I just wanted to say a big thank you to 'glassycry' and 'ivngrzn' for faithfully reviewing on my work, and also to all the others that have left comments! It is super helpful to me and I really appreciate the both of them. All the feedback is very valued by me. So, this chapter is dedicated to them! Thanks again, enjoy!
The door clicked softly behind her, locking into place, and her footsteps shuffled quietly. Rose smiled at Dawson when she saw him sitting on the common room couch, staring out the window to watch fluffy snowflakes fall down to the piling ground. "Good morning," she said, grabbing the man's attention. Looking back, Dawson quickly stood and grabbed his bag before heading towards her, apparently having been waiting.
"Morning," the dark haired wizard said. "Could I walk you to breakfast?" Rose nodded at his polite request, and the pair headed out of their dorms. The corridors were slightly chilled from the blizzard they had the night before, and they could feel the magic of the castle fighting to keep warm. The Head Boy and Girl chatted lightly as they made their way, passing by very few students.
When the pair was a minute away from the hall, a flustered and out of breath fifth-year came barreling towards Rose. She recognized the boy from the Slytherin Quidditch team, Cliff Montgomery. The boy stopped when he reached her, taking a short moment to catch his breath. "Miss Rose," the boy asked, making sure he had found the right person. Rose nodded, highly intrigued. "I have a note here for you," Cliff said, shoving a piece of parchment to her before he walked away without another word.
Not bothering to hide her excitement, she opened the note, smiling at the familiar handwriting. 'Meet me at the Black Lake tonight, eight o'clock. S.M.' Dawson's eyes were trained on Rose as she read her note, and they darkened a shade as he frowned when he saw the initials scribbled at the bottom. An upset feeling filled his gut when he watched as a huge smiled spread across Rose's full lips, hating that it he couldn't make her respond that way. A thrill ran through the Ravenclaw, and she was suddenly very excited for tonight to come, hardly able to wait until then.
The day seemed to pass slow as molasses for the little witch, every minute feeling longer than normal. And for the first time ever, Rose watched the clock through her classes, wishing they would end sooner. Six o'clock came around and she found herself in the Gryffindor common room, having been dragged their by her family. Rose was sat in the middle of Albus and Hugo, both needy for her help with various homework assignments and essays. The girl rolled her eyes at her brother, knowing he was nearly as brilliant as her, but got armature grades from his simple lack of enthusiasm and laziness.
The brilliant witch was blessed with unlimited patients, which became very useful for situations like the one she was in. The room was overwhelmed with voices and noises, and it seemed the entire House of Gryffindor was currently in the room. It also didn't help that several of Hugo and Albus' friends continued to come over an interrupt various time through the night. Rose had always envied the homely feel of the room, and how the House seemed like a big family.
She stayed with them for a long while, assisting the boys with all of their tasks until they had nothing left to work on. Yet, at a quarter to eight Rose stood from her spot, stretching out her tired limbs. "Where you going?" Hugo asked, his blue eyes tired.
"Oh, I think I am just going to head back. I have some work of my own I need to get done and I am pretty tired. Though I am glad I got to spend time with you both." Rose bit her tongue painfully as she fibbed to them, hoping they wouldn't suspect anything.
Albus nodded, his arm slung back around the couch casually. "Alright, want one of us to walk you back?" Rose shook her head, not wishing to impose. "You sure, Rosie?"
Nodding her head, she grabbed her bag and placed a kiss on top of Hugo and Albus' head. "Yes, I'm sure. Thanks though, I'll see you two later. Oh, and tell Lily I say hello." The boys waved goodbye as she left, along with several other friendly Gryffindors. After stopping by her dorm to grab her coat and drop off her bag, Rose made her way out into the cold winter night.
Pushing past the castle doors, a huge gust of wind blew in her face, chilling her immediately. Her hair flew all around her crazily, as her cheeks gained more color with each moment. Rose's gloved hands were shoved into her pockets as she made her way through the layer of snow, hardly able to feel the cold because she was so eager to get to Scorpius. The chilled girl was able to get to the lake after a few short minutes, spotting a tall and stocky figure standing near the edge of the frozen lake.
Scorpius turned around when the crunching of her shoes neared, and he smiled when he saw her all bundled up. He took a few strides, grabbing her hand and helping her to the spot he had set up. "Hello," she greeted him breathlessly, hugging his middle quickly. "What's all this," Rose asked, gesturing to the blanket spread on the ground.
"Have you ever ice skated before," he asked, not bothering to answer her previous question due to excitement. The small girl shook her head slowly, an apprehensive look on her face. Scorpius grinned, "well then, you'll learn tonight." He motioned to the pair of ice skates lying on the blanket, one tiny pair and another rather large in size.
Rose bit her lip anxiously, her hands twisting together. "Um, Scorpius, as lovely as this is, I don't think it is a very good idea. I mean, I can hardly control my balance on normal, flat land, how do you think I will do on slippery ice?" She was pulled by her hand onto the blanket, as Scorpius smirked and began removing the shoes she was wearing.
He then helped her into the strange new shoes, lacing them up for her. "Listen to me, Rose," Scorpius said when he was done, looking deep into her eyes with his hand stroking hers. "You will be fine, don't underestimate yourself. Besides, I will be right there beside you. And I would never let you fall." Rose smiled at his kind words, nodding before she leaned forward to kiss him. "Right then, let's give it a go, shall we?"
"Wait," Rose murmured when he made a move, grabbing his bicep to stop him. "We won't fall through will we?" The Slytherin was about to laugh at her ridiculous question when he saw the genuine look of concern on her face. For the amount of knowledge she kept in her brain, she rather lacked common sense. After having him promise that the ice was solid as marble, she nodded again, taking a deep breath. Scorpius stood first, moving to grab Rose's small hands and help her up. The Ravenclaw clutched onto him, as she struggled to stand on the blade attached to the bottom of her shoe. "I can't do it," she mumbled.
"Of course you can, little lamb. We'll just take it slow." Scorpius said encouragingly, helping her kindly until she found the right position. He then lead her to the edge of the large lake that had been frozen solid for many weeks. Scorpius stepped onto the ice fearlessly, his father having taught him how when he was merely six years old. But when Rose hesitated, he grabbed her waist and effortlessly lifted her onto the lake next to him. Her mitted hands squeezed his bare ones tightly, and he held her up with his strong arms. A surge of calmness washed over her when Scorpius said, "don't worry, Rose. I'll never let go."
After a minute, Rose nodded and let Scorpius begin to move her along. He started very slowly, carefully gliding along the ice with her in front of him and his arms around her. Rose felt her nervousness melt away bit by bit as Scorpius lead her around the surface of the lake. Scorpius smiled when she let go of one of his hands, starting to move her feet in a way similar to his. And soon, with his help, she was skating freely. "See, I told you there was nothing to worry about." Scorpius said, feeling happy when he watched her smile brightly as she laughed.
The two stayed out for hours, forgetting time completely as they skated with each other; Scorpius fast and expertly, and Rose rather slow and clumsily. They laughed merrily as they held hands and danced around the lake. After a while on the ice, Scorpius was barely able to convince Rose to come with him onto land, as she was nearly frozen completely. "I've got to get you warm again before you get hypothermia." Scorpius led her over to the blanket, and they sat and put their own shoes on again.
"Oh, my temperature is still far away from anything close to hypothermic," the brilliant witch said in her Healer voice, making Scorpius chuckle. "Thank you," Rose said, as he reached into a bag and searched for something, "I had loads of fun." Scorpius smiled at her, sitting his back against a tree as he opened his arms up and invited her in. Rose smiled as she crawled towards him, resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her.
Scorpius handed her a thick blanket, which he had retrieved from the bag, and she smiled as he wrapped it around her. "I'm glad," he said, bending down to kiss the crown of her head. Rose snuggled into him, the warmth of his body spreading to hers as she listened to his heart, watching his breaths puff out in front of them. Scorpius pulled her with him as he laid down on the blanket, looking up towards the heavens.
The two of them stayed wrapped up with each other for the following hour, ignoring the icy weather. They took turns pointing out constellations in the starry sky, resulting with Rose giggling at Scorpius' awful astronomy skills. The pair completely loss sense of everything when they had each other; and they both felt perfectly in place.
Scorpius was on a high. He felt impregnable and invincible, he felt as if nothing could get to him. He felt like he never had before, and he knew why. It was all because of her, that incredible little witch. She was changing him with everyday, and he had never been more pleased.
If anyone were to look at the wizard that day, they would notice that his cheeks had a slight tint to them and his charcoal eyes were a shade lighter. Scorpius kept his hands buried deep in his pockets as he made his way back to his dorm, occasionally running one through his blonde hair to tousle it. Several younger years greeted him as he walked through the common room, amazed when he courteously waved back. Scorpius whistled in his low baritone voice as his legs descended the stairs to his dorm, though it was silenced at once when he opened his door.
"What the fuck are you doing, Macnair? Get the hell away from my things." Scorpius yelled at Terrance when he walked in and found him leaning over his desk. The blonde boy's anger only heightened when he saw his roommate was screwing with the record player Rose had given him. "Are you deaf? Move!" Scorpius called out when the boy stood still with his hand still on the music machine. The tall Slytherin took three long strides to his desk, shoving Macnair out of the way with little restraint.
Terrance smirked as he moved away, slowly making his way over to his bed as he watched his roommate with trained eyes. Scorpius quickly swept his eyes over his gift, making sure no damage was done to it, as he stroked his fingers over the smooth wood of it. The enraged man turned back to Terrance with his pale hands fisted at his side. "I've told you to stay out of my belongings before, and I'll tell you again. Don't come near what's mine."
Macnair shrugged, tapping his finger on the wooden post to his bed. "But that's simply too difficult, Malfoy. You see, you have such fine things, things I admire greatly. Your money, your family… your sweet little Rose." His voice was slow and obviously mocking, driving Scorpius straight up a wall.
"Stay away from her," Scorpius seethed from between closed teeth, his breathing becoming ragged as he felt his heart speed up. With the flick of his wrist he had his wand in his hand, sparks shooting from the tip of it. Terrance's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he regained his composure, and smirked coldly at Scorpius.
The dark haired man held up his hands in a surrender, stepping towards the door, as he chuckled slightly. "No harm needed. But, if I were you, I would keep a very close eye on that beauty of yours, Malfoy." A spell shot from the end of Scorpius' wand, whipping its way across the room, hitting the door just as it closed behind Macnair. Fury filled the man as he moved to sit on the edge of his bed, managing his anger the best he could. His breath came out in pants and he felt as if his skin was too tight for him.
Luciano and Quinn found him sitting in the same position when they entered the room ten minutes later. "Mate," Quinn said easily, as he approached Scorpius' hunched over form. "We've been trying to find you for a good while, you alright?" The man's grey eyes looked up after a minute, and both his friends sighed when he nodded his head with his lips tightly pulled together. "Macnair," the brunette man guessed, having seen a grinning Terrance in the corridor only minutes ago.
With a long sigh, Scorpius stood as he ran his hand through his hair yet again. "Yeah," and the man's eyes darkened when Luciano asked what he did. "He threatened Rose." Quinn and Luciano shared a look, before the Italian bravely spoke up.
"Well, he's just a bloody tosser, mate. Don't listen to him, he would never do anything to Rose. Besides she's safe… no matter how shit of a dueler she may be." Luciano held his breath when Scorpius looked to him, sighing when the man let out a loose laugh and told him to shove off. "Come on, man. Let's go get some drinks or something, I need to loosen you up."
Scorpius shook his head fervently, wishing only to go and see Rose. "No, Luce. I'm not in the mood-"
"Ah, but I don't recall giving you a option. Now, grab your bloody jacket before I curse your sorry pale arse." Scorpius let out a chuckle, surrendering as he snatched his coat and made his way towards the door with the others. The trio of devious Slytherins made their way through the night halls of the castle, stealthy sneaking around every corner. Having done it a time or two before, they made their way out of the castle through various passages in record time. The three men appeared in an alleyway, in the small town next to Hogsmeade that they often visited.
"Come on, boys," Quinn yelled joyfully, slinging his arm around both his mates shoulders. A full minute later, they all walked into the villages bar called 'Barney's Pub'. The tavern was lowly lit, with various wizards sitting at tables scattered around the place, and not a witch in sight.
They made they way over to the bar, and were approached by a mean looking old man. "Yer all seventeen, aren't ya?" The three men nodded, and that was enough verification for the barman. After buying several drinks, they made they way over to a table of their own, being eyed skeptically by the other wizards. All of them downed their own drinks, slowly letting the fiery liquid fill them, yet controlling the effects of the slippery juice expertly.
Midnight rolled around, followed by one, and then two o'clock. The trio left the bar then, chuckling freely as they made their way back to the castle. And as Scorpius passed the Head's tower, he looked up and wondered what his Rose was doing.