Muggle Games

Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Challenge. Round 2

Position: Beater 2

Prompts 2. (Dialogue) "This is the most fun I've ever had." 3. (Word) Procrastinate.

Task: Write about someone's hatred for the subject. (Muggle Studies)

AN: Takes place during Scorpius Malfoy's third year. A big thank you to ilprincipino and WolfWinks for beta-ing the story.

WC: 2,219

Scorpius sighed, looking at his watch for the tenth time that morning. Nearly everyone else had left the Great Hall, heading towards their first class of the day, yet here he was trying to drag out his breakfast for as long as possible. Of all the lessons he could have first thing on a Monday morning, why did it have to be Muggle Studies? Scorpius cursed himself for allowing his mother to persuade him to take the class. This was one time he really should've listened to his grandparents. A Malfoy taking Muggle Studies—have you ever heard anything so ridiculous?

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"Darling, taking Muggle Studies will be a great way to learn about how Muggles manage without magic. It will also become helpful if you decide to work at the Ministry, for you never know when knowledge and understanding of the non-magical community might come in handy."

Draco Malfoy put down his cutlery and looked deep in thought as Astoria finished speaking and reached for her goblet. Scorpius glanced at them nervously as he forced the dry piece of chicken down his throat. He hoped they weren't going to start an argument about this subject. To his relief, his father seemed to be coming round to the idea.

"It could help us redeem ourselves, as many still resent us for our part in the war. Maybe you're right, Astoria. Scorpius's taking this class could be a good thing."

Astoria beamed at her husband. "My thoughts exactly, dear."

"My parents won't like it."

"What a shame," his wife replied dryly. "I suppose they'll have to live with it, won't they?"

Draco didn't share his wife's confidence, but he nodded in agreement. "That's settled then, Scorpius; we think it will be a good idea for you to pick this class."

"Yes, Father. I agree," Scorpius lied, still unsure.

For the first time that evening, his mother looked concerned as she glanced at her son. "Are you sure? I don't want you to say that just because of us. It's your decision, darling."

His father cleared his throat and gave him a thin smile. "Your mother's right, do what you think is best."

Returning the smile, he answered in the most confident voice that he could muster. "I would like to take Muggle Studies, as I think it will help me later in life—as you said, Mother."

His parents smiled happily at his words, and the dining room was filled with comfortable silence as they finished their meal.

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Realising that he couldn't procrastinate any longer, Scorpius left the Great Hall and headed off to the dreaded lesson. On his way, he couldn't help but think about the classes he'd suffered through so far. The worst one by a mile was the time Professor MacMillan had handed them Muggle games and told them to work in pairs. Unfortunately for Scorpius, he found himself paired up with a Gryffindor called Rose Weasley; the daughter of his father's enemy. It was difficult to tell who was angrier about the decision Professor MacMillan had made.

However, the main reason for his hatred of the class was the dirty looks he received when he walked into the classroom. Students from Slytherin house rarely chose to take the subject, and for this fact alone he was treated with suspicion and disgust by his classmates. It hurt him more than he cared to admit that people hated him for something his family had done before he was even born. Scorpius felt like he was the rope in a tug of war game between his grandparents and his parents; should he hate Muggles and everything made by them, or should he be like his parents and strive to change people's perceptions of the Malfoy family?

With a heavy sigh, Scorpius walked through the showroom containing Muggle artefacts and opened the classroom door. Good, he'd arrived before MacMillan and wouldn't be losing any points for Slytherin. He glanced around the room as he walked towards Weasley, trying to ignore the glares and put on an act of cold indifference. It would be much easier for him if his friends took the class as well, but he was alone.

Weasley rolled her eyes at him as he sat down reluctantly in the seat next to her. "Finally decided to join us, Malfoy? I thought I was going to be lucky and have a whole class without your presence."

Malfoy shot her his best death glare while pulling a quill out of his bag. "I've made it my duty to make you miserable, Weasley, so here I am." He smirked at her annoyed expression. "Deep down I think we both know that being allowed to sit so close to me and be my partner is the highlight of your week," he drawled arrogantly, knowing she couldn't stand it when he taunted her like this.

The furious glint in her blue eyes fascinated him as she huffed like an angry rhinoceros about to charge. Scorpius would never admit it to anyone, but the heated bickering he shared with Weasley was the best part of his day – perhaps even his week. He could imagine how his friends would mock him if he ever dared to tell them this.

The classroom doors opened, and the professor walked in before Weasley could respond to his comment. What a shame, Scorpius thought to himself as MacMillan arrived at the front of the class.

"Good morning, class. For this lesson, I want you to pick a game out of this box." He pointed to a large box on his left. "You are to play the game of your choice against the student I paired you with last week."

The students started to murmur loudly to each other until MacMillan cleared his throat and raised his voice. "I then want you to work together on an assignment where you will explain how these games work, and the skills they can help you learn. And then I want to hear your opinions about the game you choose. If there are any questions you want me to answer, feel free to ask me at the end of the lesson. Now, hop to it."

Everyone around him seemed to jump up enthusiastically while Scorpius groaned loudly and put his head in his hands. Now he was expected to complete an assignment with Weasley and play some stupid Muggle game with her. He jumped when he heard an object being slammed down on the table, and looking up he saw that Rose had already picked their game.

"I don't get a say in the matter then, Weasley?"

Rose snorted with amusement. "I'm so sorry! When you groaned and sulked like a three-year-old, I thought you didn't give a damn, and I decided to pick a game by myself. By all means, change it if it means that much to you."

"No, this one's fine," Scorpius snapped huffily. "Let's get this over with."

He looked at the game and saw lots of white tiles with black dots on them. With an eyebrow raised, he turned to look at Rose and was amazed to find that she didn't seem at all puzzled. "You know what they are, don't you?"

Rolling her eyes haughtily, she turned to him. "They're called Dominoes, and I've played them before with my grandparents. The instructions are there if you want to have a look."

Fighting back annoyance, he nodded and picked up the instructions. A few minutes later, Rose spoke again. "Are you ready to start playing?"

Scorpius rubbed his eyes wearily and sighed. "Ready as I'll ever be."

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They decided that the winner would be the first one to score 100 points. Scorpius found the game to be unbearable, as he kept losing to the fiery Gryffindor. To add insult to injury, she kept casting infuriatingly smug looks in his direction. He cursed under his breath as she once again held her hands up to show that she had no tiles left. "Out!" Rose told him cockily while smirking in a very Malfoy-like manner. "Looks like I win again."

He sniggered. "Do I look like that when I smirk?"

His comment earned a small giggle from Rose, and Scorpius looked at her in amazement. "Did you giggle? I didn't know you were capable of doing something so feminine."

Rose glared at him angrily before making a quick response. "Yes, you do look annoying when you smirk, Malfoy. In fact, I don't think it's possible for anyone to look as insufferable as you—smirking or otherwise."

Scorpius loved to get her all riled up, and he'd succeeded admirably here. "Temper, temper, Weasley, shall we continue to play instead of tearing shreds off each other?"

Unprepared to be seen as the unreasonable one while he was so calm, Rose took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, let's set up another game." Scorpius counted up the dots on the dominoes he had left, and Rose added the amount to her score.

They faced the dominoes down and mixed them up before picking seven each. Scorpius looked at his dominoes and grinned. For the first time, he had the highest double. Placing it down on the table, he looked up at Rose triumphantly, but she looked unimpressed.

"There's still a long way to go, Malfoy, don't get too smug." His smile faded slightly, but he was still determined to win this time. The Malfoy honour was at stake here, and it just wouldn't do for him to be seen losing to a Weasley.

Rose placed a domino with a six and a two down, and Scorpius put down a six and a five. They continued to play silently, both concentrating hard but occasionally catching the other's eye and grinning. Scorpius hated to admit it, but he was starting to have fun. Shaking this ridiculous thought out of his head, he pictured his family and what they'd say if they could see him now.

"Still think you're going to beat me, Weasley?"

"You know it, Scor… Malfoy," Rose corrected herself as her cheeks turned red.

Her cheeks are as scarlet as the Hogwarts Express, he thought to himself with amusement. I'm half expecting steam to come out of her ears any minute now.

"Ha! You nearly called me by my first name. I thought hell would freeze over before I heard my name coming out of your mouth."

Rose continued to look flustered. "Shut up, Malfoy, it was just a slip of the tongue."

Scorpius snorted at her awkward behaviour. "We'll be calling each other Rosie and Scorp before we know it," he teased. Looking revolted at the very idea, Rose placed down another domino, and Scorpius laughed as he looked at his last tile and placed it down on the table next to hers. "Out! It looks like I win, Rosie."

Rose looked up in shock at hearing her nickname slip out of her enemy's mouth, and Scorpius himself was surprised at how nice it felt to call her it. Getting control of herself, Rose managed a smile. "Well done, Scorp, I knew you couldn't carry on being a loser forever. You had to win at some point." They hesitantly met each other's gaze and burst out laughing.

Professor MacMillan cleared his throat loudly while glaring in their direction. "Mr Malfoy and Miss Weasley, I suggest that if you can't play quietly and sensibly, you both leave the classroom until you've calmed down enough to return."

Rose looked embarrassed at being scolded by a teacher, while Scorpius resisted the urge to roll his eyes and make a smart comment. "Sorry, Professor MacMillan," Rose said, is the first to break the silence.

"Sorry," Scorpius repeated as they walked out of the classroom. As soon as the door was shut, Scorpius and Rose looked at each other and laughed once more. Once they had both calmed down enough to speak, Scorpius glanced at Rose and whispered, "Is it pathetic to tell you that this is the most fun I've ever had?"

His admission earned a bemused look from his companion. "Do you mean the most fun you've had with me or the most fun ever?"

"I mean what I said, Rose. We Malfoy's aren't exactly known for our jovial sense of humour."

For a second, Scorpius could see sympathy and understanding written plainly on Rose's face. "It's always fun and games with my family. As you've probably heard, they're a loud, crazy bunch. I don't usually allow myself to act like that when I'm in class, though."

Scorpius grinned at her words. "It was nice to see this side of you for a change."

"You too," Rose replied with a warm smile. "Should we go back in?"

Nodding in agreement, he opened the classroom door for them, and they walked back to the table, apologising once more to MacMillan on their way. Scorpius smiled as he watched her count out the dots on her remaining dominoes and added the total to his score. He didn't think that Muggle Studies would ever become his favourite subject, but perhaps sitting next to the hot-tempered redhead would help him warm to it immensely.