Hello! First story here! I plan on trying to update on a regular basis and get things out quickly but I can't promise what will happen if I get writer's block! Please read and review! Also I have anxiety and am just trying to have fun by writing this so hopefully that works.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Also it will be rated M for later in the story

Chapter 1.

"Are you done yet?!" Albus called to him. Scorpius took another look at himself in the mirror. His grey eyes stared back at him and his blonde hair was perfectly gelled back off his forehead. He put on his watch and headed out the bathroom door only to collide with Albus his best friend in the world. Albus's jet black hair was tousled and his green eyes seemed annoyed.

"I'm done now," Scorpius said sillily.

"Yes. I can see that. You're going to be late for work."

"Thanks, mum." Scorpius said pointedly as he headed to the front room and pulled his shoes on his feet. Albus followed him into the front room.

"I don't see why I should have to get up to make sure you're up for work."

"I agree," said Scorpius lacing his shoe.

"But if I don't then my dad will blame me for you not going to work."

"That does seem like an injustice."

"Why did I decide to live with you?" He murmured exasperatedly.

"Because I'm all you've got and we accidently almost ruined the wizarding world twice," Scorpius said smirking. He was, of course, referring to their time at Hogwarts in which they had tried to change the fate of Cedric Diggory's death with an old time turner only to have it blow up in their faces and almost wipe out the existence of Albus and several of Albus's cousins.

Albus just groaned before sitting at the breakfast counter in the front room to start his free-lance work for the daily prophet. Scorpius grabbed an apple off the table and headed to the fireplace. He grabbed some floo powder and waved goodbye to Albus.

Albus muttered a goodbye and Scorpius took that as good enough.

"Ministry of Magic!" he bellowed before the world began spinning around him.

Once the world stopped spinning Scorpius stepped out of the flames and walked straight to the elevator. He headed towards the auror department. He really should've tried to have gotten up earlier this morning, he thought. His first appointment was to meet with Albus's dad Harry, head of the department.

He strolled into his office at exactly nine o'clock and saw Harry sitting behind his desk playing with an old snitch. His dark hair was feathered with grey but he had the same green eyes that Albus did and they smiled up at him though there was clearly something he was anxious about.

"Mr. Potter, sir," said Scorpius respectfully.

"Scorpius, thanks for coming to see me!" Harry said warmly and gestured for him to take a seat.

"Of course," said Scorpius sitting.

"Nice job on that last case. How is the paperwork going?" Harry said, seeming to want to avoid the subject at hand.

"I finished the rest of it Friday sir. I was going to turn it in right after our meeting."

"Excellent. And I trust Albus is doing well since I last spoke with him?"

"He's Albus," Scorpius laughed.

"That he is," Harry laughed with him. The strain of their relationship had gotten better as Albus had gotten older. Albus had become a daily prophet reporter working freelance for the sports section and it gave them something to talk about which Scorpius saw as an improvement. "Anyways," Harry continued. "I have a new case for you but I need it to be handled with even more than the normal amount of discretion."

"Sure sir."

"You know my niece, Rose."

At Rose's name, Scorpius instantly perked up. He had practically been in love with her since they were eleven years old. She had even rejected him asking her out when they were at Hogwarts. She of course, had no idea his feeling remained that way and at certain points in his life Scorpius had convinced himself that he didn't have feelings for her anymore. At 24 years old, it just seemed to silly to love someone or even like someone that you've liked since you were 11. So even though he was in denial about his feelings his voice came out rough and unrecognizable. "Y-yes?"

"Well, you see she's dating this bloke Christopher Wood. We have reason to believe that someone is impersonating Christopher and that the real Christopher is kidnapped. We don't know who but we do think the why has something to do with Rose. We need someone to catch him quickly and resolve it efficiently. However, in the meantime, I need you to take Rose to a safe house until we can get the real Christopher back."

There were so many thoughts going on in his mind. "Wow," seemed to be all he could say.

"Yes, now can you go get Rose and bring her here? She's not going to be happy."

He nodded and started to head to her office. He knew this was an urgent situation. He felt stupid for not seeing the situation before. He had met Rose's boyfriend on several occasions. He'd not liked him very much but his feelings for Rose clouded his judgement and so he'd shoved it off. Now look what he'd done. He had put her in danger and this poor innocent chap. He recalled Rose's birthday at Rose's with Albus.

"Just stay for the game Albus!" Rose whined into her cousin's arms as he tried to get up and leave.

"I have a mountain of work that needs to be done and I was going to do some of it-" Albus started

Rose cut him off. "You're freelance. No one is checking up on you! Scorpius what say you?"

Surprised by her speaking to him, Scorpius looked at Rose and then back at Albus. "I suppose we can stay for one more game before we head out mate."

Albus groaned and looked at him pointedly. He gave him a look that suggested he knew exactly why Scorpius had agreed with Rose but Scorpius merely shrugged.

"Fine," Albus said pointedly. "Anything but-" he stopped as Rose was already pulling out her magically enhanced version of drunk Jenga.

"C'mon Albus! It's my birthday!"

Then Christopher had walked in from the kitchen holding a tray of butterbeers. "What's this I hear about you two leaving?" He said to Scorpius and Albus.

"Some of us have work in the morning," said Albus.

"Some of us have early morning quidditch and are not complaining," said Christopher evenly.

"Ugh fine," Albus said. He sat down next to Rose's best friend Alice Longbottom, daughter of Neville and Hannah. The party had started out rocking with all of Christopher Wood's quidditch friends and Rose and Albus's cousins there but it had dwindled down until it was only the five of them plus Lily Potter who had made her way from the bathroom at this point.

The way the jenga game worked was similar to regular jenga in the beginning. You had to pull out a block. The block would then have something written on it and you were either supposed to do what it says, answer a question, or drink based on the answer. You weren't just "supposed" to do something though. Rose had magicked the game so that you had to be honest. Scorpius despised it more than Albus did and thought to speak up.

"Although on second thought, it is rather late," He murmured to no one in particular.

"I think you should stay!" said Lily, pulling him down to sit next to her so that on his other side was Rose.

"It's what the lady wants," said Christopher forcibly. God he's such a tool, thought Scorpius. He supposed he was good-looking but surely Rose couldn't just like him for that. Christopher lent down to kiss Rose and she smiled and sighed into the kiss. Apparently she did like something about him, he thought.

"Rose you go first!" Alice said. "You are the birthday girl!"

"Oh alright!" She pulled a block out and read it. "Blokes drink."

Scorpius downed a sip from his butterbear. He was next after all. He pulled a block out and stared at it. "Strip one item of clothing," he said blushing profusely. The group hooted and hollered at him as he took off his sweater. "Honestly, I had it off earlier," he pointed out.

They all rolled with laughter as Lily took the next block. "Truth or dare. Alright then mates. Who's got one for me?" Lily said.

"Which one are you picking?" Rose asked

"Oh hmmm… I guess… Dare me!" Lily said emphatically.

Rose pondered this for a minute, "Alright how about you have to owl Conrad McLaggen and tell him that you loooove him!"

"Oh gross Rose! I will not! That prig!" Conrad McLaggen was a Gryffindor who had been after Lily for years. However, Lily avoided him like the plague.

"What happens if you refuse a dare again?" Albus asked.

"I just have to finish my drink," Lily responded and shrugged as she downed her butterbeer.

Albus was up next and he also picked truth or dare. "I pick dare, I don't like the alternative."

"I've got it!" Lily said practically jumping out of her seat. "Kiss Scorpius!"

"Lily! For the last time! We are not gay!"

"That doesn't mean it wouldn't be entertaining," mused Rose as she sat back in her chair and saw both Albus and Scorpius flush bright red.

"Sorry mate," Albus said before downing his mostly full butterbeer.

"Oh thank God." Scorpius sighed relieved. Albus was a good friend and over the years people had suggested that they were more than friends but he really wasn't interested. He had spent the better part of a decade and then some pining over his cousin so he knew he wasn't gay. He just couldn't use that argument to Rose whenever she suggested he liked her cousin.

"Oi!" said Rose hitting him on the shoulder. "And what's wrong with my cousin?"

"Nothing except that for the millionth time, we are not gay!" Scorpius said back.

"He seems a bit defensive," Christopher piped in. Scorpius glared at him and Christopher smirked as if to say that he had won Rose over him. Scorpius taken aback, looked down.

"Let's move on!" Alice said as she grabbed a block from the tower. "Give the prettiest person in the room a kiss. Hmmm," she mused. Albus was motioning to Lily to ask if she wanted another butterbeer when it happened. Alice swiveled herself on the couch and grabbed Albus's face to kiss him for what felt like the longest time of anyone's life. Albus was completely taken aback and at first didn't move a muscle. Then, he managed to put a hand through her hair as they continued to kiss. It wasn't until Lily threw a cocktail straw at them did they realize other people seemed to be around them.

"Oi! My house my rules! No snogging on the couch in front of the birthday girl!" Rose said.

They both murmured sorry as they stared at each other with some sort of strange intensity that Scorpius had never seen on his friend's face before.

"Right so my turn," Christopher cut through the silence brutishly. As he reached to grab his block the whole tower came tumbling down. Everyone laughed which seemed to make him aggressively angry.

"What the fuck, Rose? Did someone here confund me?"

"I'm sure no one did… Why are you so upset? It's just a game."

He started whispering in her ear and staring pointedly at Scorpius. Rose looked at Scorpius too and said finally. "Well this has been fun but I'm actually pretty tired. Do you mind if you all clear out so I can get to bed?"

They all said their goodbyes and apparated back to their respective homes.

"There's something off about that Christopher fellow Rose is dating," Scorpius said as soon as Albus and he were back in their kitchen at their flat.

"Scor," Albus said with a knowing look.

"Albus?" Scorpius said right back.

"Well you're never going to like any guy Rose dates are you?"

"He didn't seem off to you?"

"He has a bit of a temper but so does Rose. It's a good match. He seems nice to her."

"Well I just think she could do better."

"Yeah, you."

"Not me. Just better. Did you see the way they were looking at me? And why do they keep thinking we're gay?"

"I don't know mate. Yes I did see them looking."

"You seemed to have proved something to the contrary tonight though."

Albus looked for a moment before remembering his liplock with Alice. "Yeah… that was interesting. Don't worry about Rose. She doesn't need someone to protect her. She's always been fine and always will be."

Rose worked in the magical law enforcement office and so he was unsurprised to see her there working through a mound of paperwork when he arrived. She didn't seem to notice him so he coughed.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Hey Scor. Sorry I can't really talk right now. I'm behind on everything. It's like, you take one day off and all of a sudden you- You look very serious."

"Can you come talk to Harry with me?"

"What's wrong? Is it Albus? Is it Mum? Or Dad? Oh Merlin Hugo?"

"Just come along. I can start explaining while we walk."

She stood up and walked towards the elevator not waiting for him. Her long curly red hair left behind the strong scent of apples and cinnamon and Scorpius cursed himself for noticing. He followed her and they got into the elevator. She started babbling, "Something is wrong, right? Uncle Harry doesn't just want to talk? There's someone hurt? Maybe dead? Oh Merlin someone died? Just tell me who died Scorpius! Just tell me. I don't understand how you can just stand there and say nothing. What's going on? What's happening?"

Scorpius sighed, trying not to tell her that he would've told her if only he could get a word in. "He's not dead. We have good reason to believe Christopher is being impersonated."

"For how long?"

"Your uncle didn't say how long."

"Oh no!" She said as she slammed her fists on the wrought iron of the elevator as the doors flung open. She ran out and went with a frenzy into her uncle's office.

"You told her." Harry said looking at Scorpius.

"She sort of insisted."

Harry nodded. "Rose we will find out what is happening and get a clear answer. In the meantime, I need you to go with Scorpius."

"What?" Rose said looking up at him suddenly as she had collapsed into a seat opposite Harry.

"Scorpius is going to go with you to a safe house until we find Christopher."

"That could take months."

"It's unlikely but yes."

"So what I need a babysitter? What about work?"

"I think that we can arrange to have someone take your work for the time being," Harry said.

"What am I supposed to do? Where are we supposed to go?"

"You will be acting as if you've run away together and you're on vacation. Try to relax while we sort this out."

"Relax." Rose repeated. "Relax?!" Scorpius somehow knew that wasn't the right word to say to her. "You want me to relax while you go and look for Christopher. How long has he been impersonating the real Christopher?"

"Well..." Harry began rather fearfully. "It seems that the real Christopher was kidnapped sometime around a year ago and so it seems that we can make the assumption that-"

"I've been dating an imposter this entire time," Rose finished for him.

"I'm so sorry Rose," Scorpius said quietly.

Rose just nodded and stood up. "Alright well no point in delaying the inevitable. Where do we go?"

"You'll just have to dissapperate with Scorpius and find out," Harry said as he handed Scorpius a detailed plan and itinerary for the next thirty days. This was standard protocol. If it was longer than this, an auror had discretion. He took a look at the itinerary and sighed. Just what he wanted. To hang out with Rose in a safe house on an island off the coast of Wales for the next month. They also never said out loud where they were going in case someone was listening. "I will send a patronus as soon as it's safe." Harry said staring at Rose. Rose was cold but Scorpius suspected that was to hold back tears. She simply nodded as Scorpius led her to the elevator. They reached the ground floor and walked out in silence.

"You er...okay?" He whispered lamely to her.

She peered up at him with her pale blue eyes and said nothing, her face impassive. He offered his arm as they walked out of the ministry and reached the apparition point. She took it gingerly and in a moment they were gone.