You don't want me, no, you don't need me

Scorpius wandered around the back garden of Shell Cottage, smiling and nodding the various people who called out to him, but continuing on his quest to the food table nevertheless. It was Dominique's seventeenth birthday so the entire Weasley-Potter clan had gathered to celebrate, and Dominique had demanded that her Slytherin friends be invited too. So Scorpius Malfoy, Caligo Zabini, and Oliver Corner had all come along – it said a little bit about Dom that all of her friends were boys. Scorpius smirked to himself as he wandered along the beach, thinking about his little adventures with Dom…

"Hey, Scorp, come with me for a second?" Albus suddenly appeared at his side, looking rather guilty, and Scorpius raised an eyebrow as his best friend gestured beyond the garden, down the cliffs, to the sea.

"What, so you can seduce me under the noise of the ocean's waves?" He teased and Albus turned a delicate shade of green and shook his head fervently.

"No, there's someone I'd like you to meet. And would you stop with the gay jokes? It was a dare!" Albus scowled at him and turned to hurry out of the garden, after checking that no one was watching. Scorpius chuckled lightly and strolled after his friend, following him down the worn path that lead to the beach. However, to Scorpius's surprise, he didn't stop at the edge of the waves – instead he kept going along the beach to a copse of trees they had occasionally played hide and seek in as younger children.

"Al, where are we going?" Scorpius grumbled, brushing aside several branches as he sped up to walk beside his friend. Albus just shook his head and Scorpius glared at him, and then his eyes widened as he heard a beautiful lilting voice, a voice that had been haunting his dreams for the past few years.

"A la nanita, nana nanita, ella nanita, ella…" There was sweet voice all around him, filling the air with the beautiful melody of a Spanish lullaby. He was immediately moving faster, breaking through branches and bushes as the music grew. He didn't notice Albus grin and melt away through the trees, heading back through the woods to the party.

"Oh!" The music stopped suddenly as Scorpius broke through the final barrier and fell into a small clearing, startling the slender girl who was standing within it.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you!" Scorpius cried, seeing that she looked ready to flee. "Please, wait. Do I know you? You look so, so familiar." He examined her closely, noting every detail from her beautiful curls of brown hair to her massive blue eyes, from her clear porcelain skin to her rose-coloured lips. She was just the epitome of pure beauty. Perhaps he had seen her in some heavenly dream – he'd heard her voice in a dream after all.

"I don't think so, but you seem familiar too," she said and he felt like dying and going to heaven when he heard her voice. Her singing voice was just… too stunning for words, but when she spoke it still sounded like a choir of songbirds.

"Do you go to Hogwarts?" Scorpius blurted out and then almost clapped his hands over his mouth – he would have, but he was a Malfoy and Malfoys did not do such acts of inelegance. Of course he had just made quite a large mistake, but if she was a muggle he could take her back to the party and have one of the adults cast a memory charm on her. Oh Merlin, the lectures that would ensue…

"No, no," her tinkling laugh of a reply interrupted his inner monologue and he sighed a little breath of relief – if she was a muggle she would have questioned the name of the school. "I go to Beauxbatons, but I come here for the summer holiday which is why I only have a slight accent." Her eyes seemed less frantic now and she lowered herself to a fallen tree which was lying across the clearing, never looking away from him. He, too, sat down, but on the ground a few metres away so he wouldn't scare her.

"You live around here? The only other wizarding family anywhere close to this place is Percy Weasley's family… You wouldn't be the lost daughter, would you?" Scorpius peered at her closely, registering the shock on her face.

"How did you know?" She asked sharply, her eyes wide.

"Well, everybody in the wizarding world knows about you; how when you were a baby, some witch who was jealous of your Mum placed some unknown enchantment on you which meant that if you ever touched a wand, you'd die – which is pretty bloody insane if you ask me, just because she was jealous. Everyone knows the story because your entire family is practically royalty – didn't you know? But nobody knows your name…" He eyed her curiously but she looked away, frowning at the ground. "You mentioned that you go to Beauxbatons… How can you go to a magical school if you can't touch a wand without fear of, well, dying?"

"I don't really go to Beauxbatons – during term time I stay with my aunt and a few tutors come out from the school to teach me theory and Potions. I love Potions." She smiled blissfully and turned her face up to the sunlight which had broken through the trees, closing her eyes as it danced across her pale skin. He was happy to see she had relaxed slightly and shuffled a bit closer.

"So what House are you in? How old are you? Who are you? What's it like, being able to use a wand and be free?" The questions seemed to come pouring out of her mouth before she could stop them and she blushed but gazed at him with an avid expression, willing him to answer her questions.

"I'm sixteen, and I'm in Slytherin," Scorpius said, drawing himself up proudly. "As for the thing about the wand… I don't know, it just feels natural. But surely you could ask your sister about that? Or your parents, or your aunt?" To his surprise, the girl's smile disappeared at that and she opened her eyes, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"It's a forbidden subject," she whispered, staring steadily at the ground. He didn't miss the slight wobble in her chin. "Daddy forbids any use of wands when I'm at home, and Aunt Gabrielle says she doesn't use hers but she spends a lot of time on the beach by the house and she never lets me come with her… You didn't answer all of my questions! What's your name?"

"I don't think that's fair – I don't know yours. How about we swap?" He teased and she looked upset again.

"I can't, I'm sorry," she said softly and stood up, backing towards the edge of the clearing. "It's getting late… I have to go." She turned and was about to leave the clearing, and possibly leave him forever, but he called after her, leaping to his feet and bounding over to stand before her. Gently but firmly he took her shoulders in his hands to stop her running.

"Wait! When will I see you again?" He asked desperately.

"Oh, never! Never!" She cried softly. "I shouldn't have talked to you in the first place – I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"Never?" Scorpius repeated, only having absorbed that part of her soft protest.

"Well, maybe, someday…" His heart leapt and he cursed himself and this girl who could make him into such a fool on the same day as meeting her. Malfoys were not desperate, love struck fools! But he couldn't help himself… it was as if she'd given him some Amortentia.

"When, tomorrow?"

"Oh no, I go back to France tomorrow. This evening!"

"Where?" He relaxed his grip slightly and she pulled away from him, immediately disappearing into the trees. Her voice floated back to him through the trees.

"At the cottage… over the hill."