"I terrorised him," Scorpius said. "Kept him bound in the dark in Goyle's warehouse."
"Did you hurt him?" Rose asked. "Use a curse, or a hex, or your fists?"
There were worse things than physical pain. "I threatened to destroy everything he loved."
Rose lifted her chin. "Only threats, after what he's done? You let him off easy."
She didn't understand. "I wanted to destroy him. Burn down the club. Ruin his life, his brother's life. I wanted to make him suffer."
"That makes you human, not a monster. My father quit working with Uncle Harry at the Auror Office when he realised that he was using excessive force to apprehend Dark wizards. He couldn't get past wanting revenge. But you did. You let Barry Boot go." She scooped up Felix and pressed him into Scorpius's arms. "Pet him. It reduces stress. I'll get a blanket for him to sleep on." She walked past Scorpius into the bedroom.
He followed her inside, still off-balanced by what she'd shared about her father. "Nifflers like to sleep in high places."
"Like on a shelf?" Rose pointed to the modular scaffolding unit he'd designed to look like a tree, if trees were white and branches were made to hold books instead of leaves. Somehow, he'd never got round to putting books on the shelves.
"He prefers a hammock." Scorpius shifted Felix into the crook of one arm and reached into his pocket for his wand. There were two. Boot's wand felt cold.
Black walnut loses power when the one who wields it practices self-deception.
Scorpius used his oak wand to conjure a hammock between the two highest branch-shelves. He said, "I thought I preferred bookshelves that looked like art, but deep down I must have wanted a Niffler climbing frame." He set Felix down and watched him nimbly scramble up shelves to reach the hammock. "I could tell you he's here for a visit—"
"But you want him to stay." Rose smiled. "I want him to stay too."
"It's a commitment," Scorpius said. Why he couldn't just be grateful that she liked his pet, why he had to delve further, he blamed on the potion's lingering influence. "Another step in our relationship."
"As in, first a couple dates, then they move into a flat, and then they get a pet?" Rose giggled. "I'm sorry," she said. "I love that you want us to take care of Felix together." Another giggle. "I'm laughing at myself, because this is so . . . different . . . from what I expected after that kiss in the club." A wash of pink coloured her cheeks. "I thought you left to get your costume so you could—" Her blush deepened. "So you could show me how well it fits." She gestured to her chemise. "I'd be the Enchantress, seducing the Green Knight."
"I ruined the fantasy." He unfastened his cloak and tossed it aside.
Rose moved in closer. Her thighs brushed his. "Not if you realise that it's the man underneath the costume that I love." She rapped his armoured chest with the back of a knuckle. "And I expect to define our relationship with very specific types of actions."
He took off shirt. "I have to warn you. I'm under the influence of a potion that loosens inhibitions."
She slid her hands up his torso. "I plan to take full advantage of it." Her eyes slid to bookshelves. "Once you put Felix outside."
.
Rose made good on her promise, so much so that Scorpius had to drag himself out of bed when he heard the scratching of claws against glass.
"We need to create a Niffler door," Rose said sleepily.
Scorpius let Felix inside. "Tomorrow. Until then, I refuse to concentrate on anything except you." He picked up Felix and then stood immobile. Unblinking. "Stay," he murmured. His pet obligingly stilled.
Laughter was his reward. Rose asked, "You're trying to make me believe that his collar was cursed with another Body-Bind spell?" When he didn't answer, she said, "You know, if I were the Enchantress, and you were really at my mercy, I would do naughty things to you."
Yes, please. He heard the rustle of sheets. Rose was getting out of bed. He began mentally listing magical herbs and fungi to control his body's reaction.
"Shall I—oh, no, someone just got off the lift outside."
Nice try, very convincing, but he wasn't giving up his pretence until her hands were all over him.
"I mean it," Rose said sharply. "Look at the security orb."
He looked. A chime sounded. Their visitor was at the front door. Scorpius placed Felix on the bed and snatched up all the pieces of his Green Knight costume. He dumped Boot's wand, which now felt warm—fickle object—into one of his boots. "Don't put on clothes," he told Rose. "We've been rudely awakened, and you're worried that someone is hurt. Throw on a dressing gown." Scorpius spread his cloak on the floor and used it to wrap up his costume. Rose handed him a black dressing gown. He put it on and then shoved the cloak bundle into the linen cupboard on the way to the front door.
Rose looked through the WideVision viewer that allowed homeowners to see through solid wood. "It's Teddy. Let me do the talking." She opened the door. "Merlin, Teddy, why are you here so late? Did something happen? My parents—" If Scorpius hadn't known better, he would have thought her sincerely distraught.
Lupin said, "They're fine. May I come in?" He wore the same clothes from earlier, but he'd changed his spiky hair to Harry Potter black. An omen of things to come, Scorpius was sure.
Rose gestured for their guest to enter the foyer.
Scorpius pretended to stifle a yawn. "Bit late for a social visit."
"I'm here in official capacity, actually."
"Then I won't offer you a drink," Scorpius said. Etiquette required that he ask Lupin to have a seat in the lounge. Etiquette could go hang. "Why are you here?"
"Barry Boot showed up at the Auror Offices a couple of hours ago. He turned himself in."
Rose gasped. "Because of what happened at Lumos Duo?"
Lupin's assessing gaze never left Scorpius. "Where did you go when you left the club, Malfoy?"
Scorpius smiled thinly. "None of your business."
Rose made an impatient sound. "Teddy, isn't it obvious that he's been here with me?"
Lupin's dark eyes—pupils matching the iris, the better to intimidate, presumably—flickered over their dressing gowns and bare feet. "Not the whole time, Rosie." With the air of a barrister presenting Exhibit A, he removed a silver Trackingbrall from his pocket.
Ron and George are in the process of imbedding voice-activated recorders into Trackingbralls for the Auror Office.
Harry Potter had been wrong when he'd said those words during their chat at the Burrow: the recorders were no longer prototypes. Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying I've been under surveillance?" He wanted to know if he was officially a Person of Interest. No Trackingbrall could follow long-distance Apparation.
"Of course not. I recorded this conversation in the club." Lupin tapped the Trackingbrall and muttered a spell. A garble of sound emitted, followed by Scorpius's voice saying he'd meet Rose at home after finding his old costume.
"Did it fit?" Lupin asked.
"Edward Remus Lupin!" Rose stepped in front of Scorpius, hands on hips. "What we do in the privacy of our bedroom is no concern of yours!"
Lupin flushed red, then paled, and then flushed again before managing to change his skin tone to an unflustered shade. "That's not—what you do mean our bedroom? Are you living here? No. Don't answer. I'll not be side-tracked." He pulled a folded up piece of parchment out of a trouser pocket. Exhibit B. "Boot claimed an unidentified wizard persuaded him to turn Ministry's witness." Lupin unfolded the parchment to reveal a drawing of the Green Knight. "Is it a coincidence that you left and a wizard dressed up as a comic book vigilante kidnapped Boot a half hour later?"
"Dennis Creevey wrote him as a hero anti-hero," Scorpius replied, "And coincidences happen all the time."
"We'll see." Lupin waved his wand. "Accio costume!"
Scorpius slid his arms around Rose's waist. "It's all right," he murmured, although he held his breath until he saw two pieces of clothing fly into the room and land on the Carrera marble next to Lupin's shoe. "The chemise is hers," Scorpius said dryly.
Lupin gawked at the dark robes. "Professor Doom?" His eyes narrowed. "When did Professor Doom ever hook up with the Enchantress?"
A true Wizard Comic fan would know. Scorpius curled his lip. "The AU series." An unpopular two-part storyline that ended with Doom waking up from a dream. Fans preferred the villainous former potions professor unlucky in love.
"You even have his monogram," Lupin said. "S.S. for Silvanus Smythe. I've seen these exact robes at a Comic Con." He shook his head like a dog shaking off water. "That means I saw you at Comic Con, Malfoy, and if you had the Galleons to have this made, you had the Galleons to order a Green Knight costume."
"Those robes belonged to Severus Snape. My father gave them to me. They're a family heirloom. Don't touch them," Scorpius said when Lupin started to reach out a hand.
Rose said, "Teddy, you need to leave."
Lupin's fingers clenched and unclenched. Scorpius experienced an unwanted ping of sympathy. He said, "Fine. Touch the robes and then go." He set his jaw when Lupin merely examined the label inside the collar and let the robes puddle on the floor.
"Just checking that these really belonged to Snape. No offense, but I outgrew most of that kiddie comic book stuff ages ago. I barely remember the characters." He sauntered toward the door.
Scorpius ignored the Slytherin voice of caution that advised him not to follow, to allow Lupin have the last word. He said, "I suppose you don't remember any conversations you had at Comic Cons, then."
"Probably not," Lupin replied.
"Not even this?" Scorpius gave into the urge to wipe the condescension off Lupin's face. He said, "Rose is better," and closed the door.
.
.
A/N: I was going to write an angsty one shot about Ron and George to go with this chapter, to show how they became partners in the shop, helping each other make it through a tough time in their lives and making Fred proud, but then I went to see The Avengers: Age of Ultron and the scene at the party where Tony and Thor are trying to one up each other over who has the best girlfriend was so hilarious, I couldn't resist. I wrote a one shot called Rose is Better, which takes place at—you guessed it—Creevey Comic Con. I posted it a couple of days ago, and those of you who already read and reviewed, thank you so much! Your reviews made me want to give Rose a before-Our Little Secret one shot so you could see that the denial of fancying wasn't one-sided. I should have it ready to post by Monday. I'm calling it Peeping Rose. Does anyone read on Mondays? :)
If anyone's interested in seeing what I imagined Scorpius's bookshelf to look like, Google modular scaffolding by Maria Yasko. The first image is the Icelandic tree, i.e., Niffler climbing frame.
Special thanks to the readers who reviewed last chapter. Traffic stats will never replace encouraging words. Thanks to adiiDelly, alix33, alleaf, drcjsnider, glassycry, Needle In A Haystack, Raylis, Rose of the West, SGed, sunburnesd, trinityblue76, and VandyFNP!