A/N: I have been really excited about this story so I've been working on it a lot. I'm not going to delve much into other couples (i.e. Dom and Nathan, Fred and Heather, Roxanne and Calvin, etc.) although they will be mentioned on occasion and we will meet all of those characters at some time or another.
I will focus on Albus and Norah, James and Leila, and of course, Scorpius and Rose. I try to address any questions/concerns reviewers have in the story as opposed to making comments in the authors notes. So, if you voiced any questions/comments/concerns, I will try to clear them up in the story. I appreciate all of the reviews, favorites, and follows so much! You guys are amazing! Let's hope the future chapters live up to all of your expectations and then some!
I HAVE AN IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR ALL OF MY READERS! How detailed do you want the sex scenes to be? I sort of skimmed over James and Leila's steamy scene in the last chapter for three reasons. 1. The chapter was already very lengthy. 2. I wasn't sure how explicit you wanted it to be. 3. Scorpius and Rose is the main pairing and their intimate scenes will be much more detailed than the intimate scenes of the other couples.
Yours,
MofDA
DISCLAIMER: All recognizable characters, ideas, events, etc. do not belong to me. They belong to JK Rowling. Also, if the links I inserted show up for you to click on them, I don't own the dresses in the pictures. I just found them on google search. I do not own google search, either.
WARNING: Language and sexual references in this chapter.
…
When she woke up, Norah was surprised to find that she was alone. With a quick glance at the clock on the wall she confirmed that she had less than two hours before she had to start work. After she got out of bed, she made it with a flick of her wand. The sheets and blankets magically pulled themselves across the bed neatly.
"Good morning!" Norah jumped at the sudden bubbly voice that greeted her as she came around the corner into the kitchen. Dominique was at the stove with a spatula in one hand and her wand in the other.
"You seem to be in a very good mood considering...everything," Norah commented as she opened the fridge to extract a bottle of juice.
"Yes, well, I have a plan now."
"A plan? For dealing with Nathan?"
"Yep," Dom grinned and waggled her eyebrows. "I'm just going to be firm with him. I'll tell him that if he ever lays a hand on me, his arse is going to Azkaban. My uncle is the head of the Auror Office and my brother-in-law is the Assistant Head Auror."
Norah honestly didn't know if this would work or not. She couldn't imagine a guy like Nathan going down that easily, but Dominique's plan was a good one. "I really hope that plan of yours is successful. Merlin knows that Nathan deserves to spend time in Azkaban."
"At least one good thing has come of this," said the blonde, "It seems I'll have a pretty awesome sister-in-law."
...
"Hullo, family, beautiful morning, isn't it?" Harry and Ginny Potter were not idiots. Far from it. They knew that when their eldest son came into the kitchen early that morning with that silly grin on his face that he probably had not spent the night playing chess with Leila.
"Morning, James," said Ginny.
"Good morning, Son," Harry was awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact with James as he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table.
"I hope it's alright that I spent the night at the Scamanders," he said easily. Harry and Ginny exchanged a knowing look.
"James," Harry began, "you don't need to make up excuses. We know that you and Leila are getting married in just a few weeks. We know that the two of you moved all of your things into your new home yesterday..."
"What your father is trying to say is that if you spent the night with Leila at your new house, you can tell us. It's not like we waited until we were married to-"
"Ugh! Mum! Please spare me the mental images," James cringed. Both of his parents stared him down until he threw up his hands in surrender, "Fine! I was next door with Leila all night."
Ginny nodded, "We appreciate your honesty."
"Were you safe?" It was Lily who asked this question as she appeared in the kitchen. Her long red hair tangled and still clad in her pajamas.
"Lily!" Harry squeaked.
"What? I can't wait to be an aunt!"
"Yeah, well, I don't plan on being a dad any time soon," James said this casually as he pulled a plate of sausages toward himself.
"Ah, that must mean you used protection," Lily sounded disappointed about this.
By this point, Harry's eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open, "You shouldn't even know about those things!" He reprimanded his daughter.
"For Merlin's sake, Dad, I'm turning sixteen in less than a month," Lily suddenly looked exactly like her mother. She had her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowed, and that tone was something all too familiar to him. He remembered Ginny when she had been sixteen. She had been in fifth year when they had started dating. The things he had imagined doing with Ginny when she was that age!
"No breakfast for me, Gin," he said, "I'm not hungry anymore."
"James!" Rose Weasley came into the kitchen from the sitting room, having obviously just came into the house via the floo network. "I need you to come over to our flat as soon as you're finished eating."
"What's the rush? Take a seat, little cousin, have a sausage," he held out the plate to her. Rose couldn't turn down her Aunt Ginny's cooking, so she took the sausage, a biscuit, and a glass of juice.
When they had both finished eating, Rose dragged James to the fireplace and shoved him in. "Go get Fred," she told him, "bring him to my flat."
...
Rose was pacing in front of the sofa where her three best friends sat; James, Albus, and Fred. They were watching her with apprehension. Very calmly, Rose said, "I need to talk with you all about something."
"Rosie? What's wrong?" Fred looked like he was on the verge of standing up and going to her, but she shook her head at him.
"I'm getting married soon. I'm not...I mean, I've never...Godric, this is difficult. Okay, I'm just going to spit it out because I trust all of you and I know you're not going to laugh at me. I've never had sex before. Obviously married people have sex. Despite the fact that I really don't want to shag with Malfoy, I'm probably going to have to at some point, and I'm scared."
"Why are you scared?" James, Fred, and Al all had very serious faces and that made Rose feel better. She had secretly worried that they would all burst into fits of laughter and was relieved that they were being mature about this.
"Is it because it's Malfoy?" asked Al as he made a face.
"I have a few questions I'm hoping you idiots can answer," she continued, ignoring their questions, "My first question is...will it hurt?" she bit her lip and frowned.
"I'm not going to lie," James shook his head, "I've no idea what it's like for a girl. I've been with a virgin or two, and they said it hurt, but then again, I'm pretty well-endowed."
Fred and Albus laughed but Rose's face drained of colour, "Oh Merlin. What if it hurts really bad? What if I'm rubbish at it? What if he's rubbish at it? Godric, I think I'm going to have a panic attack."
"Calm down," Albus encouraged as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "It's not like you're being forced to shag him right away. Tell him you're not comfortable and want to wait until you're ready."
"Actually," Fred cringed as he revealed this information, "Rose will have just over a week after getting married to shag him. Then the Ministry gets involved."
Albus scowled as this fact registered with him, "Explain," he growled.
"As you know, I work at the Ministry. I have a mate who works in the Magical Bonds and Contracts office. That's where the marriage certificates go. When they arrive at his office, they're normal sheets of parchment. But when a marriage is...consumated...the parchment turns gold. It's an archaic tradition because of all of the arranged marriages in the wizarding world. Seeing as how all of the marriages now are arranged, as opposed to the previously small percentage, well the Ministry will know if you're not shagging. They check all of the marriage licenses on the first of every month. Your wedding date is the 21st. You'll have ten days after getting married to have sex with him before the Ministry reviews your license. If it hasn't turned colour, they'll be knocking on your door demanding an explanation. I honestly don't know what will happen if they have to come and talk with you, but I'm sure it's something you'll want to avoid."
"Oh...fucking Merlin..." Rose dropped down to sit on the coffee table in front of the boys.
"Any other questions?" asked James brightly, "you came to the right people about this, by the way. Fred and I are experts."
"Oi! What about me?" Al said indignantly.
"Meh," James made a face at his younger brother, "I don't know much about your sex life and I'd really rather not."
"This is quite strange though," Fred mused, "I mean, I thought we'd all shagged by now. I mean, even Hugo has-"
"Hey! Don't talk about my little brother doing the nasty, please, Fred, I don't think I could take it," Rose put a hand over her forehead.
"Aw, come on," James teased, "don't you want to hear about that Ravenclaw bird in his year who he shagged in her common room the week before your graduation?"
"James!" Rose yelled, "How would you like for me to tell you about Lily's sex life?"
He laughed, "That's different, my little sister doesn't have a sex life."
Fred, Al, and Rose all exchanged looks before laughing. "Think about it, mate," said Fred, "she's dating a bloke who is about to turn eighteen. They've been dating for years now. Lily's going into her sixth year."
"Stop!" James clapped his hands over his ears, "Lily is an innocent pure little girl!"
"Can we please get back on topic?" Rose snapped.
"Oh, right," said Fred importantly, In answer to your first question; yes, it will probably hurt. But you never know. Some girls say it's not bad, really. A lot depends on the bloke, and I'm not just talking about size. If he knows what he's doing, it won't be as painful."
Rose nodded, looking very much like she was in class. "Okay. Got it. Probably painful. Does it feel good at all? Ever?"
"Yes." Albus was trying hard not to chuckle now and Rose could tell, "Maybe not the first time, but it's definitely supposed to feel good for both parties involved."
"Why are you asking us these things anyway?" James wondered, "I feel like your questions could be answered better by other girls. Why don't we ask Leila to come over here and talk to you?"
Rose scrunched up her nose, "I trust you guys. You're my best mates. I don't think I could talk to anyone else about this. Not even Leila."
"Wait! James...you and Leila...did you...YOU DID!"
"What?" James's tone was a bit too innocent to be believable, "What would you give you the idea that anything happened?"
"You have a tell," Albus supplied.
"A tell?" Rose scooched forward on the coffee table, closer to the boys, with interest.
"A tell is when something in your behavior lets others know something about you. Everyone has a tell when they lie. For example, when Roxanne lies, she always scratches her nose a minute later. Some people, like James, have a tell when they have sex."
"I do not!" James whined.
"Yes, you do," Albus and Fred said this at the same time.
"What is it then?"
"If we told you then we wouldn't be able to tell anymore."
"Do you really want to know every time I have sex? If you do, I could just tell you. Yes, I did have intimate relations with my fiance last night."
"We'll tell you!" Fred declared, not wanting to hear anymore, "Your tell is that you mess up your hair all day after you shag the night before."
"I do not," even as he said this, his hand was in his hair musing it. He hurried to fold his hands together and put them in his lap.
"Does it make you feel any different?" asked Rose.
"How do you mean?"
"I mean, will I feel different? Suddenly older or something?"
"No," said Fred, "I always thought that I would be different, but it didn't happen. I also thought everyone would always be able to tell. Like there would be a sign over my head saying, 'just lost my virginity' or something, but that didn't happen, either." he sounded wistful.
"Is there anything else I should know?"
"Honestly, Rose, my best advice is to let Malfoy take the lead. I'm pretty sure he'll know what he's doing," Albus said wisely.
"I'm afraid. I don't trust him. What if he hurts me?"
"We'll kill him," said James seriously.
Rose started fidgeting uncomfortablely and Albus reached to take hold of her arm and pulled her onto his lap. "It will be fine. Hell, you might even love it."
"I'm more afraid of sex with Scorpius than I am of sex in general. If I had done things the right way, met someone, fell in love, got engaged, then I would probably be a lot more okay with this."
"Okay, so Al's final piece of advice was to let Malfoy take the lead. My final piece of advice is to work up to it. Don't just jump into bed on your wedding night having never snogged him properly before. Next time you see him, kiss him. Then, maybe in a week or so, things can go a little further and a little further until by the time your wedding rolls around you're not so uncomfortable with physical intimacy."
"Wow, Fred," said James with wide eyes, "That was...really mature, actually."
"Thank you," said Fred, doing a perfect imitation of his Uncle Percy, including a snooty look and everything.
"My turn! Final advice! Hmm...don't over think it. This isn't something you can learn out of a book, Rosie."
"Sure it is," Rose brushed this aside and pulled three large books out from under the coffee table, "I picked these up from Flourish and Blotts this morning. Books about sex."
"Sweet Merlin," James slapped a hand to his forehead, "Trust me, Rose, you can't learn it from a book. You have to experience it yourself and learn from actual doing."
"Thanks for talking with me," she brushed her hair back behind her ear and her words were an obvious end to the conversation.
"No problem. Come on, Fred, I want you to see my new place." James nudged his best friend and they left the flat without even saying goodbye.
"Well, what are you going to do?" Albus could tell by the look on her face that Rose was forming a plan.
"I need to get to know him better. From now on, I'm going to spend as much time with him as possible."
"Hey! I thought you said you were going to spend as much time with me as you could before you got married!"
"Really, Al, which is more important? Getting to know my fiance or spending time with the guy I already know like the back of my wand?"
He grumbled a bit but knew she was right. "Fine. What does he even do? I don't think I've seen him go to work."
"He starts training in a month," she replied evasively.
"Training for what?"
"...For being an Auror."
Albus threw his head back in laughter. He was going to be in Auror training with Scorpius Malfoy. This entire situation couldn't get any more amusing.
...
"What in the name of Merlin's Pants are you doing?" Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway of a usually empty room in his home, gaping at his son as Scorpius manually pushed a beautiful grand piano to the center of the room.
"Making a music room," Scorpius panted.
"Why?" Even more than that, Draco was wondering why he was moving furniture the muggle way.
"For Rose. She likes music. When you married Mum you made her a personal garden. Now I'm making Rose a personal music room."
Draco blinked at his son for a few silent moments before turning and striding away, having nothing to say. Scorpius smirked at the now empty doorway and continued with his work.
"Scorpius?" Not a long while later, his mother came in to inspect how the room was coming. It was gorgeous. All sorts of instruments were all around the room, along with several pieces of expensive artwork adorning the walls, both muggle and magical. The magical ones were easy to distinguish from the muggle ones as they were moving.
"Yes?" Scorpius had the sleeves on his shirt rolled up to his elbows and his dark jeans were just a bit loose on him.
"Rose Weasley is here."
"Mum," said Scorpius as he brushed past her, "you don't have to introduce her by her full name. Also, don't let her near that room yet!"
"I won't!" Astoria Malfoy called after her son.
Scorpius ran to his room, as he was sure that was where the Floo would have deposited his bride-to-be. Thankfully he wasn't far from it. Just down the hall a bit. He hesitated when he saw her. She was sitting at the foot of his bed, just looking around casually. Her red hair was the way he liked it; a bright curly mess. She was wearing another sundress. This one was blue, which went very well with her hair and eyes. Dark midnight blue. It had a halter top and fanned out from her waist. It reached below her knee in a modest way but it still affected Scorpius in ways he wasn't entirely comfortable with yet.
"Hi," she said and her ears tinged red.
"Rose," Scorpius smiled at her and was glad to find that it was a genuine smile. It made him happy that she was making an effort. This was the second day in a row she had come to him.
"I think it's a good idea if we spend more time together. I understand if you, um, don't want to or if you think this is a bad idea."
"Actually, I reckon that's a good idea. I was going to owl you soon and ask if you wanted to spend the evening at your flat watching muggle movies with me?"
"You...want to watch muggle movies?"
"Well, yeah. I like them and I can't watch them in the Manor because nothing electronic-"
"-works around large amounts of magic. Right." Rose finished his sentence for him.
"So what do you think?"
She bit her lip in a way that Scorpius believed should be illegal. "I suppose that would be fine. Do you want to pick the movie?"
"No, you can. You probably know a lot more muggle movies than I do."
Out of nowhere her face lit up, "Let's go together! There's a video rental store just up the block from my flat."
"A what?"
Rose giggled. Scorpius liked the sound. He decided that he needed to do what he could to make her make that sound again. Often. "I'm going to have too much fun introducing you to muggle things."
Scorpius was inwardly pleased that Rose was being so open today. Perhaps Albus had put in a good word for him like he promised he would. "You're an excellent baker, by the way. Mum, Dad, and I all tried some of the things you brought over yesterday and they were all delicious. Dad even asked me twice to make sure that you knew where the kitchen was in this place."
Rose beamed at him. "I'm so glad. I do want your family to like me."
"What about me?" Scorpius asked this softly. "Do you want me to like you, too?"
"Of course," said Rose as the red returned to the tips of her ears.
"Would you teach me how to make those muffins that you brought? That would be a good start."
Rose giggled again and Scorpius felt like he might be starting to get to know her just a little bit. "Lead the way," she motioned for him to lead her to the kitchens.
...
"No," despite the reprimand in her tone, Rose was sporting a gorgeous smile.
"Well why not? I think it's bloody brilliant. Just consider it, Rose. Imagine biting into one of those delicious muffins and finding a peppermint humbug in the center! Or a chocolate frog!"
The mental image of a hopping muffin popped up in Rose's mind and she doubled over in laughter. Scorpius was laughing, too, as he flicked his wand at the muffins, causing them to start bouncing up and down on the counter. "See? Brilliant!" he declared.
The kitchen around them was a mess. Ingredients that were included in the muffin recipe coated the floor, counters, and the two people in the kitchen. Rose stepped toward the counter to get her own wand but slipped on the mess on the floor. She felt herself tumbling forward, straight into Scorpius's chest.
He caught her easily, wrapped his arms around her and the scent of her hair had him barely suppressing a groan. It had been months since he'd been with a girl, and the one in his arms was particularly pretty. Plus she was engaged to him. Too bad she didn't fancy him and probably didn't have any intentions of shagging him any time soon.
"Easy there," he encouraged softly. Without conscious thought, his hand went up to stroke her hair. Rose felt this and couldn't help the tingling sensation that erupted in her stomach. She jerked back away from him, steady on her own two feet, cleared her throat and plucked up her wand.
With one swish the muffins sat motionless on the plate. "I'll consider adding chocolate frogs to the list of ingredients," she consented reluctantly.
Now that his hands weren't on her, Scorpius was unsure of what to do with them. It had been years since he felt shy and awkward around a pretty girl, but Rose was different. Not just because of their situation, either, but because she just was. He settled on putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Whatever you think is best. You're the baker."
"I think I'm going to go home for a bit. Meet me at my flat at six o'clock tonight, okay? Is that a good time?"
"It's a perfect time."
Rose's red lips pulled up at the corners, "Excellent. See you then."
"Bye, Rose," Scorpius watched as she crossed the kitchen to the fireplace and disappeared in spinning green flames.
...
"You got Rose Weasley? Merlin, don't let Nathan or Zach know!" Liam Jackson had finally contacted Scorpius by Flooing into his bedroom not long after Rose had left.
"Trust me, mate, I'm keeping this as secret as I possibly can. Of course, she's a bloody Weasley so the press is salvating to know who they're all marrying."
Liam groaned in sympathy and laid back on Scorpius's bed. "What's she like anyway?"
"I'll let you know as soon as I figure her out," Scorpius promised. "How about you? Who are you with?"
"Ophelia Bones."
"I bet you're happy. She's what? Two years older than us and bloody gorgeous. I remember her when she was at Hogwarts."
"Yeah, she's alright...I guess.."
"Liam?"
"I guess I was just hoping that maybe Adara would have put my name down..." he trailed off and frowned. Liam was one of the very few half-bloods who knew that the purebloods had the privilage of requesting the person they wanted to marry.
"She probably did. She's fancied you for years. Not that it matters now," Scorpius leaned back in the chair he was sitting in beside his fireplace.
"What? Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"I thought you knew. She made it kind of obvious. Don't you remember all of those times she asked you to do things with her but didn't ask me to come along? Like studying in the library and working on homework by the lake..."
"Fuck. I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner! What the fuck is wrong with me?"
"Aside from everything? Oof!" Liam had thrown a pillow at Scorpius that caught him in the face.
"Was Rose your first choice?" Scorpius didn't say anything, just nodded. "Do you...fancy her?"
"No, but I hope I will. The date they gave us is the 21st of July."
Liam gave a low whistle, "Less than a month, mate."
"I know. I'm trying really hard. I want us to at least be friends."
"With benefits," Liam waggled his eyebrows at Scorpius, "Admit it, Scor, Rose is fucking gorgeous. You can't tell me you're not looking forward to shagging her."
"Of course I am. I've actually been thinking about that a lot lately. She was over here today and we were baking muffins. She bent down in front of the oven and I couldn't stop my imagination from running wild. I was standing right behind her for Merlin's sake! But I'm sure it's going to be a while before she's ready for that and I don't want to mess anything up by trying for it too soon. We haven't even snogged yet."
Liam considered this and said, "You made muffins? Are there any left or did you eat them all? Don't give me that look, I'm bloody starving!"
...
"Albus! You need to leave the flat for the evening."
"What? Why?" Albus was lying on the couch watching the telly when Rose arrived home from Malfoy Manor.
"I have a date with Scorpius. He wants to come over here and watch movies."
"Ugh. Does that mean I need to stay out all night? I don't want to walk in on the two of you fucking like rabbits."
"Oh please," Rose scowled, "you know that's not going to happen. I can barely hold the guy's hand."
"You need to get over that, Rose. Don't forget what Fred told you. You should work up to shagging."
Rose lifted Albus's feet, sat down, and set his feet back down on her lap. "I...can't. I know that I should. I know that I don't want to be scared shitless on my wedding night, but I just don't see myself snogging him, let alone taking his clothes off and riding his cock like a Firebolt."
Albus laughed heartily at this, "Rose, if you really think that riding a cock is like riding a broomstick you really are ignorant about sex. Either that or you've been riding a broomstick in a very wrong way for years."
"Oh shut up, you prat, it's just an expression. I've heard the girls use it in the dorm room."
"Ah," said Al as if he'd just realized something important, "I've always wondered how they described it. Riding...like a Firebolt...huh...that's kinda hot..." he tossed the saying around in his head a bit.
"Just...be out of here by six, alright?"
"Sure thing. Just don't let me catch him giving you any flying lessons on his Firebolt," Albus said cheekily.
...
At six o'clock sharp Scorpius knocked on her door. She answered with a big smile and he felt his face mirroring hers. "Right on time," she complimented.
"I always am," he offered her his arm and she wrapped her hand tentatively around it. As they walked to the video rental store they chatted about little things; what they did that day, how their families were doing.
Scorpius had quite the time in the store. As it turned out, he wanted to see just about every movie they had on the shelves. He was particularly interested in muggle horror movies. "No, absolutely not," Rose had a very stern face.
"How scary can it honestly be? I mean, the murderer's weapon of choice is a butcher knife. If someone with a butcher knife came after you, all you would have to do is Stupefy his dumb arse and contact the muggle...Auror...people."
"I said 'no'!" Rose snarled, "I don't watch scary movies; muggle or magical. They scare the pants off me!"
Scorpius looked her up and down with his eyebrows raised. His expression clearly said that he wouldn't mind her getting the pants scared off of her. She playfully slapped his arm. He was quick to make the suggestion,"Think of it like a mystery. You can focus on trying to figure out who the killer is."
"Listen. You should probably know this about me because it's important. I don't. Watch. Scary. Movies. Albus would positively murder you if you made me watch one."
"Why?"
"Because it's impossible for me to sleep alone when I'm scared. I would end up crawling in bed with him every night for the next week."
"I would take full responsibility for you," Scorpius vowed, "and if you had to crawl in bed with me every night, I promise I wouldn't mind one bit or say one word against it." Lust started bubbling in his stomach at the thought of Rose climbing into bed with him in the middle of the night.
Before his imagination could get too carried away, she brought his attention back to movies, "I prefer comedies."
Scorpius was determined to get Rose to become closer to him. If she was scared, she might look to him as a protector. But if they watched a comedy, she would probably continue looking at him as just a mate. Perhaps they could compromise. "What about that section of romantic comedies?"
Rose beamed at him, "Perfect!"
...
They were seated side-by-side on the sofa. Not touching. Not even their legs. Rose had hers curled up under her and Scorpius's long legs were stretched out under the coffee table. The movie had only been playing for maybe ten minutes and he was captivated. By the movie and the witch beside him.
He was happy to announce that he was really enjoying the time he spent with her. In her own flat, around her own things, she was much more herself and much more relaxed. Once or twice she seemed aware of this and started clamming up, but he would eventually pull her out of it.
Scorpius had a bowl of popcorn balanced on his thigh and every once in a while Rose would reach over, her eyes still on the screen, grab a handful, and pull it up to her mouth. Every time she reached her hand toward him he got just a little bit hornier as he imagined her hand reaching for a place that was just a bit further up and to the right of the popcorn bowl.
Instinctively, he leaned toward her and put his arm around her shoulders. Rose stiffened. How was she supposed to react to this? When he did not remove his arm, she reluctantly leaned into him. Just a little. It wasn't bad, honestly. Just different. She snuggled against his shoulder. It was more comfortable to watch movies like this she realized with a jolt.
Half-way through the movie, she'd fallen asleep. Once Scorpius realized this, he tried to keep his laughter at a minimum but these silly muggles on the screen were just much too humorous. When the movie ended and the credits started to roll, Scorpius gave a yawn and picked up the remote that was lying next to him.
What were all of these buttons? After reading them all thoroughly, he decided to press the one labeled, "Stop." It worked! The movie stopped but the telly came on. He debated on flipping through the channels, but was distracted when Rose mumbled something in her sleep.
With a quirked eyebrow he looked over at the girl sleeping on his shoulder, with her arm wrapped around his middle, and focused on her. In some ways she acted exactly like an immature seventeen year old girl. In other ways she was so mature and thoughtful it made him feel like the immature one.
She was mumbling again and Scorpius leaned his ear down closer to hear, "Albus...no...don't want...green eyebrows."
Scorpius's entire body shook with laughter at that. Not only did his future wife talk in her sleep, but even in her dreams she was angry at her cousin for something. Apparently that was all he was going to hear because at that moment, the door of the flat swung open and Albus Potter came in with a hand clapped over his eyes.
"If either of you are dressed indecently or if you are currently shagging on the sofa, please remove your persons from the room!"
Rose woke up with a start. She pulled away from Scorpius instantly and snapped, "We're decent, you prat!"
Al peeked out between his fingers, appraised them, and said, "Wow, you got dressed fast."
With a flick of her wand, a steady stream of cushions flew from the end directly into Albus. "Oof! I was just kidding! Ouch! Bloody hell, Rose!"
He ran, dodging cushions all the way, to his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. Scorpius was laughing. "I guess that's my cue to leave."
"I'm so sorry I fell asleep! I haven't been sleeping well lately, and you were just so bloody comfortable-" at that moment her eyes widened as she realized what she had said and her face started to turn red.
A smirk made its way onto his face, "I'm glad. Don't apologize about falling asleep. I still had a good time with you."
She gave him a small smile. They stood up at the same time and she walked him to the door. "Thank you for suggesting this date. I'm happy that you're open to trying muggle things."
Scorpius stared into her deep blue eyes with such intensity that Rose couldn't look away. They were standing very close and he was starting to lean down. Panic erupted in Rose. She wasn't ready for this! At the last moment, she turned her head to the side and felt his nose brush against her cheek. The phrase crisis averted echoed in her mind.
He contented himself with a light kiss on her cheek. In a tone that gave away none of the frustration he felt, he said, "Goodnight, Rose," and left.
She closed the door behind him as she started to hyperventilate. The opportunity had been perfect. Their evening was great, she had a good time with him, he was fun, and nice. Not to mention there were only 28 days until the wedding. But she just couldn't snog him.
Having heard the door close, Albus came striding into the sitting room looking apprehensive. "How was your date?"
"Alright, I suppose. He was...Al, he was so nice. Not overly nice in a fake way, but in a genuine way." She made a face like she didn't appreciate this, but Albus knew that in reality Rose was probably starting to develop a small crush on the guy. "He teased me a bit but in a good way, like how you or James would."
"Did you snog him?"
"No. I think he wanted to. I mean, he leaned down toward my face but I turned away and he kissed my cheek instead."
"Merlin, Rose! You're a Gryffindor! Shouldn't you be brave?"
"I am brave! I just..." Rose frowned. What was she? In a rush she closed her eyes and said, "You know me better than anyone, Albus. If the Sorting Hat would have considered me for any other house, what would it have been?"
Albus stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Ravenclaw," he decided.
She bit her lip and shook her head, "It almost put me in Slytherin, Al. That dumb Hat told me things about myself that I tried vehemently to ignore but they were true. I might be brave and loyal and all of that, but I also distrust most people. Unlike most Gryffindors, I don't rush head first into situations. I assess them first, and sometimes...sometimes," Rose flushed in embarrassment, "I can be rather selfish."
"Well get over it," Albus's words made Rose's head snap up as she had been looking down at her feet. She surely hadn't expected him to say that. She thought he might scoff at her in disgust or perhaps try to reassure her that she didn't have any Slytherin traits in her, but no.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, stop acting like this is all about you. This is difficult for Malfoy, too, and he's trying damn hard to get you to like him. Perhaps you should put your own selfish arse second and consider his feelings, too."
Without waiting for her reaction, Albus left Rose gaping after him as he retreated to his bedroom.
...
Rose couldn't sleep that night. Her thoughts kept going back to Al's words and it hurt like hell because he was right. And she hated that. Now, she found herself in a dress shop with Leila, Aunt Luna, Aunt Ginny, Lily, and Roxanne.
Having no sisters or female cousins, Leila had chosen Lily as her maid of honour, and Roxanne and Rose as her two bridesmaids. This didn't surprise anyone. Leila, like Rose, wasn't very close to many girls. So she had chosen James's sister and his two favorite cousins.
Luna and Leila were arguing about the wedding dress colour. "I don't care if yellow is a sun colour," Leila was saying, "I want my wedding dress to be a traditional white."
"But dear, let's be honest about this. White is a pure colour and I know you and James have made love before."
"Mum!"
"I just think yellow is a more fitting colour."
"Ginny! Help!"
"Luna," Ginny came to Leila's rescue, "it's her wedding, don't you think she should have the liberty to choose the colour of her own dress?"
"Well, alright," in spite of her words, Luna was fingering her wand as if she'd love to charm it yellow.
Rose had to give Leila some credit. She chose a gorgeous dress, even if it was not what she would have chosen for herself. Flowers covered the bottom of the dress and the top was silk that complimented Leila's curves nicely. It had only one strap that was made of flowers.
(A/N: I searched online for a while before I found a dress that I could picture Leila choosing. I am not sure if links show up on here, but if they do then here is a link to an image of the dress I imagine Leila in: www. ).
The bridesmaid dresses were something that Rose, however, did not approve of entirely. To appease her mother, Leila chose a pretty shade of yellow that clashed just a little with Lily's and Rose's hair, but went well with Roxie's dark locks. It was one-shoulder, just like Leila's wedding dress, but in Rose's opinion, it was simply much too short. She felt like she was wearing modest lingerie.
(A/N: If it shows up, here's a link to the image of the bridesmaid dresses I picture: . /user/10244634/upload/images/lg/co0849_ ).
"When will we be helping you shop for your dress?" Roxie asked Rose as the two of them went into the same dressing room to change back into their plain muggle attire.
"Ugh. I don't know. What about you? How are things with Calvin?" Rose hadn't spoken to Roxie in a few weeks and they were using this dress shopping time as a chance to catch up. Calvin and Roxanne had been dating for almost one year when this law went into effect.
Now that Rose thought about it, a lot of the couples she knew of were already dating; Louis and Verity, Roxanne and Calvin, even James and Leila were headed in that direction before the Ministry forced them into it early. That, coupled with the fact that arranged marriages were already fairly common in the wizard world, had been why the community hadn't made too much of a fuss about the new law.
The only person who Rose knew must be miserable was Dominique. One out of all of her cousins wasn't exactly a bad ratio. Even if people grumbled a bit, most weren't vehemently opposed to the law.
"We're doing well," Roxanne replied, "Actually, when this law went into effect we were a little relieved."
"What? Why?" Rose was shocked.
"The day I got the letter saying that Calvin and I were to be married, I also found out that I'm pregnant."
Rose gasped and hugged her cousin tightly. "Congratulations! That's so wonderful! I still don't understand why you were relieved...?"
"Cal asked my dad a month ago for his blessing to ask me to marry him, and my dad pitched a fit worthy of Uncle Ron. He said that we hadn't been dating long enough and that I was too young. I'm twenty-one years old! So if we had to go to my parents and tell them I was pregnant dad probably would have murdered Cal. Now, though, we're engaged and we don't plan on telling anyone about the baby until after the wedding. Except for you, obviously."
"Why me?"
Roxanne shrugged, "I needed someone to talk to about it. I'm awfully nervous but also excited. Who else to talk to than my favorite cousin? But if you tell my brother I swear to Merlin I will-"
" Oh, calm down. Fred may be one of my best mates, but I know how to keep a secret."
Now dressed, the two girls exited the changing room grinning at each other. "Took you long enough," said Lily as they found the other women waiting for them.
"Sorry," said Rose and Roxie together before giggling mischievously.