They entered the Three Broomsticks together, and found a small table near a corner. Scorpius ordered them two Butterbeers, and even paid like he said he would. Rose tried to offer up her share, but he insisted.
"Should we try and find some friends to hang out with the rest of the time we're here?" Rose asked.
"No, I don't think so" Scorpius replied. "If we were on a real date, I'd be keeping you all to myself, so that's exactly what I'm going to do."
"Oh" Rose said, suddenly aware of how close they were sitting. "Have you had many of those, then?"
"Dates? Here and there, but nothing serious. Why? Suddenly interested in my life story?" He winked at her.
"Well, you seem to know much more about me than I know about you. I just thought I'd try and get to know you a little better. For example, there's a weird vibe between you and Albus, tell me about that."
"'Weird vibe' is a strange way to describe a friendship, but sure. We became friends in second year. He was being bullied by some jerks because of who his father is, and I swooped in and saved him. We've been friendly-ish ever since."
Something about his tone made Rose question his story. "Albus was being bullied, and then you helped him?"
"Yeah, or the other way around. Anyway, we're not best mates or anything, but he's a good guy."
Scorpius didn't quite look at Rose when he said that.
The other way around? she thought. He's embarrassed to admit he used to be bullied. Apparently there are a lot of things to learn about Scorpius Malfoy.
"What about you?" he asked. "How long have you wanted to be a healer?"
"Almost as long as I can remember. When I was little my Uncle Charlie was supposed to be keeping an eye on me, but I fell off the broom I was riding and broke my arm. When I got to a healer, she waved her wand and the pain was gone and bone was mended in a matter of seconds. I was mesmerized, and I've wanted to be a healer ever since."
Rose looked up to see Scorpius smiling at her. Not his lopsided grin, which, admittedly, was devilishly handsome, but a real, warm, smile. Her heart almost stopped at the sight. He was practically radiating, and her heart restarted with a fervor.
"And you?" she asked. "What are you going to do after school is over?"
Rose found she was actually interested in the answer, and in learning more about Scorpius in general.
"Do? I won't have to do anything. I'm quite wealthy, you know" he replied. "I'm joking, of course. Well, not about the wealthy thing, that's true." He winked at her.
Rose rolled her eyes.
"Actually though, it does take a bit of upkeep to maintain the family money, or else it would all disappear after a few generations. My father actually owns a few charities and manages donations on behalf of the estate, but I want to increase our investment return so we can do some real good for other wizards.
"Obviously our family name isn't in the best standing right now, but I really think I'm in a position to help people. We could help fund research at St. Mungo's, or start scholarship programs for muggle-born students, or spread awareness about mistreated magical beings.
"You just have to play the odds right. It's actually kind of fun, if you look at the way the market fluctuates, and at the patterns behind the numbers, then you can predict the way-" he stopped suddenly. "And I'm rambling right now, I'm sorry."
Rose thought she saw a faint blush rise on his cheeks for a change, but the dim lighting made it hard to tell. What she could tell was that she'd just seen a side of Scorpius Malfoy that she had never seen before, and it was surprisingly nice.
"Wow Malfoy," she said, "That was actually kind of cool to hear about."
"Scorpius" he said leaning slightly forward.
"What?"
"You should call me Scorpius, not Malfoy. Okay… Rose?"
Hearing her name come out of his mouth in such a serious tone sent unbidden shivers down her spine.
"Okay, Scorpius."
"Good" he said, leaning closer still. Rose could practically count his eyelashes, but she didn't back away.
"Close your eyes" he whispered. His face was dangerously close to her own, and she could feel his breath in the air between them.
Almost involuntarily, her eyes slid shut.
What am I doing? What is he doing? Her mind was racing and her heart was pounding.
Gently, almost feather light at first, she felt his lips brush her own. Her mind turned to static fuzz as he kissed her again, still gently, but more solidly. Her lips moved on their own and she found herself kissing him back.
He slid a hand up into her hair and pulled her closer, tilting his head the opposite way to kiss her again more deeply.
Rose got caught up in the rhythm of his kisses. She felt like she was on fire where he was touching her. Warmth was spreading from her hair down her neck and she lost track of herself as his other hand slid around her back and started a new fire spreading to meet the first.
Her own arms had wrapped around Scorpius, holding on to him tighter whenever the pressure of his form on hers eased.
There was a scraping sound, as if someone had gotten up in a hurry. Stomping feet seemed to fade into the distance as the front door opened and shut.
And then, as suddenly as it had started, it was over.
Scorpius pulled back and said, "He's gone now."
Rose was in a daze. She had never had a boyfriend before, but she had kissed a boy at the beginning of her fourth year, and it was nothing like that.
"Who's gone?" she breathed, still recovering from the kiss.
"Cooper. He was sitting over there glaring daggers at us, so…"
Rose was suddenly mortified. This was all pretend. Of course. She had somehow gotten so wrapped up in hearing about a new side of Scorpius that she had lost sight of what they were doing together.
"Oh, right, yeah." Rose knew her face was burning red, and just hoped Scorpius couldn't tell how much. She was just about ready to die of embarrassment when Scorpius reached over and pulled her closer to his side, arm hanging casually over her shoulder.
He nonchalantly drank some more of his Butterbeer, and Rose wondered, not for the first time, just what in the world she had gotten herself into.