Chapter 4 – She Beat me at all Sorts of Muggle Games
Friday, 10:30 PM, August 30th, 2023 – The Library, Malfoy Manor.
As they opened the second bottle of wine Draco felt his abs actually hurting because he'd laughed so much. After dinner they had abandoned the dining room and Draco had shown Hermione around the library in the Manor, and to say she was impressed would've been an understatement. They were now sitting on the comfortable sofa in the library, looking deep into each other's eyes.
"I'm really glad I agreed to help you with your pixie problem." Hermione smiled and took a sip of wine. "I've had such a good time tonight."
"You make it sound like the night is about to end." Draco said and stroke her arm. "I was hoping you might want to spend the night with me."
Hermione watched him closely for a while; she seemed to be considering his offer.
"Well, Rose and Hugo are spending the week at Ron's." she said thoughtfully.
"You're doing every other week, then?" Draco asked.
"Yeah, we figured it would be fair and as long as Rose and Hugo are happy then so am I." Hermione smiled.
Draco could hear a hint of hurt in her voice.
"Must be hard though, I could never imagine having Scorp living somewhere else half of the time." he said.
"Well, I'm used to it. It felt odd at first though." Hermione admitted.
"Perks of being a widower, I guess. Don't have to share my son." Draco said in an attempt to lighten the mood. An attempt that failed miserably as Hermione looked at him with sorrow in her eyes
"I'm really sorry, Draco. I know I'm complaining about Ron from time to time and his momentary lack of parenting, but I don't think I could ever have raised a teenage child alone - alone. I'm impressed you've managed so well." she said.
"Well, I'm used to it too, I guess. It's been just me and Scorpius for so long now." he sighed. "Do Scorpius feel odd about you dating other women?" she asked and blushed slightly. "I'm asking for obvious reasons."
"Well, to be perfectly honest… I haven't really dated anyone since Astoria passed away. It's not that I'm still mourning her, and I know she would have wanted me to move on. And Scorpius would never not allow me to be happy. I just haven't met anyone who was worth dating. With one very obvious exception." he said and cupped her cheek with one hand.
She smiled at him. He smiled back.
Friday, 11:15 PM, August 30th, 2023 – The Bar, Weasleys' Party
The smoke in the venue Fred and Roxanne rented to throw the party in lay as a thick veil, making the night seem mystical and enchanted. At the bar Scorpius was sipping on a Daisyroot Draught when Rose came up and sat down next to him.
"I'll have a pint of Simison Steaming Stout, thanks." Rose told the bartender who obliged.
"Hiya, Rose. Enjoying yourself?" Scorpius asked and turned to face Rose.
"Well, since I'm apparently the only one of my friends who doesn't dance, I seemed to have been ditched." she said and rolled her eyes at the dance floor. "You alright? Albus and my brother ditched you too, ey?"
"Well, apparently the dance floor is the best spot to chat up ladies, Albus informed me. So yeah, they ditched me. But luckily for me; my night just improved tremendous and I've got to say I upgraded my company the minute you sat down." he leaned into Rose's ear and whispered the last part.
"How come you're not on the dance floor on the pull, then?" she asked and tilted her head slightly.
"That's simple. The only bird I fancy spending my night with doesn't dance." Scorpius smirked.
"Scorpius Malfoy, you sly Slytherin." Rose purred and raised an eyebrow suggestively. "So, if you can't dance with her; would you like to have your arse handed to you in a dart-game then?"
"I have no idea what dart is, but if I'm going to have my arse handed to me by anyone, it better be you. Lead the way, my dear." Scorpius said and flashed the most seductive smile he could manage.
Rose kissed him by the cheek and grabbed him by his hand and led the way to the dart game.
Saturday, 1:50 AM, August 31st, 2023 – Leaving the Pool Table, Weasleys' Party
Rose did hold up her promise and did indeed hand Scorpius his own arse at dart. After the humiliating dart-game she'd suggested he should lose a game of pool to her as well and he wasn't slow to agree. Although he'd lost the pool-game as well he did still feel like a winner since he'd had a pretty good view of Rose's very appealing bum when she bent over the table to take a shot. After ordering two glasses of rum they sat down at the bar once more.
"Can't believe you beat me at pool as well." he laughed. "Cheers."
He raised his glass and she followed his example.
"Cheers." she grinned and they drank.
"How come you're so good at Muggle games, anyway?" Scorpius asked.
"Well, between my mum being Hermione Granger and my grandfather being Arthur Weasley, do you really think I had a choose? As soon dad, aunt Ginny and the rest of my uncles moved out from the Burrow grandpa filled all their rooms with Muggle thing. Dad's old room is now an arcade, as grandpa keeps informing us." she told Scorpius and took a sip of her rum.
"Well, I'm very glad you introduced me to it. I'll practice and then I'll hand you your arse, you just wait and see, love." Scorpius grinned.
"I'd love to see the day when the pureblood Malfoy beats me at a Muggle game." she smirked.
"The second I tell my dad I'm training to beat a Granger in something he'll stop at no ends to support me. We'll have a whole arcade at the Manor, you'll see." Scorpius smirked back.
"I never fully understood their rivalry, though. Did you?" Rose asked and tilted her head slightly.
"No, dad wouldn't tell me anything except you mum beating him in every class when they were at school and he didn't really handle it well. I figure there's more too it, don't you?" he said.
Rose nodded thoughtfully.
"Well, he never said anything out straight, but I always got the feeling from dad there was more too it. And to be honest, I think he was always jealous of your dad." she said after a moment.
"How do you reckon?" Scorpius asked.
"Well, I think since my mum and your dad have always had this bickering and verbal sparring going on. I mean; you know what it was like when they worked cases together at the Ministry. Every time you went to visit you'd get caught in the crossfire. Call me mental, but I think my dad wished he had that with my mum. I reckon he always felt he could never match her intellectually, but your dad always could." she said and gave Scorpius a look he couldn't quite read.
"Are you still close with your dad? I mean, after their divorce." Scorpius asked, changing subject.
"I stay with him every other week, when I'm not at Hogwarts. But I wouldn't say we're close. Not like me and mum anyway. Don't get me wrong; I love my dad. It's just… He's not really good at being a parent. He's much better at being a mate. We always have fun together, but I never talk to him about important things. I told him I was going to this party tonight and you know what he said?" Rose said and looked at Scorpius.
Scorpius shook his head.
"He said he wished he was going too, on account he hasn't been properly sloshed since new years." Rose exclaimed in disbelief. "I mean, who says that to their seventeen year old daughter?"
Scorpius laughed.
"Well, my dad told me that if Albus and I come home and woke him up by singing For He's a Jolly Good Fellow again at 4 in the morning he would disown me." he chuckled. "He was kidding, naturally. But he wasn't happy last time it happened."
"That's how a dad is suppose to react though, isn't it?" Rose said. "If I would do that my dad would probably just sing along."
They both laughed at the image of Ron Weasley joining his sloshed children in a song.
"I take it you and your dad are really close though?" Rose asked after a while.
"Yeah, we are. He's always been there for me. And I've always been there for him. Since my mum passed away there's just been the two of us. I tell him everything." Scorpius shrugged.
"Yeah, right. Sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up." Rose mumbled and drank from her glass.
"Don't worry about it. My dad and I have talked about my mum enough for it not to hurt anymore." Scorpius smiled and emptied his own glass.
He signalled to the bartender to give them a refill.
"You'll probably think I'm a right loony for telling you this; but I actually asked him for advice regarding women tonight before I got here." he confessed and tried to hid his blush behind the topped off glass of rum.
"You did? Why?" Rose asked and raised a curious eyebrow.
"Well, normally I'm fine talking to women…" he begun.
"Yeah, so I've noticed." Rose snorted.
"But there's this one girl… Whenever I talk to her I feel like a complete tosser. I never seem to be able to get my shite together and charm her." he said and glanced over at Rose.
"Sounds like you fancy her. You mind telling me who this girl is?" Rose asked and gave him a crocked smile.
"She's this amazing person, so bright. Doesn't like to dance and beats me at all sort of Muggle games." Scorpius said and he felt his cheeks burn. He forced himself to look into her eyes,
"I really like you, Rose. I like you so much I don't know how to behave when I'm around you." he said, his face suddenly dead serious.
Rose just looked at him for a long moment without saying a word. Scorpius felt his nerves acting up. Had he been a complete idiot for telling her? He watched her face but could not read the look she gave him. Just as he started to think he'd misread the whole situation she grabbed a hold of the back of his neck and pressed her lips against his. Scorpius felt an electric jolt through his whole body and he deepened the kiss. He heard a moan in the back of her throat. They continued snogging passionately and Rose put her hands on the back of his head, pulling him closer. Scorpius wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight as she pushed her body closer to his. The room and all the people around them seemed to disappear and Rose's lips were the only thing that seemed to matter any more. He lost track of time and couldn't tell for how long they snogged.
"I think it's safe to say I really fancy you too. Come on, let's go." she said in a raspy voice when she finally broke the kiss.
"Where are we going?" Scorpius asked dumbstruck.
"We're going back to your place. I doubt my dad will be cool with me shagging a Malfoy under his roof." she smirked.
"Well, Malfoy Manor it is then." he smirked and offered her his hand.
She gave him a seductive smile as she took his hand and followed him outside to the fireplace.