In the Previous Chapter…
"We have to go" she said, grinning. "We'll deal with those two later. Do I really look that shagable?" she smirked as she took Scorpius' hand and led him out of the common room.
"Yes" he said huskily, turning to face Rose before pulling her in for a kiss again.
"Scorp, we need to go to the hall" Rose giggled before gently pushing her boyfriend off of her.
"Do we have to?" he whined like a small child, grabbing Rose's hand and leading her down the corridor.
"Yes we do, so stop whinging" Rose smirked.
Scorpius smiled as they closed the doors to the great hall behind them. Rose really had been right about having a winter ball theme. The small round tables along the two sides were made of glass and were covered with gorgeous snowflake doilies. The floor had been transfigured so that it resembled white marble, glittering slightly, and was perfectly smooth for dancing on. There was food along the back wall of the hall, with a table for drinks next to it. Scorpius smirked when he thought about the drinks – he's charmed it so that the alcoholic drinks would turn to water if anyone under 17 tried to sneak some away.
He looked down to see Rose beaming up at him. "It really was worth all the effort we put into this for the last two days" she smiled, gently squeezing his hand, "Tonight is going to be fantastic."
"We have half an hour until people start arriving, so shall we go and say hello to our guests?" he beamed. They walked over to the corner of the hall, where a small orchestra were setting up.
"You must be Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley" a short, fat wizard said, walking over to shake their hands. "My name is David Morris, I conduct the orchestra" he said, indicating the smiling collection of people behind him. "I must say, you really have done a great job here. We were so excited to receive your owl inviting us – one of my collegues said she wanted to come, but forgot to send off her application, so by the time she did, there was a notice in the Prophet saying the tickets were all gone."
"It's nice to meet you" Rose said politely, shaking his hand. "People will start arriving in about half an hour, so could you please begin then? We have The Rejects coming to perform at about 9 o clock, so you guys can have an hours break then" she smiled.
One of the younger members of the orchestra, who Rose recognised to be Anna Clearwater, one of Molly's old Hogwarts friends, came forward.
"Hi Rose, good to see you again. Did I just hear that The Rejects are performing later?" she asked excitedly.
"Yeah, we managed to book them a while ago. They said that they'd do anything just to come back to Hogwarts, so they're going to perform later" Rose said. "Anna, this is my boyfriend and fellow head student, Scorpius Malfoy. Scorp, this is one of my cousin Molly's friends, Anna Clearwater" she said as the two shook hands.
"I remember you" Anna nodded. "Scrawny little blonde who just kept out of everyone's way. You must have been about 3rd year when I was in my 7th."
"I think I can remember you. Were you Head Girl?" Scorpius asked, trying to remember Anna. "I can't remember many faces who were more than a year above us really" he frowned.
"Molly was head girl, but we were always together" Anna smiled, "so don't worry if you couldn't tell who was who. It's really nice to see you again Rose. Is everybody else coming along later?"
"Yeah, you can catch up with everyone" Rose beamed. "People are due to start arriving at 7.30, so you guys have about 20 minutes before the early birds start to show up" she grinned. "We better go and check that the house elves are doing okay with the food and drinks, so I'll see you later." Rose waved goodbye to her friend and grabbed Scorpius' hand, leading him out of the hall.
"We've already checked on the house elves" he frowned, "so where are we going?"
"McGonagall wanted us to report back to her that there were no problems before 7" she explained, leading him towards her office. McGonagall opened the door to them and her face lit up with a smile.
"You both look wonderful" she beamed. "I take it that there were no problems?"
"None at all, Professor" Scorpius smiled. "we just need to check to apparation wards and that's all done"
The pair heard a pop and McGonagall disappeared. Moments later, there was another pop and the headmistress said "They'll remain lifted until about 1am. How are you planning on finishing up?"
"Uncle George sent us some fireworks, so at midnight we'll lead everyone outside for a display that we've set up and then announce that it's over and everyone should return home or to their dormitories" Rose said.
"I see that is everything sorted, then" the headmistress smiled. "I will see you down in the hall shortly. The dentention students from the younger years are going to be collecting tickets, so if you two don't mind, I would like you to open the ball with the first dance."
"Of course, Professor" Scorpius smiled before leading Rose out of the office. As soon as they were out of earshot, Rose turned to her boyfriend with a frown.
"I can't dance"
"Then I'll teach you. Come on, we'll go back into the hall and I'll show you" he smiled. "It's not that hard really, you just follow my lead."
After 15 minutes of dancing lessons, Rose had got the knack of it, and the pair was effortlessly waltzing around the room. The orchestra started to play as the doors opened, so the pair stood by the door and welcomed their guests, inviting them to sit down at one of the tables. By 8 o clock, everyone had arrived and the doors were shut. McGonagall was stood at the front and began the announcements.
"I would like to thank you for attending the Hogwarts Christmas Eve Ball. I hope you agree that our Head Boy and Girl have organised this very well, and hope that you enjoy the evening they have planned. I would now like to invite Mr Malfoy and Miss Weasley to open the ball with the first dance" she said, finishing with an applause. Scorpius took Rose's shaking hand and led her to the centre of the dance floor.
"What if we mess up?" she whispered, nervous.
"We won't. Just don't think about it. Let me lead you" he whispered back, before taking Rose's waist and clasping her hand firmly in his. As the music started, Scorpius danced Rose across the floor, spinning and twirling her the whole time. "You look absolutely stunning tonight" he whispered into her ear as they moved gracefully across the floor.
"Thank you. I love you" she smiled. "Where did you learn to dance like this?"
"I love you too, hun. My grandmother taught me when I was a little kid. I have to go to the Malfoy New Years Ball every year, so she taught me how to dance" he shrugged. As the music came to an end, he couldn't help but pull Rose in for a kiss as the rest of the guests applauded them, filtering onto the floor for the next dance. Scorpius led Rose over to where his parents and grandmother were stood.
"Darling, you danced so well. I bet you're glad I taught you now" his grandmother beamed, hugging her grandson. "You must be Rose. It's a pleasure meeting you" Narcissa said, hugging Rose as well.
"I'm Astoria, Scorpius' mum" the woman next to Draco smiled, before again enveloping Rose in a hug. "Scorpius, you've grown again!" she said, hugging her son as well.
"It's good to see you're both doing well" Draco greeted, again hugging the pair. "You really have done a great job at this. Thank you for sending us tickets early" he smiled before turning to his neighbour.
"This is my friend Blaise Zambini and his wife Daphne" he introduced them. He also introduced another friend named Pansy and her husband Theo. The men shook her hand while the women hugged her, complimenting Rose's dress and congratulating them on the ball.
"As much as I'm loving you all meeting Rose" Scorpius beamed, "we're being summoned somewhere else. We'll see you later" he said, before taking Rose's hand and turning her away. "Enjoy the ball!"
Scorpius led Rose over to another table, which was occupied by the Weasleys and Potters. "Hey Rosie, this is amazing" Hermione greeted. "It's lovely to see you both. That dance was beautiful" she smiled.
"It's lovely to see you too, mum" Rose hugged her, "Thanks for sending me the dress, it's gorgeous. The dancing was all Scorp, you know I can't dance" she laughed, hugging Scorpius close by snaking her arm around his waist. She smiled as his arm linked behind her back as well.
"It's wonderful to see you again, Mr and Mrs Weasley" Scorpius said, shaking Hermione and Ron's hands. Rose then introduced her to everyone else at the table. 5 uncles, 4 aunts, 2 grandparents (Mr and Mrs Granger decided to stay in Australia after the war) and several cousins later, Scorpius had been introduced to all of the Weasleys and Potters that he didn't already know. They wished Rose's family a good night and went to find their friends.
Lorcan, Lysander, Al, Beth, Jack, Lily, and Hugo were all sat at a table with their dates. As Scorpius and Rose sat down, everybody began to congratulate them.
"It really looks lovely in here"
"That was wonderful dancing at the start"
"Your look amazing, Rosie" Al smiled.
"I can't believe dad let you wear that!" from Hugo, "but it looks lovely on you anyway Rosie" he added.
"You still look completely shaggable" Lorcan and Lysander smirked, only to be silenced by glares from Scorpius, Al, and Hugo. "Take it as a compliment" they said, raising their hands in surrender. The girls all laughed at the boys' silliness, and settled down at the table. They all went and grabbed a plate of food and a drink. The 7th years all grabbed some firewhiskey, taunting Hugo and Lily who wouldn't be 17 for another 2 years yet.
"This evening is going to be great" Scorpius said, hugging Rose's waist. "Would you care for another dance?"
Scorpius and Rose were joined on the dance floor by the rest of the table, and soon they were walzing away. Scorpius regretfully let Rose dance with Al, Hugo, Jack, Lorcan and Lysander, but when they'd each had a dance, snatched her back playfully. "You're mine for tonight" he whispered seductively in her ear, making her shiver. He led her back to their table after a few more dances, and the pair had another drink before circulating the hall, talking politely to their guests.