Lighting Candles Rose/Scorpius
Title: Lighting Candles
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Rose Weasley and Lily Potter
Pairings: Rose/Scorpius, Lily/Scorpius, Lily/Teddy
Era: October, 2023
Word Count: 1,298
Story Summary: Lily and Rose have a conversation about Scorpius and Rose realizes Lily's been right all along.
“I don’t think you realize that you’re in love with him.”
Lily was never the smartest of my cousins, but she was always the most calculating. Aunt Fleur always said Dominique got in to Slytherin because of her ambition; Lily was placed there for her cunning. She knew how to plan things out, how to think things through. She didn’t need natural intelligence because her study schedule was so exact she was assured passing marks in every class. She was probably the best seeker Slytherin ever had, not because of her parents, but because she could scour the entire pitch in less than ten seconds, simply because she spent the entirety of her first year mathematically determining the fastest way around it. She made all the right friends, could sweet talk her way out of anything, and lied better than most under-cover Hitwizards could. I spent most of my life envying her that-as lying was the one thing I could never, ever do. So, obviously, when I lied to her, she saw right through me. By my seventh year-her fifth-I came to the realization that lying to her just wasn’t worth the effort.
“I don’t think you realize what you’re saying.”
Evasion, however, was always completely acceptable. Lily would catch on to this tactic by December, but the statement was made in October, so I had a full two months to outsmart and deny her accusations. I was seventeen, I didn’t believe in the type of love she was implying. My parents fought so regularly that the rare moments when I knew they loved one another seemed to slip through my fingers like the grains of sand at Uncle Bill’s cottage. The last thing I wanted was to fall in love with a boy who frustrated me as much as my father frustrated Mum. I was fourteen and the world was still the ripest fruit, ready to be plucked and devoured. The last thing I wanted was to fall in love.
“I don’t think you realize that you’re blind.”
Mockery, easy, lilting, like a song she had played a hundred thousand times. Lily was so good at pushing buttons, at forcing a rise out of every single one of her Weasley cousins and her poor brothers, all of whom were half as graceful, half as dignified as the only daughter of Harry and Ginny Potter. That girl was like fire personified, and the rest of us could never burn as bright. I was alright with that-most of the time. But there were days when she’d walk in to the Great Hall with Scorpius’ bite marks on her neck and I’d want to share in just a little of her shine.
“He wants you.”
I was so sure of those words when I said them, sliding off my tongue like a final blow to the woman who had claimed victory over me. She laughed then, loud, twinkling, so harsh and yet so dreamy. I wanted to hit her, fiercely, passionately, I wanted to punch her square between those twinkling blue eyes she stole from my father and drag her down to my level. But Lily was always so beyond any one of us. The only person to ever keep up with her was Teddy, and he’s the one who ended up marrying her. So really, no one else ever stood a chance.
“He wants you. All I’m good for is rough sex, hard liquor, and easy laughs.”
The words were so exact, so sharp and precise, that they cut me to the bone and sliced open my heart. I stood there, staring at her, looking at the sincerity in her eyes, and realized that I was jealous of Lily for all the wrong reasons. She may have had his body, but I had his heart.
“You’re worth more than that.”
Suddenly I was angry: angry at Lily for letting herself be used like that, angry at Scorpius for using her like that, angry at myself for not realizing what was going on. Her parents would kill her if they knew she was Scorpius’ whore. But then, she didn’t seem to be dragged down by it. If anything, she looked dignified now that she had told me the truth, gracefully claiming her lustful title.
“It was sex. And it was good sex. And I really don’t think you have the right to tell me what I’m worth.”
She had a point. While I was always on the best of terms with her brothers, Lily and I simply never got along. She was too wild, too controlled, too harsh, too soft, too much of everything. Her intensity ripped through everyone who got close to her like a desert storm and while I envied her that, I couldn’t accept it in her. I was wound up tight, constantly trying to live up to expectations, always coming out on top. Lily didn’t defy expectations, she denounced them, refusing to be ruled by a society to which she knew she owed nothing. Her easy confidence was intoxicating, and why on earth any man would want me over her was beyond me.
“And you’re okay with this?”
It felt like an insult, sounded like one too, but I was genuinely concerned that maybe she wanted him. Maybe Scorpius was her Happily Ever After just as much as I was his. I didn’t want to take that from her. As much as I couldn’t stand being in the same room as Lily for more than a few moments, I could never hate her, never want anything but the very best for her. Lily was everything I wasn’t, which made it hard to like her, but she was my cousin, which meant that I loved her.
She smirked, the type of Slytherin smirk that seemed ingrained in their nature, perfected by Winter Holidays of their first year and used whenever possible for the rest of their lives. Her eyes danced in the candlelight of the Ravenclaw common room, partially mischievous and partially amused. She ran a hand through her long straight hair, hair I would have killed for, and shook her head just slightly.
“He isn’t mine. He was never mine. And in all honesty? I don’t want him. Scorpius was made for you Rose, and if you can’t see that, then I pity that boy.”
I faltered then, because even when she was calling me thick-headed she did so in such a way that made me realize how lucky I was. Scorpius Malfoy wanted me, after years of wanting him, of watching him and arguing with him, there was a part of me that truly believed Lily was right.
“You’re wrong.”
I don’t believe I ever said those words to her before that moment. James heard them at least nine times a day from me, mostly because we were always together and he was usually wrong. Albus and Hugo heard them often enough, as I continually chastised them for rude remarks or pranks or falling a Potions’ exam. But I never scolded Lily, never corrected her, even when she wasn’t right. Her eyes stopped dancing and focused on me, silently daring me to go on.
“I realized three years ago that I was in love with him.”
The smile that lit up Lily’s face was tantamount to a fire burning through tapestry. It was so bright, so easy, that it caught in my eyes and made its way all over my face. She threw herself against me, hugging me in a way that only Lily could hug you, and I knew in that moment that life was going to change for me, that I was finally going to understand what it was like to burn on my own, instead of living in shadows of Lily’s flames.
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Rose Weasley and Lily Potter
Pairings: Rose/Scorpius, Lily/Scorpius, Lily/Teddy
Era: October, 2023
Word Count: 1,298
Story Summary: Lily and Rose have a conversation about Scorpius and Rose realizes Lily's been right all along.
“I don’t think you realize that you’re in love with him.”
Lily was never the smartest of my cousins, but she was always the most calculating. Aunt Fleur always said Dominique got in to Slytherin because of her ambition; Lily was placed there for her cunning. She knew how to plan things out, how to think things through. She didn’t need natural intelligence because her study schedule was so exact she was assured passing marks in every class. She was probably the best seeker Slytherin ever had, not because of her parents, but because she could scour the entire pitch in less than ten seconds, simply because she spent the entirety of her first year mathematically determining the fastest way around it. She made all the right friends, could sweet talk her way out of anything, and lied better than most under-cover Hitwizards could. I spent most of my life envying her that-as lying was the one thing I could never, ever do. So, obviously, when I lied to her, she saw right through me. By my seventh year-her fifth-I came to the realization that lying to her just wasn’t worth the effort.
“I don’t think you realize what you’re saying.”
Evasion, however, was always completely acceptable. Lily would catch on to this tactic by December, but the statement was made in October, so I had a full two months to outsmart and deny her accusations. I was seventeen, I didn’t believe in the type of love she was implying. My parents fought so regularly that the rare moments when I knew they loved one another seemed to slip through my fingers like the grains of sand at Uncle Bill’s cottage. The last thing I wanted was to fall in love with a boy who frustrated me as much as my father frustrated Mum. I was fourteen and the world was still the ripest fruit, ready to be plucked and devoured. The last thing I wanted was to fall in love.
“I don’t think you realize that you’re blind.”
Mockery, easy, lilting, like a song she had played a hundred thousand times. Lily was so good at pushing buttons, at forcing a rise out of every single one of her Weasley cousins and her poor brothers, all of whom were half as graceful, half as dignified as the only daughter of Harry and Ginny Potter. That girl was like fire personified, and the rest of us could never burn as bright. I was alright with that-most of the time. But there were days when she’d walk in to the Great Hall with Scorpius’ bite marks on her neck and I’d want to share in just a little of her shine.
“He wants you.”
I was so sure of those words when I said them, sliding off my tongue like a final blow to the woman who had claimed victory over me. She laughed then, loud, twinkling, so harsh and yet so dreamy. I wanted to hit her, fiercely, passionately, I wanted to punch her square between those twinkling blue eyes she stole from my father and drag her down to my level. But Lily was always so beyond any one of us. The only person to ever keep up with her was Teddy, and he’s the one who ended up marrying her. So really, no one else ever stood a chance.
“He wants you. All I’m good for is rough sex, hard liquor, and easy laughs.”
The words were so exact, so sharp and precise, that they cut me to the bone and sliced open my heart. I stood there, staring at her, looking at the sincerity in her eyes, and realized that I was jealous of Lily for all the wrong reasons. She may have had his body, but I had his heart.
“You’re worth more than that.”
Suddenly I was angry: angry at Lily for letting herself be used like that, angry at Scorpius for using her like that, angry at myself for not realizing what was going on. Her parents would kill her if they knew she was Scorpius’ whore. But then, she didn’t seem to be dragged down by it. If anything, she looked dignified now that she had told me the truth, gracefully claiming her lustful title.
“It was sex. And it was good sex. And I really don’t think you have the right to tell me what I’m worth.”
She had a point. While I was always on the best of terms with her brothers, Lily and I simply never got along. She was too wild, too controlled, too harsh, too soft, too much of everything. Her intensity ripped through everyone who got close to her like a desert storm and while I envied her that, I couldn’t accept it in her. I was wound up tight, constantly trying to live up to expectations, always coming out on top. Lily didn’t defy expectations, she denounced them, refusing to be ruled by a society to which she knew she owed nothing. Her easy confidence was intoxicating, and why on earth any man would want me over her was beyond me.
“And you’re okay with this?”
It felt like an insult, sounded like one too, but I was genuinely concerned that maybe she wanted him. Maybe Scorpius was her Happily Ever After just as much as I was his. I didn’t want to take that from her. As much as I couldn’t stand being in the same room as Lily for more than a few moments, I could never hate her, never want anything but the very best for her. Lily was everything I wasn’t, which made it hard to like her, but she was my cousin, which meant that I loved her.
She smirked, the type of Slytherin smirk that seemed ingrained in their nature, perfected by Winter Holidays of their first year and used whenever possible for the rest of their lives. Her eyes danced in the candlelight of the Ravenclaw common room, partially mischievous and partially amused. She ran a hand through her long straight hair, hair I would have killed for, and shook her head just slightly.
“He isn’t mine. He was never mine. And in all honesty? I don’t want him. Scorpius was made for you Rose, and if you can’t see that, then I pity that boy.”
I faltered then, because even when she was calling me thick-headed she did so in such a way that made me realize how lucky I was. Scorpius Malfoy wanted me, after years of wanting him, of watching him and arguing with him, there was a part of me that truly believed Lily was right.
“You’re wrong.”
I don’t believe I ever said those words to her before that moment. James heard them at least nine times a day from me, mostly because we were always together and he was usually wrong. Albus and Hugo heard them often enough, as I continually chastised them for rude remarks or pranks or falling a Potions’ exam. But I never scolded Lily, never corrected her, even when she wasn’t right. Her eyes stopped dancing and focused on me, silently daring me to go on.
“I realized three years ago that I was in love with him.”
The smile that lit up Lily’s face was tantamount to a fire burning through tapestry. It was so bright, so easy, that it caught in my eyes and made its way all over my face. She threw herself against me, hugging me in a way that only Lily could hug you, and I knew in that moment that life was going to change for me, that I was finally going to understand what it was like to burn on my own, instead of living in shadows of Lily’s flames.