It All Started With A Ball
Hogwarts' elite group members have it all: the looks, the talent, the popularity. But behind the masks of those seemingly perfect faces lie a number of scandalous secrets that could shake the reputations they've spent years building up. But pretending to be someone you're not is a waste of the person you are, and that's a lesson everyone has to learn eventually.
Rose and Scorpius were just two students who had only exchanged words of hate, until the Halloween Masquerade Ball in their sixth year. When they meet on the dance floor, they feel a connection they've never felt with anyone else before. But what happens when the ball's over and the masks come off?
Rating: T
Disclaimer: If I owned the Harry Potter series, I would be able to go to the Harry Potter World in Florida whenever I wanted. And I wouldn't be going to University next year!
AN: I would love to reply to all the reviews I've received in the past 2/3 years since I've updated but I have a feeling it would be a chapter within itself! So firstly I'd like to start off by saying thank you to everyone who's taken the time to review anything I've ever written.
I'd like to apologise for not updated in so long, it's a bit ridiculous how long actually. It's easier to start at the beginning: 2/3 years ago I was diagnosed with something which changed my life, and I kept meaning to return, but with everything going on in my life it was really hard and I just wanted to focus on myself for a while. And even though my life will be very very busy over the next year (applying to universities is so hard!), I will gradually be starting to update all my fanfictions again because I do miss writing and I still have so many ideas and plots written out. This fanfiction happened to receive the most reviews since I last updated, so I've decided to start with this! Hopefully you can all support this decision and be patient with me!
This is a re-upload, because I found mistakes and things I didn't like in the original chapter posted, but I will be uploading another chapter with it. So, here we go!
This first chapter's really long, it's an introduction of some of the main characters. Hope you enjoy!
Read and review please, lots of love xo
Chapter One:
Countdown to the Ball: 7 days.
"Rose, come on!"
"We have to go!"
"What do you mean, Roxy? We're already going!"
"Exactly! Which means Rose has to come too!"
Rose rolled her eyes as her two best friends gabbled either side of her. The Hogwarts Annual Halloween Ball wasn't something Rose usually attended. In fact, Rose hadn't ever attended one of Hogwarts' official balls, they just weren't her style. As part of Hogwarts' elite group, she did go to all the exclusive parties thrown, as well as all the parties she was invited to by people outside of the group; she definitely wasn't a loser lacking a social life and despite never getting completely smashed on a night out, Rose knew how to have fun.
In all honesty, Rose hated the pressure the Hogwarts' balls inflicted on girls. There was always the struggle of finding the nicest dress, the nicest accessories, the nicest shoes, and the perfect date. It was almost competitive, like if everything wasn't perfect, your night would be completely ruined and you'd spend it jealously comparing yourself to someone else; the concept disgusted her. Rose was a tomboy, to the despair of her mother, best friends and various designers that tried sending her clothes in order to gain some publicity. She wore what she liked, and she didn't like dressing up in skimpy clothes or fancy brands to impress other people. What was the point?
"Guys, I haven't been to a ball my whole time at Hogwarts. Why would I want to start now?"
"Because you need to let down your hair and have some fun!"
"Yeah, Rosie. You always look like you're having fun but never really letting loose and not worrying about what other people think!"
"And you should go because you're bloody gorgeous! You'll win the costume contest easily, if you go as like a princess or something!"
Rose Weasley really was gorgeous. She was one of those people who you just knew were pretty, but didn't realise how stunning they were until you'd had a good look at them. She was quite short, but with a perfectly petite frame, her tiny waist but full hips the envy of many of the other girls at Hogwarts. Her body was toned from all the exercise she did, and yet she seemed oblivious to the jealous whispers about her, which ironically only made people admire her more. Her hair was a dark red, a perfect mix of her parents' hair colours, and cascaded in loose waves down to the small of her back. Under a certain light, you could see the natural golden-red highlights in her hair, highlights that many girls had tried to imitate but had failed miserably. As Roxy had always said, you can't imitate perfection, and her cousin Rose was a perfect example of that.
Her eyes were big and a clear sky blue, framed with perfectly shaped eyebrows, and long, curly eyelashes, despite the lack of mascara in her daily routine. She somehow constantly had flawless skin, which was always lightly tanned, while her cheeks were often flushed a delicate pink. Her cheekbones were sharp, and light freckles were scattered across her nose. On the rare occasion she smiled, dimples appeared in her tanned cheeks, which only contributed further to her good looks.
"Flattery corrupts both the receiver and the giver," Rose quoted, arching an eyebrow at her friends, who rolled their eyes in response. Rose was always quoting novels she'd read when she felt it was relevant, whether they were from the Muggle or Wizarding Worlds. It was one of the things that reminded you how clever she actually was. That, and the fact her grades were just as flawless as she was.
"Oh, come on, Rose!"
"What's the harm in it?"
"I have work to do."
"Oh, please," Roxy laughed, throwing her dark brown curls over her shoulder. She looked down at her cousin and shook her head. "You're telling me that you have work to do? I know you're doing eight NEWTs, but I also know that you're not planning on doing that work until the night before it's due, and teachers are being a lot more lenient with work because the ball's next week."
Roxanne Weasley, more commonly known as Roxy, was only a month older than her cousin, but was also one of the only people who could say they had literally known Rose since birth, and knew her better than most people did. She knew her cousin's ways; she knew how she handled things. In more frank terms – Rose was not Hermione, her mother. They both had that same thirst for knowledge, but they handled it in different ways. Hermione had been keen to do work, doing the extra homework that was occasionally set, and managing to do ten OWLs. Rose, on the other hand, managed to raise the notch even higher, and do twelve, as well as playing for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and having a social life, being one of the most popular girls in school without even trying.
No one was really sure how Rose had managed to do twelve, after all, she never did the extra work, and she was so carefree, she rarely put in the same amount of effort that her mother used to. Rose herself never commented on the matter, she didn't like being compared to her mother, and she definitely didn't like being talked about.
Roxy was used to being compared to a famous family member; her and her father George had barely anything in common. Roxy was a girly girl; she loved shopping and make up, and loved reading fashion magazines. But despite all this, she was smart. She was sharp, like Rose was, and lessons came fairly easy to her, but she always tried hard to try and beat her cousin, because she wanted to be at the top. Despite this, she almost always found herself third in every class.
She could fly a broom, but when she played, she always opted to be a Chaser, and usually just hovered there, not fully participating. And unlike her older brother, she took after her Mum in the looks department. She was dark, and very tall and slim. At 5'10, she practically towered over Rose and Alice, and it was usually hard to find a boy who was willing to go out with her when she was taller than most.
"Whatever, Roxy. I'm still not going."
"Rose, please!"
Rose sighed, a scowl on her face as the three walked through the snow. "There's absolutely no point, guys. We all know that the point of all these balls is dressing up for the boys' entertainment in the sluttiest outfit you can find, in the hope of some guy calling you hot and shoving his tongue down your throat for the remainder of the night. What's Dominique going as again? Oh yeah – a bloody Playboy bunny! Classy!"
"You don't have to dress up like a Playboy bunny!" Roxy insisted, running through her hair in exasperation, inwardly cursing their older cousin for loudly discussing costume choices at the dinner table last night. "It'll be fun, honestly! Everyone is going this year, all of our lot, which is way more than usual, usually a handful can't make it! James and Fred even said they're even gonna try and spike the punch with Firewhisky, liven things up a bit, make it the best ball yet. When Rose's face stayed blank, she changed tactics. "And the Halloween ball is always the best place for people to hook up…"
Rose gave her cousin a steely look, and Roxy and Alice flinched uncomfortably. James McLaggen, the Gryffindor Beater, had recently dumped Rose. And it was easy enough to say that she wasn't taking it well; she still had feelings for him, and the break up hadn't been mutual. Unlike his father, James McLaggen was actually a decent guy. He'd been charming, funny and clever, all the things Rose wanted in a guy. When he'd told her, after four months together, that things weren't working out, she'd been heartbroken.
Alice Longbottom, the final member of their trio, nodded carefully in agreement to what Roxy had said, making her shoulder-length blonde hair bounce, and reaching over to squeeze Rose's forearm sympathetically. "It's true, Rose. Majority of Hogwarts' couples start at the Halloween ball. It's gonna be even better this year. The masks are such a good idea! Plus, we know you don't really like going out with the guys in the group, so this is a whole new chance to meet new guys and… move on."
She was right – while majority of their friends liked to exclusively date within the group, Rose had only ever gone on a few dates with one of them, and James had been the only other guy she'd exclusively gone out with. No one knew why, but Alice and the others assumed it was because she'd been afraid of how it would affect the group's dynamics if they were to break up, that and the fact it took her an incredibly long time to completely open herself up to someone.
Out of the three, Alice was the most dainty and ladylike. While Rose looked like a fragile porcelain doll, Alice acted like one. She'd never ridden a broom in her life, and was scared of just about every creature, she'd practically been sick the time she was sent to the Forbidden Forest for a detention. Unlike fiery Rose and harsh Roxy, Alice always spoke in a soft tone – she was loyal, and really sweet. She was slightly chubby, as her father had been in his younger years, but her pear-shaped face and hazel eyes were endearing.
She didn't judge people immediately, so if she disliked you it was an extremely big deal, and she always tried to cheer people up when they were down. Unlike her best friends, she was a good girl: she didn't join in with pranks like Rose did, she didn't flirt openly like Roxy did. She'd only been out with two guys within the elite, and both of those had been long-term relationships. Unlike her best friends, lessons didn't come easily to her, she studied hard to maintain her E grades, and proudly owled her parents whenever she got an O. She didn't have a sarcastic or patronising bone in her body, and it took a lot to even get her to retaliate properly.
Rose arched an eyebrow and slipped her hands into the pockets of her black leather jacket. "Yeah?" she said, the hint of a smirk on her face as she fixed her eyes on her two best friends. "Most of the couples start at the Halloween ball? How many of these relationships aren't a result of appearances and what they look like? And last longer than a week?" Roxy and Alice exchanged sheepish looks, looking down at their boots. Roxy fingered the hem of her skirt and Alice made an act of looking through her bag.
A triumphant smirk appeared on Rose's face. "That's what I thought. These balls are stupid! They're an excuse to dress up, snog a guy while dancing, share this 'look of love', go on one or two dates, and then what? They break up within a matter of a fortnight! It's so superficial! Lily started going to these things in her first year and has snogged a different guy every ball since the beginning of her third year! Dominique sleeps with a different guy every ball!" Both her friends looked up, exchanging a quick glance, before each grabbing one of her arms and letting rip.
"Please come, Rose!"
"Pretty please!"
"Or we can't go either!"
"Yeah, we can't go without you!"
"It wouldn't be right!"
"We'll owe you big time!"
"Yeah, we will!"
"We'll find something you can wear!"
"You won't even have to worry about it!"
"You'll look amazing, honestly!"
"Please, Rose?"
"Pleaseeeeee…?"
The high-pitched frequency of her best friends' whining was starting to give her a headache so knowing they wouldn't stop until she agreed, Rose rolled her eyes, but nodded slightly, her eyes widening as her friends erupted with simultaneous squeals of excitement.
Oh Merlin, she thought as her two friends pulled her down the streets of Hogsmeade. What have I gotten myself into?
The five Slytherins made their way through the tiny village, two blondes in the middle, surrounded by three brunettes. The five were also part of Hogwarts' elite; in fact, they were five of the eight Slytherin members within the group of thirty-eight. The group was completely exclusive – the people in it got invited to selective parties and events, and had secret hangout spots, even if some of them hated each other; some elitists even only dated within the group.
The blonde who was directly in the middle was Scorpius Malfoy. If there were to be a male member who majority of the guys in the group admired, he'd be it, and considering the group was filled with several alpha-male personalities, that was saying a lot. He stood tall, at 5'11, and even though he wasn't the tallest in the group, his presence was overwhelming. Unlike his father, underneath his clothes, he was actually rather built, and regularly worked out, even when he wasn't on the Quidditch pitch, to maintain his muscular physique.
He had platinum blonde hair, which always helped him stand out in a crowd; very few others had hair as pale as Scorpius Malfoy's. In his younger years at Hogwarts, he gelled his hair back, like his father did, but now he was older, he wore it naturally, so it was soft, but still stuck up slightly. To his amusement, girls always whispered about what it what it would be like to run their hands through it, and for most girls, it only added to his sex appeal. His piercing grey eyes made girls go weak at the knees, some even describing them as 'magical' and misty. Saying he was pale was an understatement, and no set amount of hours playing Quidditch could change that. He had sharp cheekbones, and the rest of his features were appropriately chiselled; girls who had seen his entire body often compared him to a Greek God.
He was the second smartest student at Hogwarts, falling just behind his rival in every class, Rose Weasley. No matter how hard he tried and how many extra hours of work he put in, he couldn't beat her. The girl was flawless.
But with an unnaturally high sex appeal, it was no wonder he was considered a legend amongst the majority of his fellow male classmates; he slept with someone new nearly every week. He'd slept with people of every house, of every year from third year upwards, and had reached third base with quite a fair amount of them too. He'd gotten off with most of the girls in the group, and was often described as Hogwarts' answer to a male prostitute; he didn't give a shit about that though.
"So, Roxy and Alice are trying to convince Rose to come to the Halloween ball on Saturday," the boy to his left said, laughing as he ran a hand through his jet-black hair. "Pretty sure she's the only one in the whole group who hasn't been to a single one of those." "Can you blame her?" the boy to his right said, arching a pale, blonde eyebrow. "They're not that great."
The boy to his left was Albus Severus Potter. He'd been sorted into Slytherin alongside Scorpius six years ago, and he wasn't anything like the other Weasley/Potters. He didn't even look like one. He'd inherited his father's unruly jet-black hair, as well as his startlingly emerald green almond-shaped eyes.
He found himself being shunned slightly since his sorting into Slytherin house. The others had tried to convince him that it was unintentional shunning, but to him it was shunning nonetheless. His family never came to his Quidditch matches to support him, whenever he looked out into the crowd, they were sporting Gryffindor colours. They didn't even come to the matches when Gryffindor weren't playing, not even when he'd written to tell them, his entire second and third year at Hogwarts. He knew how hard it had been for his family when he'd been sorted into Slytherin, though James had joked about it they had never really expected it, but they'd promised they would still support him. Some promise.
As a result of this, he'd become moody, and rarely put effort into his schoolwork until the very last minute. He lacked control over his emotions, and tended to get involved in things that were none of his business. When pushed to the point of anger or annoyance, he could be scary, and if that wasn't bad enough, his cutting sense of humour and sharp tongue were enough to drive his family members even further away, with the cutting parting comment that he belonged in Slytherin.
But Albus' moody act still helped him pull a few girls who liked the cold, brooding type, every now and again, but he'd never been in a long-term relationship either. Every girl he'd ever gotten with knew that she'd never mean anything to him, because there was only one girl on his mind. Demi Louise Queens, yet another elitist, who he'd fancied since his third year and her second.
Louis Weasley was the boy to Scorpius' right, and was now the cousin closest to Albus. With his blonde hair, sharp features and tall, wiry bodies, Louis and Scorpius could pass for distant relatives. But Louis had dark blue eyes, which contrasted with his silvery blonde hair, and his skin had a constant light tan after many summers spent in the South of France. He was considered ridiculously attractive with his part-Veela heritage, and was an inch taller than Scorpius at 6'0; like his friend, he had a long line of girls who wanted to go out with him.
Unlike two of his best friends, he was more sensitive and gentle, which appealed to the girls who didn't fall for Albus and Scorpius' contemptuousness. He'd stayed the same kind, considerate boy he'd been before he was sorted into Slytherin, and hadn't taken the family shunning them as badly. He hadn't even joined in when his Slytherin friends insulted and hexed the Gryffindors.
It was clear that he and his twenty two year old sister Victoire had inherited their mother's looks, and despite their age difference, they were often mistaken for twins with their light blonde hair, dark blue eyes and tanned skin which bore very few of the Weasley freckles. Louis' good looks did catch the attention of many girls at Hogwarts, however, he handled it in a different way to his friends.
For one, he had actually been in relationships, and while he had been in a fair number, they were all relatively long-term, and he had actually thought of these girls to be more than names on a list. More importantly, whenever Louis got out of a relationship, he always found himself feeling bad afterwards, whether he was the dumpee or the dumper. Now was one of these times.
"I just can't believe it's over!"
"Louis, give it a rest, please."
"All the good times we had –"
"Oh, shut up, Lou. "
"It's all over now!"
"I thought you broke up with her, Louis," Albus said, half-heartedly sticking his hands in the front pockets of his jeans to cut off the familiar squabble the three friends were having. As a gust of wind blew by, his jet-black hair fell into his emerald green eyes. "You said she was getting clingy and annoying, and that you couldn't handle her moaning any longer."
"But that's no reason to break up with her! You should've seen the look on her face… I'm such a terrible person!"
Scorpius looked over at Vincent Goyle, who was standing beside Louis, but found he wasn't even paying attention and was checking things off his shopping list. At 6'4, Vincent was the tallest guy in their year, and easily the most broad. Unlike his father, Vincent wasn't at all chubby, he was muscular, and was actually considered one of the more attractive boys of Hogwarts, clearly he'd inherited his mother's good looks instead. He was also quite clever, his grades were often at E level, or A average in subjects he didn't like, but he was actually really good at Potions, at times Scorpius found himself having to work even harder to secure his second place.
He, like Albus and Scorpius, could be obnoxious, but he was a lot quieter, and when he was around girls, he was completely different. When he was with the boys, he was just that – one of the boys, making lewd comments and joking around. But when he was with girls, he was a complete gentleman, even more so than Louis, holding doors open and letting them walk ahead of him. Scorpius had been a good friend of his since they were children, and he'd only ever seen his friend act in a kind way towards women. It was almost admirable, all that chivalry, but it wasn't Scorpius' style.
He turned the other way to look at Alexandro Zabini, the fifth and final member of their immediate friendship group, but found Zabini looking around at the girls in the village with disdain. Alexandro, more commonly known by his surname, was easily the more superficial of the boys. He was also extremely good looking, with his dark skin, slanted dark brown eyes, high cheekbones and muscular body. But those were really the only good things you could say about him.
He was obsessed with appearances, and always judged people around him with this principle. If you weren't good looking enough, he barely bothered to acknowledge your presence. He was arrogant and vain, and you could tell just by the way he carried himself that he thought he was the most attractive boy in their year, he was extremely high up on the list but his cockiness knocked him down a few places.
Despite this, he wasn't as openly rude as some of his friends were, and instead opted to react to certain situations with scornful amusement, snorting and chuckling to himself instead of stepping in and insulting them. He also had higher standards, and whilst his 'number' was just as high as Scorpius', he hadn't slept with practically every girl at Hogwarts, he'd spend his summers having sex with mind-blowingly beautiful European models, singers and actresses. There were only a handful of girls at school that he even considered a little bit attractive.
Scorpius looked around at his friends in exasperation, sighing at them in disbelief. To his left, Albus was looking around to see if Demi had decided to come to Hogsmeade; to his further left, Zabini was still glancing around at their classmates with mild disgust; to his right, Louis was still whining about the girl he'd just dumped; and Vincent seemed more interested in his check list than his surroundings.
"That's it," the blonde boy said loudly, shaking his head in disbelief. Once he saw he'd gotten their attention, he raised an eyebrow. "Next Saturday, guys – we are going to that ball. And for once, I'm not letting you guys dress up in stupid costumes. I'm stepping in – you guys need to get laid. I've never seen you four acting so pathetic! Louis, you need to get over this girl, you're the one that broke up with her! Albus, you have to either grow some backbone and ask Demi out, or get over her! Vincent, you need to get out more! And Zabini, you just need to lower your standards a bit! Some of the Hogwarts girls are pretty fucking good in bed, believe it or not."
"You really think I need to get over her?"
"I can't just ask Demi out!"
"I do go out a lot!"
"Some of them are pretty good? Who'd you recommend, Malfoy?"
Scorpius decided to ignore the other three, and focus solely on what Zabini had asked him. "There are loads of pretty good ones, Zabini. Loads." He thought back to his previous conquests, his lips instinctively curling into a grin as he did so. "Like, you know that Hufflepuff Keeper? Hannah Rivers, seventh year? She went to this flying academy when she was younger, even before Hogwarts, and she's really flexible. All these amazing positions she can get into –"
He stopped as the Slytherin boys turned the corner, and found themselves in front of the Gryffindor girls in their year, also in their elite group: Rose, Roxy and Alice. Their noses were all scrunched up in disgust; Roxy folded her dark arms across her chest, Alice's lips were pursed and Rose's usually sky blue eyes looked icy. Rose, the smallest at 5'2, had to tilt her head up to look at the boys, who were all taller than her, and she shook her head disapprovingly.
The eight of them had never really gotten along; it wasn't just the stereotypical Gryffindor-Slytherin hate though, each of them had reasons to dislike one another. The main reason was that before Hogwarts, Rose and Roxy had been close to their cousins Albus and Louis, and along with Alice, the five of them had been a close-knit group. But when Albus and Louis had been sorted into Slytherin, they had been completely ostracised.
"Do you always have to talk about sex?" Alice sneered, tossing her blonde, wavy hair and narrowing her hazel eyes at the boys. As Scorpius, Albus and Zabini smirked, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, you do. But can you at least keep it down, or not be so graphic about it? Some of us have just had lunch at The Three Broomsticks, we don't want to hear about what's happened with you and Hannah Rivers in bed, thanks."
"Just jealous you haven't gone that far yet, Alliepoo?"
"Oh, fuck you, Zabini."
"I know you want to, Longbottom."
"Have you gotten taller, Roxy?"
"Fuck off, Albus."
"You have, haven't you!"
"Fuck off."
"Looks like you're gonna have to give your lad a stepladder when he wants to kiss you."
"At least I'm not short."
"Fuck off, I'm not that small! I'm 5'8, for Merlin's sake."
As Alice bickered with Zabini, the pair of them stood glaring at one another, and Roxy and Albus screeched at each other, waving their arms about madly, Scorpius, Louis and Vincent stood awkwardly, staring at Rose, the same thought running through all of their heads. Vincent coughed, putting his list in one of the front pockets of his jeans and sighed heavily. "I heard about you and McLaggen, Rose. I'm really sorry. You guys looked pretty happy together."
Scorpius watched as Rose's jaw clenched and her eyes grew darker, the way he noticed they always did when she was about to cry. He'd seen her walking around school with that McLaggen goof; she had looked happy when she was with him, he'd brought out a smile in her, a change from her usual stony or blank expressions. And while it was pretty tactless of Vincent to bring it up, he had meant well.
"Well, it's over now," she said shakily, her eyes shiny with tears. "Nothing I can really do about it. But thanks anyway." Vincent nodded, before stepping forwards and hugging her gently. Despite there being more than a foot between them, Rose seemed to accept the kind gesture and hugged him back, burying her face in his middle.
Scorpius pursed his lips at the sight of them, his hands involuntarily clenching into fists as he saw Vincent's hands sink nearer her annoyingly perky bum, which looked even more amazing in her skinny jeans. Rose and Vincent had been on a few dates last year, and if he was completely honest, he hadn't liked it at all. Sure, it had been casual, and he was sure that neither of them actually had feelings for the other, but for some reason, Rose Weasley with just about any guy was enough to piss Scorpius off. Probably because the sight of his rival sucking face with any guy was sickening to him.
"McLaggen's an idiot, Weasley." The reassuring words slipped out of his mouth before he could even stop them, and she pulled away from Vincent, an eyebrow raised in surprise. He received equally confused looks from Vincent and Louis, but he looked over at Rose and found himself running his eyes over her slim form. He hadn't even meant to make that comment, but Merlin, she looked good today – wearing a simple, fitted white t-shirt under her leather jacket; combined with her skinny jeans, her toned figure was on show and he found himself wondering how he hadn't noticed a body like that under her school uniform and how McLaggen could have possibly dumped her. What are you doing, Malfoy, he thought to himself. Dammit, this is Weasley! He averted his gaze, making sure he was looking anywhere but into her big blue eyes, and ran a hand through his hair. "But, I dunno, you kinda are too, for going out with a guy like him."
"Charming," Rose said, folding her arms and shaking her head. Scorpius waited for her cutting response, but he didn't get one. Instead, Rose sighed heavily and nudged the girls either side of her as she shifted around in her brown Chelsea boots. "C'mon, Rox, Al. I don't want to be around these pricks for any longer. Let's just head back to the castle."
"Fine," Roxy said, her voice remaining icy as she glared at Albus; Alice and Zabini falling silent. "I'd rather spend my time with the rest of our cousins than with a group of snakes." "Clever, Rox," Albus said sarcastically, his voice having the same cold tone. "How long did it take you to think of that one? Bet you've been waiting to use it for a while. You definitely didn't inherit your sense of humour from your daddy. It's like you're not a Weasley."
"If anyone's not a Weasley, it's you!" Roxy whipped out her wand and as Albus jumped back in shock, Rose jumped in front of her. "Rox, leave it," she hissed, shaking her head and sighing once again. "Come on, just go to the castle." As Alice grabbed her arm, Roxy turned to leave, the pair of them walking in the direction of the school. But Rose turned to Albus, her eyes clouded with disappointment. "That wasn't fair and you know it."
"Not a lot is fair, Rosie," Albus snapped, folding his arms across his chest. He sighed shakily and shook his head, and the other boys couldn't help but notice the resemblance between Albus and the girl who used to be his best friend in the entire world. "Just fuck off. Go back to the castle, and back to the other perfect cousins." "You're pathetic," Rose said scornfully, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she turned to leave. "Don't act like we're the ones that turned on you, Albus. You're the one that turned into a twat."
"Nice family relationships there," Zabini drawled, once Rose was out of hearing range, his voice dripping with its usual sarcasm. "Remind me, Albus, why have we never been invited back to yours for the holidays?" Albus snorted at him, holding up his middle finger. "Not everyone can be close to their family, Zabini, especially when you go to school together and don't have to see each other for the rest of the year. Plus, your lot are happy you're a Slytherin."
"You used to be really close to them," Vincent said softly, shoving his hands in his pockets. He nodded over at Zabini and Scorpius, his lips curling into a slight smile at memories of the past. "Us three used to think we were so cool at all those Ministry parties, dressed up in our mini suits, then all you Weasleys and Potters walked in, looking even better than we did, and outnumbered us by far."
"It wasn't even all of you there the first time you came, was it?" Scorpius said, laughing slightly. "Cos Molly and Lucy weren't there, and neither were Lily and Hugo." "Hugo and Lils were a bit too young; Moll and Luce had chickenpox," Louis said, his lips curling into a slight smile as he thought back to it. "Really bad chickenpox, which they caught off me and Rose. We'd caught it off Albus and Roxy, and by the end of the month, it had spread to all the cousins."
"Cos we saw each other so much, even if we all didn't live that close to one another," Albus said, shrugging his shoulders. "We were inseparable." "D'you miss it?" Scorpius asked, seeing the sparkle in the eyes of two of his best friends. But as soon as he'd asked the question, the sparkle was gone. "Not everyone can stay close to their cousins forever, Scor. You grow up, you grow apart, that's how it –"
"Sorry, Al," Scorpius said, cutting his friend off as he saw two familiar blondes coming out of Gladrags Wizardwear, his lips curling into a smile at the irony of the timing. "I've got to go talk to my cousins." If he had turned to go a second later, he would've seen Albus roll his eyes in annoyance. But instead, Scorpius jogged forward, to the two blonde girls.
"Well, if it isn't my favourite two cousins!" Scorpius chuckled, winking at the twins as he threw his arms around them. Celina and Celestia Greengrass, two of Scorpius' four cousins, but easily the two he got along best with. They were the closest to him in age, only a year below him at Hogwarts, and he'd been happy when they'd been sorted into Slytherin.
Both girls had dyed blonde hair, dark green eyes and petite figures, but that was where the similarities ended. Celina was the older twin, and like most first-born twins, she was the more dominating. She was snappy and blunt, and was often described as being ruthless. She could be nice at times, but was quite vain, and like Zabini, was obsessed with how she looked.
She was the girly twin, the one who hated flying, and would much rather go shopping. But despite that, she was also very loyal, and made sure she was at every one of her sister's Quidditch practices and matches. She had her heart set on becoming a journalist, and was set to become editor of the Hogwarts' weekly magazine once Malcolm Smith, a seventh year Hufflepuff, graduated at the end of the year.
Celestia was the quiet twin; unlike her sister, she preferred blending in and taking in a situation, rather than making herself the centre of it and hardly spoke when she wasn't close to someone. She also lacked confidence, and wouldn't ever stand up for herself in arguments, that had always been her twin sister's job. But apart from being one of the cleverest students in her year, she was also one of the stars on the Slytherin Quidditch team.
She'd loved flying since she was ten years old. It had been the summer before her eleventh birthday, the summer before she went to Hogwarts. Scorpius had come home and taught her how to fly, and she'd fallen in love with the game. She loved the free feeling that came with being in the air, and she loved hearing people cheer her on. She was a Chaser, the same as Scorpius and Louis, and was actually the only girl on the Slytherin team.
"Hi, Scor," Celestia giggled, pushing her cousin off of her and grinning at him. "What are you doing here? I'd have thought you'd be doing some extra work or something?" "Yeah, trying to finally beat Rose Weasley," Celina added, her eyes sparkling teasingly. "You're already behind in the competition – her perfect OWLs are all anyone's talking about. That and the fact she's doing eight NEWTs, compared to your seven."
"Are you done yet?" Scorpius said, raising an eyebrow and shaking his head as he tried to stifle a chuckle, despite the mild annoyance at the mention of the Weasley girl. Celina arched an eyebrow, an equally amused expression on her face, and the older boy nudged her with his elbow. "Like I haven't been getting enough shit from the guys about that already. What are you two doing in Hogsmeade anyway?"
"Trying to buy our costumes for the ball," Celina said, rolling her eyes as she brought out an envelope containing gold coins. "I know it's a bit late, but Mum only sent us the money this week, and we're having shit luck trying to find good costumes! Everyone else has taken all the decent-looking ones."
"I still need to find mine, to be honest," Scorpius laughed, running a hand through his hair. "I had one, but I was gonna wear it for a joke. I kinda don't want to wear something for the laughs anymore, I'm actually considering getting a decent costume this year." "Trying to impress one of the Gryffindor girls, Scor? I hear she's being made to go as a princess for her first ball... belle of the ball and all that. Why don't you be her prince?"
"I don't know who you're on about," he lied, coughing and gesturing back to his friends, who were sporting impatient and bored looks on their faces." Anyway, I'd better get back to the lads. Try Madame Malkin's if you can't find anything, I've heard the Hogsmeade branch has a lot more costumes than the one in Diagon Alley does." He began making his way over to his friends, but when he'd reached half way, he turned, a smirk on his face. "Don't buy anything too revealing. I don't wanna have to beat anyone up for checking out my little cousins."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Scor."
"Remember when our family members were that happy to see us in Hogsmeade?" Albus said sarcastically as Scorpius walked back towards them, nudging Louis next to him. "Oh wait." Scorpius sighed at his friend's familiar negativity and clapped him round the head. "Not all of them are like that, Al. Some of them are still nice to you."
"Well, if it isn't the Slytherins of the family!"
The boys flinched as they heard the loud call, and Albus rolled his eyes, recognising the voice immediately. "Yep, Scor," he snapped sarcastically. "They're so nice to us, they even remember to call us by our proper names. Merlin, they're everywhere, aren't they?" "At least they remember what house we're in," Louis whispered back jokingly as the five Slytherins turned around, a smirk on his face.
"Well, if it isn't the three wicked witches," Zabini called, as Lucy, Molly and Dominique made their way out of Honeydukes. Liam Crawford, a Ravenclaw seventh year, and Dominique's best friend, walked out behind them awkwardly. Although Liam was Dominique's best friend, he'd always made it clear he didn't like when the cousins fought with each other, but made sure he never got involved properly.
"What do you want, Lucy?" Albus asked tiredly, sighing heavily. He couldn't help but smirk, knowing exactly how to annoy her further. "Or should I say … 'giraffe'?" Albus had never really liked Lucy; she was had a stereotypical 'mean girl' persona, often making snide, cutting remarks to everyone around her. She didn't excel in lessons the same way her father and mother had, but she loved to gossip, spreading news the second she heard it.
She looked like a typical Weasley, with vivid red hair, freckles and blue eyes. She was quite tall and thin, not as tall as Roxy or Dominique, but she hated it, knowing it didn't suit her as well as it did them, and even at the age of seventeen, Albus only had to call her 'giraffe' to make her self-conscious, and piss her off. Before they'd been sorted into Slytherin, Lucy's cutting remarks had come in handy – she'd always defended Albus and Louis, as well as their other cousins, from playground bullies, but now they were Slytherins, they found themselves at the receiving end of those comments.
"Lucy, just leave it," her twin sister Molly pleaded, pulling at her sister's arm. Molly was the polar opposite of Lucy, in fact, people had often said that if they hadn't been identical in their looks, they wouldn't have even thought they were related. Unlike Celina and Celestia, the twins weren't all that close, they hung out together because it was a forced habit. When they were younger, it had been different – Lucy had been a lot more protective of her sister, and hadn't acted like a bitch all of the time, and Molly had actually been listened to.
But now they were seventeen, Lucy was like the ice queen. Her snide comments often reduced people to tears, and were aimed at even the people she cared about. She was constantly making people dislike her by the things she would come out with no hesitation, as if she didn't even mind hurting people's feelings. Molly had been on the receiving end of them for years, silently taking in all that her sister had to say.
Molly hated confrontation, which was ironic, seeing as she was constantly with Dominique and Lucy, easily the two most dramatic girls in their year. Unlike her twin sister, she wore glasses, and was a lot sweeter than her too. She was actually really nice, but very shy, and had barely gone out with any boys, but due to people associating her with Dominique and Lucy, she had to put up with being called a bitch and many other undeserved derogatory terms.
Lucy shook her off harshly, her eyes blazing as she stormed over to Albus. "Listen, Albus – if your mum wasn't my favourite aunt, I'd hex you so much you'd end up in St Mungo's intensive care, so just count yourself lucky."
"You wouldn't be able to hex me once, Lucy. Everyone knows Rose is the only cousin who'd be able to hex me successfully."
"You're right. Only the amazing Rose is bright enough to know how to properly defend herself from Dark magic."
"Take that back!"
"Why? Are you and the Death Eaters gonna do something about it?"
"Lucy," Dominique said warningly, moving towards them. Just by the tone to her voice, Lucy knew she'd gone too far, dropping the Death Eater comment, and she'd let her frustration towards her cousin get the better of her. Dominique moved smoothly, positioning herself between the two and looked from one to the other, Molly following timidly. "Lucy, go ahead to The Three Broomsticks, and if you bump into anyone, make sure you hold your tongue, we don't want you getting another detention for supposedly bullying other students. Moll, you go with her."
Molly nodded silently, grabbing her twin sister's arm and pulling her through the village. As soon as she couldn't see them within the crowds, Dominique turned back to face Albus, sighing heavily. "You know not to piss her off, Al. She's still stroppy, moany Lucy who has something to say about everything, you know that. Even if you don't speak to her anymore."
Albus stayed silent, folding his arms across his chest and avoiding his cousin's gaze as he looked down at his white trainers. Dominique stayed looking at him, waiting for a response. It was a rare occasion to see Dominique being responsible, while at the same time being a lot more affectionate and warm than she was usually.
At 5'9, Dominique was just a bit shorter than Roxy, and just a bit taller than the twins, however, unlike the other girls, she loved being tall. Dominique loved the feeling of power as she walked through the halls of Hogwarts, she loved being talked about, and tended to be the centre of some of Hogwarts' largest scandals. Though she hadn't completely inherited her mother's looks, unlike her brother Louis and sister Victoire, she had inherited some of them, and was still considered an extremely beautiful girl. Her hair was quite long, and a light strawberry blonde, a mix of her father's and mother's hair colours. It was naturally straight, but she often curled it, so it cascaded neatly to just below her chest.
She had her mother's dark blue eyes that stood out in her pale, heart-shaped face, coated with Weasley freckles, and had an air of arrogance about her. That was how most people saw Dominique – as this snobby, openly critical girl. She was blunt, a lot like her cousin Rose, however, while Rose's honesty often made people admire her, Dominique's just made her dislikeable. That, and the fact that she held the reputation of Hogwarts' resident slag.
When she saw she wasn't going to get an answer from Albus, she sighed again, and turned to her brother. "Louis, Maman says she hopes to get an owl from you soon. She misses you, she barely spent any time with you this summer because she was helping Tante Gabrielle with her wedding." Louis fidgeted guiltily, unable to look his sister in the eye. Fleur, to the surprise of the other cousins, had been the one member of the family to overlook the fact that her son had been sorted into Slytherin. She'd always sent letters, but she'd sent at least five the previous week; Louis hadn't ever wanted to make Albus feel bad about the situation, so he'd hidden every single letter he'd received from her in a hidden compartment under the head of us bed, without even opening the envelope.
Albus raised an eyebrow questioningly at his cousin, but instead of choosing to question him then, he turned to face Dominique, narrowing his eyes at her. Albus could hear the mild sympathy in her voice, but he didn't want that. He was angry with his cousins, for not supporting him or standing up for him over the past few years, so he reacted the only way he knew how to – by acting like an arsehole. "Dominique, don't you have somewhere else to be? Like, shagging some guy in the toilets at The Three Broomsticks or something like that?"
Dominique flushed angrily as the other three Slytherin boys snickered; unfortunately, she was in the majority of the cousins, inheriting the 'Weasley blush', in which her face, ears and neck turned scarlet. She narrowed her eyes at Albus, and darted forward to hit him, but stopped herself, breathing shakily. "Go fuck yourself, Albus," she hissed, storming away from them and right past her best friend a metre or two behind her. The other boys had actually forgotten he was there, in his silence. "The others are right, you are a prick."
Liam stepped forwards, and went to follow Dominique, but stopped and turned back to face the boys. "Mate, that was a bit harsh, don't you think?" he said, his naturally soft tone the opposite to the harsh ones Albus was used to hearing. He shrugged his shoulders and sighed, looking at the group of Slytherin boys. "She was actually trying to be nice to you lot, for once"
"I know," Albus admitted, a guilty look momentarily crossing his face, before he pursed his lips. "But you know she's not always like that, Liam. If she's trying to make up for the past few years of treating us like shit, just by being nice for once, it's not working. You know Dominique, she's only nice to people when she wants something in return; Aunt Fleur probably promised her she could go to Milan for Fashion Week if she got Louis to write back."
As Dominique's best friend since first year, Liam did know her better than anyone else. He was in the elite too, and was always described as 'a breath of fresh air' amongst some of the hostile personalities within the group. Everyone always questioned how Dominique and Liam had managed to maintain their friendship for so long when they were complete opposites, even more so than Molly and Lucy; Liam was in Ravenclaw, and was as calm, cool and collected, as Dominique was feisty, bitchy and temperamental.
Unlike Dominique, his reputation was actually good; he'd been Hogwarts' best achieving student until Rose had come along and become his equal, but he was dedicated to his work in a way that she definitely wasn't. He did the extra work, and even had time to tutor students in the younger years, on top of being the star and ex-captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team (stepping down after three years for his final year, so Lysander, the current captain could hold the position for two years), and Head Boy. Yes, he was Head Boy too.
But apart from being one of the most perfect students to ever grace the Hogwarts halls, Liam was also in a band with some of his friends in Ravenclaw. They often performed a short set at all of the Hogwarts balls, and their music was actually really popular. Liam was also very popular; he was a likable guy, who was good at making conversation, so all the guys liked him, but he was also incredibly good looking.
He was tall, like many of the guys in their group, at 6'2, however, his body was envied by most of them. He was extremely built, the kind of pin-up boy that girls tended to gossip about in the common rooms, and had even been nicknamed 'Hotbody Crawford' by all the girls at Hogwarts for his tanned, perfectly sculpted eight pack. With his dark blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes, Liam was one of the most sought after guys at Hogwarts; he was every girl's ideal guy but didn't abuse it, which earned him a great deal of respect.
"I don't know, Albus," Liam said, sighing heavily as he looked after his best friend. "She's been acting pretty differently recently. Believe it or not, I think she wants to do a good deed." As the Slytherin boys raised their eyebrows in disbelief, he laughed at them, and turned to leave. "Don't be idiots. Dom can be a good person. Anyway, I'd better go calm her down, see you lot later!"
"I'll never understand how he's so nice, yet he chooses to hang out with Dominique."
"Agreed."
"Fucking Albus," Dominique raged, as she pushed open the doors to The Three Broomsticks. Everyone in the pub turned to face her as she made her loud entrance, but she ignored them, storming straight to the table in the middle of the room, where she and the other seventh year cousins often sat. "He deserves to be hexed."
"What's my idiot brother done now?" James asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement; he thought Albus had become a prat since being sorted into Slytherin, but even that didn't stop the fact that a furious Dominique was hilarious, as long as her anger wasn't aimed towards him. Fred elbowed him in his chest, not wanting Dominique to see and start screaming at them. Their best friend, Elliott Jordan tried to conceal a chuckle, while Molly and Lucy exchanged a brief look, before turning back to Dominique, the usual forced supportive looks on both of their faces.
"Dom, calm down!"
The five seventh years, excluding the fiery Veela, turned to see her best friend Liam run into the pub, shaking his head. Dominique ignored him, marching over to the bar and barking at the bartender to give her a bottle of Firewhiskey and a shot glass. Liam was by her side in a second, an arm around her shoulder as he tried to calm her down. "Cancel the Firewhiskey, we'll just have two Butterbeers please."
As Dominique looked up at him angrily, he shushed her soothingly and her body relaxed instantly, in a way only Liam could make it, as she lolled against his shoulder and growled. "Dom, downing loads of Firewhiskey won't make things any better, you know it won't. Especially because we need to study for that Potions test on Tuesday. I know you can get an O if we just put in a few extra hours. Come to the common room, we can study together." She snorted to show her disapproval and he smiled fondly down at her. "C'mon, Dom, you need to learn this stuff eventually."
"Amazes me how he can talk to her like that," James murmured, taking a sip of his own Butterbeer before setting it down on the table. Fred looked at him in mild amusement that he was taking such an interest in the life of their cousin, but James rolled his eyes at him. "Come on, Fred, try tell me you weren't thinking the same thing. We've known Dominique since birth and we haven't been able to control her mood swings, he's known her for just over six years and he's managed to control her better than anyone else."
James took more after Fred's namesake than Fred himself, who actually took after his father. The two of them were still compared to the original Weasley twins, with James being the loud, more outspoken of the pair. He was blunt, like Rose, and tended to say what he thought about situations. He and Rose were actually a lot closer than people realised, most likely due to the endless list of qualities they had in common with one another: their charm, ability to feign innocence and love of pranks being a few of them. His unruly black hair was similar to his father's, but he had warm brown eyes like his mother. He was even shorter and stockier than his brother, at 5'7, but also a lot more built.
Fred was the nicer of the two, and tended to be a lot more quiet and gentle. He could have a laugh and play a joke, like James, but he was a lot less cruel with his pranks. He was willing to make fun of himself, and his jokes were to make people laugh, never to spite people he disliked. In a similar way to James, he felt protective of Rose as well as his younger sister Roxy, who was almost like another sister to him. He had his father's red hair, but his mother's brown eyes, and was built in a similar way to James; if it hadn't been for his skin being a few shades darker, they could have easily passed as twins.
"You're right," Molly said, shaking her head in disbelief. "I hate to admit it, but James, you're right. None of us know Dominique as well as Liam does, no matter how much we try to pretend we do. Maybe this year will be different, maybe we should try and get to know the real her. It is our last year together, us six cousins, before we go into the real world."
"Oh please," Lucy snorted, looking over to check her Veela cousin and best friend weren't within hearing range. "We all know who she is, we always have done. On Saturday, it's the Halloween ball, and Dom's going in some slutty costume, like she always does. And she's gonna get off with some guy in front of all of us and do the walk of shame into our room the next morning. Simple."
Little did Lucy and the others know, this ball wasn't going to be the same as the others. In fact, it was going to be an eventful night – one the elite would never forget.