This was it. He was really going to do it today.
Scorpius had combed his hair, ironed his dress robes as best as he could, and brushed his teeth (three times). There was nothing else left to do.
He was ready to kiss Rose Weasley.
In truth, he'd been more than ready to kiss her for quite some time; he'd never had the guts to actually do so before, though.
There were so, so many times when he had almost done it, almost just leaned over and pressed his lips to hers as he'd been dreaming of for three years. But it was never quite the perfect timing.
Tonight would be perfect, Scorpius would see to that. He had planned everything, down to the smallest detail, because she deserved nothing less.
Not wanting to show his hand too early, he'd invited her to the dance as friends. And of course she'd accepted, as he'd known she would, because no one else she gave a toss for had asked her, and because she never seemed to say no when he asked her for something, a fact he was infinitely thankful for.
It was the annual Hogwarts Christmas Ball, a tradition started not long after the Great War to encourage more "House unity" or some such nonsense.
Though, Scorpius acknowledged, if it hadn't been for the goal of House unity, he (a Slytherin) and Rose (a Ravenclaw) wouldn't have been able to spend so much time together in the inter-house common rooms, and they might never have become such good friends.
Best friends, in fact.
Regardless, the castle was decorated according to the season, with holly and mistletoe adorning the halls. He'd been very careful to avoid the charmed mistletoe with Rose; it would never do to have their first kiss be one of necessity, to get the unstuck from beneath a sprig of the plant.
No, their first kiss had to be as wonderful as she was. That's why he'd put so much effort into thinking of the best, most amazing way to do it.
They'd go to the dance together, having a delightful time as he whirled them about the dance floor (thank goodness his mother had insisted in ballroom dance lessons two years ago for his cousin's wedding).
Then, after a little while, he'd pull Rose off the dance floor and out into the grounds, finding a little nook for them to duck into. They would talk and laugh, just as they always did, and then, under the stars, he'd kiss her.
His best friend. His Rose.
Scorpius sighed, well aware of the stupid grin on his face as he thought of her.
Rose Weasley, golden girl of the Golden Trio's children. Intelligent, funny, loyal Rose, who refused to let her father's warnings keep her from him. Stunning, smiling Rose, with her soft, red lips parting to show glints of her teeth beneath whenever she grinned at him, making him want nothing more than to pull her over to him and snog her senseless.
And perhaps, after tonight, he could do exactly that whenever he wanted.
He couldn't wait.
One more check of his appearance, to make sure he looked good enough for her. Black and emerald green dress robes (to bring out her eyes and compliment her hair), check. Corsage of an exquisite white orchid adorned with a golden ribbon (to flatter her pale, pale skin), check. Freshly brushed teeth, so as not to offend Rose with bad breath as he tried to kiss her, check. Though perhaps he'd better brush them again, just to make sure…
Just then the clock began tolling, and Scorpius realized he was late. He'd agreed to meet Rose at the bottom of Ravenclaw tower at ten past the hour, and it was seven now.
If he wanted to make it on time from the Slytherin dungeons, he had to run.
Scorpius took off, heedless of his formerly-combed hair.
When he arrived at Ravenclaw tower, he was pleased to find that Rose had not come down yet. He leaned against a wall, taking a moment to control his breathing and imaging what she'd look like.
He knew her dress was white, a color Rose always managed to make look amazing, but he didn't have anything else to go on. He'd never seen her dressed up before, so he really had no idea what to expect.
When she opened the door at last, it was better than he ever could have dreamed.
Frothy white, the gown skimmed her curves delightfully before opening out into a full skirt. In the folds were fixed seemingly thousands of tiny gold sparkles, shimmering and catching the light whenever she moved. Green shoes peeped out from under the skirt, matching not only the ribbon tying her bodice together but the color of Scorpius's robes as well.
As stunning as the dress was, though, it had nothing on Rose herself.
Scorpius's breath caught as he looked at her, hardly daring to believe she was real.
Her hair caught up somehow, with auburn curls tumbling down from the pile on her head, she had never looked more beautiful to him. Milky pale skin, scattered with a smattering of freckles across her nose, her full red lips…
It was at this point that Scorpius realized that her lips were moving.
"…so glad you asked me to go, Scor, I was worried I might have to go alone," she was saying.
He bowed gallantly, causing her to laugh, and offered her his arm. She took it, and they made their way down to the Great Hall.
Scorpius tried to breathe normally, but it was hard, with such a beautiful girl on his arm, and so much at stake tonight.
He had everything planned out. He would pick Rose up, they would go down to the ball together, they would dance, and then he'd pull her outside into a secluded corner and finally, finally, kiss her.
XXXX
An hour later, he was ready to give up.
Nothing had gone as he planned, from the moment he'd joined Rose in Ravenclaw tower.
On their way down to the Great Hall, they'd accidentally met up with Rose's cousin Albus and his date, Alice Longbottom, coming down from Gryffindor tower. Rose, much to Scorpius's dismay, had immediately gone over to them and started chatting, leaving Scorpius with no choice but to follow.
It had only gotten worse from there.
Scorpius hadn't even talked to Rose alone yet, let alone danced with her. After they had got rid of Albus, he'd tried to ask her to join him on the dance floor, but she'd run off after her younger brother first.
And now here they were, sitting off to the side of the dance floor and talking with Molly and her date.
He couldn't seem to get Rose away from her family. No matter which way he turned, there was always another Weasley or Potter for her to talk to. And to make matters worse, now Rose and Molly were busy tearing apart the dance, the band, the decorations, everything. His heart had sunk when Rose responded to her cousin's comment on the music by stating she'd never be caught dead dancing to music like this.
So much for his grand plan. He sighed, trying to think.
Maybe, just maybe, there was still a way he could make it work.
Standing up and making some excuse about seeing another of his friends, Scorpius took Rose's hand and pulled her across the room and outside into the grounds. At her questioning, he merely shrugged and laughed, saying he was too hot to stay inside any more.
They walked around for a little while, and then (just as Scorpius had known they would), they stumbled across a quaint little wooden bench, tucked back into the bushes and hardly visible.
Perfect.
He stopped and brushed off the bench before pulling Rose to a seat beside him, doing his best to stay calm.
He wondered if she could see his heart trying to beat out of his chest.
She was talking, saying something to him but he wasn't quite listening. He was too focused on the lilting music of her voice, on the shapes her soft pink lips made as she spoke.
Slowly, he leaned forward, fighting the urge to lick his lips.
This was it. After three years of waiting, of wanting, of wishing, this was it.
And it would be flawless.
They were nearly nose to nose now, and Scorpius closed his eyes, preparing to finally press his lips to hers…
…only to find himself lurching forwards and Rose unexpectedly jumped up.
"Lily!" he heard her bellow, opening his eyes to find her standing beside their bench, looking absolutely livid.
Her younger cousin was standing there in a very revealing dress, holding the hand of the most notoriously popular seventh year boy in Hogwarts, and very obviously looking for a secluded spot to sneak off to.
"Lily Luna Potter, what in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?" Rose was shouting, scowling at her cousin.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Give it a rest, Rose, this is none of your business! I can do what I want!"
"Oh yes it is! You're only fourteen, what are you doing going around with him?" she gestured at the older boy, who was looking slightly sheepish now. "Just wait until I tell your brothers—"
At this, Lily's date looked positively green. "Uh, Lils…I, uh, I think I'm gonna go now…" And with that, he ran off.
Now Lily was the one scowling. "See, now you've scared him off! Do you realize how long it took me to get a seventh year to be my date? And you've ruined it!"
"I don't care! You're absolutely too young to be going out him. He's three years older than you, Lily!"
Lily just grinned. "More experienced that way."
Rose groaned and covered her ears. "Please, this is not what I want to be hearing from my baby cousin. I'm going to go find James and Albus, they can deal with you." She grabbed Lily's arm and began striding back to the Great Hall.
Scorpius sighed quietly and followed a few steps behind. He'd gotten so close, so close, but now the moment was gone.
XXXX
Another hour passed, and the dance was over. Scorpius walked Rose back up to her tower, trying to keep from seeming miserable. The Weasley-Potter clan had gotten into an argument over Lily and had kept going (as was their wont) for what felt like ages. Rose was in the thick of it, leaving Scorpius to watch from the edges as redheads came and went.
So much for his perfect night.
All too soon, they were faced with the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower. Scorpius sighed, reluctant to let go of Rose.
She stopped at the doorway and turned to face him, looking into his eyes for a long moment before speaking. "Sorry about all the fuss with Lily, Scor. I had a really nice time with you tonight. Thanks for inviting me to come with you."
He swallowed his disappointment and tried to smile at her. "Yeah, I had fun too."
A quick grip of his shoulder, and Rose turned into the tower.
Scorpius sighed and turned away, shoulders slumping, berating himself for missing his chance. Who knew when another perfect moment would arise, if it ever did.
Halfway down the corridor, he heard footsteps sounding behind him. Turning around he was met by quite the sight.
Rose, barefoot and still in her ball gown, red curls streaming out behind her, sprinting towards him. She stopped right in front of him, grabbed his face in her hands, and planted a kiss on his parted lips.
Scorpius' brain short-circuited, he was pretty sure. He was not equipped to handle these kind of surprises. Heart pounding, desperately trying to memorize every tiny detail of her lips, her skin, her fingers, her scent…
Moments later, she pulled back, looking supremely satisfied. "Sorry for the surprise, but I couldn't just leave you like that."
He swallowed, hoping to regain some modicum of composure. "Um, it's no problem?"
She slipped her hand into his, tilting her head and smiling at him. "You don't mind? I don't want to screw up our friendship or anything, but I couldn't wait any longer."
"Mind? Of course not!" Scorpius tried not to sound too eager. "I've been wanting to do that for a while, too."
"Really?" Now she looked coy. "How long?"
He blushed. "Like I'd tell you, you'd just laugh at me."
She did laugh then, giving his hand a squeeze. "Fine. But answer me this: why didn't you?"
Scorpius sighed. "I don't know. I just…like everything about you so much, I wanted everything to be perfect when we first kissed."
"Oh. Sorry to have messed that up then."
He turned and grabbed her shoulders. "Don't say that! It was lovely, it really was. I wouldn't have it any other way."
Rose grinned at him. "I know. And now, I really should get up to bed. I'll see you in the morning!" Pressing another kiss to his lips, she turned and ran back down the corridor.
Scorpius watched her go, a goofy grin on his face. The night may not have been exactly what he was planning, but Merlin, she made everything perfect.