Okay, so usually I don't write new things so quickly, but I was sitting in my room reading and the idea for this story just hit me like a bludger.
Rose inhaled deeply, trying to fix the memory of this moment in her mind forever. She was standing on Platform 9¾, getting ready to board the Hogwarts Express for the very last time. There was an odd pinching sensation in her chest, a queer mixture of excitement and sadness.
"You coming Rose?"
Albus was standing with one foot in the train, one foot one the platform, looking back at her with a concerned expression on his face. They had both said their goodbyes to their families in the station, as neither of them had wanted to start crying while surrounded by their peers.
Rose sighed dramatically and made her way over to her cousin. "Actually, I was thinking of staying in London this year. You know, drop out of school, maybe take a job at Borgin and Burkes."
"Right," Albus said sarcastically. "And I think I'm going to go join Uncle Percy at the Ministry."
Albus pulled himself onto the train, then offered a hand to help Rose up. But before Rose could take it, someone shouldered Albus out of the way. Rose found herself looking up into Scorpius Malfoy's grinning face as he stretched out a hand for her to grab.
"Allow me, Miss Weasley," he said with an exaggerated flourish. "After all, it's not every day we have a Head Girl in our midst."
Rose was certain her heart skipped a beat. If she was being completely honest with herself, Scorpius had been on her mind for most of the summer. As accustomed to seeing his face in her mind she was, his sudden appearance temporarily left Rose with nothing to say.
Fortunately for her, Albus always had something to say.
"Shove off, Malfoy," Albus grumbled as Rose let Scorpius help her onto the train. Pulling her hand away, Rose tried to ignore the tingling sensation rushing up her arm.
"Excuse me," Scorpius said, turning to Albus. "That's Head Boy Malfoy to you, Potter."
Albus and Rose both gaped at the gleaming badge pinned on Scorpius's chest.
"No way!" Rose squealed, more than a little glad for a plausible excuse to fling her arms around Scorpius's muscular neck. The hug lasted for a split second longer than it might have before the holidays, and when Rose pulled away, the tingling sensation had spread from her arm to most of her body.
Scorpius laughed and said, "No one was more surprised that I, believe me."
Albus peered at him suspiciously. "What'd you do, pay McGonagall off?"
"I'm offended, old friend," Scorpius replied, leading them into an empty compartment. "I am the epitome of the law abiding citizen." Both Rose and Albus snorted at this. "Fine," Scorpius said, looking slightly annoyed. "I admit, I may have had some . . . misunderstandings with Filch during our years at Hogwarts—"
"You charmed his cat into a throw pillow," Rose pointed out. "He went into a fit and ended up in the hospital wing for two days." She would be normal, Rose decided. She would not mess up their last year at Hogwarts, not to mention a friendship of seven years, by acting like a silly girl. She would be normal if it killed her.
"Be that as it may," said Scorpius, "I'm not the one who filled the Great Hall with all those spotted toads on the last day of term."
"You sold me out?" Albus shouted. "For a badge? Seriously?"
"I did not," said Scorpius hotly, glaring at Albus they flopped down on opposite seats. "Come on, would I have?"
"Of course not," Rose said soothingly as she sat down next to her cousin.
"Then how did McGonagall find out?" Albus asked, raising an eyebrow at Scorpius.
"Lila Finnegan," answered Scorpius. Rose stifled a giggle as Albus's face turned bright red. He and Lila had dated briefly towards the end of the previously year. When Lila had started referring to herself as the future Mrs. Albus Potter, Al had written Rose's father for break up tips.
"Are you kidding me?" he yelled. "That conniving little—"
"Whoa! Watch your language, Potter, there are children on board," said Scorpius, grinning at Rose. "I take my responsibility as Head Boy very seriously."
Rose rolled her eyes, ignoring the fact that her heart was doing a little tap dance every time Scorpius's gray eyes flashed in her direction. "I'll believe it when I see it Malfoy."
Albus was still fuming about his ex-girlfriend's betrayal. "I cannot believe she did that," he muttered.
Scorpius looked at him sympathetically. "I really am sorry. I sent an owl to Professor McGonagall when I got the badge, telling her you'd be the better choice. But she wasn't really interested."
"Of course she wasn't," said Rose matter-of-factly. "It took her forever to get all those toads out of the hall. You charmed them to multiply every time she tried to Vanish them."
Albus grinned in spite of himself. "Well, I suppose it was worth it in the end. Even if my mother does kill me when she finds out why I didn't get the badge."
"Oh, come on," scoffed Scorpius. "I've seen your mother. She wouldn't hurt a fly."
Rose laughed darkly. "If I had a choice between crossing Lord Voldemort and my Aunt Ginny, I'd probably go with Voldemort."
Scorpius roared with laughter while Rose and Albus exchanged a look. "That wasn't a joke," they said in unison, but that only made Scorpius laugh harder.
"Hey, I'll see you guys at the feast," Albus called, climbing into a carriage with a pretty sixth year girl. Scorpius rolled his eyes at Rose.
"You would think that after Lila, he'd have learned his lesson," Scorpius said, shaking his head as he held the carriage door open for Rose.
"You know Al," she replied. "Always a sucker for a pretty girl." The carriage started moving, bouncing over the well-worn path up to the castle. Looking out through the window, Rose could see the castle perched high on the cliffs. Candles flickered from behind the many diamond paned windows, their soft light reflecting off the glassy surface of the dark lake.
"He's not the only one," Scorpius said, winking at Rose. She rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the wave of heat the rushed to her face.
"Ha ha, very funny," she said, striving to maintain a tone of sarcasm.
"Who said I was joking?" asked Scorpius quietly.
"When are you not joking?" Rose teased, her breath catching in her throat.
Scorpius didn't reply at first. There was something different about the way he was looking at her. Had he ever looked at her like that before? But since when did she care? She and Scorpius were friends, they had been for years. Any thinking otherwise was completely ridiculous.
As if to prove her wrong, Scorpius reached out and took her hand, his gray eyes suddenly very serious. "Rose, I—"
The carriage suddenly lurched to the side, throwing Rose into Scorpius's lap. Her face burned as she tried to extricate herself, but Scorpius didn't seem too keen on letting her go back to her own seat.
"What are you doing, Scor?" Rose asked as he slid his arms around her.
"Something stupid, probably," he murmured, pulling her closer. "And most definitely crazy."
Rose swallowed hard, very aware of Scorpius's lips, which were a breath away from her own. "Yes," she gasped, "very crazy. Incredibly, utterly, infinitely—"
It's impossible to speak when someone has their lips pressed against your own. Especially when said lips are incredibly soft, and yet blazing hot at the exact same time. And when they start to move . . .
Rose jerked away, her fingers pressed to her mouth. She tried to say something, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out.
"I couldn't stop thinking about you all summer," Scorpius said softly. "It was maddening. I spent the entire holiday thinking that it was just because it was seventh year, and once we got back to school, everything would go back to the way it was. And then I saw you on the platform."
Scorpius took a shaky breath, but before he could continue, Rose snaked her fingers into his hair, pulling him into a kiss. She felt him smile against her lips, and then they were wound so tightly around one another that Rose had a hard time distinguishing who was who. When the carriage jolted to a stop and they finally broke apart, Rose was having a difficult time catching her breath. Scorpius grinned dizzily down at her, his gray eyes as open and unguarded as she'd ever seen them.
"I have a confession to make," he said as he helped her down out of the carriage.
"What?" asked Rose warily, but Scorpius was still grinning, so it couldn't be too bad.
"I paid that girl off to invite Al into her carriage," Scorpius admitted sheepishly. "I wanted to be alone with you."
Rose laughed and slid her hand into his. "Don't worry. We'll have plenty of time to be alone this year. The Heads share a dormitory, remember?" She grinned wickedly at him and dropped his hand, running up the path toward the castle.
When she reached the double doors, Rose stopped and looked back. Scorpius was standing where she'd left him, looking as though he'd been hit over the head with a bludger.
"Coming?" she called.
Scorpius jerked out of his daze. "Absolutely."
I kind of feel guilty writing this when I still have so many other things to update. I apologize to any readers of my other stories who are reading this and thinking, "I wish she'd stop writing for other fandoms and just finish the stories that she already started." I really will try to get a Chaos Theory update out this week. Anyway, if you are reading this and not cursing me for being a slow updater, reviews are much appreciated, especially since I am entering a new fandom. Thanks!