A/N: What's up legends? It's back, on schedule and everything wow. A longer chapter for you this time- so I hope you enjoy :)))
Chapter 12
The week whirled by and all too soon Rose found herself waking up at the Burrow on Sunday morning.
The day before had been full of frantic preparations, cooking, decorating, cleaning, Molly had worked her whole family overtime in preparation for the big day- Victoire and Teddy's wedding.
It wasn't being held at the Burrow. In fact- it wasn't even being held in England. They were getting married in an old castle in France. Reportedly, it had once belonged to the most famous French witch of all time and her magic still lingered over the site.
Fleur believed this would bless the marriage and make it stronger... Vic just thought the castle was cute.
Anyway... I was still practically dizzy from all the flooing back and forth we had done the day before: taking decorations across to the venue; making the castle look like something out of a fairytale.
The witches magic had definitely strengthened the walls, but there were still areas of ruin or crumbling stone. Luckily, that played to whatever aesthetic Vic had in mind, so we just decorated the ruin with flowers and fairy lights. Which- unlike the muggle ones I had in my room at home- were actually made of real fairies that hovered around the ruins. Of course, my mum has been trying to 'free' fairies for years, claiming that using them as decoration is a violation of their rights. I would agree, except fairies are vain creatures... they're actually famous for wanting to be used as decorations by wizards.
"Rose," Dom poked her head into the room I was sleeping in at the top of the Burrow. When she spotted me still in bed, she rolled her eyes, "Rose, get up. We have to floo to France and then get ready before the guests arrive."
I frowned, "What time is it?"
"Nine in the morning!"
I groaned, putting my face back into my pillow. Nine in the morning... no one was arriving until two.
I dragged myself out of bed nonetheless, heading straight downstairs. Nana Molly already had breakfast on the table, so I sat down to eat. The table was already crowded by my cousins, their faces (and the way Roxy's elbow was in spilt milk and she hadn't noticed) suggested that they had been woken up just as abruptly and unnecessarily as I had.
"Alright, James?" Dom asked, turning my attention to my older cousin, who was currently holding a handkerchief to his head.
"No," he replied, taking the hanky away and exposing a small cut on his forehead. "I went to France to finish clearing the castle curtains of Doxies this morning and one of the bloody things bit me."
"Oh, do stop your whining James, we've already given you the antidote to the venom." Nana Molly cut in, rolling her eyes as she cleared some empty plates from the table.
"Yes I know-" James began to reply, still looking downtrodden, when Fred interrupted.
"Nana, he just doesn't want to be bleeding from his face when he meets all of Vic's veela cousins today." Fred snickered, grinning wickedly as the table laughed.
"No! That's not it. I-" James protested, before cutting himself off suddenly and returning his gaze to his plate.
"Well, what is it Jamesy-poo?" Roxy asked, ruffling her cousin's hair.
"I just didn't want to be bleeding from the face when I saw Daisy today," James responded, matter-of-factly. There was a moment's silence and then...
"Aww," Dom clutched her heart. "That is so sweet." From any other family member, that would have been sarcasm for sure, but Dom was being genuine.
"So I take it things are going better between you two now?" Molly asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
James nodded, before breaking out into a grin as if he just couldn't help it. "We've already gone on four dates."
"Don't you live together now?" Lily asked through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.
"Well..." James shrugged, blushing pink. "Yeah, but we still like going on dates."
"Aww!" Fred clapped excitedly as the table laughed. "Our little Jamesy is in love!"
"Well dear," Nana mused, bustling over and tilting James' face back so she could peer at his injury more closely. "It's a magical wound and doxies... well, they're not weak creatures when it comes to magic. I don't think we can simply wave our wands and fix it."
James sighed in exasperation as Nana returned to busying herself in the kitchen.
"You know, in the muggle world they have something called plasters... you just stick it over a cut to help it mend. My mum used them on me sometimes when I was younger and I scraped my knee or something." I told my cousin. The table stopped and turned to look at me.
"Rose... why do you always make stuff up about muggles?" Fred asked. "We're not gonna believe you just because Aunt Hermione is muggle-born."
I laughed, forking another piece of bacon into my mouth. "I'm not lying."
My cousins continued to look dumbstricken, but it was not anything I wasn't used to, so I found myself simply laughing at their expression.
It was at that moment that Fleur apparated directly into the room, almost knocking over poor Lucy as she came down the stairs and into the kitchen. The part veela woman was already frowning, but it contorted into nothing short of rage as she saw us all still sitting at the table.
"Why ees no one ready?" She asked, clapping her hand ferociously so that Fred, who was closest to our aunt, jumped and leaned away from her wrath. "You all just voke up? You lazy, lazy!"
James opened his mouth to protest, most likely to tell the witch that he had already been to a foreign country and back that morning, but it seemed that something in her face made him decide against speaking.
"Up up up! Allée!"
Me and my cousins scrammed, half rushing upstairs to shower or something. The other half, including myself, rushed for the fireplace. Moments later, we found ourselves in France.
"Merlin's beard," James complained as our little group left the room with the fireplace and headed to the main part of the castle, where the ceremony would be taking place. "She's terrifying when she needs to be."
Dom laughed, smirking as she looked back at us over her shoulder. "It's the part veela."
"She's right," Louis agreed, grinning wickedly.
James shuddered, "how has uncle Bill survived?"
Most of my uncles and aunts were already in the main hall amongst the chairs and decor that we had set up the night before. My mum and dad were there too, but honestly, there wasn't much going on. Most of them were sitting down, chatting idly.
As we entered, my dad looked startled and jumped to his feet, before relaxing as he saw who it was.
"I thought Fleur was back." He explained, rolling his eyes and sitting back down. "She's been at us all morning, I think she might actually start removing fingers if she sees us sitting down." We laughed in response, but the other adults only nodded somberly.
"On at you about what?" Hugo asked, taking a seat next to mum. "What is there left to do?"
"Absolutely nothing!" Ginny exclaimed, idly playing with a piece of cloth, using her wand to turn it from white to blue and back to white again.
I looked around the room, before shrugging and realising that they were right, so I took a seat.
"Alright!" Dom clapped her hands, "Bridesmaids, follow me. We have to go get ready."
I shared a look with Roxy, who rolled her eyes.
"Dom, it's not even 10 o clock," Molly explained, glancing at the watch on her wrist. "We have four hours until the guests start arriving."
"Yes, four hours, which is half the time we should need, and that's just to take care of Rose's hair!" Dom responded, before turning and walking away, expecting us to follow.
"Wha-?" I began, but Molly just gave me a look as if to say, 'veelas, eh?', before she followed our blonde cousin out of the main hall, with the rest of us trailing behind her.
"Al! Get out!" Dom returned to the room in which me and the rest of the bridesmaids were getting ready. Al was lying on the bed in the middle, in his suit already despite there still being at least 2 hours to go.
"Ugh," Al rolled over, "I'm talking to Rose."
"I don't care! The groomsmen aren't allowed in with the bridesmaids, its tradition." Dom chastised him, dragging him to his feet before proceeding to push him out of the door.
"That has never been a tradition," Al protested, but Dom had already shut the door on him.
"Alright, Vic's in the next room over, so when we're ready we can go and see her," Dom announced, and a buzz of excitement ran through the room at the prospect of finally seeing the bride in her dress.
"Oi Dom," I got my cousins attention. I had been sitting at one of the mirrors in the room for about ten minutes, unsure of what to do. Aunt Fleur had done my make up, then told me to do my own hair. Yet, this kind of magic wasn't something I was all that practised in. "Would you help?" I asked the blonde once she turned to me, indicating the mass of frizzy red curls on top of my head.
"Yeah okay!" She perked up, apparently excited by the idea of a challenge as she crossed to stand behind me. "Rose, when was the last time you got a brush through this?" She asked, rolling her eyes as she got to work.
I didn't answer, only smiling sarcastically. Dom was smart enough to know that brushing curly hair would not result in a good look.
Minutes past in silence as I stared down at my hands, until, eventually. "Rose?" I looked up to meet my cousin's eyes in the mirror. "What's wrong, you look like you just saw nearly headless nick remove his nearly headless head."
"Just a bit... nervous, I guess," I responded, and it wasn't a lie. Teddy's relations to the Malfoys meant they were all coming. I didn't want to face his family when, at the moment, I could hardly even face him.
Behind us, some of the bridesmaids began to file out of the room. "To see Malfoy?" Dom asked, keeping her voice nonchalant.
"Umm, yeah I guess. We're even less friendly than usual now- which is not something I thought was possible."
Another two people left the room, leaving only three of us behind. "Why? What happened?"
I shrugged, trying to keep my face neutral so I didn't give anything away. "Just, you know, more arguments. The usual."
Roxy, the last person in the room with us, stood up, crossed the room and left, leaving us alone. Dom watched as the door closed before responding.
"Merlin Rose," she sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes at me in the mirror. "You must think I'm some sort of idiot."
"Wha-?" I spun round to look at her face to face. "What are you talking about?"
"I know you and Malfoy aren't acting like this because of another argument, okay? I can tell every time someone mentions his name in front of you." She told me, dropping a hip and raising an eyebrow at me. "I might have flunked my OWLs, but I do know some stuff. I know about people, and I know about drama." Her eyes lit up at the last word.
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Dom this isn't just some drama that exists for you to enjoy, it's not a reality show." Dom's face crumpled in confusion at my reference to the muggle world.
I shook my head, "what I mean is, this is my life, not some juicy gossip for you."
Dom's face turned sour. "I know that Rose," she spat, in that way Dom does when she wants you to know she's annoyed. "Does it ever occur to you that I'm asking because I'm interested as your cousin, someone who cares about you."
We fell into silence as I turned back to face the mirror. It didn't last long though, eventually Dom sighed, annoyed, and dropped my hair from where she was working on it. "So are you going to tell me what happened with you and Malfoy or not?"
I blushed red, embarrassed even in remembering that night. I looked at Dom in the mirror, pleading her with my eyes to let this go, but she only raised her eyebrows. Eventually, I shook my head.
She gave me a glare that could have rivalled even her mothers, before muttering "typical Rose," and leaving me alone in the room.
Guests started arriving around 2 o clock, but this time we hadn't been given any job to show people to their seats- in fact, Vic had told the bridesmaids to stay inside with her to make for a more 'dramatic reveal' later when we walked down the aisle.
So, instead of being down there with the guests and being forced to 'mingle', I was upstairs in the castle, watching them from a window.
The Scamander's arrived somewhere amongst the crowd and, despite myself, I couldn't help the glare that I directed at the top of Lorcan's head. Soon enough though, there was another arrival that truly shook me off.
It was the Malfoy's, but that in itself wasn't surprising, I'd known they were invited after all. No, what really made my stomach squirm was that it wasn't just Malfoy and his mum this time. Nor was it just Malfoy and his parents. Narcissa was there too.
Despite never having met the woman, and despite even now only being able to see her from above and not her full face, I knew it was her. The woman's hair was greying, and even from a slight distance, I could see that she was thin and boney... but it was undeniably her. Perhaps it was the way in which she walked, or perhaps it was the slight space the other guests left around her.
A part of me was glad, because Narcissa was out of the hospital and out and about, which perhaps meant she was better. Another part of me felt slightly sick- this was my grandmother-in-law- not a meeting I was prepared for right now.
So it seemed Vic's love of the dramatics, keeping us up here, had saved me from that uncomfortable meeting.
Or, more accurately, just postponed it. But that was good enough.
I watched as my aunts and uncles ushered people inside the castle, and therefore out of my sight, knowing that every person who filtered in through those doors brought the wedding closer. Which should have excited me... but it just didn't.
A few moments later there came a knock at the door and Alice came in. I must have missed her family arriving amongst all of the other people.
"Wow! Vic, you look incredible," My best friend announced, her eyes widened in wonder as she walked further into the room where all of the bridesmaids were sitting with Vic.
"Thank you, sweetie," my cousin responded, smiling like she already knew how good she looked, which I'm sure she did. How could she not?
Alice crossed and joined me where I was sitting on a window seat. She gave me a quick look before leaning in and muttering, "let's just have fun tonight, ok? Don't worry about him."
Once again, I was baffled by my best friend's talent at practically reading my mind. But I didn't voice that out loud, instead, I nodded, determined to follow her suggestion.
The ceremony was gorgeous, of course, and despite me being stood at the front, I knew there would be no eyes on me, thank Merlin, not with Vic looking like that.
Everyone smiled when the bride said her vows, everyone awed when the groom got choked up on his, everyone cheered when they kissed and everyone laughed when Teddy's hair turned bright pink right after.
And that was it, they were married, and now came the part of the wedding that everyone was waiting for- the party.
Vic disappeared and we lead the congregation out of the great, church-like hall- with its high ceilings and god-appeasing statues- and into the next room... the ballroom, if you like. Most of the guests began to mill around, idly searching for their place names on the sea of tables, or mingling with other guests.
Personally, I already knew which table I was supposed to sit on- and my feet hurt from standing up for all that time, so I made a beeline for my seat.
"Rose!" A voice called my name and I turned around to find Scorpius Malfoy walking towards me. That was a shock in itself, but what really made me stop and freeze is that he was smiling.
"Wha-" I began to say as he came closer- but he cut me off with a hug.
"Please, just go with it," came the whispered request in my ear. I had half a mind to shove him off and refuse, but from my new viewpoint over his shoulder, I saw his grandma watching us both.
We broke off, and there was a moment where his family was blocked from view and he looked at me and his eyes were saying please. So I nodded.
He smiled, actually smiled, in relief... not even part of an act or anything, he actually smiled at me. Then, he turned around, took my hand, and began leading me over to where his family were already seated at a table.
"Grandmother," Malfoy announced as we reached them, "this is Rose."
My heart was beating in my ears, erractically reacting to me being in the presence of Narcissa Malfoy, but somehow I managed to speak over the deafening thumping sound. "It's lovely to finally meet you, Mrs Malfoy," I told her, stretching out my hand, because those were the words you were supposed to say when you wanted someone to like you. Of course, this woman wasn't just 'someone'.
She didn't smile, but her gloved hand did reach out and shake mine. Up close, the ageing lady seemed even frailer than I had noticed before, but she shook my hand with the strength of a young woman.
"Yes," she spoke gracefully, "You're a Weasley, aren't you?"
Malfoy was standing to my right. Or perhaps I should be more specific... the Malfoy that I was currently married to was standing to my right. I snuck a glance at him before responding, "Yes, ma'am." Of course, she already knew I was a Weasley. She would have been told by her son straight away.
She smiled purtly, reaching out a silken-gloved hand and picking up one of my red curls, and moving it forward, over my shoulder. "Of course you are."
I smiled, unsure of how to respond, but it seemed I didn't have to because Astoria chose that moment to notice someone across the room.
"Oh, Draco, that's the French minister for magic! We really must go say hello." And with that, she took her husband's arm and lead him from the table.
"You know, when they told me my grandson was going to marry a Weasley, I had to check that I was really awake." The elderly woman straightened her dress for a brief moment before pinning me once again with that steely gaze. "Weasley's and Malfoy's marrying... when I was younger that would have been a laughable idea. Well, not just laughable, quite frankly disgustin-"
"Grandmother," Malfoy interrupted her, to which she only held up a hand.
"Let me finish, Scorpius," She instructed, before turning her attention back to me, at which point I knew I was flushed red.
"As I was saying, Rose, the idea, at first, worried me. And then, I'll admit, I began to think it may be a good match, but only to renew the Malfoys' reputation in the Wizarding world. Now, my dear," She smiled, and it was the first time that night that I had seen affection in her eyes. "Now that I have seen how happy you make my Scorpius, I couldn't care less what family you come from- you're in our family now, and I'm glad."
I blushed again, for different reasons this time, and snuck a glance at Scorpius, who had his gaze fixed on the table.
"Thank you," I replied eventually, knowing that- although slightly twisted- I had just received a compliment from Narcissa Malfoy. A big one. So what if it was all a lie? So what if Malfoy detested me and I, him? The lie had made an ill woman happy.
"In other news, my dear," The aged woman took a sip of champagne before continuing. "Next week is another ball, all the great English wizarding families will be attending, of course." She told me, matter-of-factly. I knew what that meant, that meant 'pureblood' families. But I kept my mouth shut.
"I would love it," Narcissa went on, "if you would attend with Scorpius."
"You don't have to invite my date for me, Grandmother," Malfoy interrupted, exasperation evident in his tone.
"Well apparently I do, Scorpius, since she has not attended either of the balls that have been held since you two got married," She replied firmly, sending her grandson a look of disapproval, before turning back to me.
"So, what do you say?" She asked me. "You will come, won't you?"
I couldn't say no, not whilst I was right in front of her, her sharp grey eyes staring transfixed at me.
"Of course," I replied, forcing a smile.
"Wonderful," came the response, and a moment of genuine joy crossed her face in a way that told me there was no way I was getting out of this. "You will likely have nothing appropriate to wear, so I will send one of my old dresses from when I was younger." She eyed me up and down, "I think I was a little thinner than you, but I'm sure the adjustments won't be too difficult for you."
I lost track of how many times she'd just said something I should have been offended by. I mean first off, I had a few nice dresses and secondly... why did she assume I knew sewing magic? Because I can assure, I don't.
Oh well, I thought inwardly, smiling in what I hoped was a convincingly grateful way. "That's very kind, thank you."
It was then that Astoria and Mr Malfoy decided to reappear. "I think we're supposed to go to our seats now, honey," the former told me fondly. I nodded, standing on shaky legs, and trying to remain composed as I found my seat on a table full of my cousins. That must have been one of the most nerve-racking experiences of my life- it was all I could do not to run back to my table and start weeping uncontrollably. And oh Merlin, now I was stuck having to go to a pureblood gathering and once again, act all loved up with my pseudo-husband.
First came the food- a three-course meal that had been planned by Fleur Delacour herself, the woman who was famous in my family for having a gourmet's chef's taste for food. Of course, most of us Weasley's preferring a good old Shepards pie or a few sausages and Yorkshire puddings. We were of a simple breed.
But I'm sure the rest of the guests appreciated the finely sliced salmon and strange green sauce that tasted slightly like completely melted avocado?
Of course, despite her estranged taste, Fleur was used to feeding Weasley's- so she had clearly made sure the caterers cooked much more than enough.
Then the cake came out, and it was incredible and big, and everyone cheered when Vic cut it, and Fred had three pieces. So that was where I found myself, chewing thoughtfully on the cake as I watched Teddy's friend give his best man speech.
"And McGonagall was so angry with us!" The guy ended the anecdote, earning laughter from the crowd that made me realise I hadn't really been listening.
"What was McGonagall angry about?" I whispered to the cousins I was sharing the round table with, Hugo rolled his eyes at me, but James leaned across to me.
"I don't blame you for not listening," He muttered, before casting the best man a sideways glare. "He's really not very good. These are pity laughs he's getting and we all know it."
Now it was Roxy's turn to roll her eyes at our cousin. "You're just saying that because you wanted to be Teddy's best man. I think this guy's very funny."
"Yeah, but that's only because you had a crush on him when we were at school," Fred added, receiving a glare from Roxy before she turned back to the man in question and shrugged.
"Can you blame me?" She asked, before winking across the table at me, earning a grin.
"Well, you know what, I think I would have made a much better best man than this clown. I'm so much funnier than him." James added, still talking quietly.
"Oh, get over yourself," Roxy told him, sighing in exasperation.
James opened his mouth to reply, but a harsh 'shhh' and a glare from Fleur quickly put a stop to the conversation.
After that came a speech from Bill, and then from the bride and groom, and then the band started up. Grandma Molly was crying even before Teddy and Vic reached the dance floor in the centre of the room- about the same amount of time it took for Grandpa to get out his muggle 'video recorder'.
"Right," James got up, "guess I have to go ask Daisy to dance, or something," he announced, rolling his eyes theatrically as if it was a chore he was reluctant to do, but something about the way he practically skipped away from us told me that that was a lie.
"Do you think we should have told him he still has cake around his mouth?" Fred asked, but his tone was entirely unconcerned.
"Where would be the fun in that?" Roxy replied, raising an eyebrow and standing up. "I'm off to find Brannon's table."
"Oooh," Fred stood up hastily, his napkin falling to the floor. "I'll come with you," he told her, his eyes glinting.
I shook my head as they both disappeared, apparently the excitement of having a famous quidditch player in the family still hadn't quite worn off for some people. I cast a glance across the room, watching idly as James found Daisy, and smiling as she reached up and wiped the cake icing from his face.
"And then there were two," I remarked glancing at my brother who sat beside me, his eyes on the thin crowd that was now appearing on the dance floor. Unsurprisingly, he didn't respond, just kept his face vacant and his hands fiddling with the sleeves of the blue dress robes Vic had demanded all of the groomsmen wear.
"Hello," I waved my hand in front of his face, smiling when he blinked suddenly and looked around.
"Sorry," he responded, "what were you saying?"
I opened my mouth to speak again, but he didn't even give me the chance.
"Do you think all of this will still be going when I'm 17?" He asked suddenly, looking back out over the dance floor.
I frowned, following his gaze but gaining no more understanding. "Will what still be going?"
"This," he gestured vaguely, "the marriage law."
I sat back in my chair, suddenly very unsure of what to say. Honestly, I didn't know what I thought. Did I think the law would get overturned? Yeah... eventually, even if it was only because the magical population had regenerated itself by then, and not because the whole law was wildly unethical.
Did I think it would get overturned in the few short years it would take for Hugo to become 17? Quite honestly, no... but how could I say that to him. Unlike many people, I wasn't a fan of the 'brutal honesty' approach to life.
"Maybe... yeah, maybe Hugh. We'll see- you're nowhere near 17 yet." I ruffled his hair, receiving a small smile. "Try not to worry about it though."
"Yeah," he stood up, "I'll try," and then my brother wondered off.
I sighed, turning back to the table, muttering to myself. "And then there was one." It seemed it wouldn't stay that way for long though, I realised as I looked up and caught a glimpse of Malfoy across the room, headed in my direction.
"Here we go," I muttered, picking up the glass of champagne sitting on the table in front of me, and downing it in one go.
"Another drink?" Malfoy asked me as he sat in the chair Hugo had just vacated, eyeing my empty glass.
"I think we might both need a few more drinks before the night is out," I told him. He didn't reply except to gesture a passing waiter. Seconds later, we both had firewhiskey's in front of us. I picked it up and started sipping, strangely grateful for the burn it caused in the back of my throat.
"So," I said eventually, scrabbling for something to say- all too aware that his grandma was likely watching us from her own table across the room. "your grandma is... better?"
He frowned into his drink, "not completely, but yeah. Getting better."
The silence settled in again, I found it stifling. Scared I would go mad if I had to sit like this with him for much longer, I picked up my drunk and took two heavy gulps, my eyes watering at the hot trail it left down my throat. "Well," I decided, "I suppose she'll be expecting us to dance?"
He nodded.
I sighed inwardly, but didn't let it show. "Let's go then."
He eyed me curiously, almost suspiciously in fact, but got to his feet anyway, holding a hand out to me like in those old films my mum used to show me where the man asks the woman to dance. The idea made me laugh, and I took his hand.
He led me onto the dance floor, and something told me he was quite practised in this. Well, of course, I mused, they have to do something at all those pureblood gatherings and balls. Come to think of it, he'd probably even had lessons.
I, on the other hand, had not. But it didn't seem to matter. Malfoy placed a hand on my waist, and I put mine on his shoulder, as everyone else seemed to be doing. From there, there really wasn't much to it, except swaying and turning.
Although I was concentrating so closely on not messing up, it took me a moment to realise how close we were. I shifted my gaze from where it had been focused on my feet and the space around us, risking a quick glance at his face. His own attention seemed to be on something over my head.
I returned to staring at nothing in particular and that's when I saw them, the two identical blond heads, sitting side by side on the other side of the room with their backs to the dance floor. Lorcan and Lysander... before I would have felt butterflies in my stomach- a little kick of excitement. Now I felt sick.
Searching for a distraction, I looked up at the boy I was dancing with. "Won't your grandma be expecting us to... I don't know, talk to each other? Or do pureblood couples not do that?"
He looked down to catch my eyes, ignoring the jab. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Well," I shrugged hopelessly, "I don't know."
He tilted his head slightly. "We could finish our conversation from the other night. As I recall, Filch interrupted us midway through."
I felt myself blush, not remembering the exact words that were spoken that night, but knowing it was not something I wanted to revisit- nor was the idea of being in a confined space with him something I wanted to think about again.
But one look back at Malfoy told me he had no intention of revisiting it either- he'd only suggested it to get a reaction. The small smirk on his face and the rising heat in my cheeks told me he'd gotten it.
"Why are you so smug all the time?" I asked, eventually, feeling the buzz behind my ears that I often got, telling me I had just crossed the line into being drunk. Oh well, maybe that was a good thing. It had been my goal after all, hadn't it? When I'd been chugging that firewhiskey like my life depended on it. Perhaps it would make it easier to have a conversation with my 'husband'.
He pretended to think about my question for a moment. "People are smug when they're correct or in control- I'm usually both those things."
I rolled my eyes exaggeratedly. "Or they're smug because they think they're better than other people."
He shrugged, "Ok, I'm all three of those things." His face remained serious, but I caught the glint of humour in his eyes.
"Get over yourself Ferretson," I told him, exasperated.
The two corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
"What's funny about that?"
His face returned to neutral and he shrugged nonchalantly, "You haven't called me that since third year."
I raised my eyebrows, partly surprised that he'd remembered, partly surprised that the memory had seemed to make him smile. "That's because I stopped talking to you after third year." That wasn't completely true, we'd still been having arguments well into fifth year. But third year was when I had well and truly decided I was sick of the boy.
"Ferretson..." he repeated, trying it out. "I'll be honest, I never got it."
I shrugged, "me neither really, but my dad always used to call your dad 'the ferret'... so I figured."
"Oh," Malfoy seemed to consider this. "That makes sense. My dad used to just call yours a c*nt."
I felt my mouth fall open, scandalised, as I stared up at him. He was only amused, though, as he looked down at me. "Oh, don't be mad, Rosie. Our dads have always hated each other."
I frowned, casting a look over his shoulder and finding Draco Malfoy with my eyes. "Don't call me Rosie," I spoke to the man whose hand was still on my waist as we swayed around the dance floor. "And my dad's not a... you know." I felt the blush crawl up my face- I wasn't coy, nor had I ever really been afraid of swearing. But there was something about that certain word that had me imagining Nana Molly's face if she even knew I said it.
He rolled his eyes. "And my dad's not a rodent, so I guess both our parents were wrong."
Well, he wasn't wrong there. Both of our parents were wrong about a lot of things.
A sigh escaped me before I could stop it, "I think I'm gonna need another drink," I told him, disconnecting our bodies and letting him follow me off of the dance floor and back to the table. He left, disappearing off to find some drinks, ever the trained gentleman. A different image than the womanising, cruel teenager I had known for the last seven years.
A/N: Bit of a cliffhanger, huh? Sorry about that. The next chapter will continue directly on from this. Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review and follow, it really means a lot and is a big motivation.