#scorlor

[camelliacats]

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Another oneshot done for a prompt.

Fic: "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" [FFN] [AO3]

Pairings/Characters: Lorcan Scamander/Scorpius Malfoy, Rose Weasley, Lysander Scamander, Albus Severus Potter, Fred Weasley II, Roxanne Weasley

Rating: T

Words: ~3,700

Additional info: romance, slash, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

Summary: Lorcan has always gone after Rose, wishing that redheaded lion would give him the time of day. But she likes Malfoy. Malfoy doesn't want her, though...he wants a particular Ravenclaw...

                "Most people would rather give than get affection." —Aristotle

                  "Rose! Rose, come on!!"

                Rose Weasley sighed, fighting a blush down. She hated this attention from Lorcan Scamander. She wished that he would get it. She was crushing on Scorpius Malfoy, not him.

                Lorcan, however, had no plans of ever giving up on her. Even when Scorpius came to her rescue and led her to the Slytherin table with their other best mate and Rose's cousin, Albus. Being the Ravenclaw and of no family relation, as well, Lorcan hung back and watched the trio. There was Al, the Potter kid of Slytherin. There was Rosie, the Gryffindor brainiac, like her mother. Last, there was Scorpius Malfoy, the son of a snake.

                Lorcan couldn't help the scowl that morphed his features. Merlin, if only Scorpius didn't exist! He'd have his Rosie-Posie already!

                Suddenly, the Scamander twin didn't feel like eating lunch anymore.

                Lorcan left the Great Hall and headed outside. He thought about going to the library, but, really, he didn't feel like it. Any time he saw Rose with Scorpius, it pissed him off. Rose really liked that arse, but Scorpius would never give her the time of day. Apparently being best mates was good enough for the damn pureblood.

                He stopped. If he ever found out Scorpius wasn't with Rose because she wasn't a pureblood… Well, Lorcan would surely have to kill him.

                With a large sigh, Lorcan rolled a crick out of his neck and stretched his limbs, settling on the green grass of the inner courtyard. He was feeling antsy. He wished that the weekend would hurry up and arrive. He needed something to do. Maybe he could go and find Freddie and Roxanne… He'd always been friends with the Weasley twins… Maybe he could cajole them into a lunchtime prank…

                "You're not plotting, are you?"

                Lorcan looked up and found his twin brother, Lysander, standing over him. He rolled his eyes before closing them again. "Oh, come off it, Sander. I wouldn't tell you if I was planning a prank or not. You know this."

                "I also know you're a Prefect, something which you seem to forget a lot," Lysander said, sitting beside his brother. "Oh…wait. It's Rose, isn't it?"

                "Shut up, Sander."

                "She's turned you down quite often, you know. Don't you think that means something?"

                Lorcan sighed. "You know, I wasn't plotting any pranks, but now I'm getting ideas."

                "Hey! Don't you pull one on me! I'm your brother! I'm here for you. Sometimes that means I'm your voice of reason."

                "I drowned my voice of reason a long time ago in what I like to call 'carpe diem.'"

                "I'm surprised you even know what those words mean."

                "Well, I am the one in Ravenclaw."

                "Hey, there's nothing wrong with being in Hufflepuff." Lysander sighed and got up, smoothing his black-and-yellow robes. "You know what? I think I'd rather find Dominique than stick around and be tormented. Go eat something before lunch ends, Lorcan."

                Lorcan grimaced at his brother's back as the kinder Scamander walked away. "Oh, yes, ditch your brother for your girlfriend!" he hollered at him. "That's being so loyal!" But Lysander ignored him. Soon enough the bell rang, and Lorcan was left feeling just as antsy inside the classroom as out.

                Lorcan made it his mission to point out all the bad things about Scorpius to Rose.

                It didn't seem to be working.

                All Rose took it as was Lorcan being jealous. Well, yes, he was jealous. But that didn't mean he was wrong!

                "He's a pureblood!"

                "So's plenty of my family," she would counter.

                "He's a Malfoy!" he would say with a look of disgust.

                Rose would shrug first. "And Draco and the rest didn't turn out so bad. Besides, Astoria's actually very nice from what I've heard."

                "He's—He's a Slytherin!"

                "Now you're being insulting. Al's a Slytherin, too. Not only is he family, but he's my other best mate. Would you show me some respect and stop talking me out of my friendships?"

                Lorcan frowned. "But he's Scorpius!" was his latest argument.

                "So? He's a nice bloke. He's actually very sweet and kind and…and I can't help but like him." Rose sighed. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. You're a womanizer, Lorcan—"

                "I only like you!"

                "—and Scorpius is…well, he's my prince." Rose shyly blushed at that. Then she looked up at Lorcan. "Do you get it now? Will you leave me alone?"

                He grimaced. "I—"

                She strode right up to him in the hall so they were almost nose-to-nose. He paled. She slowly smiled. "See? Lorcan, if you really liked me, then your face wouldn't drain of color. If you liked me, then your breath should hitch and your heart should race and all you should be thinking about is kissing me." She backed off and sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "You shouldn't be reaching for your wand."

                Lorcan blinked and looked down at his right hand, realizing he now gripped the hilt of oak and rosewood. He blushed. "Er, sorry. I like my personal space."

                "It's okay, Lorcan. But please—I'm asking you one last time: Leave me be?"

                He looked her in the eye, cerulean meeting umber. What he wouldn't give to have those umber brown eyes on him all the time… He wouldn't admit that she was right, that he didn't feel that way towards her, but he nodded. "I'll…back off," the Scamander son finally said.

                Rose genuinely smiled at him for the first time. "Thank you so much, Lor—"

                "Rose?"

                Lorcan's blood boiled as soon as he heard the voice. Did he have to show up right now? Lorcan grimaced as Scorpius entered the corridor and shot his best mate a concerned look. Suddenly, Lorcan felt very out-of-place.

                "You were late joining Al and me in the library, so I came to look for you. You coming? Break's only an hour," Scorpius said.

                Rose nodded. "Um, uh-huh. I just had to talk with Lorcan."

                "With Lorcan?" Scorpius shot him a look. He glanced at him from head to toe in one quick shot and raised his eyebrows. "You aren't bugging her again, are you?"

                "Scor!" Rose gasped. She shot Lorcan a glare, knowing his hand was still on his wand. "Don't start something—either of you."

                Scorpius shrugged. "All right. Why don't you go on ahead? I'd like a word with Scamander here."

                The witch stared him down. "Scorpius…"

                "I promise to be nice."

                She rolled her eyes and kissed his cheek. "All right, you. I'll see you up there in a few. If you don't come in fifteen minutes, then Al and I will send out the search party." She left the corridor, and Scorpius faced Lorcan.

                "I promised to be nice, but I never said I wouldn't bite." He approached Lorcan and halted when the Ravenclaw raised his wand. He held up his hands. "Hey, I'm not putting you in danger, Lorcan."

                Lorcan narrowed his eyes. "Then what do you want, Malfoy?"

                "Walk with me?"

                After an awkward moment, Lorcan gave in and followed Scorpius outside. He wondered where they were going and was stunned when Scorpius kept going and going until they were walking out past the Clock Tower. They were actually on the bridge leading to the stone circle. Lorcan could hear the screeches of the Owlery nearby.

                "It's a lovely day, isn't it?"

                Lorcan stared at Scorpius as if the Slytherin had two heads. "Excuse me?"

                "Isn't the weather nice?"

                "I guess…"

                "You…really have a thing for Rose, don't you?"

                Lorcan scoffed at the abrupt topic switch. "According to her, I don't." He crossed his arms and leaned back against the railing on the bridge. "Take good care of her, okay? I'll murder you if she's hurt."

                Scorpius glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

                Lorcan mussed his hair and sighed. "You don't get it?" He faced the other seventeen-year-old. "Rose is in love with you, Scorpius."

                He gave a sad smile. "Yeah, I know."

                "Wha—? If you've known, then why haven't you—"

                "I don't like her like that."

                "It's because she's not a pureblood, am I right?" Lorcan glowered at him. "That kind of discrimination is old water under the bridge, Malfoy," he spat. "Rose is a good girl. She deserves someone better if you would really let that come between you."

                Scorpius pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. He shook his head. "No, Lorcan, there's my friendship with her that's between us."

                Lorcan's shoulders slackened. "Oh… Well, that's different."

                "And I do like someone."

                "Shyeah, well, one of us should break it to her."

                "I think Al might be, right now," Scorpius replied, edging a little closer to Lorcan.

                Lorcan's face grew warm, and he instinctively backed away. "Whoa, you're not trying—"

                An angry thing flashed in Scorpius' eyes. "One thing you failed to warn her of was that, being a Malfoy, I tend to get what I want."

                Lorcan didn't have the chance to slip his wand back out of his sleeve; Scorpius came at him too fast. Lorcan really wished he'd remembered his outer robe on this chilly day, because then maybe the warmth from Scorpius' black and green one wouldn't have felt so nice. Also, he wished he were the taller one; Scorpius was only an inch taller than him, but it was enough height to trap him. Lastly, Lorcan felt incredibly guilty that he was the one sharing a snog with the Malfoy boy, not Rose.

                Worst of all, he…ugh…enjoyed it.

                Hot breaths, wet lips, warm hands—Lorcan was weirded out that not only did Scorpius not hate him, but Scorpius liked him. A lot. Very much, in fact. A good load, indeed. But when the Slytherin yanked at Lorcan's already loosely-worn tie to pull him closer, Lorcan knew this would have to stop. This…This wasn't Lorcan. This wasn't Lorcan at all—he was pretty sure. Er, somewhat sure. Maybe thinking about it.

                "Don't even think of going anywhere," Scorpius muttered, trapping Lorcan against the siding with each hand on either side of the other wizard. His gray eyes blazed like smoky steel. "Don't even bother telling me that that didn't stir something in you, otherwise you wouldn't have reacted like that."

                Lorcan did as he knew himself to do: He acted. He hit his forehead against Scorpius', and he was released. He jogged several yards away before even glancing back at the Slytherin. "Shut it, Malfoy! I'm not falling for your games!"

                Scorpius groaned and rubbed the developing bruise on his head in response.

                The Scamander twin ran the rest of the way back to the castle. He didn't stop at the Quidditch pitch to watch his House team's practice. He didn't stop when Roxie and Freddie hollered at him to help them with a joke. He didn't stop when Sander and Dominique saw him and his brother called out in concern. He didn't stop when Rose saw him and gasped in surprise.

                Lorcan ran all the way to the Prefects' bathroom. He felt lucky at least that no teachers had seen him; if they had, he knew they would've come down harder on him since he was supposed to be a role model for the younger students. But he didn't feel like a role model right now. He felt…

                Crap. He knew what he felt. He didn't necessarily like it, but he did like it. Shit, this was too confusing. He splashed some cold water on his face, but his cheeks still burned. Lorcan looked into the mirror. Okay, so there was his face.

                But he only saw gray eyes.

                "This isn't the best hiding place, you know."

                Lorcan jumped at the sound of Al's voice and saw the Potter son in the mirror's reflection, behind him, over his shoulder. He frowned. "Why are you in here?"

                "I'm a Prefect just like you." Al took a couple of steps closer, but he didn't come too near his classmate. "Are you all right? He didn't try anything too bad, I hope."

                "'Too bad'? 'Too bad'?" Lorcan darkly laughed and wheeled on him. "He sodding snogged me, Potter!!"

                Al hung his head and sighed. "I was afraid he'd try something too soon…"

                "What?!"

                "I knew he liked you. I'm Scorpius' best mate. I know him best." He looked sympathetically at Lorcan. "Maybe I should've given you a head's up…"

                Lorcan scoffed. "Y'think?!" He frowned, shoulders sagging. "He… All this time, I thought it would be him and Rose… Y'know, Scorrose. I don't want… Oh, Merlin, Scorlor."

                Al gave him a small smile. "You rhyme."

                "Oh, shut up."

                Al was quiet for a moment. He fidgeted with his jumper sleeve. "Look, I'm not saying you swing that way or play for that team—"

                "Tsk. Thanks."

                "—but maybe you should keep an open mind. I mean, we're only teenagers. We don't all know what we want right now."

                "I dunno. Scorpius seemed pretty damn sure of himself." Lorcan rubbed his chin, wishing his lips weren't as swollen as they felt. "This is really that bad a hiding place?"

                Al smiled. "The worst. Scor's bound to come looking for you. He's not going down without a fight."

                "Ha, I'm not going down either."

                "Oh, Merlin, I didn't need that image, Scamander…" Al scratched his cheek, looking a little green. But then he shook off the feeling. "But Scor will come looking for you. I think the only place you'll be safe is your common room."

                "Yeah. That occurred to me." Lorcan dried his hands and face and managed to stabilize his breath. He started to leave the bathroom when he stopped. "Um…thanks, Albus."

                Al shrugged. "Someone's got to look after Scorpius. Apparently that's my job, though it really should be Rose's. She's quite surprised that she wasn't the prize, by the way. Have you seen her yet?"

                Lorcan averted his eyes. "Heh, I zoomed by her… But I think I'd rather deal with people tomorrow…" He clapped Al on the shoulder. "Again, thanks, mate."

                With a sigh, Lorcan made his way somewhat peacefully to the Ravenclaw common room. He'd somehow managed to slip all Weasleys and his twin, something for which he was very grateful. He went straight up the stairs and threw himself onto his bed. Screw last period. He needed to sleep off the stress he'd built up in the past couple of hours.

                The blond wizard closed his eyes and counted his breaths. After a little bit, he was calm enough that he began to doze…but all he saw were those damn gray eyes.

                Cursing, he woke and sat up. It was no use. He couldn't get Scorpius out of his mind.

                "I never said I wouldn't bite."

                Lorcan jumped and scanned the room. No one was in there with him. But—But he could've sworn he'd just felt Scorpius' breath on his neck, in his ear.

                He rubbed the back of his neck and paced the length of the dormitory. Several times he stopped at the foot of his bed and leaned against one of the bedposts. Several times he resumed his pacing. It wasn't long before he decided that he'd never gotten over being antsy from earlier in the month. But surely he couldn't leave Ravenclaw territory. If he did, Scorpius was bound to find him.

                One of the downsides to the bloody prat being Slytherin's Head Boy.

                Lorcan grimaced. What the hell was he thinking? Was he really scared of facing someone? Him, Lorcan? He never let anything like this get to him, but here he was, hiding from Scorpius. Lorcan Scamander didn't hide.

                Lorcan Scamander pranked.

                With his masculinity reestablished, he hurried out of the dorm and out of Ravenclaw Tower. Yes, he had the… Hmm, he could use… Maybe Lorcan could even…

                Down outside the Great Hall, Lorcan remembered that it was suppertime. He reddened. Funny how someone could take up all of your thought-space.

                No one bothered him on his way inside. At the Ravenclaw table, things were quiet and normal. Freddie and Roxanne joined him quickly enough.

                "Lorcan, we've got this great idea!" Freddie began.

                "We were thinking—since Malfoy deducted those House points from Gryffindor last week—that we could feed him some…augmented Fizzing Whizzbees," Roxanne supplied. She exchanged a conspiratorial grin with her dark-haired twin. "So? What do you think?"

                "I think," Lorcan began to the two sixth years, "that Fizzing Whizzbees aren't enough for the Head Boy."

                Freddie and Roxie were all ears. "Yeees?"

                "I was thinking of taking an idea of your dad's…"

                Freddie smirked. "Always a good idea."

                "Remember that large dragon firework he and your uncle set off in their seventh year?"

                Roxanne sighed. "If only we could reach that level of ingenuity…"

                "Well," the blond wizard continued, "how about taking a Pepper Imp to that level?"

                "To the—" Roxanne said.

                "—dragon level?" Freddie finished.

                "Brilliant!" the Weasley twins chimed.

                "Then take these," Lorcan stated, handing them the aforementioned sweet. "Use this spell…" He gave them a few more instructions, all the while keeping an eye on the Slytherin table. Scorpius seemed fine with just Rose and Al occupying his attention. It was as if nothing had ever happened.

                Well, Lorcan's mind's eye vividly recalled the kiss. He blushed and glared to himself. Of course nothing had ever happened…bugger.

                Towards the end of supper, the twins disappeared. Lorcan kept an eye on the table of snakes. He saw a bit of maroon edge near the trio, so he turned back to his plate. All right, time to go distract Scorpius Malfoy.

                He got up and walked over to their table. He plopped down next to Rose. "Hello, my favorite slippery friends. Mind if I join you?"

                Rose glanced at him. "Are you all right? I would think that—"

                "—your rejecting me for the billionth time would hurt? It did," he quipped. He jerked his head towards her friends. "I wanted to borrow Malfoy here for a little chat."

                Al quirked an eyebrow. "Does this 'chat' involve wands?"

                "Of course not, Ally," Lorcan stated with an grin. He—begrudgingly—met Scorpius' eyes. "Dinner's just about over. Well?"

                Scorpius put down his napkin. "I suppose so…" He grabbed a few Pepper Imps off the table (the ones Lorcan realized the twins had switched, much to his delight) and got up. "We can start our corridor patrol early. I'll see you two later," he said to the others, and he followed closely behind Lorcan as they left the Great Hall. Much to Lorcan's disappointment, he did not eat the candy inside the meal room where everyone might've enjoyed the spot of entertainment. Lorcan let it go, though; if he could get back at Scorpius, then he'd consider them even. And he would let the kiss go. Certainly. It didn't matter that he'd been thinking about it all day long.

                Lorcan loosed his tie, a habit he'd picked up from Merlin-knew-where. He did it whenever he was uncomfortable…or lazy.

                "So you're still sane," the Head Boy observed.

                "Somewhat." Lorcan frowned. "Did you really have to…?"

                "Yes, I wanted to. I told you; I get what I want."

                Lorcan crimsoned. "Does that have to be me?" he whispered.

                Scorpius smiled. "Do you want it to be you?" he inquired with the same inflections.

                That made the Scamander twin think. Suddenly, all of his reasons didn't seem so sound. In fact, Rosie's logic made much more sense. Why should it matter he was a pureblood? Why should it matter he was a Malfoy? And from what Lorcan had seen of Al, it shouldn't even matter that Scorpius was a Slytherin. Maybe Al was on to something. Maybe Lorcan should keep an open mind…but, blokes?

                Scorpius seemed to recognize that train of thought. "A little concerned, are you? Well, here's something to think of: Those of the same sex always know what's most pleasurable." He said it with a mischievous glint in his eye.

                Lorcan wished he'd die. Then maybe his insides wouldn't be jumping around because of Scorpius' insinuations. "Aren't you going to have your dessert?" he asked, changing the subject in hopes of getting Scorpius to fall victim to the prank.

                "I'll get to the Pepper Imps." He paused. "You reacted so heavily to earlier…"

                "So what?" Lorcan snapped, looking away.

                Scorpius caught his wrist. "So…give me a chance." He turned Lorcan back to him. "You like fun things, don't you? You like adventure. You're antsy all the time, I've noticed that. You can't keep still unless something's entertaining you."

                He bit back a remark. Why did Scorpius have to be the one to read him? "Uh… I've heard Pepper Imps scorch their containers if you don't eat them fast enough…"

                "You really want one, don't you?" The Malfoy chuckled at Lorcan's misinterpreted childishness. Before Lorcan could dodge it, Scorpius plopped one into Lorcan's mouth with a sweet, unknowing smile.

                The prank was genius, really. It worked exactly as Lorcan had thought it would. As soon as the sweet touched his tongue, his mouth lit on fire, and he was breathing fire dragons like a fire dragon. Lorcan tried swatting the serpentine flames away, but it didn't work. When he reached for his wand, he froze. It wasn't there.

                "You want this, right?" Scorpius asked, holding up the eleven inches of oak and rosewood. He was smiling again, but it was a devilish smile. "Oh, poor Lorcan. Can't even talk."

                Lorcan glared at him through the tears.

                "I'll clear your prank and not report it or take away points," Scorpius stated.

                The other wizard watched him apprehensively.

                "On the condition that you give me a shot."

                Lorcan's shoulders sagged.

                "You've always given attention to Rose, Lorc," Scorpius said quietly. "Allow yourself some affection this time."

                He fought back the thrilling chill that traveled up his arms as Scorpius grabbed his upper arm and pulled him close. The Head Boy merely calmed and undid the incantation. When it passed, Scorpius didn't let go. Instead, his eyes were darting all over Lorcan's face.

                "Care to indulge in some affection, then?"

                Lorcan had no choice. As Scorpius' mouth came over his for the second time and certain hands groped certain places, he knew he was in too deep. At least it would be an adventure.

                As Scorpius had said, Lorcan liked adventure. He liked it quite a bit.

This took me 16 pages to clear my throat…I can't wait to do more Scorlor!!! X3 I'd like to thank BlueMango especially for helping me work out the end!

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note: *LOL* This is about as fun as I remember it being. XD I'm glad there wasn't much I had to clear up/edit, though I added some flares here and there. This was deffo towards the beginning of my writing longer fics (and slash fics, tbh), and I'm happy I wrote this. Hope you're happy to have read it! :D