"Let me just," Scorpius's mother licked her fingertips and smoothed down the front of her son's blonde hair. "There. It's perfect."
Scorpius rolled his eyes as his mother kept patting down his hair, which he'd already combed to near perfection. (At least to his standards) But no, his mother had another opinion of perfect. And that meant absolutely zero frizz.
The Malfoy's were about to leave for the Weasley's Christmas dinner, each of them absolutely terrified. Scorpius was starting to regret him even agreeing to go there. Of course his family would probably make a noticeable entrance, since the Malfoy's weren't exactly ones to blend in. They're one of the only Pureblood families, who had history with the Death Eaters, that aren't snobs and tolerate non-Purebloods. Tonight was the night to prove to Rose and Albus's family that Scorpius's family are decent people.
Nervously, Scorpius ran his hand over his perfectly groomed hair and smoothed out the non-existent wrinkles on his clothes. He gulped when his parents stood next to him, ready to apparate.
"It'll be alright, Scor." Scorpius's father whispered, then the three of them turned and apparated. Scorpius squeezed his eyes shut and tried to ignore the pressure around him. Then, his feet landed so hard on grass, that he lost his balance and collapsed on the ground.
Great, my clothes are probably stained, he thought. Scorpius couldn't believe he was obsessing about his clothes.
Scorpius glanced around. His parents weren't in sight. They must've apparated somewhere different than me, he guessed. Sometimes magically protected homes will send you all over the place, if not concentrating enough, when you apparate onto the property. His parents could be miles away. And now, Scorpius was alone, and he might have to walk into the Weasley home by himself.
Scorpius gulped, and he could already feel his heart thumping fast in his chest.
He had landed in some tall weeds, thankfully not mud. Carefully avoiding muddy puddles, he stepped carefully out of the weed patch, and started walking down a narrow dirt trail. He could see the towering Weasley home in the distance. The more steps he took, the more his heart pounded.
Finally, Scorpius pushed some tree limbs out of the way, and, while tripping in the process over a root, he was in an open clearing. The Burrow was right there. He could see people standing outside, but he couldn't make them out. When his eyes spotted a red head walking out the front door, his heart seemed to want to leap out of him.
Then he heard a female voice call his name, and every person standing in the yard had their eyes on him.
* * *
Albus had to follow that amazing smell coming from the kitchen. Dinner would be served any moment, and he was determined to beat James to the kitchen before he grabbed all the deviled eggs. Every year, James had always beat Albus at getting to the deviled eggs. And when Albus meant the deviled eggs, he meant ALL the deviled eggs. His brother, like Albus, loved Grandma Weasley's delicious deviled eggs, which she made a platter full of them just for the brothers. No matter how many she made, James always got all of them before Albus could. This year, Albus was going to get his share of the eggs.
Albus sprinted down the stairs, two at a time, also ignoring his mother yelling at him to slow down, towards the kitchen. He could hear footsteps behind him, and he knew James was going for exactly what Albus wanted. This was war.
The eggs were set on the counter, looking even more delicious than ever. Albus shoved through all his relatives in the living room and made it to the kitchen. When he arrived, fixing to pass out from running so fast, the platter was gone. His brother beat him yet again. How did that even happen when James was behind him?
However James did it, he won once again. And there he was, standing outside in the yard far enough so Albus couldn't reach him, with the huge platter of deviled eggs in his arms. He'd already eaten half of them.
Albus yelled in frustration, earning some stares from his relatives. They knew exactly why he was angry. Every year, they had to watch Albus fail miserably at getting to the deviled eggs before James. Some of them got a kick out of it too. Like Lily, Hugo, and Fred, who this year, had a front row experience at the table. They were cracking up along with Uncle George and Bill.
"Don't worry buddy, you'll get to them eventually." Uncle Bill assured. He was trying to hold back a hysterical laugh. Uncle George tried to speak, but he was too busy laughing to tears along with the Troublesome Trio (Albus and Rose's nickname for Lily, Hugo, and Fred)
"Whatever," Albus said, walking outside to cool off his hot, blushing face. The cold, winter air wasn't at all bad. The little snow flurries falling from the sky were gentle, and not blizzard-like like it usually was this time of year. This Christmas really was beautiful.
"I saw your battle for the deviled eggs with your brother," a voice said from behind Albus.
Albus spun around, and he suddenly smiled from ear to ear.
Holly stood there in her oversized simple red and green Christmas sweater with a huge "H" on it she received for Christmas from Grandma Weasley, green corduroy jeans, and strangely enough, black wool knee socks with purple reindeer on them, and no shoes. It was a weird combination, but gosh, she was stunning, Albus thought.
The best part, besides how great and weird she looked, was what she was holding. It was a small plate full of deviled eggs.
"How did you manage that?" Albus asked her, surprised.
Holly giggled. "Well, before you and James made it down to the kitchen, I snatched a few deviled eggs for you and sneaked out before anyone could see me. Clever, huh?"
Albus nodded, still grinning like an idiot. "Yes, you're amazing. I can't believe you did that for me, Holly."
Holly blushed. "It was nothing." Then she handed Albus the plate of eggs. Albus was very satisfied when James's face when he looked over at him and Holly, who had both stuffed a deviled egg in their mouths and grinned mischievously at him.
When the two of them were full of their victory eggs, they sat down next to each other on a dry patch of grass and stared at the sky. Winter sunsets were always nice to Albus. The setting sun mixed with the flurries of snow made it seem dimmer and softer.
"The sky looks like orange sherbet." Holly said dreamily, looking at the sky. Albus was staring at how nicely the orange sky reflected off of Holly's icy eyes.
"You look like orange sherbet." Albus said stupidly, immediately realizing what he said. He was so distracted by Holly's eyes and sherbet.
"Really? Comparing myself with frozen desserts, I always thought I looked more like caramel-vanilla gelato." Holly replied, her tone serious. It was hard to tell if she was kidding or not sometimes.
Great, now I'm craving gelato, thought Albus.
"Bloody hell, Rose! What happened to you?" Albus heard James say from nearby. When Albus turned around to look, his eyes widened. He thought he'd never see the day when his cousin Rose would wear a dress.
Rose was wearing a knee length red dress that, Albus admitted to himself awkwardly, fit her perfectly. She was barely recognizable. Scorpius was probably going to faint when he saw her.
"Well? Does it look bad?" Rose asked, obviously for Holly's opinion, but she seemed to be asking Albus too.
"Heavens no! You look hot!" Holly said. Rose immediately turned beet red and laughed. Albus didn't expect Holly to say something like that at all.
"Scorpius will probably pass out when he sees you," Albus assured her. "Speaking of him, I wonder where he is."
"I don't know-"
"Scorpius!" Holly suddenly yelled, pointing towards the trees.
Everyone spun around to see Scorpius Malfoy standing awkwardly in the clearing by the trees. Albus smiled at the sight of his best friend, who looked like he just apparated, because he appeared confused and slightly green. His movements were a bit wobbly also, but he managed start walking over towards Albus, Rose, and Holly.
"Scorpius!" Rose exclaimed, jumping up and started sprinting towards Scorpius. Albus and Holly laughed when Rose tackled Scorpius in a hug, knocking him down while doing so.
* * *
Scorpius grinned when his friends spotted him. Then he noticed Rose. She was wearing a dress. A DRESS. A very beautiful red dress, in fact.
Rose's eyes met his. Then she exclaimed, "Scorpius!"
That's when she broke out into a sprint, impressively while wearing wedged shoes, heading straight towards him.
Before Scorpius could react, the incredibly fast, gorgeous red head tackled him into a huge embrace, the impact making him collapse on the ground. Rose landed on top of him.
When the two looked at each other, they busted out laughing. Rose buried her face into Scorpius's chest and giggled at what she just did. Scorpius definitely liked his welcoming to the Burrow so far.
"Well hello to you too." Scorpius said, chuckling.
Rose lifted her head and looked at Scorpius. Far away, she was gorgeous. But up close, where she was inches from his face, Rose was breathtaking. Her hair wasn't as frizzy as usual, as Scorpius had come to love. And she was wearing makeup. Without it, she was beautiful. Now, Scorpius couldn't describe how great she looked. Her crystal blue eyes, lined with eye makeup, were dazzling.
"We Weasley's love to hug." Rose replied, giggling. She still didn't move to get off of Scorpius yet.
The two of them were so close, Scorpius was so tempted to raise his head close the space in between them. But he couldn't now. Especially since he just noticed Albus, Holly, and James standing over them.
"Are you two done yet? Dinner is ready." Albus asked, smirking. He was holding Holly's hand. Woah, did he miss something?
Rose blushed and got off of Scorpius, then helped him up. Then they followed the others towards the house.
Scorpius still couldn't get over how great Rose looked. He whispered to her, "You look amazing."
Rose blushed, yet again. "Thank you. And you don't look so bad yourself."
Scorpius looked down at his now wrinkled clothes from the apparation landing and from when Rose tackled him. He didn't mind one bit.
Stepping inside the homey Burrow, of course, everyone noticed him. His blond hair stood out from all the Weasley red hair. Well, there was no turning back now. Then Scorpius remembered his parents. They still weren't here yet. Great.
Rose's mother, the famous Hermione Granger/Weasley that Scorpius's father had told him about, smiled and walked over to him. Her and Rose had such a resemblance in their faces.
"Hi, you must be Scorpius. It's so nice to finally meet you. Rose has told me so much about you." Hermione said. Rose was blushing beside her mother. "I'm Rose's mum."
Scorpius smiled politely and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Weasley."
"Oh, please call me Hermione." Hermione told him. Scorpius still felt the need to call her Mrs. Weasley though.
Then a tall red headed man who had Rose's blue eyes walked over and stood next to his wife. Scorpius gulped. Rose's father glared at him.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Scorpius." Ron said this like he was trying to choke down bad cough medicine. Hermione was glaring at her husband like she was expecting him to say something wrong. He hesitantly held out his hand for Scorpius to shake.
"You too, Mr. Weasley." Scorpius accepted his hand, which Ron shook a little bit too forcefully. Scorpius's hand was nearly blue when he pulled away from the handshake.
Just before things got really awkward, there was a knock on the door. Everyone in the kitchen all stopped what they were doing at once. Rose, who happened to be closest to the door, opened it. A plate was dropped and it shattered loudly on the floor.
In the doorway stood Scorpius's parents, who were shivering from the cold outside. Wherever they apparated to, it must've been far away for them to just now arrive.
Scorpius could tell everyone in the room tensed up. The color drained from Rose's father's face. What was going to happen? Would they command that the Malfoy's all leave? They were obviously outsiders who weren't wanted. His throat turned dry as he waited anxiously for what would happen next.
Hermione was the one who cleared her throat and smiled a friendly smile at Scorpius's parents. He was glad that Rose's mother was so kind and understanding.
"Hello...Draco and Astoria," Hermione said, hesitating slightly when she said his parent's names. Then she held out her hand, shaking hands with them. "I'm so glad you could make it. Have you two had a good Christmas?"
Scorpius parents both looked somewhat shocked. They must've expected to get banished, not greeted in a friendly manner by their old schoolmate, Hermione Granger.
His mother smiled gratefully. "Oh it's been lovely. Thank you."
Hermione smiled, and her and Scorpius's mother had a brief conversation amongst theirselves. Maybe they'd become good friends.
Left standing in an awkward circle were Scorpius, Rose, Rose's father, and Scorpius's father. Very slowly, Ron Weasley put out his hand for Scorpius's father to shake. He muttered, "Good to see you, Malfoy."
Draco glanced at his son for a brief second, as if saying, You heard that too, right?
"You too, Weasley." Scorpius's father shook Ron's hand awkwardly, as if it were contaminated with germs.
Then, Harry and Ginny Potter stepped over to them. Oh boy...
"Hello, Draco." Ginny said. Did he hear that right? People hardly ever called Scorpius's father by his first hand except for close family. Never by others.
"Mal-Draco." Harry said, holding out his hand. Scorpius saw Rose's father's eyes widen. Ron gave his best mate a baffled look.
"Potter." Scorpius's father blinked, evidently shocked. "Er, Harry." Then he shook Harry's hand. Scorpius could sense history had been made right in this very room.
Then he felt someone grab his arm. Rose pulled him over towards the end of the massive table, where Albus and Holly were sitting. They looked at Scorpius like he might be ill.
"I never thought I'd see the day where that would happen." Albus said in awe. Currently, Harry and Ginny were smiling and talking with Scorpius's father. Ron went and sat alone at the other end of the table, scowling at this rare occasion.
"Me either," Rose said. "I mean, look at them. They're all friends now. Well, not including my dad." She chuckled, along with Albus and Holly.
Scorpius imagined what his father was thinking. He was talking and smiling with people he used to not get along with at all during his years at Hogwarts. He explained to Scorpius once that he didn't really despise the group of Gryffindors, and that he only pretended to just to maintain his reputation. As he matured, it was to keep his parents safe from the Dark Lord. Now, Scorpius's father was free to speak with them without fear.
Dinner wasn't at all what he expected. There were no fights or yelling occurring. Everyone was smiling and enjoying the delicious meal, like the close family they were. Scorpius was pleased to see his parents smiling and laughing with Harry, Ginny, and Hermione. Some other Weasley family members even spoke with them. It all seemed too good to be true. All that anxiety he experienced about how tonight would go was for nothing.
Scorpius decided he shouldn't watch his parents anymore. They seemed perfectly fine.
"Scorpius?" Rose snapped him out of his thoughts. When he turned to look at her, he was momentarily caught off guard. He's forgotten she looked so different tonight with her makeover.
"Sorry, I was just thinking," Scorpius told her. He didn't look into her eyes so he wouldn't be seen blushing. Or drooling.
"Are the nargles bothering you again, Scorpius?" Holly asked her. She was studying a piece of broccoli on her fork, appearing fascinated. Holly found a lot of weird things fascinating, actually.
"Probably." Scorpius replied, grinning.
He watched as Albus placed his hand on top of Holly's. Seriously, what was going on with them?
Rose gasped. "Oh, we forgot to tell you! Last night, Albus and Holly kissed!"
Scorpius's eyes widened. "Oh really?" He instantly felt proud of Albus, that he'd finally had his moment with the girl he loved.
Rose nodded. "Yup! I was there when they made out on the floor in my room."
Albus choked on his drink. Holly blushed, and studied her plate of vegetables even more.
Scorpius laughed. "Well, I sure missed a lot for one night."
Rose chuckled. "Yes, you did. It sure was one heck of a kiss."
"What was one heck of a kiss?" Ginny was standing behind them, washing her plate off in the sink.
"Albus and Holly's kiss, of course." Rose said proudly. Albus looked horrified that she just told his mother he'd kissed a girl.
Ginny dropped the plate in the sink with a loud clunk and gasped. "Are you serious? Oh, my little boy is growing up! He and Holly...next thing you know he could marry her! Why are my children growing up so fast?" Then she burst into tears. She'd said all this way too loudly, since some of the Weasley's were cheering for the very embarrassed Albus. James, Lily, and Hugo were laughing so hard that they were almost crying. Scorpius didn't know what to think about that, but Albus's reaction was priceless.
"Mum!" Albus covered his very red face with his hands. Rose was cracking up with laughter, which was such a beautiful sound to Scorpius.
Ginny Potter was still bawling into the kitchen sink. Scorpius assumed they were tears of joy. Harry joined his wife and led her out of the room for her to calm down.
"Albus, what on earth is wrong with Aunt Ginny?" Rose asked her cousin, who was still hiding his face.
Albus removed his hands, sighed, and said, "I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but ever since she found out the big news, her moods have been berserk lately."
"Big news?" Holly asked. Then she and Rose realized what he meant and they both gasped.
"Aunt Ginny is pregnant? Since when?" Rose asked eagerly.
Albus sighed again. He seemed aggravated by the news. "Yes, she's a month pregnant. Only a few people know, but she's being all weird and waiting a bit longer before announcing it."
"Congrats to her." Scorpius said awkwardly. He felt uncomfortable for some odd reason.
Albus rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I'm not so excited. We discovered the baby's another girl. I'm praying she won't be another demon baby like Lily."
The whole group laughed. The rest of dinner went by way too quickly for Scorpius's liking. It was the most entertaining dinner he'd ever eaten at. His stomach ached in a satisfying way because of all the laughing he'd done.
As the family cleaned off the table and magically cleaned their dishes, Scorpius walked over to his parents with his friends. They were preparing to leave, which saddened him. He loved watching his parents enjoy themselves, something they rarely got to experience with friends.
"It's so nice to meet all of you! Scorpius talks about you guys all the time." Scorpius's mother squeezed his friends in bone-crushing hugs.
"I'm so glad you two came, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy." Rose told his parents.
"Oh we certainly enjoyed it. Your family is so kind." Scorpius mother said. He was so glad to hear this.
"Thank you for inviting us." His father added.
"It was no problem. You're more than welcome to visit again sometime." Rose smiled. Scorpius admired how mature she sounded.
When Rose, Albus, and Holly stepped away, Scorpius turned to his parents. "This really was great."
His father nodded. "It was nice to enjoy a dinner with...friends."
Scorpius smiled. When his parents finally apparated from the Burrow, he felt like maybe his family's reputation had hope after all.
"Hey," a familiar voice said. Scorpius closed the front door and saw Rose standing behind him. The moonlight peeked trough the window, creating an illusion in Rose's eyes like a shimmering lake at nighttime.
"Hey, Rose." he said. He noticed some of Rose's cousins were still in the kitchen, probably eavesdropping. "You want to step outside and talk?"
Rose nodded, and together they walked out into the snowy night. It wasn't an overwhelming snowstorm, but just the perfect amount for a wintery late-night stroll. Bits of snow landed in Rose's hair, which made her look beautiful even if it was soaking her. Everything about her was beautiful. Scorpius thought about the kiss between Albus and Holly. Something told Scorpius that now was a good time to make his move...
Can he do this? He wanted to kiss her so bad, he thought he couldn't stand it anymore. Anxiety filled him. His heart started pounding. He had to wait for the perfect opportunity.
"What are you thinking about?" Rose suddenly asked.
Scorpius tried not to turn red. "Nothing...."
Rose chuckled. "There's something. I can tell."
"How can you tell?" Scorpius asked, amused. They were standing so close...
"Well, when you have something on your mind, you tend to be a bit tense. You can't keep your hands still," Then Rose slipped her hand into Scorpius's shaking one hand. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he hoped she couldn't hear it.
"Is that all I do?" Scorpius gulped, looking at their intertwined hands. Her hands were cold, which soothed his slightly sweaty palms.
Rose touched his jawline with her fingertips, then turned his head so he was looking into her eyes. Gosh, why was she tempting him?
"You also tend to avoid looking into someone's eyes when you speak to them. Like you're doing right now." Rose whispered. Scorpius could feel her breath on his face. Her lips looked so soft. He tried to shake the thought.
Scorpius sighed and swallowed. "I'm just thinking about...." The word slipped between his lips. "Us."
Rose was silent. He didn't meet her eyes, but he could tell she was studying him. Her cold hand was still touching his jaw, sending shivers down his spine. Scorpius couldn't stand avoiding her gaze any longer. He exhaled heavily through his nose and finally looked into Rose's crystal blue eyes.
Her eyes were hard to study. What was she thinking about? Was she nervous like him? Was she thinking the same thing, while they stood so close together, as if they were about to slow dance together. Scorpius saw her gaze linger on his lips.
"What are you thinking about?" Scorpius asked so softly, he wasn't sure she heard him. But her expression softened, indicating she indeed heard him.
Rose leaned a bit closer, her breath tickling Scorpius's nose. She replied, her voice just as quiet as his, "Us."
Scorpius couldn't stand being so close and not being able to do anything. Without a second thought, he put his hand behind Rose's soft hair and lightly pulled her head towards him. His heart instantly melted when he felt their lips touch. He was right; her lips were indeed very soft and smooth. Rose placed her hands on his shoulders, leaning more into him. His right hand was tangled in her hair, while his left hand found her waist. They kissed for what seemed like forever. It wasn't a rushed kiss, and was very gentle. Scorpius didn't mind one bit, because to him, it felt right.
The two eventually had to pull away for oxygen. They rested their foreheads together, their noses touching. They were both out of breath, breathing in each other's faces. Scorpius grinned, amazed at what just happened. Rose smiled and giggled, that silly yet sweet giggle that Scorpius had come to adore.
"Wow," Scorpius breathed.
"Wow." Rose agreed. Her hands were warm now from touching Scorpius's warm skin.
"I really think I'm falling head over heels for you, Rose." Scorpius admitted, blushing.
Rose didn't laugh though. She only gazed directly into his eyes and simply said, "Yes."
Scorpius raised his eyebrows at her. "Yes, what?"
Rose giggled and rolled her eyes. "Well, you have feelings for me and I definitely have feelings for you too, and we just had a major make out session a minute ago. And you're obviously terrified to say 'Will you go out with me?' So I'll answer right now. Yes."
Scorpius blinked. Then his heart started doing flips. She had feelings for him. And she wanted to go out with him. He grinned, and hugged her tightly. "So I guess that settles it?"
Rose laughed, "You bet it does."
They kissed again, this time a bit more deeper. Suddenly, they heard, "WOOHOO!"
Scorpius and Rose jumped apart, and looked up to find the source. They busted out laughing to find Albus and Holly's heads hanging out the top window. Oh god, did they see the whole thing? That's embarrassing.
But Scorpius didn't care. He was beyond happy because he finally had the girl of his dreams.
The couple decided to go upstairs and watch Christmas movies with Albus and Holly. The two of them claimed they only saw the second kiss they shared, but Scorpius wasn't sure he bought that. It didn't bother him one bit though.
The four best friends, now of which are new couples, sat in front of the old television set in Rose and Holly's room. They decided to watch A Christmas Story. This was the first Muggle film Scorpius ever watched, so it was something he'd always remember. He was amazed at how the contraction worked, producing a film picture on a tiny screen.
Soon, the four of them fell asleep. Holly leaned her head on Albus, who was slumped over on the floor. Scorpius and Rose sprawled out on the floor near them. Rose rested her head on Scorpius's chest, while Scorpius had his arm wrapped protectively around her. Scorpius fell asleep easily, having pleasant dreams about him and Rose.
Things were going great for the four friends now. But this was all about to change.
~ ~ ~
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