Previously on Unplanned Meetings and Holidays:
"Oh. My. Merlin." Lily said astonished all of a sudden. I quickly looked up from the heated milk to see Lily's eyes widen in a realization. She clamped a hand over her gaping mouth.
"What? What is it?" I demanded. She slowly lowered her hand and I saw her gaping mouth turn up into a triumphant smirk.
"You like him don't you? It all makes sense now!" Lily blabbered happily. Merlin, she was practically squealing.
I interrupted her stubbornly, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't like anyone."
"Yes you do, Rose. Don't try to deny it, I know you like Scorpius! And this morning you were running away from the direction of his room!"
Thursday Afternoon, 2 Days until Christmas:
Rose's POV
The next few days sped by quickly and I was having so much fun with my cousins. But I was surprised that Christmas was coming up in two days. (We hadn't even finished decorating the whole house yet).
We were lazy and busy with the amount of visitors and activities we were doing at the Burrow that there were a few rooms that were left to decorate. Currently, I was helping Roxanne wrap the tinsel around the banister.
"Rose, I think you might have to get on the other side of the banister to secure the tinsel," Roxanne suggested.
I agreed and swung my leg over the banister, and carefully settled my feet in between the wooden poles. It was a lot easier to decorate the stairs now.
Roxanne and I were talking idly about the upcoming Christmas Eve feast when we heard footsteps coming from the living room. Turning to see who it was, my foot suddenly came into connection with one of the wooden poles making me trip. My hands didn't grab the wooden rail in time, and I fell onto the floor.
"Ah!" I screamed and I felt something crash into my upper lip. Fortunately my body never hit the ground.
Blinking dizzily I tried to get my bearings. Instead, I found a pair of intense gray eyes staring at my concernedly. I heard several loud voices that were my cousins, but they sounded distant and far away. Scorpius' tight embrace felt warm and comfortable, and I tried my best not to melt into him.
"Oops," I said sheepishly, while blushing a deep red. Merlin, when was I not blushing in front of Scorpius?
"Are you okay?" he asked gently, while tucking a curl of auburn hair behind my glowing red ear.
Clearing my throat I answered, "Ya, I'm fine," awkwardly. But for some reason Scorpius didn't step away, in fact, he actually leaned in toward me. I studied his stony eyes curiously as he examined me intensely. Squirming under his gaze, I looked away from his hard stare.
But I felt his index finger pull me gently towards his face. Feather lightly, his thumb grazed my upper lip.
"What happened?" he questioned softly. I was stunned momentarily from the gentleness of his voice and touch.
I blinked, trying to focus on his words instead of his wonderful fingers, "I-I bit my lip," I breathed. That one sentence took far too much effort and breath out of me to appear normal. Momentarily panicked I quickly asked, "Is it bleeding?"
I watched as Scorpius gaze strayed back to my lips, and he cautiously rubbed the spot where I got hurt.
"Nope I think you're fine. It's just a bit swollen," he assured. His thumb trailed over to my bottom lip, and he gently started to stroke. I could have sworn his eyes darkened as he continued to stare at my lips.
I heard a cleared throat, and I sprang apart from Scorpius. Blushing deeply, I found that it was only Lily and Roxanne that witnessed my clumsiness.
"Rosie are you alright? I can't believe how stupid I was to suggest that you go on the other side! I should've done that! I'm really sorry. But at least we got the tinsel up," Roxanne babbled, while Lily looked bemusedly at Scorpius and I.
"Rosie! It's your turn to do the laundry!" Mum yelled coming towards the staircase with a basket full of towels, sheets, and pillow cases.
I huffed, mock annoyed, and relieved her of the basket, while making my way towards the laundry room that was near the back of the house. I could still feel Scorpius' intense gaze on me, but I refused to let myself look back.
My thoughts strayed yet again, as I sorted the laundry into color piles. (Even Tidy Tim's Washing for Witches Soap couldn't get rid of the accidental color stains.) I found myself thinking about Scorpius a lot. I couldn't seem to get him out of my mind these days—he was slowly haunting me.
Shivering slightly, I remembered the way his calloused hands held my bare stomach when I fell asleep in his bed. He didn't let go right away which had to mean something...right?
I sighed, and moved onto the next pile when I spotted something very familiar. Digging through the pile of dirt towels and bed sheets, I came across an ordinary white pillowcase. Apprehensively, I held the fabric up to my nose and inhaled.
Oh my Merlin it smelled good.
The heady scent surrounded me—overwhelming me with its wonderfulness—and I couldn't seem to get enough of it. It was musky; slightly mint-y, and I could smell the undertones of the citrus scent.
It was Scorpius.
The memory of that morning came to me in sharp focus, and once again I relived the way he hugged me tight as if he never wanted to let go.
I pulled away from the pillowcase, and examined it. Of course I knew that the idea brewing in my mind was not a good one. It was a desperate one, but the scent of his pillowcase drove me crazy, and I had to take it. I couldn't help myself when I separated it from the yet-to-be-washed pile.
It would be my little secret.
Scorpius' POV
Dinner was a loud affair again, and I had gotten used to seeing so much rude manners.
I was in a heated debate with James about the Chudley Cannon versus Puddlemere United when Roxanne tapped me on the shoulder. Turning around, I saw a curious expression on her face.
"Scorpius is there...is there anything going on between you and Rose?" Roxanne asked cautiously.
I reached for the water glass and took a sip—trying to calm my nerves before answering her.
"What do you mean?" I said, faking ignorance. I didn't know Roxanne too well, but we got along just fine. However, I didn't feel comfortable telling her if I liked any one—much less her own cousin.
"Do you like Rose?" Roxanne asked bluntly, while staring me down with her brown eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Victoire and Teddy were listening to our conversation as well.
"Of course not," I lied easily. I turned away from Roxanne and faced Al—ending our conversation.
Part of me worried that my reply would get back to Rose, but I couldn't handle it if anyone knew that I liked her before Rose even knew...
"Scor, let's go," Al urged, while handing me a skewer stick. I took it with me and followed him outside where the bitter cold met my exposed face. Shivering, I grabbed my scarf that hung on a peg, and wrapped it around my neck. The air was frosty but it was bearable. Sparkling stars hung over head and the shadows of the night accompanied us. The gibbous moon was bright and it reminded me of the day in the Astronomy tower.
In the corner of the field was a growing bonfire. I saw Bill and George Weasley tending it, while passing a bag or marshmallows around. The Weasley family piled onto logs that sat comfortably around the roaring fire, and I also sat on a thick brown log.
I caught the bag of marshmallows everyone was handing around, and put three marshmallows on my skewer.
I was easing it closer to the fire when I felt the log shift; looking to the side I saw Rose leaning in to heat her marshmallows also. Her auburn curls peeked out from beneath a light blue beanie that matched the colors of her eyes.
Smiling I watched as she meticulously turned her skewer—evenly heating everything.
"What are you staring at me for?" Rose asked playfully while turning towards me with a faint smile on her lips. The fire cast dancing shadows on her face and I could see her bright blue eyes stare back at me. They seemed to challenge me and I felt a strong impulse to describe how beautiful she looked in that moment.
"I was just wondering how you and Hugo could be related. I mean look at the way he sticks his skewer in the fire and eats all his burnt marshmallows. But instead, you slowly eat yours," I replied quickly, while turning to stare at Hugo who quickly blew out his charred marshmallow and devoured it down quickly.
Rose laughed her sweet laugh and our knees touched. My whole body was sensitively aware of that area, and I felt goose bumps pop up along my thighs. I don't think it was from the cold.
The two of us talked the night away, and I was no longer paying attention to the fact that her whole family was sitting around us. I was just content sitting next to her.
But then again, I desperately wanted to touch her—to be closer to her—but I restrained myself.
I had to—especially since I caught Rose's father's questioning gaze more than once.
Rose went inside at about 10 o'clock while Al, Fred, James, and I waited outside by the dying fire. We didn't say much. I think we were all lost in our thoughts as we watched the flickering embers fade to ash.
As I walked through the house Al came up beside me.
"You know, I would be okay if you and Rose started dating," Al said quietly. Before I could reply he had raced up the stairs and disappeared into our shared room.
I barely even registered the parting pat on the back I received from Fred and James.
There were a few stray adults as I walked through the living room as they bid me goodnight, but one person caught my eye immediately.
Rose was sleeping on a red love seat that sat by the fire. My eyes would've missed the couch if it weren't for the fact that Rose was sleeping in it. She was barely even taking up the whole couch—curling into the armrest.
My feet walked towards her even though my mind told me to go upstairs.
"Scorpius could you wake Rose up? Otherwise she'll be sleeping there all night," Mrs. Potter said to me, while walking into the kitchen.
My hand brushed Rose's red curls away from her closed eyes and didn't have the heart to wake her up. She looked too serene and delicate at the moment, that I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
I glanced back at the kitchen and saw that all the leftover adults had disappeared, and the sound of running water told me that Mrs. Potter was still occupied in the kitchen.
Carefully, I slipped my hands beneath Rose's elegant legs and back and lifted her up into my arms. I shifted ever so slightly—wary of waking her up.
But she barely even stirred as I took her up the stairs bridal style. At one heart stopping moment Rose yawned and I froze. I wouldn't know what I would say to her if she woke up.
Easing Rose's door open with one foot I stepped in and led her to her bed. I set her down just as Lily was walking in through the doorway. What I didn't count on was Rose fisting her hand in my shirt making me almost topple on top of her when I got up to leave.
I managed to brace myself before falling on top of Rose, but Lily's face left me blushing immensely.
"There are more subtle ways to do that Scor. Next time try locking the door," Lily said quietly while backing away slowly. I could tell she was kidding from her faint smirk though.
I almost called out to retaliate, but I heard Rose yawn and I knew it was time to go.
Pulling the blankets over her elegant body, I moved away from her—but something possessed me to kiss her tenderly on the forehead. I heard her sigh contently, and I inhaled her tantalizing scent.
Merlin, even in her sleep she was irresistible.
Thoughts of that fateful morning when I found her in my bed came to me, and I remembered what it felt like to trail my hands over her smooth bare skin, and the way she didn't seem to mind our close proximity.
I knew if something like that happened again, I wouldn't be able to resist snogging her.
A/N: Phew! I almost didn't make the week mark. Thankfully I got this up on time, and I hope you enjoyed that chapter! Yes, I know it was a little boring, and yes it was pure fluff. But I just really wanted to include some of those scenes and I hope you enjoyed it anyway :) I think I have about two more chapters to go before I finish this up! I'm so excited and I hope you are too!
One word hint: Feast
So guesses? Oh and thank you to EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU who so graciously reviewed. I really loved seeing your thoughts, comments, and answers and I've decided to do another challenge!
Review challenge: What's your favorite HP book? What's your favorite HP character from the BOOKS (2nd generation counts!)? And what's you're favorite HP movie and WHY?
Thank you all SO MUCH for reading this story. And please be patient for the next chapter :)
Special Thanks to lunylovegoodlover, Ripplerose, jamesandlilyff, RonWeasley'sGirlx3, Mehghla, Official Scroll Keeper, and twilightlover212!
You guys are awesome!