Alright, well. We're just moving right along here, aren't we?

Chapter three already.

Well, I hope you're enjoying it.

I've forgotten to mention that all the characters belong to JKR.

But I figure you knew that already.

--

With Me

"Rose Lynn Weasley!" Hermione called from outside the bathroom stall, "You cannot stay in there all night, everyone's expecting you!"

"I look ridiculous!" Rose cried, standing in the farthest corner of the stall.

"Rose..." Her mother said, softer this time. "You do not. You look beautiful. Your father could hardly keep himself from crying when he saw you!"

"Because he was terrified!"

"Rose!" Her mother snapped, getting frustrated, "You're being incredibly unreasonable, now you know you look beautiful and I know that you're strong enough to go out there and face all those people even though you're scared." Rose quickly unlocked the door and threw it open, coming face to face with her mother.

"I am not scared." She said, her tone serious.

"Good, then you'll have no problem coming with me." Hermione said, happy with herself and grabbing Rose by the arm. She gave her daughter a once over in the mirror and quickly pulled her outside into the main lobby of the building where Dom was waiting. The mother turned to her only daughter and smiled.

"If I don't see you down those stairs in five minutes, you get to spend the rest of your Christmas break with the Delacour family." Rose's eyes widened.

"But Dom isn't even going there -- "

"I know." With another smile and a wink, Hermione turned and began to walk downstairs into the main party room.

"Woah, Red. Lookin' hot." Dom said behind her, causing her to automatically roll her eyes.

"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." Rose complimented, and she meant it. Dom was wearing a purple and black dress that was a little shorter than her mother probably would've liked. The dress was short, but she had long black sleeves that had purple details all the way down. Her hair was up in a sleek ponytail with hair let down on either side, framing her face. The girl really could wear a potato sack and look amazing.

"Think you could wear a bag on your head or something?" She suggested, only half joking.

"Please, Rose." Dom sighed, "You're giving me a run for my money tonight. Let's go."

Suddenly Rose realized everything that made her uncomfortable with her dress. The emerald green color was sure to make her look like she thought the world of herself. The way it hung around her thighs, and the way it clung to the curves of her body. Even the long sleeves felt too tight. And the way her hair was fixed, hanging nicely around her face...was it all too much? She was sure that she would trip over her heels.

"Come on, Red. I don't think your mom's one for empty threats."

"But -- "

"Shut up."

--

The main room was as big as the Great Hall, if not bigger. The walls had been enchanted to look like snow was falling outside while the ceiling held half a dozen beautiful chandeliers. Every table had a white table cloth and center pieces made of silver flowers. There was a wide opening next to the jazz band that was playing lightly. Rose assumed it was for dancing, but no one was there yet. As she and Dominique began to descend the white marble staircase, Rose realized she didn't know anyone in the room. In a panic, she started scanning the crowd for her family. One would imagine that a family of redheads would stick out of the crowd. Well, one would be wrong. She saw a few vaguely familiar faces, probably from Christmas parties' past. She felt a cold sweat coming on, even though the room was plenty warm. She knew that Dom was right beside her, but that didn't seem to give her any kind of comfort. Rose wasn't a fan of big social situations, especially when it was full of strangers. She knew that a lot of students at school had parents that worked at the Ministry -- where were they? It didn't matter who it was, as long as she saw someone. She was used to putting on the rough and tumble mask in front of them, maybe it'd come out if she saw someone she was familiar with?

The flash of platinum blonde she saw immediately clutched at her heart, but not in a painful way. In more of a...happy way. Happy? Before she could really think about her reaction, she found herself smiling widely at Scorpius, who actually was looking at her. And not just any smile. She felt like she could do one of those girly little "OMG" dances like something fantastic had just happened. Rose wasn't sure at first if Scorpius even realized she was smiling at him, and she was so relieved she actually saw a familiar face, she didn't care if he noticed or not. She could always blame it on something else if he brought it up later. Much to her surprise, he smiled back at her. Well, really it was more of a grin, and he did a little head nod, but it wasn't exactly an unwelcome response.

"What are you smiling at?" Dom asked, curiously looking through the crowd. That's when Rose snapped out of her...insane state and looked around for an excuse. Her eyes fell on the snack table.

"...They have cupcakes!"

--

The party had been going on for just about an hour, and Rose was already completely and utterly bored. Dom had spotted a boy that she found particularly interesting, so she was talking and dancing with him. Al was off somewhere talking to some Slytherin boys that had arrived, all of whom were incredibly boring and a little creepy to be around. Her parents had been dancing and talking with all the other boring adults ever since they got there. The talking Rose could handle, but all the PDA was just a little too much for her to stomach. And she did have to take her stomach into consideration. With the all excitement she showed Dom about "cupcakes", she had to back up her word. So, in the course of half an hour, she had consumed five cupcakes. Big cupcakes. That's why Rose was a little thankful that Dom had found a boy so early and had gone off with him. Who knew how much more frosting she could've stomached? She was still having trouble, thirty minutes later.

The redhead rested her chin on her hand and looked around the room. She was sitting at a table by herself, while everyone else was dancing and talking. How sad was that? Rose knew that she should make an attempt to be sociable, but frankly she just didn't want to. Nothing in particular caught her interest, and she didn't feel like standing just for the heck of it. Part of her still wanted to hide under the tablecloth. Rose wasn't a fan of dresses -- the school skirts had been a stretch at first. She just wasn't very girly. She much preferred pants. That way, if she had to kick someone, she didn't have to worry about the rest of the room seeing her business. Reasonable, right? Skirts and dresses weren't very practical. Drumming her fingers on the table, she glanced around the room again, looking for something -- anything that could cure her insatiable boredom.

And that was when she saw Scorpius walking out of the room in the direction of the courtyard.

Rose knew it was a courtyard because that's where she thought about hiding when they first arrived. Where could he be going? Her inner detective started to poke at the back of her mind as she stood from the table and started weaving through the crowd. She tried to draw as little attention to herself as she could, only briefly pausing to smile at someone who had noticed her. When she walked out into the courtyard, she realized how very much warmer the party had been. Of course Aunt Ginny wouldn't have expected her to be running around outside in the dead of winter in her dress. Why else would it be so short? Mentally swearing, she stepped lightly around the stone pillars, trying to see where Scorpius had gone. She must have been trying to find him for five minutes, hiding behind different stone pillars and maybe even a statue or two, before she heard him speak right behind her.

"Looking for someone?" Rose whipped around so fast, she stumbled back a little, thankful that there was a pillar to catch her.

"How the hell did you get there?" She asked before she could think. He flashed her a cheeky grin.

"Legs. They're very useful."

"Oh...shut up." He raised an eyebrow.

"Great come back, Freckles. You really told me." If she could kick herself without looking completely insane, she would have right then.

"Drop dead, Ferret-Face." She snapped, starting to walk back in the direction of the party.

"I might." Scorpius started, quickly stepping in front of her and leaning on the pillar, "If I go back to that sad excuse for a party."

"Well I suppose it's nothing like the group orgies I hear about at Slytherin parties." Rose said flatly, crossing her arms in front of her and looking up at the boy. He just grinned at her again and stared down at her.

"So," Rose announced as soon as she was sure the air was really getting thicker, "I guess I'll just go back to the party now." And she started to walk around Scorpius, but she didn't get too far.

"Why did you come out here?" Busted. Rose slowly turned around with a blank stare on her face.

"Because, I -- "

"Was bored?" He smirked, knowing he had her. When she didn't answer, he nodded slowly. "Stay with me."

"What?" She raised her brow.

"Let's see," He crossed his arms then put one hand on his chin in a fake thinking position. "You can either go back inside and sit by yourself all night, or stay out here with me." He looked like he had expected her to retaliate, but when she didn't, he wandered over to a nearby statue of a Thestral and leaned against it. It took her a minute, but Rose soon followed, eyeing him suspiciously while she stood off to the side of him. He didn't pay attention to her, he just looked up at the moonlit sky. She was staring at him for a good while before he spoke.

"What are you doing for Christmas?" He asked, still looking up at the sky. Rose was so taken aback by his innocent question, she couldn't answer until he looked at her.

"Oh, you know...the usual chaotic gathering at the Weasley residence." She said, looking at the ground and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. When she glanced back up at him, he was looking at her almost thoughtfully. Which was actually incredibly strange. So strange, in fact, that she had to stare at him some more before she could realize that he was staring at her. Strange things always seem to happen to Rose on Christmas. Last year she woke up to Hugo, wearing a crazy amount of make up and standing over her bed, staring her in the face. Alright, so that wasn't exactly the same thing, but weird things happen.

"Um, what about you?" Was her attempt at shattering the awkward silence. He turned his attention back to the sky.

"More parties like this." He said, not offering any more.

"That sounds...like fun" She had made the mistake of realizing what she was saying right in the middle of her sentence. And how it had been a total lie. He gave her a half smile, as if he appreciated her attempt.

"You don't have to stand all the way over there, you know. I'm not gonna bite you." She looked up to see him smiling at her again. Still not used to the whole "being nice" arrangement, Rose took a minute before she shuffled over to lean against the spot of the statue next to Scorpius. They were silent for what felt like forever, with Scorpius still looking at the sky, and Rose looking at the ground.

"You look beautiful tonight." Rose felt her heart stop and part of her brain explode. She looked up at him to see an honest face looking back at her. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay, what the hell are you playing at, Malfoy?" She snapped, glaring and backing away from him. He didn't look surprised, maybe she was more predictable than she thought. He turned towards her, and closed the distance between them, but Rose didn't back away.

"Rose." She backed away then, into the pillar behind them, and Scorpius stayed where he was. "Do you ever think about that day?"

"What day?" Rose asked, instinctively, though she knew very well what day he was talking about.

"Don't play dumb, Rose." He said softly, waiting for her to answer. She stared at him a little before she spoke.

"Do you?" His silence was enough of an answer for her, though she couldn't help but be surprised. Why was he even bringing it up?

"I thought about you a lot after that." Scorpius said, not really seeming to be talking to anyone but himself. "Even after my dad told me how I had to stay away from you." He glanced at her, and he had to have been able to tell how confused she was.

"Rose -- "

"Why are you bringing this up?" She asked, suddenly feeling like she should run. In fact, she was getting ready to. He looked at her for a long moment, trying to figure out the best wording.

"I missed you, Rose." Dumbfounded would be the appropriate term for what Rose was feeling at that moment. She felt her mouth fall open a little in shock. What was she even supposed to say to that? That she felt exactly the same way? What if this was all a big joke? He had someone waiting in the bushes with some recording device. She couldn't trust him after all the years of fighting.

But, even through their fights, had he ever done anything to flat out embarrass her? Had he ever tried to ruin her life? No. In fact, she won the fast majority of their fights, and he never tried to stop her from hitting him. Why was she just now realizing this? Scorpius took a slow step closer to her, but she stepped to the side.

"You don't know what you're talking about." She said, trying to mask the odd fear in her eyes. He just looked at her, knowing she wasn't finished.

"We were like five! You're just confused, it's the whole 'forbidden fruit' thing! -- Have you been drinking the punch?" The redhead rambled, trying to talk him out of what he just said. At the same time, though, she was trying to figure out why she wanted to believe what he was saying.

"Are you finished?"

Her silence was as good enough an answer as any.

"You think I haven't thought about this?" He questioned, almost laughing. "My father would lock me up in St. Mungos if he heard me right now."

"So, why are you telling me this now?" Rose asked, crossing her arms and making it clear that she wasn't happy with the humor he saw in the situation.

"Because I'm tired of only being able to fight with you if I want to talk, and the only way I can touch you is when you hit me." He frowned and took another step in her direction. "Brace yourself, Freckles, but...I actually do have feelings for you."

Rose felt her stomach drop. Part of her knew she should've seen this coming, but another, much bigger part of her wanted to believe him.

"What if I don't feel the same way?" She asked, in an attempt to make him squirm as much as she was. It didn't work.

"You would've run a long time ago." Scorpius said, quickly walking to her, taking her face in his hands and pressing his lips against her's. Before Rose knew it, her back was up against a pillar and her fingers were locked in his perfect, platinum hair. It was as if some sort of fog came over her brain. She couldn't think straight, the only thing she could think of was how much warmer he was then her. Pulling herself closer to him, she tried to absorb more of his heat. Why did it feel like she was suddenly getting what she had been waiting for? Had she really been thinking about this moment all these years? She could've sworn that she hated him. Ever since that day, it was practically her mantra. And now she was clinging to him for dear life? Had the world gone completely insane?

An eruption of laughter close to the doors made them both jump and break their kiss. That's when sensible Rose kicked in. She pushed against Scorpius' hold and took several steps away. She wanted to say something to him, anything, but she couldn't think of anything that wouldn't belong in a melodramatic romance movie. Instead of words, she turned back to give him what she intended to be a remorseful look, but she knew as soon as she saw his face that it turned out to look a lot more agonized. Not trusting herself enough to stay any longer, she hurried back in through the doors and back down to the party.

What a grand Christmas it was going to be.

--

Okay, not so sure how I feel about this one.
Tell me what you think!

Thanks for reading.