The Awkward Encounter

Scorpius glanced down at her bloody, skinned knees, scowling slightly in disgust and nearly wincing at her pain. He hadn't hurt his knees like that since he was a small child frolicking in the lush Malfoy gardens and tripping over one of the crooked flagstones but it was a burning sting etched into his memory for eternity. Scorpius brandished his fir wand, sleek and black, well crafted like all the Malfoy wands and held it up so that it hovered over her injuries. His gray eyes now held a sense of weariness, flickering up to meet Rose's in caution and asking for silent approval.

He wasn't sure why he was helping her, if it had been anyone else he'd have ignored them and left it alone and it being Rose he should have acted far worse than that, mocking her or making some snide, cruel remark but all that bitter hatred and envy of her rival intelligence had left him since their play. All he could envision over and over again in his fair head was how stunning she had looked and recall those strange, intense urges drawing him near her, stemming from his gut.

"Episkey." Said Scorpius clearly with confidence despite the self-doubt churning inside of him, hoping that focusing on the casting magic would rid him of the thoughts clouding his mind like a heavy smog. Rose made him question everything and it was unnerving, hence why he'd been avoiding her like the bloody Black Death. He was a coward.

"You're welcome..." He said quietly, gliding his smooth, pale fingers against her healed skin in curiosity, to ensure that it had worked properly. Scorpius was never one for healing magic but it seemed the results had been a success. Scorpius then looked back up at her, still crouched down in front of her before her feet as if she were some sort of radiant goddess and at this abrupt realization that a Malfoy was literally kneeling before a Weasley's feet, his hand dropped from her leg as he rose up, hastily dusting off his trousers though they still appeared immaculate as always.

"Ah-hem." He cleared his throat awkwardly, his body language suddenly stiff and conveying his discomfort of having placed himself in this unfavorable situation.

"Erm- How are you...doing that is...How are you doing?" Scorpius inquired lamely, his voice a bit hoarse from having touched her soft skin, fingers skill tingling as if some of her magic had been imbedded in them, mixing in with the energy encompassing him. It had been...nice and he hated himself for even admitting that. Why couldn't he continue to feel repulsed by her mere existence? Why did he feel so drained and confused, struggling with the turmoil churning inside of him?

"I've been alright..." Scorpius managed coldly, pursing his lips and diverting his steely gaze to take interest instead in some dry, dead leaves. His chest contracted, twisting with a gnawing sensation in his gut egging him on to speak. The awkward intensity lingering between them like dark magic, product of words left unsaid was nearly intolerable, suffocating him both night and day and in an effort to make things feel more normal once more between them, for anything was better than this torture, Scorpius spoke up first about the play incident.

"Rose..." He began reasonably, her name sounding odd and foreign against his tongue, though not repulsively so, it was merely strange for he couldn't recall a single instance where he had spoken her first name, usually calling her by Weasley or sneering at her some other degrading term in malice.

"We need to talk...about the play, I-" Scorpius shifted, scratching awkwardly the back of his pale neck as his gray eyes flickered over to hers and away from the shriveled foliage, so crystal blue and piercing that he found it nearly impossible to look away as they ensnared him. 

"I wanted to- I thought about-" The Malfoy heir sighed heavily mid-way of his confession, irritated with his own strung out blithering and recollected himself immediately, his tone shifting from quiet and unsure to arrogant in the blink of an eye in order to appear stronger and less affected by his rival's beauty which he had never once acknowledged before but now could not ignore even if he tried.

"Kissing you, I thought about kissing you and I don't have the faintest idea why. I mean, could you imagine?" He cruelly mused, arching a sandy brow. "A Malfoy actually snogging a Weasley." He sneered, his eyes boring into hers intensely, awaiting her reaction to the confession of his peculiar intentions last week in History of Magic. Surely she'd be repulsed, just as he should feel too about the incident but somehow couldn't bring himself to, though he'd never admit that to her, she'd give him hell for it. Still, the urge to kiss her, to unlock the new mystery of her lips was tempting, always tugging at the back of his mind and even now as they stood there, his gray eyes occasionally wondered down to her full, pink lips, imagining what they would taste like, feel like, pressed against his own.

Scorpius' eyes widened by a fraction at Rose's harsh words, biting and cold, sending a shiver of forbidden desire down his spine. He liked getting a rise out of her, he always had but things had changed recently, her being angry with him, especially not when he was quite aware of them both lying to themselves, provoked a silent, unspoken challenge between them that made his blood boil with excitement. The haughty redhead stepped forward, close enough that Scorpius could feel her hot breath tickling against his lips as she spoke. "Disgusting." She told him, "Why would I of all people, want to snog you, a Malfoy." She had said but her body language contradicted that statement severely and finally, perhaps having her so close just as they had been last week, had snapped all of his restraint. Scorpius smirked despite her harshl words, his tone smug but soft, teasing, no more than a quiet whisper, barely audible between them.

"You're lying, Rose." He breathed, his gut churning pleasantly, a peculiar warmth spreading through his core as he reached up with two pale, cool hands, chilly from the winter air nipping at their skin, to cup gently her cheeks, his silvery gaze boring into hers one final time before they fluttered shut and he boldly closed the gap between them. His magic crackled in the air as it collided with hers, light against dark, warm against cold, as if each one were opposite sides of a magnetic pull. Her lips were soft and inviting, almost impossibly so, molding against his perfectly. His fingers threaded in her fiery, auburn locks, smooth as silk, pulling her firmly against him and keeping her there a moment longer, drowning in the intensity of that single, searing kiss. In that moment the world ceased to exist, it was only them, Scorpius and Rose and then it shattered as Scorpius reluctantly broke away, lowering his hands down over her slender shoulders to fall limply at his sides as he stared blankly back at her for a long moment in stunned silence, unsure of what to say. Her words, "Why would I of all people, want to snog you, a Malfoy." rang once more into his ears and he smiled cheekily, not at all like his usual arrogant smirks, but real, reflecting warm amusement and causing his grey eyes to glisten attractively.

"You seemed rather willing... Feel free to slap me if I'm wrong...but I dare say you might have actually enjoyed that..." He stated lightly, still grinning smugly as he let out a low chuckle, gray eyes assessing the bright Gryffindor closely for a reaction. No matter how she responded to his kiss there was no turning back, the feelings stirring within him he recognized as distinctly possessive. Wooing Rose Weasley would be a hefty challenge but he'd stop at nothing to acquire her. No more denying it so foolishly, whatever this strange spark was that crackled pleasantly between them each time they were near was quickly becoming addicting and Scorpius was sure of one thing, he craved more. No, he needed more of this.

Scorpius' fair brows shot up in both surprise and devilish amusement when Rose countered back, "I don't know... maybe we should try it again? Just so I can decide, of course." Then moved back in for more, which was expected of course, being that he was well aware of how irresistible the Malfoy charm could be but still, Scorpius wasn't nearly as confident and naturally charismatic when it came to the ladies as Draco was, so her nerve caught him a little off guard and he stiffened slightly in alarm before relaxing his taught muscles against her. He encompassed the haughty Gryffindor, instantly pulling her back in greedily for another forbidden kiss, his cool hands reaching back up to cup gently each of her freckled cheeks as he held her to him, devouring her full lips. His mind numbed to a blissful state of contentment, a groggy sort of ecstasy that washed over him often as of late in Rose's presence. Once more Scorpius was the first to pull away, allowing his pale digits to thread through her fiery, red hair as his hands moved to rest against her lower back, still holding her flush against his strong, lean body, a few inches taller than her own.

He gazed down at her with warmth glimmering in his pale, silver orbs, a warmth that had never been present before but now he allowed himself to gaze at her both affectionately and possessively as if she were a grand prize he had just won.

"If we're going to snog each other senseless we ought to be more mindful of our location...wouldn't want a certain professor stumbling upon us now would we?" The dark Ravenclaw hissed, thinking of his ever watchful and judging father, immediately his eyes darted in paranoia around the clearing to ensure that they hadn't been caught and that they were still indeed alone. "I would accompany you back to Gryffindor tower but it would be far too risky, surely you understand, yeah?" Scorpius asked her coolly, resuming his mask of indifference often worn in front of her and many others while delicately disentangling his limbs from hers so that their close proximity no longer looked suspicious should an onlooker emerge from the shadows.

"I'll see you around, Rose." Scorpius promised with a tone of finality and a mischievous glint in his eyes, which still glimmered with warmth and light despite his false, curt demeanor. Then with a sweeping glance around the courtyard he left, swiftly strutting back into the Entrance Hall and down towards the dungeons where he was to serve a detention with Maverick Rotburn for their brawl last week at the Quidditch match.

He knew he'd kiss Rose again, it was like amortentia the effect snogging her brought upon the hormonal, teenage boy. Now that he'd had a taste he could not live without it. Next time though, he'd be far more wise about choosing their location, somewhere a little more... private.