The Malfoy Manor was almost exactly as she had been picturing it. There were dozen's of rooms with crown modeling's, high ceilings, tapestries and really old oil pantings that moved like muggle cartoon's Rose used to watch when she stayed with her muggle grandparents as a kid.
She wasn't sure exactly what she was expecting to happen. Of course it made sense that he would have dinner with his parents in this huge extravagant dinning room, with a royal sized expensive table and gold plates. He was a Malfoy after all, but somehow she was still surprised by it all.
Scorpius laughed at her face and whispered in her ear. "Well?"
"I'm actually surprised that your ego isn't bigger…" She whispered as her eyes glued to the details of the ceramic table.
"Never thought I'd hear you say that." He snorted as he moved to help her into her chair.
Rose furrowed her eyebrows at him. "What are you doing?"
"…Helping you into your chair."
"Whyyy?"
"Because that's what I'm supposed to do…"
Rose laughed at him incredulously. "Says who?"
"It's just…" He fumbled around for an explanation. "It's what guys do! Haven't anyone ever opened the door for you?"
"Yeah…But what does that have to do with anything?"
Scorpius shook his head and sighed. "Just get in the damn chair Rose."
"Is that how you talk to the ladies you help into their chair?" Rose mocked him as she slid into the chair.
"You're not a lady Weasley."
"Then why are you bothering to tuck me in?"
"Because Weasley," He muttered his lips on her hairline. "Just because you aren't a lady doesn't mean I'm not a gentlemen."
Rose blushed at his proximity, but soon he sat down next to her and nudged her leg teasingly.
"Rose dear, did you put some blush on? Because you have the most beautiful glow." Astoria Malfoy commented as she strolled into the room with a floor length black gown.
Rose blushed and kicked Scorpius under the table. "Thank you Mrs. Malfoy. Do you need any help?"
"Oh no dear. Draco and I have it, but thank you for offering." She then left the room with a swish of her long black hair.
"Don't you have house elves?" Rose asked in a hush.
"No," Scorpius frowned. "I've never had a house elf."
Rose shrunk guiltily. "Sorry…I just thought-"
"That all pureblood rich families have house elves?"
"Sorry. I'm an idiot."
"It's fine." Scorpius shrugged.
Rose looked to see if his parents were coming, and grabbed his hand for a second, her eyes locking with his. "Okay I don't know how much I just offended you, but I'm going to assume it is worse than you are letting on so before they get back, I formally apologize for doing so."
"It's fine Rose. Albus thought the same thing when he first visited."
"Albus has visited?" Rose muttered in shock trying to picture how that went over.
"My father wasn't too thrilled, but he didn't say anything to him."
"Huh."
Scorpius added in a lower tone, "My mother likes having guests over. I think she's actually excited you're here."
"You've never brought any other friends or some girlfriends home?"
"Just Albus. I'd never bring a girlfriend here unless…"
"Unless what?" Rose wondered watching the sentence die on his lips.
At that moment Mrs. Malfoy and Mr. Malfoy walked in carrying trays of food. Rose was in awe. Apparently Scorpius's father even helped his mother cook the meal. Something her father had never had and could never could do. Hugo was the only male in their entire family that could cook. So it was kind of nice for Rose to see how a completely different family worked.
"How is your turkey Rose?"
She nodded appreciatively, swallowed and said. "It's excellent Mrs. Malfoy."
"How do your parents feel about this?" Draco addressed Rose gesturing to her and Scorpius with his fork.
"Um my mother was disappointed, but after she talked to the Headmaster she said it was very 'character building.'"
"And your father?" Mr. Malfoy asked sharply before taking a bite of food.
Rose gulped. "I don't know if my mother's told him…I certainly won't."
"Why is that?" Mrs. Malfoy interjected giving her husband a look. "Obviously we don't prefer our son to not be able to be more than three feet away from a pretty seventeen year old girl, but as it's only temporary we are attempting to be open minded."
Rose smiled at her. "Yes well my father isn't the most open minded person. He tends to overreact to things. You may trust that I won't defile your son, but my father doesn't trust anything and it's nearly impossible to change his mind. I told him I'm going to go to Italy after I graduate to check out the job market and he said no before I could even finish the sentence."
"So what are you going to do?" Mrs. Malfoy wondered aloud.
"Go anyway." Rose shrugged. "My dad has been trying to say no to me my entire life, but I always just do what I think is best and ignore the rest, which ironically he taught me."
Scorpius smirked as he moved to take a sip of water.
"What kind of job do you want when you go to Italy?"
"Rose wants to write a travel article for the Daily Prophet." Scorpius answered for her without meaning to.
Astoria Malfoy's eyebrows rose and there was a ring of silence. Both of his parents eyed their son and noticed the faint blush rising high on Rose's cheekbones. In a few minutes they finished there food and went there separate ways for the night.
Rose and Scorpius used the sleeping bag method once again. Astoria snuck in for a quick second to add an additional spell before disappearing. It was hysterical because she seemed to think they couldn't see her pop in and pop out.
"What spell do you think that was?"
"Probably a spell making sure we can't get into each other's sleeping bags." He laughed under his breath as he took off his night shirt and slipped into his sleeping bag.
Rose wasn't quite tired, earlier she didn't look around Scorpius's room much, but as she sat on top of her sleeping bag her eyes wandered around the room.
"What are you looking at?" Scorpius asked leaning up on his arm.
"Just …around. You don't have a lot of things."
He shrugged. "Anytime I wanted a book. I could find it in the library and I see much point in own other things."
"Your house has a library?" She breathed in amazement.
"Of course."
"My mum has a wall to ceiling bookshelves in the den, but probably nothing compared to an actual library."
"We can see it tomorrow." He told her.
"Really?" She spun around, her face light up with excitement.
He laughed. "Might as well. We will be here for two more days."
"This place is beautiful."
"It's alright." He muttered unfazed.
Rose asked. "Are you going to live here when you have a family?"
"I've never thought about it. Probably not."
"But hasn't it been in your family for centuries?"
"It has," He nodded, "But I kind of want a place of my own without the whole house elf heads on the wall legacy."
Rose scrunched her face up as she glanced around. "Yeah I see that and your parents will stay here so your kids can come to visit them on holidays."
"Who says I'm having kids?" He scoffed dismissively.
"Oh please. I remember when you came over for Christmas one year when your parents were in Sweden. You played with my cousins for hours."
Scorpius flushed, his cheeks turning pink. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh? Have you been hit by an oblivate recently?"
"I saw you playing with your cousins too!"
"Yes, but I'm not the one denying that I want children." She retorted slyly.
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Whatever Weasley."
Rose looked around for a few seconds before Scorpius reached around and forced her to lie down.
Giggling she swatted his hand away in protest. "I'm not tired yet!"
"Well by all means let me help you." He smirked leaning up so his entire exposed torso was flexed.
"I'm pretty sure your mother put a spell on the room to prevent that." She retorted.
"Want to test that theory Weasley?"
"No, not really. Your poor parents are inconvenienced enough by me being here without me impregnating their son."
"That's not exactly how it works Weasley." He said darkly.
Rose sighed and laid down. "Night Malfoy."
"Night Rose."
Rose smiled and cuddled into her blanket as he shut off the light. She knew he was still awake and she wondered distantly what it would be like if they just did this in a bed instead being separated. In the middle of her thoughts she fell asleep, but Scorpius didn't.
He thought about what Rose said at dinner. It was clear that his mother liked her, which was interesting because she rarely liked anyone. She thought most of the girls in Scorpius's year were stupid and told him so every time they were on platform 9 3/4. But even his father had wanted to know more about her. Given it was about her father, but still he had bothered long enough to have a conversation with her, something he rarely did with his own son.
In the dark his eyes glanced and her softly sleeping figure with a smile playing on his lips.
Eventually he fell asleep and he woke up early the next morning the same time he always did. Stretching, he yawned and wiped the sleep out of his eyes. Rose was still sound asleep, her hands cupped up under her chin as she dreamed. He didn't want to wake her, but he knew he had to. Gently he reached over brushed her frizzing hair out of her face and rubbed her shoulder.
"Rose."
"Hm?" She mumbled not opening her eyes.
He grinned and shook her shoulder. "Rose, come on. It's time for breakfast."
"Whaat time isn't?" She groaned groggily her hair disheveled as she looked around wildly.
Scorpius checked his watch. "7 o'clock."
"Are you fucking serious?" She gasped, "Why do you have breakfast so early?"
"House rules."
Rose whimpered into her pillow. "That's sadistic."
"Up and at them Weasley."
"Ughhhh."
Scorpius bent down and picked her up like he had weeks ago. This time she didn't fight him. Her body naturally cradled into his chest and she didn't tense up. Her arms did dig into his shoulders but there was a distinct look of trust in her eyes as she sleepily looked up at him.
"What are you doing?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but then he found that he couldn't remember his reasoning for picking her up in the first place. All he could do was stare at her puckered lips, and her pale little make-up-less face.
Confused Rose settled into his arms and relaxed her grip as she realized he wasn't going to put her down. After a few seconds, her face became heated as she realized how strong he must be to hold her up for this long without staggering or even looking strained. Curling her lips inward, she found she was unable to look away from him. His eyes bore into hers for some reason she couldn't fathom. She wanted to ask why, but she couldn't because she wanted to see what he was going to do more.
"Rose! Scorpius!" His mother called knocking on the door. "Come along you two, breakfast is getting cold."
Scorpius groaned in disappointment and put Rose down on her feet. "We'd better go."
"Yeah…" She agreed breathlessly. "Before we change though, I have to do something."
"Wh-?"
His speech was interrupted by her lips as launched herself at him. He reacted with enthusiasm, picking her up and gripping the back of her oversized nightshirt. She didn't want to wait. Next week she might not be able to do this. Next week this could be over, and before it was she wanted to something to remember it by. She knew it would hurt more later, but seeing him now she just couldn't hold back. Rose wanted something to hold onto and Scorpius unwilling was perfectly comfortable obliging to her unspoken request.
When they pulled a part he bit his lip to stop himself from kissing her again. Their breathing was heavy as they tried to collect themselves.
"Breakfast?"
"Yes, but we need to brush our teeth first." Rose snorted, mentally chastising herself for not doing that first.
He shrugged in agreement, tugging on a plain t-shirt as they dragged themselves into the bathroom.
They took turns washing their faces and then in unison brushed their teeth. The whole time Scorpius kept his hand on her lower back. He didn't even notice he was doing it until he was in the middle of brushing her teeth. By then her hand had already curled around the back of his waist and was holding onto the fabric loosely as her body leaned into the side of his.
Occasionally, sometimes when their mouths were full of toothpaste they would smile at each other. They didn't say anything. Neither of them paid full attention to what they were doing, both of them were thinking about their upcoming N.E.W.T's and when they should start studying. But when they both changed into their clothes for the day it hit them of how effortless that process had just been.
Scorpius waited for her to finish brushing and straightening her hair. Her lips were pursed in scrutiny and found himself wondering what they should do for the day. Finally he felt the need to break the silence.
"So what do you want to do today?"
"Explore this mansion and study."
He looked at her oddly.
"What?" She said snottily. "Some of us have to study to get good grades. I'm not naturally gifted at Potions like you."
"For one, yes I am naturally gifted," He boasted with a smirk crossing his arms. "Two I actually was thinking we should study later, but I will make you a deal."
Rose stopped fixing her hair to eye him in the mirror. "Which is?"
"I'll help you with Potions if you help me with Charms."
"You don't need help with Charms." She rolled her eyes wearingly. "Unless it's with women."
"Actually in that area I'm flawless." He said seriously, before breaking out a smile. "But lately I actually have had some difficulty focusing on charms long enough to remember what's going to be on N.E.W.T's."
She paused, her face poised in thought as she finished her last strand of hair. "Fine…But for the record I could figure out Potion's on my own."
"As I could with Charms, but it will save us a bit of time."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"You two," Mrs. Malfoy huffed walking in without knocking. "What is taking you two so long?"
Rose grimaced guiltily. "My apologies Mrs. Malfoy. I'm not used to waking up this early so I'm moving slowly."
Mrs. Malfoy walked over and began fixing Scorpius's part. "I do not know why you comb your hair so harshly. Your hair looks better like this."
"Mum," He said in a short voice though he didn't stop her.
"I'm just trying to help!" She raised her hand defensively before moving to Rose.
Mrs. Malfoy paused behind her. "You have beautiful hair my dear."
"Thank you Mrs. Malfoy. It is a pain to manage though."
"Do you mind if I…?" She took out her wand and gestured to Rose's hair.
Rose shook her head. "No go ahead."
When Mrs. Malfoy wasn't looking she shot Scorpius an unsure look. He just sat on the toilet seat cover haughtily with no reaction to this. Rose gulped nervously as Astoria ran her long slender hands through her hair going through every strand and even getting a few pieces Rose had missed. For the process Rose stayed perfectly still. This whole thing had thrown her off. Her mother never did this for her, but it made sense because she didn't ever bother with such trivial things.
"I always wanted a daughter," She mumbled to Rose.
"Sorry." Scorpius interjected dryly.
"You know what I mean." She told him scolding.
Rose shot Scorpius a look. "I understand what you mean…Do Malfoy's always just have one child?"
"One son, it's tradition." Scorpius responded airily.
"Are you going to continue that?" Rose shot at him.
Scorpius tensed and shifted in discomfort not answering her question.
"All done." Astoria declared running her hand through Rose's long crimson hair one more time.
"Thank you." Rose beamed at her. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me."
"Well you are the first girl Scorpius has brought home, willing or not." She reasoned much to Scorpius's disgruntlement.
Scorpius stood up and ushered Rose forward. "Food."
"Okay caveman." Rose muttered under her breath giving his mother one last smile before leaving for the dinning room.
As soon as they entered the dinning room Rose stiffened up as she saw Mr. Malfoy sipping coffee. She knew it was Easter vacation for them, but she assumed Mr. Malfoy would be off to work during the day. Seeing him made her tense up. It wasn't that he was scary, rude or unpleasant at all really. He just had this air about him that made her nervous. So she grabbed a bagel and poured herself some coffee, eating as quickly as possible. Scorpius felt the same and followed suit. As soon as they finished they left never saying a word to Scorpius's father.