Ch 14 Slow Dancing
Swaying to the Music (Slow Dancin), originally titled Slow Dancing, was written by Jack Tempchin. The version sung by JohnnyRivers was the best known version, although it has been covered by a number of artists.
Ron came in late in the even after a hard day at the store. He saw Scorpius, and joked, "Are you ready to lose another chess match?"
Scorpius muttered, "Oh, sure."
They sat down to play, and a distracted Scorpius proceeded to make a couple of elementary mistakes and quickly loose.
When the game was lost Ron did not say, "Checkmate." Instead he wondered, "Scorpius, what is the matter?"
Scorpius explained, "Rose and I found Percy and Cassie in bed, snogging and worse. They looked like they were ready to go all the way. We sent them home, but Rose has been inconsolable ever since. I do not know how I feel. Cassie was too pushy, and I only dated her because we were dance partners, and it was fun to be with someone. She was fun to kiss, and Rose didn't express any interest in that. Besides, Rose had a dance partner, and she finally had a boyfriend, more or less.
"We both made it very clear that she was not my girlfriend any more, and he was not Rose's boyfriend any more. I'm just upset, but Rose, she just doesn't want to talk or anything. I'd like to make her feel better."
Ron mused, "I never really liked Frobisher. He sure doesn't understand Rose like you do. Well, she is going to need another dance partner, and so are you. You could at least ask her."
Scorpius replied, "I liked it when just Rose and I went to Hogsmeade with Albus and Cleopatra. Now if we go together people will think we are dating or something."
Ron asked, "What is wrong with that?"
Scorpius was amazed. "You don't mind? My father and grandmothers will be furious if they think I am dating a Muggle. The only thing worse would be Hermione Granger-Weasley's daughter."
Ron responded, "If you had asked me two and a half years ago, I probably would have been the same way, but you are a nice, honorable young man."
Shortly after that Rose came into the room. While she looked like she had been crying, her eyes weren't red and puffy as if she had been weeping because her heart had been broken. Ron nodded, and Scorpius went and sat next to Rose on the sofa where she was, saying, "Your dad knows what happened today. He suggested we could be dance partners, since we both seem to need one. Will you be my dance partner next autumn?"
Rose grumbled, "You are just saying that to make me feel better. I'm just an ice queen and a horrible kisser. I really am not much of a dancer, either. I guess I'm a brain, but I'm not much of a girl."
But Scorpius emphasized, "You are beautiful, Rose. You have the best fashion sense in the school, too."
"This boy/girl thing doesn't come naturally to me, though," Rose sighed.
Scorpius observed, "You just want to talk about things before you do them."
"But sex, even kissing, boys and girls being boyfriend and girlfriend, that isn't supposed to be like that at all. It should all come naturally, and I just can't," Rose pleaded.
Ron quipped, "I really missed that lesson, on how natural a boy and girl should be. Ask your mother, Rose, to tell you what an idiot I was. I think you are following in the footsteps of your clueless father."
"CLUELESS, hopeless, ice queen," Rose shouted. "No one likes me. No boy sees me as a girl, just an insufferable know-it-all."
"A very pretty insufferable know-it-all, with a great fashion sense. I like you Rose," Scorpius pleaded. "At least dance with me, and let me treat you as a girl as well as, well, as well as whatever else we are.
"Mr. Weasley, is there any music? Could you put on some slow music so Rose and I can try dancing together."
Ron replied, "I would be delighted."
Ron found some music, and Scorpius and Rose stood up and assumed a basic dance position. Scorpius said, "I am supposed to put my hand on your waist like this. Do you mind?"
Rose replied, "I know. And I am supposed to put my hand here, and we hold hands with our other hands."
The couple assumed the basic dance position.
Scorpius continued, "This is four-four time. I am going to count to four, and then on the second count to four we can start to dance. Just a basic box step pattern. One and Two and Three and Four. One and Two and Three and Four."
The couple stumbled a little, and then they were dancing. They danced to four different tunes, Scorpius gently talking to Rose, leading her. Albus and Cleopatra came into the room, and Cleo finally sighed, "Rose, you have to relax and let Scorpius lead you."
Rose scoffed, "Percy kept telling me that, but I thought he wanted to lead me astray. I could never really relax when any boy was holding me."
Scorpius suggested, "My sense of rhythm is better than yours, Rose, or I would let you lead me. I'm not going to push you to do anything you don't want to do."
Rose grumbled, "I've got to let you hold me, though." She flopped down on a sofa.
Scorpius asked, "Is it really that terrifying, letting me touch you?"
Rose sniffed. "I think I really want you to hold me, and it is … but I need to talk about it and think about it and all this time I have been getting more and more jealous of Cassie, so now I ought to feel nothing but relief. Why am I still confused?"
Scorpius sat down next to Rose, trying to read her mood. Rose's father broke the awkward moment by saying, "Rose, Scorpius, it looks like you are going to need to get your heads out of the books and practice dancing. I only have one bit of advice. Enjoy yourselves."
After the girls were in the bedroom they shared, Rose asked Cleo, "Do you enjoy it when Albus holds you?"
Cleo replied, "Of course! I always enjoy when we are touching. I just wish we didn't have to have clothes on all the time, and we could touch ALL of each other."
Rose sniffed, "I always felt awkward when Percy was holding me, like he wanted to hold me in ways I wasn't all that willing to be held. I never felt comfortable with any of the boys who held me before. If I feel differently with Scorpius, then things are going to change between us.
"I don't want to mess things up. He is my best friend, and I don't want to lose that. It is just that he is so polite and careful, I'm worried that … that is what is so stupid. If I am jealous when another girl holds him I ought to want him to hold me, and I do, but I'm afraid he won't be my friend if we become boyfriend and girlfriend, like we won't keep talking or something."
"Just dance, and talk," Cleo suggested. She was sure she could make shampoo and soap that would bring the couple together. If Rose was ready to put on perfume, Cleo thought she had a perfume formula that would seal the deal.
Al and Scorpius were in the bedroom with James, and Scorpius observed, "If Rose and I are dance partners, and go to Hogsmeade, people will say we are dating."
Al suggested, "Neither confirm nor deny it, and take it real slow. You two have to talk about everything. You will work it out."
Scorpius sighed, "Dad's going to be furious. So is great-grandmother Black. It is just that I can see dating Rose, and even marrying her someday. I never felt that way about Cassie.
"James, if you ever say anything about this, I will make sure the Malfoy family never invests in your Quidditch team."
James replied, "I am just going to see how this plays out and enjoy watching. Erica and I are getting closer. I hope she is ready to visit the Matrons next year."
The next morning Cleo arose early, and made some perfume, shampoo and soap for Rose, and some soap and shampoo for Scorpius. She presented the perfume, shampoo and soap to Rose, saying, "I think you should use this today. I made it just for you, for you and Scorpius for right now."
Rose washed with the soap and shampoo, and when she dressed, looked at the perfume. She put a little on, and worried. She wanted Scorpius to notice, and she was terrified that he would notice, and almost equally terrified that he would not notice. It wasn't easy being a girl.
Cleo also found Scorpius and told him to use the soap and shampoo right away.
Cleo found Albus and told him what she did. Then she said to Albus, "We need to get Rose to let Scorpius hold her. She dances like the boy touching her is possessed or something, and she has to keep a safe distance, or she will get dragon pox."
Albus suggested, "Let's have them dance while we play slow songs. How about Slow Dancing? You really ought to more hug and sway than dance to that tune."
Al and Cleo found Rose and Scorpius at the breakfast table, and told them, "We think you really need some more dance practice. We have a song for you."
Everyone went into the living room of Potters New Burrow. Al and Cleo set up their instruments. The word got out that Al and Cleo were going to play, and Rose and Scorpius were going to dance. Ron and Hermione came into the room, as did Harry and Ginny. James and Lily, Erica and Bill Lionheart Jr. found themselves in the room as well, for a change not on brooms.
Al and Cleo started to play Slow Dancing.
It's late at night and we're all alone
With just the music on the radio
No one's coming, no one's gonna telephone
Just me and you and the lights down low
And we're
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
Slow dancing, just me and my girl
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
No one else in the whole wide world
Just you, girl
Rose and Scorpius were dancing the same awkward dance that they had the day before, with Rose holding Scorpius away from her, nothing touching but the hands in the most chaste possible dance positions. Cleo shook her head at Albus, and then insisted, "Rose, Scorpius, that is not the way Slow Dancing should be danced. You don't dance so much as sway. Rose, I think that for right now you should not move your feet at all. Just stand there and let Scorpius sway you."
Cleo had Rose put her hands up around Scorpius's neck, and pushed them together. She put Scorpius's on Rose's back.
"This isn't a dance position!" Rose exclaimed. "It's a hug."
"Hug Scorpius, then," Cleo grinned. "Hug him and let him sway you."
"You are sure that is how this should be danced?" Rose shrieked.
"I'm sure, Rose," Cleo confirmed.
"You don't mind?" Rose asked Scorpius.
"Having my best friend in all the world, and a beautiful girl as well, hold me tight?" Scorpius responded. "I think it is delightful. I just wish you could relax. What do you want?"
"I think I want you to hold me and hug me, Scorpius. I mean, if we are going to be boyfriend and girlfriend, we really ought to practice this. You know me. I just need to think about it and practice."
Rose took a deep breath, and tried to relax, except when she took a deep breath she could feel her body move against Scorpius. She was worried that this was going to change everything. If she didn't want anyone else to dance with Scorpius, to be his girlfriend, then she was going to have to … relax … relax … let him hold her.
Her breasts were pressed against Scorpius, and she was sure he could feel them, and his hands were on her back, close to her bum, on her waist, and she did have a nice female waist and he was HOLDING her there and it felt … it felt like she was feeling him, and he was sure feeling her.
Rose let go and looked around the room. Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny were holding, Aunt Ginny's arms around Uncle Harry's neck, her ample bosom pressed against him. Grandmother and Grandfather Weasley had come into the room, and they assumed a similar position, bodies all but merging.
James and Erica arose and held each other very close. A smirking James told his cousin, "This is the way we have always danced this dance."
Ron and Hermione also arose, and after some awkward moving of hands and bodies pushed their bodies together, Hermione with her arms around Ron's neck, a grinning Ron with his hands feeling Hermione's bum. Rose noticed that her mother's slacks were tight enough around her hips and bum to show that she was female, and when she raised her arms hermum's breasts were pressing against her father's chest.
Not wanting to be left out, Lily Luna pulled Bill Lionheart Jr. up, and proceeded to see if she could stand closer to him than her mother and father were to each other. Bill was obviously embarrassed, although you could tell he was also enjoying Lilly's body next to him.
Scorpius tried to reassure Rose, "I will not do anything you do not want to do."
"But I really want this!" Rose countered, thinking of the perfume she had put on. "It just ought to be natural instead of something you think about."
Scorpius sighed, "Relax, Rose."
Rose looked at her parents, worried. Ron told her, "Relax, Rose."
Ginny added, "It took me a long time to relax around the famous Harry Potter. Just relax, Rose. Let Scorpius sway you."
Rose went back to putting her arms around Scorpius's neck, and let him gently pull her into him, her breasts against his chest. Her breasts against his masculine chest, he was handsome, she shouldn't be analyzing this, relax.
Cleo and Albus started singing again,
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
Slow dancing, just me and my girl
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
No one else in the whole wide world
Hold me, oh, hold me
Don't ever let me go
As we dance together in the dark
There's so much love in this heart of mine
You whisper to me "hold me tight"
You're the one I thought I'd never find and now we're ...
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
Slow dancing, just me and my girl
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
No one else in the whole wide world
Gradually Rose relaxed, and Scorpius, with his much better sense of rhythm, slowly swayed to the music. Eventually Rose started swaying with him, as Cleo and Albus kept on softly singing.
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
Slow dancing, just me and my girl
Slow dancing, swaying to the music
No one else in the whole wide world
Cleo and Al sang and played for over twenty minutes, while Rose gradually relaxed and let Scorpius sway her back and forth. For the last five minutes or so Scorpius even had Rose move her feet a little, pretty much in time to the music. It wasn't any formal dance step, just a little shuffle. Finally, they stopped singing.
Rose looked up at Scorpius, and he gave her a chaste kiss. Rose buried her head in Scorpius chest, and whispered, "Why did you do that?" She then looked up at him.
"I did it because you are my best friend, and I really enjoyed the dance."
She kept looking up at him, so he asked softly, "Should I do it again?"
Rose thought, and then mumbled, "Do what? Kiss me? I don't know."
Scorpius whispered, "I will never kiss you unless you want me too. Do you want me to kiss you?"
"HERE? Again?" Rose squeaked.
"I will wait, then," Scorpius replied.
"You don't want to kiss me?" Rose wondered. This was what she was hoping for, and afraid of, all at the same time.
"I want to kiss you, but only if you want me to. Should I kiss you now?"
Rose put her head against Scorpius's chest, and pondered a little, finally whispering, "Yes, you probably should kiss me. Just a little kiss."
They kissed again, not quite as chastely this time.
All the other people in the room applauded.
Rose backed away from Scorpius, and yelled, "THIS DOES NOT MEAN …
"It's not like we are …
"This is NOT the way something like this is supposed to happen. In front of your parents? It is just, just, …
"Nobody has their first kiss in front of an audience! I mean, their first real kiss, the first kiss that really meant something. "
Scorpius reassured Rose, "We are not anything more than the best friends we were before, except we are dancing together. Nothing more, if you do not want anything more."
Rose sobbed, "Nothing more? Is that all you feel?"
Scorpius tried to recover. "I like you, Rose. I like you as a friend, and I like you as a girl. I would like to get close to you, but you almost act like you do not want to let anyone else in?"
"I'm just an awkward, unlovable, geeky excuse for a girl," Rose protested, starting to cry.
Scorpius agreed, "Awkward, geeky, a terrible flyer, argumentative, and also bright, talented, and a fun person to be around. Bloody beautiful too, just like your mother." Scorpius nodded at Ron, who smirked back.
"Give me a chance," Scorpius pleaded.
"We will need more dance practice," Rose quietly agreed. "If anyone asks me if you are my boyfriend, I will say NO. Well, maybe I will say that we are still trying to work that one out. Well, maybe we can, maybe you can be my boyfriend as well as my best friend. I think I would really like that, but it is scary too."
Rose looked at her parents. "You don't mind?"
"Scorpius is way better than Percival Frobisher," Ron told his daughter.
"I will not tell anyone you are my girlfriend until I hear you tell someone that I am your boyfriend, Rose," Scorpius affirmed. "I will not push myself on you. I do want to lead us in dancing, though. It is not because I want to be a dominating male; you just have a horrible sense of rhythm. You are just the greatest visual artist. None of us are gifted at everything."
Rose went back to Scorpius, and Cleo could see her sniff the air. The perfume and soap and shampoo were working. Rose held on to Scorpius in the traditional dance position, and Scorpius and she touched. Al and Cleo played some more conventional dance music, and Rose tried to let Scorpius lead.
When the dancing was finished, Rose hugged Scorpius. Her body was responding and, that was the problem, she knew too much and analyzed too much. She should just enjoy it when her body responded to Scorpius, and she just had a hard time relaxing.
Why was the idea of Scorpius making love to her, so attractive? It ought to be terrifying, it ought to be what she wanted more than anything, it ought to be, it ought to be natural and easy, and with her it just wasn't.
Rose and Scorpius had spent the afternoon together, not an unusual occurrence. Cleo notice something different, though, at dinner. After dinner, Rose and Scorpius sat on a love seat looking at a couple of books, talking about something. Cleo did notice that they sat with their bodies touching; always before Rose wanted a few inches between herself and any other person, especially a boy.
That night Cleo asked Rose, "What happened between you two today?"
"We talked," Rose explained. "We talked about being a couple. Scorpius told me how angry his father and mother would be if they knew I was his girlfriend. He just told me that it was going to be a little hard to hide it for the next three years."
"Cleo, how much of what I feel is biology, and how much of it is because Scorpius and I might really be right for each other? I'm really confused right now."
"Just because you talked?" Cleo asked, sensing that more happened than just a polite conversation.
Rose was obviously embarrassed. "We danced. We danced 'Slow Dancing' again, and when the song ended, I kissed him again. I didn't just allow him to kiss me, but I looked up at him and then we were kissing each other like we really meant it.
"Rose Hermione Granger-Weasley and Scorpius Hyperon Malfoy? I told him if we married, we could both change our names to Granger-Malfoy and end this Malfoy pure blooded nonsense forever, and he AGREED! He wasn't supposed to AGREE.
"We are fifteen! We have three years of school left, and then maybe college, and we shouldn't even be thinking about being serious about each other! I know that Magi mature early, and many marry right out of Hogwarts, but …" Rose sighed a great big sigh.
"We held each other and talked about what each of us liked. Well, we didn't exactly hug. We just touched, except for when we danced that song. I like holding him and being held but it is supposed to be natural, except the only thing natural to us is talking about before we do it and analyzing it after, and that's just WEIRD. I mean, sitting and touching our legs, and he asked if that was acceptable to me, and I had to think about it, and then I guess had to analyze it, and I like touching like that, so I told him that I liked it, and he likes it, so we touch a little, well maybe more than a little, but I don't know anyone else who has to talk about it and analyze it.
"We even shared a couple more chaste kisses, well, we did sort of hug, but we didn't really HUG, and we kept our mouths shut and didn't hold the kisses or the hug that long, and we agreed that we had kissed but we really had not snogged. We are not ready for snogging, I don't think. Not yet.
"We stood up, and our bodies touched, I mean not accidently but on purpose touched, but we didn't put our arms around each other, but we were, I mean my breasts were touching him but not pressed against him, so we were touching and kissing but not exactly hugging and snogging.
"We are going to start to hold hands, but we are not going to be pressing our bodies against each other when we go somewhere. It is awkward, and when we go somewhere we both want to get where we are going, and that's fine, but we must think about it, not just do it.
"At least Scorpius is willing to put up with my need to think about it and talk about it before we do it.
"I'm too young. I'm too practical. This is not happening. It's all stupid emotional junk that I should not be feeling, except I am."
"Rose, you might as well enjoy it while you can," Cleo consoled. "Even if it does not last, and I think it will, but if it does not at least you should be able to enjoy it right now."
"I guess," Rose sighed. "He really is good looking! He is skinny, though. Well, he is not that skinny. I think he is a very good looking guy. It is probably just biology making me think he is handsome."
"He really is good looking, and you make a handsome couple, Rose," Cleo observed.
Lily Luna popped in with, "Rose, he is a hot guy, and you are a hot girl, I mean, you have the best sense of style in the whole school. As a couple you ought to be in one of those teenage magazines, in all your beautiful clothes. You both need sexier bathing costumes, like, skimpy, because you both have great bods."
Rose felt herself from her knees to her shoulders. She knew style, and objectively she did have a good body, as did Scorpius. Rose and Scorpius as a power couple? That would be strange.
"I think I want to be a couple with Scorpius more than anything," Rose cried, the tears running down, "Except it is supposed to be natural and, all the stories just have the girl falling into the guy's arms and it is so natural and wonderful and all and it is just so confusing. It is not supposed to be so hard."
Cleo nodded her head. There was nothing she could say; she just needed to listen.
Albus, James and Scorpius were in the bedroom they shared at Potter's New Burrow, and James kidded, "It looks like you have a new girlfriend, Scorpius. How does it feel, snogging Rose?"
Scorpius pondered the question. "We didn't exactly snog. We kissed a little, maybe not quite as chastely as we could have, but we never snogged. I don't know how long you have to hold a kiss for it to be snogging, or how hard you have to press your bodies against each other, but I don't think we were snogging."
James smirked, and laughed. "And you hugged?"
"Well, no. Except for when we were dancing that Slow Dancing song, we didn't hug. We did hold hands someor sat with our bodies touching instead of being carefully separated, and we talked about how much we felt comfortable touching. You have to ask Rose first, and talk about it, and I don't mind. I like it when we agree before we do anything. Well, we did stand up and kiss a couple of times, and we agreed that even though our bodies were touching, I mean I could feel her pressing against me but neither of us was pulling the other into a tight hug, just a touch, and we kissed but it was short of a snog.
"Mum and Dad are going to be furious! Rose is worth it, though."
"Erica and I snog," James smirked. "I'm waiting for her to get birth control potions from the matrons before we shag, and she is not ready for that yet, so I will wait, but if she is ready I am.
"You need to help me buy the Cannons, so right after Hogwarts we can start developing a winning team. We, like Erica and me and a whole group of people I want on the team, Albus, not you. You could invest, though.
"Erica is a good chaser, but I'm not sure she would always be first string. That is awkward. She is a very good player, but I would like at least three and maybe six great chasers, not just a couple."
2021