This will be the last chapter for at least a week or so, for I will be going on vacation. I'll try to make this as long as possible.

Thanks for your ongoing support, you're all superbly awesome.

And Here It Comes

"Damien Byrne?! Are you effing joking?" Thomas Finnigan spluttered during lunch one day. There were only two days left until Halloween (a week left until the Veritaserum was due, Rose also noted), which also meant that the Halloween Ball was fast approaching. Rose was sitting with Albus (he was sitting beside Lisa this morning), Thomas, Lisa, and Lorcan, having just finished their last class of the morning.

"Yes, why do you shout his name as if it's some kind of disease?" Rose asked suspiciously, grabbing her goblet of pumpkin juice. Thomas and Albus eyed each other wearily.

"You really have a thing for Seekers don't you?" Albus chuckled. Rose's cheeks immediately flushed a dark red and she held her goblet up high on her face so it would be harder to notice. Lisa, however, did not miss a thing and she stifled a giggle.

A thing for Seekers? Okay, so that probably means Damien's a Seeker...but why did he use Seeker in plural form?

"I don't understand what you mean by that." Rose muttered, her voice hollow as it reverberated inside her half-empty goblet. Lisa could not hold in her giggle any longer.

"You should know that Damien Byrne is the star Seeker and Captain for Ravenclaw." She explained. "And he was apparently supposed to be this year's seventh year prefect for Ravenclaw too, but he gave the badge to Mina because he knew that she knew she wanted the position."

"Are you allowed to do that? I didn't know…" Albus trailed off, stroking his chin. Lisa playfully hit him on the shoulder.

Rose's eyes felt like they were going to bulge out of their skull. She turned to Lorcan for help, but he shrugged.

"He's basically like the Cedric Diggory of our time, except he's in Ravenclaw. He's a nice fellow, always wanting to help out people when it looked like they needed it. Tops all of his classes. Doesn't like taking the spotlight." He said. Rose shook her head, still obviously bewildered.

According to what they were saying, Damien was perfect, and she had him as her Halloween Ball date. Out of all the girls in Hogwarts she got the one single boy that did not seem like much of a prat-

"Hello." That thick, syrupy voice crept up from behind and it made her jump so violently that she nearly fell off of her bench. Lisa was giggling again and the boys were shaking their heads in disbelief. Albus, however, was smiling to himself as he did so.

"O-oh, Damien, how unexpected of you-" Rose stuttered, and she automatically scooted down on the bench so he could sit. Damien smiled (she felt her stomach flop a few times), noticing the small but significant movement, and sat down beside her. Lisa placed a hand over her mouth so her giggling would not be so obvious.

"Hey Byrne, whatcha been up to?" Thomas asked casually.

"Just got back from a quick lunch Quidditch practice. Thought the team needed a little bit of work for the game next week." Damien replied. The boys then fell into an engaging conversation about Quidditch, which Lisa and Rose did not take care to join in. The girls edged away from them so they could start their own little conversation. Rose shook her head again, still in denial. Lisa smiled at her friend, clearly amused.

"Still can't believe you're going to the ball with Cedric Diggory's reincarnation?" She asked. Rose laughed nervously in a vain attempt to hide her bashfulness, but the curse of the Weasley Blush was unfortunately unavoidable.

"Oh, don't say that! At least not around him." She whispered. Lisa could not help but giggle again.

"You're a funny one, Rosie."

--

Holden wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. He had just come back from Divination, which was all the way at the top of the school, and now he had just arrived at the Slytherin common room, which was deep down in the dungeons, a total opposite of the Divination tower. He was surely getting a workout just from walking from class to class.

He pushed the door to his dormitory open and made his way over to his bed. He was exhausted and he had a spare period before Defence Against the Dark Arts, so he decided to take a short nap. He sat on the edge of his bed and proceeded to pull off his shoes when he heard a loud hissing noise. He jumped, first thinking it was a snake, but he strained his hearing, and surely enough the hissing noise came around again.

"Psst! Zabini!"

Holden raised a questionable eyebrow; that hissing sounded a lot like-

He circled over to Scorpius' unoccupied bed, where he first heard the hissing sound. He dropped to his knees and peeked underneath.

"Malfoy, is that you?"

Surely enough, he found a very frightened looking Scorpius Malfoy lying flat on his stomach under his bed; Holden could not see much because it was dark underneath.

"What on earth are you doing? Come out from under there!" Holden reached out and grabbed one of Scorpius' arms, but for some reason it seemed like he was resisting.

"Wait, is she gone? Did you check if she was gone?" He sounded desperate and he probably would not leave his spot until he was absolutely sure whoever it was he was talking about was gone. Holden sighed and nodded.

"Yes, yes, she's gone-whoever she is-now get out from there!" He pulled him out from the shadows and into the greenish light of the common room. Under the light it was easier to see just how truly disheveled Scorpius looked; it seemed like he was under there for some time. His shirt was more wrinkled than usual and his tie was lopsided and he was covered in dust. His hair stuck up in odd angles, which not very surprising, but there were little specks of dust hanging from the tips of his platinum blond spikes. There was an almost haunted look in his eyes.

"You alright, mate? You look like you were run over by a Hippogriff." He pointed his wand at him and muttered a quick Dusting Charm. It helped Scorpius' appearance by the slightest.

"At this rate I'd rather be bloody eaten by a Hippogriff, if that was even possible. Tatia is driving me insane, literally up the walls!" He moved to sit on the end of his bed and cradled his head in his hands. "I'm suddenly regretting my decision."

Holden wound an arm around one of the bedposts and stared at the Head Boy, who seemed to be rocking back in forth. He was evidently disturbed by the half-Veela.

"What has she been doing to you since you asked her?" Holden asked. Scorpius shook his head as if it was something forbidden to talk about, but then he opened his mouth slightly and began to speak in a brittle voice, as if he was on the verge of breaking down.

"She's been bloody following me nonstop, trying to get my attention...at first it was flattering, sweet really, but then she just kept appearing out of nowhere! It bloody terrified me; I've been almost literally keeping an eye open at night just in case she doesn't walk in here...you know how we don't have that stupid charm on our dorms like the girls do…."

He looked up at Holden; Holden noticed that there were slightly purplish shadows under his grey eyes, as if he had gotten into a bad fight. Scorpius shook his head and absently began pulling at his hair, which made it look even spikier than before.

"Well, you kind of brought it upon yourself, if you think about it hard enough. She's been fancying you since she came here and all you've been doing was giving her the cold shoulder. She's giving you nearly five years worth of affection, mate. Don't you think that's worth something? Plus she's a bloody Veela; you don't see that everyday don't you?" Holden exclaimed, and Scorpius groaned. He leaned back to lie on his bed.

"I don't know, Zabini...she's a handful, I'm telling you. She's nice to look at, I understand-believe me, I really do-but she's going to be the death of me." He croaked pathetically. Holden rolled his eyes. Scorpius was obviously being overdramatic; how could he say that Tatia Schultz was a handful? That girl was a goddess in all her right!

"You kind of don't have a choice for now, Malfoy. You said you'd take her to the ball, which is only two days away, and it would be impolite to ditch her now don't you think?"

At the mention of the Halloween Ball, Scorpius groaned twice as loud. He rolled over on his stomach and rubbed his eyes with his knuckles.

"Let's just drop the subject for now-I'm too tired for this. What time is it, can I stick in a nap before class?" He searched for a clock. Holden sighed in defeat and nodded. After looking at Scorpius, he did not feel tired anymore.

"Yeah, you have an hour and a half, give or take. We've got DADA next, just so you know." He answered jadedly as he unwound his arm from the bedpost. Scorpius muttered a few words to him but his voice was too low to hear clearly. Shaking his head, Holden left the room. As soon as he closed the door behind him…

"Hello Holden." The sweet sing-song voice filled his ears and he had to retain his grip on the door handle to keep himself from falling down. Holden swung his head towards the source of the sound, the music.

"Tatia." He greeted with a short nod. He knew she was here for Scorpius, but he could not stop his heart from hammering.

"Do you know where Scorpius is? Is he in there?" She asked eagerly, peeking over his shoulder, though the door was closed. Holden gulped and shook his head.

"No, no, I believe he has a class now-"

"No, I'm pretty sure he has spare period." She interjected sweetly.

How does she know?

"Oh-well um, he's not in our dormitory. I was just there." He replied nervously. Tatia cocked her head to the side and he felt his insides churn.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Tatia's face fell and he suddenly felt like wrenching the door open and exposing Scorpius just so he could see her smile again, but he resisted the temptation. Instead he shrugged his shoulders indifferently and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Best try the Great Hall. Maybe he's having lunch or something." He suggested nonchalantly.

"Oh, alright. Thank you, Holden." And with that she gracefully loped out of view. Holden rubbed his eyes to make sure his imagination was not conjuring up anything.

"Veelas," He muttered, and began to make his way down the stairs.

--

It was the day before the much anticipated Halloween Ball now, and everyone was already getting into the holiday spirit. Talks of costumes, candy, and Halloween pranks (Filch was sure to get a handful of troublemaking students tomorrow night, that was certain) were scattered all over Hogwarts, hovering over the air like a thick smog. Speaking of weather, it had gotten significantly colder in the past few weeks, and the leaves had faded into rich, abundant colours of reds, yellows, and oranges, along with a splash of brown and russet. The air had an icy sting to it, but it was not very strong, and the sun was always out, prominent against a bright blue sky.

Rose was sitting under the usual beech tree, continuing on her and Scorpius' Veritaserum report with her bubbling cauldron by her thigh. They had gotten together last night and agreed not to do so again today; they were going to put off their nightly Veritaserum expeditions until after the ball. He had already finished his part of the report, so all she had to do was write hers and they were finished-the writing part of the assignment, of course. They had finished adding all of the necessary ingredients to their Veritaserum, so all they had to do was stir it every once in awhile. The ladle in the cauldron was stirring by itself; she Charmed it to do so.

There had been a lot of tension between the two Heads lately, ever since that odd discussion they had in the common room that night, with him asking who she was going to go to the ball with. In the days that followed they hardly spoke, only in short, business-like tones, and with barely any eye contact (though she swore she still felt Scorpius' eyes on her when she was not looking). Head duty was just as awkward; they would separate, wandering off in the stony corridors of Hogwarts, immersed in their own thoughts, and then when they met up in the Great Hall like they usually did they found themselves lost for words; they would only just realize that they had spent their time thinking about each other.

Honestly, what's there to think about when it comes to him? He's a foulmouthed, nosy, rotten little toerag, just another stupid Malfoy. I pray his sister won't end up like him.

She began to write a little more furiously, her hand zipping across the page so quickly it almost looked blurred. Her neat, cursive writing slowly began to change into jagged, cramped, angry spikes.

"A little busy with Potions, I see?"

Rose jerked in shock and let out a little squeal; Damien Byrne was standing a few feet away from her, his neatly combed hair untouched by the chilly autumn wind and his blue and bronze scarf billowing gracefully. He walked a little closer to her, his hands in his pockets and his smile as alluring as usual. She wondered how he managed to keep sneaking up on her like that.

"Hm, Veritaserum eh? Paired up with Scorpius Malfoy, I'm not surprised. At least you've got someone who's been keeping up with you; I've got Todd Rowle as my partner, and as you might know he isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer."

Rose chortled shyly as she tried to find her voice; she cleaned up a little of her surrounding area, shoving her books into her bag and making sure the cauldron was not splashing immature Veritaserum anywhere.

"You're always hanging around us Gryffindors, Damien. Secretly wished you were one?" She asked with a smile; she relaxed a little and scooted over so he could sit down on the soft grass. The Ravenclaw boy laughed (she stiffened a little; she had never made him laugh before, at least not like that) and moved to sit beside her.

"Lorcan Scamander's always with you. Why not pick on him?" He asked, his dark eyes twinkling.

"'Cause he's a prefect, that's why." She replied teasingly, and Damien pretended to look appalled.

"Ouch. Good one though." He picked up one of the pages to her Veritaserum report and held it gingerly in his hands, though he did not seem to be reading it. "So, are you excited for the ball tomorrow night?"

Rose's pulse began to accelerate at the mention of the Halloween Ball; her hands began to feel clammy and she pressed them against the grass.

"Of course I am! I mean, well, usually these things aren't my, uh, kind of um...thing...but this being my last year here and everything, I think I'm just going to make the best of it." She paused for a minute; she felt her cheeks and ears growing uncomfortably hot. "And plus, I don't have to go through the night alone, so that's always something to look forward to as well."

Damien then gave her the most amazing smile she had ever seen in her entire life; she stared at him for as long as she possibly could without making the situation awkward. He looked so perfect just sitting there, with the wind blowing through his clothes, his dark intriguing eyes calling out to her…

"I could've said the exact same thing." His words made her smile back, but it could not amount to his. A moment of silence elapsed between them, and they spent it all just staring at each other, waiting, anticipating. Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest; what was going to happen between them tomorrow night? Oh bloody hell, what was going to happen between them in the next minute, the next second? Right now?

"OI! BYRNE! THAT YOU?" A bellowing voice echoed throughout the grounds, cutting clear through the harsh wind. Rose broke out into a string of curse words (all muttered under her breath of course) and Damien strained his eyes into the distance. He waved to somebody for a minute, and then turned to Rose.

"Sorry, I think that's one of my Chasers. Probably wants a word with me about one of our Quidditch strategies or something. I'll talk to you after dinner, alright?" He leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the cheek; Rose's eyes widened considerably. "See you then." He gave her one last blinding smile and stood up to meet his fellow Ravenclaw. Rose absently placed a hand on the spot where his lips touched her just previously. She felt dizzy, faint. The Weasley Blush was attacking her with relative ease.

"See you." She whispered, but he was already gone.

--

She'll never get me in here, she can't get in. I've got her this time.

A frantic looking Scorpius was sitting in the middle of one of the boys' change rooms by the Quidditch pitch; though the place smelled like sweat and grass and there were old, soiled practice shirts lying on the benches, it was like heaven to him.

He knew Tatia could not get him here; in here he was safe. He already tried hiding in the boys lavatories; he shook his head, not wanting to recall just exactly how she managed to get him out. In here the environment was probably just as clean as that gigantic oaf Hagrid's shack he called a house; a half-Veela would be repulsed to walk in here.

He skillfully kicked a pile of mouldy shirts aside and sat down on the closest bench. He took in the silence, the lovely silence of the dirty change room, and closed his eyes in ecstasy. He could not remember the last time he felt this peaceful.

Knock, knock.

There was a sharp rapping on the wooden door. Scorpius' eyes widened in sheer horror and he shrunk against the wall.

"Is there anybody in there? Hello? Scorpius? Are you in there?" Her melodious voice was muffled against the door, but it was still easy to recognize. Swearing audibly, he scanned the room, trying to find an exit.

So much for isolated bliss, He thought grudgingly. He noticed another door and pulled at the knob; it was locked. He grabbed his wand from his back pocket, muttered Alohomora, and wrenched it open; he felt the cool breeze on his face and he realized he was on the perfectly manicured lawn of the Quidditch pitch.

"Hah, think you can get me, well think-" He broke out in a jog, planning to run clear across the pitch so he could leave the other way, but when he turned around, he almost ran straight into Tatia. He stumbled forward, collapsing on his knees. Tatia giggled; his ears rang with the sound.

"There you are, silly. What were you doing in that old change room? C'mon, we have spare period now!" She pulled him up by the arm, laughing as she did so. Scorpius, who looked downright miserable, tried his best to put on a smile.

No, no, no, no, no. What have I done?

"Where would you like to go, Scorpius?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. He gulped and tugged at his collar, finding it hard to breathe.

Bloody shirt, this thing's at least two sizes too small, I swear…

"U-um, doesn't matter. Up to you." He answered shortly, his eyes focused on the school. It was hard to resist eye contact with her, especially when she had those tantalizing hazel irises…

"Let's sit under that-oh never mind, it's occupied." Tatia's head was turned towards the lake, but she swiftly turned around to face him again. Scorpius looked over her (he was a head-maybe even a bit more-taller than she was) head to see what she was talking about. Rose Weasley was sitting by herself, doing what she does best of course. He frowned; she should not be alone all the time-

"Oh, we're coming up to the school now."

As they approached the grounds, Scorpius caught sight of a small group of Ravenclaws sitting by the courtyard. He smirked; it was the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. They were probably trying to set up some kind of strategy to take him and his Slytherins down next week. He noticed the team's captain, Damien Byrne, sitting in the midst of them all.

"Figuring out the least painful way to take a loss, Byrne?" Scorpius asked tauntingly as he and Tatia were close enough for them to hear. Tatia giggled; the Ravenclaws stopped talking and they all slowly turned to face him. Damien pushed through the group to step in front.

"Would've thought it was you, Malfoy. Not smart of you to say something when you're outnumbered." The Ravenclaws behind him broke out in laughter, and Scorpius could not help but join in as well. They sounded so ridiculous. Beside him, Tatia was pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Boys." He heard her mutter. Inside he felt triumphant; for once he was doing something that was not pleasing her.

"Numbers don't matter in this case. I can still hex the lot of you with my eyes closed, and I know you all know that." Scorpius shot back, his eyes flashing. All of the Ravenclaws except for Damien stepped back a bit, alarmed by the threat and partially because they knew it was the truth; Defence Against the Dark Arts was Scorpius' best subject. It was something he was actually nearly beating Rose at; Albus, unfortunately, was topping the both of them. Damn him and his famous father.

"I don't want to start a fight-" Damien started.

"Because you know there's gonna be one when we beat you next week, right?" Scorpius interjected, sneering. Lysander Scamander stepped to Damien's side, his eyes scathing.

'Sod off, Malfoy. C'mon Byrne, he's not worth it. Let's go to the common room to talk." He placed a hand on Damien's back and pushed him back towards the group of Ravenclaws. They slowly departed, shuffling back into the school. Scorpius stood tall, feeling like he won fifty fights against Lord Voldemort himself. Tatia shook her head, but she was smiling, clearly amused.

"Alright, you've had your fun. Can we have mine now?" She grabbed him by the elbow and led him inside the school. "You know you'll beat them for sure, Scorpius."

He could not help but agree with her. He was completely unaware, however, that the entire time he was quarreling with Damien, that a pair of angry navy blue eyes were staring straight into his shoulder blades.

--

"I feel stupid."

"Nonsense, Rosie! You look beautiful!"

"Beautiful doesn't exist in my vocabulary when it comes to describing me."

The night of the ball had finally arrived, and Rose, Lily, Mandy, Jane, and Lisa were seated in the Gryffindor common room by the fireplace, poring over each other's costumes. Lily was going as a fairy, Mandy as a zombie (she went all out to look like one; everyone thought she was really one of the undead the moment she came out of her dormitory; Lisa almost hexed her), Jane was going as Marie Antoinette, and Lisa was dressed up as a princess from the Medieval times-at least that was what Rose thought she was going as. They all looked very excited and they talked in quick, ecstatic tones. Rose, however, was slumped in her armchair, looking at the time every now and then. Her heart sped up when the clock ticked a menacing 7:50. Lily squealed and grabbed her cousin's wrist.

"Well, what are you waiting for? He's probably out there right now. Go, go!"

She pushed Rose out of the portrait hole and waved goodbye, whispering a quick "Good luck, see you there!" as the portrait swung to a close. Rose gulped and turned around. She nearly jumped.

"You look beautiful." Damien smiled, stepping out of the shadows. He was wearing a plaid shirt, jeans, a large brass belt buckle, and leather boots that chimed whenever he walked. He was wearing a dark brown cowboy hat. She blushed; an Irish cowboy as her date...this could not get any better.

"T-thanks. You look great yourself." He smiled and held his arm out to her; she looped her own around his and they began walking downstairs towards the Great Hall. They made a little bit of small talk on their way down.

"My parents work at the bank." He said as they turned a corner.

"Oh, Gringotts? Whereabouts? My uncle Bill works there too." Rose replied as the Great Hall came into view. It was pumping with music; the bass was rattling inside her ribcage. Damien raised an eyebrow at her, confused at first, but then he laughed.

"What-? Oh, no! I'm Muggle born. My parents work at the bank-a Muggle bank." He replied with a broad smile. Flushing furiously, Rose laughed along with him. They walked into the Great Hall, but it certainly did not look like the Great Hall they were accustomed to. The walls were covered with velvety black hangings, covering every inch except for the tall windows. The ceiling reflected a clear night sky; a full moon was shining down on the large dance floor. There were many round tables surrounding the floor as well; streaming lights of different colours pulsed everywhere in rhythm of the music. Students from various years were scattered around the hall, all wearing very convincing costumes.

"This place looks so different!" Rose shouted over the music. Damien nodded and turned around.

"Hey, it's Albus and Lisa!"

Rose whirled around to face her cousin; so he decided to ditch Mina in favour of Lisa. She smiled as they approached them; Albus looked almost unrecognizable under his suit of armour, but if it were not for his brilliant green eyes, even visible in the dark, she would have mistaken him for someone else.

"Hey guys! Does this place look wicked or what?" Albus yelled; his voice was slightly muffled under his knight's helmet. They all nodded enthusiastically; Lisa jerked her head towards the dance floor.

"Let's go!"

Rose stiffened at the mention of dancing, but it was already too late. Damien was pulling her with him, laughing as he followed Lisa and Albus towards the dance floor.

"Damien, I-I can't dance!" She shrieked. They were in the centre of the dance floor; it was hard to breathe with everyone around her dancing. Albus was trying to move with the music, but his suit of armour made it quite difficult. Lisa was laughing at him as she swayed along. Damien was moving too. He grabbed Rose's wrists and forced her to move, albeit gently of course. He leaned in close and her heart skipped a beat.

"Nobody here really knows how to; you just move with the music. That's what dancing's all about; you'll only feel stupid if you're doing it by yourself with everyone watching." He drew back and smiled. Feeling a little more confident, Rose smiled back shyly and began to sway, twisting her body and moving her arms. She felt like a disabled Whomping Willow. Damien laughed and took hold of her again, but this time he laced his fingers with hers.

"That's it, now you're getting it!" The tempo of the song increased and they began to move faster. She felt like she was in some kind of crazy dream; she could not stop laughing. The colours were swirling everywhere in a wild tornado; people's voices blended together and sounded like utter nonsense.

The only person she could see and hear clearly was the person dancing with her, hands clasped together as if to never break apart.

--

"This place is bloody ridiculous." Porter Parkinson muttered as they entered the Great Hall. The music was too loud, the room was too dark, and the streaming lights were bound to give at least one person a seizure. Scorpius trudged into the room, Tatia excitedly skipping at his side, and found the closest unoccupied seat, ripping off his mask as he did so (the bloody thing refused to stay on for more than five minutes; it would always slip off anyway). Tatia looked down at him, disappointed.

"I wanted to dance," She complained. He waved her off dismissively.

"It's a free country." He muttered. Tatia glared at him (his bad mood seemed to have dispelled her Veela charm) and stalked off towards the dance floor. He sighed and rested his head on the table.

"Aren't you going to join her, Malfoy?" Holden asked. He was making his way towards the dance floor with his date. Scorpius shook his head without looking up at him.

"Nope. I've got Head Duty, remember?" He said in a bitter tone. Holden rolled his eyes.

"Some excuse. Later then." He disappeared into the throng of dancing, costume-clad students. Scorpius eyed him wearily, muttering something about how stupid the dance was, until he caught sight of a certain bronze-haired Weasley dancing in the centre.

She was wearing a floaty, simple white dress; it was strapless and the skirt flowered out, ending just past her knees. She was wearing strappy silver sandals and there were a pair of feathery white wings coming out from her back. A magically conjured halo was floating just above her head, gleaming as white and bright as the full moon above. She left her wavy, perfect bronze hair as it was, rippling down her back, jumping wildly as she spun and moved with the music. She was laughing and talking to her cousin and that Longbottom girl as she danced. Damien Byrne was with them too.

Damien Byrne?

Scorpius leaned forward and squinted; by the looks of it Potter and Longbottom were dates, since they were dancing so close to one another. Rose and Byrne seemed to be doing the same.

"So...you're going alone."

"That's the plan."

The discussion they had in the prefect common room played over and over in his head. He felt a raging fury bubbling inside of him and he clutched the tablecloth with a strained fist, but he did not know why he was feeling so angry in the first place.

She lied! She bloody lied, she said she was going alone-

Oh, what does it matter to you? It's not like you care.

Ugh, and out of all people, it has to be that dratted Byrne bloke!

He shook his head and tried averting his gaze from the dance floor, but it was no use. He could not stop staring at Rose and that blasted Ravenclaw, whose costume looked disastrous, by the way. What the bloody hell he trying to be?

Then, her head turned. Ocean blue collided straight into mercury grey.

Not able to stand her, or even himself any longer, Scorpius stood up and turned around to leave, not forgetting to grab his half-mask.

--

Rose raised an eyebrow; the music began to slow down to some sort of ballad, and she felt a warm pair of arms slip around her waist. She flushed and wound her arms around Damien's neck, but she did not look him in the face. She was staring at the entrance to the Great Hall; Scorpius Malfoy was storming out.

"What's wrong?" Damien asked, his voice husky; they were both breathing hard from the fast dancing they were doing for the past hour or so. Rose shook her head, but she was still frowning.

"It's nothing." She replied, and they continued to dance in silence. She swore she just saw Scorpius staring at her with what looked like contempt. The contempt part, she was not so surprised about, but what really got her was the fact that he was sitting at a table, alone, staring at her straight in the face.

She rested her chin on Damien's shoulder and looked around the dance floor; she found Tatia wound up with a very nervous looking Hufflepuff boy. Rose's frown deepened; maybe he Tatia ditched him? But who would ditch Scorpius Malfoy-except herself of course-

"Sorry, I'll be back." Rose mumbled quickly, breaking free of Damien's grip. The Ravenclaw looked confused for a moment, but then he nodded in understanding.

"I'll be sitting down with some punch for you." He said, and she smiled before dashing off. She did not even know why she felt so compelled to chase after him; she guessed it was because she assumed she was the reason why he was sitting by himself.

She scratched her head, wondering where he had run off to.

"Ditched Byrne, have you?" His scathing voice came from behind and she jumped; whirling around she came face to face with a very handsomely costumed Scorpius Malfoy. It looked like he was attending a formal dance instead of a costume party. He was wearing what looked like a black suit with a silky black vest and a white dress shirt, complete with a matching black tie. He was wearing shiny black dress shoes. A swooping, almost ominous looking cape was wrapped around his shoulders. His dark attire was a sharp contrast to hers. In his hands he held a white mask that looked like it was only capable of covering half of his face; she realized that he came dressed as the Phantom of the Opera.

"Phantom of the Opera? Isn't that a Muggle musical?" She asked, pointing towards his mask. He shrugged.

"Mother's a fan of them." He muttered, and his eyes narrowed. "You said you were going alone."

"There were last-minute changes." Rose replied in a clipped voice. "What does it matter to you?"

"You bloody lied to me! You said you were going alone, and you show up at this damn thing with that git, that stupid Ravenclaw idiot who thinks he's so good at everything-"

How dare he insult Damien? She felt her hands ball into fists.

"Don't say that! Damien's ten times better than you are, and more than half of the school's population would probably agree with me! Stop trying to make people look like they're so insignificant compared to you, Malfoy, because it's not working. Just because your father's some big rich Ministry head who can pave the way for you-"

"MY FATHER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!" Scorpius' bellowing voice echoed throughout the empty hallways; thankfully the music was loud enough to drown it out. Nobody else seemed to notice. Rose stepped back, surprised at his sudden outburst. His eyes were wild and his face was contorted in anger. His fists were shaking; the mask he was holding was lying absently by his feet. He dropped it in his frustration.

"You're just like everyone else. Everyone in this bloody universe thinks that I'm going to take after him. They're all expecting me to grow up to be some stupid big-headed, pampered, boasting idiot who thinks he can rule the world with a nice white lie or two. You don't know how hard it's been for me to live with that. You have no idea." His words were grating against her nerves; Rose had never seen him this angry before. She stood there in stunned silence, drinking in every word.

"I admit I was blindly following in his footsteps in the beginning, but I've only just realized how wrong he's been his entire bloody life. I thought you, since you're supposedly the cleverest witch after your mother, would be able to see that. But I guess I'm wrong." He spat, and he spun on his heel, not even bothering to pick up his mask. Rose reached out to him, but she did not know what to say.

"Mal-Scorpius...wait-" Her voice was brittle, fragile. He was too far away to hear her. Feeling horribly remorseful, she sunk to her knees, her eyes stinging with tears.

"Today's his birthday too." She looked over her shoulder; Holden Zabini, dressed to look like an Azkaban prisoner. She opened her mouth slightly as tears rolled down her face.

Scorpius Malfoy was born on October 31st: Halloween, and the day Harry Potter's parents were killed by Voldemort. She turned to face the empty hallway that Scorpius walked off to after their argument, and cried even harder.

He really had a lot going against him, and she just realized that now.