Slytherins weren't demonstrative. His friends didn't cry out greetings or exclaim how fantastic everyone looked. They simply fell into line behind Scorpius and Rose. Cameras flashed as their group approached the club. Scorpius ignored the calls to "look over here" and escorted Rose inside.
"Welcome to Lumos Duo." Terry Boot shook Scorpius' hand and grinned at Rose. "You're prettier than ever."
Terry looked like he'd cast one too many self-tanning charms. His skin was almost as bronze as his dragon skin suit. "Interesting place you've got here," Scorpius said. The club had an enchanted ceiling with twin moons in a starlit sky. The dance floor was impressively crowded. At the far end of the room, a pair of DJ's spun orbs that filled the air with pulsing beats. Suspended high above the DJ's stage, the private dining room glittered with fairy lights—fairies perched on iridescent strings.
"Doesn't loud music hurt the fairies' ears?" Rose asked as Terry led them to stairs that lit up when he waved his wand.
"Not at all," Terry replied. "They have their own version of Muffliato charms." He nodded to the barman serving drinks behind the white marble bar and then said to Rose, "We spent a fortune on creating a garden in the back alley. The fairy clan sleeps there all day and parties all night. Not a bad life, eh?"
Scorpius said, "Depends on what you planted in the garden."
"No worries, I consulted with the Department of Magical Creatures." Terry waved them toward the staircase. "Enjoy."
The lights on the stair risers flashed on and off like fireflies, evoking oohs and aahs from clubbers. Bit over the top for Scorpius' taste. He was glad to reach the private room where spells transformed noise into background music. The white-clothed table for eight had enough crystal and silver to please the most discriminating. Rose smiled at the fairies zooming from one perch to another, transparent wings buzzing.
"They must be happy," she said. "They're laughing."
"At us or with us?" Scorpius murmured. He turned to their guests.
Guy Willoughby strode forward, Orna Bletchley clinging to his arm. The colour of Orna's floor-length gown was an exact match of her partner's dark green suit. "I feel overdressed," Guy said with a satisfied grin.
Scorpius shook his hand and politely kissed Orna's cheek. "At this time of night, anything goes." He said hello to Magaera Vane, who had copied her friend's upswept hairstyle and thickly applied makeup.
"I shouldn't have worn black," Nathaniel Nott said after returning Scorpius' greeting. "Looks like dog's dinner under club lights." He caught the glare Magaera tossed his way and flushed. "Not your dress." He looked at Marianne Goyle. "Yours either. Didn't mean that."
"Of course not," Marianne said. She smiled at Scorpius. "It was lovely to receive your invitation." She slipped her hand into the crook of her husband's arm and beamed up at him. "Wasn't it?"
Edgar's expression remained stoic. "Lovely."
"Nathaniel deserves the credit," Scorpius said. "He suggested we get the gang back together."
Nathaniel launched into the story of how they had run into each other at the Walpurgis Club. A house-elf with tired green eyes and a nose like a carrot arrived to serve the wine.
"Hobbes will serve the first course if ladies and sirs is ready," the elf said.
Orna sneered. "Of course we're ready. That's why we're here, stupid."
"Now, darling," Guy said with a chuckle. "The fellow's clothes show he isn't a proper house-elf. You can't expect him to anticipate the wishes of his superiors."
"Superiors?" Rose asked. "What—"
"What's superior is the cut of his jacket," Scorpius said quickly to prevent a row. Hobbes wore the child-sized white garment like a robe, tied with a matching sash. "I'd like the name of that tailor." It sounded like something his grandfather would say. No one besides Rose lifted an eyebrow. Scorpius told Hobbes, "Yes, we're ready. Thank you."
"Sir is welcome." Plates of scallop ceviche appeared on each silver charger.
Everyone took their places at the table. Scorpius sat between Marianne and Orna. Rose sat between Guy and Nathaniel. Slytherin dinner etiquette required that couples sit apart to facilitate a broader range of conversation, even if the couples were only separated by the width of a table. Rose glanced across at Scorpius with an expression that said you owe me.
The food was more inspiring than the conversation. Orna boasted at great length about the success of the clothing boutique she and Magaera had opened: Pure. During the main course, his other dinner partner shared how much she enjoyed expanding the gardens at Goyle House and taking baskets of flowers and produce to their more indigent tenants.
"Is that safe?" Scorpius asked. Unless Edgar had completed a massive renovation, the neighbourhood of squalid terraced homes was dodgy at best.
"Oh, yes," Marianne answered. "I wait until Magical Law Enforcement arrives to enforce evictions, and then I give them a basket to send them on their way."
"How…kind."
"I do what I can for the less fortunate, within reason." Her limpid blue gaze flickered to Rose. "There is such a thing as taking charity too far, not that it can't be remedied." She smiled and ate a morsel of heritage lamb. "Delicious."
Choke on it. Scorpius was tempted to cast a wandless spell and make it happen. Praefoco Prefoco would do the job. He'd learned it from one of Grandfather Lucius' tales about the Knights of Walpurgis. Down the table on his right, Edgar stared at his plate while Orna named all the society-witches who frequented her boutique. Would the new groom attempt to resuscitate his bride? How could he live with her? Did her personality remind him of his mother?
The thud of crystal drew Scorpius' eyes to Rose. Her wine glass lay on the tablecloth. "Oops!" she said. "Slipped right through my fingers." The look on her face was blend of defiance and concern. I did it on purpose. What's wrong?
He stood and walked around the table to pull out Rose's chair. Hobbes immediately appeared. Scorpius said, "Take care of our guests until we return, please."
"Where are we going?" Rose asked when they reached the bottom of the staircase.
Scorpius led her into the crowd. "We're going dancing."
.
A/N: Readers who thought Marianne couldn't be as nice as she seemed, yes, you're very smart. Shut up. (It's been a long time since I've used that Princess Bride quote :D.) Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I hope I've left you looking forward to next Friday's update. Thanks alleaf, alix33, fynnsmom, Guest 1 and Guest 2, Missdagane, Needle In A Haystack, Nocturna Mae, PencilCase, scribbleeexx, tambrathegreat and x-rayLady.