Darker than your Wonderland, Chapters 4-6

Part 1 is here.

4.  Reactions

It was two days before Rose received a reply.  She didn’t share it with Scorpius; he didn’t share his with her.

Later that day, Scorpius and Rose wandered out to the grounds of Hogwarts, both clutching piles of books.  Along with the reply from her father, Rose had received a package from her mother.  It was full of books she'd left at home.  She’d regretted that, now that she had Scorpus to share them with, and had pleaded with Hermione to send them.

It was a crisp autumn day and it didn't take them long to find somewhere to sit and read, away from prying eyes.  They leaned against a tree and quickly lost themselves and each other in the sheer joy of the stories.

After a while, Scorpius put his book down, and looked up at the sky.

"Father loves me," he said, apropos of nothing.  Rose stayed silent but lowered her book in order to gaze at him.

Scorpius scratched at the back of his neck, nervously. "He asked if it was something he'd done. If he'd turned me away from ambition. He said that, although ambition can be a bad thing, like it sometimes was for him, it didn't have to be.  He said he hoped this didn't mean I was turning away from my future."

Rose didn't know what to say.

"He's so disappointed," Scorpius continued, quietly. "I don't know how to tell him that he shouldn't be."

"My parents don't understand either," Rose confessed. "My mother was intelligent too, but she was put into Gryffindor. They're glad that I inherited that, but, I think…I think they wonder what I'm missing. Why I'm not brave."

5. Comrades

Gradually their parents came to accept that their children's paths differed from their own, and Scorpius and Rose began to feel a lot better about the letters they were receiving.

As far as they both knew, their parents were still unaware of their friendship.  Scorpius didn't have any other close relatives at the school to tell his father and Rose knew that her cousins hadn't said anything.   Rose had told her parents about a new friend – her best friend if she were honest – but she’d avoided mentioning any names.

Rose hated saying goodbye to Scorpius at Christmas. She loved her family, but there was nowhere she could just sit and read quietly at home.  They’d always want her attention, to go and play or to help with something.  And there was no one with whom she could talk about books like she did with him.

Scorpius had given her a list of books he'd like to borrow "if it's not too much trouble," and she'd promised to see how many she could fit into her trunk.

Despite all the fun she had with her family, it was a long winter break.  When she came back after Christmas, she headed to their usual table in the common room, pleased to see him already there.

"Good Christmas, Scorpius?" she asked.  He nodded, flashing a quick smile.

As they'd both settled in at Hogwarts, they'd moved away from their initial, shy, mannerisms.  Scorpius had cultivated his cool expression, and, in class, preferred not to volunteer to answer questions.  Often he didn’t seem to be paying attention at all, and it was only his near perfect marks that betrayed him.  In contrast, Rose was eager to answer questions first.

Scorpius’ face had seemed stern and haughty once but Rose had come to realise that that was just his natural expression.  Part inherited, part cultivated to get people to leave him alone.  Rose and Scorpius tended to work together, and this had ceased to draw comment from their classmates very rapidly.  In many ways, they made up for one another's weaknesses.  Rose was good at Transfiguration, while Scorpius showed an early talent for Charms.

6. Papa Wolf

The summer holidays promised to be even longer than Christmas had seemed.  Rose missed Scorpius.  Eventually they agreed to meet in Hogsmeade, one day in July.  Rose asked her father to take her.  She had yet to divulge exactly who her new friend was, so her dad had almost choked on his butterbeer when she waved at Scorpius Malfoy.  Draco Malfoy had not reacted so strongly, merely raising his eyebrows until they almost disappeared into his hair.

"So," he'd said, as they drew close to the table. "This is your new friend, Scorpius."

Rose held out a hand, eager to make a good impression. "Pleased to meet you, Mr Malfoy."

After a glance at Ron, Draco shook Rose’s hand. Scorpius glanced between them. At the start of the year, he and Rose had been of much the same height but now she was an inch or two taller than he was.

"I didn't lie, father," Scorpius said, so quietly that Rose thought that he probably didn't realise she could hear him. "She does come from a pureblood family."

Draco glanced at his son, but didn't reply. Rose's father had finished coughing and greeted Draco curtly.  “Malfoy.”

"Weasley."

"I wasn't aware that your son was my Rose's new friend." Ron finished, with a glance at his daughter.

"Quite." Draco nodded, and then turned to his son. "Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, I will see you back here in two hours."

"Father -"

Draco held up a hand. "Not a moment longer. Do I make myself clear?"

Scorpius stopped. "Yes father."

Rose, Ron, and Scorpius watched as Malfoy stalked out of the pub, his coat swirling behind him.

Rose had seen a great resemblance to Scorpius in Draco. The hair, eyes, and general features, for a start.  And the cold, brusqueness...that was something she knew Scorpius adopted amongst people he didn't know well, as part of his shyness.  It was a defence mechanism.  She wondered what Draco's reason was.

"Flash git," said Ron, and Rose watched as Scorpius' face closed up. He turned to her father.

"I'm honoured to meet you, Mr Weasley," he said, smoothly, his face utterly blank. Rose wished her father had been friendlier.

Ron and Scorpius shook hands, and then Ron turned to Rose.

"I guess I'll see you here in two hours, too," he said. "Don't wander too far."

Rose nodded, and she and Scorpius left. Rose felt the coins in her pocket, and wondered if she had enough for ice creams.

Part 3 is here.