February 18th, 2028 - 8am
"So, is this it?" Scorp cocked his eyebrows as he watched the girl he once thought he was going to marry come out of the dressing room. "The 'One'?" He watched her glide around the room in a white wedding gown, tight-ish at the waist and then falling down to her feet. "The 'Perfect' dress?"
The tinge of sarcasm that seeped into his words had more to do with the fact that he'd been roped into this rather than some misguided sense of jealousy or regret. Sitting on that undersized pink chair while surrounded by frills and lace wasn't his idea of a brilliant Sunday morning.
And yet, here he was.
To be fair, it was better than sitting around the house wondering what the hell to do with himself.
"What do you think?" The former girl of his dreams, all blue eyes, rosy cheeks and soft curls, grabbed the skirt of the dress in one hand and gave a twirl for him to examine it. "Is it hideous?"
"Quite so. Dreadful indeed," he replied, chuckling as Kate turned around scowling fiercely. "What were you thinking?"
"Don't be a snot-nosed brat, Scorp," she scolded, giving her reflection in the mirror a pleased look and her brown curls a small tug. "I'm fishing for compliments here and I'd better get some."
"You know you look lovely, dearest." Scorpius tilted his head to the side and gave her a critical once over. "I'm just wondering what on earth I'm doing here. I remember making plans for breakfast, not dress fittings at eight a.m. It's still dark out for Merlin's sake!"
"You refused to come pick it out with us and are therefore the only one who hadn't seen it yet." Scorp could think of no torture worse than picking out wedding dresses with Kate and her possy of chicken friends. This was only second to worst. Kate stood sideways and examined her profile, eyebrows furrowing. "Does it make me look fat?"
Scorpius rolled his eyes: Kate had never, not once in her life, seriously wondered whether she looked fat.
"Like a tub of lard."
"Oh, shut up." Their eyes met in the mirror and she smiled in that dimpled way that had once made him swoon. "I do look terrific, don't I?"
Honestly, what had fifteen-year-old Scorpius been thinking? Better yet, what had sixteen, seventeen and eighteen-year-old Scorpius been thinking?
"If you just needed someone to say 'yes, dear', you could've just brought the poor sap you've convinced to marry you." Scorpius shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You needn't drag me into this."
"Yes, but there's something rather cathartic about sticking it to the guy who repeatedly dumped me during my teen years."
He'd have felt guilty, only he didn't. Neither did she for that matter.
"And anyway you were the one who demanded solo time," she continued, smoothing an imaginary wrinkle. "This was the only slot I had."
Oh yes, the frenzied social life of his former flame. He'd rather douse himself in alcohol and light himself on fire with an Inferno spell on steroids rather than have to deal with her endless parade of friends and acquaintances.
Forget torture and mass slaughter, the sentence 'you should join us' was and would always be the highest crime committed against humanity. The only acceptable answer to it was "no", or just disgusted silence and mutinous staring at the person until they left.
Unfortunately, Kate wasn't of the same opinion.
At least at eight in the morning, he might have some respite from casual street encounters and subsequent invitations.
"Is it too much to ask to see my best friend without having to put up with every Tom, Dick and Harry in London?"
"I'm not your best friend, I'm your only friend," Kate corrected laughing as she sat down next to him, ruffling his blonde hair. "Of the female variety at least."
Well, technically that wasn't true. But also, it technically was.
Rose Weasley was his friend, but also... not. Not in the purest sense of the word anyway.
"Which makes you my best female friend by default." Scorpius looked over at Kate in all her bridal splendour and held out his hand for her to hold. "Which is why I feel like I should ask: are you happy? Because you just say the word and I'll help you plan your Great Escape."
"Is that why you were so keen on seeing me? Of course I am." She placed a dainty hand in his and squeezed it with a smile. "I know you're under the misguided impression that I still pine for you on a daily basis, but I can assure you that there are indeed other perfectly acceptable men out there."
"Keyword being 'acceptable'."
"Well, you wouldn't give me the time of day so I had to settle for someone who is infinitely better than you in every possible way... It's sad, really." She let go of his hand and got up, bunching the skirt of her dress and taking a few steps towards the dressing room. She hesitated and stopped before going in, her hand resting on the curtain. "I love him, Scorp. I really, really do."
One did wonder why. Jules, the walking potato she was marrying, had a waist the diameter of Piccadilly Square and thinning hair on the back of his head.
He'd seen the man once in his life, at one of the said occasions when Kate had You-Should-Join-Us'd him. That had been back when they had just started dating, a mere six months ago. He'd struck Scorp as an agreeable sort of fellow, but not someone worthy of Kate Towler.
To be fair, no one would ever be worthy of Kate Towler.
The six months bit was part of the reason he wasn't very confident in this whole situation. What if the bloke turned out to be a complete and utter wanker? What did she know about him, really, other than the fact that he was filthy rich? Plus, they were ridiculously young, it was outrageous.
"Are you sure? This isn't just about—"
"The money?" Kate scowled and gave a bitter laugh. "You really think I'd marry someone just because of that?"
"Well, I don't get why else you would. He's struck me as—"
"Kind? Smart? Funny? The kind of person who lights up any room he is in and who actually makes people feel really good about themselves?"
Well, now he'd done it. She looked pissed off.
"Unlike me, who lunches on newborns and dines on puppies, you mean?"
"If the shoe fits." Kate threw him one last glare before she walked into the dressing room, emphatically closing the curtain behind her. "You only met him once and he was perfectly charming. You, on the other hand, were an absolute... prat."
Oh dear, now he'd done it.
"I was not! I was unfailingly polite and you know it!"
"You behaved awfully and you know it!" Kate's indignant face peeked out of the dressing room, a hand firmly holding the curtain around her. "All those comments about how you feel guilty if you don't go to the gym when you haven't worked out a day in your life!"
"Hey, I exercise!"
"For a job that you love, not because you have to. If I recall correctly you got fairly pudgy during that Ministry stint of yours."
Ah, yes, Kate didn't know about his unemployment. Or better yet, she probably did know - it was the sort of thing she would know - and she wasn't mentioning it until he did.
Which wasn't going to happen because he was tired of talking about it. For one day, he just wanted to pretend he wasn't knee-deep in free time and with no prospects of ever being occupied again.
"I did not!" Scorp sniffed indignantly, treading carefully around the landmine. "I was never pudgy," he added under his breath. "certainly not like that Squishy McSquisherson you claim to be in love with."
Fortunately, Kate's head had just gone back into the dressing room and she hadn't heard.
"Merlin and that stupid, idiotic 'good for you' you gave him about his diet. I've never been more mortified in my life!"
"He was trying so hard, I couldn't stand it. You know I hate brown-nosing!"
"He wasn't brown-nosing." Kate walked out of the dressing room wearing her usual clothes, white dress hanging limply from her arm. "He was being nice!"
"He was being a try-hard, people-pleaser—"
"Usually he isn't. He doesn't need to be. But you, oh!, you!" She stuck an accusing finger to his chest. "You always have to make it so difficult, don't you?"
She opened the door of the room and carefully handed the dress over to the lady who owned the place as they exited to the front part of the dress shop, unimaginatively named 'Dresses For Everyone'.
Judging by the larcenous price tags he'd glimpsed, a more accurate name for it would have been 'Dresses For Everyone... But Not Just Anyone'.
"Thank you, it's absolutely beautiful. And thanks for squeezing us in this early Mrs Johnson!"
Kate was pointedly ignoring him as she spoke to the owner, a grey-haired woman of an impossible-to-discern age. She was either in her early fifties or late nineties, Scorp couldn't really tell.
"Anything for you dear!"
"Did you get that tax business sorted out alright? I can call a few people if you need me to..."
He could feel her seething under the kindness and genuine smiles that she was offering the unknown woman, who, from what he gathered from the conversation, had three grandchildren and another one on the way. She was also apparently invited to the wedding and had a standing invitation at Kate's house for tea.
"Let's go. Bye now! Call me when the shoes arrive will you?" Kate looked into her purse as they walked out of the shop into the cold streets and fiddled until she found her clock. "Oh good, it's still early. I'm still not done with you. Breakfast?"
"Sure. Would you rather lecture me on my sins over actual breakfast or just tea would be fine?"
"Let's go for some actual breakfast, I'm starving," she replied with a shudder as she lined the pockets of her robes with her hands. "Do you have anything to do after this?"
Scorp rolled his eyes. Other than going home and overthinking the reasons why he still hadn't received any replies from the Falcons, Pride of Portree or the Tornadoes, along with half a dozen other teams, no, he didn't have anything else to do.
"Not a thing. I'm all yours."
"Oh, joy," she said, her teeth chattering. "How lucky of me."
Yes, she knew. She was doing a fine job of pretending she didn't, but she knew alright.
"Lucky and freezing," he sighed, removing his scarf and handing it out to her. "Here."
"Merlin, you are a cretin," she replied, testily accepting the scarf he was holding and wrapping it around her neck. "You didn't even say 'good morning' or 'goodbye' to Mrs Johnson but here you are doling out scarves like it's bloody Christmas."
"Should I not dole out scarves?"
"You should, of course," she said, tucking her hand into his arm and pulling him toward the Lower End of Diagon Alley. "Come on, I know just the place."
"Will it be owned by a dear friend of yours, who you'll feel the need to invite to breakfast with us?"
"Yes, but she won't be joining us. I feel like that would spoil the abuse I'm about to put you through."
They walked in companionable silence for a bit before Scorpius finally couldn't take any more of her ever-so-obvious state of numbing cold.
"You're shivering. Wouldn't you rather just Apparate there?" Scorpius looked over at her and she shook her head. The look of sheer aversion she threw him was enough to dissuade him from any other attempts at convincing her. "You should really see a Healer dear, it's not normal."
"It's not physical," Kate repeated, for the millionth time, "I just hate the feeling of it."
"I still think it's some unresolved childhood trauma of yours."
"I really don't know how you people can stand it, it's like voluntarily having your stomach pulled through your mouth and then inserted back in through the back end."
"Ugh, the imagery."
"Don't think I'm forgetting about you being a prat," she added, slipping a hand into his pocket. "I'm just too cold to be angry."
He held it in his own, fingers instinctively lacing with hers.
Natural.
Indifferent even.
Nothing like...
No.
Scorp shook himself and Kate lifted an eyebrow at him. "You alright?"
'Alright, Malfoy?'
"Yeah. I'm fine," he lied. "Just cold."
'Alright, Weasley.'
Playing with fire, that's what he was.
"Hurry up then," she scolded. "I swear, it's like once you learned to Apparate you forgot how to walk."
Scorp scoffed and picked the pace. Kate kept dragging him through the grey, unknown streets, into unknown weird alleyways that he'd never seen before until they finally reached their destination.
It was a small coffee shop with a bold sign saying 'Brenda's'. The smell of freshly baked goods wafted down the street like a magical bubble of warmth and comfort in the middle of the desolate winter.
Brenda was apparently the owner, a stout, American woman. She had a red, pleasant face and immediately ushered them down to the table closest to the crackling fire just before pouring them a cup of tea.
"I like her," he commented, warming his hands around his cup. "She's quiet."
"I thought you might." Kate was smiling now, her robes and belongings bundled up in one of the spare seats. "She's just opened and business hasn't been picking up."
Apart from them and the smiling Brenda, who had retreated to the kitchen, the place was completely empty. It was a nice sort of place, a bit rustic, but quiet. Small bunches of wildflowers adorned the tables over impeccably pressed red and white checkered tablecloths.
"How did you even find this?"
"Met her on the train when I was coming back from visiting Aunt Glenda." Kate smiled affectionately at the door from where the muffled humming of a cheery song could be heard. "She and I got to chatting and we became fast friends."
This beautifully surmised the way Kate dealt with everyone. He wouldn't be surprised if Kate had invited Brenda to the upcoming wedding a mere two minutes after meeting her. It was one of the things he both hated and loved about her.
Brenda peered into the room from the kitchen, still humming her merry tune, and floated two trays with scones and jams and assorted food of the breakfast variety over to them.
"Tell me if someone walks in, will you?"
"You got it, love," Kate said with a smile.
And just like that Brenda was gone.
She was quickly becoming a favourite with him. He was tempted to switch his routine to fit this quiet, comfortable little place.
"Now," Kate said, picking a scone and slathering it with butter in the confident manner that only people blessed with an impressive metabolism have, "back to you being a prat."
"I think we've been through this before, dear."
"Well, yes," she retorted amiably, taking a bite from the scone and chewing thoughtfully. "But I'm now fast approaching the point where I'm convinced you'll die friendless and alone."
"What," Scorpius snorted, picking up a fork and stabbing a piece of bacon with it, "when you're a married lady you won't talk to me anymore, is that it?"
"No dear, but the last time I saw you was what, two months ago?"
"Through no fault of my own," he protested indignantly. "I tried-"
"Yes, you tried to make plans, but you know I have a million other people who I need to spend time with," she complained, examining the jam jars with a critical look before deciding on a blackcurrant, which she generously spooned onto a piece of toast. "If you didn't insist on this ridiculous binary friendship, I'd see you far more often."
"Just because you stockpile friends like they're about to run out it doesn't mean I should have to put up with them."
"I know you claim to be picky—"
"Whereas you'll take anyone who smiles at you off the street."
"- but in reality, you're just really diminishing your chances of finding people who will tolerate you in a few years' time."
"You do know you're not my only friend, right?"
"Out of a grand total of what, three? Four?" she continued, raising a hand to cover her mouth as she chewed, which he appreciated thoroughly. "Charlie's abroad, Kate's busy and Al is going to find someone someday and kick you out. Then what?"
"Rose and I will make a Pathetic and Alone club and live together until we die."
The thought was far more appealing than it should be.
Kate almost choked on the tea she'd been inhaling. "You and Rose Weasley?" She took a few seconds to compose herself and then let out a delicate snort. "Yeah, right, when pigs have wings."
The most beautiful thing about his and Kate's friendship was that, no matter how much time passed, they were always able to talk as if they saw each other every single day. The odd thing was that sometimes enough time passed that regular, run-of-the-mill, day-to-day things became grand news.
His unlikely friendship with the lovely red-headed basket case was one such thing.
"Yes. Rose." He stared back at Kate with a hint of a smile on his face. "Weasley."
"What?" She threw him an incredulous look, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "The same Rose Weasley you incessantly pestered throughout our Hogwarts years claiming she was a… what was it… 'stuck-up, entitled shrew'?"
Trust bloody Kate to remember everything he'd ever said to her, ever.
In a way, it was completely absurd. He didn't know how far up his rear his head had been, but there was nothing stuck-up about Rose, far from it.
She was nothing like he'd expected and he loved her for it.
"Yes."
"The same Rose Weasley whom - despite readily admitting was smart, funny and easy on the eyes - you once swore you could never tolerate for more than five seconds? That Rose Weasley?!"
"You do know I'm living with her, right?"
"Of course I know!" Kate had apparently forgotten all about the food she had been ravenously inhaling up to this point. "I'd just assumed there'd be a lot of screaming and shouting and infantile name-calling, not that you'd become..."
She seemed to struggle with the word, still shell-shocked.
"Friends?" he offered, the smile on his face growing to obnoxious proportions. "Yes."
Kate slumped back against her seat and stared at him for a few seconds with furrowed eyebrows, her lips pursed into a thin line.
"I don't believe you," she finally managed to spit out. "Really?"
"How is this so shocking?" He could feel his cheeks warming under her gaze. "I'm broadening my horizons, wasn't that what you wanted me to do?"
She was still examining him with a funny sort of look on her face, as if she were trying to figure out something.
"What? Do I have something on my face?"
Merlin save him from Kate Towler and her terribly insightful looks.
"Oh, nothing," she said, picking up her teacup and shaking her head with an amused look. "I'm just wondering whether I should be proud or concerned."
"You don't think we could be friends?"
How dare she.
Hmph.
"I do. In fact, I spent the past seven to ten years trying to convince you to give her the time of day. She's exactly the kind of person you'd like, but would you listen? No." She punctuated the sentence by giving his foot a small kick. "Don't mistake me, I'm really glad you saw sense. Maybe you're finally growing out of that persistent hatred you have for mankind, who knows?"
Scorpius felt a small burst of anger at the accusation.
"I don't hate mankind," he retorted smugly. "I just—"
"Yes, yes, I know, you're 'picky'. Still doesn't give you the right to be a prat to everyone you don't consider 'worth it'." She lifted a single hand and air quoted both words, with a disapproving look on her pretty face. "You're an amazing friend Scorp, but if you focused a millionth of the energy and affection you give to the people you love and bothered to say 'good morning' to people you don't care about, you'd have far more friends."
"But thinking about it, do I really need more friends?" Scorpius lifted the cup of tea and took a sip, a small smile on his face. "Also people don't really give two shits about whether or not I tell them 'good morning'. They just instantly forget I didn't."
"Well, I haven't forgotten about the way you treated Jules," she claimed, sticking her nose up at him and for a single second he felt like the lowliest worm in the whole wide world. Being stared down by Kate Towler tended to have that effect on him. "Shame on you."
He'd say he was sorry, but he really wasn't. Why should he care?
"Just because you think you're hot stuff it doesn't give you the right to treat people like dirt. You did the same thing to every single one of the blokes I dated."
Bloody Kate, revisiting past grievances. He didn't give a flying toss about the offended boyfriends, his only issue with this was that she'd never mentioned it before.
"Did I?" His eyes met hers and her blue gaze softened a bit. "I don't remember. You should've told me-"
"I know you don't remember. You don't care either." Kate leaned over the table and gave his hand a small tug. "But I do. The boyfriends really didn't care about whether or not you were a prat. But I did. I still do."
"What for?"
"Picture it for a second," she pleaded, her fingers entwining with his. "Your new… friend Rose Weasley walks in right now and I make fun of her, oh, I don't know, hair. How the hell would that make you feel?"
"Well-"
"Or bother her about the fact that she's been single forever, or that her clothes look naff, or that she looks like she hasn't slept in days or—"
Like his Grandmother had. He could feel his cheeks burning red at the thought.
Her blue gaze softened and she got up from her seat to sit on the empty chair next to him.
"Precisely my point. But you've done it a million times."
He looked at her for a few seconds, neither saying a word.
"But you never said anything!" He finally cracked. "You need to tell me this sort of thing."
"I didn't, but I probably should have. Every time you meet one of my friends, they like you. Even with the stupid sideswipes and the way you turn your nose up at them, they like you. You're interesting, you're polite, you ask questions and you know how to make conversation."
Kate paused, her lips a thin line, and shook her head.
"On the surface, you're a really nice person. But I come out of every single one of those encounters liking you just a little less."
Scorp could feel the colour draining from his face. "Again, you need to tell me, I'm not a mindreader! Come on Kate, it's not a big deal-"
He tried to pass it off, dismiss it, change the conversation at any cost to something lighter. Her hair, her dress, whatever it was, anything but this.
She'd have none of it. Her scowl vanished and she leaned into him, but there was no doubt in his mind that this particular conversation was far from over.
"Scorp, I love you. You know I always have and always will," she interrupted, grabbing his arm with her hand and giving it a small tug. "But I've known you for ten years and you're still the same snooty brat who made Ally Mendez cry on the train on the first day of school."
"I don't make people cry. Well, not anymore at least."
To be fair, Alyssa Mendez was a rather poor example, considering Rose's unfortunate break-up story and the fact that he'd be perfectly okay with making bloody Alyssa Mendez cry again.
"No, but you still thrive on making people feel bad about themselves," she replied, taking a piece of toast from his plate and taking a bite. "If you don't develop a little empathy, the Rose Weasleys of this world won't last long."
Rose Weasley was another poor example. She needed all the friends she could get and it wasn't like-
"She may not have many friends but that doesn't mean she needs you specifically," Kate scolded and his eyebrows shot upwards. "If you're under the misguided impression that she'll put up with you forever just because she feels lonely, you have another thing coming."
"How did—"
Was she Legillimensing him?
"Oh, come on, Scorp, I've known you for more than half my life," she groaned impatiently, grabbing his arm and shaking him a bit. "My point is Rose Weasley may be as socially allergic as you are, but it's different for her." Apparently feeling he no longer needed physical comfort, Kate got up and took back her seat in front of him. "She's just awkward so she avoids people, whereas you..." She shook her head in that horribly compassionate way and sighed. "You're just mean sometimes. For bloody sport, which is even worse."
Scorpius found himself fidgeting uncomfortably on his seat. Cretin and prat he could take. But 'mean'? The word evoked childhood bullies. It was such a small word and yet...
"One of these days, you're going to be mean to someone she cares about." She paused and picked up the kettle, pouring another cup of tea for herself. "And, unlike me, Rose wasn't in love with you for five years and then your friend for five more, so she'll be less likely to forgive and forget."
Her meaning was slowly dawning on him.
"Not to mention that temper of hers." She sighed, taking her wand from her pocket and pointing it at her cup. "You're awfully quiet." She flicked it once and then gave it a small flourish. The cup started steaming again and she leaned back with a contented sigh. "Have you tuned out?"
"I was just thinking about what you said before." He paused and leaned back himself, cup of tea in hand. "About me hurting you when I was a wanker to your boyfriend."
Kate scoffed. "Trust that to be the only thing you got from this entire conversation."
"Well, fine. I don't think I'll start enthusiastically greeting cashiers, but I'll try... try, mind you... to be less… 'mean'."
It was such a childish word. And yet when she'd said it he'd felt almost touched.
"You're not horrid, Scorp," she said, tilting her head to the side and grinning at him. "But your only friends in the whole wide world are your soon-to-be-married ex-girlfriend, a bloke who spends ninety-five percent of his year deployed Merlin knows where, a woman you stumble upon accidentally about twice a year and a man who will hopefully meet someone else and move on with his life."
"And now Rose Weasley."
"An awkward people-pleaser with crippling social anxiety, yes, she fits right in." Kate let out a delicate snort. "For someone who claims to be picky, you have an appalling taste."
"I thought you liked Rose," he scowled. "You did invite her to your wedding."
Not that Kate was particular, she'd apparently invited the whole of London. Then again she did like everyone so the logic was still sound.
"I do like her, she's a lovely human being. It's just odd that after all these years you two would become friends."
"Tell me about it."
"How did it happen?"
"A lot of screaming was involved. And tea."
"That does sound like your M.O. Is she still at St. Mungo's?"
"Yes." Scorpius shook his head. "Never eats and never sleeps."
"Is that concern I hear?" Kate teased, laughing heartily. "My, my, my Scorp, you really do like her!"
Damnit, he was doing a terrible job at this.
"She's… Well..." Scorpius found himself struggling for any neutral words to describe Rose, his cheeks flushing with colour. "She's just… She's..." He finally gave up. "I do like her. She's a perfect mess."
'Perfect mess' sounded about right, though 'like' was perhaps not an accurate word for what it was.
"Fun thing about people is they usually are different than what we thought they'd be," Kate replied condescendingly, as she stuffed her mouth full of bacon and eggs. She chewed for a few minutes with an amused expression on her face before swallowing and continuing: "One of these days you're going to realise that most people, once you get to know them, are actually pretty okay."
"I've gotten to know plenty of people and most turned out to be perfect wankers," he pointed out.
"If you're talking about your 'friends' back at Hogwarts it's not really a good example. Teenagers are awful. But most of them did grow up into fine people."
"Oh Merlin, please tell me you haven't invited them to your wedding," he groaned, helplessly rubbing his forehead. "I was hoping never to see Yaxley or Zabini again."
In fact, he'd made it a point never to see Yaxley or Zabini again and so far he'd succeeded.
Urgh. Trust Kate to invite everyone.
"Of course I have," she replied, smiling sweetly at him. "They're my friends. One of the perks of marrying a filthy rich and perfectly amiable man is that I don't have to pick and choose, I can just have everyone there."
Their gazes met for a second and Scorpius couldn't help wonder if at any point in their on-again, off-again relationship she had ever smiled like that because of him.
Probably not.
"You really do love the bloke, don't you?"
"And if you had bothered to know him rather than act like a cretin, you would too," she beamed, a self-satisfied look on her face. "Now tell me more about your newly acquired friend!"
He did just so and, throughout the conversation, the peculiar look that he'd seen on her face returned.
"What?"
"Nothing." She had a thoroughly tickled look on her face. "In retrospect, it's obvious isn't it?"
Oh, Merlin, she knew. Of course she knew.
Scorp tried to sound nonplussed. "What's obvious?"
"You hated her."
His eyebrows furrowed upwards. "And?"
"Scorp, you complained about her on a semi-daily basis." She leaned forward and rested her chin on her hand. "It was Rose Weasley said this, Rose Weasley did that."
"And?" He managed a scoff, but his heart wasn't in it. Instead, it had become uncomfortably lodged in his throat. "I complain about plenty of people."
"No, Scorp, you really don't." she said, shaking her head. "The moment they're out of your sight you forget they exist."
Trust Kate to hit the nail on the head in the most roundabout way possible. Her eyes met his with a mix of pity and amusement and Scorp rolled his eyes.
Yes, he was terribly aware that he'd never been indifferent to Rose Weasley.
Rose, on the other hand, had always been painfully, hopelessly indifferent to him.
I'd like to thank the two guests who snapped the whip today and reminded me that it was POSTING TIME :O A combination of laziness and getting back to work today (yay, except not) kind of kept me from it. I was supposed to do it this morning but my boss was breathing down my neck so that was... fshjdhsjdh
I also kind of kept getting distracted by the million unfinished/half started Scoroses that I have on my gdocs, so that's also to blame. "Let's post the chapter... ooooh, what's this, I don't remember writing youuuuuu" sort of thing. Just so you have an idea of what I'm talking about (people who don't give a damn, please skip to the tldr):
- 20% written prequel to Witch Slap called Son of a Witch (basically WS's Draco and Astoria getting together some odd twenty-something years ago and being cute)
- sequel to Witch Slap called Life's a Witch (featuring everyone, but in three years time) that's about... also 20% done. Everyone who I've described it to says it's horrible and despicable and that they hate me for writing it and I concur... but it's still amazing, in a horrible, despicable way.
- Regency Scorose that I'm kind of hoping to get to at some point (there's an outline and a bunch of drabbles)
- Seer Trope Scorose (solid 50%) where Scorp can see the immediate future (?) called Long Time No Seer (sue me, I do love my stupid fanfic names).
- one where Rose is a Slytherin nutjob and gets Scorp kicked out of Hogwarts and they meet again when they're hella jaded and adult called Something Spectacularly Stupid (maybe 20%?). It's all... mystery and adventure but also cute and kind of destructive (and I still need to figure out how to make it work so it's not a complete toxic mess)
- I started a new novel (unnamed as of now) from a prompt a friend of mine gave me that I'm terribly excited about but that also depresses me to no end because I've been doing a lot of research into workplace harassment :(
- need to finish writing and fully coding a 10k word romance Visual Novel by the end of August (code name "Give My Back My Cat") or my artist WILL kill me
- re-writes of chapter 2 (50% done) and the fact that I'm planning an entire overhaul of WS when I'm done (I need to shuffle a bunch of things around and it's HELL)
- Witch Slap itself has about 10 more chapters to go (I say 'about' very tentatively) of which about 3 are around 50% written and 1 is 100% written... I just need to actually get there
- just this past week I've written 12k words for the next chapter... and they'll never see the light of day because they're not exactly right. Technically it's 14k words (4k words I wrote before will probably become a one-shot), but like... y'know, 10k words that are getting dropped. Like they're legit and they definitely happened and I love them (I got to write Penny saying the immortal words 'the vagina wants what the vagina wants' and 'what's a little sexual harassment between friends?' so like... y'know) but they don't show what they need to show right here right now for the story to move forward. Cute character development and banter and all, but... the actual story is stagnant.
And these are just the damned highlights. I keep finding 5k docs with romantic bullshit I apparently wrote a month ago and that I legit don't remember writing.
Sorry for the vent, I'm just... feeling particularly helpless today.
tldr; I'm doing my best people. I am writing just not necessarily... productively. There's a lot of shit happening in my gdocs, I'm just trying my best to ignore it and focus on this.
1. To all the people who were dreading Kate... how did that go for you? XD
2. One of my friends wrote "NO SCORP, NO. YOU'VE NEVER BEEN INDIFFERENT TO HER AND SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN COMFORTABLE WITH YOU. TOGETHER YOU MAKE A PERFECT MESS. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD." and I'm like... "yep, you managed to sum up this entire story, thanks mate".
Thanks to the usual suspects for all the amazing reviews! I'll probably reply to them tomorrow because it's darned late and my dog will eat me if I don't take him for his walkies.
Good night everyone and have a great week!