I'm on a roll with Scorpius/Rose apparently. It's funny, because I wasn't really intending to post this, but when it was done, I just liked it so much. And I hope you guys do too.
You know, when my parents talked about how proud they were to be in Gryffindor, I'm not sure this is what they meant.
The Room of Requirement was a complete madhouse. In celebration of the end of term, James and Fred had decided that a "small get together" was in order. It was only nine-thirty, and there were already close to two hundred people crammed into the Room, with more still coming.
"Oh, come on, Rose," yelled Albus, nudging her with his shoulder. "Lighten up. It's summer tomorrow!"
"That's great, Al," she replied, forcing a smile. "It's just really loud in here, that's all."
"What?"
"I said it's—oh, never mind," Rose said, exasperated. "Hey, look. There's Alice."
Even if Albus couldn't hear her, he couldn't help but notice where Rose was pointing. Alice Longbottom was standing in a group of people nearby, her cheeks flushed as she took a sip from her bottle. Rose couldn't quite make out the label, but she had a sinking suspicious it wasn't butterbeer.
"Uh—that's okay," said Albus, suddenly extremely red-faced. "I think I'll just—"
"Go talk to her?" said Rose brightly. "Great idea!" And despite her cousin's protests, she gave him a shove in Alice's direction. True to form, Albus stumbled over the hem of his robe and almost knocked her over.
Smirking, Rose turned and started making her way through the crowd. One of her idiot cousins had managed to enchant the walls so that music blared out at the crowd from all angles. And it was hot, and people kept knocking in her, and why did everything smell so . . . moist?
"Rose!" squealed Lily, appearing out of nowhere and grabbing Rose by the sleeve. "You're leaving so soon?"
"Not feeling well," said Rose listlessly, trying to shake off her cousin.
"Liar," slurred Lily, stumbling a bit. "You just hate parties."
"That's true, too," said Rose, smiling tightly. "How much have you had to drink, Lil?"
"Not enough!" Lily cackled, letting go of Rose's sleeve. "Wait, stay here, I have to go find Lucy." She disappeared back into the throng of people, and the minute she was out of sight, Rose turned and continued her way toward the door.
The seventh floor corridor was completely silent. It was unnerving, actually, how well the Room of Requirement worked at concealing illicit activities. Rose had heard stories the stories about Dumbledore's Army, of course, but it wasn't until this moment that she'd realized just how her parents and uncle had managed to pull it off.
"Bailing so soon, Weasley?"
Rose jumped, turning around to see Scorpius Malfoy lounging against the opposite wall. He wasn't wearing robes or a tie, and the collar of his white shirt was casually undone.
"None of your business, Malfoy," she said curtly, turning away and heading toward the portrait hole.
"Touchy, touchy," he said, coming to walk beside her.
"Bite me, Malfoy." Rose regretted the words the instant they left her mouth.
"Well, if you insist," said Scorpius, pinning Rose swiftly against the wall. His face was inches from hers, and she could make out every shade of gray in his stormy eyes.
"Let go of me, Malfoy," she said, gritting her teeth. She squirmed, trying to break his grip, but Scorpius just leaned in closer. Despite herself, Rose couldn't help but notice how nice his arms looked with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up past his elbows.
"Now why would I do that?" he breathed, his mouth right next to her ear. Rose gasped slightly, shivers running down her spine as his lips brushed skin. Swallowing hard, she forced herself to focus, feeling around in her pocket for her wand.
"Because I told you to."
Scorpius laughed quietly, then pressed his lips to her throat. "That is a good point," he conceded, one hand coming up to bury itself in her hair. "After all, I seem to recall being perfectly willing to listen to you the last time we met like this."
"That was a mistake," Rose said coldly, her fingers closing around her wand. "I'm still not convinced that you didn't slip some sort of love potion into my goblet at dinner."
"See, I might actually believe you thought that, Weasley, if when I did this—" He nipped her lightly on the throat. "—you didn't do that."
To her disgust, Rose heard herself moan at the feel of his teeth on her skin. Enough, she thought, pulling out her wand and pointing it straight at Scorpius's heart.
"Get off me," she said, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible.
Scorpius pulled back slightly, looking amused. "Are you really going to hex me?"
"If you don't let me go, yes."
"Well, if that's what you want," he said, sighing and shaking his head. Scorpius took a step back, holding his hands up innocently.
"Thank you," said Rose stiffly, pocketing her wand and turning back in the direction of the portrait hole. She'd barely made it three steps before a pair of arms encircled her waist, pulling her back into a hard embrace.
"Answer one question for me, Weasley," Scorpius breathed into her ear, ignoring her attempts to break free. As his hands slid up under her shirt, his fingers playing across her waist, he asked, "What was different last time?"
"I don't—last time was—stop doing that!" Rose gave up trying to break free. Her mind was too scattered from the way it felt with Scorpius's hands on her skin. It was everything at once; icy, burning, tingling. She couldn't think straight, especially not when he started kissing her neck again.
"What are you so afraid of, Rose?" Scorpius whispered, turning her around so that they were facing one another.
"I'm not afraid of anything," she retorted, tossing her hair behind her head. "I just have better things to do with my time."
"Right," he said sarcastically. "Do you honestly think you'd have more fun up in your dormitory packing then you'd have with me?"
Rose's mouth twitched slightly. That had been exactly what she had been planning to do once she got back to Gryffindor Tower. She started to say yes, that she'd have more fun counting the individual dust particles on her bedside table than she would with him, but for some reason, the words wouldn't come out.
Scorpius smirked. "That's what I thought," he said, eyes glinting triumphantly.
Rose groaned and closed her eyes, swaying on the spot. This was complete and utter stupidity, that's what this was. No, this was a mistake, a mistake she'd already made once.
She opened her eyes. "You asked me what was different last time? Last time, I was a sad, vulnerable girl who let herself be taken advantage of by an arrogant, conceited jerk."
Scorpius narrowed his eyes. "You think I took advantage of you?"
"I know you did!" cried Rose.
"What, just because that git from Ravenclaw dumped you for your cousin, that means you can't make your own decisions? You kissed me, Rose. Or have you conveniently forgotten?"
Rose faltered slightly. "That—that wasn't . . . well, you're the one who started it. You knew what you were doing, flirting with me, putting me in that position."
"Oh, yes, because I'm such a terrible person," snarled Scorpius. "What was I supposed to do, Rose? You were sitting there crying your eyes out!"
"Which was extremely convenient for you."
"You know what? No." Looking furious, Scorpius pushed her away from him. "You don't get to do this. Maybe you weren't in the best of minds, but that's on you, Rose. I'm not responsible for your decisions. You kissed me, I kissed you back."
"More than kissed," muttered Rose darkly.
Scorpius barked a laugh. "You're—you're something else, you know that?"
"Oh, screw off, Malfoy," snapped Rose.
"Fine," he said bitterly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I won't bother you again, Weasley."
And turning away, Scorpius stormed down the corridor and out of sight. Rose waited until the sounds of his footsteps had faded completely before she moved. By the time she made it to the portrait of the Fat Lady, she felt drained, physically and mentally.
"Chortles," she mumbled, mustering up the last of her strength to drag up through the portrait hole.
Rose groaned, rolling over onto her back. Grabbing at the watch on her nightstand, she saw that it was barely midnight. She groaned and tossed it back down before sitting up. The dormitory was completely empty; no doubt everyone was still at the party. There was absolutely no reason that she shouldn't be able to sleep, but here she was, completely awake and restless.
Pulling on a pair of jeans and a gray sweatshirt, Rose stood up and shoved her feet into a pair of battered blue tennis shoes. As much as she loved being a witch, she couldn't deny that Muggle clothing was way more comfortable than robes.
She grabbed her wand and slipped it into her back pocket before making her way downstairs and out of the common room. She had no qualms about wandering the halls tonight; it was the last night of term, and none of the teachers seemed to care what the students did, as long as no one got hurt.
Rose ended up the Astronomy Tower, climbing a seemingly endless spiral of stairs before she reached the top. She made her way to one of the windows that overlooked the grounds. It really was a beautiful place to be, even at this time of night. Everything was bathed in soft moonlight, and the lake was so still that it reminded Rose of a perfect black mirror, reflecting the sky above it.
Then, to prove to herself that she really was mad, Rose swung a leg over the windowsill and onto the outside ledge. Climbing all the way out, she edged her way along the ledge, stopping only when she felt it expand into something resembling a stone platform, so many hundreds of feet above the ground.
There had been a time when sitting here had given her vertigo, but Rose had overcome that years ago. Of all her Quidditch playing cousins, she was the only one brave enough—or stupid enough—to come up here. Which suited her just fine. She drew her knees to her chest and closed her eyes, listening to the faint sound of the wind rushing through the trees far below.
"Have a death wish tonight, Weasley?"
Rose groaned, slamming her head against her knees. "Are you kidding me? What in the name of Merlin are you doing up here, Malfoy?"
"Could ask the same of you," said Scorpius, dropping down from the roof above. "Except I already know the answer."
"Excuse me?"
"You come up here a lot," he said, dangling his legs over the edge of the platform. "My guess would be that you like being alone. With all those cousins, who can blame you?"
"How do you know that?" she asked irritably.
"I saw you once, during Quidditch practice," Scorpius said, examining his knuckles. "You're pretty hard to miss."
Rose started to smile, but caught herself. "But that could have only been once or twice. I don't usually come up here during the day."
"No, you don't," he agreed. "You usually wait until night, when you're sure the prefects aren't anywhere near the tower."
"Have you been stalking me, Malfoy?"
"No, not stalking," he said, grinning. "I'm just observant."
Rose raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like stalking to me."
"I was curious," Scorpius admitted. "You're usually so straight-laced. At first, I wanted to see what made you come up here. But when I saw the view, I knew."
"Yeah, it's pretty—wait. At first?"
"Hmm?" He wasn't looking at her; his gaze was fixed on the lake, where a single tentacle could be seen, skimming lazily over the surface of the water.
"What do you mean, 'at first'?" asked Rose.
Scorpius didn't answer.
"Oh, now you shut up?" Something occurred to her. "You were waiting to see if I'd come up here tonight."
Sighing, Scorpius looked at her. "Why are you even talking to me, Rose? After all, I'm just some arrogant jerk who likes to take advantage of heartbroken girls."
Rose bit her lip. "Maybe that was a little harsh," she admitted.
"No, it was honest," he said, standing up abruptly. "And you were right."
"Right?"
"I knew when you kissed me that it was only because of what that idiot did."
That feeling was back, but more acute than before. Rose swallowed hard, wondering if she was going crazy. She got to her feet, swaying slightly. "Maybe . . ." She trailed off, feeling her face burn.
"Maybe what?" Scorpius folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall, looking out over the grounds.
Rose cleared her throat. Then, her voice so soft it was barely audible, she said, "Maybe that wasn't the only reason."
Scorpius's eyes snapped to hers, smoldering steel in the moonlight. "What?" he asked quietly.
"You heard me." Rose kicked at the ground, looking anywhere else but Scorpius. Her shoes were suddenly extremely fascinating.
"Rose."
She looked up to see Scorpius take a step toward her, a look on his face that she couldn't quite identity. Twin surges of elation and anxiety raced through her, and in her distraction, Rose felt her right foot slip off the edge of the platform.
There wasn't time to scream, to do anything except register the horrible sinking sensation in her stomach as her world tilted. But before she could really fall, Rose felt Scorpius's grab her wrist and yank her hard back onto solid ground. She stumbled slightly, and he caught her a second time, one arm wrapping around her waist, the other coming up against her back.
Rose moaned, burying her face in Scorpius's shoulder. "That was stupid," she said, her voice muffled.
Scorpius chuckled. "It has been said before that I have that effect on women. Hey!" He tightened his grip as Rose's knees gave out, and he lowered them both gently to the ground. "Seriously, are you okay?"
"Ask me in the morning," she said blearily. Rose pulled away slightly, running her hands through her hair. "I guess it's not a good night until someone almost dies, right?"
"You know, for a Gryffindor, you sure are morbid," Scorpius commented. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and Rose felt heat rush to her neck. The good thing was that the minute he touched her, that burning, tingling sensation drove away the awful twisting in her stomach. Unfortunately, it also seemed to drive away her common sense.
"Rose?"
"Hmm?"
"I think . . ." Scorpius closed his eyes, looking pained. "I mean, I want to . . . but not because . . . it's just . . . you're . . ."
"Scor," whispered Rose, tracing his lips lightly with one finger. His eyes shot open in surprise, and for a moment, they just stared at each other. Then Rose let her hand drop, winding her arms around his neck. "Kiss me."
He did. Rose groaned and let herself melt, biting down on Scorpius's bottom lip. He growled and shifted slightly so her back was pressed up against the wall. Rose inhaled sharply as his lips descended to her collarbone.
"You like that?" he whispered, tilting his face up to press his lips to hers again. This time, Rose slid her tongue into his mouth, moaning slightly as he reciprocated. They stayed there for a long time, wrapped around each so tightly that they could hear each other's hearts beating as clearly as their own.
She was so attracted to him, it was stupid. Every inch of her skin that came into contact with his was one fire. And she knew he felt the same. He reacted to her so quickly, so completely, that there was no doubt in her mind that he was being genuine.
When Rose finally broke the kiss, Scorpius hissed in annoyance, then pleasure, as she started kissing his neck.
"Merlin, Rose," he breathed, his fingers sliding idly over her ribcage. Rose couldn't remember when his hands had slipped under her sweatshirt, but honestly, she didn't really care.
"Too much for you?" she teased, pressing a kiss to his jawline.
Scorpius tilted his head back and groaned. "You have no idea."
"I think I can imagine," she gasped, feeling his fingers start to slide up and down her spine.
They were still there when the sun came up. Rose was lying with her head resting in the crook of Scorpius's shoulder, his arm wrapped loosely around her waist.
"We should've done this a long time ago," he murmured, running the thumb of his free hand over the edge of Rose's jaw.
"Probably," she agreed.
Scorpius smirked. "What? That's it? No argument?"
Rose smiled and nipped at his fingers. "Got a problem with that?"
"Not at all," said Scorpius, leaning in to kiss her again. She smiled against his lips, loving the way it felt when he smiled back.
Some time later, Scorpius sighed.
"What?"
"It's almost six," he said, sitting up. "We should be getting back."
Rose sighed and sat up, too, but then snorted. "Merlin, everyone's probably so hungover." Scorpius laughed, but then shifted uncomfortable, not meeting her eyes. "What?"
"We're going home today." He exhaled and took her hand in his, pressing his lips to her knuckles.
"I know," she replied, biting her lip as her stomach gave a not unpleasant tug.
Scorpius frowned, pulling away. "Does it bother you at all that we won't see each other for two months?"
"What?" Rose's brow furrowed.
"Because honestly," he said, swallowing hard, "I'm terrified that we're going to come back in the fall, and everything is going to go back to the way it was."
Oh.
"Scor," said Rose softly, pressing her palm to his cheek. "That's not going to happen." When he didn't seem completely reassured, she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Trust me, if anything, being apart that long is a good thing."
"How?"
She smirked and ran a hand through his hair. "Just imagine how much fun we'll have the first night back."
Slowly, Scorpius smiled at her. "That is something to think about."
"And," said Rose as they both stood up, "there's something else that I think will cheer you up."
"And what's that?" he asked, sliding his arms around her waist.
"We still have the entire train ride to London."
Laughing, Scorpius leaned down to kiss her.
Compared with the fluff that I've been posting recently, this was definitely a little more intense. But that's what I love about writing Scorpius and Rose. There are so many different ways to write them. I'm still kind of deciding if I want Might As Well Fly to be a love/hate relationship, or if they actually become friends and then fall in love. Anyway, reviews are wonderful, not just on this, but on all my Scorpius/Rose stories. Slytherin and All was another way I was thinking of going with for MAWF (I know, funny acronym).
