CHAPTER SIX
BONDING OVER BOOKS
[06]

song: Are You Satisfied? by MARINA

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"high achiever don't you see?
baby nothing comes for free.
they say I'm a control freak,
driven by a greed to succeed,
nobody can stop me."

This was a huge mistake.

By God, Nix Toh-Weasley was nervous for her fake date with Scorpius Malfoy. They planned to go to basically every shop in Hogsmeade to showcase the newly formed relationship.

What was Leo's reaction? Nix didn't even about that until now. But at least Allie was ok with it.

Nix put on a pretty black cowl neck dress with a white turtleneck underneath, tights, and a pair of converse. She sighed when she looked into the mirror. After applying a coat of mascara and chapstick, she went out of her dorm to the common room.

They'd planned to meet there before getting into a carriage to Hogsmeade.

Scorpius was standing, waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. He held out his arm, which she took. "Milady, art thou ready for the date?" He said mockingly.

"Why, kind sir, tis shall be over-joyous for this event." Nix mocked back.

He laughed and so did she. "Then let us go forth."

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[flashback]

Although they were academic rivals, it was different at the Weasley Burrow.

Scorpius and Nix tried their best to get along, for everyone else's sake (since they were going to be staying for a little bit) and they didn't want to face the wrath of Grandma Molly.

There was one time however, when it was too hot to bare.

"MALFOY WHERE IS MY BOOK?!" Nix's scream could be heard throughout the whole house. And the Milky Way galaxy.

"I'VE TOLD YOU FOR THE THOUSANDTH TIME, I DON'T HAVE IT!" He shouted back. "I ALREADY HAVE A COPY! WHY WOULD I NEED ANOTHER?"

"HOW SHOULD I KNOW? AND I DON'T CARE! JUST GIVE IT BACK!"

'The book' was titled Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. But this exact copy was given to her by her mom's mom who had passed away just a year before this incident. It was one of her favorite books, and it meant a lot to her.

Scorpius knew this of course. Everyone knew not to touch this book because of it, and because she was a perfectionist.

Anger clouded Nix's judgement and she instantly blamed Scorpius. But he didn't take it.

(Rose did.)

The next day, Nix had calmed down. When she woke up, Anna Karenina sat there on her nightstand. It wasn't her copy though, but was the same edition.

She gently flipped through the pages. It was tabbed and annotated, just like hers. But this was someone else's handwriting. On the title page, someone wrote, "Property of Scorpius Malfoy."

[end of flashback]

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It was only October, but today had a chill in the air. Scorpius made Nix wear his jacket so she wasn't cold.

As they entered Hog's Head, Nix saw Rose sitting at a table with her friends. They locked eyes for a moment, before Nix turned away.

Scorpius snaked an arm around her waist. Nix guessed he saw Rose too. He let her to the counter and ordered them two butterbeers.

"Real smooth, Malfoy." Nix said before taking a sip of her drink.

"Thanks." He replied cheekily. "I try."

They made idle conversation whilst drinking their butterbeer and occasionally glancing at Rose. When they finished, there was a small bicker about who would pay. Scorpius set the money down before Nix could do anything, so that's how it was settled.

After that, they went to the muggle book store. It was Nix's favorite shop in all of Hogsmeade. (Hog's Head the second)

The shop owner was a wonderful old lady who had a passion for reading almost as big as Nix's.

The bell attached to the door announced their entrance. "Ms. Toh-Weasley! Mr. Malfoy! Nice to see you two again."

"It's nice to see you too, Mrs. Winfield. How have you been?" Nix greeted her politely.

"Same, same." Mrs. Winfield looked at them together. "Are you too dating?"

She smiled at them. "I think it's great!"

There was a mishap at the book shop one Hogsmeade trip. In short, they fought over who would get a book. Neither won, Mrs. Winfield took the book and put it in the back.

That day she told them, "One day you'll end up together. You'll see." She was very wise, but they did not believe this.

"This is our first date." Nix told her. Her cheeks flushed as she said this. She just didn't want to let the sweet lady down, was all.

Scorpius looked at her surprised. "Well is it now?"

"That's wonderful!" Mrs. Winfield clapped her hands together in joy. "I always knew you'd end up together. Well I'll be at the counter, let me know when you're ready to check out."

They browsed the aisles of books. A small paperback caught Nix's attention. The book was Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. The back synopsis said "In the novel, Siddhartha, a young man, leaves his family for a contemplative life, then, restless, discards it for one of the flesh. He conceives a son, but bored and sickened by lust and greed, moves on again. Near despair, Siddhartha comes to a river where he hears a unique sound. This sound signals the true beginning of his life — the beginning of suffering, rejection, peace and, finally, wisdom."

As she was reading this, Scorpius looked at her. What did he get himself into?

Albus would probably be furious once they "broke up."

Nix carried it around the store and followed to where Scorpius wanted to look next. He found a Hemingway novel he'd been wanting and picked it up.

When they went to the counter to check out, Scorpius gently took Siddhartha out of her hands. "I'll pay for it." He said.

Nix pouted. "You already paid for the butterbeers, I'll pay for our books."

"It's fine." He took out his wallet and a muggle credit card. This store accepted both muggle and wizard currency.

Mrs. Winfield smiled at the teenagers knowingly.

"Have a great day." She told the couple.

"You too." They repeated back.

"Tell Mr. Winfield I said hi." Nix said in a soft voice. The old lady smiled at her.

"I will."

When they went out of the book shop, Scorpius turned to Nix. "What was that about?"

She smiled sadly back.

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Mrs. Winfield sighed as she closed her shop for the day. All this work was tiring. Oh to be 20 again! She thought.

She apparated to a sad, but now familiar place.

The sun was setting over St. Joseph's Cemetery when she got there.

Benedict Winfield
in loving memory

"I know I tell you this everyday, but I miss you Ben." Mrs. Winfield spoke out loud to his gravestone. "Nix Toh-Weasley says hi."

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A/N: the last scene really got me 😔🤚
here's a longer chapter for you guys since the previous were short <33