The moon was shining bright that night, highlighting his blond hair. It was almost winter and he could feel his bones freeze whenever the wind blows, but somehow he found himself enjoying that night. It was comforting, really. Sitting there, he could stop and forget about everything else just to stare at the moon and enjoy the silence. For once, there was no surnames, no expectations, no disturb at all. It was almost like a dream.

- Scoooooorpius. - He shut his eyes, cursing whoever interrupted him.

That moment was too good to be real. Why can't he relax for a moment? He sighed with his eyes still closed, not quite daring to see who she was. Though he probably already knew the owner of that voice, there was still a tiny hope in his chest. "Please, don't be her, please."

Suddenly he felt two arms around his chest and a mouth in his neck. He felt her mouth opens against his neck whistling "scoorpius" and he couldn't stand that anymore. He stood up abruptely and turned himself to stare her.

Amber Parkinson, the most annoying girl Scorpius has ever met. Unfortunately, their parents work together and sometimes they spend the day at Malfoy's Mansion – because they always have an excuse to go there and they always bring their disgusting daughter. Since his parents are forced to be kind with them – after all, they still have manners, no matter the situation – Scorpius has also to be the gentle host and deal with the demon called Amber, who tries to woo him every time she's there. What a nightmare.

Well, then, he didn't have to be gentle with her when they are far from home and that's a relief. However, Amber is extremely insistent and she decided to follow him wherever he goes. What a fucking nightmare.

- For the millionth time, stop it and get out of my way.

He really wanted her to disappear. He knows, he knows, from the look of her eyes, that she's not interested on him – she's interested on his money and on his surname. Although the surname "Malfoy" was a shame for years, his father could bring it to the "hall of fame" again when he won a prize for being the Best Doctor in the Century and this fact attracted a lot of disgusting people – and the perfect example of it was in front of him, looking at him with a sad expression.

- Why do you keep ignoring me, Scorpius? We know each other for so long, don't we? Ahh, Scorpius Malfoy, what's wrong with you?

- Ah, I know you for a long time, yes. And I don't like you since we met and you've known this from the very beginning too. Now, are you too stupid to keep trying?

She stared at him with a furious gaze and he thanked to God that she was loosing her acting skills. He couldn't stand it anymore.

However, she changed her furious expression in one second and the crying-baby expression returned.

- Why, Scorpius, why? I want you so mu –

- Stop it. Just get off my way, Parkinson, and don't disturb me anymore.

- What about the party? Aren't you gonna come back? The party hasn't even started and you are out here yet.

Oh, yes, there was still that party. It would be an amazing costume party, "funny as hell" as Albus said to him earlier, IF he was in the mood. But he wasn't, which became apparently when he exploded.

- I'm not going. I am serious, Parkinson, don't bother me. Go away.

- But –

- Go. Away.

She turned back fast and ran, but Scorpius was able to see the anger in her eyes. "Well, she is not going to bother me anytime soon." He hoped. He tried to relax and feel the night again, but he couldn't anymore. That girl ruined his night.

Sighing, Scorpius decided to walk around the school to clear his head. He really liked to walk, and it's always helped him to calm down. He watched a few younger people running around playing with their costumes and smirked. Happiness is such an amazing feeling, uh?

Too busy appreciating the children, Scorpius didn't notice the Batman that jumped in his back.

Hey, depressive-boy! Join me in the party! Why didn't you appear in my room today?

It was Albus, of course. Who else could it be? Albus was in front of him now with an amuse look and Scorpius couldn't help but laugh a bit.

- Wrong choice of words, Albus. I'll go there later, ok? Be prepared, I'll bring a bottle of firewhisky for tonight. - Scorpius gave him a sexy look and then, both of them were laughing hard.

- Yeah, that would be nice. Too bad my bed isn't big enough. - Albus laughed a bit more and then his focus returned. - I'm serious now, though. Why aren't you at the party?

- I'm not in the mood for parties.

- Aw, come on. I have an awesome costume in my room and I bet it'll fit you well!

- Albus, you're so gay.

- What, don't you wanna visit my room? - he smirked.

- Shut up.

They were talking and laughing while walking, and Scorpius only realized what he was doing when Albus got the damned costume. Shit, he had done it again. Albus has the power to distract whoever is by his side with his conversation and then... puf! You are forced to do what you didn't want to do in the beginning of the conversation.

- Here, there it is. Put it on!

Scorpius stared at the fucking costume and sighed. He had no choice, right? Now he had to do it, or he would screw his friend's night. He knew that Albus wanted to stay with the girl he's obsessed this night and he saw – after going out there to enjoy the moon – that he was doing a pretty good job. However, when he saw Scorpius alone, Albus "left her" to talk to him. Well, Scorpius was cornered.

- Yeah, okay. You won this time.

The worst of all was: the costume fit perfectly on him. There're no more doubts: Albus is going to drag him to that freaking party.

- WOOOOOOOOOOW, LOOKS LIKE CAPTAIN AMERICA IS GONNA HAVE FUN TONIGHT!

- Shut up, Albus! I look ridiculous.

- Nah, you're hot wearing this costume. I knew it.

- Albus, are you sure you're not gay? - he just smirked at him, staring him with amused eyes.

- Who knows? C'mon, you still have to wear this mask.

- What? No! It's a costume party and I am already wearing the costume. I don't need the fucking mask.

- Tsc, tsc. Looks like someone has to pay more attention.

Albus's eyes were mysterious and Scorpius still didn't understand. He just kept alternating his eyes between Albus and the mask, not sure about what to do next. Why the hell he has to wear that mask? He knew it wasn't a joke because of the way Albus said it, so he was confused.

- Spill it, Albus. What is it?

- Well... I thought you knew it, but apparently you slept in the class again. This party is both a costume party and a masquerade. Why d'ya think I''m as Batman?

That wasn't his day. Scorpius sighed for the fifth time that night and wore the freaking mask. It wasn't a complete mask, considering that it only covers his face until the nose and frees his blond hair, but it was enough to hide his traces. When he looked at himself in the mirror he saw a stranger, and that was both terrifying and amazing.

- There you are! Woah, man, you're unrecognizable!

- Is it a good or a bad thing?

- A good thing, obviously! Everybody's unrecognizable. Man, this party is going to be freaking awesome.

- It'll suck, but whatever. Let's go, Batman.

- As you wish, Captain!

x-x

Air. Air. He needed air.

Crap, it was so crowded. Once they joined in the party Scorpius lost Albus in the crowd and he was trying to get out of that mess since then. However, that was kind of impossible because people were trying to force him to dance and chat with them. They were a bit tipsy, Scorpius noticed. 'How the hell McGonnagal allowed this fucking party?' Perhaps she was a bit too old to be the director. Maybe.

Scorpius finally managed to find a a calmer place where he could breath peacefully. Many people were there too, but at least he found a place to sit down and watch everybody dancing around. It was a funny sight, really. You don't see Jack the Tripper dancing eletronic music with Marylin Monroe everyday.

Maybe this party could be funny.

Suddenly, the eletronic music stopped. Scorpius looked around to see what happened and the others were looking as confused as him. Then, after a few seconds, a classic music was echoing in the salloon.

Of course. McGonnagall couldn't allow a party without a ball included. "She must be a bit nut, though. What kind of ball is this? Everybody's wearing a costume and a mask!"

- Hm.. hey. Wanna dance?

An "Alice of Wonderland" stopped in front of him and although she was staring him sorely, Scorpius could see she was somewhat shy and embarrassed. He smiled apologetically at her and shook his head, trying to be kind.

- Sorry, not much of a dancer. But go on, I'm sure there are a lot of super-heroes here that would dance with you, dear Alice.

She smiled at him and looked around, embarrassed. She leaned down nervously and murmured in his ears. "Hm, actually" she said, "I'm trying to run away from a Batman-guy. Could you please pretend you're dancing with me¿ Just for a few minutes, I promise!"

The "Captain America" stared at her, shocked. No way. Was she the girl Albus was talking to before? He started laughing and she became even more embarrassed.

- Do you mean, Albus?

Now it was her turn to be shocked.

- Wait, did you know his identity? Oh, fuck, why am I so unlucky?

- Aw, he's a nice guy, you know. And you were with him before, so what? Why are you running away from him? And... you weren't wearing a costume, were you?

Her cheeks grew hot and she was looking anywhere but "Captain America".

- Yeah, well... he insisted and I ended up with this costume. I didn't want it, but Albus can be very persuasive when he wants.

Ah, he knows that. He knows that pretty well.

- But– she continued – he started to, uh, do things with his hand and speak some jokes I don't know how to answer and now.. well, now here I am.

Scorpius couldn't believe in what he was hearing. Albus, you stupid asshole! He was fast, too fast and it was no good for anybody.

- Uh, I think you should give him a chance. Really, Albus can be a jerk sometimes but he's a nice guy. Go meet him and please, tell him that Captain America ordered him to slow down or else I won't go to his room at midnight.

"Alice" laughed hard this time and nodded. All right, at least his friend was having fun.

- Yeah, okay, I'll go there once more. May I suppose you two have a different relationship? - she asked, joking.

- Well, you could say that.

He smirked at her and said goodbye, watching her go. Albus Potter, what a jerk.

x-x

Half an hour has passed and Scorpius was still sitting in the same place and he was still watching people. He looked kinda creepy, staring at everybody like that for half an hour, but lots of girls asked him to dance anyway – and he refused all of them. He didn't recognize any of the girls and he supposed they didn't recognize him either – why would you dance with someone you don't know? That was kind of stupid, right?

Remember what your mom teaches you: don't talk to strangers. Now, let's just change "talk" for "dance", because it fit better in this case.

Okay, maybe his mind wasn't in balance. Distract yourself, Scorpius. Then, Scorpius decided to look around to see those who weren't dancing – because he saw who were dancing for enough time already. His eyes ran through the room, analyzing. There were a few couples in the corners, a drunk Harlequin screaming things he couldn't hear, a few people chatting and – oh.

She was there. Rose Weasley. Staring at him.

Scorpius would recognize her everywhere, with or without a costume. It was impossible for him not to recognize those amazing, beautiful eyes that had always driven him insane. Scorpius has even drawn and colored them in his sketchbook just to make sure he would never forget how beautiful they are – but, of course, her eyes were so, so much prettier than his drawing.

She was wearing a Black-Widow costume, and Scorpius smirked a bit when he realized that her personality was very similar to Rose's. And then he laughed a bit when he realized that her relationship with Captain America wasn't very, uh, friendly.

Scorpius had a crush on her since forever, but he was never able to start to be friends with her. He knew there were a lot of people trying to humiliate him whenever they could and he also knew that the good reputation of his family's name was new, so he couldn't go off the trails. Draco told him that he was free to do whatever he wanted to do – except drinking too much, murder or drug himself – and he also told Scorpius to huff whoever bothers him, but Scorpius knew that he couldn't do that without screwing his family's name up.

However, if Rose loved him back he would do what his father suggested. He would send to hell all the bullshit he endured just to live together with Rose in a place far away from all this shit. And he knew his parents would support him, because they hated it as much as he.

But life wasn't that beautiful, and Rose hated him from the very beginning. In their first year in Hogwarts, she decided that Scorpius was her worst enemy. Why, Merlin, why he was so unlucky in life?

" Well, throw away those unhappy thoughts, you asshole" Scorpius said to himself. 'You're at a party and you're not making it worse." Still staring at Rose, Scorpius made a decision. He would enjoy that night as much as he could – after all, Albus didn't make him wear that costume for nothing, right? Scorpius had to take advantage of that.

Scorpius stood up and he started to walk in Rose's direction, slowly. He was unrecognizable, yeah. Don't panic. She doesn't know who you are and you're only trying to be friends with her. She doesn't know your identity, relax. Calm down, Scorpius, breathe. You're Captain America now, and she's Black Widow. You're no longer Malfoy and Weasley. Scorpius stopped in front of her, those mysterious eyes never letting his. He took a deep breath and offered his hand.

You can do it, you're brave. Don't chicken out.

- Can I have this dance, dear Black Widow?

Scorpius watched her eyes widen in surprise and he saw a gently smile below her mask. She accepted his hand and Scorpius felt his heart skip a beat.

- Of course, dear Captain America. I just have to warn you that I don't know how to dance. So… I don't think you want you feet smashed by mine. – she answered, blushing. Scorpius couldn't help but laugh. She was amazing, really.

- I'll teach you how to dance, then.

Rose laughed and stood up, following "Captain America" to the dance floor. For the first time, Scorpius mentally thanked Minerva for this ball. He finally had the chance to be closer to Rose – even if she didn't know who he was.

Scorpius put his hand on her waist and she put her hands on his neck, which made Scorpius shivers a bit with her soft touch. He looked down at her and smiled, just to see her smiling back.

- Now… let's start the lesson, Black Widow.

That was the best party ever.