Disclaimer: It all belongs to JK Rowling.
Chapter Three
"Rose. Rose, wake up!" hissed Dom. "Victoire's going to be out soon. If I have to suffer through this, then so do you."
With great effort, the redhead lifted her head off of the table. "Well, aren't you just the perfect maid of honour."
"Girls…" said Aunt Fleur, standing just outside her eldest daughter's fitting room. She shot both Rose and Dom a look of absentminded disapproval.
Rose sighed. She was only so bloody irritated because she'd been dragged out of bed to attend dress fittings for Victoire's upcoming nuptials—for the fourth Saturday morning in a row. Rose loved her cousin and she loved shopping and dresses, and she was all for love and marriage, but she'd had a killer week at work, and all she wanted was to sleep in and maybe read a nice book in bed. Was that too much to ask for?
Dom laughed gleefully. "Look at this," she said, nodding to the Witch Weekly open in her lap. "Cecilia Bole was caught cheating with a wizard thrice her age! Oh, poor Damen…"
Rose reluctantly faced her cousin, who was busy examining a photo of Cecilia Bole, a leggy Slytherin, leaving a hotel room with a grey-haired man Rose didn't recognize. In the corner of the page was a picture of Damen Zabini, Bole's ex-boyfriend, a handsome Italian wizard whom Dom used to hook up with at Hogwarts.
"Poor Damen, indeed," agreed Rose, a smirk on her face. "I've got to hand it to you, Dom. He really is fit."
Dom giggled, sliding the magazine over to Rose with a mischievous smile. "You know who else is fit?" Her smile widened. "Your Quidditch player."
Rose's eyes skimmed across the two-page article, which was entitled "Britain's Most Eligible Bachelor?" and featured a shirtless photo of Scorpius. She felt her stomach flutter. Merlin, Scorpius was sexy. And she remembered first-hand how his body felt pressed up against hers, too…
"Ha, I knew you were into him!"
Rose refused to meet Dom's eyes. Her cousin had been bugging her to owl Scorpius ever since meeting the Quidditch player earlier in the week, claiming that "there was clearly something" going on between the two of them.
The redhead shook her head and shot Dom a meaningful "we're not talking about this here" look, because if Aunt Fleur heard, then Uncle Bill would know, and before long, so would the entire family. Her uncles (and dad) gossiped more than Hogwarts portraits did, and, often, with disastrous results.
Dom rolled her eyes. "Just admit it, Rose," she continued in a low singsong voice. "You like Scorpius! And believe me, you're not alone, honey. Unlike the rest of us, however, you actually have a shot, so owl him."
"I—okay, fine, I think he's really attractive," whispered Rose. "But you're wrong if you think I have any chance! Blokes like him don't go for girls like me, and besides, they always have a girlfr—wait, 'eligible bachelor'?"—She glanced down at the trusty Witch Weekly spread and then up to a very self-satisfied Dom—"So… no girlfriend?"
"Not for almost two years."
"Huh…"
"Ah, you look marvellous, my dear! Simply marvellous!"
The exuberant voice of the Atelia Vika saleswitch announcing Victoire's emergence from the fitting room commandeered Rose's attention. She watched as her cousin stepped out in a voluptuous white gown with poufy long sleeves, and frills and ruffles adorning the entire length of the train. She sported uncharacteristically messy blonde hair and, with her smudged makeup, looked as if she'd just lost a fight with the Giant Squid. Rose cringed. It honestly looked as if the dress was wearing Victoire, not the other way around.
Victoire frowned as she examined herself in the three-panelled floor length mirror. "Maman…"
"You look gorgeous, darling!" insisted the saleswitch. "If you don't buy it, I'm buying it for myself!"
"Maybe you should," muttered Rose at the same time that Dom said, "Oh Merlin, no. You're better off in Moaning Myrtle's dress, Tor."
Victoire flipped her sister the bird and Aunt Fleur gave her daughters another look of mild disapproval—mostly for the saleswitch's benefit, Rose was sure. She hid a smile. Aunt Fleur was used to far worse antics from Louis.
"Gorgeous?" asked Aunt Fleur, the coolness of her voice enough to make commission-earning professionals everywhere wince. "If this is what you call a 'gorgeous' dress, then per'aps it's time we go elsewhere."
The smile prompted slid off the other witch's face. "Oh, no, no, of course not, Mrs. Weasley! I apologise. We have plenty of other styles for your daughter to try on. We'll find the perfect dress for her yet! I promise," she said, quickly disappearing into the back.
Her aunt sighed. "If that witch thought I would pay for something as 'ideous as that, then she is out of 'er mind."
Victoire groaned. "Merlin, we've gone to almost ten shops. At this rate, I'm never going to find the perfect dress!"
"Don't worry so much, Tor. These things always work out somehow. And we have two more months! It's going to be fine," said Dom.
Victoire sighed and nodded, looking at Rose for… reassurance? Wrong person, Tor. The redhead attempted to offer her best smile. "We're going to find it in no time," she said. Or else she might drop out of the wedding party—if only to sleep in on Saturdays.
Two and a half hours later, the search was finally over. On the hanger, the simple white dress didn't look like much, but on Victoire, it made the bride-to-be look ethereally beautiful. Seriously. Everyone was ecstatic—well, until they realized that they now had to focus on bridesmaid dresses.
Rose, now slightly less grumpy but much hungrier, was currently perusing gowns near the front of the shop. A pale blue dress in the window display caught her eye. The wedding colours were blue and gold, so this dress had potential. It was made of pleated chiffon and featured a modest slit to mix things up a bit, but wouldn't detract from the bride's beauty (though Rose doubted any dress's ability to do that when Victoire was the bride).
She stood on her tiptoes to measure herself against the dress on the mannequin, and beamed. The length was perfect—it was modest but not too long.
Excited, Rose made to inform the others of her find. She—
Hang on.
A very familiar and exceptionally handsome man stood just a few metres from the boutique, looking at her through the glass windows.
Scorpius?
Rose stared back at him, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. Seriously? What were the odds? First, dinner on Monday night, and now, this?
Scorpius grinned at her. Moments later, he strode into the dress shop. "If this is what women wear while shopping, then I'd have been much less adverse to accompanying them."
Rose glanced down and blushed. She was still in the little silk slip provided by the saleswitch! Oh Merlin, this day just kept getting better and better. Instinctively, she pulled at the hem of the slip.
Scorpius smirk grew more pronounced. He stepped closer to her.
She folded her arms self-consciously and stared indignantly at him. "What are you doing here?"
The wizard gave her a long once-over, his hot gaze making Rose's body flush and her thoughts wander.
"Scorpius," admonished Rose, trying to get his attention. "Eyes up here," she ordered, imploring herself not to blush. It was so hard, though, especially when he was staring at her like that…
"Sorry, Head Girl," said Scorpius, his grin unapologetic. "I was… distracted. And before you say anything—no, I wasn't stalking you. I was going to get lunch and just happened to see you. But, who's to argue with fate, right?" He smirked. "Hungry?"
Rose gaped at him. "You think you're so—"
"Rose? Where are you?" Dom's voice sounded very close and Rose's eyes widened.
"Quick, you need to leave!" she whispered, grabbing Scorpius' arm and dragging him towards the door.
"What are you—why?"
"Because… because"—If Dom saw Scorpius here, she'd make a big deal of it in front of Victoire and Aunt Fleur and, then, the rest of their family, and Rose just refused to deal with that—"Dom's crazy," blurted Rose, panicking. "She can't see you here!"
"Riight," he said slowly, a grin stretching across his aristocratically good-looking features. "Tell you what: I'll make myself scarce for five minutes if you come have lunch with me." His grin widened as Rose made to protest. "If not, well, I'm sure Dom and I have a lot to talk about," he said, winking as he stepped out of the shop.
... stupid, charming git.
"Rose? Oh, there you are!" exclaimed Aunt Fleur, her voice making Rose jump.
"We were beginning to think that you'd skipped out on us," joked Victoire, walking over with Dom in tow.
Rose laughed weakly. "Yeah, erm—yeah, so I found something that might work for bridesmaid dresses," she said, pointing at the pale blue gown displayed in the very front of the shop. She hastily glanced out the window. Good, no sign of Scorpius.
"Oh, this looks pretty, Rose! What do you think, Maman? Dom?"
"Hmm… not bad." Dom tilted her head in consideration, moving closer with Aunt Fleur to inspect the dress. Rose seized this opportunity to change back into her jeans and striped sweater and wracked her brain for a believable excuse to bail on them.
"Do you think they could make the slit higher?" asked Dom. Rose smirked. "Ow! Calm down, Maman. I was only wondering…"
"So, Dom," said Victoire in a faux-innocent tone. "I hear Zabini's a free agent now."
Dom immediately reddened. She sent her sister a death glare.
"Zabini?" said Aunt Fleur. "You mean that Italian boy? I thought you were into that other… hmm, Aiden—no, Alan? Alec? No, that's not right. Your father will remember. I know you know who I'm talking about, Dom, and I'm a little 'urt you 'aven't told me about him yet. Lucy said that she saw you 'aving lunch with this brown-'aired man at Benecio's on Wednesday, and that the two of you were really 'itting it off! I'm 'appy for you, darling…" Dom determinedly looked anywhere but at her mother, likely plotting ways to hex their cousin Lucy at the next family brunch.
See, this was why Rose refused to involve her family in her personal life. They meant well, but things just got too messy too quickly.
"… and that 'e works in the Ministry! So Percy offered to pull 'is file and apparently, 'e—"
"Merlin, Maman," interrupted Dom at last. "That's Andrew Whittree. He's just a friend I know through work, and I have absolutely zero romantic interest in him. Stop listening to Lucy, okay? She's such a bloody twat, spying on us all of the time…"
Rose glanced at her watch and sighed. "Sorry to interrupt, Dommie. My boss just called me in for a last-minute meeting. Tor, you don't mind if I head out now, do you?"
"Of course not, Rose. Go ahead," said Victoire. Her understanding smile made Rose feel guilty about lying, but the redhead sure as hell wasn't going to let her family make a big deal out of something as trivial as she and Scorpius having lunch.
"Thanks for coming, darling. We'll see you soon," promised Aunt Fleur, kissing Rose on the cheek.
Rose hugged both of her cousins, repressing an eye roll when Dom whispered "owl him!" in her ear. "Right, well—see you all later. See you at home, Dom."
After another chorus of goodbyes, Rose stepped out of the bridal boutique and scanned the area for signs of Scorpius. She frowned as she realized the bloody prat hadn't told her where to meet him.
Rose was just passing Eeylops Owl Emporium when she saw something that made her heart clench. A few metres in front of her, a leggy brunette stood kissing a platinum-blond wizard. Even from the back, there was no mistaking the man's identity.
Disappointed, and, Rose thought, inexplicably so, she turned on her heel. She suddenly felt very angry. What gave him the right to behave so—so flirtatiously if he was already involved with someone else? Bloody—
"Damn it, Cecilia! If you keep pulling this kind of shit, I'm going to get a restraining order against you," growled Scorpius, pushing the brunette away from him.
What in Merlin's name…?
Was that Cecilia Bole? Rose smiled wryly. The girl certainly moved quickly.
Rose watched as Cecilia rolled her eyes, looking at Scorpius through fluttering lashes. "Your grandmother really hopes you'll reconsider, Scorp. I'm hot, you're hot—we look great together."
Scorpius' laugh was devoid of humor. "I don't know what sort of arrangement you have with her, but Annalise Greengrass is no grandmother of mine. I don't give a damn about what she thinks or wants." He paused for a moment. "Besides, you sure as hell aren't my type."
Rose stood unmoving, feeling both more enlightened and confused as she listened to the conversation. One thing was clear, though: She shouldn't be upset at Scorpius.
Cecilia scowled at him. "You bastard. No wonder Annalise has never loved you. You don't deserve a grandmother as—"
Without another thought, Rose moved towards them. "What's going on here?"
"Mind your own business, Weasley," sneered Cecilia, taking one disdainful glance at Rose and rolling her eyes.
Scorpius turned. "Rose…?"
But Rose wasn't paying attention. "Isn't Scorpius a little young for your tastes?" she pressed. "I've heard you only prefer men thrice your age… or is that only when they pay well?"
Cecilia's eyes flashed angrily, and she moved forward towards the redhead. "Why you little—"
Scorpius, almost instinctively, wrapped his right hand around Rose's waist, pulling her closer to him (her wand was already raised, but she appreciated the sentiment). He held up his other hand. "Enough," he said to Cecilia. "Don't make a bigger fool of yourself than you already have—although some reputations are unsalvageable," he noted, almost coldly. "And don't ever bother Rose or myself again. Because you will most certainly regret it."
As if realizing she'd gone too far, Cecilia's features softened. "Scorp," she whined. "Don't be like this. Listen to your grandmother. Give me the chance to show you how much I can… please you."
Rose, still pressed against Scorpius' side, fumed. This girl really needed to learn how to take a hint. What was the matter with her?
"Scorpius doesn't need anyone else—least of all you—to please him, because he already has me."
Wait.
Why did that voice sound remarkably like—?
…
Oh, no.
A/N: I'm so sorry for the slow update! I was dealing with finals period and then moving back home, so it was a bit crazy. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited. :) Please review if you'd like to see more!