Chapter 14: Gertrude's Revenge
Rose's POV
She refused to play that cursed game any longer. She stormed out of the common room, Alice beckoning her name, but she didn't turn around. He didn't want that kiss. He had consumed her like some kind of animal, but purely for his own dark, sadistic purposes.
As she stepped out of the common room door, she looked with surprise to see that the candles had not only melted back where they were playing the game. The usually dimly lit corridor was completely dark. Rose saw that every single sconce which normally held a candle was bare; melted wax dripping down the walls.
Had…she caused this?
It wouldn't have been the first time one of her emotions started a magical reaction. With horror, she wondered if her lust had caused every single candle in the whole castle to melt. She exhaled through her nose, picking up her pace as she strode down the corridor towards her own dorm.
"Weasley."
He must have followed her out of the common room, she thought. She increased her pace again, her eyes searching wildly in the dark for the entrance to the Prefect common room.
"Weasley! You can't ignore me."
What did he even want to talk to her about? What was there to be said? The situation was pretty obvious. Scorpius Malfoy, you find me ugly and repulsive. We got forced to kiss each other. You, for some demented reason, teased me, had me at your will, got me to experience lust for one of the few times in my life, just to play with me. You wanted to see a magical reaction happen, you wanted to know if my emotions were real. Perhaps she was just an experiment to him. And now, he wanted to talk, he wanted to tease her more. Why?
She was practically running now, her heart pounding against her chest, as she came into her own common room. No one was awake at this time.
The candles were all melted here, as well.
She could hear him rapidly behind her. She beelined for her door, thrusting it open to the dark room and slamming it behind her. For a moment she stood, grasping the wooden door, breathing heavily as she listened for him. She half expected him to barge down her door, but whatever he wanted to tell her must not have been that important. She thrust her bedroom key into the lock, with shaking hands, then pulled out her wand and cast another lock on the door for extra peace of mind.
She sunk to the floor, finally allowing herself to think about what had transpired. The room was pitch black without the candles lit, and a rush of heat wove through her as she realised she had done that. She had nearly melted every single candle in the astle. Just as Scorpius was cupping his hands around her behind, pulling her in, tasting her and biting her, she was melting, and so too were the actual candles. She heaved, her heart fluttering with left over arousal. She crawled to her bookcase, reaching onto the lower shelf and smacking her hand around until she found her spare candlestick. She lit it magically with her wand, and roved the light over the shelf.
She had obtained a dusty anatomy and physiology book from her mother a few years ago on her thirteenth birthday. Her parents were a little awkward when it came to that kind of stuff; especially her father. Her mother always explained the human body in a logical, no-nonsense kind of way, and this made Rose even more hesitant to ask questions. What little knowledge she knew of males, she had either gleaned from books or her cousins whispering about their boyfriends. She had seen pictures of men naked; sure – statues with beautiful marble chests and buttocks, gorgeously cut abs lowering down to tantalising trails of hair. But she had never seen or felt a real man before. Not until tonight.
Her thoughts wandered to that hard pressure she felt, thinking at first it was his belt buckle, then understanding that made no sense. She flipped the pages of the anatomy book, over sections she had seen before, but never really focused on. She halted, settling on a picture of a naked man. Her heart flipped. It was just an illustration. Most girls her age already knew what the real thing looked like. But she didn't, and she didn't know if she would ever find out. How would she discover these things for herself if all she wanted was him, and he was Scorpius Malfoy?
She roughly shook her head and slammed the book shut as she got up and turned on her lights. She just wanted to sleep, for one night, without weird, incoherent thoughts roaming freely through her head. She wanted her mind to be hers again and not so…muddy. She dove under the warm, soft blankets, her body tired and languid. Her heart was still beating heavily, her head still felt fuzzy from the alcohol, and eventually she drifted off, her body aching as she ran over where she had been touched again and again.
Scorpius' POV
She was going to be his.
He could deny it no longer. He had made a promise, a promise to return to his ancestral home, marry, and rebuild the manor that had descended into ruin since Lucius' death. He would do it, and it would be with her at his side.
The ring glinted on his hand as he wiped his face in frustration. She was undoing him, forcing him to unravel when he never thought he would. A woman had never sparked such intense need in him before. He hoped, although she had run away from him that night, that she had felt him and how intensely he needed her. Perhaps she had begun to realise, which would explain her shock and horror. He inwardly cursed himself.
She didn't want any part of this, he reminded himself sourly, ripping his shoes off his feet and tugging at his pants. He paced, having undressed himself and lit his candles again, ruminating on the events that had transpired. He wasn't drunk, not really, especially when he had kissed her. His family had been brewing Talisman for years, and the effects of the liquor barely had an effect on him anymore. But if worse came to worse, he could always explain away the hungry kisses he shared with Rose on the alcohol.
The candles. It was one of the few things keeping him going. They had been a sign, his sign, of her wanting him, too. It was one of the only things he was sure of. "Witch," he hissed, laying on his back, thinking of her, her brown eyes staring up at him from under her ginger eyelashes. She looked at him with such amusement. Such an unabashed personality in those eyes, dark and brooding, yet warm and inviting. He could swim in them. He could lose himself to her forever, if she wanted that. And if she wanted him to please her again, if she wanted more kisses, if she wanted his bite and his cock inside her, he would give it to her without hesitation. Perhaps they would make more candles melt. Perhaps all the candles in England would melt, the earth would fall away and the castle would cease to exist. She was a powerful enigma with so many more magical qualities than he could even grasp. His breath hitched in his throat as he thought of pleasing her, wondering what kind of magical reaction would ensue if she felt something that powerful.
Rose's POV
The kiss never happened. Or at least, that was what she would tell herself. She dressed, putting on her normal plaid skirt, black tights, and white collared shirt. She threw on her clean black jumper and pinned the Prefect badge just above her breast. For a finishing touch, she pulled her long red hair into a ribbon and tied it at the nap of her neck, leaving a few short strands out to frame her face. She looked at her armoir, her eyes stilling on a glittering tube of red lipstick. She hadn never worn the stuff, but perhaps it was time. Al would make fun of her, or course, because she never usually did girly things like that. She couldnt describe what possessed her, but she picked the lipstick up, uncapping it and rolling it over her full lips. Geez, that stuff was hard to apply - especially since it was so pigmented. She glanced at herself in the mirror, feeling a burst of tight pressure in her chest, and then she forced it away. She unlocked her door and left her room.
As she walked the corridors, several eyes met hers. The dark hair of her fellow prefect, Zarconias, showed in her peripheral vision. "What do you want?" She snapped before he could speak.
The Slytherin boy let out a low whistle. "Finally decided to start looking like a girl, huh, Weasley?" he teased, nudging himself so he was uncomfortably close to her. "And here I was thinking you'd started to morph into a female version of Fred."
"And here I was thinking you looked just like a mandrake," she quipped, flashing her eyes at him. "You sound like one, too."
He snorted. "Easy on the eyes, sour on the lips, I see. Anyway, I came up to tell you that you might want to avoid the Great Hall today. Everyone is buzzing about your forbidden kiss."
Eyes widening, Rose pivoted on her toes to look at him. "What?!"
Zarconias chuckled. "Everyone's heard about you and Scorpius snogging. Dared to snog. Classic. Of course, it's coming as no surprise to all of the Prefects. We know you two have been hot for each other since year one."
Rose's wand slinked to her fingers. Without warning, a crackle emitted from the tip. Zarconias jumped in surprise, his normally calm demeanour coming undone.
"What the hell?" he gasped, staring at her with wide eyes. "Are you trying to kill me?"
Rose stifled, calming herself as she put away her wand. It was definitely an emotional reaction, she thought, a magical side effect of her feeling angry that people knew about her kiss.
She tried to continue the conversation as if the electrical burst hadn't happened. "Scorpius and I never kissed. They were lying. We went into the wardrobe and pecked on the lips extremely briefly. I would hardly call it a kiss. Besides, he was so drunk when it happened, I doubt he would remember if we had kissed." The lie was easy, after all, she had been lying to herself all morning with the same words.
Zarconias was still looking at her in disbelief. "Whatever you say," he said, slinking away from her. "Just don't get near me with that faulty wand of yours again." He left her standing in the corridor, several younger students walking around her, keeping their distance.
It wasn't long before she started to approach the large entrance into the Great hall, where an elaborate breakfast was set up. There were the beginnings of decorations, as well, no doubt preparations made by her fellow Prefects to beautify the castle for the upcoming visitors. She straightened her back, trying to muster confidence within herself as she prepared to face her fellow students. She was going to have to muster a lot more confidence than that, if she wanted to have a successful day. This afternoon, Scorpius and her were going to be presenting a waltz demonstration to the rest of the Prefects.
Not letting her mind anxiously stew on the thought of it, she walked into the Great Hall, her cheeks heating slightly as she noticed her entire family staring at her. Her eyes gathered up the length of the table - strange. No Albus or Scorpius to show. Lily nervously popped from her chair, clasping her hands together as she approached Rose.
"Please say you don't hate me, Rose," She implored, giving her cousin sad-puppy eyes.
Rose decided playing dumb was probably her best option. "Whatever for?" she asked cooly, striding to the table and pulling a plate for herself.
Lily looked at her cousin like she was mad. "For…you know…daring you to kiss Scorpius! I…I had a little bit to drink…and…I saw you two talking all the time, and he looks at you all the time, so I just thought maybe if you kissed you would realise that you have feelings for each other!"
Rose forced a laugh, trying her hardest to appear unaffected. Alice raised an eyebrow at her, but said nothing.
"Lily, you have nothing to worry about. Number one, I am not mad at you. You love making people kiss, so no offence taken." She pulled a biscuit to her plate with a slightly trembling hand. "Number two, your theory was wrong. We pecked, merely to complete the dare, and Scorpius and I both agreed that it was gross. Nothing to talk about."
Lily breathed a sigh of relief, easily gobbling up the lie. She sat next to her cousin and started to eat as well. Alice stared at Rose, and she shifted uncomfortably under her friend's gaze.
Alice and Rose decided to study in the library after breakfast. They both had a potions essay to complete, and normally Alice would bombard Rose with millions of questions about Potions. It was one of Alice's weaknesses in school, and yet, today, she said nothing as they walked to the library, and nothing as they took their seats at their usual table.
"You're being quiet," she whispered to Alice.
Alice uncharacteristically slammed her book shut. "I wonder why?" she asked, shooting a burning glare at Rose.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she whispered again, feeling someone's stare on the back of her head.
"I'm not the one lying to my best friend." she said.
Rose pursed her lips together. She felt horrible for lying, and she should have known better than to lie to someone as perceiving as Alice. Yet, it was necessary. Rose took in a breath, tearing her eyes from Alice and looking down at her Potions textbook. "Look, I lie to myself all the time. I…I didn't realise until recently that I was doing it." she admitted, her voice as low as possible so that others wouldn't hear her.
Alice looked at her, a slightly more soft expression in her gaze. "And that makes it okay?" she asked.
No. No, it didn't, Rose thought, but couldn't continue the conversation because at that moment, Albus sauntered into the library. Alice sat up a little straighter, eyeing the raven-haired bow with glittering green eyes. A strange memory flooded Rose's mind - and then - she looked in disbelief at her best friend, pulling Alice close to her and whispering in her ear.
"You chastise me about lying to you, but you've had a crush this whole time!" she hissed, a surprised smile creeping onto her face. Alice blushed violently, pushing Rose off of her and fixing her hair.
"I couldn't tell you." Alice answered, her lips tight as Albus saw the two girls and started to wave to them enthusiastically. "You wouldn't understand."
Rose furrowed her brow, watching the way Alice was gazing at Al, and a small puzzle piece clicked in her brain. "Oh my God–"
"Oh my God, what?" Al asked, slinging a bag off of his shoulder and sitting on the table, inches away from Alice. He grabbed her quill, throwing it in the air and catching it. He had always done that to Alice's quill, but it was only now that Rose took note of it. "Some night last night, huh?" Al asked, looking back and forth between his friends. "I haven't seen Scorpius eat anything since. I guess kissing makes him nervous."
Rose frowned. Then, curiosity got the better of her. "What exactly did Scorpius tell you?"
Al shrugged, obviously deep in thought about something. "About as much as I expected him to. He's not a very touchy feely kind of guy. Which is why I was so shocked to see him upset about Henry having his arm around you."
Rose gulped, hoping her cousin couldn't see her face flush red. "He…noticed that?"
Albus laughed. "He nearly killed himself noticing it. Listen Rose," Albus turned, uncharacteristically serious. "You don't actually have a thing going on with Henry, right? I usually wouldn't say this, but I am not sure it's such a good idea."
Rose stiffened. Scorpius had pretty much told her the same thing, but she had refused to hear him out. And now, someone she loved and trusted dearly was telling her the exact same thing. "Why is that?" she asked.
"Other than the fact that I think it would break poor Scorpius' heart to see you with Henry," Albus answered, revealing that Rose's face could, in fact, flush harder. "I've heard some unsavoury things. Apparently half the women he's slept with have been pretty unwilling partners."
Rose's mind flickered to the way he had so authoritatively leaned down, ready to kiss her without asking. A chill swept through her slightly, and she shrugged it away. "I'm sure those are just rumours." she said, although something in her felt icky.
Albus shrugged. "There's no proof, other than hearsay, and none of the girls have actually come forward. But that's not the kind of person I would like my cousin going on dates with."
A wave of pride swelled through her as she realised how well protected she was by her family, and for some odd reason, also by Scorpius. They three friends sat there together for a while, talking and laughing as they recalled some of the better things that had happened the previous night. After a few moments, Rose excused herself from the table. "I'll be right back," she said, slinging her tote bag over one shoulder. "I just remembered I wanted a new novel, and there are some books on dancing in the advanced section I need to check out, too." She stood, glancing back at her best friend, and then her other best friend, and smiled for a moment as Al slid into the chair she had just been occupying, leaning closer to Alice and joking to her about something. Alice's face brightened, a beautiful smile appearing when he drew near to her.
Rose's heart felt warm leaving the two of them together. She headed off to the Advanced section, where a lot of the older, more restricted copies of books were kept. It was a separate room altogether, normally restricted to just Prefects and faculty, a dimly lit and compact area. Rose shut the door behind her, inhaling the scent of centuries and centuries of books. She had always loved this room. It helped her escape from reality for a few precious moments. The woody aroma of the room perused her as she meandered through the rows and rows of books. A small section of light blue tomes caught her eye, and just as she reached out a hand to touch one of them, she heard a rustle behind her.
Scorpius. He was sitting there the whole time, in one of the armchairs by the door. She must have walked right past him, completely unaware of his presence. Her heart leapt into her mouth as she saw him there, looking slightly more tired than usual, his hair a bit dishevelled. It was quite unusual for him to look anything less than prim and perfect.
This was the first time she had seen him since last night. He looked up at her, his eyes melting into hers, his jaw clenched seriously. His shirt was partially unbuttoned at the top. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting anyone to interrupt him here.
He leaned his head back, exposing more of his neck. Rose's heart fluttered again, remembering all too well what that muscular neck felt like beneath her gentle touch.
"Saw you with Zarconias this morning. He is a nosy bastard." Scorpius said finally, cutting the air between them. Rose leaned back against the shelves, trying her hardest to look carefree.
"Especially when he has nothing to be nosy about." She responded, her hands absentmindedly grazing the smooth covers of the books behind her. Scorpius' silver eyes flickered to her hands, watching her intently.
"Nothing?" he asked, eyes still exploring her. "Ah, of course. I was so drunk when it happened, I wouldn't remember." The Malfoy boy stood, holding her to her place with a singular stare as he moved close to her. He stood merely an inch away, just as close as they had been in the wardrobe the previous night. "Really, Rose?" he asked, in a low, serious tone, every inkling of teasing gone. "I wouldn't remember? Or are you just telling people that so you don't have to remember?"
Her flight or fight instinct reacted, and she lightly pushed his chest away from her. He caught her hands as they made impact with him, pulling them close to his heart, as he moved his face close to her. His lips parted slightly, and for a split second Rose expected him to kiss her again. It never came.
He backed away, letting her hands go to fall at her sides. "Leave." he commanded her, and there was nothing about his voice that was nice. "You interrupted my reading."
Rose felt an indignant pressure rising within her. She clenched her fists. "I interrupted you?" she asked in disbelief. "You interrupted me, putting your hands all over me, touching me where you shouldn't be, then expecting me to actually tell people what happened? Excuse me for not wanting people to think of me as another notch in your bedpost."
His eyes flared at her, his shoulders tensing like a dog that had just been threatened. "Tell me, Weasley, will I ever hear your true emotions from your own mouth, or will I have to wait for every damned candle in Scotland to melt?" her navel pulled down on her as he uttered this, the intimacy of him knowing exactly what he had done to hersearing into her flesh and infiltrating her blood stream.
"And what makes you think you're entitled to my true emotions?" she snapped, feeling herself dangerously skirt the edge between anger and rage. She wondered, if even now, a reaction caused by her intense emotions was happening somewhere in the castle that she was unaware of.
His lip curled at her, and he stepped away, clearly attempting to distance himself from her in any way possible. The words that came out of him were bizarre to her ears. "I would have thought that two people both sharing their first kiss would entitle them somehow to sharing that kind of knowledge." he hissed.
It had been his first kiss too. How could that be? Girls all around school were constantly talking about him, and he could have had any of them. Even Henry thought Scorpius was getting with people left and right.
She was painfully aware, once again, of how little she truly knew the boy that stood in front of her. Boy, nearing a man, with some kind of primal, manly rage, directed straight at her. And why was he angry, angry at her for not being truthful about the way she felt? It was obvious enough, she didn't think she had to spell it out for him.
And even if she did tell him exactly how much he boiled within her, how much she ached for his touch again, what would happen? He would laugh at her. Probably, he would call her names, for being so foolish to think he was doing anything last night other than satisfying his own creepy pleasures. He was a Malfoy, she was a Weasley. It wasn't Nimbus science, after all. There was no way, even in the deepest pits of hell, that anything good could ever come out of sharing her emotions with him. She pictured her heart as a gilded box for a moment, where she slid every delicious thought she had ever thought about Scorpius inside, locked it, and threw away the key into a deep, dark abyss.
"You're wrong," she said, the words feeling wrong on her lips.
The fire in his eyes followed her as she backed away, walking out of the small room. He didn't say a word to make her stay, he simply watched her go, sitting in that chair and looking as regal as ever, despite his tired appearance.
After her little run-in with Scorpius, Alice cornered her in the library. Albus had long since trailed off to do whatever it was he did most weekends, and now it was just the two friends sitting, working on their potions essays.
"No more secrets," Alice said. "You have to tell me everything. C'mon."
Rose sighed, closing her textbook. She figured this was going to take a while, but she couldn't keep things from her best friend any longer. Smart, sweet Alice. If anyone could help her through the predicaments of her weird life, it was her.
She told her everything, from the odd moments where she started to discover she could make objects move when she was angry, to when she and Scorpius danced for the first time, and she had started to feel things. She told her friend about Henry, rejecting him, and then healing Scorpius, and how odd he had acted when she touched him. She also described the kiss, which made Alice just shake her head, speechless.
"I knew something weird was going on," she whispered. "Every single candle in the castle was completely melted. That is just…mental." Suddenly, a wide smile gleaned over Alice, and she grabbed Rose by her shoulders, shaking her excitedly. "Rose, this is so cool! You…you have powers! Like, you're already a witch, but you're even more powerful than that!"
She wished she could have shared her friend's enthusiasm. "I'm not in control of what I do, Alice. It's scary." she looked away, unable to meet the smiling girl's eyes.
"You know what this means." she said seriously, still holding Rose's shoulders. "The feelings you feel for him, they're real. You will have to deal with them at some point–"
"No I don't!" Rose protested, her voice coming out louder than she meant for it to. "And what about you? You'll have to deal with your feelings for Albus at some point, too."
Alice grimaced at her friend. "I never said I had any such feelings."
Rose stared at her seriously. She slowly raised one ginger eyebrow.
"Fine!" Alice spat, taking her hands from Rose and flipping back to her book. "I just…I don't think it would be logical for me to deal with the way I feel for him. He's totally out of my realm. I'm all…quiet, shy, I don't have many friends. And here he is, the son of freaking Harry Potter, he's got the whole world at his feet, he's funny, he's athletic, and outgoing…"
She shook her head at her pretty friend. She really had no idea how special she was. Not only to her, but also to Albus. "Alice, Albus cares about you so dearly. You're one of his best friends, too. He would be a total and absolute idiot if he didn't feel how you feel about him." Rose showed her one bicep. "I can always give him a run for his money if he rejects your advances."
Alice sighed, laughing slightly at Rose. "I was thinking…if Al and I could go to the Tea Party with you and Scorpius, do you think we could dress up, too? I kind of…wanted an excuse to wear something fancy."
"Alice, what a perfect idea!" she said excitedly. "I'm not one for dresses myself, but I'll wear one if you want to – and this could be the perfect opportunity to get Albus to notice what he's been looking at this whole time!"
They carried on for much of the remainder of the day, holding themselves away in Rose's room to mend the dresses from the theatre department more. They had several of the girl Prefects come in and try them on for fittings, of course, taking special care to give everyone a dress that suited them perfectly. Shea had picked a gorgeous, golden cream dress, Athena picked one of sky blue, and Gertrude picked a silky deep moss colour. They all looked simply stunning. Soon, however, it was time for Rose to pick a dress.
When Alice brought out the large container with all the remaining dresses inside, Rose immediately gravitated to the billows of dark, rich emerald green velvet fabric. She pulled the garment out, holding it up to herself so that it hung down. Alice let out a low, long whistle. Athena gasped. Shea giggled, and Gertrude said nothing as she stared at Rose, looking like something in the room stank horribly.
The dress was floor length, off the shoulder, and constructed with a beautiful corseted middle. The thick folds of green fabric pulled together low at the waist, which would no doubt accentuate Rose's hips. It laced in the back, plunging down deeply before being pulled away by silky silver ribbons.
The most stunning part was the front of the dress, which was tightly pulled by the corset to boost up the bosoms. A strip of fabric ran across the shoulders to hold the dress up, and it was embellished with thousands of glittering crystals which depicted elegantly woven vines. On the neck was draped sheer tulle cape, and the sleeves were the same deep, gorgeous colour of emerald velvet.
"Should I try it on?" Rose asked, but before anyone could answer, a figure approached the door.
"Weasley. The meeting is in five minutes. Are you headed down or –"
He stopped in his tracks, the words being pulled from his mouth at the sight of Rose holding up her dress. His eyes lingered over the bodice before finally looking straight ahead and ignoring everyone in the room except for her. "I will be downstairs." he uttered, leaving quite suddenly, his black silhouette slinking out of the room.
"What was that?" Athena asked, twirling slightly in her dress.
"What?" Rose said defensively, peering down at the many sparkles on the dress she had chosen.
"The energy between you two is…weird. I mean, you both have always been odd towards each other, but now it's like some kind of bizarre vibe where I'm not sure if you're gonna makeout or stab each other to death."
Shea giggled, looking at Rose nervously. "Athena's right, I mean, he looks at you like he wants to eat you alive."
Alice looked suggestively at Rose, to which Rose silently folded the dress up and handed it to her friend. Her mind ran back to what Henry had said to her before…he looked at you like no man should ever look at a woman.
She was chilled at the thought of this, and yet, she didn't feel disgusted as she normally did when Scorpius entered her mind. She felt something akin to intrigue at the thought of him going wild for her. What would that be like, to tantalise such a person as Scorpius, a person who never showed affection, who was mysteriously quiet and always rude. A man who had told her a couple nights ago that he made an ominous promise to the Malfoy family. His family. She found herself wondering how he would behave if he had seen her with the dress actually on.
Gertrude's eyes flashed to Rose, and she retorted, "He's probably just annoyed he has to dance with her. Scorpius has been learning how to ballroom dance since he was six years old. It'd be extremely infuriating to dance with someone who doesn't know what they're doing."
Gertrude was right, Rose realised. How idiotic did she have to be to think the frustrtion in Scorpius' face and actions was anything other than animosity towards his assigned dancing partner? If he could have chosen, of course he would have picked someone with the skill and grace he had.
She flushed when she realised she had spent hours researching dancing in order to get better. It was a stupid action, and rooted in the thought she could somehow surpass his years of training to impress him. The only thing that would change now that she knew a couple more steps was hopefully she wouldn't fall on her face. Or end up in some uncomfortable position with him on the floor once more.
She tried to say anything to get away from the other girls' curious stares. "I…should probably go and rehearse before Scorpius and I do our dancing presentation. Alice, are you going to be up here working on the dresses?"
Her friend replied affirmatively, and she rushed out of the room, her face boiling from all of her mortifying thoughts. All the way down to Professor Tulis' classroom, Rose thought about the various ways she could get out of the demonstration. She could pretend to be sick, she could pretend to faint, she could cast a spell to turn the floor into ice so she wouldn't have to dance at all –
She stopped in the doorway of the classroom, taken aback at the decorations. Clearly, Barry, Henry, Scorpius, and Zarconias had been busy for the past couple of days, preparing things to impress the Shanghai students, while the ladies had been sewing dresses. The desks had been polished, any spare piles of books or papers had been neatly placed away, candelabras decorated the room and some elaborate rugs had been laid down to cover the old dusty floors.
Scorpius stood in the middle of the room, his back turned to the door. He placed the same record on the player which he and Rose had danced to the other day. He dipped down and checked his dress shoes for any fragments of dirt or dust before setting his wand gingerly on a table nearby.
As Rose stood and observed him, she noticed an odd sense of awe for the quiet boy rising from within her. Elegant, and yet intimidating, at least to some. Who had taught him the ancient art of dance? And for what purpose had he learned, in that huge, empty manor of his? It wasn't like the Malfoys entertained many guests, especially after the horrors that occurred in the mansion during the wizarding war. His graceful hands tapped on the small table which held the record player, beating to the sound of that lornful clarinet once more.
"Someone's here to see you, Scorp!" Zarconias called out abruptly, breaking Rose's musings and Scorpius' preparations.
The Malfoy boy swivelled around, his long dark robes falling about him. Rose cleared her throat, moving forward at last. "Perhaps we should run somethings over again, before Professor Tulis gets here." he said, looking at her oddly.
Rose merely nodded, still thinking of his manor house and the great emptiness within.
In a singular movement, he came towards her and grabbed her hand, lifting it, and then he authoritatively moved her other hand to his shoulder. He grabbed her waist tightly, pulling her to him. She recalled earlier that day, when they had been so close in the library, and she had denied telling him what was truly going through her head. He looked at her softly, his cheekbone-length hair grazing the side of his face, coming so close that those platinum locks almost tickled her.
He began to move, first forward for him, which was backwards for her. He led her gently, but Rose actually knew what to do this time. She had read in several books what the basic foot pattern was supposed to be, and quickly recognized that Scorpius was leading her into a very basic form of waltzing.
As they moved, Scorpius' expression slowly changed, his mouth opening ever so slightly as if to ask her something. "You've done something, haven't you?" he said finally, his voice low. "Perhaps enchanted a pair of shoes to be less clumsy?"
Rose snorted, the noise sounding odd while they were doing such a formal dance. "One doesn't need enchantments if they simply use their brain."
In an unexpected turn of events, Scorpius pressed his hand harder into the small of her back, leaning forward on her so completely that Rose wasn't entirely sure what his motive was at first. As soon as she realised he was dipping her, she fell into his arm, letting her head swing backwards as his nose barely pressed to her jugular. They lifted back up, continuing with the same box pattern of footwork. "One doesn't need their brain when they have enchantments." he responded, smiling amusedly at her, as if the shock on her face was the funniest thing to happen to him.
"What was that?" she asked breathlessly, clutching his hand a little harder for stability. He answered with a squeeze, and chuckled.
"I like to surprise you. You think you know everything, so when someone proves you wrong, you get this adorable look on your face."
Rose had half a mind to stomp on his feet, but the other Prefects were all watching them now. "And you do this often?" she asked, rhetorically of course, knowing he was the bane of her existence.
"More than you know." He replied, turning his head to say the words directly into her ear. She shivered involuntarily, definitely not used to his breath so close or warm to her ear. The song ended, and the pair stepped away from each other, breaking the physical contact and simply looking for a moment. Rose wasn't sure what he was looking at, but he looked a bit satisfied for himself. She wished she could punch the smirk off his face.
"You know, my mom punched your dad once?" she said.
Scorpius angled an eyebrow at her. "I bet he had that coming."
He did, and so does his son, she thought, turning her nose up at him as she heard footsteps approaching from the hallway.
"Lovely job, Prefects!" Professor Tulis was saying in that thick accent of hers, her crowish eyes admiring the decorations. "And I see our dancers have prepared, as well. Shall we begin? Everyone brought appropriate shoes for the occasion, yes?"
The room was all chatter, making Rose realise she clearly was the only one not all too excited about dancing. Barry paired with Shea, Athena with Henry, and Zarconias with Gertrude. Professor Tulis stood behind the record player and looped the record so that it would play continuously for the students. "Scorpius, Rose, you may begin instructing us on your beautiful dance."
"Can't wait." Gertrude said under her breath, just loud enough for the other students to hear from the dance floor.
Scorpius ignored her, taking Rose up in his arms again. Was it just her, or did it seem like every time they danced, they got closer and closer to one another?
"Everyone, take your partner like this. Join your hands, the female should have her hand on his shoulder, like Rose is doing, and the male should be holding her back." Scorpius said, his voice uncharacteristically loud. He had a commanding presence, by far the tallest boy in the room, and with that shining head of platinum hair, it was hard to miss him. The rest of the Prefects did as he said, taking their partners awkwardly and murmuring to each other. Rose thought she heard Shea laugh delightedly from behind her.
"Next, we will start stepping to the music. Rose and I will show you the pattern, several times, and then you will try." Scorpius moved again, just as they had before, and Rose gained in confidence as she remembered what to do. Scorpius explained the pattern of footwork, the male's role, and the female's role. "Rose is doing a good job of being led. That is what the female dance partner is supposed to do."
Her eyes strained at him for this comment, but he made no reaction to show he saw her. They went on like this for some time, Scorpius explaining the same pattern, over and over again, and the rest of the Prefects attempting to mimic. Rose's shoulders and arms started to chase ever so slightly, but Scorpius held strong, obviously used to much more physical excursion than her. At the fifth repeat of the song, Professor Tulis stopped the record, declaring that the Prefects deserved a break after their hard work.
She smiled at Rose and Scorpius, a rare gesture from the normally serious professor. "I am proud of the achievement, Gryffindors." She commended them, her black eyes lighting up at the sight of them. "I will be honest, I didn't have much faith. But your bickering seems to have come to a standstill."
Shea and Barry went to retrieve some water and tea for everyone, which caused a lull in the dancing where the Prefects sat down and rested.
"Scorpius, it would probably help us learn better if you took turns dancing with everyone one on one. I can hardly learn if I'm not in Rose's position," she commented, fanning herself with a small novel.
"Rose has only officially danced with me once before, and she knows all the steps perfectly well. Only an idiot wouldn't be able to grasp the concept right away." Scorpius responded, his voice deep and serious.
Rose wanted to laugh, she wanted to burst out and cackle in Gertrude's face, but she knew that would end poorly. Instead, she kept her eyes on the ground as Gertrude cleared her throat indignantly at the Malfoy boy. It was very true that Gertrude was an attractive girl, with her slender form and dark looks, but when she was angry, she became the vision of ugliness.
Unfortunately for her, this was often.
"Well, Rose is a crazy know-it-all," Gertrude interjected, her heated eyes flashing angrily to the Weasley. "You can't seriously expect all of us to grasp the concept as quickly as her."
Scorpius took in a sharp breath. "It's true that Rose is smarter than every other lady or man in this room," he said, glancing slightly at Professor Tulis, who wasn't paying attention in the least. "I wish more people were like her."
Rose wished she could sink into the floor. She wished she knew how to apparate away. Eyes glared at her, embarrassingly so, because she was now the object of not only Scorpius' attention, but his admiration. Who knew why he was saying such things to her – no doubt for some nefarious purpose – but Rose couldn't come up with a logical reason.
She recalled him being amused and even enjoying dancing with her when she didn't know the dance moves, and she had half a mind to speak up, but she decided silence was probably the best answer.
Gertrude didn't try to say anything else. The Prefects lulled the Professor into conversation about the roofing repairs, and the Professor was slightly withholding information about how much damage the storm caused. They went on like this for some time, talking of the strange storm and sipping tea, until finally it was time for all to retire back to their dormitories.
Rose didn't even want to glance at Scorpius. The comments he made had been mortifying enough, and she simply didn't have the strength to deal with his teasing games tonight. Her legs shook slightly as she stood, a certain tightness kept in her shoulders from holding herself so oddly while dancing. Her lower back burned with the knowledge he had been touching her there for so long today. Her mind wandered over his beautiful hands, and she could see them so clearly in her head. She decided a nice hot shower would most likely take the memory of his touch all over her. Yes, that was exactly what she needed.
She roamed out of the classroom, making a stop by the library on her way. After all, Scorpius had interrupted her earlier, and she didn't get the chance to pick up the books she had been wanting.
When she was finished, her tote bag much fuller and heavier, she headed off back to her dormitory. She made sure to gather her softest robe and pyjamas, and then quickly made for the Prefect's bathroom.
The sight that met her in the bathroom was so strange that she dropped everything she was holding and rapidly sucked in all the breath she could.
Scorpius. There. Perched on the large sink, wearing only his pyjama pants, shirtless, his scars out for all to see. Red and angry, slashed against his beautifully perfect form. His body dripped with the dew from the shower. Rose's eyes immediately ran to his face—Scorpius was not alone.
Gertrude perched on the sink as well, her hand grabbing his face as she nearly sucked the life out of him with a kiss. She was wearing her uniform, thankfully, but one of her hands was pressed to his naked chest, right above his largest scar.
Rose had no idea what was happening to her. All she could hear before Scorpius ripped from the kiss and turned to her was the sound of millions of shards of glass prickling to the floor, the rush of violent water, and Scorpius shouting her name as she ran away.