Rose Weasley
–Oh, Alice, I’ll miss you so much!â€
–Rose, you do realise you’re not going away for forever, right?â€
I let go of Alice and gave her an annoyed look. It was the start of the Christmas holidays. I really couldn’t wait to go back to the Burrow for a family gathering and have Grandma Molly’s food -- not that the Hogwarts food was bad, though; I just liked Grandma’s cooking much better.
Alice was going home too, but for her, home was right there in Hogsmeade.
–Promise me you’ll visit,†I said.
–Of course I will,†she assured me. –And I’ll write, too. And we’ll see each other at Christmas anyway. Your grandma always invites us, and I’m sure she won’t forget this year.†She turned a light shade of pink.
–And you’ll get to meet Lysander, too,†I said.
She blushed deeper and nodded, not really meeting my eyes.
Alice had a massive crush on Lysander, though I had a feeling that he didn’t really reciprocate her feelings. Lysander really wasn’t that interested in girls; unlike his twin brother Lorcan, who was in a steady relationship, Lysander was more interested in magical creatures. Though he knew Alice very well, he didn’t really like her in that sort of way.
Behind me, the door creaked open. I turned my neck to see who it was.
Lily was standing there, her hands on her hips and her flaming red hair tied up in a high ponytail. –Oh for the love of Merlin,†she said incredulously, shaking her head. –We’ve been waiting for you downstairs for hours!â€
–Why?†I asked, frowning. –I told you all to leave.â€
–Al won’t go without you,†she said, rolling her eyes. –James and the others left, though.â€
That was really sweet of Al, I thought. I turned to Alice and hugged her again, before telling her to write to me often and finally saying goodbye. With Lily in tow, I levitated my trunk and scurried down the stairs.
The common room was almost empty, except for a couple of third years who were staying behind and Al and Ben. Both were dressed in Muggle clothes. I walked over to Ben and kissed him on the cheek. He looked really dashing, with his dark hair flipped to the side carelessly in a way that almost made me swoon. He pulled me closer to him and stroked my back with his finger -- in such a way that Al and Lily wouldn’t see it.
–What took you so long?†Al asked, trying to ignore mine and Ben’s closeness. Even if he knew what Ben was doing, he chose to ignore it.
Lily rolled her eyes. –Saying goodbye to Alice as if she’d never see her again,†she grumbled. –‘Oh Alice, don’t go away! I can’t live without you, my darling--’ ow!â€
–That’s for mocking me, you little git,†I snapped. She glared at me.
Lily was one of my closest cousins apart from Al, and we really fought the most. When we were younger, Lily and James would often prank us to no end and I was Lily’s favourite cousin to prank. She was also the prettier one out of the two of us -- my dull red curls were nothing compared to her sleek, bright red hair, and while I was pale, she had naturally tanned skin which was a result of the hours of playing Quidditch.
Despite being very clueless and tactless, she was rather fun, and she went out of her way to try and help me with fashion stuff -- something I was a bit weak at.
Al cleared his throat. –Can we leave now?†he asked impatiently.
–Finally,†Lily muttered, tossing her red hair. She grabbed her trunk and trotted out of the portrait hole.
I followed, with Al and Ben bringing up the rear.
***
The train was crowded.
Well, it was always crowded, but for some reason I felt that there were far more people in there than usual. It took a lot of shoving and pushing to get to our compartement, and by the time we got there, Lily had already threatened twelve people with dangerous hexes that I didn’t even know where she got from. James and Louis were waiting for us inside, and one look at their face told me that they were up to something.
Once he and Ben had finished putting the luggage in the racks above, Al plopped down on his seat and, closing his eyes, leaned his head backwards. Lily sat down beside him and pulled me down beside her, her face unreadable. I looked at Ben; he looked at me, his eyebrows raised.
I understood. As I had sat beside Lily and Al, that left him to sit beside James and Louis.
And neither of them liked him one bit. I could already see them sneering up at him.
Al looked up. –Um, Ben?†he said nonchalantly. –Are you going to sit or will you be standing for the whole ride? Because if you are, I’m going to ask Fred to sit with us too.â€
Oh for Merlin’s sake, why did they hate him so much?
–No, that’s okay,†Ben said through gritted teeth, trying hard not to retort. Grudgingly, he took the seat between James and Louis.
PZZZTTTTT!
I stared in shock as Ben yelped up, swearing loudly. Peals of laughter exploded in the compartment; James and Louis were doubling over with laughter and Al was almost rolling on the floor.
Oh Merlin, no.
Lily looked at Ben and burst out, "Ew, Ben, you can't fart in front of your girlfriend! That's gross of you!"
Ben was livid. The vein on his temple looked ready to burst as he yelled out, –Oh, very funny, guys. Really mature of you!â€
He was pissed. He was very pissed. And that didn’t bode too well.
–Relax, it was a joke,†Albus replied exasperatedly in between laughs, rolling his eyes,
Ben glared at me and I shrunk under his gaze. Though I knew he wasn’t mad at me, I knew that he could have a mean temper, and what James and the others had done could very well mean that Ben wouldn’t talk to them for a long, long time. And I didn’t want to have to choose between my cousins and my boyfriend.
He slid open the door so hard that it ricocheted off the end and the glass shuddered. His jaw set, he looked at me. –You coming?†It was less of a question and more of an order.
–Really, mate?†James snarled, now standing up as well. All hints of mirth were gone from his face and were replaced by annoyance.
–You really think you’re gonna do something like that and I’ll --†Ben started, but James cut across him.
–It was a fucking joke --â€
–Well, I don’t care what it --â€
–Then fine, get out!†James roared.
For a second no one spoke. I looked between the two of them hesitantly, fearing that they would start a duel. They both had mean tempers and if things got out of hand....
And then to my surprise, Ben smiled. –Okay, I’ll go then,†he said casually, as though he were commenting on the weather. –Rose, you want to come along?â€
Bemused, I blinked. What had just happened? One second James and Ben were at each other’s throats, preparing to whip out their wands, and now all of a sudden Ben was acting as though they hadn’t just tried to murder each other in front of everyone.
I looked at Al, who looked as befuddled as I was. Lily was gaping at Ben.
–Um, okay,†I squeaked.
He smiled at me with that lopsided smile I adored so much. –Well, I’ll see you guys later,†he said, and, sliding open the glass doors, he strode out of the compartment.
Glancing nervously at James, who seemed to have calmed down, I scurried out after Ben.
He had stopped only a few feet away, hidden from sight of the two adjacent compartments, leaning against the wall of the train and taking deep, heavy breaths. Now that I noticed, he wasn’t okay at all. It was just a facade he had put up in front of my cousins. He was trembling, and his fists were clenching and unclenching as though he’d like nothing better to hit something.
–Ben?†I called cautiously, creeping up to him. I put a hand on his shoulder.
–Are you okay?â€
He clamped his eyes shut and looked the other way, clenching his fists into balls.
–Ben?â€
–I’m sorry,†he muttered, breathing heavily. –I lost control, I shouldn’t have.â€
I took his hands in mine and slowly stroked them with my thumbs, willing him to calm down. That’s what I loved the most about him: it wasn’t even his fault and he was apologising. Looking directly at him, I whispered, –Don’t apologise. It’s not your fault.â€
Gently removing his hands from mine, he faced away from me, putting his hands on his hips and staring out of the window. –Do you know how hard it was for me to control myself back there? It pissed me off so much, but I couldn’t do a thing. If it was anyone else, I would have...†he trailed off, staring at the scenery fly by. –The only reason I walked away right then is because I knew I couldn’t hold myself any longer. I’d have hexed him into oblivion. But that would have hurt you. I didn’t want to hurt you.â€
Right then and there, I felt myself melt.
I walked over to him and turned him around slowly, willing him to look into my eyes. I loved his eyes. They were a brilliant shade of electric blue, not soft and kind, but a colour that sent jolts down my spine. His features softened and he put on a weak smile, drawing me into a hug.
Resting my head on his chest, I murmured, –You’ll never hurt me.â€
Slowly, he lifted my chin and kissed me. It was slow and soft, and I felt his hands draw circles on my back. –What do you say we find another compartment?†he murmured against my lips.
–Sounds lovely,†I breathed.
He pulled back, and, taking my hands in his, he pulled me along the corridor.
Most of them were full of students, and even those that were relatively empty had couples snogging in them. Having no wish to interrupt any of them, we edged forwards, stumbling once or twice as the train rounded a corner.
–There’s an open door,†Ben said, sounding relieved, pointing at a slightly ajar door a few feet away.
–Let’s quickly get to it,†I said, striding towards it and sliding it open. –If someone else gets to it --†I stopped dead in my tracks.
–Oh, gross!†Ben exclaimed
Scorpius Malfoy was sitting on the seat... with his zipper open. Directly in front of him, on her knees, was the Slytherin captain, Ayesha. And by the looks of her mischievous expression, she was about to --
–Merlin, Malfoy, you get an effing room!" I shrieked. It was bloody rich of him to have interrupted me and Ben the other day, and tell Al about us, when this was what he was doing in public!
Malfoy’s head whipped up so fast that I thought I heard his neck crick. He stared from me to Ben, a bewildered expression on his face.
–Weasley, it’s -- it's not what you think --†he stammered, pushing Ayesha away. She landed hard on the floor, and looked very shocked.
–Let’s get out of here,†Ben spat, looking at Malfoy like he was a disgusting piece of slug. Damn right, he was. –I want to wash this out of my memory right now.â€
Grabbing Ben’s hand, I pulled him away from there as fast as my legs would carry me.
I mean, how can someone be so disgusting?
Scorpius Malfoy
–Accio Socks!â€
A pair of socks flew out of my cabinet and smacked my face before landing at my feet. I sighed before scratching my nose and looking down, deciding to get more practice on the spell as soon as possible. It was annoying me that I kept getting it wrong. Thankfully, it hadn’t appeared on any of our final practical exams, or I’m sure I’d have failed a year.
I bent over and picked up the socks before throwing them into my trunk. Then, I put my hands on my hips and stared at my packing. Every corner of my trunk was occupied by something or the other. My clothes were bundled untidily and the few books I was taking home to study (at Mum’s insistence) were strewn apart carelessly. However, I was rather proud of myself for having finished packing. I went down on my knees, shut my trunk and started casting spells to lock it.
–Oi Malfoy, are you done already?†asked a voice as I looked up to see my roommate, Elliot Nott, make his way into the dormitory. –The train’s leaving in half an hour.â€
–If there’s still half an hour, Elliot, I doubt Malfoy would be done yet,†said a cheerful voice as Nott’s sister, Deanna followed him into the room. Elliot and Deanna had a third brother, Rigel. They were triplets who were all very close friends of mine, though I was closest to Deanna, whom I had nicknamed ‘Nottie’. I referred to Elliot as ‘Nott’ and Rigel as ‘Notter’.
I stood up and smirked at brother and sister, knowing I had proved them wrong this time. –I’m done,†I said with relish in my voice.
Nottie’s jaw dropped. –Seriously? Let me see!â€
She came over and opened the trunk with her wand. –Oh, Merlin, eww!â€
–What?†I asked, frowning at her. –What’s wrong with this?â€
–You can’t pack your stuff for nuts,†she sighed. –Move over. I know a simple spell to do it.â€
–No, it’s fine,†I muttered defensively.
–Sure it is,†she said, –unless you want to detach your arm carrying it. When are you going to stop being a Mummy’s boy, Malfoy?â€
–Shut up,†I grumbled. I damn well knew how to pack a trunk!
She shook her head exasperatedly as she waved her wand several times, and everything in my trunk arranged itself neatly. In two minutes, everything was ready and when I shut my trunk and lifted it, I found that it seemed lighter too. I grinned at Nottie. –Not bad, Nottie. Learning from Rose Weasley, are we?â€
She glared at me. –Don’t compare me with her. She had the audacity to snatch away Defrost from under my nose.â€
–Well, winners, keepers,†I shrugged. –You should have tried harder. You kept saying, and I quote, ‘he’s a bloody Gryffindor.’â€
–Well, he’s gorgeous,†said Nottie. –Pity he’s a Gryffindor, or I’d have asked him out. Father will never forgive me if I date a Gryffindor, though I guess it really isn’t that big a deal now. And why are you being so defensive of Weasley?†Nottie asked me. A mischievous grin spread over her face. –You don’t like her or something, do you?â€
–Of course not!†said a voice before I could reply (and I was going to say the same thing), as Ayesha entered the room. She was already dressed and seemed to have come to call us to the common room. –Are you ready?â€
–I am,†I said, going over to the bed and pulling a jacket over my multiple layers of clothing. –Are Notter and Harper at the common room, then?â€
–Rigel is waiting upstairs,†Nottie replied to me. –I don’t know about Harper, though.â€
–Harper is there too,†said Ayesha. –And so is Linda. I think we should leave before it’s too late.â€
I nodded, lifted my trunk and started to walk out of the dormitory. Ayesha came out directly after me as Nott and Nottie followed her. I was just approaching the staircases when Ayesha came up beside me. –Should I help?â€
–Could you just hold this for a moment?†I asked her, handing her my trunk.
She nodded, and the moment she had lifted it, I ran up the flight of stairs. –OI!†I heard Ayesha’s voice call out to me, but I stood there, sniggering to myself. In a few seconds, she entered the common room with the trunk floating in front of her. She walked right to me and drew away her wand, just as the trunk fell on my foot with a thud.
–FUCK!†I bellowed as pain rushed up my foot. –Why did you do that?!â€
She grinned and smacked my arse. –Serves you right, Malfoy!â€
–Don’t hit my bum,†I said.
–You mean, like, this?†she asked me, smacking my arse again. She chuckled and went on to grab her trunk as Notter, Jeremy Harper and Belinda, or ‘Linda’ Flint joined us. We were all good friends and most of the things we did were together as a group. Nott, Nottie and I were the closest and when Notter wasn’t in his own planet, he joined us. Harper and Linda were also close, but not so much. As for Ayesha, she had joined our little group recently, when she had become my girlfriend for a while.
Yeah, we went out for a while. I was in the relationship for the company, the steady Hogsmeade date and the sex. As far as I could see, there wasn’t much future in it. I kind of liked Ayesha, when you took away all the nagging. But well, she nagged because she was (and still is) smart, and wouldn’t take my dominance over her. She is also pretty and has a tongue on her that I liked… both literally and figuratively speaking Maybe the sex and the blow jobs were what I enjoyed the most, but then I realised soon that that wasn’t all for Ayesha. She wasn’t with me just to get laid once in a while, or to please me. She was actually in love with me.
The day she confessed that to me was when it stopped working for me. I had told her clearly at the beginning of the relationship that I was not looking for anything serious. Somehow, she had completely forgotten that, and this really scared me. I was scared of long-term commitments. I didn’t like committing myself to someone and being heartbroken, or being blamed if it didn’t work out -- not that I’d ever been committed before, but better safe than sorry, right?
I realised soon enough, after Ayesha’s confession, that it was time to end that relationship and stop it from wherever it was going. Sure, I’d miss all the sex and the intimacy, but really, that was secondary. Ayesha meant something to me, and I knew I’d be breaking her heart badly enough by breaking up like this, but it would be worse if I waited more.
She cried a lot on that day. She threw things at me, tried to hex me (and I had to cast a Shield Charm to protect myself). I had never seen Ayesha like that. She’s always calm. I felt sorry for her when she behaved that way, because I realised I had hurt her a lot. But then, I said to myself, she could have been hurt even more and I had just prevented that. I was actually being very nice.
Ayesha tried very hard to get me back. She even faked a pregnancy and managed to win me over for a week, because I honestly thought that I should take responsibility too, if that was the case. Later on I realised she was lying to me, and it was my turn to get pissed off at her. I didn’t talk to her for days and she was back to crying in her dormitory, in front of Nottie, who managed to feel sorry for her. Nottie convinced me to give Ayesha another chance -- as a friend. And so, Ayesha and I went on to become just friends. Ayesha wasn’t happy with it, but she settled. It wasn’t like she had much of a choice anyway. However, she didn’t cling to me or nag anymore and having her just as a friend felt good. Unfortunately, ever since the day that I interrupted Weasley and Defrost, she had started gluing herself to me again.
–Earth to Malfoy!†said Nottie’s voice and I snapped back to reality. She scowled at me. –Stop dreaming about Weasley and move your arse, so we can get on the train before all the compartments are occupied.
–How do you know I was thinking about--†I almost choked, –Rose?†We levitated our trunks and started to exit the common room.
She raised an eyebrow at me. –Whatever you’re trying to do isn’t working.â€
–No?†I said as we made our way upstairs to the Entrance Hall. –Well then, I probably shouldn’t mention that I saw her kissing Defrost a few days ago at the Quidditch pitch.â€
–That’s great,†she said shortly.
–And,†I continued, –She seemed to be enjoying herself. Maybe Defrost is good.â€
–Yeah, you should ask him out. You two will make an attractive pair,†said Nottie, turning around waggling her eyebrows.
Ayesha sniggered from behind us as we walked to the gates, wading through the snow. A very weak sun poked its sleepy head out at us and we could see our breath rise up in a mist as we walked to the train. We were panting slightly from all the wading by the time we got to the platform. Slowly, we boys hauled all the trunks into the train and went inside in search of a compartment, as Ayesha Nottie and Linda waited outside. At long last, we found an empty compartment and, after much pushing, pulling and elbowing from other parties that wanted the compartment, we got in and started shoving the trunks under the seats, or over the ledges as Harper went out to call in the girls.
The journey after that was pleasant. We played a few rounds of Exploding Snap, and filled ourselves with sweets from the trolley. We were just devouring Cauldron Cakes, and Nottie was opening up a Chocolate Frog. She removed the collector’s card and exclaimed in mischievous mirth, –Look who I’ve got!â€
I looked up at her and she was holding up the card for everyone to see. It was Ron Weasley.
–I’ve got ten of him,†I muttered, getting back to my cake. –You should have just asked me, if you didn’t have him yet.â€
–I thought you’d be more pleased, Malfoy,†Nottie tutted. –He’s your future father-in-law!â€
–Really?†I said, looking bewildered. –I thought that was supposed to be Defrost’s father.â€
Everyone roared with laughter and I sat back, chuckling to myself. Then all the ‘go get him, Malfoy’ quips began and I played along, noticing that Ayesha was unusually quiet. She looked amused, but she didn’t seem to be joining in at all. After another witty line about me and Defrost from Harper, I waited for the laughter to ebb, and then looked at Ayesha. –Do you have nothing to say?â€
–Well,†she said, –unlike these people, I know that you can never be with Defrost!â€
–Why not?†I asked, pretending to be offended. –Am I not attractive enough for him?â€
She gave me the hint of a smile. –No, because only I know how straight you are.â€
Nottie and Linda ooh-ed and Nott slapped my back. I shrugged. –Well, apparently, I am that good.â€
–Ugh, don’t start on that now,†said Linda. –We don’t want to know!â€
–Anyway,†said Harper, standing up and stretching, –I’m going and looking for my brother. I need to remind him not to tell Mother and Father about Lydia.†Lydia was Harper’s girlfriend. She was a Hufflepuff, which was why Harper didn’t want his family to know about her. He looked around. –Anyone want to join me?â€
–Yes,†said Notter. –I’d love to walk around a bit.â€
–Me too,†Nott agreed. –And I’ll just say a quick hello to Tamara. I just remembered; she’s two compartments away.†Tamara was a fifth year who Nott had been trying to woo for at least three months now, to no effect.
Nottie wagged her eyebrows at him. –Go get her, Elliot!â€
He gave her an uncharacteristically shy smile before leaving the compartment. A few moments later, Nottie and Linda took off to the bathroom and finally, it was just me and Ayesha in the compartment. I snatched one of the leftover Cauldron Cakes and offered it to her. –Want some?â€
She smiled. –No, thanks.â€
There was silence as I devoured the cake and licked my fingers afterwards. Mum hates this habit of mine, and I could see Ayesha cringe at it. –Yuck, Malfoy.â€
I winked at her. –Remind you of something?â€
She chuckled. –How could I ever forget that? It was the best…†she said, –… and the worst,†she added in a low voice.
It was almost a whisper. I bit my lip. It was months since our break-up, and… why did she still feel this way? Couldn’t she just get over it? Why did she have to take me on guilt trips like this? It wasn’t fair. When I looked back at her, her eyes were tearing up. Oh Merlin.
She took a deep breath and looked away, blinking a lot. –You’re an arse.â€
–We’ve had this talk many times,†I told her patiently. –Ayesha, you know there’s no point…â€
–No, there isn’t,†she said, –Because you won’t let me make a point!â€
–Ayesha…â€
She shushed me. –Will you let me do the… talking for once?â€
I shut my eyes for a second, opened them and nodded. –But we’re so much better off as friends!â€
–Shhh…†she said, getting up from her seat and coming to me. She came close enough and just when I thought she was going to sit beside me, she got down to her knees.
–Ayesha…†I said, as her fingers unbuttoned my jeans. I could already feel the arousal and I wanted to push her away.
She opened the zipper. –Let me explain this to you,†she whispered, a mischievous expression on her face. Her fingers were on the elastic of my boxers, and one finger peeked inside, tracing the raw, red impression from the elastic smoothly. –You don’t have to do anything, but stand up now. And you will get my point in a minute,†she murmured.
I quickly looked at the door. It was ajar. The others could come in at any time. Was Ayesha crazy? Why was she doing this?
And then I felt a caress from a soft finger. Oh, fuck, fuck… Oh, Merlin…
–You want more?†she muttered, taking out the finger and looking up at me, her eyes alight with excitement. How could I say no? How? And yet…
–No, Ayesha, we can’t…†I managed, my breath heavy. She was about to say something, when we heard a voice.
–Oh, Merlin, Malfoy, you get an effing room!"
I turned my neck so fast, with so much force that I cricked it. Agony ripped up me and I grit my teeth against the pain before pushing Ayesha away. She fell on her bum and I was doing everything possible as to not look at her face.
–Let’s get out of here,†Defrost spat, looking as though he might vomit. Well, he was a good actor. I couldn’t imagine him not having fantasied getting a blow job at least a million times in his life -- if Weasley hadn’t given them to him already, which didn’t look probable, with the way they were reacting to us.
–I want to wash this out of from my memory right now,†Defrost said, before taking Weasley’s hand and scarpering with her.
The silence in the compartment was palpable. We suddenly heard Nottie talking loudly to Linda, and Ayesha got back into her seat as I pulled up my zipper. In a moment, the two girls were inside and Nottie looked very amused for some reason. –I just saw Defrost and Weasley running as though their life depended on it.†She looked closely at me. –You look like a tomato! Why is your face so red?â€
–N-Nothing,†I replied… –I just…†I stood up. –I think I’m going to be sick.â€
I rushed out of the compartment with Nottie and Linda staring at me with bewildered expressions on their faces. Ayesha and I were going to be all over Hogwarts gossip once we got back from Christmas. Great. I was so looking forward to that!
When The Rose Fell by majestic_ginny, Ginny Weasley Potter
Chapter Notes: Thank youuuu, Sophie, for being so wonderful and helping us with this chapter!
Hello, everyone! So after that long, pretty much unintended hiatus, Nadia and I are back with another chapter! :D Sorry about that, and I hope we can finish the next chapter sooner, though with my exams and stuff, it may take time. But I promise we will try. :)
Chapter Endnotes: Reviews are love! Thank you!~ Pooja and Nadia. :)