unfold your paper heart
Scorpius/Dominique

I wish I could cross my arms and cross your mind
because I believe you'd unfold your paper heart and wear it on your sleeve
- tidal wave, owl city

i.

The water in the fountain ripples beneath her. Her cousin Lucy lets out an excited squeal. "I got it in! Come on, Dom, toss it in and make a wish!"

Dominique's forehead wrinkles in determination, and she rolls the coin around in her hand, debating about what to wish for. She's never really been a dreamer- never believed in wishes that never come true- but she figures that as long as she's here, she might as well try.

The coin slips from between her fingers. Desperately, she tries to think of something to wish for, but it's too late. The coin hits the water with a splash. It's just as she's come up with something, a wish of sorts- for everyone to love her, for her to make everyone proud. But it's too late. Everyone knows that once the coin hits the water, there's no more time for you to make a wish.

Panicking, she runs over to her older sister Victoire. With wide, innocent blue eyes, she tells her sister sadly, "Vicky, I didn't get a chance to make a wish."

Victoire sighs in irritation. "You had your chance, Dom. I don't have any more coins. I suppose your wish will just have to wait."

Her hearts skips a beat. Will her wish be delayed because she hadn't gotten to drop in her coin? Will Dominique never make anyone proud?

She bites down on her bottom lip and leans further over the railing, peering at the murky water. Absently, she wonders if everyone who's tossed a coin into the fountain gets their wish, as there are an awful lot.

She figures they must or the fountain would not still be here.

Dejected, she hangs her head and walks away from the fountain, absently wondering if her wish will ever come true.

Around her, Lucy, James, Molly, Louis, and Fred are hooting- she has pretty good ideas about what they would wish for. Even Roxanne wears a secretive smile, as if she's wished for something she dearly wants, too

She wonders if this is what it feels like, being the cynic with a bunch of dreamers for cousins.

{They'll all get their wishes and completely forget about her.}

ii.

Her wish doesn't come true. She'd never expected it to, anyway.

She doesn't make anyone proud. Instead, she's sorted unexpectedly into Slytherin house and makes a lot of her enemies on that very same day- people who jeer at her and wonder how a Weasley could possibly be a Slytherin.

Later that day, she shows them how she could be a Slytherin through a series of hexes. The teachers and her parents aren't too terribly proud. But of course, ever since she'd lost her wish, she'd known that they would never be proud of her- because she's Slytherin, so she's basically bad to the bone, to her shiny blonde roots.

She's sort of like a black hole- if she goes down, she's taking people down with her.

But that's only the beginning of her downfall.

iii.

She meets him for the first time outside. Fireflies are zooming around her, entangling themselves in her flurry of curls. Her face is alight with happiness. She lets the firefly in her hands zoom away as he approaches her.

"Hey there, little firefly," he teases cautiously, motioning to the firefly perched upon her ear.

Resisting the urge to say something cheesy and Lucy-like (such as 'the firefly says hello back'), she allows her mouth to drop open. "Who- who are you?"

"I know who you are," he smirks, reminding her of the bad guy in Rose's Muggle movies. "Little Slytherin Weasley."

Her hand rests on the tip of her wand. "Don't call me that."

Looking a bit afraid (to her delight), the boy takes a step back. His liquid silver eyes entrancing her, he informs her, "My name is Scorpius Malfoy."

"My name is Dominique Weasley," she replies guardedly. As a hint of a smile breaks across his face, she releases her wand.

Somehow, they just seem to work like that.

They spend the rest of the night (and most of the nights to follow) catching fireflies and releasing them into the dark, misty sky. She thinks that it feels nice- having a human being who's not utterly repulsed by the fact that she's a Weasley and she's in Slytherin. Having someone who realises that this is not the equivalent of the old (dead) Potions professor throwing a retro dance party and making out with Sprout in the back of the room. (Her Uncle George has some funny jokes about the dead man.)

But in essence, it's good to have a friend, because, despite the fact that Scorpius is annoyingly cocky and always in her business, he's sweet (when he wants to be) and he listens to her wishes with a sweet smile.

And in the end, that's all she really wants.

iv.

She's so tired of the whispers- of the people telling her who to be and that she's doing it all wrong. The voices cloud her head- her dad, her mum, her sister and brother, her cousins, her peers- so one day the young first year goes outside and perches herself on the step, blinking back the tears that cloud her eyes. Even if she's Dominique and she's strong, she's still only eleven years of age and far too young to be inadvertently starting a revolution (and though she doesn't know it, that's what she's doing).

She lifts her head out of her hands for just a moment to look at the sky, dotted with stars tonight instead of the usual puffy clouds, as if it's an omen. Then, almost magically, she opens her mouth and begins to sing.

She's always enjoyed singing, always found it a pleasurable thing to do. But during times like this, she appreciates it even more. She sings of a life where she's not defined by her last name and her green and silver tie that she wears loosely around her neck. A life where she can be Dominique Weasley, not who everyone expects her to be, but who she wants to be.

Though really, she's still trying to figure out who that person is.

Her voice breaks through the eerie silence that the darkness creates, casts a light on the dark Slytherin tower that most people are so careful to avoid.

She likes to think sometimes that if she was allowed to be who she wanted, she would have been a singer.

v.

He catches her one day. Some chubby boy was teasing her, calling her a "Gryfferin" and telling her that, given her bloodline, she shouldn't be allowed in Slytherin house. Angrily, she'd whipped out her wand and cast a Bat-Bogey hex on him (the hex that her lovely Aunt Ginny had passed on to her, apparently, she'd been famous for it in her time). The professors now, however, were not so impressed. They came upon her with glaring eyes and unfriendly looks. What was there to do but run?

She found herself in an unfamiliar corridor, and she couldn't help but think of how very cliché it was.

Fast forward to now.

She breaks so fast it's not even funny- and for such a strong Slytherin, it's sort of scary. Head on knees, tears on face- just like a bad Muggle movie, isn't it?

Enter Scorpius Malfoy, the leading male.

Smirk on his conceited face, he struts down the hall. She watches him, lips moving so that something like a song tumbles out. His head whips around, blonde hair tumbling into his eyes, and she offers him a feeble smile.

"Are you singing?" he asks, voice laced with pure astonishment.

She lifts her head to offer a small smile. "As a matter of fact, I am."

It's one of those moments that you just have to live and not wonder what's going on. In a flash, he's beside her, his arm gently resting on her back, as if to support her. With a raised eyebrow, he commands her to "sing more". And she does.

It's sort of a therapy, really- sing away your sorrows, you know, that kind of thing- but he seems intrigued nonetheless, and Dominique Weasley is nothing if not an entertainer, right?

So she continues, voice growing a bit louder as she regains her strength, and just maybe it's the beginning of something.

(He doesn't ask about the tears. She doesn't want to explain, anyway.)

vi.

Sometimes, she wonders. She wonders why she was even sorted into Slytherin, why she has this strong desire to break into territory that no other Weasley has even come close to.

Some people tend to call it rebellion. She thinks that sounds like a band of bank robbers and much prefers to call it aspiring to be different (noticed).

The first person she ever really talks to about it is, surprisingly, her Uncle Ron. Because if anyone knows about living in a shadow, about having to live up to someone, it's him.

He purses her lips thoughtfully at her string of questions. "I don't know why you're a Slytherin, Dom, I really don't. But I can take a guess at why you want to be different, actually."

Eagerly nodding, she awaits his response.

After a second of thought, he begins his story. "In my first year at Hogwarts, Harry and I came upon the Mirror of Erised. When Harry looked into the mirror, he found his parents, like a good little Golden Boy. But me, when I looked in the mirror, I saw me, older and fit and muscular, basically gorgeous. I was Quidditch captain, Head Boy- basically everything that my brothers had gotten but I'd only dreamed of getting. I was selfish, greedy- all Harry wanted was his parents to come back and I wanted the world. I wanted to live up to my lovely brothers."

"You didn't want to stand out?" Dominique asks her pink mouth making a perfect 'o' shape.

"No, I did," Ron confirms. "By one-upping my brothers. By doing more than they ever did. My dreams were impossible, but I gained fame in other ways. At first, I hung around Harry because he was famous and none of my brothers knew him. With him, I had no one to live up to. That's why I was friends with him."

"So you want me to make friends who don't make me want to live up to anyone- to my aunts, uncles, and cousins?" Dominique questions, looking shocked and surprised.

"Those friends are the best for you," Ron tells her fondly. "They'll make you happy."

As he walked away, Dominique imagines that if she were to look into the mirror, she would find herself surrounded by people who loved her.

But it's too late for that old wish. She's already set out a mission to change the world- maybe first, though, just Hogwarts.

vii.

Things are finally starting to look up, she determines one day. People still stare, but not in the same condescending way that they usually do. Maybe- just maybe, though- things would start to improve in the complicated social world of Hogwarts.

But ever since that one wish gone awry, things have never been easy for Dominique.

Maybe the stares have stopped, but the gossip only increases. Sometimes, in the corridors, people will stop talking just as she approaches. She knows that they've been talking about her- is there really any alternative?

She pretends that it doesn't bother her- and really, it shouldn't. She's the Ice Queen of Slytherin, the one that's never ever affected by anything- when really, what they don't know is that it affects her more than she'd ever care to admit.

It's a cold winter day in fourth year when it finally catches up to her. She walks to a supposed 'friend' of hers, who just gives her a snide glare and whispers something she'd not care to repeat to her.

It's not the worst thing she's ever been called, but it sets off her typical Weasley temper. Before her eyes, her hand rises up and slaps the girl across her shocked face.

Murmurs start as what has just happened sinks in. An accusing, teasing voice comes from a corner of the corridor. "Look at that! The Weasley Snake has struck again! Watch out, you just might be her next victim."

Sniggers come from all corners of the corridor. Someone (probably a cousin of hers) cries out, "Dominique Hope Weasley! What in the name of Merlin do you think you're doing?"

She doesn't know what to say, what to do. There's definitely no real excuse (this time) for her behaviour and she knows it. So, like a Slytherin, like a coward, she runs away.

She runs and runs until she's standing by a frozen pond, feet barely brushing the surface of the water, as if to tempt her. The urge to jump in, to just end it all right there, overwhelms her. Surely, if she jumps in, she'll develop hypothermia or drown or something of the like. Climbing on to a sharp rock, she stares down at the water and deliberates.

Just when she thinks that she's worked up the nerve to jump, someone's voice stops her. "You really don't want to do that."

The voice is matter-of-fact, as if he knows better than she does herself, and she hates it- she can't possibly be wrong about this. Turning, she asks, "Oh, I don't? How would you know what I want to do?"

The face that she sees as she turns shocks her. It is Scorpius Malfoy, her friend of sorts, the only one who has never questioned her integrity or laughed at her unexpected sorting. He takes a step forward, carefully, as if she's a fragile plate that could break at any given moment if he makes any sudden movements. Dropping his hands to his sides, he tells her, "You want to ruin your life, Dom? Devastate your friends and family? Put yourself through so much pain? Really, is that what you want?"

"No one will care," she whispers, trembling now, but not from the cold. "I'm only a pawn, Scorpius. I'm a person to be played. The Sorting Hat only put me in Slytherin to shake things up, you know, change the school."

"You were put into Slytherin because you'll thrive here," Scorpius informs her with a disappointed frown. "Not because you're getting screwed around with. Not because we're playing with you. This is your house, Dominique." He gestures to the Slytherin tower. "We are your people."

Her unfathomable cerulean eyes turn back to the icy waters, as if she's still contemplating still. "I don't belong here."

He chuckles. "You're so cynical, Dom." And then, "You're not going to jump. I know you. I've studied you."

"You don't know me," she retorts, but she chokes on her words and steps back.

"I think that I do," he retorts, taking a step forward and extending a hand. "Come on, Dom, get down. Let's just forget that any of this ever happened."

"Cocky as always, I see," she tells him bitterly, but she takes his hand and steps down.

"And with good reason," he laughs, then he wraps an arm around her shoulders and whispers in her ear, "You deserve to live, Dominique."

She's not so sure about that, but she nods like she believes him.

viii.

She thinks that maybe she has finally hit rock bottom. This has to be rock bottom- Scorpius freaking Malfoy has just caught her trying to commit suicide, nearly at the very edge of insanity. It's definitely something she never thought would happen, like something out of her worst nightmares, but now it's come true (much to her dismay).

At first, she's worried that he'll tell someone. But after a few days as everything staying nearly the same as it always had been, she realises that with him, that's not the case.

She starts to think that maybe, just maybe, she can trust him. (only maybe, though. Dominique doesn't trust easily, and especially not playboy Slytherins named Scorpius Malfoy.)

She still gets detention for slapping Magnolia Avery across her ugly face, and like a good girl (though she's not one), she attends, because right now, all she wants it to move on with life. She wants to pretend as if the last week or so never even happened.

And to her, it never really did.

But the reminders seem to slap her in the face. A student, Magnolia's brother, actually, falls through the ice during a game of Muggle hockey and develops hypothermia. One of the professors is asked to speak to the students on teenage angst, depression, and suicide. Not to mention the looks that Scorpius Malfoy keeps sending her whenever they mention that word- suicide. Sometimes they are caring. Sometimes they are concerned. Most of the time, though, they remind her that he still knows and that he'll know if she ever tries anything.

These looks are the ones that make her feel sick to her stomach.

One day, in the Great Hall, he sends her yet another of these looks. A wave of nausea passes over her, and not from the green mashed potatoes. Molly shoots her a concerned look. "Are you all right, Dom? You don't look so good."

"Does she ever?" Aquarius Flint jokes, but then she catches sight of Dominique's face (as green as the mashed potatoes) and raises an eyebrow.

"I-I've got to go," Dominique stammers, and once again, she flees the Hall like a coward, holding back nausea.

But unlike the other times, this time, Scorpius Malfoy follows her.

He confronts her in the corridor, looking upset and concerned at the same time. "You can't hide from me forever, you know."

"Can I not?" Sarcasm mars her angry tone. "I believe that I can, actually. You do not control me, Scorpius Malfoy."

"I beg to differ," he replies, seeming serious. "Are you-are you doing all right?"

Her eyebrows shot up at once. "Who died and made you my keeper? I should protest-"

"I was just wondering," he follows up hastily. "Look, about that night…"

"I don't want to talk about that night, Scorpius," Dominique hisses, cutting him off before he can even think of continuing. "Let's just forget it. Like you said."

"Right." He looks taken aback. "Like I said."

Then, in a flash, she's gone. She doesn't say goodbye. She doesn't feel that it's really necessary in a situation like this one.

ix.

After that, she becomes intensely more curious about the enigma commonly known as Scorpius Malfoy. She wouldn't say that she fancies him- no, she'd never admit to that- but she watches him. She watches as hoards of girls surround him, exclaiming of his apparent sexiness (not that she'd noticed), but for some reason, he turns them all down. Most people call him a player. Dominique begs to differ.

Sometimes, she meets his eyes when she's watching him. Most times, she turns away.

Both of them are too cowardly to so much as talk to each other (Slytherin, anyone?).

Then one day in the library, she slides in beside him, taking the empty seat at the table that he's 'studying' at. Surprised, he looks up at her, but before he can say anything, she begins abruptly. "Who are you, Scorpius?"

"Who am I?" he raises an eyebrow. "What do you even mean? Have you gone mad, or—"

"I've been mad," she retorts with a small sigh. "You would know." That silences him. "Who are you? Why do you turn down- well, offers from multiple girls? And, most of all, I want to know why you care so much. Why do you, a Malfoy, a Slytherin, a player who can get anything in the world he wants, care if I, the strange Slytherin Weasley, live or die?"

"I shouldn't," he tells her. "I shouldn't really, should I? But I do. I think that it's… well, you intrigue me."

She raises her eyebrow in question, causing his face to go red. "Not in a bad way, of course!" he continues before she can so much as protest. "You're just interesting, you know? From your rather unorthodox Sorting to your icy demeanor… you're something special, Dom. You are definitely one of a kind."

She flushes in something like pleasure, because it's all she'd ever wanted—to be special, to be unique, and it hasn't worked out the way she'd wanted at all.

He's the only one who's really noticed, and it makes her sort of glad.

Finally, she remembers that she should probably speak. "Thank you."

"It's the truth," he informs her bluntly. "Oh, is the beloved school Ice Queen actually blushing?'

"No!" she shrieks, patting her cheeks rapidly as if to remove the traces of colour that still linger. "And you didn't answer my other question, anyway. Why do you turn down all of those other girls who like you and want to date you?"

His answer is simple. "You." The word hangs in the stagnant air between them, so he follows it up quickly with, "At least, I think so."

Her eyes widen. "You- wait, me? You can't be serious."

"I lo—" he begins, but she never hears the rest (and she's not sure she wants to).

She takes a hint from the rest of the Slytherins and makes a run for it.

x.

School ends with no warning at all. Dominique spends most of her time before then(when she's not doing schoolwork) hidden up in the Slytherin dormitory. She does not want to see Scorpius, nor does she want to talk to him.

If there's one thing that everyone knows, it is that the Ice Queen is afraid of feelings.

Sure, maybe once upon a time, she'd wished for everyone to love her. But this—it's different. Most people (other than her family and Scorpius, of course) despise her. Her wish has not come true, and it never will.

Not to mention this whole love thing. It's commitment wrapped up in a pretty little box and tied with a shiny ribbon, in her opinion. And if there is one thing (other than feelings) that Dominique does not do, it is definitely (certainly) commitment.

So she runs. She takes her aunt's invitation to spend the summer with her in France. In France, there is a new beginning just waiting for her. Scorpius is not there. No one knows her there. It's her way of rebelling, of escaping.

The summer is spent gossiping with her aunt and shopping for clothes, two things that Dominique actually enjoys.

Sometimes, she thinks about Scorpius (and his random love for her). She likes to pretend that she doesn't.

Eventually, she gets tired of all of her pretending and realises that she might just have to go back. Because (maybe) she might just have feelings for Scorpius (though she likes to pretend that she doesn't have any feelings for him).

xi.

He seems to know the very moment that she gets back, because obviously Scorpius knows everything- either that, or he's stalking her.

But either way, an owl shows up at her house in his scrawled writing, addressed to her:

Dear Dominique,

I heard you were back.

Still yours,

Scorpius Malfoy

And at the end, there's a part that's crossed out:

P.S. Why did you come back?

At first, she feels like avoiding him again. If she doesn't reply, she won't see him until the next year of school starts. He might have a girlfriend. She might have a boyfriend. Her life will continue on without him, and his life will continue without her.

But the thing is, she doesn't want her life to go on without him in it.

Slowly, she pens her reply.

Dear Scorpius,

I am back. As always, you are correct.

Yours,

Dominique Weasley

And, at the end, she adds an answer, also crossed out:

P. S. I think I might just have feelings for you. Tell no one.

xii.

She's perched on the front stop of her house. It's sunset and once again, the fireflies zoom around her. Her voice, soft and quiet at first (but slowly becoming louder), rises into the stillness. A firefly rests on her nose, causing her to giggle during her song.

Suddenly, another voice joins her. She stops singing and peers out into the darkness.

"Hey there, little firefly," comes a voice, speaking the same words he spoke so long ago.

She doesn't jump into his arms, because she's not in a cheesy romance movie. Instead, she just resumes her singing, reaching out to wrap her hand around his.

Once she finishes her song, she kisses him.

xiii.

They talk about it, once. They're sitting on a log at the very same pond where her 'suicide incident' (as it's not so fondly called) took place when he turns to her. "Are you okay?"

"Just fine," she retorts sarcastically, as always.

"No," he runs a hand through his hair. "I mean- have you considered it again or-?"

"No," she tells him slowly, deliberating. "I haven't."

She's been too busy with her mind in a flurry of ScorpiusScorpiusScorpius to think of what people were saying (and probably still say) about her.

"Can I ask you a simple question?" he wonders, and without waiting for a response, he barrels on. "Why? Why did you try? Why did you even want to, well, you know, in the first place?"

"Everyone's always talking about me," she responds with a bit of a frown. "They hate me, Scorpius. I'm never going to get my wish, am I?"

He stares at her, confused. "You told me once that you wished that everyone would love you. Well, in your sleep- you talk in your sleep, did you know? And there was that one time, we fell asleep outside with the fireflies—well, you know. Anyway, what you don't see is that they're intimidated by you, actually. They admire you. In a way, they strive to be like you."

"They shouldn't," she responds quickly.

"It's too bad to see that you don't see what I—what we all see," he tells her forlornly before flicking yet another firefly off of her nose and then pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "You're a supernova, Dominique. That's why I originally fell for you. You're beautiful and you have feelings, I just know it."

Maybe one day, she'll actually believe it herself. But for now, she's on the road to improving- using small stepping stones to leave behind the old Dominique, the depressed girl who would commit suicide with Scorpius in the vicinity, and coming upon the new Dominique, the one who's as confident as she seems and isn't quite so cynical. She actually believes that (maybe) she's worth something to somebody.

That's certainly enough to hope for.

She finds that she actually likes the new Dominique a whole lot better.

xiv.

And in the end, she discovers that sometimes wishes do come true, even those that don't make it to the fountain.

It just takes time.

A/N: So, a quick explanation- I wrote this at the beach. No beta, so any grammar critiques are much appreciated.

And, I wrote this for three reasons:

One. The bias in Deathly Hallows Part 2 annoyed me, and stop reading now if you haven't seen the movie. Seriously, though. McGonagall sending all Slytherins to the dungeons? Blaise helping Voldemort? The movie not showing the good side of Draco? I mean, seriously. NOT ALL SLYTHERINS ARE BAD. And bias is bad, no matter how you justify it. Hopefully this'll shed some light.

Two. I wanted to and I adore ScorpiusDominique and I've considered- well, some of the stuff in this story before, and ugh, yeah. Personal experience?

Three. This is for the lovely Bluey (BlueEyes444) and Summer (n a r r o w s k i e s) because I love them and they love DomScor. It's also for Bluey's prompts thread and Summer's Pairing Request. AND I LOVE YOU GUYS TO DEATH and thank you for being there.

Done with long A/N. PLEASE REVIEW. AND I WILL ACTUALLY PM YOU IF YOU FAVOURITE WITHOUT REVIEWING SO JUST DON'T.

Reviews are lovely though and I will love you forever :3