Spiked Eggnog

Someone stopped me and I fought against them, trying to push them away, but whoever it was held on hard. "Stop," I yelled, pushing away. I looked up and saw a masked face, a damn good mask too, and got frightened. "Who are you? Let me go!"

He reached up and whipped his mask off and it was just Scorpius. I slumped against him in relief and he pulled me closer. "I saw all of that," he said quietly. "Come on, we're getting away from here."

He raised his wand into the air and after a second, we heard the loud clanking of a bus. It came to a stop in front of us. The door opened and a pretty witch stepped out. "Welcome to the Knight Bus for Wizard and Witch transport. I'm Janice at your service. Where you all headed to?"

"Diagon Alley please," he said. He took my hand and we both climbed in.

He didn't say anything for the entire bus ride, something I was grateful for. He seemed preoccupied with something himself. I was trying not to think, and I needed a distraction.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. He turned to me and smiled, but it was a bit of a sad smile.

"I'm in love with someone I think will never, ever love me back," he said.

"Who wouldn't love Scorpius Malfoy?"

"Very funny. But I know you can keep a secret. Rose Weasley could never love Scorpius Malfoy, that's who."

I turned to him, surprised. "Rose?"

"Yes, Rose. I realized it today at the ball, and I kissed her."

"You did? So she knows?"

"No, I left before she knew who kissed her. Just, don't say anything."

"Why'd you leave?"

because as soon as I did I realized how unlikely it could be for her and me to actually be together. And I don't want her to have to ever feel bad. Plus, something like this will break our friendship. And losing Rose as a friend—well, I've been through that, and let's just say I'm not going through it again."

I laid my hand on top of his, genuinely feeling bad for him. "But you know, she might realize that she loves you too."

"Well, I'll let her come to me in that case. Until that, I'll be the best friend anyone ever had," he said, smiling slightly. The bus stopped, doors open, and Janice yelled out "Diagon Alley!"

"Come on, let's go get some coffee. Sober up a bit," he said. We walked in silence all the way to the coffee shop, took a seat, and the bar lady got us two coffees.

"So," he started. I could tell he was waiting for me to say something, and he had probably been for a while.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said. He nodded.

"I get that."

"Can you bring me back to the party though, after coffee? I don't want to worry Rose's parents."

"Yeah of course," he said. He put his arms in his head and let out a groan. "Coming to the ball was so stupid. I just… I hate being a goddamn Malfoy."

"I'm sorry, Scorpius. I really am," I said sincerely.

"Ah, who am I to gripe? What happened to you was much worse. I mean, how fucking dare Potter? Ugh," he said, slamming his fist down on the table.

"Seriously, let's not talk about this," I said again. He closed his eyes for a moment and then nodded.

Rose's POV

"Rose, up!" Groaning, I turned over in bed, just to be yanked out by my mother.

"What, mum, I'm trying to sleep," I said, trying to fight her.

"No you're going to get the hell up right now, Rose Jane Weasley!" she screeched. I jumped up, realizing that she was pissed. "You have the gall to get wasted under your parent's very noses?"

"Mum, I—"

"You are grounded. There will be no outings for you anymore this vacation! And Eve—" I turned to see that Eve was sitting up, her eyes wide as saucers, looking scared, "honey I'm not your mother, but I don't think that you should be drinking yet. I know you're almost seventeen but you're still only sixteen, and so—"

"It won't happen again Hermione," she said, apologetically.

Mum looked uncomfortable, shot a scathing look in my direction, and walked out. "Damnit, I'm in trouble."

"Shit, I came to your house and pissed off your parents even though they've done so much," Eve said, putting her head in her arms. I went and sat down on her bed.

"Relax, they're not mad at you. They love you actually. Probably rather would have you as a daughter than me," I groaned. My head was pounding. Things were starting to come back to me though, from last night, and I sat up in bed quickly. "Eve, someone kissed me last night," I said.

Eve's POV

I fought to keep my face unreadable as she said this, remembering how adamant Scorpius was that she could not know. "I thought it was Riley at first, but it was unfamiliar, so it couldn't be him," she said, looking lost in thought.

"Yeah," I said, "that's weird. Must have been some drunk person."

"Hm, but the thing is, he felt so in control. It wasn't sloppy or anything, like, it was gentle and kind of—"

"Wait, are you telling me you liked it?" I asked, surprised. She flushed red and nodded.

"Yeah I think I did."

Oh shit. This could be more complicated than it was.

"Eve, what happened to you? You look horrible. You want some coffee?"

"Thanks," I said, sarcastically. "But no. Last night… well it wasn't a good night." I stood up and stretched, heading for the bathroom before Rose could interrogate me further.

Rose's POV

I wonder what had happened to Eve. She looked really bad. I groaned, seeing the bracelet sitting on the dresser next to her side of the bed. She must have taken it off. Which meant that she and James got into a fight.

God-damnit, I would have to do some damage control.

Which I was not in the mood for, given my current state of grounding and my mystery kisser. Oh and studying for my O.W.L.s. That was pretty up there on my To-Do list.

"So, is Eve really terribly angry with James?" Hugo asked, poking his head into my room. I shrugged.

"I don't know," I said, smiling despite myself. "What's it to you Hugo?"

He turned the typical Weasley color, mumbled something incoherent, and ran out of the room. I sighed. Poor Hugo. He was the youngest one out of all of us, even Lils, and he really did get the short end of the stick sometimes.

Lunch was a sullen affair. I could tell Eve was feeling very awkward, Hugo just looked sad, dad looked uncomfortable, and mom was still fuming a bit. Except now it was mostly directed towards dad for not being a good father and being mad at us too. He kept saying in his own defense that "she had handled it well enough on her own" which then just pissed her off more.

The Potters didn't come by, and I expect they were having their own little sit down angriness, with Uncle Harry being just like dad and not saying anything. But Aunt Ginny—I let out an involuntary shudder and felt sorry for those muckers.

We all felt relieved when lunch was over and rushed out to the backyard. Eve slumped down in a lawn chair and looked absolutely miserable. Hugo found a chair next to her as I tried not to laugh.

"Don't worry, Eve. This happens just about every year. And they're really not mad at you," I said, trying to be comforting.

Mum walked onto the back porch a few minutes later, and I expected the worse. "Eve, there's someone at the door for you," she said sweetly, before turning and giving me a fuming glance.

"What, who would be here to see me?" Eve asked, surprised. I shrugged, confused myself. She stood up and went into the foyer, and I followed her.

Eve's POV

I saw him standing at the door and I wanted to scream. Instead, I walked over to him and shut the door in his face. I could feel Rose's surprise behind me and she hurried to open the door again, giving me an angry look on the way.

"Please don't shut the door again," he said, as I turned to reach the door.

"Please come in," Rose said, gesturing him into the room.

"No I am not sticking around for this bullshit," I said. "Look, I don't want to know you," I said angrily.

"Obviously, you're angry with me," he said, frowning, "but you have to let me explain."

"No, I don't have to do anything," I said.

"Your mom left me no choice but to leave you with her. She threatened to end her own life if I took you. She said you're all she had left and that she would take care of you," he said hurriedly. This just made me more angry.

I could see Rose backing out of the room, completely shocked.

"SHE DIDN'T TAKE CARE OF ME!" I screamed at him. "BUT YOU WOULDN'T KNOW THAT BECAUSE NOT ONCE DID YOU CHECK UP ON ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!" He visibly flinched and stood up.

"Evelyn, I know—"

"It's Eve," I said, cutting him off.

"Eve, I know that you hate me. I don't expect your forgiveness. But I'm your father, Eve. Your own blood. And I want to know you. I want to be your father for once. Just give me a chance."

"Gary, is it?" I asked. He nodded. "You weren't my father for 16 years. We might have the same stinking blood, but never will we be family. You didn't even seek me out, someone sought you out for me, and now you're just feeling guilty which I assure you, please do not. I don't need you, nor have I ever. I have taken care of my mother for my whole life and now she's recovering. I'm in a good place in my life and I'm not messing it up with a father I never knew nor do I ever want to know. So just get the fuck out," I said.

He stood up, looking sad.

"I'm not giving up, Eve. I know you're in England, and so am I. I am going to put forward the effort to know a daughter I shouldn't have let go of—ever. One day, you'll open up to me. I'll be ready. James Potter knows how to find me," he said, before turning and walking out.

Rose's POV

It was New Year's Eve before we got to see anyone again. We were on our way to the Burrow and I was feeling stress free because there would be no Riley to piss me off. Eve wasn't speaking as usual, but I could sense she was dreading meeting James.

I couldn't blame her. What a meddling prick. He had crossed a line.

Anyway, we got there and all our cousins were already there. As predicted, the eggnog was not spiked this time, due to our rambunctious Christmas drinking. It was a shame really. Eve sat as far away from James as possible, and he didn't seem to be looking at her either. I pulled him aside just before dinner.

"I can't believe what you did," I said matter-of-factly.

"Will you just shut it Rose?" he asked angrily. "I knew that the possibility of it backfiring was there okay? I was aware of the consequences."

"You're an idiot. You two were finally getting somewhere."

"Yes I know. She even told me that she thought she was falling in love with me. Can you believe it?"

"Yes, you moron. Yes. And then you went and fucking destroyed it all."

"Well who doesn't want to meet their father, Rose? I don't get it."

"Your father has been there your whole life. Everyone you know has a father who has been there all their lives. But Eve's father walked out. You know what that means? He left her when she was a baby for her crackhead mum to take care of her. Would you want to meet that kind of person? Blood isn't everything. And you should've minded your own goddamn business this time," I said.

He let out a quiet groan of despair and held his head in his hands. "I'm so stupid. I want to make this right," he said.

"Well, good luck with that," I said. I could tell he was hurt, but I was just so appalled at his obvious meddling I couldn't muster enough sympathy to tell him he could fix this. Because I didn't think he could fix it.

Eve's POV

I could tell all the Weasleys didn't really know how to have that good of a time without their eggnog spiked. Everyone was kind of brooding around and it was hard not to be slightly amused. I settled myself down in a corner of the kid-room. Rose told me the story of this room in the Burrow. It still had the walls painted the color of James's nursery—a light blue with broomsticks all over it. It became where all the Weasley kids gathered with cribs, strollers, changing stations and all. But over time, these same baby things came out but the kids remained.

We were all full of delicious food and I could feel James's eyes on me, but I determinedly looked away from him, absolutely furious. But during the point in time when the conversation started getting louder when Fred came in with a bunch of Weasley fireworks to bring in the New Year, which was only an hour away, I was pulled against my will outside by none other than James.

"You can't take a hint, Potter?" I spat at him. He didn't even flinch. "I don't want to talk to you," I hissed, pulling away. But he had a firm hold on my arm. "Let me go," I demanded. He shook his head. "Now," I said angrily. "Don't make me yell, Potter. I will bring this fucking house down."

"No you won't. You're too polite," he said quietly, his eyes fixed on my face. I pulled harder, getting madder and madder, but he just held on tightly.

"This is not going to make me less mad at you."

"I know that. I'm just going to wait until you're ready to listen."

"I hate you," I said quietly. His grip loosened for a second, but then was firm once again. "Let me go," I said, my resolve slowly breaking. This was killing me, this battle of will. I finally stopped and slumped against the wall in defeat. He let go of me. I thought about running for it, but I realized he would just catch me again. So I prepared to listen to his begging and pleading.

"You're stubborn and don't know how to forgive," he said, taking me completely by surprise. I whipped around angrily.

"You're the one who went against my wishes!" I said.

"I don't care if you're mad at me or if you'll ever forgive me or if I could've had a chance with you. Because I saw the opportunity for you to actually have some kind of family and I wasn't about to let that go."

"Oh look at you, the hero, the family man, the fucking whole, pure, best friend selfless piece of shit—"

"I actually said none of that. I wasn't trying to fix you, contrary to your beliefs. And you can curse at me all you want, but that doesn't change the fact that there is a man out there who wants to be a father to you. You realize that people can change?"

"MY FATHER KNOWINGLY LEFT HIS ONE YEAR OLD CHILD WITH A CRACKHEAD MOTHER TO TAKE CARE OF, POTTER. That's a pretty huge fucking mistake to fix."

"Then don't ask that he fix it. Move on from it. Try to forget. Try to forgive if you can. You can gain a father. Or at least a friend. Just try it," he said and for the first time I heard a note of pleading. "I know you hate me, I believe you. But no matter what you feel about me I want you to meet this man and hear him out. Give him a chance. He deserves at least one chance."

I scoffed. "And why does he deserve a chance?"

"Because he's a human being."

"A pretty fucking terrible one."

"But one nonetheless. You're getting your chance. Your mother is getting hers. So give him one too," he said.

I saw Rose hurry towards us out of the corner of my eye. I turned just in time to see her slap James across the face, hard. He stumbled backward, his eyes wide.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU WEASLEY?" he yelled, rubbing his face.

"What are you doing with her? Trying to force her into talking to you? After you were being such a fucking prick?"

"Rose, it's okay," I said quickly before this turned into a blood brawl.

In retrospect, I regret having stopped Rose. It was quite good fun. She looked toward me, a bit shocked, and turned to glare at James one more time, before taking my hand and leading me back into the house. I turned to see James with his hand still on his red cheek and watching me, a pleading look in his eyes.

I guess I was thinking about it.

A/N: Don't lose hope, fellas. Also, THESE REVIEWS ARE MAKING ME WANT TO WRITE LIKE CRAZY. I LOVE YOU ALL. KEEP THEM COMING! 3