Title: When the Rose Fell.

Authors: Chronic Potterphile and Lairyfight.

Full Summary: Rose Weasley's Sixth Year at Hogwarts is going perfectly well. She is in love. She is in a wonderful, near-perfect relationship with Ben Defrost and she adores every moment of it. She has aced her OWLs and is doing brilliantly in her NEWTs. Her whole family is proud of her. Everything seems so perfect.

And then it all starts to go downhill.

Scorpius Malfoy may not have a perfect life, but he's very happy with it. He enjoys being single, and the absence of his nag of an ex. He is content with his position in the Slytherin Quidditch team and he has fresh new ways to bother the Potter-Weasley clan. He has kept his nose clean and his parents are happy with him.

Until he forms an unlikely friendship with a fallen Weasley.

Warnings: Abuse, Substance abuse, Pottermore spoilers, Sexual situations, Underage sex, Strong profanilty, Depression, Self harm, Suicide ideation, Mild gore. And sexist men.

Rating: T.

Category: Next Generation.


A/N: Hello everyone! If you have clicked on this story despite the horribly shortened summary and have managed to read through all that above, thank you for your time and for giving this story a chance! This is a collab fic between my sister, Chronic Potterphile, and myself, and was originally published in MNFF, and was one of our first fics in a long time that wasn't written for any challenge. Considering that Di and I are both huge fans of Scorose, this fic is very close to our hearts. We really hope you'd give this a try and leave your thoughts in the form of reviews. It'd mean so much to us :).

Also if any of you are familiar with my story Never Let Go and would like to know how far it's done, then don't worry, I've written more that half of the next chapter. If you haven't read it, I'd be really honoured if you decide to check it out. And if you guys are fans of Supernatural, you ought to go check out Chronic Potterphile's stories. her SPN fanfics are too good. You'd love them :3

/Self promotion over.

We'd like to thank Sophie/the owl over on MNFF, our wonderful, wonderful Beta for her help with this. Thank you so very much, dear!

Oh, and reviews will be squeed upon twice; just so you know. :)

About updates: Updates will, regrettably, be rather slow. Di is a med intern and I am in my third year of University. Real Life tends to get in the way, and though we'd like nothing more than to sit and write away on our laptops as if our lives depended on it, we really can't do that. We hope this wouldn't stop you from reading the story though. We promise to update asap. :)

Disclaimer: JK Rowling is not two people, so we're definitely not her.

Now, before my A/N becomes longer than the actual story, we'd like to present, without further ado, Chapter one of When the Rose Fell.


Chapter 1: Get A Room!


Scorpius Malfoy

Winter is my favourite time of the year. The climate reminds me of myself — cool and nonchalant when the snowflakes come down innocently, but sometimes, harsh, fun-loving and uncaring during a blizzard. Yes, I'm not amongst the warmest of people on this planet but I've never cared about the effect it has on others. I've always had friends—either the offspring of Dad's friends from school, or some of the other Slytherins who befriended me the moment I was Sorted into Slytherin because of the social status that my last name carries.

True, our family earned a bad name after the war, but Harry Potter had cleared Dad's name somewhat, so it was really only Grandfather who ended up earning the bad reputation. Ever since my parents got married, Mum got involved in all these charities to prove to everyone that the Malfoys could do good things. So, right now, we are back amongst the most reputable wizarding families. I've heard stories of the stuff that my grandparents have done and though I am a true Malfoy, I'm not proud of them. Maybe it's because I was brought up very differently from my father. My family — very forcefully and not at all with pleasure, I assure you—abandoned the idea of the superiority of pure-blood wizards over everyone else. No one wanted to get into trouble like Grandfather again.

Since a very young age, I had been assured by Grandfather that I was a very special child. He seemed to think I was triply special or something, but before he could explain why, Dad would always stop him and tell me that I was just extremely special because I was a wizard and a Malfoy. There were always a lot of things I never understood about my grandparents and, sometimes, Dad. I knew they had a troubled past, but I wasn't sure what that was. However, the day my Hogwarts letter arrived home, Mum and Dad sat me down and told me Dad's story. They told me about everything — the Dark Lord, the entire discrimination between pure-bloods and Muggle-borns, Dad becoming a Death Eater, being forced to kill Dumbledore (but not doing it anyway — I was relieved that Dad wasn't a murderer), being held prisoner along with my grandparents by the Dark Lord himself at this very Manor… I shuddered at the story and realised that I was thankful I was born a long time after all this, because I would never be able to please anyone with my kind of attitude towards these things.

Grandfather was upset at my reaction to these tales — livid, rather. I think he expected me to be proud of my family or something, but I wasn't proud at all. Grandfather told me that night that I was worthless and would probably end up in Hufflepuff.

When the Sorting happened and I was put in Slytherin anyway, we became the best of friends again. He would write to me all the time, asking me what was going on, how the Potter-Weasley clan behaved and everything, and I told him about all the classes and that I didn't care about the Potter-Weasley clan. I guess that's when he lost all hopes of me becoming a Pure-blood supporter. I think he secretly hoped that the Pure-bloods at Hogwarts would form a committee or something, but everybody's parents were smart enough either not to incite such thoughts into their children in the first place, or even if they did, to ask their kids to shut up and keep these opinions to themselves.

Yes, the reason I like winter has a long explanation. Actually, there are two long explanations to it. The second one is so much longer and better. Oh, it's so much better…

~o~

December, 2022

"Hey, Malfoy! Quidditch practice in ten minutes. Stop dreaming by the fireplace and get your arse to the Quidditch pitch!"

I turned around and gave Ayesha, our Quidditch Captain, a thumbs-up, so she knew I had heard her. Then I stood up, stretched and made my way to the dormitory to wrap myself in a few more layers of clothes and get my broomstick for practice. In five minutes, I was heading towards the Quidditch pitch, broomstick in hand and all but my eyes completely covered so that I wouldn't freeze while I flew. Ayesha was waiting for the others with her hands on her hips and I waved at her.

"You look like one of those Muggle Japanese things that run up walls, Malfoy," she said.

"What Muggle Japanese things?"

"Forget it. I don't want to explain it to you now."

I shrugged. "Mind if I just take a round on my broomstick so I can get used to the biting cold that you've damned us all to die in?"

She rolled her eyes. "Go. And if it's not now, it's never, Malfoy! We have to win the Quidditch Cup this year. Remember that."

"Yeah, yeah, you're the best," I said sarcastically and took off into the air before she could hit me with her broom.

The weather was horrible. Tiny flakes of snow were falling from the unending sky. The sunrays were too weak for any comfort and before I had done two laps of the pitch, I was craving the fire again. I was circling downwards, the extreme cold numbing my whole body, right to my fingertips and my fucking balls, when I saw them in the stands.

It was Rose Weasley and Benjamin Defrost. They both sat high up in the best seats, covered in layers of clothing (which I guessed would come off later anyway, once they were someplace warmer). They were staring into each other's eyes. And, okay, whatever. It's stupid, but it was really their life and their will or whatever. But then Weasley suddenly leaned forward and she and Defrost started to snog in the most disgusting, puke-inducing way and God, were they eating each other's faces or what? Merlin, how stupid could they be to kiss in the Quidditch stands in this biting cold, when they belonged to the same house?

Unless…

Oh no. Oh fucking no. They were… they were spying on us, the fucking dingbats! I was going to teach them a bloody lesson then, wasn't I?

And just like that I had an idea. Of course I was going to teach them a lesson. Huh. I turned around, glanced at them and then made up my mind. This would make me cold. But I knew the result was about to be worth it.

Grinning, I sped up my broom and zoomed towards them, the whooshing of the air already a little muffled by the wind that was starting to blow. I reached a spot about ten feet above them and suddenly plunged downwards at top speed. When I was a foot away from them, they realised they were not alone and broke apart, alarmed. Weasley even threw herself into Defrost's arms before I took a sharp upward turn, shouting, "GET A ROOM!"

I was several feet in the air before Weasley's agitated, muffled voice reached me. "Bastard!"

I ignored it and rode away to join the rest of my team. Ayesha was glaring in my direction when I joined them. "I just noticed Weasley and Defrost in the stands. Did you tell them to leave? We can't have two Gryffindors here while we practice. Defrost is on their Quidditch team too."

"I certainly embarrassed them enough to hope they will leave," I replied and no sooner had I said it, I watched Weasley and Defrost get up and run down the stands. They walked quickly, passing us while Defrost gave me the finger. And then they were gone. Ayesha looked at me.

"You interrupted them, didn't you? You're an arse."

I shrugged as she released the Quaffle and sped off with the other Chasers and the Keeper to practice throwing it around.

Winter. December. The December of 2022. That was when it all started. This was just a snippet of the beginning, though. There was a lot more to come. And I would never know until it came.


Rose Weasley

Dad was right – Malfoys were some of the world's biggest gits. He had some nerve, swooping in on his stupid, top-of-the-line racing broom and interrupting us like that. It wasn't his bloody business what we got up to. I would make him pay someday, I promised myself as I strode up the stone steps of the Entrance Hall.

Or, I thought, I could just ask James to knock him off his broom in the next match versus Slytherin. I bet James would like that very much, too.

"Um, babe? Where exactly are we going?" Ben asked as he briskly walked along beside me. Even though Ben was a Quidditch player (and a very fit one, too, I might add) I found it frustrating that he could keep pace with me so easily, even though I was practically sprinting.

"Someplace special," I said cryptically, leading the way and letting him catch up again.

It took us ten minutes to climb up to the seventh floor. Once in front of the tapestry of the dancing trolls, I asked Ben to stand there quietly as I walked past the bare stretch of wall.

"What in the name of Merlin are you doing?" Ben asked, crossing his arms across his chest and staring bemusedly at me.

I smiled at him knowingly and, once I was done pacing for the third time, I stood back and watched his reaction as the huge door materialized in front of him. The Room of Requirement had its own unique magic; no wonder it managed to restore itself after that terrible fire Uncle Harry told us about. Every time I went there I felt this raw sort of power emanating from it. It was truly terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

The doors creaked open, revealing a large, dimly lit chamber. I took Ben's hand and gently pulled him into the room.

"What is this place?" Ben asked quietly, swivelling his head to look all around him. The room had transformed itself into a small, cosy chamber with a plush carpet and a comfy-looking sofa. "I've never seen this place before."

"This is the Room of Requirement," I said, walking up to the sofa and plopping down on it. "It becomes whatever you need. We've been together for two months now, so I thought it was time I showed this place to you."

"So..." he trailed off, looking at me. His eyes lit up, and in an instant he was beside me, crashing his lips onto mine. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his neck and locked my fingers together, pulling him closer to me. He kissed me with a passion that I've never seen in him before. His fingers entwined with my hair as I felt his tongue touch my lips. I parted my mouth to allow it in in and trace the borders, slow and sexy, just the way I liked it. And when I was ready I clashed my tongue with his, enjoying each soft kiss as we dissolved into our own kingdom of bliss.

He was such an amazing kisser. Oh Merlin… oh, Merlin… I could die with pleasure right now.

His lips moved from mine and I moaned, my heart racing as he trailed kisses along my jaw line. His caresses were now more fervent, and he gripped my hair harder with one hand as he made his way towards my neck, and tugged at my T-shirt with the other. I had to bite my lip as he nibbled down on my neck, trying to contain the gasp that rose in me.

His hand tugged at the collar, brushing my shoulder and pulling at my bra strap, firm fingers giving me goosebumps all over and ohMerlinohMerlin… this was fantastic and…

A part of my brain lit up, like nerve cells pushing on a panic button somewhere in me.

No.

I loved it, loved it… but… No. My parents…

"Ben," I managed to gasp. He felt so… good.

My voice seemed to have enticed him further as his hand started to reach down to my breast. For a second I felt like letting him go on, but…

"Ben, wait," I managed to mumble as I put my hand on his, stopping him.

He looked up at me, confused. "What is it, sweetheart?" He asked.

"N-Not today?" I whispered quietly, looking into his eyes. "I don't... I don't think I'm ready."

"It's been two months," he said, clearly not understanding what I was trying to imply. "It's been long enough -"

"No, Ben," I said more firmly this time. "It's way too early. I'm not... you know. I've never done this before and I don't think I can do it so soon."

He parted, hands off me, and gave me a chilling look. For one moment, I felt nervous. What if he thought I didn't want him? What if he thought I was a prudefor not wanting to do it and decided to finish it with me? I didn't think I could handle that; Ben was the only guy I'd actually felt a spark with. No matter what, I didn't want to lose that.

Then, to my utter relief, his lips curved into a smile. "That's okay, I guess," he said. "As long as we get to do it someday," he added as an afterthought.

I grinned and kissed him on the cheek.

He kissed me softly on the lips before getting up and pulling me to my feet. "Now I say we better go back to the Tower. That prick of a cousin of yours might send out a search party if we're out too late."

I chuckled as we walked out of the Room of Requirement, arm in arm. Behind us the door swung shut and shrunk until there was only bare stone.

~o~

"Where on earth have you two been?" Dom asked as we walked through the portrait hole. Then, seeing our dishevelled looks, she scrunched up her face. "Oh, don't bother. I don't think I want to know."

"Shut it," I said, swatting her leg, which was draped over the arm of the couch, and sat down on the sofa next to her. The Gryffindor common room was packed with people, as it normally alwayswas at seven in the evening. Ben gave me a slight wink and turned away, making his way through the crowd towards the stairs that led to the boys' dormitory.

Dominique didn't date boys. Or do boys, you know… like that. Actually, she didn't do people.With her long, messy blonde hair, baggy clothes and army boots, she was beautiful, and proudly, openly gay.

"I think James was looking for you," she said, looking at me over her copy of Advanced Transfiguration.

"Why?"

"I don't know. Something about excessive and uncontrollable PDA while you two were supposed to be gathering dirt on the Slytherins," she said, shooting me a dark look. "Scorpius Malfoy was apparently kind enough to tell him when they passed each other in the corridor."

I groaned. I had entirely forgotten why Ben was supposed to be there. And trust Malfoy to go and rat us out to James. "Remind me never to accompany Ben on a mission," I mumbled.

"I think you should never accompany him anywhere," Dom stated bluntly.

I felt like hitting her.

"Have you seen Alice anywhere?" I asked instead, trying to change the subject. Alice was my closest friend, and Uncle Neville's daughter. At the moment, I really needed her advice about what to do about Ben and his... desires.

"She went up to your dormitory around ten minutes before you came in," Dom said lazily, not taking her eyes off her book.

I thanked her and made my way towards the fifth-year girls' dormitory.

As Dom had said, I found Alice propped up on her bed, leaning against her pillow, which was propped vertically against the headboard, reading one of her trashy Muggle romance stories. Other than being my closest non-related friend, she was my go-to for any sort of relationship problems. With her calm demeanour, her listening skills and her innate ability to give excellent advice, Alice could solve any problem.

"Oi, Alice?" I said sitting down at the foot of her bed.

She put down her book and looked at me. "You look worried," she guessed easily. This was why I loved her. "Is everything okay?"

"Well," I started, fiddling with the tiny hole in her blanket. "Ben and I were in the... Room of Requirement –"

"I can guess why," she said, raising her eyebrows. "And?"

"And things got a little heated..."

I told her what happened in the Room and the way Ben had wanted to go further and how I had stopped him. I told her why I didn't want to do it just yet. I told her about Ben's reaction and that momentary anger I thought had flashed across his eyes. "Does that make me a bad girlfriend?" I asked.

Alice frowned at me, playing with a strand of her blonde hair. After a while she replied, "Not at all. I mean, him wanting to have sex is normal, but you have the right to say no. Your body is yours, and not his, or anyone else's."

I vehemently shook my head. "Absolutely not," I said.

"There you go, then. You stopped him 'cause you weren't comfortable with it. Maybe he might have been a bit hurt when you stopped him, but he didn't show it, did he? He was still okay, wasn't he?"

I nodded.

"Well then I don't think there's anything to worry about," she said. "I'm sure he isn't upset at you, if he has any level of decency in him. Why would he be, anyway?I don't think that your boyfriend should be pressuring you, in any case. If you're not ready for it, you shouldn't be doing it."

"So he won't think I'm a prude?"

Alice narrowed her eyes at me. "Of course he won't. And Rose, you really must stop worrying about that. If he does think you're a prude, for not wanting sex, you shouldn't be with him in the first place. That would mean he's not the right sort of boy. You're worth more than that, sweetheart."

I nodded. Alice was right. I was worrying too much about this. I reached forwards and hugged Alice and mumbled a quiet thank you.

Once Alice had gone back to her book, I stood up and made my way down to the common room, where I found Ben sitting by the fire, doing his Charms homework. I plopped down beside him and kissed him on the cheeks.

"Not that I didn't love it, but what was that for?" Ben asked, surprised.

"For being a great boyfriend," I replied shortly.

Who knew that, someday, I was going to think back and regret my words so much?