Scorrose

seven - edit

For about three weeks now, all fourth years and above were required to attend mandatory dance lessons once a week in preparation for the ball. For any underclassmen who were attending, it was optional. Rose always hated it. Fumbling around with a random boy with sweaty hands who kept stepping on her foot was not her idea of a good time, but she knew she had little choice.

As she made her way to the classroom for the dance practice, the only thing that made it bearable was knowing this would be the last lesson before the actual ball. She went to the side of the room predominantly filled with girls, scanning the room as she waited. Although traditionally one of the dances they were learning consisted of a male part and a female part, the students had a choice on which one they wanted to learn at any time, as long as everybody had a partner for practice.

She wondered if Siobhan would come, now that she would also be attending the ball. There were too many people in the room to tell whether she was even around.

A few more students filtered in over the next five minutes, and Rose found herself zoning out into the crowd until she noticed a familiar figure coming up to her. She straightened as Scorpius advanced closer.

"Hey," he said.

"You're here to learn the girl's part, are you?" She asked teasingly.

"Er – no," he said, not catching on. She was surprised at how serious he looked. "Actually, I wanted to ask..." He paused for a moment, wrinkling his nose. "Are you mad at me?"

She was taken aback by the question.

"What do you mean?"

He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I've not been... well I mean I may have been acting like a bit of a jerk lately. Doing things I shouldn't do and... saying things I shouldn't say."

"Albus already apologized on your behalf," Rose said. "And really, it doesn't matter. Like I told him, everything you two said was true."

"Not really," Scorpius said quietly. "I just – I don't want you to think that I'm judging you for your past behavior. I wouldn't want you to judge me for who I used to be."

She studied his face for a moment – that frown, that wrinkle between his brows, that freckle on his cheek. She had to admit he looked kind of cute. She had half a mind to reach out just to push back the hair falling over his forehead. Feeling weirded out by her own thoughts, she looked away.

"Well if we're being honest," she said, hoping to keep her tone light. "I preferred you as you were our first few years at Hogwarts."

"Annoying and unpopular?"

"Kind and friendly," she said. She looked at him then, raising her eyebrows. "But the annoying part hasn't changed."

He smiled slightly, and something inside her flipped.

"You're saying I'm not kind and friendly, then?"

"Not as much as you could be."

"Look who's talking."

She opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by the instructor, Hepzibah, who walked into the middle of the room and clapped his hands to tell the class they were to begin.

Scorpius jogged across the room to the other side and everybody snickered as they watched him. The instructor shot him a look of annoyance. Rose could see him blushing even from all the way over here.

"Everybody line up," Hepzibah said, "And walk forward to your partner."

There was a clatter of movement and voices and scuffling feet. Partners were usually quite random for these rehearsals, and completely dependent on who happened to stand across from you all the way across the room. Rose found herself approaching a curly-haired boy she almost recognized. She noticed Scorpius in her periphery walking toward the girl beside her.