A/N: I have read Cursed Child and I totally don't think it's canon. On top of the blatant continuity errors, I absolute hate the characterization of Rose Granger-Weasley. She's my favorite next gen character and they ruined her. So, that being said, these two are not written like Scorpius and Rose from Cursed Child. I hope you enjoy this little one-shot. I thought I was done writing but this idea kept floating around in my head so I had to write it. This is also my first time writing from Scorpius' POV so keep that in mind. Please read and review!
Ah, the Burrow. The absolute best place to be on summer holidays, at least, that was Scorpius Malfoy's opinion. It was a tradition amongst all the Potter-Weasley kids to spend a few days at the start of summer off at the Burrow. Their grandparents were more than happy to have them, and Scorpius thought they were quite lucky to have such a large family to do things with. He had no siblings and wasn't very close to anyone in his family.
It was with great luck that Scorpius had managed to befriend Albus Potter on the train to Hogwarts during their first year, even luckier that they had both ended up in the same house, Slytherin. Albus Potter was Scorpius' best friend and the reason he was allowed to tag along at the Burrow.
Scorpius grinned as he surveyed his surroundings of the hustle and bustle of everyday living at the Burrow. Currently, he was watching a game of Exploding Snap between Albus, his brother James, Hugo and Teddy. Victoire was cheering on her boyfriend, Teddy, while a few others watched too. There was an abundance of cousins in this place.
He relaxed back into the armchair he was sitting in, enjoying the atmosphere for he never got this at home. However, Scorpius quickly realized someone was missing. Rose Weasley, his other best friend.
Scorpius and Rose hadn't exactly wanted to be best friends. Though he had now just finished his fifth year at Hogwarts, during their first year things were tense between them. You see, Rose was Albus' best friend, and when Scorpius decided that Albus was also going to be his best friend, Rose hadn't liked that. She also didn't trust him right away solely on the basis of him being a Malfoy. Which Scorpius understood after Albus told him what Rose's father had said, but he still thought it was ridiculous. Rose was sorted into Gryffindor and had been wary of the fact that he and Albus were sorted into Slytherin, but after realizing Albus was still the same no matter what house he was in, she quickly got over it.
The two of them hadn't become best friends until they were caught helping Albus and his brother with a prank after hours at the end of their first year and had to serve detention together. Of course Albus had managed not to get caught. He and Rose had had to clean the Owlery together. Spending many hours scrubbing owl droppings off the floor and complaining about how Albus landed them there had made them realize it was silly to continue their little rivalry. They actually had quite a lot in common besides Albus, such as their interest in school (they both loved Care of Magical Creatures), Quidditch, and a love of the library.
"Hey mate, want to get together a game of Quidditch?" Albus said as he walked over to Scorpius. Their game of Exploding Snap had finished. It looked like Teddy had won.
"None of you will be playing Quidditch!" came a raised voice over clamor of kids. It was Mrs. Weasley. The Mrs. Weasley, everyone's grandmother. "It's late and getting dark out. I don't want anyone crashing into each other and winding up hurt," she said in a worried sort of voice as she looked around at all of them. "You can all play tomorrow."
Albus made a face and groaned. "Fine. Let's just head up to the room then," he told Scorpius before leading him up the winding, crooked staircase of the Burrow.
Scorpius shared a room with Albus in what was Charlie Weasley's old bedroom. He was one of the lucky ones who only had to share with one other person. Half of Albus' cousins had to share a room with more than one person when they spent the night at the Burrow. In Bills' old room were Louis, Fred II, and Hugo. James and Teddy shared a room in Fred and George's old room. Victoire, Lucy, and her sister Molly shared Percy's old room (much to Victoire's distaste.) The two girls lucky enough to get Ginny's room were Roxanne and Dominique, which left Ron's room to Rose and Lily.
Even though it seemed overcrowded, Scorpius loved it. While sometimes it was a little overwhelming at times, he'd grown used to it since he was Albus and Rose's friend. Luckily, everyone seemed to accept him pretty quickly, managing not to judge him too harshly for being a Malfoy.
"I can't believe gran won't let us play Quidditch!" Albus exclaimed as he walked up the stairs, Scorpius trailing behind him. "I mean it's not that dark outside," he said as he peered out a window in the hall.
Scorpius snorted with laughter but tried to turn it into a cough. "Oh come, it's practically nine," he told him after a quick glance at his watch. "We probably wouldn't be able to see the bludgers much less the snitch."
"Good point," Albus said with a sigh before opening the door that said Charlie Weasley on it. "Still, what a bummer," he grumbled as he flopped on his bed.
Scorpius rolled his eyes at Albus but with a smile on his face. They were going to be spending a few days here and it was only the first night anyway. He busied himself with rummaging through his trunk, trying to find his pajamas. It seemed that they were turning in for the night.
"Hey, where was Rose tonight? I haven't seen her since dinner," Scorpius asked as he pulled out a pair of navy blue and white striped pajamas.
Albus sat up quickly and looked at Scorpius from his spot on the bed very seriously, green eyes wide. "Didn't you hear?" he asked quietly.
Scorpius looked confused and sat down on his bed, pajamas in his lap. "Hear about what? Why're you acting so weird?" he asked with a furrowed brow.
Albus raised his eyebrows. "Are you kidding? She's our best friend and you didn't even know that Evan Wood cheated on her? She's been moping about it since it happened, probably up in her room crying."
Scorpius stared disbelievingly at Albus. "What?"
As far as he knew, Rose and Evan had been happily dating for the past four months. Sure, Evan seemed like a prat, but Scorpius had thought it was only him that thought that. Though Scorpius would deny it until his grave, he had a major crush on Rose Weasley. He'd fancied her since halfway through his third year at Hogwarts and had been trying to squash those feelings since he'd acknowledged them. For one, it would completely wreck the nice friendship the three of them had going. Scorpius was also 1000% sure Rose didn't have feelings for him either especially since she went for a nice Gryffindor guy like Evan anyway, captain of the Quidditch team and everything. And since Rose was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, that meant the two of them spent a lot of time together and it was no surprise when they started dating.
Scorpius hadn't realized it, but he was gripping his pajamas in fists as he thought about how much he hated Evan Wood at that precise moment. How dare he hurt Rose. Sadly, Evan was a seventh year and had graduated, leaving Scorpius unable to seek revenge on the toerag.
"Yeah," Albus said quietly, as though someone would be able to hear them through the walls in their room. "Apparently Rose thought everything was going just fine and then during one of her prefect duties she found him and some Ravenclaw girl in a broom closet. It was on the last day of term too."
Scorpius just stared at his best friend blankly with his mouth open in a small 'oh.' While he hated Evan just for just dating Rose, he was upset he'd been right in the first place to not like the guy. Scorpius just wished that it hadn't been at Rose's expense.
"I guess that explains why she was so quiet on the train ride home," Scorpius said lamely. "I thought she was just really interested in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."
Albus laughed weakly. "Well she does love that book," he pointed out. "But don't feel bad. She didn't even tell me until the next day and that was after Lily wheedled it out of her."
Scorpius sighed and glanced up at the ceiling of their room. Rose was probably somewhere up there in her attic bedroom, all alone and crying. And here, her two best friends were just having a grand old time having fun with everyone else.
"We should at least go up and see if she's okay," Scorpius said, looking down at Albus. "I mean she is our best friend."
Albus made a face. "She's also my cousin," he whined. "I don't want to make things worse. Rose probably wants Lily to help with that, not us. She needs a feminine touch right now that we just don't have."
Scorpius set down his pajamas and crossed his arms, frowning at Albus.
Albus rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. "Let's go." And with that, the two of them made their way to the top most bedroom of the Burrow.
Albus bit his lip, glancing at Scorpius before knocking gently on the door labeled Ron Weasley. There was no answer.
"Well, we tried," said Albus cheerfully as he turned to walk back down the stairs.
Scorpius grabbed him by the arm as he tried to pass and stared at him with raised eyebrows. "Are you kidding? That was pathetic," he said with a pointed look before letting go of Albus.
"Rose?" Scorpius called quietly as he opened the door a crack, peering inside.
Even after all these years, it was still horrifically orange and covered with Chudley Cannons posters. Sadly, Rose's father Ron had managed to convert Rose into a Chudley Cannons fan too, and she wouldn't let Lily take them down.
Scorpius pushed the door open a little wider and stepped inside, not seeing Rose anywhere. "Where the hell is she?" he asked, wondering if she'd somehow hidden amongst all the orange.
"I dunno," said Albus, who had walked in as well. The beds were flat so there was no way she was hiding under the covers, and the closet door was open so she wasn't hiding there either. The room looked undisturbed. "I swear I heard her come up here after dinner."
Scorpius looked wildly around the room before his eye caught the window. It was cracked open the tiniest bit. "You don't think…?" he trailed off as he walked over.
According to Albus, when Rose was younger she used to climb out onto the roof of the Burrow. She used to do it when she wanted a little time to herself and to not be disturbed by her huge family. It was a fairly common thing for her to do, but she had grown out of it when she got older.
"No bloody way am I climbing out onto the roof." Albus said with a shake of his head. "It's raining anyway! She's an idiot if she's out there right now."
And sure enough, Scorpius noticed the light patter of rain against the roof and drops sliding down the pane of glass. He hadn't even heard it down in their room.
"I'll go," Scorpius said with a grimace, thinking this might be against his better judgment.
Albus laughed. "You're joking right?" And after the look on Scorpius' face, he realized he wasn't. "Fine, if you fall to your death it's all on you. I'll be down in our room not breaking my neck and getting pneumonia."
Scorpius rolled his eyes at Albus' sarcasm as the door shut behind Albus. He was always being dramatic like that. With a sigh he turned back to the window and wrenched it open, staring out into the night as rain landed on his face.
He was really going to regret this.
Scorpius heaved himself out the open window, balancing on the windowsill carefully. He had absolutely no idea how Rose used to do this on a daily basis. It was a little hard to see in the dark and rain, but he managed to pull himself up onto the roof using his upper body strength and a little luck.
Not to his surprise, Rose was sitting on the middle of the roof, staring out across the yard at the chicken coops. She was in shorts and a Chudley Cannons jumper, completely soaked from the rain. Her red curls were now hanging limply around her face, stray strands sticking to her cheeks. Rose looked even paler than she normally did making her freckles stand out.
"Aren't you cold?" Scorpius asked as he moved to sit next to her, already feeling the rain seep through his clothes and chill him to the bone.
Rose looked up at him, her blue eyes widening in shock. Clearly she hadn't thought anybody would come out here after her. She cracked a smile and shrugged a little. "Not really. Too busy thinking," she said.
"About what?" he asked innocently, watching her carefully. It seemed as though she was putting on a facade that she was all right.
"Oh…nothing," Rose said with a weak laugh. She bit her lip and looked away from him, back out into the yard. The rain was still coming down at a steady pace, and Scorpius wondered how she managed to stand it.
"You sure? Must be something pretty interesting if you've managed to ignore this rain," he pointed out as he crossed his arms, wishing he'd thought to put on something over his tee shirt before coming out here. It really was cold.
Rose shook her head slightly, stray water droplets hitting him from her hair as she did so. "Nothing you'd be interested in. Just girl stuff I'd talk about with Lily," she said lightly.
"You know, Albus told me what happened," Scorpius said quietly, following her gaze out onto the lawn. He heard her sharp intake of breath and thought maybe he shouldn't have broached the subject that way, but continued on. "If you think you can only talk about it with Lily, you're wrong."
"W-Well it doesn't matter," Rose said sternly, as though trying to convince herself. "I'm over it and I've already talked it out with Lily. And besides, I should've been lucky he stuck around as long as he did, considering." She swiped at her face and Scorpius realized she must've been crying again. It was hard to tell with the rain.
"Clearly you haven't talked it out enough if you're still thinking about it," he pointed out gently.
Rose rolled her eyes and hugged her knees to her chest, ignoring him.
Scorpius frowned deeply when he noticed that Rose was shivering. Albus was right; she was a bit stupid to come out during a storm. "Come on, let's go back inside and get you warm. Then we can talk about it."
Rose looked for a moment as though she was going to argue, something they did all the time, but then thought better of it and nodded. "Alright," she muttered as she got up and made her way back to the window.
Scorpius followed her down back through the window into her and Lily's bedroom, almost slipping on the wet windowsill. He shut the window and locked it, shuddering a bit due to his wet clothes. When he turned back to Rose he saw her with her wand out, drying off her jumper. He followed suit and got out his own wand, drying his own clothes.
In the light, Scorpius could now see that Rose's eyes were a little puffy and red, as though she'd been full on crying a while ago and was just now getting over it. With a sigh Rose collapsed onto her bed and flung an arm over her face.
"So… what do you mean that you were lucky he stuck around?" Scorpius said cautiously, not wanting to upset her anymore than she already was. He made his way over to her bed and settled down at the foot of it.
Rose lifted her arm and looked at him before sitting back up. "Oh, well," she mumbled, sounding unsure of how to explain herself. She reached out to her nightstand and grabbed a ponytail band to tie her hair up in a knot. "You know. I mean I'm not exactly anything special," she huffed as she let her hands drop from the messy bun on top of her head. "That girl was just smarter and prettier and more refined than me. I'm just not anything to write home about."
Scorpius opened his mouth to tell her how very wrong she was when the elastic band holding her hair in place snapped, and her mess of red hair fell back to the way it was, untamed and wild. As though this somehow proved her point, Rose put her head in her hands and started crying again.
With a sigh Scorpius awkwardly patted her shoulder, not sure if this was at all comforting. "Rose," he murmured, moving a little closer to her. "Evan is just a prick who didn't know how good he had it. Anyone would be lucky to have you. You are special and someone to write home about."
Rose rubbed at her eyes and looked at him, blue eyes meeting gray. "You don't have to sit here and say stuff just cause you think it'll make me feel better. Lily is already really good at that," she said miserably.
Scorpius shook his head. "No, I really mean it. That guy didn't know what he had until he lost it. He's probably sitting at home regretting it right now. Besides, you shouldn't even care what he thinks. I bet that Ravenclaw girl is a slut anyway." He knew he probably shouldn't have said that since he didn't even know the girl, but Scorpius just wanted to make Rose feel better and realize it was Evan's fault entirely.
Rose gave a hollow laugh. "The worst part was, I didn't even care that it was over. Not really. I just can't believe I was stupid enough to let him use me like that. I should've known better. A guy like that wouldn't be with a girl like me."
He wondered what she meant by that. Had she not cared about Evan at all? They dated for roughly four months, which he guessed wasn't that long. But still, it was a nice substantial relationship, right?
"Don't be ridiculous," Scorpius scoffed. "Just cause he was a seventh year and captain of the Quidditch team doesn't mean you didn't deserve him. And you weren't being stupid. He was the one being stupid to ever cheat on you in the first place!" he said heatedly, feeling his temper flare up at the thought of how Evan was making Rose question her worth.
Rose smiled weakly at him and placed a hand on top of his. He hadn't even realized they'd balled into fists and were shaking. He felt his insides flutter at her touch. "Thanks Scorpius," she said dejectedly. "At least I can count on my best friend to back me up."
Scorpius' heart twisted a little at those words. He rather enjoyed being one of Rose's best friends, but he would always want her as something more no matter how much he tried to push aside those feelings.
"No problem," he said with a grin, trying to hide his actual feelings from her. "And what do you mean you don't care that it's over? Seems like you care a lot right now."
Rose shook her head and leaned back on her hands. "I mean, yeah I guess I care about his opinion of me. I'm not good enough for anyone plus I'm a complete fool to get played like this. But at the same time, I knew he wasn't the one for me. I guess I was kind of using him too."
Scorpius furrowed his brow, thoroughly confused by her statement. He would've chastised her for saying she wasn't good enough but the rest of her words stopped him. "What do you mean using him too?"
Rose's face had managed to dry completely now though it was still tear stained. A blush crept across her cheeks as she looked away from Scorpius now, a little embarrassed. "Well… I've always liked someone else," she confessed lightly. "And that person I know for a fact would never want me back so I forced myself to move on, and I moved on to Evan."
Scorpius' eyebrows shot up so fast they disappeared into his white-blonde hairline. His heartbeat quickened. She liked someone else? Who? "I doubt that," he said with a laugh, trying to stifle his feelings. "You could have anyone you wanted. You're brilliant. I don't think you realize how many guys in our year actually like you."
That fact bothered him immensely. He tried not to bully anyone in their year from making a move on Rose, but it was hard to justify it in front of Albus. Albus thought Rose was old enough to make her own decisions when it came to guys.
Rose rolled her eyes and nudged his leg with her foot playfully. "You're just saying that," she told him. "Because you know as well as I do how many girls in our year who're just falling all over you."
It was Scorpius' turn to blush now. What Rose said was technically true. Last summer he'd matured quite nicely and the rest of the girls at Hogwarts noticed too. It made him uncomfortable though especially because he liked Rose so much he didn't think he could possibly go out with another girl. It just felt wrong.
"I am not," he said firmly. "I bet if you made a move on the bloke next year you'd have him. You've got to give yourself some more credit."
Rose shook her head. "No," she said, hesitating a little before continuing. "He's my one of my friends. He wouldn't."
Scorpius sat up a little straighter, trying to believe what he was hearing. If he thought he could control himself, he was wrong. His heart was racing at this point and he was on high alert. Rose was literally in the same boat as him! But she had tons of friends, how the hell was he supposed to figure out which guy it was?
Rose looked away from him again, playing with a loose thread on her comforter.
"You don't know that," Scorpius said. He couldn't believe what he was saying. He was literally encouraging Rose to go after some mystery guy. It would just be much easier for him if he kept his mouth shut. Then he wouldn't have a new guy to be jealous of.
Rose sat up so that she and Scorpius were now level and she stared at him. Her gaze was so intense Scorpius almost wanted to look away. "Yes I do," she told him quietly.
Scorpius leaned in a little closer towards her. She was drawing him in like a magnet. He could practically feel the rising tension between them. "No you don't," he said, trying to make his voice sound teasing and light, but he couldn't quite manage it.
Rose's eyes flickered towards his lips before back up at him. It happened so fast that if Scorpius had blinked, he would've missed it. That split second gave him the courage to say, "Maybe he feels the same way."
Rose was now so close to him that they were only separated by mere inches of space. He was holding his breath, waiting for her to make the first move. He had no idea if she meant him when she said all that stuff, but that one moment was all he was holding onto at this point. She very well could've been talking about him, Scorpius Malfoy. After all, he was her friend, her best friend. And Rose Weasley wasn't an idiot. She had inherited her mother's brains after all; she could've easily figured out his feelings for her.
Rose bit her lip. If she did that again Scorpius didn't think he would have any self-restraint left. He felt tense, waiting for her to confirm what she meant. "Does he?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Scorpius couldn't take it anymore. He stared into her eyes for a fraction of a second, searching for any sign that she didn't want this, before crushing his lips to hers. He just couldn't help himself. Rose paused for a moment, registering what had happened before returning the kiss enthusiastically. There was a soaring in Scorpius' chest that he'd never felt before. He felt like he was flying his broomstick high up in the clouds.
He pulled back though; checking to make sure this was all right. Rose looked at him, confused as to why he had stopped, still poised as though waiting for him to come back.
"He does," Scorpius said, answering her previous question before kissing her again, this time pulling her so close she was almost on top of him.
She smelled of cinnamon and rain, like autumn even though it was the start of summer. Her lips were soft as he moved his against hers hungrily. Scorpius thought he might never get this moment in his life and planned to take full advantage of it. He kissed her deeply with a surging need, one hand holding her firmly at the small of her back while the other tangled in the hair at the base of her neck.
Rose sighed against his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck lazily, pulling him even closer. She ran her tongue along his bottom lip, eliciting a small moan from him as he opened his mouth for her. Scorpius could definitely get used to this. Rose, his Rose, in his arms with her frizzy hair and worn jumper. She was absolutely perfect.
"Hey, mate, did you manage to get her down? It's been almost an hour," Albus called as he pushed open the door to his sister and cousin's room. "What the bloody hell?!"
Scorpius and Rose sprang apart, Rose pushing herself away from him. Her face went as red as her hair, reminding Scorpius of how her father sometimes looked.
"Er, yeah I did," Scorpius said as he rubbed the back of his neck looking sheepishly at Albus.
Albus gaped at the two of them, looking like a fish out of water. "But – I thought – since when did – what?"
"Sod off Albus!" Rose exclaimed, throwing her pillow at her cousin, looking thoroughly embarrassed. "Scorpius and I are having a private conversation!"
Albus continued to stare between the two of them, still standing in the doorway. "Clearly," he muttered to himself. "I'm not dealing with this. You guys can tell me about it tomorrow," he said as he fumbled with the door.
Rose was still bright red, but Scorpius found it adorable. She was hot when she was riled up. "Come here," she said, pulling Scorpius towards her by the collar of his shirt. "I'm not finished with our conversation."
And with that she kissed him again, leaving Scorpius to wonder how he managed to be the luckiest guy alive, kissing his best friend that he'd fancied since third year.