Chapter 8

A/N: Finally the ball chapter! I know balls are overdone, but I had fun with this one.

As always, thanks to all the lovely people who reviewed and thanks to thestaritrose and irianaceleste for betaing.

On with the chapter!

~Frosty

The party was already in full swing when they entered the Manor. People mingled in bunches near the walls and the refreshment table while dancers twirled in the middle of the room to music that came from a stringed quartet in the corner.

She ushered Lysander into the beautiful ballroom, both of them fighting not to gape at the grand decorations and the dazzling clothing. Immediately, Rose felt slightly awkward compared to the grace she was witnessing.

She continued to feel made up entirely of awkward angles until she caught sight of Goyle Junior, a boy who had been a few years ahead of her in Hogwarts. He walked up to a buffet table, tripped over his own feet and somehow landed face-first in a cake. When he managed to right himself again, he stumbled, got wrapped in a tablecloth, and ended up wearing the entire contents of the table.

The most amazing thing was that no one even batted an eye at his actions. It seemed it was a regular occurrence that Goyle make a fool of himself at formal occasions if the room's reaction was any indication.

With a show like that to follow, Rose could probably upend the punch bowl over her head without attracting much attention.

Over feeling uncomfortable, Rose gazed around the room, getting a closer look at the Purebloods surrounding her. It really was like another world. She could hardly imagine one of these polished people undoing the button on their pants after a big meal like was common in her uncouth family. Although she wouldn't put it past Goyle, he appeared to be an exception to the rule.

Unsurprisingly, Lysander seemed to have suffered from none of her insecurities. He was smiling serenely at anyone who glanced in their direction.

Rose couldn't see Scorpius anywhere, and she didn't know if she was grateful or disappointed. He didn't like Lysander, which was bound to make any encounter with her friend uncomfortable, but she had hoped that she would get to talk to him again. The scant hour they'd spent together hardly made up for the months of cold silence they'd endured.

Defeated, she turned her attention back to her date.

"There's a lot of mistletoe here, and I'm not wearing my Nargle protection," Lysander said worriedly.

Fighting not to roll her eyes, she patted his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

He eyed a particularly large clump of the Nargle-attracting plant that was tied to the chandelier in the middle of the room. The boy was probably concerned about all the Nargles in the area gravitating around it and creating some kind of Nargle vortex that would steal the shoes off of everyone in the room.

Her eyebrows drew together in a scowl as she shook her head slightly at herself. She'd been spending entirely too much time with Lysander of late; she was starting to think like him. Immediately, she berated herself for being so mean. Lysander was a wonderful person; he just had a few... strange habits and beliefs.

Everyone seemed to be sipping from delicate glasses of champagne that sparkled in the candlelight. Rose and Lysander were just about to head off to find themselves glasses of their own when Rose was suddenly jolted to the side as someone collided with her and wrapped in a tight hug.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you properly!" said an excited voice right into Rose's ear. The owner of said voice was still squeezing the redhead tightly.

"I'll... um, go get us those drinks," Lysander said awkwardly. He shuffled away towards the drink table, making sure to give the mistletoe bunches floating around the room a wide berth.

Rose hugged the woman back, feeling immensely uncomfortable and wondering when she was going to be released. She couldn't see the woman's face because of the angle of the hug, and the elegant, flowery perfume the woman was wearing was unfamiliar.

"Mum, you're scaring the guests," drawled a familiar voice from behind them. Immediately, Rose's stomach dove for her feet at the sound. She was going to have to do something about controlling her reactions to him; it would make holding a conversation difficult if she was forever starting at his voice. On the bright side, she now knew who it was who had been embracing her. She probably should have figured it out sooner; there were very few people at the gathering who would throw themselves at a Weasley – or anyone really.

The woman released Rose and smiled up at her son.

Turning around, Rose saw Scorpius – and his stunning date.

"Rose?" Scorpius said in disbelief, looking like he'd been punched in the stomach. Apparently he hadn't recognised who it was that his mum had been smothering until she'd turned around.

"Um, Merry Christmas, Scorpius," she said, feeling a little exposed under his stare. Did he have to look at her so... intently? It was making her uncomfortable. He probably thought she was dressed like a trollop – though he really shouldn't be pointing fingers, considering that his date was wearing a scrap of fabric so small it was a wonder she could move without flashing some part of her anatomy that wasn't supposed to be on display in public.

Astoria was looking between the two of them, smiling. She held her hand out to Rose, breaking the trance the girl had fallen into while locking eyes with her son.

"Astoria Malfoy," she said, shaking Rose's hand. "I was quite disappointed when I heard you'd stopped by while I was shopping."

"That's what I told her, love," said Mr. Malfoy, coming up behind his wife and wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Draco! Where did you disappear to?" Astoria asked with a smile while Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"I had to go... take care of something," Mr. Malfoy said nonchalantly. Even Rose could see he looked entirely too proud of himself; he was up to something.

Astoria looked like she was mildly concerned about what he'd done as well, but she visibly dismissed the thought as Rose watched her. Years of practice had probably taught her that sometimes it was best that she didn't know – plausible deniability and all that.

"Scorpius, why don't you have a dance with Rose here?" Mr. Malfoy suggested, possibly as a ploy to take his wife's mind off of whatever shenanigans he'd gotten into.

Scorpius sent his father a warning look that only someone who knew him well would be able to detect behind his polite mask. "That wouldn't be very polite to my date Father," he said, gesturing to the tall, beautiful blonde in the clingy red dress that had plastered herself to his side.

Despite Scorpius' efforts to avoid the dance, as soon as Astoria heard the idea, she was thrilled.

"Oh you must dance! Charity can come keep me company for one song," Astoria insisted, grabbing said girl's arm and pulling her away from her son.

"It's Chastity," the girl corrected, glaring daggers at Rose.

"Well, we know which one suits you better, dear," Astoria said with a polite smile. Mr. Malfoy and Scorpius both hid identical smirks while Rose could only stare in shock. She obviously needed to stay on Astoria's good side.

Chastity blushed while trying to burn Rose with her eyes. Rose would almost feel sorry for the girl if she hadn't been horrible to her from the moment they'd met.

Under the combined pointed looks of both his parents, Scorpius finally offered a hand to Rose, giving a formal little bow.

Wrapping her smaller fingers around his larger ones, Rose tried not to blush at her discomfort with the situation. His parents were watching them with too much expectation on their faces. What did they think would happen?

Scorpius led them out to the middle of the dance floor. There was a moment of awkwardness before he moved forward, sliding his arms around her waist as she placed hers on his shoulders. The string quartet in the corner started up a very slow tune, the kind of song that dancers could really only sway to.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Mr. Malfoy sliding his wand back inside his pocket. She suspected that he had something to do with the song change, but she couldn't figure out his motivations. Had he only invited to the ball to make her feel uncomfortable? If he had, he was succeeding.

When his palms hit bare skin, Scorpius gave her a surprised look, having not noticed how much of her back was bare while his mother was hugging her.

Rose needed to distract herself from the little sparks that were spreading out from the point where his skin lay against hers before she did something stupid, like snog him in full view of everyone even remotely important in Pureblood society.

"If you tell me I've splinched the back off of my dress, I'm going to hex you," she said, breaking the strange tension that had built between them. There were still sparks radiating throughout her, but they weren't the all-consuming distraction they'd been moments prior.

Scorpius spread his warm hands across the bare expanse of skin on her back. "I rather like your dress," he murmured, tilting his head down slightly to bring his lips closer to her ear.

The tension was back again, and so were those thrice damned sparks! Merlin, how had she not noticed how attractive Scorpius was prior to that blasted hallucination? She had known on an objective level, but she'd never really felt it before that vision. Now she could barely hold herself together enough to have a conversation without the sparks and butterflies threatening to overwhelm her.

More than anything, she wanted to just tighten her hold and soak him in, but she couldn't. Rose could feel the stare of Charity, or Chastity – whatever was her name – burning into her back. Scorpius' hands were doing the same thing, but in a more pleasant way.

"Where's that boyfriend of yours?" Scorpius asked, sneering the word boyfriend into a curse word. His fingers curled in reflexive anger against her back, unconsciously kneading her skin.

"He went to get champagne and hasn't come back yet." Worry over Lysander was enough to force her to focus again. What could be taking him so long?

"His loss." Scorpius didn't look concerned in the least that Lysander was gone. If he hadn't shown up almost as soon as Lysander had left, Rose would have been worried that the blond had done something to her poor boyfriend.

"Who's your lovely date?" she asked in a similar tone to the one he'd used to ask about hers.

"She's a friend of the family."

Rose glanced over towards where his parents were standing with Chastity. Neither of the older Malfoys were even looking at the girl, they were both focused on the dance floor.

"Your family doesn't seem all that fond of her," Rose said dryly.

"Distant friend," he amended without a pause.

Rose chuckled, shaking her head at his lie.

He pretended to glare for a moment but quickly gave up and cracked a smile.

Suddenly, he developed a mischievous twinkle in his eye that set Rose on edge. He leant down so that his lips were just brushing her ear, his breath making goose bumps develop across her bare skin.

"She's not a friend at all; she's quite annoying actually," he whispered conspiratorially.

Rose snickered, not wanting him to pull away, but knowing he was going to have to in the very near future. She was pretty sure the song would end soon. Titling her head slightly, she was able to rest it on his shoulder. The extra inches she'd gained from her heels made their height difference less pronounced. Her eyes drifted closed of their own accord as she finally gave into the urge to lean against him.

She knew she was being stupid, but she was just so tired of keeping herself away from him. It was a special occasion; he wouldn't begrudge her a little closeness, would he?

"Rose," Scorpius said, his voice holding a strange note. "Don't panic, but there's a sprig of mistletoe above us."

She snapped her eyes open and looked up. Shit. There really was mistletoe up there. And she didn't even have her Nargle protecting earrings! Rose frowned; she was spending way too much time with Lysander, it was making her strange as well. Or maybe it was just the proximity to a certain blond and then possibility of a kiss that was making her frazzled.

"Do you think it will just go away?" she whispered.

Scorpius snorted and glanced over at his mum, who twirling her wand and sharing a suspiciously triumphant look with her husband. "For some reason, I have a feeling it's going to be persistent."

"What do we do?" She tried to put some space between them so she could more easily see his face. She was hoping the distance would also help her think better.

His arms tightened around her, keeping her moulded against him and unable to move away.

"If I kiss you, will you run away again?" His voice sounded a little pained and Rose felt bad for fleeing the last time they'd kissed. She'd been doing her best to not think about that particular incident; it was necessary for her sanity.

"I can't make any promises," she said sadly. Their friendship was already rocky enough from the last time they'd kissed; another similar incident could drive a permanent wedge between the two of them. Not to mention her poor heart could only take so much torment.

If only she could take control of the situation... Her eyes widened with realization; she had an idea.

"Here, I'll kiss you." She brought her hands up to either side of his face and pulled him down a bit so she could reach. Slowly, she placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

At the contact, his arms tightened around her, but she didn't deepen the kiss. She held it a moment too long, but she kept it chaste. How could something nearly completely innocent still break her heart?

There was something unfamiliar in his eyes as she pulled away, but she didn't get time to wonder what it was.

"I think that's enough now," said a bitter voice.

Rose whipped around to see that Scorpius' date had managed to escape from his parents and was tapping her foot irritably. The blonde girl shot Rose a glare that could peel paint and pulled Scorpius towards a different part of the dance floor. He shot Rose an apologetic look but allowed himself to be dragged.

Suddenly not in the mood to do anything but curl up in bed, Rose shuffled off the dance floor, looking for her boyfriend. She hoped Lysander hadn't seen that kiss, he was understanding enough about her aversion to kissing so he didn't need to see her kissing other people.

Grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing waiter with a tray, she set off looking for her missing boyfriend. It had been a while since she'd last seen him; she was starting to get really worried.

Twenty minutes later and well into her fifth glass of champagne, Rose finally found Lysander. He was just stumbling into the room, looking ruffled.

"Where were you?" she asked, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. If he'd left her to feel uncomfortable and make polite conversation with Purebloods who looked at her like she was a strange animal in the zoo just because he wanted to find some protection from the Nargles, she wasn't going to be pleased. No matter what advances had been made in the wizarding world as a whole, the majority of Pureblood society would always see her as lesser because one set of her grandparents were Muggles and the other were blood traitors.

No Nargle repelling accessory was worth facing that alone.

"Someone shoved me into a closet," he said, glancing nervously around the ballroom. "I'm pretty sure it was Mr. Malfoy."

"Well, this party's just been uncomfortable on all fronts then," she sighed, pointedly not looking over to where she knew Scorpius to be dancing much too close with his date. Chastity indeed.

"Do you want to get out of here? All this time in the presence of Narlges is obviously wearing on your mood," Lysander said, watching warily as she finished off her champagne in one big gulp.

"Yeah, let's," Rose said, linking her arm through his. "We just have to go thank our hosts, then we can get out of here."

Astoria smiled when she noticed Rose approaching. She elbowed her husband, drawing his attention to the approaching pair as well.

"Rose! Are you having a good time?" Astoria asked.

Forcing a smile on her face, Rose nodded. "I am thank you. Unfortunately, it seems Lysander is feeling a little under the weather," she shot a pointed look at the smirking Mr. Malfoy, "so we're going to leave now."

Astoria nodded, elbowing her husband a little harder. While she agreed with making the children dance together, she didn't approve of shoving guests into coat closets and locking them inside.

"Come back and visit soon, okay?" Astoria said. She'd been quite hurt that her son adamantly refused to invite his friends over to their home. He was a little hung up on how 'dangerous' it was. As long as they stayed out of the East wing, any guests would be perfectly safe - mostly.

"Alright." They shared nods and Rose awkwardly stood there while Astoria hugged her once more.

"The Malfoys are a scary bunch," Lysander commented as they walked towards the huge gate.

Rose disagreed. They were a little intimidating at first, but the Malfoys were kind – if they liked you. Unfortunately, she had a feeling that Lysander was one of the many people that they didn't like.

"They're not so bad," was all she said in their defence. Rose knew that her experience at the party and Lysander's greatly differed and didn't want to say more on the subject.

They crunched the gravel in silence, listening to the faded sounds of the party and the whistling of the wind. Rose shivered as the icy fingers of the winter wind crawled over her back. Why had Lily thought it was a good idea to only wear half a dress in December? She would have almost preferred to wear a Weasley sweater and jeans.

"Are you cold?" Lysander asked. His hands moved to take off his robe for her to wear.

"Not really, we'll be able to Apparate in a moment." There were only a few more steps before they would be outside the Manor's wards and she would be able to Apparate them back to her house.

"This night didn't exactly go the way I was expecting," he said, trying again to make conversation.

Rose didn't want to talk, she felt miserable. In the morning, she would probably feel bad for her rudeness and apologise, but at the moment, all she could focus on was the image of Scorpius and his slag of a date. What did he even see in her?

She scoffed at herself. Scorpius wasn't exactly interested in the girl for her personality.

That little kiss wasn't even allowed to enter her thoughts; it was best she didn't think about it.

When she caught sight of the depressed look on her boyfriend's face, Rose sighed. She was a horrible person and had no idea why Lysander put up with her.

"I'm sorry, Lysander. I've had too much to drink and it's put me in a foul mood. This night didn't turn out the way I expected either." She took his arm and prepared to Apparate them.

"Thank you for coming with me though."

He shrugged. "That's what boyfriends are for."

Fighting off a twinge of pain and not even understanding why, Rose turned them on the spot instead of answering.

"ROSE! Where the bloody hell is the rest of your dress?" Ron yelled from behind her the moment they popped into the kitchen. That was unfortunate; it seemed that her dad had been behind her, placed just right to get a good look at her back and its lack of covering.

Closing her eyes in exasperation, Rose turned to face her raging father. He was already red and working his way towards puce, which meant she had only moments before he exploded. In a rush, she shoved Lysander towards the Floo and rushed up the stairs.

"I'm really tired! Night dad!" she called over her shoulder.

When she got to her room, she made sure to cast strong locking charms on the wood.