"I can't," I whispered across the table. "I'll just trip and make a fool of myself."

"But I like dancing," Scorpius protested. "And I won't let you trip."

"Well-"

"Let's just have some fun," he said with a grin. "Besides, it would be great for the public to watch."

"You're sure?"

Scorpius stood up and held out his hand. I took it and he helped me up. We walked, hand in hand, to the edge of the dance floor. "Just follow my lead," Scorpius murmured as he placed a hand on my waist. I reached up and placed my hand on his shoulder, and we were off.

I was surprised that Scorpius was a decent dancer. He must have had lessons somewhere along the line, because I had troubles just keeping up with the way he spun me. But I did have fun. It was different dancing with him than say, at a cousin's wedding, because none of the male population in my family could dance. They always just hugged and swayed back and forth a bit. Scorpius actually moved in circles around the room, leading me as we stepped to the time of the waltz. It was… nice.

And I was blinded as a huge flash interrupted the dancers; a reporter of sorts snapped a photo of us as her quill scrawled words on its own, hovering in the air near her head.

As the song drew to a close, Scorpius whispered, "I think our job is done here. Shall we have dessert?"

I nodded and we walked back to our seats, where our waiter placed a small chocolate cake, drizzled with strawberries. Scorpius paid the bill and we stood up to leave.

But to my surprise, I swayed on the spot. "Woah," I murmured as my head swam.

Scorpius chuckled, and I raised an eyebrow instead of glaring, for once thinking before acting. "That had firewhiskey in it," he said quietly. "It's all right, let me help you." I groaned as the ground spun. Scorpius held out his arm and I linked mine with his. I didn't hesitate as I used his arm with my full toppling weight, and I wondered if the people from the British Ministry could tell I'd been drinking. "It's all right, we're almost there," Scorpius said as I tripped over my own foot. I couldn't help but giggling as I tried to navigate my heels. He laughed at me as we walked out the door, a rich and deep sound that startled me. I wasn't sure if I'd ever heard him laugh so fully.

"That cake should have come with a warning label," I said.

"I think it's cute," Scorpius reassured me. Wait, did he call me cute? "Would you like me to apparate us?"

"Yep," I said, putting a little extra pop on the last p.

"Will you be alright if I take you home?" he asked as he looked down at me.

I tilted my head, thinking. I would just go to bed, so… "Yes." I noticed the slight slur at the end of that. I giggled again at my word. "I don't think I've ever been this drunk before," I confided to Scorpius. "I usually just have wine, which doesn't do as much as all that firewhisky…"

"You're coming with me," he said. I furrowed my eyebrows and opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off. "If you've never been drunk like this then I'd feel better if someone were there. And since this is my fault- I just assumed you would know- then I'll be responsible for you."

I giggled once again and shrugged. "If you say so."

"Let's go. Ready?" He grasped my arm and spun, yanking my arm.

In my intoxicated state the nausea was magnified by ten; it was all I could do not to puke immediately upon my landing. I slipped my arm from Scorpius' grip on it and collapsed to the ground, waiting for the feeling to pass. "Now I see why drunk people don't apparate," I moaned out.

"That and they can't concentrate on where to go, so they splinch themselves," he said. He leaned over and scooped me up, bridal style, and I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable from his grip on my thigh. My damn dress had ridden up. I'm sure it wasn't a big deal for him, but I'd never had a man touch me there. His body next to mine made me feel small as he started walking. After hesitating for a bit, I leaned my head against his muscular chest.

"Next time tell me to stop drinking or not to eat the cake, or both," I said to him.

I felt his chuckle more than heard it; the deep noise vibrated his upper body. "If you want." He carried me through the door, which opened for him. "Once you're a Malfoy, the Manor recognizes you as family and lets you in. And for any guests to enter, they must be accompanied by a Malfoy."

"That's different," I said because I couldn't think of anything else to say. "Is there a way to force into the house?"

"Not anymore, after dad put the spell on it. We've had to tighten security a tenfold with all the…haters." He navigated through the maze of a house, up stairs and through impressive corridors, carrying me as easily as if I were a kitten.

I frowned. "It's not nice for people to be mean," was my intoxicated brain's attempt at sympathy.

"I know. Believe me, I know." He sounded tired as he kicked open a door and I found myself in that same white room as before.

"Thank you," I said sincerely as he set me on the bed.

"Sure. What time do you need to be at work tomorrow?" he asked.

"Eight." I could feel myself sinking into the mattress, loving the softness. It was comfier than my own.

"Alright. If you want something to sleep in your size, ask the wardrobe nicely and it should give something suitable."

But I was already asleep.

oO0Oo

"Rose." Someone was shaking my shoulder, and I immediately sprang upright.

"Uh," I immediately groaned and shut my eyes before I could see whoever it was. Someone in my apartment? "My head hurts."

"Here, drink this." I opened my eyes and squinted up at Scorpius. "It's alright, it's hangover tonic." He held out the potion vial once again.

I drank it, shuddering at the taste. The effects were immediate, to my delight; my headache was ebbing away as well as the dizziness. "Thank you," I replied. "What time is it?"

"Six. Would you like to come to breakfast?"

"Can I shower first?" I asked hopefully, eyeing the open door to a bathroom.

"Of course. I'll come back in an hour."

Even their shower screamed of rich. Just the guest bathroom, one of dozens if I were to guess, had three shower heads, streaming down at different angles that magically adjusted to where you wanted them aimed. The soap was creamy and smelled like roses. The towels were white and fluffier than I had ever felt. It was amazing.

The closet provided robes of soft fabric for me which perfectly fit. They even gave me expensive shoes worthy of a Malfoy. I couldn't help but crinkle my nose at the thought that I would soon bare that title.

I was just putting the last touches on my makeup when Scorpius knocked on my door. I opened it with a flick of my wand as I walked over. "Breakfast?" he asked politely.

As the house elves put plates piled with lots of food before me, Astoria walked into the room. She blinked at me. I glanced sideways to see Scorpius smirking at the newspaper he was reading. "You spent the night?" she asked as she recovered from the small shock.

I nodded.

"Oh." She gave me a strange look. I couldn't really tell what emotion was behind, until Scorpius started laughing.

"No!" I exclaimed as my face turned beet red with the famous Weasley blush. "Not like that, Mrs. Malfoy…"

"Alright, darling." She smiled normally and scooped up some eggs.

"Prat," I scowled at Malfoy, who was still chuckling.

"I'm sorry," he said, trying unsuccessfully to wipe the smirk off his face. "It's just that…it's you…you're so-"

"I know," I muttered. "Nobody thinks of me that way, you've made your opinion clear enough."

"Not at all," he said, the smile finally gone. "I meant that you're just so…pure. You're not the person who stays the night with people…like me."

It was my turn to give him a strange look. "Whatever, Malfoy."

"It's Scorpius," he reminded me, and I mentally cursed at myself.

"And I was doing so well." He smiled at me, looking up from the newspaper. I blinked, realizing it was a real smile. Genuine. I smiled back slowly, biting my lip a bit.

I headed off to work with a lunch their elf Shady had packed for me, my hair done by Astoria, and the robes the closet had provided for me.

"Are those Jessamine Parker's?" Maeva gasped as I kicked my feet up on my desk.

"Huh?"

"The shoes!" she came closer and put her hand on my ankle, which was big for her since she absolutely detested feet. "They are! Did you finally start spending some of your huge paycheck?"

"Er…Astoria gave them to me this morning," I lied. No way was I telling her about the closet of expensive and limitless things; she'd guilt me into letting her use it.

"You were with his mom? Did you spend the night at the manor?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said thoughtlessly.

"I see," she said with a smug smile.

"No-"

"It's alright, I won't tell." She left my office, and I let my feet fall to the floor with a thud. Stupid expensive shoes. Stupid rich Malfoys. Stupid, stupid me.

A/N: Thanks for reading! It means a lot. If you want to see this story go a certain direction, let me know in the reviews, and I'll see what I can do. I've already gotten some good suggestions, one of which I will use in the next chapter. So...

"No!" I exclaimed angrily. Scorpius looked down at me, clearly surprised, but I ignored him. "Yes, things happened with his family that weren't good," I spat, looking maliciously at the middle-aged man. "But how dare you hold that against him?"

To be continued...