"Escapism" - A Gift for i_am_girlfriday
Title: “Escapism”
Author: potterhead37
Gift For: i_am_girlfriday
Summary: An accidental run-in at the end of seventh year could have long term repercussions for Scorpius and Rose.
Rating: R
Warnings: None
Word count: 8,901
A/N: Information about tesseography comes from a wonderful website, www.readingtealeaves.info. Beta work done by still_infinity.
Rose pushed hard against the trap door, making it fall open with a loud thud. She climbed the last rungs of the rope ladder, and, looking down, walked to the open side of the door, heaving it up to let if fall shut with a nearly identical thud. Reaching into the pocket of her robes, she pulled out the small box, its familiar shape a comfort in the palm of her hand.
She looked down at the box, glancing at the unfortunately accurate warning about drool she had read many times before. She’d give herself twenty minutes of pure escape, and then join her friends by the lake. NEWT’s were finally over, and they were all celebrating the five days remaining before they left Hogwarts for good. They would tease her, no doubt, for being late for a celebration she had planned, but she couldn’t care less. She was going to open the box, travel through her mind to ancient Japan, and let the dashing - and most likely blond - samurai save her from mortal peril.
At least that was plan, until she heard a distinctly purposeful cough from behind her.
She whipped around, hiding the box behind her back. For a moment, she wondered if she somehow accidentally set off the Daydream Charm wandlessly, because sitting across the room with a smirk across his chiseled features was the young man who was the star of the magically enhanced fantasies she was so addicted to.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
Scorpius kept his smirk firmly in place as his eyebrows rose. “I could ask you the same.”
“Oh,” Rose took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I wasn’t looking when I entered, and you startled me. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here.”
His smirk grew into a small smile. “Nor was I.” He cocked his head. “I’m surprised you’re not already down by the lake.”
Rose shrugged, trying rather desperately to appear casual. “I was planning to go shortly. You’re not going?”
He shrugged too, and his smirk gave Rose the feeling there was a bit of mockery in it. “Dunno.”
Rose looked at him for another moment, but when it became clear that he wasn’t going to elaborate, she looked down at her feet. She felt silly, her hands still clutching the Daydream Charm behind her back. Telling herself to stop being ridiculous, that there was no way he could have seen it, and absolutely no way that he could know he would have been in it, she looked up at him again. He was still staring at her.
“What have you got there?” His voice was casual, somewhere between playful and teasing.
“Nothing,” she lied.
He laughed. She liked his laugh. “I’ll tell you what,” he offered, “you tell me what you have behind your back, and I’ll tell you what’s behind mine.”
“Oh please,” she answered, forcing herself to keep her voice light. “As if you have anything. I’m not going to fall for that.”
He shrugged, and this time Rose thought he was definitely being playful. “Suit yourself.”
She nodded, noticing that she hadn’t moved since he had spoken to her. Should she just leave?
“Well,” he drawled, “if you’re going to stay, you might as well make yourself comfortable.” She looked at him stupidly, unsure of just how to act, as he gestured to the seat across from him. These days she always felt so unsure of herself in his presence, and it drove her mad. “I mean,” he continued, his voice still silky and slow, “I’m assuming that you came up here to be comfortable, right? It’s nice, after all.” He smiled now, no trace of a smirk, and she felt a bit reassured. “Way up at the top of the tower, no noise, all these poufs and sofas to choose from… it’s a perfect place to escape to.”
He was exactly right; she had come to the Divination classroom for those exact reasons. She didn’t like that he had guessed that so easily, but then figured he must have come for the same reasons. Keeping her hands with the box behind her back, she walked across the room and sat on a pouf opposite to where he was sprawled on a small sofa, over the back of which his robes were slung, leaving him in a tee shirt and trousers. There was a small tea table between them.
“Well?” He asked.
“Well what?”
“Do I get to see what you’re hiding there?”
Rose thought for an instant that she should say there was nothing, but knew it was too late to lie outright. Again. “I thought you said you were hiding something, too.”
“Oh, I am,” he said flippantly.
“Well?” She couldn’t stop the smirk that grew as she echoed him.
He let out a small chuckle. “No, I don’t think I can show you what I’ve got.”
“Why not?”
He nodded his head towards her robes. “Because what I have is contraband, and you’re still wearing that Head Girl’s badge. I may not be going to all the end-of-year festivities, but I’m not so stupid as to want to spend my last four days here in detention.”
Rose regarded him carefully. There was a mischievous gleam in his eye, and he seemed completely at ease. He always seemed completely at ease to her, though, even when being reprimanded for not completing his homework or for arriving to class a full fifteen minutes late without an excuse. This behavior of his had been, when she was younger, a source of irritation. At some point during this last year, though, her irritation had changed to curiosity, and she had started to yearn to know how he could be so off-handed about everything. Over the past few months, she had grown to be absolutely intrigued, and this was coupled with a serious amount of attraction. She could not figure him out, and she had become more and more desperate to know what made him tick, and to get close enough to touch it herself.
Well, here was her opportunity; with only four days remaining at school, she knew she might not ever have another shot at it. She let the box fall to the cushion behind her, then reached up to unclasp her robes. She couldn’t stop her smile when his eyes flew open at her movements. Shrugging the robes off, she revealed a soft yellow tee shirt and a cotton, floral skirt.
“Now,” she challenged him, “it seems I’m not Head Girl at the moment. So what have you got?”
He stared at her - rather appreciatively, she thought - before chuckling again. “Why Rose Weasley, are you suggesting we play a game of ‘I’ll-show-you-mine-if-you-show-me-yours’?”
They laughed, and his laughter was deep and hearty, which betrayed the cool exterior he almost always projected.
“Perhaps not,” she finally choked out.
“That’s really too bad,” he said, still regarding her appreciatively. “Maybe we could start more slowly and build up to that. How about I ask what a nice girl like you is doing in a place like this?”
“You could do that,” she answered, “and I can counter with a ‘so, you come here often?’”
He laughed for another minute before answering. “Actually, I do.”
“You do?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Trelawney’s so old it’s a miracle that she even gets up here for class, so there’s little risk of her coming in, and the Prefects are too lazy to climb that stupid ladder. It’s a good place to be alone.”
That stopped Rose’s laughter. That he was so open about wanting to be alone came as a surprise, to say the least, and now she felt guilty for intruding. “Oh. I didn’t realize. I could go if you’d rather.”
“No,” his answer was immediate. “I wasn’t expecting to have your company this afternoon, but that doesn’t make it unwelcome. I actually really like surprises.”
She was glad that he wanted her to stay, and that she had stumbled upon him in the first place. She wanted to stay, and liked the feeling of throwing caution to the wind somehow, hanging out with a bloke she lusted after but didn’t really know, as opposed to being with her friends, as expected.
“Since that’s the case,” she said, “and since we’re here, why don’t you show me what you claim to have hidden behind your back?”
“You think I’m lying?”
“No, I wouldn’t use so strong a word. I think you’re bluffing in order to see what I have.”
“Am I?”
“Mm-hmm.”
In a slow but fluid motion, Scorpius leaned forward and reached behind his back without looking, pulling out a tall bottle. Rose wasn’t sure if she were more surprised that there was anything at all or that it was a nearly full bottle of Firewhiskey. He stared levelly at her. It was a challenge. She may have taken off her official robes and badge, but they both knew that it was her responsibility to confiscate it and report him. She looked at the bottle, weighing her options. She could do as she was supposed to, but that would bring this chance meeting to an end. Or she could take the challenge he was laying at her feet.
She reached out and took up the bottle; it was capped, but had been opened, and a few sips’ worth were missing. She could feel his gaze, and it thrilled her. She had come up here to be alone, to escape for a few minutes, and while her plans had not included getting drunk, it suddenly didn’t sound so bad. What, really, did she have to lose?
She unscrewed the cap and looked back at Scorpius. “There’s a large stack of tea cups over there,” she said. “Should I summon us a couple?”
A broad smile spread across his features. “Now, now, Firewhiskey was not made for tea cups.”
“What do you suggest?” She unscrewed the cap.
“I suggest you tilt that open bottle back and into your mouth. You might want to go a bit slowly, though.”
She had been in the process of doing just that until she heard his warning, and she lowered the bottle. “Do you think I’ve never done this before?”
“Pretty much.”
She felt a little insulted. Just because she was a good student didn’t mean she had spent her entire life in a library, after all. “Hmph!” was all she got out before she took a long swallow - one far bigger than she would have done initially - and placed the bottle back between them. She stubbornly suppressed a cough.
“Impressive.” He reached a long thin arm out and grabbed the bottle, helping himself to a healthy swig before putting the bottle back between them. “Your turn.”
She wondered why he was still challenging her when she had made it clear that she was joining him, but leaned forward to pick up the bottle all the same.
He laughed as she took another swallow. “While that’s still impressive, that’s not what I meant.” She looked at him quizzically as she lowered the bottle. “I still want to know what you’re hiding. It’s only fair, you know. I’ve showed you mine.”
She couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled out, and wondered if Firewhiskey could kick in so quickly. “It’s going to take a great deal more than a few sips of Firewhiskey for you to get me to reveal what I’m hiding.”
Scorpius’s face lit up. “Ooh, a challenge. I love a good challenge.”
She handed the bottle back to him and waited for him to take a sip. “You’d be shocked if you knew the half of all I’m hiding.”
He wasn’t as shocked as she had hoped, but she accepted it well enough when that naughty smirk of his returned. “I’m not so sure I’d be shocked as much as delighted.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “You’ve only upped the ante here, you know.”
“I have?”
“Mmm.” He took another swallow and placed the bottle back down, which Rose was quick to pick back up. “Because now I’m determined to find out not only what you still have behind your back, but all your other dirty little secrets, too.”
She took a small sip. “What makes you think my secrets are dirty?”
“Head girl? Top of the class? A reputed whiz at all things Arithmancy and favorite of every professor here? You’ve got quite the reputation to uphold there, Rose, so if you have secrets, they’re dirty all right.”
While his tone was playful, the words cut more deeply than he probably imagined. She was tired, so tired of upholding the reputation he was describing, and - she knew - mocking. She didn’t want him know that, though, and forced a sly smile onto her face. “Fine. So they’re dirty. But what makes you think they’re so little?”
That finally nearly made him choke on his Firewhiskey, and she felt triumphant. Until he began to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“You!” He took another swig and handed her the bottle. “I mean, all right, you’re up here when you’re supposed to be at the lake party you organized. You’re helping yourself quite easily to my Firewhiskey, so you’re not opposed to tying one on, at least occasionally. And you’re still hiding something behind your back. But come on. Just how bad could you have been, hmm? Have you been robbing stores in Hogsmeade on your weekends off? Leading a ring of kidnappers perhaps? No one gets grades like yours while harboring massive, rotten secrets.”
He was still laughing, but she had lost her humor. Just who did he think he was? She might not be disaffected like him, or break the rules as easily, but there was more to her than being a good student. Why was it that no one seemed to notice that?
She put the bottle down on the table. “Well, perhaps I’ve overstayed my welcome.” She moved to put her robes back on, and was surprised to feel his hand on her arm, stilling her movements.
“Don’t. I’m sorry.”
She looked up at him, frowning.
“I mean it. I didn’t mean to insult you. Please stay.”
“Why? So you can mock me some more?”
“No,” he insisted, shaking his head. “No. People like you don’t really hang out with me, and I’m used to getting away with whatever I do and say. But I can be polite, I swear.”
“People like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Respectable people. And you are respectable, really. Please stay.”
She looked at him askance. “I’m not sure…”
“Come on. We’ve been in this school together for years, and we barely know each other. We’re leaving in a few days, and this could be our last chance.” She continued to look at him, noticing, despite her anger, just how blue his eyes were. “How bad can I be?” He smiled. “I’m already sharing my Firewhiskey with you, after all.”
He had a point. “Well, so long as you promise not to insult me.”
He nodded, still smiling. “Good. Good. So… er… let’s get back to the matter at hand, shall we?”
“And what’s that?”
“What you’re still hiding behind your back. Here.” He handed her back the bottle and sat back. She took a small sip. “I could try to guess, but I think you really ought to just show me.”
She shook her head. “No way. It’s too embarrassing.”
“So? I showed you mine, and it was embarrassing.”
She scoffed. “And just what, exactly, is so embarrassing about a bottle of Firewhiskey?”
“It’s not the liquor itself, silly. I was planning to get good and pissed up here, all by myself, while my friends are all at the party by the lake. That’s rather embarrassing, don’t you think?”
She hadn’t thought of that. She met his gaze, and was struck by its openness. Unable to hold his gaze, she glanced around the room for a minute, realizing that the Firewhiskey was kicking in, making her more comfortable with the conversation than she would have been otherwise. If he had opened up to her and taken a risk, shouldn’t she?
“Fine, but you have to promise not to laugh.”
“I won’t.”
She steeled her nerves and reached behind her, her hand closing upon the little box. She put it between them on the table, next to the bottle.
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
She looked at him, and could see that he was trying hard not to laugh. He bit his lip and leaned forward, picking up the box and turning it over in his hands. “Daydream Charm. Ancient Japan Edition.” He read the package. “I’ve never tried one. Are they any good?”
“Yeah, they are.”
“And you use these often?”
“Yep, I do.” She waited for him to laugh, or follow up with a question, but he only looked at her, his face blank. “For twenty minutes, it’s like living someone else’s life, actually.”
He leaned back quietly, looking thoughtful. It wasn’t the reaction she had been expecting. After several minutes in which they both sat silently, he spoke softly. “It seems we have something in common, then.”
“What do you mean?”
“That we’re both looking to escape for a bit. Me with the whiskey, you with the charm.”
She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she took another swig of the Firewhiskey to avoid talking. He reached out, gesturing for the bottle, and stared at her while he took a few slow sips. She looked toward the window, feeling exposed.
His voice startled her. “So what do you want to escape from?”
“What?”
“With the charm? What’s got you so dissatisfied?”
She wasn’t ready to answer that question, not at all. They might be getting along, and getting drunk, but she wasn’t about to pour her heart out to someone she barely knew.
“Why don’t we change the subject? Talk of something a little less…”
“Personal?”
She nodded.
“Sure. We could talk about school and classes, I suppose, although I think we both know I won’t have much good to say.”
She laughed lightly, and he smiled at her. “I think I can handle it.”
Beginning with school, their conversation meandered through all sorts of topics, and all the while they continued sipping at the bottle. Rose discovered that Scorpius was witty and clever, far more so than his grades or behavior in class had led most to believe. She wasn’t entirely surprised, though, because although he never studied or did homework, she had noticed that he was consistently among the first to perfect any practical magic. He was also - her drunken brain reminded her frequently - damned good looking, and she contemplated throwing herself at him several times. She wondered how he’d react if she did.
Eventually, the conversation turned serious, toward the fast approaching future. She told him all about the job at Gringott’s she was to start in November, and how excited she was; and about the internship at the Ministry that her mother had got her for the interim, and how she was less than thrilled at that prospect. In her opinion, she had earned some time off.
“Then come with me,” Scorpius offered.
“Come with you where?”
“Who knows?”
She snorted drunkenly. “Come with you who knows where?”
“Exactly.”
She snorted again. “Are you taking a gap year or something?”
“Or something.”
“Explain.”
“Well,” he slurred only slightly as he spoke, which was impressive considering that half the bottle had been emptied. “A gap year is when someone takes a specific amount of time, like, you know, a year, to travel between events, usually school and a job, yeah?”
“Yeah,” she snickered.
“Then I’m taking something.”
She dissolved again into giggles. “Explain.”
“Well, I’m leaving in a week - one week exactly, actually - so that’s at the end of school, but I’m not coming back to a job or anything. If at all.”
“Really?”
“Mmm.”
“And your parents are all right with this?”
He snorted. “No, not at all. They think I’m wasting my life.”
“But they’re letting you go anyway?” She was amazed. Her parents would never let her do that.
“They don’t have a choice, do they? I’m of age.”
“But,” she was still confused, “then why are they paying?”
“They’re not.” He grew serious. “My Granmum Cissy passed away fifth year, and she left me a vault full of gold. I’m rather ridiculously wealthy, even without my father’s money. So, since I don’t need a job, and since no job looks at all interesting, I bought myself an open Eurasian MagiRail Pass.”
“I’m sorry about your grandmother. I didn’t know.”
“S’alright. I don’t much talk about it. I really liked her, though.”
“Oh.” The mood had become quite somber, and Rose didn’t know what to say. She had never lost anyone close to her.
He gave her half a shrug. “Don’t worry. I’m fine. But you really should come with me. It’ll be fun.”
She tucked her hair behind her ears, still feeling awkward.
“I mean it. I’ll get another MagiRail Pass, and you can meet me at King’s Cross next week. Platform 4 and 5/8.”
Rose gave a little smile as she shook her head. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Why not?” He sat up a bit taller, and took another small swig from the bottle. “You don’t want that internship, you said so yourself, and you know you did well on your NEWT’s, so you can always find another job when you get back, although the goblins would wait for you if you asked, and you know it.”
“Well, it’s nice of you to offer. So, er, where are you going?”
“Dunno, really.” He shrugged. “I start in London, go to Dover, catch the ferry to Calais, then on to Paris, and from there I have no idea. I’ll go wherever the mood strikes, and stay as long as I like, then move on.”
“That’s it? No plan?” She shook her head in disbelief. “That’s incredible.”
“It will be.” He smiled broadly at her, a gleam in his eye. “Come with me.”
She sat silently for a minute, contemplating the impossibility of it. No itinerary, no plans, no responsibilities… it sounded wonderful. And incredibly tempting. Her parents would murder her, though, for taking off like that, not to mention that she’d be taking off with a Malfoy of all people. Still, she closed her eyes and leaned back, letting the idea of it play around her brain. It really sounded delicious.
She opened her eyes when she heard him sigh, and found him staring at her, far more seriously than she expected.
“So I take it that’s a no?”
She shook her head. “It sounds very tempting, but I don’t think I can.”
“Yeah,” he said slowly, “when I think about it, I shouldn’t be surprised that you’d refuse me.”
That made her sit up. “Why’s that?”
“Because, you know you’re too good for something like that.”
“What do you mean I know I’m too good?” Her hands were fisted, and she put them tightly to her hips.
He shrugged. “Nothing, but we both know you wouldn’t just hang about aimlessly with someone like me.”
“What?”
He just shrugged again, silently.
“I’m hanging out with you now, aren’t I?”
“Relax, there’s no need to be offended. But we’ve been at school for years, and you’ve never bothered to really speak to me before, that’s all.”
“I speak to you!”
“I don’t mean that you’re silent.” He rolled his eyes.
“I’ve never given you a single cross word!”
“True, but you’ve never really spoken to me - you know, as if you found me interesting - at all. You are perfectly polite, and that’s all.”
She was aghast. Was that true? And even if it were, was it her fault alone?
“Yeah, well, you’ve never gone out of your way to seek me out, either.”
“That’s true, too,” he conceded quickly. “But I’m not you.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means that you’re outgoing, kind to everyone, well-liked all around. I’m not comfortable with people the way you are.”
“And that’s my fault?”
“No, but you’re friendly with everyone who’s shy or quiet, that’s all I’m saying.” He shrugged again, as if it were no big deal. She was too upset to gather her thoughts. “Look, I’m not surprised you turned me down here, that you wouldn’t find it possible. You’ve got better things to do with your life than taking off with me on some vague journey.” He looked at her evenly, his voice steady and casual, as if he were simply discussing the weather.
“Are you accusing me of being a snob or something?”
“I never said that.” But the stare he was giving her told a completely different story.
“That’s rich, coming from you! I’m not the one who walks around school as if everything is beneath him!”
He scoffed. “Is that what you think I do?”
“It’s what I know you do! You’re late to class if you don’t skive off completely, you’re too good for homework and studying, you’re even too good to go with your friends to the end-of-year party!”
He laughed again, and Rose thought she might burst a blood vessel.
“You know, Rose, for someone who’s never bothered to really speak to me before, you seem to know an awful lot about me. Have you been watching me?” His smirk was back, but this time Rose did not find it playful.
He was right - she had been watching him for months, but she wasn’t about to admit that now. She sat there, her drunken mind searching for some sort of retort, some way to save face, when he broke the silence.
“There’s nothing wrong with admitting that you’ve been watching me Rose.” His voice was still casual. “Think about it - how could I know you’ve been watching me if I haven’t been watching you as well?”
“Where do you get off… What are you talking… Just… You’ve been watching me?”
He chuckled. “Don’t pretend you haven’t noticed.”
Confused thoughts were whirring around her drunken brain. What was she supposed to do now? He had just invited her to come away with him and travel around the world, and then insulted her, insinuating that she was a snob. She didn’t know how to make sense of what was happening, or how to defend herself exactly, so she did what she knew worked well in arguments: she turned the tables on him.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
She sighed dramatically. “Why, exactly, have you been watching me?”
He laughed again. She wanted to punch him for it. “I would think that’s obvious,” he drawled.
“Well it’s not. So why?”
He shrugged a lazy shoulder. “You’re a very good-looking girl, Rose, and you’ve got the best set of tits at Hogwarts.” She spluttered loudly and crossed her arms firmly over her chest.
“How dare you! How dare you even…” She couldn’t continue. Making up her mind instantly to leave instantly, she stood with every intention of opening the trap door and climbing down that ladder.
That intention was thwarted, though, at her first step. She was drunk, far too drunk, to climb down an old rope ladder that swung dangerously even when she was sober. She looked to one of the open windows, and determined to walk over to it, get some fresh air, and sober up so she could leave. If he left in the interim, even better. She couldn’t believe she had wasted so much of her afternoon on someone so rude, so… so…
She tried to walk casually over to the window, to pretend to be less angry and affected than she was, to put of a front of smooth indifference so he would not know he had got to her, but she stomped, stumbled and swayed as she made her way over. Reaching the open window, she grabbed onto the sill and put her head out slightly, breathing in the fresh air. It would take some time for her to sober up, and probably more time for her to calm her anger. She would just take deep breaths for however long it took.
After some time she heard him get up, and listened for the telltale thud of the trapdoor, but it didn’t come. She stared resolutely out of the window, refusing to look at what he was up to.
“Rose.”
His voice was soft, and she knew he was standing right behind her. She turned around slowly to see him holding a cup of tea and a saucer. “What’s this?”
He smirked only slightly, which she appreciated, considering what a foolish question it was. “It’s tea.”
“Why?”
“Look, we’ve both drunk quite a bit of Firewhiskey, and we’re going to be horribly dehydrated and hung over if that’s all we have.”
She looked skeptically down at the cup.
“Take it.” His voice was still gentle as he gestured carefully with the steaming cup. She still looked at it suspiciously. “It’s not poisoned, I swear.”
She let out a small laugh despite herself, and then looked up at him, cocking an eyebrow.
He sighed, and then put on a small smile. “Come on. It’s a peace offering. I thought someone as clever as you would figure that out.”
She reached out and took hold of the saucer. “Thanks.”
He cocked his head toward where they had been sitting, and she nodded. She walked over slowly, careful not to spill, and sat back on her pouf while he went back to his sofa, where he had a cup for himself and a teapot waiting. They blew on the steam and sipped at their drinks slowly.
“I’m sorry.”
She took a look at him.
“I had no right to speak to you like that, especially about, you know,” he put down his cup and gestured vaguely at her chest.
She blushed. “Thanks.”
“Not that’s it not true.” She immediately shot him an angry look. “No, wait. I mean it’s true that you’re pretty, you know, and that I’ve noticed.”
“Oh.” Rose felt her blush getting worse.
“But I’m not the only one who looks. Surely you’ve noticed that.”
“I, er…”
“Sorry. I promised before that I could be polite, and I’ve blown it again.” He let out a breath and scratched at the back of his head. “I’ll be polite, I swear. And you were right also when you said that I never tried to get to know you, either, so I shouldn’t blame you for it.”
She looked at him, and he looked sincere. She could at least meet him halfway. “No, you were right. I’m not a snob, I’m really not, but maybe I haven’t been fair to you over the years. I never gave you a chance, so I’m sorry too.”
His eyebrows went up. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.” They sat for a few moments in silence, until he reached into the robes he had left lying on the sofa next to him. “I’ve got a bag of crisps in here somewhere. Would you like some?” He dug them out and offered her the bag.
She gave him a polite smile. “Yes, that would be nice, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She took a few and munched thoughtfully. Why hadn’t she ever really tried to be friends with him before now? She thought immediately of her parents’ reaction, but then wondered if they would ever really object to any friend she made. After washing a few more crisps down with a sip of tea, she spoke softly. “Do you think we should talk about our parents?”
“Well, if we’re going to be friends, I suppose we should.”
And talk they did. They both knew of the roles their parents played during the war, but they focused mainly on how they had felt when they learned of these things as kids. Rose filled him in on some of the details about what happened to her parents while they were searching for the Horcruxes, and he in turn filled her in on the tortures his family had suffered at Voldemort’s hand. An hour later, after a few more cups of tea, another bag of crisps, and some more sips at the Firewhiskey, Rose felt as if she could tell him anything.
“You really should come with me, you know.”
A small smile blossomed on Rose’s face. “Are we back to this?”
He grinned. “We are. Come with me.”
“I thought we agreed it was impossible.”
“Actually, we didn’t. I agreed that I knew you would see it that way.” His smile was charming enough to make her giggle. “It’ll be great.”
“I wish I could.” That, she knew, was the absolute truth.
“Yeah, me too. You know, all this stuff about the past is part of the reason I’m going.”
“Really? Why?”
His smile faltered. “It’s not always easy being a Malfoy in Britain. There are still shops where I’m refused service for things that happened before I was born.”
“You’re kidding!”
“No, I wish I were. It’s hard to explain, because I don’t necessarily blame the shop owners, even if it’s humiliating. But I guess you’ve never had to deal with anything like that.”
Rose considered this. “No, I haven’t. But I’ve had the reverse.”
“The reverse? What, do shop owners see you on the street and pull you inside and give you stuff for free?”
She laughed. “Not exactly, but you’re not too far off. They don’t pull us in, but my whole life I’ve gotten this, ‘Oh, your parents are so wonderful, they helped save us all, and so on and so on. You must be so proud.’ And it’s not as if my parents don’t put any pressure on me to succeed, because believe me they do - especially my mother - but I’ve always felt that if I were bad or if I screwed up somehow that I wouldn’t just be disappointing them, but I’d be letting down the entire wizarding world as well.”
“Wow.” Scorpius sat back. “I never even considered that could happen.”
“It does. And then I get the free stuff.”
He laughed. “See? That’s another reason you should come with me. It’ll take all that pressure off.”
She laughed and shook her head. He caught her gaze, and her breath hitched. He really was too handsome for her own good. His offer was more tempting by the minute.
“Flip over your cup.”
“Sorry?”
He gestured to her discarded tea. “Flip your cup into your saucer. I’m going to read your tea leaves.”
“You? You actually believe in all that?”
He scoffed. “Not the way you’re thinking of it. But Divination is one of the four courses I took at the NEWT level. I can do this.”
She giggled. “Really?”
His eyes were bright as he gestured for her to join him on the sofa. “Yes. Now get over here and flip your cup.”
She stood, more steady on her feet than she had been earlier - the tea and the crisps had done her a world of good, even if she was still drunk - and sat on the couch, making sure she wasn’t too close. She knew that getting too close was dangerous at this point. Or maybe a great idea?
“Now, swirl the cup three times with your left hand, and then turn the cup over into the saucer.”
She giggled as she did so. “I cannot believe that you actually believe in this stuff.”
“I believe in this as much as I do anything.”
“What do you mean?” She picked up the cup and handed it to him.
“Well, first off, I don’t believe in much, really, so this has as good of a shot of making sense as anything else.” He turned the handle of the cup toward himself and stared into it as he spoke, his voice deep and smooth. “This is really just inductive reasoning, which, while not good enough for those who believe in rational systems of philosophy, seems to suit human behavior well enough.”
“Rational systems of philosophy?” She bit back a laugh, as she barely knew what he meant, and the alcohol certainly wasn’t helping. What was clear, though, was that he was far more clever than he ever let on in class, and this was definitely turning her on.
“Yeah. Many people try to figure out life with facts and logic, but really, when it comes down to it, most people don’t act logically most of the time. We’re far more likely to follow our emotions than our reason. Now, I don’t think tea leaves can really predict historical events or the future or anything, but when it comes to divining human actions, this has as much of a shot of being true as anything else. I read the symbol and induce the meaning. It’s simple.”
Rose gaped at him, which he didn’t notice as he as still intently staring at her cup.
“Now, this is an interesting cup.”
“Is it?”
“Oh yeah. You’ve got some definitive things in here, and some really ambivalent ones.”
“I do?”
“See here?” He pointed to a clump of leaves that looked to Rose like, well, a clump. “This one is really good for describing you - the bumblebee. It means that you’re cheerful and that you make the best of everything.”
“Really?”
“Hm-mm.” He looked up from the cup and caught her eye. “But when coupled with other things, it can indicate travel.” He smiled and waggled his eyebrows at her.
She laughed. “You’re lying.”
“No, not at all, actually. Now this one here,” he pointed at another clump, and Rose had to lean closer to see it. He even smelled good. “This is a jug, which means you’ll have good health. And this one,” he pointed to another clump, “is a foot. That means that you’re going to have a foot injury, or that someone you know will.” He laughed. “Okay, so some of these are more valuable than others.”
She laughed softly, and leaned even closer while he continued. “This rocking chair here means that you’re contemplating a new idea about which you have your doubts.”
That struck close to home, Rose thought, but she wasn’t going to admit it.
“And this one, the kite, right next to the chair? That one is either a sign of a lengthy voyage that will lead to great things or a sign of scandal.” He looked up and caught her eye again, and gave her another, very naughty smirk. “You know, if you come with me you can make both of those things come true.”
She forced a laugh as she sat back. She was far more tempted by his offer than he thought.
“So, a kite, a rocking chair, a foot, a jug, and a bee. Who knew I was so complex?” She giggled.
He did not. “I did.”
“What?”
He was staring at her again. “I knew. That’s why you need to come with me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Come on, Rose. You came up here to escape, too. Are you really satisfied with everything life is lining up for you?”
“Well, no, but I told you that before when I described that internship I’m supposed to start.”
“Then don’t take it. If you want the Gringotts job, well, fine, but come with me until November. Why waste your time in the Ministry when we could be seeing the world?”
That was an idea, she thought. A damned good one.
“And it’s not just that job, is it? Or you wouldn’t have come up here in the first place looking to activate that Daydream Charm.”
Rose stared at him, and felt as if his eyes were looking straight through her. There was no place to hide. “You’re right, I think. But I don’t know that it’s dissatisfaction with life so much as something else, something I can’t explain. I want that job, and I want a nice life and a family - you know, husband and kids and all that - but someday. I feel that if I just take the internship and the job now that there will be nothing else - that I’ll just then be looking for a husband and going on with life the way it’s supposed to be.”
“And what’s wrong with that?”
“I dunno… I do want those things someday, I think. I just want to know first that I’ve looked at my options, that I’m choosing that kind of respectable life because it’s what I really want and not what everyone expects of me.”
“Come with me.”
“I don’t know…”
“You’re different from everyone else, Rose, and I need you with me, wherever it is I wind up. It’s like that bumblebee sign - you’re not just cheerful, it’s that you really do see the best in things, in people.”
“But… I don’t…”
“You do.” His eyes were boring into her again. “Think about it. I’m immeasurably dissatisfied with my life; I admit that freely. I want to travel, to see other places and cultures, experience life, because there has got to be other ways to live, to be, outside of being the respectable British wizard my father is so determined I become. I want to find some happiness somewhere, and maybe if I see other ways of living I can start to figure out what it is that I do like. If you’re with me, you’ll see all the good stuff and then I know I won’t miss it.”
“But, how… I mean, why do you assume I’ll help you find happiness? Just because of a bumblebee?”
“No, no, it’s not the cup - it’s you. You’re clever, Rose, and a good student, but that’s not why you were named Head Girl, and that’s not why everyone likes you.”
She was stunned.
Scorpius leaned forward. “You’re nice to everybody. When someone is sick or injured and stuck in hospital, you’re the one who makes a card and has everyone sign it. No one else would bother to do it. When you talk to the shy kids before class - like that little Steven Pritchard? - they light up. I swear that Steven even sits up straighter when you’re around. And that cow, Evie Templeton, complains about everything unless you’re around. I don’t think you realize the effect you have on everyone else. You make people see what’s good, Rose. You make the people around you better.”
She was floored. No one had ever said anything like this to her before, and her heart was hammering wildly inside her chest.
He whispered. “Come with me.”
“It’s always you, you know.”
He looked at her quizzically. “What?”
She tilted her head to indicate the box on the table. “In the Daydream Charms - with me. It’s always you.”
Before her drunken brain could even register what he was doing, he placed the tea cup down on the table, reached both hands out to cup her face, turned his body fully towards her, lowered his head and kissed her soundly on the mouth.
And kissed her damned well, she thought. His lips were soft and his tongue was insistent. He coaxed her mouth open quickly, his tongue gently sliding in to caress the top and side of hers. As her hands slid up his arms and wrapped around his neck, she thought that something this good really ought to be illegal. When he pulled back slightly, she followed him eagerly. In no time at all, he had pressed her down on the sofa and was lying on top of her, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other tracing her side gently from her thigh to her shoulder. When he pulled his mouth off hers to trail kisses across her jaw and down her neck, she let her head fall back and ran her fingers through the silkiness of his hair, playing with it at the nape of his neck.
He felt amazing - he was amazing. Every last kiss and every last touch were sending shivers throughout her body, and Rose thought there was no way she would be able to stop this. She wasn’t a virgin, but had only had sex with her last boyfriend, and that was only after they were together for months. She had never figured herself the type to have a drunken shag - and they weren’t even on an official first date! - but the feeling of his hands on her was overpowering every last thought of propriety.
She pulled his face back to hers and kissed him again and again, one hand still in his hair, the other exploring the muscles of his back and shoulders. The hand tracing her side was becoming increasingly bold, her skirt slowly working its way up her thigh, his thumb sweeping over the side of her breast as it worked its way over her clothing. She moaned into his mouth, angling her head to deepen the kiss.
And then he was gone. In an instant, he was no longer pressing her into the sofa cushions, his mouth had been cruelly taken away, and she opened her eyes to see him digging through the pockets of his robes. Removing his wand, he silently cast a charm at himself and sat still for several seconds before turning to her and repeating the movement.
She felt a rush a cool air, her eyes squeezed shut for a moment, and then she felt the haze in her mind lift. She blinked, and noticed her eyesight increase in clarity, her mind better able to process her surroundings.
She straightened up, still panting from the intense snog. “Sobering charm?”
He nodded.
“Why?”
Scorpius turned to her, his eyes boring into her yet again. “Because I want to make sure.” When she wrinkled her brow at him, he continued. “Everything I said today, and this,” he gestured between them, “it all means something to me. And not many things do. I’m not just drunk and fooling around, and,” he swallowed heavily, “and…”
“You want to know if I mean this too?”
He nodded.
She didn’t even need to think about her answer. Reaching out, she cupped his cheek gently. “I mean this.”
It was all the reassurance he needed, and he immediately leaned forward over her again, pressing her back into the cushions once more, his mouth demanding and his hands seemingly everywhere at once. He detached his mouth from hers and started kissing toward her ear again.
“Come with me.”
She shivered. He kissed his way down her neck, his breath hot against her skin.
“Come with me.”
She clutched onto him more tightly, and when he worked his way back up to her mouth, she kissed him quickly and began her own journey across his throat, tasting the salt of his skin. He was becoming bolder, one hand was now caressing her breast through her shirt, and as their mouths met again he began to grind against her hip. She felt his erection, and gyrated her hips to meet his. No longer drunk, Rose still didn’t think she could stop.
But he did. He moved his hand down to her hip and slowed their kissing, staring into her eyes before rolling on to his side, his back against the back of the sofa, breathing heavily. “I think I need to calm down a bit.” He kept one arm around her shoulders, and brought his other hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose as he breathed deeply. They wriggled around until she was nestled under his arm, her head leaning on his chest.
Come with me.
She brought a hand up to her collarbone, tracing where he had whispered the words into her skin.
She had nearly five months until her job at Gringotts began. She could see a great deal of the world in five months.
Come with me.
But it was crazy, wasn’t it? She would have to write to the Ministry and cancel her internship, and write to her parents. Her parents! They would be furious, no doubt. But didn’t they tell her all the time how much they trusted her? She would be forcing them to prove it, and even if they were furious at first, they would accept her choice. They would have to, after all - she was an adult.
Come with me.
She wanted to. She glanced up at Scorpius, his eyes still shut, his blond fringe falling over his eyelids. What did they have in common? Some dissatisfaction with life, one incredible afternoon, a great deal of as-of-yet unfulfilled lust, and… And?
What if it didn’t work out? What if, after a few days or weeks, she realized it had been a mistake? Well, then she could take the train home, admit she had been wrong, and her family would take her back. She knew that. He had a vault full of gold as a safety net; she had her family.
He was literally offering her the world. How could she refuse it?
His hand, the one not trapped by her body, reached over and began stroking her arm gently. She closed her eyes and listened to him breathe, feeling the gentle wind through the window play over them where they lie together. Outside, it was sunset.
They would be lovers. The first night they were traveling, most likely in Paris, they would be together, completely. Rose smiled at the thought.
Come with me.
She could do this. It was sudden, exciting, crazy, and risky, and she wanted it more than she had ever wanted anything. They could do this.
She glanced back up at him to see him staring down at her, his eyes so blue. She tilted her chin up and gave him a soft kiss.
They would do this.
The decision made, she felt positively giddy. She reached and took his hand from her arm, holding it in both of hers. It was large, so much larger than her own, with long, elegant fingers. She turned it palm up and brought it closer to her face.
“Scorpius?”
“Hmm?”
“Since you read my tea leaves, it seems only fair I should read your palm.”
He chuckled, and she felt the vibrations in his chest. “You’re going to read my palm? Rose, you’ve never even taken Divination.”
She shrugged lightly. “I think I can manage. See this line here?” She traced a finger down his palm.
“My line of head?”
She scoffed. “No, goodness you’re terrible at this. This is your line of false aloofness.”
He laughed harder, jiggling her about slightly as he did. “I’m not falsely aloof, Rose - I am aloof.”
She held back her laughter so she could speak. “No, you’re not. See all these little lines that come off it and intersect through it?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, those are the things you care about, despite appearances.”
“You know,” he said slowly, “you may be better at this than I thought.”
“See? I knew it. And do you see this line here?” She traced another line with her finger.
“My line of heart?”
“No, wrong again.” He laughed. “This,” she spoke more strongly, “is your line of sexual attraction.”
“Is it now!”
“Of course. See how it’s long and deep?”
He laughed harder, and had trouble getting his words out. “My line of sexual attraction is long and deep?”
“Yep.” She giggled loudly, and felt him press a small kiss to her crown.
“I think I can live with that.”
“Good - because you’ll have to. It’s written in your palm, after all.” She traced another line. “But it’s this line here that’s the most important one.”
His laughter rang out again, shaking her. “Rose, that’s not even a line! That’s a scar from when my knife slipped in Potions fifth year.”
She laughed, but kept going. “That’s why it’s the most important one! It’s self-inflicted! See how it’s shaped like an L, with this short part here that comes to a point and then changes direction?”
“Yes, I see.” He continued laughing.
“Well, this is the line of journey.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm. See, this short part,” she traced it with her fingertip, “is the part where you’ve made all your plans - thought of going, got the rail pass, anticipated what you might do. But then the line gets to this point, and everything changes direction, meaning your journey will take a path that diverges from what you initially thought.”
“It will?” She nodded. “And why’s that?”
“Because this point is the most important part. This point in the line is today.”
“Today.”
“Yes.” She giggled as she stared up at him.
“Are you going to tell me why it’s the most important part?”
She looked straight into his eyes as she spoke, lacing the fingers of one hand through his. “This is the most important part,” she whispered, “because this is the point where I say yes, I’ll come with you.”
Author: potterhead37
Gift For: i_am_girlfriday
Summary: An accidental run-in at the end of seventh year could have long term repercussions for Scorpius and Rose.
Rating: R
Warnings: None
Word count: 8,901
A/N: Information about tesseography comes from a wonderful website, www.readingtealeaves.info. Beta work done by still_infinity.
Rose pushed hard against the trap door, making it fall open with a loud thud. She climbed the last rungs of the rope ladder, and, looking down, walked to the open side of the door, heaving it up to let if fall shut with a nearly identical thud. Reaching into the pocket of her robes, she pulled out the small box, its familiar shape a comfort in the palm of her hand.
She looked down at the box, glancing at the unfortunately accurate warning about drool she had read many times before. She’d give herself twenty minutes of pure escape, and then join her friends by the lake. NEWT’s were finally over, and they were all celebrating the five days remaining before they left Hogwarts for good. They would tease her, no doubt, for being late for a celebration she had planned, but she couldn’t care less. She was going to open the box, travel through her mind to ancient Japan, and let the dashing - and most likely blond - samurai save her from mortal peril.
At least that was plan, until she heard a distinctly purposeful cough from behind her.
She whipped around, hiding the box behind her back. For a moment, she wondered if she somehow accidentally set off the Daydream Charm wandlessly, because sitting across the room with a smirk across his chiseled features was the young man who was the star of the magically enhanced fantasies she was so addicted to.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded.
Scorpius kept his smirk firmly in place as his eyebrows rose. “I could ask you the same.”
“Oh,” Rose took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I wasn’t looking when I entered, and you startled me. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here.”
His smirk grew into a small smile. “Nor was I.” He cocked his head. “I’m surprised you’re not already down by the lake.”
Rose shrugged, trying rather desperately to appear casual. “I was planning to go shortly. You’re not going?”
He shrugged too, and his smirk gave Rose the feeling there was a bit of mockery in it. “Dunno.”
Rose looked at him for another moment, but when it became clear that he wasn’t going to elaborate, she looked down at her feet. She felt silly, her hands still clutching the Daydream Charm behind her back. Telling herself to stop being ridiculous, that there was no way he could have seen it, and absolutely no way that he could know he would have been in it, she looked up at him again. He was still staring at her.
“What have you got there?” His voice was casual, somewhere between playful and teasing.
“Nothing,” she lied.
He laughed. She liked his laugh. “I’ll tell you what,” he offered, “you tell me what you have behind your back, and I’ll tell you what’s behind mine.”
“Oh please,” she answered, forcing herself to keep her voice light. “As if you have anything. I’m not going to fall for that.”
He shrugged, and this time Rose thought he was definitely being playful. “Suit yourself.”
She nodded, noticing that she hadn’t moved since he had spoken to her. Should she just leave?
“Well,” he drawled, “if you’re going to stay, you might as well make yourself comfortable.” She looked at him stupidly, unsure of just how to act, as he gestured to the seat across from him. These days she always felt so unsure of herself in his presence, and it drove her mad. “I mean,” he continued, his voice still silky and slow, “I’m assuming that you came up here to be comfortable, right? It’s nice, after all.” He smiled now, no trace of a smirk, and she felt a bit reassured. “Way up at the top of the tower, no noise, all these poufs and sofas to choose from… it’s a perfect place to escape to.”
He was exactly right; she had come to the Divination classroom for those exact reasons. She didn’t like that he had guessed that so easily, but then figured he must have come for the same reasons. Keeping her hands with the box behind her back, she walked across the room and sat on a pouf opposite to where he was sprawled on a small sofa, over the back of which his robes were slung, leaving him in a tee shirt and trousers. There was a small tea table between them.
“Well?” He asked.
“Well what?”
“Do I get to see what you’re hiding there?”
Rose thought for an instant that she should say there was nothing, but knew it was too late to lie outright. Again. “I thought you said you were hiding something, too.”
“Oh, I am,” he said flippantly.
“Well?” She couldn’t stop the smirk that grew as she echoed him.
He let out a small chuckle. “No, I don’t think I can show you what I’ve got.”
“Why not?”
He nodded his head towards her robes. “Because what I have is contraband, and you’re still wearing that Head Girl’s badge. I may not be going to all the end-of-year festivities, but I’m not so stupid as to want to spend my last four days here in detention.”
Rose regarded him carefully. There was a mischievous gleam in his eye, and he seemed completely at ease. He always seemed completely at ease to her, though, even when being reprimanded for not completing his homework or for arriving to class a full fifteen minutes late without an excuse. This behavior of his had been, when she was younger, a source of irritation. At some point during this last year, though, her irritation had changed to curiosity, and she had started to yearn to know how he could be so off-handed about everything. Over the past few months, she had grown to be absolutely intrigued, and this was coupled with a serious amount of attraction. She could not figure him out, and she had become more and more desperate to know what made him tick, and to get close enough to touch it herself.
Well, here was her opportunity; with only four days remaining at school, she knew she might not ever have another shot at it. She let the box fall to the cushion behind her, then reached up to unclasp her robes. She couldn’t stop her smile when his eyes flew open at her movements. Shrugging the robes off, she revealed a soft yellow tee shirt and a cotton, floral skirt.
“Now,” she challenged him, “it seems I’m not Head Girl at the moment. So what have you got?”
He stared at her - rather appreciatively, she thought - before chuckling again. “Why Rose Weasley, are you suggesting we play a game of ‘I’ll-show-you-mine-if-you-show-me-yours’?”
They laughed, and his laughter was deep and hearty, which betrayed the cool exterior he almost always projected.
“Perhaps not,” she finally choked out.
“That’s really too bad,” he said, still regarding her appreciatively. “Maybe we could start more slowly and build up to that. How about I ask what a nice girl like you is doing in a place like this?”
“You could do that,” she answered, “and I can counter with a ‘so, you come here often?’”
He laughed for another minute before answering. “Actually, I do.”
“You do?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Trelawney’s so old it’s a miracle that she even gets up here for class, so there’s little risk of her coming in, and the Prefects are too lazy to climb that stupid ladder. It’s a good place to be alone.”
That stopped Rose’s laughter. That he was so open about wanting to be alone came as a surprise, to say the least, and now she felt guilty for intruding. “Oh. I didn’t realize. I could go if you’d rather.”
“No,” his answer was immediate. “I wasn’t expecting to have your company this afternoon, but that doesn’t make it unwelcome. I actually really like surprises.”
She was glad that he wanted her to stay, and that she had stumbled upon him in the first place. She wanted to stay, and liked the feeling of throwing caution to the wind somehow, hanging out with a bloke she lusted after but didn’t really know, as opposed to being with her friends, as expected.
“Since that’s the case,” she said, “and since we’re here, why don’t you show me what you claim to have hidden behind your back?”
“You think I’m lying?”
“No, I wouldn’t use so strong a word. I think you’re bluffing in order to see what I have.”
“Am I?”
“Mm-hmm.”
In a slow but fluid motion, Scorpius leaned forward and reached behind his back without looking, pulling out a tall bottle. Rose wasn’t sure if she were more surprised that there was anything at all or that it was a nearly full bottle of Firewhiskey. He stared levelly at her. It was a challenge. She may have taken off her official robes and badge, but they both knew that it was her responsibility to confiscate it and report him. She looked at the bottle, weighing her options. She could do as she was supposed to, but that would bring this chance meeting to an end. Or she could take the challenge he was laying at her feet.
She reached out and took up the bottle; it was capped, but had been opened, and a few sips’ worth were missing. She could feel his gaze, and it thrilled her. She had come up here to be alone, to escape for a few minutes, and while her plans had not included getting drunk, it suddenly didn’t sound so bad. What, really, did she have to lose?
She unscrewed the cap and looked back at Scorpius. “There’s a large stack of tea cups over there,” she said. “Should I summon us a couple?”
A broad smile spread across his features. “Now, now, Firewhiskey was not made for tea cups.”
“What do you suggest?” She unscrewed the cap.
“I suggest you tilt that open bottle back and into your mouth. You might want to go a bit slowly, though.”
She had been in the process of doing just that until she heard his warning, and she lowered the bottle. “Do you think I’ve never done this before?”
“Pretty much.”
She felt a little insulted. Just because she was a good student didn’t mean she had spent her entire life in a library, after all. “Hmph!” was all she got out before she took a long swallow - one far bigger than she would have done initially - and placed the bottle back between them. She stubbornly suppressed a cough.
“Impressive.” He reached a long thin arm out and grabbed the bottle, helping himself to a healthy swig before putting the bottle back between them. “Your turn.”
She wondered why he was still challenging her when she had made it clear that she was joining him, but leaned forward to pick up the bottle all the same.
He laughed as she took another swallow. “While that’s still impressive, that’s not what I meant.” She looked at him quizzically as she lowered the bottle. “I still want to know what you’re hiding. It’s only fair, you know. I’ve showed you mine.”
She couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled out, and wondered if Firewhiskey could kick in so quickly. “It’s going to take a great deal more than a few sips of Firewhiskey for you to get me to reveal what I’m hiding.”
Scorpius’s face lit up. “Ooh, a challenge. I love a good challenge.”
She handed the bottle back to him and waited for him to take a sip. “You’d be shocked if you knew the half of all I’m hiding.”
He wasn’t as shocked as she had hoped, but she accepted it well enough when that naughty smirk of his returned. “I’m not so sure I’d be shocked as much as delighted.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “You’ve only upped the ante here, you know.”
“I have?”
“Mmm.” He took another swallow and placed the bottle back down, which Rose was quick to pick back up. “Because now I’m determined to find out not only what you still have behind your back, but all your other dirty little secrets, too.”
She took a small sip. “What makes you think my secrets are dirty?”
“Head girl? Top of the class? A reputed whiz at all things Arithmancy and favorite of every professor here? You’ve got quite the reputation to uphold there, Rose, so if you have secrets, they’re dirty all right.”
While his tone was playful, the words cut more deeply than he probably imagined. She was tired, so tired of upholding the reputation he was describing, and - she knew - mocking. She didn’t want him know that, though, and forced a sly smile onto her face. “Fine. So they’re dirty. But what makes you think they’re so little?”
That finally nearly made him choke on his Firewhiskey, and she felt triumphant. Until he began to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“You!” He took another swig and handed her the bottle. “I mean, all right, you’re up here when you’re supposed to be at the lake party you organized. You’re helping yourself quite easily to my Firewhiskey, so you’re not opposed to tying one on, at least occasionally. And you’re still hiding something behind your back. But come on. Just how bad could you have been, hmm? Have you been robbing stores in Hogsmeade on your weekends off? Leading a ring of kidnappers perhaps? No one gets grades like yours while harboring massive, rotten secrets.”
He was still laughing, but she had lost her humor. Just who did he think he was? She might not be disaffected like him, or break the rules as easily, but there was more to her than being a good student. Why was it that no one seemed to notice that?
She put the bottle down on the table. “Well, perhaps I’ve overstayed my welcome.” She moved to put her robes back on, and was surprised to feel his hand on her arm, stilling her movements.
“Don’t. I’m sorry.”
She looked up at him, frowning.
“I mean it. I didn’t mean to insult you. Please stay.”
“Why? So you can mock me some more?”
“No,” he insisted, shaking his head. “No. People like you don’t really hang out with me, and I’m used to getting away with whatever I do and say. But I can be polite, I swear.”
“People like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Respectable people. And you are respectable, really. Please stay.”
She looked at him askance. “I’m not sure…”
“Come on. We’ve been in this school together for years, and we barely know each other. We’re leaving in a few days, and this could be our last chance.” She continued to look at him, noticing, despite her anger, just how blue his eyes were. “How bad can I be?” He smiled. “I’m already sharing my Firewhiskey with you, after all.”
He had a point. “Well, so long as you promise not to insult me.”
He nodded, still smiling. “Good. Good. So… er… let’s get back to the matter at hand, shall we?”
“And what’s that?”
“What you’re still hiding behind your back. Here.” He handed her back the bottle and sat back. She took a small sip. “I could try to guess, but I think you really ought to just show me.”
She shook her head. “No way. It’s too embarrassing.”
“So? I showed you mine, and it was embarrassing.”
She scoffed. “And just what, exactly, is so embarrassing about a bottle of Firewhiskey?”
“It’s not the liquor itself, silly. I was planning to get good and pissed up here, all by myself, while my friends are all at the party by the lake. That’s rather embarrassing, don’t you think?”
She hadn’t thought of that. She met his gaze, and was struck by its openness. Unable to hold his gaze, she glanced around the room for a minute, realizing that the Firewhiskey was kicking in, making her more comfortable with the conversation than she would have been otherwise. If he had opened up to her and taken a risk, shouldn’t she?
“Fine, but you have to promise not to laugh.”
“I won’t.”
She steeled her nerves and reached behind her, her hand closing upon the little box. She put it between them on the table, next to the bottle.
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
She looked at him, and could see that he was trying hard not to laugh. He bit his lip and leaned forward, picking up the box and turning it over in his hands. “Daydream Charm. Ancient Japan Edition.” He read the package. “I’ve never tried one. Are they any good?”
“Yeah, they are.”
“And you use these often?”
“Yep, I do.” She waited for him to laugh, or follow up with a question, but he only looked at her, his face blank. “For twenty minutes, it’s like living someone else’s life, actually.”
He leaned back quietly, looking thoughtful. It wasn’t the reaction she had been expecting. After several minutes in which they both sat silently, he spoke softly. “It seems we have something in common, then.”
“What do you mean?”
“That we’re both looking to escape for a bit. Me with the whiskey, you with the charm.”
She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she took another swig of the Firewhiskey to avoid talking. He reached out, gesturing for the bottle, and stared at her while he took a few slow sips. She looked toward the window, feeling exposed.
His voice startled her. “So what do you want to escape from?”
“What?”
“With the charm? What’s got you so dissatisfied?”
She wasn’t ready to answer that question, not at all. They might be getting along, and getting drunk, but she wasn’t about to pour her heart out to someone she barely knew.
“Why don’t we change the subject? Talk of something a little less…”
“Personal?”
She nodded.
“Sure. We could talk about school and classes, I suppose, although I think we both know I won’t have much good to say.”
She laughed lightly, and he smiled at her. “I think I can handle it.”
Beginning with school, their conversation meandered through all sorts of topics, and all the while they continued sipping at the bottle. Rose discovered that Scorpius was witty and clever, far more so than his grades or behavior in class had led most to believe. She wasn’t entirely surprised, though, because although he never studied or did homework, she had noticed that he was consistently among the first to perfect any practical magic. He was also - her drunken brain reminded her frequently - damned good looking, and she contemplated throwing herself at him several times. She wondered how he’d react if she did.
Eventually, the conversation turned serious, toward the fast approaching future. She told him all about the job at Gringott’s she was to start in November, and how excited she was; and about the internship at the Ministry that her mother had got her for the interim, and how she was less than thrilled at that prospect. In her opinion, she had earned some time off.
“Then come with me,” Scorpius offered.
“Come with you where?”
“Who knows?”
She snorted drunkenly. “Come with you who knows where?”
“Exactly.”
She snorted again. “Are you taking a gap year or something?”
“Or something.”
“Explain.”
“Well,” he slurred only slightly as he spoke, which was impressive considering that half the bottle had been emptied. “A gap year is when someone takes a specific amount of time, like, you know, a year, to travel between events, usually school and a job, yeah?”
“Yeah,” she snickered.
“Then I’m taking something.”
She dissolved again into giggles. “Explain.”
“Well, I’m leaving in a week - one week exactly, actually - so that’s at the end of school, but I’m not coming back to a job or anything. If at all.”
“Really?”
“Mmm.”
“And your parents are all right with this?”
He snorted. “No, not at all. They think I’m wasting my life.”
“But they’re letting you go anyway?” She was amazed. Her parents would never let her do that.
“They don’t have a choice, do they? I’m of age.”
“But,” she was still confused, “then why are they paying?”
“They’re not.” He grew serious. “My Granmum Cissy passed away fifth year, and she left me a vault full of gold. I’m rather ridiculously wealthy, even without my father’s money. So, since I don’t need a job, and since no job looks at all interesting, I bought myself an open Eurasian MagiRail Pass.”
“I’m sorry about your grandmother. I didn’t know.”
“S’alright. I don’t much talk about it. I really liked her, though.”
“Oh.” The mood had become quite somber, and Rose didn’t know what to say. She had never lost anyone close to her.
He gave her half a shrug. “Don’t worry. I’m fine. But you really should come with me. It’ll be fun.”
She tucked her hair behind her ears, still feeling awkward.
“I mean it. I’ll get another MagiRail Pass, and you can meet me at King’s Cross next week. Platform 4 and 5/8.”
Rose gave a little smile as she shook her head. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Why not?” He sat up a bit taller, and took another small swig from the bottle. “You don’t want that internship, you said so yourself, and you know you did well on your NEWT’s, so you can always find another job when you get back, although the goblins would wait for you if you asked, and you know it.”
“Well, it’s nice of you to offer. So, er, where are you going?”
“Dunno, really.” He shrugged. “I start in London, go to Dover, catch the ferry to Calais, then on to Paris, and from there I have no idea. I’ll go wherever the mood strikes, and stay as long as I like, then move on.”
“That’s it? No plan?” She shook her head in disbelief. “That’s incredible.”
“It will be.” He smiled broadly at her, a gleam in his eye. “Come with me.”
She sat silently for a minute, contemplating the impossibility of it. No itinerary, no plans, no responsibilities… it sounded wonderful. And incredibly tempting. Her parents would murder her, though, for taking off like that, not to mention that she’d be taking off with a Malfoy of all people. Still, she closed her eyes and leaned back, letting the idea of it play around her brain. It really sounded delicious.
She opened her eyes when she heard him sigh, and found him staring at her, far more seriously than she expected.
“So I take it that’s a no?”
She shook her head. “It sounds very tempting, but I don’t think I can.”
“Yeah,” he said slowly, “when I think about it, I shouldn’t be surprised that you’d refuse me.”
That made her sit up. “Why’s that?”
“Because, you know you’re too good for something like that.”
“What do you mean I know I’m too good?” Her hands were fisted, and she put them tightly to her hips.
He shrugged. “Nothing, but we both know you wouldn’t just hang about aimlessly with someone like me.”
“What?”
He just shrugged again, silently.
“I’m hanging out with you now, aren’t I?”
“Relax, there’s no need to be offended. But we’ve been at school for years, and you’ve never bothered to really speak to me before, that’s all.”
“I speak to you!”
“I don’t mean that you’re silent.” He rolled his eyes.
“I’ve never given you a single cross word!”
“True, but you’ve never really spoken to me - you know, as if you found me interesting - at all. You are perfectly polite, and that’s all.”
She was aghast. Was that true? And even if it were, was it her fault alone?
“Yeah, well, you’ve never gone out of your way to seek me out, either.”
“That’s true, too,” he conceded quickly. “But I’m not you.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means that you’re outgoing, kind to everyone, well-liked all around. I’m not comfortable with people the way you are.”
“And that’s my fault?”
“No, but you’re friendly with everyone who’s shy or quiet, that’s all I’m saying.” He shrugged again, as if it were no big deal. She was too upset to gather her thoughts. “Look, I’m not surprised you turned me down here, that you wouldn’t find it possible. You’ve got better things to do with your life than taking off with me on some vague journey.” He looked at her evenly, his voice steady and casual, as if he were simply discussing the weather.
“Are you accusing me of being a snob or something?”
“I never said that.” But the stare he was giving her told a completely different story.
“That’s rich, coming from you! I’m not the one who walks around school as if everything is beneath him!”
He scoffed. “Is that what you think I do?”
“It’s what I know you do! You’re late to class if you don’t skive off completely, you’re too good for homework and studying, you’re even too good to go with your friends to the end-of-year party!”
He laughed again, and Rose thought she might burst a blood vessel.
“You know, Rose, for someone who’s never bothered to really speak to me before, you seem to know an awful lot about me. Have you been watching me?” His smirk was back, but this time Rose did not find it playful.
He was right - she had been watching him for months, but she wasn’t about to admit that now. She sat there, her drunken mind searching for some sort of retort, some way to save face, when he broke the silence.
“There’s nothing wrong with admitting that you’ve been watching me Rose.” His voice was still casual. “Think about it - how could I know you’ve been watching me if I haven’t been watching you as well?”
“Where do you get off… What are you talking… Just… You’ve been watching me?”
He chuckled. “Don’t pretend you haven’t noticed.”
Confused thoughts were whirring around her drunken brain. What was she supposed to do now? He had just invited her to come away with him and travel around the world, and then insulted her, insinuating that she was a snob. She didn’t know how to make sense of what was happening, or how to defend herself exactly, so she did what she knew worked well in arguments: she turned the tables on him.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
She sighed dramatically. “Why, exactly, have you been watching me?”
He laughed again. She wanted to punch him for it. “I would think that’s obvious,” he drawled.
“Well it’s not. So why?”
He shrugged a lazy shoulder. “You’re a very good-looking girl, Rose, and you’ve got the best set of tits at Hogwarts.” She spluttered loudly and crossed her arms firmly over her chest.
“How dare you! How dare you even…” She couldn’t continue. Making up her mind instantly to leave instantly, she stood with every intention of opening the trap door and climbing down that ladder.
That intention was thwarted, though, at her first step. She was drunk, far too drunk, to climb down an old rope ladder that swung dangerously even when she was sober. She looked to one of the open windows, and determined to walk over to it, get some fresh air, and sober up so she could leave. If he left in the interim, even better. She couldn’t believe she had wasted so much of her afternoon on someone so rude, so… so…
She tried to walk casually over to the window, to pretend to be less angry and affected than she was, to put of a front of smooth indifference so he would not know he had got to her, but she stomped, stumbled and swayed as she made her way over. Reaching the open window, she grabbed onto the sill and put her head out slightly, breathing in the fresh air. It would take some time for her to sober up, and probably more time for her to calm her anger. She would just take deep breaths for however long it took.
After some time she heard him get up, and listened for the telltale thud of the trapdoor, but it didn’t come. She stared resolutely out of the window, refusing to look at what he was up to.
“Rose.”
His voice was soft, and she knew he was standing right behind her. She turned around slowly to see him holding a cup of tea and a saucer. “What’s this?”
He smirked only slightly, which she appreciated, considering what a foolish question it was. “It’s tea.”
“Why?”
“Look, we’ve both drunk quite a bit of Firewhiskey, and we’re going to be horribly dehydrated and hung over if that’s all we have.”
She looked skeptically down at the cup.
“Take it.” His voice was still gentle as he gestured carefully with the steaming cup. She still looked at it suspiciously. “It’s not poisoned, I swear.”
She let out a small laugh despite herself, and then looked up at him, cocking an eyebrow.
He sighed, and then put on a small smile. “Come on. It’s a peace offering. I thought someone as clever as you would figure that out.”
She reached out and took hold of the saucer. “Thanks.”
He cocked his head toward where they had been sitting, and she nodded. She walked over slowly, careful not to spill, and sat back on her pouf while he went back to his sofa, where he had a cup for himself and a teapot waiting. They blew on the steam and sipped at their drinks slowly.
“I’m sorry.”
She took a look at him.
“I had no right to speak to you like that, especially about, you know,” he put down his cup and gestured vaguely at her chest.
She blushed. “Thanks.”
“Not that’s it not true.” She immediately shot him an angry look. “No, wait. I mean it’s true that you’re pretty, you know, and that I’ve noticed.”
“Oh.” Rose felt her blush getting worse.
“But I’m not the only one who looks. Surely you’ve noticed that.”
“I, er…”
“Sorry. I promised before that I could be polite, and I’ve blown it again.” He let out a breath and scratched at the back of his head. “I’ll be polite, I swear. And you were right also when you said that I never tried to get to know you, either, so I shouldn’t blame you for it.”
She looked at him, and he looked sincere. She could at least meet him halfway. “No, you were right. I’m not a snob, I’m really not, but maybe I haven’t been fair to you over the years. I never gave you a chance, so I’m sorry too.”
His eyebrows went up. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.” They sat for a few moments in silence, until he reached into the robes he had left lying on the sofa next to him. “I’ve got a bag of crisps in here somewhere. Would you like some?” He dug them out and offered her the bag.
She gave him a polite smile. “Yes, that would be nice, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She took a few and munched thoughtfully. Why hadn’t she ever really tried to be friends with him before now? She thought immediately of her parents’ reaction, but then wondered if they would ever really object to any friend she made. After washing a few more crisps down with a sip of tea, she spoke softly. “Do you think we should talk about our parents?”
“Well, if we’re going to be friends, I suppose we should.”
And talk they did. They both knew of the roles their parents played during the war, but they focused mainly on how they had felt when they learned of these things as kids. Rose filled him in on some of the details about what happened to her parents while they were searching for the Horcruxes, and he in turn filled her in on the tortures his family had suffered at Voldemort’s hand. An hour later, after a few more cups of tea, another bag of crisps, and some more sips at the Firewhiskey, Rose felt as if she could tell him anything.
“You really should come with me, you know.”
A small smile blossomed on Rose’s face. “Are we back to this?”
He grinned. “We are. Come with me.”
“I thought we agreed it was impossible.”
“Actually, we didn’t. I agreed that I knew you would see it that way.” His smile was charming enough to make her giggle. “It’ll be great.”
“I wish I could.” That, she knew, was the absolute truth.
“Yeah, me too. You know, all this stuff about the past is part of the reason I’m going.”
“Really? Why?”
His smile faltered. “It’s not always easy being a Malfoy in Britain. There are still shops where I’m refused service for things that happened before I was born.”
“You’re kidding!”
“No, I wish I were. It’s hard to explain, because I don’t necessarily blame the shop owners, even if it’s humiliating. But I guess you’ve never had to deal with anything like that.”
Rose considered this. “No, I haven’t. But I’ve had the reverse.”
“The reverse? What, do shop owners see you on the street and pull you inside and give you stuff for free?”
She laughed. “Not exactly, but you’re not too far off. They don’t pull us in, but my whole life I’ve gotten this, ‘Oh, your parents are so wonderful, they helped save us all, and so on and so on. You must be so proud.’ And it’s not as if my parents don’t put any pressure on me to succeed, because believe me they do - especially my mother - but I’ve always felt that if I were bad or if I screwed up somehow that I wouldn’t just be disappointing them, but I’d be letting down the entire wizarding world as well.”
“Wow.” Scorpius sat back. “I never even considered that could happen.”
“It does. And then I get the free stuff.”
He laughed. “See? That’s another reason you should come with me. It’ll take all that pressure off.”
She laughed and shook her head. He caught her gaze, and her breath hitched. He really was too handsome for her own good. His offer was more tempting by the minute.
“Flip over your cup.”
“Sorry?”
He gestured to her discarded tea. “Flip your cup into your saucer. I’m going to read your tea leaves.”
“You? You actually believe in all that?”
He scoffed. “Not the way you’re thinking of it. But Divination is one of the four courses I took at the NEWT level. I can do this.”
She giggled. “Really?”
His eyes were bright as he gestured for her to join him on the sofa. “Yes. Now get over here and flip your cup.”
She stood, more steady on her feet than she had been earlier - the tea and the crisps had done her a world of good, even if she was still drunk - and sat on the couch, making sure she wasn’t too close. She knew that getting too close was dangerous at this point. Or maybe a great idea?
“Now, swirl the cup three times with your left hand, and then turn the cup over into the saucer.”
She giggled as she did so. “I cannot believe that you actually believe in this stuff.”
“I believe in this as much as I do anything.”
“What do you mean?” She picked up the cup and handed it to him.
“Well, first off, I don’t believe in much, really, so this has as good of a shot of making sense as anything else.” He turned the handle of the cup toward himself and stared into it as he spoke, his voice deep and smooth. “This is really just inductive reasoning, which, while not good enough for those who believe in rational systems of philosophy, seems to suit human behavior well enough.”
“Rational systems of philosophy?” She bit back a laugh, as she barely knew what he meant, and the alcohol certainly wasn’t helping. What was clear, though, was that he was far more clever than he ever let on in class, and this was definitely turning her on.
“Yeah. Many people try to figure out life with facts and logic, but really, when it comes down to it, most people don’t act logically most of the time. We’re far more likely to follow our emotions than our reason. Now, I don’t think tea leaves can really predict historical events or the future or anything, but when it comes to divining human actions, this has as much of a shot of being true as anything else. I read the symbol and induce the meaning. It’s simple.”
Rose gaped at him, which he didn’t notice as he as still intently staring at her cup.
“Now, this is an interesting cup.”
“Is it?”
“Oh yeah. You’ve got some definitive things in here, and some really ambivalent ones.”
“I do?”
“See here?” He pointed to a clump of leaves that looked to Rose like, well, a clump. “This one is really good for describing you - the bumblebee. It means that you’re cheerful and that you make the best of everything.”
“Really?”
“Hm-mm.” He looked up from the cup and caught her eye. “But when coupled with other things, it can indicate travel.” He smiled and waggled his eyebrows at her.
She laughed. “You’re lying.”
“No, not at all, actually. Now this one here,” he pointed at another clump, and Rose had to lean closer to see it. He even smelled good. “This is a jug, which means you’ll have good health. And this one,” he pointed to another clump, “is a foot. That means that you’re going to have a foot injury, or that someone you know will.” He laughed. “Okay, so some of these are more valuable than others.”
She laughed softly, and leaned even closer while he continued. “This rocking chair here means that you’re contemplating a new idea about which you have your doubts.”
That struck close to home, Rose thought, but she wasn’t going to admit it.
“And this one, the kite, right next to the chair? That one is either a sign of a lengthy voyage that will lead to great things or a sign of scandal.” He looked up and caught her eye again, and gave her another, very naughty smirk. “You know, if you come with me you can make both of those things come true.”
She forced a laugh as she sat back. She was far more tempted by his offer than he thought.
“So, a kite, a rocking chair, a foot, a jug, and a bee. Who knew I was so complex?” She giggled.
He did not. “I did.”
“What?”
He was staring at her again. “I knew. That’s why you need to come with me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Come on, Rose. You came up here to escape, too. Are you really satisfied with everything life is lining up for you?”
“Well, no, but I told you that before when I described that internship I’m supposed to start.”
“Then don’t take it. If you want the Gringotts job, well, fine, but come with me until November. Why waste your time in the Ministry when we could be seeing the world?”
That was an idea, she thought. A damned good one.
“And it’s not just that job, is it? Or you wouldn’t have come up here in the first place looking to activate that Daydream Charm.”
Rose stared at him, and felt as if his eyes were looking straight through her. There was no place to hide. “You’re right, I think. But I don’t know that it’s dissatisfaction with life so much as something else, something I can’t explain. I want that job, and I want a nice life and a family - you know, husband and kids and all that - but someday. I feel that if I just take the internship and the job now that there will be nothing else - that I’ll just then be looking for a husband and going on with life the way it’s supposed to be.”
“And what’s wrong with that?”
“I dunno… I do want those things someday, I think. I just want to know first that I’ve looked at my options, that I’m choosing that kind of respectable life because it’s what I really want and not what everyone expects of me.”
“Come with me.”
“I don’t know…”
“You’re different from everyone else, Rose, and I need you with me, wherever it is I wind up. It’s like that bumblebee sign - you’re not just cheerful, it’s that you really do see the best in things, in people.”
“But… I don’t…”
“You do.” His eyes were boring into her again. “Think about it. I’m immeasurably dissatisfied with my life; I admit that freely. I want to travel, to see other places and cultures, experience life, because there has got to be other ways to live, to be, outside of being the respectable British wizard my father is so determined I become. I want to find some happiness somewhere, and maybe if I see other ways of living I can start to figure out what it is that I do like. If you’re with me, you’ll see all the good stuff and then I know I won’t miss it.”
“But, how… I mean, why do you assume I’ll help you find happiness? Just because of a bumblebee?”
“No, no, it’s not the cup - it’s you. You’re clever, Rose, and a good student, but that’s not why you were named Head Girl, and that’s not why everyone likes you.”
She was stunned.
Scorpius leaned forward. “You’re nice to everybody. When someone is sick or injured and stuck in hospital, you’re the one who makes a card and has everyone sign it. No one else would bother to do it. When you talk to the shy kids before class - like that little Steven Pritchard? - they light up. I swear that Steven even sits up straighter when you’re around. And that cow, Evie Templeton, complains about everything unless you’re around. I don’t think you realize the effect you have on everyone else. You make people see what’s good, Rose. You make the people around you better.”
She was floored. No one had ever said anything like this to her before, and her heart was hammering wildly inside her chest.
He whispered. “Come with me.”
“It’s always you, you know.”
He looked at her quizzically. “What?”
She tilted her head to indicate the box on the table. “In the Daydream Charms - with me. It’s always you.”
Before her drunken brain could even register what he was doing, he placed the tea cup down on the table, reached both hands out to cup her face, turned his body fully towards her, lowered his head and kissed her soundly on the mouth.
And kissed her damned well, she thought. His lips were soft and his tongue was insistent. He coaxed her mouth open quickly, his tongue gently sliding in to caress the top and side of hers. As her hands slid up his arms and wrapped around his neck, she thought that something this good really ought to be illegal. When he pulled back slightly, she followed him eagerly. In no time at all, he had pressed her down on the sofa and was lying on top of her, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other tracing her side gently from her thigh to her shoulder. When he pulled his mouth off hers to trail kisses across her jaw and down her neck, she let her head fall back and ran her fingers through the silkiness of his hair, playing with it at the nape of his neck.
He felt amazing - he was amazing. Every last kiss and every last touch were sending shivers throughout her body, and Rose thought there was no way she would be able to stop this. She wasn’t a virgin, but had only had sex with her last boyfriend, and that was only after they were together for months. She had never figured herself the type to have a drunken shag - and they weren’t even on an official first date! - but the feeling of his hands on her was overpowering every last thought of propriety.
She pulled his face back to hers and kissed him again and again, one hand still in his hair, the other exploring the muscles of his back and shoulders. The hand tracing her side was becoming increasingly bold, her skirt slowly working its way up her thigh, his thumb sweeping over the side of her breast as it worked its way over her clothing. She moaned into his mouth, angling her head to deepen the kiss.
And then he was gone. In an instant, he was no longer pressing her into the sofa cushions, his mouth had been cruelly taken away, and she opened her eyes to see him digging through the pockets of his robes. Removing his wand, he silently cast a charm at himself and sat still for several seconds before turning to her and repeating the movement.
She felt a rush a cool air, her eyes squeezed shut for a moment, and then she felt the haze in her mind lift. She blinked, and noticed her eyesight increase in clarity, her mind better able to process her surroundings.
She straightened up, still panting from the intense snog. “Sobering charm?”
He nodded.
“Why?”
Scorpius turned to her, his eyes boring into her yet again. “Because I want to make sure.” When she wrinkled her brow at him, he continued. “Everything I said today, and this,” he gestured between them, “it all means something to me. And not many things do. I’m not just drunk and fooling around, and,” he swallowed heavily, “and…”
“You want to know if I mean this too?”
He nodded.
She didn’t even need to think about her answer. Reaching out, she cupped his cheek gently. “I mean this.”
It was all the reassurance he needed, and he immediately leaned forward over her again, pressing her back into the cushions once more, his mouth demanding and his hands seemingly everywhere at once. He detached his mouth from hers and started kissing toward her ear again.
“Come with me.”
She shivered. He kissed his way down her neck, his breath hot against her skin.
“Come with me.”
She clutched onto him more tightly, and when he worked his way back up to her mouth, she kissed him quickly and began her own journey across his throat, tasting the salt of his skin. He was becoming bolder, one hand was now caressing her breast through her shirt, and as their mouths met again he began to grind against her hip. She felt his erection, and gyrated her hips to meet his. No longer drunk, Rose still didn’t think she could stop.
But he did. He moved his hand down to her hip and slowed their kissing, staring into her eyes before rolling on to his side, his back against the back of the sofa, breathing heavily. “I think I need to calm down a bit.” He kept one arm around her shoulders, and brought his other hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose as he breathed deeply. They wriggled around until she was nestled under his arm, her head leaning on his chest.
Come with me.
She brought a hand up to her collarbone, tracing where he had whispered the words into her skin.
She had nearly five months until her job at Gringotts began. She could see a great deal of the world in five months.
Come with me.
But it was crazy, wasn’t it? She would have to write to the Ministry and cancel her internship, and write to her parents. Her parents! They would be furious, no doubt. But didn’t they tell her all the time how much they trusted her? She would be forcing them to prove it, and even if they were furious at first, they would accept her choice. They would have to, after all - she was an adult.
Come with me.
She wanted to. She glanced up at Scorpius, his eyes still shut, his blond fringe falling over his eyelids. What did they have in common? Some dissatisfaction with life, one incredible afternoon, a great deal of as-of-yet unfulfilled lust, and… And?
What if it didn’t work out? What if, after a few days or weeks, she realized it had been a mistake? Well, then she could take the train home, admit she had been wrong, and her family would take her back. She knew that. He had a vault full of gold as a safety net; she had her family.
He was literally offering her the world. How could she refuse it?
His hand, the one not trapped by her body, reached over and began stroking her arm gently. She closed her eyes and listened to him breathe, feeling the gentle wind through the window play over them where they lie together. Outside, it was sunset.
They would be lovers. The first night they were traveling, most likely in Paris, they would be together, completely. Rose smiled at the thought.
Come with me.
She could do this. It was sudden, exciting, crazy, and risky, and she wanted it more than she had ever wanted anything. They could do this.
She glanced back up at him to see him staring down at her, his eyes so blue. She tilted her chin up and gave him a soft kiss.
They would do this.
The decision made, she felt positively giddy. She reached and took his hand from her arm, holding it in both of hers. It was large, so much larger than her own, with long, elegant fingers. She turned it palm up and brought it closer to her face.
“Scorpius?”
“Hmm?”
“Since you read my tea leaves, it seems only fair I should read your palm.”
He chuckled, and she felt the vibrations in his chest. “You’re going to read my palm? Rose, you’ve never even taken Divination.”
She shrugged lightly. “I think I can manage. See this line here?” She traced a finger down his palm.
“My line of head?”
She scoffed. “No, goodness you’re terrible at this. This is your line of false aloofness.”
He laughed harder, jiggling her about slightly as he did. “I’m not falsely aloof, Rose - I am aloof.”
She held back her laughter so she could speak. “No, you’re not. See all these little lines that come off it and intersect through it?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, those are the things you care about, despite appearances.”
“You know,” he said slowly, “you may be better at this than I thought.”
“See? I knew it. And do you see this line here?” She traced another line with her finger.
“My line of heart?”
“No, wrong again.” He laughed. “This,” she spoke more strongly, “is your line of sexual attraction.”
“Is it now!”
“Of course. See how it’s long and deep?”
He laughed harder, and had trouble getting his words out. “My line of sexual attraction is long and deep?”
“Yep.” She giggled loudly, and felt him press a small kiss to her crown.
“I think I can live with that.”
“Good - because you’ll have to. It’s written in your palm, after all.” She traced another line. “But it’s this line here that’s the most important one.”
His laughter rang out again, shaking her. “Rose, that’s not even a line! That’s a scar from when my knife slipped in Potions fifth year.”
She laughed, but kept going. “That’s why it’s the most important one! It’s self-inflicted! See how it’s shaped like an L, with this short part here that comes to a point and then changes direction?”
“Yes, I see.” He continued laughing.
“Well, this is the line of journey.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm. See, this short part,” she traced it with her fingertip, “is the part where you’ve made all your plans - thought of going, got the rail pass, anticipated what you might do. But then the line gets to this point, and everything changes direction, meaning your journey will take a path that diverges from what you initially thought.”
“It will?” She nodded. “And why’s that?”
“Because this point is the most important part. This point in the line is today.”
“Today.”
“Yes.” She giggled as she stared up at him.
“Are you going to tell me why it’s the most important part?”
She looked straight into his eyes as she spoke, lacing the fingers of one hand through his. “This is the most important part,” she whispered, “because this is the point where I say yes, I’ll come with you.”