Part 2 is here.
7. Promises
"I apologise for my father's behaviour," said Scorpius, as soon as they were outside. Rose gaped.
"Your father? I'm sorry about my father. He's not normally -"
"He's just very formal, he didn't mean - "
They stopped, and smiled at each other. Rose was relieved to see Scorpius' face thaw.
"Let's go get ice creams," she said, feeling more cheerful.
"Rose?" asked Scorpius, as they walked.
"Yes?"
"Could we – could we go to muggle London, one day?"
Rose looked at her friend's face. Unusually, for him, there was a slight flush along his cheekbones. She realised that he was asking a lot from her.
Rose wondered what Scorpius' father would think of his desire to explore a muggle city. He'd been allowed to keep the books, but she knew that he'd never been able to buy his own. It had probably never occurred to Draco that Scorpius would want more books. Even if it had, would Draco know how to get around the muggle world well enough to buy more? Rose knew her own father would struggle with that.
Rose realised it had cost Scorpius a lot to admit, even as subtly as he had, that this was something his father couldn't give him.
Wizarding fiction was nowhere near as broad as muggle fiction and the books that did exist didn't often cover fantasy or science fiction. There were myths and legends, and there were books about wizards losing their powers for whatever reason, but there were very few about worlds where magic worked differently, or where technology was fantastic and advanced. It was simply not a subject that many wizards were concerned with.
"Of course we can," she replied, vowing to make it happen somehow. Her muggle grandparents would be fine with her bringing a friend to stay with them, she thought, although they might raise eyebrows about it being a male friend. The main problem would be persuading her parents, but she was sure they'd come around.
Scorpius and Rose got so caught up in debating the works of Philip K. Dick that they were almost ten minutes late getting back to the Hogs Head. Draco Malfoy was waiting outside. As soon as Scorpius realised that, he stopped running, flattening his hair, and smoothing out his clothing.
"Father," he said, in greeting., his face still flushed from their hurry Draco nodded, and stepped forward, placing an arm around his son, guiding him away.
"Good day, Miss Weasley," he said as they passed.
Rose hurried into the Hogs Head, to find her dad sitting at the same table they'd left him at, with rather more empty glasses in front of him than before.
"Rose Perdita Weasley," her father said. "I think we need to have a talk with your mother."
Rose gulped.
8. Flash Git
"Hermione!" Ron called, as soon as they got into the house. Her mother looked up. "You'll never guess who Rose's new friend is!"
Reading her husband's mood, Hermione looked at Hugo. "Hugo, you want to go play with Lily?"
Hugo looked torn between seeing his favourite cousin and missing whatever was about to happen. His mother gave him a firm look, and he made up his mind.
Ron handed him some floo powder, and Hugo stepped over to the fireplace. "Remember not to go too far, son," Ron cautioned. Hugo nodded and was gone.
"What's this about Rose's new friend?" asked Hermione.
"Go on Rose, tell your mother who your new friend is."
"I already told you mum. He's a really smart boy, who likes muggle books. He's in Ravenclaw with me, and he's really good at charms, but I'm better at transfiguration."
"Tell her his name, Rose."
"Is that more important?"
"Rose!" Ron shook his head. "It's Scorpius Malfoy, 'mione! That flash, albino, git's son!"
Hermione looked between her daughter and her husband.
"Rose," she said, finally. "Take some floo powder, and go and see Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. I need to talk to your father."
9. The Pioneer Plaque
Her father didn't mention Scorpius again, and Rose didn't dare ask if they she could meet up with him. They exchanged owls frequently, and they were both glad to see one each other again when they got back to Hogwarts.
They didn't talk about what they'd been up to over the summer. Instead, they talked about the books they'd read. Rose explained some of the things that weren't immediately apparent to someone of a purely wizarding background. Scorpius was amazed to find out that man actually had walked on the moon. More than amazed.
He'd read books about space travel, of course, but he'd always assumed that that part was entirely fictitious. He hadn't realised that the reason for the explosion of space-based sci-fi in the 50s and 60s was due to man walking on the moon.
Rose felt quite amazed herself, as she described what she could remember of the space program. But, you couldn't keep up that level of amazement for long, and they soon found themselves talking about the upcoming year instead.
Part 4 is here.
7. Promises
"I apologise for my father's behaviour," said Scorpius, as soon as they were outside. Rose gaped.
"Your father? I'm sorry about my father. He's not normally -"
"He's just very formal, he didn't mean - "
They stopped, and smiled at each other. Rose was relieved to see Scorpius' face thaw.
"Let's go get ice creams," she said, feeling more cheerful.
"Rose?" asked Scorpius, as they walked.
"Yes?"
"Could we – could we go to muggle London, one day?"
Rose looked at her friend's face. Unusually, for him, there was a slight flush along his cheekbones. She realised that he was asking a lot from her.
Rose wondered what Scorpius' father would think of his desire to explore a muggle city. He'd been allowed to keep the books, but she knew that he'd never been able to buy his own. It had probably never occurred to Draco that Scorpius would want more books. Even if it had, would Draco know how to get around the muggle world well enough to buy more? Rose knew her own father would struggle with that.
Rose realised it had cost Scorpius a lot to admit, even as subtly as he had, that this was something his father couldn't give him.
Wizarding fiction was nowhere near as broad as muggle fiction and the books that did exist didn't often cover fantasy or science fiction. There were myths and legends, and there were books about wizards losing their powers for whatever reason, but there were very few about worlds where magic worked differently, or where technology was fantastic and advanced. It was simply not a subject that many wizards were concerned with.
"Of course we can," she replied, vowing to make it happen somehow. Her muggle grandparents would be fine with her bringing a friend to stay with them, she thought, although they might raise eyebrows about it being a male friend. The main problem would be persuading her parents, but she was sure they'd come around.
Scorpius and Rose got so caught up in debating the works of Philip K. Dick that they were almost ten minutes late getting back to the Hogs Head. Draco Malfoy was waiting outside. As soon as Scorpius realised that, he stopped running, flattening his hair, and smoothing out his clothing.
"Father," he said, in greeting., his face still flushed from their hurry Draco nodded, and stepped forward, placing an arm around his son, guiding him away.
"Good day, Miss Weasley," he said as they passed.
Rose hurried into the Hogs Head, to find her dad sitting at the same table they'd left him at, with rather more empty glasses in front of him than before.
"Rose Perdita Weasley," her father said. "I think we need to have a talk with your mother."
Rose gulped.
8. Flash Git
"Hermione!" Ron called, as soon as they got into the house. Her mother looked up. "You'll never guess who Rose's new friend is!"
Reading her husband's mood, Hermione looked at Hugo. "Hugo, you want to go play with Lily?"
Hugo looked torn between seeing his favourite cousin and missing whatever was about to happen. His mother gave him a firm look, and he made up his mind.
Ron handed him some floo powder, and Hugo stepped over to the fireplace. "Remember not to go too far, son," Ron cautioned. Hugo nodded and was gone.
"What's this about Rose's new friend?" asked Hermione.
"Go on Rose, tell your mother who your new friend is."
"I already told you mum. He's a really smart boy, who likes muggle books. He's in Ravenclaw with me, and he's really good at charms, but I'm better at transfiguration."
"Tell her his name, Rose."
"Is that more important?"
"Rose!" Ron shook his head. "It's Scorpius Malfoy, 'mione! That flash, albino, git's son!"
Hermione looked between her daughter and her husband.
"Rose," she said, finally. "Take some floo powder, and go and see Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. I need to talk to your father."
9. The Pioneer Plaque
Her father didn't mention Scorpius again, and Rose didn't dare ask if they she could meet up with him. They exchanged owls frequently, and they were both glad to see one each other again when they got back to Hogwarts.
They didn't talk about what they'd been up to over the summer. Instead, they talked about the books they'd read. Rose explained some of the things that weren't immediately apparent to someone of a purely wizarding background. Scorpius was amazed to find out that man actually had walked on the moon. More than amazed.
He'd read books about space travel, of course, but he'd always assumed that that part was entirely fictitious. He hadn't realised that the reason for the explosion of space-based sci-fi in the 50s and 60s was due to man walking on the moon.
Rose felt quite amazed herself, as she described what she could remember of the space program. But, you couldn't keep up that level of amazement for long, and they soon found themselves talking about the upcoming year instead.
Part 4 is here.
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