The Red Rose That Has Green Thorns

“Rose, sit still!” Lily pleaded as she and Beth worked with my hair.

“I could be out slaughtering Al and Scorp in our annual holiday snowball fight!” I whined, twitching as a bobby pin gently scraped the skin on my skull. They could have done my hair with magic, and I wouldn’t have had to come back in almost two hours ago to pull on my dress and everything, but they insisted they needed two and a half hours to help me get ready - or, rather, to have me help them and then both of them tag-team me.

“We want you to look breathtaking,” Beth said, applying a light layer of blush to my cheeks as she let Lily take over the rest of the hair.

“You’re already stunning,” Lily agreed, “but breathtaking is just a step farther.”

I groaned, but knew I’d just ruin something if I tried to leave before they were done. Besides, they were much more into the whole fashion thing that I was, so I figured my appearance was safe in their hands.

That is, until Lily gasped.

“What? What?!” I cried, jumping. Luckily, Lily had paused with my hair and Beth was getting a silvery eyeliner pencil from her bag. “Is something wrong?!”

“Did you get a date?!” Lily asked. If the concept of sweat dropping from cartoons or anime were real, I would have one.

“Yes,” I said, sighing. “Now can we continue the torture if that’s all you had to ask?”

“Who?!” Both fifteen year olds immediately gushed, dropping into chairs on either side of me where I sat at the vanity that was in my dorm and looking at me with large eyes. Lily gave me a look that clearly stated she was on need-to-know basis and had needed to know earlier.

“Why do you need to know?” I asked, going by the look in my younger cousin’s eyes.
Lily sighed, and her tone of voice made it seem as though it should have been obvious. “Because, Rose, we might have to make adjustments depending on who it is and how attracted to him you are and/or how attracted to you that you want him to be.”

I felt my face light up red and Beth squealed.

“It’s someone she likes! Isn’t it?” Beth gushed happily, leaning forward as though it was the juiciest gossip she’d ever had the opportunity to hear.

“Oh,” Lily blinked at my red cheeks, then a grin reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat’s spread across her cheeks. “Rosie, dear, you could have told us you were going with Scorpius.”
I felt my cheeks burn even redder, and both of the girls giggled, before Lily stood up and took on a no-nonsense expression, looking at me critically. She glanced then at the watch laying on my vanity - the really expensive one that Scorpius had given me.

“The watch - put it back on. It’s so elegant it’s almost like a bracelet - you can even keep the clock facing toward you, so it does look like a bracelet. The clasp blends in so well that no one who’s just seeing it and not really looking will be able to tell. And besides, it matches it.”

“It? What’s it?” I asked, totally confused.

“You’ll see in a bit,” Lily said, and Beth just beamed. I groaned, facing the mirror again.

“Fine. Just get on with the torture, then.”

Lily rolled her eyes at my use of the word ‘torture’ when associated with dressing up, but she and Beth got back to work with a vengeance.

Fifteen minutes and a bit of arguing, in which I convinced them I didn’t need more than a light layer of blush, which had already been applied, and the eyeliner and eye shadow. As much as I hated getting dressed up, I had to admit that the fifteen year olds knew what they were doing, because I looked pretty darn good. For me, anyway.

My hair was up in elegant curls, a few pieces hanging down from the main, to the nape of my neck, in gentle, controlled curls. Contrary to what Lily had told Aunt Penny, I thought a necklace would look great with it. The dress, once Lily and Beth finished fussing over it, accentuated my curves - there was a bit more there than I had ever noticed, to be totally honest. A little more cleavage than I was absolutely comfortable with showed, but Lily assured me that it looked great on me, and I trusted her sense of fashion and what looked good far more than I trusted my own sense of the word. I would be a train wreck half the time without her…well, at least for parties.

“Twirl around,” Beth said firmly, and I didn’t dare to disobey. She squealed in delight then, and told Lily, “It’s perfect!”

“Yes,” Lily agreed, practically glowing with pride. “Yes it is. Let’s just add these turquoise earrings that you’ve got, Rose, and you’ll be set.”

As I was putting in the aforementioned earrings, I finally voiced aloud, “I wish you had let Aunt Penny help find a necklace. I feel bare without one.”

“Don’t worry,” Lily said, smilingly. “You won’t feel that way much longer.”

I didn’t have time to ask before Beth glanced at my small clock on the vanity and cried, “Merlin! It’s that time already?! Rose, we have to get you downstairs in ten minutes, and that’ll be hell in heels!”

“T-ten minutes?!” I yelped, rushing to my bed and strapping on my heels - they had a little turquoise rose (oh, the irony!) on the side of the strap…not like it could be seen under my dress, but they were cute. Lily and Beth threw their makeup and things into their bags - they were going to crash with me tonight, along with Andy. I had decided it had been far too long since I’d spent time with my French friend.

“C’mon!” Lily cried, she and Beth each taking an arm and pulling me down the stairs.

The closer we got to the entrance hall, the more nervous I became.

“We’re going ahead,” Beth told me, winking. “We’re going to have someone wait for you at the bottom of the stairs.”

I flushed, crying out “Beth!” but the two girls had already gone. How they moved that fast in heels, I would never know.

So, I kept going at my own pace, lifting my wrist to see that I had five minutes to round this one last corner, go down the steps, and be waiting by the doors to usher everyone else in ahead of us. I had learned that Andy and Carl were each going with someone other than their partners (actually, Andy was going with Al…), but Ethan and Carmela would be going together.

I took a deep breath, pausing before I rounded the corner. I heard excited chatter, squeals of, “You look fantastic!” and laughing. One more breath, and I stepped around the corner, ending up at the top of the deserted staircase. My heels clicked loudly, and everyone in the vicinity of the stairs turned to look…including none other than Alexander Boyd.

I felt a lump rise in my throat, but then my eyes met Scorpius’. My cheeks flushed for what seemed like the hundredth time that night as I looked down at him. His mouth was open in a slight ‘o’ of surprise, his cheeks pink, but he still didn’t look away. He was wearing dress robes of normal black, but his tie was a darker turquoise than my dress - I assumed it was Lily who told him what color dress I was wearing, so we’d match. Or maybe she’d charmed it to be that color when she’d run ahead. I’d have to ask Scorpius.

That is…if I ever found my legs to walk down the steps.

I tried to ignore the eyes that were turning towards me, taking another deep breath, and starting down the stairs, trailing my right hand down the rail as I went so I wouldn’t fall flat on my face. I focused on regulating my breathing, feeling my cheeks turn pinker as I approached the always gorgeous Scorpius Malfoy. When I reached the bottom of the steps, I made sure I had good footing, and curtsied to my best mate. He pulled a little bow, looking at his feet with pink cheeks.

“You look great,” he said, smiling at me. If I knew anyone other than family, I knew Scorpius, and he was kind of nervous.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” I replied, forcing a real smile, mostly because of the overused line I had replied with. He shook his head, but took something out of the pocket of his robes.

“Here,” he said, not quite meeting my eye. “It’s your Christmas present, but I thought I’d give it to you early…”

I looked at him curiously, but took the box he offered me and pulled the green ribbon off. He met my eyes as I opened it, then looked down. I knew then why Lily hadn’t let me find a necklace at Aunt Penny’s shop. I felt my jaw drop, and I pulled my eyes back to look at him. A laugh bubbled from my lips, and I threw my arms around his neck.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, stepping back, “thank you!”

“Do you need help?” he asked as I pulled it out, examining the turquoise teardrop pendant. The part that connected the stone to the silver chain looked like a silver rose - Lily had known. She had said my watch would match, and it did.

I nodded in answer to him, letting him take the necklace in his hands and turned my back to him so he could see to clasp it behind my neck. His breath lightly brushed against my hair, and I almost didn’t want to walk away when he announced that he was done, but I turned around and he offered his arm, gesturing to the doors, where the others were waiting. Andy and Al stood on one side of the door, Carl and his date on the other with Ethan and Carmela. Scorpius and I quickly joined Andy and Al, noticing we had only a few moments before we had to enter.

Dinner was a bit different than usual. Unlike the usual attitude I had when eating, I took it very slow and deliberately, mostly so I wouldn’t get food on my dress. But all too soon, it seemed, or perhaps not soon enough, the dancing had to begin. The four couples that were the champions and two dates were front and center.

Ethan and Carmela seemed to be drinking in the spotlight, enjoying the sensation of being the focus. Andy and Al seemed content to talk to each other quietly as time was taken to introduce each couple that contained a champion or champions. We all stood side by side at the front of the hall.

When Scorpius and I were introduced, we were the last of the eight to step onto the dance floor. Music began, easily recognizable as a Viennese Waltz, and we adjusted our holds accordingly and began to dance.

The first song melded into the second, the third, eventually the fourth, and Scorpius and I were still dancing together, talking softly and laughing as though we hadn’t been slightly awkward when we’d first met up at the bottom of the stairs in the Entrance Hall. A slower song became the fifth, and we altered our steps to the right tempo and just danced, conversation burnt out for the moment.

Later, it would seem so clichéd and a terribly overused idea, but for those moments, it seemed as though we were the only two people there. Everything else seemed blurred through my biased eyes, fooling them into believing that Scorpius was the only one in the entire room that mattered at all. I wanted nothing more than to kiss him, to tell him that I never meant to fall for him, but I did, and I can’t make it stop - but I held it in. Better to have this moment with him than to ruin it.

My focus, as the song ended and Scorpius excused himself to get us drinks, turned to the person who had been glaring at me over Scorpius’ shoulder, though I had not seen. I pretended to be oblivious to Alexander Boyd’s murderous stare, finding Lily and Zack sitting together at a nearby table with a butterbeer apiece. I walked over to them, leaned down and whispered in Lily’s ear, “Don’t leave Zack tonight.”

She looked up at me, surprise etched across her features, and asked, “Why not…?”

Still whispering, feeling his stare on my back, I replied, “Boyd’s watching me. I don’t want him to try to get you again.”

“He’s watching you?!” Lily hissed, grabbing my wrist as I pulled away.

“Shh,” I shushed her. “It’s fine. Scorpius will be back with drinks in a moment.”

Just as I said this, he tapped me on the shoulder.

“Dance with me,” Boyd grinned maliciously.

“I’m sorry,” I said with false kindness, “I’m a bit tired. Maybe later, Alexander.”

“Dance with me,” he repeated quietly. I saw Zack stand up slowly out of the corner of my eyes, but someone cleared their throat behind Alexander.

“I’ve got your butterbeer, Rose,” Scorpius said, in a tone that proved he must have rushed back when he saw Boyd near Lily and I. “Hello, Boyd.”

“Malfoy.” Boyd nodded grudgingly and trudged away.

“Rose,” Scorpius whispered in my ear, “did he do anything?”

“Probably would’ve,” I murmured back, “if I’d agreed to dance with him.”

Scorpius’ eyes turned dark, but I put a hand on his arm and suggested that we go sit with Andy and Al and drink our butterbeers.

I stepped out of the Great Hall, silently hoping Boyd had still been watching me instead of Lily - who was not, as I had asked her to stay, with Zack, but talking with Beth. Scorpius had gone to get another drink for each of us, and I intended to lure Boyd out of the Great Hall, then lose him by using secret passageways. It would teach him to mess with me or any of my girl cousins if I got him lost.

Sighing, I leaned against the wall in the small area between the stairs and the wall, behind a bust of Paracelsus. Moments later, I heard footsteps and stiffened, realizing this was not a good place to be if Alexander Boyd had followed me. It was with a sigh of relief that Scorpius rounded the bust, saw me, and also sighed.

“What the hell were you thinking, Rose?” he asked after a minute’s restless silence. “You know he’s been watching you all night, and you walk off, alone and stand in a place that you could easily be cornered in.”

As if to prove his point, Scorpius put his hands above me, on either side of my head, and leaned down to eye level. “Yes, I get it.” I said weakly, avoiding his gaze and feeling the accursed heat rising to my cheeks again.

“Do you get it, Rose?” he asked, straightening a little without removing his hands. He stared at me with an intensity I found frightening and flattering at the same time. “He could’ve come out here, silenced you when you had your back turned, taken you somewhere far away from the hall where no one could hear you protesting, and done what he’d intended months ago!”

“I get it!” I said loudly, taking both of us aback. “I get it,” I insisted. “I just…if it was between Lily and I, I would choose for something like that to happen to me rather than her. She’s my younger cousin - I’m obligated, plus I would’ve chosen me over any other girl in that hall, even Goyle. No one should have to go through that, and when I saw that Lily was alone with Beth and Zack was all the way across the room, I was just hoping that even though I couldn’t see Boyd that he saw me and would follow me instead and leave her be! I understand what I could’ve gotten myself into very well, but I couldn’t leave it to chance that he go after Lily instead!”

After my slight tirade, I took a breath and looked up at Scorpius. My cheeks flushed once more, realizing that he still hadn’t moved from his example of how easy it was to corner me in this place, and I immediately looked back down.

“Sorry,” I murmured.

“Bloody hell, Rose,” Scorpius said, “I knew you cared a lot for your family - don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want anything to happen to anyone, either…but to put yourself in such a position? You make yourself so vulnerable, and when you explained to me just now why you did it, you were so sincerely worried for Lily that you’d gladly replace her in a situation like that. It’s no wonder you were sorted into Gryffindor, Rose, with guts like that.”

“Are you sure it’s not my Weasley stubbornness and loyalty to my family?” I retorted, not looking at him as my cheeks burned from his compliment.

Scorpius didn’t say anything at first, just let out a throaty chuckle and rested his forehead against the wall near his hand, above my left shoulder.

“Rose, you’re the bravest person I have ever met. You’re strong, courageous, smart, beautiful,” I knew my cheeks were pink. It was then that his voice dropped to a murmur that I was undoubtedly not supposed to hear but heard nonetheless, “and you have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now.”

The knowledge that my cheeks were on fire came with the burning sensation that permeated my face, neck, and ears, and on the spur of the moment, daring to believe that what I heard was what he had said, I leaned closer and breathed in his ear, “Then why don’t you?”

I saw his gorgeous blue-grey eyes flick to mine as he removed his forehead from the wall to look at me better. There were so many different emotions swirling in his gaze that I couldn’t discern any particular one. Whatever they were, the sight made my heart beat quicker, thudding against my chest as though fighting to burst free.

“What…?” he whispered.

“I said, then why don’t you?” I repeated, and I returned the gaze, looking right into his eyes although the heat was rising quickly to my cheeks. Scorpius leaned closer, but stopped when I felt his breath wash across my face.

“Why don’t I what?” he asked so quietly I could barely hear. His breath brushed my lips, sending my heart into an erratic frenzy as I held his gaze. He knew that I had heard, I knew that now. There was a slight twinkle in his eyes, as though he daren’t hope that I was telling him to do what he wanted to.

“Kiss me,” I answered him breathlessly, and without further prompting, Scorpius closed the gap of about three inches.

Soon after our lips met, my arms flew around his neck, my left hand seemingly entangling itself in his hair without my prompting. His right hand remained on the wall slightly above and to my left, but his left found my waist and wrapped around, pulling me closer.

As for the kiss itself? It was like no other I had experienced. My heart beat wildly, and I felt as though I couldn’t get enough of this kiss, or get close enough to Scorpius. It was gentle and yet resonating passion.

Scorpius’ lips tasted of strawberries and whipped cream - the toppings of my slice of cake which he had stolen part of earlier in the night. It tasted even sweeter on his lips.
It was with slight regret on my behalf that we pulled apart to breathe. After taking in a few lungful of air, Scorpius leaned down and pressed his lips against mine again, more gently. He made it brief, and when he pulled away it was to rest his forehead against my own. Our chests were still heaving slightly from the first kiss.

“Bloody hell,” I imitated his earlier statement, breaking the momentary silence. He chuckled deep in his throat, brushing a lock of my hair behind my ear and staring into my eyes.

“Rose?” he asked gently, his right hand not leaving my cheek as his thumb gently brushed my bottom lip.

“Hmm?”

“Would you…” he asked breathlessly, trying to find the words.

I leaned my head slightly, removing his forehead from mine, and tilted my head up to capture his lips beneath mine. After a few too-brief seconds, I pulled away and breathed teasingly in his ear, “Consider that a yes.”

Scorpius’ breath hitched slightly, and he said, “You didn’t let me finish my question, Rose.”

“Whatever it is, I say yes,” I retorted, sticking my tongue out.

“Then you’ll be my girlfriend?” he whispered in a low voice, right by my ear. A tingle went up my spine and I turned my head to kiss the corner of his lips and then, when he turned, I kissed him full on the mouth.

“Yes,” I repeated, staring into his eyes, his gorgeous grey-blue eyes. A broad grin stretched across his face.

Without much further ado, he guided our lips together again for the most forceful of the kisses yet. My hand was mussing up his hair, but it’s not like he’d care - it was more neatly done than he liked it, anyway. His hand from my cheek had found its way to the back of my neck, his other still around my waist, and everywhere our bodies touched was like fire.

“We should…” Scorpius began, before I silenced him with a quick kiss.

“We should…?” I prompted once I’d pulled away.

“…go back in…” he said softly, leaning down for another stolen kiss, grinning slightly against my lips. When he intended to pull away, I held him there for a few seconds longer, a grin unfurling across my features as I did so.

“There’s still time for a few more dances,” I agreed, smiling at him and entangling our fingers.

“Yeah,” he agreed, leaning down and pressing his lips to mine once more.