Chapter 4

-Talking of Family-

Scorpius/Rose

Twelve Fics of Christmas Prompt: Dance

"You know," Rose said, in a poor attempt to deflect the attention away from the hundred of eyes still boring into them, "the last time Hogwarts had a Christmas ball, our parents were in their fourth year."

Scorpius nodded, pushing a stray lock of platinum blonde hair from his eyes and feeling slightly unnerved by the staring. Surely people had something better to do than watch two people have a perfectly innocent conversation, waiting for them to become predictable and start a Weasley on Malfoy fight. Like dance, perhaps, or celebrate Christmas, which was why they were actually there.

"Yeah, Blaise, he's my dad's friend, always tells me about some of my father's post-dance, drunken escapades with Pansy Parkinson, as though I actually wanted to hear such horror stories."

His girlfriend shuddered in disgust, shaking her head and letting her frizzy, bright red curls cascade down her shoulders. Scorpius wrapped an arm around her; the crowds incessant ogling and looks of shock almost made him wish he hadn't. Three whole damn months they'd been going out, and people were still hovering around like miniature Rita Skeeters, trying to get the scoop. Just because their parents had quite the reputation for not getting along, and Rose and Scorpius had spent much of their first seven years at Hogwarts fighting, it had nothing to do with anyone else.

Scorpius was so lost in thought; he almost didn't hear Rose try to strike up the conversation again.

"… and Mum went with Viktor Krum and apparently Dad sat in the corner and glared at him, even though Mum didn't really like him, he was pretty ugly and she only said yes to be polite. Uncle Harry was there too, and he reckons that my dad completely ignored his date, even though, in hindsight, she was fairly pretty. My Aunt Ginny slapped him for that one."

"Your mum danced with Viktor Krum?" Scorpius echoed in disbelief. Shifting his body slightly to accommodate the couple beside him, who were so firmly attached at the mouth, he doubted that they would notice if he used an Avada Kedavra to wrench them apart. Rose squinted down at the now extremely narrow gap between them, pushing her glasses back so they framed her deep, chocolate brown eyes again. Scorpius thought she looked a little unnerved, but then again, it had always been said that men, especially Malfoy men, weren't adept when it came to the mysterious wonders of the female mind.

"Yeah, it's been years since Dad and Viktor saw each other, at my Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's wedding, and I'm not allowed to mention him to Dad, 'cause he gets really pissed and goes bright red. Damn Weasley blood."

"Oh, because my dad told me that your Mum was a stupid Mud-girl, who spent most of her time in the library and showing off in Professor Snape's classes, even though he didn't exactly like her."

Rose was bewildered, she'd always known that she and Scorpius had very different family backgrounds, heck, just the fact that she'd inherited the red Weasley locks while Scorpius had the sleek blonde hair of his father showed so much about where they had come from, but she'd never quite understood that they were this different.

"You call him Professor, and he's been dead, what … twenty-six years?"

"My dad had the utmost respect for him, and always addressed him as such" Scorpius laughed, but it sounded hollow, almost forced. "Probably the only tradition I've actually carried on."

The crowd had thinned out now, and glancing slightly at her watch, Rose realised it was almost midnight; they had been sitting around for hours talking. Heck, they'd been to a damn ball and they hadn't danced once, they were too enraptured by conversation.

"My mum and dad used to hate him, they thought he was fighting for the other side, and he hexed my Uncle George's ear off, but then there was some scandal involving him and Uncle Harry's mum and a basin that belonged to Dumbledore and now they trust him, but Dad still calls him a bastard or a git whenever he can." She stopped and quickly drew a harsh breath. "Care to dance."

"Or cour-what the …?"

Rose gestured shyly towards the dance floor.

"Come on, we haven't danced once all night and now, there's no-one left to laugh at us and point and stare, because all the gossipers have gotten bored with our sad little pathetic, fight-less lives and gone to bed."

"Why do we need to dance?"

"Scorpius Lucius Malfoy, we have spent the last seven years at each others' throats, and not in a snogging way. Surely one dance won't kill you if that didn't."

Scorpius nodded begrudgingly, allowing Rose to drag him into the middle of the Hall, where only a few couples remained, their heads resting on each other shoulders. Taking both her hands in his, he muttered, "One and two and one and two … would you two please stop damn staring?"