubt.

And then she couldn't stand it anymore. She had to know. And the only way to know something, was to ask the question.

Rose took a deep breath. And then held it, second-guessing herself again.

She felt Scorpius' chin bump against her collarbone. "Tell me. I know you have something to say. I can feel it."

She shivered against him. "Just… why are we here? No, I mean I know why we came to this place, but how did we get here? Why is it… us?" she asked.

"Yeah, I thought about that too," he said.

"And what did you decide?"

"Well, for starters, I decided to ask you out because you started acting like you liked me, so I thought I finally had a chance."

Rose smiled. At least that had worked out. "But it doesn't answer the question."

"Why'd you say 'yes'?"

"Because I wanted to. Because it felt right, but I still don't know why."

Scorpius' chest rumbled at her back. "You ask too many questions, Rose. See that island out there? I've loved looking at it ever since I was a kid. I used to dream about what it'd be like to go there, to see what was over there. Because it was 'the island', and I knew that it was always going to make me feel the same, no matter what. And when I look at you, I feel the same way I did when I was a kid, and I still feel it when I look at that magical place. So that's why."

Rose felt like he'd just read her mind. He was right. It didn't have anything to do with reasons. Maybe 'why' was the wrong question. Maybe the wherefore of it didn't matter like she had first thought. Maybe they had both grown beyond the initial, and were barreling down the hillside into the inevitable.

"I wish it was summertime," she said. "I wish we didn't have to wear these heavy coats and scarves." She reveled in the tight squeeze he gave her arms, and rejoiced as he wrapped his arms fully around her again. This was much, much better.

She leaned back into him, where he belonged and sighed, long and deep. "Tell me what you're thinking about."

"I dreamt that you were naked, once. Ah, shite, I wasn't supposed to say that, was I? Sorry. You mentioned summer, and it made me think about swimming and bikinis, and that time by the lake where Albus and I threw you in… and it just naturally led to… other thoughts. Merlin, we haven't even snogged yet. I don't know what I was thinking."

Rose felt all the blood creep into her cheeks. She really didn't want to look at him now. Scorpius had always been good at embarrassing her before, and apparently he had honed his expertise to a high level. But then, he'd never apologized before.

"You dreamt about me?" she asked. She'd never known anyone, not a boy specifically, who dreamt about her. She'd never thought anyone, much less a boy, would think about her at all, especially not in that way. But then maybe she'd not been giving Scorpius as much credit as he deserved.

Not that she wanted to get naked with him. Not now. Not here. Certainly not on their first date, or second… or fifth… she'd want to wait until it was a respectable enough amount of time before…

Merlin, why was she even thinking about all of this?

"Yeah, sometimes. Not all the time. Mostly, it's Quidditch. Sometimes, it's you. Once or twice, it was… you know… but it wasn't on purpose. I didn't set out to dream about you. It just happened."

Rose shrugged her shoulders, feeling how they rubbed up against his chest and arms. It felt so warm where she was.

"I dream about you too, sometimes," she admitted, because it felt like the right thing to do. Spill the truth, if they were going to make something out of this, it at least had to be honest.

"What was I doing?" Scorpius asked her.

"Mmmm..." She'd said it out loud, and now she was going to have to follow through. She'd just given him points for honesty, and now it was her turn.

"You going to tell me?" he teased, rubbing her arms again. She could get used to that too.

"You were kissing me," she said.

"Really? Where?"

"Right here."

"In this cave? I thought you said you'd never been here before."

She turned around in his arms, a place where she hoped she'd get to be often over the rest of Christmas Break, and pulled back so she could look at him properly. His eyes were grey, with a hint of blue, and then they were blue with a hint of grey. She watched them change back and forth in the moment that the clouds moved at the edge of the cave. There was truly magic here.

"No, silly. On the lips. Like this." She moved in, as if she'd known how to do it forever and always.

And that was it. That was the moment that Rose knew she was going to replay, over and over in her mind. Coats and scarves aside, it didn't take but one touch of his lips against hers for her to know that she'd worried for nothing. Everything was going to be alright.

"That was in my dream too," Scorpius said when they came apart for a breath.

"Was it as good as your dream?" Rose asked self-consciously.

"Worlds better," he said.

The waves were getting higher. The tide was changing. Rose felt a spray reach her cheek, and she looked worriedly at the waters below them, slowing rising.

"We'd better get back," Scorpius said, taking her hand in his. "For the next bit."

"There's more?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," he said. "I planned a lunch, because it's too cold for a picnic. I've got a portkey to take us back."

"Back where?" she wanted to know as he pulled her along.

Her thoughts were warring against each other now. Being with Scorpius Malfoy on a secluded island in the middle of nowhere was one thing, but where was he taking her now?

"Diagon Alley," he said, having the same look on his face as if he'd said 'Charms Study Session' or 'Quidditch practice is cancelled'. "I know it's not a deserted island in the middle of the sea, and we go there a lot anyway, but…" he shrugged. "You can pick the place. We'll go wherever you like."

Rose didn't care where they went, as long as she got to spend more time with him. She wondered how long Scorpius expected their date to last, hoping that he didn't want it to end too soon. Then she remembered the magazine on the coffee table in her house and suddenly had a plan.

She quickened her step so she could walk closer to him. "So how long do we have to wait before our second date?"

"There aren't any rules," he said.

"Well, are you doing anything after lunch?" she asked.

"Not really," he said. "Why?"

"I thought that as long as we're in Diagon Alley, I could take you on our second date," she said proudly. She had a plan. She was much more confident with a plan.

"Yeah?" he smiled at her, getting the portkey out, ready to whisk them away again.

The wind blew around them, but the Shield Charms held fast.

"I'm going to take you to the Quidditch Shop," she said resolutely. "They're revealing the Nimbus 3000 this afternoon!"

"You'd take me to a Quidditch Broom Viewing as a date?" he asked.

She nodded. "You don't think that's a good date idea?"

"No, I think it's a fantastic date idea!" Scorpius said with a big smile on his face. "I knew I liked you for a reason!"

"I don't need a reason," Rose said. "As long as you make me feel like this."

He kissed her again. And again after that. And once more, this time longer, until the Shield Charm wore off and they were no longer buffeted from the wind. Scorpius laughed as her ponytail whipped around, hitting him in the face. He grabbed her around the waist, twisted the portkey on his finger, and they disappeared.

The last thought that Rose had before her insides twisted inside out was that this dating thing wouldn't be so hard after all.