Hey Guys! This one took me a while...I hope you all like it and as always, message or comment with any thoughts ;)
It's 'bout to get spicy up in here!
Chapter 9: Unexpected Visitors
The Great Hall was murmuring with laughter and delighted students that morning. Rose pulled a sigh into her nose, inhaling the effervescent mixture of fir trees, wet castle stones, and spiced apple cider. The students stood around in excited little clusters, babbling to one another about their class schedules.
"Rose, where have you been?" Albus called to her from the Gryffindor table. Rose's eyes dashed over to Alice, who was sitting next to the Potter boy. Her friend met her gaze stealthily, a knowing smirk on her face. Of course. The magical hearing barrett and earring pair Alice has given Rose. Alice had heard everything that had happened, not only this morning, but the previous night as well.
"Yes Rose, where have you been?" Alice asked sing-songedly.
Rose tried not to grimace at the two of them. "Prefect duties, I'm afraid."
Al groaned. "Is that why I have barely seen Scorpius at all?" he whined.
"If you miss him so much, go off and look for him. I'm sure he's doing something stupid on the Quidditch pitch."
Without much more convincing, Albus leapt from his seat and went to do exactly that. Alice whirled on her friend, the biscuit in her hand falling onto the ground. Someone's excited owl swooped down and took the biscuit in their beak.
"You have to tell me what it was like. Scars? Werewolves? Scorpius baring his deepest, darkest secrets to you?" Alice pressed, her large blue eyes glowing with excitement.
Rose sighed. She was glad, at least, Alice hadn't been able to hear her thoughts that night. What had she been thinking, when her eyes flicked to Scorpius' lips that night in the alcove? "I hardly know what happened myself. One moment we were walking along, and then – then he pushed me into one of those little alcoves and nearly took his shirt off!"
Alice's cheeks began to glow red. "Oh my," she said.
"He must be deranged or something." Rose grumbled. "He could have just told me he had gotten attacked by werewolves. He didn't need to strip!"
Alice giggled. "Maybe he wanted to strip. For you."
It was a stupid joke. Nonetheless, Rose felt her face getting hot. "The worst part was I—-I didn't move. I didn't protest when he showed me. It all sounded so real when he was telling me he didn't…when he…" her voice trailed off, not having the strength at the moment to flesh out the words she was thinking.
I never want anyone to be alone, in danger, with no one to help them.
Did he mean to say he didn't want her to be alone?
Alice went silent, her face still flushed with pink. She began idly playing with one golden lock of her long hair. "Man, and I thought it was bad before." She finally said.
Rose inclined a confused eyebrow at her friend.
"Well it's obvious the boy is in love with you."
Her reflexes lighting fast, Rose clapped her hand over her friend's mouth. Several heads at the Gryffindor table turned to eye the girls curiously. "Alice, don't say that. You have no idea what you're talking about. You're just fantasizing goofy nonsense!" Rose whispered to her friend, taking her hand off her mouth.
Alice shrugged, not fazed at all by the reaction. "I'm trying to warn you, Rose. Before it gets worse." Rose stared, shocked at her friend for continuing with this ridiculous train of thought. "Think logically with your little Prefect brain for a moment. Scorpius never pays attention to any girls or shows anyone affection. You've heard the way the other girls in our year talk about them; he could probably have any girl he wants to date! But instead, he spends his time talking to you, annoying you, helping you when you get hurt…I mean, do you really think it was an accident when he knocked on your window instead of Albus' that night?"
"Alice, I'm begging you, stop talking." Rose said through gritted teeth. "Someone will hear you. And frankly, I don't feel like being the subject of ridicule right now."
Alice sighed heavily, dramatically. "You are the stupidest smart person I know."
"What are you guys talking about?" the bright, peppy voice of Lily Potter blurted from behind them. She was several years younger than Al, Alice, and Rose, but she looked their age. She had gorgeous, long red hair, a fair complexion, bright blue eyes, and the silhouette of a ballerina. She was also incredibly, incredibly nosy.
"Tell me, Lily," Alice said, staring straight ahead with determination in her eyes. "Do you think there are any boys that fancy Rose?"
Lily giggled, flipping one long strand of copper hair over her shoulder. She was wearing a pink scarf, which was totally against dress code, but Lily didn't care. "Oh sure," She answered, pulling up a hand to tick off various names. "I heard a rumor that Henry Thimblewillow was asking if she had a boyfriend. And he is dreamy."
Henry? No way. It couldn't be true. He was basically the equivalent of the famous Cedric Diggory with his good looks. "Stop spreading rumors, Lily. It isn't kind." Rose said in her most teacher-y voice possible.
Lily rolled her eyes at her older cousin. "You have a serious problem, Rose. Knowing what people say about you behind your back is like, the most powerful piece of knowledge ever. Plus, you know my sources are accurate."
Rose shifted uncomfortably in her seat, aware of more than a few eyes on her. "Okay, well…even if Henry was asking about me, it doesn't mean he fancies me." Two disapproving glares met her gaze. "It's also a bit unrealistic that he would. I mean, have you seen me?" Rose laughed. "I know I don't look like a monster or anything, but I'm certainly not in any place to be dating Henry Thimblewillow."
Lily crossed her arms over her non-existent chest. "I know exactly what you need, Rose." A small smirk crept onto her pretty face. Her eyes, so mischievous and yet so kind, were so much like her mother Ginny's. "You need an excuse to have a makeover."
Rose outright laughed. "You are absurd. I don't need an excuse for any such thing."
Alice sat up straighter, placing her hand on Rose's arm excitedly. "No, wait, Lily is right! If we give you a makeover, you can see just how beautiful you are and how all the boys in our year would be lucky to fancy you!"
"This is lunacy."
"All we need is some event where we can all dress up," Lily continued, pacing back and forth in the short distance from Rose to Lily. "Something more formal than a Hogsmeade weekend, yet less dressy than a Ball." She thought, her dainty hand clasped around her chin as if she was a philosopher.
Standing up, Rose pushed her plate forward. "There are much more important things in life than balls and parties and dresses." she stated. "Professor Tulis has mentioned that as Prefects, we will be planning any events taking place this year, so if I hear of anything, I'll let you ladies know first." Rose did her best to shrug them off, despite their best efforts to negotiate her into staying at the table for longer and planning the ideal party.
It was almost time for Rose to meet the Prefects in Professor Tulis' classroom again so they could all report how the nightly patrols went. Rose wondered idly if Scorpius woul;d show up. No one had seen him at breakfast, and Albus had never come back when he went to retrieve the Malfoy boy. Why was she even concerning herself with where he was? It's not like it would reflect poorly on her if he didn't show up.
She settled herself into one of the long, wooden benches of the classroom. Scorpius was nowhere to be seen, and most of the other Prefects had shown up already.
"Wore him tired from that patrol the other night, didn't you, Weasley?" Zephyr Zarconias sneered, turning around in his bench to look at Rose. Gertrude looked at Rose as if she smelled horribly.
Rose looked town at her shirt, sniffing herself just to check. "What are you on about, Zarconias?" she said tiredly.
Zarconias popped a blue piece of gum in his mouth, his eyes roving over Rose. Rose shifted uncomfortably. Okay, now she was really worried she smelled bad.
Professor Tulis burst into the room, that same stoic expression still on her face. "Attention, Prefects." She said, calling them to order. "We have some important business to go over this morning." Her eyes moved momentarily over Rose, and then to the empty seat next to her, where the blond Prefect was supposed to be sitting. Without another pause, the Professor continued. "Everyone, hand your Patrol reports to the person nearest to your left, and they will make their way towards me. Any one who was surveying the grounds with the groundkeeper last night, please turn in your notes as well."
Rose shuffled, looking for her and Scorpius' notes. Among the many pieces of parchment she had lugged into the classroom, the notes were no where to be found. "Shit," She muttered so quietly she doubted even an owl could hear her.
At that exact moment, Scorpoius came sauntering into the room, as if he hadn't been completely late. Rose surveyed his attire, and held a surprised chortle in her mouth. He was dressed in his quidditch gear, full knee pads, jersey, everything. Even his quidditch shoes. Hi abroad shoulders held back defensively, Rose thought she could almost see his neck muscles tensing with embarrassment as all eyes turned to him.
He was quite sweaty as well. She became painfully aware of that as he slumped in the seat next to her. To her surprise, however, he didn't smell horrible. He smelt like…like fresh rain on a muggy day. Or dirt and grass and flowerbeds —
"Mr. Malfoy." Professor Tulis said sharply. "Is there a reason why you and Rose have failed to present any notes from your patrol?"
"Probably because they were too busy snogging," Zarconias sneered under his breath.
One painfully sharp glance from Professor Tulis shut the Slytherin boy up. She looked at Scorpius expectantly.
"Oh," Scorpius said, and then began rummaging through the folds of his jersey and pads. With some searching, he finally pulled forth the crumpled, slightly damp piece of paper which was their notes. Rose's eyes widened.
"You took that from my notebook?" she asked.
"I had to make some finishing notes. Sue me." he grumbled. The paper was passed down the rows. He spoke up, looking to Professor Tulis with surprising confidence. His eyes were bright from exercise, his cheeks were unusually ruddy from the cool Scottish wind. "I apologize for my tardiness, Professor. Albus and I were practicing throws, and the time got away from us. It will not happen again."
No one could have denied that at that moment, Scorpius Malfoy was pretty attractive. In fact, Rose would be surprised if any one in the room doubted that statement. His nearly-white hair grazed his brow, falling in silky waves over his head. Rose's gaze swam down to his jaw, which he was clenching for some unknown reason. His skin was so pale and thin, she could practically see every vein in his neck. His cheekbones were sharp and even more striking than usual because of his flushed tone. His eyes were bright, clear, steady, strong. His whole body is strong, Rose thought. For a seeker, he was surprisingly broad and sturdy, but with that lean grace most in the position had.
Whether it was his charmingness or the fact that Tulis looked exceptionally tired, she shrugged off Scorpius' excuse for tardiness and continued. "I have just been made aware that we will be receiving some very special quests from one of our fellow wizarding schools."
Excited gasps emerged from all about the room. Again, Tulis shushed them with severe looks. "Our brothers and sisters from Lóng Yàosài, or the Dragon Stronghold, will be arriving next week. Much, much sooner than originally anticipated. Therefore, we must focus on preparations immediately." The small classroom exploded into conversation. From across the bench, Shea leaned to Rose and Scorpius and said, "I bet we will have several teas with the Shanghai girls, Rose!"
Rose smiled back at Shea. Compared to fancy balls and dances, teas were much more her speed. After all, the main purpose of a tea was socializing, conversing…and, well, eating.
Professor Tulis loudly tapped her wand on her podium. "I will now assign you all your duties for the preparations. As Prefects, it will be your job to make sure our visitors are comfortable. Of course, we also want to impress the students and faculty of Lóng Yàosài, so I will require you all to be on your very best behavior." She stared at Scorpius and Rose while saying this last part.
"Yeah, Weasley, on your best behavior." Scorpius murmured under his breath.
Rose stomped on his foot as hard as she could, eliciting a muffled groan from her fellow Prefect.
"First. Shea and Barry. You will be responsible for seeing the food prepared shows a wide variety of English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, and other European traditions. I'm sure our friends will like to try some of our cultural foods." Professor Tulis went on, listing each Prefect's specific duties for the following week before the Chinese students visited.
Finally, she turned to Scorpius and Rose. "Gyrffindor Prefects. You both will be responsible for the ballroom dancing. Not only providing the lessons to fellow Prefects, but also teaching the visitors if they so wish. We will have a Evening Tea set up early next week as an introduction to the students from Dragon Stronghold, and I would like to see some lovely waltzing from all of you."
Rose felt like a stone block had just hit her in the chest. Ballroom dancing, with…Malfoy? She opened her mouth to protest, but Tulis continued, paying her absolutely no mind. "You both will also be responsible for the theme and execution of the Tea Party, with the help of the Ravenclaw Prefects. The four of you may come up with a theme, dress code, menu, and agenda. I would like to see products of your brainstorming no later than tomorrow afternoon. Understood?"
Rose's words were swallowed into a gulp. She stared unwaveringly at Professor Tulis' sole window in the classroom, which was a lovely stained glass depiction of Merlin pouring a potion. Soon enough, Henry, Athena, Scorpius, and Rose were all talking over one another, trying to decide on a theme for the Tea. Rose has remained unusually quiet, still trying to process the fact that she would have to slow dance with the same boy who had shown her his werewolf scars on the previous day.
Also, the most annoying git in the world.
"Oh, I know!" Athena said excitedly. "Why don't we do an Alice in Wonderland theme? You know, since the tea party is…?"
Scorpius rolled his eyes in a bored manner. "We know what happens in Alice and Wonderland." He said, leaning back in his bench and crossing his muscular arms over his chest.
"Plus, Lewis Carroll was a known creep." Rose added.
"Why don't you come up with an idea, then?" Henry jokingly asked.
An idea had already popped into Rose's head, right from the moment she had begun staring at that picture of Merlin. The same stained glass picture that had been there since she was a first year.
"The Legend of King Arthur," Rose piped up. Her fellow Prefects turned to look at her curiously. "Think about it," she said, gaining confidence as she spoke. "We could all dress up as knights and ladies, serve some traditional English food, and recant the Legend of one of our country's most famous stories. Also, the idea of chivalry is integral to who we are as a culture."
"And Merlin!" Athena exclaimed. "He was a Slytherin, he walked these very halls."
Henry smiled at Rose warmly. "I must say, Rose, that sounds like an excellent idea!" He patted her back in a friendly manner.
Rose looked to Scorpius. He was the only one who hadn't seemed all too excited about her idea. He instead was glaring at Henry, and the area where the Ravenclaw boy's hand rubbed Rose on the back.
"Malfoy?" Rose asked. Henry's hand bounced off of her suddenly.
Scorpius' gaze snapped up, warming slightly when he met Rose's eyes. "As always, Weasley, it's a fantastic idea." he seemed serious, but…his voice was dripping with something not quite identifiable. A tad sour, Rose thought. Whatever it was, she was sure to figure out later, so instead she just shrugged and pulled out her parchment paper. "I'll get started on brainstorming more ideas for us to take to Professor Tulis tomorrow, that way you all can focus on your other tasks. And Malfoy can focus on ballroom dancing." she said.
Athena eyed Rose curiously. "But, Rose…You can't let Scorpius work on ballroom dancing alone. You have to help him. You kind of need a partner to dance?"
She snorted, attempting to dismiss Athena.
"She's right, Weasley." Scorpius said in a low, growling voice. "I need you to help me practice."
Eventually, Henry and Athena said their goodbyes, heading off down the hall to their lessons. Rose and Scorpius remained the only two left in the room.
Rose was shutting her notebooks while she said, "If you need a partner to practice with so badly, why don't you just find someone else, like another Prefect or something?"
"I didn't say I needed another Prefect, I said I needed you." He said in that same low voice, leaning so his shoulders were angled in her direction. He was making it impossible for her to leave the row of benches by blocking her exit with his large Quidditch-playing body.
Rose laughed dryly. "What do you want, to see me stumble all over my feet? That's surely what will happen, because I've never danced a day in my life! I am the least coordinated person since the first House Elf tried on high heels!"
Scorpius raised a blond eyebrow at her. "That's a strange analogy."
Rose poked her index finger into his leather padded chest. "Look, I know you want to get off on making me uncomfortable, but I am not, under any circumstances, dancing with you!" her voice was raising, and before she knew it, her cheeks were getting hot with anger. "Slimy, rude, demented you!"
"That being said, Ms. Weasley, you will be partnering with him."
They both whipped their heads around, only to find professor Tulis standing like a statue behind them, watching them. Was…was that a smile on her face?
She sighed and walked towards them slowly. "Don't act so surprised. I know everything being said in my classroom at all times. And yes, you will assist Mr. Malfoy in ballroom dancing lessons, both teaching them and learning them yourself. Scorpius, I doubt, will have much to learn."
Rose couldn't fathom what that was supposed to mean, but the Professor continued her explanation.
"That is why I gave you two the assignment; another test of how well you could work together. I am being disappointed already." All aspects of humor had drained from her face. "Ballroom dancing requires complete dedication to your dancing partner, an innate ability to expect what they will do next and to flow together to produce gracefully moving bodies. Needless to say, this will be very challenging for the two of you."
Rose backed away from Malfoy, unaware until she noticed the Professor just how close they had been. Close enough for you to poke at his chest, Rose thought. And close enough to smell him again. As soon as the Professor turned away from them, leaving to sit behind her desk, Rose backed up all the way and nearly ran in the opposite direction of Scorpius, down the line of benches, past the large piles of textbooks and spare chairs, and out of the classroom door.
It wasn't until she was comfy in her bed that night, flipping through the Legend of King Arthur once again, when she realized she must have left her notebook in Professor Tulis' classroom.
Her door vibrated with three quick, succinct knocks.
Shit.