Scorpius, in his crouching position, was short enough for me to touch his hair without any hazardous stretching.
"It's not that bad," I said running my fingers across the freshly chopped ends of his hair. No hesitation or second thoughts crossed my mind when I reached out and put my fingers in his hair.
Scorpius gave me look of complete disagreement.
He sunk down lower. I copied him almost falling onto my knees. He reached up and cupped the back of my hand in his and pushed it back through his hair.
"It is that bad," Scorpius said when my fingers got caught in strands of his hair that were clumped together by some sticky residue.
Truthfully, it was nothing compared to his old hair. But that didn't make me draw my hand back to my side. The whole thing was a curiosity. My hand sandwiched warmly between his hair and his hand. The thought of what was happening before my eyes made me giggly and it took all my willpower not to shake my hand or press harder into his hair. I felt dizzy as I looked at him. It wasn't until later that I realised I was gawking at him for about four straight minutes in the eye. Scorpius' eyes darted from me to the floor quickly and his pale skin started to flush with a rosy colour that looked completely unnatural on his cheek bones.
He cleared his throat, "You seem to like this haircut a lot more than the old one."
Then it was my turn to blush (again) as he slid my hand out of his hair with his hand.
"I don't…" I began. I could feel a ramble coming on which I didn't care about, all I could care about was my hand still in Scorpius'. It was the longest it had been there. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. "Your other hair, well, this hair because this is your only hair. Unless you have a wig which I don't think you do, you definitely don't, I would've found out by now if you did. Before your mom wrecked it, your hair was soft. As soft as hair could be- Merlin my legs are going numb."
The last part I didn't mean to say out loud or any of whatever that was. I let go of Scorpius' hand, not to put it back into my own personal space, but to use it to hold onto his shoulder to stop me from tipping forwards into him.
"We should go somewhere else so you can tell me all the nonsense you think about me." Scorpius smiled, the rosy colour on his cheeks fading.
I didn't have time to think about what the blush on Scorpius' face could mean if it meant anything at all. He pulled me to my feet and ducked his head again. I followed him to the other side of the store where he could stretch to his full height in peace.
"Are you stalking me?" I asked jokingly once we were standing out of sight behind a nicely placed clothes rack and a few mannequins.
"No, and weren't you going to tell me more nonsense or are you done for the next five minutes."
"It wasn't 'nonsense'," I said defensively. "I'm much more interested in finding out why you're here."
"Coincidence, that's why."
"That's stupid. I told you in my last letter I was coming here by force today."
"Okay, Rosie, you want me to leave. That's fine." He said adding in a sigh before turning in the opposite direction.
"No, I didn't mean that," I said grabbing his arm and turning him around to face me. "I really like that you're here. It's a blessing from Merlin that you're here. You may have just saved the whole trip for me."
"Really?" Scorpius' eyes lit up.
I sighed hating to admit it, "Yes. Why are you here? I thought you didn't want me to see you with your dorky haircut."
"I was so bored that the 'dorky' haircut didn't matter anymore. I may have encouraged my mother to shop in this particular shop, on this particular day and at this particular time."
I bit my lip to hide the full extent of my grin at his words. They made me feel tingly inside, he had gone out of his way to see me. Just me. Like when he walked me to Divination. Exactly like that, there was the same awkwardness to his body language as there had been then.
"You didn't have to follow me here you could've asked me to come to Diagon Alley or anywhere with you."
"Or you could've."
"I couldn't tell if you wanted to or not," I said dumbly, half the truth. I had thought about going somewhere with him. There was an annoying part of my brain that kept second guessing thinking that maybe the letters were all just a cure for boredom to him. Not that it ever stopped me from writing back. I didn't know that much about his part in Slytherin except what he told me about him slipping in rank in Albus' squad. But then he said something that made me forget about his other 'friends'.
"Merlin, Rose, of course, I want to." Scorpius ran a hand through his hair where my hand had been moments ago. "There's nobody else that I want to hang out with. I'm not exactly Mr popular."
"That's brilliant." I blurted out which he returned with an odd look.
"Rosie, are you getting mood swings or something. Cause if I remember correctly not even ten minutes ago you were moaning over a dress. That's something I never thought I see coming from you about anything non-book related." Scorpius said.
"Scorpie, you saw, didn't you? That nightmare looked like Christmas threw up on it."
"Don't bring Christmas into that mess. It looked like Gryffindor and Slytherin threw up on it. Without the gold and the silver."
"If only it were gold and silver," I said sadly.
"Scorpius," said an unfamiliar voice from behind me. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you. When I say stay put, I mean it."
Scorpius' face dropped faster than any beat could. I turned to see a tall woman (tall because of the stilts she had on her feet), with clipped back brown hair and a heart shaped face. I swallowed when I met her eyes because I felt like a troll next to her beauty and height. I could already tell from the vibe she admitted she had elegance, grace, and poshness, a combination I could only dream of achieving.
Scorpius opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Judging by his tightly pulled together eyebrows he was thinking very hard and very fast. His mother got there first and filled in the awkward silence.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?"
I relieved that she didn't recognise me. It was a bloody miracle that she didn't.
"Or do you work here?"
I took an involuntary glance down at my robes at that question. I thought about the neat, wrinkle free black and white outfit the people who actually worked in Twilfitt and Tattings wore. Astoria Malfoy seemed like an intelligent woman by the way she held her head but what was coming out of her mouth made me think she was either really sarcastic or thick.
"She doesn't work here, mother," Scorpius spoke up. "She-"
"Does she have a name?"
"Yes," Scorpius replied turning to me with a hint of a ghost smile. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"
Thanks a lot, Scorpius. Use your seer powers to think up a believable false name and introduce me! But there was no point in procrastinating, Mrs Malfoy's eyes were on me expectantly.
I let out a nervous laugh and said the first name that came to mind that had a good reputation among witches and wizards,
"Jane Templeton."
Scorpius, who was now standing beside me, gave me a raised eyebrow in response to this. It was a perfect match to the one his mother was giving me.
"Templeton." She said slowly, she was working up to something big. I could sense it in her tone. "Ministry workers who follow the rules like a religion. My husband and I met the family at the courts last summer and if I recall correctly their daughter Jane had blondish hair and tan skin."
For Merlin sake! Why couldn't Scorpius have made up the lie? I wanted to kick him and by the look, I could feel he was giving me I could tell he wanted to do exactly the same. How do I fix this? Timeturner! Why did they all have to be destroyed? If I had one I'm not going back to stop Voldemort I'm going back to use the sticking charm to stick my lips together. The cringe was that whelming.
Getting hot again very fast, I scrambled for words. I was saved by Scorpius, who stopped me from doing any worse damage.
"She's the cousin of the Jane Templeton you're referring to, mother. They're both named after their grandmother."
"Yeah," I agreed internally letting out of a sigh of relief.
Mrs Malfoy didn't look persuaded, she wasn't going to drop the subject that easily.
"Where did the curly red hair come from? Pale skin and freckles aren't Templeton features. Weasley traits." She said 'Weasley traits' through her nose. A small crinkle appeared on the bridge of the unblemished skin on her nose.
I gave a pleading look to Scorpius, who answered,
"She's adopted," Scorpius said before adding. "She doesn't like to talk about it. It's a sensitive subject."
I trailed my eyes to the floor and gave my very best sad face at his words.
"That's strange. I would have heard about that. Are you related to the Weasleys by any chance?" again she mentioned Weasley with clear distaste.
"Mother, what are you suggesting?"
"I don't know any Weasleys," I said before adding in to be more convincing. "I'm insulted that you would compare me to those…" I put in for good measure, "Blood traitors. I may not be pureblood but I'm proud of being a half-blood Templeton."
"Templeton? I thought you were adopted?"
"Mother, she doesn't like to talk about that subject. As I said before it's a very sensitive matter, that Ro- Jane will not discuss with anyone. Why were you looking for me?"
Mrs Malfoy perked up at the question forgetting her questioning. She stood aside and gestured to the shop assistant that was standing behind her. The shop assistant struggled to keep the trains of two robes in each hand off the floor.
"Which one, Scorp?" She asked running her fingers over the sparkling embellishments decorating the sleeve of the maroon robe closest to her. "They both have their good points and both look fabulous on me. You missed that part. One minute you were there the next…" she sighed and waved her hands in an exasperated gesture at no one. "But I definitely think both of these alluring robes will impress your father. I dare say these will make his heart drop to his horrible goblin leather boots."
The tone of her voice when she spoke about Draco Malfoy suggested more to me than I ever wanted to hear or imagine. Scorpius winced and I prayed it wouldn't get any more... intimate.
"I don't know, mother. They're both nice dresses." Scorpius said quickly before his mom could continue.
"Scorpius, you're not even looking at them properly." Mrs Malfoy scowled and turned to me. "What is your opinion, Jane?"
I half-heartedly glanced behind me expecting to see the actual Jane standing behind me waiting to save me from Astoria Malfoy's eyes that were firmly planted on me.
"Mother," Scorpius started while I tried to put words to my answer. "She doesn't care about that sort of thing."
"That sort of thing." Mrs Malfoy repeated dryly. "Aren't you charming, Scorpius. Let Jane answer I am sure she has a brain of her own in there despite how quiet she is."
Quiet… I have never been described as that. I was beginning to not like Mrs Malfoy, not because she called me quiet and suggested that my actions so far were brain dead but because of the way she spoke to Scorpius. It was clear that she was fond of her son in the funny way she showed it but it wasn't like the way my mom spoke to me.
I raised my eyebrows to her and did something bold. Well, it felt bold and badass at the time.
"Scorpius is right, I don't like that sort of thing. Those things. Robes, right? If you really want my opinion, my opinion is they resemble rotting fruit left out in the sun."
I felt a rush as the words left my mouth. I could hear Scorpius take a deep breath and when I looked at him (not at all interested in whatever expression had come across Astoria's face) he was staring at me with an expression of shock and adoration which made me think I did the most badass thing in the world.
There was a silence and in it, I heard Scorpius mutter/drop the F-bomb (barely audible) followed by 'Rosie'.
Astoria Malfoy cleared her throat making Scorpius and I turned to her for the first time and realised exactly how much tension was in the air. Even the shop assistant looked uncomfortable, she wouldn't even look at Astoria. Mrs Malfoy didn't sneer or crinkle her nose at me she simply wore a tight-lipped smile that made me regret my actions. She stood up straighter (if that was even possible), her eyes were unreadable and had no the hint of warmth.
'Say sorry?' was my first thought but the dad within me (an unapologetic, always starving man) made me think different. She wanted an opinion and I gave her one. The dresses were hideous and as my mom sometimes says 'the truth will come out'. And out it did, right into Mrs Malfoy's perfectly symmetrical face.
I looked to Scorpius again unsure of what to do. Scorpius was no help. His eyes were trained on his shoes and he was biting with extreme force into his lip. I thought I had upset him and was about to offer some form of panicked comfort when I realised from the crinkles that had formed at the corners of his eyes that he was about five seconds away from exploding with laughter.
At least someone was having fun. Mrs Malfoy could only see the top of the bowed head of her son and took no notice of him. I considered poking him to hopefully end the tension but Mrs Malfoy would most likely strangle the both of us along with the poor shop assistant with her bare hands if I did that.
"I think I shall get both of them." Mrs Malfoy announced to no one. "They are both beautiful pieces of clothing. They will look darling in my wardrobe. After all, they are great pieces."
Great indeed, judging by the three-figure price printed in bold on the labels clipped to the front of each dress.
I held my tongue and was starting to feel laughter bubbling at the back of my throat. The situation suddenly started to feel funny probably because Scorpius was close to bending over double on the floor. If he laughed it always made me want to laugh for no reason, or if he was nearby or in my thoughts for a matter of fact.
"I'm finished here. It was a pleasure meeting you, Jane, I can see why Scorpius likes you." She said with no heart to her words already walking away.
"Thank you, Mrs Malfoy," I said as politely and seriously as I could muster. "I can see why Scorpius doesn't shut up about you."
'Doesn't shut up' as in mentions you every full moon.
Mrs Malfoy looked at Scorpius starting to suspect his laughter, "Scorpius, are you coming?"
It didn't sound like a question. Her back was to him moving away to some checkout, the shop assistant mousily trailing after her.
Scorpius took in a deep breath and stood up straight. He couldn't fight the smile that stretched broadly across his face. He called over to her sounding overly happy,
"I'm meeting Avery. I'll be back before dinner." Despite the words being directed to his mother, he was looking at me when he said them.
"I hope not," I whispered to him half teasing half worrying that he was about to abandon me for a Slytherin. I recalled what he had said earlier about only wanting to be with me and felt more at ease.
I wanted to reach out and tug his sleeve, brush my arm against his arm or even touch his hair again. It felt weird not touching him for a while. I stepped closer to him, closing the space between us so it wasn't a tremendous gap. I was itching all over to be closer to him. I couldn't put a name to the itching feeling. The feeling had an urgency and persistence to it. I had no choice but to follow it blindly. I didn't want to think about what it meant. My stomach twisted when my mind tried to find the reason like it was afraid.
"Fine." His mother's voice said from far off. I didn't turn to see where she was or what she was making of the look Scorpius and I was sharing right then. To me, she was already gone from the shop and on an entirely different planet. "Your father will speak to you when you return home."
Scorpius' eyes flickered but didn't waver from me.
"Right, bye." He said half-heartedly not loud enough to reach her ears.
"Did I get you into trouble?"
"It's fine, doesn't matter." Scorpius dismissed like he was busy thinking of something else more important. "I'll deal with that later."
I frowned, "I'm sorry I said that to your mom. I wasn't thinking. It was stupid." It was only stupid because it had gotten Scorpius into trouble.
Scorpius suddenly snorted with laughter, "Oh, yeah, how can we forget 'that sort of thing'? Or rotting fruit, they do look like that."
"That was the first thing that came into my head when I saw them." I joined in laughing.
"I'm all yours till dinner. What do you want to do?"
"What about Avery?" I asked playfully. "Do I have to share you with him?"
"Well, if you really want to share me with a person who isn't even here." He said playing along.
"What's the fun in that?"
"So we better get out of here." He said grabbing my arm.
"Yes, we should," I said far too eager but then my fluttering heart sank to my feet. "I have… the wedding thing."
Scorpius let go of my arm and his hand returned to his side, "You could run away."
"I wouldn't make it alive out of the shop."
"We're almost out of the shop." Scorpius shrugged missing the point.
I grinned, "Why are you so eager?"
Scorpius nudged me with his arm and said, "I'm not-"
"Rose?"
I knew that voice and it was enough to make me feel like a volcano was erupting in the pit of my stomach. The lava from my stomach volcano was pouring out of my ears as I turned my head to see Lily. She had come from out of nowhere and now was beside me wearing a look of curiosity.
"Lily, what are you doing here?" I asked in a thin voice that sounded strained and nothing like my own.
"What's wrong with you, Rose? You look like you've seen a ghost." Lily said her eyes on Scorpius. Scorpius was frozen in his spot.
Lily, in the strangest twist of events that made me gasp and almost choke on my tongue, held out her hand to him and introduced herself.
"I'm Lily, by the way. Lily Potter if you didn't gather that from Rose's panic attack."
She knew it was Scorpius Malfoy. She had to know, dad pointed him out a grand total of a million times in crowds and made countless jokes and sneers. Lily gave him an 'I'm everyone's friend' smile while Scorpius waited five seconds to see if it was a trick or not.
Scorpius gave me a questioning look before finally after a few painfully long seconds grasped her hand in his own.
"I'm Scorpius Malfoy."
He withdrew his hand as soon as he introduced himself and took a step back like he was expecting her to unleash fury on him. Instead, Lily's expression didn't falter, in fact, her smile grew wider as she stared at Scorpius quite creepily.
I didn't know what to say or whether based on Lily's reaction I was in deep dung or not. Lily spoke first before Scorpius or I could make up any excuses.
"You two are so cute together. Uncle Ron is going to kill you when he finds out but who cares. You're like Romeo and Juliet- you know, the muggle star-cross lovers. Oh my Merlin, imagine if you died for each other! Would you die for each other? Forget I asked that. I can see it in your eyes that you would. You have to tell me everything! When did it happen? What year did it happen in? How could you not tell me? I knew you were hiding something, Rose, but I didn't think someone. Does Albus know? Because I will scream if he knew before I did. Scorp, about an hour ago Rose told me that she wasn't 'interested' in hot quidditch player or boys in general but now I can see why. She's dedicated to you! So adorable-"
"Lily!" I said covered head to toe in blush and wanting to drop dead. I didn't dare turn to look at Scorpius. "Please stop talking. Scorpius and I are… friends."
There was a pause before I could say 'friends'. When I was thinking of a word to put at the end of that sentence friends wasn't the number one choice, it wasn't something that occurred to me right away. It didn't sound right. But we were friends, nothing else except maybe best friends but that sounded even further away from right. I couldn't think of anything else at all to call it.
Lily's face sunk in disappointment, "Really?" she asked with loud disbelief. "That's-"
"That's what we are? Yes." I filled in before she could unleash another tidal wave of words. They were ammunition for embarrassment. "Right, Scorpius?" I asked not turning to him. I couldn't bring myself to face him after that without dying on the spot but I was still curious to his reaction.
"Yeah," He agreed without any energy in his voice. "Only that."
"What's the point of a secret friendship?" Lily asked with plenty of energy in her voice. "That sounds boring. Where are you going to go with a secret friendship? That's not worth Uncle Ron killing you."
"It just is," Scorpius replied to Lily who was still watching him.
"How?" Lily asked. "Are you being friend zoned-"
"Lily, what do you want?" I asked eager to get out of the situation. I should've run out the door with Scorpius and taken my chances.
"Oh, I almost forgot! How could I forget?" Then she nodded to Scorpius as a point. "It's our turn to get fitted so Dominique and I were sent to find you. Molly and just about everyone else is about five seconds away from a bitch fit."
"Dominique is around?!" I half shrieked spinning around in a circle. I expected her to jump out of nowhere ready to yell about my non-existent snogging life and add Scorpius into that equation.
"Not around here. She left through the back door five seconds ago and is probably exploring Knockturn Alley as we speak."
"Thank Merlin!" I said exhaling a great sigh of relief.
"Thank Merlin, now we need to go. I am dying to try the dress on. I have about a hundred ways to make it look better. Though Victoire, so far, has disagreed with them all. She needs to see it right before her eyes." Lily started dragging me away from a confused and out of breath Scorpius.
I gave him a look of helplessness while I was being dragged away and called back to him,
"Don't move. I'll be back in a second."
