SWEET DREAMS.
A/N: THIS IS JUST SOMETHING I SCRIBBLED, IT'S MORE OF A SCENE THAN A STORY… AND IT'S ALSO KIND OF, CHILDISH, BUT I THINK IT'S FUN!
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT J. K. ROWLING OR WB TO OWN HARRY POTTER.
Clink. Scorpius Malfoy put down his butterbeer and stared at the ceiling of The Three Broomsticks. He put his feet up on the table and reclined as far back as he could on the hind legs of his chair. Around him was a group of Gryffindors, whose members were chatting animatedly about how they would easily defeat Ravenclaw in the next Quidditch match. Scorpius, however, was least interested in these mundane talks. He stared into nothingness as the voices around him slowly muffled… He closed his eyes and enjoyed a non-existent breeze; it rang in his ears. All of a sudden, the sun was scalding the skin on his face. He realized he was lying on a patch of fresh grass on a mountaintop. It was something like a clearing because he could see tall, ancient-looking trees at a distance. Still lying down, he put his hand up to block the sun and suddenly, a shadow leaned over him.
He saw red hair that looked like the blazing sun had set it on fire. He saw deep hazel eyes that looked so pure, so truthful that somehow, he saw his whole world inside them. Then he saw rosy cheeks against the fair but freckled skin and looking at the lips that curled into a smile, he smiled back. He saw a face that looked like it understood him to the greatest of depths. The moment made him oblivious to all the insecurities he had ever faced.
To his disappointment, he realized that the smile was now gone and instead, appeared an expression of dislike. The girl drew herself away from him and stood up, making Scorpius squint in the sun's face again. "What are YOU doing here, Malfoy?" said she.
"Rose," he breathed in a dreamy voice "you look beautiful".
His dreamy voice almost made her laugh but Rose retorted, "That didn't sound like the answer to my question Malfoy. Anyway, I'm not interested in knowing." She said and stomped off towards a tree. Scorpius quickly got to his feet. His silver-blond hair was adorned with grass and mud.
"Rose! Hey, listen up!"
"WHAT?" she turned on her heels, making her red curls drape around her neck.
"Why won't you talk to me?"
"We're not SUPPOSED to talk. You're a Malfoy."
"So?"
"So, that makes you the son of two people who made my parents' school life a nightmare!"
"You can't make me pay for what my parents did! And they were in Slytherin for God's sake! Don't act as if you don't know what comes along with being a Slytherin." Rose waited with arms folded, tapping her foot impatiently. "Plus, they deeply regret doing all of that - that stupidity. And it isn't as if I am in Slytherin, right? Come on, we're in the same house, we're supposed to be like family to each other."
"Are you done?"
"Rose you're being unnecessarily stubborn. Just give me one chance to prove myself to you Rose, please!"
"I have work to do. Bye." She started walking into the woods. "You can't follow me like that! Go away!"
"You are not walking into this stupid forest all by yourself. It's dangerous."
"Really? I had no idea."
"Why are we here anyway? Don't you know of better ways than wandering off into a forest that is FORBIDDEN?"
"WE aren't here together, you're following me. And I'm here on a special task; uncle Hagrid gave me permission to enter. He says this path is safe."
"Right."
They kept walking for a few minutes. They could here hooting and cooing from birds they couldn't see. 'Perhaps they're hiding' Scorpius thought. He wondered how big those birds could be. He looked at Rose, who was leading them and felt blissfully happy.
"We're almost there," she said.
"What work are you here for?"
"You'll see." She was smiling but Scorpius couldn't see it.
Suddenly, she looked up from the ground and Scorpius followed her gaze. He was transfixed. His feet felt like they were pinned to the ground; his heart sank. He gulped and opened his mouth to scream but the only noise that came out was something like a worn-out car's screech.
"Hello, Grawp. It's good to see you!"
Scorpius quickly grabbed her wrist and yanked her towards himself to save her from the giant's attack he was anticipating.
"Are you alright Malfoy? Oh, I forgot! This is Grawp. Grawp," she looked at the wide-eyed giant and said, still smiling, "this is my err – friend Scorpius."
"We should run." Scorpius whispered but the voice barely came out of his mouth.
"Did you say something?"
"RRHOZ!" the giant said, walking towards them with thunderous thumps.
"How are you Grawpy? Is Eloise all right?" she leaned her head towards Scorpius and whispered, "Eloise is Grawpy's girlfriend." She winked and faced Grawp once again. Scorpius was still dumbfounded.
Grawp was beaming at them. He plucked an apple from the top of a tree and handed it to Rose. She accepted it and Grawp turned to pick another one. "Isn't he sweet?" Grawpy gave the second apple to Scorpius, who wasn't planning on taking it. "Malfoy, he's just a giant. Take it."
'Right,' Scorpius thought, 'he's just a sweet little giant.' He finally lifted his had – which weighed about a ton, according to him – and said "thanks" without meting the giant's gaze.
"How Hagger do? Grawpy wants know!"
"Oh he's fine Grawp, nothing you should worry about. Anyway, I'm here because he's sent me to give you something." Rose took out a small beaded bag from her robe pocket and whispered 'Accio Parcel' to it. A melon-sized packet surfaced at the bag's small mouth and she pulled it out with some effort. "Here, Grawp, Hagrid has sent this for you."
"Grawpy happy!" said the giant reaching out to take the parcel from Rose. He tore it open and pulled out a huge cloak that was patched and fluffy-looking. Grawp smiled and rubbed it against his cheek to feel its softness.
"What the hell is that thing?" Scorpius said to Rose as the pair of them watched Grawp examine his new gift.
"I think it's a blanket. A cloak can't be that big." She said casually.
"Rhoz," said Grawp, finally, "I thank Hagger, you say I do."
She smiled at him and said, "I sure will. Err…Grawp it's getting late and we need to get back to the castle. We must leave now."
Grawp made a very child-like face that suddenly made Scorpius's fear vanish. "Orgh…" said Grawp with a very sad profile "OK Rhoz. You leave."
"Bye Grawpy, take care and say hi to Eloise from me, will you?" He sadly nodded. "Oh Grawp, we'll see you very soon, I promise." He finally lighted up and gave a light pat on Rose's head. He stood rooted at the spot until Rose and Scorpius got out of sight, and waved; his blanket in the other hand.
They were nearing the border of the forest now. The only sound being made was the rhythmic crunching of their footsteps. It was almost evening, a very dark shade of pink and orange assumed the faint winter clouds, and a sparkling sun was setting behind the enormous green lake, which was gleaming blissfully.
"Isn't he the friendliest Giant you've ever seen, Malfoy?"
"Yeah. He sure is." He said, quite truthfully; after all, he was the only giant he had ever seen anyway. Just then, they realized a tall, very muscular figure was approaching them as the tall oak doors of the castle came into full view. The figure was of a boy and Scorpius would have almost mistaken him for a full-grown man if it weren't for the boy's Hogwarts uniform.
"Hey Rosie. Who's the wuss you're with?" he said, standing a few feet away from them. Scorpius felt revolted and a storm of anger was building up inside him. He was used to being treated like a prince from nearly everyone – except Rose and her cousins, that is – and the only thing holding him from attacking this boy was Rose's presence; after all, he had promised her that he was unlike his father.
"I don't know." Said Rose and shrugged, looking at Scorpius.
"What?" said Scorpius; confusion now took place of anger in his mind.
"Hello Sir," said the by in a cruel tone, "Who are you and why are you following my girlfriend?"
"She's not your girlfriend." He said. "And who are you?"
"I'm your worst nightmare."
"Oh really? I just saw a giant dude. I'm not afraid of anyone." he lied. Being beaten into a ball of flesh was better than admitting cowardice in front of Rose, he thought.
"Yeah but the Giant was very friendly." Rose pointed out.
"Whose side are you on?" said Scorpius, now slightly irritated.
"His, of course!" she said, winking at the guy.
"Fine. FINE!" Said Scorpius. He had nothing to lose now. "Let me show you who's the real nightmare" he said to the boy, rolling his sleeves up and launched forwards to fight.
"You're making a fool of yourself boy." He said.
The other boy, being about a foot taller than Scorpius, easily grabbed Scorpius by the shoulder and punched him across the face. Scorpius felt a sharp twinge in his jaw; no one had ever punched him this hard. He tried to fight the boy off with repeated vain efforts but the boy's grip was too strong for him to fight off. Suddenly, he freed off one of his arms and poked a finger into the boy's eye. His grip loosened and both his hands were now pressing against his hurting eye and Scorpius ran backwards to a few feet away from him. "You got a problem with me hanging out with your little sister here?" he taunted the boy. His shoulders were still aching and his jaw had gone slightly numb with pain. At that moment, the guy looked up, one of his eyes was deep red behind the thick film of tears and his other eye glared at Scorpius.
"Rose" he said under his breath, breathing rigorously, "IS-NOT-MY-SISTER!" and broke into a run to hurt his offender as badly as possible. Scorpius ran for his life, grabbing a hint before his sentence ended. He realized he had made a terrible mistake provoking a wounded lion. Before he realized, the boy caught hold of him and spun him around to punch Scorpius right in the eye.
He woke up with a start and almost fell off his chair. His feet dropped ungracefully from the table they were resting on. He woke up to a dozen faces staring up at him. His hands rushed instinctively to his face to feel his jaw, but it was perfectly fine. He ruffled his hair and straightened his robes as a round-faced girl said to him, "Scorp, you're getting creepier." He smiled at her realizing that he was dreaming. A few boys were sniggering at Scorpius, but he didn't care, because a few tables away sat a lovely girl with red hair and a smile on her face. She was talking to two other girls and suddenly glanced at Scorpius. She blushed the slightest shade of pink, making her freckles disappear, and frowned at Scorpius. The round-faced girl spoke again, "Can you believe that girl Rose Weasley? She said to me in the common room yesterday evening that she's friends with a Giant!"
A few girls looked at each other and made faces of disapproval. "She is," said Scorpius "She wasn't lying." The girl opened her mouth but did not argue. After all, nobody argued with the prince - nobody except Rose Weasley. Scorpius looked at Rose again and she was smiling at her friends. Her bright red lips curled into a sweet smile. Grinning, Scorpius put his feet back up on the table, put his hands behind his head and reclined on his chair. He dozed off…