Dance Lessons - Scorose

Uninvited and Reluctantly Accepted Guests

"Oh, for Merlin's sake! Not in my house, please," Rose said, causing the two of them to break apart, "Scorpius and I are going to make lunch for you all, so we kind of need the room. Actually, better idea, it's a nice sunny day, why don't you all go outside in the garden?"

They all followed the order and Scorpius and Rose were left, alone, in the kitchen once again. 

"We actually have to make lunch now, don't we?" she said.

"Not if we climb out the window. That is still very much on the table."

She laughed again. "No, come on, let's break the barbie out, everyone's already outside. Geez, it's like running a nursery with this lot,"

And so they had their first barbecue of the summer, surrounded by some uninvited but eventually welcome guests. They ate and drank and exchanged stories. It was like it always used to be, back in the room of requirement, with the addition of Charlie and Michael. Ever since they had left school, they hadn't properly met up like this. They were always joined by their parents or extended family; it was rare for them to 'get the gang back together'. 

"Oh, lets go down to the beach!" Victoire squealed when everyone had finished and was lazing around the garden table, underneath the large, green parasol. 

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Teddy agreed. Slowly, but surely, everyone started to go along with the idea.

"I'll get the kites out of the loft," Scorpius said, standing up and disappearing inside the house.

"We have some lemonade in the fridge, I'll grab it and we can bring it down with us,"

"We're going to the beach!" James exclaimed and everyone stood up. A few people disapparated and reappeared minutes later, laden with swimming costumes, sunglasses, towels and suncream. Albus was even holding a windbreak.

*          *          *

"How about here?" Teddy asked, dumping down his bag of stuff on the sand. A half a dozen more bags joined his and he took it as a 'yes'.

Rose pulled Scorpius to the side after everyone had started laying out towels and stripping down to their swimming costumes.

"Can we talk for a sec?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure, Al just wants me to give him a hand with the windbreak, I'll be right back," he replied, turning to help Albus.

"Come on, Rose!" Victoire shrieked, grabbing Rose's wrist and pulling her towards the sea along with Lily and James.

They spent a good few hours at the beach. It was like a cliche moment in a coming-of-age tale, or the beginning of a horror story; multiple couples having fun, behaving like kids and killing the time as old friends. Luckily, all mass-murdering psychopaths took Sundays off as well.

Scorpius tried, in vain, to tan his pale skin. He was stretched out on a stripy towel, his scars faded but no less visible and was trying to ignore Maxwell, the puppy tied to the windbreak, who was sniffing his ears. Alice was making sandcastles with her daughter and Rose. James and Victoire were seeing who could swim furthest away from the shore; they were always the ones to get each other into trouble. Lily, Michael and Albus had left to get ice creams for everyone and Charlie and Teddy were bickering over who could fly the kite better.

"Sorry about everything earlier," Alice said to Rose after ten minutes of sandcastles.

"Oh, it's not your fault. Or anyone's really. Everyone was just here all at once, it was slightly overwhelming," she chuckled, "everyone was alright really. Well, except Lily and Charlie but, you know, they never behave themselves,"

"Yeah, that's the millionth time they've broken up and got back together again."

"I know, I keep expecting it to be the last break-up, though," Rose replied.

"Nah, Lily and Charlie are made to last, just in an on-and-off sense. They aren't exactly what you'd call conventional,"

"That is very true,"

They stayed on the beach until the sun had sunk low in the sky and turned the horizon and the waves the colour of burnt orange. The sky was clear and a chill had descended. They all parted ways and Scorpius and Rose headed home, alone.

"Well that turned out all right in the end, didn't it?" he said as they unlocked the front door.

"Yeah, it was fun, in the end," she admitted, "a little bit...traumatic at the start,"

Scorpius chuckled. "Shall I put the kettle on?"

"No, actually. I've been trying to talk to you all day and something has got in the way each time," she said, her expression serious.

"Okay, what is it?" he asked, concerned as to what she might say. 

"I'm pregnant."