A/N: The dedication of this Rose/Scorpius story goes three ways
For Molly, my amazing new friend with her prompt 'Ron or Draco reacting.'
For Remembertoturnonthelights with her prompt 'raindrops.'
And for my wife Clairey for shipping this couple along with me.
A Very Malfoy Day
It was on what began as a rather usual day during the summer holidays after her second year, that Rose Weasley first got the opportunity to visit Scorpius Malfoy outside school. Her parents, along with her aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry had been sent by the Ministry of Magic on a project that was too secretive to be spoken about to the children, and her Uncle George was off on a Quidditch Tour as his team, the Kelmare Kestrels were playing against the Canons this week and against Puddlemere the next.
It was sheer madness, really, for their parents to leave Albus, Lily, Rose, Hugo, Fred and Roxanne with their loving grandparents Molly and Arthur Weasley at the Burrow for those three days. As dearly as the grandparents loved their grandchildren, they were growing rather old and took their afternoon naps very seriously indeed.
"Now, Fred and James," Molly began, peering seriously at the two boys who wore suspiciously innocent expressions, "I expect the two of you to look after the younger kids, you hear me? I want to find every one's limbs intact and every single item at home in one piece. Okay?"
No one could say no to grandma Weasley. James and Fred nodded earnestly, looking every bit the responsible elder siblings that they believed they were. But Molly sighed. She didn't trust them one bit; after all, she was the woman who had entrusted Ron and Ginny to Fred and George and found her youngest children suspended by their broomsticks in mid-air, unable to descend while Fred and George had a hearty laugh from their safe perch on the ground. And her grandchildren Fred and James reminded her entirely too much of the twins. She sighed again, ruffled the boy's hairs affectionately and moved towards the other children, who were sprawled all over the living room.
She smiled as she saw Arthur and Hugo earnestly discussing a novel while Albus and Rose were playing some sort of strange game that involved them holding hands but jabbing their thumbs around wildly. She waved her wand towards the duster and it sprang to life, startling Roxanne and Lily who'd been munching on sandwiches and occasionally emitting loud giggles.
"Grandpa and I are off to sleep," she declared, beckoning Arthur. "The house better remain this we when we get back!" Her grandchildren clamoured around her and Arthur, who'd joined her by the dining area and hugged their grandparents.
Once the elderly couple were out of earshot, however, James and Fred were once again up to no good.
"Listen," James whispered, rounding his cousins up, who wore expressions ranging from extreme curiosity to sleepy boredom. "Fred and I have planned a little trio for you kids today."
He smirked widely as Fred ran towards him with a small sack in his hands, and Albus' eyes narrowed.
"Is that - "
"Shh!" James silenced him with a warning glare as he read his brother's mind but then nodded as he mouthed, yes.
He continued in a soft voice, causing all the children to lean forward and listen actively.
"We're flooing to Scorpius' place, alright? His dad has a neat collection of artefacts and his parents are out of town on that Healer…umm, something, I forget," he paused to scratch the back of his messy head.
"You actually have enough floo powder for all of us to go there and get back" Rose's eyes were wide, and a grinning Fred lifted the bag up for all of them to see.
"Enough and more, cousin darling," he assured her with an easy wink.
"But, Fred, there's no way that Grandma Molly won't find out…" Roxanne trailed off as a bouncing Lily shushed her.
"Hey, just imagine; we can actually tell everyone at school that we got the chance to tour Malfoy Manor!"
"No!" Fred's eyes widened in alarm and he looked to his cousin, who was also shaking his head vigorously.
"First off, Scorpius and his parents don't live there anymore; they live in a huge apartment a few streets away from Malfoy Manor."
Hugo stomped his foot on the floor, half excited and half nervous.
"Won't grandma and even dad for that matter absolutely kill us if he ever found out?" His eyes were as wide as saucers and his volume was rising with every word he spoke.
"Shush, Hugo!" Rose looked behind her fearfully, way of awakening their grandparents.
"Just follow me, okay? I'll go first to demonstrate, and Fred will come last after sending you kids in." He shot a confident grin at his comrade, who grinned back.
"Ready?"
"Always."
James grabbed a fistful of the chalky floo powder and stepped into the Weasley's sooty fireplace.
"Villa Grennara!"
And he was gone, whisked away by roaring emerald flames.
Fred laughed as Roxanne's mouth dropped wide open.
"Who's next?"
Rose couldn't believe just how normal the Malfoy's villa looked as she dusted herself off and stepped down from the fireplace. The four poster bed in the room, so similar to those found in the Hogwarts Slytherin dormitories made Rose realise that she had flooed right into Scorpius' currently unoccupied room and she abstractly wondered where James was.
A whooshing sound was heard as Albus stumbled out, hitting his head once on the grate before descending onto Scorpius' room.
"I wonder when James even befriended Scorpius," he muttered as he rubbed his head. "All I can remember of them is the loud shouting matches they held accompanied by the occasional hex or curse after every single Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson."
Rose nodded absentmindedly, releasing a little "hmm" as she half listened to her cousin. Her general curiosity had gotten the better of her and so, emboldened by Scorpius' physical absence, she'd begun exploring his huge room, starting with the mantelpiece that bore dozens of photographs encased in a variety of elegant photo frames.
Her fingers ran over a photograph of his smiling mum holding an infant up to his dad at St Mungo's. The infant already had slight blonde wisps of hair and yawned widely.
"Fancy babies, do you Weasley?" A cool voice shook her out of her reverie, and Rose jumped.
At the same time, the fireplace came to life once more and yet another time as Roxanne and then Hugo stumbled out of the fireplace.
"Well, looks like the entire Weasley clan is here."
Hugo frowned at him. "I thought you'd called us here? I found it rather odd, too, seeing as you hardly bothered talking to me at school, anyway."
Before Scorpius could answer, James sauntered in the room holding a large stash of all sorts of sweets imaginable while the fireplace deposited a hyper Lily followed by Fred.
Scorpius looked towards Fred for an explanation, who just raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders apologetically.
"Sorry, mate. We were on official babysitting duty." James pointed towards his little siblings and cousins who just glowered at him; all but Rose, who was now busy examining the newspaper clippings that Scorpius had collected upon his desk while a very interested Scorpius sneakily threw glances her way.
Fred nodded, walking towards James and nicking a chocolate frog off his vast stash. "What he said," he added through a stuffed mouth.
Scorpius laughed, taking a box of sugar quills and passing it around. "The more, the merrier, I guess. Just don't break anything, or my father won't let me hear the last of it."
James and Fred screamed with laughter at this last line while the rest of them looked on curiously.
Rose was the first to break the awkward silence that ensued. "Well, come on then!" And grabbing the first hand she found, which happened to be Lily's, she herded the rest of her family out towards the door that Fred and James were now leaving through.
Her eyes met Scorpius' and suddenly, Rose found herself much more interested in the lush carpeting beneath her feet.
The Malfoy's villa was extremely huge to begin with; but while the lower floors consisted of three spacious rooms and a roomy kitchen in addition to luxurious bathrooms and a mini library, the upper floor was entirely dedicated to Draco and Astoria Malfoy. Lily, Albus, Hugo and Roxanne had quickly gotten tired, so Fred had reluctantly taken them back to the Burrow. His plan had been to put them to sleep and then return to the villa, but Albus was too sharp for his own good and had overheard Fred speaking to Scorpius.
"Hey, Fred? I'm just a year younger; I can take care of the rest, you know," he'd said wearily. "There's no need for you to cancel your plans.
Fred looked at him guiltily.
"Hey, I'm sorry." He was ashamed at how irresponsibly he'd been behaving towards the younger children and decided to stay back with them instead. He briefly wondered what Rose was up to as she'd wandered off-course several times when Scorpius had been taking the Weasley and Potter kids on a grand tour of all of Draco's most prized possessions.
God forbid his father heard about any of this.
The object of Fred's thoughts was currently nibbling on the only oatmeal cookies she'd found in the kitchen, pondering over the many disadvantages of adding chocolate to baked goods when a wearied Scorpius trudged in. Not noticing Rose, he wrenched open the cabinets and took out an enormous bag of muggle chocolate goodies, tore the packet open and stuffed his mouth full before his eyes fell on Rose, who was looking at him with open distaste.
"Do you always eat that much chocolate?"
"Err…" he was unable to articulate himself and was exceedingly embarrassed as her unfaltering gaze continued judging him.
"Your brothers are tiring," he said by way of explanation once he'd managed to swallow the mountain of chocolate in his mouth.
Now that was something she could relate to.
"Tell me about it," she said. "I live with them and find myself constantly wondering where they get all that energy from."
"Must be all the sweets," he said, referring to the stash they'd both seen in James' arms and a laugh escaped Rose's lips.
"Must be."
A loud, clattering noise was hear moving down the stairs as Rose and Scorpius' hands reflexively moved to cover their ears, and James appeared a few minutes later at the entrance of the kitchen, looking like he'd just taken a massive fall down the stairs (which he had indeed).
"Oi, what are you doing here, chatting like an old woman with my old woman of a sister?"
Rose rolled her eyes.
"Shut up, James."
"Alright, mum." She ignored his response and he trained his gaze towards Scorpius.
"Come on, then, we're not even done with half the artefacts!"
And as Scorpius was marched off by an enthusiastic James, he shot an apologetic look at Rose that made her wonder if he actually preferred sitting and arguing about chocolate with her by the kitchen counter. Her cheeks flamed just a little at the thought and she swatted the thought away immediately.
"Fred, you have no idea what you missed back there at Scor's place! His dad has a whole secret cabinet that emerges from a secret entrance within his cupboard…it's like going into an all-new chamber…anyways, did you know his actually has a vanishing cabinet?! And a necklace that his -" James' words were cut off by Fred, who was making strange gestures with his hands.
"James, Fred, Rose, how are you, sweethearts?" Grandma Molly's voice rang down the corridor and James gulped.
"Fine, grandma! Did you sleep well?" Rose shot back quickly, shooting a smirk at her brothers. You're welcome.
Moly hunted around for her glasses before finding them perched atop her head and donned them, peering into James' guilty face. Her features sharpened into a look of suspicion.
"Just what have you been up to, James Sirius Potter?" Her tone made James cringe and again, it was Rose who saved him.
"Oh, he and Fred were trying to out speed one another at flying and James ended up rather hardly on his bottom." Rose giggled naturally, and Molly laughed at her grandson's antics.
"So like your father," she mussed his hair, folding him into a soft hug that James reciprocated heartily. A persistent splattering against the windows caused Molly to look out, resulting in her immediate agitation.
"Your parents are supposed to be here within an hour or so, and they'll be drenched to the bone by the time they get here!"
"But grandma, they'll apparate, it won't even take them a minute and they can apparate right into the house!"
"James, your parents are strictly forbidden from apparition, portkey, the floo network and any other magical form of transportation -"
"What?! Why? Mum and Dad are ministry officials, as are aunt Hermione and uncle Ron..." James trailed off, distracted, as the fireplace at the Burrow came to life and everybody grew very still. Scorpius Malfoy stepped out from the glowing embers, the raindrops having painted shadows on his cloak.
Molly's jaw dropped and she was speechless for perhaps the first time in her life. Her husband ambled out of the bedroom, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and he just stood still at the sight before him.
"Good evening, Mr and Mrs Weasley. Would it be alright for me to borrow Rose for a few minutes?" His voice was sincere and oh-so-charming and Rose could simply not look away from him.
Keenly aware of the entire family's eyes on her and Scorpius, Rose cleared her throat twice. Her brothers were by now smirking at her while Lily just stared at her and Scorpius alike. It was all rather uncomfortable. Molly's leg tapped an impatient beat on the floor, waiting for some answers.
"Rose?"
Too many eyes were looking at her now, waiting for some response.
She inhaled deeply. This day had just spiralled off on a completely uncharted course and now Rose was expected to steer it towards sanity.
"Uhh, grandma, this is Scorpius M-Malfoy, and - "
To his credit, Scorpius didn't let her take the fall by herself.
"We've been exchanging letters over the summer, and I just had to come meet her regarding this fascinating essay the two of us are working on for Charms. Rose is very intelligent, Mrs Weasley, and the two of us often study together."
Rose nodded fervently, trying to stem the sudden rush of excitement that threatened to overwhelm her. While more than half of what he said was pure rubbish, it warmed her heart to hear him appreciate her so sincerely. It brought back memories of all the times Lysander had teased her with him, and the times Dominque had told her to just not turn as Scorpius had been trailing her with his eyes.
The two had been delicately dancing from a distance for too long now, and Scorpius had decided that it was time for something more real to happen.
Rose couldn't agree more.
Suddenly, the door was thrown open and everybody jumped.
"Hey, guys!"
Ginny came running into the house, quickly kissing a now dozing Albus on the cheek before making her way to the dining room, which was the current site of action in the house. Ron, Harry and Hermione gingerly followed her, taking care to dispose of their muddy boots and umbrellas before making their way towards Mrs Weasley.
"Mum, what's going on – hey, what are you doing here?" Ron's voice turned slightly accusatory as he caught sight of Scorpius, and Rose felt a little hurt.
"Ron!" Hermione shot him a scathing look that Scorpius caught, and somehow it gave him strength.
"Mrs Grang – er, Weasley…"
"Scorpius, are you really standing in my house and proposing to my daughter in front of our entire family?"
There was no way in hell that Scorpius was uttering another word after that scathing question Ron threw at him. His face fell dramatically and Rose didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
She looked directly at her mum now, thankful for her return.
"Mum. May I have a conversation with Scorpius, please? Alone?"
She saw her father's face turn puce and watched as Uncle Harry took him upstairs. Her uncle did wink at her first, though, and mouthed a little 'good luck!' to reassure her.
Hermione looked at the pair standing before her, wondering when her daughter had grown up so much and how she'd missed it.
She then stared at Scorpius, the handsome young boy who reminded her so much of his father yet had an air around him that was so, so different.
She nodded her assent and Rose squealed in a distinctly excited manner that was so far away from her normal self, James wondered if his sister was in fact harbouring feelings for his friend. The thought made him shudder.
And as Scorpius and Rose walked out the door towards the garden, James had just one message for his young cousin.
"Oi! No snogging till I think it's okay to do so!"
I hope you ladies liked it; you inspired me to write this for:
Nina (turn out fine)'s fan-fiction terms category competition, prompt: forum, write about a friendship.
arkanians' Florence and the Machine Challenge, prompt: Strangeness and Charm, write a fic about chemistry (in any sense of the word).
Please do leave a review; I hope you liked it!