Written for Lumos Maximum's The Tragic Challenge, I had Rose/Scorpius.
Angie, thank you for your really helpful comments and for beta-reading it for me! You're amazing!
Enjoy and review!
Nothing left
It's early June and Scorpius is on his own. In the street where Rose Goldstein née Weasley lives. He doesn't know why he's here. He probably wants what she has and he reminds himself he almost had it. Almost.
He had been stupid enough to love two women at the same time. One was Rose, the other was Anna, his wife.
He wants to enter in the house and pretends that the girl playing with Rose is his and not Goldstein's. But he remembers that he broke her heart and that he deserves what he has right now. Which is nothing. He has nothing left. But he knows it's his fault, he's the one to blame.
He dated Rose after Hogwarts and everything seemed perfect, but then Anna appeared and it had been chaos. His friends had warned him about Anna, she's just trying to have you break up with Rose, they had said. His friends were wrong. Anna did love him and Scorpius did love her, like he did love Rose. He continued seeing Rose officially and had underground encounters with Anna.
But after a moment Scorpius had to make a choice, it was the hardest choice in his life. Though Anna had helped him with it when she announced him she was expecting their baby.
Through the windows he can see the little girl play with her mum. He's sitting on a bench near the house, pretending to read the Daily Prophet. He greets with a smile Rose's neighbors who enter their house.
They look so happy. And he's not.
When he broke up with Rose, he lost a part of himself. Albus wouldn't talk to him anymore. Her family had been upset and that broke the small bond created between the Malfoys and Weasleys while they had been dating.
They hadn't spoken since his wedding. He has a new set of friends and the two families avoid each other as much as possible.
Scorpius can't see Rose and the little girl any more. But then they appear on the doorway and walk hand in hand until they reach him. Rose sits smiling lightly and the little girl plays around them.
"I'm sorry for your divorce," she says without any greeting. He can tell she's sincere. Even after eight years he can still understand her.
"Thanks," he says. "I don't know why I came, I should leave."
But before he can go, Rose gently grabs his arm and forces him to sit down again.
"And I thought you wanted me to forgive you for your past behavior…" Rose half-jokes.
"I would never ask you to forgive me! And I should have apologized years ago. I'm so sorry Rose for what I did but-"
"But you loved us both at the time and she was bearing your child. You already say it so many times Scorpius. And I think I forgave you a while ago. You are the one who gave me the opportunity to meet David in Germany when I ran away from you," she tells him and looks towards the little girl playing. "You're the one who gave me the opportunity to have my little girl."
He follows her gaze and observes the girl;she's so alike her mother. It makes him think about his own child.
"Astin is not mine," he confesses. "I learnt it one month ago, pure hazard."
"Oh Scorpius!" she says and he can see the pain in her eyes.
A "what if" question crosses his mind: what if he had chosen Rose, but she probably doesn't wonder that herself.
"Anna didn't know either, until one month ago but since that we just can't be together. We both have Astin's custody, even though I'm not his father."
"Maybe you're not his father, but you're his dad," she tries to comfort him but eight years are long and it's not the same any more.
"I don't know why I came," he says even though he exactly knows why he came. He came for the solace, because he needs a friend and everyone seems so far away recently.
But he doesn't find the friend he so much needed. Instead he catches a glimpse of what he could have but has not. And it's worst.
Without another word, he leaves the bench and walks down the street, alone with his guilt.
The little girl rushes to her mother's legs and innocently asks: "Who was that, mummy?"
Rose tries to force a smile and answer "no one" but she really can't.
"A phantom from the past…" she murmurs to herself. She furtively wonders how her girl would have looked with white-blond hair. But she shakes her head to send the thoughts awaybecause she can't think about that.
"It's time to go home, sweetie."
She takes her daughter's hand and follows an opposite path from Scorpius, toward her house.
They say love is meant to be and written in the stars, but no, not for them. For the second time in eight years, they follow different directions. Probably their love wasn't meant to be.