The crisp, cold air fogged up Rose and Hagrid chatted and Malfoy trailed stood at the entrance of the Forbidden Forest. Night had descended quickly.
"Lumos," said Rose and Scorpius in unison. Two identical lights glowed from their wand. Well, almost identical. While Malfoy's had a more silvery glow, Rose's definitely glowed a more gold or amber color. Hagrid explained their simple task.
"Now while I search around for some poor wounded creature, I just need yer to stay inside this here line of trees and keep an eye on Fang. When I come back with a creature, I'll give each of yer a kit to heal with so just wait here. I'll be back in no more 'n 30 minutes."
And with that, Hagrid stumped out of sight. The two student slumped against a tree, facing the middle of the forest. After a few minutes, Rose started to shiver.
"Are you alright?" Scorpius asked. Rose sat down at the base of the tree, wrapping herself in her cloak.
"Yes, I just didn't think it would be this cold, so I didn't bring my heavier cloak."
Scorpius sat down, right next to her, and unwound his scarf from his neck.
"Here," He said, and draped the green scarf around her neck.
"Next time, plan ahead," He said with a smirk.
"Oh, no, I couldn't-"
"It's quite alright, we have half an hour to kill, we should stick closely together to conserve heat." Rose silently nodded, wrapping the knit scarf around her neck.
"Oh! My mum gave me this enchanted bag! I knew it would come in handy!" She drew a small beaded bag out of her pocket, and out came a wool blanket, which she smoothed over them. She rummaged around again and pulled out a thermos of hot cocoa. She brought out her wand and cast a Refilling Charm on it, then a Warming Spell.
"Sorry, I only brought one thermos, so we'll have to pass it back and forth. Scorpius nodded and smiled grudgingly.
"That's really smart, Rose," He said , then drinking from the thermos. She smiled.
"Thanks, I. . . Hey! That's the first time you've called me Rose!" Snow began to fall and she passed the thermos back to him. He smirked in that infuriating way and said,
"Well, to be fair, we only met today." They laughed and spent a bit of time in amiable silence. Fang lay down and took a nap. It got even colder and they both started to shiver. They scooted closer to each other and Rose produced another blanket and a shawl for over their shoulders.
"Just can't get enough of me, can you," He said arrogantly as she moved closer again. She frowned and replied,
"It's rather lonely out here." She glanced around. Scorpius shuddered with the chills and took a long gulp from the thermos.
"But rather cold." Rose bit her lip. She didn't know why he was being so nice, but perhaps this was the road to house unity. Maybe he really regretted his past actions. And Rose was the type of person to give him a fresh start.
"Oh, are you that cold? Here, if you don't mind, I believe this will fit you. It's a bit too small for me, but you have a petit frame." He glowered at her comment. Rose pulled her Weasley jumper out of her bag. It had a large yellow "R" on the front against a red background.
"Well, it's not ideal, but I'm freezing, so-" He shrugged, pulled it on, and they settled in once more. After a while they started chatting about everything, Quidditch, classes and their homes. Finally the inevitable question came up.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" She blurted. She mentally kicked herself. Why did she care? He smirked like he knew something she didn't. She blushed but removed any expression from her face. He looked into her eyes cunningly. Rose was once again unnerved from the sheer intensity of his gaze.
"No, I don't. Do you?" She pursed her lips.
"No. I don't either." He leaned closer.
"Good," he said smoothly. He leaned in so close that Rose's heart started beating faster, and her stomach twisted in disgust. He was too close for comfort. She leaned back uncomfortably when he leaned farther in. He spoke in a whisper,
"No one will care if I do this-" and he leaned in farther and their lips met. She remained still for several seconds in surprise. Then his lips started moving, and shivers ran down her spine and warmth spread through her body. His lips felt like silk and his hands cupping the side of her face were warm and rough. She melted into him and her body fit his perfectly. Her hands came up to rest on the back of his neck.
Then she realized who he was. Malfoy! He had antagonized her, commented on her ass, was probably doing this for revenge! Despite her lips protesting, she slid her hands down to his chest and pushed away. With a a strangled gasp she fell out of her blanket and landed on the thin layer of snow that had accumulated.
"How dare you?!" She exclaimed. He rubbed a hand over his slicked-back hair and said,
"Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist, Weasley. It was just a kiss." The snow started to fall really hard. Big fat flakes flew down and caught themselves in her tangled hair. Scorpius pushed the blankets off himself.
"That is, unless you didn't want to stop. I'd be more than happy to start again," He said cockily. She sputtered and crab-walked away from him.
"Get away from me! I never- I never said- Urg!" She yelled in frustration. Her hands immediately froze. What was it about this boy that made Rose, sweet, dedicated to her studies, Rose, act this was? She was never like this around her numerous cousins!
He walked over to her and offered her a hand up. She ignored it and got to her feet, brushing snow off her butt.
More snowflakes drifted down onto her auburn hair and into her eyelashes. She stood there in shock as he casually reached down and brushed them out of her hair.
"Get back!" Rose shoved his chest again and backed away.
"You stay here and watch Fang, I'll go find Hagrid," She said frantically. And she sprinted into the forest, away from the boy who confused her, the mistakes that she had made that night, and that cursed kiss. She held her wand tightly in her hand, only letting go when she tripped and fell into darkness.