Disclaimer: I do not own Scorpius or Rose or any other character or part of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling.

I wanna see it painted black, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
I wanna see the sun, blotted out from the sky
I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black.

Paint It Black, The Rolling Stones

Chapter One

Rose Weasley was standing in front of her window, surveying the Hogwarts grounds. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground and she could see a wisp of smoke coming from Hagrid's hut, behind which loomed the Forbidden Forest. All appeared normal, as it had appeared since she had stepped into the school as a tiny eleven-year-old, except for the disturbance that was happening just beyond the grand staircase that led to the entrance of the castle. A horde of Hogwarts students and staff were excitedly craning their necks for a better view of the carriage that was slowly making its way toward the entrance. Rose watched as the carriage gently came to a halt. She could feel the anticipation in the air, even from her spot at the window, high above the throng of people, as the carriage door began to open. Out stepped an average-sized man, wearing glasses, whose thick, chocolate-colored, wavy hair was messy from the ride. After that, a beefy fellow with a shiny bald head stepped out and began to push the crowd back.

Now only two shadowy figures remained in the carriage, the two who were being most anxiously awaited. Unknowingly, Rose leaned forward until her nose was touching the pane of glass. Her breath created a light fog on the window. The first of the figures stuck out one long, perfectly toned leg. She wore black, four-inch-tall pumps. The crowd held its breath as the wavy-haired man gingerly took her hand in his own and she elegantly lifted herself fully out of the carriage. To Rose's dismay, the crowd went wild at the sight of Mariana Grey, the beautiful, world-renowned actress. She was tall and thin, but did not lack the curves that so many women envied, Rose included. She was wearing a gray, fitted pencil skirt and a midnight blue, long-sleeved, v-neck shirt that left little to the imagination. Her long, thick black locks were perfectly waved and the sun glinted off of them just right. Rose knew that her eyes were a perfect ocean blue.

The second figure in the carriage gave the crowd a few moments to admire the perfection that was Mariana Grey before beginning his own descent from the carriage. Rose felt her heart stop for just a second as the second celebrity was revealed. The crowd went even wilder as the most admired celebrity in the entire wizarding world stepped out of the carriage. Scorpius Malfoy was tall and muscular, but not too much. He had strong, aristocratic features and his platinum blond hair framed his face perfectly. His eyes were light silver and Rose knew that they could passionately express a huge range of emotions and were even sometimes a dark charcoal. He was dressed in perfectly-fitted dark jeans and a silver, button-up, long-sleeved shirt. He held out his arm for Mariana Grey and Rose felt the crowd sigh both in envy and at how beautiful the two were together. As they began to make their way toward the castle, Rose turned away from the window, pulled out her work robes, and began to prepare for another long day, but she couldn't shake the thought that her frumpy robes could never compare to Mariana Grey's tight pencil skirt and top.

Rose sat behind her desk as her class of first years began to file in. It was just her luck that she had been assigned first years in the morning for the whole year. She wasn't even fully awake yet but somehow she would have to deal with the rowdy group of Slytherins and Gryffindors. Rose looked at the clock and realized that it was time for class to begin. She stood up and looked around the classroom. More than half her class was missing. She was immediately alarmed, but her panic morphed into anger when she remembered the huge crowd that had surrounded the carriage out front just thirty minutes before. She opened her mouth to address the class, "Okay everyone; it appears that we are missing several students. Do any of you know where they could be?"

Maura Townsend raised her hand, reminding Rose of herself at that age.

"Yes Maura?" Rose asked.

"They are getting Mr. Malfoy's and Ms. Grey's autographs," the little girl stated.

Rose inwardly seethed. How dare those two interrupt her class like this! She had a lesson to teach and these kids needed to learn. It never crossed her mind that perhaps an exception could be made for the special event. The first years, after all, saw them as the beloved characters of their favorite films and they didn't realize the flaws in the characters of the two celebrities. Rose swiftly pulled out her wand and sent a quick patronus to Minerva McGonagall, the headmistress. After that, Rose began her lesson, focusing on the proper way to defend oneself against the charms of a veela. She thought of her Aunt Fleur and then of Mariana Grey. Perhaps the danger wasn't the veelas, but all the witches out there like Mariana Grey.

When she entered the Great Hall, Rose immediately noticed that it was decorated. The tables were covered with delicate silver tablecloths, all around were elegant silver and gold silk bows and everything seemed to be covered in glitter. There were bouquets of flowers on the tables, hanging on the walls and floating next to lights near the ceiling. Ignoring the elegance around her, Rose made a beeline for the Head Table. She took up her spot between Professor Longbottom and Professor Erica Edgeway, her best friend.

"Rose, you look like a hypogriff flew off with your lunch," Erica said lightly. When Rose didn't laugh, her face became more serious. "Don't worry, they'll be gone soon, just hang in there," she whispered to Rose. Rose smiled slightly.

"Why don't we have a girl's night out tonight? Lily and I have been dying to go to that new French boutique in Hogsmeade. We can make a night of it and grab something to eat afterwards at The Three Broomsticks. What do you say?" Erica offered.

"I say that sounds wonderful, I've been meaning to - ," but Erica never heard what Rose had been meaning to do because at that moment the Great Hall fell into silence as the large doors at the front banged open and in walked Mariana Grey and Scorpius Malfoy. The students went crazy and began to get up and ask for autographs. But Professor McGonagall's voice, magically amplified, stopped them.

"Students, sit down and please allow for Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Grey to make their way to the Head Table," she said calmly but firmly, causing all the students to hastily sit back down. Whispers began to spread throughout the hall. The two celebrities continued their march to the Head Table. Rose looked across to where Professor McGonagall was sitting and noticed two empty seats to the professor's left. Only Professor Longbottom and Hagrid would separate her from the celebrities. She sighed in defeat, focusing her thoughts on the night ahead and the laughter, and of course, firewhiskey drinking, that would ensue. She could get through this day. She was Rose Weasley, after all. She was the daughter of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, saviors of the Wizarding World, she had graduated top of her class at Hogwarts, had been a celebrated auror, and she was now the Defense Against the Dark Professor at Hogwarts. She had faced hardened murderers; she could certainly deal with Scorpius Malfoy and Mariana Grey.

But Scorpius was now at the foot of the table and when Professor McGonagall gestured at their seats, he noticed the red-headed witch just beyond. Their eyes met for moment, but it was a moment too long, causing Mariana to tug impatiently on his arm. Scorpius looked away and the moment was lost, but Rose realized that she would rather duel a thousand ex-Death Eaters than have to be anywhere near Scorpius Malfoy ever again.

Author's Note:

I am very new to writing FanFiction. I thought of this story idea and thought that I would give it a try. I hope you have enjoyed reading it. Please write me a review, as reviews are the best way for me to improve. I would really appreciate it!

Thanks for reading!

- Pepsa