Rose sat idly on her dorm room bed. She stared at the massive pile of homework she had and prayed silently for her sanity. She was not exactly like her mother in that aspect. She liked to work hard and she loved not being bored, but the ever-growing pile was just too much to handle. She sat back in her chair and waited patiently for a gust of gumption to consume her.
Her mind wandered to Hogwarts and the friends she had left behind. She had wanted to see what she could make of herself in the new world of Beauxbatons all girls witch academy. She wanted to see what she was capable of without the constant support of her tight nit family. But at the moment, the only person she felt sad about leaving, was her best friend Scorpius Malfoy. He had always been there for her when she needed it most. When she was cramming for a big test, when she was feeling lost among the small river of red-headed Weasley's and Potters, when she had broken up with Lysander Scamander, and when the news came that he had broken up with her to go out with her cousin Lily. She had missed him the most. He was such a big part of her life that she no longer knew what to call their relationship.
They were well and too far past friendship, but too naive to be considered a relationship. They loved each other in a way no one had before, but it was never filled with a fiery passion as love was often described. They had a slow and budding trust, that had escalated into something without labels, without defined lines, without a need to explain. They were there for each other as the left arm is for the right and nothing on the great green earth could pull them apart. That was until, just a few days before Rose's departure, she was roaming the halls, intently reading a letter she received from Beauxbatons saying that she had been accepted into the student transfer program. That if she had wanted, she could leave almost immediately. She was on her way to tell Scorpius when she rounded a corner and spotted Grace McCauldy flirtatiously grabbing Scorpius' bicep as she leaned in to seductively tell him a secret.
Bells were ringing in Rose's head, and her heart hurt as if a dagger had suddenly found itself lodged in her right ventricle. It's not as if she hadn't seen him with another girl before, but it was Grace McCauldy. The same Grace McCauldy that made fun of her hair in the first year and told all of the boys in third year that she was easy. Grace McCauldy was vicious, and Scorpius knew that, apparently, he just didn't care. Water sprang suddenly to her eyes but she pushed them down further and watched on.
Scorpius smiled a smile that Rose only thought was reserved for her. It was a crooked little motion that held the combined expressions of confusion, awe, joy, and a hint of something else that Rose liked to think of as a little more than respect. It was all bundled together in a beautiful combination of white teeth and full lips that held her captive every time. It was her smile. And he was showing her.
Grace reached with her other hand to the back of his neck. Rose had been staring so intently that she forgotten what she had actually been looking at. Grace had been staring fixedly into Scorpius' chocolate brown eyes, the only feature that his mother had given him, and had leaned in to an uncomfortable distance. Their noses were almost touching, he wasn't pushing away.
Rose suck in the remaining pride and bit her lip hard. She was determined to not let the tears fall. She would not break.
Scorpius heard the sharp intake of breath and saw out of the corner of his eye a wisp of shining glossy long wavy Weasley hair that could only belong to the one and only Rose. He pulled back quickly and stood completely erect looking toward the corner she had been peeking around.
"Is something wrong Scorpius?" Grace asked flirtatiously.
"No. Nothing at all." Scorpius smiled at Grace and leaned in for a good snog.
The more Rose had thought about that moment, the more she wanted to be as far away as possible. She'd never let Scorpius know how much that really hurt her because she couldn't stand her life without him, as a friend or otherwise. If she told him and he didn't feel the same, which she was sure he didn't, she would go back to being friendless. It wasn't because she wasn't popular, she was. But people only wanted to be near her for her families money, or for the fame that came with it. She was always seen in Witch Weekly and anyone with her would have their fifteen minutes of fame.
But Scorpius was different. He didn't need her fame. His family had enough money. He knew what it was like coming from that sort of background and he stuck with her simply because he enjoyed her company. And that was refreshing to her. If she had sacrificed it all, she would be alone, of that she was sure.
She pushed the memory out of her head and she concentrated on her lessons. She had two papers due by the end of the week and thinking about Scorpius would not help.
Scorpius lay in his bed with one arm tucked comfortably behind his head. He had missed his friend Rose. He saw her genuine smile in his mind and he could see the way the sun hit her perfectly auburn hair. He got like this from time to time. He would remember how nice it was to have her there for him when he needed someone to talk to.
"Hey Scorp what's up?" Al, Rose's cousin, asked as he walked into the dorm.
"Nothing. What's the plans for tonight?" Scorpius sat upright.
"Well there are some fourth year girls having a party in the room of requirement but I didn't think you'd want to go. You've been kind of going to these a lot. Maybe it's time to take a breather?" Al asked cautiously.
"Don't tell me what I can and can't do Albus. My father had been doing that my whole life."
"Scorp, tell me what's going on. Is this about Rose?"
"No Al, it's not about Rose. It's not my business if your cousin wants to pick up and leave with barely a goodbye. Did you know that I had to hunt her down the day she left. If I hadn't of seen Hugo that day, I wouldn't even know she was leaving. So no! This has nothing to do with her." Scorpius grabbed his jacket and huffily left the room.
"Yeah mate, nothing at all to do with Rose." Al said as Scorpius stomped down the stairs.
Weeks eventually passed into months and not a single letter passed between the two. Finally Christmas time rolled around and it was time for Rose to go home for a couple weeks. She was dreading and looking forward to it because she hadn't seen her family in such a long time, but unfortunately Scorpius was to be there. Because he was part of the family, he was invited to all of the Weasley/Potter family events. And so far he hadn't missed a one.
Rose arrived at King's cross a half hour after the Hogwarts Express. Her family had been waiting for her.
"ROSE!" Hugo called and ran up to her. He nearly made her fall flat on her arse.
"Hugo! How have you been?!" Hugo didn't have a chance to answer because Lily, Albus, James and her other assortment of red headed cousins ran up to her to envelope her in a hug. It was nearly an hour before she could hear herself speak.
"I'm doing just fine. This semester has been great and I made so many new friends. The work is challenging but it suits me just fine. They do emphasis manners and lady-like attributes more so than Hogwarts but I kind of expected that as it is an all girls school." She said in response to her the various questions being thrown at her.
"Good. Good." Ron said with a tinge of doubt, "Well, let's not all stand around, let's get these kids home and settled." The families walked to their respective cars.
"Rose!" Al whispered before they made it to the parking lot. Rose turned, "What's the matter? You look so, not Rose."
"What do you mean?" She attempted a smile but it never quite reached her eyes.
Al took a minute to study her face and saw that Rose was going to deny anything being wrong until she couldn't take it.
"Nothing, I guess I made a mistake." Rose's eyes pleaded to be left alone but her smile remained.
Scorpius was conflicted. He was invited to the annual Weasley family Christmas and he always went. But this year he wasn't sure. Rose still hadn't said anything to him and he didn't know if she wanted him there. He wanted to see her. God he wanted to see her. He hadn't seen her since a couple of hours before she left out of his life. She had wanted to be gone. She didn't want to be near him. She said as much by leaving. Well he didn't care what she wanted anymore. He was invited and he was going, and that was final.
Rose was sad. She sat alone amongst the things that most reminded her of Scorpius. They had shared the better part of their childhood together and the reminisce showed on the walls, the pictures and the very air itself. She breathed in and smelled the stale air of before she left. It always smelt slightly like tree sap from the sycamore outside. The leaves rattled against the window pane. This was ridiculous. There was nothing she could do if Scorpius didn't want to see her. Nothing at all. So she prepared herself to see him and she prepared herself to not see him in case she got disappointed if he didn't show.
A couple days passed and Rose was fully settled in. She spent her spare time getting all her paperwork done for when she transferred back to Hogwarts in the coming semester. She also made biscuits for the party and a few pumpkin pies. She helped her mother clean, the muggle way as Hermione Granger had always said, "having magic does not give you a free pass to do nothing!" Rose didn't mind, she was glad for the work.
Another few days passed, and as the party got closer, Al could tell something was definitely up with Rose. She had acted friendly enough to her family, enough to not rouse suspicion but not enough to fool him. Al had grown up with Rose, practically in the cradle. So he knew right away that something was amiss. She didn't scold the younger kids as much as she used to, she didn't play quidditch with any of the boys, and she didn't spend time reading outside. She mostly worked without complaint on the house getting things ready for the party. The only possible conclusion that Al had for her strange behavior was Scorpius. Something happened to those two before Rose had left, and if they didn't sort it out soon, he would have to take action.
A few hours before the guests arrived, Rose sat in her room staring at her mirror. She felt over him. She knew that she could be strong enough to survive without him. She also knew that she might cave if she saw him again. She combed her loosely curled red hair into an elegant sweeping bun. She pulled out her new dress that her Aunt Ginny had bought. It was a pale blue with a sweetheart top and thin straps. It was clear that her Aunt was going for a classy, frilly look. Rose put light makeup on her eyes, to make them look somewhat smoky and put pink lip gloss on her lips. She looked again at herself in the mirror. She had always known that she was beautiful. But she had thought that that had mostly come from her happy-go-lucky attitude. She hoped that with that currently on standby, she could still be the gem that her father had always told her she was.
"Rose dear, come down! Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny are here!"
This was it, the moment of truth. Rose thought to herself. If Scorpius had decided to come, he would no doubt be with Albus and Lily. Rose sucked up all the courage she had left and walked to the foot of the stairs. Everyone had turned to look at her as she tried not to stumble down them. She didn't even notice the stares, she was looking for one set of eyes. The warm brown ones that would haunt her dreams in the lonely evenings at Beauxbatons. She found them. He was staring intently up at her as if he had been holding his breath. He had looked better than before and even after all the preparation that Rose had put herself through the last couple of days, nothing could have prepared her for the way he smelled. He was a combination of sandalwood and mint, only the precise concoction of Scorpius Malfoy and after inhaling his sweet scent she was bombarded of memories that they had shared together. Even the painful ones. As she stared at those beautiful brown eyes, she saw the same pair staring back at her only this time he was kissing another girl. He was mostly covered by a sheet of silky blonde hair, all except for his eyes.
She was awakened to this new anger. It tore her heart apart and she was sure that she no longer missed Scorpius Malfoy, she felt livid.
Scorpius looked up at the girl who he had denied missing for the last semester and realized how utterly wrong he was. She was just as he remembered. She had the kindest eyes that he had ever seen in anyone. It was her who had decided that Scorpius was worth that kindness and her who had introduced him to a life without hostility and anger. She saved him from the hell that was his own family and from the Malfoy mold of being bad without a reason. Granted it was a long process and he occasionally slipped up, but she was always there to tell him that it was ok. She always forgave him. That was the Rose Weasley that he had missed.
A dull pain wormed its way into Scorpius' heart as he fixated on her eyes. He could see the pain that lied just under the surface, all aimed toward him, and the anger that came shortly after it. He had hurt her. That realization made his heart silently break. He was the reason for her pain.
The entire evening, Rose did her best to avoid Malfoy. She would see him coming toward her, his talking face on, and she would scurry to the next room. She did this with much effort and with constant interruptions. Every Tom, Dick and Harry Weasley wanted to know about her semester at Beauxbatons and she had no interest in sharing with the class.
One time, Malfoy almost caught up to her but she narrowly escaped by dodging into the bathroom. One occupied by Albus Potter.
"Oh Albus! Sorry I didn't know anyone was in here." Rose's cheeks colored and she turned to leave but Albus stopped her.
"You're just lucky I wasn't using the loo. Need a breather?" Albus stood, his back to the mirror and seemed to just taking a break.
"Yeah, thanks." Rose turned from the door and sat on the closed toilet.
"What are you doing Rose? You think I can't see you're trying to dodge Scorpius?" Albus looked at his cousin who had looked as if she was going to deny it and then stopped.
She sighed, "Al, I just can't do it anymore. He doesn't respect me. He doesn't appreciate me, He doesn't-"
"Love you?" Rose met Al's gaze and resigned.
"Look Al, I know he's your friend, he was my friend once upon a time too. But I can't keep trying to be there for someone who won't be there for me. I refuse, I like to think that I have more self respect than that."
Al saw that his cousin was really hurt and didn't push the matter.
"Well, I'm going to get back out there, stay in here as long as you like."
As soon as the bathroom door opened, Scorpius was ready to try and talk to Rose. But to his surprise it wasn't Rose but Al who immerged from the loo.
"Al? But I thought Rose was in there."
"She is mate. And trust me, she doesn't want to talk to you."
"Why? What did I do?"
"I didn't ask. She just said that she doesn't want to be there for someone who won't be there for her. Sorry mate." Al tried to walk away but Scorpius pulled him out to the back yard.
"Is that what she said? How could she think that? She was the one who left me without so much as a goodbye. It was her decision. You know what, why should I be the one to apologize to her? She was the one who ran away. I don't even know what I did!"
Al stood silently and listened to his best friend vent. He had never seen him more worked up in his life.
"You know what, fine. I need some firewhiskey. I'm done with her." He spat and went inside. Al stood there watching him march toward the liquor, he hoped that this fight wouldn't last long.
The rest of the evening went relatively smoothly, Scorpius got wasted, but then so did James and Louis and Roxy. Rose, after leaving the loo, had an easier time avoiding Scorpius and actually was relaxing a little. That was until the party started to die down and she had to make her way to her room, past a drunkenly passed out Scorpius on the couch.
She took off her shoes and managed to creek a couple steps past him before he grabbed her ankle suddenly. She turned to see him staring at her through a drunken stupor and she tried to pull away but he just pulled her closer. She glared at him but he stood up and came really close to her face. She could feel the microscopic hairs at the end of her nose brush his.
His face, which was normally very stoic, had a sort of rage that contorted his usually very attractive features.
"I missed you Rose." He said in a low voice. He then let her go and passed out on the couch once again.
~\^/~