Author's Note: This chapter is told from Scorpius' Perspective.
Dearest Scorpius,
Why haven't you been writing your father and I back?
I gulped at the question and the actual answer to it, I've been too busy thinking about and kissing Rose WEASLEY. Yes, exactly, mother, daughter of... (his name should not be spoken by anyone but father in his rants). The girl who is connected to everything you hate: blood traitors, muggle-borns, gingerness, and the list goes on.
Bloody hell, I'm the world's worst Malfoy. Not that I'm about to let anyone find out.
I wanted to crumple up the letter just like the last one, throw it out of sight and forget about it. It took me a while to figure out why I didn't want to read their letters or reply but I finally came to a conclusion yesterday, to be exact, I don't want to be a part of their Malfoy world. Their letters are pulling me back in. They make the dark green Slytherin wallpaper turn into dark green hungry slime. It eats me inside, it's not me.
I could never tell them but I've never been happier. Rose is vibrant and brilliant all the time. I don't why she makes me smile she just does. Abby and Kenny, surprisingly, do the same but on a completely different level.
No one was in the dorm they were all in the Common Room discussing their latest plan to torment the first year Gryffindors. I read on, no one was around to see how I would react, make notes, and assumptions.
Your father and I miss you dearly, as alway. Dear Narcissa is always asking about you,
I could hear my mother's voice in my head becoming dry ready to make some kind of remark about my grandmother.
She can't wait to see you during the easter break. It's not very long away. I hope you are keeping up with your studies, which you must inform us about. Surely you've had a test by now? Or as I've warned you, Scorpius, I will be contacting Professor Crespley for a report.
I rolled my eyes, she'll do that no matter what I send her. She would have to be sitting in the class watching me like a hawk to be happily informed.
The writing changed after that. From my mother's perfect loops to my father's squashed writing. He pressed hard on the quill leaving blots of ink all over the parchment and at the end almost ripping the nib of the quill through the parchment.
Scorpius, my only son,
Dramatic introduction: check
Against your mother's wishes, I must inform you of the spite that has come over our family.
Let me guess, another search of the house for non-existent dark artefacts, another courtroom hearing where father loses his temper and practically spits on the judge or another snarky comment from a former member of Dumbledore's army. I wouldn't call any of that shame or spite, just normal occurrences. Once Grandmother told me, that if we weren't being talked about that's when something would be wrong. When it all gets quiet it's the eye of the storm before the thunderstorm like the one that took Granddad. I read on half hoping it would be something I could laugh about alone in the dorm and forget about later.
I, unfortunately, was stuck in the elevator in the Ministry of Magic with Ron Weasley-
Here we go again just when I thought father was avoiding Rosie's dad.
-And his idiotic brother, don't ask which they all look the same.
I snorted.
He said, unprovoked-
I snorted again, "Highly unlikely, father."
'I expect the Aurors will be calling to your dung heap any day now, Malfoy, and not just for your regular raid.'
I told him exactly what qualifies as a dung heap and the unprovoked brother of his dared to touch me. He broke my nose and I nearly bled to death, thankfully, I knew the correct charms.
I skipped down a few lines to where he wasn't bluffing. I'm not a thick eleven year old anymore I can see right through him. He's transparent as hell. How can he not see that?
Scorpius, my son,-
Again?
-Write back quickly and report if anything remotely suspicious happens at Hogwarts regarding the Weasels and the otters. I will not have my son approached by these animals.
There was no doubt in my mind in that moment that he would have slaughtered me and then had a stroke if he knew what was actually happening at Hogwarts. I was kissing the daylights out of Rose an hour and a half ago in the middle of an empty corridor in the middle of dinner. Rose kept telling me half-heartedly, "Scorpius, we're going to completely miss dinner." but she kept holding me close to her, gripping my shoulders as hard as she could. We only stopped when Rose spotted the Grey Lady and stepped on my feet in fright. The Grey Lady floated past us down the corridor shooting us a disapproving look.
"At least it wasn't Peeves," I told her as we hurried back to the Great Hall.
I blinked away the image of Rose and remembered what I was doing.
The last paragraph was done in my mother's smooth cursive.
Don't get too upset about your father's attack. There's no need for you to be worrying or seeking out trouble. On a lighter note, I recall on your permission slip to Hogsmeade one of the dates listed was Valentine's day.
I winced.
I hope you're not going alone. They're are plenty of eligible girls in your house. Percilla Goyle, for example. I met Gayle Goyle at the hairdressers the other day and she was telling me all about Percilla's troubles with finding someone to go with. Anyone with a good name was already taking someone else. Can you believe it? So I, of course, mentioned you and said that you would ask Percilla out-
NO!
to-
NO! NO!
Hogsmeade.
NO! NO! NO!
I hope you're still not infatuated with that strange girl from Diagon Alley Jane or Janet. I promised Gayle so you must. Scorp, stop being lazy no girl wants to wait for a boy to come to her that's rude. I told Gayle you were shy anyhow. Reply immediately telling me about your plans and where you intend to go. I'm telling you now the Three Broomsticks or that sugar store are out of the question. Madam Puddifoot's is quaint and lovely. I will send proper robes, especially for you to wear since you always look like you've dressed in the dark and make sure you fix your hair-
Rose is going to kill me.
The next day, I decided the best course of action was to play it off as a joke. Rose can think of some solution that won't leave me in a dung heap. I was walking towards the Great Hall for lunch climbing up the stairs when Kenny appeared by my side without Rose or Abby. Kenny without his usual gang was like seeing a thestral in the castle. He was carrying a pile of books again. I was starting to think it was a fashion accessory to him.
"Hi," I said. "Need any help?" I asked pointing to the pile of bulky hardbacks in his arms.
Kenny looked at me like I was speaking in a foreign language.
"No, thanks, I'm fine. The lightening spell does the trick when it comes to these," Kenny said. "I love these," he smiled nodding to his books. "Best defence there is! Forget about a wand when you can just hit the bullies with knowledge."
"Yeah, like what Abby did to that crazy Ravenclaw."
"That's where my theory came from." he nodded.
"Good theory if it can give a prick detention and send him to the Hospital Wing."
Kenny chuckled, "So, Rose does tell you everything."
"Only the entertaining stuff. Is something going on with you and Abby or what?"
"No," Kenny said quickly blushing furiously. "Abby's quite overwhelming and she doesn't see me that way. She once sat on me in the Common Room. She said she didn't see me because I blended in with the couch. And I'm not a romantic. I don't have time for those types of feelings-"
"MALFOY!" one of Potter's goons rang out from the top of the stairs.
I could feel my face naturally contorting itself into a sneer.
"I'll see you later then," I said to no one since Kenny had already bolted into the Great Hall.
"There you are!" Potter said in an exasperated tone as I approached the group hanging outside the Great Hall trying to trip people on the way in. "We need your terrible quidditch skills for a job."
"No way, Potter," I snapped before I could even think about it. "I'm going in for lunch."
"Letting the whole house down again, Malfoy, and you call yourself a Slytherin," Potter said loud enough for everyone in the entire castle to hear.
I could feel my skin crawl and a waspish voice that didn't sound like my own replied, "Tell me what it is."
Potter lowered his voice for the next part. Smirking like he was walking on air, he hurried over to me,
"Exploding firecrackers in the Gryffindor changing room. You put then in the locker they open them and BOOM guaranteed Hospital Wing trip right before the match."
I winced instead of laughing, everyone in the group saw it and scowled.
"I'll think about it," I said timidly just to escape their glares and looks.
"No thinking there's no time for that just-"
I didn't catch the end of whatever he was about to say. I walked quickly into the Great Hall.
Almost colliding with the temperamental blonde Weasley.
"Watch it, Slytherin," she snapped cutting my shoulder with her own as she walked past me.
I shrugged it off. Another normal event in the world of Malfoy. In fairness, if Rosie still hated me she would've done worse i.e full out screamed at me with her wand jabbed into my neck.
Sitting on my own for lunch, I told myself over and over again because maybe, if I wished hard enough it would come true. Percilla Goyle plonked herself down practically on my lap. Suddenly my sandwich had lost it delicious appeal. She had overdone the perfume. I could feel it gathering in the back of my throat. I could feel a cough or gag coming. Percilla's friends, who looked like black haired clones of each other, stood behind her like bodyguards.
"Hey, Scorp," she said her face way too close to mine for comfort. Her breath was moist on my face and mixed with the smell of tuna.
No 'Malfoy' she must be after something.
She puckered her lips. Her mother definitely sent her a similar letter.
"Hello, Goyle," I said in a polite but distant tone hoping she would get the message: I'm not interested and never will be.
Didn't work. Instead, my tone prompted her to frown at me and throw herself onto my lap. I struggled for balance under her weight.
"You're looking handsome today." She cooed batting her eyelashes at me. It was so cheesily obvious I had to stifle a laugh with a cough remembering Rose does the exact same thing just to get a laugh out me.
An awkward silence followed. She batted her eyelashes more intensely at me.
"Yeah," I said. "Is lunch nearly over? I think it is. I have to get to class."
"Scorp, aren't you going to return the compliment?"
Rather not.
All the girls made a grunting sound in the back of their throats impatiently. Rose was beautiful she wasn't. I didn't want to throw the word around or egg her on.
"You look…" think of a word. Think of a word that isn't bloated. "Okay."
Her face fell for a second but she quickly regained her stuck up composure.
"Aww, girls isn't that so cute. He's shy!"
Thanks, mother, thanks a lot.
I edged my head around her while she was busy gawking at how 'shy' I was and how shy boys are like mysterious vampires. Rose was looking at me from the Ravenclaw table. I could feel her eyes burning a hole through my chest. Her eyebrows were joined together above her eyes, not a good sign, and her food was sitting on her plate completely forgotten about, a tremendously bad sign.
"Help me," I mouthed to her hoping she could make the words out and blast Percilla right off my lap.
"Scorp!" Percilla exclaimed grabbing my face for no apparent reason. I quickly flinched back. "Didn't you hear Clarissa's brilliant idea?"
"No," I said bluntly. "I really have to get to class so if you could get off-"
"Clarissa said that we should go to Hogsmeade together. The Valentine's trip. I have the perfect ensemble. A dark red- scarlet- dress. It only comes to here," she touched far up her thigh and more batting of the eyelashes followed. "And we can go to Madam Puddifoot's with the rest of the girls-"
"I'm in the year below you." I interrupted. "Shouldn't you be going with someone in your year?"
Percilla sighed, a lame attempt to be sexy, "You have no self-esteem, do you? Can't believe that I'm asking you? Me, Percilla Goyle."
"You've read my mind," I said irritably.
"No one in my year's a Malfoy. MacNair and Avery are average now."
"Potter?"
"He's taken," Percillia said a note of anger in her voice. "Anyway remember a girl like me has more experience than the tramps in your year who still stuff toilet paper in their bras."
Does Rose? No, they look pretty real- don't think about it when Goyle's on your lap!
I didn't reply so Goyle decided to break down her remark,
"Because they don't have tits."
"Right,"
"So you should go to Hogsmeade with me. We're a perfect match, you and me, everyone says so-" and here comes the cheek touching.
"Good… lunch, Scorp- Malfoy," my favourite voice in the world said.
Thank Merlin, it's Rose coming to rescue me from the dragon. About time too my legs were starting to go numb.
Rose didn't wait for the clones to let her through she bashed passed them unapologetically.
"Weasel, what in the Dark Lord's name are you doing here? I recall the mudblood lovers to be across the hall." Percilla Goyle snarled and I instantly, without even thinking about it, shoved her off my lap. She fell with crash missing the bench and landing on the floor. I didn't know where that strength came from but Rose seemed pretty impressed by it.
"Project, right?" I said standing up and wobbling from pins and needles in my legs. I ignored Percilla sniffles as she yelled at her clones to help her up 'her good robes were getting wrinkled'.
"Yes," Rosie said her bag on her back ready to go. She tilted her head towards Percilla, who was struggling to her feet, "Oh, we're going to have so much fun, Malfoy! All alone in the Library together away from the pesky breast enhancement charm that all the fourth years use!"
"Weasel-!"
Rose bolted from the hall as fast she could walk followed by me who narrowly escaped being dog piled on by Goyle.
"Scorpius!?" Goyle called after me. "We'll talk in the Common Room!"
"No, you won't," Rose muttered to me coming out of the Great Hall hurrying past Albus' crew.
"Where to?" I said catching up to her on the stairs.
"Somewhere private. Where she can't follow."
"I would suggest the Black Lake but we only have forty minutes left in lunch."
"Broom cupboard then," she said turning into a corridor. "Can't believe I'm saying it but just this once- Merlin, you stink of her bloody awful perfume."
"That's what happens when she tries to imprint on me."
"I've got just the thing," she said reaching into her bag and pulling out her Bertie Botts Every Flavour perfume, my Christmas present to her. "I think the next flavour is strawberry or it could be earwax," she shook the bean shaped bottle. "Take a risk I suppose."
"What?" I interjected but she sprayed me with her perfume and thankfully it wasn't earwax. "Strawberry," I said sniffing the air.
"Such a manly scent." she said dragging me up the corridor and into the nearest broom cupboard.
"Hopefully she won't find us in here." Rose whipped out her wand, Colloportused the door and Silenteted the broom cupboard. "I'm so mad."
"At me?" I asked dread coming into my voice.
"Sort of," she said throwing her bag aside and sitting against the door. "I mean you really could've said 'get off me' or 'no, I'm in a relationship'. Relationship? That's right, isn't it? Technically?"
"Rosie," I sat down next to her and wrapped my arm around her, tightly. It always broke the ice with her. "I did, well not the relationship one that would've caused more trouble. She had freaking stuck herself on me-"
"You didn't encourage her, did you?"
"No, I don't like her. How much of that mess did you hear?"
"The part about Hogsmeade and tits," Rose said holding her breath. I could tell she was trying to remain serious and not splutter out laughing.
I laughed breaking the seriousness, "You're the only girl who's tits I think about."
"Scorpius!" I've never seen her turn red so fast and she has definitely set records before. "That's-"
"So loyal of you I'm so flattered," I suggested while she crossed her arms over her chest.
"No! Just ew!" she protested. "Stop looking!"
"Crossing your arms makes that area stand out," I defended.
"I've seen you looking in the Library as well," she said dropping her arms in a pout.
"Lies!" I retorted. All of those times were accidents, that I thought she didn't notice. "It's not like I touched you ever." Never beyond the shoulder blades and occasionally the waist.
"What about that time outside when it was raining?"
"That was my elbow. And we weren't even together so that hardly counts. And I apologised because it was an accident. It's not my fault my elbows are perfectly in line with your… chest."
"Chest, Scorpius, always chest. That hurt. Why are we discussing this?"
"Anyway, I'm going with you to Hogsmeade. Goyle isn't going to change that."
"Good to hear."
"I would never get down on one knee for her,"
Rose brightened up at this. I leant in and pecked her on the lips washing away all my discomfort about Goyle.
I broke away, "Here," I said reaching into the pocket of my robe.
"A present for me," Rose gushed batting her eyelashes enthusiastically, perfectly copying Goyle.
"A letter from my parents," I said. "Also an explanation."
"Are you going to read it out?" she asked pointing at the folded up parchment. "I love when you do accents."
I grinned and sighed, "Right, I'll read out the bit from my mother."
Rose wasted no time in curling up against me like a cat, her head resting on my shoulder and her eyes shut.
"Do you need a blanket or something?" I asked teasingly pushing a stray hair back out of her face.
"No, your voice will do just fine."
I grinned at her pulling her curled figure closer. I took my wand out and muttered 'Lumos'. And I started reading the last paragraph doing the best impression of my mother as I could. I'm quite good if I do say so myself. Years of playing alone in an oversized house with an echo were brilliant practice.
When I finished Rose let out a giggle, "She remembers me. You do really good impressions. What is your mother on about? You're not shy at all."
"Just an excuse."
"Wouldn't be a valid one if she saw how much you kiss me."
"Oh, Rosie, you're very subtle in asking for what you want," I said leaning into her again. "I'm going to kiss you until I forget why the hell we're even in here."
"Definitely not shy- Hey! Is that my dad's name?" she sat up before I could fold the letter back up again.
"I wouldn't waste my time," I said while Rose got to work straight away scanning the contents of the letter. "It's normal. I've probably told you that story twenty times by now."
Rose frowned at me, "No, you haven't once. Getting confused with your dreams again, Scorpie?"
Rose finally finished her examination. She folded it, not the way that I folded it, a messy sideways fold, she folded it straight and handed it back to me.
I stuffed it back into my pocket, out of sight.
"It does sound like dad. Mom would kill him if she found out. It sounds like he's more hate filled than when I left him at Christmas."
"Don't believe that word from word, Rosie. Malfoy's like to make up stories to suit them."
"You don't," she said softly.
I never talked to her about being a Malfoy but somehow she understood what I felt without having to be told or hinted. I wondered sometimes if she was a Legilimens. How else would she know that the 'I don't care Malfoy' actually cared a lot when it came to all that pureblood crap?
"You don't know," I said without thinking, in a joking way. Her soft tone was filled with emotions I couldn't put names to. I didn't want to hear her talk like that to me. I wanted her to laugh and forget about it. "You're so in love with me that you're blinded."
"I'm not blinded," she replied taking my hand in hers and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Maybe I'm in love but I wouldn't turn a blind eye for the sake of it. You're a good guy, Scorpius, a really good one. I don't think I know anyone else as good as you. I should tell you that more."
"I think you being by my side at nearly all hours of the day tells me that I am. After all, how better can you get than the daughter of more than half of the Golden Trio?"
"Stop it," she said nudging her leg against mine. "I hate when you pull out that card. I hate when you think about me like that."
"I don't think about you like that. When I think about you I think only about you no one else." I said nudging her leg back.
"Same here," she said giving up on the leg nudging and crawling onto my lap so she was facing me eye to eye. "You're just Scorpius to me."
