I own nothing.

AN: R&R! 3

Chapter Thirteen

The next week went by pretty quickly. By the time the ball came around, Rose was well enough to attend. Charlotte and Katie had helped Scorpius pick out a suit, and though he'd never tell his father, he liked them more than dress robes. The night of the ball, Scorpius was in his dorm, panicking and trying to dress himself without leaving something out of place, while Rose was being tied into her costume with Charlotte and Katie.

"I look awful." she said, pulling at the short white dress that was part of her costume. Her mask was still on the dresser, it's amazingly white feathers shining in the light of the room. She ran her fingers along the soft texture and it calmed her down some.

"You look fine, Rose. You'll be the best looking one there." Charlotte said, using her wand to tie the obi of her kimono costume. She was wearing her pure white Japanese mask, and her lips were painted blood red, and gave the impression of her pouting constantly.

Katie, dressed in a VIctorian floor lengthed dress with a flashy mask. She pulled on one of Rose's curly tresses and adjusted it over her shoulder.

"Everyone is going to make fun of me."

"Why would they do that?"

"I tried to kill myself, remember?"

Katie and Charlotte looked at each other and Katie hugged Rose's shoulders. "No one would make fun of you, Rose. Maybe they'll stare, but it's solely because of your beauty."

Rose rolled her eyes and picked up her mask. She twirled it around in her hands. "What if Scorpius is there?"

"So what if he is?"

"I don't want him to think he's beaten me."

"What are you talking about, Rose?"

"Violet told me about how it was all a joke, and-"

"You're kidding, right? You actually believed anything Violet said? Rose, you're a smart girl and you know he would never do that to you. You're being a stubborn little baby, now stop it. You've really hurt that boy, Rose."

Rose didn't say anything, but her cheeks flushed. She held put the mask, and then put it onto her face and secured it. She fluffed out the feathers around the edge and made a couple poses in the mirror.

"Lets go." She said slipping on the silver ballet slippers and backing towards the door. "Before I loose my nerve and break down in tears."

* * * * * * *

Scorpius turned this way and that in his full length mirror. His suit was black, and felt like it was custom made for him. He had on a black mask, and Katie had said it was from some movie character named Zorro. He looked at the shiny black shoes he wore and scrunched up his nose to find he fiercely resembled his father.

He cleared his throat and bowed, trying to act out the part as a mysterious stranger. He was the kind of guy who could act suave for a while, but then at the last moment, he'd stutter, or trip over something, or say something stupid. It seemed sometimes the Malfoy confidence abandoned him at the times he needed it most.

He stood close to the mirror and looked at every angle of his face, trying to find any trace of hair. He was probably the most under developed teenager in his year. Well, at least when it came to things you could see, if you know what I mean. He stuck out his chin and found about a dozen tiny hairs on it.

Now that he practically had a beard, he'd grow it out, and next hear he'd smoke imported cigarettes from Italy and he'd be even cooler than he was right them. Yes, he had it all planned out.

After triple checking that everything was in its place, and his hair was perfectly imperfect, he decided it was time to leave for the Great Hall. He almost forgot to grab a tiny box that was laying on his. He stuck it in his pants pocket and left the room. In the Common Room Violet came up to him and tried to apologize. His head was swimming with panic and he could barely even hear her. He just brushed past her and kept walking out the room. She scoffed in disbelief.

He got to the Hall, and everyone was standing around just outide the doors. He stood with them and glanced around for Charlotte, Katie, and Rose. It seemed like forever before someone said, "Look at her!" and several hundred heads turned in the direstion of the stairs leading to where they were all standing.

Scorpius was standing right by the stairs and when he looked up his breath caught in his throat. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and his hands started shaking. Rose was walking down the stairs, flanked by Charlotte and Katie who looked nice, but to him, they couldn't compare to Rose.

She was wearing a thin, floaty white dress that reached above her knees. Her mask was white also, with feathers stuck on it, but what made the entire costume were the great, feathered wings protruding from her back. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, he was still gaping at her. She looked at him and nothing but curiosity passed across her eyes. She didn't know who he was.

Charlotte and Katie looked at him and gave him some kind of look. He had no idea what it meant, and he wished girls came with a handbook. For this, he'd use the 'Expression Decoder'.

After a few minutes passed, the doors to the Great Hall finally opened. The students all flooded into the room, music starting almost immediatly. He stood on the wall for a while, watching people dancing, really sort of looking for Rose again. He looked across form him and Charlotte and Katie seemed to be attempting to get her to dance. Rose was leaning against the wall.

He gathered all the confidence he could muster and sauntered across the floor. When he reached them he opened him mouth to say something, but Katie shook her head. He closed his mouth again and just bowed. "Hey." Charlotte said.

Scorpius waved to her and Charlotte coughed to hide a laugh. He reached to Rose's side and picked up her hand. He nodded towards the dance floor and gave small smile.

"I thihnk he wants you to dance with him." Katie said, prying Rose from the wall and pushing her towards Scorpius.

"I-I don't know how to dance."

Scorpius turned, still holding her hand and pulled her out to floor. He let go of her hand and she glanced around at what other people were doing. It was an upbeat song, and everyone was jumping up and down, or doing some kind of clothed sex time of movement.

Rose just stood there and Scorpius grabbed her sides. She giggled, but didn't stop him. He lifted her up and put her back down and did it again. "You want me to dance like them?"

He shrugged and pointed at the couple grinding against each other a few feet away. "I think the jumping will be fine." she said, and he pulled her to the center of the group of people, and it took a while, but soon she got into the music and was dancing along with her peers. It made Scorpius feel warm inside to know that she felt carefree, even if it was only for a little while. They danced like that for about twenty minutes until the tempo slowed down and people paired off.

Rose thanked Scorpius and started to back up towards the wall, but he grabbed her hand and pulled him against him. He snaked his arms around her waist. Her hands were right against his chest, because she was afraid to move them anywhere. Soon she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him.

"So who are you?" she asked him.

He mouthed the word, 'secret' and she rolled her eyes. "How is it I never noticed you, Secret?"

He shrugged and made her twirl in a circle. Rose blushed and looked up at him. "I have to know you from somewhere. You seem familiar."

She looked into his eyes and he had to look away. Once the song was over, the let go of each other and he kissed her hand. "I miss you, Rosie."

Rose stared at him for a moment, and then pulled him out of the Hall. She pulled off her mask, then pulled off his. She touched his face and let her finger drag over his lips. "It was you."

"You look beautiful."

"I-I..."

She shook her head and turned around to walk away. He grabbed her arm and pushed her up against the wall. "Listen to me, Rosie. Violet lied. She lied, and she really did just kiss me, I didn't enjoy it, not the tiniest bit. This is real, Rose. I'm definitely not a good enough actor to pretend I was really feeling all of this. Rose, you have to believe me."

She started to cry and he kissed her cheek.

"Rose, what lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to waht lies within us. I know what everyone says will hurt, I won't deny it. But we can't let them stop us, we can't conform to what everyone wants us to be. We have to be we want to be, not what Albus, or your parents, or mine, or anyone else wants us to be."

"Scorpius, stop. You're just digging us into a deeper grave than the one we're already laying in."

"Don't tell me you don't feel the same. If you didn't, you wouldn't have cared so much about Violet. You know what's in your heart, Rosie. And you're in mine."

Rose cried more and he wiped them away with his thumb. He kissed her forehead, her cheek, and then the corner of her mouth. Rose dropped her head. She moved her hands and the rested on his stomach like she was deciding whether to push him away or pull him closer.

After a while, she ran her hands up his torso and up to his face. She put her hands on both sides of his face and sighed. "I'd like to run away from you."

He dropped his eyes for a moment and then looked back at her face. "I know."

"But if you didn't come and find me I wouldn't want to live."

Scorpius opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. He bought a hand down and pat his pocket before pulling the box out. He opened it and pulled out a necklace with a silver S on it and dozens of Sapphires and emeralds. She put out her hand and he handed it to her. She bought it close to her and gasped "It's beautiful!"

"Well, yeah. It doesn't match what you have on now, so you don't have to wear it now-"

She laced it around her neck and admired how it fell in exactly the right place. He bought a hand up to it and flipped it over. "It changes into an R, if you get mad at me." He flipped it up, and it changed again. "And if you feel like you like being an 'us' you can put it like this."

"Us?"

"Well, I-I mean, wow I'm an idiot. Yes, an 'us', only if you want to I mean, Merlin, why would you want to, it-it's just me."

Rose leaned towards him and kissed him softly on the lips. They stared at each other for a moment, then something passed over them. Scorpius pushed Rose against the wall, his mouth moving passionately against hers. All of their pent up emotions from that past summer to right then came out in the kiss. Longing mixed with pain, joy mixed with desire. It lasted a lifetime, and no time at all.

They pulled away from each other slightly, they were still close enough that when they talked their lips brushed against the others.

"My dad." Rose said, attempting to breath normally. "Is going to kill me."

She smiled while she said this, so he smiled too. "Mine won't care much. He'll just tease you mercilessly about being a Weasley."

"What about Al?"

"We'll deal with Potter later. Just kiss me again."