DISCLAIMER : I DON'T THINK ANYONE READING THIS WOULD BELIEVE THAT I OWN HARRY POTTER

A/N :This is just a simple short story about my favorite pairing (I think we can all agree that J.K. has dropped a pretty strong hint in the epilogue). And after years of reading Harry Potter fanfics, this is the first time I've ever tried writing one. So please review, because I'd love to know how my writing is. Constructive criticism is appreciated.

Scorpius Malfoy was woken by the screeching noise of the alarm he set with a charm every night before going to bed. He opened his eyes groggily and groped for his wand on his bedside table, snatched it up and waved it, so that the noise stopped.

Rolling onto his back, he stared up at the canopy of his four-poster bed in the sixth year Ravenclaw boys' dormitory. Taped to the canopy was a picture of a twelve year old Scorpius and a girl of the same age. The pair of them were clutching each other and smiling widely at the camera. The picture had been taken in The Burrow's garden during the summer after their first year. Scorpius smiled at the picture.

The girl in the picture, Rose Weasely, had befriended him on the very first day of their first year at Hogwarts, when both of them had been sorted into Ravenclaw house and she had joined him and the other Ravenclaws at their house table for the start of term feast. Since then, they had been inseparable.

But looking at the picture now, he was reminded of the impossible task he was supposed to be doing that day – asking her out to the Christmas ball that was going to be held at Hogwarts. His stomach churned with nervousness at the reminder.

He sighed and rolled off, kicked aside the curtains and got off the bed. Scorpius was an early riser, so the other guys in the dorm were asleep; the alarm he set every night was charmed to be audible only to him.

After getting ready, he grabbed a book and set out for the Great Hall for breakfast. There were not many people in the Hall since it was quite early. After about half an hour, his friend Aaron Fernsby entered the great hall, approached him and plopped himself down beside him, piled his plate high with food and started to eat.

"So…" Aaron said, and looked at him expectantly as if he expected Scorpius to finish the sentence for him.

"So what?" Scorpius asked, not looking up from his book. "You know what!" Aaron exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, but I really don't."

Now irritated, Aaron said, "Rose! Have you asked her yet?" At this, Scorpius put his book down and looked at his friend in exasperation. Aaron was the only one who knew about his feelings for Rose.

"It's barely 8.00! Do you expect me to barge into the sixth year girls' dorm and ask her now?" said Scorpius, looking at his friend as if he was stupid.

Aaron looked at him thoughtfully. "Well, that would be a good idea; catch her off guard. But unfortunately, guys can't get up there. Believe me, I've tried before." He smirked.

Scorpius sighed. "Look, there's still a lot of time. The ball's a week away. I'll ask her later in the library when there's no one else around."

"Dude! You've been pining for her for almost three years now. You've finally got a chance to start dating her. Don't blow it."

Scorpius was in Double Divination, sharing a table with Aaron. Rose hadn't taken the subject as she had been advised against it by her mother. They were doing Palmistry today, and Aaron was examining Scorpius's palm. He was having little luck. The Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney was prowling around the classroom, helping out students.

After a while of struggling with Scorpius's palm, Aaron let it go with annoyance and exclaimed, "This is useless stuff! I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to make of this stupid web of lines on your hand. I'm not sure why I even took this stupid subject…..I should have listened to Rose."

Trelawney looked up from Jones's palm. She must have heard something of Aaron's exclamation, because she started making her way towards their table. Reaching them, she asked to see Scorpius's palm and started examining it with a lot of concentration.

She looked up at him and cried out, "My dear boy! You have a very distressing week ahead of you. But I can see that all your romantic endeavors are going to succeed. Your love life is going to take a turn for the better." At this, Scorpius's looked at her hopefully, and she turned away with a satisfied and slightly triumphant air.

Aaron smirked. "You don't believe all the owl shit she comes up with, do you?" Scorpius looked mildly offended. "So you don't believe that my romantic endeavors can succeed? Nice to know you have such faith in me, mate." Aaron snorted. "Mate, you must have missed it, but she also said that you're going to have a distressing week. If you're so eager for that, then I won't be stopping you."

Scorpius had no reply to that, so he dropped it.

Scorpius had just had tea with Rose and Aaron in the Great Hall but had escaped to the library before Rose had finished, without telling her where he was going. He knew that Rose was going to head to the library after tea, as was her routine. He lurked behind a bookshelf near Rose's regular table. When she finally arrived, he skulked there for a while, trying to work up the nerve to go talk to her.

He knew that he was acting like a love-sick puppy (Aaron would have called him a pussy), but he couldn't help being that way when it came to Rose. He was well aware that his feelings for Rose ran deeper that just a regular crush. As she brought out her books and parchment and started taking notes, he couldn't help but study her.

A lot of guys at Hogwarts thought that Rose was pretty, he knew. But to him, she was nothing short of beautiful, with her bright red, curly hair which seemed to sparkle with energy when she was furious, her wide blue eyes which looked innocent, but were actually quite scary when she was glaring at someone angrily, and her slender frame which made her look fragile but packed a lot of strength when she was hitting someone who had infuriated her, and the spattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks, which were a source of irritation for her but actually made her look cute.

He observed the way she scrunched her brows in concentration as she read and took notes. A strand of her unruly hair came loose and he was gripped with the urge to tuck it behind her ear. When she wrote, ink splattered on her hands, making them dirty but she didn't seem to mind. Whenever she was confused, she chewed the tip of her quill.

Looking at her then, his heart swelled with fondness. But he only got more nervous and struggled to move out of his hiding place and approach her.

Don't worry, she's your best friend. You can do this, he thought. But their friendship was what made it more complicated and more difficult to ask her out. If something went wrong, he was afraid to jeopardize their friendship, which was very precious to him.

Finally, he took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the shelf, and stopped short. Rose had just been joined at her table by Robert Miller, a moderately built Gryffindor seventh year with tanned skin and quite a handsome face. Scorpius knew Miller wasn't the most popular kid, but he was definitely popular enough to be noticed by quite a few Hogwarts girls.

Scorpius scrambled back to his previous hiding place, the better to eavesdrop on the conversation between Miller and Rose. He could feel his hands shaking and his breath quickening.

"Hey Rose. Can I sit with you?" he heard Miller say. Rose smiled and replied, "Sure, Rob."

"Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you, but whenever I see you, you're surrounded by either your friends or some of your innumerable cousins," said Miller. Rose laughed. "Yeah I do have a really big family. But what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Miller looked nervous. "I was wondering... if you'd like to go the Christmas ball with me?" Rose appeared to be taken aback by the question. She was staring at Miller while he twiddled his thumbs anxiously, not looking at her. After a minute, Rose recollected from her shock and replied, "Oh yes, I'd love to go to the ball with you, Robert."

Miller looked up with a grin and exclaimed, "Great! See you, then." He left the library, leaving Rose sitting there with a smile on her face, and Scorpius with a cold feeling in his chest.

Scorpius sat at the Ravenclaw table at dinner, and morosely accounted the events that had taken place earlier in the library to Aaron. After he was finished, Aaron was furious. "That prick Miller! Who does he think he is, trying to take Rose to the ball? Doesn't he know you're the one she's supposed to be going with?" Scorpius perked up a teeny bit at his friend's indignation on his behalf. He was grateful Aaron wasn't chewing him out for blowing his chance with Rose; he was feeling distressed enough already.

"Here comes Rose," he heard Aaron say. But he didn't feel like looking up at her. She greeted them happily, "Great day, isn't it, guys?" Seeing her happiness and knowing he wasn't the reason for it, something in him snapped. All his despair, regret and hurt morphed into anger, bitterness and resentment.

Scorpius sneered,"Of course it's a great day for you, Rose! Why wouldn't it be, when you've been spending it with your darling loverboy and making arrangements for dates with him?" Rose looked bewildered at his sudden outburst, but he didn't care. He got up abruptly and stormed off, leaving Rose confused and hurt.

The following week was horrible for Scorpius, even though Christmas vacation had started. He wasn't talking to Rose and she wasn't making an effort to talk to him either. He knew she was furious with him, but his bitterness and guilt were stopping him from approaching her.

Meanwhile, Aaron was exasperated with him for his behaviour. "You were too late to ask her out, so you punish her just because you're bitter? She doesn't even have any idea why you're angry with her. She's miserable and it's your fault. And do you know how difficult it is for me to shuttle between you guys when you're refusing to even be in each other's presence? I suggest you drop your childish act and make up with her soon," he reprimanded Scorpius one evening, three days before the ball.

But it was easier said than done. Whenever he came across Rose and Miller talking together in the corridors, or spotted her female cousins gushing to her about the ball, his chest tightened, his desolation increased and he found it harder to talk to her. He knew their friendship was suffering due to his stupid feelings, but there was nothing he could do.

The night before the ball, he was sitting in his bed, staring miserably at his hands, when he was suddenly reminded of Trelawney's prediction in his last Divination class of the term. He had indeed gone through a distressing week, but he couldn't see how the situation could ever get any better. His lovelife was nonexistent.

Rose was right, he thought dejectedly. Divination really is a useless subject, and Trelawney's just a crazy old bat.

The dreaded night of the ball had finally arrived. It was with a heavy heart that Scorpius descended the marble staircase to meet his date in the entrance hall. He hadn't wanted to take anyone to the ball since he couldn't take Rose, but Aaron had convinced him to go, so in the end he had decided to take someone he was sure wouldn't be interested in him, so that he wouldn't have to feel guilty for neglecting her, which he was bound to do. He knew his date Aline Brimble had a one-sided crush on Rose's cousin Albus Potter, so he had asked her to go with him.

As he descended the stairs, his eyes immediately sought Rose's bright red hair. Not spotting her anywhere, he looked for Aline and went over to her. They greeted each other awkwardly. He supposed she did look quite good in her floor length satin ball gown, but then he noticed Rose at the top of the marble staircase and caught his breath.

She was gorgeous. She wore a simple white floor-length gown of a soft flowy material which made her look like a princess. She wore minimal makeup and a sheer set of blue-stoned earrings and necklace, which really brought out the colour of her eyes. Her hair was tied up in an elegant knot. He knew he was gawking shamelessly, but he couldn't stop himself.

Without thinking, he started pushing through the crowd towards her. He stopped in front of her and stood there awkwardly, suddenly unsure. She regarded him coldly for a few moments and then said, "Nice to see that you've finally remembered your supposed best friend, Malfoy."

Hearing her address him by his surname, which she very rarely did, startled him out of whatever trance he had been in. "Listen, Rose. I'm really very sorry for the way I've been behaving this past week. I don't know what got over me. I just didn't have the nerve to approach you after I had snapped at you that day," he said earnestly.

Her expression softened. "I never could stay mad at you for long," she said with a small smile. "You clean up quite well, by the way," she added, blushing. He blushed too. "You don't look half bad yourself," he said. It was an understatement. She looked so stunning, his heart was doing somersaults in his chest.

She smiled wider. "I'm just glad we're back to being friends again."

The ball was halfway over. Scorpius had danced for a couple of songs, and collapsed at an empty table. His date had abandoned him hours ago, and he was sitting there watching the crowd on the dance floor. He had caught sight of Aaron a couple of times, waltzing with his girlfriend.

But mostly, he was watching Rose dance with Robert Miller. Every time he saw her in his arms, he gritted his teeth in annoyance and jealousy. He didn't want to be there at all, but he didn't want to leave Rose with Miller, so he just sulked alone at his table.

All of a sudden, he lost sight of Rose. He searched for her in the crowd, but couldn't see her anywhere. He got up and pushed through the dancers, trying to spot her. After a while of searching, he came to the unpleasant conclusion that she was not in the hall, and neither was Miller. With a feeling of foreboding, he left the hall in search of her.

After looking around for sometime, Scorpius finally found Rose at the end of one of the third floor corridors. But she wasn't alone. Miller was with her, but something seemed to be wrong; it looked like Miller had Rose pinned against the wall and she was struggling.

Scorpius started sprinting towards them. As he neared them, Rose pushed Miller off her and, fast as lightning, whipped out her wand, pointed it at Miller and yelled, "Stupefy!"

Miller froze and crashed to the floor.

Scorpius skidded to a halt near the pair, slightly out of breath. He stared at Miller's stationary form for a few moments and then turned towards Rose with wide eyes. He exclaimed, "What the fuck has just happened?"

Looking at her closely, he could see that her dress was rumpled and her hair was mussed. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were bright with fury. Her wand was still clutched loosely in her hand.

Abruptly, she threw herself at Scorpius and clung to him as if her life depended on it. For a crazy second, he thought she had started crying. But he couldn't hear any sobs and his shirt hadn't gotten wet with any tears. He should have thought better. He knew Rose never cried. She lost her temper frequently, but she never shed a tear, even at extremely emotional moments.

But he could feel her trembling. He put his arms around her and rubbed soothing circles on her back. He looked at Miller's unmoving form and felt incensed. How dare the bastard hurt his Rose? He should have realised what a prick Miller was. He should have prevented Rose from going out with him. This is my fault, he thought, mad at himself.

After a few moments, Rose pulled away from him and composed herself. She looked up and said, "It's not your fault."

"Huh?"

She looked at him shrewdly. "I know you very well Scorpius. I know you're blaming yourself for this. Don't. If it's anyone's fault, it's that git's." Scorpius blushed. "But what exactly happened?"

She took a deep breath. "Miller said he wanted to talk to me in private and brought me here. Then he started kissing me. I tried to push him away and he got really aggressive. Tried to force himself on me. But he should have known better than to mess with me." She gave Miller a disdainful look.

"Yeah, the stupid dick. Didn't he know that he would get his balls kicked for trying to mess with the most brilliant witch in our year?" said Scorpius, trying to lighten the mood. Rose sighed. "I shouldn't have agreed to go with him in the first place. But no one else had asked me and I figured that accepting his offer was the only way I could go."

At this, he felt even more guilty. If only he had asked her first, she wouldn't have had to go with the prick at all. "I wanted to ask you," he blurted out suddenly and then immediately regretted it. He looked at the floor, not wanting to meet her eyes, and cursed his stupid mouth for running away without his permission. What was he doing, admitting his feelings for his best friend at a time like this? He almost felt like he was taking advantage of her emotional state.

He glanced at her surreptitiously to see if she was upset at his proclamation, and saw to his surprise that she was grinning. And then without warning, she threw herself at him and kissed him full on the mouth. Caught off guard, he didn't immediately respond. Then he got over his shock and responded enthusiastically. His hands gripped her waist tightly. She cupped one hand round his neck and ran the other through his hair. Just as it was about to get more intense, she broke the kiss, not pulling away from his embrace, and smiled up at him.

"You know, I've liked you for a while now. I was waiting for you to ask me but you never did, so I thought that maybe you weren't interested. That's why I agreed to go with Miller."

"Interested?! I've been in love with you for so many years, Rose. I was just going to ask you when that idiot Miller beat me to it. You have no idea how the past week has been for me."

"You're a complete prat, Scorpius Malfoy. I don't know what I'm going to do with you."

He gave her a wide, goofy grin. "Well, I have a very interesting and fun idea as to what you could do with me."

As he captured her lips again, he was suddenly reminded of Trelawney's prediction for a second time that week, and realised that she had actually been right. Maybe they were being too harsh on her.

Because his lovelife had definitely taken a turn for the better, he thought giddily. Divination wasn't such a lousy subject after all.