The atmosphere in the Great Hall during lunch was one of excitement for the seventh years in NEWT level Defense Against the Dark Arts. It had been all they could do to concentrate on the morning classes that day. As soon as they had eaten, they were being taken down to the Forbidden Forest to observe the proper way to handle a vampire. Hagrid had noticed the signs of vampire activity in the forest and alerted the ministry. After much discussion and some extreme precautions, it was decided that the NEWT level students could be present when the vampire was captured to learn how it was done and to have some first hand experience.
Scorpius Malfoy was among the excited seventh years. He was thrilled to be doing something a little dangerous even though he knew they were as protected as it was possible to be. He was something of an adrenaline junkie and usually used risky Quidditch moves to satisfy that urge, but something new was always welcome. His attention was focused on the edge of the forest and it startled him when someone plowed into his back.
He quickly turned and grabbed her arms before she fell and straightened her up. Rose Weasley shot him an apologetic look.
"You alright?" he asked her giving her one of his easy smiles.
"I'm fine. Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." she answered.
"S'alright. No harm done." he turned his attention back to the forest.
Scorpius didn't know much about Rose, just that she was a seventh year Ravenclaw like him. He tried to keep to himself for the most part, but had spoken to Rose a few times in class and the common room. She was nice enough and, he couldn't help but notice, very pretty.
When they reached the edge of the forest, Professor Sliverfish turned to address the class.
"Now, since we are actually going into the forest, I've split you up into pairs so you won't be alone in case of separation. No childish comments about the buddy system, please." he said in response to the groans and snickers. "Okay the pairs are..." Scorpius tuned him out for a moment to peer into the forest. It was unnaturally dark considering the sun was shining brightly that day. A shiver went down his spine and he was grateful that he'd have a partner in there.
"Miss Weasley," Professor Sliverfish called.
"Yes, sir?" she asked.
"You'll be with Mr. Malfoy."
"Yes, professor." she said and turned to the tall blonde boy. He glanced at her and gave her a friendly smile which she returned.
After they'd all been given their partners, the class entered the Forbidden Forest. They walked about a mile in and the ministry wizards stopped them. They'd come across a sign of the vampire. Since they thought he was close, the wizards instructed the students to wait where they were and they walked little farther in. A few minutes later, the sounds of a fight broke out and the wizards stumbled into view wrestling with a very pale man who had some kind of muzzle on his face. Scorpius was disappointed that they hadn't been able to see the wizards actually subdue the vampire, but he'd take what he could get. After the creature was sedated and restrained, the class asked and answered questions and were allowed to approach the vampire to get a closer look.
All too soon, the time came to go back to the castle. Just as they were starting up the path to leave, Scorpius heard a faint roaring sound. He looked up the path and saw a faint orange glow that was growing brighter by the second.
"Professor," he began as he turned toward Sliverfish, "what is that?"
The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor looked up and a look of horror hit his face.
"Fire!" he called. "There's a fire!"
The fire was approaching at an alarming rate. It was so fast, Scorpius could have sworn it was Fiend Fyre. The class started running back into the forest, most staying with their assigned partners. Rose ran alongside Scorpius, but the students were not fast enough to evade the consuming flames. The heat was overwhelming as flames surrounded them. A flaming tree fell to the forest floor very nearly crushing Rose, but at the last second Scorpius grabbed her arm and yanked her aside. The tree had separated them from the rest of the class and because the flames were everywhere, they had no choice but to keep running farther away.
They ran, smoke choking and blinding them. Sweat poured down Scorpius's body, but he kept a firm grip on Rose's hand. He skidded to a stop at the edge of a ravine, but Rose's momentum caused her to run into him again and send them both tumbling down, down, down, until they hit the ground with two sickening cracks. Black overtook them both.
When Scorpius came to, the first thing he noticed was the pain in his wrist and his side. He couldn't breathe very well and he struggled to sit up. His uninjured hand was still gripping something and he remembered Rose and the fire.
He turned quickly to look at the redhead and was rewarded with agonizing pain in his side and his head. His sharp intake of breath and painful moan caused Rose to stir.
She sat up slowly, her face a grimace of pain. Her hands went to her ankle and she barely suppressed a scream when she looked at her foot. It was sticking out at an odd angle and wa obviously broken.
Scorpius glanced at his wrist and saw that his hand was bent at an unnatural angle as well and it hurt so bad he thought he was going to throw up. Rose was squeezing the fingers on his other hand so hard he feared that she'd break them too, but he didn't say anything because he knew that she must be in just as much pain as he was if not more.
"Rose," he asked, clenching his teeth against the pain. "Is anything besides you ankle hurt?"
"No," she said. Her voice was shaky and somewhat breathless.
"I've broken my wrist," he said, "and I think a rib or two."
He released her hand and patted his pockets for his wand. With a sinking feeling in his gut he realized that it was not there. He looked all around them and did not see it anywhere on the ground.
"Oh no," he groaned.
"What? Are you hurt somewhere else?" Rose asked with concern.
"No. I can't find my wand." he said.
"Your...oh my God..." she trailed off. He looked over and saw that she was staring at her own wand...which was snapped into three pieces barely being held together by the unicorn hair that was its core.
Scorpius just stared at it for a moment then at her. They held each others gaze as the gravity of their situation set in. They were utterly alone, lost in the Forbidden Forest with no wands. And night was quickly falling.
"What do we do?" she whispered, fear flooding her voice.
"I don't know." he answered honestly. He stared at the ground, thinking.
First, they needed to tend their injuries as best they could. Then shelter for the night. After that...he wasn't sure.
He looked at Rose's ankle. It was at an odd angle, but thankfully the bone hadn't come through the skin. But there was no way she was going to be able to walk.
He looked at his wrist. He could carry her if he could keep her weight at his elbows and not on his wrist. He'd need a sling though. He began to unbutton his shirt.
"What are you doing?" Rose asked, her face turning slightly pink.
He just chuckled a little, and said, "I'm going to need a sling if I'm going to carry you out of here."
"Carry...no! You can't do that, your wrist is hurt!" she cried.
"I can handle it," he said, "besides you can't walk."
"You need to leave me here and go for help." she said.
He looked at her. Her look was one of determination mixed with fear.
"There is no way in hell," he began quietly, "that I am leaving you here alone. Especially with no wand."
"Scorpius - "
"No, Rose. It's not happening." he said firmly. "Tie the ends of the sleeves for me," he said wriggling out of his shirt.
She took it and twirled the excess fabric up before tying the sleeves and helping him slip the makeshift sling over his head. Her face turned bright red when her hands grazed his bare chest and he couldn't help but smirk. She was absolutely adorable. Her fiery red hair looked like a curly haystack and her turquoise eyes almost glowed in the growing darkness. His smirk faded and he felt heat in his own face. His chest was tingling where she'd touched it.
He cleared his throat and attempted to stand. Thankfully, his legs seemed unharmed. He stood with relative ease and took a few test steps.
"Okay, now the hard part." he said and squatted next to Rose.
"Scorpius you can't..." she said and trailed off at the withering look he gave her.
"Try and ease your feet through the sling and hook your knees over my elbow." he instructed.
She did as he asked, wincing and whimpering as her broken ankle passed through. As gently as he could, he braced his good arm around her back and lifted her up. Though she wasn't very heavy, there was more pressure than he had anticipated on his wrist. He pulled in a painful breath.
"Scorpius, put me down. This is hurting you." Rose said, close to tears.
"No, I'm fine." he said through gritted teeth. No way was he leaving her there.
He took his best guess at a direction and started walking. He had intended to find some kind of shelter, but the thought of spending the night in the forest was terrifying. He also didn't know if he'd be able to lift Rose again if he put her down.
They were silent for a while and only the sounds of the forest and Scorpius's steps surrounded them. Rose's arms were wrapped around his neck and she was trying to keep her weight off of his bad arm as much as she could.
"What if we can't get out?" she asked quietly. "What if we die in here?"
"I'm not going to let you die." he said, looking at her face.
"Why not? Why not just leave me there and save yourself? You barely know me and don't owe me anything." she said.
"I couldn't leave you out here to fend for yourself, especially since you couldn't walk or run away. Contrary to popular belief, I am actually a decent guy." he told her, almost defensively.
"I didn't mean..." she trailed off, embarrassed at having offended him. She needed to learn to think before she spoke. "I know you're a decent guy."
He looked at her. "Thank you."
"Some class, huh?" she asked.
"Oh yeah. Best ever." he replied, his voice dripping in amused sarcasm.
To his surprise she laughed. The sound was beautiful and welcome in their grim circumstances.
Night had fallen and if he'd thought the forest was unnaturally dark before he had been mistaken. He could barely make out shapes in the black before him and he had to walk slowly to avoid slamming into something.
"What's your family really like?" Rose asked suddenly.
He thought for a moment. "I only count my parents as my family. They're good people. My dad isn't the monster people make him out to be. He's a little prejudiced, but he's working on that. Mum has the biggest heart of anyone I know. She's wonderful." his voice cracked a little as he wondered if he'd ever see his parents again. He'd told Rose he wouldn't let her die, but truth be told he was terrified.
"Mine is just like everyone says," Rose said, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Big, loud, and loyal."
"Is it hard living up to your parents?" he asked.
"Sometimes. Mum was a legend in school and Dad is...well Dad. Not to mention Uncle Harry, but that's more my cousin's problem." she said.
"I still get dirty looks in public. Whispers follow me wherever I go. I try to keep my head down, but being the son of a former Death Eater...well people haven't exactly been forgiving." he told her. He wondered why he was saying all this. He'd never been this open with anyone before.
"I'm sorry," she said softly. "It's not fair that you have to suffer for your father's decisions."
"It's been that way my whole life. I'm used to it." he said, surprised that she seemed genuinely upset about the way he'd been treated.
"That almost makes it worse. I'm sorry I never tried to be your friend. I just assumed you wanted to be left alone. You're kind of intimidating." she told him.
"Intimidating? How?" he asked, stunned.
"Well, you've got this mystery around you. Like all tall, blonde, and handsome, but quiet and observant." she said.
His heart started to beat a little harder when she said he was handsome. "Wow." was all he said.
"Well," she said and even in the dark he knew she was blushing. "I mean that's just my opinion."
"You're not exactly approachable." he told her. "Miss Rose Weasley, best in our year and killer Chaser. I'm glad you're on my team."
"Really?" she asked.
"Yes," he said and figured since they were being honest he'd tell her. "You've also got the fact that you're beautiful on your side."
She was silent for a minute. "You think I'm beautiful?" she asked in a surprised voice.
It was his turn to blush. He was grateful for the dark. "Yes. Why do you sound surprised?"
"No one's ever called me that." she said.
"Probably because they're intimidated, like I said." he told her.
She was silent again for a few minutes. "Scorpius?"
"Yeah?" he answered.
"I have to pee."
"Oh...okay." he stopped and squatted down. He helped her ease her legs out of the sling. "Can you...I mean...do you need me to help you stand or..." he said, very uncomfortable with the situation.
"No, I can hold on to this tree." she said.
"Ok...I'll just go...over there." he said and he walked away. He figured he better relieve himself as well and did before he walked back her direction.
"Are you decent?" he called before he got too close.
"Yeah." she said and he walked back over to her. He took a breath and braced himself for picking her up again. He hadn't wanted to put her down because picking her up hurt.
She slid her legs through the sling again, only gasping a little when her injured foot went through. Both were breathing heavily against the pain when Scorpius stood again.
They continued on, hoping that they were heading the right direction. Everytime they heard a noise, Scorpius held Rose a little closer and she hid her face in his shoulder. When she did his heart would race and he prayed that she thought it was because he was scared and not because he found himself enjoying her proximity.
By the time the darkness lightened somewhat indicating that the sun had risen, Scorpius had come to really care about the girl he carried. They talked all night and he was astonished to discover that they had a lot in common. She was interesting and fiery and despite the fear she felt and the pain she was in, she'd done her best to make him smile and succeeded. If he wasn't careful, he could see himself falling in love with her.
When they noticed the trees starting to thin, Rose looked around.
"We must be getting close to the edge of the forest." she said.
It was then that they heard Hagrid's gruff voice.
"Don' you fret Hermione. We'll find 'em soon." he said, obviously comforting Rose's mother.
Scorpius picked up the pace, pain and exhaustion forgotten and a minute later he stumbled out of the edge of the trees and saw his and Rose's parents, Harry and Ginny Potter, and what looked to be most of the staff of Hogwarts.
"Rose!" Ron Weasley yelled as he ran toward the pair. The others heard his cry and everyone came running toward them shouting thanks and asking questions.
Ron reached them first, followed closely by Draco Malfoy.
"Rosie! Oh God we've been so worried." he said.
"Scorpius, are you two alright? Why are you carrying her?" Draco asked.
"Rose broke her ankle and couldn't walk," Scorpius said, relief and exhaustion evident in his voice.
"Let me take her." Ron said, and began lifting his daughter from Scorpius's arms. He let her go with some reluctance.
"Be careful, Daddy." Rose said. "Scorpius's wrist is broken too."
Ron looked at Scorpius now. "You carried my daughter out of the forest with a broken wrist?"
Scorpius turned bright red. "I couldn't just leave her."
Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Madame Pomfrey had arrived.
"Get them to the hospital wing at once!" she said fiercely.
Ron started to carry Rose away and she looked back. "Oh my God, Scor!" she said staring at him.
"What?" he asked with alarm and looked down. In the sunlight he could now properly see his chest. His right side was one solid bruise and his arms were covered in scratches and cuts. Seeing them made him realize just how much he hurt. "Ow," he said just before the world went black and he passed out.
When Scorpius awoke he was in a soft bed and in considerably less pain. He was still sore, but his side and his wrist no longer felt like they were being stabbed repeatedly. He suddenly remembered Rose and his eyes flew open and he sat up quickly, causing his head to spin violently and his stomach to turn.
"Woah, take it easy, son." his father's voice said and he was pushed gently back onto his pillow.
"Is she okay?" he asked, panicking a little. "Is Rose okay?"
"She's fine." his mother said and he looked over at her. "Her ankle was the only thing that was hurt, so she's doing better than you."
Scorpius relaxed and put his hand to his throbbing head. He was still exhausted.
"Go back to sleep, son." Draco said. "We'll be here when you wake up."
Scorpius drifted.
When Scorpius woke again, it was dark in the hospital wing. Draco and Astoria were not there, as had been promised, but Scorpius knew that they'd be back. He settled on his pillow and was about to go back to sleep when he heard the door to the hospital open. He looked over to see Rose's flaming red hair peeking around the door and sneaking in.
She came over and sat next to his bed and they just looked at each other for a moment.
"Scorpius, I'm so sorry." she finally whispered.
He was confused. "What are you sorry for?"
"I heard Madame Pomfrey talking to your parents. You hurt yourself worse by carrying me out. You should have just left me and gone to find help then you'd be - "
"Rose, stop." he said, taking her hand. The tears that were falling down her face were killing him. "I was not going to leave you. I'd have tossed you over my shoulder if you'd resisted."
She sniffed. "My only injury was my ankle. Madame Pomfrey fixed it right away and even let me go back to the dorm for the night. You had broken ribs and your wrist and were so tired from walking so far that...that..." she broke off, crying.
"Rose, please. I would do it again if I had to." he hated that she felt so guilty when she didn't need to.
She squeezed his hand. "Why?" she whispered.
"Because I - " he began and stopped abruptly, shocked at what he'd been about to say. He'd almost said 'because I love you'. His heart raced and his palms began to sweat. He'd spent one night talking to her and now he was in love? How did that happen?
"Because you...?" Rose asked after he was silent for a moment.
"Because I can't leave a friend behind." he said finally. She was his friend now and he knew she felt the same way. She didn't need to know that he'd somehow fallen in love with her in one night.
"Scorpius, you saved my life. I'll never be able to repay you." she said.
"Unless you have to save mine sometime," he said.
"Hopefully I'll never have to. I want you to stay safe." she said, squeezing his hand again.
He wanted to pull her closer. To have her lay next to him so he could hold her and stroke her hair. He settled for holding her hand and saying, "You need to stay safe too."
They sat in the dark hospital wing and talked for a couple of hours, holding hands the whole time.
Finally, Scorpius said, "You'd better go back to the dorm. If Madame Pomfrey catches you here, you'll be in trouble."
"I don't care." she said, but sighed. "But you're right. I shouldn't be keeping you awake anyway."
"I don't want you to go," he said and it was true. He wanted her to stay more than anything. "I just want you to be able to come back."
"And I will." she said. Then she stood and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "Goodnight, Scor. See you tomorrow."
She left before she could see the stunned look on his face or the wide smile that followed and stayed until he fell asleep.
When he woke the next morning, Madame Pomfrey declared him healthy enough to go back to classes.
Before he left the hospital he got a surprising visitor. Ron Weasley came in and sat beside Scorpius's bed. He studied the boy for a moment before speaking.
"I'll never be able to thank you enough for saving my daughter's life." he said. "Especially considering you made your own injuries worse in the process."
Scorpius just nodded, unsure of what to say.
"I guess my question now is, what your feelings are concerning her." Ron said.
Scorpius looked away. It wasn't exactly ideal telling a girl's father that he was in love with his daughter. Especially when the father was Ron Weasley.
Ron seemed to guess the answer from Scorpius's silence. "I can't say I disapprove if you do have feelings for her. As much as your father and I dislike one another, I can tell you're a decent boy. However, if you hurt her I will come after you." he said, with a small smile.
Scorpius smiled back. "Yes, sir." he said and shook Ron Weasley's hand.
His parents stayed for lunch then went home and he found himself back in the Ravenclaw common room that night. The day had been so hectic he hadn't been able to talk to Rose and had only seen her a couple of times.
The whole day he'd been surrounded by people who wanted his side of the story and was glad that he had the common room to himself. It was a little past midnight and he was staring into the fire when he heard something behind him.
He turned to see Rose standing in the doorway. She seemed surprised to see him, but a smile crossed her features.
"Hey! I'm glad to see you're up and about!" she said and came to sit next to him.
The sight of her made his heart ache with longing. "Yeah, I'm tough as nails." he said jokingly.
She smiled at him then looked into the fire and bit her lip. It made him want to kiss her so badly he almost threw caution to the wind and grabbed her face, but restrained himself.
"I haven't seen you much today." he said.
"You've just been bombarded with people I figured you didn't need another." she told him.
"You'd have been the only welcome one." he said.
She looked at him and smiled.
"Well, I imagine you'd like to be alone so," she said and got up.
He grabbed her hand before he could stop himself. "Don't go." he said.
She bit her lip again and sat down. "Isabella McLaggen was very interested in you today." she said.
"Who? Oh, that blonde Gryffindor girl?" he said. He could barely call her face to his mind.
"Oh like you didn't notice her flirting with you," Rose said, somewhat bitterly.
"Flirting? I can't even remember what she said." he told her, confused at her sudden change in mood.
Rose looked at him as if trying to decide if he was telling the truth or not. "Really?"
"Yes, really. Why does it matter?" he asked.
She blushed and averted her eyes. Realization dawned on Scorpius and his heart began to race.
"Rose," he asked quietly, "were you jealous?"
She didn't say anything just stared into the fire. He used his finger to gently tilt her chin so that she was looking at him. Her blue eyes were unreadable, but he saw her look at his lips.
Taking a deep breath, he moved cupped her face in his hands and slowly lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was soft and sweet and when she sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist, he was so happy he thought he'd burst.
He pulled back to look her in the eye. "You don't need to be jealous of anyone."
She smiled and leaned her forehead against his. They closed their eyes and before he could stop himself he whispered, "I think I'm in love with you."
She froze and he wondered for one horrifying moment if she'd run away. But then her arms were around his neck and her face was buried in his shoulder and she was saying something.
"I didn't understand that, Rose." he said and she pulled back to look at him.
"I said, I fell in love with you the moment you refused to leave me behind in the forest."
His heart soared and he bent down to once again kiss the woman he loved.