Rose stood tucked at the doorway to the Great Hall. Inside, the house elves and professors were a flurry of colourful spring garlands as they transformed the space. The ball was scheduled for five hours from now, with the visitors arriving over the space of the next few hours. Beauxbatons had already arrived, punctual as ever. Albus and Scorp had stood shoulder to shoulder as they wtched the performance unfold. Or, Albus had been watching the Frenchwomen descend on them whilst Scorpius watched the Hogwarts first years with glee.
"Look at them!" He hissed to Al. "They don't know what's hit them!"
Indeed, the first years had rushed to the stone balustrade and stood, raptured, whilst older students stood heads and shoulders above, peering through the honeyed stone surrounds. The sky blue Beauxbaton carriage had hurtled towards them, borne by a dozen winged horses. Albus had watched the display with a pinch of cynicism – those horses were a flagrant breach of International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, and yet it was Albus's plants that were potentially illegal. His plants, Albus thought with a wry twist to his mouth, would never be able to hurt anybody. Those bloody horses could potentially land on someone or eat something or-
"If that grumpy little face of yours is because of the pegasi," Scorp had blithely said, slinging his arm around Al's shoulders, "just think of the fertiliser that they produce." And Albus had brightened considerably. He had brightened enough to launch into an explanation as to how they weren't pegasi, they were Abraxan winged horses, don't you listen, Scorp?
"It's love at first sight." Scorp was saying now, gazing fondly at the younger students. "Look at them!" There was a pause. The carriage landed, and the girls spilled out – a sea of cerulean silk and periwinkle hats, followed by the formidable Madame Maxime. "You know what," Scorp continued, cheerfully.
"Oh, Merlin." Al said.
"I'm going to break the ice."
"Oh, Merlin."
Too late. Scorp had looked around himself breezily – Albus had dug the heels of his hands against his eyes. "Hey, kid!"
Albus groaned internally. Merlin, grant me patience, Al pleaded, watching dispassionately as Scorp zoned in on the nearest small student. "Ah, you're Scott's brother, right? Tell me, Scott's brother - How much French do you speak?"
"Higher, Cooper, higher." Rose watched as McGonagall championed the spring garlands. Orange and yellow flowers had been strung together, their delicate scent filling the room. Enchanted petals had started falling from the ceiling a little while ago, carried down on airwaves that nobody felt. The house-elf in front of the Headmistress scrambled higher up their ladder, raising their rope of flowers by a foot.
"Much better." McGonagall decided, sounding pleased. "That's lowered the risk of decapitation almost to nil."
Rose took a moment to be interested by the "almost." She knew that outside, the carriages would be arriving, that the Durmstrang ship would be lowering anchor and that Ilvermorny students would be suffering from enormous jetlag and systematically removing all "u's" from the English language. Rose had had a heated argument over the spelling of "colour" just a few years ago, and had enjoyed herself immensely. For the time being, however, Rose had sequestered herself in the warmth of the Great Hall and was content to watch the magic happen.
It was where Scorp found her, several minutes later. He was flushed, hair windblown and tousled. "Durmstrang are here," He said, sidling up to her. "And I'm not going to lie, Rosie, I think they've brought a dragon."
You're stereotyping, Malfoy."
"I'm actually serious."
"Not buying it."
"It worked on Elliots!"
"Elder or younger?"
"Younger."
"She's thirteen, oh my God, stop lying to innocents."
Scorpius grinned shamelessly. In the hall, there was a cry of "Not that much glitter!" and both turned to watch with unbridled glee. The breeze that had caught the flower petals had caught the glitter, and there was a fine sheen of gold over everything. Rose's hair lifted in the breeze, and Scorp looked down at her.
"Merlin," He said, unable to help himself.
"What?" Rose scrubbed a finger over her nose, scrunching up her face and instantly looking like the scrappy eleven year old that Scorp had first met. "Have I been glittered?"
Scorp considered lying - you are covered in the stuff, Weasley, you'll never get rid of it all – but instead, he shook his head. It wasn't that he was growing up (not in the slightest. Later that night, he would dump a fistful of glitter over Al) but he said "Nah, you're just stunning." And then turned pale.
Rose gaped.
"Did you-"
"A fuck tonne." Scorp scrabbled. "A metric fuck tonne of glitter, Weasley. You're a mess. Get your act together."
But Rose was grinning wryly, one eyebrow raised. "Thank God you hold it together better than this on the pitch, Malfoy, or you'd be off the team."
Albus had taken Scorpius's thoughts about fertiliser to heart. Beaxbaton's stabled the Abraxan winged horses (reluctantly, with much muttering in French) in the Hogwarts stables, just along from the thestrals. Now, the thestrals were out in the fields, but due to the difficulty of catching a winged horse, they were indoors. Al was fond of the stables – a long, wooden building that stretched on and on. Sunlight streaked through the high skylights, but did little to affect the muted atmosphere of the building. Albus had spent many an afternoon in here before Scorpius had decided that they should be friends – An upturned bucket, a book, his notes; There was a peaceful sanctuary in these walls that always reminded Albus of a church. But churches didn't usually come with the smell of straw, the whistle of breath through large noses, the rustle and stomping of metal clad hooves. Stables, Albus had always felt, were much, much better.
"Alright," Al muttered to himself, counting down stalls. The sound of his footsteps on the flagged floor was almost cheerful as he strode confidently along. "Thestral, thestral – Abraxan."
The creature in question blinked at him. Soft, dark eyes set back in a striking dappled grey face. "Aren't you pretty," Albus breathed, leaning against the half-door of the box. "You are very, very pretty."
The horse agreed, clearly, as it trotted over to greet him. The sunlight caught the colossal wings tucked neatly against the horse's back, and Albus practically shivered with pleasure. "Now, horse," Al started conversationally. "What kind of an impact is your fertiliser going to have on my greenhouse?"
The winged horse either didn't know or didn't care. Instead it butted it's head against Albus's hand, which was settled on top of the door. Instinctively, Al started smoothing the long face, the horse leaning into his hand. "It's clearly going to be nutrient rich." He mused. "But you have a weird diet."
"Single malt whiskey."
Albus's eyes darted around the gloom. "What?" He called. The voice had sounded close to hand, but he couldn't see anybody. More importantly, the voice had sounded American.
"I said," and a short haired, lithe girl stepped out of the darkness. In one hand she held an ornate glass bottle, and the sight warmed Al's heart. "Single malt whiskey. It's all they drink."
"Reina." Albus said, and it sounded for all the world like 'there you are.' "I was wondering when you were going to show up."
"Did you miss me?"
Albus said nothing, flushing. He might have mumbled "More than you know," against the horse's neck, but it was unclear and muffled.
"Thank you for the letters," Reina continued, reaching Albus. She tapped his shoulder, forcing him to look away from the horse and face the fundamentally more complicated issue that was humanity and feelings. She got it, her brother was the same. Albus looked at her, dark-lashed eyes wary, and she pressed the bottle into his hands. Single malt whiskey. Of course it was. "I appreciated them."
He'd broadened out since she's last seen him. He was still slim, still fine boned, and still the most handsome boy she had ever seen. There was a slight weariness around his eyes, though, and it hadn't been there last year. "But you silly boy – there's a way to ask a girl to a dance, you know."
"Is there?" Albus – courteous, kind, funny Albus – sounded a little terrified. Be brave, Reina willed him silently. Come on, you daft Brit, be brave. He turned back to the horse for a moment, and Reina heard him take a breath. His shoulders straightened. He faced her with a gentle smile. "I've never really known how to get on with girls."
"I liked the line that likened me to a calla lily." Reina leant against the door next to him. The horse ditched Albus, swapping his attention freely to the dark haired girl. The French had always been easy in love, Albus supposed. "You know that they're poisonous, Albus."
"They're very pretty." Albus said casually, watching the horse's wings. "And they aren't really poisonous, they're just an irritant."
"Did you just call me irritating?" Reina asked, looking at Albus sideways with a smile.
"I think I did." Al's smile mirrored Reina's as he turned to look at her properly. "But you never answered. You never wrote me back. That is irritating."
"I thought you deserved a reply in person."
"Honestly Reina, I'd have liked any reply at all."
"I'd very much like to come dancing with you, Mr Potter."
Albus's heart soared. "Well, Miss Kowalski, I'm sure that that could be arranged."
Scorpius had been waiting. He stood at the bottom of the stairs, just outside of the Great Hall, waiting for his date to appear. He had tried for the I couldn't care less, look at me leaning against this brickwork, I am so laidback right now look – but his hand had kept creeping up to run itself through his hair, or he'd straightened his tie, or tugged at his cufflinks. His usual image of nonchalant ease was disintergrating, and his hair was a mess. But he looked decent! Albus had said so, just twenty minutes before. ("Think I need a different tie, mate?" "I think if you keep asking me that, I'm going to strangle you with your tie, mate.") and Albus was always right. So decent it was.
Actually, Albus was up to something. Albus was definitely up to something, and Scorp had been too concerned with whether snitch cufflinks were cliché to grill him properly. The tall blond pushed himself off of the wall, looking around the rapidly filling space for his dark haired best friend. He had a few minutes spare, that was plenty of time to get it out of him-
It was on one of these scans of the hall that he spotted Rose at the top of the staircase. She had paused, one hand on the rail, the other holding her dress up, to talk to Habiba Patil. And to his shame, all thoughts of Albus were gone from Scorp's head. A black, floor length dress clung to her body. Flaring out from the waist, the skirt was covered in golden flecks. Rose's slim body was framed by the sculpted bodice, and her muscled shoulders were simultaneously terrifying and one of the most attractive things that Scorpius had ever seen. Rose threw her head back and laughed, and Scorp realised his mouth was slack. Her red hair spilled down her back in loose waves, offsetting the black. She looked down, and Scorp snapped his mouth shut just as she registered him staring. She swept down the stairs. Clearly chucking brooms around in mid-air had some freakish correlation to walking in heels.
"Evening, Malfoy."
"Weasley." They were stars, Scorp realised, on her dress. The dress was covered in stars. He smiled, because of course they were. This was Rose. "You look-"
"What?" Rose challenged, tucking her chin up in the air. She looked, for all the world, like was prepared to deck somebody. Murderous, Scorp thought proudly, and a little regal. "Cut it out, Malfoy."
"What out?"
"The whole staring thing."
"But I might miss something. Like, shit – did you not notice how stunning you look right now? Did you not? Because I swear to Merlin-"
"Malfoy. Enough."
"You've got to let me stare, Rosie. We only get this once. We don't get another World's Ball. When else am I going to see you with glitter in your hair and wearing a dress like that?"
"Malfoy." Rose's hands had gone still, but Scorp didn't notice. He was still talking.
"I want to kiss you." Scorpius said. "You know what, I'm going to. That's what I'm gonna do. Come here."
And, against Rose's better judgement, she did. When he reached out for her hands, she let him. When he pulled her towards him, she let him. But when he slipped his hands around her back, it was Rose who went up onto her tiptoes, and kissed him. Soft and lingering, Scorpius felt the curve of her smile under his lips and marvelled.
"Will you please," Rose said quietly, pulling away, "shut up now."
With glazed eyes, Scorp made some kind of "nergh" noise that Rose took to mean, "Why yes, Weasley, because that's what normal people do."
"Well." Scorpius collected himself, and offered Rose his arm, "Shall we?" and the two took the plunge into the Great Hall, but they did it together.
Several entrances into the Great Hall have been enough to silence the room, in Scorp's memory. Beaxbatons manage it every time, there was the one time that the centaur trotted in and asked to see the Headmistress, then there was the dinner when the captain of the Chudley's Cannons ambled in to give a talk on sportsmanship – Merlin, Albus's dad took a year off of everbody's life when he popped his head around the door to drop off Al's forgotten distillery – but, as egocentric as Scorpius Malfoy has been accused of being, he never expected to be the cause of one such silence.
With his arm linked through Weasley's they walked into the room, and, immediately, those closest fell silent. The whispers seemed to carry, and the weight of eyes on them was disconcerting. Scorp imagined that he could hear the vertebrate in his schoolmates' necks cracking a little as they craned around to look. Surely it wasn't that much of a spectacle?
"Fuuuuuck." Rose breathed. Scorp was concerned for one long moment, until she tightened her grip on his arm. "Let's do this." And to Scorpius's utmost amazement, she stuck on a smile and turned to the nearest girl.
"Merlin's beard; I love your dress, Sonja!"
And it was like a spell was broken.
"Evening, mate! Weasley, a pleasure." Scorp found himself being slapped on the back. From the way his skull shuddered at the impact, Scorp knew without looking the identity of his attacker. "Who's Potter coming with?"
"Hanksy! You know, he wouldn't tell me." Scorp returned, smiling widely. "Hell of a suit, buddy. Where'd you find anything that fit?"
"Mum's new fella is half giant, he leant it to me." Hanks said, genial smile widening.
"Are you serious?" Scorpius did a quick once over of Hanks's impressive shoulders. "Are you actually serious?"
Hanks patted Scorp on the shoulder. Scorp wondered if he left dents in the floor. "You make it too easy, mate."
Scorp narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I don't trust anything you say." He said succinctly. "Want a drink?"
Another crowd of students spilled into the hall, and Scorpius felt Rose slip her arm through his. It was a weird kind of thrill – and a thrill that he had never had with Naya. Rose, Scorpius knew, was going to get him into all kinds of trouble. "Look who's just come in!"
"Where?"
Rose pointed, and then her hand went up to wave. The gold ring on her finger caught in the light as she went "Al! Albus!"
"Oi, Potter!" Scorpius joined in, spotting their friend amongst the crush. "Who is that?" He asked aside to Rose. In heels, the foot's worth of height difference wasn't as obvious. But she was still a head shorter than him, and it was hilarious. "Who's he brought?!"
"You're his roommate," Rose returned as Albus's hand went up in acknowledgment, and he started to wave towards them. The girl on his arm wore a rich emerald green dress and had a pixie cut that made her eyes look huge. "You should definitely play mother on his dates."
"Never seen this one in my life." Scorp marvelled. "Al, introduce us!"
"Are you going to be nice?" Albus asked, one eyebrow arched. He'd scrubbed up well, Rose thought proudly. His black hair looked marvellous against his tux.
"We're always nice!" Scorpius looked offended for all of point five of a second. "No, wait, we're not. We will be nice."
Albus sighed. "Reina, allow me to introduce my family – and before they say anything else, I'd like to apologise for them- "
It was later that night, after the dancing had petered out and students had gone from upstanding members of the wizarding community to far soggier looking members of the wizarding community. Several had collapsed into gilded chairs, and were a far cry from upstanding anywhere. The petals that had been wafting down from the ceiling had gathered in small piles at the edges of the room. Still, the band played – enchanted instruments that plucked and preened themselves, eking out chamber music that was filling the room. It was all, Rose thought to herself, mind muffled around the edges, so very lovely. Scorpius had pressed a kiss against her lips in the moment before he had gone to refill their drinks, and she'd wanted to stay there forever. All night, she'd heard "So, Weasley, are you and Malfoy…" and all evening she'd grinned wickedly and said "Now wouldn't that be something."
"I'm going to get us top ups." Reina said, plucking Albus's tumbler from his hand. "Same again?"
"Single malt." Al had said. Rose had watched curiously, aware that there was some joke that she'd missed. "Please."
And Reina had skipped off to join Scorpius in line for the drinks.
A silence fell between Albus and Rose. Al's was thoughtful, Rose was just reliving the feeling of swirling around under crystalline chandeliers in an expensive dress with her gorgeous best friend. "Rose, what would you say the height of stupidity is?" Albus asked suddenly. Rose snapped back to reality. He was watching Reina with a look on his face that she had never seen before, and even drunk Rose understood that the question held weight.
"Hmm," Rose, said following his gaze to where Reina and Scorpius stood chatting as the elf in front of them refilled their goblets. "Hey, Scorp!"
"Yeah, cap?!"
"How tall are you?"
"Six foot three! Why?"
"Doesn't matter!" Rose turned back to Albus. "Six foot three."
"I think I've fallen in love with her, Rose. And she leaves again in two days. That has to be the height of stupidity."
Rose wrapped a tipsy arm around her cousin. "Don't be daft. That's only five foot seven on the stupid scale."
Albus smiled miserably. "I thought you said that you didn't believe in love, Weasley."
"I don't. But I believe in you. And you believe in her."
"And you believe in Scorpius?"
"I do, yeah. I do."
"But love in general?"
Rose made a face. "I think that it can be horrible and it can leave terrible scars. And I think that it can be wonderful and bring more happiness than anything else in the world. I think that sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference. But it's always worth it, Al. No matter the wreckage."
