Harry Potter 1. Returning

**A/N: Just a quick author's note. This story could probably go on for a while, but I'm only going to write it if people want me to as I have a lot of fics ont he go at the moment, although most of them are coming to a close. So if, once you've read this chapter, of course, you want me to continue then please review to tell me. Anyway I hope you enjoy it. Also, I hope there aren't any, but if you notice any mistakes, feel free to point them out to me and I'll correct them.  
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><p>It was the first day of term. Finally I was a fifth year and that meant that I was a prefect. Yes, my cousin, Albus, and I, had been chosen by Professor McGonagall to be Gryffindor's prefects. My parents had been proud to say the least, that I had followed in their footsteps, and had been forever showing off my badge to both my grandparents, even though they had seen the exact same badge on the chests of Uncle Bill, Uncle Percy, my father and my mother as well as on other students when they were at Hogwarts themselves.<p>

Still, despite the fact that I was looking forward to going back to school and finally finishing my OWLs, I woke up early, feeling really nervous. I was going to be under a lot of pressure. All of my subjects (Transfiguration, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Ancient Runes, Astronomy, Herbology, History of Magic, Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures) had heavy loads of homework each week. As well as that I was president of the Gobstones society and a host of other clubs. And then on top of all that I had to add my prefect duties to my timetable. I was seriously considering dropping out of the Gryffindor quidditch team this year. The only reason I hadn't told the captain yet, was that I knew James would _not _be happy. He hated having to hold trials for new positions because of all the non-Gryffindors who would turn up.

With nothing else to, since I'd packed all my books and school stuff into my truck the night before, I put my uniform on, before anyone else was even up, and nervously straightened my red and gold tie. Then I carefully pinned my matching scarlet and gold badge to my chest and sat back down on my bed.

I double checked I had everything, ticking off my checklist as I went. On a last impulse I took down my poster of the Weird Sisters and rolled it up tightly before hiding it away in my large trunk. Then, with the sounds of my parents getting up, I went downstairs, eager to have my breakfast and get to Kings Cross Station.

My parents came down the rickety old stair case in single file as it was too narrow for them to walk side by side. Whilst my mother was already dressed in her best Muggle clothing, a suit, no less, my father was still in his red and white striped pyjamas. And when Hugo, my younger brother, came down the stairs, he too was nowhere near ready. His carrot-red hair was sticking up in all directions and he too was not dressed.

"Hugo," I complained as my mum set my plate of breakfast in front of me. "Can't you at least put your pyjama top on before coming down for breakfast? It's not hygienic for me to look at your chest whilst I'm eating my toast."

"How is it not hygienic?" He scoffed.

"Because I'm liable to throw up over everything and everyone," I retorted.

"Well, you'd better get used to it, Rosie, because this, this is how I roll."

"Dad! Make him put his shirt on!"

"Hugo, listen to your mother," Dad responded, not looking over the top of the Daily Prophet.

"I'm not Mum!"

Hugo rose wearily and ran back up the stairs, reappearing seconds later as he was pulling his Chudley Cannons t-shirt over his head.

"Oh, sorry, Rosie. You just sound so much like your mother," he said, shooting a smile at both me and my mum who was busy cooking some eggs for Dad in the frying pan.

"Rose, I know you're proud of being a prefect, but you really shouldn't wear your robes in front of Muggles," Mum said delicately, trying not to offend me.

"But-"

"Rose, how would you feel if you destroyed the Secrecy Act all by yourself?"

"Fine. I'll go change," I muttered, giving in easily like usual. I never sought an argument with anybody if I could avoid it. I wasn't a push over, per say, I just hated confrontation. I abandoned what was left of my piece of toast and traipsed up the stairs back to my room. I had to thoroughly search my pink, wooden wardrobe to find any Muggle clothing that wasn't two sizes too small. I was taking my best clothes to Hogwarts. It was always useful to have a pair of shorts for a summer's day, or some extra layers in winter.

As I came downstairs, I nearly crashed into Hugo, who moped back upstairs to change out of his pyjamas.

"Ron, you'd better get ready too," Mum told him as she deposited the dishes in the sink, and set them to be washed with a wave of her wand. My dad left the newspaper on the table and went up the stairs I had so recently come down, reappearing with my trunk. He levitated down the stairs in front of him, and directed it out the porch to car.

"Mum, what happened to my toast?"

"Oh, sorry, Rosie, I thought you were done. Would you like me to make you something else?" She asked, brushing bushy brown hair out her eyes as she drew her wand out of her sleeve.

"No, Mum, it's fine. I can get something on the train," I assured her.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Eating sweets for breakfast. You'll rot your teeth." I rolled my eyes at her, remembering vividly when I had been subjected to a dental appointment by my grandparents. It was a pain I would never forget. My gum had ached for days after my granddad pulled it out.

"I'll just have a pumpkin pasty, Mum not sweets."

"If you're sure. Could you tell your brother to hurry up, please, Rose? I think we're going to be late at this rate."

I nodded and ran up the stairs to Hugo's room. It was, typically, a pig sty. Clothes were all over the floor and he was haphazardly chucking them into his open trunk which was only half full.

"Hugo! You didn't pack?"

"Actually, that's an incorrect assumption, Rosie. I _did _pack, but then I lost my trainer, and had to unpack everything again," he replied, bending over to grab a pair of his rolled up socks.

"Oh, don't forget your spellbook," I said, pointing at a brown, leather covered book which had slid under his bed.

"Cheers," he grunted, getting onto his stomach to retrieve it. Finally, he stood in the centre of the room and looked around. "I think that's it." He shut and locked the enormous trunk and lifted, with immense effort, one of the ends. "'Corr these things should definitely have wheels! Are we living in the stone age still? Merlin's Pants, that's heavy!"

As we left his room, a screech came from the corner, above his wardrobe.

"Feathers! I almost forgot him. Rose, could you?"

I nodded and took the caged owl from the top of the wardrobe whist Hugo heaved his trunk downstairs and then stopped, panting from the effort it had cost him.

"Dad!"

"Yeah?" he asked, sticking his red-haired head around the edge of the front door.

"Can you take my suitcase?"

"Locomotor Trunk," he commanded in response, and Hugo's trunk rose into the air and hovered, just as my own had done, slowly moving out towards the car.

Finally we were seated in the silver estate car and on our way to London. Dad winked at me in the rear-view mirror and I knew he was using a supersensory charm again.

"Ow!" I exclaimed as Hugo hit me. "Hugo! Stop it!"

"Hugo, stop flicking your sister," Mum said resignedly from the passenger seat.

When we arrived at the station, Dad hurried off into the crowds to go and get two trolleys for our luggage, and as a team we all struggled to lift the trunks onto them from out of the boot. The Secrecy Act was a royal pain in the back. I was aching from lifting, and my dad's cries of 'Lift with your knees, Rosie!' did not help.

But, somehow, we managed it and I wheeled my trolley towards the platforms. The four of us paused at the signs for platforms nine and ten, and then my mother put one of her hands on the trolley and began to pull it towards the wall between them. I ran to keep up with her strides and then the wall blurred and we were shrouded in smoke on the other side with Hugo and Dad emerging just behind us. The train hooted and I hurried to stow my trunk on board.

At one of the carriage windows, I waved goodbye as the train pulled out of the station at exactly eleven o'clock and then my parents walked hand in hand back towards the barrier to return to the car.

I turned around at the unexpected drawl of 'Father wanted to pay for the teams broomsticks this year, but I told him he didn't need to because Mother already had' from behind me. Three Ravenclaw boys were stood in a row. Whilst one of them was tall and gangly, the other short and fat, the one in the centre of the grouping just looked plain hot. His blonde hair hung over one of his warm, grey eyes and was carefully styled into messy perfection. That combined with the white t-shirt that clung to his chiselled chest, just visible in the space of his unzipped jacket made him perfect. But only to look at.

"They made you a prefect, Weasley?" Scorpius Malfoy asked, staring in shock at the badge I had pinned on my t-shirt. He was an arrogant boy. His looks and his money had obviously always gotten him whatever he wanted, and he strutted around Hogwarts like he owned it, despite his family's reputation for being dark wizards. He, however, appeared to have broken out of the mould, although I never did understand how he had been housed in Ravenclaw. There was a rumour that circulated the school in our first year, that he had bewitched the Sorting hat to not put him in Slytherin, but it was bogus.

"Yes, Scorpius, now leave us alone."

"Unfortunately, I can't, Weasley. As one of the prefects for Ravenclaw, I was asked to find you and bring you to the prefect's compartment. We need to be briefed by the Head Boy and Girl. You're so clueless, sometimes."

I ignored the jibe about my intelligence, knowing that I was just as good a student, if not better, as him. For one thing, I wasn't as lazy as him.

"See you later, Hugo," I said miserably.

"Yeah, okay, whatever. I'm going to find James anyway. I want to tell him you're quitting the team!"

"Don't you dare! I mean it, Hugh!" I called after him.

He didn't deign to respond but I hoped he was only joking.

"So you're dropping out of the Gryffindor quidditch team? The cup will be ripe for the taking this year," Scorpius muttered.

"Actually Hugo was just joking," I told him, but he did not seem convinced. An awkward silence settled over us, but I had no intention of breaking it. Despite the fact that I sat next to Scorpius in many of my classes last year because we had all the same options, I still hated him.

"Still not over it then I see."

I inhaled and exhaled sharply, but kept my lips sealed.

"It was honestly just a joke," he said, smiling at the memory of my ears changing colour because of his accidental spell which he '_forgot_' to tell me about.

"Because it was _so _funny!" I replied sarcastically, my voice cutting across his as I stormed ahead.

"Weasley, wait!"

"My. Name. Is. Rose!" Without a backward glance I strode down the train to the first compartment. I slid open the door perhaps more forcefully than I needed to and threw myself down into the spare chair beside Al.

"Hey, Rosie," he said, not noticing my look of deep irritation.

"Al," I responded curtly.

Affronted, he asked, "What's the matter with you?"

"Scorpius Malfoy, that's what."

His mouth opened and then closed it as Scorpius came into the compartment and shut the door I'd left open. He sat in the seat opposite me, with a look of discomfort which only multiplied when he looked at me and my furious glare. He cheeks turned slightly pink and he cleared his throat before turning to stare out the window.

"Now that you're all here," began Dan, the Head Boy. His voice made me zone out completely and I began to daydream of new books. Until someone opened the window and the fresh breeze sent Scorpius' cologne towards me. It smelt amazing, and somehow, even though I didn't want it to happen, his face appeared in my day dream, coming closer, his god-like lips puckered to kiss me. "So, Rose, does that sound good to you?" Dan asked, jerking me awake.

_Oh, crap! I have no idea what they were just talking about. _"S-sure," I stuttered under the gaze of nine people. I was still a little distracted by what I had seen and the blood pumping round my body. I was also trying to subdue my desire to reach out and pull _Scorpius Malfoy _to me and kiss him.

"Great, so you'll do rounds tomorrow with Scorpius to make sure there's no students out of bed."

_What? I can't do rounds with _Scorpius_! I'll end up killing him! Or myself!_

I couldn't protest though because then I would have to admit that I hadn't been listening. It would damage my chances of getting Head Girl.

"I think that's everything," Leanne, the Head Girl, said. "You can all go and sit with your friends now. Thanks for coming, guys."

I stood up to go with Al and find the compartment that would be full of our cousins but Scorpius caught my arm. "Rose, could I talk to you for a second?"

I still wasn't in the mood for playing friends with him, especially after what I had just seen, so I smartly replied, "You just did."

"That wasn't what I meant," he growled. "Can't you just co-operate for five seconds?"

"Fine. You get five seconds exactly."

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what exactly?"

"Just…you know…" he started, sounding embarrassed.

"Oh, time's up," I interjected almost cheerfully. I couldn't wait to get away from him. I ran before he could say anything else and it was only when I was halfway down the train that he called out to me. I pretended not to hear it and continued my search for Al and the rest of our families.

Outside a compartment I found two boys duelling and it was a narrow miss for me to avoid the furunculous curse.

I cast the shield charm and reprimanded them both.

"Aren't you going to give us detention?" One of them, a Hufflepuff asked.

"No, Williams, I'm going to give you a second chance," I said.

They walked off exchanging gleeful looks and I wondered whether I ought to have been tougher on them.

"So they get a second chance but I don't?"

I spun around to find myself face to face with Scorpius. He was much too close. The term personal space had ceased to exist and once again that I felt that need to, I don't know, run my hands through his hair and melt against his chest.

_What is wrong with me?_

"Well, Rose? Do I get a second chance?"

"No," I said but it sounded more like I was asking a question.

"Do I or don't I?" He seemed even more confused than I was.

"No!"

"And, why not? How many times can I say I'm sorry? I spent all last year apologising, Rose. I don't know what more I can do," he said desperately. I didn't understand why he was so keen to make up anyway.

"How about just leaving me alone, Scorpius?"

"I can't," he murmured, gripping his head as though he was in pain.

"What do you mean?" I whispered. _He couldn't be talking about what I thought he was talking about, could he? _My breath disappeared and all of a sudden my heart was racing.

He swallowed quickly, his eyes wide, his lips mere inches from mine. And then he pulled away and cracked a smirk. "We've got rounds together, haven't we? What did you think I was talking about, Rose? Hmm?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Urgh! Dream on, Sad Act."

For the third time that day, I walked away from him, feeling his eyes boring into the back of my head until I heard the raucous laughter of James and Fred and slipped into their compartment.

I stood facing the door with my eyes closed, my head leaning against the glass window.

"Well don't just stand there, Rosie," Lily said from the seat nearest me. "Seriously, you'll get hit with one of Uncle George's fireworks if you don't."

I hastily fell into the last remaining seat, in between Dominique and Roxanne just as one of my uncle's smaller fireworks hit the window where my face had been seconds before.

"Missed," Fred muttered.

"You wouldn't have been trying to hit a _prefect _with that firework would you, my dear brother?" Roxanne asked.

"Not at all. I was trying to hit my cousin, Rose."

"Fred!" I warned. "I'll tell Auntie Angelina."

"Alright. I promise not to try to get you. Happy now?" He asked sardonically.

Conversation was interrupted by the timely arrival of the Trolley Lady. My stomach rumbled loudly as she asked politely whether we wanted anything.

"Could I have a pumpkin pasty, please?" I asked, being true to my word to my mother.

I exchanged a few knuts for the pasty and appreciatively dug in.

"Gees, Rose, are you hungry?" Hugo asked with raised eyebrows.

"I never finished breakfast!" I complained to their looks of amusement.

"Rose, relax. Take it easy. It's not like you're never going to eat again. You can pig out at the feast instead," James said, smirking at Fred.

"Just because you're my cousin, doesn't me I won't give you detention James!"

"I'd like to see you try."

"James, get over yourself," interrupted Lily.

"Yeah," agreed Al. "We need to change into our robes anyway."

James laughed and pulled Al into a headlock.

"You are such a good two shoes, Albus."

"No, I'm not," Al retorted, furiously straightening his navy polo shirt. As if to prove his point he wrestled himself out of James grip and then pushed him onto his seat. Lily just shook her head, completely used to their daily tussles and fights. The rest of us had also seen Al and James having a go at each other but most of the time it didn't turn physical. However, only Fred was enjoying watching them and chanting 'fight'. As a seventh year, it was really quite strange. But then again, Jamie was in his seventh year and of age as well and that didn't stop him from punching his younger brother in the ribs.

"At least with Rose it's 'cause Auntie Hermione was the same. You've got no excuse. Especially as I thought I'd taught you my mischievous ways," James said, his voice choked by Al's hand around his throat.

"Enough!" Lily shouted as I opened my mouth to do the same. "Both of you stop it. James, you're of age, you should be setting Al an example and Al you're a prefect, you can't do this anymore." They both glowered at their younger sister, completely forgetting their own anger at each other. And even though she was smaller, and a year younger than Al, Lily looked so intimidating glaring back at them, her red hair even looked as though it was coming to life and her blue eyes held a fire just like Nana Weasley's did when she scolded Uncle George, that James and Al both muttered apologies to each other. "Now can you please both put your robes on?"

"Yes, _Mum_," James answered.

"Don't think I won't tell her!"

That shut James up and I stifled a laugh, knowing he wouldn't appreciate it.

Everyone hurriedly changed into their robes, wary of Lily's watchful eye. _It won't be surprising if she gets to be a prefect too. _

Finally we were all sat down in the compartment in our robes and playing a civilised game of exploding snap. Dominique won but before we could play again, the train began to slow down and pulled into the station. We abandoned our luggage which would be taken up to the castle for us and bundled into two carriages. We didn't do it on purpose but the boys ended up in one and the girls in another.

We traipsed up the stone steps into the entrance hall and ran into the great hall to avoid Peeves who was floating in mid-air and throwing stink pellets at people as they passed. It was his annual greeting for the Hogwarts students when we returned for the first term, except he just found something new to throw at us each year. Last year had been the worst – live spiders.

With relief, I sat down on the bench at the Gryffindor table and my entire extended family crowded round me.

At the teacher's table, our Headmistress Professor McGonagall, waited patiently for Hagrid to arrive with the first years coming across the lake. The other teachers, including Professor Longbottom, or Neville as we knew him, sat beside her.

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><p><strong>AN: Please review! If I do continue it there is likely to be romance in the air.**


	2. Confounding

**A/N: It's taken a long time to write this chapter so I apologise. I also apologise in advance for how late my next update will most likely be. I'm in my last year at school and my workload is pretty heavy and I'm also writing quite a few things at once, so I don't have a lot of time to concentrate on this story at the moment. But I hope you enjoy this chapter and I would love to know what you think/any theories on what happened with Scorpius' first chance. **

All through the feast I could feel Scorpius watching me like a hawk from the Ravenclaw table. It felt as though I'd committed a crime and was stood before the entire Wizengamot, each of them scrutinising me like a under a magnifying glass as they decided if I was worthy enough to retain my ash and unicorn hair wand.

Professor McGonagall left her speech until after the sorting. This was actually the first year since Louis was sorted into Gryffindor that one of my cousins hadn't been sorted and the feeling that that left was rather unnerving. There were ten new additions to our table that evening and Professor McGonagall only delivered the usual notice that the Forbidden Forest was out of bounds along with a list of items that the old caretaker, Filch, had banned. I was pretty surprised that my cousin, Fred, hadn't managed to get exploding snap added to the list yet. I'd been expecting that to happen ever since he singed off the skin on a group of first years' fingers two years ago.

Feeling Scorpius' eyes on me, I lost any appetite I had and sat staring at my empty plate whilst James and Hugo both grabbed plenty of chicken wings, mashed potato and baked beans and heaped it onto their plate. Not even the banoffee pudding tempted me and that was my favourite pudding.

"Told you you were eating too much, Rosie-posie," James said cheekily through a mouthful of apple crumble.

"Shut up," I told him, feeling increasingly grumpy. My mind was filled with the memories of that night. The Yule Ball, the dancing… I forced myself to stop and attempted to make conversation with Lily instead.

Finally the end of the feast ended and I stood up to take the first years up to Gryffindor Tower. I didn't make it very far before he reached me and tugged lightly on my elbow, bringing me round to face him.

"Please, Rose, just let me explain," Scorpius begged.

"I'm busy and so are you," I replied coldly, pointedly looking at the gaggle of Ravenclaw first years nervously waiting by the door and looking round in what looked like abject fear at all the older students barging past them. "Goodnight, Scorpius."

I stalked away, my limbs oddly stiff and caught up to Al in the Entrance Hall. Lily glanced at worriedly at me as she passed on her way to the Common Room whilst her brother and I began our short tour of the castle. Luckily the Ravenclaw Common room was in the opposite direction to Gryffindor tower so I wasn't bothered by Scorpius again.

The first years giggled excitably when the smallest boy fell through the invisible step that, in my preoccupation with what Scorpius Malfoy was doing to me, I had forgotten about and chatted at unintelligible speeds for the entire tour until we finally arrived at Gryffindor Tower after traipsing through the castle for half an hour because the stairs seemed determined to annoy me by not going in the direction of our common room. Al directed the girls and boys to their dormitories whilst I collapsed on the floor in front of the sofa where Lily sat patiently waiting for me.

"What happened?"

I groaned and waved my wand using the summoning charm to send some more logs onto the fire. The flames leapt up and I sighed in the warmth before beginning my rant.

"Merlin's beard, I hate that boy!"

"What's he done now?" Lily asked resignedly, completely used to my continuous moaning about how determined Scorpius Malfoy was to make my life a misery.

"I thought I was finished with all his crap last year, but now I've got it this year too," I complained.

"Yes, but what's he actually done, Rose?"

"He won't leave me alone! Every second of the day he's been there and somehow he's managed to manipulate rounds so that I have to do them with him! I've never met someone so conniving! It's ridiculous! He's just like his grandfather – bribing people to get whatever he wants-"

"Rose," Lily interrupted gently, "do you actually have any proof that he bribed Dan to put you on rounds together?"

"Well, no, but I know he did it. You can see it in his smarmy little face."

"Oh, Rosie," she whispered, leaning off the sofa and pulling me into a hug. "He hurt you, didn't he?"

I nodded, staring into the flames with her chin resting on my shoulder. "I still remember…"

"Scorpius Malfoy is the biggest idiot on the planet, Rose. Forget about him," Hugo said heatedly, his voice filled with care. I actually got choked up. That was only the second time that Hugo had so vehemently shown such a level of love. The first time was, well… My thoughts were interrupted when Hugo continued his tirade of anger. "He's a stuck up prat who doesn't deserve someone like you. If I hadn't already gotten a detention for it, I'd jinx his head until it was so big he'd fall over, and then I'd kick him where the sun doesn't shine!"

Taken aback, I sat dumbfounded for a minute before nodding mutely and going up to bed. As I climbed the dormitory stairs, I heard Lily mutter to Hugo, who was anxiously watching me, "I'll make sure she's okay," and then stand and follow me up the stairs. Fortunately, because she was a year younger, she didn't sleep in my dormitory but when she passed the door, tears were already pouring down my face so I turned away to change into my pyjamas and get into bed. Thinking I was fine, Lily, red haired like her mother, walked away to go to her own dormitory on the floor above. Once I was in my red, striped nightie, I closed the curtains around my four poster, sealing myself in isolation whilst Dominique gossiped avidly with Lucy, my Uncle Percy's eldest daughter, Tracy and Hannah. I cried myself to sleep whilst they discussed how Scorpius had become even hotter over the summer holidays, each of them completely unaware of how he had treated me last year. I couldn't blame – it was my fault because I hadn't told them. In fact, the only people who did know were Lily and Hugo and that was only because Lily had found me crying after it happened and Hugo had overheard us talking about it.

Everyone else in the family thought that Hugo had gotten detention for thumping Scorpius because he'd charmed my ears to change colour and 'called me a mudblood' which wasn't strictly true. We'd just been talking quietly about blood status in History of Magic and the whole class happened to turn around with eager ears whilst he was in the middle of saying that he _wouldn't _ever call me a mudblood. Regardless rumours of his discrimination flew around school, so much so that we both got called into Professor McGonagall's office to explain what happened.

I hadn't had the heart to correct my parents when we came off the train and Hugo was grounded. If they knew what had really happened, then I'm sure he wouldn't have been punished at all. Dad, more likely, would have congratulated him on clouting a Malfoy and protecting me. But, the thing was, I was embarrassed and upset. I just wanted to forget about what had happened and forget about him.

Pushing the thoughts from my mind, I dried my cheeks on the soft pillowcase and snuggled deeper under the covers, relishing the warm sheets beneath my feet from the bedpan the house elves had placed there whilst I was at dinner, and fell asleep dreaming of what might happen in my lessons the next day.

All the possibilities my brain composed didn't come true. Something much worse happened when we were each given our timetables by Professor Longbottom.

"Weasley, Rose…where's your form…" He muttered to himself as he flicked through the pile of paper he was carrying. "Ah! Here you go, Rose. You've got double potions this morning and double charms this afternoon." Moving on down the table, he handed out each of my cousins timetables, and I waited until they all had theirs before looking at mine, so that we could compare.

I groaned the instant my eyes looked down.

"S'matter, Rose?" Al asked through a mouthful of buttery toast.

"Potions and charms with Ravenclaw," I replied wearily. I'd hoped that I would have fewer lessons with the Ravenclaws this year, but once again it seemed as though my luck hadn't changed for the better.

"Oh dear," Lily murmured, looking over my shoulder at the Ravenclaw table where Scorpius was standing up and coming towards us, timetable in hand. "Quick, Rose," she advised, already standing up herself to usher me out and hide me from view.

I stood and hurried down the length of the Great Hall.

"Rose!" Scorpius shouted after me.

I didn't look back, merely running all the way up to Gryffindor Tower where I needed to collect my potion's book and cauldron. I was slightly surprised that Scorpius didn't try to follow me, but when Lily arrived, red faced and breathing heavily from trying to keep up with me, I found out that after shouting for me, Professor Lofting, the strictest teacher in school, swooped down on him, giving him an earful and severe punishment. Hopefully, his five detentions would prevent him from "accidentally" bumping into me in the castle.

It didn't take me long to find my potions stuff in my trunk, but I didn't want to leave any chance for Scorpius to corner me in the dungeons so I waited until five minutes before the lesson was due to start before running down there. It meant pacing in the Common Room by myself for fifteen minutes, but even loneliness was preferable to Scorpius Malfoy.

Unfortunately, waiting so long to go to my lesson made me rather late and my plan backfired. When I pushed open the wooden classroom door, Professor Slughorn wasn't very happy and deducted five house points from Gryffindor, and I found that there was only one seat left in the room. And it wasn't beside Albus like I had expected. No, beside Al sat his best friend, Robert Huntingdon, leaving me to sit beside Scorpius, who smirked at me from across the room as I dithered over whether to go and ask Robert to move.

In the end, after some encouragement from Professor Slughorn, who heartily chuckled as he said, "Come now, Rose, Scorpius won't bite," I dumped my bag and cauldron on the cold, grey floor beside the desk and slumped into the seat, ensuring that I moved the chair as far away from the blonde haired boy beside me.

Whilst Professor Slughorn introduced us to what we could expect in our OWL year, Scorpius scooted closer and leaned towards my ear.

"Rose," he whispered, his breath lifting the hairs on the back of my neck and making me shiver. "I know you can hear me."

I didn't deign to respond but he continued anyway.

"I, Scorpius Malfoy, am so sorry, Rose Weasley. It didn't mean anything, I swear. It was Veronica's fault. And I promise it'll never happen again."

Despite the fact that I had pressed my lips together, determined not to make a sound, I whipped round in anger, and in hushed tones rebutted. "Just like it didn't mean anything when you gave me clown's feet? What about the time you dyed my hair five colours? Or how about when you switched my Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans for Snorkack poo?"

"I told you. I'm different now. I'm more mature," he replied insistently, gesturing with his hands in what was presumably an effort to make me believe him.

"Yeah, whatever, Scorpius." I turned back to the board where Professor Slughorn's instructions appeared, indicating which pages we might find useful for brewing a Swelling Solution. I leafed through my copy of Advanced Potioneer and scanned the list of ingredients before delving into my bag to retrieve what I would need.

An hour and a half later, my potion was the exact shade of cerise pink that the textbook said it should be at the final stage, and Professor Slughorn commended me, calling the rest of the class over to look as no-one else had manage to attain the colour so well. However, in the crowding that followed, the cauldron was dent flying by Scorpius' wand through a banishing spell.

"Scorpius! You did that on purpose!" I thundered, desperately trying to think of a spell that would put the escaped liquid back into my cauldron where it was spreading across the floor beside the ingredients cupboard.

"No I didn't," he countered quietly.

"Yes, you did," I argued as the rest of the class drifted back to their seats to continue their potions. I angrily slammed my book shut and summoned my cauldron. "You've been terrorising me like that since first year!"

"Rose, will you just listen? Not everything in the world is my fault! I can't help it if people bash into me and I knock you over or accidentally mess up your work. It's not like I'm out to get you. Just because our parents don't get along, doesn't mean we can't."

"Who said this was anything to do with my parents? As far as I'm concerned Scorpius, this _is _all to do with you." I couldn't keep the condescending tone out of my voice. I hated the behaviour Scorpius brought out in me – the scornful attitude and cruel, cutting remarks – but I couldn't stop it.

Riled up by my response, Scorpius was just as wounding in his retort. "Well maybe you should be less like your father, Weasley. Maybe you should be more forgiving. What would you have done if it was Albus who had sent your cauldron across the other side of the room? Hmm? Oh, yeah, that's right; you'd have fawned over your cousin and said it was an accident, that it didn't matter."

"Well of course I would forgive Al, he's _family_; unlike you. You, you're traitorous, scum. You're destined to be a dark wizard, so it's no wonder you already act like it."HuHu

The end of lesson bell rang and before Scorpius could come out of his stunned reverie, I stooped to pick up my bag, stuffed my book in it and left the room, my cloak swishing with my speed. Cauldron in hand I raced to the Common Room to dump my potions stuff and go down to lunch.

Once again the house elves had surpassed my mother's cooking abilities but I had no chance to appreciate it as I wolfed down my minestrone, constantly on the lookout for Scorpius before running back up to Gryffindor Tower to retrieve my bag and charm's book. This time I changed tactics and arrived earlier than I needed to so that I could pick my own seat and ensure that Al or Dominique sat beside me.

It worked fine, and I only had to wait ten minutes before Al and Dom hurried over and took the seats on either side of me. My eyes were still drawn to the door, though, waiting to watch Scorpius come through and see if he would sit behind me or in front of me. I was certain he would want to continue our argument after having plenty of time to come up with an insult to throw back at me.

"What are you looking at, Rosie?" Dom asked, her voice using that tone that suggested she thought I might be going crazy, as Professor Richards came in and took her seat behind her desk, ready to begin the lesson.

"Nothing," I muttered, already turning my attention away from Scorpius' absence and putting it on the board where instructions to turn to page twenty of the Standard Book of Spells Grade Five and revise summoning charms before moving on to read about the silencing spell.

Scorpius didn't appear all lesson and he wasn't there went we went for dinner. Lily noticed me glancing around the hall every five seconds and frowned, hissing heatedly, "Forget about him, he's not worth it."

It seemed Al and Dom had told her about my outburst in Potions, or it could just have been the rumour mill. Hogwarts _was _renowned for spreading gossip. It had in fact been encouraged by previous headmasters. But that didn't stop me from feeling an immense level of guilt for my words. Despite everything that had happened last year and the possibility that Scorpius deserved a piece of my mind, I was still that goody-two shoes that couldn't bear having other people angry with her. Feigning that the responsibilities of prefect rounds were going to keep me busy all evening, earning me a suspicious look from Al in the process, who knew perfectly well that my patrols were on Tuesdays and Thursdays; not Mondays, I excused myself from the watchful eye of Lily and quickly left the hall.

The only trouble was I had no idea where Scorpius would actually be. And it did _not_ help that I had no idea where the Ravenclaw Common Room was. Just as I began to walk towards the staircase, I met Howard Eden, a fellow Ravenclaw in our year, and stopped him.

"Hey, Howard, have you seen Scorpius lately?"

"Not since Potions. I think he got some swelling solution on his hand and had to go to the Hospital Wing to get it deflated," Howard replied conversationally, smiling as though he didn't know anything about the argument earlier. The strain showed through his grin though, and I knew he knew.

"Okay, thanks," I told him, pleased that I didn't have to stand there any longer.

Was it just me or were the students of Hogwarts becoming weirder and weirder? Wearily, I climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, trying unsuccessfully to work out how I was going to apologise.

At the Hospital Wing door, I stood anxiously with bated breath, before pushing the heavy thing open and sneaking in, wishing more than anything that I could have borrowed the invisibility cloak Uncle Harry had given Jamie, and closed the door quietly, not facing the room.

"Rose?"

I turned in a flash, ginger (and bushy) hair flying in all directions. "Scorpius!" My cheeks began to redden instantly like I'd told a lie. He was lying propped on one of the beds, his head resting lazily on a pillow, with his hand bandaged so that it looked five times bigger than normal.

"What are you doing here? You're not hurt are you?"

I shook my head, feeling increasingly confused as to how he could act so normally with me. "I heard about your hand," I replied with a nod at it.

"Oh yeah, guess that's what you get for punching the side of your cauldron full of Swelling Solution really. Pretty stupid, I admit." I wondered what had made him punch his cauldron before realising that I didn't have to look far. "It's gone down a lot though. You should have seen it two hours ago – my hand was triple this size. Madam Pomfrey's having to administer the antidote every hour." He was rambling. I knew it. He knew it.

Cutting in, I explained my other reason for visiting. "And I wanted to a-apologise. You know, for earlier."

"Oh, right. I'm, erm, sorry too."

"That's settled then."

"Yep."

The room became undesirably awkward and I found myself looking at the ceiling just so I didn't have to look at Scorpius in his blue, striped pyjamas.

"Well, I'm going to go. Better get to bed and all. And you should really be resting," I announced suddenly, turning towards the door.

"Oh," Scorpius responded, surprised, and looking sad to see me go.

On the other side of the door, trouble waited.

"I knew it!" Lily exclaimed, her finger pointing perilously at me. "I knew you'd gone to see him!"

"I am allowed to, Lily," I muttered lowly.

"Rose, he'll only hurt you again," she replied sadly, sounding years older than she was.

"He might not," I retorted, although it was a pointless argument as that was exactly why I hadn't given Scorpius a second chance.

Lily only raised her eyebrows. I'd talked to her so many times about what happened that she already knew why Scorpius would never get the second chance he wanted so much.

Groaning, I sat down against the door and murmured, "That boy confounds me!"

**A/N: So tell me what you think. Did you like it? Did you hate it? Either way just leave a review! And if there are any mistakes, feel free to point them out to me, as I don't always read through what I've written. **


	3. After Midnight

**A/N: Thank you so much to those people who have reviewing - it means a lot. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>On Tuesday I managed to have a break from Scorpius, as Gryffindor and Ravenclaw hadn't been put together for Herbology. However, instead I had to put up with the Slytherins. Even over twenty years after the war, relatives of some of the Death Eaters still had a grudge against me and my family. It was lucky none of us had trouble with defensive magic or we'd have ended up spending most of our time in the hospital wing.<p>

For some reason though, it was usually James who was hit the worst. Although, knowing him, he probably always did something to annoy whoever cursed him before they'd even attempted it. He always had been a trouble maker, and being of age hadn't made the slightest difference to that. I suppose it was a good thing in the long run: at least the option of going into business with Uncle George was open to him.

Al, Dom and I were all working at the same tray to re-pot the Juggendon plants Professor Longbottom had brought back from Latvia when he visited in his holidays. They were vibrant purple plants with poisonous fruit. But, whilst the grape sized berries would kill you, the leaves of the plant were very useful in curing minor magical maladies, and Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing was looking forward to having them.

"Why won't it just come out?" Al exclaimed for the fifth time, as he gave an almighty tug on the thick, gnarled stalk of the plant.

"Now, now, Mr Potter, not too rough. These Juggendons sometimes need a light hand," Professor Longbottom, one of our family's close friends, said, gently moving Al out of the way and pulling the plant out of the pot with ease. "Now you try."

Al rolled his eyes, but kept his mouth shut in a thin line before holding the purple plant just above the soil level and trying to pull it out. "Is this okay, Professor?" He asked, looking around, but Professor Longbottom had already moved away to stop the venomous tentacular throttling Luke McClaggen. "Sod this," Al exclaimed, giving up on the tender approach and wrenching the Juggendon free from the tightly compacted soil. Unfortunately, the force of Al's pull sent showers of mud raining down on the three of us as well as the three Slytherin's working at the next pots.

"Al!" Dom shrieked, desperately trying to shake the soil from her hair silvery blonde hair.

"Watch it, Potter," Jack Flint, a Slytherin, warned, glowering at us. His threatening look wasn't all too impressive when you considered the fact that he looked like something had pooped on him.

"You watch it or I'll give you detention," Al retorted, still holding the forgotten plant aloft.

"Is that a threat? Because it's a poor one at that."

Al opened his mouth to answer, but before he could I trod on his foot. "Stop it, Al. You don't want to get in trouble. Forget about him before someone gets hurt."

"That's right. Always interfering in other people's business, aren't you, Weasley? Can't leave anything or anyone alone – it's no wonder Scorpius ran."

"That's it!" Dom hissed sassily, one of her hands on her hips as she stepped in front of my frozen body, even getting past Al who was furiously scrambling to punch Jack. "What are you talking about?" She poked him roughly in the chest. "Rose and Scorpius haven't been together, you idiot! Maybe you should learn some better insults."

Jack shot me an amused glance as he realised that Dom had no idea about what had happened between me and Scorpius. He opened his mouth, and in typical movie style, timed slowed down whilst my mind yelled, '_No!'_

Somehow, without fully intending it, I managed to shove Jack into his two mates, and stand in front of him, smiling tightly at Dom. "Of course I haven't gone out with Scorpius. We hate each other," I told her, my eyes wide and staring.

Luckily before anything else could happen, the end of lesson bell rang and I shooed Dom out of the greenhouse, carrying both her bag and mine.

But Dom wouldn't drop it whilst we walked back through the light September drizzle to the castle for lunch.

"Are you sure there's not something I don't know?" She asked for the fifth time.

"Look, Dom, if there was we'd know about it," Al reasoned, looking back at her as he walked through the great hall doors in front of us. "Rose is such a big chatterbox that if she ever went on a date with a boy the whole world would know."

I shot him a grateful look before playfully arguing back. "Excuse me, I am not a _chatterbox! _I may talk a lot, but that's a good thing, right? I mean, who likes silence?"

"Rose just 'cause you hate silence doesn't mean everyone else does too," Fred joked as he sat down next to me at the lunch table.

"I could do with a day of silence," Hugo muttered. Looking up at our crowd of confused faces, he continued, "We just spent an entire double period learning cheering charms – Thomas O'Leary, you know that Hufflepuff kid, overdid his and Ricky Williams spent the entire lesson laughing his head off. His laugh sounds like a monkey being strangled, but ten times louder," he explained when the rest of us continued to stare uncomprehendingly.

Although Dom kept shooting glances at me, I made sure I was never looking in her direction, and thankfully the conversation never turned back to Scorpius. Instead James and Fred entertained us with rubbish jokes.

"Oh! Have you heard the one about the hag and the clown?"

"Yes, James," we all groaned in synchronisation.

"You told it last Christmas and I think we can safely say that no-one wants to throw up again."

Fred interrupted with, "Well what about the magic tractor – did you hear that one? It went right and turned into a field! Get it?"

Standing up, I muttered, "I'm leaving."

"Oh, Merlin, don't leave me alone with them!" Lily cried as James and Fred moved onto their ruder jokes. She jumped to her feet and ran after me, her bag dragging on the floor before she pulled it over her shoulder.

The two of us soon parted as I headed back outdoors for Care of Magical Creatures where Hagrid was watering his pumpkins and pointing what looked like his umbrella at them.

"Hi, Hagrid!" I called when I was still ten metres away from him.

"A'right, Rose," he happily replied, shaking his mane of now grey hair out of his face. "How're yer parents?"

"Good. They're out in Romania at the moment, staying with Uncle Charlie whilst Mum does a deal with the Ministry out there."

"Tha's good. Glad ter hear they're well." He stood with his hands on his hips looking down at me.

"What are you teaching us today then, Hagrid?" I peered around his bulk trying to see some kind of monster-I mean creature-when he side-stepped in front of me.

"No cheatin', Rose. Where's the rest o' the class?"

I turned to look back up at the castle, where small figures dressed all in black were just coming out of the entrance hall doors and across the courtyard to the bridge.

"They're coming now." Searching for a topic, while Hagrid hummed to himself as he put away his watering can, I said, "Your pumpkins are looking good this year."

"Ah, thanks. Just been doing a bit of tamperin' – givin' 'em a helpin' hand."

Al and Dom with the rest of the Gryffindors crowded around me and Hagrid began speaking to us.

"Welcome back. I've got a few treats for yer this year – some real good creatures lined up." As he spoke the ground began to shake beneath our feet, sending tremors through our bodies. I fell sideways into Al who caught me, as two forest trees were pushed apart, allowing Grawp through.

He was a giant, standing at sixteen feet tall – double Hagrid's size – with a pale face, covered in mud stains, with leaves and sticks stuck in his tangled, shaggy hair. In his hands he clutched several blood soaked pieces of meat, and about his shoulders flew a collection of dark, skeletal flying horses.

I knew what they were instantly. Thestrals. I'd seen them pulling the school carriages on the first day of term every year after my great Aunt Muriel dropped dead one Christmas.

The lesson was interesting, but most of what Hagrid told us, I already knew. I remembered James trying to scare Al and I on our first day at Hogwarts by telling us tall tales about them – it wasn't a surprise really that I had gone to the library as soon as possible to find out if what James had said was true. That was my reaction for everything – except I'd never consulted a book about my Scorpius problem. Perhaps I should've done. Or maybe I'd publish my own book. I could call it 'Understanding Boys and the Weird Things They Do'.

At the end of the lesson Hagrid set us an essay on the attributes of Thestrals and then helped Grawp entice the creatures back into the Forbidden Forest, leaving the class to walk back up to the Great Hall for dinner. Al, Dom and I hung back, waiting for Hagrid to return, and then reminisced about the time Uncle Harry invited him to our New Year's Eve party. Needless to say, Hagrid had soon passed out drunk on Uncle Harry's dining room table where he ended up staying the night.

Hagrid strolled away from us up between the tables to the staff table where Professor McGonagall had reserved a place for him on her left and I squeezed onto our table between Lily and Roxanne in time to grab a roast potato before the main courses disappeared to be replaced by the puddings.

"How was Care of Magical Creatures?" Lily asked, picking up a chocolate éclair and taking a large bite out of it.

"Good," I replied lightly. "Al's robes got a bit ruined though – I suppose that's what you get when you spill gravy down your front at lunch. The Thestrals were bound to eat his jumper. How about divination?"

"Firenze is just divine, isn't he, Roxie?"

"So dreamy," Roxanne breathed in agreement.

"Seriously, guys, he's not that great. His subject is utter rubbish too."

"No, Rosie, he predicted that Professor Lofting would give us a test in our first Transfiguration lesson and she did!"

I scoffed loudly. "Lily, teachers _do_ talk to each other in the staff room."

"Scoff all you want, Rose, he said that humans wouldn't believe him – we don't have the eyes to properly observe the world," Roxanne said complacently, staring above my head. I was beginning to worry that her hanging out with Lorcan and Lysander would never do her any good – they were too like their mother, Luna Lovegood. Right now Roxie was probably searching for some mythical creature.

As dinner went on I began to dread it ending. Every second that passed brought me closer to having to do rounds with Scorpius.

Hugo, Louis, Roxanne and Molly left first, heading back to the Common Room to start on their homework. Ginny soon followed, wanting to work with Roxanne to fill in her planet chart for Divination with her classmate, leaving me with Al, James and Fred. All around the hall, students were getting up and going back to the House area. Most of the seventh, sixth and fifth years left first because our homework load was heavier in preparation for our exams. Fred, Al and James were pretty much the only exceptions to this rule. James and Fred were throwing peas at Al whilst he finished his rhubarb pie. Then they were gone as well, and the hall was empty except for Scorpius and me.

"Guess we'd better start rounds then." He smiled at me hesitantly.

"Yeah," I replied grumpily, standing up and slinging the bag I hadn't had time to drop off in the Common Room over my shoulder.

We started in the entrance hall then made our way out to the viaduct before going around the Slytherin area of the castle there. Conversation between the pair of us was awkward and halting, but even that was better than complete and utter silence.

"I heard about some sort of fight in Herbology this morning…" Scorpius began.

Although I knew exactly what he was talking about, I joked, "Oh you mean Luke McClaggen and the venomous tentacular?" I couldn't stand the thought of our conversation going towards my conflict with Jack Flint or what had happened last year. So far I'd managed to avoid running into Veronica Montague and the other Slytherins who Scorpius had been friends with except for this morning. I was doing my best to pretend that it had never happened, but it was becoming increasingly hard when ten other people knew about it.

"You know that's not what I meant, Rose. I'm sorry if Jack said anything that was…offensive," he murmured, watching me intensely for any kind of reaction.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and shrugged non-committedly. If Scorpius knew what had really been said, he would have been sure to do something to Jack, and that would probably result in the whole school finding out. No. It was best to not tell him the truth. It wasn't lying anyway, so I had nothing to feel guilty about. And if anyone should have been feeling guilty, it was Scorpius Malfoy for deceiving me.

Changing the subject, Scorpius asked, "How much homework have you got yet then?"

"I've got three essays and two sets of notes to complete. How about you?"

"Even worse. Four essays – two for History of Magic – and notes like you for Potions and then I've got all the work from Charms to catch up on too, and that's not forgetting that I've got rounds twice this week and two detentions from Professor Lofting for shouting in the Great Hall," he moaned. "It's a good thing Quidditch doesn't start until next week is all I can say, or I'd never get all my homework done. I think I'm already going to be up until gone midnight every night this week anyway."

"I'd completely forgotten about Quidditch! Actually I'm surprised James hasn't been nagging me about getting out to train early."

"I thought you were going to quit anyway."

I turned and saw Scorpius' eyebrows turned down in a frown, a cute wrinkle in the middle of his forehead between them.

I shrugged again. "I still might."

I had no idea how I would tell James that. Even the rest of my family would blank me for a few days because they would lose their best Chaser.

"You can't!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"And why not? It's my decision," I countered.

"Yeah…but…" Scorpius muttered before breaking off and saying something under his breath. I wasn't sure I wanted to know what he said so I turned away from his handsome face and went into the second floor girl's bathroom to check that there was no-one hiding there when they should have been in their Common Room or Dorm.

Studying my reflection in the cracked mirror, I saw that my cheeks were flushed slightly from just being around him, and felt my heart racing. I really hated my body for betraying me. I didn't _want _to be attracted to him, I tried to act like I wasn't; but it must surely have been obvious to him that I never looked up from the floor because I couldn't stand to get lost in his warm, stormy grey eyes. The physiological signs of my attraction just wouldn't stop, so in an attempt to cool myself down I threw a handful of cool, refreshing water in my face.

Scorpius turned to face me as the door creaked open on its ancient hinges. He gasped and breathed, "You look so pretty with damp hair."

"What?" I asked sharply, sure that I must have misheard him as he commented on how ugly I looked with wet, curly hair.

"Nothing," Scorpius replied, clearing his throat and looking away. "Come on, we've still got half the castle to cover and it's already nearly eleven o'clock."

I followed him, dawdling in my preoccupation with how disgusted Scorpius must be by me to not be able to look at me. I didn't notice him looking over his shoulder or stop completely, and it took me by surprise when I walked into him. My cheeks blushed at the feel of the contours of his back and the scent of his aftershave which almost drove me mad, and I couldn't stop inhaling it once he grabbed hold of my wrist and began to tow me to make me move quicker. I wasn't able to move out of his personal space because of his tight; but gentle grip on me, not that I wanted to. His aftershave smelt so good that I couldn't imagine ever being without him, though the rational part of my brain was practically kicking me for being weak and forgetting that I was supposed to hate Scorpius.

"Rose, I'd appreciate it if you could use your feet," Scorpius said, glancing down at my feet, "though I do want to make it back to my Common Room before midnight please."

His haughty tone snapped me back to reality and I fought my way from his grip and started walking by myself, easily brushing past him, harrumphing as I went by. I practically speed walked around the castle in order to get away from him quicker, leaving him jogging behind me in an attempt to catch up. I decided that perhaps I would do that every time we had rounds together – it would certainly be over quicker and there would be no chance for conversation.

"Rose! Wait up!" He called after me, but I ignored him as if someone had placed an ineffective hearing spell on me. Maybe I should spell myself next time I see him coming…

Finally we arrived back at the Entrance Hall, my feet aching from running the last couple of corridors and stairs when Scorpius picked up the pace, chasing after me.

"Well, it's late, gotta go," I said, breezing past him as he bent of his knees trying to catch his breath.

"Wait, Rose. Don't I get a goodnight?"

I grimaced but turned to face him. "Night." It was short. It was blunt. But it was also a mistake.

The moment I turned around, Scorpius threw himself at me, the pair of us falling to the floor as his lips urgently connected with mine. In shock, my lips parted, and he wasted no time in plunging his tongue in. His hands that had been on my shoulders, slid down my arms and under my cloak sleeves, pushing my jumper up until he was touching my bare skin, bringing up goosebumps as his touch left me. Every inch of my body felt like it was on fire, caught in his web of passion. I didn't notice I was kissing him back until his lips moved from mine, kissing down my jawline and neck, eliciting a gasp from me when he found my pulse and latched on over it, his teeth grazing my sensitive skin. Brought out of my reverie, I froze, my hands locked in his tousled, blonde hair.

"Scorpius." He ignored me. "Scorpius, stop," I said more insistently.

He moved his lips from my neck back to my lips then drew back to look at my face, his eyes darker than I had ever seen them.

"Rose?"

He didn't get a response unless you counted me slapping him on the cheek as an answer. My hand left a pink, smarting patch and as he rolled off me, gripping his face and moaning in pain, I quickly stood up, grabbing my wand from where it had fallen out of my pocket and ran off, straightening my robes as I went.

Hot, angry tears slid from my eyes despite the fact that I tried my hardest to refrain from crying. I was angry and confused by his actions. After everything that had happened between us, I found it hard to believe that he still acted like he fancied me. By the time I arrived at the Gryffindor Common Room on the Seventh Floor, quickly muttering 'Gum Drops' to get through the Fat Lady's portrait, I was in full on hysterics. I wanted to forget my attraction to him, but it was so hard when he was constantly there ready to shove his tongue down my throat. It was even more difficult when I looked into his handsome face and felt like he'd stolen my heart, plucking it from my chest, so I could never get over him.

I was more than glad that no-one was still up to me in my messy state: my eyes red, my nose running and my robes still covered in dust and dirt from the castle floor. Settling myself in for a long night, I plonked myself in my favourite armchair in front of the fire and pulled my bag off my shoulder, retrieving the homework I needed to do.

The fire began to run low so I cast wingardium leviosa on some logs piled by the fireplace and sent them soaring into the coals, the flames shooting up in seconds, and a ray of heat spreading through the room, causing me to remove my cloak before I became too hot.

For two hours I worked on my Care of Magical Creatures and Charms essays and then moved onto my Herbology notes on the uses of Juggendon plants. My Potions notes, I figured, would have to wait a few days. By the end of my first essay, my usually neat calligraphy had become an untidy scrawl that I was sure none of the teachers would be able to read regardless of whether I completed all my homework. Somewhere along the way I fell asleep in the warmth of the fire, the comfort of the fuchsia cushions I was sat on and the lulling, continuous scratching of my pheasant's feather quill. In the distance, the ancient clock in the Clock Tower boomed, signalling the approach of the third hour of the morning, but I was too deeply asleep to hear it.

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><p><strong>AN: So what did you think? I'd love to know in a review...**


	4. The First Chance

**A/N: So, so sorry for the delay. I've just been so busy as I just started a job and stil have school. Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter and if you spot any mistakes, feel free to point them out to me and I'll correct them. I only typed this out recently and I'm pretty tired so there could be some, in fact scrap that, there most definitely will be at least one - it's always the way. Anyway, remember to review. I always want to know what people think of the story/or what they want to see.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except those I've made up. Just to reinforce that: I am not JK Rowling, although it would be nice if I was considering how much money she's made...**

**Anyway. Enjoy!**

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><p>When I woke up, all I could think about was that kiss and how it felt just the same as our first…<p>

The end of term had been coming up and, moving away from tradition, the school had organised a Christmas party as well as the feast. There had been rumours circulating the school for months that Celestina Warbeck had been hired and everyone was eager to find someone to go with.

Myself? I hadn't been particularly bothered and was prepared to spend the night in front of the fire with some light reading. But that had all changed when he asked me.

Scorpius. He'd hung back after the end of Charms as I packed my bag and then quietly asked, "Could I talk to you a moment?"

I'd looked up in surprise, sure he must have been talking to someone else, but there was only me and my two cousins stood at the door waiting for me, looking confused as to why I wasn't leaving with them.

"Go, I'll catch up with you," I mouthed to Dom, and she nodded before leaving with Al.

"So…what did you want to talk about?" I asked, butterflies inexplicably fluttering in my stomach. It was strange. Normally Scorpius would pretend I existed unless he was playing some prank on me with his friends from Slytherin.

"I wanted to ask you to the Christmas party," he replied confidently, his hands folded behind his back as he looked me right in the eye.

I was immediately suspicious.

"I know what you're thinking-"

"What am I thinking then?" I challenged, wondering whether he truly could be being honest about his intentions.

"You think I'm going to stand you up?" He guessed, smiling softly, but looking pained in his eyes, as though he was sorry for all that he had done to me and regretted that the first conclusion I had jumped to was that.

I nodded slowly.

"I won't. I swear. Rose…I…really like you," he said, now seeming rather shy. "I would love it if you would come with me. We'll have fun. We'll dance. I heard that The Wombats are performing – they're your favourite band, right?"

I nodded once more. "How did you know that?"

He shrugged and carried on trying to persuade me. "Go on. You know it'll be fun. Honestly, what would you be doing if you didn't go? Sitting with a book, by any chance, whilst all the rest of your family party?"

"No!" I blurted, shocked by how well he seemed to know me. "Fine, I'll go. I've got nothing else to do."

Scorpius smiled widely. "Great! Meet you at seven in the Clocktower Courtyard?"

I nodded and he bounced away, practically skipping. I shook my head, trying to clear it from confusion, and left the classroom myself, hoping that Al and Dom would still be in the Great Hall.

In the build-up to the party, I found myself getting more and more anxious. I fretted over what I would wear whilst my anticipation grew at the same time. Every time I passed Scorpius in a corridor he would smile or pull me to the side and whisper, "Not feeling like backing out? Cold feet?"

I assured him countless times that I would be in the Clocktower Courtyard if he was.

The evening finally arrived, and my mum sent dress robes with Pigwidgeon only just in time after the desperate letter I sent to her, pleading for help. It was a turquoise dress, V-necked and floated down to my knees in frills. I smoothed my front before leaving the common room, sneaking past Al and Hugh messing around in their smart dress robes because I still hadn't told anyone who I was going with though I was sure that Lily and Roxy suspected as they'd seen Scorpius dragging me off a few times that week.

I was slightly early when I arrived at the Clocktower Courtyard, and rubbed my arms from the cold, trying to stand out of the snow. I didn't have to wait long though. Scorpius arrived, looking amazing, in grey dress robes with a thin tie instead of a bow-tie.

"You look beautiful," he said seriously, coming to take my hand. I was stupid to believe him. But he seemed so sincere.

The party was already in full swing when we got to the Great Hall. The four house tables had been pushed up against the walls. The only table left was the teacher's table which was empty behind the stage, where, true to Scorpius' word, the Wombats were singing and playing.

"How did you know The Wombats were hired?" I shouted to Scorpius over the music.

"I overheard it in detention!" He shouted back, already dancing and pulling me with him through the crowd of people around the stage.

I laughed as he spun me under his arm and began singing the lyrics of the song with me.

"_Finally I know now what it takes. It takes money and aeroplanes. If you loved me let me go back to that bar in Tokyo where the demons from my past leave me in peace. I'll be animating every night. The grass'll be greener on the other side and the vampires and wolves won't sink their teeth. I'm sick of dancing with the beasts."_

I was really glad I'd accepted Scorpius' offer but I was still surprised. None of my family had ever really gotten on with him because of the grudge between his parents and mine. Especially seeing as he was constantly playing some sort of trick on me, but whilst I thought about it, I realised that since the beginning of the year, he hadn't done anything bad to me and had even called me Rose instead of Weasley like he used to.

We were having a good time right up until, my voice hoarse from so much shouting and singing, Scorpius offered to go and get me some pumpkin juice.

"I'll be right back," he promised.

I nodded and carried on dancing, nodding to Lily who was dancing with one of the Hufflepuff boys in her year – Alfie. She smiled back to me so I went and joined her, finding that all my cousins were grouped in that area. Fred and James were sat on one of the benches at the side of the hall, kissing their girlfriends, Leila Farnsworth and Hannah Jones. Hugo and Al were still fighting, having not asked anyone to the party. And Roxanne was dolled up in thick red lipstick and a red dress dancing with Lucy and Molly and Louis.

"How's it going with Scorpius?" Lily asked, shouting as she twisted with Alfie.

"Fine. He's been the perfect gentleman," I told her, smiling widely at how fun the evening was.

I started as someone tapped on my shoulder. I turned, already grinning and preparing to scold in my expectation that it was Scorpius returning with my drink. My finger was pointing perilously up at Veronica Montague's hooked nose.

"Oh, hey Veronica," I said uncertainly. We'd never really spoken much before, so I found it hard to understand why she had sought me out.

"Rose," she nodded. "How are things going with Scorpius tonight? He mentioned he was going with you." I thought her voice seemed to contain resentment and her eyes may have flashed, but I overlooked it as when I looked up at her, she was smiling indulgently.

"Oh? Yeah, we're having a great time. He's just gone to get drinks."

She laughed freely. "That's what I'm talking about. Slave labour!"

I laughed lightly with her, although I wasn't sure it was really that funny. For one thing, I hadn't even asked Scorpius to get me a drink. He's offered and then stubbornly refused not to.

"Well that was all I wanted to know really. Just make sure he was treating you right. I guess I'd better get back to the boys," she replied, throwing her head back over her shoulder, her black hair rippling down her back, and jerking her head at a group of four Slytherin boys all looking over at us with sly grins. "They didn't believe me that Scorpius had gone through with the bet. Oops!"

"What bet?" I asked in confusion, glaring at Jack Flint, Warren Havish with their two hulking friends who were laughing and pointing towards me. Dimly, I wondered what it was about Slytherin house that attracted the most ugly people on the planet.

"I'm so sorry, Rose. I wanted to tell you ever since I found out about it, but Scorpius made me swear not to. See, he and the boys wanted a bit of fun – it's sadistic really – Warren bet Scorpius that he couldn't get you to agree to a date with him. Scorpius told him he could and he would go further and break your heart…I'm so sorry." She backed away, her eyes watery and then turned and ran.

I couldn't believe it. He had seemed so genuine, but there was no denying the fact that Jack and his three friends were roaring with laughter. I turned away from them, unable to bear the humiliation and debated what to do. I could leave the party without telling anyone, but risk my family finding out when they came back to the Common Room or I could find Scorpius and ask him outright.

So that's what I did. I turned tail and missed Lily gazing after me in concern after seeing me talk to Veronica. I found Scorpius at the back of the hall where Professor McGonagall had ordered the bar be set up. He was leaning over the bar and talking to the young wizard behind it.

"Ah, here she is! See, isn't my Rose just the most delightful thing you've seen?" He declared, seeming slightly inebriated.

"Scorpius…you know that the firewhisky's off limits!" I complained.

"I haven't had any firewhisky, Rose. Just pumpkin juice, I swear, although it _is _possible that someone spiked it," he murmured, indicating the large cauldron full of vibrant orange liquid.

"Like that someone wasn't you, Scor."

"Hey, I haven't broken any rules so far!"

"Oh yeah? What about Thomas O'Leary?"

"He was asking for it, Rose. Bad-mouthing my grandfather is fine. I can even handle people gossiping about my dad. But I can't take people being horrible about…never mind," he replied, looking up at me and gulping. I wondered why he didn't finish his sentence but decided to drop it in the end. I was already being distracted from the purpose of going to find him.

The trouble was, he had looked so happy to see me that I began to think that Veronica had been lying. After beginning to see the good in Scorpius, and how wonderful it felt to be with him, I didn't want to believe that it was all a lie.

"Come on, you're missing you're favourite band!" Scorpius exclaimed and he took my hand, encasing my fingers in his warm ones, and towed me back towards the dance floor.

It didn't take long for Lily and the rest of my family to squeeze through the throng of people dancing to us.

"You've been gone for ages," Al moaned as a drunken James bumped into him whilst trying to dance. We ended up crowded into a small circle, all dancing with interlocked hands whilst Roxy joined me in shouting out the lyrics. It was a shame really that Dom was stuck in the Hospital Wing with temporary blindness from Al's overly bright Lumos spell.

"I'll be right back," Scorpius shouted into my ear, leaving me with my family as he jogged through a gap in the mass of people around. I couldn't see where he had gone but was prevented from trying to look by Lily jumping in front of me and trying to talk about her date, Alfie.

"I'm happy for you," I told Lily.

"What?" She asked at the top of her voice.

"I _said _I'm happy for you!"

"What?" She bellowed over the pounding bass line.

"I said-" I choked on my words as the crowd in front of me parted and I saw Scorpius. He was stood with Jack and Warren, their two other burly friends having disappeared. The three of them were laughing and Veronica was approaching from behind. Scorpius nodded and took a few coins from Warren before pocketing it and noticing me staring. He smiled and began to come back over.

Shocked, I turned back to Lily, wary that my eyes were wide and horrified.

"Something the matter?"

I jumped as Scorpius wound his arms around my middle and crouched down to rest his chin on my shoulder intimately.

"Huh?"

"I said is something the matter? You look a bit…well I don't know. Just you don't seem yourself," he said, worry colouring his voice.

I hesitated for a split second before answering. And that was my mistake. I chose to ignore the possibility that Veronica had been right and instead made the situation that much worse. Had I confronted him, what had happened next could have been avoided.

Instead, I just quietly whispered to him, "I'm fine. I just want to keep dancing."

"Okay," he nodded, turning my around just as a slower song started.

I was aware that it wasn't even a song by The Wombats, just something they were covering, but I was so entranced by the feeling of being in Scorpius' arms, his body tight around me, that I would never be able to tell anyone what the song was.

I looked up from my position, my head resting on his shoulder facing into his neck, to say something but the words got lost in my mouth when he looked down at me, his grey eyes smouldering. His lips were soft and gentle as they touched mine, moving in synchronicity with me. For my first kiss it had felt pretty perfect –wrong but right at the same time, if that made any sense.

I couldn't make any sense of it, but his cologne wafted around me and left me no time to think about it.

Unbidden, my hands rose from his shoulders to tangle in his hair. I was shocked that he'd kissed me, but I was even more surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

We broke apart and he leant his forehead against mine, gazing into my blue eyes. No words were said, but it wasn't awkward.

As the song finished, I realised we had been rotating on the spot with Scorpius' arms tight about my waist. And then the evening had been officially over. Except for me it wasn't.

Scorpius smiled gently at me and his hands dropped from my waist, only to take one of my hands. He led me to the Grand Staircase, still grinning, and I forgot all about what I had heard and seen earlier in the evening.

"Well goodnight, Rose."

"Night, Scor."

He pressed his lips to my cheek and I sighed.

In reply to his speculative look, I muttered, "I'd probably better wait for my family."

He nodded. "I guess I'd better rescue Jack from the spiked pumpkin juice…"

I laughed and he turned away, as I stood impatiently on the sixth step of the stairs.

Scorpius disappeared back into the hall as I watched. I waited a few minutes for Lily to drag Al and James out, believing that they were being delayed by a most likely drunk Fred, and smiled wryly to myself, already wondering what state my joker of a cousin would be in.

I noticed Scorpius come back out, accompanied not by Jack; but Veronica. She had her arm around his waist and was laughing at something he had said, reviving my fear that there had been some truth in what she had "accidentally" told me. As I watched she leaned towards him and their lips met with more fire than mine and Scorpius' kisses.

Not wanting to see anything more, I turned and fled up the stairs, hearing someone call desperately after me.

I stopped running when my breath ran out and found myself on the third floor, right outside he Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom. I sank down against the door, tears already streaming down my cheeks, creating streaks of mascara as though my eyes were bleeding out.

"Rose!" Lily called from the other side of the door. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I mumbled back unconvincingly.

"Whatever, Rose. I saw you leave…let me in."

Reluctantly, I got to my feet and pulled open the door before collapsing, sobbing into my younger cousins arms, her long, flame-red hair falling about my face.

"Come on, Rosie," she soothed, moving us forwards and pushing the door to. "What happened? I saw Scorpius and Veronica…"

"Yeah? Did you know about his bet?"

"No, what bet?"

Still crying I began to explain how Scorpius had made a bet with his friends that he could break my heart. Well he'd certainly done that.

"Oh, Rose," Lily whispered but we both stopped talking, even breathing, when we heard someone moving outside the classroom. It sounded suspiciously like running but when we looked around the edge of the door, there was no-one there. Lily shrugged at me. "Come on, you're tired. You should get to bed."

I nodded and let her drag me up to Gryffindor Tower, where the rest of my family were waiting.

"So how was it with Scorpius?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, James," I replied testily, glancing at Lily in the hopes that she would help cover for me.

"So you weren't on a date with a certain Mr Malfoy?" Fred asked, joining in the "fun".

"No," Lily answered for me. "She wasn't. It was really weird – Scorpius just wouldn't leave Rose alone. He kept following her around. Rose thought that after dancing with him, he'd leave her alone, didn't you?"

I nodded and looked around, noting Molly and Louis' absences as well as Hugo's. "Where's Hugh?"

Al shrugged his shoulders.

"There," muttered James, nodding over at the portrait of the Fat Lady which was swinging open to admit Hugo.

"Hugh? Where've you been?" I asked concerned.

He looked up and I gasped as I saw his both of his eyes ringed in darkening bruises.

"Alright!" Fred exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and swayed dangerously. "Let me at 'em! Just tell me who did it, Hugo!"

"No-one," he replied morosely. "I got him as good as he got me anyway." And he smiled dangerously, though when he glanced at me as I went to inspect his injuries, his eyes were filled with pity and I knew he had been the person who had overheard Lily and I talking. I also had a sneaking suspicion of who had given him black eyes.

"Well I think we've had enough drama for one night," Lily said breezily. "I really think we should all get to bed."

"Yeah, you're right, Little Sis. My hangover is gonna be a killer. Good thing we're going home tomorrow," James commented, rising from his armchair and grabbing Fred's arm to help him up the stairs to their dorm.

Al stood next and murmured a goodnight to us all before being closely followed out of the room by Lucy and Roxanne, leaving Lily alone with me and Hugo.

"What happened, Hugh?"

He sighed and sank into an armchair. "I'm so sorry for what he did to you, Rose."

"Just tell me," I replied wearily.

"I overheard you and Lily talking and got…really angry so I went to find him. He was outside with the Montague girl he was with earlier and his friends were laughing about him winning the bet. I just charged in and knocked him to the ground. He didn't really put up much of a fight, and I even got in a few good kicks before his mates dragged me away before laying into me. They gave me these, and this," he added, opening his dress robes and pulling his shirt from his trousers to show a discolouring on his stomach. It looked really painful. "They never got the chance to do anything worse before Professor Longbottom arrived and gave us all detention."

A corner of Lily's mouth pulled up to smile at Hugo, but I said nothing as I stood up to go to went to bed.

"Rose?" Hugo asked uncertainly and I turned back to him.

"Just don't tell Mum or Dad," I begged.

He nodded.

The next day, we'd all boarded the train the same as usual; but it had felt anything but normal for me. I tried to avoid Scorpius, but he found our compartment eventually and James looked suspiciously at his bruised lip and cheek before I shoved him out of the compartment.

"Just hear me out, Rose! I swear I never made a bet! Veronica, Jack and Warren thought I wanted to go out with you so that I could break your heart-"

"And did you?" I demanded.

"No!" He replied, aghast at my insinuation. "I wanted to have a good time with you. I _did _have a good time with you, Rose, because I _like _you."

"Yeah so that's why I saw you snogging Veronica, was it?"

"What? She kissed me," he spluttered. "She's jealous of you."

I scoffed, sure that he was lying. There was no-one on Earth who would be jealous of me. I wasn't pretty. None of the guys wanted me…there was nothing special about me.

"Just leave me alone, Scorpius," I told him, ducking back into the compartment, where Lily slung a supportive arm about my shoulders.

Christmas had been a depressive affair after that. None of my family, save Hugo and Lily, understood why I was so moody and I had sworn the two people who did to secrecy. Scorpius sent me a letter; but I ripped it up and threw it into the fireplace.

When I returned to school, he reverted to pulling pranks on me and calling me Weasley, acting as if nothing had happened between us. So I did the same and tried my best to ignore his existence.

I shuddered at the memory and forced myself out of bed to get ready for breakfast.

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><p><strong>Review!<strong>


	5. Truth

**A/N: Look! It's incredible! I've updated pretty quickly in comparison to previous occasions! Anyway, jokes aside, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Thank you to those amazing people who have reviewed but I think that there are more people who have something to say so please review!**

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><p>"What's the matter with <em>you?<em>" James asked, whilst I continued to glare at him over the table.

Truth be told, it wasn't intentional. I just happened to be staring in his direction whilst I was trapped in my bad mood.

"Sorry," I murmured, blinking a few times and offering him an apologetic smile.

"Whatever," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Just make sure you're not like this at Quidditch Trials this evening."

"What? Quidditch Trials this evening?" _Crap!_

"Yes! I told you yesterday, Rose! Weren't you listening?"

Honestly…I hadn't been listening. It had been impossible to determine what he was shouting to me over the heads of first and second years in the Common Room because of the bellows Fred's Restricted Section book was letting out.

"Rose?" James asked, waving a hand in front of my face.

"Sorry!"

"Merlin, you're distracted."

"Sorry," I repeated.

"Will you stop apologising? It's getting on my nerves," James said through a mouthful of egg soldiers.

"Sorry-"

He interrupted me a sharp look.

"And what exactly is it you're sorry for, Rose?"

In a small voice, I answered, "I can't come to try-outs tonight."

Sighing angrily, he asked, "What the hell not?"

"I've got rounds with Scorpius. It's not my fault," I told him indignantly. It wasn't. Well, not unless you counted me falling asleep during the first Prefect's meeting and unwittingly signing up to do rounds on Tuesdays and Thursdays – one of the days that Jamie had booked the Quidditch Pitch.

"I said I wanted the whole team there, Rosie. Now I won't know if whoever I pick to replace Jonny is going to gel with you!" Slamming his fork down, he stood and stormed off.

"Jeez, what did you say to him, Rose?" Al asked. "I haven't seen him have that much of a strop for years. He's getting all mellow in old age."

"Al, being seventeen doesn't count as old age," Lily reminded him.

"Does," Al replied, his voice distorted by the piece of crispy bacon in his mouth.

Seeing my worried expression, Lily said, "He'll calm down. You know James – he likes a bit of drama."

"Yeah but Rose might find she's been murdered in her bed if something else goes wrong today…"

"Al! You're not helping!" Lily exclaimed.

"I've got to go," I murmured.

As I walked away from the Gryffindor table, I heard Lily mutter, "Now look what you've done, Al!"

"What?" he grumbled.

"Put your foot in it, that's what!"

Shouldering my bag more effectively, I headed up the stairs for Defence Against the Dark Arts, completely forgetting I shared those classes with the Ravenclaws. At least with the Ravenclaws there was no chance of being cursed during the lesson.

"Rose?" Someone said, clearly surprised by my appearance. "What are you doing here so early?"

I looked up and found myself face to face with Scorpius outside the classroom.

"Trying to escape certain members of my family…"

He nodded. "Right. Erm, I meant to say something about the other day-"

"-Sorry perhaps?" I butted in. I was surprised he'd completely avoided the subject the next day. And following his example, I'd pretended nothing had happened as well.

Scorpius stood up straight and looked me in the eyes, his gaze unwavering and fierce. "I won't apologise for acting on my feelings."

"Not even if those feelings _aren't _reciprocated?"

"Rose…look I lov-li…I-" He stuttered, never finished his sentence before the corridor was swamped with third years.

Professor Howard opened the classroom door and ushered us in, the rest of the class soon arriving from breakfast in twos and threes until we had gradually filled up all the available seats. At the end of the back row, Scorpius and I sat, in our allocated seats. Al and Dom were looking back at me from the front row, grinning and pointing at the title on the board.

"Good morning, Class, "Professor Howard called. "Today we will be beginning work on the Reductor Curse."

"Excellent," Al muttered. "Finally, revenge on James for breaking my bed whilst I was sat on it!"

"But, _Mr Potter, _I do not want to hear tales of the incorrect use of such a spell," she continued sternly.

"Yes, Professor," he intoned.

"Now the Reductor Curse can be used…"

I lost complete track of what Professor Howard was saying when Scorpius sidled closer.

"I don't think we quite managed to finish our conversation-"

"Mr Malfoy, is what you have to say of such great importance that you cannot pay attention to the lesson? If so, please, come stand here at the front and tell us all."

"Er…"

"Out the front," commanded Professor Howard.

The scrape of Scorpius' chair filled the silent room and his footsteps echoed as he went to take his place where Professor Howard had been stood.

I snorted at his awkward stance.

"Do tell us," Professor Howard said, making motions with her hand.

"Er…" He repeated, his pale cheeks flushing pink.

"So it wasn't that important then?"

Scorpius shook his head and looked down, the tips of his ears now showing through the shaggy mess that was his hair. They too were bright pink, almost like someone had jinxed them.

"Thank you for wasting everyone's time so spectacularly, Mr Malfoy. Back to your seat please."

"Don't even say anything," Scorpius hissed as I smirked at him whilst he took his seat beside me and Al was called to the front of the classroom to take part in a demonstration of the spell.

He didn't speak to me again all lesson, but I did receive a series of pieces of parchment, each with a slightly different message.

"_Rose, I really need to speak to you. There's something important I need to say. Please wait for me at the end of the lesson. S."_

I crumpled it in my hand and hurried to continue writing my notes as Professor Howard walked our way.

The next read, _Rose, please say you'll meet me. S._

I tore that one into pieces and charmed them to float over to the bin, ignoring the aghast look on his face.

"_Rose, please don't tear this up. Just meet me in the Astronomy Tower after this lesson. You don't have to reply to this note. You don't even have to say anything later. Please, just be there. S." _And on the bottom of this one was a lightly scratched kiss, as though he had hesitated and deliberated over whether to put it on there before deciding that if he drew it small and with little ink I might not notice it.

I turned it over and wrote a one word answer before returning to my notes, flicking through the textbook to find the page I needed.

The end of lesson bell rang, and I shoved everything into my bag and headed to the door, not bothering to wait for Al or Dom. At the staircase I paused, looking down towards the Entrance Hall and up towards where the Astronomy Tower was situated. It was a toss-up between hearing what Scorpius had to say and getting a break time snack.

I sighed before beginning my journey, taking each step one at a time, unable to reason why I had made my choice.

I arrived at the Astronomy Tower before him and waited impatiently, staring out the window at the passing owls to distract myself from my thudding heart and panic.

The door creaked open, admitting Scorpius into the room. He glanced sheepishly at me.

"Sorry for the trek. I thought this would be the place where we were most unlikely to be overheard."

"And precisely what is it, Scorpius, that you don't want other people to overhear?"

"Rose, it's not like that-" He tried to say.

"-So what is it like?" Despite the fact I had intended to speak sharply, my voice came out in a gentle whisper as I followed the atmosphere he was setting.

"I worried _you _wouldn't want us to be overheard…" He was uncertain when he looked at me; whilst I stood there open mouthed.

_He couldn't know me that well to know that I hadn't told anyone about what happened could he?_

In my silence, Scorpius continued, speaking softly and constantly watching me for any reaction. "I wanted to talk about that night, Rose."

I gasped, feeling hot tears prickle my eyes. "Great. Hurt me some more. Isn't it good enough that you won your stupid bet?" I asked sarcastically.

"Rose, there was no bet, I swear."

"Then why did you take money from Jack and Warren?"

"Okay, so there _was _a bet. But it wasn't about you! I bet Jack and Warren that Ed and Rob would leave early because no-one would dance with them. I would never have made a bet on you, Rose," he replied vehemently. "I _never _wanted to hurt you. I even tried to come after you after Veronica…"

"No you didn't. Don't lie to me, Scorpius."

"I did, I swear. I shouted after you-"

"-Wait, that was you?" I asked, looking up surprised. He nodded. "I thought that was Lily…"

"No she just barged past me, knocking me into Veronica. By the time I got up I had no idea where you'd gone."

I was silent in my contemplation of the new information. I had to admit it did sound like Scorpius was telling the truth – both about the bet and coming after me.

"Rose…" He murmured worried when I said nothing.

"If you never made a bet, then why did Veronica say you had?"

"She was lying, Rose. She was jealous of you," he answered, stepping closer, his hands loosely wrapping around my wrists – a reminder of the way he had held me during some of our dances.

"Me?"

"Can't you see how beautiful you are? Rose, one look into your eyes and I feel as if I'm looking through a window into your soul. You're so openly honest. You're perfect."

"But why would that make her jealous of me? There's tonnes of pretty girls I've been jealous of and I've never done anything like that…"

"You're a better person, Rose," Scorpius answered, but I shook my head, knowing instinctually that that wasn't it, and pushed two fingers against his lips to shush him.

"Merlin's beard! She liked you too, didn't she!"

Reluctantly, Scorpius nodded. "I was aware of that fact, yes."

"And she asked you to the party?"

He nodded again. "But I wanted to go with _you._"

"Why?" I asked, almost afraid of his answer.

"Because I lov-"

"No don't say it!" I exclaimed, putting my hand back over his mouth.

"Why not?"

"How do I know you mean it? You kissed me and then you kissed Veronica. That doesn't really say 'I love you' does it?"

"What are you talking about, Rose?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "_I _didn't kiss Veronica; _she _kissed _me_! How could I kiss her when I love _you_?"

He'd said it. I couldn't believe it.

"Scorpius," I warned.

"I know, I know. You don't feel the same. But that doesn't change the way I feel and I won't give up on you."

"And I won't give in," I told him.

"So we understand each other," he nodded.

The bell rang and I ran with Scorpius hot on my heels, both of us heading our separate ways as I rushed to History or Magic and he to Care of Magical Creatures. Whilst I had a chance of getting there just in time, Scorpius was leaving the castle. There was no way he would escape a detention for lateness.

I passed Lily coming along from the sixth floor corridor and stopped as she asked, "Did I hear something about you and Scorpius talking during Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

It still amazed me how well gossip flew through the school.

"Talk to you about it later," I promised. "I'm gonna be late for Professor Binns."

Running on, it still took me five more minutes to get to my History of Magic class on the fifth floor and the moment I crept in to the stifling classroom, Professor Binns, the ghost, announced, "Good of you to finally join us, Miss Waslib. Detention. I'll owl you the details. Now take you seat."

I ground my teeth, thinking that if Scorpius hadn't wanted to talk to me I would have avoided a detention.

The only consolation was it wouldn't be that evening because I had rounds. But on the other hand, I would be unlikely to escape a reprimand from Professor McGonagall about setting the example for other students.

The lesson, as usual was long, like it lasted a century, and I was left to take all the notes while Dom and Al doodled on their parchment and played a Muggle game my mother had taught them, Squares.

"So what was the lesson about, Rose?" Dom asked as we left the classroom.

Rolling my eyes, I replied, "Goblin revolts. And before you ask, don't even think about copying my notes."

"Rose, are you saying you want us to fail our OWLS?" Al butted in, trying to make puppy dog eyes.

"If _you _don't want to fail, Al, maybe _you _should make notes."

"Nah. Mum's buying me revision guides – I'll just use those. And I'll let Dom borrow them because I'm a good cousin."

"Whatever, Al," I muttered exasperatedly whilst watching the back of Scorpius' head as he headed into the Great Hall for lunch. Leaving my cousins, I slipped through the group of second years behind him. "Detention?"

"Yeah," he answered, laughing. "You should have seen Hagrid's face. Bright purple. What about you?"

I nodded.

"What? You only had to get to the fifth floor? Did you have another episode of momentary clumsiness and fall down the stairs?" he teased.

"Ha ha. No, I met Lily and she made me slightly late – only by like two minutes but Professor Binns hates people arriving late."

"Well wouldn't you if you were a ghost? What's he got to do but drift around all day? It's no wonder he's always on time for everything really."

"You know your so-called puns really aren't funny today-"

"Miss Weasley. Mr Malfoy. Perhaps you would accompany me to my office for a few moments," Professor McGonagall said from in front of us, dressed in her customary black robes and crooked witch's hat.

Scorpius and I shared a look before wordlessly following her out to her office, past the golden eagle guarding the door and into the round room.

"Please sit."

Scorpius and I each took a seat on one side of her desk.

"Why do you think I asked you in here?" She asked, her voice quavering in her elderly age, though somehow managing to still sound firm and stern.

"Because we got detentions," Scorpius said in a drone.

"Quite. It is just not acceptable for my prefects to be arriving late to their lessons and getting detention. I expected better from both of you. You are supposed to set the example to the rest of the student body; not lead them astray. If you don't buck up your ideas, I shall have no choice but to revoke your prefect positions."

"No, Professor, you can't!" I responded.

"I can and I will, Rose, but only if you give me reason to." She looked down at us before saying, "You may go. Your detentions will be tomorrow. Please meet Mr Filch in the Entrance Hall at seven and he will give you your tasks."

"I can't believe we've got detentions with Filch!" Scorpius exclaimed as soon as we closed the door behind us. "He's going to go and on with stories of corporeal punishment!"

"At least it'll only be cleaning or something…"

"Yeah 'cause that's consolation, Rose," he scoffed. "Anyway, see you after dinner." He smiled and waved before heading to the Ravenclaw table whilst I saw Lily glaring at me and shied away, sitting down in an empty space beside a fourth year girl. She came and squeezed in beside me anyway.

"Rose, why are you talking to Scorpius?"

"Well, it's not illegal."

She eyed me flatly.

"We had to see Professor McGonagall together," I explained. "I couldn't _not _talk to him really, could I?"

"And earlier?" She asked, ignoring my own question.

"He kept pestering me."

"So you gave in?"

"Lily, at the end of the day, it's my choice whether I talk to Scorpius or not. It's not like I spent break snogging his face off, is it? We were talking about the Christmas Party and quite frankly, I think it's good we finally talked about it. Now I might finally be able to forget about it."

Lily muttered something under her breath, before saying, "Whatever. Just don't say I didn't warn you if it falls down around your ears."

"I won't," I promised her. We sat in silence for a few minutes whilst I quickly ate some fried potatoes and sausages before they disappeared off the plates. "So how are things going with you and Alfie?"

"I think I'm going to break up with him…"

"Why?" I asked around a mouthful of potato that was burning my tongue.

"Well there's not much point to the relationship when we never see each other because we've got such different subject choices now. He's taking art and music and stuff while I'm taking the academic route."

I nodded. "Take your time with the decision though, you don't want to rush into anything that you might regret."

"Rose, are you seriously giving me relationship advice?" Lily asked, her eyebrows raised in doubt.

"Yeah…why?"

"Well it's just that your only relationship was never really much of a success even if it only lasted one night."

"Oh. Yeah, forget everything I said. You're completely right."

"Rosie, I'm not saying you're wrong," she laughed. "In fact, what you said makes sense, I was just pointing out that maybe you should consider advice from someone who actually has experience with relationships."

"I don't know anyone who has experience with relationships except mum, but there is no way I'm talking to her about this."

"What about me?" Lily asked.

"No offence, Lils, but even though you and Alfie have been together for nearly a year, he is your only boyfriend."

"Good job I wasn't really thinking about me then," she muttered.

I looked at her in confusion, until she pointed at her ring finger on her left hand and imitated throwing her hair backwards over her shoulder.

"Of course! Victoire! I completely forgot! Thanks, Lily."

Lily rolled her eyes and stood up to leave with the rest of my family as they passed us.

"See you later," I called after them, waving my hand and smiling in return to their gestures.

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><p><strong>AN: So…what did you think? Thank you to reviewer, percyis16, SilenceIsCompliance, Roseweasley85, Lingo10 and LilyxJames4ever for reviewing the last chapter!**


	6. Falling Out

**A/N: Sorry for the slight delay. I had a spot of writers block and a busy schedule. I hope you'll enjoy it and please review!**

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><p>Over breakfast I realised I had the strangest timetable. Once again, only a day after the last time, I had Defence Against the Dark Arts first thing – not a double lesson this time though. Usually we got at least two days break between the subjects. But the absence of time between the lessons meant that I was hurriedly scribbling some notes down from pages 5-10 of Gaddis' Guide to Grappling with Gorgons (and other dark creatures) and shooting glances at the staff table where Professor Howard was seated.<p>

"Tut, tut, that's not Rose, the Gryffindor Prefect, I see doing homework over breakfast, is it?" Fred jokingly reproached.

"And as if you've never done that," Roxanne muttered darkly with a roll of her eyes, before returning to staring adoringly at one of the boys in her year that she fancied.

Roxie and Fred were so different it was a wonder they were even related. They looked odd sat beside each other. Because of their mother's dark skin, they both had a more tanned appearance than the rest of us; but whilst Fred's hair was the same vibrant ginger as mine, Roxanne had darker, auburn coloured hair – a mixture of the colours of her parents. Their personalities couldn't have been more contrasting either. Where Roxanne was flirtatious but quiet, Fred was loud and obnoxious, forever pulling pranks and plotting with James. Long ago they had stolen Uncle Harry's Marauders' Map.

I smiled gently and returned to my notes, jumping out of my seat with fright when James grabbed my shoulder.

"Ready for training tonight, Rose? We picked Louis – can you imagine, little Louis – for our Keeper. He's a bit small, so we have to make sure he's not targeted by beaters or chasers. See you later, yeah?"

"Look, James, I'm really sorry, but I can't come to practice tonight-"

"What? No, I made sure to pick tonight because you didn't have rounds!" James raged, continuing to moan.

"Enough! James!" I shouted, interrupting him. "I got detention!"

The whole hall went silent. James gaped; shocked at both my outburst and the reason I was losing my free time. I'd never had detention before.

My entire family gasped. I hadn't even told them I'd gotten detention. Only Dom and Al had known because they were there when Professor Binns gave me my detention.

"What the hell for?" James demanded, still angry.

"It was my fault, James," Lily murmured quietly, surprising all of us. I hadn't even seen her come to stand behind me.

"No, it was my fault," Scorpius retorted from my other side, making me jump again. My heart was well and truly hammering, and not just from fear.

"Butt out of this, Malfoy," James ordered.

Scorpius glared at him. "Not until you stop having a go at Rose."

"This is family business. Leave," Fred said, ganging up on Scorpius with James.

"No," Scorpius obstinately refused.

"Look, why do you even care? You're a Malfoy; we're Weasleys," Roxanne said, suddenly joining the argument, though she seemed more focused on how close to me Scorpius was standing.

"Names don't matter," I told her, knowing full well how she would construe my words.

Sure enough, Roxanne's eyebrows raised and she glanced between Scorpius and me. I was definitely going to have to talk to her, make sure she stayed silent about her suspicions. I'd probably even end up telling her about last year's Christmas Party. My family usually could weasel anything out of me if they chose the right questions.

James was still ranting at me in full force, shouting down Scorpius, when students began hurrying out to the entrance hall.

"Look, James, I'm sorry," I muttered, grabbing my bag and hanging it over my shoulder. "There's nothing I can do. Can't Lily just play my position tonight?"

"I'd be more than happy to," Lily offered.

"Look. Whatever. But don't think you can just waltz back onto the team when you feel like it. You're out, Rose."

James picked up his bag and I sank back into my seat in shock. Lily squeezed my shoulder in sympathy.

"He'll come around," she murmured.

"Lily Potter, Rose Weasley and Mr Malfoy! What are you all still doing here?" Professor McGonagall asked in horror.

I turned in shock. I thought Scorpius had gone when everyone else had left.

"James just kicked Rose off the Quidditch team," Lily answered quietly.

McGonagall seemed to pause in surprise before continuing, although her voice losing its severity, "Well that's still no reason to be late for your lessons. Off you go. Take this note to Professor Howard please, Rose."

I nodded glumly and stood up again; taking the scroll of parchment Professor McGonagall had procured out of thin air. The three of us hurried out of the Great Hall and Scorpius and I headed up the stairs whilst Lily charged through the Entrance Hall doors and out into the school grounds, hopelessly late for Herbology.

"Thanks for sticking up for me," I breathlessly muttered to Scorpius as we ran.

"Anytime. I'm just sorry you're no longer one of Gryffindor's chasers – you're the only one who makes the tournament feel like an actual competition."

I grinned, remembering the last time Scorpius and I had met on the Quidditch Pitch. We'd both been flying headfirst towards each other, the quaffle falling in-between us. It had ended with both of us in the Hospital Wing, suffering from concussion. We were cured in seconds; but it still hurt.

"I'm sure Lily can give you a run for your money."

"I'm not so sure," he replied. "She seems a lot quieter than the rest of you Weasleys. I don't think she has the same level of ferocity you have."

"But she comes from a family of good quidditch players. On either side too – Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, our great Uncle James…"

"Just have to wait and see then, won't we?" Scorpius asked, turning the doorknob and walking into Defence Against the Darks, doing a double take when he saw that the room was set up for Duelling Club.

"Thank you for joining us, Miss Weasley, Mr Malfoy. Would you mind telling me why you are late to the lesson?"

"Sorry, Professor. Rose had some bad news this morning," Scorpius answered for me.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Rose. But that does not mean you can just turn up to lessons whenever you feel like it. If I'd even had a note-"

"We have a note," Scorpius interrupted. "From Professor McGonagall."

Professor Howard held her hand out for the scroll of parchment and I handed it across. She read it with a critical eye before nodding and telling us to join the rest of the students at the sides of the duelling platform.

"As I was saying, Class, I've invited the other 5th years along today to experience some proper duelling. They should be here momentarily."

Her speech was disrupted once more by the arrival of the rest of our year; the Slytherin's trooping in first. I groaned as Veronica, followed by the rest of Scorpius' old friends, entered at the front of the queue. Scorpius shot me a sympathetic glance before turning back to look at Professor Howard, ignoring the looks Veronica, Jack and Warren gave him.

"Great now you're all here, would you please pair up."

I glanced around the room, and saw Al and Dom buddy up. When I turned to look at Scorpius, he'd been commandeered by one of the girls in his house, leaving me rotating on the spot searching for a partner.

"Rose, you can pair up with Veronica."

I turned to find Veronica stood beside Professor Howard, giving me a fake smile. I shot her a glare and took my stance in front of her, drawing my wand and holding it ready in front of me.

"Defensive magic only, Class. This exercise is just to show you the amount of time you will have to defend yourselves. Take it in turns to attack and defend. I expect all attacks to be of little seriousness. On the count of three: one. Two. Three!"

Veronica yelled something and I felt the air being forced out of my chest as I was flung back through the air and landed some ten feet away, bashing my head on the side of the duelling platform running down the centre of the classroom.

"Rose! Are you okay?" Scorpius asked desperately, suddenly at my side.

"'m fine," I muttered, pushing myself to my feet, swaying and falling down again when the room tilted. I found myself gasping and struggling to breathe, clutching a bunch of my robes in agony as I got more and more light headed.

"Rose," Dom called, sounding like she was very far away.

My eyelids fluttered a couple of times whilst the pain in my chest grew, blinding me, turning everything white for a few precious seconds before it began to dim and I was left in darkness.

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><p><strong>AN: At the moment, I'm feeling a bit depressed and it's leaking into my stories. Please review and keep me happy or I fear they'll end up being a character death! Save the characters!**


	7. Pleading

**A/N: Thanks for those reviews! They made me happy, so for now the characters of this story are safe. Please keep reviewing! It really encourages me to write. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. There is some mild swearing on one occasion in this chapter so please be aware of that. Apart from that I hope you enjoy it.  
><strong>

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><p>It was an odd experience. I could hear them, talking (well whispering really) and plotting revenge on Veronica. I just couldn't see them. For some time, I lay there taking in their words before I heard Scorpius' voice.<p>

"I'm going to kill her," he growled.

I gasped and sat upright, my eyes flashing open. I swayed as I took in the sight of the ten people crowded around my bed in the Hospital Wing and the other one slinking way to the door. I watched Scorpius leave amidst the flurry my family caused fussing over me and asking if I was alright.

"I'm so sorry about this morning, Rosie," James blurted.

"I forgive you, James," I sighed, running an errant hand through my messy bedhead.

"Great," he said, sounding relieved. "I expect you back in training within a week, mind."

"James…I'm not re-joining the quidditch team-"

"What? You have to, Rose. You're my best Chaser!" He complained, almost whining at me.

"Maybe when I'm fit again, but I just can't cope, James," I gently explained, beginning to divulge details of my various commitments. I hadn't been to a single Gobstones meeting this year and I was the president!

"Sorry," he muttered, dipping his head in shame. He mumbled an excuse about homework and left the Hospital Wing, leaving me with Lily, Albus, Dominique, Louis, Fred, Roxanne, Molly, Lucy and Hugo, who looked paler than I'd ever seen him.

Fred nodded at me and grinned. "Glad you're okay, Rosie. Better go and make sure James is actually doing that Potions work though…"

"Just don't distract him," I shouted uselessly after him. "Al?"

"Say no more. If James passes his NEWTs it'll be because I sat the exam for him," he joked as he stretched and grabbed his jumper of the end of my bed, pulling it over his messy black hair and following his cousin's footsteps.

"Just us girls then," Lily murmured from my right hand side. She was closest to my head and I nodded briefly.

"What are Louis and me?" Hugo asked indignantly. "Invisible?"

Dom solved the problem by taking their shoulders and manoeuvring them away from the foot of the bed and out the door, dusting her hands off as the door swung shut.

"S'okay!" Hugh called from the other side, his voice fading as he walked presumably towards Gryffindor Tower. "We know where we're not wanted!"

"What a world it would be without boys," she sighed.

"Good riddance," Lucy declared. "Fred and James were beginning to annoy me with those ridiculous theories…" She trailed off as she caught sight of Lily's gesture of drawing her hand in front of her neck.

"Theories?" I asked hesitantly.

"Well we _are _curious about why Veronica decided to just attack you," Dom explained.

Lily shot daggers at Lucy and Dom for bringing the topic up. But it was okay. It was time they knew really. They were my family after all and I'd hidden the truth from them for so long.

"Lily – it's okay."

"You sure?" She asked, turning from Dom's bewildered expression to look at me. Seeing my determined expression, she continued, "Yeah, you're sure."

I nodded, taking a deep breath and launched into the story. "Dom? You remember that Herbology lesson a few days ago with the Slytherin boys?"

"Yeah…"

"You remember they were talking about Scorpius and me?"

"Yeah…where's this going, Rose?"

"Well, Scorpius-and-I-went-on-a-date," I mumbled, running my words together.

"What?" Roxanne asked, laughing.

"Scorpius and I…well we…er…went on a date…"

Dominique choked. "You what?"

"But you hate each other!" Exclaimed Molly.

"He's a total douche!" Complained someone else.

"I'm shocked, Rose. I thought you'd die a spinster," someone joked. It was impossible to tell who in the din of voices continuously making observations.

"Guys," intervened Lily. "Calm down. She _went _on date with Scorpius. They're not together or anything."

"I see you knew, Lily. How could you not tell me?" Roxanne demanded, looking on the verge of tears. "I thought we were friends. Best friends."

"Because I asked her to," I answered, not wanting to be the end of Lily and Roxie's friendship.

"Why?" Dom asked, growing suspicious.

"Because…th-things didn't really end well…" I hesitated, unsure what to say. "Veronica interfered, messed things up. She told me I was part of a bet…and then…she kissed him in front of me…"

"That total – cover your ears Molly, Lucy – bitch!" Dom shouted, raring up to storm out and find Veronica. Lily darted forwards and grabbed the back of her robes, stopping her from leaving. "She…she…and today she…what a cow!" Dom's anger prevented any full sentences except those containing insults or swearwords from leaving her mouth. Finally gaining control over her speech, Dom promised, "Oho, she is going to wish she'd never been born after I'm through with her!"

"No, seriously, Dom, that'll just make things worse-" I tried to say before she shouted me down.

"Rose, have you seen yourself? Do you know what she _did _to you?"

I stared at Lily, literally begging for help.

"She _broke _one of your ribs, Rose! You could have _died!_" Dom continued relentlessly.

Speaking quietly, Lily explained. "A piece of one of your ribs broke off and punctured your lung…"

So, really it was no wonder everyone was so worried about me.

Choosing her moment, Madam Pomfrey bustled out of her office, alerted by Dom's cursing and loud voice. "This is a hospital, a place of rest and recuperation. Please avoid that kind of language. If you cannot control yourself, leave."

Dom nodded. "That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'll be back and respectfully quiet when Veronica Montague is in that bed right there," she said, pointing at the bed opposite mine before purposefully striding to the door and throwing it open.

Madam Pomfrey stared after her in shock, stuttering slightly. "And the rest of you. Miss Weasley needs rest!"

"See you later, Rose," Lily murmured. "You were really brave, you know?"

I whispered my thanks and watched them leave.

"How are you feeling, Miss Weasley?" Asked Madam Pomfrey moving around the bed to check on me.

I took a moment to assess my condition before answering, "Fine."

"No pain?"

"Nope. I feel fine, honestly."

"Good," she replied. "The skele-grow's finished its work then. Your ribs are whole and strong again."

"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey."

"Nonsense, child. Though please advise your young gentleman friend to stop hassling me in future. It slows the healing process, you know?"

I frowned. I didn't have any gentlemen friends.

"Mr Malfoy was most persistent in questioning me when you were brought in," continued Madam Pomfrey, unaware of my shock.

"He was?" I was smiling with wonder in spite of myself. I knew that getting involved with Scorpius again wouldn't bring anything good. How I ended up in the Hospital Wing was a prime example in support of that fact, but Scorpius was beginning to pull me in again. Friends, I told myself, there was nothing wrong with being friends.

"Speak of the Devil and he shall appear," Madam Pomfrey proclaimed, nodding towards the door where Scorpius' head was peeping around.

He sidestepped in, glancing about the empty room before his eyes came to rest on me. He smiled once and then began to speak. "Professor McGonagall asked me to check whether you could still do our detention…"

"Miss Weasley is in full health," Madam Pomfrey answered for me, smiling gently between the pair of us. It felt suspiciously like she was trying to set us up. "In fact you can leave together." She brought over the screen and I changed behind it, coming out in my grey skirt and pullover, my red and gold tie hanging untied around my neck and my robes undone.

Scorpius picked up my bag and threw it over his shoulder before doing my tie for me. "I'm glad you're okay," he mumbled as he did it, refusing to meet my eyes.

I stared at him in surprise, nodding numbly at his words.

"Filch would have grilled you if he saw that," he explained briefly, walking backwards out the door.

I hurried after him, reaching for my bag as I caught up to him. Smirking, he swung it out of my reach and held in the air.

Damn his height! Life just wasn't fair. I was convinced I would forever remain a four feet, six inches tall dwarf.

"Scorpius," I protested, "give it here."

He merely continued to grin and backed up the corridor towards the Clock Tower.

"Oh, so you're just going to pilfer my property now?"

"Rose, allow me to be chivalrous this one time…" he practically begged. Reluctantly I lowered my arm and followed him.

"Where're we meeting Filch?"

"Entrance Hall," he replied.

"Then why are we going to the Clock Tower?" I asked, obviously confused.

"I've just got something I want to take care of first…" he told me, keeping me in the dark. And I hated surprises – he knew that. At the fourth floor of the Clock Tower, he moved towards the stairs and wandered down them, checking to make sure I was still behind him.

"Scor, just tell me what we're doing?"

"I don't think so, Rose. I'm well aware that the second I tell you what we're doing, you'll refuse to cooperate."

"And with good reason. You'll only end up getting me into more trouble," I hissed.

Scorpius snorted but continued walking.

"I hate you," I told him.

"Now you know that's not true. It's impossible to hate someone as godly-looking as me," he joked. But it was true. Scorpius' good looks were irresistible.

Scorpius only stopped when we reached the end of the stairs and were standing in the Courtyard, directly under the clock. Gasping, I realised that we were stood in the exact spot I had met him for the Christmas party last year. My eyes shone with tears waiting to be shed.

Scorpius grimaced, knowing why, and I wondered why he had taken me there.

I didn't have to wait long to find out. Laughing lightly, Veronica, flanked by Warren and Jack, approached us from the dim evening. I stood my ground despite the fact that my legs trembled, not out of fear but from a cruel sense of anticipation.

"Scorpius," Jack snarled.

He nodded, looking only at Veronica, the mastermind behind the whole plan last year.

She stared back, clearly enjoying the attention, whilst I hid behind Scorpius hoping to escape the notice. He, however, was not oblivious to my intentions, and reached behind to take my hand and pull me forwards.

Veronica's eyes darted downwards, zeroing in on our interlocked hands.

She scoffed and sneered at me.

"You've brought us some fun, Scorpius," Warren jeered, causing me to flinch whilst Scorpius' hand tightened almost painfully around my own. He was angry. That much was clear from his blazing eyes and thin line that his mouth had become.

"Rose, is _not_ here for fun." His voice was low and deathly menacing. "We're here to tell you to back off. If _any_ of you hurt Rose, you'll have _me_ to answer to, and you all remember how good I am with this…" He broke off to draw his want from his pocket, twisting it in front of his eyes and casually spinning it in his fingers.

Veronica glared at us more intensely. "If you're happy settling for a blood traitor…" she hedged.

"Rose isn't a blood traitor," Scorpius replied, gritting his teeth. "If anyone's a blood traitor, it's you three!"

Throughout the exchange I was silent, watching Scorpius' eyes flash dangerously, as Warren said, "I don't think you understand the concept of a blood traitor, mate."

"No, I do. A blood traitor is someone who turns against their own in support of someone else. Well, you all knew I like Rose, and as I see it, you turned against me," Scorpius declared. Strictly speaking he was right, a blood traitor was someone who turned against their own (the pure bloods) but they only did it to support a non-pure blood.

Scorpius' three ex-friends looked rather taken aback by his outburst.

"Right, so we don't hurt, Rose?" Jack clarified, shrewdly staring at me.

Scorpius nodded.

"And then we're friends again?"

This time Scorpius sadly shook his head. "No, sorry, Jack. Some things are unforgivable. I may never convince Rose to give me another chance. And that's your fault."

"Scor-" I tried.

"-Don't worry, Rose. It's not your fault. I don't blame you." He glowered at Veronica who ducked her head slightly.

"Scorpius, I'm sorry," she pleaded. "I did it for you. I love you-"

"-So that gives you the right to act like a spoilt child?"

"No! That's not what happened. If you'd just stop listening to Rose you'd understand!"

"How many times, Veronica? It's not Rose who doesn't like you! In fact Rose has been very understanding and fair in her treatment of you, which is more than can be said of you. It's _me _who doesn't like you. I. Don't. Want. To. Be. Friends. With. You."

Veronica staggered backwards and ran away crying.

Jack elbowed Warren and the pair of them left, hurrying after Veronica, leaving me clinging to Scorpius' hand like a lifeline.

I was gasping, breathing heavily in shock.

"Hey," Scorpius shushed. "I'm sorry you had to see that." He cupped my cheeks, his thumbs rubbing softly over my cheek bones. "Everything's going to be fine now though…they won't bother you anymore…"

I nodded, still feeling overwhelmed.

"Come on," Scorpius murmured, throwing an arm about my shoulders and directing me towards back into the Clock Tower. "I know a secret passage way through here. It should get us to the Entrance Hall in time to meet Filch."

Numb as I was with shock, Scorpius was able to lead me through the dark passage, his wand lit with Lumos before us both and his other hand soothingly rubbing up and down my arm.

Finally, the passage came to an end, and we found ourselves in the Entrance Hall broom cupboard, cramped and pushed together in close quarters.

"Sorry," he muttered as his chest brushed mine, sending sparks of electricity through me.

I stared at him wide-eyed whilst he fumbled for the door handle, occasionally brushing the bare skin along the back of my hand.

"There we go," he said, seizing the door handle and twisting it open. Unfortunately in order to pull it and push the door open, he had to lean into me and we both fell against the opening door, into a sprawling mess at Filch's feet.

"What were you doing in my cupboard?" He croaked, wizened and wrinkled with long, ratty white hair. "Hoping to hide from old Filch, eh? Well, it didn't work. Come on, we haven't got all night. I want these floors sparkling clean."

Scorpius groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, one of his knees clicking as he bent back down to help me up.

Filch passed us each a mop and set us to work, leaving to patrol the nearby corridors for Peeves – a favourite past time of us.

Scorpius grunted as he tried to reach behind the statue of Hansard the Horrible and mop the floor, his arm getting wedged behind it.

"Voldemort, that's annoying!"

I looked up and grinned, before going to his aid. "Merlin's Pants, how did you do that?" Despite my tight grip on his arm, I couldn't pull him free. "Try dropping the mop," I suggested.

The mop clattered to the floor, the sound echoing slightly off the walls. Heaving, Scorpius arm suddenly slid free and we both fell to the floor again, though this time he was on top of me.

Turning pink, he hopped up, muttering an apology and grabbed his mop, returning to his mopping.

I stared after him, remembering the feel of his body against mine.

"Rose?" Scorpius asked as he turned and saw me gazing at him.

I blinked, ending my reverie and was lost in disbelief. I _had _to stop thinking about Scorpius in that lovely romantic hue. If I didn't I'd never get anything done.

Smiling briefly, I began pushing my mop across the floor, leaving a path of shining tiles. After all, that was why I was there. I was meant to be cleaning, not mooning after a boy.

"Rose, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

I stood, leant on the end of my mop and replied, "Depends what it is…"

"I just wandered why you never told your family about us-" He cut off suddenly, looking at me in what could easily have been mistaken for fear. He wasn't afraid though, he was just nervous about my reaction.

"How did you know I didn't tell them?"

"They kept asking me why I was at the Hospital Wing with you and there at Breakfast…"

I sighed. "I didn't want to admit that I'd been hurt. They all think I'm perfect – best in the year, good at everything and they all just think that nothing fazes me. I couldn't face telling them because it would have made the hurt all too real."

Scorpius winced. "Sorry," he quickly muttered.

"It's not your fault," I told him with a shake of the head and a wry grin.

"I just have to disagree with you on one thing though."

"I know, I know – I'm not perfect-"

"-No, you are." I gasped, but Scorpius continued as though I hadn't reacted at all. "_I'm _the best in the year."

I burst out laughing, finally releasing the pent up emotions from the day, a few tears leaking out and my sides beginning to hurt as though they were splitting.

"Yeah, and I'm as old as Merlin," I joked.

"Seriously, Rose, last year I got a better Potions mark than you did-"

"-Codswallop!"

"I did," he griped.

"Whatever, Scor, pull the other one."

"I'll prove it one day."

Rolling my eyes, I countered, "Sure. Well, I answered your question, will you answer mine?"

"Depends what it is," he grinned, echoing my own words.

"Why did you really break off your friendship with Jack, Warren and Veronica?"

"To be honest, I don't know why I was even friends with them in the first place," he said reminiscently. "Well, that's not true. I met them on the train – they heard I was on-board and came into my compartment, eager to hear about my father and Voldemort. I took the easy way out. Three people came and offered outright to be my friends before they even knew anything about me. I managed to avoid all the awkwardness about my family that I had been dreading. After that, I noticed some of their less…let's say pleasant characteristics…but I just ignored them and pretended they were nice people really."

"So it wasn't just about me?"

"That's two questions!" Scorpius teased, pushing his mop once more. Turning serious once more, he answered evenly, "Not entirely about you. They were rubbing off on me, giving me a reputation I didn't really want. Sure, it was cool on one level – girls throwing themselves at my feet…" I zoned out for a minute, frowning. "…but, honestly, what I really wanted was to have a relationship, to be with someone and know each other so intimately it was like we were one entity." He blushed slightly again, gazing at me.

I nodded, silent and pensive for a few minutes.

"My turn," declared Scorpius suddenly.

"What?" I asked warily.

"You've asked me two questions so now I get to ask you another one."

"Oh no, I'm not answering anything else," I told him, my eyebrows raised high in amusement.

"Play fair, Rose," he said reproachfully.

"I am," I complained. "You'll ask me something I don't want to answer."

"I didn't want to answer _your _questions; but I did."

"Fine," I muttered, caving to his pleading grey eyes.

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><p><strong>AN: Please review because I love to know what you all think! **


	8. Put Me Down

**A/N: Sorry, for the delay in updating. I was intending to get this up on Monday but I've had a couple of Mock exams that required my attention for some revising. I hope you enjoy it! Keep reviewing because it's really making me keep going with this story. **

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><p>"Great, now I've got to think of something to ask…"<p>

"You're joking! You don't even have a question in mind?" I asked in disbelief. I'd begun to think Scorpius' questions were never-ending.

"No, I did, but I don't think I'm quite ready for you to murder me in my bed," he said, seeming completely serious.

Rolling my eyes, I lowered my head and returned to mopping, waiting in anticipation for Scorpius to ask me his second question.

Whilst he tried to work out what he wanted to ask me, Scorpius grumbled and emitted little sounds or the odd word. It was highly distracting and I found myself beginning to dread what he would ask. Clearly it was not going to be a question I would like if he was earnestly entertaining the thought that I would end up killing him over it.

"A question…" he muttered to himself. "Come on, just one question…no not that one…" It was like Scorpius thought he was alone the way he was thinking aloud. "Alright, I give up! I can't think of another question so I'm just going to beg from the bottom of my heart – please don't kill me, Rose."

"Please tell me you're not asking about a girl crush?"

"No! Please! You can't seriously think I'm that kind of guy, Rose," he blurted in shock.

"Just wanted to be sure…"

"Well that's not what I'm asking."

He said nothing for a full minute.

"So…what are you asking?" I prompted, regretting the words the moment they were out of my mouth. I was just digging myself a deeper hole, or perhaps a deeper grave to fall into.

"Rose…why won't you give me a second chance?"

I couldn't look at him. I stared at the floor trying to find words to drag through my dry mouth. Nothing would come. My mouth just opened and closed, flapping uselessly like a fish.

"Rose?" Scorpius asked, taking my silence for reluctance. His fingers ghosted down my arm and took my hand, making me look up to work out what he was doing. My pained eyes took in his warm, grey ones and he whispered, "It's okay. You don't have to tell me." And though I knew the words were hard for him, he didn't show any of his pain unlike me. It wasn't that I didn't want to tell him, I just found myself running out of reasons for my actions.

I was clinging to my last argument. I could no longer claim that Scorpius had hurt me because I knew that it had been Veronica. I couldn't say we didn't get on because we did. And it had been pretty much proven that opposites attract – one only had to look at my parents for proof of that theory. There was nothing I could say to talk down Scorpius. He was mature; he wasn't chasing after me. He truly was a good person. But for some reason, I just didn't think I could be with him.

"At least we're can stay friends," Scorpius offered.

I nodded and returned my mop to the cupboard as Filch came to scrutinise our work.

"You may go," he scowled. "But remember, no more trouble making! You Weasleys are always a problem!"

"Hey!" I exclaimed.

"No talking back! Old Filch may not be a teacher but he can still inflict punishments…" He said, his voice quavering as he did his best to sound menacing.

"Rose isn't the trouble maker, it's me," Scorpius explained.

"I don't care which of you did it. You'll both be strung up in my dungeon if you don't get out of here," Filch threatened.

I hurried up the stairs with Scorpius at my heels, the both of us laughing loudly. Stopping at the fifth floor, we made our goodbyes.

"That was hilarious," Scorpius gasped.

We both knew that Filch was full of idle threats. It was against Wizarding Law in Britain for corporeal punishment to be used on students, but apparently the message had never sunk in with Filch. Either that or his brain had been addled by the death of Mrs Norris years ago. She'd had a long life, but Filch had become much worse afterwards. A day didn't go by when he didn't add more items to the list of banned goods or shout at a First Year for being too loud. Frankly, Professor McGonagall only tolerated him because it would be too much hassle to get rid of him.

Renewed laughter spewed forth from my mouth and I doubled over, gasping in agony as the hysteria rippled through my midriff.

"I'd better be heading back to the Common Room," I muttered when I had finally managed to keep a straight face. "I've got a lot of catching up with homework to be doing if I'm actually going to make it to Gobstones tomorrow."

"Right," Scorpius nodded. "Actually, now that you mention it, I've still got that potions essay to do…"

"That was due in last week!"

"Deadlines, schmeadlines," he replied with a wave of his hand.

"And you seriously still think you're a better student than me?" I asked in disbelief.

"No. I just said I was top in the year."

"Scor, you flunked Care of Magical Creatures," I reminded him.

"What? No I didn't! Where in the name of Merlin did you hear that?"

Thinking back, I tried to remember. "I think I overheard Hannah joking about it…"

"Hannah who? Hannah Downs?"

I nodded.

"Rose, that girl is ridiculously stupid. Half of what comes out of her mouth doesn't make sense!"

"So what did you get?" I asked, beginning to feel intrigued. I always liked a good competition.

After a few moments, Scorpius replied, "I don't want to tell you."

"What, why not?"

"Because…I've really got to run," Scorpius shouted over his shoulder as he turned and fled down the fifth floor to the stairs that would take him to Ravenclaw Tower.

I turned and found myself face to face with Peeves. _So that's why Scorpius ran…_

He and Peeves had had this thing ever since First Year. Peeves had never really gotten over it and hounded him about school whenever he could. Scorpius was always running to his classes, holding his bag over his head to stop whatever Peeves was throwing at him. It was ridiculous really. All Scorpius had done was trip and knock down the suit of Armour Peeves was hiding within, ready to scare students.

The transformation between Scorpius in First Year and Scorpius in Fifth Year was really quite miraculous. When we first started at Hogwarts, he was shy, constantly tripping over his own feet and clumsily knocking into things. Now he was confident and sure of himself and walked smoothly without any catastrophes.

"Hi…Peeves," I said nervously, trying to sidle past him.

"You're not a friend of that Malfoy boy, are you?" He asked sharply, already floating in front of me to cut of my escape.

"Scorpius? No we're sworn enemies," I replied as seriously as I could.

"So why were you leaning towards him? I thought that was what people in love did. If you're his girlfriend, well that makes things much better."

Without warning, Peeves swooped forwards and lobbed a rotten egg at my head. Instinct taught me to duck, and I rolled underneath him, coming up running and pelted up the stairs without looking back. I could hear the tell-tale smack of Peeves still throwing eggs, whilst he cackled manically, as they landed behind me on the steps.

Not only did Peeves seek revenge on Scorpius, he also targeted his friends. I was lucky to get away with just an egging.

When I arrived at the portrait, sweating and heavily out of breath, the Fat Lady merely swung forwards as I gasped out, "Nimblewings."

"How was detention, Rosie?" Fred bellowed the moment the Fat Lady admitted me.

Sinking into a chair, I nodded and tried to catch my breath.

"What'd Filch have you do?" James asked, grinning. "Shackled upside down?"

"Whipped to within an inch of your life?" Fred quipped.

"Obviously," I replied sarcastically.

"Why were you running away from him then?" Hugo asked with raised eyebrows, joining in on the teasing.

"I wasn't. I was running from Peeves."

"Ah, Peeves. Love him," said Fred.

Roxanne slapped him about the back of the head whilst the rest of us shot him 'really?' looks. Dom high-fived her, then returned to looking at me, waiting for further elaboration on why I was running from Peeves.

"So," prompted Molly, making continuation gestures with her hand.

"Oh, he was trying to egg me."

"Why?" Dom asked. Peeves would generally leave our families alone because of our relation to Uncle George and Uncle Fred, who he had always admired.

"His vendetta against Scorpius-"

"Another reason why you should just avoid him, Rosie," Hugo commented without looking up from his game of chess with Al.

"We're just friends," I murmured to their accusatory glances.

"Yeah," Molly scoffed.

I was actually too shocked to make a reply. Molly was only thirteen. She was usually so removed from our family teasing sessions and conversations, preferring to spend time with her other friends, that she hardly ever said anything like that. Especially not to me.

Everyone was staring at her.

"What?" She asked self-consciously, looking down her body as if she'd spilt down herself.

"Wow, Molly finally grew a wand," Fred whispered to James, who snorted quietly.

"Shut up, Fred," she and Roxanne exclaimed at the same time.

"Sheesh, only yanking your wand…"

"Women," James muttered to him, resulting in death glares from Dom, Roxie, Lucy, Molly and Me. Lily on the other hand took the far less subtle route.

"Say that again, _Jamie,_ and I'll get you with the old bat-bogey hex…" she threatened.

"You wouldn't," James replied, standing up so that Lily's wand was aimed directly at his chest.

"I would too."

"I bet you don't even know it. Like Mum would even tell you how to do it-"

"-Yeah but Dad did," Lily interrupted.

Gulping, James sat down and quietly apologised for any of his comments which could be 'construed as being sexist'.

After being stared at for another five minutes, I stood up and stomped up the stairs to my dormitory. Unexpectedly, Dom followed me. The second the door closed, she pounced on me, pinning me to my bed.

"Come on, Rosie. I know you're hiding something – tell all."

"What?" I yelped. "I'm not hiding anything." In vain I struggled to dislodge Dom from where she was sitting on my stomach. She just tightened her grip around my biceps and pushed me further into the bed.

"I'm your cousin, I know when you're lying," Dom warned.

My voice was a higher pitch than usual when I replied, "I'm not. I swear!"

"Are you sure, Rose? You looked awfully chummy with Scorpius when I snuck down to see you…"

_Oh God, she saw us on the floor…_

"Nothing happened," I blurted.

"Really? It looked suspiciously like you were holding hands over by the statue of Hansard the Horrible."

_Oh, thank Merlin for that._

"Well we weren't. Scorpius got his arm stuck and I was helping him," I explained.

"Sounds a little too innocent for two detention buddies, if you ask me."

"Well, I wasn't asking you, Dom. Now could you get off me, please?" I waited a few minutes, but Dom didn't even budge. "_Before _I jinx you?"

Hastily, Dom climbed off me and sat on her own bed muttering to herself.

"And I was so sure… What am I doing? I'm just jumping to conclusions all the time. I must be crazy."

Sighing, I shut my eyes and began to speak, knowing full well that I was most likely making a mistake.

"Dom, you're not crazy. I guess you could say that there is a certain…chemistry…between Scorpius and me. We're not together," I quickly added, "but it would most likely seem that way from the outside."

"I knew it!" Dom exclaimed, grinning with wide eyes.

"You were faking!" I gasped.

Dom chuckled, and returned to questioning me.

"So, you say you have '_chemistry_' but what you haven't told me, is how you feel about him…"

Squirming, I mumbled, "I guess I like him-"

"-You _guess?"_

"Alright, alright! I like him."

"You do?" Dom asked incredulously.

"Yes," I told her defensively. "I mean, he's nice, confident, intelligent-"

"-Not to mention unbelievably attractive," Dominique interrupted as she stood up and retrieved her pyjamas from under her pillow.

"Well, yeah, but that's not what's important, is it?"

"Of course it is! You don't want to walk around on the arm of a total minger!"

Rolling my eyes, I busied myself with changing into my own pyjamas and sliding under my duvet. The bed-pan the house elves had placed there had kept the sheets warm and I sighed in relief as my feet found the heat.

"So what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"About Scorpius. What are you going to do about Scorpius?" Dom questioned.

"Nothing. I'm not going to do anything."

"What?" Dom half-shouted, sitting up in her bed to stare at me.

"You heard me. I'm not going to do anything. Just because I like him doesn't mean I should be with him."

"You're completely bonkers," she muttered, shaking her head and lying back down.

I was left to consider that as Dom's soft snoring filled the room and Lucy joined us, bringing Tracy and Hannah with her.

"Hey Rose," Tracy murmured as she noticed I was still awake. Unfortunately I had the closest bed to the door – everyone always disturbed me as they walked past to their own four posters. "How was detention? We missed you at chess club-"

"-Shoot! I completely forgot! I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry, Rose. It's fine. We managed without you."

"I'll be there next week," I promised.

When everyone had gotten ready and gone to bed, I was left awake, still contemplating whether I really was crazy for not giving Scorpius another chance. I knew my decision had nothing to do with him really. It was me. _I _wasn't good enough for him. I couldn't quite believe that I'd never given him a chance to explain after the Party last year. What did that say about me? That I didn't listen to people?

Groaning to myself, I threw back the covers and retrieved my bag from the floor by the foot of my bed. If I couldn't sleep, it would be beneficial for me to get some work done.

I started with the work I'd missed in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Surprisingly it didn't take me long. After that, I sighed but continued working, picking up my Arithmancy text book and copying down the notes that I would have made had I been in the lesson instead of in the Hospital Wing.

Injury really was a danger to your health. I had so much work to catch up on that I was sure to end up working through the night. And that was without mentioning the stress I was under. I really could have done with one of Madam Pomfrey's exam potions to relax me, but unfortunately she only gave those out during OWLs and NEWTs.

I was barely awake when I put my quill down as Dom sat up, taking in my bleary eyes.

"Guess I'd better keep you awake in Charms today, huh?"

I nodded wearily and capped my ink bottle before shoving it back into my bag.

"You worked all night?" Lucy asked. "Again. Rose, I thought you weren't going to do that this year."

"Don't worry. I don't plan on doing it again," I yawned. "Though you may have to carry me down to breakfast."

"Don't count on it," Dom called from under her bed as she tried to find the clean pair of socks which had fallen off her bed and rolled under.

I laughed before stumbling out of bed and changing into my robes. The grey skirt was slightly creased from me carelessly chucking it into my trunk the night before. I didn't really notice them until I had it on and was tying my tie in one of the mirrors.

On the way down to the Great Hall, I dawdled behind Dominique as she blabbered away to me, completely unaware that I wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention. I shrieked as I was lifted into the air.

"Lucy, I wasn't being serious!"

"Good job I'm not Lucy then," Scorpius whispered into my ear, causing shudders to run the length of my spine.

"Scorpius, put me down," I instructed.

"I don't think I should. You look like you're about to fall flat on your face," he replied.

"So you're going to carry me all the way to my seat at the Gryffindor table? In front of James and Fred?" I asked doubtfully.

"Good point," Scorpius answered, returning my feet to the ground and taking my hand instead.

I restrained a laugh at his evident fear of my elder cousins then cleared my throat and looked pointedly down at our intertwined hands.

"Friends hold hands," Scorpius reminded me.

"Yeah but that's not what everyone's going to assume."

"So you care about what people think?" Scorpius asked, squeezing my hand to reinforce the message that he was still holding onto it as we reached the Entrance Hall.

"No," I told him. But it was obvious from my tone that that wasn't entirely true.

"Come on, Weasley," he muttered, letting go of my hand and taking my shoulders. "Let's get you some breakfast before you collapse."

"I'm not going to collapse-"

I didn't get the rest of my words out before I swooned slightly, only able to continue to stand because of Scorpius' grip on my shoulders.

"Rose?"

"I'm fine," I whispered. "Just dizzy."

"Sit," he ordered, lowering me to the ground just outside the Great Hall. "Why not put your head between your knees – I've heard that helps."

I shot him a look but followed his suggestion, sticking my head between my knees and taking deep breaths.

"I think I'd better go and get Madam Pomfrey," Scorpius began.

"Scor, I'm fine," I repeated, getting to my feet and pausing to make sure the dizziness was gone before walking into the hall.

"I should have just carried you," Scorpius mumbled. Then breaking every rule, he came to sit beside me.

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><p><strong>AN: So, what did you think?**


	9. A Distraction

**A/N: Just looked back at chapter two and found a random reference to Ginny instead of Lily! Please excuse my idiocy! :P Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Please review!**

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><p>"Scor," I warned, as Professor Lofting's nostrils flared as she walked past.<p>

Lily gaped open mouthed at the pair of us, as Scorpius leapt to his feet and ran to sit at the Ravenclaw table. Professor Lofting swooped down on him and relaxed somewhat as Scorpius fed her some excuse.

She nodded, her greying hair swaying slightly, and walked up the aisle between the tables to take her seat on the staff table.

He winked at me before turning away to talk to his house mates.

"What is going on with you?" Lily whispered to me.

"Nothing," I replied, looking at her out of the corner of my eyes.

"Sure looks like something," she muttered with raised eyebrows like she doubted me.

I sighed in annoyance but tried to forget about it and concentrate on dodging Hugo's crumpled sheets of parchment he threw in my direction as he continuously attempted to write a letter before deciding that whatever he was writing was no good.

"Who are you writing to?" I asked, completely dumbfounded because Hugo never wrote to anyone. He didn't know anyone to write to, except for family, but since we saw most of them so often, he didn't bother with writing letters for them. It was left to me to update Mum and Dad on his news.

"Nobody," Hugo said shiftily.

"Oh…" Intrigued, I pretended to turn to talk to Al who was sat on my other side, then summoned his current sheet of parchment with accio, snorting slightly as he leapt upwards, his hands flailing for the paper shooting towards me. "Scorpius? What in the name of Merlin are you writing to Scor for?"

I had a distinctly bad feeling settling in the bottom of my stomach.

"No reason, just a friendly message really," Hugh mumbled.

"Oh? Friendly? When you say friendly, just what words were you thinking of writing?"

"Possibly something along the lines of 'Stay away from my sister you son of a bludger!' Friendly enough?" He answered with a fake smile.

"Hugo! Don't you dare send that! Scorpius has done nothing wrong," I whispered vehemently, not wanting the entire student body to overhear my personal life.

Hugo glared daggers at me and threw down his quill to cross his arms. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you." With that, he stood up and left, storming away from my shocked expression. Hugo could always be a bit immature, but he was usually so calm. The only times I had seen him throw a tantrum were when Dad accidentally broke his first broom by trying it out (proving too heavy for it) and after the Christmas party.

James stared after him before turning to look worriedly at me. "What'd you say to him?"

"Mind your own business," I snapped.

"Sorry," James replied in tones that sounded equally affronted.

As the time for our first period drew nearer, Scorpius returned to the Gryffindor table and sat down beside me again.

"Ready for potions?"

"I guess," I replied wearily.

"What's up?" Scorpius asked, sounding concerned.

"Oh, nothing. I just had an argument with Hugo, that's all."

"Let me guess: it was about me."

Unwillingly, I nodded. "How did you know?"

Scorpius gave a wry smile before his fingertips traced over his cheekbone, muttering, "Well his fist was pretty vocal about his dislike for me…"

"Right, I forgot about that. Don't worry he's just being an idiot."

"Rose, Hugo's not being an idiot – he's just looking out for you."

"I don't need him to look out for me; I can look after myself," I replied grumpily as we descended the stairs down to Potions, trailing after Dom and Al.

Scorpius raised his eyebrows, most likely thinking about my disastrous duel with Veronica, but said nothing to dispute my claim.

That potions lesson we worked in pairs to concoct our own poisons and antidotes. The poison was simple enough. Professor Slughorn had already set out the ingredients we were able to use, and we just had to throw them together. The antidote, however, was a whole lot more complicated. Whilst I stirred our antidote and followed the textbook's instructions to the letter, Scorpius amused himself by flicking the unused Wiggenweld roots across the desk at me. He sniggered and glanced around the room as if searching for an invisible bird every time I looked at him, only making me laugh too.

"Scorpius, seriously, I'm trying to concentrate," I said through chuckles. "Do you want me to poison you?"

"That's why we have the antidote, Rose," Scorpius replied cheekily.

"Not if the antidote isn't right because _someone_ was distracting me!"

"Rose, even if you didn't get the antidote right, the poison wouldn't kill me. This is Professor Slughorn we're talking about – he won't give me anything that bad! I bet it's just something to induce sleep or hysteria."

"Fine, if that's what you think, Scor, you can make the potion and _I'll _flick stuff at _you_," I countered. "Then we can really see if you're better at Potions than me."

"You're on," he grinned, holding out his hand for me to shake.

I took it, and gasped as a jolt of electricity ran through me.

"Gotcha!" Scorpius crowed, punching the air and then showing me the small round device taped to his hand. It was one of Uncle George's products, adapted from a Muggle practical joke so that it would still work in Hogwarts.

I swiped him on the arm as we switched places, and began flicking the heads of the green caterpillar-like creatures at him. Scorpius didn't even flinch as I fired four in quick succession: one hitting him on the neck, one on the chin, one falling flat and one nailing him in the centre of his forehead.

"It's going to take more than that, Weasley," he teased.

Feeling bold, I shuffled my stool closer to him and leaned into his side, before briefly leaning up to breathe over his ear.

The hand Scorpius was using to stir the antidote froze and he turned to look incredulously at me; his eyes bulging uncontrollably.

I snickered and moved back to my original position. "Yeah, you're so invincible, Scor."

I thought he'd come back with some witty remark, instead Scorpius looked openly at me and honestly said, "Well played, Rose," with a hint of respect.

The rest of the lesson passed without incident, although Scorpius and I continued to laugh, so much so that our potion became a congealed blob of slime that wouldn't have cured anybody.

"I'm disappointed in you two," Professor Slughorn said at the end of the lesson as everyone else packed up. "I think it's best if I separate you next lesson. You'll both be getting additional homework. I want you to write an essay on how to avoid such mistakes when brewing poisons and antidotes. I expected excellent things from you this year – both the top of my class last year; but now…" Talking to himself he walked away and checked that the buttons on his waistcoat were still done up over his rather large stomach.

"That was totally your fault," I hissed at Scorpius, though I couldn't help smiling at him.

"Was not! You didn't have to switch places with me, Rose! The antidote was going perfectly whilst you were mixing it."

"Was too!" I argued.

Scorpius and I continued to playfully blame each other until Dom came in-between us.

"If you don't shut up and leave the classroom, we'll never get any lunch!"

Al smirked at me, looking highly amused, while Scorpius and I blushed profusely and hurried to pick up our things. We followed Dom and Al up to the Great Hall and Scorpius whispered, "It was still your fault."

I laughed, breaking off mid giggle as Dom whirled around with wide eyes.

"Laugh-Nazi!" Scorpius hissed, setting me off again.

Dom shot me a look but said nothing. I knew I would be in for another interrogation as soon as we were alone. I was busy trying to think of a way to squirm out of it when Roxanne came flying down the stairs into the Entrance Hall as we came up from the Dungeons, knocking Al off his feet.

"Roxie!" He groaned from the floor.

"Sorry!"

"Why can't you move at a normal speed…" Al mumbled as Roxanne helped him to his feet.

"Sorry," she repeated. "I was just excited-"

"-We could see that," Dom interrupted in her usual sarcastic manner.

"Because they've put up the first Hogsmeade date in the Common Room!" Roxie continued, oblivious to Dom's aside comments.

"Oh! When is it?" I asked, eager to get back to the Three Broomsticks and have a butterbeer. I could even arrange to meet Victoire there. I hadn't seen her in ages. She'd been on her honeymoon in the Bahamas with Teddy all summer, so the last time I'd seen her was the Easter before.

"The 24th," Roxie shouted over her shoulder as she rushed into the Hall to tell everyone else.

"That's only next week," Dom smiled, and I thought she must be keen to catch up with her newly married sister too.

"I know! Victoire is going to have so much to tell us, I bet! I wonder what the Bahamas is like…"

"Sand filled beaches, warm sun all day…" Dom murmured, her eyes turning into a glassy stare as she went into a daydream.

"Girls," Al muttered to himself, leaving Scorpius with me and Dom as we excitably chatted about Victoire's news.

"Rose…c-could I…er…talk to you for a minute?" Scorpius asked, glancing nervously at Dom.

I nodded and Dom looked between us, waiting for one of us to talk.

"Er…in private?" He asked hopefully.

"Sure," I replied, smiling encouragingly at him.

Still Scorpius said nothing and as I gazed at him I noticed his eyes were directed over my shoulder. Following his stare, I found myself looking as Dom who leaned forwards with her face turned away from us as though she were pricking one of her ears.

"Erm, Dom?" I said, reminding her to leave.

"Oh, sorry, were you asking me to leave?" She asked in an over-the-top voice.

"Yes," Scorpius replied stiffly, not at all fooled by her attempts to cover her eavesdropping.

"I'll just go then…see you later, Rosie."

I turned away from her retreating figure to find Scorpius watching me closely.

"Er, Scor, will you say something…you're making me nervous," I explained, feeling my palms begin to sweat.

"Will you come to Hogsmeade with me?"

"Sorry?" I asked, sure I had misheard him. We had after all agreed to stay friends and it sounded an awful lot like Scorpius was asking me on a date.

"It's just my Mum wants me to get new dress robes before Christmas because Grandfather is coming to stay, but the last time I bought my own she went mental because they were – and I quote – 'too plain.' I seriously need your help…" He trailed off and looked hopefully at me.

"Oh, of course I will," I replied. I could understand why Scorpius would want help choosing robes if his grandfather was going to be there. Lucius Malfoy was renowned for his strict, traditional values and tastes.

"Thanks," Scorpius said, sounding immensely relieved and looking as if a weight had been lifted off him.

I nodded and followed him through into the Great Hall, barely sitting down and eating a sandwich before the bell rang. I grabbed my bag and stepped backwards over the bench, following Lily out of the Hall and up the stairs to Arithmancy.

I was totally bored. We were seated at individual desks and Scorpius was across the room from me, so there wasn't even any chance of talking to him. Everything Professor Vector was teaching us, I already knew from reading the introduction in my textbook. So instead of avidly listening to the lecture, I began writing to Victoire to make sure she came to Hogsmeade.

_Dear Vic,_

_You'd love what I'm doing right now. I'm in Professor Vector's Arithmancy class and I'm not paying attention! I'm sure Uncle Bill wouldn't be proud about me following your example though._

_How was the honeymoon? You'll have to show me some pictures! The wedding was such an amazing day, and I'm really happy for you and Teddy. Dom and I are so excited to hear from you. We've got a Hogsmeade weekend coming up – the 24__th__ – do you think you could meet us for a butterbeer? We've got so much to tell you!_

_Hope to see you soon,_

_Rose_

_Xx_

There, I thought, that ought to do. I rolled the scrap of parchment up and then shoved it up my cloak sleeve, catching sight of Scorpius amused face as I did so.

"What?" I mouthed at him.

He shook his head, unable to answer due to his silent laughter.

I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to Professor Vector who was still going through the introduction to the subject.

Finally the lesson ended and I headed to the library to start working on Professor Slughorn's essay. Scorpius followed me and did the same, making jokes and scribbling in the margins of his book, as we hurried to get the work finished before dinner ended. We arrived at the Great Hall, after running flat out, just in time to watch the plates disappear down into the kitchens where the house elves would clean them.

"Damn!" I cursed.

"Come on. We'll just go to the kitchens and ask for something."

Scorpius led the way to the portrait which, if properly manipulated (by tickling the pear) would swing open to allow admittance to the Hogwarts kitchens. The moment we put a foot through the doorway, house elves crowded around us, bowing low in their school uniform.

We didn't have house elves at home – my mother wouldn't allow it. If she had, it would have been highly hypocritical given that she was the driving force behind the reforms to the wizarding laws regarding other sentient beings. Now, all house elves, were paid and allowed to take holidays whenever they wanted to. But at Hogwarts, despite these changes to their lives, the house elves still believed they should neither be seen nor heard, so I was a bit taken aback when I came face to face with them.

"We is at your service, sir and ma'am," one of them squeaked.

Scorpius looked expectantly at me, and I hesitantly asked for a bowl of soup. The castle had been beginning to grow cold, and I desperately wanted something to warm me up. The house elves brought me and Scorpius a bowl each of carrot and coriander soup, with fresh bread to dip in. Another scurried over with two cups of pumpkin juice and yet another brought over a chair for each of us.

Scorpius and I talked with the house elves while we ate, and when we were done, they escorted us to the door, filling our hands with sweets.

As soon as the portrait closed, Scorpius was ripping into his Bertie Botts box. "Ooh, toast!" He held the box out to me and I took one, popping it into my mouth without pausing to examine it. As I chewed and swallowed, I was aware of the strong taste and started choking, stooping over to rest my hands on my knees as I coughed.

Scorpius clapped me on the back, trying to clear my airway, thinking the sweet was stuck in my throat.

"Pepper," I croaked as I stood up. "Urgh!" Wiping my hand on the back of my mouth, I grabbed another sweet, needing to take away the disgusting taste left in my mouth. It wasn't much better. The green bean I had picked up was grass flavoured.

Scorpius delved into the box and held out a red bean for me. "Try this one."

I took it and chewed one end before sighing. "Strawberry," I confirmed, eating the rest. "I'll never understand how they sell so many boxes. I mean, no-one's going to want to buy a box again after they've had something really disgusting, are they? James had a blood flavoured one once." I shuddered at the memory.

"Blood?" Scorpius asked in horror. Then in an offhand voice, he continued, "Well at least they're accounting for vampires…"

I chuckled and moved away from the portrait.

"I should really get going. I've got Gobstones," I muttered.

"Yeah, I've got Quidditch Training," Scorpius said, standing and moving a few steps in the opposite direction. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rose."

"Night, Scorpius," I answered.

I navigated my way back through the castle up to the Fourth Floor and caught sight of the light on in the unused classroom we usually claimed for our meetings.

As I entered, I began, "Sorry I'm late, guys-" I stopped in shock. Not only were my fellow Gobstones members in the room, but Scorpius was there too. "Scor… I thought you had… quidditch…" I mumbled, marvelling at how he had even managed to arrive before me.

"Cancelled 'cause of the weather," he replied, beaming.

"What? We trained in sleet last year! You're such a wimp."

"Yeah well, we'll beat Gryffindor anyway now that you're not playing," he retorted light-heartedly.

"Maybe I'm coaching Lily to take my place," I hinted, though of course I hadn't done anything of the sort.

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. He knew I wasn't coaching Lily because he knew my timetable and what days I had rounds because I had to do them with him.

I stared back at him, my eyes wide as if daring him to challenge my claim, until Fran (one of the Hufflepuff third years) coughed impatiently.

Blinking, I started chalking the circles onto the floor and getting the school's old Gobstones sets from one of the cupboards. Then I organised everyone into teams, putting people into groups of three and then putting two groups of three together for a match. That way, meant I didn't have to do a lot except referee as I walked around the room and offered advice to some of the younger and newer members.

As the newest member Scorpius required a lot of my time, but every time I tried to help him, he would distract me by asking me a question about something irrelevant to Gobstones. By the end of the session, I was tired and irritable, my voice growing hoarse from talking for so long.

Scorpius stayed to help me pack up whilst everyone else left, which was only fair seeing as we were the latest to arrive.

"This evening was really fun," Scorpius remarked, sounding surprised. "I always imagined Gobstones to be really boring and for nerdy people – not that you're a nerd, Rose – but I really enjoyed it. I think I'll come again next week…"

"No, I ban you from Gobstones, Scor, unless you stop distracting me!"

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><p><strong>AN: I would really, really appreciate some reviews! I was a bit unsure about this chapter, so it would be nice to know what you guys think!**


	10. Notice

**Attention Readers:**

**Okay, I'm really sorry, but I'm struggling with juggling work, schoolwork, revision and writing at the moment. Obviously, as I'm in my last year of school, it's really important that I put my education and exams first and try to revise as much as possible because I need to get good grades to get into University, so I've made the hard decision of banning myself from fanfiction from now till at least the end of January. I hope you'll understand why I've made this decision. Rest assured, that as soon as I can, I'll return ready to continue this story and hopefully have some ideas for new stories up my sleeve. I apologise for the necessity of this and that you won't have any new chapters to read, but I advise you to add this story (if you haven't already) to your alert so that you know about a new chapter as soon as I update because I don't know when it'll be so I can't forwarn you. **

**I also apologise for how long it's been since I last updated!  
><strong>

**Thank you for taking the time to read this. I promise I will continue this story!**

**Thanks, Sabre Dae**

**xxx**


	11. Love and Butterbeers

**A/N: Sorry for how long it's been. I'm so grateful to those of you who are back reading after my absence during exam season. You've been so understanding and it really means a lot! I think this is my favourite chapter so far and it's actually also inspired a spin-off if you will (extra points to those who can guess what it will be about). I hope you'll like it as much as I do, so let me know what you thought and leave a review! :D**

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><p>Waiting for the Hogsmeade weekend felt like forever, but finally the day came when I pulled on my turquoise Weasley jumper and fastened my winter cloak around my neck before heading down to meet Scorpius.<p>

He smiled as I came down the Entrance Hall steps to stand in front of him.

"Morning," he said lightly. "I see you've wrapped up warm."

"See you haven't," I retorted, looking pointedly at his leather jacket that was obviously going to be useless at keeping him warm.

"Rose, please, it's only October. It's not like its minus two degrees, is it?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you," I replied unashamedly.

Scorpius scoffed as we joined the back of the queue of students waiting to leave.

"Weasley, Malfoy," Filch nodded, checking us off his list and allowing us to leave the grounds.

The weather was colder than usual and a thin layer of ice covered the streets. Scorpius was soon freezing and his teeth chattering.

"Okay where do you want to go?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"I think the first stop is Gladrag's Wizardwear, don't you? You need to get something warm to wear."

Scorpius nodded gratefully as we continued down the high-street and stopped outside the Hogsmeade robes shop. Frost and ice had accumulated around the edges of the window panes. That, combined with the rippled glass at the centre of each pane, made it impossible to see into the shop. Regardless, Scorpius wrenched the door open and sent the bell hanging over it into a frenzy. The second he was in the shop, he sighed in relief as warm air wrapped around him.

"That's heavenly," he muttered.

Rolling my eyes, I followed him in and shut the door, careful to watch its hinges.

"Right, warm clothes and then your new dress robes," I said, moving away to inspect an array of woolly jumpers. "How about this one?"

Scorpius looked my way at the forest green jumper before turning his nose up. "Seriously? I'm not a tree, Rose."

"Right…so green's definitely not an option then?"

"No, it looks ridiculous on me," Scorpius asserted, oblivious to my restrained laughter. It was an unusual experience for me. James, Al, Hugh, Fred – none of them cared about what they were wearing and most likely threw on clothes that hadn't been washing in two weeks and stank to high-heaven.

"No green. Got it."

Scorpius nodded and returned to his own search on the opposite side of the shop.

"How's blue?" I called, turning around to find Scorpius had disappeared.

I waited for him to answer, my hands on my hips as I swivelled pointlessly on my heels with pursed lips.

"Scor?"

There was still no reply. My foot impatiently tapped on the floor whilst I waited for Scorpius to return from the back room – where I was sure he had gone.

I cried out in shock when his arms seized me from behind and lifted me into the air, his defined chest pressing into my back. I didn't know when Scorpius had gotten so strong, but I was impressed.

"You scared the life out of me!" I scolded.

Scorpius was too busy laughing into my hair to apologise, not that he would have done so anyway.

Once he put me down I swatted his arm. Renewed laughter spilled forth, and I even thought I caught him wiping a tear from his eye.

"That wasn't funny."

"It definitely was! You should have seen your face! Like a banshee," he replied through chuckles. He wasn't so quick to laugh when my elbow jabbed him in the ribs.

Grumbling about him not knowing how to compliment, I walked back to the rail where I'd found the blue jumpers and picked one up, holding it against him.

"Blue?" Scorpius asked.

"Don't tell me – you could never dress like…"

"Professor Lofting?" he suggested, referencing the midnight blue robes and witches hat our Transfiguration teacher always wore.

I snorted and hung the jumper back on the rail. "So no blue?"

"No…blue's fine, just perhaps a different shade…I thought I saw some dress robes over there," Scorpius mumbled, pointing behind him at the back room. "Do you think you could take a look for me whilst I get a jumper?"

"Sure," I answered, already moving off.

At the door to the back room, I was met by the shop assistant, Mr Mellony (who, yes, always wore yellow), who promptly asked whether I wanted any help. "This teal colour would look fabulous with your hair," he cajoled.

"Oh, well that's nice and all…but I'm actually looking for something for my friend…"

"Ah, the young man out there is your boyfriend. Well, perhaps something to match then – you would both look marvellous in silver," he continued, oblivious to my protests that Scorpius wasn't my boyfriend.

"No-"

"-Well, if not silver, then it had better be this warm purple-"

"No, you don't understand, Mr Mellony-" I tried again.

"My, my, what a tricky customer…no silver, no purple…how about…"

"Mr Mellony-" I was cut off once more, but this time it wasn't the shop assistant. Rather it was Scorpius, who had already paid for his jumper and was wearing it under his zipped up leather jacket, leaning against the door frame.

"Something traditional?" he suggested.

"Traditional? Why would anyone want traditional?" Mr Mellony demanded, completely flabbergasted. "Traditional is the most utterly boring idea on the planet!"

"Mr Mellony," Scorpius began, "I'm going to let you in on a secret." He paused, took a deep breath and blurted, "My grandfather is Lucius Malfoy…now do you see why I need traditional style dress robes?"

With wide eyes and a small voice, Mr Mellony replied, "Of course, sir. Right this way, allow me to show you some definitive black silk cuts or perhaps a dark grey to go with your eyes."

"I'm sure either of this will be fine."

As he passed Scorpius rolled his eyes at me, but the situation wasn't really that funny.

I was left to wait as Scorpius tried on the first set of dress robes. It was quite sudden when the curtain was flung back and Scorpius walked out dressed in smart grey dress robes – the edges of his lapels made of shiny material – and a slim tie.

"What do you think?" he asked nervously.

"Perfect," I replied, trying to keep my voice level. Truth be told, I was having trouble staving off heart palpitations.

"You're sure? You don't think I should try on the black?"

I shook my head, certain that the grey dress robes would melt my heart. "No, the grey's fine. I'm sure your mother would prefer the grey, don't you think?"

"Yeah…you're probably right," Scorpius muttered, spinning and going back behind the curtain to change.

"Please. I'm always right," I whispered to myself.

After paying for the dress robes, Scorpius and I left Gladrag's, stepping back out into the bitterly cold winds.

"Where to now?" I asked, wishing I'd bought a pair of earmuffs to stop my ears stinging.

"Honeydukes?" Scorpius suggested, his warm breath rising in wisps of vapour.

I nodded and jumped down off the step outside Gladrag's front door, landing on a sheet of black ice and falling. Somehow, Scorpius managed to catch my arm and help me back onto my feet before my knees could smash into the ground.

"Thanks," I mumbled breathlessly.

Scorpius nodded and took my hand tightly in his own, explaining, "So you can't fall over," when I questioned him.

Together, we shuffled off towards Honeydukes, skirting any ice or frost we saw.

The green shop front welcomed us with the aroma of sugar, cinnamon, strawberries and every other scent imaginable. Inside, the shop was filled with Hogwarts students stocking up on Chocolate Frogs, Acid Pops, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Fizzing Whizzbees, Pepper Imps, Cockroach Clusters and Liquorice Wands.

"Excellent," Scorpius crowed. "They've got that new flavour of fudge in – Banoffee! I've wanted to try it for ages! Come on, Rose!"

Rolling my eyes at his childlike nature and the new bounce in his step, I allowed Scorpius to drag me to the counter where Ambrosius Flume took his order.

"Okay and here's you're two pounds of banoffee fudge. Have a good day," Mr Flume said cheerily.

With an almost manic glint in his eye, Scorpius lifted his two huge slabs of fudge off the counter and barged back through the throng of students to get to the door with me meekly following in his wake.

"I just want to pop in to see Uncle George," I told him as we made it out the door.

Scorpius griped about not being able to eat his fudge as we trudged back through the wind to the shop that used to be Zonko's Joke Shop. Not long after the war, whilst business still boomed, Uncle George had bought the premises and expanded Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. During the summer he'd let Fred and James help him out in the Diagon Alley shop, whilst he ran the Hogsmeade shop.

"Uncle George?" I called, when no-one answered the bell by the door.

Strangely, the shop was completely empty – not a single Hogwarts student was to be found stockpiling my uncle's best methods of cutting class.

Feeling that something terrible had happened, I drew my wand and stood ready. Still, nothing happened and I turned and frowned at Scorpius at the exact moment Uncle George and his shopful of customer's reappeared, sweeping hats off their heads, making me drop my wand. Green sparks flew from the end as I ducked and picked it up, turning red whilst Uncle George roared with laughter and congratulated his customers.

Scorpius' ears and cheeks were tinged red, his mouth a thin line as he struggled to keep a straight face.

"That was _not _funny, Uncle George!"

"Rosie, you're too highly strung. For my niece you're awfully straight-laced, but I guess you get that from your mother. Hermione always was the goody-two-shoes in your parent's relationship. She even tried to tell me and Fred off once – took some guts. She had a good bit of authority too…" My uncle trailed off as he was lost in memories. Blinking and jerking his head, he asked, "Anyway, what can I do for you, Rose?"

"Do I need a reason to come and see my favourite Uncle?"

"Favourite my ar-" began George, pausing as he seemed to think better of his choice of words. "Out with it. I'm the master of sweet-talking, Rose. What is it?"

"I was perhaps wondering whether you might ask Hugo to back off a bit…"

"Hugo? What's he done?" Uncle George asked, cocking his head and scratching the side of his face where he used to have an ear.

"Nothing yet," I replied. "But he's just being a little…overbearing."

"Right…well I'll have a word," Uncle George said uncertainly.

"Great, thanks. Come on, Scorpius, let's go."

"Hang on. I wanted to get a few decoy detonators-" Scorpius began.

"Wait a sec…" Uncle George muttered. "Scorpius..? He's not Draco's son, is he?" Wincing, I turned back to face my uncle and nodded. "And you're hanging about with a Malfoy because…"

"Because we're friends," I said slowly.

"Pssh." Uncle George walked around his counter and stared down Scorpius. "It's no wonder Hugo's being protective! Well, Rose Weasley, I won't be having words with your brother; I'll be giving him a pat on the back!"

"Good luck with that! He's not in Hogsmeade!"

"Why not?" George growled. "He's a third year, isn't he?"

"Yeah, but he got a detention," I explained with gritted teeth. I couldn't believe how rude my uncle was being. So far he hadn't even looked at Scorpius and quite frankly was acting like he wasn't even there.

"Well, I'll congratulate him in a letter then," Uncle George amended.

"Fine," I seethed, turning on my heel and storming from the shop, dragging Scorpius by his sleeve.

"Rose," he complained. "I wanted to buy some stuff."

"Are you seriously telling me that my _obnoxious, moron _of an uncle didn't bother you at all?"

He merely shrugged. "I'm used to it."

In an instant my anger was switched off and replaced by pity. I felt so sorry for Scorpius. All his life he'd been treated that way – bullied, attacked and ignored – because of who he was related to. He hadn't chosen his parents and he couldn't get rid of them or their reputation either.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"S'not your fault," he told me morosely.

Feeling useless, I turned and surveyed the street. "Come on, let's go and get a butterbeer."

Scorpius nodded and shoved his hands deep in his pockets, ambling after me towards the Three Broomsticks.

We got a small table with just two chairs and whilst Scorpius went to the bar to order two drinks from Hattie, Madam Rosmerta's daughter, I took my cloak off and whirled it over my chair. Scorpius returned with two frothy pint-sized glasses of butterbeer which he set down on the table before unzipping his jacket.

I sputtered and spat my mouthful of butterbeer all over him when I looked up and saw the woolly jumper which was the exact same shade as mine.

Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Really? Rose, this is brand new." He patted himself down with a paper napkin and sat down, sipping his drink, looking slightly happier. "So what time did you say you'd meet Victoire?"

"Erm, I said one o'clock," I answered, looking down at my watch, the 'minutes' hand circling the moon at the centre of the face.

"Right so that's still another half an hour…"

I nodded and returned us to silence by sipping some more of my drink.

Finally Scorpius cracked. "How about a game?"

"A game?" I asked doubtfully, worrying about Scorpius' idea of fun. I didn't particularly want to end up playing drinking games or placing bets.

"Sure. Our Twenty Questions game got cut short at that detention."

Smirking, I thought of that question which had come to me the day after our shared detention. "Alright, you're on. I'll go first."

Scorpius proffered his hand and nodded.

"Who was your first crush?"

"What? That's not a fair question, Rose, you're supposed to start with something easy like what's your favourite colour!" he protested.

"Scorpius, what's the point in asking you what you're favourite colour is when I can find that out by just looking at you?"

"Really, you girls can do that? Are you a mind-reader or something?" Scorpius asked in awe.

"_No_, are you boys all this stupid?"

"Ha ha, Rose," he said sarcastically. "Seriously though, now you have to tell me what my favourite colour is and how you know."

"Isn't it obvious?"

Scorpius shook his head.

Sighing, I held a hand to my face, covering my eyes, and replied exasperatedly, "You're wearing it."

"Black?" he asked in confusion, looking down at his skinny jeans.

"No! Turquoise!"

"Oh. Well, I'm not sure I would say it was my favourite colour," he muttered, looking down at the table. His eyes rose, however, and as he stared at me, he mumbled, "but it's definitely up there near the top of the list…"

I glanced anxiously from side to side as he stared at me, before clearing my throat and looking up at the ceiling.

Scorpius instantly looked away and said, "Right my turn," with a devilish smile.

"Come on, do your worst," I sighed.

"Who is your favourite cousin?"

I glared at him before saying, "I can't answer that."

"So you're giving me 'no comment'?"

"No comment," I nodded.

"Right. Back to the drawing board."

Scorpius leant back in his chair and was silent for a few minutes.

"Any day now would be great," I told him after draining the last dregs of my butterbeer.

"Have you ever…I don't know…sung in the shower?"

One of my eyebrows lifted as I looked at him in disbelief. "That is honestly the stupidest question I have ever heard."

"Well you said to hurry up and it was the first thing that came into my head," Scorpius snapped. "Now answer the question."

"Yes. Happy?"

"Yes. Right my turn again-"

"-What? No it's my turn. You just asked me a question," I argued.

"No," countered Scorpius slowly, "I asked you if you'd ever sung in the shower and then you asked me if I was happy ergo it's _my _turn to ask _you_ another question."

"That wasn't a proper question!"

"Well your voice rose at the end," he said with a smug smile.

"It wasn't a question asked within the game," I replied. "So I am taking _my _go now."

"Hurry up then."

"Fine. I will. Why are you called Scorpius?"

"Because my parents named me Scorpius," he answered like I was crazy.

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I guess because it's a family tradition to have old-fashioned names. I mean, my grandfather was called Lucius, but before him there was Abraxas – my great-grandfather – and Brutus."

"So nothing to do with constellations then?"

Scorpius laughed. "Nope. Just coincidence, I guess."

The questions continued, but every time I asked who Scorpius' first crush was he refused to answer, until Victoire arrived and sat down with a huff.

"Sorry I'm late, Rose, all the ice delayed the train-" she broke off unexpectedly as she saw Scorpius. "Rose, who is this?"

"Oh, Victoire meet Scorpius, Scorpius meet Victoire…"

"Pleasure to meet you," Victoire responded nodding to Scorpius who returned the gesture. "Where's Dom?" Victoire turned in her seat and looked about the pub, searching for her younger sister.

"I'm sure she won't be long – she was hanging about with Lily and Roxanne. Last I heard, the three of them wanted to hang about Ollivanders to lust after the new assistant there. I think his name's Gregory or something…"

"Typical," she laughed with a roll of her eyes.

"So…how was the honeymoon?" I asked, bouncing up and down in my seat.

Scorpius edged warily away and took a large gulp of his drink.

"Oh, Rose, it was just the most amazing place. I'm going to have to go back to Paris soon – I've fallen in love with the city! We went on the river cruise on the Seine and apparated to the top of the Eiffel Tower!"

"Show me pictures," I demanded.

Victoire delved into her handbag and retrieved a pack of photos, each the size of an A4 piece of paper.

"Oh you look adorable together!" I squealed when I saw the picture of them cuddled together on their boat on the Seine.

"I know, don't we just?"

"Girls," Scorpius muttered in that tone of voice which clearly suggested he thought we were aliens.

Both Victoire and I turned to look flatly at him, making him shrink into his seat.

"Scorpius?" a posh voice asked from behind me.

I whirled about and found myself face to face with a middle aged woman. I knew from one look at her blonde hair and pinched nose that she was related to Scorpius.

"Mother?" Scorpius asked with equal confusion.

"What are you doing here, son, and with these strangers?"

Scorpius palmed his forehead. "I haven't introduced you. How rude of me. Mother this is Rose, one of my friends, and this is her cousin, Victoire."

"Charmed," Astoria Malfoy said with fake politeness as she shook my hand, her fingers barely grasping mine in her limp handshake. It was almost as if she couldn't bring herself to touch my skin for fear of suddenly catching fire and spontaneously combusting. Either that or catching some contagious disease. "Scorpius, did you forget about our lunch?"

"Oh, I did. Sorry, Mum."

"No at all. We'd best be off though."

"Of course," he replied. "I've got to go, Rose. I'll see you back at school for rounds this evening, yeah?"

I nodded and wished him a good time, turning back to Victoire to see her mouth, "What a stuck up cow!"

I snickered and ducked under the table so Scorpius and his mother wouldn't notice.

When I resurfaced, Victoire eagerly asked, "So who is he?"

Before I could answer, Dom sat down in Scorpius' recently vacated seat and said, "Rose, why did I just pass Scorpius Malfoy in the doorway? You didn't come here with him, did you?"

"Scorpius _Malfoy_?" asked Victoire in horror. "Uncle Ron's going to kill you."

"We're just friends!"

Dom and Victoire shared a look that clearly said 'she's deluded.' I knew there was a reason I hated it when the pair of them were together. They were just too similar. It was like being faced with a dragon when they teamed up against you. And that was exactly what was happening.

Trying to avoid that, I quickly posed another question to Victoire, asking her about her and Teddy's new house. And just like that, the situation was evaded. I breathed a sigh of relief as Victoire gushed about the details.

"Oh, it's just lovely. The pair of you will have to come and stay! The guest suite is just marvellous – it's purple. And we've even got matching his and hers towels in the bathroom!"

Hours passed whilst I easily chatted away with Victoire and Dom.

"Oh, look at the time," Dom said in shock. "I'd better go and make sure Roxanne and Lily don't elope with Greg. See you, Sis."

Victoire stood and hugged her, then sat back down beside me once Dom had left.

"So you and Scorpius are just friends?"

I nodded.

"You're sure you don't fancy him? The lovey-dovey look in your eyes wasn't exactly showing that…"

I sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you."

Soon the whole story was tumbling from my mouth and Victoire was mumbling in shock, "And I thought he seemed like a nice guy…"

"No, Scorpius _is _a nice guy. In fact he's too nice for me."

"What do you mean, Rosie?"

"I'm not good enough for him," I muttered unintelligibly.

"Sure you are," Victoire asserted. "Rose, who always helps Molly with her homework?"

"Me."

"Yes, you. And who keeps the peace when the whole family is together at Christmas?"

"Me."

"Right. You do, Rose. You're a good person – don't let anybody tell you any different. If that's the kind of thing Scorpius is telling you than _he _doesn't deserve you."

"That's not what Scorpius is saying," I replied. "He's just so…so unattainable."

"Rose, have you not seen the way he looks at you? He likes you – you're the one that's holding out on him. Honestly, would you have pictured me with Teddy?"

I thought about it. Although Victoire and Teddy had been together for years, they didn't seem like a couple that would naturally be attracted to one another, but somehow they worked. Whilst Teddy was bookish, laid-back and good-natured; Victoire was highly strung and lived every second like it was her last. On the outside you'd think she was brash, the way she never slowed down and threw herself into everything that she came across (including puddles), but Victoire was just an eternally optimistic person.

When they were together, Teddy might roll his eyes at her, but it was obvious that he was deeply in love with Victoire. Everyone could see the look of adoration in his eyes, regardless of what colour he had made them.

"Maybe not," I answered.

"Yeah, I never did either…" Seeing my look of disbelief, she continued, "He loved me the whole time – like ever since I started at Hogwarts – and he never said anything. The idiot just watched me go through relationship after relationship, consoling me whenever I broke up with someone. It took him seven years to tell me, and even then it wasn't so much with words; he just more or less jumped me."

I laughed and thought about whether I could picture myself having a future with Scorpius, perhaps getting married.

Before the image was really complete, Victoire stood up and said, "Walk me back to the station?"

"Sure," I smiled, grabbing my cloak and swinging it over my shoulders to brave the cold once more.

A short while after leaving the pub, Victoire asked, "So are you going to get together with Scorpius?"

I shrugged and continued walking. "I'm thinking about it, I suppose. I don't want to rush into anything."

Victoire laughed. "Yep, that sounds like our Rose – always planning and preparing, thinking everything over before doing it."

"Not at all like you then."

"No, but every family needs their bull in a china shop," she quipped.

"Yeah but most families don't want someone to smash all the plates and bowls because they were dared to butter them up…"

"You know I never back out of a dare," Victoire replied, like the feat of demolishing our kitchen's supplies was nothing at all.

I rolled my eyes and tightly hugged her goodbye as we arrived at Hogsmeade Station, where the train waited with steam pouring from the front in pirouettes.

"I'll miss you, Rosie."

"I'll see you at Christmas," I promised.

She nodded and smiled. "Just think about what I said."

"Okay. Now you better go or the train's going to leave without you."

"That'd be just my luck," Victoire joked, as she boarded the train. From one of the windows she waved goodbye then left to find a seat.

Alone, I walked back up to school and was glad to finally drop into a seat before the fire in the Common Room.

"Good day?" Hugo asked.

I grinned, "Yeah, it was actually."

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><p><strong>AN: So, what will the spin off be about - let me know what you think in a review. If you get it right, you'll get a sneak peak at the next chapter...a little incentive for you all. Also, what did you think of Scorpius' Mum. She'll make a reappearance later in the story, so I'd love to know your opinions. In one of my other multichapter fics, I did a series of additional chapters from other characters POVs because the reviewers were so awesome (over 250). I may do the same with this story if you guys like the idea and are up to the challenge. So REVIEW!  
><strong>


	12. Gryffindor Vs Slytherin

**A/N: Okay, so here's the next chapter. I didn't get a lot of response for the last chapter, so I would really appreciate some reviews guys. It takes a lot of my time to write such long chapters for you, and I have school and work that I could be doing instead, so it would be nice to hear what you think. Not only is it great to get reader's opinions, but reviews also really help me improve the story and my writing as well as give me ideas of what else I can include. I hope you'll enjoy it. Let me know what you think. **

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><p>The clamour of over two hundred students shouting and screaming reverberated through the quidditch stadium as the fourteen players kicked off and soared into the air.<p>

Shouts of "Go, go, Gryffindor," came from my end of the stadium where I sat with Scorpius cheering on my former teammates and some of my family.

Lorcan and Lysander Scamander were sharing the commentator's duties and one of them – it was impossible to tell which – was currently running through the Gryffindor team line-up. The seven players, each clad in scarlet and gold robes, were hovering in a loose semicircle formation opposite the Slytherin players.

"And it's Potter, Seeker and captain of the team this year, stepping forwards to shake hands with Flint of Slytherin. Potter seems to have made some changes to the line-up this year. Replacing last year's keeper, John Smith, is none other than one of Potter's cousins, Louis Weasley. Another new addition to the team is Lily Potter, stepping into the shoes of Rose Weasley, as one third of the Gryffindor Chasers, with Fran Spinnet and Liam Thorpe. Lastly, as ever it's Fred Weasley, longest serving member of the team, and Mason Hunt as Beaters."

I picked up the binoculars hanging around my neck and examined the Slytherin line-up for myself as the other twin introduced them. It was easy to see that their tactics remained as they always had – brute strength and size rather than speed and skill. Hopefully, it would be an easy win for Gryffindor.

On the coach's whistle the quaffle, snitch and bludgers were released and the game began.

"I bet you," Scor said into my ear, "that Gryffindor will win by forty points."

"This is _Gryffindor _we're talking about. It'll be at least a seventy point difference."

"Shall we say ten sickles?"

Turning back to scrutinise the game for a minute, paying close attention to the formations my friends were flying in and the wind speed, I smirked and replied, "You're on."

"And the first ten points go to Gryffindor. Lily Potter, a surprise addition to the Gryffindor team, has neatly put the quaffle through the hoop after a side pass from Spinnet. But can Slytherin equalise?"

It was an odd experience sitting in the stands rather than being out on my broom playing. I missed the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair and the joy of soaring effortlessly above ground. I found myself leaning forwards in anticipation and running through the moves I would have made in my mind.

"Miss it?" Scorpius asked, leaning forwards with his elbows resting on his knees, propping his chin up on fists, so that he could see my face.

One corner of my mouth twisted up into a smile. "Yeah, I do actually."

A collective intake of breath filled the stadium as James was knocked from his broom by a beater's bat to the ribs. Fred was soon coming to his rescue, however, and was able to catch him and help him back onto his own broom.

"So it's a penalty to Gryffindor and Thorpe lines up to take it, and he's drifting off centre towards the right hoop, which doesn't seem like a strategy that would guarantee success-"

"-Lorcan, shut up. You don't know a thing about strategy-"

-"Oh and you do?"

"As a matter of fact, yes!" Lysander asserted, trying to tug the microphone from his brother's grasp.

In the few moments when everyone's attention was fixed on the arguing twins, Liam was able to shoot the quaffle through the centre hoop, past the Slytherin keeper's immobile body.

"Oi!" shouted Flint, berating his keeper. "Pay attention to the bloody ball, Quinlan!"

Scorpius and I snickered as we saw Quinlan turn beetroot red through our binoculars. With renewed vengeance, the Slytherin team threw themselves into a series of brutal fouls. Lily took an elbow to the face, whilst Louis was winded by two bludgers to the stomach in quick succession. It was a wonder he'd even managed to stay on his broom. Flint even attempted to kick James from his broom. Not a single member of the Gryffindor team escaped a foul. Fran was nursing a bumped head as Lily lined up to take her penalty.

"And Potter scores! Another goal for Gryffindor. Slytherin are really trailing now as Lily Potter's penalty takes the score up to 100 to 20."

But there had been no sign of the snitch. After fluttering up near the Ravenclaw audience's tower, it had disappeared. Despite his best efforts and continued searching, James had seen neither hide nor hair of the little golden ball.

I watched in wonder as James suddenly dived towards the ground, only pulling up his top of the range broomstick – the Shooting Excalibur – up just in time to avoid ploughing into the grass. No-one else on the Gryffindor quidditch team had ever been able to pull off such a manoeuvre. I'd tried it many times two summers ago and had just ended up totalling my broomstick. Dad had tried half-heartedly to repair it with Uncle Harry before deciding that it would be easier for his half-arsed attitude if he just bought me a replacement. My Cleansweep XXI was still in my trunk as pristine as if I'd never opened it.

"And Potter's seen the snitch!"

"I told you it would be at least seventy," I sang to Scorpius.

"Don't be too sure," he replied with uplifted eyebrows, nodding towards where Louis was dangling between two Slytherin players holding him in mid-air between two of the Gryffindor goalposts.

The stadium gasped, watching in horror.

"I didn't think Slytherin were _that _dirty," Roxie said behind me.

I turned to stare at her. "You've heard Uncle Harry's quidditch stories, haven't you?"

"Yeah, but that's much worse. I mean, look at Louis," Dom replied, looking worried for her younger brother. "He's only five foot tall, he'll be flattened. He shouldn't be playing quidditch."

Madam Hooch's whistle blew and she made to fly angrily towards the offending players, but before she'd even reached them, James had flattened his body against his broom handle and was soaring towards Louis' helpless form as he yelped.

Profanity flew from James' mouth, mixed into a stream of unrecognisable words. Wands were drawn from the inside of players' robes and beams of light flew past James' ears as he surged forward, taking Louis' arm and pulling him onto his broom behind him.

Dom breathed a sigh of relief, and I grinned as Gryffindor were given a penalty. But the snitch was gone again.

Spurred on by that foul on Louis, the Slytherin's were kicking, barging, elbowing and hitting the Gryffindor team at every opportunity. Every time the quaffle touched Lily's hands, she was attacked with bludgers that caused her to drop the ball into the waiting hands of the Slytherin chaser marking her. It was a brutal game tactic that somehow managed to allow Slytherin to finally draw ahead.

"And Puke-face-I mean Pukeman scores again for Slytherin. They lead Gryffindor 140 to 130."

"But hang on a minute," Lorcan or Lysander excitedly called, "the quaffle is back in Gryffindor possession. Rose-I mean Lily Potter – they look too similar-"

"No they don't," argued his brother.

"Yeah they do – they've both got red hair, haven't they? Anyway Potter's really picking up the speed and making her way through the Slytherin players. A dodge and dive lets her pass Flint. Only one more Slytherin player to beat and that's the keeper. She lines up. She shoots. And she SCO-misses."

Scorpius and I groaned.

"You could have made that shot," he commented, still stood up from preparing to celebrate Lily's goal.

"Maybe," I replied, sitting back down.

"There's no doubt. You're the school's second best chaser, Rose."

"Who's the first?" I asked, turning to look at him.

"Me."

"No seriously, who is it?"

"Me," he repeated. "Honestly, Rose, don't you remember last season?"

"I've tried not to," I told him, wincing as I remembered Gryffindor's defeat by Ravenclaw.

"You don't remember my totally awesome goal? The one where we lined up and Josh passed back to Hayley who passed back to me and then I lobbed it backwards through the hoop?"

"It _was_ pretty impressive," I conceded.

"Yeah but then James caught the snitch," Scorpius said with disappointment.

"Well let's hope he can do it again today then."

"I get 'House Pride' and all," he said, putting air quotations around house pride, "but why are you so against Slytherin? We other houses manage to get along with them okay."

"Some wounds are too deep to be healed," I answered absently as I focused on the game.

"So are you going to explain that or just let me be baffled?" Scorpius asked after waiting a few moments.

"Let's just say that grudges don't disappear with a few words, and everyone knows my parents were some of the most vocal against Volde-"

"-Don't say the name!"

"mort," I finished, making a point. "And some people, particularly the sons of Voldemort's supporters, can't bury the hatchet. Life just isn't that simple. And I don't know why you can't get over the name thing, Scor."

"'Cause he's He Who Must Not Be Named, isn't he? Plus it gives me goosebumps," Scorpius replied, sounding uncomfortable.

"Yea-oooh!" The stadium shouted as James dived after the snitch, where it was zigzagging along the ground, about to grab the golden ball, just as Flint used his foot to shove James, sending him and his broom ploughing into the ground.

Sounds of annoyance reached my ears and I turned to find Hugo pushing through the crowd of Gryffindors to come and sit next to me.

"Oi! Mind my foot," Dylan Finnigan exclaimed from my side.

"Sorry, Dylan, I just wanted to sit with Rose for a sec."

Still annoyed with Hugo for his actions towards Scorpius, I grumpily asked, "What is it?" My mood hadn't improved when, true to his word, Uncle George had sent a congratulatory letter by owl to my brother who had then delighted in showing me. Needless to say, that letter ended up ripped to shreds and thrown into the fire. It seemed that Uncle George had put Hugo on what he termed 'Scorpius Watch'; to make sure that nothing happened between us.

"I need to talk to you."

"Then talk," I rebutted, growing more infuriated when Hugh looked pointedly at Scor.

"I almost forgot, I said I'd give Tom back his notes on levitation potions. I'll just go-" Scorpius said lightly.

My hand clamped around Scorpius' wrist, stopping him as he was halfway out of his seat. "Anything you want to say to me you can say in front of Scorpius."

"Fine," he sighed. "What have you got Dad for Christmas? Could I go halves with you because I can't think of anything?"

I frowned, wondering why he hadn't wanted to say that infront of Scorpius. "Hugh! It's less than a month till the holidays start and you haven't got Dad a present?"

"Well if I had I wouldn't have asked, would I?"

"No need to be sarcastic. Why can't you just get him the new Chudley Cannon's jumper?"

"I've sort of got no money," he mumbled, looking down.

"Hugo, Dad gave you ten galleons at the beginning of term! What have you done with it all?"

Hugo didn't answer, but Scorpius shifted in his seat to look down into the crowd of Gryffindor students. I ignored him and stared at Hugo, hoping to force him to answer with what I hoped was a Mum-like glare. Finally, I gave up and told him he could share the large tub of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and the screaming 'do it now' post it notes I'd mail ordered.

As soon as Hugo was gone, I turned back to Scorpius.

"Sorry about that," I muttered, feeling exasperated.

"Don't worry about it."

"No really. I have no idea what's gotten into him. Hugh's usually so laid-back and he seemed really stressed just now."

"Look, don't tell him I said anything, but I sort of heard a rumour going around the fourth years that someone was running a betting ring-"

"-Hugo wouldn't do something as stupid as that," I said instantly.

"-and Josh Hollins – you know, from my house – was laughing about how much Hugo lost…I'm really sorry, you know, Rose."

"What are saying? That's Hugh's some sort of gambling addict?"

Scorpius winced and shifted uncomfortably. "Not quite, but I reckon he had a lot of money riding on this game."

"Well, thanks for telling me," I replied sadly, at a loss for what to do. Hugo wouldn't appreciate me barging in and telling him what to do, nor would he want me to tell our parents. I owed him that at least. After all, he'd never mentioned anything about Scorpius to any of my family.

"I can do one better than that," Scorpius told me, getting to his feet and disappearing into the crowd of people that suddenly jumped to their feet as Gryffindor scored, putting them back in the lead.

As the minutes passed, I worried over where he had gone and debated over going to look for him. In the end, I carried on watching the quidditch match, thinking that at least that way _he _knew where I was. But by the time, James caught the snitch and ended the game with Gryffindor winning by eighty points, Scorpius still had not returned.

Sighing, I got to my feet and followed Dom, Molly and Lucy out of the stadium. Whilst the three of them chatted happily about Gryffindor's victory and the party we were sure to have that evening, I dawdled behind, preoccupied by Scor's disappearance. I assumed that he had gone to see Hugo, and only hoped that he didn't make the situation between my two favourite boys worse. Just in front of the Entrance Hall doors, I paused and scanned the crowd of students, searching for him. I couldn't see him, but that's probably because he was suddenly next to me.

"Who are you looking for?" he asked, scaring the life out of me.

"Scor!" I scolded, playfully swatting his arm. "Where've you been? I was worried."

"Aw, Rose, you were worried about me. I just took care of some business."

"Oh please tell me this 'business' did not involve you beating a student up," I groaned.

"No! I just use my prefect status to destroy the betting ring…and some gentle persuasion to make sure that everyone got their money back…"

"Scor, you're the best!"

"Why thank you," he said, smiling and cocking his head.

"I could kiss you right now," I told him, feeling elated.

"What's stopping you?"

I gasped, shocked by how bold he was being. We hadn't talked about…well anything of the sort since our detention together. Sure, we still played twenty questions when we did rounds together, but we never asked anything too personal.

"Forget I said any-" Scor tried to say, as if he too couldn't believe the words that had come out of his mouth and regretted them, before I silenced him with my mouth.

His lips remained open and frozen from surprise, whilst I kissed him in front of practically the entire Hogwarts student body. In my head, I imagined a collective intake of breath at the sight of two prefects snogging in broad daylight.

"Rose!" someone exclaimed, dragging me by the shoulder away from him.

I found myself tucked under Dom's arms, as her eyes were wide in what looked strangely like anger.

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><p><strong>AN: It's a shorter chapter than usual, but I can honestly say that I couldn't really be bothered to write as much when you guys can't be bothered to review. Only two people reviewed the last chapter but over a hundred of you read it. I would really, really like to know what you think, otherwise I don't know if I should continue/change things. **


	13. Backwards

**A/N: Sorry for the last chapter where I accidentally wrote Lily Weasley instead of Potter and Lorcan and Lysander Lovegood rather than Scamander. It had been a LONG day and I just didn't notice. Thanks also to those of you who pointed it out to me. I did go back and correct it a day later. **

**The last chapter ended with a bit of a cliffie…so here's a recap:**

"_I could kiss you right now," I told him, feeling elated. _

"_What's stopping you?"_

_I gasped, shocked by how bold he was being. We hadn't talked about…well anything of the sort since our detention together. Sure, we still played twenty questions when we did rounds together, but we never asked anything too personal. _

"_Forget I said any-" Scor tried to say, as if he too couldn't believe the words that had come out of his mouth and regretted them, before I silenced him with my mouth. _

_His lips remained open and frozen from surprise, whilst I kissed him in front of practically the entire Hogwarts student body. In my head, I imagined a collective intake of breath at the sight of two prefects snogging in broad daylight. _

"_Rose!" someone exclaimed, dragging me by the shoulder away from him. _

_I found myself tucked under Dom's arms, as her eyes were wide in what looked strangely like anger. _

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><p>"Dom, what are you doing?"<p>

"Stopping you from being a moron," she answered, still dragging me backwards and seemingly doing so quite easily despite my kicking feet.

"I'm not being a moron!" I replied, my voice rising.

"Uh, hello? I just saw you kissing Scorpius."

"Yeah, and?"

"Scorpius _Malfoy_."

"And?" Honestly, if I wanted to snog Scorpius in public, then really that was my own decision to make.

Dom sighed and pulled me further away before I dug my heels in and brought us to a halt.

"Seriously, Dom, why is this such a problem?"

"Because he's a Malfoy! We've told you a thousand times and you just don't get it. Malfoys are cheats who think they can buy whatever they want: jobs, women, status. They're supporters of Voldemort, for Merlin's sake!"

"Dom, look no offence, but who I kiss is none of your business," I told her.

"The hell it isn't!" Dom exclaimed angrily. "I'm your cousin, Rose!"

And suddenly, right there and then, in the middle of the Entrance Hall Courtyard, Dom and I were arguing.

"If I want to kiss Scorpius I will. Nothing you do or say will stop me," I asserted.

"Oh yeah, and what about what the rest of us think?"

"I don't care what you think. You make your choices, Dom, and I'll make mine."

Dom scoffed. "Because that's how you treat your cousins. What about all the times I've been there for you? I've covered for you when you've been in trouble, lied for you, kept you company when you've been sick, let you copy my homework because you were too busy doing rounds. And now you're going to choose him over me?"

Before I could retort, Scorpius had jumped between us and his hands were on my arms, pushing me back a few steps.

"Look, Rose," he said calmly, "I don't want to come between you and your family-"

"You aren't. Dom's just being a total harpy!" I replied, shouting the end of my sentence to ensure my cousin heard.

Dom scowled and a grim grin settled over my face.

"Hey, like I was saying, your family is more important than me…so I don't know how about we take a few days to evaluate things and calm down," he suggested.

In a second I was deflated. "Evaluate things?"

"Yeah, make sure this is what we want? That we're not rushing into anything…"

"Oh, I get it."

"You do?" Scorpius asked hopefully.

"Yeah, you don't want to be with me anymore," I answered gloomily, moving past him and up the steps into the castle. Scorpius was frozen in shock, his mouth hanging open.

"Rose? Hey! Rose," Dom shouted after me.

I carried on running up the Grand Staircase, ignoring her.

"Rose!"

"What!" I shouted, whirling round to find her about ten steps behind me. "What? Is it not enough that you've split Scorpius and me up? What do you want now? Hmm? To kick me when I'm down? To say I told you so? Well, congratulations, Dom, you got what you wanted."

Leaving her speechless, I stomped up the stairs to the Common Room, angrily exclaiming a swear word as my foot got stuck in one of the trick steps. I wrenched my foot free, ignoring the click and pain that followed as I twisted my ankle. Every step I took towards Gryffindor Tower resulted in a stabbing pain that only increased in intensity. I only hoped I hadn't broken anything – that would have done nothing to improve my mood.

When I finally made it to the Tower, I stormed past the gaggle of First Years and headed up the stairs to my dormitory, diving onto my bed. Hot, angry tears spilled over and I buried my head in my pillow. The only sign I was crying was my shaking body.

From the dorm, I could hear my fellow house members arriving and getting the party started. The old gramophone had been winded to life and was blaring out a cheery tune I didn't recognise, whilst shouts and loud conversation could be heard over the top of it.

"Rose?" someone called from the doorway.

"Go away," I replied, blubbering slightly.

The next thing I felt, was the dip of the mattress as whoever it was sat down on the edge of my bed.

"Rose? Are you okay?" she asked gently, as I finally recognised the voice as belonging to Molly.

"Hi Molly," I sniffled, still not turning to face her.

"I'm sorry, Rose," she murmured, "For what it's worth, I thought Scorpius seemed alright." Her hand touched my back in support, and I rolled over to face her.

"I was so hesitant, and then I finally took a chance on having a relationship…and now it's over before it had even begun."

"It might not be."

"No, it is," I told my thirteen year old cousin. "You didn't hear him. He doesn't like me that way anymore."

"Are you sure you haven't got the wrong end of the stick again? That you didn't misunderstand? 'Cause it sure seemed to us like Scorpius really liked you."

I didn't have a lot of experience with boys, but from watching Muggle movies, I knew that guys only said they wanted to 'evaluate things' when they wanted to break up.

"Thanks for coming to see me, Molly," I said wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.

"That's okay. We weren't all against you and Scorpius, you know?"

"You weren't? Who else didn't care?" I asked, only vaguely interested. It wasn't as if the information would be of any use to me now that we would never be an item.

"Lucy and me mainly, but Fred wasn't too bothered. Lily, Dom and Hugh were the most against it, but I guess you knew that."

I nodded, remembering conversations where Lily had time and time again reminded me not to make the same mistakes twice. Stubbornly, I had told her that it wasn't Scor's fault and that things were different this time. I guess I should have listened to her. Not that I'd ever admit that. I wasn't that proud, but I was meant to be the clever one. If I told Lily that she had been right and I was wrong, what would that make me?

"Are you coming down to the party?" Molly asked.

I shook my head, determined to stay as far away from Dom, even if that meant I ended up spending the evening moping and alone. Besides, there was no way I could deal with the mood of celebration. Instead I sat up and rooted around in my trunk for a spare bit of parchment and a quill before beginning a letter to Victoire. I could really have done with a face-to-face conversation with her but that was impossible when everyone was partying in the Common Room. I'd have to wait until the Common Room emptied and then sneak down to use the fire. And it was unlikely that the party would finish before midnight, so I hunkered under my duvet, trying to keep warm, and began writing.

_Dear Victoire, _

_I hope you can find some time to read this away from prying eyes. _

_I did what you said…I took a chance and kissed Scorpius, but he doesn't want to be with me anymore. I'm not really on talking terms at the moment with__anyone but Lucy, Molly or Fred, so I'd really appreciate some advice._

_Anyway, I'd better get on with some homework._

_Much love,_

_Rose_

I sighed, and wearily climbed out of bed to find the string I kept in my desk for tying off letters. It was only eight o'clock. I had so much homework for my OWLs still, but I couldn't be bothered to do any of it. In the end I clambered back into bed and went to sleep.

I woke up late, when the dorm was empty once more, and headed down to breakfast. I walked straight past Dom and Lily, towards a group of second year girls and sat down near them. It wasn't long before Lucy came to join me.

"Hey, Rose," she murmured. "How are you?"

I shrugged, not really sure how I could sum up what I was feeling, and leant on my hands with my elbows either side of the bowl infront of me.

She nodded and began spreading topping onto her toast.

"Rose, could I have a quick talk?" Dan, the Head Boy, asked from behind my shoulder.

I nodded, wondering what he could want to talk about, and followed him out into the Entrance Hall where it was quieter away from the din of a thousand students eating breakfast.

"I've just had a talk with Scorpius, and his prefect rounds are conflicting with his quidditch training at the moment. So I've had to shuffle the pairs round – he'll be doing Fridays and Wednesdays with Katie, and you'll do the same days as before but with Albus. Is that okay?"

Numbly, I nodded, in disbelief that Scorpius was so desperate to avoid me that he had to stop doing rounds with me.

"Great, so you and Al can kick off tonight. Thanks, Rose, you're the best," Dan called over his shoulder, as he hurried up the Grand Staircase. Moments later, the Great Hall began to empty, so I darted through the crowd to collect my bag from Gryffindor Tower and then headed off to Herbology.

Dom was already there, waiting at the pots we usually worked at with Al. Without looking I walked straight past her and joined Lucy instead.

"What did Dan want earlier?" she asked interestedly.

"Oh, he was just letting me know Scor switched which days he was doing rounds," I replied unhappily.

I'd been hoping I could see him and get to the bottom of why his feelings had changed so quickly. If it was something to do with me, I could work on changing it that way, couldn't I?

"I'm sure you'll get back together, Rose."

"That would be kind of hard when we've never actually been together…"

"Really? We all thought that you were just lying about only being friends. You seemed so close… Anyway, I'm sure you'll work things out, you always do," Lucy said sympathetically as Al joined us.

"Ready for rounds tonight, Partner?" He was cheery – too cheery.

I nodded, and focused instead on the arrival of Professor Longbottom. He too was excitedly happy.

"Well, Class, we've almost finished everything we're supposed to cover in the first term so I've prepared a treat for today – planting some new conifer trees outdoors," he exclaimed, earning himself a round of moans and complaints from the Slytherins.

I sighed and picked up my stuff. Following Lucy and Al, I was given a small potted tree by Professor Longbottom and an area to plant it in. Just across the grounds, I could see the Ravenclaw fifth years gathered around Hagrid's Hut.

Miserably, I gathered with Lucy and Al, standing with the tree whilst they argued over where they wanted to plant the tree.

"Remember; Class, to pick places with the most natural light and plenty of space for the roots to spread. So, Flint, you may want to think about moving away from the clump of trees you are currently leaning against," Professor Longbottom called, moving towards Luke McClaggen and Dom.

"What do you think, Rose?"

I stared over at Hagrid's Hut trying to spot Scorpius' platinum blonde hair.

"Rose? Hello?" Al asked, breaking into my reverie and waving his hand infront of my face.

"What?" I asked impatiently.

"Where do you think we should plant the tree – over by the lake or closer to the greenhouses? It's the lake, right? I keep telling Lucy but she's being all stubborn and going on and on about the-"

"Why not over by Hagrid's Hut?"

Al and Lucy stared at me and shuffled uncomfortably.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, you don't want to dwell over Scor-"

"I just thought we could talk to Hagrid," I said sharply, interrupting Lucy's concern. Any mention of _his _name caused my heart to stop and die a little bit more.

"Okay then," Al conceded, still seeming nervous as he set off across the grounds, glancing back at me every now and again. "Will here do?"

I nodded and returned to trying to find Scorpius. I was sure that if I could find him and just talk to him, he'd tell me he didn't mean any of it. But I couldn't see him anywhere.

"Looking for someone?"

I turned, expecting to see Scorpius, joking and trying to scare me. My smile died halfway as I found myself face to face with Jack Flint.

"I heard you yesterday. It's good to know Scorpius has finally seen the light."

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice filled with venom and loathing.

"Professor Dipshit split our group up and told me to come and work with you," he explained, looking no less pleased to see me than I was to see him.

"Don't call him that," I sighed, turning away from him.

"I forgot you blood-traitors loved people like him."

Al pulled back his fist and smacked Jack straight on the nose. "Yeah, we stick up for each other too."

Jack gripped his nose and moaned in agony as blood trickled between his knuckles.

"You'll pay for that!"

"What are you going to do? Sue me? You're an idiotic, pathetic student, Jack. You've got no power. You're parents have no power. Who's going to help you – everyone hates you. Even your friends don't like you. Me? I've got my family to stand up for me, and trust me; you don't want to cross my dad. You've heard of him right…Harry Potter – the Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived…well he also happens to be the Head of the Auror Office…just saying. In future, you might want to remember that the times we live in aren't like those of your parents. There are no pure blood families, and we live in a time of peace where all we strive for his cooperation with other wizards, with other houses. So next time, why don't you think before you let infantile crap leave your mouth? Because in this world we protect our friends and families and we stand up for those around us, those weaker than ourselves."

Flint stood up and directed his wand towards his nose.

"Episkey."

A loud crack filled the area and his nose straightened. He then used his cloak sleeve to dab at his nose and clean away the blood.

"Well said, Al," Lucy said as Jack looked down at the ground, shocked and shamed by Al's brave reprimand because the truth was, bullies had no power anymore.

The rest of the lesson passed without incident, although Jack refused to speak a word to any of us. With him there, I didn't feel I could talk to Scorpius, so instead I had to content myself with watching him from afar.

It hurt to see him laughing and joking with fellow Ravenclaws, to see how close the girls stood to him, and how they leaned provocatively forward. If Jack saw that or my reaction, he didn't say anything and for that I was grateful. Another word from him about Scorpius was liable to make me slap him.

And unlike Albus, I cared about keeping my position as prefect. I'd already gotten a warning from Professor McGonagall after getting detention.

Feeling cheerful as we neared the end of term, Professor Longbottom didn't set any homework and ended the lesson early, so Al, Lucy and I headed into the castle to drop our bags off before lunch.

Unfortunately, at the bridge linking the grounds with the castle, we met with the Ravenclaws who Scorpius, surrounded by a group of girls, happened to be leading.

"Rose," he began awkwardly.

Sniffing, holding back tears, I replied, "Nice to see you've moved on so quickly."

"Rose, I-" he tried insistently.

Pushing past, ignoring the indignant cries of Scorpius girl friends, I stormed into the castle with Al and Lucy running after me.

They soon caught up to me, took one look at my facial expression and wisely left me alone for a while. You see, when I'm mad or upset, I have this facial expression that clearly says, "Leave me the **** alone." My family probably have a pet name for it or something but if they do, I haven't heard it.

Whilst they headed off to the lunch, I instead made my way to the library. It had always been a solace when I was younger, so I was hoping I would still be able to lose myself in a good book. The library was the reason I knew the exact mechanism of a Muggle printer and how I knew healing spells. I wasn't even meant to be taught them till I was in my Seventh year.

When I got to the library, there was a few people there – just the usual suspects: the geeks reading up and the layabouts finishing their homework before their next lesson. Dropping my bag by an empty seat, I moved about the aisles, perusing the shelves for a title that would catch my eye. In the end I picked up a copy of Daisy Sherrat's Advanced Defensive Magic and returned to my seat. I had roughly half an hour before my Care of Magical Creatures lesson, so I figured I could easily read through the first five chapters and then sign it out with Madam Pince to read the rest when I got a spare moment.

But when I opened the book, out fell a copy of _Teen Witch_.

I sighed in annoyance. _Honestly, this is meant to be a place of learning! _

Gripping it tightly, in one hand I threw it down onto the table and then froze, staring at the front cover.

_Expert Witch, Glinda Pennycot, helps you with your problems!_

Checking Madam Pince couldn't see, I picked up the magazine and slotted it back inside the book. My fingers shook slightly as they leafed through, trying to find the problem pages. When I finally found them, I still didn't feel I could relax.

Wouldn't it just be awfully embarrassing if someone saw me reading them?

Carefully, I rolled up the magazine and hid it in my bag and left, leaving my book on the table.

All through Care of Magical Creatures where Hagrid showed us the unicorns, I was aching to get the magazine out, to see what I could do to get Scorpius to like me again. I hadn't realised how much I had begun to depend on him and the thought that he would never again take my arm to stop me slipping over on some ice was not a good one.

Finally, the end of the lesson came and I breezed back up to the castle, Lucy rushing in my wake.

"Rose, did you not want to stroke the unicorns?"

"Hmm?" I asked, not really paying any attention.

"The unicorns-"

"Oh! The unicorns! Actually, I was feeling a bit ill – didn't want to pass anything on to them. I'm not sure Hagrid would forgive me if I did. In fact, I'm still feeling a bit queasy so I'm just going to head up to the Common Room," I rambled, calling to Lucy over my shoulder, "See you later!"

I could feel her staring after me, probably seriously contemplating that I was mentally ill.

I was out of breath by the time I'd run up to Gryffindor Tower, but I smiled to find the Common Room empty and took an armchair by the fire. It seemed everyone else had gone down for dinner.

My stomach rumbled at the thought of dinner, but I ignored it. I could always grab something from the kitchens whilst I did rounds with Al.

I scanned the problems in the magazine and hoped someone else would be in my situation. There were four stories: a girl from Hogwarts who was having trouble with her long distance relationship whilst her boyfriend attended Beauxbatons; an unnamed girl (who also hadn't said where she lived or went to school) who wanted advice on how to ask out the boy she liked, a girl looking for revenge on her former best friend and a girl who wanted advice on how to cure dragon pox. I read the first two problems and considered whether I might benefit from writing in myself – I could keep my entry anonymous and make sure I bought the next issue.

My thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Fred, followed by James who burst through the Portrait Hole whilst laughing and went up to their Dorm without even glancing at me. But their arrival meant that others would soon follow. I tore out the address for the magazine company and pocketed it before lobbing the rest of the magazine into the fire.

"Alright, Rose?" Molly asked from beside me. "You look a bit shifty…"

"I'm fine," I answered tersely, getting to my feet. "I'm just going to meet Al for rounds."

"Right…well he said to tell you he'd wait in the Great Hall."

I nodded my thanks and left, sighing with relief the minute the Fat Lady's Portrait closed after me.

It was too close a call. I wouldn't do it. It was a stupid idea anyway. As if Glinda Pennycot would be able to help me get Scorpius interested again. She didn't have the expertise of a real author like Bathilda Bagshot did, but then Bathilda Bagshot was a dead historian…so she wouldn't be much help either.

I scowled and walked away. If I ended up a spinster, I could always get a cat for company anyway.

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><p><strong>AN: Well, I'd love to hear your thoughts be they good or bad. Just let me know what you thought in a review. Thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter: tiiinam, LilyxJames4ever, Tanny Apple and pinkcraziness. You guys are the best! **


	14. Longing

**A/N: I really intended to get this updated sooner, but work caught up with me and my homework had to take precedence. I had three essays to do! :( I hope you'll forgive me. Let me know what you think of this chapter! It's set at Christmas, but I like to think of it as in honour of Valentine's Day tomorrow. Happy Valentine's to all of you (even if it is a day early...)!**

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><p>It had been two weeks since the incident after Herbology. I hadn't said a word to Scorpius since – he hadn't even given me a chance. He moved seats in all the lessons we had together, sitting right at the front of the classroom, where I couldn't talk to him. Then he stopped coming to Gobstones meetings. It wasn't long before every time I saw him he quickly changed direction and slipped down a secret passageway. It didn't matter where we were: in the corridors, in classrooms, in the Great Hall or even outside. He would always stop whatever he was doing; look at me with a pained expression and turn tail, walking in the opposite direction. I didn't understand what I'd done to make him hate me that much.<p>

Even Victoire hadn't had any advice for me when she wrote back. Her only words had been condolences that had done little to improve my depressive mood. It had gotten so bad that I had actually written to _Teen Witch _with my problem. I still hadn't seen my letter printed in the problem pages though.

I longed just to talk to him. Playing twenty questions would have been heaven compared to the situation we were now in. I'd been away from him for so long that I craved the sight of him almost as much as an addict would the smell of smoke. I was sure that just the sight of his grey eyes on me would make me melt like the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz.

But I was limited to brief glimpses that couldn't last me an hour let alone an entire day. Often, I would watch him training in the pouring rain and blustery winter gale-force winds on the quidditch pitch. He wouldn't see me, but then nor could I really see him. He'd worn me down slowly in those months of rounds and lessons together and he'd never stopped to build me back up, just left me broken.

Before I knew it, it was the end of term and the Christmas Party had drawn near again. Luke McClaggen had asked me to the party, as had Steve Finch-Fletchley and Jamie Bell from Hufflepuff but I'd turned them all down. Rumours had circulated the school that I had, however, agreed to be Luke's date – a rumour he had probably started himself anyway. Still, as Lucy instructed me, I rose above it and cancelled any plans I had to go to the Christmas Party. Instead, I was relying on Professor Slughorn's own party.

My whole family were in his little club, but usually Al and James would make up some excuse not to go, which Fred, Louis, Dom and Molly would catch on to. Only Lucy and I had attended before. This year, though, I told Lucy to go and have her fun at the party in the Great Hall and went up to Professor Slughorn's office myself, wearing a deep green dress that finished just below my knees. It had been the last gift I'd ever received from my great Auntie Muriel.

There were only a few of us there. Aside from me, Slughorn had invited the usual suspects: Agravius Lockhart, a seventh year; Morgead Thryste, a hermit of a boy who rarely strayed from Ravenclaw Tower; Xavier Howards, the son of the inventor of the Pylonisphere and foreign exchange student Javi Alexa Schmiri, a Spanish girl who attended Beauxbatons as a third year.

But stood beside Professor Slughorn, looking awkward in smart, black dress robes was Scorpius. I coughed and choked in surprise. I'd been expecting him to go to the Christmas Party with the rest of the school. If there were rumours about me and Luke, they were nothing compared to the whispers of Scorpius and his new girlfriend who was auspiciously names Venus Julia Livingstone-Hodge.

As her name suggested, she was rich beyond belief, spoilt rotten and just happened to also be the most beautiful girl in school. She turned her nose up at everything and everyone, except for, as it would seem, Scorpius.

"Are you alright, Rose?" Professor Slughorn asked with his voice permeated by the weakness only mead could give him.

I nodded, stroking my throat and grabbed the nearest cup of pumpkin juice to ease its aggravation.

"Scorpius was just telling me about the money his father has donated to St Mungos," he told me conversationally.

I nodded again, wishing he would leave me alone a minute so I could sneak out and head back to the Gryffindor Common Room. It must have been my lucky night, for mere seconds later; Javi spilt butterbeer all over Professor Slughorn's new rug. In the kerfuffle and chaos, I vacated my chair, leaving my half-drained cup on the table and practically ran from the room.

I didn't stop until I got to the Seventh Floor, where I slumped against the wall by the portrait of the Fat Lady, who had so conveniently decided to wander into another portrait somewhere.

For some reason, my hands shook as I smoothed out my dress.

"Rose!"

I knew that voice.

It had been too long since I heard it.

"Rose!" he called again, his voice echoing down the empty corridor. "Wait!"

I was waiting. Despite the instinct to run, my feet wouldn't move. My mind was screaming at me to walk away because I knew it wouldn't be too long before he hurt me again. But my body disobeyed, leaving me frozen on the spot.

He rounded the corner at speed, his smart shoes thwacking heavily against the cold, stone floor with each step. His hair was messy, his robes were flapping about everywhere and his cheeks were flushed red. I didn't care that he looked ridiculous. At the mere sight of him, of his lips forming my name, my heart began a staccato rhythm that couldn't be contained.

"Rose," he whispered, coming to a stop infront of me, his breath coming in wrenching gasps. "I can't do this anymore."

"Do what?" I cried, backing away slightly as I was finally able to move.

"I can't pretend like there's nothing between us. I can't leave you alone anymore. I can't let you move on and I can't not love you."

My head spun.

"Rose, I want you to be my girlfriend. I don't care what anybody else thinks, I don't care that your family hate me. I don't want this space to be between us," he murmured, as he took a step forwards and held my wrists in his hands. "I want you to be my side, day in and day out. It doesn't matter what everybody else says as long as we're true to each other."

"Scorpius…what you're saying…it doesn't make any sense."

"It makes every bit of sense," he whispered, his hands moving from my wrists to my cheeks, as he bent slightly and looked deep into my eyes. "What's not to understand? I, Scorpius Malfoy, love you, Rose Weasley. I truly do."

"But you said you wanted to take a break," I replied, my eyes watering with unshed tears.

"I didn't want to come between you and your family. I still loved you, still do, but I wanted you to be sure of what you wanted. After all, families are hard to replace, Rosie."

"Only my family call me Rosie…" I muttered, trying to find the truth in his eyes but getting lost in them.

"What's it going to take for you to believe me, Rose? Rosie? Whatever you want to be called?"

I stood there, no words coming to mind. He was certainly putting on a good show, but how did I know that there really hadn't been anything going on with Venus.

"Rose, I can't stand this silence. I can't stand to see you with McClaggen-"

"I'm not dating Luke," I mumbled.

"Good, because I'd have to beat him up otherwise," Scorpius said frankly.

"What about Venus?"

"What about her?"

I stared at him in disbelief. Did he honestly expect me to be his girlfriend whilst he was still going out with his last one?

"Rose! I'm not going out with Venus Livingstone-Hodge!"

"You missed out the Julia bit," I remarked distractedly. The old whiff of his cologne was coming back to me, intoxicating me again.

"Whatever. I don't care about that."

"Why not? She's attractive, more so than me," I told him quietly, looking down.

"Rose," he said sternly, pulling my chin up to make eye contact with me. "Don't ever say that again. _You _are the most beautiful girl in the world. I don't care if Venus _has _got the softest blonde hair and clearest skin. _Your _hair looks alive. It shines like the sun. And you've always got time and patience for everyone. Your perfect inside _and _out and that's all that matters. Besides, who wants to be with a girl who's got fifty names?" he joked.

I couldn't help smiling a little at that.

His thumbs rubbed gently over my cheeks. "So, will you be my girlfriend?"

In answer in threw my arms about his shoulders, hugging him as tears spilled over. He pulled back slightly to wipe away my tears.

"Why are you crying, silly?"

I was happy. He loved me, he really did. I'd just been too much of an idiot to see it.

I laughed lightly, so uncontrollably happy. He smiled widely and brushed his lips against mine.

"Is that a yes, by the way?" he suddenly asked, looking worried.

I smirked.

"Well? Don't leave me hanging in the dark, Rose?"

"Yes!" I cried, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him back to my lips, giving up everything I had. His lips were gentle against mine, but searching as if he was determined to find out all my secrets and share his own with me. One of his hands cupped my cheek, his long fingers brushing over my sensitive ears. My lips curved into a smile and my arms relaxed, reaching around his neck, where one of my hands twisted into the tangled hair at the nape of his neck, my fingernails lightly scratching his scalp.

My heart beat in exacerbated loudness but it was finally even, if a little quick. In our enclosed embrace, I could feel his heart pushing back against my own, making our own rhythm.

His hand found my back and rested in the well where my spine curved, a constant reminder that he was all around me. He was all I could smell. All I could feel and all I could see. I broke the kiss to look up at him again and revel in his closeness. His lips pressed against my forehead and he pulled me closer, both of his arms wrapping around my waist.

"I love you," he repeated for what must have been the fifteenth time.

I looked back up at him, resting my chin on his chest and gave him a small, shy smile.

"I love you too, you know," I whispered back.

I closed my eyes and buried my face in the crook of his neck, hugging him close to me.

"Rose?" someone asked in confusion and doubt.

Scorpius turned us around and I found myself looking at Lucy, who was smiling at us.

"You're back together?" she asked, sounding truly delighted.

Scorpius and I both nodded, as the Fat Lady decided to announce her return with the sarcastic words, "Well, they've been locked at the lip for the past ten minutes. If that isn't a sign that they're together, I don't know what is."

I blushed and hid my face in Scorpius' shoulder again.

"Well I'm happy for you," my cousin said, before giving the password to the Fat Lady and entering the Common Room.

"Come on," I told Scorpius, dashing through and pulling him by the hand before the portrait closed. "How was the party?" I asked Lu as she sat down in one of the arm chairs.

"Dreadful. Why d'you think I'm back so early?"

"What happened?" Scorpius asked, as we sat down next to each other on the sofa.

She looked between us, as if unsure that she should tell us before slowly explaining what had happened. "Well, it was going really well. The school booked the Shack Screechers this year, and it was so much fun. Then Al said you'd have enjoyed it, Rose, and James told him to, and I quote, 'Come off it. Rose doesn't enjoy anything anymore and it's our fault.'" Scorpius winced and I gently squeezed his hand.

"Go on," I told her.

"Well then Al corrected James and said that he, Molly and I hadn't done anything, it was the rest of them. So Dom slapped him and stormed off – I still don't know where she is, actually. And then everyone was in a bad mood all evening. Molly left to sit with her friends and I decided to come back up here. The mood is poisonous down there."

"Oh," was all I could say.

"I should thank you for being so supportive of Rose," Scorpius said sincerely to Lucy, who looked awkward but still smiled graciously and told him it was nothing.

"I just want you guys to be happy, after all. If that means being together so be it. It's really got nothing to do with the rest of us."

The portrait swung open again, and we all turned around to see who was coming in.

"What are you doing in the _Gryffindor _Common Room?" James demanded before Al elbowed him.

"You're meant to be apologising," he sternly reminded him before coming to stand beside me. Molly and Fred both joined him and then it was simply us against them: Hugo, James, Lily, Dom, Roxanne and Louis.

"We're sorry," James said gruffly, seeming to take charge.

I nodded, but I wasn't really ready to hear it.

Scorpius turned red as he continuously refrained from saying something. Judging from his expression, I could guess that his speech would have been filled with obscene language and much anger over the way my relatives had treated me. But they were family, I thought. We argued all the time – it was what families, siblings in particular, did. Only Scorpius was an only child – he might not know that.

"Come on, Scor," I muttered, standing up, "why don't we go for a walk?"

He nodded enthusiastically and followed me as I slipped through the slight space between my cousins and out the portrait hole.

The moment it closed, Scorpius launched into a tirade of anger, punching the wall once and then calming down as I stepped towards him and tried to soothe him.

"Rose?" Dom called, stepping back out into the corridor. "I really am sorry."

"I know," I told her, thinking she ought to be apologising to Scorpius too. The other thing: no-one had seemed to accept that Scorpius and I were going to be a couple either. I sighed, thinking things would get a lot harder before they got easier, and turned to walk for a while with Scorpius.

Twenty questions helped to calm Scorpius down, but he seemed too distracted to really play. In the end, we parted ways and I worriedly watched him head off to Ravenclaw Tower.

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><p>The journey home on the train began early. Scorpius came and sat in a carriage with me, Lucy and Al, where we ate far too many sweets and played games, many of which involved betting. By the time the train pulled into the platform at Kings Cross Station, I felt thoroughly sick and was out of pocket by a galleon in total.<p>

Scorpius and I said our goodbyes on board the train. Just because my cousins knew we were going out, didn't mean we wanted our parents to be privy to that knowledge. I couldn't help worrying that when my father did find out; he'd keel over and have a heart attack. I kissed him once, twice and one last time before dashing off the train and over to my mum and dad. Hugo soon joined us and we headed home.

We wouldn't be there long, but it was nice to be just the four of us for a little while before going the next day to Grandpa and Grandma Weasley's to stay with them and everyone else at the Burrow.

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><p><strong>AN: So, some real romance for Scorpius and Rose. But it looks like their relationship will still have its ups and downs even now they're together. Please review and let me know what you think. I'll try to update quicker this time, as I'm on half-term this week. Thanks for reading!**

**Chapter 15: [SPOILERS] Christmas at the Burrow…will Rose's parents find out about her and Scorpius? Will Dominique and the others finally accept that Rose loves Scorpius? **


	15. Christmas at the Burrow

**A/N: I'm so, so sorry for how long it has taken me to update. It's just gotten so hectic and I'm really busy. I also stupidly agreed to do overtime at work. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Review and let me know what you thought. Thanks go to LilyxJames4ever, Tanny Apple, roseyblack3422, dwarfperson and pinkcraziness for reviewing the last chapter!**

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><p>I woke up early, happy for once to hear the calls of the buzzards and the cries of the herons, and smiled. It was good to be home and I couldn't wait to get to the Burrow and see my grandparents again. I'd spent last Christmas with my Mum's parents and I was looking forward to eating Nana Molly's cooking again.<p>

As I went downstairs for breakfast, still in my old flannel pyjamas, I couldn't help humming.

My mother threw me a shocked glance but I barely saw it as I speared a pancake on my fork and put it onto my plate.

"Rosie, honey, are you okay?" she asked with concern.

"Me? I'm brilliant, Mum," I told her as I spooned a dollop of syrup onto my pancake.

She smiled and took the seat next to me as Hugo practically fell down the stairs and dropped into his chair.

"You seem happier," she remarked, pouring muesli into her cereal bowl.

"I am," I grinned as Hugo shot me a dark look.

He couldn't say anything though, as his mouth was already filled with half of a bacon sandwich my mother had somehow had the time to prepare for him. That wasn't to say he didn't try, it's just any words he'd said were lost in his mouthful and came out as an incoherent grumble.

"Don't speak with your mouth full, Hugo," Mum scolded.

"Sorry," he replied, though he didn't sound at all repentant.

"Ah, morning Weasleys," Dad called as he came down the stairs, narrowly avoiding hitting his head on the low ceiling.

"Morning Dad," I chirped. Hugo sullenly took another bite of his bacon butty, whereas my mother kissed his cheek as he passed her, picking up the paper off the kitchen counter.

"Ready for Christmas at the Burrow?" he asked, unfolding his paper and taking a bite of the last bacon sandwich.

"Uh huh!" I replied, smiling widely and picking up another pancake, drizzling melted chocolate over it.

Dad glanced up over the top of his paper and made eye contact with my mum, the pair of them shooting frantic glances at me as if I was in danger of keeling over dead. I wasn't usually that happy, but seriously it wasn't like I'd been chronically depressed for ten years. They were merely overreacting. Wasn't I allowed to be happy?

I rolled my eyes and hid another grin for fear of my parents carting me off to St Mungos over Christmas. That really would be a disaster.

As I stood and dropped my plate into the water-filled sink, I was aware of my parents' gaze still following me. Another merry tune popped into my head and I skipped up to my bedroom to get dressed. It would be nice, I thought, to see Victoire again. She was sure to be excited by my news.

I dressed simply in a pair of skinny jeans and my turquoise Weasley jumper, remembering the last time I had worn it with Scorpius. I knew now why he'd bought a jumper of his own in exactly the same shade. It was the same reason that it was his favourite colour. The reason why he'd followed me from Professor Slughorn's party and kissed me.

Again, I was humming as I dressed and packed a bag absentmindedly with pyjamas, clothes and my toothbrush. My other grandparents would be glad to know I was even taking the special toothpaste they always sent me.

Finally though, I was ready and my suitcase (which was conveniently smaller than my Hogwarts trunk) was bulging at the seams with the amount of clothes and presents I'd crammed into it.

"Rosie, are you ready yet?" Dad yelled up the stairs.

For the second time that morning, I rolled my eyes, scoffing at my dad's timing, and went downstairs, my suitcase dragging along the floor behind me.

"Yep, I'm ready," I finally replied, as I jumped the last stair and landed in front of my dad.

He ruffled my ginger hair and took the suitcase from me.

"Come on, we've been waiting for you for half an hour."

"Sorry," I said, smiling cheekily.

"Blood hell, what have you got crammed in here, Rosie?"

"Just my clothes-"

"-your wardrobe as well?"

"No," I answered curtly.

"You sure there isn't an undetectable extension charm on here, Rose?" Dad asked as he lugged the suitcase behind him.

"Dad," I groaned. "You know I don't know how to do that."

"Hermione, this isn't your suitcase is it?"

Mum looked up in confusion, glanced at the suitcase and shook her head.

Finally, he managed to drag the suitcase to the fireplace where Mum and Hugh were waiting, already wearing their old cloaks that we always used for floo travelling.

"Girls," my father tutted as he dropped the suitcase beside his feet and shook his head, "Who'd have 'em?"

"Hey!"

"Ron!" Mum reprimanded.

Dad laughed and handed my suitcase to me. I almost dropped it before tightening my grip against its unexpected weight.

"Ladies first then, Rose."

"What about Mum?" I asked pointedly.

"Fine youngest and wisest first," he amended.

I sighed, thinking about how Mum was cleverer than me and how Hugo was younger than me, and traipsed into the fireplace, my suitcase grating along the floor behind me. Dad handed me the floo powder pot and I took a handful, already practised in the art of travelling by floo powder. My eyes closed automatically as I threw it down onto the stone bottom of the fireplace.

"The Burrow," I commanded, trying to keep my arms (including my suitcase) as close to my body as was humanely possible.

All I was aware of was the spinning sensation and the press of soot and ash flying around me, landing on my face and my clothes.

"Ah, first again, Rosie-posie-pudding-and-pie," Grandpa said kindly, smiling his toothless grin like usual. He'd lost them all in one of his tinkering projects – looking down an exploding exhaust pipe was bound to blow out your teeth though, wasn't it?

"Merry Christmas, Grandpa," I greeted him as I stepped out of the fireplace, clearing the way for whoever would follow me.

Seconds later Hugo spun into existence amidst a flurry of green and grey ash.

He nodded to Grandpa and I and grabbed his backpack – how on earth he'd managed to even fit everything in it, I didn't know – and moodily left the room, heading upstairs to dump his stuff in the room the boys would have. All the boys except Fred and James always shared a room. Fred and James, on the other hand, had had their own room since before I could remember. It was an effort to limit the destruction they could cause, plus it stopped Al and James from arguing late into the night.

It was the same for us girls. Lily, Lucy, Dom, Molly, Roxie and me all shared Dad's old room which had been expanded up into the attic (once the ghoul had gone, of course) to be on two levels. Victoire used to bunk with us too, but she would obviously be sleeping with Teddy from now on. They were having the new room that had been built over the conservatory my grandparents had added three years ago.

"What's the matter with him?"

"Don't worry about it, Grandpa," I replied as Mum arrived, smiling and immediately wrapping Grandpa in a hug.

"Good to see you Hermione. You've got Fred and George's old room this year," he told her, his voice only quavering slightly as he mentioned my dead uncle.

She nodded and waited for Dad to come through.

"Rose, don't just stand there. Go and take your suitcase upstairs," she prompted.

"Sorr-" I began before I was abruptly cut off by Nana's shout of joy.

"Oh, you're here already!" she called, hurrying towards us and enveloping me in a warm hug. I could tell from the flour stains on her apron that she'd spent all morning making mince pies. The slightly spicy aroma also hung about her, making it feel like it truly was Christmas. "Arthur, why didn't you shout for me?" She shook her head at me as if to say, 'men, who'd have them' before beginning to rattle off a series of questions to me. "How's school, Rosie? Your mother's been only telling me good things. I hope you're studying hard. And how's that boy you met last year?"

"Michael?" I clarified. "I'm sure he's really good, Nana, but he's not attending Hogwarts this year-"

"-Oh, he's not going to Durmstrang, is he? I always thought he had a bit of a look about him," she gossiped.

"I don't know, Nana-"

"-And how are you, Hermione? It's lovely to see you again. I expect you'll be tired after travelling all the way from Hertfordshire to London and back yesterday."

Mum smiled at me, as did Grandpa, as we all found it impossible to get a word in edgeways. It only got worse when Dad arrived and she began fussing over him too.

"Oh, doesn't our Ronald look so grown up, Arthur?"

"Yes, Molly dear, but he's thirty seven. I don't think he wants you ruffling his hair and pulling his cheek."

"Thanks Dad," Dad whispered as Nana headed back into the kitchen.

"I suggest you all go upstairs before she comes back," Grandpa said equally as quietly.

"Come on, Rosie, I'll help you carry your case," Dad muttered, handing the one he'd been carrying to Mum. "Let's go."

Together, Dad and I carried my suitcase upstairs to the top floor, huffing and puffing the entire way.

When we pushed open the door to his old room, Dad gasped at the cerise pink wallpaper.

"My Chudley Cannons wallpaper…it's gone."

I rolled my eyes and dived onto my bed, looking up at the ceiling where I'd stuck up glow-in-the-dark stars that mapped the real constellations.

"See you later, Dad," I hinted.

"I know where I'm not wanted."

I laughed and called after him, "Love you!"

"Yeah, yeah."

I'd barely been in the room alone before Molly and Lucy ran in, breathless from running up the stairs.

"Rose, you should see Dad! He's bright red from the amount of lipstick Nana got on his face!"

I laughed. "Now _that _I'd pay to see, but if I don't stay here, someone will steal my bed."

"Rose Weasley, you read my mind," Lucy said sincerely, smirking as she sat on a bed of her own. "We came up to bagsy our beds."

"And we're not moving till everyone else gets here," Molly added, kicking off her shoes and lying down with her arms behind her head, looking laidback.

"While we're here, just the three of us waiting, why don't you tell us what happened with you and Scorpius?"

I laughed at Lucy's useless attempt at nonchalance. Subtlety never was her strong point.

"So, will you tell us?" Molly asked.

"Alright, if it gets you two off my back." Secretly it was nice to finally be able to talk about it. I know it had only been just over two days but I was dying to tell someone about Scorpius and I couldn't wait till Victoire got to the Burrow. Knowing her, she'd spend ages getting ready and would be the last to arrive.

I relayed the story, telling them how Scor had followed me and left the Christmas party, smiling reminiscently all the while as Molly and Lucy 'oohed' and 'awed' like they were at a fireworks display.

"And I said yes."

"Just like that? You said yes to be Scorpius' girlfriend just like that?"

"Yes, Lucy, just like that."

"I'd say I'm happy for you, but how do you know he's not trying to use you?" Lily asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"We're not friends with benefits, Lil, he's my boyfriend. Scorpius wouldn't do anything like that," I said through gritted teeth. What was it going to take for my family to get over his family's reputation?

"Really? It's just he's hurt you before. How do you know he won't again? You can only give the boy so many chances-"

"That wasn't his fault and you know it!" I told her hotly. "And for your information, Lily, Scorpius is still on his second chance."

The silence between the four of us was almost painful.

And then Dom arrived, pulling her pink, wheeled suitcase behind her, pausing in the doorway and looking between us.

"Hey…guys…looks like Roxie's going to get the worst pick of the beds then…"

We all nodded, but it wasn't like we were really interesting in making conversation.

In the end, Lucy and Molly were able to excuse themselves after Auntie Audrey popped her head around the door.

"Your father would like a word with you," she told them.

As Lucy and Molly left, I jumped up, threw my overly-heavy suitcase on my bed and followed them, desperate to escape the atmosphere in the bedroom. It was like someone had died.

I knew something was different from the moment I put my foot on the top stair. I could hear avid chatting coming from the kitchen and it didn't take me long to work out that Victoire and Teddy had finally arrived. I legged it down the stairs, my socks slipping on the polished floor with my speed, and found Teddy and Victoire stood around the table counter top with Nana, Grandpa, Uncle Harry, Auntie Ginny, Uncle Bill and Auntie Fleur and my parents.

"Rose!" Victoire squealed, leaping up and coming to hug me. "I'm so happy for you! I told you it would all work out with Sc-"

I slapped my hand over her mouth and dragged her out of the room, smiling in what I hoped was a reassuring manner at my parents and aunts and uncles.

As soon as we were out of the room, I removed my hand and shot Tori a sharp glare.

"Sorry," she winced. "Did I just put my foot in something?"

"I hope not. As you can imagine, I haven't told my parents yet about it."

Giving her a wry smile, I led the way to the conservatory, knowing it would be empty because it was always freezing in there in winter.

"I was so happy when I read your letter – you really need to work on your handwriting by the way, I could barely read it," she rambled.

Laughing, I replied, "I was on the train, Tori, and funnily enough my handwriting wasn't exactly the first thing on my mind." I remembered taking the scrap of parchment from my trunk and sneaking out of the carriage at midday while Scor snoozed to scrawl a quick note to Victoire away from Scorpius' prying eyes.

"True. Now why don't you tell me the whole story this time."

If anyone deserved to hear exactly what had happened between me and Scorpius, it was Tori. She was the one who had given me the courage to take a chance on having a relationship with him. If it wasn't for her, I'd never have kissed him that day after the quidditch match and we'd still be playing twenty questions every evening as best friends.

With Tori's endless questions though, and analysis of exactly what Scor meant when he said certain things, it took well over half an hour to get through the story.

When we finally got back to the kitchen, Uncle George, Auntie Angelina and Roxie and Fred had arrived and the family had moved into the living room – though my grandparents still didn't own enough chairs to seat everyone.

Teddy winked and smirked at me, his hair going flame red, as we entered the room.

"Teddy knows too?" I asked Victoire.

"You know I can't keep anything from him," she replied, going and sitting on his lap and throwing her arms around his neck, pushing her bottom lip out at me.

I roll my eyes and squeeze onto the arm of the chair Lucy occupied, smiling at her.

"Finally, you're back from gossiping," she murmured. "We can start the Christmas games now-"

"-Let the chess tournament begin," Dad announced, interrupting her and moving his first pawn forwards.

"Dad, you know it's just you and Uncle Bill who're going to play, right?"

We used to have this big tournament where everyone would play each other at wizard's chess, but it used to take literally seven days just to get through every match. Only Dad had protested when we ended the tradition. There were just too many of us. It wasn't so bad before Louis, Lily, Hugo and Roxie were old enough but there were twenty five of us when we were all together. That meant that ended up playing over fifty chess games in total because after I'd played Dad, I'd then have to play Al, and then I would be playing Tori and so on.

Instead, whilst Dad and Uncle Bill played chess, the rest of us would play categories – a Muggle game which we had added a magic twist to. Instead of playing with categories like country, celebrity, boy's name, girl's name, fruit, transport, animal and flower; we played with spell, wizard village, school of magic, inventor, girl's name, boy's name, constellation, magical creature and subject.

Uncle Charlie always managed to beat us when it came to getting magical creatures and, of course, no-one knew more spells than my mum.

After seven games of categories (only one of which I managed to win – I could always win one if we got an 'R' round), we moved onto playing karaoke to Nana's Celestina Warbeck music, though Fred and James soon hijacked the radio and changed it to a more modern station. After a few butterbeers, we managed to get Teddy to join in with our bad singing – he didn't know we'd slipped a few sips of firewhiskey into all of his drinks though. He was soon swaying with Tori under one of his arms, though it looked like he was relying on her more for balance than anything else.

When Fred and James had changed the radio station, Nana had gone into the kitchen and brought back a tray of mince pies, which we tucked into ravenously. Then she was back into the kitchen to dish up the Christmas vegetable soup we always ate on Christmas Eve, and we were filing into the dining room and squeezing around the table.

Everyone forgot about the mini argument we'd been having for the past couple of weeks as Uncle George kicked off with a joke. Needless to say it was one we'd all heard before.

"A man walks into a bar, what does he say?"

"Ouch. God, Dad, that joke is so old," Fred complained.

"But it's a classic, son. Have you got a better one?"

"Yeah, I have. I've been meaning to ask if you'd heard about the magic tractor. It went left and turned into a field."

"Come on, that's a Muggle joke – it's never going to beat the one about the ten brothers, the shack and the pile of-"

"Not at the dinner table, thank you, George," Nana interrupted, still very much capable of intimidating her son with a single look.

Uncle Bill and Uncle Charlie both snorted slightly, earning them a withering look from Nana too.

"I'll tell you a good joke," Hugo began, giving me a sly look. "Rose and her new boyfriend S-"

"-Our Rosie's got a boyfriend?" Dad demanded, looking me right in the eye.

Gulping, I nodded, shooting 'help me' looks at Tori and Lucy.

"That's what's got you buzzing like a bee then," Mum said, smiling gently and laying a hand over Dad's arm.

"Right. Who is it? I'll get the Auror Interrogation Service on him-"

"-Ronald," Mum interceded, calming him.

"Honestly, Ronald," Nana told him, "let Rose live her life. You don't want to scare off her poor boyfriend already, do you?"

Dad mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'that's exactly what I want to do' and Uncle Harry laughed before Auntie Ginny shot him a sharp look and elbowed him.

"Ron, did we ruin your relationship with your first girlfriend?" Auntie Ginny asked. I knew full well that Dad had tried to interfere in her relationships too. It was only when she got together with Uncle Harry that he'd taken more of a back seat. I guess he knew he could trust his best friend. On the other hand, I knew for a fact that if Dad ever found out that I was going out with Scorpius he would make Mum home educate me in a heartbeat after heading over to Malfoy Manor and shouting for a full hour at Scorpius and Draco Malfoy.

"No," he glumly admitted, grimacing at the thought of Lavender Brown. They'd remained friends, but she never really got over him getting together with Mum.

Whilst they all argued over whether Dad was allowed to interfere in my love life, I slipped from the room, aware of Teddy and Victoire's eyes on me. As I made my way upstairs to the bedroom, I hoped no-one would tell my parents it was Scorpius I was going out with. I'd rather keep that a secret.

As the bedroom floorboard creaked underfoot, I winced and hoped that it wouldn't be heard downstairs. But then, on second thoughts, if it redirected conversation, it would hopefully stop Hugo and anyone else from telling my parents that Scorpius Malfoy was my boyfriend.

It was driving me crazy to not know what was going on downstairs. I assumed that Dad couldn't know I was going out with Scor – I'd have heard the shouting, and he'd probably have already stormed up the stairs, thrown open the door and ranted to me if that was the case. The thought did occur to me, though, that he could be being restrained.

Desperate to know, I crept back downstairs and found the dining room empty. Instead, quiet – civilised sounding – conversation was coming from the living room again. I sidled round the corner and sighed in relief.

Dad didn't look angry. No-one looked like they knew about Scorpius. And they weren't talking about me anymore. On the whole, I'd say it was positive.

"Oh there you are, Rosie," Mum said, catching sight of me.

"Sorry, I felt a bit ill for a while," I muttered quickly, turning briefly red with the lie.

"Are you okay now, poppet?" she asked as I sat beside her, feeling my forehead with the back of her hand.

I nodded and smiled slightly to reassure her.

"Here's yours, Rose," Lucy said as she handed me a badly wrapped Christmas present.

I already knew what it was so I didn't quite get why Dad had still wrapped it. We always got pyjamas to open on Christmas Eve and wear that night and on Christmas morning.

Still, I waited until everyone had gotten their present before carefully opening the present, peeling off the spellotape so the paper could be used again. Inside, I had a pair of red pyjamas with 'Gryffindor Pride' on the front and 'No 1 Chaser' on the back. I guessed Dad couldn't know I was no longer on the Gryffindor Quidditch team either.

After an eggnog nightcap, we all headed up to bed. Whilst Dom, Lily, Lucy, Roxie and Molly all fell asleep fairly quickly, I found a roll of parchment and a quill and wrote a letter to Scorpius, wishing him a happy Christmas. I hadn't brought Daedalus, my owl, with me so I had to sneak back downstairs and borrow my grandparents' owl. I guess I was just lucky that Errol, their old owl, had died before I was born. He'd never have been able to make the journey.

When I woke up the next morning, pink light shone through the window from where the rising sun had sent coloured streaks of light through the sky.

"Happy Christmas," I mumbled to the others as I yawned and tried to convince myself to get out of bed. It was hard to muster the motivation when I knew it was freezing whilst I was warm tucked under my covers.

In the end, Lily took my duvet and threw it across the room. Pulling my legs up, I folded my arms around them and shivered despite the fact I was wearing my new fleecy pyjamas.

"Don't make me throw water on you, Rose," Lily threatened.

"Fine," I grumbled, getting up and immediately finding my Weasley jumper. I shivered again as I changed into a pair of beige skinny jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt and pulled the woolly jumper on over the top.

When we all hurried down the stairs, we found that the boys were already down and crowded around the Christmas tree, prodding and poking all the presents.

With each of us wearing our Weasley jumpers we looked like a rainbow. While I wore turquoise; Lily wore green; Albus wore a silvery grey one; James wore red; Fred wore purple; Roxanne wore navy; Hugo wore orange (and yes, it clashed horribly with his hair); Victoire wore yellow, Dom wore black, Louis wore dark green and Teddy wore a tan brown jumper. And my father still wore a maroon knitted jumper, which somehow looked perfect beside my mum's pale pink one. Uncle Harry had a green one – a shade between Lily's pastel green and Louis' hunter green jumpers whilst Aunt Ginny wore peach. Uncle George and Auntie Angie wore royal blue and magenta jumpers. In contrast to their darker hues, Uncle Percy wore sky blue and Aunt Audrey was dressed in her white jumper, looking the image of beauty. Auntie Fleur looked fabulous in her gold cardigan and Uncle Bill was resplendent in burgundy. Uncle Charlie was dressed in his ochre jumper and lastly, Nana and Grandpa were wearing lilac and charcoal coloured jumpers.

As everyone tore open their Christmas presents, I heard a slight tapping on the window and looked up, surprised to see Nimoy, my grandparents' tawny owl, sitting on the windowsill, with an envelope in his beak and a package tied to one of his legs.

I opened the window and the owl hopped inside, dropping the letter and holding out his leg for me to untie the parcel.

Written neatly on the brown paper wrapping were the words, 'open me first.'

Frowning, I slid my finger under the spellotape and opened the parcel, finding a present, wrapped in Christmas paper inside. There were so many layers of wrapping paper that it was like Pass the Parcel.

Finally, I got to the last layer and opened, finding nestled inside a beautiful necklace. On the end of the silver chain was a carefully crafted angel. It looked so fragile – its wings thin and long. With shaking hands I clipped it around my neck and opened the letter, in no doubt that the present was from Scorpius.

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><p><strong>AN: So let me know what you thought!**


	16. Interrogations

**A/N: I found this chapter quite hard to write, so I'd really appreciate any thoughts you have. I hope you like it. Thanks to NancyLoveless95 (apologies for the lack of full stop there - it won't show your name with it in), roseyblack3422, LilyxJames4ever, dwarfperson, Tanny Apple and anonymous for reviewing!  
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><p><em>Dear Rose, <em>

_Wishing you a merry Christmas with your family. I know you'll be sick of all the Celestina Warbeck by now, so I researched what is going to be on the other radio channels – why not try 98.76?_

_If I know you, and I think I do, you're probably wondering how I managed to buy you a gift at such short notice, and why I obviously spent so much money on you. The truth is I've had this necklace for a while and it didn't cost me a thing, so put your mind at rest. _

_My great, great grandfather gave it to his wife for their tenth anniversary, though where he got it, I don't know. When she passed away, it was passed down to my grandfather to give to his love, though in his youth he didn't yet have anyone to give it to. Nor do I believe he would have been so sentimental. Instead, he hid it in the attic, stuffed in a box of his school things. During the holidays two years ago, my own father made me sort through everything in the attic after I accidentally broke a family heirloom. I found it and kept it. After all, my family are hardly going to miss it when they forgot all about it._

_I've intended to give it to you for quite some time now. It is a priceless beauty, just as you are, and I want you to have it._

_So, make sure you have a happy Christmas. Don't murder Hugo – or anyone else for that matter – and I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on the 3__rd__. _

_Love, _

_Scorpius_

I smiled at his sweet words and looked down at the necklace once more. He really did spoil me.

"Rose?" Mum asked, looking up at me.

Whilst I'd been unwrapping Scorpius' present and reading his letter, the rest of my family had finished with their presents and were in confusion as to why there was still a large pile of unopened presents and who they belonged to.

"Sorry," I replied breezily, offering a simple sentence as an explanation, "Late present from someone at school."

She nodded and caught sight of the necklace around my neck, gasping at its shining beauty.

"Your boyfriend?"

"Erm…yeah."

Her eyes widened, and I was sure she was trying to work out how much it must have cost.

Lily looked up and her eyes zoomed in on the silver metal around my neck.

"He must really love you," Lily murmured, looking at me apologetically.

I frowned slightly, wondering how she had changed her opinion of my relationship with Scorpius so quickly.

"I guess he does."

Dad looked up, turned red and looked back down, presumably trying to stay calm. His hands shook with the effort of it.

"Aren't you going to open my present, sis?" Hugh asked, breaking the icy tension in the room as we all waiting to see if Dad would make his outburst.

I smiled gratefully at him and sank to the floor next to my pile of assorted gifts, each a different shape and wrapped in different paper. Picking up the one with the worst wrapping and yards of spellotape attached to it, I tore into Hugo's present and found a new bookend, a painted quill between the two perpendicular pieces of wood.

"Thanks, Hugh," I laughed, thinking about how my shelves of books were overflowing again. Dad was forever putting new shelves up in my room. He'd put a new one up the week before the end of term and moved a few of my books around, but they were falling over with nothing to keep them upright. The trouble was I was a hoarder. I never threw books away because of the off-chance that I might need them again or want to reread them in a few years' time.

"You're welcome, Rosie," he grinned. It was odd; he too seemed to have forgotten about how he'd been in a bad mood with me for days.

It was almost embarrassing as everyone watched me open my Christmas presents. If I didn't like something, I had no chance to try and act like I did because my expressions were under scrutiny.

Along with my bookend, I opened a colour changing pair of earmuffs from Lucy and Molly; books from my parents; a supply of practical jokes from Uncle George and Auntie Angelina; a book on the history of magical education from Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey; a massive bundle of sweets from Honeydukes from Al and James; a new chess set from Dom and Lily; what looked worryingly like love potion from Teddy and Victoire; singing earrings from Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur; a signed photo of the Holyhead Harpies from Auntie Ginny and a sneakoscope and three other dark detectors from Uncle Harry. Of course, my grandparents gave me a new jumper and some homemade roast dinner flavoured chewing gum.

"Thanks everyone," I grinned. Luckily I liked all my presents and didn't have to fall back on my terribly acting skills.

While Dad began the arduous task of collecting all the wrapping paper and throwing it into a bin bag, Mum drew me aside.

"I'm not trying to pry, Rose, but you would tell me who your boyfriend is if it was someone your father and I wouldn't approve of, wouldn't you?"

I shrugged noncommittally.

"Only your father and I are worried for you."

"Mum, I'm fine. He's a perfect gentleman," I told her, aware that Auntie Ginny and Auntie Angelina opened the living room door and joined us in the hall.

"All the same, I'd feel better if I knew."

Sighing, I relented. I wouldn't be able to keep it a secret forever, anyway. At least that way, Mum might be able to help me stop Dad from murdering Scor when he found out.

"It's Scorpius Malfoy," I hissed, but both my aunts heard anyway and stared at me with wide eyed shock.

Mum mumbled something as Auntie Angelina patted her on the shoulder.

"What, Mum?" I asked in dread.

"I just said I don't know why I'm so surprised."

"What?"

"As soon as I saw the necklace, I guessed."

"How?"

With a wry grin, she explained, "Rose, that necklace used to belong to Marie Antoinette and was sold for a very high price after her death. Only the Malfoy family would have been rich enough to buy something that expensive."

"I thought you hated each other," Auntie Ginny muttered to me.

"We did."

"How are you _dating _each other then?" she asked incredulously.

"It just kind of happened…" I mumbled, feeling shy under their combined gaze.

"And you didn't try to stop it?" contributed Auntie Angela to the awkward, embarrassing conversation.

I shrugged. I had fought the relationship, hadn't I? And then I'd given in, Scorpius wearing me down until _I _was the one who kissed _him. _

"As long as you're happy, Rose-"

"I am," I interrupted quickly.

"-Then I'm happy."

"Just don't tell your father, whatever you do," Aunt Ginny said with a strange facial expression somewhere between fear, excitement and happiness.

"Trust me. That won't be happening any time soon."

"Good."

"Yep, don't want Dad murdering my first boyfriend," I tried cheerily.

The fake grin froze on my face as Dad rounded the corner with his bin bag completely filled and tied up, ready to go out to the dustbin.

"Why would I do that?"

"No reason, Dad."

"I may not approve of the fact that my only daughter has a boyfriend at your age, but I'm not going to kill him."

"Well now that that's settled, I'm going to go…" I said, as I backed towards the door, desperate to get away from my Dad before I put my foot in it again.

The moment I got through the door, it took one look at James silent sniggers to work out that all of my cousins had been listening at the door.

"Really?"

"Should have used Muffliato then, shouldn't you?" he replied with a snort, not appearing in the slightest sorry.

I hardly breathed as I hissed the jinx under my breath, taking away James' voice.

"Still find it funny, Jamie?"

He merely pointed his wand at his throat and used the non-verbal counter-curse, but my message had sunk in.

"Dinner's ready!" Nana called timely.

I followed Lily and Lucy through to the dining room and sat down on the left hand side beside them and Hugh.

Roast potatoes were piled high along with mountains of Brussel sprouts. The aroma of roasted turkey, crisp and golden, surrounded by honey-coated carrots and parsnips filled the air. Picking up my fork, I began heaping food onto my plate regardless of how much Christmas weight I'd put on. Nana's cooking was addictive and I had two helpings followed by a large slice of Christmas pudding, complete with Brandy Butter.

I was stuffed when I laid down my spoon and pushed my bowl away from me.

"Off to bed with you all," Nana instructed to me and my cousins.

My chair scraped loudly against the floor as I pushed it back slowly and stood up, feeling like someone with arthritis as I tried to move.

The group of us, minus Victoire and Teddy who were staying downstairs to most likely drink away the evening because they were adults, tramped up the stairs, heavy footed and yawning despite the fact that it wasn't even nine o'clock.

"See you guys tomorrow," Fred called as the boys went to their room and we carried on up the stairs.

"Night," we collectively replied.

"I'm so full," moaned Roxanne.

"You didn't have seven slices of turkey," I complained.

"Nobody asked you to eat it, Rose," Lily laughed.

"It was just so good," I moaned, holding my stomach.

Molly snickered and grabbed hold of Lucy's shoulder to stop herself from falling over as Dom pushed open our bedroom door.

I weakly shoved my suitcase off my bed and lethargically collapsed on it.

Roxanne shut door and I wondered vaguely why everyone was so silent. Normally, we'd be laughing and talking all night. It was what always happened when we were all together.

"Get her," Dom shouted, grabbing my arm and hauling me up and into the chair.

"Guys!"

"Spill," Lily ordered.

"Spill what?"

"The necklace," she answered.

"What about the necklace?"

"You know what we mean," Lucy added, not sounding quite so rough as the others.

"What's there to know? You know Scorpius sent it to me."

"Yeah but he must have bought it a while ago to give to you so how long have you really been going out?" Dom asked with one of her eyebrows raised as if daring me to contradict her.

"Since the last day of term."

"Pull the other one, Rose," Lily muttered.

"Honestly, I'm not lying. He didn't buy it. It's been in his family for years," I explained, digging the letter out of my pocket and brandishing it out to them as evidence.

Lily scanned the letter and then murmured," Wow, he must really love you."

"I have been trying to tell you guys."

"Sorry," she and Dom muttered.

"Yeah, sorry," Roxie tagged on the end.

"Don't worry about it. Only…do you think you could let me up now?"

"Oh right, of course," she replied, letting go of my wrists where she had been holding them against the chair.

Molly let go of my legs, and I stood up, trying to rub the blood flow back into my arms.

"What are you going to do about Uncle Ron though?" Molly asked quietly.

"I don't know. Anyone got any ideas?"

"Elope?" Dom suggested doubtfully.

We all looked at her.

"What? At least that way, he won't be able to find her to skin her alive when he finds out."

"Dom, we're living in the 21st century, not the 19th," Roxanne told her.

Dom grumbled and sat down on her bed.

"You could just tell him yourself," Lily said. "That way he would have time to adjust to the idea before seeing you and Scorpius together."

"What if he goes mental though?" I asked.

"It's a chance you'll have to take, I guess," Lucy answered, looking grim.

I sighed and nodded.

"Come on, if we don't get into bed soon, they'll be up to tell us off."

I busied myself with changing; trying to avoid thinking about my father's possible reactions to the news that Scorpius was my boyfriend.

As I lay in bed, listening to Lucy and Molly whispered and giggling about their next door neighbour, I picked up my new necklace and looked at it in the moonlight, fingering the angel. What I would buy Scorpius, I didn't know. The only bad thing about his gift, was that I was now obligated to buy him something he would love just as much.

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><p><strong>AN: Review! Also, let me know what you think Rose should get Scorpius!**


	17. Drama Queen

**A/N: I'm so sorry for this late update. RL just caught up with me a bit. I've had the joys of exam results and a backlog of homework to do. I should really just do it the day it's set instead of leaving it to the day before it's due in but that would be too easy. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Thanks to The Real Batgirl, Words of A Feather, Aly, LilyxJames4ever, anonymous, pinkcrazyness and dwarfperson for reviewing the last chapter! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think. **

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><p>The rest of the holidays passed in a blur of celebrations, too large meals, playing Twister, gossiping, snowball fights (after it snowed on Boxing Day) and the whole thing was documented by Lily who took picture after picture on the camera her parents had given her.<p>

She wouldn't get a chance to develop them until we were back at Hogwarts, but it would be nice to see how they all turned out.

After spending Boxing Day with the whole family, we split up and went our separate ways, each travelling back to our own houses. Whilst my cousins spent the last eight days of their holiday catching up on all their homework, Hugh and I went to stay with my other grandparents for a few days. As always, my grandfather insisted on checking up on my teeth and gave me five different tubes of toothpaste and mouthwash.

The atmosphere was different – refined instead of being filled with vulgar jokes and pranks. Whenever we ate dinner, the conversation was peaceful and civilised, usually focusing on how Hugo and I were doing at school or what my parents were getting up to at work.

We spent just the two days with them and then had New Year celebrations at home. Uncle Harry and Auntie Ginny came round to have drinks with my parents but Lily, James and Al had gone to a friend's party, we were told.

It was only two days later that I was sat in the prefect's compartment on the train beside Scorpius, enjoying a pumpkin juice and a liquorice wand.

"You're wearing the necklace," he said with a smile, looking pleased.

I nodded.

"I don't know what I'm going to get you in return though-"

"-Rose, I don't wa-"

Cutting in, with a finger on his lips, I replied, "Don't say you don't want anything. I'm getting you a Christmas present, okay?"

Smirking, he nodded.

"So how was your Christmas?"

"Grandfather was down," he muttered with obvious displeasure.

Taking his hand and squeezing it, I asked, "What happened?"

"He and I had the same old argument. He told me to stop associating with, and I quote, 'impoverished blood traitors and worthless mudbloods'. He's the one that's worthless," Scor answered hotly.

I leaned my head against his shoulder. "It's just the way he was brought up-"

"Then why am I different?" Not giving me a chance to answer, he continued to speak in a tirade of anger. "He's just an ignorant, arrogant, brutish prat!"

It didn't stop there, but I started to zone out during the repeated swearing.

"Okay," Dan interrupted. "I've put you two back on rounds together. It's your turn to patrol the train now too."

I nodded and pulled Scorpius up.

He was still angry as we walked down the train, pausing to open compartment doors where loud noises erupted from. But, there was no-one actually making any trouble, except for my family of course. They'd managed to get a whole compartment to themselves again and were somehow all squeezed in though Louis was sitting on the floor.

Not only were they the loudest compartment, but they were also the only ones actually breaking the school rules. Levitating in the air was a screwed up, flaming ball of newspaper and the floor was littered in sweet wrappers. James and Fred were both sporting bruised eyes, suggesting they'd had a punch up and whilst Albus slept, James and Lily drew on his face in invisible ink. It wouldn't show up till the sunset, but I was sure that whatever was on his face would land him in detention the moment the artificial lighting of the castle fell on it.

I shot Scorpius a look and sighed before clearing my throat loudly.

"Ah, Rosie! You've decided to join us," exclaimed James. "Care to add something to our masterpiece?"

I shook my head, glancing at Al's slack-jawed expression as he woke up, blinking.

Fred and James both shook their heads and tutted, the conversations continuing around them. One look at Dominique and Roxanne told me they were talking about boys, whilst Louis and Hugo pored over a quidditch magazine and yelled out impressive statistics and facts over the uproar of James' groan of pain as Al kicked him by accident when he stretched out his legs.

"Everybody shut up!" I shouted, drawing their attention.

"Louis, I'm afraid you can't sit on the floor so you're going to have to go and sit with some friends," I began.

He nodded and rose without complaint.

"Why should he go just to make room for you and your boyfriend?" Hugh asked angrily.

"It's not to make room for me and Scorpius," I explained. "It's against the travel regulations for people to be sitting on the floor. What if there was an accident?"

Hugo looked away, his anger dissipating as he saw that my reasoning made sense.

"Someone is going to clear up these sweet wrappers because it is also the rule that we're not to litter the train-"

"-I'll do it," Scorpius murmured, looking awkward and glad for an excuse to avoid being the centre of attention for a while.

"Thank you, Scorpius," I told him before going back to addressing my family. "Al, go to the bathroom and wash your face."

"Why? There's nothing on my face…is there?"

I glanced momentarily at James, and Al exclaimed angrily, "For Merlin's sake, James! Why can't you just leave me alone?" We stared after him as he strode out of the compartment, muttering and grumbling to himself.

James gulped and looked apologetically at me.

"Don't apologise to me; apologise to Albus. You too, Lily."

They nodded and stood up, going after their brother.

"Fred, I don't want to know what happened, but I don't want to see you with another black eye all term. If I even hear a rumour of you fighting then I'll be writing home to Auntie Angelina."

He nodded and returned to his seat, looking glumly out the window.

"Dom, Roxie, can you turn it down a notch?"

They nodded and quietly restarted their conversation.

"Okay," I breathed, finally relaxing and slumping into a seat.

Scorpius slid in next to me and whispered, "I'm impressed."

Shooting him a grin, I replied, "So am I a bit. I've never really done that."

He looked surprised but said nothing. Instead he kissed me swiftly; just a peck on the lips but it was enough for Hugh to complain.

"Oh God, if you're going to start kissing, I'm going to find Louis," he muttered darkly, standing and leaving.

"Hugh!" I called after him. When he didn't respond, I mumbled, "What a drama queen."

Fred snorted and Scorpius bit his lip to restrain a laugh. Dom cackled outright and Roxie allowed herself a grin.

"It wasn't that funny," I told them all.

And that was it. Fred and Scorpius burst out laughing, struggling to breathe.

"Was it?" I asked myself philosophically.

Whilst I considered what exactly was so humorous about the comment, Fred apparently decided that Scorpius really was as nice as I had been saying.

"Never formally introduced myself," he said. "I'm Fred."

"Scorpius," Scor replied, shaking hands with a smile.

"What'd I miss?" James demanded as he came into the compartment breathless. "Heard laughing."

"Rose called Hugo a drama queen," Fred laughed again.

"Well we've known that for ages. He's always been a bit queer, hasn't he?"

I stopped smiling. Could he – no, I was being ridiculous for even contemplating the notion. Wasn't I? There was no way that Hugo was uncomfortable with my relationship because he was jealous and fancied Scorpius himself was there?

Scorpius noticed my expression of deep thought and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. When we got to Hogwarts, I was still trying to analyse everything Hugo had ever said to Scorpius or about him and the way he said it.

"You're a bit quiet," Scorpius remarked as he held my hand and helped me into a carriage.

I tried to smile, but I was still distracted.

"Just thinking," I told him.

"Anything I can help with?"

"Maybe another time," I mumbled.

"Okay."

We rose to the castle in silence, me too wrapped up in my thoughts about Hugo's sexuality and Scorpius probably worrying over what I was thinking about.

At the entrance hall, we kissed and went to our separate tables.

Lily pulled me to sit down next to her and commanded, "Spill."

"Sorry?" I asked absent-mindedly.

"Whatever's on your mind. Spill."

I glanced furtively around and down the table, seeking out Hugo. I didn't want him to overhear. Satisfied that he was too far away and that everyone else was busy with catching up still, I asked, "Do you think Hugo could be gay?"

Lily sputtered and spilt the pumpkin juice she'd been halfway through drinking. "Did I hear you right?" she asked, coughing.

Nodding, "Yeah, do you think he could be gay and that he fancies Scorpius?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Well, James said he was queer and he was acting like a total drama queen earlier, and he has always been a bit girly, hasn't he?"

"But why would you think he fancies Scorpius?" she hissed.

"Well, if he did and was jealous of me, it would explain all his antagonism…"

"Maybe he _is _just being protective," Lily suggested, lowering her voice again as Luke McClaggen looked over at us.

"I suppose."

"There's only one way to find out anyway. Ask Hugo."

I nodded, but that was the one thing I didn't want to do. If he wasn't gay, he would be so offended, but what would I do if he was?

The thought stayed with me all through dinner and I spent all evening trying to work out how I would even broach the topic with Hugo.

The next morning, Scorpius was waiting for me at the doors to the Great Hall, a stack of toast in his hand.

"Come on," he said, taking my hand.

"Aren't we sitting down?"

"Nope."

"Then where are we going?"

"Not telling."

I sighed. Sometimes getting answers from Scorpius was like getting blood from a stone.

I fell into step behind him and followed him up the grand staircase. At the third floor, I expected him to turn and head to Defence Against the Dark Arts – our first lesson of the day – but he simply carried on climbing the stairs.

When he got to the astronomy tower, he stopped and led me to a blanket spread on the floor.

"Morning picnic?" he asked with a wide smile, his eyes shining.

"I love you," I told him seriously.

He smiled again and sat down, folding his legs and patting the space opposite him. I sat down and kneeled with my legs to the side.

Offering me a piece of toast, he asked, "Want to talk about it yet?"

"Maybe another time," I replied, trying to avoid telling anyone else my suspicions and certainly not my boyfriend.

He nodded, munching his toast.

As we ate, I realised he really had thought of everything. Not only had he brought up toast from breakfast, but he also must have gotten up early and gone to the kitchens to get a flask of steaming tea for him and a coffee for me.

After hearing about Dad's uncle who died after seeing a grim, and hearing Uncle Harry's divination stories, I'd been unable to drink tea.

When the bell rang, we leapt up and Scorpius threw the blanket and what was left of our breakfast outside the window.

"Scor!" I scolded.

"What?" he grinned. "Filch'll clean it up."

It was no wonder Filch hated all the students when they purposefully littered.

I didn't have time to complain any more though, as Scorpius took my hand and began running, desperate to get back to the 3rd floor before Professor Howard could give us detentions for being late.

After taking a few secret passages and shortcuts – some I was sure even Fred didn't know about - we arrived just as she called the class in.

"Where we you at breakfast?" Dom began to ask before catching sight of Scorpius breathing heavily behind me and answering her own question with an 'oh' and a nod.

We hurried into the classroom and took back our old table, sitting side by side at the back of the room. All through the lesson, I was aware of Scorpius' hand resting on the back of my chair, inches away from my back.

As the end of lesson bell rang after the second hour, Professor Howard called out over the scraping of chairs, "So class, this week for homework I'm giving you a project to do in pairs. I would like you to research and write an argument for which spell you think is the best to use in a duel to be handed in next week."

I looked at Scorpius.

"Partners?"

"Sure."

"Library?"

"How did I knew you were going to say that?" he asked rhetorically.

Bumping my shoulder into him, I gave him a mock glare.

We went down a floor and to the library, for our free period. As we sat down at a table, Scorpius asked, "So, what do _you _think is the best spell?"

"Expelliarmus," I suggested.

"Don't you think you're a bit biased?" Scor laughed.

"What do you think is the best spell then?"

"I don't know. I've never been in a duel have I."

"What? Come off it. You expect me to believe that you've never fought anyone," I said in disbelief.

"And why is that so hard to believe?"

"Seriously? You're Scorpius Malfoy. You were always in trouble. How have you never been in a duel?"

"I don't want to die early, Rose," he told me, joking but somehow serious as well.

"Okay…"

"So Expelliarmus…why is it the best spell then?" he asked me, pulling a piece of parchment and a quill towards himself.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Aside from the whole, block a spell and send it rebounding on your opponent," he clarified.

"It gives you an advantage, doesn't it?"

"I guess so…"

In neat writing, Scorpius noted down our first two points and then stood and began searching the rows of books behind us.

I joined him, wondering which books would be the most help.

After half an hour we hadn't found anything of use.

Grumbling, I muttered, "This would be so much easier with the internet. For once, Muggles have the easier option."

Scorpius smiled at me, remembering our Muggle Studies teacher trying to explain the internet in a lesson last term.

"Perhaps we should ask Madam Pince…" I mumbled, pulling yet another book down and flicking through it hopefully.

"What use is she going to be? Besides she's busy ogling Filch, look."

I turned, sure that he was joking, but had to stifle a giggle as I saw that indeed the school librarian was staring a Filch as he paced past the library, chasing a sixth year student from Slytherin.

The lunch bell rang, so Scor and I shelved all the books we'd picked up. He stuffed the barely written on piece of parchment into his bag and slung it over his back.

"Meet you later?"

I nodded. "How about Gryffindor Common Room?"

"Yeah, fine," he replied, hurrying out of the library. He had a long journey out to Care of Magical Creatures after lunch and he needed to swap his books, I was sure.

I only had History of Magic, the textbook for which was already stowed in my bag. After lunch, I joined Al and Dom and the three of us mentally prepared ourselves for Professor Binns droning voice and fast paced lectures.

The lesson was a blur. I was only kept awake by the cold breeze coming through the ancient castle windows, but I made so many notes that they soon became illegible.

After one torturous hour, Professor Binns unexpectedly allowed us to leave, stating that he had a meeting with the headmistress to attend.

Dominique and Albus looked at me in glee, practically running out of the room and heading back to the common room, where they would most likely forget about their argument for Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was pointless talking to them about it, because both of them would roll their eyes and patronisingly say, 'We've got a week to do it, Rosie.'

Instead of going after them, I made my way downstairs and to the entrance courtyard, passing Hagrid of all people.

"Alrigh', Rose?"

I nodded and then remembered where Scorpius was. "Hagrid, aren't you meant to be teaching?"

"Got a staff meetin' with Professor McGonagall," he replied with pride, puffing his chest out and resting his hands on his hips. "Sumat abou' school policy on lateness."

I nodded and let him go, already seeing the crowd of Ravenclaws crossing the bridge.

Scorpius pushed through to get to me and kissed my cheek.

"You got let out early too?"

"Yeah, Hagrid said there's a staff meeting…I think all the teachers are going."

"Sweet," Scorpius exclaimed, happy to be out of lessons. "We going to your common room then?"

I nodded and led the way.

Judging by the number of students moving about the castle, my theory on the entire staff body meeting was correct.

When we got to the common room, it was already packed full of Gryffindors.

We settled in front of the fire by Lily and Dom who'd managed to grab the sofa and were just pulling out our homework when Hugo stormed in.

"Apparently, Firenze forgot about the meeting," he exclaimed to no-one in particular. Then he caught sight of us. "So it's not enough that you have to be around Rose on the train and at breakfast and in lessons, you've got to invade our Common Room too?"

"Hey! Stop being so rude to him! You don't even know what he's done for you!"

"What are you talking about?" Hugo demanded, glaring at me.

"He paid off your betting debts," I replied, just as angry.

Hugo threw down his bag and stormed back out, ignoring my calling after him.

I stood and glanced apologetically at Scorpius, making to run after my brother.

"Allow me," he offered, pulling me back down and pushing me onto the sofa next to Lily.

"No…Scor-" I tried, but he was already gone.

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><p><strong>AN: So, like I said, I'd love to know what you think! It's always nice to read your reviews. And for those of you eager to read it, I promise that Ron will find out about Scorpius before the end of the story!  
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	18. I Dare You

**A/N: For this chapter I would really love you guys to in your reviews tell me what you think Scorpius and Hugo talked about as I will be using them in the following chapter(s). I already got one suggestion from my best friend, Sarcastic-Bones, which I have used in this chapter but I would like some more ideas. I hope you like it. **

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><p>I couldn't help but worry as the clock ticked and I waited for my boyfriend and brother to return, hoping against hope that neither of them would bear a cut or bruise.<p>

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Molly said, trying to reassure me.

I nodded, but my heart still pounded in my chest and I barely heard the conversation going on around me. Every time the portrait swung open, I stopped breathing and made to move towards the door but it wasn't Hugo or Scorpius. Instead I watched Tracy come through first, then a group of four first years whose names I probably should have known, followed by Luke McClaggen and then two second years, a third year and three seventh year girls. I think I was lucky not to go into cardiac arrest.

I breathed a sigh of relief when finally Scor and Hugh returned, both of them free of any marks. Looking between them, I was surprised to find them both amiably smiling as Hugo waved goodnight and went up to bed. Al and Louis frowned before following him up the boy's dormitory stairs.

"What did you two talk about?" I asked, confounded by how they suddenly seemed to be friends.

"My family," Scor replied without hesitation, though his eyes shifted around and he wouldn't look me in the eye.

"I know what you look like when you lie," I reminded him, crossing my arms over my chest and preparing to wait the night to get an answer.

"Rose, it was just guy talk. Anyway, it's getting late. I should be getting back to my common room." I stood dreamily, as he pressed his lips to mine and then headed out the portrait hole, looking distracted.

"Was it just me or did anyone else think that was odd?" Lily asked thoughtfully.

I turned to find all my cousins with their hands in the air.

"Good to know I'm not going crazy…"

"Maybe I should ask Hugh what they talked about," I suggested to them.

"Already tried it," Louis commented as he and Al came back down the stairs and reclaimed their seats. "Hugo is not giving any details."

"Strange," Dom mumbled, doodling on the back of her potions textbook.

Everyone murmured their assent, but no-one was particularly forthcoming with a suggestion for why Scorpius had so blatantly lied to my face and why Hugo was being as forthcoming as a sealed box.

Forcing my mind away from the dilemma, I considered again what I might buy Scorpius for Christmas. I'd have to get something soon or I would be buying him a Valentine's gift at the same time.

I was staring at the back of James' new monthly quidditch magazine when it hit me. I could arrange a meeting between Scorpius and his favourite team, Falmouth Falcons. He'd love a chance to get their autographs and pictures.

It wasn't terribly romantic, but I could do something better for Valentine's Day, couldn't I?

After finally deciding what I was going to give Scorpius as a late Christmas present, I was free to turn my attention back to whatever it was he had talked about with Hugo. I hadn't voiced my concerns over his sexuality to Scor, so they couldn't have talked about that surely. If they hadn't talked about Scorpius' family, then what had they talked about?

I mulled it over all evening before falling asleep in the armchair and only waking up slightly as my cousins manhandled my drowsy body up into my dormitory.

The next morning came and I had a plan.

I was sure I could coerce Scorpius into telling me what he and Hugh had talked about. A girl could hold a lot of power of a man – there was so much she could use to bribe him, and if that failed, I could always fall back on the array of new spells I'd found whilst doing our Defence Against the Dark Arts homework.

I went down to breakfast and got a crick in the neck from spending too long craning my neck in search of him. Puzzled by his absence, I made my way with Al, Dom and Lucy to Potions. As we waited outside, I kept watch and was ready for Scorpius' arrival but he never came. When we took our seats around a table for four, aware that Professor Slughorn had rearranged the room presumably because he wanted us to work together as teams, he had still yet to arrive.

"Harvey," I hissed, trying to get the Ravenclaw fifth year's attention. He looked up and met my eyes with a question in his own. "Where's Scorpius?"

"Ill," he mouthed back before looking down at his textbook again whilst Professor Slughorn began to explain our task.

When he finished, Dom and I got up and retrieved the ingredients we would need from our bags.

"So, Lucy, how does it feel to sit with us again?" Al asked, referring to the fact that Lucy, and Molly too, had been distant from the rest of us since second year, preferring to sit with their friends rather than their cousins. Usually Lucy would sit with Tracy, Alice (a Hufflepuff fifth year) and Jane from Ravenclaw.

Ever since the drama with Scorpius, they'd become roped back into the family and we were closer than ever it seemed.

As Lucy answered Al, Dom turned to me and started questioning me again.

"Where's Scorpius?"

"According to Harvey, he's ill," I explained, beginning to worry. It was the first time I'd ever known Scorpius to be ill. He never got colds or anything.

"Makes sense," Dominique muttered as she read the textbook's instructions for the potion.

"Sorry?"

"Well, when he went after Hugo yesterday, I saw them through the window walking around outside and he wasn't wearing his cloak," she explained.

I nodded, deciding that I would use one of Uncle George's Skiving Snackboxes to get out of lessons and go and see him.

"Look, Rose, I don't think I can say it enough but I'm really sorry about how I reacted and everything…"

I didn't say anything whilst I focused on counting the number of times I was stirring our potion.

"I just…I don't know. I thought you didn't trust me – I mean I've been your best friend since forever and you didn't tell me about last year or anything. And then you kept telling us you didn't like him and I believed you. And you probably don't hear it or anything, but I kept hearing this gossip that he was blagging to his mates about using you or something-"

I stopped her with a look.

"-which I know now isn't true or anything," she rambled. "Anyway, I just wanted to say I was wrong. Scorpius is a good guy and I'm really happy for you both. I just hope you can forgive me."

I smiled and hugged her briefly, aware of Professor Slughorn moving about the room and drawing nearer to our table. As soon as the lesson ended, I began chewing the Nosebleed Nougat I had found in the bottom of my bag and made my way to Charms, skipping lunch. By the time I got there, my nose was bleeding profusely and I had blood all over the tissue I was using to try to stem the flow. Despite that, the blood had somehow flowed over my chin, down my neck and run all down the front of my robes.

Professor Richard's stumbled as he bumped into me coming out of his room to go to Lunch.

"Sorry Professor, I just can't see anything with this tissue," I said, my voice all nasally where I was clamping the tissue over my nose.

"Not at all, Miss Weasley. Miss Weasley, are you alright?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"No, I just can't get rid of this nosebleed – I've had it for twenty minutes now."

"Perhaps you'd best go to the hospital wing," she gently suggested, steering me towards the stairs.

I nodded. "Thanks professor."

As soon as she was out of sight, I crammed the other half of the sweet in my mouth and chewed. When the nosebleed had stopped, I pulled off my robes, leaving me in my skirt and shirt and then ran up to the fifth floor and took the passage to the Ravenclaw Common Room.

The eagle knocker asked me a riddle, as I knew it would.

"Why did the chicken cross the road?"

"For a multitude of reasons, I imagine, but most obviously to get to the other side."

The door swung open, and I entered past the ends of two bookcases and found myself looking at the back of Scorpius' head just over the back of the sofa with steam pouring out of his ears.

"Scor?"

He swivelled around slowly, his ears and cheeks pink, his nose running and looking like death warmed up. His eyes raked over the dried blood on my chin and neck and he demanded, "What happened to you?"

Walking around, I flopped onto the sofa beside him and snuggled into his side.

"Nosebleed Nougat," I explained, picking up the edge of the blanket he'd wrapped around him and pulling it about me too.

He nodded and picked up a bowl off his knee. Inside were pea-sized balls which he scooped a handful of and, with a grimace, threw into his mouth. Steam blew out of his ears again.

"What are you eating?"

"Pepper's Wasabi Peas," he mumbled as he munched away. "I'm trying to clear my nose so I can actually breathe."

"Why not just use Pepperup potion?" I asked, wrinkling my nose at the idea of wasabi peas.

"I'm allergic," he explained, grinning at my facial expression. "Dare you to eat one."

"No," I laughed.

"Don't be a chicken!"

"I'm not being a chicken! You know I don't like spicy stuff," I complained.

"Just one…go on," he begged. "For me."

"Fine," I groaned, accepting the pea he was holding out and reluctantly putting it in my mouth. I began coughing almost immediately.

Scorpius laughed. "Oh that was so worth it," he chuckled.

"You did that on purpose!"

"Did what?"

"You gave me one with loads of wasabi paste on it!"

He smirked and I shoved him playfully.

"Right, I've done my dare. Now it's time for yours."

"That's not part of the game, Rose-"

"-No buts," I told him.

"But I'm ill! You can't kick me when I'm down!"

"Watch me," I murmured evilly. "I dare you to do a selfless deed every day for a month." I knew how hard he'd find it – he just couldn't cope with people who weren't independent and needed someone to do everything for them.

"Easy win!" he crowed.

"I'll be keeping score _and _I get to judge what counts as selfless," I reminded him.

"How about we make this a bet too?"

"No," I told him, "No bets! I think I've had enough for a lifetime."

"Don't say that. Betting makes everything fun."

Rolling my eyes, I kissed his cheek and nestled into his side. His arm came up around my shoulders and he pressed his lips to the top of my head.

"Thanks for skiving for me," he said sleepily.

"Anytime," I yawned, closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.

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><p><strong>AN: Just a short chapter this time because I didn't have time to write any more. I hope you enjoyed it though. Let me know what you thought, and don't forget to let me know what you think Scorpius and Hugo talked about. I don't care if your suggestion is crazy or what it's about. It doesn't even have to be related to what's happening in the story/has happened, I just want to get you guys involved! So review!**


	19. About A Boy

**A/N: Hello! Thanks so much for those suggestions of what Hugo and Scorpius talked about! They were so fun to read and to write into this chapter. I wanted to make this chapter a bit longer, but I don't really have time. I'm already not doing an essay due in tomorrow to finish this and get it up. :P Plus, I had such fun writing it, that I wanted to share it with you guys straight away. So here it is!**

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><p>I woke up as the noise in the Ravenclaw Common Room picked up, crowds of Ravenclaw's coming in and drawing up short when they found a Gryffindor girl on the sofa with her boyfriend.<p>

"Isn't that Rose Weasley?" someone whispered.

My eyes moved behind their eyelids, as I wanted to know who said it but not reveal I was awake.

"Yeah…"

"I heard a rumour that she's going out with Scor," someone else hissed.

It didn't surprise me that people knew we were going out, but I was a bit caught off guard by the fact that his house mates seemed to use his nickname too. He always acted like me using it was a nuisance.

"Finally, he's been dancing around her for months!"

Murmurs of assent and chuckling spread through the crowd gathered around the back of the sofa.

"Wonder how he won her over," another unidentified person mumbled. "She's so unattainable…"

If I hadn't been focusing so hard on not moving and keeping my breathing even, I would have done a double take, gasped, blinked furiously and perhaps pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. How was I, Rose Weasley, unattainable? I was just ordinary, wasn't I?

"Yeah, but what girl can resist Scorpius? He's always had girls throwing themselves at him," someone responded miserably.

"That's true," another boy replied.

As the conversation continued with the Ravenclaw boys debating how Scorpius and I had got together, my muscles grew cramped and I longed to simply stretch my legs. My teeth were gritted together to stop a yawn slipping out and my limbs felt like iron, heavy and rock-solid against Scorpius.

Suddenly, he started awake as if coming out of a bad dream and instinctively pulled me close.

Finally I had an excuse to be awake and, most likely unconvincingly; I jumped and opened my eyes. The group of boys scattered and tried unsuccessfully to pretend to have been busy with other stuff.

"Rose?" he asked, seeming confused. His eyes flickered down and he seemed to realise how close we were, before pushing me back a bit and letting go of my waist to take my hand. His pale cheeks flushed red as my free hand caressed his face seeming to leave a trail of fire in its wake.

"Okay?"

He nodded as his breathing slowed, but there was a look of embarrassment about him.

"You should probably go…right?"

I nodded and began gathering my things, aware of everyone's eyes resting on me. My right hand fiddled nervously with my necklace as I said goodbye to my boyfriend in front of half his house.

"I'll…erm…see you tomorrow…"

He nodded and squeezed my left hand.

Turning bright red, I bent and kissed his cheek as quickly as I could and hurried from the room able to hear the gossiping start. With a fleeting glance over my shoulder, I saw the boys in our year converging on Scor and clapping him on the back.

It was only when I got back to Gryffindor Common Room that I realised I had forgotten to ask Scorpius again what he had talked about with my brother.

"How's Lover-Boy then?" Dom called loudly, leaning her head back over the back of the sofa to look at me.

"He's got a cold," I answered, throwing down my stuff into a chair and sliding onto its arm.

"Find out what he and Hugo talked about then?" she asked, leaning towards me in expectation of gossip. She really was shameless, I thought, as Hugo slammed the book he'd been reading on his knees closed and jogged up the Boy's dormitory stairs. "Oops…"

"I'll go," Fred muttered, smirking across a group of first years at James.

I resisted the urge to groan as I thought about what exactly Fred and James were up to.

"Well?" Dom demanded after a few moments as I continued to stare blankly at the boy's dormitory stairs.

Blinking and turning to face her, I replied, "Sorry. I was miles away-"

"-We'd noticed," Roxie mumbled, not looking up from gazing at Luke McClaggen.

I shot her a look.

"Well don't keep us hanging, Rosie," James commented, looking exasperated.

"No, I didn't find out. Happy?"

"Not really," he told me, down at the prospect of having nothing to gossip about.

"Well you're a guy, what do you think they talked about?" I asked him.

James laughed, "Obviously, Scorpius was counselling Hugh on how to actually get a girl to go out with him."

Lily slapped his arm and frowned. "Don't be mean!"

"What? It's true," Jamie told us, his arms raised in innocence. "I overheard him ask Rachel Bones out the other day and get turned down. He's just got no luck with the ladies!"

"No," Dom interrupted just as I was about to say something. "It can't be that. Look, Rose, let's face it. They're boys. All they care about is quidditch. They were probably talking about England's abysmal performance in the World Cup Qualifying again."

"Sexist!" James accused before Dom and Roxie threw him death glares whilst Lily stifled giggles at his look of fear behind her hand.

"Molly, what do you think?"

She looked up at me, taking in my desperate expression and confusion.

"Why Hugh seems to hate Scorpius?" she suggested.

"No, that's not right. They were blatantly talking about alien invasion," Al remarked.

"Please be serious!"

"It is a serious suggestion," Al replied in objection. "Lorcan and Lysander have some very convincing evidence of the existence of aliens. _And _there's a magazine called 'They Walk Among Us' which even has photos! We all have to be prepared. You know, contingency plans?"

"Don't worry, Rose, I can beat this aliens, conspiracy crap out of him," James said seriously, standing up and drawing his wand.

Lily was on her feet in a flash and taking his wand from him.

"I was only joking, honest," he muttered, holding his hand out for his wand.

"No, you're not getting it back until I'm sure you're not going to kill Al."

"Fine," James replied with a huff, giving in and falling back into his chair. He refused to stop muttering and shooting Albus frantic looks though, as if he was in danger of exploding.

"Will someone please give me a sensible suggestion?" I asked, looking in particular at Lily and Lucy – the voices of reason.

"Maybe Hugh's struggling with schoolwork?" Lucy said doubtfully with a shrug of her shoulders.

"But why wouldn't he come to me then?"

"No offense, Rose, but you're a little bit too high and mighty," Louis tried to tactfully say. Seeing how affronted I was, he continued, "I just mean that he would have found it hard to ask you because you're so good at everything and it's not like you'd do it for him-"

"-Shut up whilst you're still alive," Dom warned her brother.

"But it's not like that's what I think Hugh and Scorpius talked about anyway," he retorted.

"What do you think they talked about then?" I asked, sure I was going to get a good answer considering Hugh and Louis were pretty close friends.

"Well, considering he stormed out after you talked about his gambling debts, I would think it's obvious that they were talking about gambling and betting – it's something they have in common, after all."

"Gambling once isn't a gambling problem," James said with a roll of his eyes.

Louis looked awkwardly down at the floor.

"It happened more than once?" I demanded.

"Maybe…"

"Louis," Dominique and I both said sternly.

He looked between us as if trying to decide which of us was more intimidating before shrinking down in his chair and saying, "Twice."

Stunned, I backed off, wrapped up in my own thoughts.

Did Hugo have a serious problem? Or was it all just being blown out of proportion? Statistically, I knew that problems like gambling or mental health issues were often interlinked with issues in someone's personal life. What if I had caused his addiction?

Whilst Dom helped me into my seat because I was incapable of moving, Louis managed to sneak out of the Common Room. I didn't even see where he went.

"Rose?" Dom asked uncertainly. "Are you okay?"

"How many fingers am I holding up?" James asked.

Lily elbowed him. "That's for head injuries, you numpty!"

"Well how am I supposed to know," he grumbled, "I don't work in St Mungos, do I?"

"Why don't you and I get some fresh air," Lily suggested, offering her hand out to me.

I stared unseeingly at it for a few moments before she sighed and grabbed my wrist, dragging me to my feet. Before I knew it we were at the staircase, trying to navigate our way through the moving maze of stairs.

"Alright, tell me what you're thinking," she requested, slowing down and strolling towards the Entrance Hall.

"Well it's clearly my fault, isn't it?"

She shot me a look of doubt.

"But it is! I'm his sister and didn't even realise there was anything going on until it was too late. And these kinds of problems are always related to family problems, aren't they?"

"I think you're blowing things out of proportion, Rose. Hugh gambled twice – he's not a problem gambler yet."

"But what if he becomes one?" I demanded, irrational with worry. "What'll Mum and Dad say? It'll be my fault for not stopping him, I just know it. I'm meant to be the responsible one. And imagine what Dad will say if he finds out! I won't need to bother telling him about Scorpius for his head to explode – this'll do it before I have the chance! And that's without the complications of the fact that my brother might fancy my boyfriend. I mean, what do you think? Could they have talked about Hugo's feelings?"

"Rose, stop worrying! The only way to solve any of this stuff is to talk to Hugo himself! He's the only one who'll be able to tell you if he's gay and if he's still gambling!"

I was still fretting and talking to myself when she slapped me hard around the face.

"Rose, snap out of it!"

I winced and rubbed the sore spot on my cheek, giving her a bashful smile. "Thanks, I needed that." It hurt like hell, but the pain was distracting me from thinking about Hugo's sexuality and gambling.

"Not a problem, though I do hope the teacher's didn't see that…"

"You're right," I murmured. "I should just go and talk to Hugo. He's my brother, I owe it to him to be able to explain."

Lily nodded and followed me back up to Gryffindor Tower.

Hugo hadn't returned from the boy's dormitory it seemed, but Fred was back beside James.

"Any luck?" I asked him, gesturing up at the ceiling.

Fred shook his head and I sighed, almost nervous about what I was about to do.

"Well, I'm going to go and talk to him…"

Everyone looked at me, silently wishing me luck. I was going to need it, I thought.

The boy's dormitories were much like the girls' ones, I knew. I'd been in them often enough to drag James, Fred, Albus, Hugo and Louis out of bed in the mornings. Plus, in the summer, we would sometimes play pranks – throwing waterballoons at them whilst they were still in bed, that kind of thing.

"Hugh?" I asked apprehensively, my voice quiet but echoing through the doorway where I waited.

"What?" he demanded, obviously in a strop.

"Just came to see how you are…"

"Well, I'm fine!"

"Yeah right," I told him, entering and sitting at the foot of his bed with my knees drawn up under my chin. "I'm your sister; you can't pull the wool over _my _eyes, so spill."

"No, it's private," he asserted.

Tilting my head, I stared him down. He glared straight back.

"I'm trying to he-"

"No, Rose, you're not trying to help; you're trying to pry into my personal life! If I don't want to tell you want I talked about with Scorpius, I don't have to!"

"I wasn't going to ask about that!" I declared, annoyed that I was still being kept in the dark. "I just thought you might want to talk!"

"Well I don't!"

"Fine, just talk to Scorpius instead next time!"

"I will! At least I can talk about guy stuff with him without being mocked by my cousins!"

"So it is about a girl," I triumphantly exclaimed.

"Who said it was about a girl?"

"So it's about a boy?"

He gaped at me.

Taking his silence as confirmation, my eyes widened in disbelief and I couldn't help murmuring, "You are gay…"

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><p><strong>AN: Apologies for the abrupt ending. But it was a good place to stop. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think!**


	20. Outing

**A/N: Thanks to The Real Batgirl, Words of A Feather, Tanny Apple, dwarfperson, LilyxJames4ever and reviewer for reviewing the last chapter! Just to recap, you last saw Rose finally confronting Hugo and assuming he was gay because Hugo was stunned into silence. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think!**

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><p>Hugo continued to stare at me, unmoving. I could barely even see him breathing. He was almost catatonic.<p>

"Hugh?" I asked worriedly, waving my hand infront of his eyes.

He blinked rapidly a few times and then seemed to see me again.

"Hugo?" I repeated.

After a few moments, he demanded, "How did you find out?"

"I…I just guessed…"

Seeming not to believe me, he muttered, "I knew Scorpius would tell you-"

"-Tell me what? He's barely spoken to me since you two had your little 'guy talk'," I said, butting in.

Sighing, Hugo met my eyes. "What I'm about to tell you, you can't tell _anyone_."

I nodded, feeling intrigued.

"You're right," he said slowly, "I am gay – or at least I think I am."

Instantly, a million questions sprang to mind. How long had he known? Did he have his eye on anyone? Or had he already been in a relationship? Who else knew?

Knowing from my expression that I was about to launch into an interrogation, Hugo swiftly continued talking; answering the questions he guessed I was going to ask.

"I wouldn't know really because I haven't had a relationship with a guy yet…but I've never really been attracted to girls. James tried to set me up with Jenny once, but I just couldn't talk to her," he explained.

"That could just be nerves," I murmured, thinking about how Scorpius had previously shown his affection for me. Everyone was different – whilst he had used tricks and pranks, Teddy had used friendship on Victoire.

He shook his head insistently. "No, I looked at her and she was just a girl. She wasn't beautiful to me. She wasn't special and I saw her as a person, nothing more. There wasn't anything that drew me to her. But…I don't know how to explain it…when I look at a guy, I don't know, I just feel more me. Does that make sense?"

"I guess…"

"I can't explain it right," he angrily exclaimed, standing up and kicking at the post of his bed.

"You don't have to. You don't have to explain a single part of yourself, Hugh, it's who you are," I said gently, taking his hand and pulling him back down onto his bed.

His fingers squeezed mine and he gave me a wry grin.

"Anyway, when Scorpius went after me the other night…he said that he'd heard some rumours and it kind of all just came out. I'd never told anyone, and it was killing me – trying to hide who I was and pretending to be someone else. I should have guessed that you'd be supportive – after all, nobody wants to accept you and Scorpius, just like no-one will accept me after they find out," he told me glumly.

"You don't know that," I mumbled, pulling him into a hug. I stared at the wall, trying to find something else to say. I was way out of my depth. Everyone knew that although I was kind, I wasn't really that supportive. If you wanted support, you went to Victoire or Lily. They were the advice givers in the family. "And I'll always stand by you; I'm your sister, dummy."

"Great," he muttered sarcastically. "Now I feel awful about almost outing you and Scorpius to Mum and Dad."

"I wouldn't worry about it. Mum knows," I tried to say.

"I was just jealous-"

"-Of me?"

He nodded. "You've got to understand. I was miserable. I've never had anyone fancy me-"

"-That's not true," I objected. "What about Nancy Redmond? She's loved you since you were four."

"Be serious. Nobody has ever expressed any interest in me and I was lonely. And then I saw you and everywhere you went, you were happy – practically buzzing – and it was because of him. And I wanted that. I wanted someone who could make me feel that way, I still do."

I breathed a sigh of relief. My brother didn't fancy my boyfriend. For a moment, I'd been horrified that that was what he was going to say. Anyone could understand why he'd been so horrid for the past two months. Whilst Roxanne was perpetually in a relationship, the rest of us usually relied on each other for company.

"Well, we can fix that," I hesitantly replied, unsure how he would react. "I can be match-maker!"

"Merlin, no! There is no way I'm coming out! James and Fred won't stop mocking me. They're always going on about me never having had a girlfriend. You have to promise you won't tell anyone!"

"My lips are sealed."

"How do I know that Dominique won't get it out of you?" he asked, eyebrows raised. I was sure that somehow he knew of Dom's interrogation techniques. Perhaps her hitting us with pillows was louder than we thought. Or maybe the boys did just listen at the door.

"What do you want me to do? Swear the Unbreakable Vow?" I joked.

For a moment, it looked like he was considering it seriously.

"No, I'll just take your word for it."

"Look, I promise I won't tell anyone. I know what it's like to have a secret," I said pointedly.

He nodded.

"Thanks for being the best big sister," Hugh mumbled, turning pink and looking embarrassed to be caught saying such a thing.

Rolling my eyes, I brought him into another hug.

"No problem. Just remember I do occasionally shut up talking long enough to listen, yeah?"

He laughed.

"I'm sure it must be silent in the Common Room without you!"

Elbowing him, I stood up and walked to the door.

"Coming down? I think Fred was going to try to hit Filch with a dungbomb-"

"-Again?"

I nodded. He'd managed it at least once every year as Filch patrolled along the corridors on late nights.

"Nah. I think I'll just sit and read-"

"-The rest of us are playing poker…with the exploding snap cards and sherbet lemons, of course…"

"I'm there!"

Laughing, Hugo and I left his dorm only to find the entire Common Room watching the portrait hole with baited breath.

"Fred already gone?" I asked James.

He nodded, not tearing his eyes from the back of the Fat Lady's portrait. Suddenly it swung open and Fred tore through the room, wheezing and sweaty, his face blotchy and red.

"And the record is unbroken!" James declared, grabbing Fred's wrist and pulling it up into the air. "Fred Weasley has now, Ladies and Gents, managed to hit Filch with a dungbomb ten times and not get caught! What an achievement!"

"Close one, that one," Fred panted as the second year boys crowded around him, obviously impressed and seeking tips.

"Alright, everyone, back to the poker game!" James called.

He, Al, Fred and Louis all sat down immediately. Dom wasn't slow to join them, but Lily and Roxie looked doubtfully at the piles of cards.

"No pulling out," James told them, picking up his cards and grinning ecstatically.

Clearly he knew nothing about poker faces.

Lily and Roxie, playing as a team, smirked at one another and sat down as Hugh and I joined them. A few of the First Years looked on in fascination – too young to understand the rules and play. But some of the older ones had either already played or were waiting for the next game to start.

Fred began, taking a handful of sherbet lemons and placing them as his bet in the centre of our circle.

I picked up my own pile of cards and surveyed the black and red cards. A few moments later, I picked out four sherbet lemons and placed them in the centre.

Around the circle, play passed until there were more than twenty four sherbets in the centre of our circle.

Just before Fred could lay down his cards one of them exploded. He swore and exclaimed, "And I had two kings, as well!"

James snickered and laid down his cards before anything could happen to them. "Three of a kind," he told us, obviously pleased with himself.

Dom grumbled as laid down her single pair.

Lily and Dom were in exultations as Roxie threw down their straight.

"Take that brother!" Lily said to James.

"Hugh?" I asked.

He put down his two jacks and two fours quietly, leaving Al and Louis to put their hands down. Neither of them though could beat Lily or Roxanne.

"Well, what have you got Rose?" James asked, already scooting the pile of sweets towards Lily and Roxie.

"Oh, just a four of a kind," I answered nonchalantly.

"What?" Lily demanded.

"No!" Roxanne half-shouted.

"Rose wins," James announced, pushing the sweets across the floor to me.

"Looks like she got all her mum's genes then," Fred hissed to Jamie.

"Yeah, now we know why Hugo's so useless with the girls – he's stuck with Uncle Ron's genes," James replied with a snort.

"Oi!" Hugo shouted angrily, standing over them.

"What are you going to do? Drown us in your tears?" Fred quipped, nudging James as they both fell about laughing.

Hugo stormed upstairs again.

"Well done," Lily muttered, looking darkly at my two insensitive cousins.

"Yeah, I just spent half an hour talking him round and you guys set him off again. Why can't you just leave him alone?"

They shrugged.

Done speaking and scowling, I too stormed off, heading to my own dormitory. Dom and Lucy followed (though where Lucy had ever been sitting, I didn't know. Of course, she and Molly hadn't played poker with us – Uncle Percy would kill them if he ever found out about it) with the rest of the girls behind them, and then Al and Louis drawing up the rear.

"Merlin, James and Fred are such idiots," Roxie muttered, as she and Lily decided to join the rest of us in my dorm. Unfortunately Al and Louis were forced to stand in the doorway to be able to talk with us.

"Hugh has been a bit tetchy this week though, don't you think?" Dom asked.

Molly nodded whilst I tried to appear busy.

"Hey, Rose, weren't you talking to him earlier?"

"Yeah…"

It was barely an hour since I'd promised not to tell anyone that Hugo was gay and I was already being tested.

"So?" Dom asked.

"So what?"

She looked incredulously at Roxie, who stared back at her, looking just as surprised at my apparent lack of comprehension.

"What did you talk about?" she prompted.

"Oh, just…stuff," I replied, opening my bag and taking out the books inside it.

"Stuff?" Al echoed. "Merlin's pants, you're as bad as Hugo himself!"

"Don't forget about Scorpius too," Roxie added.

"It was just, you know, about Mother's Day."

"Right," Lily said, though it was obvious she didn't believe me.

"Well, I think we'd better get to bed," I told them, trying to be brusque.

Al grudgingly agreed and they dispersed, leaving just me and Lucy with a sleeping Tracy.

When I woke the next morning with the sun streaming through the window, I had a brief moment of panic. I couldn't breathe. Try as I might, my nose was too blocked. Realisation soon dawned on me though, and I groaned, cursing Scorpius for giving me his cold.

I hated having colds, so there and then, I decided I couldn't be bothered to get up for lessons and just returned to sleep, only to be shaken awake twenty minutes later by Dom.

"Rose, you've got Arithmancy in fifteen minutes time!"

"So?" I asked, yawning and trying to keep my eyes open long enough to gain a clear picture of her.

"Now I know there's definitely something wrong, you love Arithmancy," she muttered, more to herself than to me.

Huffing, I rolled over and declared, "I'm not going to lessons 'cause I've got a cold."

"Right…I'll let Professor Vector know then," she mumbled, leaving as I drifted back off.

When I next woke up, my stomach was rumbling. Hungry, I could only think about the food I had missed at breakfast. Pasties and pastries, cereal, toast, full English, bacon butties, tea and coffee, pumpkin juice and everything else the house elves cooked up.

My stomach grumbled another complaint as someone said, "Looks like I arrived just in time," scaring the life out of me. In a second my wand was in my hand, pointing towards the door and I was shouting Expelliarmus, purely on reflex.

"Hey, it's only me," Scorpius protested, bending over to pick up the bag he had been forced to drop when my spell had hit him.

"Sorry. Instinct."

He nodded and dived onto the bed, crushing my feet.

"Ow, get up, ow, ouch, move," I told him as he rolled and shifted around, until he'd pretty much squashed all of me.

Finally, he was lying beside me, lounging back against my pillows with his hands tucked behind his head.

"Morning, Rose," he said brightly.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, unable to cope with any and all enthusiasm.

"Coming to see my beautiful girlfriend, of course. A little birdie told me she wasn't feeling well-"

"-Dom," I cursed.

-"So I've brought some supplies."

"Not wasabi peas! I don't care how much you pay me, I'm not eating them," I told him stubbornly.

Rolling his eyes, he replied, "I'm not going to make you eat wasabi peas. Of course, it might help if you did…"

I shot him a glare.

"…I had them and look how well I am…" he muttered, trailing off as he caught sight of my 'not amused' facial expression. Clearing his throat, he continued, "So anyway, I've got soup and chocolate and ice cream – Ben and Jerry's because it's the best, of course – and some cold medicine."

Cheering up slightly, I sat up straight and placed a kiss on his cheek.

He grinned and opened the canister of soup he'd pulled from his bag.

"Drink up and then I'll give you the medicine," he instructed.

I took it from him and tentatively sniffed at it, smiling with relief as I realised it was just tomato flavoured. I don't know how Scorpius knew that it was my favourite, but I was grateful he did. Any kind of broth – the usual treatment for colds at Hogwarts – would have made me throw up.

Once the soup was gone, Scorpius handed me a bottle so old that its label had long ago fallen off. Trusting him more, I poured some into a spoon without hesitation and swallowed it down, grimacing slightly at its rubbery texture.

"And now that you've done the horrible part, you get the treat," Scorpius told me gleefully, breaking out the tub of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and two spoons.

"Chocolate Fudge Brownie. Nice Choice."

He grinned and handed me a spoon, offering me the tub first.

"I could really do with a film right about now," I sighed.

Scorpius held up a finger and pulled from his bag what looked like a Muggle iPod though it had clearly been tampered with.

I looked at him in confusion.

"I bought it from someone who fixed it to run on magic so it still works in Hogwarts," he explained.

"Please tell me it wasn't my grandfather."

"No, it wasn't Mr Weasley," he laughed, using his finger to scroll down the screen. "So what do you fancy…When In Rome, Immortals, Despicable Me, The Island, The Inbetweener's Movie, Easy A, Johnny English or Tangled?"

"Those are your films?" I asked, smirking.

"Well…I edited out the ones I didn't think you'd want to see…"

"Right, so you actually have more war films?"

"Yeah, the rest is all manly films," he assured me.

"Manly films like…"

"Black Hawk Down and The Losers and Chariots of Fire and The Hurt Locker-"

"-Right, I get the picture. You don't have that many girly films," I interrupted, stopping him from listing a whole lot of films I would probably never watch.

"So what do you want to watch?"

"When in Rome?" I suggested, lying back down.

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><p><strong>AN: So there you have it. Hugo's secret is out…well, kind of. I hope I wrote this chapter in a realistic way, but I'm a bit nervous about it. So let me know what you thought on the conversation between Hugh and Rose. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. A note on Scorpius' films - they were just the first ones of my own that I saw or the first films I could think of. Anyway, remember to review!  
><strong>


	21. To Laugh or To Cough

**A/N: I'm so sorry for how long it has been since I last updated. Believe it or not I had this chapter written and ready to be uploaded on the 5****th**** of April. Unfortunately the same day, my laptop decided to misbehave and I had to send it away for repairs. When I got it back at the weekend just gone though, my hard drive had been wiped and I didn't have a full back-up of this chapter. So I lost most of my work on it and had to rewrite it. I'm sad to say that I don't think this is as long as the original version, but I can't really remember what I had written. Anyway, I hope you'll forgive me for my absence and that you'll like this chapter.**

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><p>The film started as I snuggled back into Scor's chest with him looping his arms around my waist and pressing his cheek against the top of my head.<p>

As the beginning credits rolled up, a thought occurred to me.

"How did you even get in here?" I mumbled, my question obscured slightly by my blocked nose and sore throat.

"Sorry?"

I repeated the question, growing slightly annoyed at being ill and unable to be understood.

"I have my ways," he replied mysteriously.

"Care to reveal the secret?"

"Nope, the film's starting."

Rolling my eyes, I turned my attentions to the iPod that rested against my stomach where he held it.

"I know by the way," I yawned, smiling at the film because everyone had begun to celebrate the engagement of Beth and Brady Sacks, getting the wrong end of the stick.

"Know what?" Scorpius asked.

"I know about your talk with Hugo."

He leant to the side to look warily at me.

Rolling my eyes, I continued, "I know he's _gay_."

"Oh thank Merlin!" he exclaimed. "I hate hiding things and keeping secrets from you."

I smiled and laid my hand over his.

"I know."

He kissed the top of my head and tightened his arms about my waist.

We lay in silence watching the film for a few moments before my curiosity got the better of me and I asked, "So what happened exactly with you and Hugo?"

"I'm not sure I should tell you…"

"I already know he's gay so what difference is telling me how you found out going to make?" I reminded him with a wry smile.

"I guess you're right," he replied before beginning his tale. "So you remember I followed him from your Common Room?"

I nodded, tipping my head back to look at him.

"Well, I hurried after him – he was walking kind of quickly so I ended up running to keep up and kept shouting his name, but he just ignored me and sped up. Eventually we were both running through the corridors, and even though I managed to draw level with him, I couldn't get Hugo to stop until I backed him into a corner round by Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."

"What happened then?" I interrupted as Scor paused for breath, desperate for any information. Remembering the last time Scorpius and Hugo had been alone, I couldn't help worrying that there might be violence involved in the story.

He stifled a laugh and continued, "Well then I started to question him. I mean, it was obvious that _something _was bothering him; you could see it in his eyes. He was looked weary, stressed – though I never imagined what it was that was causing that. I just thought it was about me and you, or something else trivial-"

"-What did you say to him, then?"

Sounding amused, Scorpius said, "Well if you'd let me finish, I'd be able to tell you." He looked at me with his eyebrows raised for a few moments, as if he was daring me to say something smart or challenge him, then carried on speaking. "The first thing I said was, 'Listen, I know you and me aren't exactly friends, and that you don't like me or the relationship I have with Rose, but it's obvious that you need to talk to someone and I'm willing to listen.' Hugo, of course, stared at me looking surly, his look so intense that I almost believed he was contemplating which curse to use on me."

I looked at him in doubt. Hugo never used to be like that. His eyes were never dark with deep hatred or anger. He just wasn't capable of anything like that. As a child his eyes had always held happiness. I'd just attributed his more recent mood swings and anger to being a teenager and inheriting the prejudice against the Malfoys that the rest of our family had.

"I'm serious. If looks could kill, I wouldn't be here to tell you the story!"

Reluctantly I accepted his story and allowed him to continue.

"Anyway, he didn't have anything to say to that. So I just carried on talking and told him that I understood he wouldn't want to talk to me but I might be able to help, like I did with the gambling."

_I bet he wasn't happy about that, _I thought.

"And then all of a sudden he was shouting in my face. I'm telling you it's a good thing Filch is too scared to go down near Myrtle's bathroom since Mrs Norris got it there, or we'd have both got detentions."

"What was he saying?" I asked quietly.

"All kinds of stuff really. Stuff about how my family was dirt, how he hadn't asked for my help, how he didn't need any help." I squeezed his hand in sympathy. "Thanks," he mumbled. "Then he balled his fists and held one up like he was about to punch me."

I gasped and covered my mouth. They had fought. I knew it.

"'Go on, hit me,' I said, not really bothered if he did. At least that way I thought he would get over his dislike for me. And then he really surprised me. Instead of smacking me one in the eye like I expected – and had prepared for – he turned and, with a yell of frustration, punched the wall. I mean, who punches a wall? You know it's going to hurt. I was almost frozen in shock as he groaned expletives, holding his fist in agony. So I said, 'What in the name of Merlin did you do that for?' I didn't think he'd even answer me, but he did. He just blurted, 'Look, I'm gay alright?' I was flabbergasted. I barely noticed him push past me, still gripping his hand. By the time I got after him, he'd stopped outside and it looked like he was crying. Before I could even say anything, he angrily muttered, 'Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I'm a wimp. It's hurts, alright?' I offered to fix his hand but he still seemed wary. 'Either I fix your hand without asking for anything in return, or I fix your hand and you properly talk to me,' I said."

"I take it you fixed his hand anyway," I said reproachfully.

"Of course," Scor replied. "He wouldn't really talk to me, but he did listen to me. I told him that it would do no good to hold in his feelings and try to hide who he was. He just kind of looked at me then. Eventually, I gave up on trying to help and said, 'Look I'm no good at this kind of thing. You need to talk to someone-' and then he interrupted and told me, and I quote, 'I'm not going to a councillor.' So I reminded him that he could talk to you and he ordered me not to tell you."

"Why wasn't I allowed to know?" I asked indignantly.

"I don't know. I guess he didn't want you to judge him or think badly of him…"

I thought it over, remembering how Hugh didn't want me to tell anyone else – specifically James and Fred because they already mocked him.

"Anyway, I didn't agree with him. I tried to remind him that you're his family and him being gay would never change that. I can only assume he listened. I was about to leave then and come back inside, but he stopped me, called out 'You're alright you know – for a Malfoy anyway-"

"-He did not!" I exclaimed. There was no way Hugo would have ever said that.

"He did!" Scor asserted.

"Look, there's no way he'd have said that. You're just making it up."

"Then how else do you explain the fact that he was being friendly when we got back to Gryffindor Common Room?" he asked triumphantly.

Grudgingly I admitted he had a point.

"Anyway, then he started to talk to me about quidditch and Krum's retirement, of all things."

I nodded, accepting his story. "I'm glad the two of you didn't fight."

"Me too," Scorpius said. "Your brother has a seriously good right hook! I learnt that the last time."

"He's only thirteen! You're almost three years older than him!"

"So?"

I had to cough to mask my laugh.

"Okay?" he asked, peering around to look at me and stroking my back.

I nodded, feeling a bit guilty for laughing at him.

"Wait a minute…does you think this means I broke the Unbreakable Vow..?"

"What?" I asked, my throat closing up and strangling my voice.

"Well technically I wasn't supposed to tell you…but if you already knew then have I still broken the vow or not?"

"You didn't?" I asked in fear.

"Hugo made me-"

He broke off and held his hand to his throat, miming something. Making wheezing sounds, he pointed at his chest and held his throat.

"Scor!" I screamed, grabbing hold of him.

Suddenly he burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, I couldn't keep it up," he said.

"Don't do that to me!" I exclaimed, slapping his arm.

"Teach you to laugh at me," he muttered, still chuckling and pulling me back to lie against him again.

"I was coughing," I told him, struggling to maintain my cool. I could feel my cheeks heating up though.

"Pull the other one, Rosie. I know when you're lying just like you know when I am."

"Okay, okay. I was laughing."

"It's alright. I'll prove to you how daring and brave I am some other way."

"Perhaps you should go back to your lessons and think about that then," I suggested.

"Rose Weasley, are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Nope, but I have a feeling that Dom and Lucy will be returning soon and I thought you might like to escape all the girl talk…"

"Girl talk?"

"Yep. All we talk about in here is which boys are hot, the current gossip-"

"-That doesn't sound so bad," Scor murmured, leaning towards me and brushing his lips against mine.

"Our periods," I continued.

"And that's my queue to leave!" Scorpius said, sliding out from under me and standing, the tips of his ears and his cheeks turning beetroot pink.

As if on cue, Dom barged past Scor and dropped onto my bed.

"Rose, you are not going to believe what Luke McClaggen asked me today? He wants me to go with him to Madam Puddifoot's this next Hogsmeade trip!"

I squealed with her, smirking as Scorpius hurried from the room in what looked like abject fear.

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><p><strong>AN: Again, I am sorry for how long it has taken to get this chapter up. If you've stuck with me, thanks so much! I hope you liked it. Let me know what you thought! **


	22. Valentine

**A/N: Hey guys, I've done a quicker update this week since LilyXJames4ever asked for one, but I might not be able to continue such a update rate indefinitely. Thanks to those of you who stuck with the story and reviewed the last chapter. I'd especially love to hear what you think of this chapter, I need something to cheer me up. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. Let me know what you think!**

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><p>In the week I had Scorpius' cold, I wondered why he hadn't said anything yet. Valentine's Day was little under a week away and he hadn't even broached the topic to ask if I wanted to do anything. It was the Hogsmeade weekend anyway, so I had assumed we would at least hang about the village together, but it appeared that I was waiting in vain.<p>

Dom had made all the preparations to spend her day snogging Luke McClaggen in Madam Puddifoot's Teashop and even Lily and Roxanne had made plans with Jake Abbott and his best friend, a shy boy called Chris O'Dowd. Too young to go to Hogsmeade, and forbidden from dating, Molly was spending the day in the castle with Lucy, who appeared to have taken pity on her. As far as I was aware, James and Fred were going to spend Valentine's Day 'in style' as they had last year with a crowd of girls in their year. Only this time, I didn't think their plans involved the Cinnamon Challenge. Hugo was being rather vague about his day. I knew he was going into Hogsmeade, but he hadn't said if he would spend the day with someone.

Albus was the only person going on a date with an existing girlfriend. He'd been going out with Katie Pillsbury, a fifth year Hufflepuff, for two years now, and things were getting serious. We'd been joking about him getting down on one knee and proposing, but it wouldn't surprise me if he did. They were really close and got on so well it was as if they were made for each other. But where they were going on Valentine's Day, nobody knew. He refused to enlighten us on the matter.

After days of waiting, I decided, however, to take things into my own hands. I had a free period first thing, but Scorpius was going to be busy in his careers meeting with his Head of House, Professor Richards. I'd already had mine. Professor Longbottom had happily told me that I would be fine for any Ministry career I wanted, but I still hadn't quite made my mind up about which department I really fancied. Did I go for International Relations or join my Dad in the Auror department? Mum had suggested I choose to join the Department of Magical Law Enforcement but I wasn't sure it was really me?

I met Scorpius after his meeting.

"So how'd it go?" I asked brightly.

"Okay, I s'pose," he replied sullenly, driving thoughts of Valentine's Day from my mind.

"Just okay?"

"Yeah. Apparently I'm not 'cut out for the mental intensity required in the Department of Mysteries.' I don't think Professor Richards understands my obsession with the unknown and the unexplored…"

"Well, she's only advising you," I told him.

"True. Well, we've got a free hour since there's no charms this morning, what do you want to do?" Scorpius asked after a moment, taking my hand.

"I was kind of hoping we could go to the library," I admitted.

"Again? Rose, we were only there yesterday!"

"But I haven't done my Herbology homework because _someone_ kept distracting me last night!"

"I don't remember you complaining," he grinned.

"Well, that's kind of hard when you have someone kissing you," I pointed out.

"Someone as incredible as me, you mean?"

He just laughed when I pushed him sideways.

"The library it is. Come on."

I was sat with a stack of ten books when he snuck up behind me and scared the hell out of me. He merely snickered as swatted his arm.

"Don't. Do. That."

"Okay, okay! Mercy!" he cried sarcastically.

A few minutes later, he was back distracting me again.

"Come on, Rose, you must have finished by now." Clearly he didn't cope well with boredom.

"No, I haven't."

"It was a five hundred word account of the germination process of Venomous Tentacular not a biography of Elijah Hickman!"

"I just want to make sure it's my best work," I explained. "Surely you've got work to do anyway."

"Well obviously. I was just as busy as you last night, remember? But I always produce my best work at midnight."

I glanced doubtfully at him, thinking of the time he'd pulled out his dog-eared, half-finished, scrawled and blotched essay on Jupiter's moon cycles for Professor Eclindor. Whilst I worked methodically, carefully writing down the ten stages of germination with a short explanation of what happened at each stage; Scorpius swung on his chair and tossed my books in the air, juggling them idly.

Every time I looked at him, he stopped and gave me an innocent smile, but the moment I focused back on my homework, he began juggling again.

Finally, I gave up on attaining perfection and hurriedly finished, paying less attention to detail than before. Hopefully I'd still be able to scrape an A minus though.

"Done?" Scorpius asked hopefully the moment I laid down my quill.

"No thanks to you," I muttered, packing my things away.

As we left the library, he took my hand again and linked his fingers through mine.

"Fancy coming to Ravenclaw Tower this evening?" he asked suddenly.

"Why?" I asked in confusion. Usually we sat with my family in Gryffindor Common Room, trying to persuade Fred and James to stop pulling pranks long enough to actually do some homework. If they failed their NEWTs it wouldn't be because I hadn't forced them into revising.

"Elliot's been begging me to get you back," he answered, talking about my Second Year admirer.

"Okay then. If it's for Elliot."

Scorpius grinned.

All through our Arithmancy lesson I was glancing over at him, contemplating sending him a note to ask whether he wanted to do something for Valentine's. The only reason I didn't was fear that it would end up in the wrong hands. Merlin, that could be embarrassing. Professor Lofting had once read out a love note and it was not something I wanted to go through.

After an hour lesson, we repacked our bags and headed down for lunch. Before heading to sit next to Howard at the Ravenclaw table, Scorpius kissed my cheek and promised to see me later after dinner. I nodded and joined my cousins.

Lily, Roxie and Dom were avidly discussing what they were going to wear at the weekend, whilst Lucy and Molly looked on glumly.

"Hey," I greeted them. "You had your careers interview today didn't you, Lucy?"

She nodded and smiled for a moment. "Professor Longbottom-Neville-said that he could help organise a work internship at the Daily Prophet for me this summer. I'm so excited!"

"That's good," I told her, spooning some lasagne onto my plate.

"Dad's going to be pleased," Molly said, joining the conversation.

"I do hope so. I know I'm not exactly following in his footsteps, but journalism is a form of writing, so surely it's close enough to being an author…"

"I'm sure he'll be really proud. What about you Molly, do you know what you want to do yet?"

"I guess so…

Lucy met my eyes. Sometimes getting Molly to talk about personal matters could be quite hard. For some reason she was always very secretive, preferring to talk more about other people than herself.

"Yeah?"

"I want to be a zoologist," she informed us.

"Oh, right. That sounds interesting. Looking at what though? Dragons? Unicorns? Firecrabs? Salamanders? Bowtruckles? Gnarls?"

"No, of course not. They're over-researched. I want to investigate penguins. But I don't think Dad would let me."

"You could always ask…" I mumbled, knowing it was a ridiculous idea. Uncle Percy had always been very protective of his children. Mum said it was because Uncle Fred had died and Percy couldn't protect him but Dad said Uncle Percy had always been a boring, old fart and wanted the rest of us to be like him too. Although I was sure my dad had a point, I was more inclined to believe Mum's explanation.

She nodded and quickly said goodbye to join some of her Hufflepuff friends and left the Great Hall for her next lesson.

"I guess we should probably get to Herbology," I said to Lucy, both of us watching Molly leave.

As we walked, Lucy asked, "Scorpius said anything about Valentine's Day yet then?"

"No," I answered.

"Well you could always spend the day with me and Molly, if you like."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm thinking of asking Scorpius myself. We are in the 21st century after all."

Lucy nodded and dropped the subject.

The Herbology lesson passed quickly and two hours later, amidst a light drizzle, we headed back into the castle for dinner. I had a few mouthfuls of shepherd's pie before deciding I wasn't really hungry. I'd already eaten a lot of lasagne at lunch.

"I'm going to Ravenclaw Tower tonight. I'll see you all later," I announced, grabbing my bag and tearing off my tie.

"Bye!" Hugh, Al, Molly and Lucy chorused. The others were all too focused on their conversations to notice me going, but I didn't really care.

I was out of breath by the time I arrived at Ravenclaw Tower. The stairs had continued to move and a journey that usually only took me ten minutes was tripled in time by the inconvenience that caused me to pretty much go round in circles.

Whilst I tried to catch a breath, Scorpius stumbled out the door.

"Hey," he said with a smile, kissing my cheek. "Come on, let's go."

"What? I thought Elliot wanted to see me-"

"He's not there and it is mental in there right now, by the way."

"Mental?"

"Yeah," he answered, "Hutch sold his 'secret to exam success' to some first years. But Beth wasn't exactly happy with it – actually, she wanted me to tell him off too and I've only just escaped."

"Why don't we go to my Common Room then?" I suggested.

"No, that won't do either…" Scorpius mused. For five minutes I waited for him to say something else.

"Scorpius?"

"Mmm," he mumbled, making it clear that whilst he was thinking, he was still listening.

"Look, do-you-want-to-do-something-for-Valentine's-Day?" I blurted before I could regret asking.

"Sorry? I didn't quite catch that," he told me with a smirk.

Taking a deep breath, I tried again. "Do…you…want…to…celebrate…Valentine's Day…with…me?"

"Rose!"

"What?"

"You've just ruined my plans!" he complained. "I was going to ask you the same question," he replied.

"What? You made me wait a week without saying anything, and I thought you weren't going to ask at all!"

Taking me by the shoulders, he pulled me into his body and rested his chin on my head. "I'm sorry for making you wait, but I wanted to surprise you. I want everything to be perfect."

"So you do want to spend Valentine's Day with me?"

"Of course, Silly, I love you!" he answered, squeezing my closer and beginning to pepper kisses on me.

"Am I allowed to ask what we're doing then, if you've been planning?" I asked hopefully.

"Nope."

"Why am I not surprised?" I sighed.

Scorpius and I spent the evening with my family in Gryffindor Common Room again now that I'd ruined his plans, though he left early to make sure everything had calmed down in his own common room.

The next morning I was rudely awoken as Lily and Roxanne rushing in, begging for help.

"Dom! I don't know what to wear!" Roxie called.

"And my best skirt's got a stain on it, Rosie!" Lily said, using the same volume of voice as Roxie.

Groggily, I sat up, blinking in the sunlight and straining to wake up. "Pass it here," I mumbled as I yawned.

"What on earth did you do to it?" I asked her, seeing the large red stain across the front.

"Al spilt the mulled wine on me at Christmas," she recalled sadly.

"I'll see what I can do…" I told her hesitantly, reaching over to my bedside table to retrieve my wand. The only thing I could think to try was the Scourgify spell. Directing my wand at the stain, I cast the spell and waited to see if anything would happen. For a few moments, nothing happened and then slowly, incrementally, the stain began to shrink and recede before it was gone altogether. Meanwhile Dom was excitedly showing Roxie her wardrobe, pulling out skirts and tops and holding them against our younger cousin. Luckily Roxie was tall for her age and was able to borrow a red camisole of Dom's to wear with her black bodycon skirt.

"Here," I muttered, passing it back to Lily.

"Thanks," she said, relieved beyond belief. "Oh, Dom, can I borrow that bronze bracelet of yours?"

"So what are you wearing for your day with Scorpius?" Roxie asked.

"I'm not sure."

"Well you're going to want to look spectacular, I'm sure."

"But I don't know what we're doing or where we're going, Roxie. I was thinking I'd just wear jeans and a nice top."

"Rosie, you can't!" Lily protested. "You have to look incredible!"

"I know just the thing!" Dom declared, diving back into her wardrobe and coming back out with a floor-length purple dress.

"I think that might be a little impractical, Dom…"

I tried to be tactful, but it took Lily's blunt comment, "What if she has to climb a mountain?" to get Dom to drop the idea.

"Hmm…" she mused, still desperate to find something. "Okay, how about this?" Moments later she was holding out a much shorter dress, although the rest of us couldn't help thinking it was too short.

"It's no use!" Roxanne cried. "None of us have anything Rose can wear!"

"You okay with going naked, Rose?" Lily joked. "I'm sure Scorpius would appreciate it."

"Ha ha," I said sarcastically.

"What are you going to do?" Roxie asked. "I feel so bad for you."

Rolling my eyes, I threw back the covers and finally got out of bed. "Well, there's no need."

"Yes, you're right," Dom said. "You should pretend to be ill and then you won't have to worry about finding something to wear."

"No, I'm not going to fake being ill. I don't need to because I know what I'm going to wear now."

"Really? Are you borrowing something from Lucy?" Roxie asked.

"No. Nobody's even bothered looking at my wardrobe," I answered.

"Well, obviously, because you dress like a-"

"Yes? Roxie?"

"Nothing," she replied sweetly.

"I've had this for a while. I was going to wear it to Uncle Harry's birthday party but then it rained so I wore jeans instead," I told them, heading to my own wardrobe and fishing about inside. "It was impulse that I brought it with me, really."

"Just show us already," Lily said with an exasperated sigh.

Grinning, I pulled out the dress and held it in front of me. The green dress fell to my knees and floated down my body once I was wearing it.

"Oh," gasped Dom.

"You look so beautiful," Lily gushed.

"Like an angel," Roxie added.

I smiled, pulled my white shrug on and picked up my necklace from my bedside table. Once it was around my neck, I was finished.

"Perfect," someone said from behind me.

I whirled round and found myself face to face with Scorpius who was standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing here? You're not supposed to see her till later!" Roxie exclaimed.

"It's only Valentine's Day; we're not getting married," Scorpius reminded her.

"Oh yeah," she said, looking sheepish.

"So what are you doing here?" I asked Scor.

"We arranged to meet half an hour ago."

"Oh no! I said I'd meet Jake ten minutes ago!" Roxanne screamed, rushing out of the room. "Come on, Lily, Chris'll be waiting too!"

"What time are you meeting Luke?" I asked Dom.

"Oh, about now," she answered, glancing down at her watch.

"Shouldn't you get going then?"

"Yeah, you don't want to be late," Scorpius agreed.

"A woman is never late, she is on time."

"If you say so…"

"Besides, Scorpius, I'll be _fashionably _late and keep Luke waiting on me."

He nodded, although it looked like he didn't really believe her. I shot Dom a smile as she sat and touched up her make-up whilst we left.

"So Dominique's playing hard to get with Luke?"

"I don't think she's playing anything," I told him with a wry chuckle. "I think that's just Dom, don't you?"

"I guess."

"So where are we going?" I asked as we walked through the Hogwarts' gates and began the walk into Hogsmeade. It was a surprisingly warm day for February, and Scorpius had to shrug off his leather jacket and carry it.

"Well…we're starting at the Three Broomsticks. And before you say anything…it's not what you think."

"I'm not judging," I replied, though it did seem a bit of a let-down. The Three Broomsticks was hardly romantic.

As we walked through Hogsmeade and passed Madam Puddifoot's, there was a moment of awkwardness when Lily and Roxie, sat together at a table for four with their dates, waved us in. I shook my head, smiling and carried on walking with Scorpius, our arms intertwined.

When we finally reached the pub on the outskirts of the village, he led the way inside where the bar was strangely decorated with a chain of red hearts around the tops of the walls. That was the only sign, however, that it was indeed Valentine's Day. A secluded table was hidden around the corner of the bar and that was where Scorpius headed, with me trailing after him. We passed by Fred and James who were strangely lonely, who looked up and nodded as we went past.

There was a lunch menu set down on the table, which Scorpius picked up and handed to me.

"Ladies first," he commented, pulling my chair out and pushing it back towards the table once I'd sat down.

_Maybe I was wrong,_ I thought. It certainly seemed romantic.

Off the menu, I ordered the pot roast and a glass of butterbeer. Scorpius went to bar to order both our drinks and food, returning with two large glasses of frothing butterbeer.

I took a sip and was about to start pestering him with questions about what we were going to do, when he started speaking. "So, first present of the day!" He dug through his trouser pockets and pulled out an envelope.

Glancing at him in curiosity, I took the envelope and slid my finger underneath the flap, tearing it open. Out fell a piece of paper.

Reading it, a smile crept over my face.

_Happy Valentine's Day, Rosie!_

_I love you!_

_But, I have promised you a present, so turn over, please!_

Looking back up at him, I wondered what he had planned, but his face revealed nothing. It was no wonder Scorpius was so good at betting – he had such a good poker face. He nodded, though, so I turned the paper over and carried on reading.

_Bet you didn't trust me enough to just turn over without asking a question, huh?_

I laughed. He knew me too well.

_So…present number one. This is a receipt that promises I won't pester you when you're trying to do your homework. _

Rolling my eyes, I met Scorpius' eyes for a minute only for him to glance down at the table in front of me where, inexplicably, there was now a rather large box of Cauldron Cakes.

"How-"

I was cut off from asking questions by his lips pressing against mine.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Valentine," he whispered.

Smiling, I replied, "Happy Valentine's Day, Scor," and returned his kiss.

The meal arrived then, and we began to eat.

We were just finishing when Hugo suddenly appeared.

"Thank God I found you!" he exclaimed, sounding out of breath.

"Hugh, what is it?" I asked.

"Mum and Dad, they're coming here!"

"Oh, crap." I looked over at Scorpius meeting his eyes and answering his unasked question. As he began to grab his things and stand up, I gratefully thanked Hugo.

"The bill's already settled. I'll see you back at the castle later," Scorpius promised, turning and walking straight into my father. I froze.

"Dad! Mum!" Hugo shouted, rushing towards them and pushing them back a few paces with his hug, allowing Scorpius to squeeze past before Dad noticed who had run into him. As soon as he was out of sight I let out the breath I didn't realise I'd been holding in and shot my brother an appreciative glance for covering up for me.

_That was too close a shave_, I thought.

As Mum and Dad brought over two more seats and sat down, they couldn't help noticing the plate across from me and the fact that it was a two-person table.

"On a date with this mysterious boyfriend?" Dad asked, sounding polite, but almost a little threatening at the same time.

"Well I was before you showed up," I told him. "Why exactly are you here anyway?"

It was my mother who answered. "Your father wanted to spend some more time with the two of you." But the way she met my eyes gave me the real answer. My dad had purposefully come to see me on Valentine's Day so he could make sure I wasn't with my boyfriend.

I nodded, accepting both the fake and real explanations.

"So are we going to ever meet this boyfriend of yours?"

I shrugged, unsure how to answer my father. I didn't see a way that I could ever introduce him to Scorpius.

He grunted, probably satisfied in thinking that he'd managed to scare my boyfriend off, either that or getting satisfaction from thoughts about how unworthy he was of me.

For another hour I was stuck with my parents. It was only when Hugo made up something about going to watch quidditch practise that I was able to escape. We walked back to the castle together, and again I thanked my brother for his timely warning and distraction.

Back in the Common Room, I'd barely sat down when an owl fluttered onto the arm of my chair. An envelope was clutched in its beak, and I could tell from the handwriting that it was from Scorpius.

Opening this letter, I read quickly that he wanted me to meet him in the Room of Requirement in approximately five minutes time.

I was on my feet instantly and on my way out the portrait despite thinking in the back of my mind that there was no point trying to use the Room of Requirement. Uncle Harry was sure that it had been destroyed during the Battle at Hogwarts with the fiendfyre.

Still when I arrived at the Seventh Floor corridor, I paced past where the door was supposed to appear chanting in my head, _I want to be able to see Scorpius, I need to see Scorpius, I have to see Scorpius. _

When I looked up after the third time, I was shocked to see the door had appeared.

Cautiously making my way inside, I was shocked to find the floor littered with confetti, the lights off and only a hundred candles providing a glowing light. It took my breath away. Scorpius stood inside, underneath a disco ball and he held his hand out to me.

"Ready to continue Valentine's Day?" he asked.

"We can't, we have rounds, remember?"

"I swapped us with Peter and Jess. We're doing their shift tomorrow."

"Oh."

"So do you want to dance?" he asked, holding out his hand again.

I smiled and took it, placing my other hand on his shoulder. His second hand came to rest on my back by my waist, and slowly we twirled.

"I'm sorry my parents interrupted," I murmured as the enchanted mirror ball began singing and playing music. "Did you have anything else planned?"

"Yeah, I had some more gifts for you – nothing really big – but I have them if you want them…"

"Maybe later," I replied, leaning my head down on his shoulder.

"What happened with your parents then? Everything okay?"

I nodded. "My dad didn't find out, so that's good," I replied, feeling so relieved still.

"Well, he has to find out some time though, Rose."

"But not yet."

"When then? I won't be your secret boyfriend forever."

"It isn't forever," I countered, dropping my hand from his shoulder and pulling the other from his grip.

"When are we going to tell him then?"

"When are you going to tell you parents? You can't lecture me when you haven't told your family either!"

"I have told my family, Rose! Neither my mum or dad are best pleased, but they know that I'm going to make my own choices. They want to meet you."

I gulped. Could I deal with that? Meeting Scorpius' parents?

"So when are you going to tell your parents? I want to make the right impression on them, Rose, and I can't do that if we lie to them."

"Not yet," I answered.

"When then? Do we wait until we get married? Or not even then. Are we going to have to elope?"

I choked. "Marriage? You're thinking about marriage?"

He nodded determinedly.

Eyes still bulging, I replied, "Do I not have any choice in this? Or do you just consider me yours now?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Well it sure seems like it, Scorpius."

Turning on my heel, I slipped from the room and ran back to Gryffindor Tower, tears leaking from my eyes.

I hadn't wanted to argue with Scorpius, but we had. We always seemed to be doing it. Disagreeing over the stupidest of things and then blowing it out of proportion until there was a division between us. I only hoped that it wasn't permanent this time.

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><p><strong>AN: So what did you think? Let me know with a review!**


	23. Hangovers, Promises and Chances

**A/N: Thanks to anon, dwarfperson, Words of A Feather, leafysummers, LilyxJames4ever and Tanny Apple for reviewing the last chapter! I hope you all like this one. It's a bit shorter, and kind of a bit of a filler chapter towards the end. I'm afraid the next chapter after this will be a filler too, though after that it should get a bit interesting again. Anyway, let me know what you think. I always appreciate your reviews.  
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><p>Making my way to the nearest bathroom, I stopped and stared at myself in the mirror. My cheeks were blotchy. My eyes were watering still and I had watermarks running down my face. Sniffling, I ran the tap and threw a scoop of water over my face. I hadn't meant to run away from him per se, but I didn't want him to see me cry. It was weak and I didn't cry in front of anyone, not even Victoire or Lily. I wasn't that kind of person. I didn't talk about my problems that much, but at the same time I knew keeping them locked up inside me wasn't healthy. I knew I should have gone back and talked it all out with Scor, but I was worried what he'd say.<p>

If I was honest, I wasn't even upset about what he'd said. Sure, he'd caught me off-guard when he revealed he'd been thinking about marriage. I was fifteen, for Merlin's sake. But that was just shock.

What really bothered me was that he was pushing me to tell Dad. I'd known for a long time, ever since I started dating Scorpius really, that I would have to come clean sometime but I was still dreading it. What if he disowned me? It was alright for Scorpius, he didn't get on with his family that well anyway. But I did. I loved them and depended on them. I couldn't imagine life without them. And I wasn't willing to do anything that might force me to stop trying to imagine it and actually live it.

It was late by the time I stopped hiding in the girls' bathroom and got back to the Common Room. And by that point, everyone was either too drunk on firewhiskey (though how they'd even managed to get it, I didn't know) to notice me or already asleep. Tutting, I stepped over James' slack body as he lounged against the back of the sofa slugging back an empty bottle. Clearly I'd found the culprit responsible for getting half the House thoroughly inebriated, despite the fact that strictly speaking it was illegal for underage witches and wizards to drunk.

Sighing, I went to bed, stepping over someone on the girl's dormitory staircase before realising it was Dom. I patted her cheek, trying to wake her but she merely groaned something incoherently and kept her eyes closed in sleep. Tugging her limp body up, I flung one of her arms over my shoulders and heaved her up the stairs, but it didn't really work. I tried again, this time pulling her by my grip under her arms. Finally, sweating and swearing, I managed to get her into our dorm and onto her bed.

When I woke the next morning, Dom was still asleep despite her intermittent alarm blaring noisily with the sound of a train hooting.

"Dom!" Tracy shouted, pulling her pillow down over her ears to block out the noise. When it didn't work, she threw it at my sleeping cousin in frustration. Jerking upright, Dom finally woke up, most likely wishing she hadn't as she vomited into her lap.

"Why, oh why did I accept James' dare?" she asked herself, holding her arm over her eyes to block out the sunlight coming through the window.

"Got a bit of a hangover?" Lucy asked with a grin.

"Of course I am! I had an entire bottle by myself!"

"You should have seen it Rose, it was hilarious."

"I'm sure it was," I replied in doubt as Dom mumbled something.

Taking pity on her, I threw back the covers and fixed her a glass of water.

"Can't you get rid of it, Rose?" Dom begged.

"I'm sure it's possible," I told her slowly, "but I don't know how. I'm sorry."

"Just leave me then," she said, burying her face in the pillow and pulling the duvet up over her head.

The rest of tried to be considerate and get dressed and ready as quietly as possible, and they succeeded until the moment they left the dormitory when Lucy asked, "Oh, I meant to ask, how everything went with Scorpius?"

"I bet it was perfect," Tracy gushed! "Not like Dom and Luke. When she was late, he decided to chuck her and go to Hogsmeade with Veronica!"

"I can still hear you!" Dom called.

Smirking, we hurried down the stairs and then Lucy repeated her question.

"Yes, tell us," Tracy said.

I shrugged. "Okay, I suppose."

"Just okay?" Lucy seemed shocked.

"She must be downplaying it," Tracy told her. "I bet it was really amazing. Oh my God!"

"What?" Lucy and I both asked her.

"What if Scorpius proposed?"

I stared at Tracy in shock. What was it with everyone and marriage?

"Do you see Rose wearing a ring?" Lucy asked, acting as the voice of reason.

"Oh yeah," Tracy muttered.

Leaving the two of them discussing theories, I hurried away before they could ask me anything else and ran right into Scorpius standing outside the portrait hole.

"Careful!" he said, catching me before realising who he was holding in his arms. "Rose?" he squeaked, his hands letting go of me in surprise.

I yelped, falling to the stone floor.

"Sorry!"

Sighing I allowed him to help me to my feet.

"What are you doing here, Scorpius?"

"Isn't it obvious? I came to see you," he answered.

"But why?"

"I came to apologise-"

"-No, it should be me who's apologising. You're right, I do need to tell my dad about us. Putting it off waiting for the right time won't make it any easier. So I'm going home this Easter and I'm going to tell him."

"I don't want to push you into anything-" he tried to say, but I placed a finger over his lips and interrupted.

"-Let me finish?"

He nodded.

"And I've decided that whatever he decides to do, you're more important, we're more important."

"Right," he agreed. "And the whole marriage thing, I wasn't thinking about proposing right now or anything and I didn't want to scare you off-"

"-You didn't," I murmured.

"Then why didn't you give me a chance to explain? Why haven't you ever given me a chance to explain?"

"Look, I'm sorry…I'm just…I'm not very good at this."

"At what?" Scorpius asked, his hand gestures showing his confusion.

"At this," I replied, motioning between the two of us. "At me and you. At being with another person. At sharing myself. I'm not good at opening up," I confessed.

"You could always talk to me about anything, you know," he hesitated to say.

"What if what I said made you run away?"

"Nothing you said could make me run away," he promised.

I smiled slightly at his words, unsure whether I could really rely on whether he would feel the same three months or three years down the line.

"So does this mean we can give things a second chance?"

"I think we're more on our third or fourth chance now, don't you?" I told him with a grin and a kiss.

"You know what I mean. Come on," he replied, proffering his hand and walking with me down to breakfast.

He sat beside me at the Gryffindor table. Seeing as it was still Valentine's weekend, nobody seemed to care. And then we spent the day, since it was Sunday, hanging about the Ravenclaw Common Room. It was normal again though, and we were back into the routine of forgetting about their homework because they were so wrapped up in each other.

"Hi Rose," Elliot said quietly. He was a shy boy, cute to look at with his sandy hair, though he was of course much too young for me. I knew though, that in just a year's time, he'd have forgotten all about me from the amount of attention the girls in his year would begin to give him.

"Elliot," I nodded. "Hope you've got all your homework done."

He shot me a slight smile and hurried off.

"I take it that's a no," I muttered as Scorpius creased up laughing. "Oh stop it, you're being cruel!"

"No I'm not. You don't think it's a little bit funny the way he runs over but can hardly talk to you?"

"And you were better, were you? Because I seem to remember you hardly talking at all except to mock me," I reminded him.

"Point taken," he conceded, though every few seconds he sniggered again.

As soon as we left for our prefects' rounds though, he seemed to get a bit more serious, though when we passed a cupboard, he was all too eager to forgo the seriousness of rounds and spend the rest of the evening snogging inside it.

"We can't! We're meant to be supervising the other students!"

"I think they can take care of themselves for a while, don't you? Besides, I'm sure they'd appreciate the chance to spend time together like us…

"What if we get caught?" I hissed.

"We won't!" he claimed, beginning to kiss my neck.

"I beg to differ, Mr Malfoy," Professor McGonagall announced, though how long she'd been standing at the end of the corridor, I didn't know. "If the two of you want to abuse your prefect positions, then I shall have to revoke them until you learn your lesson."

"What?" Scorpius asked in shock.

"You can't!" I exclaimed. I loved being a prefect.

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><p><strong>AN: So will Rose and Scorpius be sacked – is that the right word – from their prefect positions? Remember to review!**


	24. Poor Performance

**A/N: Thanks to LilyxJames4ever, HPalwaysandforever, Tanny Apple and dwarf person for reviewing the last chapter. You're all the best! I hope you guys like this one. As always, I'd love to know what you think so leave a review if you've got time. You might like to quickly look back at chapter 23 just to check the end as this chapter literally continues straight on from there. Anyway, I'll let you read on.**

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><p>"Really, Miss Weasley? I thought I was the Headmistress of this school; not you," Professor McGonagall said.<p>

Wincing, I waited for her to continue into a tirade about how being the headmistress meant she would decide whether to revoke our Prefect's duties or not, but none came. Looking up, I saw her glancing between the two of us.

"This is your second warning. If I hear any rumour of this happening again, you'll both lose your positions-"

"-Thank you!" I exclaimed. "We won't let you down, I promise. It won't happen ag-"

"-If you'd let me finish, Miss Weasley," Professor McGonagall interrupted. "That is not to say that there won't be consequences for this flouting of the school prefects' duties. As of now you are both on probation and will serve your future rounds with Mr Filch until I deem necessary-"

"-With Filch?" Scorpius complained.

"What is it with you two and your incessant interrupting?" Professor McGonagall wearily asked us.

Scorpius and I shrugged.

"As I said, you will be completing your prefect's rounds with Filch to ensure you don't drop your duties and encourage other students to sneak off for acts of love. From this point onwards, you are banned from other house common rooms and I shall be conversing with your teachers over your seating arrangements."

"We can't sit together?" Scorpius asked in a hollow voice.

"I'll leave that decision up to your teachers, but I shall be making them aware of the…dangers," she said, hovering over the word, "of you being around each other."

My mouth was open in horror but no words would come out.

Nodding at the two of us, she turned on her heel and went back the way she came, clearly forgetting why she'd been going along the 1st floor corridor anyway.

"We're doing rounds with Filch?" Scorpius asked again, as if he couldn't get over the fact.

I nodded, just as shell-shocked as he was.

"Filch?" I looked at him just as he exclaimed, "He's going to gloat over this so much! It'll be, 'how the mighty have fallen' and 'can't say the Headmistress isn't wrong, but in the old days you'd have had a boot up the arse for this.'"

Secretly, I agreed with him, but there was no time for me to say anything because Peeves chose that moment to float around the corner. Catching sight of Scorpius and me, he swooped down and blew a raspberry at us before disappearing again. Knowing him, it wouldn't take long for him to return with a supply of dungbombs or stinkpellets or the like.

Scorpius took my hand and hurried further down the corridor. There wasn't much else to say for the remainder of our rounds. We finished patrolling the castle and went our separate ways to our common rooms, though we probably spent a good five minutes, if not longer, lip-locked, trying to savour the feeling since it seemed it would be a while before we'd get another chance to kiss one another.

"See you tomorrow," he said gloomily.

I nodded, squeezed his hand and then let go, continuing up to the seventh floor but I felt just as miserable as he looked.

Everybody was asleep by the time I got back to my dorm. And I wasn't surprised. By the time, Professor McGonagall had finished with us; we were delayed in our coverage of the castle. It had taken us another three to work our way through the floors and even then another fifteen minutes had been added when we found one of the third year Slytherins in the Restricted Section of the Library and had to escort him to his common room. Even with the various secret passages of the school, it was impossible to complete rounds without taking longer than four hours. There were always students out of bed and in the wrong parts of the castle. I just thanked Merlin that we didn't have to check the Forbidden Forest as well.

Feeling tired, I changed out my robes in a daze and the moment my head hit the pillow I was asleep.

The next morning I found out just how quickly Professor McGonagall was able to talk to the other teachers about Scorpius and me. The moment he passed me on his way to the Ravenclaw table, all the teachers turned and stared at us, Professor Lofting being the one who glared disapprovingly more so than the rest.

Sighing, I dropped my toast crusts and stared into my cup of tea until people started moving. Dom, Al and Lucy lead the way to Potions whilst I followed behind, wrapped in my own thoughts. Would Professor Slughorn be nice enough to allow Scorpius and me to continue to sit next to each other? He was known for being one of the more lenient teachers, so if he didn't what hope did we have for the others?

When I walked into the room, I found out. Where the desks were normally arranged in rows of four, they had been moved so that everyone was forced to sit at an individual desk. Dom, Al and Lucy all shrugged and took a seat, whilst I stared sadly at Scorpius stranded on the other side of the room, all the seats near him already taken by Ravenclaw students. As students filed in past me, I blinked and found that I would have to sit right at the back of the room.

Professor Slughorn entered and looked at us, "Excuse the moved seats, class. It's temporary, I assure you."

Scorpius turned and smiled at me.

"That is until we find something more appropriate, of course."

His smile shrank and he turned back to face the front of the classroom as Professor Slughorn waved his wand and made the instructions for our lesson appear on the board. We would be brewing a Taste Perfector Potion. I opened my book to the right page whilst everyone else started setting up their cauldrons. Sitting at the back, there was no way I could read the small, wobbly print Professor Slughorn used to write out the ingredients.

Silently, I worked my way through the steps, pulverising the horned snail's shells with my pestle and mortar. By the time Slughorn passed by my cauldron, it was simmering at the right shade of lilac the book described and was even emitting sparks, just as it should have been.

"It seems without Mr Malfoy's distractions you are once again going to be getting top marks, Miss Weasley," Professor Slughorn commented, almost in an aside just to make sure no-one else heard.

I glanced at Scorpius, only seeing the back of his head as he worked to make his cauldron hotter, jabbing his wand at the flames. He was stuck at the fourth step, unable to bring his potion to the boil for some reason. Everyone else was one step behind me, adding their sugared mice.

Slughorn returned to my cauldron with his mark sheet five minutes before the end of the lesson. He had already marked the rest of the class, added their potion to a bottle of fermented Pumpkin Juice to test how well it worked, and they were packing up their things. Scorpius had received his lowest mark ever in potions, a P. He smiled and ladled a spoonful of my potion into his cup, smelling it appreciatively before taking a sip, which he then immediately spewed out, retching and turning green in the face.

Confused, I looked at my potion.

It looked completely normal and I could have sworn I'd done everything I was supposed to.

"I don't understand…" I murmured.

"You must have stirred clockwise, not counter-clockwise, Miss Weasley," Professor Slughorn told me, holding his stomach and breathing deeply through his nose.

I frowned; sure I wouldn't have made a mistake like that. It wasn't something I usually did. I always read each line of the book three times.

He ambled back up to the front of the classroom and poured something out of the tall jug on his desk into his cup and took a large draught, his face turning back white.

"I'm afraid I'll have to fail you, Rose," he said quietly, marking a zero onto his sheet.

I nodded, feeling disappointed, and packed my things away, using a spell to clear my cauldron.

Scorpius was waiting for me outside the door, cheering me up slightly. At least we were together in our poor performance in Potions.

Taking my hand and backing into a recess in the wall beside the potions room, Scorpius pulled me to him, eagerly pressing his lips to mine.

"I've missed you," he said against my lips. Despite the fact that we'd been in a room together for the past two hours, I completely understood what he meant. Since we'd got together we'd become used to sitting together and being around each other virtually all the time. Not sitting together in Potions, and not being able to talk to each other, felt more like being on opposite sides of the world.

"I've missed _you,"_ I whispered, leaning up on my tiptoes and kissing his cheek and then his lips.

"I don't think I can bear this," Scorpius said, holding onto me tightly.

We both quietened as Professor Slughorn came out of his classroom, humming to himself like a lovable grandfather.

"We should probably go or we'll be late…"

"I don't want to," Scorpius replied, but he did push himself off from the stone wall and walk alongside me out into the centre of the corridor, letting go of my hand though when we made it out of the dungeons. We didn't want to make things worse for ourselves by letting the teachers see us.

When we got to charms, it became obvious that Slughorn had set the standard about on our prospects of sitting together. Professor Richards too had rearranged her room, creating tables for five, requesting that we sit with our house mates.

"Wonder what's going on with all the seating changes," Albus muttered, looking confused.

Dom and Lucy both shrugged and opened their textbooks. Of course they didn't know why the tables and seating appeared to be changing in all of our lessons, I hadn't told anyone. Judging from the Ravenclaw student's facial expressions, and hushed comments, it appeared Scorpius hadn't told anyone either.

"You can probably blame me for that," I told Albus.

He frowned at me.

Sighing, I explained.

Dom and Lucy looked at me, their expressions showing pity.

"At least you're still both prefects," Lucy told me.

"There is that," Dom agreed.

"I guess," I replied, picking up my quill and dipping it in ink, beginning to copy down the essay title Professor Richards was writing in chalk on the board. Luckily it was long enough that we were able to continue our conversation before we had to write the essay in exam conditions.

"I wonder why Professor McGonagall didn't take away your positions…" Al mumbled. "It's what she did to Simon last year…"

I shrugged. It wasn't something I really wanted to contemplate. I was just glad that we still had our positions.

"Really? That's what happened to Simon?" Dom asked excitedly, beginning to gossip.

"Yeah, didn't you hear?" Al answered. "He got caught with his girlfriend-"

"-But Daisy isn't a prefect," butted in Dom.

"Exactly. He bent the rules so he could spend time with her outside of school hours. Professor Lofting found them and reported them straight away to Professor McGonagall."

"Maybe that's why you're both still prefects then, Rose," Lucy said. "You were both prefects so you had a right to be up in the castle.

"Could be," Al remarked, looking up from his parchment deep in thought.

"But Professor McGonagall loves Rose, though," Dom pointed out.

"She does not," I asserted.

"You're a Weasley, Rose. Your family helped save the wizarding world, remember? Everybody loves your family," Scorpius said in my ear, suddenly behind me. "I've used up all my parchment, can I borrow some of yours?"

I nodded and handed him a roll, which he took before heading back to his seat before Professor Richards could accuse us of anything. She did watch him closely for the rest of the lesson though, as we did our timed-essay.

I wrote down everything I remembered, but I couldn't help being distracted. Was it true that Professor McGonagall had been more lenient because she liked my family? Sometimes, I did get the feeling that my mother and Professor McGonagall were in correspondence, as my mum always seemed to know what was happening at school and which days our letters were going to arrive. Ordinary Ministry workers didn't know that. I'd always assumed that Neville passed the information on – my parents, and Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny often met him for lunch in Hogsmeade during term time – but what if I was wrong about that?

We had forty minutes to write our answer, but as I laid down my pen when Professor Richards called time and I looked over at Al, I realised I'd only managed a page and a half compared to his five sides.

I didn't have time to worry about it though, as Professor Richards used the summoning charm to collect our papers and sent us to lunch.

"How do you think it went?" Scorpius asked as we left the classroom.

"Awful. I only wrote a page and a half. What about you?"

"I managed to write three pages," he said before tacking on the end, "of the wrong thing though."

When we returned the charms after lunch, Professor Richard's had somehow managed to mark all of our papers and was handing them out.

"Better luck next time, Rose," she said, looking worried as she handed me my 'acceptable' piece of work.

I nodded, beginning to accept that it was not going to be a good day.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of more bad marks in Professor Vector's quiz and wrong answers to Professor Harris' astronomy questions. Scorpius didn't fare much better than I. When we sat down for dinner at our respective tables, I'd just picked up two roast potatoes and put them on my plate when Professor McGonagall, followed by Scorpius, asked to see me in her office. Abandoning my dinner, I got up and trailed after her with Scorpius at my side. I shot him a confused glance, but he seemed just as perplexed by why she wanted to talk to us.

"Well?" Professor McGonagall asked, sitting on one side of her desk.

I shrugged.

"Why have I been getting reports from all of your teachers of poor performance in lessons? Neither of you have been attentive, your marks have suspiciously dropped down, you're both distracted and staring into space every minute, so there must be some plan between you here. If this is a ploy to get me to drop the restrictions upon you both, it won't work." When neither of us spoke and continued to stare blankly at her, she released us for dinner.

Not feeling hungry, I said goodnight to Scorpius and began my ascent up the Grand Staircase, wrapped up in my thoughts. Were the teachers feeling sympathy for Scorpius and I? Would we finally be allowed to sit together again? We hadn't purposefully done badly, but we were used to working together. Scorpius presence had become comforting, and if I had him distracting me, at least I would be thinking about how annoying that was and trying to concentrate on my work rather than thinking about things other than my work. Without him, I had nothing to stop me.

Feeling positive about the next day, I got started on my homework. Halfway through my astronomy homework, I thought again about Scorpius and tore off a section of my parchment, scribbled a quick 'I love you' and headed to the Owlery. If I couldn't see him alone, I would write to him and steal quick moments with him between lessons whenever I could.

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><p><strong>AN: So what did you think? Let me know with a review!**

**A quick disclaimer: I am not J K Rowling and I don't own any characters except those I make up in my imagination. **


	25. In the Fog

**A/N: Thanks to LilyxJames4ever, dwarfperson, FredGeorge, anon and Starkid1996 for reviewing the recently. I hope you all like this one. Let me know what you think!**

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><p>The plan appeared to work. Scorpius and I sent letters to each other every evening, regardless of whether we'd seen one another during the day. The secret trysts between lessons weren't exactly planned, but the tension of being in the same room but kept apart just got to be too much. When he waited for me after the lesson, I didn't think about throwing my arms around him and kissing him so eagerly it looked like I was trying to eat his face; it just happened. And he was the same. Before I'd even walked towards him, his arms were open for me.<p>

And whilst the teachers didn't relax the rules that would not allow us to sit together, they did appear to be taking pity on us. That next day Professor Harris was the first to set partner activities but let us choose our own partners. Scorpius and I instantly teamed up and by the end of the transfiguration lesson both of us had managed to switch our school uniforms with Scorpius getting my red-lined Gryffindor robes and me getting his blue-trimmed Ravenclaw ones.

"They suit you," Scorpius had said, admiring himself in one of the old mirrors at the back of the room.

"I still prefer the bold scarlet and gold colours of Gryffindor," I replied. Even if I was intelligent enough to be in Ravenclaw, I wouldn't trade houses for the world. My entire family was in Gryffindor and it was really a kind of tradition for Weasleys now. I felt sorry for whoever it was who ended up breaking the convention.

"Shame," he muttered. "I was hoping we could switch permanently…"

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. "Tough. Besides, the blue brings out your eyes nicely."

The compliment was out my mouth before I realised it, and then for the rest of the day I had Scorpius chanting, "You think I'm handsome. You think I'm sexy. Look at my beautiful eyes, Rosie. Don't they make you want to kiss me?" in my ear.

By the end of the day, I was beginning to think that a little separation would have been beneficial, but sod's law dictated that Professor Wyncross also set us a pair's task, to translate runes into English. Predictably Scorpius rushed over to sit at my table, not that I minded really. When the scent of his cologne wafted over me, it was like breathing clearly for the first time since having a cold. Checking our translation, Professor Wyncross smiled gently and congratulated us on receiving one hundred per cent, the highest mark in the class. As what he called a 'special treat' he gave Scorpius and I a box of sugared mice to share, but no doubt he would be reporting to Professor McGonagall about us that evening.

However, just because the teachers were taking pity on Scorpius and I, didn't mean Professor McGonagall was. Whilst Scorpius and I were waiting for Filch in the Entrance Hall to begin our rounds, I could feel her stern eyes on us as she made her way out to her office. Clearly Filch was under strict instructions to keep a close eye on us too. From the moment he arrived, he made sure to walk between Scorpius and me. When we encountered someone out of bed, he always made me go; jeering at Scorpius and claiming that he 'couldn't be trusted to stay with me alone or to reprimand the wrongdoer without helping them.'

With Filch hanging around, all the fun was taken out of rounds. Instead of playing twenty questions, we were forced into walking in silence. It was either that, or Filch's running commentary on his preferred punishments.

For the last two weeks of term, that was the way things went. Sometimes, of course, Scorpius and I couldn't work together. I imagined that Professor McGonagall would have disapproved had she heard that every lesson my fifth year class was being set partner work, even if it meant that mine and Scorpius' marks did improve. Not only did the teachers help us out in lessons, but I'm sure some of them must have turned a blind eye to us when they left their classrooms and probably caught sight of us kissing outside the rooms. If they did see us, none of them said anything. Filch continued to patrol the corridors every Tuesday and Thursday, though he didn't become any friendlier.

The Easter holidays arrived, and as usual we were given the opportunity to return home for two weeks. Whilst I normally stayed at school to revise, I decided to go home. It was as good an opportunity as any to finally tell me dad just who my boyfriend was. I only hoped that when I got back to school, Professor McGonagall would have alleviated her restrictions on us. I certainly wouldn't be able to bear not being able to see Scorpius alone as well as having my dad hate me.

The journey back to London on the Hogwarts' Express seemed quicker. I dreaded its arrival, and every time I looked at my watch, expecting to see a couple of minutes had passed, I was shocked to find that the minutes hand had jumped forward thirty minutes.

When we finally pulled into Kings Cross Station, I was sure Scorpius could feel the tension radiating out of me. I was a mess of nerves and anxiety. Though he'd kept hold of my hand the entire journey, whilst playing games and chatting with my family, he'd no doubt noticed my rigid position in my seat and lack of speaking.

James and Fred pulled down everyone's trunks one by one with the help of Al, Louis and Hugo, and then led the way off the train, leaving Scorpius and I in the carriage with our trunks.

"You okay?" he asked, running one hand up and down my arm.

I tried to speak only to find the words died in my throat. I nodded instead.

"We should get off the train before it leaves," Scorpius murmured.

I nodded and followed him out, dragging my trunk behind me.

"Rose, are you sure you're okay?" he asked, stopping on the platform.

The steam spewing from the engine, surrounded us, shielding us from view.

"Just promise me you'll still be my boyfriend regardless of whatever my dad does or says?"

"You know I will," he replied, pulling me into a hug. "I love you."

Pushing myself onto my tiptoes, I melded my lips to his and wrapped my arms around his neck. For the next five minutes, as the Hogwarts' Express left the station, I was completely unaware of the world around me. I didn't notice Hugo standing a few metres away waiting for me.

I broke away from Scorpius and said, "I'll see you in two weeks."

"Two weeks is too long, but have a good Easter and look out for my owls," he replied, pressing his lips to mine, once, twice more and then picking up one end of his own trunk and walking away.

I picked up my own trunk as Hugo walked towards me and turned around to get off the platform. Unfortunately I didn't see Uncle Harry standing right behind me in the dissipating grey smoke the train had left behind.

"Rose? Were you just…kissing Scorpius?"

_Aw, crap_. I groaned.

"You're father's not going to be happy about this, Rose."

"You don't _have _to tell him, Uncle Harry-"

"Don't have to tell him? _Don't _have to tell him? Of course I have to tell him! He's my best friend. He's my _brother_-in-law."

"Auntie Ginny knows-"

"I don't care who knows. I care about my best friend," Uncle Harry said. "I'm sorry to have to do this-"

And then Hugo did it.

"I'm gay!" he declared, speaking loudly over the top of Uncle Harry and shocking him into silence.

"Hugo?"

"You heard me, I'm gay," he repeated. "Now will you leave Rose alone, or do you want to have to tell my Dad about me too?"

Uncle Harry was stunned into silence.

"I'm going to tell Dad anyway. It's why I came home," I told them both.

Uncle Harry nodded and muttered, "Rather you than me," thinking we hadn't heard him.

Hugo and I followed him to where the rest of our family were surely gathered, and I said in an undertone to Hugh, "Thanks for that. You didn't have to tell him."

"No, but I wanted to help."

"Well I'm grateful," I replied.

"No problem. I'm sure you can repay me anyway," he murmured, grinning cockily.

Somehow, I couldn't help feeling that I would come to depreciate Hugo's intervention.

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><p><strong>AN: I'll try to update by Monday, but I've got a mock exam next week that I need to revise for so I'm not promising anything. As always, I'd love to know what you thought of this chapter, so if you've got time, leave a review. **


	26. Secret Keeper

**A/N: Hi guys! Mock exam is done, so I've managed to write and upload this chapter. Thanks so much to arenwick,LilyxJames4ever, Starkid1996, Vil89Six, anon, Tanny Apple and Sarcastic-Bones for reviewing recently. I have checked, but sometimes mistakes and typos still escape my notice so if you see any, I firstly apologise, but feel free to tell me and I'll correct them. I'd love to know what you think, so if you've got time, leave a review!  
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><p>As soon as Hugo and I came in sight of Mum and Dad, we were bustled out of the station and to the car. Our overly-large family went to their separate cars, though when after a few hours on the roads it became obvious we were all heading in the same direction. Uncle Harry's car was behind us the entire journey.<p>

"How's the revision going?" Mum asked, turning slightly in her seat.

"Exams aren't for another month, we're not revising yet, Mum," Hugo scoffed.

Dad snorted quietly, but only I noticed. Mum was too busy looking distastefully at Hugo reading his magazine to see him.

"What about you, Rosie? OWLs are important-"

"Yeah we've started revising-" I answered before being interrupted by Dad.

"-We? Oh, you must mean this mystery boyfriend of yours."

"Actually, I was talking about Al, Dom and Lucy. But yes I suppose you could include my boyfriend in the group since he's usually with me in the library," I told him.

"Sounds like you're joined at the hip," he muttered to himself.

"That's pretty much how it is, Dad," Hugh commented in good humour. His next sentence however wasn't quite so funny. "They're always in the Common Room together and everything. We have to watch them kissing and cuddling and Merlin knows what else."

Dad's eyes left the road. "What else?" he demanded.

"Ron! Eyes on the road!" Mum cried.

"Relax, I've got the supersensory charm on. Now what else do you and this _boy _do, Rose?"

"Nothing," I replied, turning to look sharply at Hugo. "We're hardly even together anymore."

"Yeah, Professor McGonagall won't let them within an inch of each other," Hugo added, trying to no doubt be helpful but putting his foot in it again. "Not since she caught them…er…"

"Yes, Hugo?" Dad asked.

"Nothing," he gulped.

"Perhaps you'd like to tell me just what you've been getting up to with this boyfriend of yours then, Rose?"

"Not really," I said.

"Rose Weasley, tell me this instant."

Mum and Hugo were looking between Dad and I wondering which one of us would blow up first. I guess I really had inherited his quick temper. Not wanting to argue on my first day back at home, I sighed and answered, "Nothing happened, I swear. We were just kissing and Professor McGonagall caught us. She's just been putting some precautions in place to make sure we don't take advantage of our positions."

"Precautions?" Mum asked. "That's not quite the word she used in the letter, if I recall..."

"You knew about this?" Dad spluttered, turning away from me to look at Mum.

Relieved to be out from his piercing glare, I sank a few inches in my seat.

"Minerva just put in her last letter that she'd had to 'sanction' Rose and S- another prefect," Mum answered as she tried to mollify him but only just catching herself from saying Scorpius.

"Nobody tells me anything," Dad complained in a low voice, returning to concentrating on driving.

His anger had mellowed much by the time we got home. Mum had told me before after I'd had a particularly bad argument with Dad that he used to have a much worse, shorter temper when he was younger, but I found it hard to imagine how anyone could overreact so much. I found it hard to believe that had they been dating at Hogwarts, Mum and Dad wouldn't have kissed, so what was wrong with me doing it?

Mum and Dad still hadn't said why everyone was coming to our house, but I chose not to focus on that and rather on seeking out Uncle Harry.

After searching every room, including the garden, I found him wistfully watching Al and James playing quidditch through the dining room window.

"Hi, Uncle Harry," I said, coming to stand beside him.

"Rose," he nodded. "I miss quidditch, you know."

I looked up at him and thought about saying how I felt the same. Instead, I cut to the chase. "About Hugo-"

Uncle Harry held up his hand and my chest tightened somewhat.

"I won't say anything. I'm not sure I'd have even said anything about you and Scorpius."

"But you said you would!"

"You're going to tell Ron anyway, remember?" he reminded me.

"Well, yes, but I didn't want to be forced into it. It might even be better if you tell him." After a few moments, I continued, "Actually, I've changed my mind; you're welcome to tell Dad."

"Rose, haven't you heard the saying 'Don't shoot the messenger'? I may be getting older but I don't want to die just yet. I'd like to live to finally see England win the Quidditch World cup first."

"You'll be waiting a long time," I muttered.

"I've got faith. The team just needs some fresh talent."

And just like that Uncle Harry appeared to have completely forgotten about our original conversation and was discussing quidditch tactics with me.

"James tells me you're not playing anymore, Rose."

"Yeah, I had to give it up. With Scorpius, prefect duties, Gobstones, Chess club and everything, I had too much in my schedule. It's even worse now, I guess.

He looked at me, frowning in confusion.

"You could say that Scorpius likes to be the centre of attention. Whenever I'm with him, I never get anything done. I don't even go to Gobstones or Chess anymore – Tracy's had to take over as president – because I always have work to do."

"How are you going to tell him?" Uncle Harry asked after a momentary lapse in conversation, watching Dad viciously attack a gnome trying to sneak back into the garden.

"You don't think 'You know you wanted to know who my boyfriend is? It's Scorpius, Dad' will work?" I joked.

"You certainly didn't inherit your father's humour."

I shrugged. "If you've got any suggestions, I'd welcome them."

"I don't think you need my help with that, Rose. I'd be willing to wager that you're more intelligent than me. Besides, you're his daughter. He loves you so he'll accept it at some point," he said, probably trying to be positive, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"I guess so."

We watched as Dad tried to start a barbecue and Mum began putting up decorations.

"What are we celebrating?" I asked, clearly out of the loop when it came to family events.

"Your parents have noticed something's up with Hugh and are throwing a surprise birthday party with him because he won't get to celebrate it with the exams being earlier this year," Uncle Harry explained. "Plus, you didn't hear it from me, but Victoire and Teddy have 'some news.'"

"News?"

"News," he replied with a wink.

Struggling not to laugh, I said, "Well I won't say anything."

"Good. I'm already in trouble – Teddy wasn't supposed to tell me."

I could completely understand how Teddy might have let it slip to Uncle Harry. He always got so excited about everything, no doubt Uncle Harry was just the first person to see him. And as his father figure, Teddy would probably have wanted to tell Uncle Harry anyway.

"I'd better go. I need to think of a way to tell Dad…"

Uncle Harry nodded and moved away from the window himself. "I guess I'd better go talk to Hugo. I don't want him thinking I'm going to tell people."

Walking out into the garden, I couldn't help feeling that Uncle Harry really was a good person even if he was adding to the job description of a Secret Keeper.

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><p><strong>AN: That's it for now! I'll try to update again soon. Let me know what you thought. **


	27. Letters to Teachers

**A/N: Thanks so much to arenwick, Vil89six, LilyxJames4ever, anon, Starkid1996 and dwarfperson for reviewing the last chapter! I hope you all like this one. As always, I'd love to know what you think so be sure to leave a review. **

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing. :(  
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><p>An hour in my room alone didn't give me an epiphany or any other bright ideas on how to tell Dad that I'd done exactly what he'd told me not to on the day of my first journey on the Hogwart's Express.<p>

"_So that's little Scorpius," Dad said. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."_

"_Ron, for heaven's sake, don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!" Mum admonished sternly._

"_You're right, sorry. Don't get_ too_ friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pure-blood."_

I could remember it clearly even now. So I hadn't quite married Scorpius, but the message was the same really, wasn't it? I really hoped Granddad wouldn't mind me being with Scorpius. I had hope. Even Granddad had been able to admit that Scorpius seemed to have broken with the Malfoy tradition when he was housed in Ravenclaw, suggesting that perhaps he wasn't as bad as we all thought.

"Rosie! Can you come downstairs?" Mum asked, shouting up the stairs and breaking my train of thought.

Sighing, I shrugged out of my denim jacket and left it on my bed. I could already hear the shushed whispers of my family trying to plot how exactly to surprise Hugo as I made my way downstairs.

"I told you," Dad hissed. "We should just all hide."

"And as I said before, Ronald, there's no point in hiding. Hugo already knows that everyone's here," Mum answered, seeming slightly terse. "Oh, good, there you are, Rose. Could you please convince your father that I'm right?"

"Mum's right," I told Dad, glancing over at Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny who were struggling to keep a straight face. I was told that my parents had always disagreed, and it as easy to see how. Whilst Uncle Harry used to find it weary, it appeared to be a source of immense humour in his middle-age years.

"What do you suggest then?"

"I'll sort it," I volunteered, already wanting to escape the Addams family reunion.

"Thanks, Rosie darling," Mum murmured. "Places everyone."

Turning on my heel, I headed back up the stairs and stopped outside Hugo's room. The door itself was once more plastered with Chudley Cannon's posters and stickers, and a sign that made it clear – if it wasn't already – that I was standing outside of Hugo's room.

Knocking, I announced my presence.

Muffled from within came, "Yeah?"

"It's me…can I come in?"

"I suppose," Hugh answered. He was just setting down his latest Cannon's magazine as I shut the door behind me. "What do you want?"

"Feel up to facing everyone?"

"Why?" he asked, seeming to get suspicious.

"I know you hate surprises, so don't freak out, but Mum and Dad have organised something for you. And," I said, interrupting him as he began to protest. "You can't complain, because it's not a surprise since I told you."

"Fine," he replied, already seeming to dread making the short journey downstairs.

"Cheer up. You might get the new Cannon's strip," I reminded him.

"You know more than you're letting on…don't you?"

Grinning, I mimed zipping and locking my lips shut and left his room, leaving him to follow me. As we made our way downstairs it was silent.

None of our family were in the house, but as soon as we opened the back door, we heard them all shout, "Happy birthday, Hugo!"

"Thanks but I think you've got your dates confused…" Hugo mumbled, looking slightly bemused.

"Come and sit down," fussed Nana, indicating the seat beside her. Mum and Dad gave him hugs as he passed and Uncle Harry clapped him on the back with an encouraging grin.

Hugo seemed to cheer up as he opened his presents, finding the Chudley Cannon's strip I'd bought him, as well as a new broomstick from my parents. I guess it could also have been to do with the fact that since we were celebrating his birthday, (not that he'd had it yet) we all had to be nice to him.

Of course, having a new broom, Hugo had to try it out straight away and James and Al were quick to set up a tournament. However, whilst I would have loved the chance to play, I had to turn down the offer. I was meant to be telling Dad about Scorpius.

Just as I turned down James' request to play, Dad jumped up and offered to take my place. It was boring to watch, in all honesty, and I ended up gossiping with Victoire.

"How are things?" she asked, using a tone of voice that made it obvious she was asking about Scorpius and me.

"Good," I answered with a smile.

"I heard about the, er, broom cupboard incident. Don't worry about it. Teddy and I almost got caught once – not by Professor McGonagall, of course, but our Head Boy was just as strict."

"And why didn't I hear about this sooner?" I asked with raised eyebrows, biting my lip to keep from laughing.

Tori shrugged and laughed before turning suddenly serious.

"I'm dying to tell someone," she whispered. "But you've _got _to keep this a secret for now, Rose."

I nodded, beginning to get excited. Perhaps Victoire and Teddy were having a baby, I thought.

"Teddy got offered that job over in New Zealand and were moving out there next month!"

Shocked, I only managed to mumble, "That's great."

"Isn't it?" Tori enthused, oblivious to my lack of reaction. "I've always thought that New Zealand would be a great place to live!"

I nodded and excused myself as Uncle George stood to be subbed in place of Dad who landed, gripping and rubbing his old knee injury.

Seeing my chance, I leapt up and rushed towards him. "Let me help you, Dad," I said, taking his broomstick from him and leading him across the lawn towards the house.

"Thanks, Rosie," he grunted, limping along.

Setting him down in his favourite chair, I sat on the arm of the one opposite.

"You're missing the party, Rosie. I don't need you here with me, why not go back out?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you, Dad."

"Really? Well, fire away," he said, relaxing back in his chair.

"Well…you know how you keep asking about my boyfriend…"

Dad nodded gently, his eyes closed as he began to drift off.

"Well…it's just that I'm dating Scorpius."

"Oh, that's nice," Dad replied, clearly not listening properly.

"Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy that is."

His eyes snapped open and his face seemed to go through every colour of the rainbow before fading to a sickly white. Quite frankly, I was shocked. I'd been expecting outright anger. I'd thought that the moment Scorpius' name left my lips, the fireworks would start and that he'd be yelling in my face. I got neither. Instead, Dad just sat there and stared at me. After five minutes I was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Dad?" I asked nervously, shooting glances at him before looking away again, unable to hold his gaze.

Finally, he shifted his weight on the chair and stood up. He stared at me again for a few minutes, then left without saying a word.

Stunned and confused, I flopped into his vacated chair and watched his retreating figure head up the stairs. A few minutes later he was back and on his arm he carried Pollux, our family owl. Before my very eyes he began scrawling out a letter, occasionally shooting me looks. Every time his eyes looked hard, burning with intensity I'd never seen before.

I thought he was writing to Scorpius, telling him to stay away from me.

Once Pollux was gone, he sat back down, in a chair as far away from me as possible and stared out the window, clearly awaiting the owl's return.

I felt trapped in my seat. I didn't want to move in case he turned his eyes on me again but at the same time, being in the room in silence was swiftly becoming unbearable. It became clear that I wouldn't be leaving until Dad left, and Dad wouldn't be leaving until Pollux came back.

After what felt like four hours, the tawny owl fluttered through the window and landed on the back of Dad's chair, carrying a letter in his beak with a scroll attached to one leg. One look at the ruffled scroll of parchment told me that Dad had sent Pollux to Hagrid.

Clearing his throat, he untied the parchment and took the letter from Pollux, stroking his feathers to appease the tired owl. He read in silence, completely oblivious to my presence.

Finally, he set down the three sheets of parchment he'd been sent and looked up at me, seeming strangely calm.

"Dad?" I asked uncertainly, sure that he was in his calm before the storm phase and was about to explode. I honestly believed he was going to disown me and send me packing. Nervous energy raised me to my feet.

"Professor McGonagall, Neville and Hagrid all seem to be very complimentary of Malfoy."

"You wrote to our teachers?"

He nodded, unfazed by how appalling I thought that was.

"Well?" I asked. "What do you think about Scorpius after reading 'character references'?"

"He certainly seems less like a Malfoy than all the others. I'm not saying I think he's the most charming, intelligent person on the planet, but I'm willing to overlook his surname. But if he does _anything _to hurt you, Rosie, you are never to see him again," Dad replied, being over-protective as usual.

Rolling my eyes, I told him matter-of-factly that Scorpius wouldn't do anything to hurt me and crossed the room to hug him.

"I just said if," Dad pointed out, holding up his hands.

"So you're not angry with me?" I asked a little unsurely, still certain that he was holding back some rage which would later catch me.

"No, I'm not angry with you-"

"-Not even a little bit disappointed?"

"No, I'm not disappointed in you. You can't help who you fall in love with, Rose. I know that better than anyone. I never thought I would fall in love with your mother. Heck, I didn't even like her when I first met her – I thought she was a bossy know-it-all. She may still be a bossy know-it-all sometimes, but she's also the bravest, most determined, loyal and compassionate woman I've ever met." Smiling wryly, he took my wrists. "If you love Scorpius, then I'm sure we he has some redeeming qualities."

"Thanks for understanding, Dad. I honestly didn't want to fall in love with a Malfoy. I hated him for four years, and then last year, I guess things started to change. I still don't really know why, but I'm glad they did. I'm happy with him," I shrugged.

Dad smiled back at me, pulled me into a warm hug and released me, telling me to get back to the party.

I nodded and left the living room, but instead of returning to the garden, I sprinted up the stairs and wrote Scorpius a quick, elated letter to tell him that my Dad didn't want to murder him.

When I did get back to the party, I found that the quidditch game had ended and Hugo had opened all his other presents, getting a box of Uncle George's new fireworks to test out for him, as well as some other Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, some new clothes and robes from Granddad and Nana, quidditch tickets from Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, some sweets from Tori and Teddy, a book from Uncle Percy and a pile of other stuff I couldn't even see because the pile of presents was too big.

Mum was just serving the cake when Dad called for me, his voice carrying from inside the house.

Frowning, I left everyone at the table and entered the house, heading for the living room where I'd last seen Dad. I was surprised to find myself face to face, however, with Scorpius not my father.

"Did you invite Scorpius here without our permission, Rose?" Dad demanded, looking between us.

"No…"

"Then what the devil is he doing in my house?" Dad said irritably.

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><p><strong>AN: So what did you think of Ron's reaction? And what do you think will happen next? Why is Scorpius at Rose's house and what will Ron do? Let me know what you think!**


	28. Fireworks

**A/N: Hey guys! I've got something I want to quickly talk about before letting you all read the chapter! For a previous story I wrote a series of bonus chapters from different characters' points of view to give something back to the reviewers and to say a really big thank you. I've been thinking of doing something similar with this story, as Ron's POV of the last chapter (and possibly this one) would be quite interesting, or maybe something from Scorpius' POV. Would you guys be interested in that? **

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><p>"Then what the devil is he doing in my house?" Dad said irritably.<p>

Normally it was 'our house', so clearly Dad wasn't quite as okay with my relationship with Scor as he'd claimed. Not only was he acting possessive, he was also coming across as slightly aggressive, an unattractive quality in him.

"What's going on?" Uncle Harry asked, surrounded by the rest of my family.

"Dad thinks Scorpius is gate-crashing," I explained. The derisive tone of my voice made it quite clear that I thought the notion was ridiculous.

"I invited him," Mum said quietly to Dad.

"You knew about this?"

Wincing, I explained how I told Mum about Scorpius.

"Who else already knew?" Dad asked, looking round at everybody.

Everybody in the room lifted their hands.

"Great. The last person to know. Again."

"Sorry, Dad, but I didn't feel like I could tell you…"

Really I kind of had a right to tell Mum and not him. Every girl would rather talk to their Mum about boyfriends, wouldn't they? There was no way my father would ever be able to sit down and talk to me about boys I fancied or thought were good-looking. It would probably be the most mortifying experience of my life.

Feeling uncomfortable, Scorpius shuffled his feet. "I'm just getting in the way, so I think I'm going to go home…"

Dad stepped in front of him and blocked his path to the fireplace. "Wait. I'm not finished with you," he told him through gritted teeth.

Scorpius looked up at him with wary eyes.

"Rose, Hermione," Dad said. "If you could show everyone else out of the room."

I glanced over at Mum, who nodded and hissed something into Auntie Ginny's ear before showing her out.

"Good luck," Hugo muttered to me, the last to leave the room behind Fred and Dominique.

I nodded, feeling my heart in my throat, and turned around to face my father and Scorpius.

"Well…what to do?"

I said nothing. I wasn't even sure what Dad was talking about. He'd seemed fine earlier when he'd decided, after consulting my teacher's, that Scorpius wasn't as bad as he'd originally thought; but now he appeared to have changed his mind. He didn't seem at all okay with the fact that Scorpius was my boyfriend.

"What to do about what, Ronald?"

Finally someone had said something, breaking into Dad's thoughts.

"This," Dad answered, gesticulating between Scor and me.

"Why does anything need to be done?" Scorpius asked, stepping forwards and squaring off with my father.

Dad looked down at Scorpius with humour, as if he was laughing at his shorter height and how easy it would be to beat him if it came to a fight. Stood toe to toe as they were, it was easy to see there was quite a difference between them.

"Ron," Mum warned, stepping forwards and pushing him backwards with a palm on his chest. In urgent whispers, I heard her say, "He's a boy, Ron, you can't."

"The hell I can't. I'm going to do everything to protect my daughter."

"I can protect myself," I replied, wondering why everyone seemed to think I was so helpless. Please, I was top of my class in almost every subject. I knew NEWT grade spells already. If someone was going to attack me, they would regret it.

"No, you can't. Not from him. Look, Rosie, you don't understand. But I do. I'm not ignorant of teenage _activities_ and I won't have it. He's only here for one thing and I won't let him take it."

Scorpius looked around in confusion whilst I felt my cheeks go red.

"We haven't- It's not like that, Dad," I stuttered.

"Good. And it's going to stay that way until you're married."

"What?"

"You heard me, young lady. There is no way _he _is staying here," Dad declared, pointing at Scorpius with venom.

"I won't stay overnight. I just came to celebrate Hugh's birthday and see Rose," Scorpius said politely, keeping his cool where my father wasn't.

"Don't you think you're being a bit unreasonable, Ronald?" Mum asked.

"Not at all. Do you honestly want them… you know under our roof?"

"Scorpius has just told you it's not going to happen," she pointed out.

"And you believe him?"

"Yes."

"Well I don't," Dad replied stubbornly.

I'd been wrong when I thought it would be mortifying to talk about which boys I fancied with my dad. Nothing could be more embarrassing and humiliating than the conversation I found myself in. All I wanted to do was lock myself in the bathroom and find some cold water to throw over my burning cheeks, anything to escape the room. It was even worse knowing that my brother and cousins would most likely be listening at the door. They wouldn't waste the opportunity to mock me about it when I next saw them.

"What's it going to take for you to trust him?" I asked Dad in anger, my embarrassment providing fuel.

Taken aback, Dad mumbled, "It's not that I don't trust him…"

"So you don't trust me?"

"Of course I do."

"Then Scorpius being here isn't a problem, is it?"

Sighing, Dad agreed, "I guess not."

"Great! We're going back out to the party."

Scorpius stared at me in admiration as I took his hand and towed him out of the dining room and outside. Surprisingly my cousins weren't at the door and they appeared to be acting normally when we joined them in the garden, rather than shiftily pretending to be busy doing something.

"How did you do that?" he asked in awe.

"Do what?" I honestly didn't know what he was talking about.

"Handle your dad that way! When I told my parents about me and you, my dad was so mad. I couldn't do anything to calm him down. It was only my mum that managed to stop him from hitting me."

"My mum helped too," I mumbled, feeling self-conscious.

Scorpius shook his head and laughed. "You don't even know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"How much your dad is wrapped around your finger, that's what. He wouldn't have admitted any of that stuff to anyone but you, I'm sure. He must really love you."

I shrugged, thinking that it couldn't be true. My parents had always been really close. I thought they told each other everything. In the back of my mind, I knew they didn't – after all Mum hadn't told Dad about Scorpius.

"Rose, Scorpius! You're just in time for the fireworks!" James shouted.

With the lights in the house that automatically brightened as it got later, I hadn't noticed it getting dark. In fact I was kind of surprised to see the stars in the sky.

Mum and Dad emerged from the house a few minutes after us, and though I could feel Dad's eyes zeroed in on Scorpius arms slung around my waist and his chin resting on my head, he didn't say anything. For that, I was grateful. I even managed to enjoy the fireworks display despite it.

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><p><strong>AN: So I hope you liked the chapter. Thanks so much to LilyxJames4ever, Words of A Feather, Tanny Apple, Vil89Six, Starkid1996 and anon for reviewing the last chapter. Let me know what you guys think of this one and if you would like some bonus chapters!**


	29. Teasing

**A/N: You all seemed pretty eager for bonus chapters so I've created a poll that you can vote in to pick which bonus chapters you would like/which POVs. You get five choices, once the story is finished, I'll add on the five bonus chapters with the most votes. So once you've read this chapter why not head over to my profile and vote! Quick thanks go to Starkid1996, Accioglasses98, anon, LilyxJames4ever, Vil89Six, Words of A Feather, anirugs, Gillean and Tanny Apple for reviewing! I hope you like this chapter!  
><strong>

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><p>Scorpius was true to his word and he travelled back to his house once the party had finished, not before he'd slipped a quick note into my palm though. I had to wait until I could get to my room to read it though. And even then, that took another half hour because we had to say goodbye to our numerous relatives.<p>

"See you on the train," I said to James, Al and Lily and Mum and Dad hugged Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny goodbye.

They nodded and one by one traipsed out to their car.

"See you Rose, Hugh," Uncle Harry called, backing out of the door and waving.

I smiled and waved back at him before sprinting up the stairs, shouting night down to my parents.

I was out of breath by the time I'd shut my bedroom door behind me and unfolded the piece of parchment.

Written on it were two words.

_Happy Easter_

Rolling my eyes at the waste of parchment, I turned it over and reused it, writing 'Happy Easter to you too! Love, Rose' in as neat writing as I could manage.

Dashing across the hall, I knocked on Hugo's door, feeling a sense of deja vu from earlier in the day, and asked if I could borrow his screech owl, Feathers.

"Depends," Hugo replied. "Is it a long journey? 'Cause you know he's still suffering from that cantankerous sore on one of his wing joints-"

"It's not far at all, Hugo, I promise."

"Alright, just make sure you feed him when he gets back," Hugo instructed, packing some of his birthday presents into his trunk.

"You're packing? We've only been home one day, Hugh! We've still got two weeks off," I said, frowning slightly.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm staying at Jasper's until we go back to school. We've got that History of Magic project to work on together-"

"-Jasper? Why aren't you working with Lorcan and Lysander? They're your best friends," I said, butting in.

"Because we were partnered up and I got put with Jasper," he explained.

"Who is this Jasper? Why don't I know him?"

"You do know him, Rose. He's that tall, Hufflepuff boy-"

"-Jasper Radcon?"

"Yeah…"

"He's in your year? I thought he was a fourth year, not a third year!" I exclaimed in shock, picturing again the tall Hufflepuff boy with a flop of sandy hair.

"Nope, he's my age," Hugo answered, turning back around to his packing. The tips of his ears poking through his short hair turned red.

"Hugo…is there something you're not telling me?"

"No," he answered, his voice higher in pitch as he lied.

"You fancy him, don't you?" I asked with excitement. A grin spread over my face and I threw myself down onto his bed.

"No," Hugo insisted, but his response was just a bit too quick.

"You do! You so do!" I exclaimed, bouncing on his bed.

"Alright, I do! How could anyone not?"

"I know, his hair's so perfect," I replied, remembering all the times I'd wanted to run my fingers through it because it looked so soft. It was obvious from looking that Jasper never used any hair products apart from shampoo and conditioner, compared to Scorpius who probably spent at least thirty minutes in the mornings gelling his hair into elaborate quiffs and waves.

"Isn't it? He _must _use Head and Shoulders! And have you seen his eyes? They're this perfect gold-green kind of colour…"

Smiling at how smitten Hugo clearly was, I crossed the room and took Feathers down from his perch.

"Well, I'll let you get on with your packing then," I promised, backing out of the room and pulling the door shut behind me. "Right, Feathers, I've got a message for you."

Feathers screeched in response as I dug into my pocket and pulled out the piece of parchment.

"You need to take it to Scorpius, got that? Scorpius Malfoy."

Feather's screeched again and flapped his wings, looking like he was about to take flight.

"Hold on! You need to take this, remember?" I let Feathers take the piece of parchment in his beak and then carried him over to my bedroom window. He hopped onto the ledge and flared his wings before soaring into the night. With any luck Scorpius would have the note before midnight and Feathers would arrive before morning. I left some owl treats on the ledge for when he returned and got ready for bed.

When I woke up, there was no sign of Feathers but his owl treats had disappeared. Thinking he must have flown around the house and through Hugo's window, I turned over and went back to sleep. I only got a few more minutes before Mum quietly opened the door and sat down on the bed beside me, stroking my head.

"Breakfast, Rosie," she murmured.

Groaning, I rolled over just as she opened the curtains and allowed a burst of blinding sunlight into the room. Clamping my eyes shut, I groaned again and stretched. Automatically, I yawned and swung my legs out of bed.

I took a few moments to find my slippers and slide my feet into them before I followed my mum downstairs and to the table. A full English breakfast awaited me, though I wasn't hungry enough to eat all of it.

I took a couple of bits of fried toast instead, and coated them with baked beans. Dad set down his paper and smiled at me before digging into a fried egg and one of his sausages.

"Hugo not up yet?" I asked.

"He got picked up earlier this morning by Jasper and his family," Mum answered, sitting down at the table herself.

"What? I missed saying goodbye to him," I complained, truly upset. "Why didn't anyone wake me?"

"We called you five times," Dad responded, picking up a quill and scribbling in a crossword clue. "And the Radcons couldn't wait. They've got a long journey up to Scotland."

I hadn't realised that Hugo would be leaving so early and had planned on spending the day with him. It looked like I would be faced with the alternative of either staying at home alone or accompanying one of my parents to work. Having been to work with them a few times, I chose to stay at home alone.

Once my parents left, I returned to me bedroom and looked for something to do. Nothing immediately came to mind. I'd already done most of my homework in the car on the way home and revision wasn't an enticing option. I'd almost forgotten about Feathers and the letter I sent to Scorpius until I went to Hugo's room to see if he had anything I could do.

Feathers was sat on his perch again, but he had no letter in his beak, and I didn't recall seeing one in my bedroom anywhere either. I began a quick search of Hugo's room, not wanting to pry too deeply anywhere, but didn't find anything anyway.

Confused I returned to my room and on impulse picked up my broomstick.

I'd only been flying for a few minutes when I heard a voice. For a minute I worried that a Muggle had seen me, but it was only Albus standing underneath me.

"What are you doing here?" I called, laughing slightly at my own stupidity and how fast my heart was racing.

"Auntie Hermione said you might be lonely, so I came over," he answered. "And I brought some friends too."

"Guys, come out," he called.

Lily, Dominique and Lucy came into the garden and looked up at me.

I flew down and greeted them all, really surprised to see them after only a day. I was in the middle of hugging Lily when someone else walked into the garden, the sun shining too much in my eyes for me to be able to see who it was.

"Sorry, I'm late," he exclaimed.

Recognising his voice, I broke into a grin.

"Scor?"

"Yep," he answered. "I didn't see the point in writing back to you, when your Mum already said I could come round again today."

I hugged and kissed him, still holding my broomstick which made it kind of awkward.

"What are we going to do then?" Dom asked.

"Quidditch," Al suggested, nodding towards my broom.

Dom rolled her eyes and whispered that it was typical of him to say that.

Lily, on the other hand, laughed and said, "Good suggestion, Al, but what you failed to notice is that none of us have our brooms with us, unlike yesterday."

"Sorry, but no-one else said anything, did they?" Al retorted.

"Because we didn't want to be stupid like you! And it's Rose's house, so she should choose anyway, Dingus," Lily replied.

"We do have old brooms," I said, but Al and Lily didn't hear as they were too busy arguing. Lucy, caught standing between them, was looking to Lily and then to Al every time they said something. Considering she would be in the most danger if it should come to a duel, it was an understandable action.

I repeatedly tried to talk to them, but they were paying no attention to anyone but each other. I doubted they could even see Lucy stood in the middle.

Finally, Scorpius lost all patience and whistled loudly to get their attention.

Lily and Al both turned to face us, looking annoyed at being interrupted.

"Rose says she has old brooms," he told them, taking no notice of their aggravated expressions.

Al's face broke into a grin. "Excellent."

Lily shrugged and turned to talk to Lucy and Dom, probably about how lucky Lucy was not to have a brother.

I left my broom leaning against the side of the house and led the way to the broom cupboard around the side of the house. Scorpius chose a Comet 3005 that had been Hugo's, Lily took a Nimbus millennium series broom and Dom grabbed the nearest one (a Sweepfleet 10). Al took longer, trying to find something to match the quantum speed Firebolt he had left at home, and Lucy asked everyone's advice before picking the safest option, a Jackdaw 4.

We were about to kick off when Al shouted, "Wait! We need to sort out team captains!"

"Rose, obviously," Lily told him, using that tone of voice again that showed she thought he was being stupid.

"Who else though?" I asked.

No-one volunteered, knowing that Al would want to do it.

"How about you, Al?"

"Well, as long as no-one else wants to-"

Lily opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Al declaring he was happy to be the other team captain.

"So…teams of three," he suggested.

I nodded and picked Scorpius as my first team mate. Scorpius smiled and came to stand at my side.

Al picked Dom and I picked Lily, leaving Al with Lucy.

Lily thanked me for saving her from being on her brother's team.

"No problem," I answered. "What position do you want?"

She shrugged. "I can keep for you if you want."

"Scor? I'm assuming you want to be a chaser," I muttered, trying to keep my voice down as we talked tactics.

He nodded and leaned his chin down on his broom handle so that he was at our level.

"Lily, you're keeper for now, but we'll rotate, okay?"

Scor and Lily both nodded and we kicked off the ground, circling over to the mock quidditch pitch my father had made in the garden, Lily going to hover in front of the crudely made hoops.

For an hour, we played. Albus took it very seriously, and seemed to be concentrating hard on trying to win, whilst Scor and I were making the most ridiculous passes with the Quaffle.

By the end of the game, I had been keeper twice and kept missing most of the shots at my goals because Scorpius kept making me laugh so much. I was also beginning to get tired of the sun shining in my eyes, and so we called the end to a game and headed indoors for some ice creams from the freezer.

Whilst we were stood in the kitchen, Scorpius happened to find an unopened bag of popcorn.

"You know what this calls for," he said with a wink. "A film!"

"Yeah, haven't your parents got that Gwenog Jones biopic?" Al asked.

I nodded.

"We're not going to watch _that_, are we, Rose? It'll be boring," Scorpius whined.

"Yeah, we should watch _You Again_ or something," Lucy suggested.

"_Or _we could watch something else," Scorpius said, subtly hinting at his desire not to watch a rom-com.

I looked sidelong at him, sure he was plotting something.

"After all, last time we watched a film, I never got to show you my preferred genre."

I groaned but he was not to be dissuaded. He convinced Al and Dom, and let's face it, there was no way I was going to say no to him. He led the way to the living room, grabbed a DVD from the rack and inserted it into the DVD player without telling us what it was.

Lucy and I sat on the sofa, leaving a space for Scorpius beside me and Al and Lily grabbed two of the larger cushions off the chairs and sat in front of the sofa.

But Scorpius didn't come and sit beside me, at least not until he'd shut all the curtains and left the room in darkness.

"Welcome to Fight Night," he said, putting on his spookiest voice.

"Scor, chuck us those cushions."

"These ones?" he asked me, pointing at the only two left in the room.

I nodded and caught them both, passing one to Lucy. "You're going to need this," I told her.

"Wrong Turn 2, awesome choice, Scorpius," Al grinned.

Barely ten minutes into the film, I was hiding behind my cushion and trying not to throw up. Lucy left, giving the excuse that her dad had told her to be back by twelve, and Lily took her place on the sofa beside me. She wasn't as scared or repulsed as me, but she didn't look to be enjoying the film as much as Al and Scor either, who were grinning and laughing whenever someone died.

We had just finished the film and were watching the credits when my parents came home, but Scorpius had turned the volume up so much that we didn't hear them. It was only when the living room door opened and my dad shouted something over the top of the TV stereo that we all jumped out of our skin yelling in fear.

"What the heck have you been doing?" Dad asked.

"Watching Wrong Turn 2," Al answered with a smile.

"That was a mistake," Dad told us. "Didn't you hear that it was based off true events?"

Al's smile faltered. "You're making it up," he said, though he didn't sound convinced.

"No, I'm not. It wasn't far from here either. It was how Old Man Burgess went, eaten alive, poor sod. Yeah, they never caught the group that did it. There was a string of similar murders up in London too, and then they stopped suddenly as well. Before you knew it, they were back here. I heard they hide-out in the woods behind the house – that's why I keep telling you and Hugo not to go in there, Rosie."

Knowing from experience that he was teasing us, I rolled my eyes and turned to look at Scorpius, expecting him to be smirking and scoffing of the story. But his eyes were wide and he even looked paler than usual.

Seeing his reaction, Dad creased up laughing. "Oh, I can't keep it up! You all believed me!"

"That wasn't funny, Uncle Ron!" Albus exclaimed.

"Teach you to watch scary films then," Dad replied, going back to the hall and hanging up his coat.

"You believed him, you were scared," I sang, making fun of him.

"No, I wasn't," he answered. "It was a ridiculous story."

"Liar, liar, pants on fire! Look, you're all pale."

"I'm not," he insisted. "It's just because it's dark in here." To make his point, he stood and opened the curtains, leaping back with a shout when he found himself face to face with Dad who was stood on the other side of the window, pulling grotesque faces.

Al and Lily both snickered, as I tried to refrain from laughing.

Embarrassed, Scorpius wouldn't face me. Standing behind him and hugging him, I told him in a whisper, "You know, if he didn't like you, he wouldn't be teasing you..."

Scor turned around in my arms with a smile and kissed my forehead.

"I definitely won't be watching anymore horror films any time soon though."

"Yeah right," I scoffed.

"Who am I kidding? I'll probably go home and watch one tonight."

"As long as you don't watch them around me," I replied.

"Would you like to stay for dinner, Scorpius?" Mum asked politely, coming out of the kitchen.

He looked at me, as if asking for my opinion or confirmation.

I smiled and he obviously took it as a yes, and replied, "Yes, thank you, Mrs Weasley."

"Al? Lily? You're parents are out tonight, aren't they?"

Lily nodded.

"You're welcome to stay," she offered.

"Thanks but Fred was coming round to revise with James. We should probably make sure they haven't done any serious damage to the house," Lily answered.

Mum nodded and headed back into the kitchen.

After saying goodbye to Lily and Albus, Scorpius and I were back in the living room alone.

"Just to warn you, my mum really isn't the best cook."

"At least she does the cooking herself," he muttered.

He was cut off from explaining by the arrival of my Dad, who sat down in his favourite armchair and immediately picked up the newspaper, turning again to the crossword.

"Oh, Rosie, you'll know this one. Muggle-born alchemist, former Auror?"

I was about to answer, but Scorpius beat me to it.

"Fortias," he answered without thinking.

Dad looked up, seeming impressed.

"How about this one then? Healing plant, white petals, gold seeds?"

"Moly flower," Scorpius told Dad.

"Alright then. Nobody's been able to get this one. Final resting place of Rowena Ravenclaw?"

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><p><strong>AN: So what did you think? Review and let me know! Don't forget to vote in the poll though. **


	30. Concussion

**A/N: Thanks so much to Vil89Six, LilyxJames4ever, Em, anon, Sarcastic-Bones, Starkid1996, dwarf person and Spawn of Sirius for reviewing! I hope you like this chapter; it is a bit of a filler to some extent. It's also a bit rushed compared to the last chapter as I didn't have much time to write today. Remember to vote for bonus chapters in the poll on my profile page, so far Scorpius' POV of telling his parents is winning. And if you fancy it, I have a new one-shot about Scorpius' first day at Hogwarts, so why not give it a read?**

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><p>I zoned out then, as Scorpius moved to peer at the crossword over my father's shoulder. Although, I still felt like Dad was testing Scor, it looked like they would get on better in the future. Dinner was the same; Dad was full of questions for Scorpius, though he and Mum both seemed genuinely interested to hear the answers.<p>

After Dinner, Scorpius headed home, leaving me to play chess with my father. Every once in a while he would insist on having a game, and though I had more logical skill than Hugo, I was never quite as keen as Dad to play.

"I've got to pass my skills on to someone, Rosie, or the chess-playing gene will die out," Dad told me as he began setting up the board.

Rolling my eyes, I sat down and, playing as white, moved my first pawn.

As usual, Dad beat me severely. By the end of the game, all of my pieces were lying at the side of the board in various states of damage. My queen, for instance, looked just like Anne Boleyn: headless.

The rest of the holidays passed in the same way. Tori and Teddy visited a few times, and I met up with the girls in London, using the London Underground to get to Oxford Street for a spot of shopping. Lily appeared to have had a growth shoot and needed some new Muggle clothes, so we all took it as an opportunity to get some things for ourselves.

By the end of the two week holiday, I'd been shopping in London twice, to a local Zoo with Scorpius once, started revising for the series of mock exams we would have once we returned to school and played a number of quidditch matches. Lucy and I had finally watched _You Again_ and we'd been to Nan and Granddad Weasleys' house to see Uncle Charlie whilst he was temporarily back from Romania. Going back to Hogwarts felt like sweet relief after being so busy.

When I sat down with Scorpius on the train, up in the Prefect's compartment, I knew that telling Dad had been a good thing. He had even waved to both of us as we stood at one of the doors. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest, and I was able to fully enjoy the journey, despite the fact that we had to spend most of the time on our feet patrolling the train. We were only able to re-join my family for about an hour before the train stopped at Hogsmeade and we piled into the carriages to be taken up to the school. With the rest of my family not knowing Hugo's secret, it was impossible for me to ask him about how it had gone with Jasper.

As always Professor McGonagall welcomed us back with a speech and a feast though at the end, she asked Professor Longbottom and Professor Richards to ask Scorpius and me to remain behind to see her.

Pleased with our behaviour, and feeling charitable after no doubt enjoying the odd Easter egg, she told us that the restrictions on us were lifted. Scorpius hi-fived me as we left the hall.

"Revising outdoors tomorrow?" I asked, referring to our double free period in the morning.

"Sure," Scorpius replied before kissing me on the cheek to say goodnight.

"See you tomorrow!" I called to him cheerily, jogging up a few stairs. When I arrived at the Common Room, I was surprised to find Fred and James actually revising for the NEWTs. But there was no sign of Hugo. "Hugo in his dorm?" I asked Louis.

"Yeah, he said he had a little bit of homework left," my cousin replied, jumping slightly at my proximity and the fact that I'd spoken straight into his ear.

"Thanks," I told him, dashing up the boys dormitory stairs to find him.

Once more he was alone in his dorm, leaning back against his pillows with a piece of parchment resting on a book on his knees.

"Hey, Hugh."

"Oh, good, Rose properties of unicorn horn?"

Shaking my head, I reeled off the list that he ought to have known.

"Thanks!"

"No problem," I replied, leaving a pause before I said, "So…how was it at Jasper's."

"Good," Hugo said simply.

"Did you tell him?"

Hugo shook his head. "I don't even know if he's gay, Rosie," he answered, whispering the word 'gay'.

"He has to be. Who else would take such good care of his hair?"

Hugo shrugged. "And what if I tell him only to find out that he's either not gay and gets repulsed by me admitting that I fancy him? Or worse, that he _is _gay but doesn't like me?"

"It's better than not taking the risk surely?" I said pointedly.

"I don't know. Anyway, I'd better finish this essay for Professor Slughorn," he replied, looking down at the ink bottle on the bed beside him as he dipped in his quill.

I left him and joined my family in the Common Room only to have to confiscate a Fanged Frisbee. How on earth they were still popular, let alone appearing in school despite having been on the list of banned goods for a good three decades, I didn't know.

The next morning, I awoke to shining sun and grinned. It was always pleasant to sit in the grounds with the sun warming your skin as you did your homework or revised.

"Scorpius and I are revising outside," I told Dom, Al and Lucy over the breakfast table. "Fancy it?"

Al shrugged and bit into his toast before mumbling, "Whatever."

Lucy and Dom agreed and the four of us left the table. Seeing no sign of Scorpius at the Ravenclaw table, we went to look for him outdoors and found him stood with a group of his Ravenclaw friends by the Whomping Willow.

"Go on, Scorpius," Tim and Jason chanted.

Confused, I slipped past Laura and Tim to find him stealthily trying to approach the violent tree.

"How far do I have to go?" Scorpius called back to them.

"You've got to touch the trunk," Tim answered, shaking his red hair out of his eyes and snickering with Jason.

Nobody ever managed to touch the tree's trunk, despite the fact that it was a game often played by First Years and Second Years. The rest of the student's however, usually had other priorities or knew it was pointless to try.

"He's going to get hit so badly," Jason laughed.

Scorpius carried on creeping forwards, unaware of the tree branches shifting slightly. There wasn't anything anyone could have done to stop one of the thicker branches coming down and bashing him on the head.

Laura gasped, Jason and Tim gaped.

"Scorpius!"

I was barely aware of moving. It was only when I pulled his head into my lap that I realised that I was now in danger of being hit too.

Albus groaned and ran a hand over his face. Pulling out his wand, he cast Wingardium Leviosa on a nearby stick, then used it to touch a little knob near the roots of the tree. Instantly the tree branches stopped waving and Tim and Lucy ran forwards.

"Don't come and help then, Jason," Tim called, trying to lift and drag Scorpius out from under the tree by himself. "It was your bloody idea anyway!"

Jason ran forwards and picked up Scorpius' feet. Between the two boys, they dragged Scorpius a few feet and then set him down again.

Leaning over Scor, I asked, "How many wands am I holding?"

"Five?" he asked, squinting to try to see clearly.

"I'm not holding a wand at all, Scorpius!"

"Well then that was a trick question," he mumbled. "Not to worry, I'll be fine-"

"-No, you clearly have concussion," Albus said. "You need to go to the Hospital Wing."

"Fine," Scorpius replied, giving in and letting Albus run in to the castle to retrieve Madam Pomfrey.

The school nurse arrived in a flurry, moving remarkably quickly for her age. In a few moments she had conjured up a stretcher and a neck brace and levitated Scorpius up to the castle. I followed behind, sure that he would be fine now that he was in her capable hands. Madam Pomfrey was able to, after a quick examination of his head and responses, whip up a potion to cure his concussion and let him leave the Hospital Wing.

The two of us returned outdoors and sat down by the lake to revise. Dom and Lucy were busy talking to Jason and Tim, Dom more flirting than talking if I was being honest, whilst Al and Laura tested each other on the moon positions of Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callista. Scorpius and I sat with them, determined to revise.

"Scor, you're back!" Jason called, running over. "You didn't tell me Rose's cousin was so hot," he mumbled, looking over at Dom for a moment.

"Because she doesn't need a womaniser like you hanging around," he replied a little testily.

Jason laughed and punched Scor on the arm before running back to Dominique, Tim and Lucy.

"If he tries anything, I'm so sorry."

"Oh, I think Dom can handle it," I told him, watching as she pointed as Jason in warning and slapped his knee. "I think she's more than enough of a maneater to match him. Now stop worrying and tell me the five exceptions to Gamps Laws of Elemental Transfiguration."

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><p><strong>AN: I'll try and update again at the weekend, but I'm going to be particularly busy. I don't think there will any updates for the next two weeks as I really need to focus on revising for my exams and they're very close together this year. But after that I should be able to update whenever as I won't be in school anymore. As always, I'd love to know what you think, so leave a review if you have time!**


	31. OWLs

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for not updating recently. I had to take two weeks away from the internet to make sure I didn't get distracted from revision. (But the good news is that I had my last exam yesterday and I'm not in school anymore.) I was going to write and update yesterday evening but I didn't really feel up to it as we had some bad news. Anyway, I'll let you guys read the chapter now. I hope you like it. As always I'd love to know what you think!**

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><p>It was the culmination of five years' worth of work. OWLs. Scorpius and I had been intensively revising whenever we could for six weeks, in between lessons, during rounds and throughout our free periods. Wherever we were, we were quizzing each other on one subject or another.<p>

But despite all the revision, I still awoke on the day of my first exam, Care of Magical Creatures, panicking like crazy and practically hyperventilating. I couldn't even eat anything at breakfast as Al, Lucy and Dom began a last minute cramming session. More than anything, I couldn't help wishing that they hadn't brought the exam forwards. I'd have rather done the new syllabus which was being implemented at the beginning of June and have another few weeks of revision than do the exam early. When the first lesson bell rang, the rest of the students filed out of the hall, leaving us Fifth Years behind. Although it was a practical exam for Care of Magical Creatures first, we weren't allowed to go outside without being escorted by the examiners.

Dom, Lucy and I stood in a loose group, trying to forget about nerves. One of the examiners had already escorted Al and Scorpius outside and they were probably in the middle of their exam considering it was being done alphabetically.

We were escorted out into the rain by one of the female examiner who looked surprisingly young in comparison to them other four, and each of us was taken to our own individual examiner. I was taken to Mr Forster, who promptly stuck out his hand to shake mine and introduced himself.

"Hi, Rose. I'm Tertius Forster, your Care of Magical Creatures examiner today."

"Hello," I replied nervously.

"Right, let's get started shall we," he replied, pushing his glasses up his nose and turning to lead the way towards the forest, where at the edge of the tree line there was a collection of tables bearing different animals in cages. "Could you show me the correct way to handle a Bowtruckle?"

With shaking hands, I picked up the wood-like creature and held it out to Mr Forster.

"Okay, thank you, and how would you care for a Bowtruckle?"

Feeling more confident because of the easy question, I answered, finding that perhaps my panic was needless because I managed to remember everything.

Mr Forster asked a few more questions, including the differences between Knarls and Crups, how to approach a unicorn and what the uses of their hairs and horns were, to pick something to feed a young Porlock and talk about the stages of growth in Fire Crabs.

When I returned to the castle, (avoiding being escorted back by an examiner due to the fact that there was no-one waiting to have their exam that I could talk to and tell them the questions) I found Scorpius waiting for me.

"How was it?" Scor asked, taking my hand and beginning to walk up the Grand Staircase with me.

"It went well, I think," I replied. "How about you?"

Scorpius shrugged. "Nothing too difficult, so hopefully I'll have done well."

We continued speaking as we made our way to the Library to revise for the written Charms paper we would have as a mock exam that afternoon.

"So Switching Spells came up last year as an essay on the theories behind the use of charms," I mumbled.

"Which means they can't ask that this year unless it's a short answer question," Scorpius added, finishing my sentence.

"Right, so we could get something about levitation, growth charms, colour-change charms – you'd do well on that one, Scorpius – summoning charms, the aguamenti charm, banishing charms, severing charms, disarming charms, freezing charms and Merlin knows what else."

"But the good news is," Scorpius told me, "you can cast all of those spells perfectly and obviously know how to write about them since you've been getting O's practically all year."

Scorpius continued to try to instil some confidence in me until we went for lunch and had to go to our separate tables.

"The exam will be fine," he promised, knowing that he probably wouldn't get another chance to talk to me until after the mock exam.

I nodded, not quite believing him, and sat down at the Gryffindor table beside Fred.

"How was Care of Magical Creatures?" he asked, wolfing down some roast potatoes.

"Not too bad. I've got a mock exam for charms this afternoon though."

He nodded, "It's all Al, Dom and Lucy are talking about."

Changing the subject, I looked around for James and asked after his whereabouts, thinking it was odd that he wasn't sat beside Fred. They were always together.

"Some quidditch crisis, of course," Fred answered, rolling his eyes.

"Quidditch crisis?"

"Yeah, Lily's caught something and can't play Chaser tomorrow. He's already spent all of break looking for someone to take her place."

"Is she okay?" I asked anxiously.

"Merlin, Rosie, she's not been bitten by a werewolf – there's no need to screech in my ear."

"Sorry. Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she just got some allergic reaction off one of the plants in the greenhouse. Madam Pomfrey will be able to solve it once they work out which plant it was-"

"-Thank God I found you, Rosie!" James exclaimed, wheezing slightly and looking red in the face from overexertion. "I need you to play Chaser tomorrow. I can't find anyone else."

Groaning, I replied, "No, James, I can't. I've got my mock exam tomorrow-"

"-Everyone's counting on you, Rosie. Not just the team but the whole house. Gryffindor needs you," he said, pleading with me.

Wavering, I tried to say, "James, my exams are important," but only managed to get out, "James-" before he butted in again.

"-I promise to keep quiet in the Common Room and not play any tricks on you or the First Years if you play…"

"Fine!" I exclaimed. "I'll fill in for Lily."

"You're the best cousin in the world!"

"Hey!" Fred cried out through a mouthful of sausage.

"Well I don't hear you offering to play," James told him with raised eyebrows.

"'Cause I'm already on the team, Dingus," Fred replied.

"Oh yeah… Right, well I need you at training tonight," James said before turning on his heel and leaving the hall without eating any lunch. "See you later!"

"Why did I agree to that…"

"Because you secretly want to play quidditch?" Fred suggested.

"It was more of a rhetorical question to myself, Fred" I muttered.

He grunted and then stopped talking, focusing on eating his lunch.

"We should probably go now so we don't get caught in the lesson scram and end up being late," Al said, leaning around a Second Year Gryffindor to talk to me.

I nodded, grabbed my bag and stood up with Al, Dom and Lucy. Across the hall, Scorpius and the some of the Fifth Years in Ravenclaw like Laura also stood up and began heading towards the Second Floor for Charms.

Professor Richards called us in individually by alphabetical order and made us sit at individual desks, meaning I was Dom, Lucy and I were all sat at the back, sharing the same surname and all.

"You have one hour, begin," Professor Richards told us.

Opening the question paper, I saw that Scorpius and I had been right about the long, essay question. Professor Richards hadn't asked us about switching spells, but had asked us to explain how to best cast colour-change charms, with reference to achieving desired the desired effects. With a wry smile, I began writing, remembering how my ears had flashed through every colour of the rainbow every five minutes the day Scorpius had charmed them. I would definitely be able to accurately describe the effects of the charm and the possible variations of it.

Moving on to the short answer questions, we were asked to describe how to summon an object, the wrist motion required for levitation, the incantation for banishing objects, when the aguamenti charm was first used and how to combat a freezing charm.

When the hour was up, my hand was aching from holding the quill and the tips of my fingers were both covered in ink and slightly flat from the way I had gripped the quill.

As we left the room, Lucy said to me, "I don't think I did too well on that colour-change charm essay, but the rest of it was really good, wasn't it?"

"I think I mixed up when the aguamenti charm was first used with when Merlin first used Lumos," Al commented, ruffling his hair.

"I bet you got one hundred per cent again, Rose," Dom said.

"Well, she is an expert on colour-change charms having been on the receiving end of one," Scorpius remarked from behind us, joining the conversation.

Turning, I glared at him and his smirk.

"So she's really going to get one hundred and fifteen per cent or something," Dom muttered, sounding slightly envious.

"You really are like Auntie Hermione!" Al exclaimed.

"Why? What did your Mum get in her charms OWL?" Scor asked, looking between Al and me.

"An outstanding…"

"What did she get in everything else?"

"Auntie Hermione got all O's except in Defence Against the Dark Arts," Al answered, as I flushed somewhat.

"That's why you're such a perfectionist!"

"I'm not a perfectionist, Scor," I replied.

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Yes, you are," he argued.

"No, I'm not. How am I a perfectionist?"

"You just are," he asserted.

"Guys, back me up here. Tell Scorpius I'm not a perfectionist," I said to Al, Lucy and Dom.

"Rose, you're a perfectionist," Dom answered.

"Really?"

"Yep," Al agreed.

"Lucy?"

"Well…you er… can be sometimes," she said gently.

"But it's okay because I love you anyway," Scorpius said, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze.

The five of us walked up to the Gryffindor Common Room together and started revising again and then headed down to the Great Hall for dinner. The house elves served up a collection of oriental food. By the end of the meal, I was sure I must have put on so much weight that my broomstick wouldn't be able to take my weight during training that evening.

Scorpius came over after he finished eating and played with my hair whilst he waited for me.

"Coming, Rosie?" James asked, the rest of the team stood behind him.

"Where are you going?" Scorpius asked me.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I'm playing in Lily's place – she's had some sort of allergic reaction and can't be chaser tomorrow-"

"-You're playing Chaser against me?" Scorpius interrupted in glee.

"Yes…"

"Finally! I've been waiting all year for you to admit to your cousin that you wanted to be on the team again. Oh, the competition's on, babe," he crowed.

Holding my finger in front of his face, I said, "Don't. Call. Me. Babe."

Nodding seriously, he replied, "Whatever you say. Babe."

Slapping his arm, I stood up only to have Scorpius pull me back down onto his lap and kiss me. Right in front of all of the teachers. (Talk about mortifying.)

Pulling away, I stood up and leaned out of his reach.

"I'm going to quidditch practise, Honeybun," I told him, putting on a falsely high voice that people were sure to overhear and smirking as everyone turned to look at him as he turned pink slightly.

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><p><strong>AN: If you guys have had any exams, I hope they went well. What subjects did you do?**

**I hope you all liked the chapter, let me know what you think if you've got time to leave a review. I love reading your comments and I definitely need cheering up at the moment. **

**Also, don't forget about the poll for bonus chapters on my profile! The top bonus chapter at the moment is Scorpius' POV of telling his parents about his relationship with Rose, tied with Hugo's POV of Jasper picking him up. If you can't vote in it because you're on the mobile site or something, feel free to PM me what you would like to read as a bonus chapter. If you're looking for something to read, I also have a oneshot, Quite A Day, about Scorpius' first day at Hogwarts. I'd love to know what some of you think about that. **

**Quick thanks go out to SnitchEye24, Sarcastic-Bones, pinkcrazyness, LilyxJames4ever, dwarfperson, Vil89Six, Lizaluvsdoggies, krc101 and Starkid1996 for reviewing recently!**

**P.S. Sorry for any typos there may be in this chapter, but my glasses are broken, so I couldn't really see properly as I was writing this. :P  
><strong>

**xxx  
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	32. For the Quidditch Cup

**A/N: Thanks go to LilyxJames4ever, Gillean, Lizaluvsdoggies, LilyMay77 and anon for reviewing the last chapter. I'm glad you've stuck with the story! Thanks also for being so understanding about my exams and everything. I hope you'll like this chapter. It's a bit more exciting than the last few, I would imagine. Anyway, let me know what you think. **

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><p>James grilled us for three hours at quidditch practise. The spring rain continued through the evening, blinding us and soaking us to the bone. By the time we trooped back into the castle, my arms were stiff with the chill and mud clung to every part of my body. It wasn't a pleasant welcome back to the world of quidditch at Hogwarts to say the least. But at least James was happy.<p>

All the way up to Gryffindor Tower, he exclaimed, "Great practise everyone!" and stuff like, "I'm sure we can beat Ravenclaw. We only need fifty points to win the cup, so just make sure we get those passes going."

I separated from the rest of the team at the Fifth Floor and went to the Prefect's bathroom to wash off, enjoying the many bubble baths of different scents and colours.

When I finally got back to Gryffindor Tower it was gone eleven o'clock and most people had already gone to bed. Following suit, I climbed the dormitory stairs and changed, getting into bed with my hair still sopping wet from my bath. As a result, when I woke up that Saturday morning, my hair was even more of a mess than usual. Whilst it normally had some waves in it, I now had a mass of curls sticking in all directions. Sighing, I pointed my wand at my head and muttered a quick detangling-spell, but that was the best I could do. I'd left my straightening potion at home.

In the pit of my stomach I already felt the pre-match nerves, but this year it was even worse. I was out of practise – I hadn't played in a serious match for a year since my fourth year game against Ravenclaw at the end of last year's season. It didn't help that last year I had been looking forward to the game, not feeling nervous at all because the only thing I wanted to do was find some way to punish Scorpius, be it by beating him or fouling him. Now I was playing against my boyfriend, and he was sure to want to win just as much as James. He'd been aching for another chance to test his skill against mine all year.

Going down to breakfast, I found that the rest of the team had already assembled around James and were digging in to a full, cooked breakfast. I managed a few mouthfuls of egg and bacon, but I just couldn't focus, especially as at that moment Scorpius and the Ravenclaw team swaggered into the Great Hall, all already dressed in their deep blue quidditch robes.

James too began to look a bit nervous, his face turning a queasy white and he stood up, shaking with nervous energy, to walk outside and test the conditions. Unlike yesterday, it was dry, but the ground wasn't hard enough for a fast kick-off as it was still saturated from the rain yesterday.

"Team talk," James called, already walking towards the Gryffindor changing room. I followed behind, walking alongside Fred.

"Important game, this is," Fred muttered. "James has been going on for months about how he needs to win this match. Supposedly there's going to be scouts in the stands, and you know he's aching to join a real team."

I nodded. James had been flying since before he could walk. He'd always gone with Auntie Ginny to her matches with the Holyhead Harpies and he always wanted a mock quidditch match in the summer holidays. He must have gone through over ten brooms in his years at Hogwarts and he still wasn't seventeen, though his birthday was only a few weeks away. Quidditch was all he talked about, unless he was telling jokes with Fred.

My stomach continued to flutter as I changed into my scarlet robes, not noticing how this year they were lined completely in gold. James paced, waiting for everyone to be ready so that he could begin his team talk, ensure we all understood the tactics and give us directions, meanwhile I sat on one of the benches, twiddling my broomstick between my hands.

Not only was I out of practise, but I realised that I had only had one training session with the rest of the team. I'd been playing with Fred and James all my life, I knew how they flew, how they moved and how their minds worked. Hugo was the same, though he was only a reserve beater this year. It was the newbies, Axel and Danielle, the other two chasers that I probably didn't know well enough to work with. And to make matters worse, James was counting on me.

"Right, we're only fifty points from the cup so I don't want anyone to make any stupid mistakes. Don't foul anyone, don't get rash and hot headed. All we have to do is stay focused. Keep your eyes on the balls and your team mates. Rose, I want you on the left, Axel stay central and Danielle go right as usual. Fred and Leon, well you know what to do, just make sure you keep those bludgers away from the rest of us."

"Yes sir," Fred responded, jumping to his feet and standing to attention.

"This is no time for fooling around. Gryffindor is depending on us so let's go out there and win it!" James shouted, somehow managing to inspire me despite the fact that I knew another part of the reason he was so determined to win was so the Quidditch Cup would have been won by Gryffindor for his entire seven years at Hogwarts. "Come on. It's time."

Swallowing my fears, I followed the other chasers out onto the pitch and almost had to shield my ears at the raucous noise. I'd forgotten just how loud the houses could be, especially when you were stood on the ground with the noise echoing down to you. Across the pitch, the Ravenclaws were also coming out of their changing room. I could already make out Scorpius as one of the taller boys in the line-up, stood beside his red-headed friend, Tim, one of the beaters.

Professor Crass, Madam Hooch's disliked replacement, had us stand in a wide circle with the seven Ravenclaw players on one side and the seven Gryffindor players on the other. Strangely enough, as we were both chasers, I was stood opposite Scorpius, who shot me a disarming grin that fuddled my brain for a minute.

It began to come back to me though as James and Scott, the Ravenclaw captain (another Seventh Year who would be leaving) stepped forwards and shook hands. Stepping back into the circle, James and Scott set the example, swinging one of their legs over their brooms. Almost in synchronicity, the rest of the players did the same. Professor Crass blew his whistle and all of us kicked off from the ground. The wind blustery in my face, I soared for the left hand side of the pitch, hanging back until Colin had taken his position by the three goal hoops.

Professor Crass opened the ball crate and let lose the bludgers and the snitch. Already James was watching it, his head jerking sharply around to follow its progress like an eagle watching its prey. Waiting for the game to begin, Fred repeatedly tossed his beater's bat in the air though he stopped immediately, throwing on his game face, when Professor Crass threw the quaffle high into the sky.

In chaos, Axel, Danielle and all three Ravenclaw chasers dove for the ball and then all of a sudden it was flying towards me. Despite the slight spin on it, I managed to catch it and then stared at it in confusion.

"Go, Rosie, go!" James bellowed, flying past me in search of the snitch and pointing at the bludger heading my way. Ducking under it, I tucked the ball under one of my arms and shot forwards, urging my broom to swerve around Will Archer, one of the Ravenclaw chasers. Seeing Scorpius fly towards me with a cocky grin, I passed the quaffle to Axel, who was following James' instructions to the letter and was flying meticulously in the centre of the pitch. Catching it by his fingertips, he lobbed it on over to Danielle, who had surged forwards and was only about four foot from the goals.

What happened next I missed, focusing on how the three Ravenclaw chasers were trying to close in around her. But the next thing I knew Lorcan and Lysander were announcing that Gryffindor had scored, though this was not something they sounded happy about. Grinning, Axel zoomed over to high five me and returned to his spot just in time to intercept a pass from the Ravenclaw goalie aimed at Scorpius.

It seemed that the Ravenclaws were following different tactics to James. Whilst James had given us zones of the pitch to run, the Ravenclaws seemed to be going wherever they wanted. Scorpius in particular was moving all over the place. He'd started on the right, moved to the left and was now in the middle.

Feeling pressurised, Axel passed the ball off to me and Scorpius followed. Again, he smiled, looking smug about something, and came towards me. Unwilling to lose the ball, I threw it up and then swerved around Scorpius in time to catch it. Only I didn't quite anticipate the bludger whacking into my back the second afterwards. In agony, I slumped forwards onto my broom handle, dropping to quaffle and with all the weight at the front of broomstick began to fly down towards the ground at some speed. Drawing up alongside me, Scorpius and Axel, the two closest players tried to right me, but my back wouldn't allow it. All they could do was slow my descent enough so that my broomstick didn't smash into a few hundred pieces.

Crass blew the whistle, not looking at me, the injured girl, but up in the sky where James seemed to be verbally abusing Fred and Leon. As the three of them landed, I heard part of their argument.

"You're meant to be the beaters. You're meant to protect your team from the bludgers, not let them get hit! Where were you? Rose could be seriously injured and we don't have another chaser to play!"

"And we've already told you," Leon yelled back, "we were over at the other end of the pitch stopping one of the bludgers walloping you though I don't know why! A knock on the head might have knocked some sense into you!"

"Did I not say that you had to protect the chasers at all costs?" James shouted, oblivious to Leon's insult. "I'm the team captain and _you _do what I say!"

Fred looked down at me, and whispered, "Sorry."

Shaking my head, I tried to tell him it wasn't his fault, but was interrupted by Professor Crass, stepping between James and Leon and shoving them apart.

"Sorry, Ladies, are we interrupting something? Just I thought this was a quidditch match, not a ballet, singing recital. Get back up there and get playing!"

"How are we supposed to play with just two chasers?" James demanded looking down at me still slumped over my broom handle on the floor.

"She's fine. Or do I have to give Ravenclaw a free shot on goal for time wasting?" Professor Crass replied, dismissing my pain.

"She's not fine!" Scorpius exclaimed indignantly. "She can't even sit up, how can you say she's fine?"

"Why do you care? _If _she is injured and isn't faking it, as we all know she is, then it makes it easier for you to win," Crass pointed out.

"I care because she's my girlfriend, now move," Scorpius said, putting all his authority into the word move.

Surprised, Crass stumbled back, allowing Scorpius to swing back onto his broom and fly up to the teacher's stands.

"Madam Pomfrey!" he called urgently.

She nodded, already on the move to the stairs underneath the stands.

"Not quick enough," Scor murmured, not that I heard him.

I did, however, see out of the corner of my eye, Scorpius grab Madam Pomfrey and swing her onto the broom behind him, not hearing her wail of fright and surprise. Touching down on the ground, both Scorpius and Madam Pomfrey hurried over.

Madam Pomfrey rolled me off my broom, causing me to groan an expletive. Her fingers examined my back, finding almost immediately the source of pain.

"The good news is it's not broken."

Suddenly Hugo was on the pitch, exclaiming, "Oh thank Merlin!" Scorpius just sagged with relief, and James grinned.

"But she does need a restorative potion for the muscles and ligaments, something to reduce the bruising on the bone."

Hugo and Scorpius nodded.

"Accio Wiggenweld! Accio Bruntorata!" Madam Pomfrey called. When the potions had arrived, she ladled out two large spoonfuls into the spoons hanging off her robes and gave them to me. Almost instantaneously I felt the difference. A tingle of warmth ran down my back and spread like wildfire over my body. I felt like I was bursting with energy and could do anything, even the impossible.

Slowly I sat up, grinning as I felt no pain.

"Thanks so much," I told Madam Pomfrey, standing and picking up my broom.

"_Now_ can we play some real quidditch?"

Kicking off again, our two teams flew back to our starting positions and Crass threw the quaffle again. The Ravenclaws were in possession, but in a daring move, Danielle dived downwards towards Will Archer, scaring him and causing him to drop the quaffle. Axel picked it up underneath her and through it across to me. I span to avoid their seeker and passed back to Axel who had caught up to me. Seeing a bludger, he dodged and threw the red ball back to me. I was nearing the goals, but couldn't focus on that with two bludgers aimed at my head. I pulled my broom up, narrowly avoiding them, and dropped the quaffle down to Axel again. He paused before the goals and shot, the ball going through the right hoop as the keeper punched the air in frustration after moving left instead of right.

The ball was sent back towards the halfway line, but Danielle managed to intercept it, though how she had even got there I didn't know. I swear one minute she was alongside Axel and the next she had disappeared and reappeared (as though apparating) in the middle of the pitch. She sent it forwards in an overarm throw, but two of the Ravenclaw chasers were still down that end and managed to catch it. Passing repeatedly between each other until they reached the goals, they made a shot, but it went wide after Kyle Marsden, a Sixth Year, was jostled by a bludger colliding with the underside of his broom. Axel retrieved the quaffle and we were off again. Somehow, despite never playing together before, Danielle, Axel and I were able to work like a well-oiled machine. In the next hour, we managed to score six times and only conceded two goals.

"Gryffindor are leading 80 to 20," Lorcan mumbled, lacking his usual cheeriness and excitement that often caused he and Lysander to argue whilst commentating. "And Malfoy passes to Archer. Archer back to Malfoy. Malfoy takes a shot. The quaffle's back in Gryffindor possession."

Danielle had stolen the ball in the middle of Scorpius' throw and then launched it towards Axel. Passing off to me, he moved further right. When I threw it back to him, Kyle was flying inbetween us, seeming to play piggy in the middle. Axel dove down to avoid a bludger then shot upwards, just missing the left-hand side hoop. Danielle sped back down the pitch as the Ravenclaw Keeper – someone Daniels (it was bad that I didn't know his name, wasn't it) – collected the quaffle and kicked it down the pitch towards one of his chasers. Axel and I raced back as quick as we could, but we weren't in time to stop them scoring. Scorpius whooped in celebration, but forgot about Colin's ability to throw the ball down to me. Zigzagging forwards with Axel for back-up, I somehow managed to get all the way to the goals and pass it through the centre hoop.

A cheer went up in the Gryffindor stands and I could just hear the ending strains of, "Go Rosie, go Rosie, go go, go Rosie!"

"90 to 30, but it looks like Hollier has seen the snitch! He's going up!" Lysander said, finally sounding animated as a commentator should. "Potter's after it too!"

But nothing came of it, both James and Hollier, the Ravenclaw seeker, lost the snitch in the grey clouds. Disheartened, the soared above the game, searching for any sign of the speedy, gold ball.

Meanwhile the quaffle had gone to Scorpius, who lined it up and neatly put it away in the right hoop. Colin passed the ball to Axel, who threw it forwards to Danielle. Hovering, she searched for me, but I was stuck trying to get past Scorpius, who kept shadowing my movements, marking me more than people usually marked in quidditch matches. Swooping down Will Archer, punched the ball from Danielle's hand, but Axel practically jumped for it, kneeing Kyle in the head in the process.

Trying to claim a foul from it, the Ravenclaws didn't stop Axel and Danielle as they accelerated down the pitch and scored. Still stuck near the goalpost, and accompanied by Scorpius, the Ravenclaw player furthest down the pitch, I elbowed Scorpius out of the way and caught the pass that had been intended for him and chucked it towards Axel, but he missed it. Luckily Danielle dove down and caught it. Zooming towards the goals with it tucked under her arm, it was impossible for the Ravenclaws to get it, though they tried. Danielle scored again, putting us at 110 to 40. Danielle and Axel both scored about ten minutes later, only five minutes apart and then the ball came back to me. I dodged, ducked, dived, dipped and dodged again to get to the goalposts. When the ball went through the hoop, the cheering from the Gryffindor stands became deafening.

James shot me a smile and then dived, seeing the snitch glittering in the light and hovering just a metre above the ground. The Ravenclaw seeker had seen it too, but despite being further away was younger, shorter and smaller. Infinitesimally he moved closer, somehow travelling faster than James and managed to get his fingers around the snitch just as James made a grab for it.

The whistle blew, announcing the end of the game. It had been short, but we had won, by just fifty points. The Quidditch Cup would remain in Gryffindor possession for another year.

Scorpius landed beside me and smiled.

"Well played, Weasley."

"Not too bad yourself, Malfoy," I replied, playing along.

James came up to me, threw his arms around me and said loudly in my ear, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Rose. You're the best. I knew I could count on you. Thanks for playing! You're a total lifesaver!"

"No problem, but why couldn't you play Hugh – he is your reserve."

"He's too out of practise," James replied.

"So am I," I pointed out.

"Yeah but Hugo can't hold on to the quaffle. Let's face it he can't even hold on to a girl!"

My eyebrows rose. James tried to backpedal. "I mean that's not what I meant. I did _ask _Hugo to play the chaser position, but you know he prefers being a beater-"

"-You didn't just say that, did you?" Scorpius asked, seeming just as angry as I was.

"No," James answered, half squeaking his reply.

"Good, because some guys don't like girls," I said, without really realising which words had left my mouth.

James nodded and hurried off.

"Oh, shit! What have I done? Hugh's going to murder me!"

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><p><strong>AN: I love writing stuff about quidditch, it was always my favourite part of the books. Did you guys like it? What were your favourite parts of the books/movies? Also, apologies if anyone was offended by the use of the word 'shit.'  
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**Don't forget about the poll on my profile page! **

**Anyway, thanks for reading. Leave a review if you've got time because I'd love to know what you thought of the chapter. **

**Much love, SabreDae**

**xx**


	33. Consequences

**A/N: Hey guys! Hopefully I've surprised you all with such a quick update. ;) But this is what happens when I don't have school anymore. The next one might not be so quick as I'm busy tomorrow and the day after. I'd like to say some quick thanks to LilyxJames4ever,Lizaluvsdoggies, anon, SnitchEye24, krc101 and GilleanWeasley for reviewing. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. It's rather dramatic compared to recent chapters, but that's good, right? As always I'd love to know what you thought so leave a review!**

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><p>"Oh, Merlin save me!" I exclaimed, turning to look at Scorpius in outright panic.<p>

"Hey, it'll be okay," he said, taking me by the shoulders and looking deep into my eyes. "It was an accident. You just need to tell Hugo as soon as possible and speak to James, make sure he doesn't… you know, say anything."

Scorpius was right of course, but I knew there was no way I could walk up to Hugo and say, 'Oh, you know how you're gay and you don't want anyone to know? Well I told James.' James was probably one of the last people Hugo wanted to know. He already teased my brother far too much.

Seeing that I was still fretting over how to tell Hugo, and how he would react, Scorpius pulled me into a hug and rocked from foot to foot, trying to calm me.

"Calm down before you have a heart attack at least, Rosie," he joked, trying to alleviate my fears with humour. I managed a weak chuckle but that was all.

"Sorry," I mumbled, referring to my lack of laughter as well as my panicking.

"So, are you going to go and tell Hugo?"

I shook my head.

"Rose, you have to. He trusted you with his secret," Scor countered, inadvertently making me feel even more guilty.

"I will," I interjected, "just not yet. I'm going to talk to James first and make sure he doesn't say anything to anyone else, namely Fred. He'll probably be celebrating in the Common Room, come on."

Hand in hand, Scorpius and I walked back up to the castle, his proximity lending me silent support. I tried to smile at him in thanks, but it ended up being something between a grimace and an apologetic smile, wobbling and threatening to slide out of place. At the Seventh Floor corridor, we could already hear the celebration going on the Gryffindor Common. There were cheers and shouts to be heard, which was quite an achievement, considering that Scorpius and I could also hear the pounding bassline of some kind of music coming from the radio that always sat on one of the tables.

I gave the password to the portrait of the Fat Lady and immediately had a red and gold banner thrown around my neck by Albus, who was obviously happy with his brother's quidditch win.

"You were great out there, Rose!"

"Thanks," I mumbled distractedly, peering around Al in search of James. Not seeing him, I asked Albus, "Have you seen James? I need to talk to him."

"Last I saw he was over by the punch bowl," he replied, biting into what looked like a Pringle.

"Thanks." Scorpius followed me further into the Common Room, the both of us looking left and right for James. Only he wasn't at the punch bowl anymore, and I couldn't see him anywhere. I leapt up onto one of the chairs and tried to look for the top of his head, seeking his black hair. I only saw the top of Al's head though, momentarily confusing him for James because of the exact shade of black they shared as a hair colour. In fact the only reason I managed to tell the difference was due to the messiness of Albus' unruly hair, whilst James' was neatly trimmed, him having had a haircut during the Easter holidays after months of Auntie Ginny nagging him about it. She'd be moving onto Al soon no doubt.

Sighing, I stepped down and shrugged at Scorpius, thinking perhaps to check the boy's dormitories in case he was somewhere there. There turned out to be no need as at that moment he swaggered in through the portrait hole and declared, "You're now looking at the newly signed seeker for the Cannons!"

A cheer went up through the room and James was hoisted onto a crowd of Seventh Year students' shoulders.

"Found him," I muttered to no-one in particular.

Scorpius watched with pursed lips, probably wondering what it was about James that led to the entire Gryffindor House worshipping him like a hero, even though he'd only won a game of quidditch, a feat which he had done many times before.

Darting between two Third Years, I found myself in the middle of the crowd surrounding James, who was still airborne.

"James!" I called, adding my voice to the din of the other Gryffindors shouting his name. "James! I need to talk to you!"

I had to shout his name five more times before he heard me. Signalling his carriers to put him down, he tumbled to a stop in front of me.

"What can I do for you, Rosie?" he asked, sounding slightly arrogant.

"I need to talk to you. Outside," I added, hardly moving my mouth and using a serious tone of voice.

I started heading towards the portrait hole, waiting for him to follow me. As soon as I stepped out of the Common Room, I felt better. The air was fresher and I was surrounded and pressed in upon by ten other people. I was definitely a person who needed my personal space, although Scorpius could invade that space as often as he wanted.

I waited until we had walked down the tower stairs to the Seventh Floor corridor before speaking though.

"I'm warning you, James Sirius Potter, that you cannot say anything – and I mean _anything_ – about what I said earlier. Hugo's sexuality is none of your business and you are not to breathe a word of it to Fred, to Dom, to Roxie, Al, Lily or anybody else for that matter!" I said sharply, though containing my voice to a hissing whisper.

James nodded, the bravado he'd shown in the Common Room all gone now that we were alone (with Scorpius though). In fact, he looked warily at me as if I might lunge with my wand and stab him in the eye. I slid my wand into the pocket inside my robes as if to help squander his fears.

"I wouldn't say anything," James finally answered, sounding wounded. "I may lark about and play jokes and tease you guys, but you are my family and I would never do anything to hurt any of you. I'm not _that _insensitive, Rose. And I know that Hugo's…business is his…business; not mine. I was just surprised earlier."

"_You _were surprised?" I laughed.

"Yeah, but I guess I kind of knew in a way. Hugo never was like the rest of us was he?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, beginning to get riled up again.

"Nothing. Just that, you know, he was never a keen to play quidditch with us, and he always cared about how he looked – he literally spends an hour getting dressed some mornings – and he just never showed an interest in girls. If Al, Fred, Hugh and I went somewhere and saw a hot girl, he wouldn't talk about her like we would – he'd usually only ever say something about her personality."

I nodded. They were things I had remembered once I knew the truth, so I could understand exactly what James was talking about.

"Anyway, if you don't mind, I'm going to get back to my adoring fans," he told me, all his big-headedness returning after one, brief moment of him being down-to-earth.

"Just one question!" Scorpius said, finally saying something after being silent through the conversation.

"Yeah?" James asked, looking back at Scor from the foot of the stairs.

"What happened after the match?"

"Professor McGonagall took me to her office and introduced me to the scout for the Chudley Cannons. We talked for a bit, about quidditch mainly, and he asked if I liked to play on contract for the Cannons," James answered with a shrug. I had no doubt that if the story was that simple and unexciting, he would almost instantly change the story somewhat once people in the Common Room began asking him about it. It wouldn't come as a shock if I walked back in to find people asking me if I'd heard how James had had to save the scout and Professor McGonagall from a 'bloody great-big Dragon attacking her office' and how the scout had been so impressed by the feat that he knew it would be 'ridiculous not to give James a place on the team.'

Shaking my head slightly at the thought of it, I leaned back against the wall behind me.

"Well that wasn't so bad," I commented off-hand.

Scorpius nodded and came to stand before me.

"I told you," he murmured, his hands coming up to rest on my cheeks.

"Yeah, yeah."

"You know something…" he breathed. "I realised I haven't done this all day."

I was cut off from asking what by his lips pressing down on mine. His hands left my face only to grab my waist and pull me closer to him as my arms wound around his neck. My fingers twined in his hair, twisting strands of it about, as I opened my mouth and tried to deepen the kiss as much as was humanely possible. Breathless, Scorpius set me down on my feet – though I had no idea when he'd lifted me off the ground – and rested his forehead against mine and gazed into my eyes.

"You still need to talk to Hugo," he reminded me gently.

Nodding, I leaned up onto my tiptoes and kissed Scorpius again before returning to the portrait of the Fat Lady and saying the password to gain entry once more, except this time I was looking for Hugo.

Scorpius spotted him first, standing and talking with Louis and one of the girls in his year year, Carrie, the daughter of Lavender Brown who Louis never stopped talking about because of her pretty, chocolate-brown eyes and quite clearly fancied.

"Hugh, can I talk to you outside for a minute?"

Looking confused Hugo nodded and mumbled something to Louis and Carrie then followed me back out to the Seventh Floor corridor. Feeling a strong sense of déjà vu, I turned to Hugh and sucked in a huge breath before beginning. Scorpius was stood beside me again, and that gave me some strength and courage to tell him.

"I'm really sorry, and it was an accident and everything – I swear it wasn't on purpose – but I accidentally told James-"

"You did what!" Hugo exploded.

"I'm sorry," I repeated, trying to edge behind Scorpius as Hugo started forwards.

"What was the one thing I asked you to do? Oh yeah, not to tell anyone, Rose! I thought I could trust you!"

"You _can_ trust me."

"Clearly I can't. I bet you've told them all about Jasper as well, haven't you?"

"No! I haven't told anyone about Jasper. I haven't even told Scorpius, I swear."

"I can't believe this!" Hugo stormed, ranting and raving as he paced in front of me. "Rose, how could you? I specifically asked you not to tell anyone because I didn't want James and Fred to know! It's bad enough that they tease me over the fact that I've never had a girlfriend! Now they'll be mocking me about this too! I hate you!"

Stunned, I stared at Hugo.

"Come on, mate, you know that's not true," Scorpius said quietly.

"It is," Hugo asserted.

"Whoa, Hugh, take it down a notch," James interjected, seeming to appear from nowhere. People in the Common Room are starting to hear and are getting interested.

"What do you want?" Hugo demanded, turning on James. "Come to mock me, to gloat?"

"N-no," James stuttered, taken aback by Hugo's sudden and unexpected anger.

"All of you just _piss off _and leave me alone!"

With that Hugo walked off, kicking out at the wall as he left.

"Hugh! Wait!" I called but he ignored me.

I stared after him, hoping he'd come back. I even blinked a few times, hoping that I'd find I'd imagined the whole scene but I opened my eyes to the same empty corridor with James and Scorpius standing beside me. Numb, I allowed Scor to steer me back into the Common Room. By now, with the star gone, the party had dissipated somewhat and most students had gone to bed, included Dom, Lucy and Lily, who were also most likely to ask me about what Hugo and I argued about. Whilst Dom probably just wanted the gossip, I knew that Lily and Lucy would genuinely be concerned about Hugh and I. We never usually argued that much, and never as seriously as we had just then.

I waited for him to return all evening, only half-listening to Scorpius and James' conversation.

Every few minutes Scorpius would turn and look at me worriedly, his eyes lingering on my stiff limbs and unchanged expression.

"Maybe she's gone into shock," James suggested eventually.

"I'm fine," I mumbled, though neither of them were convinced.

Scor stayed another hour, though eventually he looked at his watch, noticed that it was gone one o'clock and unwillingly left, making me swear first that I would go to bed if Hugo didn't return in the next half hour.

James stayed with me and stared into the fire every now and again repeating the same few sentences.

"I don't know why he's so upset. Fred and I are never serious when we tease him. It's just what family do, isn't it?" he said again for what must have been the thousandth time.

At some point James and I fell asleep in our chairs and Hugo still hadn't returned. I hoped he wasn't outside catching hypothermia or something.

The next morning, I woke with a stiff neck and found James was still sat in the chair opposite me in his scruffy quidditch robes. Stretching and trying to work some life into my limbs, I shook him awake and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

"He's back?" James asked hopefully.

Shaking my head sadly, I walked to my dormitory and changed, seeing that the rest of the girls had already gone to breakfast, leaving me to wonder why no-one bothered to wake James and I. Sighing, I hurried back down the stairs, arriving in the Common Room at the same time as James who had finally put on some new clothes, wearing some Muggle clothing as it was Sunday and we didn't have lessons.

We went down to breakfast together, seeing that Hugo was already sat at the Gryffindor table. In relief, I hurried over to him.

"Hugo, thank Merlin you're okay!" I exclaimed.

I expected him to turn and at least say something, but he completely ignored me. He continued to pretend I didn't exist for the next two days, making me miserable. I hardly paid any attention in lessons whilst I focused on what in the world I was meant to say to make him forgive me. I was no fun for Scorpius when we did rounds together, despite the fact that he continued to spend practically every minute trying to cheer me up. He even suggested that he go talk to Hugo for me but I was afraid that would only make it worse.

Besides, it hadn't worked for James. He'd been trying to convince Hugo to forgive me, assuring him that he wouldn't tell a soul about his secret and that he didn't care if he was gay. He even tried the other angle that I had been defending Hugo when it slipped out, and that I felt really guilty and really sorry, but Hugo wouldn't listen.

My saviour came in the most unexpected form. Jasper Radcon.

I didn't know what he said, or even how it happened, but Jasper somehow managed to convince Hugh to forgive me. I didn't want to pry and make the situation any worse. I didn't even question Hugo when he started to hang around with Jasper more and more. I was desperate to know if they were going out, but I didn't want to upset Hugo again, so I kept my thoughts to myself.

Scorpius and I were outside by the lake revising/sunbathing for our last exams about a month later when they walked past us holding hands. I gaped, only remembering to shut my mouth and act natural when they looked over and waved.

I smiled and waved back, feeling truly glad that Hugo seemed happy for once.

"Scor…"

"Yes?" he asked, looking up from his transfiguration textbook. "Is that…Hugo?"

I nodded and turned to Scorpius with a smile.

Scor grinned back and made to turn back to his revision. I looked back down at my astronomy chart for a few moments, trying to memorise the constellations. Feeling that the sun was getting hotter, I touched my shoulders to see how warm they were.

"Scor…"

"Hmm?" he asked again, this time not looking up from his textbook. He'd clearly learnt to recognise when I wanted something. My dad always did the exact same thing. He continued to pretend to be concentrating on something until I actually asked for what I wanted.

"Could you rub some more sunscreen onto my back and shoulders?"

Sighing like it was such a chore, Scorpius bookmarked his page by folding down the corner – a behaviour that always made me shudder – and turned to me with an exasperated look, though he grinned underneath.

He rubbed the cream in, chuckling at how pasty my skin was and how easily it burned. I still bore the slight red mark on my nose from the week before. And whilst I was still very pale skinned, Scorpius had taken on a slight tan, giving his skin a honey tone.

"Damn it, now I _know _I'll never be a supermodel," I said sarcastically.

He chuckled again.

Turning to push him slightly, I was surprised when he grabbed my arms and pulled me with him as he rolled and rolled. Momentum carried us further down the beach, the stones digging into our bodies through his short, into his bare chest, and into my legs, back, stomach, arms and neck where I was only wearing a bikini. It was a shock when the cold water of the lake washed over us.

Laughing, I splashed Scorpius in the face.

"I'm so going to get you for that," he declared, diving under the water and pulling me down by my ankles.

I couldn't even see him in the black water. My head broke the surface in a burst of bubbles and I was surprised to find myself ensconced in the warmth of Scorpius' arms. His lips touched mine before he pulled away for a moment to say, "I love you, you know."

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><p><strong>AN: So what did you think? Leave a review to let me know if you've got time. I've added Hugo's POV of this chapter as an option to the poll on my profile, but if you've already voted and would still like to see this, just PM me to let me know. **

**I don't think there's too many chapters left now by the way. I estimate that there will be four or five more and then the bonus chapters after that, which means you haven't got much longer to vote. If you haven't voted yet, the poll is on my profile and you get five choices. Vote away!**

**Anyway, thanks for reading!**

**Much love, **

**SabreDae**

**xxxx**


	34. Say Goodbye

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been a few days since my last update. I've been busy caring for one of our sick rabbits - we're having to syringe feed her and give her three different kinds of antibiotics. :( Poor thing. Anywhos, the last three chapters are mostly written so it shouldn't take me long to get them up and start working on bonus chapters, which means you guys need to vote if you haven't yet, as the poll will be closing in a few days! I hope you like this chapter!**

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><p>The final days of school were a whirlwind. The exams were over, leaving Scorpius and me in blessed relief and a week of no lessons. Looking back, I was amazed that I was able to relax and have a good time with Scorpius over those few days. Knowing in my heart, that I'd made a mistake in my Arithmancy paper, it was a wonder that I could forget about the impending D I was convinced I would receive in mid-August and instead have fun on the final Hogsmeade trip.<p>

This time, we went as a group. Scorpius and I were joined by not only Dom, Jason and Lucy, but also Al and his girlfriend Katie, Tim, James, Fred, Hugo, Jasper, Roxanne, Lily and her now-steady boyfriend Chris and Lorcan who was, surprisingly, dating Roxie. Molly, who was too young, stayed in the Common Room with Louis and some of their friends.

Leaving the castle grounds together, I murmured to Scorpius, "It'll be odd coming back next year."

"Hmm," he said in agreement.

"Fred and James will have gone and there'll be a new Head Boy and a new Head Girl. We'll have finished our OWLs and be doing NEWTs. We'll be so busy that we probably won't have time to do stuff like this anymore…"

Seeing my sad expression, Scorpius pulled me into his side and kissed my head.

"We'll always have time for each other. I just know it."

I wasn't so sure myself. It would be easy to drift apart, wouldn't it? Especially when we would be doing different lessons next year. Deciding I wanted to work in the Department of International Relations at the Ministry of Magic, I had chosen to continue Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts and then pick up a selection of language courses with a personal tutor Hogwarts employed every year. Scorpius was carrying on with Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Transfiguration and pick up Alchemy. To make matters worse, there was also the possibility that I would have to spend a term at one of the foreign wizarding schools to develop my languages further and gain an understanding of non-British wizarding culture and politics.

"And you'll always see your cousins outside of school anyway," he reminded me.

"Yeah Rosie, you'll never get rid of us," Fred called out, grinning mischievously.

"Do I want to know what you've done?" I asked him.

"Probably not," Fred replied.

"Let's just say there'll always be a reminder of us in the Gryffindor Common Room," James added.

Closing my eyes for a few moments, I tried to work out what to do before deciding that it was probably best to just not get involved.

When we got to Hogsmeade, organising what we were going to do was obviously rather problematic. Everyone had a different opinion on what they wanted to do and with so many of us it was almost impossible to reach a compromise. Finally, we arranged to split into groups with each group going into one shop and buying what we would need for a picnic together. Scorpius, Lily, Chris and I were charged with buying the drinks and snack food, so we headed to the Three Broomsticks to buy some bottles of butterbeer and some peanuts and crisps. Afterwards we visited Honeydukes and bought a collection of sweets and chocolate, then left for the field where we would be enjoying our picnic.

When we got to the field beside the Shrieking Shack, we were the first to arrive. Sitting in the long grass, we waited and were soon joined by Dom, Jason and Tim, who had bought a picnic blanket and the bread and condiments. Next came Hugo, Jasper and Lucy, who had the vegetables and fruits and dips. Roxanne, Lorcan and Albus and Katie arrived with the games, buying a Fanged Frisbee, a pack of exploding snap, a cheap wizard's chess set and some Gobstones. James and Fred were the last to arrive, carrying between them a suspicious looking box and some items from Uncle George's shop that were also for the entertainment.

Since everyone had arrived, we dug in, playing the games as we went. When we finished eating, Fred and James unleashed their surprise, lighting a hidden fuse on the box of fireworks. Watching the display, I couldn't help thinking that it was a nice way to celebrate the end of another year amongst family and friends. We still had the end of year party and the last school assembly, but they would be whole school events.

Scorpius wrapped me in his arms and everyone else seemed to do something similar. Albus and Katie echoed our position. Lily and Chris hugged, Lorcan gently kissed Roxie on the cheek, Hugh and Jasper held hands, Dom and Jason snogged, James and Fred had an arm around each other's shoulders and, surprising everyone Tim turned to Lucy and smiled before kissing her hand.

The afternoon soon ended and we returned to Hogwarts in high spirits, finding that Fred and James 'reminder' was a portrait of themselves hung over the fireplace, that seemed to be stuck permanently to the wall.

In those remaining days I spent all the time I could with Scorpius. He probably thought I was being clingy, but it was really hitting me that for almost six weeks we wouldn't see each other. Whilst I was staying home and beginning to learn my languages, Scorpius was being whisked off to America with his parents. He suspected that they'd planned the five week holiday on purpose just so that he wouldn't be able to spend any time with me, but of course he had no evidence.

The end of year party rolled around and we prepared. As prefects, Scorpius and I were required to help set up for the event, preparing the stage for the secret wizard band, the Scissor Sisters, and decorating the hall in banners. Students in detention were also helping, though they were in the kitchens helping the House Elves.

Finished with the preparations, Scorpius returned to Ravenclaw Tower to get ready and I went to Gryffindor Tower to don my dress. My mother had sent a silver dress via our family owl just for the occasion. With Scorpius' necklace, it would look perfect. I used copious amounts of Sleakeasy's potion to tame my hair and then helped Lily get ready. Auntie Ginny had also bought her a new dress, navy blue in colour, but Lily wanted me to manipulate her hair into an elegant bun piled on top of her head. When I was done, she looked about three years older, though she was still just as short as a thirteen year old.

Dom had already left to meet Jason, who she was clearly going out with. They were a well suited pair, though with her volatile moods, I wasn't sure they would last the summer. Lucy was going with Tim, of course, though she had told Uncle Percy that he was only 'escorting' her. Al and Katie were already in the Great Hall, dancing to the warm-up act's music, whilst James and Fred were dating Hufflepuff twins, Abby and Cecelia Grahams. Molly and her group of friends were also already in the hall, it was only Roxie who was still getting ready for the party.

She was nervous about the fit of her dress, as she was going to be spending the evening with Lorcan. They were an odd match, but the Ravenclaw 3rd Year wasn't quite as distracted as his brother, Lysander.

Louis was also still in Gryffindor Tower, nervously pacing as he waited for Carrie to come down from her dorm. I wasn't sure how he'd managed to convince her to even go with him, considering he was a year younger than her, but she did finally emerge from the Third Year girl's dormitory and went down to the Great Hall with him.

"Thanks for helping me, Rose," Lily said as we left my dorm.

"It was my pleasure," I replied.

"I think Chris is the one, you know…"

I looked over at her, taking in her glazed eyes and hoping she wasn't imagining her wedding to Chris O'Dowd. I wasn't even thinking about that with Scorpius yet and we'd been together longer than Lily and Chris. I also wasn't naïve enough to believe that teenage relationships lasted forever. Believe me, I hoped that my relationship with Scorpius would go the distance, but it just wasn't guaranteed. The percentage of teenage relationships that made it was just miniscule. Victoire was a prime example of that. Before she was with Teddy, she had numerous relationships but none of them lasted longer than six months.

Scorpius and Chris were waiting outside the Common Room, on the other side of the portrait hole, to escort us down to the Great Hall. From the Grand Staircase, as we approached the Entrance Hall, we could already hear the music coming from the hall.

The party was nice, but I couldn't get the thought out of my head that Scorpius and I were not forever. He could tell something was off, but didn't want to spoil the atmosphere and just carried on dancing with me. In the end we left early and sat on the stairs to the Fifth Floor.

"Tim and Lucy look so good together, don't you think?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

I nodded. It was true that they were well suited, both in appearance – being of similar height – but also in personality. Tim was only slightly more outgoing than Lucy, the difference between them being enough to bring her out of her shell somewhat.

Not for the first time, I wondered what Scorpius and I looked like from the outside. He was much taller than I was, probably seeming to dwarf me. His skin was pale; mine was covered in a collection of freckles. His eyes were grey, mine were blue. His hair was blonde; mine was as red as a burning sky. His family were the opposite of mine. I didn't think it would be possible for us to be more different, but it seemed to work, us being together.

Needing the contact, needing the feel of his arms wrapped around me and the touch of his lips on mine, I threw myself into his arms and urgently pressed my lips to his. As I wanted, his arms secured around my waist, but he pulled away looking at me in confusion.

"Rose?" he asked, his voice filled with uncertainty. All evening I'd been distant and then I was clinging to him again. I didn't know how I would let him out of my sight when the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station. "Have you had too much to drink?"

It was entirely possible. I'd been drinking butterbeer all evening to try to stop thinking about how our relationship could end. Would it be better for me to just break it off before he could? Would he dump me during the holidays? Or would we just drift apart being unable to spend any time together? The thoughts had plagued me all evening, regardless of how much I drank.

I shrugged. "I love you," I told him, feeling like I had said those simple three words enough. I wanted to tell him at least one last time before it all ended. I wanted to say like I really, seriously deeply meant it, because I did. I loved Scorpius more than life itself. I loved him more than anything; more than I thought was possible. "I've got to go," I said, feeling myself beginning to get upset. The thought of living without him was enough to bring a thousand tears to my eyes let alone one. It was like driving a spear into my heart, there was a physical pain in my chest at the idea of it. I knew I would be inconsolable when it really happened.

The next day, I woke up with a slight headache. I clearly_ had _drunk too much. Breakfast was too noisy for my liking, but at least I could leave early to go and pack up the last of my things before the House Cup ceremony and end of year assembly.

"Scorpius is looking for you," Dom announced as she entered the dormitory.

"I'm too busy to see him right now," I replied, neatly folding all my clothes from my wardrobe and putting them into the trunk in as orderly way as possible on top of all my school books. Shrinking my cauldron with a spell, I put that in on top and the put the rest of my belongings – my parchment, quills, ink bottles and potion ingredients. If I was telling the truth, I didn't want to confess that I thought he would dump me, seeing as I was sure that Scorpius wanted to ask why I was behaving so weirdly.

Finally done, I went back down to the Great Hall with the rest of the student body and sat at the Gryffindor table with Lily and Lucy, who talked about the party all the way up until Professor Longbottom clinked a knife against his glass so that Professor McGonagall could begin speaking.

Just like the first day of term, I could feel Scorpius' eyes on me, practically burning a hole through my black hat as he stared at the back of my head.

"Another year has gone and we must award the House Cup. This year has been a closely fought contest but Ravenclaw wins the House Cup by just thirty five points," Professor McGonagall announced. It was something we all already knew from the blue banners bearing the eagle of Ravenclaw hanging from the ceiling. "Well done, Ravenclaw." Cheering and clapping erupted through the hall, even Slytherin seeming to celebrate in the absence of such House prejudices as there used to be. I doubted they would have been so nice if Gryffindor had won, however.

"It has been another full year at Hogwarts filled with achievements and landmarks. We say goodbye to our Seventh Years, so everyone please join me in celebrating our leaving students."

Again the hall clapped for the seventh years. James stood up and bowed, accepting and lavishing the attention.

"Thank you Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall said pointedly. James sat down with an impish grin. "I'll keep the rest short and wish you all a summer holiday of rest that will leave you eager to learn when you return next year. Thank you."

After the feast, we filed out of the Hall and into the grounds where we walked to the gates and climbed into the thestral-pulled carriages. As a prefect, I left my family when we got to Hogsmeade Station and sat in the Prefect's compartment.

Al arrived seconds later after saying goodbye to Katie and sat down beside me, pulling a bag of Bertie Botts beans from his pocket and offering me one. Scorpius arrived a few seconds later and stared at me silently until the train began to move. It was awkward to say the least. But then Dan asked Al and me to begin patrolling the train, meaning I could escape Scorpius' questioning gaze.

After our patrol, we joined the compartment which Hugo, Jasper, Katie, Lily, Chris and James sat in. The rest of our friends and family were next door, seeing as our group seemed to have grown so much during the course of the year.

I wasn't surprised when the compartment door slid open and Scorpius walked in, sitting down beside me. I knew he was aching to talk to me, to find out what was wrong.

"Pasty, Scorpius?" Hugo asked, offering him one.

"Maybe later, I just need to borrow Rose first," Scor replied, taking my wrist and leading me out of the compartment. He walked further down the train, right to the back where there would be less people to overhear us. "Will you please tell me what's wrong before I go crazy?"

Sighing, I explained how I was worried about us splitting up.

"What on earth would give you that idea? I don't want to split up with you, Rose."

"But nothing lasts forever, Scor. We're hardly going to see each other – you're going away for five weeks, and when we get back to school, we're doing almost completely different subjects and I'm going to spend a term travelling abroad. Professor Longbottom discussed it with me – I'm going to France first, then Germany and I'm even going to China too. How'll we stay together when we're thousands of miles apart?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But we'll make it work. You say nothing lasts forever, but I know what I feel, Rose. I know I'll love you forever; I'll love you even if we do split up. You can't mope about a possibility that might never happen. We have to live for today not the past and not the future. Take things one step at a time and let's just deal with the now and everything else when it comes."

I had to admit, he was talking sense. But there was still that worry in the back of my mind, that little insecurity.

I let him lead me back to our compartment and enjoyed the rest of the trip with my family. When the train pulled into Kings Cross Station, Scorpius and I stood together a while. Even if it was only temporary, saying goodbye felt all wrong.

"I guess this is it," he murmured.

"Yeah. Have a great time in America," I told him, hugging him close and trying to memorise what it felt like. "Just don't forget about me."

"How could I forget about you? I _love _you. I'll write to you everyday, and when I'm back I'll come and see you. We can go to Diagon Alley together and then we'll be back together on the train."

Nodding, I kissed him once, twice and then again.

"Bye," I said thickly, feeling tears falling.

"I love you Rose!" he called as I walked away from him and towards my family.

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><p><strong>AN: So what did you think? Let me know with a quick review. Thanks go to dwarfperson, LilyxJames4ever, Lizaluvsdoggies, SnitchEye24, Starkid1996, TannyApple, GilleanWeasley and User for reviewing recently!**

**Much love, SabreDae  
><strong>

**xxxxxxxxxxx  
><strong>


	35. Impressions

**A/N: Thanks to LilyxJames4ever, Vil89Six, anon, Aoi of the Anarchy, Lizaluvsdoggies, SnitchEye24 and user for reviewing recently. TWo more chapters to go and then the bonus chapters. Let me know what you guys think of this chapter, by the way. **

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><p>The first few weeks of the summer holiday were boring. I was stuck at home all day, as Mum and Dad had work at the Ministry still and Hugo kept inviting Jasper round. The two of them obviously didn't want me hanging around with them. As someone who was also in a relationship, I could say wholeheartedly that I'd rather be alone with Scorpius then have a sibling there as well.<p>

Mum and Dad knew about Hugo now, though I'd been out searching for something to do in the neighbourhood when he'd told them. I can only assume that Dad and Mum took the news well, though I couldn't imagine them doing any differently if I was honest. If they could cope with me dating a Malfoy, they could cope with anything.

Jasper and Hugo were a sweet couple, I thought. Being with Jasper was doing wonders for Hugo – he was more confident and happier than ever.

I would have called Dom, but she had gone to France to stay with her grandparents along with Louis. Victoire and Teddy had moved to Australia, so I couldn't arrange to meet Victoire. James was busy with his quidditch, which Albus and Fred kept going to see, even if it was only the training sessions. That meant that I couldn't spend any time with Fred, Albus or James unless I wanted to watch quidditch every day. Molly and Lucy were also busy, touring the country with Uncle Percy as he promoted his latest book.

The good news was that with nothing to do, I began to learn to cook, baking cookies and cakes and dinner when my parents had to work late. I spent time with my grandparents, hearing enough stories about my parents and aunts and uncles to last a lifetime. But despite how I tried to keep myself busy in the house, I found myself moping. Scorpius wrote letters to me of course, but it wasn't the same as being with him in person.

His first letter was about the journey. Since he was too young for his parents to legally take him by sidelong apparition, they'd taken a Muggle flight but Scorpius had been suffering with jetlag as a consequence. He'd said that he wasn't allowed to go to sleep despite the fact it was gone midnight in British time and he wished I was there to stay awake with him. I wished I was too.

To try and cheer me up, Mum took a day off work and took me shopping. She bought me new clothes, but I still missed Scorpius.

Finally, much to my parents' relief, Scorpius returned from his holiday and came to see me the day he returned. He looked shattered with bags under his eyes, and he barely had any energy to do anything but listen to me talk or watch me do something, but he was there. Eventually the two of us cuddled up on the sofa and took a nap together.

My parents found us that way when they got in from work, but for some reason unknown to me, let us carry on sleeping.

When Scorpius left, however, he surprised me by inviting me to his house the next day to meet his parents. Hesitantly, I agreed, knowing that I had to meet them some time.

The next morning, I was stood in front of my wardrobe with a dilemma. I had no idea what to wear. I wanted to look smart and impress the Malfoys, who were always dressed impeccably, but I didn't want to look overdressed. Looking past my jeans, I pulled out summer dress after summer dress, trying each on and putting them back every time.

"Rose! It's almost time for you to go!" Hugo called up the stairs.

"I know!" I yelled back in desperation.

I heard Hugo running up the stairs. Breathless he stood in my doorway and asked, "What is it?"

"I can't find anything to wear!"

"Just wear what you're wearing," he replied, pointing at my floral dress which also had a pink underlay.

"But I don't have any shoes to match this," I replied sadly. If I did, it would have been perfect.

"One second," Hugh said, holding up a finger and dashing away from my door. "Jasper!" he shouted down the stairs. "We need you a second!"

Jasper ran up the stairs and followed Hugo to my door.

"What is it?" he asked, brushing his long fringe from his eyes.

"Rose needs something to wear to the Malfoys' house," Hugo answered.

"The Malfoys', eh? I see the dilemma…" Jasper muttered, moving towards my wardrobe and examining the clothes inside it. "Perhaps this black dress, and pair it with these black sandals. Rose have you got a white belt and white cardigan?"

I nodded and searched through the pile of clothes on my bed to find them.

"Perfect," Jasper said, taking them from me and holding them up against the dress.

"Shouldn't Rose try it on first? Just to make sure?" Hugh pointed out.

"Yes, we'll be just outside."

I shooed the two boys out of my room and changed into the dress, stepped into the sandals, buckled the belt around me and pulled the shrug over my shoulders. As I opened the door, Jasper nodded.

"I'm sure Mrs Malfoy would approve," he said, looking pleased with himself.

"You don't think I would look too smart?"

"Rose, you look perfect. Now get to the fireplace, or you'll be late. Just be sure to tell us all about it when you get back," Hugo replied, steering me out of my room and down the stairs to the fireplace.

"Thanks," I told them both before taking a deep breath and stepping into the fireplace. "Wish me luck!"

"Luck!" they both shouted in reply whilst I travelled away, stepping out of the Malfoys' fireplace and into their living room.

"Rose! You're finally here!" Scorpius exclaimed, running into the room.

His father peered around the door at me, taking note of how Scor hugged me and kissed my cheek then whispering something to someone – probably reporting back to Scorpius' mother. No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than they walked into the living room to introduce themselves to me.

"Rose," Mr Malfoy said stiffly, "It's such a pleasure to finally meet you."

"And you Mr Malfoy," I replied, doing my best to sound polite and make a good impression. "Mrs Malfoy, might I say that dress looks lovely on you?"

"Thank you, Rose. It's a brand new Versace."

Gulping at the name-dropping of the designer brand, I tried to smile. It seemed Jasper had done well picking out my outfit. Scorpius was wearing smart black trousers with a shirt and waistcoat, whilst his father wore a suit. It seemed that the Malfoy's never relaxed. Every time I'd seen them, they'd been dressed similarly, though of course, Scorpius did have his leather jacket which he always wore. I wondered how he had convinced his mother to allow him to wear it.

"Well, it's almost dinnertime. I'm sure the table will have been set by now. Perhaps we'd best take our seats," Mrs Malfoy said after a long pause.

Scorpius and I nodded gratefully, and he led the way to the dining room, chatting to me all the way.

"Here it is," he told me, pushing open one of the doors to reveal a massive, polished dining table. "My father bought it a few years back, but it's not as big as the one at Malfoy Manor." I nodded, trying to picture just how a table could be any bigger. My Nana could use a table that big for all our family get-togethers.

The Malfoy's employed a chef and a maid, it turned out. The chef served us a sumptuous three course meal, but it was marred by the awkward atmosphere hanging over us. Mr and Mrs Malfoy did attempt to make conversation, asking me what I was going to be doing and school and what I wanted to do once I finished my education at Hogwarts, but it seemed very cold and that they were only asking because they felt they had rather than because they were interested.

I apparently wasn't the only one who noticed. All through the meal, Scorpius get more and more annoyed, stabbing at his food with his fork and butchering it with his knife. His parents looked at him in consternation but that only seemed to further fuel his anger.

At the end of the meal, Scorpius was so desperate to escape, that he dragged me out of the house and took me on a walk around his wizarding village, Upper Flagley. I'd never been to Yorkshire before, so it was interesting and he introduced me to all his neighbours. It surprised me that they seemed to be very friendly with him, despite his family name, but then again Scorpius was charming.

"I really am sorry about my parents, you know," he muttered. "I talked to them and everything, asked them to be nice. Maybe they'll never be able to accept us."

"They were trying Scor, maybe it'll be better once they get to know me and I get to know them," I replied, trying to comfort him.

"Maybe," he admitted, but he didn't say it positively.

Sighing, I pulled him close and murmured into his ear, "Well let's not worry about that now."

He nodded and turned his head, meeting my lips with his for one of those mind-blowing kisses he always seemed to be able to give me. My arms moved around his neck, his hands rubbed over my back. I didn't notice moving from standing on my tiptoes to jumping up and wrapping my legs around his hips.

People walking passed us tutted, making me realise and I blushed as Scorpius let go of me and I dropped down to the ground.

"I think perhaps that I'd best get home…" I mumbled, trying to ignore the sexual tension between us.

"Okay," Scor replied, his voice strangled. Clearing his throat, he continued, "I'll walk you back to the house."

I felt like I was barely breathing as we returned to his house. When I stepped out of the fireplace in my own house, I finally sucked in a big breath and tried to calm my racing heartbeat and slow the fire in my limbs.

"Have a good time?" Hugo asked, looking up from the game of exploding snap he and Jasper were playing on the living room floor. The way he was looking at me, it was almost like he knew about what had almost happened.

"You could say that," I replied guardedly.

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><p><strong>AN: So what did you think? Leave a review if you've got time. **

**Much love, SabreDae  
><strong>

**xxxxxx  
><strong>


	36. Results Day

**A/N: Wow, almost at 250 reviews guys! You're the best. :) It was nice to hear from some new reviewers with the previous chapter too. Thanks so much to Marine Explorer, Lizaluvsdoggies, Vil89Six, Starkid1996, anon, Aoi of the Anarchy, LilyxJames4ever and PokemonForever124 for reviewing recently. So there's one more chapter, an epilogue of sorts, and then the five bonus chapters. The voting stops tomorrow, but so far the five chapters in the lead are: Scorpius' POV of telling his parents about Rose, Ron's POV of Rose telling him Scorpius is her boyfriend, Hugo's POV of Jasper picking him up, Ron's POV of Scorpius arriving at Hugo's party and Hugo's POV of telling Harry he's gay.  
><strong>

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><p>Rushing down the stairs, I tried to control my heartbeat. The day had finally come.<p>

"Watch it, Rosie!" Hugo said, diving out of my way as he tried to get up the stairs.

"Sorry, Hugh! It's OWLs results."

My parents were waiting in the kitchen with the envelope in front of them. Mum smiled encouragingly as she handed it over to me. My hands shook as I tried to slide it open. I was really beginning to worry about my Arithmancy result – I needed to do well to carry it on to NEWT level. Finally, I managed to tear the envelope open and pulled out the letter inside, opening it.

My breathing stopped as I looked down at the list.

_Rose Weasley has achieved:_

_Ancient Runes O_

_Arithmancy E_

_Astronomy: O_

_Care of Magical Creatures O_

_Charms O_

_Defence Against the Dark Arts O_

_Herbology E_

_History of Magic E_

_Muggle Studies O_

_Potions O_

_Transfiguration O_

Finally I started breathing again.

"Well?" Dad asked. "Don't leave us hanging."

"Eight 'Outstandings' and three 'Exceeds Expectations'," I replied as I passed the parchment to my mother for her inspection. Truthfully, I was surprised I had managed an E in Arithmancy. I had been convinced I had failed.

"Well done, Rosie! Always knew you'd inherited your mother's brains," Dad said, grinning and looking between Mum and me.

Rushing off, I dropped the envelope and the remaining pieces of paper which would no doubt contain my booklist for the next term and rushed to Hugo's room.

"Can I borrow Feathers a second?"

Hugo nodded.

"Good news I take it?"

I smiled, giving him his answer.

Back in my bedroom, I scribbled a quick letter to Scorpius, telling him my results and asking what his were. Feathers flew from the room, passing another owl heading for my open window. Frowning in confusion, I waited until it came closer and then recognised it as Scorpius' family's barn owl.

The female owl fluttered through the window and landed on my desk, scattering a few pieces of parchment, and held out its right leg which bore a scroll of parchment with Scor's handwriting.

Detaching it, I unrolled it and read Scor's letter.

_Rose, have you got your OWL results yet?_

_Mine came this morning! I got seven 'Outstandings' and four 'Exceeds Expectations' in Potions, Charms, History of Magic and Astronomy! Mum and Dad are please because I've got enough for carrying on my subjects. What about you? Hope you got what you need for next year. I'm going to Diagon Alley with my parents in a couple of days; perhaps I'll see you there. _

_All my love, Scorpius xx_

Grinning, I laughed at how our letters were double crossed and penned a reply.

_Scorpius,_

_Yes I got my OWLs just now. I got eight 'Outstandings' and three 'Exceeds Expectations' but you probably already know this seeing as I just sent you a letter to tell you. _

_I'll talk to my parents, but they're both working this week so I don't know when we'll be going to Diagon Alley. _

_Hope to see you soon,_

_Rose xxx_

I attached the scroll to the owl's leg and let it soar out the window and fly back to Scorpius' house in Kent.

Heading back downstairs, I found my parents still in the kitchen; relishing the day they had booked off work to hear my results.

"Mum, Dad, when are we going to Diagon Alley?"

They looked over at each other and said in unison, "How about Wednesday? I can get Wednesday off work."

"Perfect," Mum added. "Ruby can cover for me."

"And Harry can cover for me, I'm sure."

Wednesday couldn't come quick enough. Finally, the day came and we pulled on our old cloaks that were already covered in immovable floo powder stains.

"Diagon Alley!" I called after stepping into the fireplace and throwing down a handful of floo powder.

The spinning sensation overcame me, but as it was something I was used to, I was able to keep my eyes open and step out at the right grate in the Leaky Cauldron. Dad followed after me, then came Hugo and finally Mum.

Mum fussed over all of us for a few seconds, trying to brush away some of the dust, and then we left out the back entrance, Dad tapping the brick that would open the entrance to Diagon Alley.

"Where to first Hermione?" he asked, putting away his wand.

"Hugo needs new robes, so Madam Malkins," she replied, stepping forwards and leading the way. I followed at the back, searching for Scorpius but couldn't see him anywhere.

Dad was just suggesting he and I go and buy the books Hugh and I would both need next year, when the door behind us opened and closed, causing the bell above it to ring. I turned out of interest and found myself looking at Scorpius and his parents.

"Scorpius," I smiled.

Dad and Mum both turned with smiles for Scorpius, only to have them freeze on their faces as they saw that Draco Malfoy was there too. Mr Malfoy looked very uncomfortable, muttering a good morning to my parents and a hello to me before saying, "I think I'll go and pick up the potions ingredients for you, Scorpius."

Scor nodded and mumbled a goodbye.

"How may I help you?" Madam Malkin asked, stepping down from the stool she was using to measure Hugo's robes.

"My son needs new school robes," Astoria replied.

"Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Scorpius answered.

"Up on the stool please."

Scorpius walked past me, his hand brushing my arm, and stepped up onto the stool.

"I'll be okay, Mother," Scorpius said, noticing how awkward Astoria Malfoy looked.

"Okay. Take this though," she replied, handing him some gold from her pouch of money.

"Thanks," Scorpius said, pocketing it.

"Bye, Mrs Malfoy," I said, smiling at her.

She nodded at me and left, her designer robes swirling around her.

The door shut behind Astoria and Dad seemed to relax somewhat. I hoped it wouldn't be that tense and uncomfortable every time our parents met.

"Have you had a good holiday, Scorpius?" Mum asked.

"Yes, thanks Mrs Weasley."

"You went to America, didn't you?" Dad asked.

Scor nodded.

"They're a funny lot foreign wizards, aren't they? I once went to Egypt – I don't know if you know – but they were very odd over there, you wouldn't believe what they wore over their-"

"-I don't think Scorpius needs to know that!" I interrupted.

It took me some time to convince my parents that they could go and do some shopping and leave me to look at Hugo, but eventually they agreed and left, heading to Flourish and Blotts to get our schoolbooks.

"I thought they'd never leave," Hugo muttered.

"Me neither. I'm_ so _sorry about my Dad. We literally can't take him anywhere. He's got the most inappropriate stories."

Scorpius smirked, clearly having a good idea of what my father might have said if I'd let him finish his story.

When Hugo and Scorpius' robes had been measured and altered, they paid and the three of us left.

"Where next?" Scor asked.

"I need some owl treats for Feathers," Hugo replied.

The three of us ambled down the street to the pet store. Hugo ran into some people in his year and decided to go to get potions ingredients with them, leaving Scor and I to go and get an ice cream together. It was nice to be alone again and Scor wasted no time in taking my hand and pressing a kiss to my cheek and a parcel into my hand.

"I bought it for you on holiday and forgot to give it to you the other day," he told me, seeming agitated as he wrung his fingers. "I hope you like it."

Smiling, I opened the box and found myself looking at a ring in the shape of a lion, its tail forming the band that went around my finger. Grinning, I pulled it out and slid it onto my index finger. Surprisingly the lion came to life, colour flooding through it, turning the ring into a myriad of orange, yellow and red as soon as it came into contact with my skin.

"I love it," I replied, turning and kissing Scorpius on the lips. My breath caught, and I thought for a minute that I'd be stuck to his face forever. I couldn't seem to quench the insatiable thirst I felt for him. Every touch from his lips or his hands only seemed to make it worse. He had to separate us, leaning back so the table was between us, breaking the sexual tension with a chuckle.

"What?"

"You taste like strawberry," he laughed, dipping his finger into my strawberry ice cream. In retaliation I pulled his boat of vanilla towards me and stole a whole scoop of his ice cream. "I don't mind sharing."

Mum and Dad walked past with Hugo. "We'll see you at home Rosie, okay?"

I nodded and waved goodbye.

"I've missed you so much," Scorpius said suddenly.

"You saw me at the weekend!" I told him.

"I know but that feels like ages ago."

"Well we'll be on the train together in a few days," I said, trying to console him but feeling just as sad myself. Being apart was hard. I could only imagine what it would be like when I was away from Hogwarts for those three months after the Christmas holidays. I was beginning to regret my decision to study at four different Wizarding schools, but Scorpius kept telling me that I had to live my life for me; not for him.

After spending a few hours together, buying some things that we probably didn't need seeing as they weren't specifically for school, Scorpius headed home with his parents and I returned to the Leaky Cauldron to floo home, eager to return to Hogwarts so that I would be able to see Scorpius again.

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><p><strong>AN: So what did you think? Leave a review and let me know if you've got time. **

**Much love, SabreDae  
><strong>

**xxxxxxx  
><strong>


	37. Returning Again

**A/N: So here's the epilogue. The story's come full circle now and I'd really like to thank everyone who reviewed or added this story to their alerts/favourites. It's been so nice to write this story for you all and I really appreciate some of the support you've shown me through my exams and the other goings on. I hope you'll like this chapter and I'd love to know what you think. I'll keep the poll on my profile page open until tomorrow but then I need to close it and get to writing the five winning chapters.**

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><p>As usual Kings Cross Station was packed and busy. As we tried to get to the arch between platforms nine and ten, Hugo, Mum, Dad and I were all jostled by the commuters speed-walking through the station. I was looking forward to beginning my Sixth Year at Hogwarts. It promised to be the most exciting year of my life with all the travel I would be doing and the people I would be meeting.<p>

For once we actually arrived on the platform early and after stowing our belongings aboard the train, Hugh and I simply waited for more people to arrive and talk to. Scorpius friend Tim was already there and came to stand and talk with us.

"Have you seen Lucy?" he asked.

"No, she was on Uncle Percy's book tour all summer," I answered, wondering how things were between Tim and Lucy.

"Yeah, I saw her briefly when they came to London. Oh, look, there she is," Tim replied, pointing at the arch where Lucy was just coming through. Uncle Percy followed and they waited for Molly and Aunt Audrey before joining our little group.

"Tim," Uncle Percy nodded.

Lucy grinned and slid her hand into his waiting one.

Looking between them and Uncle Percy, I frowned in confusion. How was he okay with it? Or had he just not noticed that his daughter was holding hands with a boy who wasn't one of her cousins?

I was saved the trouble of asking by my dad, who unthinkingly blurted, "Perce, are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, Ron, I am."

"Then why aren't you having a fit about Luce standing within two metres of a boy?"

"Ronald!" Mum cried, looking apologetically at Percy, Tim and Lucy. "Why can't you think before you speak? Hmm?"

Dad shrugged and turned back to Uncle Percy. "Well?"

"You mean Tim?" Uncle Percy asked.

Dad nodded.

"Well Tim's a polite, considerate boy and I think that perhaps it's time I let Lucy make her own decisions," Uncle Percy said in an undertone, trying to keep the conversation from Lucy and Tim's attention. He needn't have worried as at that moment, Tim kissed Lucy's cheek, making her blush and giggle slightly.

"Good for you, Perce!"

"What's Percy done?" Aunt Ginny asked, surprising us all as we hadn't seen her approach us.

"He's letting Lucy date," Ron told her.

Auntie Ginny looked at Uncle Percy with raised eyebrows as if to say, "Really?"

Uncle Percy nodded.

"How about drinking, Uncle Perce?" James asked. "Is Lucy allowed to do that 'cause I just discovered the best Muggle drink – Tequila!"

Uncle Percy blanched.

"Just kidding – gives you _the _worst hangover."

Al snickered, probably reminiscing about his brother coming in drunk early one morning and throwing up over something.

"Shut up, Al," James said, shoving his brother to the side. "Look there's Katie, why don't you go bug her?"

Al rolled his eyes, but ambled over to see his girlfriend anyway. No-one was surprised that they were still together. We all thought it was kind of sweet anyway.

"Hey Lily," I greeted as she came to stand next to me. Catching sight of Chris O'Dowd, I asked, "How's Chris? Did you see him this summer?"

"We split up," she replied sadly with a shake of her head. "I really thought he was the one."

"Cheer up, Lils," James replied. "You'll find someone else. Just become a quidditch star – everyone'll love you then."

"Yes, but they're just fans, James," Aunt Ginny replied, looking imploringly at Uncle Harry to try to talk some sense into their eldest son. "They don't really care about you."

"Not Jenny, though," James said quietly. "Jenny's different."

"Not Jenny," Uncle Harry agreed. We'd all heard something about Jenny, the new journalist at Quidditch Weekly, who'd been tasked with shadowing the country's youngest professional seeker and had come to fall in love with him. How exactly she managed to overlook his big head long enough to see the sweet young man inside, nobody knew.

Just like James, Fred had come to see us off.

"Feels weird not to be going back to Hogwarts, doesn't it?" he commented to James as they stood to one side.

"Yeah, but we can count on Louis to uphold our mischief-making – we taught him well."

"What are you doing now you've finished school?" Hugo asked Fred.

"Mum and Dad are letting me do some work in the shop to save some money and then I'm going travelling. First stop is Romania to see Uncle Charlie and join his team for a month or so, then I'm going to Greece. Perhaps I'll stay out there, who knows."

"Perhaps it'll help you grow up," Auntie Angelina said pointedly, though her voice was warm and it was clear that despite Fred's penchant for trouble and lack of responsibility she still loved him.

Roxie left us rather quickly after Uncle George helped her stow her trunk and cat on the train. I watched her leave and greet Lorcan with a kiss, only I realised that she hadn't kissed Lorcan; but Lysander and Lorcan was looking on from a distance with an angry expression. I'd always known Roxie would move on, but perhaps going from one twin to the other wasn't her best idea. Shaking my head, I supposed that it wouldn't matter – in a few weeks she'd be interested in someone else anyway. One day she'd find someone who she wanted to stay with though.

Just like Roxie, Louis appeared to have moved on from Carrie over the summer. I wondered if James hadn't taught him his habit of keeping a few girls on the trot as well as how to cause trouble and avoid punishment. Louis, now a Third Year, had an eye on two people – one of my friends, Tracy, and a girl in his own year. I hoped he would get together with the girl in his own year, not Tracy.

Dom stood beside me and hugged me.

"Good summer, Rosie?"

"It was okay," I replied. "Yours?"

"The best," she responded, grinning excitedly. "French guys are the hottest!"

"I thought you were with Jason…"

"I am, but that doesn't mean I can't _look _at other guys."

"If you say so," I told her. I knew _I _wouldn't be happy if Scorpius was looking at other girls and I doubted he'd be okay with me looking at other guys.

Jasper arrived with his parents, who greeted Hugo with wide smiles. He was clearly welcomed by them and Hugh and Jasper were still going strong. Perhaps their relationship would be like Al and Katie's. Maybe they would be forever. I hoped they would be – that was the kind of relationship that Hugo deserved.

Scorpius and his family were practically the last people to arrive on the platform. He rushed over, wearing the same leather jacket and white t-shirt as he had last year. I gulped; trying to ignore the way the t-shirt clung to his chest and defined muscles. What was with me? Every time I looked at him I seemed to go weak in the knees and lose my voice completely. James noticed and smirked, elbowing Fred and nodding over at me as Scorpius hugged me, completely unaware of the effect he was having on me.

If I was going to do the same all year, perhaps it was a good thing I was going abroad and having some separation from him. When I got back, I was sure it would be ten times worse, but then that would be good, wouldn't it? Our reunion would be all the better and we'd appreciate each other that bit more. As it was I was happy to see him.

The train whistle blew and we hurried towards the train. Scorpius' father had already put his trunk onboard and waved to us. Astoria Malfoy looked on, dignified as she simply nodded at her son.

"Have a good term, Rosie," Mum called.

I nodded and waved goodbye to them, seeing Dom and Jason arguing slightly out of the corner of my eye.

"Don't look at her like that," Dom reprimanded. "You can only look at me, _you girlfriend, _like that."

"Oh, so I didn't just see you staring at Luke McClaggen's arse, did I?"

"Dom get on the train, for Merlin's sake!" someone, probably Lily, further down the train called.

I grinned at Scorpius, the both of us laughing at how similar his friend and my cousin were.

"Don't forget to write!" Mum shouted to Hugo.

He nodded, but we all knew he wouldn't write. I'd be doing that again. I smiled at how nothing had changed. But one look at Scorpius as we walked towards the prefects' compartment told me I was partially wrong. Hundreds of things had changed between us and there would probably still be more changes to come but I was beginning to see that that wasn't such a bad thing.

I wondered what my life would be like if I hadn't given him those second chances and I knew instantly that I'd done the right thing. I'd always give him a second chance, just as he would me.

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><p><strong>AN: So thanks again for reading. Let me know what you think and if you haven't yet, head on over to my profile and vote for the bonus chapters!**

**Much love, SabreDae  
><strong>

**xxxxxxxxx  
><strong>


	38. Bonus: Malfoy Christmas

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's the first bonus chapter: Scorpius' POV of telling his parents about Rose. I hope you like what I've written and I'd love to know what you think about it. Some things may surprise some of you, but they might not, who knows. I've tried to link this chapter as closely as I can with Chapters 14, 15 and 16 of the story, but I hope it's not too repetitive. Anyway, read on.**

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><p>I was going home for the Christmas holidays. I was going to do it. I was going to tell my parents that I was going out with Rose Weasley. After seeing Rose's cousins' reactions, I was sure that I had to tell my parents and get it out of the way. They might not like what I had to say, but it was better than them finding out from someone else, wasn't it?<p>

My parents took my home from Kings Cross Station by sidelong apparition – they hated driving Muggle cars or using public transport. My parents weren't so bad as my grandparents, however, who staunchly refused to even contemplate buying a car or travelling any other way except by floo, broomstick or apparition whilst my mother would sometimes arrange for a Ministry car to take us to Kings Cross Station so I could go to school. It wasn't always possible though, given how disgraced our family name had become since the fall of Voldemort.

Oddly, my father seemed in a more cheerful mood than usual, humming Christmas songs like Cauldron Crackers and the Twitching Turkey. As soon as we got home, he sent my trunk upstairs and then headed to the kitchen to turn the radio on. Stifling laughter at him singing along, I followed my trunk up the stairs and began to unpack my belongings. Of course, Mother wasn't content to leave me to my own devices. After preparing some dinner and beginning to cook it with a few spells that she'd never taught me, she appeared at my bedroom door and began helping me create a pile of clothes that needed washing.

I hadn't noticed I was humming to myself as I shoved pile after pile of t-shirts into the chest of drawers in my bedroom, but my mother did.

"You seem happy," she commented, giving me what was probably meant to be a smile though she'd spent so many years frowning that it seemed her facial muscles were stuck that way.

I shrugged. I guess I was happy. Rose made me happy, well certainly happier than I'd ever been before. I'd been miserable when I was friends with Veronica and some of the other Slytherins. They all expected me to live up to my family's reputation and hate the Muggleborns, but I didn't. I didn't know why I was so different from my family and from them, but I was and it wasn't something I could change.

Downstairs the alarm my mother must have set to tell her when she needed to check on dinner or do something rang and she left me to continue emptying my trunk of clothes.

When I was finished, I stared out my bedroom window, watching as Mr Withers – one of our neighbours - snuck out his wand and surreptitiously began using it to water his plants. It was odd living in our small village. There were a few Muggles to talk to, but oddly it seemed that the place was merely filled with adults. There was no-one of my own age, only a toddler and an annoying seven year old.

Growing bored, I shoved my now empty trunk under my bed and went downstairs. The radio was still playing, though my father was now sat in the living room with a paper, still singing along. I flopped into one of the arm chairs just as my mother came in to tell us that dinner would be ready in a few minutes.

"Scorpius, go and change out of those horrid, Muggle clothes this instant," she scolded.

Sighing, I got back to my feet and returned to my bedroom, leafing through the things in my wardrobe and chest of drawers to find either some robes that weren't too small or at least something smart.

I was supposed to always look smart in either a suit jacket or at least a shirt, but whenever I was going to be in the Muggle world, Mother grudgingly allowed me to fit in and copy their fashions. That meant I was allowed a pair of blue skinny jeans, a few plain t-shirts and a leather jacket. I wore them whenever I could, preferring them to the smart clothes that made me, a fifteen year old, look ridiculous. I often felt like a member of a Muggle band when I wore my cool, Muggle clothes too.

Now wearing a pair of black wizard's trousers, my shirt tucked into them and a knitted vest over the top, I hurried down the stairs, feeling a sense of déjà vu at the action. Mother and Father were already sitting at the table, though they were waiting for me before they started eating.

As I sat down and began to put food on my plate, my father said, "I must say, this is unusual, Scorpius."

"Huh?" I asked, having no idea what he was talking about.

"You're eating dinner with us. I'm surprised you're not shut up in your room like you were all summer. Astoria had already prepared a thermos of tea to take to you later this evening."

I looked between my parents, noting how they were both looking at me with little expression. It was true; I had spent all summer in my bedroom. My parents attributed it to that so called 'moody teenager phase' but I just wanted some time to myself.

All through the next day, my parents wouldn't stop commenting on how I wasn't in my bedroom and how I was spending time with them.

My mother was so pleased with my behaviour that she even asked if I wanted to invite Veronica round for dinner one night. Whilst I didn't like Veronica, my mother was _very _keen on her. I was sure that she'd already begun making plans for the wedding that would never happen. Being close friends with Veronica's mother, she'd known Veronica since she was little. Ever since I started Hogwarts, Veronica was always mysteriously invited to our house and my mother would always whisper loudly to my father, "Don't they look so good together? Our Scorpius and Veronica?"

I told my mother that Veronica had stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays and hoped that would be the end of the matter. I was wrong.

A day later, she came to my bedroom with a Christmas card from Mrs Montague. "Scorpius, did you tell me that Veronica was staying at Hogwarts?"

I nodded warily.

"That's odd. Valeria says she's at home."

"She must have changed her mind, Mum."

"Don't you speak to your best friend, young man?" she asked, probably trying to joke.

I shrugged. "We're just not friends anymore."

"And why not? I thought you liked her. I _thought _we'd be meeting her as your girlfriend very soon – you've seemed so happy."

"I am happy, Mum, but it's not because of Veronica," I answered as evenly as I could, but I still had some lingering resentment towards Veronica Montague.

It must have showed as the next thing Mother said was, "Don't take that tone with me, young man!"

"Sorry," I replied.

"So why aren't you friends with Veronica? She's a lovely girl and she comes from a very respectable family – you'd have made a wonderful couple."

I scoffed. Veronica was anything but lovely.

"Scorpius! Don't be so rude! Now come on, dinner's ready."

I followed her down to the kitchen, aware that she was annoyed from her huffs as she descended the stairs. It was obvious to father from the way she dumped the roast hog on the table and forcefully skewered it with the knife to cut it. Father looked over at me as if asking me to explain what I had done to upset my mother, but seeing as how I didn't feel I held any guilt, I just looked out the window.

Thinking about how close I had come to telling Mother, I decided to just get it out of the way. After all, I knew from experience that my mother was a woman who held on to her anger and let it simmer. Surely it would be best to just get it out of the way rather than give her something else a few days later to reignite her ire.

As soon as my mother had dished up the meat and sat down, leaving the knife in the middle of the table, I cleared my throat.

"I have something to say."

Father and Mother looked at me expectantly.

I took a deep breath and tried to find a way to phrase it nicely. Coming up with nothing, I blurted, "I'm going out with Rose Weasley."

"Rose Weasley?" Mother asked in horror.

Father dropped his knife in shock and didn't even realise.

"You choose that ginger half-blood over Veronica?"

I winced as my father joined the tirade.

"I don't care who you choose to fancy, Scorpius, but couldn't you at least avoid the offspring of my old rivals?"

"I don't just fancy Rose, I love her. I know it's serious. And I tried not to like her, I really did – I spent two years trying to ignore her – but I can't help who I fall in love with!" I shouted over the top of them.

"Love?" Mother repeated in disgust.

"Oh, here we go. Scorpius thinks he knows it all, does he? Well, let me tell you something, young man, you may think you know love, but you don't. You're fifteen! You wouldn't know love if it walked up and kicked you in the balls – this is just an infatuation."

"No, it's not," I said adamantly. "I love Rose and I'm going to be with her whether you like it or not. I certainly won't stand for any more prejudice over blood status."

"Scorpius, you don't understand," my Father snapped, though trying to reason with me. "I don't care that she's a half-blood any more than you do, but what I do care about is that she's the daughter of Weaselbee! What's it going to be like when I have to see them, the Weasleys and the Potters? Hmm? Do you think they'll throw their arms about me and tell me they're happy our two families are coming together? We may not be enemies anymore, but the gap between us is too great to be bridged!"

"So, you're not going to even try? You're not going to try for me? For your son? Your only son?"

"Oh, emotional blackmail is it now?"

"No, I just think you need to give Rose a chance because if you don't, people will never stop saying you're still a Death Eater and a dark wizard."

"I am not a dark wizard or a follower of He Who Must Not Be Named!" Father thundered.

"Then give Rose a chance!"

"Why should we? There's no way she could be better for you than Veronica was," Mother interjected snootily.

"You won't know that until you do!" I cried, wondering if I would ever convince them to just think about meeting Rose.

"What's all this commotion?" a new voice asked. I looked up and saw Grandfather standing before the fireplace and hoped he hadn't heard all of our argument. If he got wind of my relationship with Rose he'd ship me off to a foreign wizarding school or begin home tutoring me before I could utter one syllable. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Lucius said, his voice as snake-like as ever.

"No, father," my father replied, forcing himself to remain calm. "Everything's fine. We were just having a family discussion that can be continued another time."

While I didn't get on with Grandfather, it was nothing to his relationship with my father. Though they tried to refrain from arguing, especially in front of me, there was always a tense atmosphere whenever they were in the same breathing space.

"I hope you don't mind, but I thought I might stay with you for a few weeks whilst your mother goes to China."

"Not at all," Father said; though his tight grin showed that he rather have a lion or a dirty dog to stay.

"Sit down then Lucius and help yourself to the roast," Mother told him, acting as the gracious host.

Lucius seated himself directly opposite me and used his fork to spear a slice of meat and place it on the plate my mother had summoned for him.

"So Scorpius, how are your studies going?"

"Fine," I muttered.

"Adolescents these days," he tutted to my parents. "Never want to answer a question, do they?"

"Scorpius is the top in his year, aren't you, son?" Mother asked proudly.

"Actually, I'm tied with Rose."

"Who is this Rose I heard you talking about?" Grandfather asked, seeming curious. I couldn't help thinking that he'd heard more of the argument than he'd let on and was deliberately seeking to cause trouble.

"Rose Weasley," I told him reluctantly.

"There's a surprise," Grandfather replied dryly. "Granger's daughter, isn't she?"

Father nodded.

"I hope you beat her in every test next year, young man," Grandfather said. "A pure blood like you, have to show the half-bloods and blood traitors who's the best, won't you?"

I swallowed my bite of food and glared at him.

"I'm so glad you don't associate with those sorts of magic folk."

Father looked grimly over at me. I could tell he was just as uncomfortable with the prejudice as I was. It still amazed me how my grandparents had managed to avoid being sent to Azkaban even if they had changed sides at the last minute.

I was relieved when the meal was over and rushed to my bedroom, not wanting to spend another minute with me demented family.

Strangely our family owl was sat just outside my window. Upon opening it, she fluttered into my room and perched on my desk, keeping me company whilst I tried to forget about how awful my Grandfather had been. If Rose and I stayed together there was no way I was ever going to introduce her to him.

The thought of Rose brought a smile to my face, however. I imagined she would have been listening to Celestina Warbeck for a few days now and was probably going out of her mind. Opening one of my draws, I rooted around for the necklace I had once found in the loft, wondering vaguely why my grandfather had never given it to my grandmother, and sat down at my desk to write Rose a letter. Despite how much I wanted to, I didn't tell her anything about my grandfather or telling my parents about our relationship – I didn't want to spoil her holiday.

When the letter was finished, I packaged the necklace in brown paper and attached the letter, before tying both to our owl's leg. She flew out into the night to take the gift to Rose. I just hoped it would arrive in time for Christmas Day the next day.

Tired, I undressed and slid into bed, hoping that when I awoke the next day things would be forgotten.

Christmas Day was never much of a joyful occasion for me family. Sure we all got presents from each other, extravagant presents, but we were never happy to spend time together. I wasn't surprised my grandmother was away for Christmas – she never seemed to want to spend any time with my grandfather. Perhaps she didn't love him anymore. I couldn't help thinking that perhaps they never loved each other – it had been an arranged marriage set up between their parents after my great grandmother had died. Father and Mother's marriage had also been arranged, though by my grandmother who had been determined to marry father to a 'respectable woman who understood her place in the family'.

But to make matter's worse, Christmas Day was even worse than usual. Grandfather seemed to have coerced information about Rose and I from my parents and as soon as I came down the stairs he took me by the arm and led me out of the room for a 'chat with his grandson' though it ended with him telling me I needed to stop 'associating with impoverished bloodtraitors and worthless mudbloods.'

Angry, I stalked back to the living room, said happy Christmas to my parents and returned to my bedroom. I stayed in my bedroom for most of the rest of the holiday and was glad when it came time for me to return to Hogwarts.

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><p><strong>AN: As always, I'd love to know what you thought, so leave a review if you've got time.**

**Much love, SabreDae  
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	39. Bonus: The Radcons

**A/N: Hey everyone! Here's another of the bonus chapters: Hugo's POV of being picked up by Jasper. I hope you like it! As always I'd love to know what you think. I'm not sure this is as good as some of my other chapters, so if you think I can improve it any way, I'd really appreciate you telling me.**

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><p>I stood at the living room window, looking out at our road and searching for a sign of Jasper and his family coming. Nervous energy filled me and I was constantly shifting, moving from sitting on my knees to sitting properly on the window seat and peering round over my shoulder.<p>

"They'll be here soon," Mum said, running a hand over my hair as she walked past me and into the hall to pick up her bag and make sure she had everything in it ready for work.

It was six o'clock in the morning and she and Dad would be leaving in an hour.

"Just make sure you don't forget about the project and get distracted," Mum reminded me.

I nodded and shot her a smile.

"Where do they live again?" Dad asked, tightening the tie on his robes as he came in. "Somewhere in Scotland, isn't it?"

"Aberdeen," I nodded.

"It'll be colder up there – have you packed warm clothes?"

"Yes, Mum, you already checked my packing yesterday," I replied, rolling my eyes but appreciating her care all the same.

Mum nodded before tutting and wiping crumbs of toast from Dad's chin and robes.

"Thanks, Hermione," he muttered, kissing her on the cheek.

Turning away from them, I looked back out the window, getting hopefully to my knees as a dark blue car turned down the road. Spying Jasper in one of the back seats, I smiled and jumped down from the window seat, leaping past my parents in the doorway to get to the front door.

Jasper smiled and waved at me as he saw me in the doorway. Seeing his parents, it was easy to see where he got his looks – he was a close mix of the two of them with his father's blonde hair and his mother's hazel eyes.

"Hey, Hugo," he said with a laidback grin, clambering out of the car. He wore a waistcoat over his red hoodie, looking cool but smart and I knew that I would never be able to manage to look as relaxed or sophisticated as Jasper did, though he didn't even look like he tried.

"Jasper," I replied. We'd only met a few times before the beginning of the Easter holidays to try and plan how we were going to finish our project when we were both going home for the holidays, but we'd become good friends. Jasper was just a nice person who seemed to be able to get on with anyone and everyone. I honestly thought he could probably even have a relatively easy conversation with Lucius or Draco Malfoy, not that I'd told him that, of course. I hadn't said anything I thought about him to Jasper.

Whilst I'd never seen him with a girlfriend, I'd never seen him being anything other than friends with boys either. I didn't want to overstep a boundary and say something a bit peculiar to him.

"Trust Rose not to be up," I mumbled, wishing she could have been there to give me some advice on how to act. I wanted to ask her what Scorpius had done to win her over, but she was still fast asleep despite the amount of times Dad had shouted up the stairs.

"I'll give it one more try," Dad promised. "Rose! Hugo's leaving!" There was no resulting scramble for her to get down the stairs, her bedroom curtains just above us didn't even twitch. "I could-"

"-Don't worry about it, Dad. I'll send her an owl or something when I get there."

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Hermione, Ron," Mrs Radcon said, for she had been chatting with my parents for a minute or two. Mr Radcon smiled at me as he picked up my trunk and practically threw it into his car boot. The back-end of the car dipped drastically and a horrid groaning sounded before it evened out.

"Not to worry, it's reinforced with magic," Mr Radcon whispered to me conspiratorially.

I nodded and turned to face my parents, the two of them standing close together and Dad with one of his long arms wrapped around Mum's waist.

"Have a good time," Mum said, trying not to cry.

"He's not going forever," Dad reminded her, grinning at me.

"I know," Mum replied, bringing me into a hug.

"See you, Hugh," Dad said, clapping me on the shoulder.

I gave them both fleeting hugs and got into the back of the car to sit next to Jasper.

Mum and Dad waved us off and then we were on our way. Jasper chatted eagerly to me the whole way, though it was a ten hour drive that required many stops at rest services along the way. His parents seemed just as friendly, politely asking me questions and telling me funny stories about Jasper whilst he turned bright red.

"Enough with the embarrassing, shouldn't you be concentrating on the road anyway, Dad?"

"Nah, we're almost there now. Ready to see the castle, Hugo?" Mr Radcon asked.

"You live in a _castle_?" I said to Jasper with wide eyes.

"No," Jasper answered with a chuckle. "It's just something Dad always says."

"A man's home is his castle," Mr Radcon agreed.

The Radcon's turned out to live in a completely normal house, just like ours as a matter of fact – a three bedroom Muggle house – though of course, it was sure to have some magical oddities on the inside.

Mrs Radcon and Jasper showed me inside and took me to the spare room, where I would be sleeping, whilst my trunk was brought up by Mr Radcon.

"We'll let you get settled in," Mrs Radcon told me. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Whilst they left, Jasper stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. I imagined that after two long car journeys – though they'd stopped overnight at a hotel on the way to my house – he was pretty tired. I knew I was.

"Your parents are so nice," I said, trying to find something to talk about in the momentary silence.

"So are yours," Jasper countered.

I nodded as we fell back into an uneasy silence. Remembering my mum's advice, I said, "So that project?"

"Yeah, my mum had a good idea to get a Muggle perspective of World War Two and then a Wizard perspective as well, so we'll go to the Muggle library tomorrow and then use books we've got in the house for the wizards' perspective, sound good?"

"Sure."

"Great."

"Yep, great," I agreed.

Again silence descended on us.

"Well, I'd probably better let you get some rest…" Jasper mumbled, backing out of the room. "I'm just across the hall if you need me."

I nodded, sighing in relief as he entered his bedroom and pushed the door to.

How was I going to cope if it was going to be so tense whenever it was just the two of us together? I imagined that going to the library would be torture, but perhaps the books would provide enough distraction.

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><p><strong>AN: So what did you think? I hope you liked it and didn't mind the angst too much. **

**Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	40. Bonus: The Apple and the Tree

**A/N: Thanks to those of you who have reviewed the bonus chapters. Here's the third one – Ron's POV of Rose telling him that Scorpius is her boyfriend. I hope you like it. I'd love to know what you think of this part of the story now that you know what Ron was thinking, so leave a review if you've got time. **

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><p>"Thanks, Rosie," I said, trying to ignore the pain in my knee. She was a good daughter, I knew. I doubted every girl would help their aging father hobble into the house, at least not all of these 'modern teenagers' anyway.<p>

I sighed with relief as she sat me down in the armchair and even picked up the footstool, placing it before me and pulling my injured leg onto it. I smiled my thanks and reclined the chair slightly, resting up.

"You're missing the party, Rosie," I pointed out, not sure why she was still hovering over me. I was getting older but it wasn't like I was going to drop dead in the chair. Not from the old Auror injury anyway. "I don't need you here with me, why not go back out?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you, Dad," she replied, surprising me somewhat. It had been a long time since we last had a real father-daughter chat. For the life of me, I couldn't think what she could possibly want to talk to me about. Ever since she hit the age of thirteen, she'd been so moody. She used to be Daddy's little girl and would follow me about, talk to me like I was her best friend. At fifteen, the only people she talked to were Dom, Lily, Al and Victoire and I was made out to be the most annoying person on the planet, the Devil in disguise, if you will.

"Really? Well, fire away," I told her, settling into the chair and resting my eyes. With the stuffy room and the comfortable position I was sat in, I struggled to stay awake.

"Well…you know how you keep asking about my boyfriend…"

I nodded, my eyes fluttering shut. I remembered her saying the word boyfriend but the next thing I knew, I was sure she was talking about constellations.

"Well…it's just that I'm dating Scorpius."

"Oh, that's nice," I murmured, trying to make it look like I was listening.

"Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy that is."

My eyes snapped open at the mention of his name. Malfoy? She couldn't be dating a Malfoy! I couldn't let that happen. All Malfoys were jerks, scum of the earth. Lucius, Narcissa and Draco had all been dirtbags, so why would their _precious son, _Scorpius, be any different? Completely stunned, I was sitting wordlessly in the chair for a few minutes.

"Dad?" Rosie asked nervously, shooting glances at me and looking worried.

My mind raced. How had this even happened? I thought Harry and I had told the kids enough to make them wary of the Malfoys. I couldn't even understand what Rose would even see in him. He was just a boy. The Malfoys weren't even that rich anymore. I was sure there had to be some kind of foul play going on. What if this Scorpius kid had bewitched my Rosie? I was sure it was the kind of thing Draco would have done, and after all, the apple never falls far from the tree.

Instantly, I knew what I had to do.

Ignoring the burst of debilitating pain in my knee joint as I moved, I stood up and walked past Rosie without saying a word. She probably wasn't going to like what I was going to do, but I had to do it. I had to protect her.

Climbing the stairs to the study where Pollux usually roosted was agony. My knee protested but I kept going. Retrieving the owl, I returned to the living room, aware of Rose's eyes on me as I began writing three separate letters. I tried to resist the urge to look at her, but I caved every few minutes and as I searched for any sign of the effects of love potion in her eyes (the ones that I knew from experience all too well), I couldn't keep the hard, intense burn from mine.

The first letter I sent to Professor McGonagall – I was sure she would be able to tell me immediately if boy-Malfoy was as devious as elder-Malfoy.

_Dear Professor McGonagall,_

_I'm sure this letter will be unexpected but I've recently received some news concerning my daughter and a fellow Hogwarts student. Malfoy. As is understandable, I'm worried about the character of the boy. My previous encounters with the Malfoy family were never amiable and I would like to ascertain whether he is as, shall we say, nefarious and unbecoming of character as his father was. I am aware of the need for the utmost discretion but am in dire need of your reassurance in this matter. _

_A swift response would be much appreciated in this matter. _

_Sincerely, _

_Ronald Weasley_

Once I was done with Professor McGonagall's letter, I moved onto the next one which I intended to send to Neville.

_Neville, it's been too long. You, Hannah, Harry, Ginny, Hermione and I really need to meet up soon. Anyway, I'm just writing to ask what you think of this Malfoy boy. You teach him – what's he like? I'm sure you'll have heard already but Rose is supposedly dating him. Is it true? Does he really like her or has he slipped her something? Get back to me soon, Ron._

I only had one letter left to write.

_Hagrid, has Rose been acting odd lately? You haven't noticed anything different about her have you? And what do you think of Scorpius Malfoy? Ron._

The messages got shorter and blunter the more desperate I got for answers.

After writing out my messages, I gave them to Pollux and practically threw him out of one of the living room windows. Taking the chair closest to the window, I stared out of it and tried to avoid looking at Rosie. I could tell she was worried about me but she also looked a bit alarmed and I could see her biting her lip out of the corner of my eye.

Finally Pollux returned, a lot quicker than I expected actually and I took three letters from him.

Scanning over them, odd words jumped out at me from Professor McGonagall's letter. Different. Honest. Determined. Genuinely nice boy. Prefect. Moving on, I looked over Neville's letter and found that he seemed to agree with Professor McGonagall, adding that he was never any trouble in lessons and was very courteous and sincere towards Rose. Hagrid also allayed my fears that Scorpius was manipulating Rose, saying he hadn't noticed anything odd about Rose and that Malfoy was really not a Malfoy at all.

Sighing, I set down the three sheets of parchment on my leg.

"Dad?" Rose asked uncertainly, moving to stand in front of me.

"Professor McGonagall, Neville and Hagrid all seem to be very complimentary of Malfoy."

"You wrote to our teachers?" she demanded, looking appalled.

He nodded, completely unfazed. I believed I was right to write to Neville, Hagrid and Professor McGonagall – I wanted an unbiased opinion of the nature of the boy and whatever feelings for Rose he may have had.

"Well?" she asked. "What do you think about Scorpius after reading 'character references'?"

"He certainly seems less like a Malfoy than all the others. I'm not saying I think he's the most charming, intelligent person on the planet, but I'm willing to overlook his surname. But if he does _anything _to hurt you, Rosie, you are never to see him again," I replied, being honest but stern.

She rolled her eyes and declared that 'Scorpius would never hurt her.'

"I just said if," I pointed out, holding up my hands.

"So you're not angry with me?" she asked a little unsurely.

"No, I'm not angry with you-"

"-Not even a little bit disappointed?"

"No, I'm not disappointed in you. You can't help who you fall in love with, Rose. I know that better than anyone. I never thought I would fall in love with your mother. Heck, I didn't even like her when I first met her – I thought she was a bossy know-it-all. She may still be a bossy know-it-all sometimes, but she's also the bravest, most determined, loyal and compassionate woman I've ever met." A wry smile took hold of me and I held her wrists. "If you love Scorpius, then I'm sure we he has some redeeming qualities."

"Thanks for understanding, Dad. I honestly didn't want to fall in love with a Malfoy. I hated him for four years, and then last year, I guess things started to change. I still don't really know why, but I'm glad they did. I'm happy with him," she explained.

Pulling her into a warm hug and then releasing her, I told her to go back to the party. As soon as she left, I fell back into the chair. It was hard being a dad sometimes. I worked my butt off at work to provide for Rose and Hugo and whenever I could I tried to shield them from the dangers of the world. I was sure they didn't quite grasp the lengths I had to go to. Despite the many years it had been since the war, I still had enemies. There were still loose Death Eaters that Harry and I and all the others at the Aurors' Office had to round up. Busy with all that, I'd never quite stopped to think that I might need to protect Rose from another kind of hurt. I knew all too well that being in love could be like suffering with a broken rib. But when I looked at Rose, I didn't see my almost-adult fifteen year old daughter, I saw the innocent five year old girl who always begged me to play in her tiny kitchen with her. I hadn't expected her to fall in love, though perhaps I should have. I didn't realise when I fell in love with Hermione, I just was and for a few years too before I told her.

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><p><strong>AN: So what did you think? Leave a review if you've got time.**


	41. Bonus: Just Friends

**A/N: Hello all! I aimed to get this chapter up yesterday, but it took me longer than I expected to write the chapter because I couldn't find the corresponding Rose POVs for ages! Anyway, here's the penultimate bonus chapter: Scorpius' POV of the first game of 20 questions, which correlates with chapters 7 and 8, I believe. I hope you like it. Thanks go to Vil89Six, LilyxJames4ever, SnitchEye24 and the anonymous reviewer(s) for reviewing recently.**

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><p>"Rose, do you mind if I ask you a question?" I asked, feeling slightly apprehensive about her answer.<p>

"Depends what it is…" she replied hesitantly, leaning on the end of her mop.

"I just wandered why you never told your family about us-" I said before realising that she could get angry with me and stopping my sentence short.

"How did you know I didn't tell them?"

"They kept asking me why I was at the Hospital Wing with you and there at Breakfast…" I told her, feeling a bit disappointed that she hadn't told her family she liked me. I mean, she had to like me, didn't she? If she hadn't liked me she wouldn't have agreed to go to the Christmas party with me last year and she certainly wouldn't be giving me the time of day as we spent detention together. In fact, I was surprised she was still talking to me considering it was mostly my fault that we were in detention.

She sighed. "I didn't want to admit that I'd been hurt. They all think I'm perfect – best in the year, good at everything and they all just think that nothing fazes me. I couldn't face telling them because it would have made the hurt all too real."

I couldn't help it. I winced. Despite not intending to, I'd hurt Rose. Hurting her was the last thing I wanted to do and though I yearned to say something about how I would never hurt her, I couldn't because I knew that Rose wouldn't have had her heart crushed in the first place if I'd just left her alone. That was the problem really – I could never leave her alone.

Even as a First Year, she caught my attention. I knew exactly who she was just by looking. It was obvious she was a Weasley from the trademark ginger hair and spattering of freckles across her nose. It didn't take long to work out that she was Rose Weasley, the daughter of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The sight of her already in her robes before boarding the Hogwarts Express on our first ever day at Hogwarts was a big enough clue. Just a day later, if I'd had any doubts they were abated by her distinct ability in our subjects and her breadth of knowledge.

I didn't fancy her for another two years though. For First and Second year, I just thought she was unusual. I would often see her sitting in the library with her cousin, Albus, studiously working whilst all the other people in our year mucked about. I couldn't tell what it was about her that made me want to know her. All I knew was that she was different from everyone else. Practically repulsed by how much I wanted to talk to her, to have a conversation with her, I teased her. I mocked her and tricked her.

And then when I came back after the summer holidays and began our Third year, I realised why she was different. Her hair wasn't just ginger, it was the deepest shade of orange that always reflected the sun and seemed to shimmer in the light, making it look like it was moving or on fire. Underneath all the freckles she had, her skin was as white as snow. And as I watched her walking around the castle, speaking to people, she was charming and polite to everyone, even those she didn't know. And despite how often I'd teased her, mocked her and used magic against her; she'd never once risen to the bait and retaliated. She was almost above it all; if not for her some of her choice swear words sometimes. She never sent a curse or a spell my way, but boy did she yell at me.

I'd never heard such colourful language. But I knew that if she spoke to me like that then she obviously didn't like me. I hadn't done much to help myself, if anything I'd only shot myself in the foot. Thinking it was hopeless, I carried on waging war against her.

It was in our Fourth Year that I began to wonder if there was hope. Mature enough, I realised the only way I would ever know was if I plucked up the courage to talk to her nicely and ask her out. So I did. Perhaps Rose hadn't always noticed me, but I'd always been attracted to her like a bee was to honey. Some people might say I'd stalked her, but she just seemed to have this aura or this light that drew me in. I was powerless against it. It was no wonder I'd ever been able to leave her alone. I didn't think I ever would manage it either.

"It's not your fault," she replied sadly, breaking my train of thought.

It took me a moment to work out where our conversation had gotten to, but as I stopped mopping for a moment, it came back to me. We'd been talking about why she hadn't told anyone about our date.

"I just have to disagree with you on one thing though," I told her.

"I know, I know – I'm not perfect-" she started to say.

"-No, you are," I blurted. Ignoring Rose's gasp of surprise, I continued, "_I'm _the best in the year."

Rose began laughing. "Yeah, and I'm as old as Merlin," she quipped.

"Seriously, Rose, last year I got a better Potions mark than you did-"

"-Codswallop!" she exclaimed, beginning to take me seriously.

"I did," I asserted. I remembered speaking to Professor Slughorn when he gave us our marks. He'd happily told me I was top of the year. My potions prowess had begun to falter this year though.

"Whatever, Scor, pull the other one."

"I'll prove it one day," I muttered. Even if it meant digging out my old exam paper, I would prove to Rose that I was just as intelligent for her. I wanted to prove I was good enough for her. I didn't mean that she looked down upon me because of my family history, but I always felt like she was better than me – her family had saved the wizarding world, what had mine done apart from endanger it?

She rolled her eyes at me, taking us back to that more playful atmosphere. "Sure. Well, I answered your question, will you answer mine?"

"Depends what it is," I replied with a grin, echoing her own words. I hoped she wouldn't ask me anything too bad.

"Why did you really break off your friendship with Jack, Warren and Veronica?"

"To be honest, I don't know why I was even friends with them in the first place," I said. "Well, that's not true. I met them on the train – they heard I was on-board and came into my compartment, eager to hear about my father and Voldemort. I took the easy way out. Three people came and offered outright to be my friends before they even knew anything about me. I managed to avoid all the awkwardness about my family that I had been dreading. After that, I noticed some of their less…let's say pleasant characteristics…but I just ignored them and pretended they were nice people really."

"So it wasn't just about me?"

"That's two questions!" I pointed out, pushing my mop once more. Turning serious again, I answered evenly, "Not entirely about you. They were rubbing off on me, giving me a reputation I didn't really want. Sure, it was cool on one level – girls throwing themselves at my feet but, honestly, what I really wanted was to have a relationship, to be with someone and know each other so intimately it was like we were one entity." I blushed as I looked across at her, looking for her reaction. She had to know that that was what I wanted with her – I'd made it so obvious by now.

She barely reacted, just nodded and thought silently for a few minutes.

"My turn," I declared, not wanting her to have a chance to analyse my answer.

"What?"

"You've asked me two questions so now I get to ask you another one," I said, explaining the rules of Twenty Questions after hearing the wariness in her voice.

"Oh no, I'm not answering anything else," she replied amusedly.

"Play fair, Rose," I said reproachfully.

"I am. You'll ask me something I don't want to answer."

"I didn't want to answer _your _questions; but I did."

"Fine," she muttered.

"Great, now I've got to think of something to ask…"

"You're joking! You don't even have a question in mind?"

"No, I did, but I don't think I'm quite ready for you to murder me in my bed," I told her being completely serious. I was planning to ask her why she wouldn't give me a second chance, but I didn't want to be too forward – we were just getting back on track and that would only make things worse.

Waiting for me to think of a question, she returned to mopping the tiles of the Entrance Hall.

"A question…" I mumbled to myself. "Come on, just one question…no not that one…" Again, asking her why she wouldn't give me another chance popped into my head. "Alright, I give up! I can't think of another question so I'm just going to beg from the bottom of my heart – please don't kill me, Rose."

"Please tell me you're not asking about a girl crush?"

"No! Please! You can't seriously think I'm that kind of guy, Rose," I replied, completely shocked that she thought I would ever ask her about that. If I was ever going to ask her about something like that, it would wait until we were in better friends.

"Just wanted to be sure…"

"Well that's not what I'm asking."

"So…what are you asking?" she prompted.

"Rose…" I said, pausing and having to force out the rest of the sentence, "why won't you give me a second chance?"

She stared at the floor and I swear I heard her sniffle. I regretted asking the question the moment the words left my mouth. I'd upset her, it was obvious.

"Rose?" I asked, trying to make sure she was okay. Running my fingers down her arm, I took her hand in what I hoped would be construed as a supportive gesture. She looked up at me and I saw the pain in her blue eyes. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me," I whispered.

She sent me a silent thank you.

"At least we're can stay friends," I offered.

My heart grew when she nodded and smiled at me. That was the true beginning of our friendship.

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><p><strong>AN: So I hope you liked seeing what was going on in Scorpius' head. It's a little bit different from what Rose thinks is going on in there, so you may be interested in taking a look back at chapters 7 and 8, but don't feel pressured into doing it. I'd love to know what you think of this chapter, so leave a review. The next (last) bonus chapter will be Hugo's POV of telling Harry he's gay. **

**Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	42. Bonus: Too Cool For School

**A/N: Hey everyone! It's the last bonus chapter now. I'm so glad that some of you are still reading and I really, really want to thank everyone who's reviewed – it's made the writing process that bit extra special. So thanks to every single person who has reviewed, but especially those of you who have been reviewing the bonus chapters (RIckR Rocks, dovepatronus, vil89Six, LilyxJames4ever, Ted and vic, Lizaluvsdoggies and SnitchEye24). Thanks also go out to the people who added Second Chances to their alerts and favourites. I hope you all enjoy this last chapter: Hugo's POV of telling Harry he's gay. As always, I'd love to know what you think.**

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><p>As the train pulled into Platform Nine and Three Quarters, I stood and made my way off the train with Louis. Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur were in sight and waved to me as Louis hurried towards them, leaving me to wait for Rose. It had been clear that she and Scorpius wanted a minute alone – they'd barely been able to keep their eyes off one another the entire train journey.<p>

Finally I saw them step off the train together and looked around, trying to see if Mum or Dad were able to see them. Rose wasn't being very careful.

I could see them talking quietly, seeming to have an intense conversation, though I was too far away to hear what was being said. Luckily enough I wasn't a bad lip-reader.

"Rose, are you sure you're okay?" Scorpius asked, letting go of the handle of his trunk to hold her hand.

A jet of steam erupted from the train, surrounding the edge of the platform where, Rose, Scorpius and I were stood. I breathed a sigh of relief – at least the steam would stop them being seen. They were being completely irresponsible, practically flaunting their relationship in everyone's faces. If Rose didn't want Dad to know, she wasn't doing a very good job. Almost everyone at Hogwarts knew they were dating – what was to stop them telling their parents? Our parents were still on very good terms with their own school friends and probably knew the parents of about half the Hogwarts student body through working at the Ministry. Any one of them could say something to Dad.

"Just promise me you'll still be my boyfriend regardless of whatever my dad does or says?" Rose blurted desperately to Scorpius.

"You know I will," he replied, pulling her into a hug. "Olive juice."

"Olive juice?" I muttered to myself, wondering what in the world that had to do with their conversation before realising that Scorpius had actually told Rose he loved her and I'd read his lips wrong.

I turned away as Rose practically leapt at Scorpius' face and melded her lips to his. They were so in love – it was almost sickening sometimes. Although I wasn't looking, I was pretty sure that his arms would be around her back, holding her securely to his body and I knew from seeing them kiss before that Rose would have her hands around his neck and be playing with his hair.

The steam cleared away and I risked a glance at them to find they were still lip-locked. Rolling my eyes, I looked back around only to see Uncle Harry approaching the train. I gulped and looked repeatedly between Uncle Harry and Rose as she broke away from Scorpius.

"I'll see you in two weeks," Rose promised.

"Two weeks is too long, but have a good Easter and look out for my owls," he replied, kissing her a few more times for good measure before gathering his things and walking away.

Rushing to Rose, I tried to drag her at least a few metres away but it was too late. Uncle Harry had reached us and from the puzzled expression on his face, it was clear he'd seen something. I prayed that he just wanted to ask us if we'd seen Lily, James or Albus.

"Rose? Were you just…kissing Scorpius?"

S_Sugarmuffins! _I turned to Rose as she audibly groaned, looking about as uncomfortable as it was possible to be.

"You're father's not going to be happy about this, Rose," Uncle Harry said sternly.

"You don't _have _to tell him, Uncle Harry-" Rose tried.

"Don't have to tell him? _Don't _have to tell him? Of course I have to tell him! He's my best friend. He's my _brother_-in-law."

"Auntie Ginny knows-"

"I don't care who knows. I care about my best friend," Uncle Harry said. "I'm sorry to have to do this-"

I looked between them, noting how Uncle Harry was deathly serious about telling Dad. Despite my antagonism towards Rose and Scorpius in the early days, I didn't want Dad to find out. I knew he'd try to split them up and then Rose would be completely miserable. I wouldn't be able to hang around with her if that happened. I knew what I was going to do. In a way, I'd always known I'd have to do it sometime. I just didn't want to do it.

"-I'm gay!" I half-shouted over Uncle Harry in the middle of his rant.

"Hugo?"

"You heard me, I'm gay," I repeated. "Now will you leave Rose alone, or do you want to have to tell my Dad about me too?"

Uncle Harry was stunned into silence.

"I'm going to tell Dad anyway. It's why I came home," Rose interjected, sounding incredibly meek.

Uncle Harry nodded and muttered, "Rather you than me," thinking we hadn't heard him.

Turning on his heel, Uncle Harry began to lead the way presumably to where our family was waiting.

"Thanks for that. You didn't have to tell him," Rose murmured to me.

"No, but I wanted to help."

"Well I'm grateful," she replied.

"No problem. I'm sure you can repay me anyway," I whispered, already thinking that a foot massage would be nice when we got home. Or that in return for my sacrifice, she'd give me her broomstick. Hers was a newer, better model from mine and despite how long I'd been begging Dad to replace mine, he'd yet to do it. And Rose didn't even use hers anymore.

The car ride home was normal, I guess, considering the information I'd just revealed. Mum fussed about our schoolwork, as usual and Dad made a few sarcastic comments.

Only, I happened to say one bad thing. It was a total accident. I didn't mean to make it sound like Rose and Scorpius were in a sexually active relationship, but that was how Dad took it. I was honestly trying to help Rose. I was a little surprised that she hadn't hit me actually, especially after I mentioned Professor McGonagall's punishments.

Nobody had said why, but the rest of the family were following us home and luckily, that meant that Dad couldn't get too angry. Mum stepped in and calmed him down eventually, but it had been a close shave. After seeing how Dad reacted to that, I decided that when Rose told Dad that her boyfriend was Scorpius, I didn't want to be anywhere near the house.

When we got home, Mum and Dad asked me to take mine and Rose's trunks upstairs. I did, finally managing to lug one up the stairs. Surprisingly Uncle Harry came to help me with the second, and it didn't take twenty minutes that time. Afterwards, he stood at my bedroom window and looked out at the front garden.

"You know, Hugo, I just want to say I'm really proud of you for telling me that earlier. It takes a lot of courage to be honest like that."

I scoffed slightly. It wasn't really brave – it was barely even my choice. I'd only done it because Rose was in trouble. If Uncle Harry hadn't found out about Rose and Scorpius, I never would have told him I was gay. "Whatever."

"No, Hugo, having the courage to be who you really are is one of the bravest things."

I shrugged. I didn't really see how I was being who I really was when the rest of the family still didn't know. I wasn't sure I wanted them to know. I hated to even contemplate what Mum and Dad might think – would they accept the fact I was gay or refuse to accept it and try to change me. I imagined that Dad in particular wouldn't be proud of me like Uncle Harry seemed to be.

As if reading my mind, Uncle Harry crossed the room and sat down on the chair at my desk and faced me. "Listen, we're your family. We'll accept you and love you no matter who or what you are, Hugo-"

I tried to protest.

"What kind of family would we be if we didn't let you be yourself? Do you honestly think your Mum and Dad will love you any less because you're not into girls? Because I don't. I've known your Mum and Dad for thirty years, Hugh, and I truly believe that both of them will respect you when you tell them, if anything. I think they'll still love and I think that you being gay won't matter to them one jot. But if it puts your mind at ease, I won't say anything. Telling everyone is your choice and you have to do it when you're good and ready, not when other people tell you to."

I nodded, finally beginning to understand what he was saying.

"I'd better go see what your parents are doing – don't want them arguing again. I'll see you later, Hugh."

"Bye, Uncle Harry," I mumbled in reply, completely in awe of how cool my uncle was. All those people who just saw him as the Chosen One or the one who defeated Lord Voldemort were so off. Uncle Harry wasn't just the bravest, most determined person the world had known; he was also the kindest and wisest. It was no wonder he was Dumbledore's favourite at Hogwarts, was it?

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><p><strong>AN: So there you have it. I hope you guys enjoyed this. It's been such a journey writing this story and I'd really appreciate some of your thoughts on the development of Hugo's character, considering he's changed a lot from the beginning of the story. Thanks so much for reading and being a part of this with me.**

**On a side note, I'm taking a month of "holiday" from the internet and fanfiction to focus on other things for a while (also because it's costing me quite a bit to use the internet at the moment and I need to save all my pennies for university) but if anybody desperately needs to talk to me – unlikely, I know – I will be available for PMing as I can do that on my phone through the 3G included in my contract.  
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**Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxxxxxx**


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Harry Potter, Angst, Romance