Chapter 9 – Desperate Desires
There was a collective gasp as Evangeline entered the hall. It was hard not to; she was, without a doubt, the prettiest girl in the room.
Even Scorpius, who had found it very difficult to be interested in Evangeline, couldn't help but ogle at the sight of her. And it was perfectly clear that she was loving the attention. Scorpius had seen her from time to time, constantly surrounded by a large crowd of admirers, and it didn't take a genius to figure out how vain and attention-seeking she was.
But he suddenly felt guilty for judging her. Her life was at risk, after all.
Well, it was practically impossible to feel unsafe at Hogwarts, but still, the potential danger was there. She'd obviously gone through a real trauma, what with having to leave her family and country behind, only to be practically imprisoned in a strange school, in a strange country, where she knew nobody, and where people like Scorpius judged her.
So he tried to banish the judgments from his mind and focus on something else. He scanned the room, trying to think of something other than the Russian princess, when his eyes fell on none other than Rose Weasley.
And in that instant, all the years of hiding in the shadows, all the years of avoiding her gaze and being a stranger, an unknown in her life, nothing but a mere shadow in the background, melted away as though it had never existed. The wall he'd built up to keep a firm barrier between their lives was finally crumbling, as though a simple gust of wind had disrupted a house of playing cards.
She turned her head slowly, her flaming locks falling gently down her back like a wave of pure blood.
No, not blood. Something as sinister and callous as blood could never be associated with that girl.
Rubies. Like a waterfall of rubies.
No, not rubies. It was wrong to associate her with treasure and possessions only desired by self-loving fools.
There were no words that could possibly come close to describing her beauty.
"She's beautiful," Albus sighed dreamily to his right.
Scorpius let out a soft, "Mhmm," of agreement, staring desirably at Rose. How lucky Al was to be so close to her, to have her in his close family. Not that a familial relationship with Rose was what Scorpius desired.
Wait, WHAT? Rose was Al's cousin; he shouldn't be commenting on her beauty in such a love struck way!
Scorpius broke his longing gaze away from the beautiful girl with a look of disgust plastered on his face, only to be met with an eyeful of Albus' black mop of hair. Scorpius followed his gaze to settle on none other than Evangeline Amberry, before clocking the foolish, soppy look on Albus' face.
Was that what he, Scorpius, had looked like when he'd caught sight of Rose? He blushed silently, feeling like an idiot. Surely nobody had seen him.
Unable to think of something that would return Albus' attention to himself, Scorpius patiently waited until eventually Albus focused his eyes back to Scorpius' anxious face.
"Maybe we should get a drink," Albus suggested, nodding to a table filled with glass goblets and delightfully coloured fountains of drinks.
As they dodged and swerved around various dancers straggling at the sides, Scorpius couldn't help but search the crowd for Evangeline. He found her, surrounded by a hustle of admirers hopefully longing for her hand in the next dance. Scorpius scanned her in detail, searching for any sign of the feelings he'd felt before when she'd first entered the hall.
Yes, she was pretty, but had she always had such dull and tedious coloured eyes? Her hair was so pale and plain—completely lifeless. Not at all like the vibrant, bouncing curls of the girl stood a few metres to her right. The forbidden girl. Rose Weasley was more off limits than the Firewhisky James Potter was currently trying to get his hands on.
She wasn't off limits to his eyes, though, and if he had to stare at her all night, just taking in how incredibly beautiful she was, then he would do it.
For a brief second, her eyes flashed Scorpius' way. In that moment, when their eyes locked, Scorpius felt a kind of magic that no wizard could accurately reproduce. It bubbled up inside him, like a flock of birds longing to be free, to soar around the hall and sing a tune so sweet and melodic that it would echo in the hearts of lovers forever. He felt a pull so strong that it overcame any magnet or natural force, and it was unbearable for Scorpius to keep his feet stuck firmly to the floor where they stood now.
Was this how mindless fools felt when they'd been slipped a love potion? Had he been slipped a love potion? Surely not, but how else could he explain these desperate sensations that tore at his chest?
Scorpius unwillingly dragged his eyes away from Rose, taking a step back to be certain he could still move. A pyramid of goblets came crashing to the floor behind him, fortunately not loud enough to be heard over the current waltz. As Scorpius turned to apologise, an agitated prefect glared at him in disgust.
"Please watch where you're going, young sir. The dance floor's that way," he said in a hostile manner, indicating to the centre of the room. Before Scorpius could respond, another student caught the Prefect's eye. "You. I told you, the Firewhisky is strictly off limits to students. Only teachers and staff can drink this. You can have pumpkin juice," he said, snatching away a long red bottle from the clutches of Albus' older brother.
"Then why's it on the table with the other drinks?" James protested. "What utter moron came up with that genius idea?" he scoffed sarcastically.
With one last look of pure disgust, he turned on his heel to search for his best friend, Mason Hart. Catching sight of his younger brother, he stopped abruptly, a grin stretching from ear to ear. Scorpius didn't trust that grin one bit.
"Well, well. Hello there, little brother. How's your boyfriend?" James said, inclining his head towards Scorpius.
Albus threw James an irritated look, whilst Scorpius immediately whipped his wand out from his pocket. In a few strides, he was face to face with James, who only towered over him by a few inches, jabbing his wand directly into his throat. Feeling slightly intimated as James burst into fits of laughter, he held his ground, ready to attack if necessary.
"No need to get so protective, Malfoy," James said in between laughs. "Like you would have the guts to attack me—an older student!"
"I'll do it, Potter," Scorpius snarled, prodding his wand harder into his throat. At this last remark, James let out another roar of laughter, so loud that people had started to notice a fight was about to break out and were gathering around them.
As Scorpius drew back his wand, ready to give James the most powerful jinx he could produce, Albus sighed a few feet away and disarmed Scorpius with an embarrassed look on his face. His wand flew out of his hand and landed in a glass bowl full of a peculiar-looking, violet coloured drink.
James was actually doubling over in laughter now, and Scorpius considered punching him straight in his smirking mouth. It's what he deserved, but deep down he knew James would overpower him and he would look more of a failure than he already did.
"Clear off, James," Albus said sternly.
Gasping for breath, James ruffled Albus' hair patronisingly and strutted off, a smile still playing on his lips. "Oh, Al, I'll see you around, little brother. Try to keep your friend under control next time. Maybe even teach him to get a sense of humour—if you can find one yourself, that is." And with that he was off, laughing uncontrollably yet again.
As Scorpius retrieved his wand from the glass bowl and disgustedly wiped it on his robes, Albus came to stand next to him.
"Sorry about that," he said miserably. "About what James said, and disarming you and everything. I shouldn't let you fight my battles."
"You shouldn't let him get to you so badly, Albus."
"I know, but you just don't understand what it's like to have an older brother." He was staring down at the ground now, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another.
At the sound of a new, feminine voice, both boys turned to face Professor Bobbin, hands on her hips. "Everything alright, boys?" she asked, sounding half concerned and half stern. "Had a little argument?"
"It was James!" Albus burst out automatically.
Professor Bobbin's eyes shined with kindness, and a soft smile formed on her lips. "Little prankster Potter, eh? No difference there then. No need to look so worried, Albus, I know you weren't the cause of the commotion. And if I catch James trying to get his hands on some Firewhisky or attempting to start a fight with the younger students again, I will deal with it."
She scanned the room, searching for James amongst the rabble of students, before focusing her attention on Scorpius. She leant in slightly, beaming a broad grin. "I never got the chance to congratulate you properly on making the Slytherin Quidditch team, Mr Malfoy. Your Quidditch Captain has told me great things about you. Apparently, you're a real natural on a broomstick, and I've no doubt you will make an excellent Seeker. Don't let me down," she said with a wink. It was no secret that Professor Bobbin had been in Slytherin house when she'd attended Hogwarts.
"In the meantime, I suggest you keep out of James Potter's way and study hard for your upcoming OWLs next year. They'll come around quicker than you can say 'examinations,' trust me. However, I strongly advise you to enjoy this evening. Perhaps there is a certain young witch you may wish to grace with a dance."
Scorpius could have sworn her eyes flickered briefly towards Rose and her friends.
"After all," Bobbin continued, "it isn't very often that an event such as this comes up. This may be the only ball you attend at Hogwarts. I was very lucky indeed to be in my third year as the date of a fifth-year Ravenclaw when the Yule ball was held in honour of the Triwizard Tournament. And what a disastrous competition that was." She frowned slightly, no doubt reminiscing about the horrors that had occurred that year. "But the ball was an unforgettable experience, and you may not be lucky enough to experience another one. Although, you never know, I may make this an annual thing..."
She trailed off, lost in thought. Before Scorpius could utter a word in response, Bobbin hurried over to repair an ice sculpture that had mysteriously shattered into tiny pieces, a few metres away from where James and Mason were stood. After sharing confused looks, Albus and Scorpius stared out into the vastness of the hall.
"I wish I could dance with Evangeline," Albus sighed with a gloomy expression.
"Al, let's be reasonable. She's a princess, and she's seventeen. She'll never be interested in guys like us. Besides, she looks far too vain and self-centred to be a decent person."
At this remark, Albus' face practically turned red with rage. "Don't talk about her like that! You've never met her, so you can't judge her. I think she's the most down-to-earth, beautiful, charming witch in this school!" His hands had clenched into fists by his side.
Extremely frustrated by Albus' dumbstruck admiration for a witch who didn't even come close to the beauty of Rose Weasley, Scorpius retaliated bitterly. "You've never even met her yourself, so you can't judge her either. And I just mean that there are some witches who actually care about important things—like school, and justice, and friendship—not about their appearance and how to run away to another country when they get threatened."
Instead of glaring at Albus like he'd intended to, Scorpius found his gaze settled back on the freckled face of a redheaded witch he'd never properly met.
Albus opened his mouth to let all hell loose at Scorpius' description of Evangeline but stopped himself as he noticed the direction of his friend's attention. "Wait, are you staring at Rose? Rose? My cousin Rose!" he accused.
Scorpius quickly turned to face a now confused and agitated Albus. "W-what? Of course not! I've never even seen her before... I was just looking at the decoration by the window, right over there." He pointed towards a large crystal orb hovering conveniently behind Rose's shoulder. "I've never seen one before," he lied.
Albus' face relaxed and he looked apologetic. "Oh. Look, Scorpius, I'm really sorry. It's just James has been winding me up all week, and I still haven't done that Potions essay on Wormwood, and—"
Scorpius interrupted him, grasping his shoulder. "Hey, it's fine. We should just relax and have fun like Bobbin said, right?"
"Right," Albus confirmed. "Hey, maybe we should go speak to Rose—I haven't spoken to her in ages. I can't believe you've never even met her after four years of being in the same year. I know you've had classes together! Anyway, I'll introduce you. Maybe we could team up sometime in class—she's really clever, you know. Surely you must know that? Oh, well, let's go," he babbled—more to himself than Scorpius.
Scorpius had frozen with shock at Albus' suggestion, though. "No!" he practically screamed. "I mean, she looks really busy, so why bother her? I think I saw, err, Albireo over there, with no company. Let's go find him instead," he gushed, desperately trying to steer Albus in the opposite direction.
Albus looked confused and broke away from Scorpius' tight grasp. "No way, Scorpius! I'm really close with Rose; you'll get on with her fine."
And with that he marched towards his cousin, leaving Scorpius no choice but to follow him. Closing his eyes, with a deep sigh, Scorpius tried to wipe every memory of his parents forbidding him to interact with Rose out of his mind. It was only one night, after all. His parents didn't even have to know. Ever since he'd caught sight of her for that first time tonight, he'd known he could never stay away from her. He'd silently vowed in his heart that he would do all he could just to talk to her.
He didn't understand why, but after all, he didn't even understand his parents' weird superstitions. Was it just his father's hatred for the Weasley family, or was there something about Rose that nobody was telling him? Whatever the reason he'd been ordered to stay away from this girl, he didn't care anymore. She was all that mattered to him right now, and his parents would just have to deal with that. He would accept whatever consequence he deserved, but really, what was the worst that could happen?
With this in mind, Scorpius opened his eyes and, taking a deep breath, confidently strode over to the forbidden girl. If he hadn't been staring at Rose so intently, he may have even noticed that Professor Bobbin was watching him from across the room, with a secret little smile to confirm the happiness and pride she felt for young Scorpius Malfoy.
