shy ↳ Scorpius Malfoy

Chapter Seven

Alice does not seem to remember why her and Rose had a little spat the night before, as her mind was consumed with thoughts of Scorpius for most of the night. She decides that this is okay, that she could be thinking of far worse things than a boy.

"So, tomorrow is the big day, huh?" Teddy says first thing as he takes a seat next to Alice in the Great Hall for breakfast at an early hour. Alice wanted to get down there as quick as she could, given that she did not eat dinner the previous night.

"Yeah, how did you even know about that?" Alice questions.

"News spreads fast," the boy says vaguely, shrugging as he digs in to his own plate of delicious food, shoving handfuls of fold into his mouth in a disgraceful way that causes Alice to grimace. However, she is used to Ted's antics, so she does not say anything, as it would more than likely be useless.

"Well, I don't understand what all the fuss is about," Alice finally says, turning to her own plate. "You go on dates all the time and no one makes a big deal about it. But, I make plans with a boy and the whole school freaks out about it."

"Don't be ridiculous," Ted says. "I'm sure that the whole school doesn't know. Just... around half."

"Thank you, Teddy, you're making me feel a lot better." She sighs. "Well, I don't care what they say, anyways. I think Scorpius and I will have a great time."

"Good. And I hope you'll have a good time as well."

The brunette grins, a little caught off guard by the change in his attitude. For a moment, his usual cockiness was replaced by genuine sweetness and Alice is ecstatic to see that side of him. While she has learned to appreciate his jokes, she enjoys seeing the other side of him as well, the sweet, caring side that is so rare to so many.

"Thanks, Teddy," Alice smiles.

"Also, if you get a minute," the boy says. "While you're there, could you pick me up some more Fizzing Whizbees? I'm fresh out."

Alice chuckles a little. "Sure thing."

***

"What are you going to wear?" Lily Potter asks, pacing in front of Alice later that day. Alice and Rose sit around the fireplace as it's a rather chilly day, but Lily is far too excited to be sitting.

"I dunno, does it really matter?" Alice inquires, tapping her quill against a piece of spare parchment that she has been doodling on for the past few minutes.

Lily gapes at her. "Of course it matters! I think he would appreciate it if you looked your finest."

"Look, I really don't think that Scorpius cares for that sort of thing."

"Yes, Alice is right," Rose interjects, taking Alice by surprise. "I mean, don't you notice how much that boy drools over her? Even in the morning when she has bed hair and looks absolutely horrendous..."

"Thanks, Rose," Alice says. Rose grins at her.

"Well, all the same, I think you should wear something halfway nice for him, I mean, the boy did ask you to spend the entire day with him."

Alice sighs. "Okay, Lily, I will attempt to dress nicer than usual."

Lily smiles widely. "Can I pick out your clothes?"

"Hmm let me think... no," Alice says, as if she had to think about it. She is awfully picky about her clothes, she does not even like the outfits that her parents pick out for her. "Don't worry, Lily," she says when she sees the frown on Lily's face. "When I find something I like, I will ask your approval before actually deciding on it."

This was good enough for Lily as the girl broke into another full on grin, before wishing the two a good night and running off to bed.

"Well, that was nice of you," Rose says admirably, flicking pages of her parchment in search of a specific one.

"She would have bothered me until we came up with some kind of compromise."

Rose sighs. "Yes, I suppose that's true. But all the same..." Her voice trails off as she gathers up her pieces of parchment in an organized fashion and standing up, holding her materials in her arms.

"Well, I'm off to bed myself," the red head says. "Will you be up any time soon?"

Alice chuckles lightly. "Probably not. I want to get this all done before the trip tomorrow, so I'm not worrying about it the whole time."

"Well... good night," Rose says. "And Alice, I do hope you have a good time tomorrow."

Alice's face lights up, half in surprise and half in happiness. "Thank you. Good night."

Still buzzing with surprise and happiness, Alice goes about finishing her homework and Rose ascends up the stairs to bed.

Alice stays awake a good amount of the night, realizing just how much she needs to start paying attention in class again instead of daydreaming about Scorpius the entire time. Many of the answers were sloppy and vague, and the brunette knew that she would not get very good grades on them, but for the time being, she is doing her best.

When the girl finally decides to call it a night, she gathers her things in an organized manner before walking tiredly up the stairs, wishing that she could just collapse on her bed and fall asleep.

However, from the depths of her insides, she finds a little bit of energy and uses it to change into her pajamas, so she would at least be comfortable during her sleep.

When she lays down and closes her eyes, she immediately drifts into unconsciousness, the only sound in the darkness being some girl's loud snores.