AN: Thanks to those who reviewed, I'm glad you all liked the story so far. Well like I said, the first chapter would come pretty soon after, so here you go. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I'm still not J.K. Rowling, no matter how much I pray that I am.
Friday, December 16th, 2022
Gryffindor Tower, 6th Year Girl's Dorm, Hogwarts, 9am.
Rose Weasley was running very late.
"Shit… shit, buggering hell," she swore, as she hopped around on one foot after stepping on a stray hair clip.
"Rose, what are you doing?! The train leaves in thirty minutes!" came a voice from the doorway.
Rose turned around to see her best friend, Ella Zabini, looking bewildered.
"I thought you'd gotten up and finished packing ages ago!"
"Ella, calm down, I am mostly packed. I was just getting the last of my things together. And I woke up late because someone decided not to wake me up for breakfast," Rose scowled, narrowing her eyes at Ella, who pointedly looked up at the ceiling.
Finally, Ella gave in. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry! I was going to wake you up, but Andrew sent up a note asking if I wanted to eat breakfast with him. And we had such a fantastic time at the party last night, so I agreed. Please, please forgive me?" Ella pleaded, giving Rose her signature puppy dog eyes that tended to work on most people.
"You know that doesn't work on… Oh, alright! You're forgiven…"
Ella grinned in triumph.
"… As long as you help me pack the rest of my stuff." Rose quickly added.
The smile slid right off of Ella's face, and she sighed. "Well, I suppose that's only fair." she conceded, and began to help her best friend pack.
"So, where is our other traitor of a friend who didn't wake me up?" Rose asked.
"Where else? As usual she's glued to my brother's side. They both packed last night so they could get up early and spend the morning together without rushing," Ella replied. "Do you need this?" she asked, lifting up a maroon sweater, with a large golden 'R' embroidered on it.
"No, Nana always makes us new Christmas sweaters every year. Just chuck it on the bed." Rose replied. "And how on earth did those two manage to wake up early?! I thought everyone would have massive hangovers after last night," she wondered, remembering the end of term party that had been held in the Room of Requirement the night before.
"They didn't drink much or stay for long," answered Ella. "I saw them sneak off around eleven last night, while Louis and Fred were entertaining the room with the fireworks your uncle sent them. They woke up at seven to have breakfast on the lake."
Rose scoffed. "Well bully for them. There's a certain thrill to running late that I do quite enjoy."
Ella laughed. "You liar! Just admit that you were too busy with a certain Zach Corner after the party to pack."
Silence filled the air for a few moments, before Rose replied curtly, "For your information, I was not with Zachary last night."
Ella turned and quirked an eyebrow at Rose's use of her boyfriend's full name.
"We had a stupid fight, so I left before I decided to hex him into next year," Rose huffed.
"Oh? And what did you fight about?" the brunette inquired.
"Merlin, who even knows anymore. It started out as a discussion on Quidditch, and escalated to an argument about whether men were naturally more gifted at flying. I swear, it's like that boy had no fucking clue who he was talking to."
Ella silently agreed. Although Rose wasn't on her house Quidditch team, it was well known that she was an avid Quidditch enthusiast. The only reason she wasn't on the team, despite much begging from her older cousin, and Gryffindor Quidditch captain, James, was due to her own choice to focus on her classes, prefect duties, and becoming Head Girl the next year. But given that she was a Weasley, she had the Quidditch gene in her that was hard to suppress.
"And the fact that we'd all been drinking," added Rose, "did not help with my temper."
Nodding, Ella said, "Yeah, well you weren't the only one who disappeared. Lorcan left with Jenny Martin pretty soon after the party started. I have no doubt that they took full advantage of the lack of Prefect patrols. And Albus took off pretty early too, not looking happy now that I think about it… And I have no idea where Scorpius disappeared to."
At the mention of Scorpius' name, Rose immediately shifted her eyes to her suitcase.
"So then if you weren't with Zach last night," Ella continued, not noticing her friend's discomfort, "why did you only come back to the dorm at two this morning? Didn't you leave the party around midnight?"
Rose coughed. Avoiding Ella's eyes, she said, "Oh, um yeah, I went up to the Astronomy Tower to gather my thoughts. You know, try and calm myself down, avoid Zach, the usual."
"You were up in the Astronomy Tower for two hours? Alone?"
"Mhmm," Rose continued without hesitation, "I guess I just lost track of time. And speaking of time, we'd better go or we're going to miss the train." Still avoiding her friend's gaze, Rose closed her trunk, hoping she had successfully distracted her friend.
Luckily, she had.
Ella looked at the time. "Merlin, you're right! Are you ok to get your trunk, or should I ask one of the boys to come and get it?"
"No I'll be fine," Rose replied. She grabbed her wand and pointed it at the trunk.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
Immediately, her trunk floated in the air. "Alright, let's go then."
Taking one last look at the room as Ella left, Rose sighed and followed her friend out of the dorm.
Friday, December 16th, 2022
Hogwarts Express, traveling somewhere in the English countryside, 10am.
An hour later, the Hogwarts Express was traveling full speed towards London.
Having made it just on time to the train, Rose and Ella found the compartment in which Aiden, Emily, and Lorcan were sitting.
"Must you two be all lovey-dovey like that in my presence?" Ella complained. Her face had a mild disgusted look on it as she watched her brother and best friend, whispering in each other's ears and laugh periodically.
"We were here first," Aiden replied, simply, not taking his eyes off Emily.
"Yeah, but I can't be the only one that doesn't want to see you two go at it."
"Oh grow up Ell-"
"Okay, okay let's stop this before it turns into a full fledged war, you two," Emily cut in. "Sorry Ella, we'll stop," she said, sending a placating smile towards Ella.
"Thank you, Emily," she said, while still glaring at her twin brother, who glared right back at her, before turning to play with Emily's hair. Rose and Lorcan watched on, looking extremely entertained. The twins were known for being extremely close, while also having fire-fueled fights.
Emily swiftly changed the topic. "So, El, before we left last night, you were looking pretty cozy with Andrew."
Ella blushed and immediately smiled. "Oh Em, he is so nice. I really like him. He's asked if we can get together over the holidays."
Lorcan coughed. "Excuse me. Who is this bloke?" he asked, looking between Emily and Ella.
"Andrew Turner," they both replied at the same time.
"Don't know him. Which means he's probably not good enough for you."
"He's in your house you idiot," retorted Ella.
"My house?" Lorcan asked incredulously.
"Yeah, he's a seventh year. Tall, blonde hair, beautiful baby blue eyes," gushed Ella, dreamily. "He's on the Quidditch team with Aiden."
Turning to his best friend for confirmation, Aiden just nodded at Lorcan and said, "Yeah mate, he's one of our Chasers."
"That guy?! No, no no, you cannot date him," Lorcan declared, protectively.
"Ok, first off, what's wrong with him? And secondly, who are you, my mother? You're not even my brother!"
"I'm the closest thing you've got to one!" shot back Lorcan.
"Hey!" protested Aiden indignantly. "I'm sitting right here!"
"I meant besides you mate, obviously," said Lorcan, looking flustered.
Aiden just huffed to himself, and resumed playing with Emily's hair.
"El, you can't date him, he's a total player!" cried Lorcan, looking to Aiden for an ally.
Aiden, however, knew better to get mixed up in Ella's love life, and attempted to warn Lorcan by giving an imperceptible shake of his head.
He was ignored.
"You are such a hypocrite, Lorcan Scamander. You're practicallythe biggest player in our year, and you're telling me I can't date Andrew?!" Ella nearly shrieked.
"Yeah well you're not dating me, so that's not the issue." Lorcan responded back simply.
"I swear to Circe Lorc-"
"Fucking hell, will both of you just stop it?" hissed Rose, shutting her eyes and rubbing her fingers against her temples. "We just managed to stop Ella and Aiden from having it out, let's not have you two get started. Lorcan, just because you think Andrew is a player,doesn't mean he is one. It could be worse, he could be one of those other idiot seventh years in your house. And Ella, Lorcan is just trying to be a friend. You know that he always gets protective of you," Rose cried, exasperated.
Everyone stared at her.
"Um Rose, sweetie, you're dating one of those 'idiot seventh years,'" commented Emily.
Rose heaved a sigh. "Sorry, I'm just out of it. I think I just need some air. I'm going to go see what Al is up to. See you later."
After Rose stood up and left, the others turned to each other.
"She does know we're on a train, right?" said Aiden. "I mean it's all the same air…"
Ella and Emily just rolled their eyes.
Wandering down the train corridor, Rose was lost in her thoughts. Standing at the forefront of her memory were the fuzzy events from the night before…
(FLASHBACK)
Stumbling down the seventh floor corridor, due to the five shots of firewhiskey she had consumed at the party, Rose climbed the stairs leading up to the Astronomy Tower with a bottle of stolen firewhiskey in her grasp. Fuming as she reached the top, she went to sit down near the ledge and thought back to the argument that she'd just had with her boyfriend.
"How could he actually believe that I would think men are naturally better at flying than women?" she wondered aloud to herself. "I mean is he actually an idiot? He's in Ravenclaw for fuck's sake."
"Talking to yourself Weasels? I always knew you were a bit crazy."
Rose gasped and swiveled around, almost toppling over in the process. Smirking at her from the doorway was her cousin's best friend, Scorpius Malfoy.
"Ferret! You scared me!" Rose scolded, using the nickname she'd copied from her father. "And you almost made me drop this!" she slurred, lifting the bottle.
"Should you really be drinking up here near a ledge? I hear that can lead to bad consequences."
"What are you, my mother?" she retorted.
Scorpius chuckled softly. "No Weasels, I'm not your mother. Which is why instead of reprimanding you, I'm going to join you," he said, surprising her.
As he came over to sit next to her, Rose stared thoughtfully at the boy she could only label as her 'frenemy.' Warned by her father, from the first day at King's Cross, not to get too close to the Malfoy boy and to beat him at every test, Rose had been surprised to learn that he was sort of a decent guy. Her favorite cousin, Albus Potter, had befriended Scorpius on the train to school that first day, and then surprised the entire Weasley-Potter extended family by later following Scorpius and being sorted into Slytherin. Yet no one in the family had held it against him. Well other than Rose's father for that short while.
However from day one, Scorpius and Rose had gotten off on the wrong foot. On their very first train ride, Scorpius had made a friendly joke at Rose's expense that she took to heart, and since then they'd never been the best of friends. Nor had they been enemies, though, as everyone expected them to be. Being in the same group of friends, they were forced to deal with each other's presence on a daily basis, and had grown to have a certain tolerance for each other. They were both top of their year, and while they competed viciously for the better grades, they could also be found in the Library studying together from time to time.
There was also another reason that Rose had never made the effort to get to know Scorpius more. It was a reason that she had never told anyone, not even Ella or Emily.
"I know I'm handsome and all, Weasels, but are you just going to stare at me or pass me the bottle?" drawled Scorpius, interrupting Rose's musings.
Breaking out of her trance, Rose hurriedly looked away. "Ha ha, very funny," she said, sarcastically. "Here." She thrust the bottle at him.
Scorpius took a nice long drink out of the bottle, and let out a hiss. "Fuck, that burns."
Rose smirked as she grabbed the bottle back, took a swig out of it, and set it down in between them.
"So Weasels, what are you doing up here talking to yourself? Shouldn't you be down at the party with your arsehole boyfriend?"
"How many time have I told you not to call me 'Weasels', Ferret?" Rose reminded him, rolling her eyes.
"About as many times as I've told you not to call me 'Ferret,'" replied Scorpius, not missing a beat.
"Fair enough, although you'll have to take that up with my father," she told him. "And in answer to your question, I am not down at the party because that tosser I call my boyfriend, for some unknown reason right now, is being an absolute prat. And if I go back down there I will probably hex him into the new year, and I don't fancy a stint in Azkaban over the holidays," she finished, taking another long drink of the firewhiskey.
"Oh? Trouble in paradise?" Scorpius said, lifting his eyebrow.
Rose sighed. "You could say that. Tell me something, Ferret, if you were talking to your girlfriend about Quidditch, and you knew that she absolutely loved the sport, would you tell her, and I quote," she cleared her throat to imitate Zach, "'blokes are just more naturally talented at flying babe, even you know that.' Would you?!"
Scorpius laughed. "Well you know I'm not Corner's biggest fan, but even for him, that's pretty fucking stupid."
Rose let out an exasperated sigh. "I swear to Circe, for a Ravenclaw, he is quite thick sometimes. And then he didn't even understand why I was mad. Did he really think I would agree with him?"
"I have to say, it's quite refreshing to hear you rag on him for once," chuckled Scorpius ignoring Rose's question. "Usually it's just me trying to rile you up by insulting him."
"Yeah well, it might be the firewhiskey, but I'm starting to agree with you," said Rose, with a slight slur.
"I think that's definitely the firewhiskey talking." murmured Scorpius, eyes growing slightly hazy from the liquor.
"Anyways, I don't want to talk about Zach anymore, it'll just upset me. How are things with you and that fifth year?" asked Rose, too drunk to bother remembering what Scorpius' girlfriend's name was.
Scorpius took the bottle from beside Rose, and took another drink out of it, then set it back down. "Does that answer your question?"
Rose let out a quiet laugh. "That bad, huh?"
"No, it isn't. Not really. It's just sometimes Ava can be a bit…"
"Clingy? Needy? Self-involved and annoying?" Rose supplied.
Scorpius turned to stare at her, raising his eyebrows.
"Sorry, it's just she always seems to be hanging off of your arm or talking your ear off…"
Scorpius continued to stare blankly at her.
"… and Al might've mentioned something." Rose added quietly, avoiding his eyes.
"I knew it! I knew Al didn't like her," Scorpius grumbled.
"No, it's not that he doesn't like her! It's just… well he told me that sometimes when you two are hanging out, she comes along and immediately tries directs all the attention onto her."
Scorpius heaved a sigh, "I guess that is sort of true. Honestly, I've been thinking about breaking up with her."
Rose raised her eyebrows. "Oh? Is that why you disappeared tonight?" Scorpius shot her a questioning glance. "I saw you guys at the beginning of the party, but then like twenty minutes later, you were gone."
"Looking for me, were you Weasels? I knew it, you do fancy me! All those insults you throw at me are just masking your love, aren't they?" Scorpius said dramatically, winking at her.
Rolling her eyes, Rose said, "No you prat. Al came to ask me if I'd seen where you'd gone, and that's when I noticed you weren't there anymore."
"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Weasels, I was just teasing you," smirked Scorpius.
Rose just rolled her eyes again.
"And to answer your question, I was going to break up with Ava, but then she distracted me."
"Distracted you?" asked Rose, confused.
"Yeah, distracted me," said Scorpius.
"Oh ew, Ferret! I do NOT need to know about what you two do in broom closets!"
Rolling his eyes, Scorpius took the bottle again. "Not what I meant actually. No, she distracted me by pouring out some sob story about how Amy Peakes' boyfriend dumped her before the holidays, and how she's so lucky to have me. I couldn't break up with her after that," Scorpius sighed, obviously frustrated.
"Fair enough, I suppose. So what, you're just going to wait until after holidays to break up with her?"
"Probably. Maybe. I don't know really, maybe I should think it over a bit. And I probably shouldn't make any decisions while drinking this," he said, indicating the bottle.
Rose snatched it back an took a large swig. "And that's the last of it. We did quite well Ferret."
Scorpius grinned at her.
"You know," Rose mused, "I think this is the longest civil conversation we've ever had."
"You might be right Weasels," he agreed.
"Is it sad that this conversation might also be better than half the ones I've had with Zach?"
"Yes. Yes it is sad," Scorpius said, bluntly.
Rose moved forward and punched him in the arm.
"Ow!" Scorpius rubbed his arm. "That bloody hurt, you nutter!"
"Well you deserved it you git. You were supposed to say no, and that you're sure he and I have had many good conversations, and that we're perfect for each other, and-"
"Sorry Weasels, my mother taught me to never lie," interrupted Scorpius, still rubbing his arm.
Rose sighed, and lay down to look up at the sky. "I suppose I should've expected that."
Silence hung over them for a few minutes.
"For what it's worth," began Scorpius, slurring slightly and laying down next to her, "I think you can do better than him, Rose."
Rose turned to look at Scorpius disbelievingly. "Wow, my actual name! What warranted that?"
Scorpius chuckled softly, shaking his head. Turning his gaze towards her, his steel gray eyes met her icy blue ones. Despite their drunkenness, both were quite alert at the moment.
"I'm being serious here, Rose. You can do better than Corner. You're brilliant, charming, determined, and not too hard on the eyes either," he said, looking sincere. "You can do so much better than Corner," he repeated.
Tension filling the air, Rose was speechless. Feeling a bit dizzy from the alcohol, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and steady herself. Opening her eyes once again, she saw Scorpius still staring at her, as though it was the first time he was really seeing her.
"I think that might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me," she joked, trying to ease up the situation.
He didn't laugh. If anything, he grew more serious.
"Well it's true. All of it. I meant every word," he said earnestly, his eyes growing a bit hazy. He moved out a hand to tuck a piece of her curly hair behind her ear, moving closer to her in the process.
Rose stayed frozen. Scorpius' lips moved closer to her own, and she found herself unable and unwilling to move at all.
"Rose, I- "
Suddenly, there was a loud crash from below causing both of them to quickly spring apart.
No longer frozen in the moment, Rose gathered herself.
"Damn, that'll probably be Peeves. Or worse, Filch. We'd better go before we get a detention to start off the new year," Rose said, avoiding Scorpius' eyes. Grabbing his wrist, she looked at his watch. "Merlin, it's already two. And I haven't even finished packing," she groaned.
"Yeah," coughed Scorpius, nervously taking his arm back. He got up, and held out a hand to help her up. She grasped it, stood up and dusted her pants off, then took out her wand and vanished the Firewhiskey bottle.
They both descended down the steps quietly. At the bottom of the staircase, Rose took out the Marauders Map and whispered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
"Does Albus know you have that?"
"Yeah, I asked him for it when I left the party. Wanted to avoid Zach for as long as possible," she answered, still looking at the map. "We're in luck, it's just Peeves. Looks like he's moving down towards the fourth floor classrooms, which means we should be in the clear. Mischief Managed," she whispered, as they exited the tower.
"Well I'm headed this way," he said, indicating the way to the dungeons.
"And I'm this way," she said, pointing towards the seventh floor, and Gryffindor Tower.
"Goodnight then, Rose," Scorpius said, shooting her a slight smile.
"Night, Scorpius. See you on the train tomorrow?" Rose asked, smiling hesitantly.
"Yeah, see you on the train," he chuckled. And with that, he turned and began to walk towards the stairs that led down to the dungeons.
As Rose walked towards her dorm, still a bit drunk, she thought about what had been about to happen before the crash. Had Scorpius nearly kissed her? It had been the most serious she had ever seen him.
Pushing it out of her mind, she gave the password to the Fat Lady, stumbled through the portrait hole, up the stairs, and into her bed, convincing herself that it was just the firewhiskey. There was nothing happening between her and Scorpius Malfoy.
Was there…?
(PRESENT TIME)
Shaking herself out of her memories, Rose continued down the train corridor. There was nothing happening between herself and Scorpius, she repeated in her head, nothing. He probably didn't even remember what had happened with the amount they'd had to drink. Yes, that was it. They'd had a bit too much to drink, and he'd just been comforting her about her prat boyfriend.
She stopped dead. Her boyfriend. Her boyfriend. Despite having been in a fight, Zach was still her boyfriend, and she'd come quite close to kissing another boy.
Shaking her head, she continued walking. Enough, she told herself. She and Scorpius were friends. And that was all. They hadn't even kissed.
So why did she feel so guilty?
Distracted by her thoughts, Rose didn't notice that she had passed the very subject of them.
"Oi, Weasels!" Scorpius called out.
Rose turned and found Scorpius holding open the door of a carriage, looking at her strangely.
Startled, Rose straightened up and replied, "Oh, Ferret, I didn't see you there."
He beckoned her towards the compartment. Gathering herself, Rose walked after him, and upon entering the carriage found Scorpius sitting with two other girls.
One of the girls, a short blonde with a slim build, looked up with a smile that faltered slightly at the sight of Rose.
Turning to the girl, Rose smiled politely and said, "Hello Ava."
The fifth year gave her a tight smile before turning back to Scorpius and grabbing his hand possessively. Looking back at Scorpius, Rose shot him a questioning look, but he hadn't noticed Ava's behavior.
The other occupant of the carriage, a seventh year girl with choppy black hair and piercing grey eyes, hadn't even looked up upon Rose's arrival. Ignoring everyone else, Melanie Nott continued to read her newspaper as if there had been no interruption in the first place.
"Nott," Rose acknowledged.
Without looking up, Melanie waved nonchalantly in response.
"You looking for Al?" Scorpius asked casually, still not noticing his girlfriend's strained smile.
"Yeah, have you seen him?"
"No, I was just about to go looking for him myself. Mels and I haven't seen him since we got on the train."
"Oh! I know where he is," interrupted Ava, looking pleased with herself. "Christa Chen told Jeff, who told Ben, who told Evie, who told Amy, who told me that he's in the second to last compartment on the other side of the train talking to Darcy," she continued, smiling to herself.
Scorpius and Rose turned and stared at her blankly, their mouths slightly ajar, while Mels rolled her eyes in annoyance at the younger girl's chipper response.
"What?" Ava asked, looking confused.
Scorpius cleared his throat. "Nothing, love. Um, do you mind if I go sit with Al for a while then?" he asked her. Rose hid her smirk at the Slytherin having to ask his girlfriend for permission.
"No that's fine Scor Scor," she answered sweetly, as Rose stifled a snort and Mels choked back a derisive laugh. "I'm going to find Amy anyways. Poor thing is still a wreck over her break up. Come find me before we get to the station?"
Looking embarrassed at Rose and Melanie hearing Ava's awful nickname for him, Scorpius turned red and muttered, "Yeah, sure."
"Ok, bye!" Shooting Rose a quick suspicious look, she pecked Scorpius on the lips and exited the compartment.
Turning to the other girls, Scorpius was met with the sight of Rose and Melanie both doubled up in laughter.
"'Scor Scor?'" Mels sniggered, bending over from laughter. "Merlin, Scorp, how do you stand her?"
"Don't. Say. A. Word." Scorpius commanded through clenched teeth. "I loathe it when she calls me that, but she just won't stop. It's worse than 'Ferret,'" he groaned.
"Oh I will definitely be saying more than a word about it, most likely to Lorcan, Al, and Aiden. This is too good to let go of that easily, Ferret."
Scorpius just let out another groan. "Let's just go find your cousin before I strangle you. Mels you want to come?"
"And see Al pine over Darcy the entire time? Bloody hell no, I get enough of that at school," replied Melanie, going back to her newspaper.
"Fair enough. Well if I don't see you before we get to the station, have fun in Spain," said Scorpius.
"Thanks Scorp. And be sure not to strangle yourself when Al talks about Darcy during the entire break," snickered Melanie.
Scorpius just rolled his eyes as Rose waved goodbye.
Leaving the carriage, the two turned and began their long walk to the end of the train.
Twenty minutes later they were still walking down the train after being held up by the line for the food trolley.
"Why the bloody hell is this train so long?" complained Rose. "Thank Merlin the fifth year Prefects got stuck patrolling instead of us."
"Merlin, it's only been twenty minutes, are you that out of shape?" Scorpius retorted, earning Rose's glare, which he promptly ignored.
Rose had been hoping that Scorpius might give some indication as to whether he remembered the night before, but so far he had been acting like his normal self around her.
"I mean I know that you don't exercise much Weasley…"
Ahead of them, Rose began to hear soft voices, one slightly more familiar than the rest.
"… and you eat like your dad, but that doesn't mean- mmphh!"
Rose cut him off by grabbing his arm, covering his mouth, and swinging him backwards with surprising strength. "Shhhh!"
Scorpius jerked away from her, freeing himself. "Weasels, for Dumbledore's sake, what the fuck are you doing!?"
"Shhhhh!" she hissed, quickly covering his mouth again and turning to face away from the voice. But it was too late.
"Rose?" came the familiar voice, causing both Rose and Scorpius to freeze. Stepping out of the compartment behind them was a tall boy with short dark brown hair and light powder blue eyes.
Rose quickly straightened up and let go of Scorpius. Closing her eyes quickly and taking a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face and turned around to face the newcomer.
"Zach," she greeted quickly. "Hi."
"Hey babe, I thought I heard your name. I've been looking for you," Zach smiled back hesitantly, trying to gauge her feelings after the night before.
"Really?" Scorpius interjected. "Because we've been walking around this train for twenty minutes now, and didn't see you at all. Must've missed you," he scoffed, sarcastically.
"I meant earlier, Malfoy," Zach sneered at Scorpius. Turning to Rose he smiled tenderly and said, "I found the Emily and Ella in their carriage, but you weren't there. They said you'd left to find Potter."
"Yeah, I was feeling cramped in the compartment, so I decided to take a walk. Scorpius here found me and decided to tag along," she replied shortly, avoiding looking directly at the Ravenclaw. Zach eyebrows slightly rose at her use of Scorpius' first name, while Scorpius' slight smile went unnoticed by the other two.
"Well I was hoping we could talk… about last night?" Zach asked.
"Oh, I don't know Zach, I really need to find Al-"
"Please love, it'll only take a minute, I promise," he prodded, giving her a pleading look.
Rose hesitated, shooting a quick questioning glance at Scorpius, who gave a slight shrug of his shoulders as if to say, sarcastically, "By all means."
Rose sighed. "I'll just be a minute then Ferret, yeah?"
Scorpius gave a noncommittal grunt as Zach took Rose's hand to lead her into the empty compartment across from his own.
"Alright Zach what is i- mmmph!"
Rose's questions was immediately cut of by Zach's lips attacking her own. Putting one hand on her hip, and then other behind her neck, he drew her as close as possible, not noticing her stiffness or lack of response. Just as quickly as it began, the kiss ended.
Rose pushed Zach away. "Zach!" she protested.
"Rose, I'm sorry. I know I was a prat yesterday, I never should have brought up the Quidditch issue."
"No you shouldn't have," she huffed.
"I know, and I am sorry. I know how you get about the topic of Quidditch, I was just being an idiot." He moved closer to her, taking her hands and intertwining their fingers. "Forgive me?" he murmured, moving closer to her lips.
Rose sighed. She was still frustrated that he didn't seem to grasp the real reason it bothered her, but at the same time unwilling to pursue to subject.
"Yeah, sure. It's fine. Really. But I have to go. Don't want to keep Malfoy waiting for too long." She gave him a quick peck on the lips, hoping that it would satisfy him.
Zach scoffed, and tried to pulled her back for a longer kiss. "Since when do you care about Malfoy?"
Rose put her hands up against his chest. "I don't," she clarified, though the statement felt strange on her lips. "But we're still trying to find Al. I'll see you later, ok? Maybe before we get to the station?" she added, putting on smile in order to convince him everything was ok.
Luckily, it worked.
"Yeah, ok babe," Zach smiled, relieved that everything seemed to be resolved. He put his hands on her hips once again to draw her in for another kiss.
Not wanting to alert him to the frustration she was still feeling, Rose allowed him to kiss her. As his lips moved warmly against her own, Rose found herself letting the world slip away, and allowed herself to respond and enjoy the kiss.
Spurred on by her response, Zach moved his right hand under her auburn hair, and began to gently massage the base of her neck while deepening the kiss. Lifting her hands from his chest, she put her arms around his neck to pull him closer. Smiling into her mouth, he gently nudged her lips open with his tongue, begging for entrance. Moving her hands to his hair, she tangled her fingers in his brunette locks, and opened her lips slightly to let his tongue explore her mouth a bit.
Smiling at her positive response, Zach drew back as Rose sighed. Opening her eyes, she smiled back genuinely at her boyfriend.
"You know, I was thinking maybe over the holidays you might want to come meet my family?" he asked, looking hopeful.
Snapping out of her happy place, Rose's eyes widened and she stared at him in shock. They'd only been dating for less that two months!
"Rose?"
Forcing herself to act normally, Rose looked back up at Zach and gave him a small smile.
"Yeah, maybe," she said in a slightly strangled voice. "I'll have to check what my plans are… c-can I get back to you on that?"
Slightly disappointed, but trying not showing it outwardly, Zach nodded at her.
As they exited the compartment, Scorpius looked up, his face looking bored.
"Ready?" he asked Rose, tightly, while shooting an odd look at Zach, who glared back at him.
"Yeah, let's go," replied Rose, still in a slight state of shock. She turned to her boyfriend to say a quick goodbye, but was instead pulled into another sweeping kiss. Not as responsive as before, she let Zach kiss her before gently pushing him away. "Ok then, bye Zach," she said quickly, before he could delay her anymore.
"Bye babe." He smiled warmly at her. "Malfoy," he nodded curtly. And with that he stepped back into his compartment to rejoin his friends, but not before shooting a covert smirk at Scorpius.
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I really don't like that guy," he huffed at Rose.
"Oh don't start now," Rose groaned, "let's just go find Al, preferably with no more interruptions."
Thinking Rose's mood was because she was still mad at Corner, Scorpius smiled to himself, and gestured ahead. "Ladies first then, Weasels."
"Finally!"
Albus Potter looked up from the girl sitting opposite of him and met the sight of his two best friends looking at him in relief. He groaned inwardly, and then immediately felt guilty. He loved them both, but he had just been enjoying his private chat with Darcy Wood, the object of his desires for the past three years.
"Rose, Scorpius! How lovely to see you guys," Darcy said genuinely, polite as ever.
Darcy Wood was the quintessential "girl next door." A sixth year Hufflepuff, she was the daughter of Oliver Wood, Puddlemere United's keeper, and the perfect girl in Al's eyes. She was intelligent, friendly to everyone, beautiful with curly blonde hair and gorgeous violet eyes, as well as a fierce Quidditch player, inheriting her father's Keeper skills. There wasn't a single person in Hogwarts who could say a negative thing about her.
Unfortunately for Al, she also happened to be dating Callum Davies, a seventh year Ravenclaw.
"Darcy," Rose greeted, before turning to her cousin. "Al, we've been looking for you everywhere! I've had to deal with his," she jerked her head, indicating Scorpius, "presence for over thirty minutes. Merlin, could you have chosen a compartment any further away?" Walking in the carriage, she collapsed on the seat next to Darcy, sending the other girl a smile.
Al rolled his eyes at his cousins dramatic showing, as Scorpius took the seat next to him.
"For once, mate, I think I'm going to have to agree with Weasels. I mean, have you ever had to walk with her for longer than ten minutes? It's absolutely unbearable!" he said, smirking at Rose the entire time, as she stuck out her tongue at him.
"Oh real mature Weasels. Really," he turned to Al, "how am I supposed to survive the entire break?"
Darcy looked up at Al questioningly. "The entire break?"
Al turned to her. "Yeah, Scorp's parents are going on a 'second honeymoon,' as they like to call it, to France," stated Al, as Scorpius made a disgusted face. "They gave him the option of going with them or coming to stay with my family for the holidays, and you can guess what he chose," finished Al.
"Well, would you want to go on a," Scorpius shuddered, "'second honeymoon' with your parents?"
"Nah mate. And you know I'm glad you decided to come to mine for the break," Al said, punching Scorpius in the arm, as Darcy smiled at their easy camaraderie.
"Ow! What is it with all you Weasleys and Potters and punching my arm?" he grumbled.
Rose froze. Was he referring to the previous night? Did he remember? And if he remembered her punching his arm, did that mean he remembered what had followed?
"So you're all going to be at the Burrow for the break then?" Darcy asked, interrupting Rose's thoughts.
"Not the entire time," Al answered. "My family and Scorp will be in Godric's Hollow for most of the time, and then we'll all go to the Burrow for Christmas Eve and day. It's tradition," he added, grinning.
"Oh that sounds lovely," sighed Darcy enviously. "Christmas for us is nice, but small. Just me, my parents, J.D., Dante, and now his fiancé Stella," smiled Darcy.
"But sometimes smaller is nicer," Al noted, smiling at her. Rose and Scorpius looked at each other, sharing a small smirk over their friend's obvious crush.
"Yeah I guess… and, well, um Callum has asked me to come over for Christmas dinner this year, to meet his parents," she added softly, as if hoping no one would hear her.
Forgetting she was in the same predicament as Darcy, Rose's head immediately snapped to Albus. Scorpius imitated her.
Albus maintained a tight smile, and quickly said, "Oh, well that's nice I suppose."
"Yeah, I suppose it is," Darcy said, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. "I just, well I dunno ,we've been dating for almost a year now, but it still feels a little fast."
Rose and Scorpius turned to each other once more, questioning looks in their eyes. A silent message passed between them, after which Rose immediately stood up and said the first thing that came to her mind.
"Al, I actually came here to fetch you. Aiden and Lorcan need you help with some Weasley products that they got from Fred and Louis." she lied. "And you know those two. We don't want them blowing up the bloody train," she continued, laughing nervously.
"Oh, um alright." Turning to Darcy, Al smiled and said, "Well Darcy I guess I'll see you when we come back. Have a good break, yeah?"
"You too Al," she said softly, giving him a warm smile. She stood up and hugged him, catching him by surprise. Slowly his arms encircled her, hugging her back. "Maybe… maybe I'll see you over the holidays?" she asked.
Clearing his throat, Al replied, "Yeah maybe. Aiden and Ella might be having a New Years party. If they do I'll tell Ella to owl you with the details."
"That'd be lovely," she told him, her violet eyes twinkling.
"Well we'd better get going," Scorpius said loudly. "Not sure what those two idiots will get up to with your uncle's joke shop products Al."
"Yeah, of course. See you around Darcy."
"Bye guys, have a wonderful break," she said. She gave Rose a quick hug and waved at Scorpius as the trio exited the compartment.
"Why, why do I do this to myself?" Al groaned as they got back to their friends' compartment.
Aiden, Emily, Lorcan, and Ella looked up from their game of exploding snap, just as one of the cards exploded, nearly singeing Lorcan's eyebrows.
"Damn it Al, I was just about to win!" cried Aiden.
Ignoring him, Al flung himself down on a seat and went on. "She has a boyfriend. A boyfriend. Why can't I just move on?" he asked, addressing no one in particular.
The others looked around at each other, having encountered this situation many times before. Silently, they tried to figure out who's turn it was to answer and reassure Albus.
Finally Rose took charge.
"Al, for what it's worth, she looked really happy while talking to you," sighed Rose. "And she didn't even look excited when she mentioned being invited to Callum's for dinner, right Ferret?" she finished, looking to Scorpius for confirmation.
He nodded. "She's right Al."
"It doesn't matter. The fact is she's still with him, and I've been pining over her for three years," mumbled Al. "Merlin, three years! I need to move on."
"Well mate, I'm looking for a wingman. You want in? Lonely, desperate birds during the holiday season, just ripe for the plucking," smirked Lorcan, dodging hits from Ella and Emily.
"Disgusting. You are absolutely awful," chided Ella.
Lorcan just grinned at her. "You love me anyways," he sang, making Ella roll her eyes, though a smile played on her lips.
"Al don't listen to him. Look I'm not telling you to keep pining over her, and I'm not telling you to move on. All I'm saying is I know what I saw, and she looked really happy while talking to you," Rose clarified.
Al sighed. "I dunno, I just need to think on it. It's been so long since I've even thought of another girl. I mean the last girlfriend I had was… the beginning of fifth year? Is that right? Fuck, I need to move on."
The others looked at each other again, not knowing what to say.
"Sorry to drag you down guys. This isn't how I wanted to start the holidays." muttered Al.
Forcing himself to snap out of it, he straightened up, put on a smile, and changed the topic. "How about we talk about this New Year's party you're throwing," he added, grinning at the twins.
Aiden and Ella looked at each other before turning to Al with identical smiles.
"It should go according to plan. Mum and Dad are going to some party thrown by his firm," confided Aiden, "so they'll be gone out most of the evening. Dad usually makes sure they stay most of the night since he's still trying to make partner."
Rose noticed that Ella's smile tightened at the mention of her parents. She made a mental note to ask her friend about that later.
"As long as we get everyone out by around two in the morning, we should be fine," finished Aiden, smiling at his plan.
"Excellent," said Scorpius and Lorcan at the same time, grinning at each other.
"New Years is Sunday, so we were thinking you lot could just stay over at the mansion that Saturday, and help us set up for the party the next day," added Ella.
The group nodded, agreeing with her plan.
"I can't," Emily moaned. "My dad would throw a fit if he knew Aiden and I were staying under the same roof, even with supervision. He's still not used to his 'little girl' dating, despite the fact that we've been together since fourth year."
Ella and Rose shot her supportive looks, and Aiden pulled her into his embrace. "We'll figure something out Ems," he promised, giving her a quick peck on the lips.
Feeling sympathetic, Rose tried to cheer her friend up. "Hey you lot, guess who's girlfriend calls him 'Scor Scor,'" she said, grinning maniacally.
Scorpius groaned and shrunk down into his seat.
"Hey guys, I think we're nearing the station," remarked Lorcan, a few hours later. "Best get our stuff together."
The seven of them grabbed their stuff, and began to leave the compartment. Following Emily out of the carriage, Rose headed through the train towards the exit.
Stepping out of the train, she immediately saw a huddle of redheads not too far off. Her brother and cousins had all exited the train before, and found their parents.
She turned towards Ella and Aiden who had also spotted their mother in the distance.
"So are we still set for shopping in Diagon Alley on Monday Rose?" asked Ella.
"Yeah, it's a date," replied Rose, hugging her best friend. "I'll owl you with the details. Em, are you sure you can't come?"
Emily shook her head. "No, I have to babysit Daniel while my Dad is finishing up grading papers at school and my Mum is working at the restaurant. But drop by the Leaky Cauldron and say hi while you're there, yeah?" she told Rose and Ella.
"Of course," they both replied, hugging her in turn.
"Oh I see my Mum. Aiden, I think she's waving us over."
"Alright Ems. Ella, tell Mum I'll only be a minute, yeah?" Aiden directed his sister. She nodded and he set of to say hi to his girlfriend's mother.
"Ella!" Evelyn Zabini called out, waving.
Ella smiled tightly at her mum before turning back to Rose. "See ya later babe," she said with a wink. Rose laughed and waved as Ella walked towards her mum.
Before she could turn towards her family, Rose felt her arm being tugged. She turned around to find Al pulling her.
"Rose, the Malfoys want to say hi to us before we leave," he said, indicating to where Scorpius was talking to his parents. Rose followed Albus eagerly over towards the couple standing beside Scorpius.
Despite having some issues with their son, Rose got along very well with Scorpius' parents, especially his father. Draco Malfoy, while proud and arrogant at Hogwarts, had matured into a much better man in the years following the end of the war. He had broken away from his father's authority, fallen in love with and married a Ravenclaw girl, and started a family away from his father's prejudicial influence. He had even made peace with the Potters and Weasleys- well most of the Weasleys- after his son had become best friends with the youngest male Potter.
But above all else, Rose found in Draco Malfoy a mentor. He had trained and become a Healer, which was the profession she was interested in. On his part, Draco had taken a great liking to the feisty daughter of his childhood enemy, who seemed to challenge his son as well as him.
"Rose, you're looking as beautiful as ever!" exclaimed Astoria Malfoy, hugging the girl she too had grown quite fond of. "Your mother's genes are really kicking in," she said, winking.
Rose let out a small laugh. "Thanks Mrs. Malfoy."
"Please dear, it's Astoria."
"Mum please don't compliment her, it'll just inflate her ego even more," groaned Scorpius, dodging a kick from Rose.
"Now Scorpius, stop that. Your mother's right," scolded Draco. "Rose, my dear, you are looking lovely," he said, smiling warmly at Rose
"Thanks Mr. Malfoy. And is that a new suit? Looking sharp as ever," she grinned back at him.
Scorpius groaned. "Al, what did I ever do to deserve parents who like your cousin probably more than they like me?"
Al just grinned, but remained silent.
"I can't help it Scorpius, she's like the daughter I never had," gushed Astoria.
"Alright, alright, enough of this before you decided to adopt Rose into the family," Scorpius said, shuddering at the thought.
"Well we just wanted to come and see you before we left, son," Draco told him. "Now you can get into the manor while we're gone if you need anything, but you should know I've put some preventative spells on the house to stop you from throwing any parties and such and such."
"Thanks for the trust Dad," came Scorpius' sarcastic response.
"You're welcome son!" Draco laughed, clapping his son on the back. "Anyways Tori, we'd better get going. Don't want to miss the portkey to Paris. Rose have a wonderful holiday. Albus tell your parents thank you, and make sure this son of mine stays out of trouble."
Albus saluted him. "Yes sir!"
"And Albus dear, wish your entire family Merry Christmas, and tell your mother I'll owl her about the fundraiser plans after I get back," Astoria added, kissing all three sixth years on their cheeks. "Bye!"
Turning, the Malfoys left towards the barrier while Rose, Albus, and Scorpius turned to lug their trunks towards the Weasley-Potter clan.
Surprisingly, they found just the Potters waiting for them.
"Where did everyone else go?" remarked Al, after receiving a hug and kiss from Ginny.
"We decided to go in groups so it would be more organized," replied Harry, clapping Scorpius on the back and then throwing an arm around Rose. "Rose I told your mum and dad that you'd come home with us, then floo from Godric's Hollow. Is that alright?"
"Sure Uncle Harry, that's fine," Rose said, as Ginny went to hug Scorpius as well.
"Could you guys have taken any longer?" droned James, with a lazy grin on his face. He punched his little brother in the arm in greeting then shot a smirk at Scorpius.
"Sorry, that was my fault. My parents wanted to say a quick bye," said Scorpius. "Oh and my parents said to thank you for letting me stay, Mr. and Mrs. Potter."
"James!" Ginny scolded her oldest son. "Scorpius it's fine, we weren't waiting for long. James is just being a prat, as usual. And it's Ginny, dear," she added, smiling.
"Mum!" James feigned shock and hurt. "That hurts me. Right here!" he said, dramatically clutching his chest.
"Alright, let's go before your mother curses James with her Bat Bogey Hex," stated Harry, as they all turned to head towards the barrier. "Wouldn't that be quite the interesting start to the holidays."
Everyone laughed except James, who grumbled to himself all the way to the car.
As she crawled into bed later that night, greeted by the familiar warmth of her room, Rose reflected on the past twenty-four hours. First, she and Scorpius had had a strange bonding session, resulting in an almost kiss that she desperately needed to forget about. Then, as usual, Al was having girl troubles that she felt obligated to help him with, being his favorite cousin and best friend. And then there was something going on with Ella that she needed to figure out. Finally, Rose had to deal with the possibility of meeting Zach's parents.
Switching the light off by her bed, she cleared every single complicated thought out of her head and prepared to sleep. The last thought that passed through her head, as she drifted off to sleep, was that it was going to be an interesting two weeks.
AN: And there's the first chapter. This one was mostly setting up the events of Christmas break, and giving a little background on where the characters are at right now, but I hope you all enjoyed it anyways. As always, reviews would be much appreciated!
Next up (Ch. 2): Shopping in Diagon Alley and a look into what's going on with Ella.