Unexpected Things

KeysCanHurt: FOUR updates in a row ;) Love ya too :D Haha, yeah Dirk is like that =)) Yay, I know you well! Whoot! :)) Haha, yeah, maybe she does ;) I love the way she tried to stop Raph from saying it =)) It was so much fun to write it =)) and it IS something she'd do :P thank you :D It's good to know that I'm better than She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named :D Thanks a bunch! :D

MalfoyMaiden: Haha, there's no harm in applying lessons :P =)) Haha, yesh, doubts :P

crazy-wee-cat: Haha, well Winter IS a cute little guy. I wish I had a ferret xD Haha, yeah, maybe :P Thanks :D

yellow 14: Yeah, whoever tries will be murdered more than once xD There may or may not be hints as to what they're meeting about. ;) Here's a hint though... in the Party chapter, Dirk did actually let slip a portion of what it may be about.

Wolfdogluver: Ahahahah. Haha, thanks. But I don't plan on having lots of chapters like this :P

Dracoins-Eridani: Thanks for adding this to your favourites list :D

As usual, uncreative with the chapter titles xD I'm gonna upload this, then I have to work on a paper for English. Whoot. Oh joy. xD *sigh* Would rather write this than any dang thing for school.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Good Evening

"Why do we have to wear stupid dress robes?" James complained. "This collar makes my neck itch! And I look stupid!"

"James, you don't look stupid! You look handsome, actually." Mum's tone was at first scolding, then it became gentler and kinder as she complimented her son.

Self-consciously, Al ran his fingers through his hair. As usual, it would not lie flat. He looked up at his father.

Even with his messy black hair, Dad managed to look decent in his dark green dress robes.

Despite having been called the very image of Harry Potter in his youth, Al didn't feel like he matched his father's image. His face still held soft, boyish features, his hair didn't seem like it was the stylish kind of messy. Just… messy. James looked good in his clothes. Lily looked pretty in hers.

"Mum, you're supposed to say that because you're our mum." James insisted.

"James, stop whining. You look good in that, and be bloody thankful that you're not wearing a bloody magenta dress robe with frilly ruffles all over it." Uncle Ron's tone was one that showed his irritation. He still wasn't as comfortable as he could be in Malfoy Manor. They had been at Scorpius's before, and there was supposed to be a dinner like this last year, but they never got to push through with it because Dad, Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron had to attend to an emergency at the Ministry.

"Frilly ruffles?" James stared at Uncle Ron in disbelief.

"Don't ask." Uncle Ron grumbled.

"When he was James's age, the dress robes he wore were magenta with ruffles and frills, they were from Aunt Muriel." Mum explained for them.

"GINNY!"

"Oh come on, Ron! They're bound to find out sooner or later!"

Uncle Ron irritably muttered things under his breath as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Can I ring their bell now?" Dad asked them. He looked at each of them, one by one.

"Yep!" Lily answered with her trademark excitement.

"Fiiiine." James groaned, still frowning.

Al nodded when Dad looked at him.

"Yes." Mum smiled.

"Let's get it done and over with." Uncle Ron growled.

"I'm getting bored standing outside their house." Rose answered.

"Me too." Hugo agreed.

"Wait!" Aunt Hermione took a comb out from her purse, pulled Hugo over to her and started combing his hair. "Hugo, your hair looks improper."

"Hermione, that's probably the thirteenth time you fussed over one thing or another." Dad spoke before Uncle Ron could. "Earlier, it was Ron's sleeves, then you wanted to cut loose thread from Rose's dress robes, before that, you were dusting off my dress robes. Before that, you tried to arrange Ginny's hair."

"Actually dad, it was the fifteenth time she fussed…" Al corrected quietly.

"That's not counting the times before we met you here." Rose whispered.

"What is your problem anyway, 'Mione?" Uncle Ron demanded.

"I can't help it!" Aunt Hermione released Hugo, then began scanning Rose, her eyes going over his cousin from top to toe. "That Astoria gets on my nerves!" Her eyes lit up as if she spotted something wrong with Rose.

Rose noticed and looked ready to run away, but Aunt Hermione held her shoulder before Rose could take off. "Mom, my scalp hurts from how many times you've brushed my hair!" From the look on Rose's face and the whine in her voice, Al knew better than to ask just how many times Hermione had gone through Rose's hair with her trusty comb.

"That's not it, Rose. Your dress robe looks wrinkled." Aunt Hermione ran her palms over Rose's sleeves.

"Hermione, why do we have to look perfect?" Ginny asked.

"Al, your hair is-"

"HERMIONE!" Mum, Dad and Uncle Ron spoke together, finally getting Aunt Hermione's full attention.

"Astoria makes everything look so perfect!" Aunt Hermione put up a hand, to stop Mum, who looked ready to say something. "Normally, I wouldn't be bothered by images. But there's just something about her that's so infuriatingly smug! It's like she's showing off how much of a wonderful cook she is, and how clean everything in her house is. I see it on her face whenever I pick Rose up from this palace they live in!"

"Your cookings not that b-"

"Ron, we both know you will always prefer your mother's cooking and ordered food over anything I ever prepared for you."

Uncle Ron closed his mouth and looked at the floor. He wasn't going to contradict his wife.

Al was suddenly curious to know just what Aunt Hermione's food tasted like. He never really saw her cook anything.

"Hermione, this is your competitiveness talking, isn't it?" Dad was raising his eyebrow.

Aunt Hermione looked away.

Dad chuckled. "Admit it! You don't like feeling like there's someone better than you at anything!"

Aunt Hermione's frown deepened.

"Hermione." Mum put both her hands on Aunt Hermione's shoulders. "Relax."

Aunt Hermione opened her mouth, obviously ready to talk about just how incapable she was of relaxing, but before she could, the door swung open.

Scorpius stood at the doorway, wearing dark blue. "I was sort of wondering… when were you going to come in?"

"Now." Dad stepped inside.

Al had been surprised by how Aunt Hermione felt. He had been used to Mrs. Malfoy's neatness. It probably came from being close to Scorpius, who liked keeping things neat and in order. There were specific positions for the strands of hair on Scorpius's head that were his bangs, and there was a precise set that would spike out slightly. Not too spiky that it looked messy "like that sloppy Huffle Puffball, McCartney", but just enough to keep his hair from being too flat "like those pictures of my father when he was younger and overused gel".

And that was just hair. Scorpius was more organized when it came to his things. Scorpius didn't really think about it, he just did it, which was why when the Higgs twins teased him about his neatness, he didn't understand their reasons.

Al had long before noticed how Mrs. Astoria Malfoy could be very neat with her house. When he first observed it, Al had told himself that that must be why Scorpius was the way he was.

But he had never really noticed if Mrs. Malfoy was smug and showy about her neatness, and how Aunt Hermione felt about it. Maybe tonight he'd really see it.

He had watched Mrs. Malfoy smile as they entered the Manor and led them to the living room, which was spotless. Decorations were properly positioned and aligned, nothing was dusty, the little wooden table shone to the point of almost reflecting their faces.

There was pride in Mrs. Malfoy's face as she gestured for them to sit.

Mr. Malfoy stood up when they entered and sat when they sat.

Aunt Hermione bristled upon entering the room, but recovered quickly, walking with pride and poise before sitting down elegantly.

She kept up the image even when Uncle Ron sniggered.

But she would probably reprimand him later, when they were out of the Malfoy's house.

Idle chatter followed, and he watched how Mrs. Malfoy and Aunt Hermione's eyes kept meeting, and there were challenging hints to their expressions.

"I need to go to the bathroom…" Rose whimpered, crossing her legs. "May I be excused?"

"Didn't you go right before we left?" Hugo asked her. "You took a really long time in th-" Rose silenced her brother with a punch to his upper arm.

"I'll show you to the bathroom." Scorpius stood up.

"Doesn't she know the way?" Mr. Malfoy asked.

Scorpius shook his head, laughing. "She's gotten lost everytime she tried getting there by herself!"

Rose laughed uncomfortably with Scorpius. Somehow, that laugh didn't seem like it was just because people with full bladders were uncomfortable laughing.

"Did you really need to-"

"No, not really." Rose answered. "But I want to get this done and over with. Can we go somewhere private though?"

Scorpius was alarmed by how serious she sounded. What could she possibly want to talk to him about? He led her to his room, which, conveniently enough was right next to the nearest comfort room.

Once the door was closed, he faced her. "So. What is it?"

"Well… I… I-I-um…" Rose closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "I still am not sure how best to put this."

After a sigh, she opened her eyes. "Remember… in the train… when… y'know…" It was impossible to miss how her cheeks suddenly turned red.

"Yes. I remember that." He tried to keep a straight face, but he found himself smiling at the memory. Why was he smiling?

"I… oohhh… nevermind. Let's try this again."

Scorpius stared at her expectantly.

"I like you."

"What?" Scorpius felt his eyes widen.

"Liked. Or… like… or… I don't know!" She growled the last three words. Frowning, she paced back and forth. "This is so hard. Emotions are not like equations, or spells, or textbooks. They're so… vague."

She stopped, then faced him. "Scorpius… before the school year started… or maybe even earlier than that… I liked you."

"You did?" Scorpius tried to take it in, but he couldn't. It just didn't seem that believable.

"But then… there was Jacqui."

Jacqui. Jacqui was good to him…

They'd talked using Floo Powder. It was all cleared up now. She was wrong for not fighting Dirk off when he kissed her. He told her it was alright, and he forgave her. He told her he didn't want them to fight anymore.

But he didn't tell her that he was starting to have feelings for…

No. He wasn't going to admit that to himself.

"Yes… there's Jacqui." Then he thought of her bronze-haired Hufflepuff. "And McCartney."

"Yes… Raph… and… the thing is… before Raph came along… I was in this pit of hell because I thought there would be no hope at all for me being with you."

She was being extremely, terribly honest with him.

Should he do the same?

Should he dare tell her that he was feeling what she was feeling? Or… rather… what he was trying not to feel?

"I'm sorry to hear that." What the hell? He didn't know what else to say, so he said that.

"And I became pretty happy with Raph. But then… back at the train… when that happened. I felt—I wanted to--- I mean… what I felt started coming back."

Should he say that he also felt something back at the train? And until now… he still felt it.

But Jacqui…

"I know you have Jacqui and I have Raph… but then there's this part of me that won't quit hoping… until… until I ask you directly." The whole time, Rose had been avoiding his eyes. "And if there's no hope or… whatever… then I'll just forget it, and be happy with Raph."

"So…" She looked him straight in the eye. Those chocolate brown eyes made him stiffen. A part of him prayed she wasn't going to look away. But she had to. He had to get over her.

He had to get over her. Really.

"Scorpius. Is there or is there not hope for me?" she asked directly. Straight to the point.

"I…" He felt the strongest urge to take hold of her, kiss her and tell her there was hope. Absolutely, there was hope! He was going crazy about her! He was ready to punch Kron when the guy almost kissed Rose. Yes, there was hope!

"No." Scorpius forced that one word out of his mouth. He took a step closer to her.

Scorpius was relieved that she didn't step back and away from him. Tentatively, he reached out a hand to put on her shoulder. She still didn't pull away, but the pain was plain on her face. He took another step until their faces were not far apart. "I'm sorry, Rose. Really, I am..."

Her brown eyes eluded his grey ones.

"Rose…there should be nothing between us."

At first, she still avoided his eyes.

"You said 'should be.'" She looked directly at him again. "Don't you feel anything for me? At all?"

God, damn it! He did.

But he should say no. Shake his head, say no, and step away from her.

But he couldn't!

He couldn't do it.

That damn urge was becoming extremely hard to fight, and the fact that her face was close to his, and her lips were temptingly within reach was not helping.

Screw it.

"Let's find out." Scorpius placed his hands on her face and brought his lips really really close to hers. For a second, the fighting part of him made him hesitate, but that part was knocked down.

Their lips touched.

It was…

It was…

WHY THE HELL WAS HE ENJOYING THIS?

He pulled away.

"Did you feel anything?" She looked at him hopefully.

I felt it! I felt what you feel! I feel what you feel! Come on let's be together, it should be me and you! Screw Jacqui, screw McCartney! Jacqui can have Kron, McCartney... to hell with him!

"No." Jacqui made him happy. Raph made her happy. It was for the best.

Al observed Scorpius and Rose from the moment they rejoined the gathering until when they sat down at the table for dinner.

Something was wrong.

Both of them were being extremely quiet and distant. There was almost a pinkish tint over their eyes, and it was more obvious with Rose.

Something happened.

Or some things were happening and Al was getting frustrated by the fact that his two best friends were no longer opening up to him.

Scorpius's reply to Al's letter wasn't very informative. It was more about the invitation to this dinner.

Al had sent a letter to Rose too. Her reply to him stated that she would soon tell him what was bothering her.

How soon was soon?

Al wanted to confront them before the evening was over, but his conscience told him that his friends were not telling him because they weren't ready to do so. When they were, they would let him in.

Lily and Rose started whispering among themselves.

Al didn't catch what they were saying until Rose ended the conversation. "Lily, I don't want to talk about it now or I'll end up breaking down."

Was it some girl thing only his sister would understand?

"This is delicious!" Uncle Ron exclaimed, wolfing down large chunks from the food on his plate. Once it was cleared, he took second helpings.

"Thank you!" Mrs. Malfoy said brightly, proudly. "It's a special recipe I've been experimenting with."

Al looked at his aunt to see her reaction. She had been frowning, but when she looked up from her plate, she smiled. "Well done, Astoria!"

"I wanted to make sure it would be perfect!"

"Nothing is perfect, though. Don't you think perfection isn't possible?"

"Yes, but that's what we strive for. We aim for the sky so we can at least reach the ceiling. We aim to prepare a dish that's as close to perfect as possible."

"Yes. But you know what? This food-"

"Really is good! May we have the recipe?" Mum interrupted before Aunt Hermione could say something she might regret."

"That's a secret that will stay with our family." Mrs. Malfoy winked.

Aunt Hermione looked ready to retort but stopped herself. Smiling, she went back to eating.

Back at a house in Godric's Hollow, the small, dark figure of a little animal clawed at the window. It was quiet, but even so, he felt tense. He was almost sure everyone in that street could hear his heart violently pounding against his tiny chest.

The window wasn't opening.

How was he supposed to get in?

Hopping off the windowsill, he padded through the grass to get to the back of the house. Maybe there would be an opening there.

Hopefully he'd be able to fit.

There! The window wasn't properly closed!

Thankful for his luck, the weasel leaped to reach the windowsill. He stuck his head under the window and sniffed.

There didn't seem to be anyone home, just as Kron had said.

He forced his shoulders through. His belly wasn't as easy to force through the gap. Grunting and growling he strained to pull himself in.

Finally, he went through the window and landed heavily on the floor.

He was bruised but still alive.

This was madness!

But he needed the money. Ivan Poliakoff graduated a year ago. His father was a drunkard, his mother was nowhere to be found. The only real skill Ivan had was thieving, made easy by how he had learned to become an Animagus. Becoming an Animagus. Hah! That was no easy task. He failed Charms and Potions for this.

But still, here he was!

Breaking into Harry Potter's home for a pouch of Sickles from Dirk Kron, a little kid from the same school Ivan had studied in. He barely knew the kid. Exchanged a few words, that's it.

But recently, Kron gave him an offer he couldn't refuse. Retrieve something and he'd have a pouch of Sickles. Now, when he had no job, no home and barely any money, Ivan accepted the job.

Still. Was breaking into Harry Potter's house worth a pouch of Sickles? If he got caught and escaped, he had better get a bag of Galleons instead.

Ah well.

Ivan considered shifting back into human form, but changed his mind, deciding he would be safer as a weasel. If he was caught, a weasel in the house would be less alarming than an eighteen-year-old stranger in the house.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when someone attacked him from behind. Growling, he bucked, shaking off whatever had pounced on top of him.

Spinning around, he saw a ferret snarling at him.

Better not pick a fight with one of their pets. Ivan tried to let her now he didn't mean any harm.

She stopped and stared at him, she was wondering what he was doing intruding.

How to explain this to a common ferret?

"Oh, and just so you're warned," Dad was looking at Mr. Malfoy. "Rita Skeeter's at it again. She tried talking to Arthur Weasley, wanted to know about your family."

"That ugly old bat?" Mr. Malfoy frowned. "She's been trying to write articles about my family for years. Isn't she getting tired?"

"I guess now that things have settled and-"

"And people no longer randomly point and yell 'Traitor!' at me, she wants to stir things up again, doesn't she?" Mr. Malfoy finished for Dad.

Dad nodded.

An owl swooped into the dining room and landed in front of Dad. It held up it's leg, which had a note tied there.

"Harry, isn't that a Ministry owl?" Uncle Ron asked.

"It is." Aunt Hermione answered.

Dad sighed. "Just when I thought we could relax!" Taking the note, he opened it and read it. Dad's green eyes widened as he read it, then they narrowed as he frowned.

What was in that note?

"What is it?" Mr. Malfoy asked.

"Emergency at the Ministry. They need me, Hermione and Ron."

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Malfoy asked, concerned.

"The other day, someone was attacked by a group of wizards. Someone's called and said there's a group of wizards harassing someone." Dad was already standing up and walking away from the room, followed by Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron. "We really have to go. We can't let them get away." There was a sort of… fierceness about Dad that Al hadn't seen before. Clearly, he disliked what those wizards were doing. Were they going to fight the group?

"Ginny, could you take the kids home?"

"Gin, could you take care of Rose and Hugo while we're away?"

Oh, and I don't know what food they were eating because I was too lazy to research what's a schmancy, awesome dinner type food for the Brits xD I was thinking steak... but whatever. Think what you will ;)

Oh, and who can guess what Dirk hired Poliakoff to steal?