A/N: This was written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Little League Finals.

Team: Hufflepuff

Position: Chaser 3

Major Prompt: Write about a Next-Gen Weasley. In my case, this was Rose.

Other Prompts: (word): tinsel, (word): stubborn, (quote): "Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever." ~Keri Russell

Beta: EvilDime - thanks, as always! :)

It was the day of the tenth annual Hogwarts Christmas Ball, and Rose was frantic with anticipation.

Victoire had taken her dress shopping and had promised to come by to do her hair and makeup, which excited Rose to no end. Her cousin was known all over Europe as one of the most beautiful witches of all time, no doubt due to her part-Veela heritage. Still, the older witch knew her beauty products and Rose was more than thankful. Her hair, while more easily tamed than her mother's frizz, still needed a lot of work to look presentable. And while many thought that she looked the spitting image of her Aunt Ginny, makeup was still a necessary commodity.

"Rose, there's someone waiting outside the portrait hole for you!" Sammy, her best friend, called. Rose smiled happily and ran out of her dormitory and down the stairs. The door swung open and she grinned up at –

"Scorpius?" Rose's eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at the blond, "What are you doing here?"

Grinning, the Slytherin held out a bouquet of flowers that he must have picked and then charmed to look far more beautiful than normal. Rose felt her heart flutter. Scorpius had always been more romantic than she could have expected, but it still surprised her every time.

"Thank you," she said, taking the bouquet, "they're amazing."

"I thought you'd like them," Scorpius responded, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "I picked them myself."

"Yeah, I guessed that," Rose said with a laugh. "They're better this way."

The blond leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on Rose's forehead. "I'll see you tonight," he whispered, and then disappeared down the passageway.

Rose felt herself blush as she leaned against the wall, touching the spot where his lips had brushed her skin. She was beyond thankful that she had been honest with her parents about her feelings for Scorpius from the beginning. They had been skeptical at first, but after seeing what a real gentleman he could be when she had brought him home at the beginning of the Christmas vacation they had given their blessing.

After all, they had said, Rose was in her fifth year now. She was grown up enough to make her own decisions.

Well, Rose thought with a smirk, that's what mother said. Father took quite a bit more convincing.

Honestly, she wasn't sure that her father had ever come to terms with the idea of herself and Scorpius being a couple. Not only was he incredibly stubborn when he wanted to be, but he hadn't had the best experience with Scorpius' father.

That's putting it lightly, Rose thought, but Scorpius isn't anything like his father was.

"Rose!" Sammy called from inside the common room, "Are you just going to stand there, or are you coming back in?"

Rose felt her blush deepen, but turned back into the common room without a second thought.

"Red or blue?" Victoire asked, putting the final touches on Rose's hair. She held a plain white flower in one hand, wand readied in the other to perfect the color change.

"What does it matter?" Rose responded impatiently, checking the clock yet again. "I have to get going, Sammy's waiting!"

"Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever," Victoire said seriously.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Please. I'm sure the color of a flower in my hair is going to change my life forever."

Giving her cousin a small smile, Victoire charmed the flower to be an almost violet blue. The exact color of Rose's eyes.

"There. You look stunning."

Straitening up, Rose stood and walked over to the mirror in the corner of their dormitory. Victoire was right; she looked amazing.

Which was saying something.

"Thanks, Victoire," Rose said, grinning at the reflection of her cousin in the mirror. The older witch smiled, looking dazzling in her own gown and hair-do, which she had done before coming.

"You're welcome," she said. "Had to make sure you looked good for your first official date."

The way she said official made all the butterflies in Rose's stomach start fluttering again.

"You always look good," Rose said, a jealous edge lacing her tone. "And when was your first date again? Fourth year?"

"Third," Victoire said with a sly grin. "My first kiss was in fourth year."

"See!" Rose exclaimed. "You're so far ahead of me. I mean, you practically know who you're going to marry."

Victoire's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink, and Rose smiled.

"How slow can you be?" Sammy questioned, appearing in the dormitory door. Rose turned to face her, and her friend's eyes widened, "Rose! You look gorgeous."

"Thanks, you do too."

The two friends stared at each other for a moment, before Victoire gave Rose a little shove. "You two better get going, you don't want to be late."

Scorpius stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking the picture of a perfect gentleman, as Rose attempted to walk gracefully down the steps to the Great Hall. She had been worried that she would trip and fall, but she made it the to the bottom without stumbling or otherwise embarrassing herself.

"You look beautiful," Scorpius said, giving Rose a smile. A chorus of nasty sniggering from his classmates started up in the background, but Rose was far too caught up in the moment to notice.

"You look good too," Rose responded, then bit her tongue. Should I have said that? Was that right? She wondered, and then pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. She wasn't going to let stupid concerns ruin her night.

Slipping her arm through Scorpius' outstretched one, the two entered the Great Hall.

"Do you want to dance?" Scorpius asked.

"Please!" Rose responded.

The blond led her towards the dance floor where a few couples were already swaying back and forth to the music. He bowed gracefully, though the wink he gave her let Rose know that he wasn't being entirely serious. Their right hands joined together, as Rose rested her left on Scorpius' shoulder and felt his brush her hip. Her blue eyes connected with his grey ones and the two began to dance.

"You've done this before," Rose said after a moment, and then bit her lip. "I mean, you're good at it. Dancing. At dancing."

Scorpius laughed, and then nodded. "You're good too. At dancing." The blond winked, and Rose immediately felt at ease.

The music slowed and Rose leaned in to rest her head on Scorpius' shoulder. Her eyes searched the room, running over the tinsel-covered ceiling and sparkling floors. Everything seemed entirely magical.

"You are perfect, Rose," Scorpius whispered in her ear. Rose felt her cheeks go red, and the butterflies in her stomach began fluttering again. Words left her, and she simply pulled away slightly and gave him a small smile. Their eyes met again, and this time warmth ran through her. Scorpius leaned forward slowly, until they were only centimeters apart, and then paused. His eyes were questioning.

Rose removed the distance, eyes fluttering closed, and her forehead momentarily bumping against Scorpius'. She felt her blush deepen, but Scorpius simply tilted his head and their lips met. Rose had imagined this moment for years, her first kiss, but never had she thought that it would be like this. His lips were soft and he tasted of smoke and salt, as though the Slytherin Common Room had become a part of him. Warmth spread through her, and she reached around to pull him closer.

But he pushed her away.

Rose's eyes shot open and it took a moment for her vision to refocus. Scorpius stood a foot away from her, a terrible grin plastered onto his face.

What's happening? She wondered, confusion taking over. She turned from side to side, saw that many in the room were staring at the two of them.

Slytherin and Gryffindor.

Enemies.

She vaguely heard a few cheers from the other Slytherins, those who Scorpius spent his time with. One came up and pressed a Galleon into her 'boyfriend's' outstretched palm.

And then Rose understood. This had been fake, right from the beginning. Scorpius had never been real, he had only wanted her to think that he was.

He was just like his father.

Rose turned back around to face him, and before her thoughts could catch up with her actions she lashed out and punched him in the face. Scorpius hand's shot up to his nose, which began gushing blood, and he stared at Rose in shock. She tilted her head and gave him a nasty smile, before turning on her heel and walking out of the Great Hall.

She didn't let the tears fall until she was out of sight of the other students, sitting in front of the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room.

Only moments later, warm arms wrapped around her, and she opened her eyes to see Sammy and Victoire sitting next to her, whispering encouragements that she couldn't quite hear. She laid her head back into her hands and sobbed until she fell asleep.

Surprisingly, it didn't take Rose as long as she would have thought to get over Scorpius. She never regretted her spur-of-the-moment decision to exact revenge, as the talk of the school revolved around Scorpius' bloody nose rather than her first-kiss rejection.

When her mother heard about the incident, she laughed. "That's my daughter!" was the first thing she said.

Her father promised revenge, and didn't once say, "I told you so." Rose couldn't have appreciated that more.

"After all," he said, "we're family. And family always sticks together."