Harry Potter Next Gen

"Doesn't mean he won't make life difficult for you. Not to mention some of your housemates in Slytherin... but if you're sure, then I'm perfectly happy to see where things go. I like you, Scorpy. You're fun... and you don't stare at me all the time... or stalk me." She laughed nervously, but was genuinely smiling.

"The one good thing about being a Malfoy in Slytherin house pretty much means what I say goes." he said shrugging. "I doubt anyone will say anything."

He stood up and stretched, propping his wand behind his ear again. "I've got to get back on my rounds." he said apologetically, offering her a hand up. "Odds are I wont see you until this weekend, so where would you like to meet? Before leaving grounds? Or at the pub?"

She took his hand, letting him help her up, and smiled. "How about... by the lake? Since it's, in my opinion, where we became friends. It's almost like it's 'our spot' now."

"Sure." he agreed. "By the lake." he said, kissing the top of her hand. He held the door open for her. "I'll see you Saturday morning then."

Sienna blushed slightly when he kissed her hand, but nodded. "Saturday. See you then, Scorpius." She smiled, and slipped out of the room... taking an odd turn and heading toward a dead-end... and when Scorpius looked away, she seemed to vanish. Mostly because she'd gone into the secret entrance to the Hufflepuff common room.

When Saturday came, Scorpious stood by the lake, dressed in his winter robes, his scarf tied around his neck. He wore leather boots and gloves, watching the light snow flurry fall and melt in the water as he waited for Sienna to arrive.

Anyone walking by might have dismissed the smoke from his lips as breath on the cold air as he finished off his cigarette, stuffing his hands in his pockets. It was cold. The perfect day for a nice warm butterbeer.

Sienna showed up shortly in her own winter clothes, but also wearing green earmuffs. She grinned at Scorpius, moving next to him. "Hey Scorpy. Ready for... uh, would this be considered a date? Not sure, never been on one."

"It's only considered a date if you consider it a date." he said, welcoming her with what seemed to have become his customary small smile.

"I thought today might be a good day to get to know one another a bit more." he said simply, offering her his arm as they began to walk.

Sienna took his arm without hesitation, and game him a teasing smile. "Well, then I'll reserve my decision on whether it's a date or not, until later."

"Fair enough." he said, well aware of a couple students pointing the odd couple out.

"Then again, the school might just decide for you." he quipped, offering a small grin.

The snow didn't stick to the ground as it fell, but the stone walk way did have a thin layer of ice on it, making it crunch as they walked.

"Do you usually go home for the Winter Holiday?" he asked. he never had bothered to notice.

"Sometimes." She shrugged a bit. "Kind of depends on my mood. Sometimes I want to spend the holidays with family, sometimes here at school. I write my parents once a week anyway, so it's fine. What about you?"

"This will be my first year staying at School." he admitted. "I'm curious as to how it'll be, really. I heard causally only some core staff stays."

He nodded. "Have you ever been outside of Europe?" he asked curiously, watching his footing as they headed down the sloping hill.

Sienna just shook her head. "Not unless you count Ireland as 'outside Europe', because that's the only place outside of Britain that I've been to. Why, have you?" She didn't seem to be watching where she was going, yet didn't stumbled for some reason. Then again, she tended to manage to do wierd things.

"I've been all over the place." he admitted. "I've got family in Europe, Asia, even in the Americas. I go somewhere new every Summer."

He thought for a moment. "Depending on how the rest of the year goes, maybe you can come with me." he preemptively invited. "I'm supposed to be going to China this year."

Sienna blinked in surprise, obviously shocked, then stuttered out a response. "O-okay, th-that sounds f-f-fun... I-I mean, that sounds fun." She blushed, glancing away. When caught off guard and embarrassed at the same time, she tended to... stumble in her words.

Scorpious blinked at her. "You don't have to if you don't want to, it was just an idea." he said, thinking her reaction was from the idea of leaving Europe at all.

Sienna shook her head quickly, sighing. "No, no, I like the idea, I just was caught off guard. I mean, you're inviting me to go to China with you, Scorpy..."

"Should I not?" He asked raising an eyebrow. He didn't see the big deal of it. "You said you've never been there. I just thought you might like to."

Ah, to be of the Elite class that can just up and go when and where you like.

She just looked at him for a moment. "...Scorpy... I live in a small, three bedroom house with my parents. My mother is a muggle school teacher and my father works in the Improper Use of Magic Office. We can't afford to go off to China. Or to really leave the country. The only reason we went to Ireland is because we were attending my grandmother's funeral."

Scorpious seemed to clue into what she was saying. "Oh." He said, blinking. "I hadn't even thought of that." he admitted a bit sheepishly, running his hand up and down the side of his face, clearly embarrassed by his faux-pas.

"Well, we'll see then." he suggested, not wanting to push the matter and make things awkward. Honestly, he was just so used to people around him also having money, money lost it's value to him. If he wanted, he could drop out of school the next day and go on without ever needing to earn an income, as could likely the rest of his family for at least a couple generations.

Sienna sighed, patting his arm. "I already agreed to go, Scorpy. I want to go. Just was letting you know why it was so surprising to me. Most people can hardly afford to take themselves to other countries, let alone taking friends along. Besides, I should have remembered that, for you, that extra expense wouldn't mean as much."

He rubbed the back of his neck frowning slightly. "Sorry." he added, just for good measure as they reached the village.

"Scorpious!" a tall witch called over, having spotted him in the crowd of students. She seemed a bit wiry, with a rather extravagant white fur gown on as she walked the streets with a basket in the nook of her arm, full of groceries.

The blond waved to the older woman, not seeming to have his usual resentful air to him. She also happened to be one of the few adults, aside from teachers, who used his first name while dressing him- and with no title. Sienna might have recognized her as the witch who owned the custom robe shop on the far side of town.

Sienna looked up at the woman, smiling a bit again. She wanted to move past that awkward moment they'd had. She also waved to the woman, just to be polite.