#this hairstyle honestly hurts me. like..its a physical pain. i should get that checked out

[hillnerd]

Taking a Shallow Breath Ch 3

|Harry Potter | Fanfiction | PG-13 | in-progress | Chapter: 4747words

Ships: Rose/Scorpius, canon and others | Fanfiction.net link

Romance friendship comedy family & drama |

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Scorpius Apparated to a secluded alley near his building. He had never much cared for the Apparation spot, as it seemed to be a good place for trash to accumulate, and a favorite spot for the local stray dogs to do a number of unseemly things. He was relieved he didn't land in a pile of something unpleasant, and made his way to the front of his apartment, which resembled the Apparation point's alley as much as a unicorn resembled blast-ended skrewt. Scorpius was excessively fond of the home he had. Rose had helped him pick it out.

"Scorpius, this is the one!" Rose cried as she spun in the middle of the empty living room.

"I don't know… I mean, it's awfully big for just me," he said, running a hand along the stair's banister.

"But, it's beautiful. Think of the history it has," Rose said looking with longing at the closet that had centuries old graffiti. "Plus, it won't always be just you, you know. This would be a perfect place for a family. That little park is just across the street, and the neighbors are lovely."

It was without doubt a charming place, but seeing her look so pleased was all he really needed to decide to take it there and then.

The elderly lady next door was outside with her small bug-eyed dog on a leash. Her hair was piled high on her head, and every piece of jewelry she owned hung off of her, giving her a slightly dotty look.

"Scorpius, how are you doing today?" she asked, jerking the homely dog's leash as it started licking Scorpius' trouser leg.

"I've had better days, but thank you for asking, Mrs McNavis. How are you?"

"Snotgurgle has a cold, I'm afraid," she said, pointing to the dog whose eyes were running, making the ugly creature look even more deranged. Scorpius had long ago decided that not looking directly at the dog made it somewhat less revolting.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Are you going to visit the vertrinorian, then?" he asked with a polite smile.

"Veterinarian. You need to work on that dyslexia handbook I gave you if you ever want to get better, dear boy," she said with a pat on his arm. For some time she had thought his lapses in Muggle terms were the result of dyslexia.

He quite liked Mrs McNavis, though she kept trying to diagnose him with different learning and behavioural disorders. From her perspective he never seemed able to pronounce things correctly, was always 'forgetting' things like electricity bills and locking doors, and was unfamiliar with things he should have learned around age twelve in Muggle school. He also would have a fire going in his fireplace year-round, which she thought was a sure sign something was off with him. Though it was annoying for someone to think he was mentally handicapped, he was fairly contented to let her keep thinking it. After all, explaining would break the Constitute of Secrecy.

"Yes. I'm afraid I haven't been working on that dyslexia handbook."

"How was Rose's wedding?"

"Delayed until Friday, I'm afraid."

"You'll have time for lasagna night, though?" she asked, a small frown on her face. For the last two years every Wednesday he would attend a lasagna night at Mrs McNavis's house, along with a few of the other neighbors.

"Of course. I always make time for that, Mrs McNavis."

"Really, Scorpius, the way you always call me that makes me feel so old. Why don't you just call me Barbara already?"

"Very proper upbringing and force of habit. I'll try and work on that," he said, waving her goodbye with one hand, while his other hand surreptitiously waved his wand to open the door.

"You need to lock your door, young man. This may be a nice neighborhood, but you still need to lock the door," he heard her call from behind him. Snotgurgle gave a wet, hacking bark in his direction.

"Yes, thank you, Mrs McNavis," he said with a smile, before going into the house as quickly as he could. He gave a sigh and leant his head back against the closed door.

He could hear Mrs McNavis talking to her dog on the other side:

"Strange boy… Polite, but never seems to have his head in the right place… Come along, Snotty."

He slid down the door until he was sitting on the wooden floorboards, his eyes closed. He heard the padding of small feet, then felt a wet nose on his hand.

"Hi Libi," he murmured as the undersized striped cat purred and rubbed its head against his hand. Her soft fur and blatant affection brought mild comfort to him.

"Scorpius? Darling, are you there?" a voice called from the other room.

Scorpius gave a start and headed towards the living room, cat in tow, but not before checking that his hair was in place and his robes weren't askew.

"There you are!" she said in a relieved tone. Her dark hair was done up in a chic hairstyle and her makeup was impeccable, as usual. People always commented on how lovely she was, and he knew it to be true.

"I was so very worried about you. You need to be careful with that asthma of yours."

"I know. I usually am," he said, leaning down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You look nice in those robes. Turn around. Let me see," she said with eager eyes.

He did as he was told, though he had grown to greatly dislike this tradition between them.

"Very smart! I would have been honoured to be seen at your side," she smirked at him.

Scorpius nodded, though considering that he went to the wedding with the intention to break it up and steal Rose, it would have proven to be an even more awkward affair if she had been his date. He could just imagine her apologetic expression to the crowds of onlookers for Scorpius' undignified behaviour.

"What a handsome young man I have!" she cooed.

"Mum…" he let out, knowing she enjoyed embarrassing him.

"Where's Father?" he inquired, not seeing Father's head alongside Mum's.

"I'm here," he heard a voice say. A pair of polished shoes arrived next to Mum.

"He hurt his back a few days ago and refuses to see a Healer about it," Mum said with a roll of her eyes.

"It's nothing that requires a Healer. I'm sure it will be just fine," said Father.

Scorpius didn't need to see his face to perfectly picture the slightly sour expression on Father's face.

"Yes, we both know you have absolutely wonderful judgement when it comes to your physical state," Mum said, giving one of his shoes a pat. "He's fifty and thinks he can simply move a large oak cabinet by brute force. Excellent judgement."

"My wand had rolled behind it, and I had no idea that cabinet was made of oak," Father muttered.

"You had lots of important spells to do at midnight that just couldn't wait, I'm sure," Mum teased.

"I didn't want to wake you to use your wand."

"And I'm sure the House Elves were grateful for the lie in," laughed Scorpius.

"Oh! That hadn't even occurred to me! Yes, why didn't you ask Flumpy or Snoozy to get it for you?" said Mum, giggling a bit behind a well-manicured hand.

"We called to ask about Scorpius, if you remember," said Father.

"I'm sorry. You're quite right. Scorpius, did Rose look pretty in that dress?"

"Oh, honestly!" said Father. There came a great grunt, and after a moment Father's head was next to Mum's.

Mum gave a cry of "Draco! Your back!" which he heartily ignored.

"Never mind all that nonsense. Are you quite well, Scorpius?" asked Father, a look of concern deeply etched into his face.

"I'm really fine. Lily Potter was there and she healed me up quick as one can."

"Hmm," Father said, nodding. Every time Scorpius mentioned the Potters or Weasleys the same unpleasant look crossed his face. The look of bored distaste was present now too, and it hadn't lost any of its vigour in thirteen years.

"Lily's the one who Flooed us to let us know about you. We were both quite worried," Mum reiterated.

"Yes, well, as you can both see, I'm fine," Scorpius said, holding his hands out in an open expression for them to inspect him.

"Did Rose look pretty in that dress?" Mum asked. Father rolled his eyes, but quickly gave Mum a look of tolerant fondness.

"If you had accepted the invitation she sent you both, then perhaps you would have gotten to see her in it," said Scorpius.

"And make that idiot father of hers die of a heart attack on her wedding day? What a loss that would be," said Father in a sardonic tone. "You know, on second thought, I think we should have gone."

"I want to know if that dress worked. After all, I went to the trouble of sending her the catalogue and thought it would suit her best," Mum added, not acknowledging her husband's comments.

"She looked beautiful in it. Quite perfect," said Scorpius, staring despondently at a stray ember in his fireplace. He never thought the image of Rose looking so lovely could be such a source of displeasure, but seeing her looking so beautiful for another man made his blood boil, and his stomach plummet.

"Oh," said Father, interrupting Scorpius' thoughts. A cold look, unfamiliar to Scorpius, was on his face. Mum looked between her son and husband, eyes wide.

"I'm going to go find my will and cross some names off of it," said Father with a roll of his eyes. He struggled a bit to rise from the floor with dignity, before forgoing such measures. He gave an undignified and painful grunt as he shakily rose. Mum rose a bit to make sure he was steady, before quickly returning to the fireplace.

"I'm sorry, Scorpius. It's just the pain talking, I'm sure."

"Yes, probably," Scorpius lied, putting his hands in his dress robe pockets.

He knew Father's views on the Weasleys very clearly. Though he had always, in his own way, tolerated Scorpius' friendship with that most dreaded of families, Scorpius knew the very notion of him being involved with one of the red haired offspring was as distasteful to Father as Scorpius taking up with a goblin. Mum was a different story altogether.

She was very fond of Rose. Rose met all of Mum's standards when it came to future daughter-in-laws: She came from 'good stock' genetically ('despite that fuzzy hair, she is rather pretty'), she knew how to politely introduce herself to adults, she had at least one long line of purebloods in her background, had made good grades, and would one day be wealthy, if her parent's jobs and copyright placements had any say in it. After meeting those qualifications, any girl Scorpius wanted was OK by her.

"Darling, I'm sure she'll make the right choice in the end," she said very quietly, so as Father couldn't hear.

"She made her choice years ago, Mum," he whispered back.

"We'll see," she said, a knowing look on her face. "According to her horoscope she's due to have a change of heart any day now."

"That would be a great comfort if I put any stock in that Divination rubbish," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"You really should, Darling. After all, I'm right so much of the time."

"I wouldn't brag over a forty-five percent accuracy rate, Mum," he smiled. Libi started playing with dust motes near his feet.

"You're as bad as your father," Mum scolded, though she smiled in turn. "My knees can't take much more of this. They really need to invent a new way to talk to others."

"I heard that Rose's Uncle George has been working on a prototype for a more convenient way, actually. It's based on some Muggle idea from way back. They've been talking on a telephone system for over a hundred years. It used to be connected to a wall, but now they transfer voices through these little portable boxes the size of the palm of your hand, without them being attached to a network you can see. I'm not sure how it all works, but it involves some sort of setilites floating above the earth. He's trying to adapt it to a lighter or something."

Mum rolled her eyes.

"You'd best not mention any of that to your grandparents. They are coming in this week, and I don't want you to say a word about Muggles and their silly contraptions, no matter how interesting you find them. If they knew the things you get up to…" she trailed off.

"I wouldn't mention them to Grandmother or Grandfather."

"You've done it before!"

"I was twelve the last time I did that, Mum," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"Well, I wanted to make sure. Will you be all right with this whole wedding thing?"

"Yes, yes… I'm going to be helping Rose plan the wedding for Friday," he answered, picking up Libi and scratching her head so as not to look Mum in the eye.

"Spending time with her already?" Mum grinned.

"It's of no consequence," he said in a formal tone that reeked of finality.

"Fine then," she said, getting up gingerly. "Be good. I love you."

"Love you too, Mum. Send my regards to Father," he called back.

"I'm here! Don't do anything stupid," Father shouted from across the room.

"I'll try not to," Scorpius dutifully answered, pulling away from the fireplace.

He went to his bedroom and changed into some casual clothes, and went into the bathroom. Scorpius stared at the pale, blonde man, his knuckles white as he gripped the side of the sink. He only had an hour to contemplate on his strategy and bolster his own spirits. The time with his parents had made him no more enthusiastic about his impending task. In fact, he was now more hesitant about it than ever before. He didn't lack determination: no he had that in spades. What he lacked was an idea of how to go about it. He usually prized himself as intelligent, but as he glared at himself in the mirror, he realized not even the most minuscule bit of inspiration was going to hit him.

Al had talked about it like it was something people did every day. Scorpius knew of no precedent for stealing a woman from her fiancé days before they are supposed to get married for a second time. He was just about to bring out a history book for inspiration when there was a knock at his door. He gave a great sigh: at the rate he had visitors coming over he wouldn't ever have a moment of revelation.

Another, more pounding knock thundered in his ears.

"I'm coming," he said, not wanting to reward their impatience with a speedy reaction.

He went at an ambling pace until he heard a shouted swear and the sound of many things being dropped. He hurried and opened the door to see Lily looking venomous, assorted boxes and bags strewn around her ankles.

"Lily?" he asked, quite befuddled. She had never shown up on his doorstep without at least two other people present before.

"I'm not picking that up," she said, indicating the mass of boxes and bags on his doorstep. Walking in with much entitlement, she walked up his stairs and started opening doors.

"What are you doing here?" he hesitated to ask.

"Trying to find your bedroom," said Lily, opening the door to one of his quest rooms. "How many bleeding rooms does a bachelor need?"

He reached for a box when he saw a pair of feminine green shoes standing in front of him, a striped skirt waving in the crisp breeze. Looking up he saw Magnolia Longbottom, holding a large amount of boxes similar too Lily's collection.

"Where do you want these, Lily?"

She walked into the house with the same amount of authority Lily had.

"Found it! In here, Mags! Third door to the right!"

Scorpius gathered the rest of the fallen bags and ushered them into his bedroom, feeling thoroughly bemused. Libi was quite taken with the paper sacks and started playing with one.

"So, what are all these boxes for?"

"Take off your shirt," Lily replied.

"I– What?"

"He should take his trousers off too, that way we know what we have to work with," Mags added.

"What? No!" he declared with as much dignity as he could, taking a step back from the two perilously indecorous women. He would be hesitant no matter who they were, but given that they were two years younger than himself, and he didn't know either intimately, he couldn't help but recoil from this effrontery.

Lily gave him a knowing look and smiled.

"Honestly, it's not as if I didn't see you naked earlier today when I put you in that hospital gown, Scorpius. We're not asking you to remove your boxers."

Scorpius stood agog and his cheeks flushed. Lily rolled her eyes and put out a demanding hand.

"Now are you going to take your clothes off or am I going to have to spell them off of you?"

"Why are you asking me to take my clothes off?" he asked in an embarrassingly wobbly voice.

"To figure out what you should dress in, of course," Mags added with a cheerful beam.

"I told you you'd need my help, and so I'm here with backup. We only have fifty-eight minutes until lunch with Rose, and we want you to look your best," Lily explained, giving him a fond smile that somewhat calmed him.

"Now strip!" she ordered, and this time he complied.

His ears started to burn as they studied him with the same cold precision a potions master would an ingredient he was about to slice into pieces.

"His shoulders are wider than I thought. We'll need to up it a size, I think."

"And take in the waist, for sure. He certainly is thin."

"I think we should go with green. It brings out an intensity in his eyes."

Mags pulled out a mauve colored measuring tape that started to magically whir around him. They had to place the cat outside the room, as Libi seemed to find it the most entertaining toy she'd seen in ages.

"Hands out at the side, please," Mags said as she and Lily started up-ending the contents of the boxes and bags onto his bed.

"Where did you get all these clothes from?" he asked, looking over at the ever growing pile of expensive looking garments.

"Giordano's."

Mags started holding different tops up to his chest. Upon seeing his questioning look she elaborated, "He's the fashion designer I work for. He lets me have a go at last season's clothes, though I've never needed to go after his Wizard's collection before."

Scorpius felt a bit guilty for not keeping up with Mags after he graduated. She had always been rather polite to him, and one of Lily's best friends, and he had no idea what she was doing working for a fashion designer.

After a few more moments of holding things up, the girls decided on an outfit and had him dress in it. Mags set to work pinning it so she could resize it.

"They look Muggle… Not that there's anything wrong with that," he added after receiving a glare from both of the girls.

"Scorpius, these are the latest fashions from one of the top Wizarding designers in Europe," Lily admonished, her arms akimbo, making her very much resemble her mother.

"I thought you said they were last season?" he quipped.

"Only on a runway," Mags added. "Now stop moving and complaining. If I stick a pin in your side it will nearly be unintentional."

After much pinning, scolding, and waiting, the outfit was finished and on him. Looking in the mirror he felt he looked a bit too well polished and trendy for his liking, but knew he should show deference to their opinions.

"Scorpius, you look so posh!" Lily cried.

"Much more modern than those other clothes you were wearing," Mags said. She said it in such an earnest, kindly way he couldn't find it in himself to get mad at her.

They had about ten minutes to spare, but Lily decided he should get there early, as it would give Al adequate time to make fun of Scorpius before Rose arrived.

Scorpius Apparated outside of Al's door, and Al answered the door presently with a large bark of laughter.

"Please don't laugh," Scorpius let out before stepping inside the dark apartment that looked like a disagreeing committee had put it together. The walls were bottle green, the furniture an assortment of orange, black and white worn furniture. There was a collection of odd-colored lamps, posters and rugs scattered haphazardly around the tiny apartment.

He sat down at the table and gave the sniggering Al a frown.

"I'm sorry, but you just look like such a wanker," Al laughed, setting up a variety of serving dishes for when everyone arrived.

"This looks quite good, Al," Scorpius said eyeing the Indian feast Al had whipped up.

"Oh it's nothing, really," Al said with humility. In almost anything else, Al would be boasting, but when it came to his cooking, it was a Fwooper of a different color. "I'm still learning."

Al started to munch at some of the naan bread when he let out a strangled noise.

"Oh my God… Scorpius, they dressed you like Brian!" Al spluttered. Scorpius never corrected Al when he used the wrong name for Rose's fiancé, Brad. It gave him a hearty sense of satisfaction each and every time.

"No… No, they didn't dress me like him," Scorpius said, more to comfort himself than because he actually believed it. He now knew why the clothes had felt odd. They looked exactly like the kind of fashion forward trendy clothes he'd seen Brad wearing.

"They did! That looks exactly like something that arse would wear!" said Al, aghast.

Scorpius looked to the clock. With only minutes left before Rose got there, he wouldn't have time to go back and change. Lily and Mags would still be in his apartment, and the last thing he wanted to do was insult them after everything they had just tried to do.

"Well, don't just stand there! Do something!" demanded Al.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Wear something of mine?"

"You don't have anything clean."

"True," Al acquiesced. He tended to only clean things as he needed them, which usually meant a large accumulation of dirty clothes at the bottom of his closet, and only his dress robes hanging from a few lonesome hangers.

"It doesn't matter," said Scorpius, looking glum. "At least I'll look as… as fashion forward as her fiancé."

"Augh!" Al said with a shake of his messy hair. "Never say anything remotely resembling that phrase in any way ever again!"

Scorpius laughed.

They heard a knock at the door, and Al languidly answered it with a wave of his wand. Rose came in, looking flushed and lovely. Scorpius fidgeted with his robes.

"Hey mates," she said with a quick wave, removing her blue cloak. Without a second glance at Scorpius' new attire, she made a beeline for the dining room table. "I'm famished! I haven't eaten anything since yesterday."

"Why?" asked Al. The thought of not eating food for extended periods of time was clearly a disturbing thought, according to his look of horror.

"I didn't want to be burping up essence of breakfast at the ceremony," said Rose, serving some chicken tikka masala to herself, and promptly eating a large amount of it that made her freckled cheeks bulge out in what should be a repugnant manner. After years of eating around Rose, both Scorpius and Al had grown quite immune to her inability to eat daintily without a concerted effort.

"Dish ish delishush, Aw," she said through a full mouth.

"You just think that because you're hungry," said Al, serving himself.

Both Rose and Scorpius rolled their eyes.

"Al, if you weren't any good, you wouldn't have become a sous chef to such a prestigious restaurant," said Scorpius.

"You'd be serving slop at some rotten food stand," Rose said bracingly. "You're the best cook I know!"

"And she knows the likes of Hagrid, so you know what high praise that is," smirked Scorpius.

Rose harrumphed. Al just stared into his dish.

"No, no, Al," said Scorpius. "I'd wager you are a bit more proficient in the kitchen than Hagrid."

"Much! Though you can never outshine his rockcakes—"

"I think you might be able to cook soup even better than his."

"Your tea might even have less dust in it than Hagrid's."

They both started laughing. Al gave a mutinous glare into his masala, but finally gave into a smile when Rose elbowed him in the side.

The rest of the meal was spent eating, laughing, and scheduling a bevy of tasks for the upcoming nuptials. Everything from picking out new flower arrangements (and discerning which were the cause of Scorpius' asthma attack) to getting new Portkeys arranged were put into Rose's planner with a flourish of her blue quill.

"That should do it, then," said Rose, giving a relieved sigh. She laid her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes, as Al gathered the dishes and started cleaning them meticulously buy hand.

"No more asthma attacks," Rose moaned to the room.

"I'll try not to interrupt your wedding with one again," Scorpius said quietly.

Rose opened up an eye before sitting up and looking suddenly cross.

"It's not that you interrupted my wedding, you berk. I was really worried about you!" she said, pointing a finger into his chest.

"You were so pale, and weren't breathing. All I could do was panic and cry. At first I couldn't even get my bloody wand out of my stupid dress, and then I couldn't remember the spell to help you. I just sat there useless as Lily saved you, and I couldn't remember a single spell to help."

Rose's eyes unexpectedly began to look glossy.

"I never want to see you looking like that again. You can interrupt a thousand weddings, just never let that happen again, Scorpius," she said with a vigorous shake of her head, holding her arms around her stomach as if the very thought made her ill.

"I'm sorry I worried you," he said, putting an arm around her shoulder.

She leaned her head onto his shoulder and took a deep breath. Her hand snuck up to his chest and patted it.

"I'd be lost without my best friend," she said in a small voice. Scorpius inhaled deeply, smelling that earthy scent that always followed Rose wherever she went. His arms snaked their way around her, while her red curls were splayed across them both, and Rose released the breath she had taken. One of her hands was making circles on his chest, while the other seemed pleased to just hold him. He could stay there, holding her forever, and be perfectly contented.

A self-consequential knock disturbed them both out of their reverie.

"Who in the world is that?" Al harrumphed, making his way over from the kitchen. He opened the door with a wave of his wand.

Looking over Scorpius saw, to his horror—

"Brad!" cried Rose.

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