Chapter Three

"So, who do you think will win the TriWizard Tournament?" Scorpius asked her as they crossed the sloping snow covered lawns that sloped down towards the forest and then veered in the direction of the icy lake. They'd walked through the vegetable garden and past the greenhouse. Along the way a few house elves had kindly offered them a small basket of carrots and mushrooms and a sealed mug of spicy pumpkin juice. Scorpius thanked them graciously and gained a few brownie points from Rose.

"I'm not sure. I don't know any of the competitors well enough to judge," Rose spoke quietly, her eyes scanning the winter landscape and thinking about how very grateful she was for Scorpius and his knowledge of warming charms, "These tasks are almost cruel, though; the Manticore and Chimaera were vicious."

"Bloody brilliant of the Hogwarts competitor to turn the things on each other, though, wasn't it?" Scorpius seemed very pleased.

"Yes, Scorpius," Rose remarked dryly, "It was very brilliant for the seventeen year old Hogwart's champion to succeed so cunningly all the while honoring his very Slytherin sense of self-preservation, too. Would you be this pleased if he'd been, oh, I don't know, a Ravenclaw student?"

Scorpius snorted at the thought of a Ravenclaw doing as well as a Slytherin but quickly realized his mistake when Rose's blue eyes turned sharp. His hand tightened on hers as his mind scrambled. He had a habit of forgetting she was a Ravenclaw. He thought she should have been in Slytherin.

"Ah, well, see, if it were a Ravenclaw breaking the rules it would be even more impressive, especially if it were a Ravenclaw girl. Very alluring and sexy. I like cleverness, resourcefulness, and determination but I don't think most Ravenclaw's break the rules very often, do they? You're not an average Ravenclaw, after all, so I wouldn't really know."

"Charmer," she accused. She squeezed his hand back and he calmed a bit.

"Oh, absolutely," he smiled at her. He stripped off his winter cloak and draped it over her shoulders because he could tell that her cloak just wasn't keeping her warm with the lake coming up off the breeze. They'd grabbed their things before they'd left. He kept one hand in hers with the other going to the rim of his top hat every so often. It was dark out, a cold Yuletide night. Rose had finished her pumpkin juice and put her glass into the basket they'd since decimated. Rose absently made a mental note to herself to ask about the charms Hogwarts used to keep the vegetable garden and its produce viable through the winter weather. Scorpio lifted an eyebrow as she withdrew her wand and pointed it at her snow covered feet.

"Impervius."

"I don't think he broke the rules," Rose said, and Scorpio hoped he'd remember to ask her to teach him that charm, "He just didn't go through the task the way it had been intended. There really aren't any rules about knocking down walls, except not to cheat and from what I've heard from my parents cheating is pretty much tradition for the tournament. Using tactics your opponents aren't expecting isn't cheating, it's just the way battles are won."

"You really should have been in Sorted into Slytherin, love. Wait, Harry Potter cheated?" Scorpius was nonplussed.

Rose hedged, "It's complicated. And, anyway, so did the other three competitors. Let's change the subject." She'd smiled when he'd called her love, though.

"Fine," Scorpius said, coming to an abrupt stop. Rose was worried for a minute, thinking he might be upset. They'd just reached the cliffs overlooking the lake and Scorpius stepped forward, turning to face Rose while pulling her hand up to his lips.

"Rose," he said, quietly, "I know our families didn't get along in school. I know they were on opposite sides during the Second War, but that doesn't have anything to do with us. Do you think we could be an item?"

Rose swallowed before responding, "Yes."

Scorpius let go of her hand to pull out an extra linen handkerchief from one of his trouser pockets and wiped his palms on it. He processed her answer, trying to decipher any hidden meaning but could only see her smiling, shining face. He cleared his throat, put the handkerchief away, and resumed holding her hand. Scorpius leaned in and down from his hundred eighty centimeters to meet her hundred and sixty centimeters and kissed her.

It was tentative at first, soft and gentle, but the heart in Rose's chest was beating furiously. They parted from the kiss and she moved closer into his arms. She withdrew her hand from his and put her wrists over his shoulders, her hands lightly touching the back of his silk shirt while her head rested on his chest. The front of it was stiff and a little uncomfortable but she ignored that and stroked his thick white scarf. His excellent hands, with long fingers and meticulous nails, rubbed her back in comforting circles over two cloaks. He turned his face in and and gently pressed another kiss to the top of her head.

She'd never dated anyone before; her first boyfriend was a Malfoy.

Her father was going to turn purple and completely blow up.

Author's Note: For us Americans Scorpius is about 5'11" (the height of the actor, Jason Isaacs, who plays Lucius Malfoy) and Rose is about 5'3" (the height of the actress, Julie Walters, who plays Molly Weasley). I know their a little young to have reached their adult heights but just go with it. Also, I don't think I will be including Ron/Hermione because I am not a fan of the pairing and I don't know if I can write them, unless they've just gotten a divorce and Hermione brings Draco. Also, suspend disbelief and let's say the walk to the lake - through the snow! - is as romantic as it sounds. This was originally going to end with the first chapter but the a lot of people added this to their Story Alert lists the same day I posted this and I was so flattered I kept writing. Now I only wonder what I'm going to do with it. This is my first more-than-one-chapter fic. Wish me luck!