{The Big Birthday Project}; 001. Butterbeer
01. Butterbeer (Scorpius x Rose)
The shop bell tinkled merrily as Rose entered the Three Broomsticks, stomping out the snow from her shoes. Usually she would be with Albus, but as it was their first Hogsmeade trip after their grueling exams, they decided to ramble on their own before meeting up at the pub. As she approached the fireplace she noticed a blond boy sitting alone, quietly contented at looking at the customers. She buried her hands deep into her coat pockets as she approached the boy.
"Hey," she said, sitting herself down on an empty chair in front of him.
"Hi, Weasley," he said, looking at her briefly before looking around the pub again.
At least he took time to acknowledge my presence, Rose wryly thought to herself. Instead, she pouted at the boy.
"Awww Scorpius, what's with the formality? I told you, you can call me Rose." The boy called Scorpius flinched as his eyes darted around, looking to see if anyone was watching them or listening to their conversation. Only when he was sure that the warlocks at the bar were busily singing along to Celestina Warbeck at the radio did he talk to her, his voice not rising above a whisper.
"I told you, people would find it strange if we... act friendly... in public," Scorpius said, a dull red coloring his cheeks. Rose frowned, not seeing the logic in his statement.
"What's wrong with the two of us talking? And we're not acting friendly; we really are friends, so what's the point of being so formal and secretive?"
Scorpius sighed as he rubbed the nape of his neck, something he does when he's embarrassed and unsure if what to say next.
"Wouldn't people think it... strange when they see a Gryffindor and a Slytherin being warm and fuzzy friends? I mean, our houses are supposed to be legendary rivals and all that hype," he said, already seeing her shaking her head in disbelief.
"You're warm to me... and Albus. But not fuzzy, definitely; you're too princely to be fuzzy. And don't feed me that house rivalry rubbish," she said, speaking quickly before he can interrupt or contradict her last sentence. "There's something else, is it? Are you that ashamed of being seen with me?" Rose asked, a hint of sadness in her tone. Scorpius immediately shook his head.
"It's not that! On the contrary, I'm glad that you even considered being friends with me... it's just..." he said hesitatingly. Rose raised her eyebrows. Scorpius sighed and stood up, mumbling "I'll get us drinks," before heading towards the bar. Rose amused herself by counting the lines on the wooden table, thinking about her conversation with Scorpius. She remember how her dad used to tell her how big of a jerk Scorpius' dad was when they were still in school, and how he told her to beat him at every test and 'not get too friendly with him' on that platform the first day. Though her mom scolded his dad, she became curious about the boy with the rumpled blond hair. As she went to the compartment where James and Albus were staying she passed by him, staring out of the window at the passing scenery and quite alone at the compartment that he had all to himself. She almost considered asking him to join them, but then she reasoned out that he must be waiting for his friends. With a last glance towards him she went on and sat with Albus and James, listening to James' fanciful attempts to scare them and telling them about the horrors in Hogwarts. Good thing her mom bought her a copy of Hogwarts, A History and she was able to assure Albus that there wouldn't be a test besides the Sorting Ceremony.
When Sorting came, she was standing next to him amongst the nervous gaggle of eleven year-olds. When his name was called a cacophony of whispering voices rose up.
Malfoy? Draco Malfoy's son?
What? He's now in Hogwarts?
Pipe down, he might hear you. Who knows what his father can do to us?
But rumor has it that his father isn't like that anymore...
Better be safe than sorry. Now shut it before we get cursed or something.
She glanced around her with a frown and tutted quite audibly, silencing the people within hearing range. They all watched as the boy silently climbed up the steps and sat on the three-legged stool. The Sorting Hat was quiet for a moment, until the rip at the brim widened and the Sorting Hat shouted "Slytherin!" There was quite a lukewarm applause and the whispers resumed. The boy who was called Scorpius got down from the stool and slowly made his way towards the Slytherin table, passing by the spot where Rose stood. She wasn't sure if she imagined it, but she was quite sure that he looked at her and whispered... something that didn't quite reach her ears. It was only for a moment, but she felt something shifted inside her chest... she wasn't sure what it was, but it certainly felt right.
"...Weasley? Weasley? ...Rosie?"
Rose started when she heard her name being called, and she looked up to find Scorpius holding two overflowing mugs of butterbeer in his hands. Much to her surprise, he placed one of the mugs in front of her and pulled back the chair beside her, sitting down and abandoning his earlier seat across from her. He shifted closer and their knees accidentally touched, making the both of them jump. They both mumbled "sorry" and then they fell silent again. Scorpius watched her from the brim of his mug as she sipped her drink, observing that little wrinkle at her forehead that appeared whenever she was thinking about something.
"Something bothering you?" he gently probed. She shook her head and watched the butterbeer fizz in her mug, but then she looked up and met his gaze, his gray eyes reflecting the fire from the hearth.
"Remember that day when we were all Sorted? When you were put in Slytherin and you were going to your House table... was it just my imagination or did you say anything to me?"
Scorpius started at her question, but before he could even reply they both heard the shop bell ring and and saw a boy wrapped in a thick coat and scarf enter the pub. He looked around before spotting them and heading towards their direction. When he reached their table, he collapsed onto Scorpius' previous seat.
"Hi Albus," greeted Rose to the newcomer while Scorpius raised his mug to Albus in greeting.
"Sorry I was late; got into a little knot earlier," Albus answered, unwrapping the scarf that was covering his head and muffling his speech. Scorpius and Rose did a double take when they saw his face.
"WHY ARE YOU COVERED IN BLOOD?!" Rose asked in alarm, making a few heads turn curiously to their table.
"Shhh, pipe down will you? It's just a nosebleed, don't pop a vein or something," said Albus. Rose hurriedly pulled out her wand and said "Episkey", effectively siphoning off the blood from his face. There was also a soft popping noise as his nasal cartilage went back to its original shape.
"Ow! You could be more gentle about it," Albus grumbled, feeling his healed nose bridge and his face now free from blood.
"If it's just a nosebleed then why was your nose broken?" Rose asked shrewdly, now busy cleaning up Albus' bloodied scarf. Albus looked down and scratched his nose in discomfort, possessing the look of a child who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Scorpius looked steadily at his friend's face.
"Something happened again, right? Who was it this time?" he asked quietly. Rose looked up from Albus' now clean scarf, switching her gaze between the two boys in confusion. Albus sighed and hung his head, his shoulders drooping.
"Nott," he whispered. "And the Goyle twins... also a couple of Ravenclaws that I didn't recognize." Scorpius stiffened, his back ramrod straight against the cold wooden chair.
"It seems like they didn't understand my... message last night at the common room. They even recruited some Ravenclaws... bloody, cowardly gits," he said under his breath.
"Wait, what's going on? Have you two been getting into fights?" Rose cried out. Albus fidgeted in his seat in discomfort, but he still gave a small nod as his answer. Rose opened her mouth to scold the two of them, but Scorpius' next words didn't give her a chance
"They were picking on Albus Severus... because of what his dad did to their parents... you know what they were in the past... seems they can't get over it..." Scorpius whispered. Rose still had her mouth left hanging open.
"Scorpius is on the same boat as I am. Don't you deny it," Albus said, quickly raising a hand to stop Scorpius' obvious protest. He turned to Rose, an apology written across his face. "I know you don't want Rosie to know, but we might as well be honest with her... Scorpius is being bullied as well. When we were first years no one dared cross him because of... well--" Albus stopped, clearly uncomfortable.
"They wouldn't come near me because they're afraid my dad will curse the living daylights out of them. And oh, let us not forget the very convenient fact that he was once a Death Eater. Add that to the fact that my ancestors have been one of the champions of the Dark Lord's cause; of course any wizard who was not evil or in his right mind would go near me. Well, except Albus, but he was never in his right mind to begin with," Scorpius said through gritted teeth, cracking a grim smile at the end of his speech.
"Hey! You were alone! And I was trying to be nice!" Albus protested, making the other two laugh and easing the tense and gloomy atmosphere. "...And you're actually cool, dark family background and all that rubbish aside," he mumbled, turning red for some reason.
"Aww, Albie's blushing~" Scorpius teased. "Are you so overwhelmed by my overall coolness?"
"Sometimes your coolness becomes full blown Ice Prince. So, yes and no," said Albus with a grin.
"Just admit it, you like me too much to mind."
"Well, considering that you're my friend, I think I'm in the middle of a personality crisis," Albus said in retort.
"Oh, quit it, you two," said Rose, clearly annoyed.
"Oh save it Rosie, you sound like your mom," said Scorpius merrily.
"And now you sound like my dad when my mom scolds him," Rose shot back.
"Oh you two shut up, you sound like an old married couple," Albus told the both of them.
"NO WE DO NOT!" shouted both Rose and Scorpius. Albus laughed and stood up.
"So you say. When will the both of you get a clue and go out already? Because seriously, I do not want to catch you two suddenly snogging each other senseless." He avoided the scarf that the pink-faced Rosie threw at him and went up the bar to buy himself a drink. The other two left at the table were silent, both sporting faces tinged in varying shades of red.
"So... did you really say anything during the Sorting?" asked Rose hastily, trying to dispel the awkwardness between them. Scorpius turned a brighter shade of red at her question
"I... I said... I said thank you," he mumbled.
"Huh? Thank you for what?" she asked, too surprised by his sudden gratitude to think straight.
"Well... thanks for standing up for me, in a way... You barely knew me and yet you still tried to stop those people from whispering... just... thank you... from that time up until now..." Scorpius mumbled. Rose nodded, but clearly he wasn't finished yet. "...And sorry if we hid things from you. We didn't mean to... but we just didn't want to get you into trouble. We knew you'd be worse than a million Howlers combined when you're angry, so..."
"It's okay; you're both forgiven. Thanks for the concern... just don't do that again, alright? I don't want to feel left out because I'm a girl and I'm in a different House... Can you do me that favor?" she asked, a hint of a smile on her lips. Scorpius smiled in relief, nodding his head in agreement. Rose quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching, and that Albus was still busy talking to one of his Quidditch teammates at the bar... and then leaned across to Scorpius and gave him a quick kiss at the cheek. His gray eyes widened, and his face transformed to a whole new different level of red. He was silent; for once, he couldn't come up with any of his cool comebacks. Rose saw Albus approaching with his own overflowing mug of butterbeer, and then she poked Scorpius on the arm.
"Try acting normally; Albus is a trifle more intuitive than we give him credit for..." she said with a playful grin at Scorpius, who promptly turned away and rubbed the nape of his neck. He was too distracted, but he still heard Rose whisper three, quiet words.
"...And, you're welcome."
And then he smiled, feeling something shifted inside his chest...
He wasn't sure what it was, but it certainly felt right.
Happy birthday Classmate-chan :) Expect that the [調略: The Big Birthday Project] tag will be abused :3