The Cliche

One-Shot

Rose/Scorpius

Disclaimer: I don't, nor have I ever, owned or had any part in Harry Potter.

It came as no surprise to the Wizarding community when Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy became friends. Perhaps it should have, due to past events, but it was so terribly cliché that no one except for Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy seemed to be the least bit taken aback from it. What did come as a surprise was the way the two 17-year-olds had managed to stay just friends for six years.

Of course, it was natural for them not to have any interest the first two years of their schooling (few people recognize their soul-mates at that young an age) but it was expected that at least one of them would have a crush on the other when the third year rolled around and those around them were disappointed when there was no change. But no matter, thirteen was still young and they had another few years before they were expected to admit it to each other.

Fourth year rolled around and they both started playing for their house team which excited the Hogwarts population quite a bit as they began imagining the dramatic ways feelings could be realized and confessions made. Most favored the cliché bedside-confession after one of them got hurt. Other's preferred the idea of Rose falling off her broom and Scorpius being the one to catch her before she hit the ground. And still others wanted an irrational argument and a dramatic make-out scene in the locker room. It only made sense after all—Rose with her temper and Scorpius not being one to put up with her irrationality.

But fourth year passed and the two teenagers were still nothing more than friends. But no matter, the Wizarding Community thought, fifth year was sure to be the stinger; especially when they both got prefect badges. Here the prospects widened even more than the fourth year Quidditch get-together had. Bets were even made about how it would happen.

Some said that they would be patrolling when a handful of Slytherin's came to give Scorpius a hard-time and Rose would stand up for him. After the two of them took care of the Slytherin's they would realize how terrifying the thought of losing the other was and be together for the rest of their lives. Others insisted that they would be up in the astronomy tower when suddenly one of them made a comment that set the mood and they would share a terribly romantic moment under the stars. Or, perhaps the most well-liked situations, was that they would be up studying late for their OWL's and Rose would start freaking out. Scorpius would calm her down as he always did and she would realize her feelings for him. Later that night, when they were patrolling, Rose would lose her self control and snog him senseless to the point where he couldn't even imagine snogging anyone else.

But then fifth year and their OWL's passed and not a single incident had been reported to any Hogwarts student. At this point people were a bit annoyed by the wait but it was okay, sixth year could be the year. After all, they didn't want the Malfoy and Weasley to get together too early or else they could break up and that would be nothing short of a travesty. So everyone bit back their worry and braced themselves for the sixth year which was sure to be full of drama. After all, with no exams that year it would make sense that the two teens were finally able to realize and focus on their more-than-friendly feelings for the other.

And once again theories were made. People made up scenarios—such as Scorpius making Rose jealous by pretending to like another girl, Rose going on a date to Hogsmeade that caused poor Scorpius' heat to break, and one of them kissing the other should Ravenclaw finally take the cup away from James Potter and the Gryff's who had won back-to-back the last two years. None of the popular scenarios came into reality and the general population was a bit downtrodden by this fact. But hopes were raised quite suddenly in May and they thought for a split-second that maybe it would happen in a simplistic yet romantic way that no one had even thought of. Only to be disappointed.

"Stop!" Rose shrieked, raising her hands in front of her face to try and stop the water Scorpius was throwing at her from completely drenching her.

"Come on Rose, just get in for a little while," Scorpius pleaded with her, treading water as he took a break from the constant splashes of water he had been spraying her with for the last two minutes.

"No way," Rose said, shaking her head stubbornly and wiggling her red toes in the water. "You know the Giant Squid scares me."

"I'll protect you," Scorpius said, raising himself up a bit so that his arms were holding him up on the side of the lake and his chest was completely out of the water as he grinned goofily at the red head. Onlookers swore at the time that they saw Rose staring at the pale but well-sculpted flesh though they were really never entirely sure and those who hadn't seen waved it off as wishful thinking.

Rose laughed and ruffled his messy blonde hair, shaking her head just as stubbornly as before.

"Fine," Scorpius said, sighing and letting go of the bank so that he could submerge himself in the cool water. Rose waited patiently for him to re-surface but just as his white blonde head started to emerge she was pulled under and Scorpius was laughing as she came up, spluttering from the unexpected water in her lungs.

"You are such a prat, Malfoy," Rose said, sending a wave of water at his face. She tried to swim back to the bank but Scorpius caught her around the waist before she could escape.

This, onlookers were sure, was the moment when the Malfoy and Weasley would finally get together. This was the moment when they would stare into each other's eyes and share their first kiss. The onlookers felt extremely pleased with themselves for being subject to such a monumental moment in history. But then Rose shoved Malfoy under the water and their water-fight resumed until the storm clouds made a sudden appearance and everyone was forced to go inside. A few of the still hopeful students imagined one of them getting sick from the day and the other making a bed-side confession but just as every other scenario people had come up with, this one turned out to be a no-go.

When seventh year rolled around most of the Wizarding community was feeling extremely disheartened. How could a couple, so obviously perfect for each other, have been friends for six years only to have nothing come of it? It didn't make sense. They were the Malfoy and Weasley, they had to be perfect. They couldn't be just friends, it doesn't work like that. But sadly, it seemed to everyone that they really were.

And, to make matters worse, they weren't even made head-boy and head-girl meaning that there was no jumping off point for new crazy scenarios. Some held onto the tiny sliver of hope that something would happen in their last year but most had given up. If they weren't heads together, how could they possibly have a dramatic moment that forced them together? It didn't make sense, people would repeat time and time again as they sadly shook their heads.

And so the Malfoy/Weasley shipdom slowly wilted into nothing but the few who were helpless romantics with a strong belief in fate and destiny.

By the time NEWT's arrived it had wilted even more and the few who had kept faith in the couple for the last year gave up as well. It was over; the year would end in a mere month. Perhaps at graduation? A small few hoped, but even fewer actually believed it. The Malfoy/Weasley pairing was given up by the Wizading community at large at that point and it was no longer used as a topic to jumpstart conversation. It was over; the supposed-to-be-perfect couple was never to be after all. Or so the general Wizarding population thought.

"What are the requirements for every person who wants to be an Animagus?" Rose asked Scorpius.

It was late Thursday night and the Ravenclaw common room was empty except for the two of them who both had a free exam period Friday morning.

"Hey Rose?" Scorpius said thoughtfully, obviously not paying attention to Rose's Transfiguration note cards.

"Yeah?" Rose asked, answering the question in her head and flipping the card over to make sure she got it right.

"You know that I love you, right?" he asked, leaning his head back on the couch as he watched her. Rose grinned.

"Yeah," she said, reaching out her hand to squeeze his arm. "I know but let's deal with it after graduation, yeah?"

"Sure," Scorpius shrugged. "What was the question again?"

Rose repeated the question and waited patiently as he thought about the answer.

When graduation arrived and still nothing had happened the fandom had completely dissolved. While there was no doubt a person or two still living in the fantasy world they were one in one hundred and had only the company of their own imagination when thinking about it. When the graduation ceremony broke up every student in Hogwarts was done with the couple, knowing for sure that Rose and Scorpius were never going to be.

"It's so weird that this is our last night in the common room," Rose sighed, her head resting on Scorpius' lap. "I'm not ready for real life to start. I like having everything done for me."

"If it weren't for your Uncle we would still have a house-elf to at least take care of the cooking and cleaning," Scorpius said, his hand running through her red curls.

"That would help you, not me," Rose pointed out. "Besides, my mum would go ballistic if she thought I even considered having a house-elf."

"She wouldn't have to know," he shrugged. "But I guess we could always hire one. They don't charge that much since most of them actually like the work."

"If using 'we' is your way of asking me to move in with you after graduation then sure," Rose shrugged. "But we can figure it out without a house-elf. It would be good for you to actually have to do some physical labor for once in your life."

"I'm not asking you to move in," Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. "I thought that was a given. I was talking about getting married."

"I thought that was already agreed on," Rose said, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"Well yeah, but I thought we might as well make it official," he said, taking a ring out of his pocket. "After all, everyone's given up on us by now and the press won't make a big deal out of it since it's not some amazing "ScorRose" reunion some five years later."

Rose studied the simple silver ringer with a tiny diamond before shrugging and slipping it on her ring finger.

"Okay then," she agreed and they both went up to bed.

The next day, everyone did a double-take. It was Rose and Scorpius, walking side-by-side as always. No one could figure out the difference, they were acting just as they always did—nudging and teasing each other light-heartedly. They weren't holding hands, they weren't making out, and they weren't in an argument. It wasn't until they got off the Hogwarts Express that people began to notice the ring on Rose's left ring-finger. The ring that no one could understand how it got there. Certainly they weren't together, were they? After all, they had been under close inspection for years. Certainly no one had missed anything, right? But then again, everyone always knew it was going to happen and no one had ever doubted them. Not really, they would say. They just pretended to lose hope. They always knew they would end up together. It was a cliché, after all.

A/N: I wrote this in one sitting and I'm well-aware that it is insanely rough but leave a review and tell me what you think anyways.