Standard disclaimer applies.
On the second day back from break, I head to the Heads' meeting room for the first meeting of the new year. It's really very comfortable; I could easily fall asleep on one of the armchairs or even the carpet.
Still somewhat dubious about Alice's plan, I suck in a breath. I've prepared a speech. Because we need to talk about that kiss.
I open the door, and find him sitting on an armchair looking at the stack of papers McGonagall left for us. He looks up when I walk in. He smiles, it's such a gorgeous smile. I grin weakly back in return.
I set my books down on the table. Nothing to hide the shaking in my hands now. "Before we start today, Scorpius, I just wanted to talk to you about-"
But it's happened again. And he has me so tight that I can't get out, and I thought I was the more athletic one here. Maybe it's 'cause I don't actually want to get away, so I give into his kisses again. It's a couple minutes before I am aware of something hard poking into my lower abdomen, and my hands, previously undoing his tie and tangled in his hair, make their way down to fumble with his belt. In a matter of seconds, our clothes are discarded on the floor, along with the tasks that McGonagall set us, and all I know is that I'm lost.
Somehow the Heads' meeting room has sprouted a bathroom in the time that we were, er, occupied. So I make a beeline for it, turn on all the taps in the miniature version of the pool in the prefects' bathroom, and am just about to get into the scented, warm, bubbly tub of goodness when the door opens and Malfoy walks in. Wearing... absolutely nothing. I sigh and close my eyes. "Scorpius, would you please-" go put some clothes on is cut off my my unfortunate memory lapse of what hearing his name does to the boy.
We splash water ALL over the bathroom, but it magically dries, leaving no trace but a light, pleasant scent. I haul myself out fo the tub and grab a fluffy white towel and stagger out of the bathroom, because I am fucking sore, and sleepy to boot. How am I supposed to get back to the Gryffindor tower? When I get back into the main meeting space, I notice another door that wasn't previously there. In my absence of mind, I walk over, pull the door open and find... a king size bed, with fluffy pillows and tidy sheets. It looks absolutely heavenly, so I crawl in. I've just drifted off when the covers are pulled off. I open my eyes and glare groggily at the intruder... "Malfoy." He starts to climb in with me and I somehow can't muster the energy to tell him to go away, or to ask him what the HELL that was about. Earlier. So I sigh in resignation, turn my back, and mumble, "Goodnight, Scorpius." It hits me what I've just said, for the third time tonight, one second before Scorpius pins me underneath him and leaves a trail of butterfly kisses from my neck down my abdomen. Neither of us is wearing any clothes after that bath...
Stupid Rose.
The next morning, in the Great Hall, Alice sits down in front of me as I sleep on my breakfast. A stack of toast makes a halfway decent pillow, you know. Particularly French toast. But no syrup, because that will get in your hair.
"Well?" Alice demands as I pull my head from the table. "Why didn't you come back to the Gryffindor tower last night?"
I consider lying to her, tell her that nothing happened, but I'm too tired and sore to care. I'll probably regret this later, but whatever. I tell her. By the time I finish, she's doubled over laughing her head off. She laughs for a good ten minutes before she calms down enough to choke out, "So you're saying that if I want a damn good shag, I should just go call Malfoy by his first name?"
I look away, see Scorpius across the Great Hall, staring at me. I meet his eyes and he quickly turns away... in the direction of Monique Valentine, one of his slags, stalking toward him, looking like she's about to eat him.
"Scorpius," she says, well, shrieks, the sound carrying across the Great Hall. Alice and I share a look, then turn toward the scene, curious to see how Malfoy will react to hearing his first name. Malfoy just looks bored and Alice turns toward me; I am sitting in horrified shock. "So it's just when YOU say his first name, Rose, he becomes a sex monster."
I'm still in shock, but it's wearing off, and I have to voice objections to what Alice is saying. "It's totally different, because we're in public. Besides, before last night, Malfoy had showed about as much interest in me as he's showing to that screaming bimbo right now." I've hit on a logical train of thought, so I plow forward. "So before you can make that conclusion, you have to see how Malfoy reacts in private with just any other girl, and what happens if I call him Scorpius in public."
Alice smirks at me. "Okay, Rose. Be that way. So which one do you want to try first?"
I return my face to my palms.
This is Alice's plan: First ask Skye Finnigan, a Malfoy fangirl and one of our Gryffindor yearmates, to ask Malfoy to postpone from Tuesday to Wednesday because "Rose is particularly overwhelmed this week by homework, tutoring, extra Quidditch practice, and a slight cold." Then, the next day, ask Eva Finch, a Hufflepuff seventh year in our Charms class and previously seen as a piece of Malfoy arm candy, to go tell Malfoy that Rose is running a little late. Both girls will receive specific instructions to call him Scorpius, not Malfoy, even though Alice is pretty sure that his slags don't need that instruction. Alice will stand by, under Al's invisibility cloak, to observe Scorpius' reaction. Later, I'll call Malfoy by his first name in two public locations: in class, and in the hallway.
Wednesday evening, after a somewhat tense meeting with Malfoy, I walk through the Gryffindor common room, catch Alice's eye, beeline up to the girls' dormitory (which is thankfully empty), and flop down on my bed. I'm inexplicably nervous about Alice's news. I sort of want to hear that Malfoy also attacked Skye and Eva, because that would mean I could write off the last month and get on with my life, with no Malfoy relationship complications, but I also don't want to hear that, 'cause, well, I have an ego and I do want special treatment by the most attractive boy at our school.
Alice walks through the door, and my face falls upon seeing her expression: shining with excitement. "Nothing, neither of them, and Eva even squeezed into your meeting room space-Merlin, it looked so comfortable-" she smirks at me and I stick my tongue out like a five-year-old, "-and was completely mushing her boobs all over Malfoy's arm, but he just shoved her off and kicked her out. And Skye yesterday, he just looked bored, thanked her for telling him, and walked off with Zabini. I think he really does have it hot for you, Rose," she finishes conspiratorially. I close my eyes, willing this to be not true, and hear myself protesting weakly about incomplete data.
A week and a half later, Malfoy and I are assigned as project partners in Arithmancy. I'm nervous again, I'm always nervous around Malfoy these days, so I distract myself by inwardly cursing my logical brain and curiosity to know about Malfoy. Still, halfway through the period, I manage to say, "Scorpius, what do ou make of this-" pointing at a line in the text that I find particularly interesting. Malfoy looks at the text and pauses, as if thinking, but underneath the table, he's perfectly active. He's sitting across from me, and his legs are currently engaged in rubbing against mine. My stomach swoops and a feeling of, I don't know, something unpleasant, washes over me. What am I gonna do about this? I resurface from these thoughts, realize that his legs aren't tangled with mine anymore, but instead he's moved to sit next to me, so that we can both look at the textbook the same direction, and he's halfway onto my seat, so that his arse is squished up against mine and his hand is now massaging my thigh, which feels surprisingly nice... No, Rose, pull yourself together. I have to draw the line when his hand starts making its way up my skirt, his thumb brushes some sensitive patch of skin, so I shove him away, and reach for something in my bag. Anything. He sort of gets the idea, moves back to his own seat, and the closest he gets for the rest of class is just a hand resting on my knee, thumb tracing light circles that leave me feeling giddy.
I can't bring myself to look at Alice's expression when I tell her what happened that evening, but when I don't hear her laughing, I look at her face. She's-for lack of a better word-astounded. It looks like she's just been hit in the face with a hammer. "Rose, I'm telling you..."
I decide to give Malfoy some time to cool off before catching up to him after Arithmancy one day at the beginning of February, and say, "Scorpius, I just wanted to check, we have a Heads' meeting tonight?" Halfway through, he takes my arm and pulls me into a deserted hallway and pushes me into a niche in the wall. I'm trapped by his body shoved up against mine and I feel the same hardness in his pants as the other night. Apparently it's true, hearing his first name out of my mouth really does make the boy horny.
He's already pushed my skirt up and pulled my leg to hook around his body, and is kissing my neck, when I ask, "Scorpius?" I'm embarassed by how breathy my voice sounds. He responds by moving to kiss my mouth, but I push his face away, which makes him pay more attention. He pouts, and I take advantage of this eye contact to ask, "About that other night... why?" I can't find anything else to say.
"Because I want you, you're beautiful, you know, you and your brain." Well, I'm flattered, angel child thinks I'm beautiful, I'm flattered, but he's still talking. "And I thought you wanted it too." He looks worried now, his hands are positioned at my bra clasp but they've stopped moving now.
I decide to avoid the underlying question and mention one of my insecurities, "Well, I just didn't want to be another one of your one-night conquests... random hookups..."
He laughs and lowers his forehead to mine and breathes, "You? Never. Never, Rose. I was a virgin up until that night with you. I promise. Use Veritaserum if you don't believe me, but you're so different from all the other girls." He looks so earnest, and I'm melting under the intensity of his stormy blue-gray gaze, but I just can't get past the fact that we've spent more time shagging than talking about meaningful things, learning more about each other. So I tell him, and he immediately backs away. I almost regret telling him, because I want the warmth and pressure of his body back.
"Okay," he says very seriously, and pauses. I'm a little worried about what's next, but it's okay.
"Want to try this from the start?"
When I stare blankly at him for a couple seonds, completely puzzled, he sticks out his hand, says, "Hi, I'm Scorpius Malfoy."
I smile at him, shake his hand, saying, "Nice to meet you, Scorpius, I'm Rose Weasley."
