A/N: So sorry for the delay but am in the middle of my exams and just begun a new story so…yeah quite busy
By the way this new story is Rose/Scorpius too and its called 'Dead or Alive'
Check it out!
And let me just say that….
I own nothing of this. It is all J. K. R. 's but I guess you knew that.
Gosh I wonder what are disclaimers for?
Anyways
Enjoy!
Chapter 6: The truth in Cinderella
I think I'm in love.
Dear sweet Merlin , I think I'm in love. And it sucks. I thought I was heartless. I thought nothing mattered. I thought noone mattered. Till he came along and made me question everything I had established during the past two years.
Air.
The guy I've shared all my secrets with. The guy who has been with me almost every night for the last one month. The person I smelled in my Amortentia Potion. The one I kissed and really saw stars.
And…wait for it…
The guy whose real name I have never heard. The person whose face I have never seen.
And I repeat. Dear sweet Merlin!
To say I am confused is a big understatement . I am past confused, even past troubled. Perplexed is not really a word I like using so I would say I am something between jumping off the Astronomy Tower and applying for a place in a mental clinic.
If you get my point.
Have you ever been in one of those situations when the one day you are just fine screwing around and ignoring everyone and the other you feel like crap for being mean and you are wondering what love really means?
Just asking, you know…
And the funniest thing? Till yesterday I was like 'ok, nothing worst can possibly happen.'. I mean I thought there was a certain limit as to how much weird things can a man bear in one week. Well, I guess I was wrong. There isn't!
Trust me. I know.
So I'm asking you, what now?
No ideas? None whatsoever? Yeah… I know the deal.
Cause I am in love! In love.
IN LOVE.
Crap, crap, crap…
And in case you are wondering how do I know, well… it drives me so crazy it's just has to be love.
Since yesterday, my stomach is aching non-stop, I feel a lump in my throat and I cannot stop thinking of him. And smiling. Merlin!
I'm turning into a giggling sweet little girl. Kill me now!
"You look all flushed Miss Weasley." My dear mirror comments as soon as he sees me. Oh, give me a break. I don't need this in eight o'clock in the morning.
"Will you stop it?" I ask indignantly.
"Oh! No 'shut up' today? No 'I will smash into a thousand pieces'? Someone is turning polite in here." Him too? Even my mirror noticed. This is bad.
"Whatever." I fix my hair wash my face and storm out of the bathroom as fast as possible. Trying to spare myself from his comments.
However what I come across in the Great Hall is worst than the mirror talk by far.
First it comes as a whisper. A hum that makes you look around to see what's wrong. So I did. Look I mean. And found out what was wrong.
A bloody Ball.
Great. Just what I needed to ruin my mood even more. And for what its worth there wasn't even a reason for this Ball. McGonagall said it was just to have some fun and relax. What sort of lame excuse is that?
I sigh as I hear some girls giggling and planning what they would wear to make Al fall for them.
I fight the urge to tell them that the only thing they could do to have Al on their feet would be stealing a piece of hair from Goyle and make a really good polyjuice potion.
Which reminds me! I have to talk to Goyle. Apologize or something, like Air said. Oh, crap I'm blushing again. Remember Rose. Never mention his name when in public.
oOo
"Hello?" I whisper while stepping my foot in the infirmary. I take a look around and spot a messed bed in the middle of the room and a girl on it obviously writing furiously something.
I take one step closer to her and repeat. "Hello." Finally she turns her head quickly and sees me. This is bound to be hard.
"Ro- I mean Weasley, hi!" Wow! See seems to remember what I told her. Well that is good, I guess…
"How are you?" I ask seriously and sincerely. And it is true. I do wan to know.
"Oh, just fine. But Madame Pomfrey won't let me go." I nod. Ok, that was not so bad.
"Did you get the notes for the lessons you've missed?" I ask almost shyly. Yeah, I know. There goes my heartlessness out of the window.
"Yeah! Al, brings them to me every day." She replies with a little smile and she blushes.
"But it takes me a lot of time to read them." So she too has realized she's got a problem with reading?
"I've dyslexia." Yeah, she has! That is good.
"So that is why…" I trail off ashamed for speaking bad for her.
"Yes, that's why I never read anything correctly." I am such a bitch. Making fun of her. I nod.
"So- erm- the reason I came here is…well- I just wanted to- to –erm- say…sorry." I don't think I have ever stuttered so much in my entire life. Actually I'd be lucky if she even comprehends what I just said.
"It's ok. I mean at least I get to speak to your cousin every day." That is indeed a valid point. I smile at her weakly.
"Well, I am sorry anyway. For hexing you and insulting you and treating you like shit." Phew! There I've said it.
Suddenly I hear a faint sound from the door and I turn swiftly to see what is going on. And there , against the doorframe stands Malfoy. Smirking that smirk which I find rather nice. I nod his way , letting him know that I have regained my memory.
He nods back and leaves.
"What was all that about?" I hear Goyle hissing playfully from next to me. I turn and give her a surprised look. I never knew she was such a sneaky little girl. Hehehe
"Nothing." I exclaim trying to sound offended, and failing of course.
"Ok…" She smirks devilishly. Is it me or did this girl suddenly became strangely interesting?
"So is it true that there will be a Ball next week?" She inquires soon after. Why did she had to remind me of that now?
"Yes." I mutter my happiness meter falling dangerously.
"Cool. Pity that I won't be there." Why is that?
"How come?" I mean she likes Balls how come she won't go?
"Well, first of all I've got nothing to wear. Second of all even if I do find something decent I will still look like a troll on a dress. And finally I'm sure noone will ask me to go with him." Oh! But that's not true! She doesn't look that bad! I know how I said she is totally ugly but I am pretty sure now I overreacted. She is not hideous. Maybe not impressive like others but she does possess some good spots. Like her eyes or her long thin legs.
As for the date-thing…ha! If only I could tell her about my dear cousin…
"Nonsense." I exclaim. "I can always lend you a dress and you'll look great. Plus boys are not so hard to find." She just stares at me dumbfounded. I really don't know where that came from. All I was planning to do was say 'sorry' and run. But now I feel this urge to help this poor girl out.
"I-I…you think so?" She timidly asks .
"I am not one of those people who tell lies to make one feel better you should know that." I point out truthfully.
"Ok , then. But will you come too?" No. No. No. Absolutely not!
"Please Rose!" She's doing the pouting and the puppy eyes. No. No . No.
"Oh, ok, ok. I will" I sigh defeated. What did I get myself into this time?
"Good morn-…" My cousin Al has just entered the scene still on his school uniform and holding some parchments with notes. Probably for Goye.
"Hi Al!" She greets his happily but my cousin's eyes are set on me.
"Hello Al." I say smiling. He smiles too and he looks at me proudly. That I did not expect.
"So I brought you Charms' and Potions' notes but History Of Magic I just couldn't stay awake . Sorry." He blushes terribly and stares at his shoes.
"That is great thank you so much!" Nelia (yeah, I thought I should start calling her by her first name .) takes the notes carefully like they are made of gold and leaves them next to the notes she was previously taking.
"So…have you heard of the Ball next week?" Al tries to start a conversation. Or maybe he has something more than that in his mind.
"Yes, unfortunately." I mutter.
"Isn't it cool?" Nelia exclaims and I frown at her. She sends a dismissive gesture my way. I have to say one thing, all this girl needs is a little push. But if you have her started she just won't stop.
"It is great actually. I can't wait. You're coming right?" Asks my cousin.
"I can't wait either. Yes I am coming you?" She replies her eyes shining.
"Sure." I laugh a bit a their enthusiasm. Like kids during Christmas they are. Too bad that I don't like Balls.
"Do you have a date?" Nelia asks and suddenly widens her eyes shocked at what her mouth has just uttered. But he doesn't seem to notice.
"No. Not yet. And you? Are you going with James?" Ohohoho. I just remembered what Malfoy has told me some days before. Apparently he has lied trying to 'protect' Al from her, saying that Nelia fancies James. The fool. That must be the weirdest couple ever imagined!
"What? James? As in your brother?" She asks surprised and I chuckle as I see Al's eyes darken and a blush creeping up his face.
"Yeah." He whispers grimly.
"That must be the weirdest thing I have ever heard." She observes smiling at him. I think I begin to like her.
"Tell me about it. So are you going together?" He can be so slow some times.
"No. I mean James dates only cute girls." Nelia explains looking down at her sheets.
"So?" Oh, how sweet! Al finds her cute! If I wasn't so cynic I might have found it nice.
"So he would never ask me." She says playfully. My black-haired cousin shots her a you-are-not-serious look.
"Are you crazy?" He mouths after he gets over the initial shock.
"Nope." Hehehe. I do like this girl.
"Oh, never mind that. So you still haven't got a date ?" A hopeful light appears in his eyes and I suddenly feel unwanted.
"No, and by the looks of it I bet I'm going with Rose here." He laughs at me and I shake my head defeated. Those people are so oblivious. I mean can't they see they are both in love?
"Wha- why? Don't you want a date?" Oh, Merlin , if this keeps on for much longer I think I will shoot myself. I mean, come on!
"I-I do but…" She blushes. And I've had enough.
"Al! Do you have a date?" I snap at him authoritatively.
"No." He replies immediately.
"Nelia do you?" Nelia Goyle stares at me for a moment , because obviously I have never called her by her first name out loud before and then she shakes her head.
"Good then you're going together. And that is not a request." Not that I expected anyone to protest but just for the effect.
I see two seventeen year olds blushing from tip to bottom and I chuckle inwards. I think my job in done here.
"Erm… do you mind Nelia?" Al asks and it takes me a moment to make out exactly what he has just said.
"Me? No! You?" Nelia answers shocked at the question, because she still thinks she looks like a troll in a dress.
"Of course not! Ok, I'll be seeing you girls." I watch as my cousin storms off the infirmary still red as a tomato.
"You have to help me Rose." Nelia says desperately.
"I just did. Didn't I?" I shove her in the arm and I see her beaming like I suppose my cousin is too at the moment.
oOo
"I've heard you worked your magic." A voice speaks to me as I return to the Gryffindor Tower.
Malfoy.
Yet his name does not sound so bad anymore. Hmm.
"And I've heard you were mad at me." I counter seriously. He nods to himself.
"I was." He admits .
"And now?" I add expectantly. Could I…? Dare I hope he isn't angry anymore?
"I'm over it. So you hate me . So what? That doesn't mean I cannot talk to you." No it doesn't! Good. But…do I really hate him? I mean we don't really hope for a person we hate to forgive us do we? Yeah…I didn't think so either.
"Ok, then." I want to smile. I think of smiling. But then I think I'd rather not.
"Good." He mutters a little disappointed.
"Agreed." I continue a bit disappointed too.
"So are you going to the Ball?" I ask after we have walked together for a little while.
"Which Ball? The we-just-needed-a-reason-to-dance-and-snog ball?" He smirks.
"At last! Someone who hates it too!" I shout . And I was beginning to think that I was the only one.
"Are you kidding me? Al's making me go, cause he needs support with Goyle and I just couldn't leave him alone." Poor guy.
Hey! Did I just call Malfoy poor? Ok, Rose contain yourself!
"And Nelia is making me go!" I explain sadly.
"You should. They're gonna need all the help they can get." I nod thoughtfully playing in my head the scene from the infirmary.
"Absolutely." I agree.
"Al was so thrilled. He was practically beaming." Beaming huh?
"So was Nelia. She's not that bad you know." I comment.
"I knew that. You didn't. Remember?" Remember? Remember? I see his face darken a tad and I blush. Remembrance is not really my thing now is it?
Of course this has nothing to do with remembering I disliked Nelia. No. This is about another incident I made myself forget.
"Yes, I remember. I remember it all now." I stress 'all' hoping he will get my point without me having to make a second apology in one day.
He does get it. Thankfully. And he smiles playfully at me after nodding.
"I hate this whole Ball deal." He changes the subject quickly.
"Me too. However everyone else seems to be just so worked up about it. It's making me sick." I confess. I just found someone to whine at. Let's just exploit it for as long as it lasts.
"I know. And it's not only a girl thing. Almost every guy out there is going on about who they asked or who they'll ask. I've got a headache already and the Ball is next week." I chuckle. I can imagine that.
"Well, they all expect it to be marvelous." I consider out loud. Malfoy turns and casts me a peculiar look.
"That's plain stupid. I don't see why a Ball just has to be interesting." Yeah, me neither.
"There's this rumor you know that cool things happen in Balls that's why. I guess Cinderella's to blame for that." I laugh a bit but he doesn't seem to share my sentiments.
"Cinde- what?" He asks and he looks like a little kid that has just found out what a Horcrux is. Confused and scared. I chuckle even more.
"It's a muggle fairytale, don't freak out." I clear up. His mouth forms an 'O' and I think I'm gonna die from a laughing seizure. He crosses his arms, which makes him look even more child-like and …well…cute.
"If you just explained what it is all about maybe I wouldn't." I stop laughing at once and stare at him. I had never thought Malfoy , with his pure blood and his muggle-hating grandfather would be interested in muggle culture.
Then again he's not a saint for nothing.
"Oh! Ok then. You see it's quite silly. There's this girl, Cinderella , who's a servant in her evil stepmother's house . And there's this prince who's having a Ball at his palace to find a bride. And every girl is invited but Cinderella's stepmother forbids her to go." I feel particularly weird for telling a fairytale at a seventeen year old guy but he seems immensely interested.
"Evil stepmother. Yeah, I get it. Go on." I nod.
"However after her stepmother and stepsisters are gone, the girl's fairy godmother appears. She is a witch –and no this is not expected because it is a muggle story- and she charms Cinderella's clothes into a beautiful dress." I stop to take a breath
"But before she leaves she tells Cinderella that the spell will last only till midnight. After that she'll be her old, servant self." Malfoy's eye are practically popping out of their sockets. Just like Hugo's did when mum first told him this story. Yet Hugo was four whereas Malfoy is almost an adult.
"And…?" He encourages.
"So, she goes to the Ball and dances with the prince. He falls for her and she falls for him but then the clock strikes twelve." I make a pause just for the suspense.
"And the girl runs away, living nothing behind her but a glass slipper. The prince who is head over heels for her starts visiting all the houses of his kingdom, asking all young women to try the glass slipper ." I pause inhale, exhale and that all I have time for since he is poking me to continue.
"Till he reaches hers. But she's a servant so her stepmother says she shouldn't try it on. Well, the prince insist and after that you know…They lived happily ever after." The end!
A goofy smile appears on his face and suddenly I am very aware of how much he has changed his attitude towards me. Or how much I have changed my attitude towards him. Some weeks ago I would have sworn to anyone that Malfoy's face is just incapable of producing something other than a smirk, but now…
"That is in fact a great story!" He exclaims after all.
"It is a childrens' story." I point out.
"Well, so was the Pavarell Brother's story and we all know how that came out to be." He ventures a thought. Which is let me tell you strangely clever.
"You're trying to say that the Cinderella story is in fact real?" I ask shooting him a look.
"Not that it is not possible, but what I in fact wanted to say is that all stories bear some truth in them." Wow! A clever comment again.
"And what truth do you in fact see in the Cinderella story?" He smiles absentmindedly.
"I dunno. Yet!" Yet?
"Very well then I'll be waiting for your explanation." I smirk, he laughs.
"Deal." He makes a ridiculous bow and leaves me in front of the Fat Lady, wondering how on earth I got there so fast.
Two conversations in one week. That must be a new record for Malfoy and I.
This is bound to be bad.
But then again, like Air says, I should stop running away.
And of course I have this new found tendency to listen to him.
Cause I'm in love with him, you know…
So, Mr Malfoy, let's see,
What truth is there is Cinderella?
A/N: I am so gonna fail maths for this chapter!
But never mind
I hope you liked it.
I know I did
So farewell
And wish me luck for my exams and Review!!!
Kisses
Sarah