Scorpius couldn't sleep any more after that; he was busy thinking. He had tried to push his mother's ailment out of his mind and was now focused on the girl known as Rose Weasley. She had seen him weaker than anybody else, save his parents, ever had. He was the only girl he had ever felt natural speaking to.

A few days later, the two had still maintained a friendly relationship, and were well on their way to becoming very close.

He had just finished his breakfast of toast and jam, and was now headed towards the Divination classroom. How he loathed the subject... it was only made tolerable by the fact that they had it with the Gryffindors, and he could speak with Albus all he pleased. Although there were three chairs per table, he and Al usually sat by themselves, as there was plenty of room to spread out.

Scorpius was early today- there were perhaps five other students in there, all female, talking extremely loudly. He sighed and sat clear on the other side of the room, gently dropping his bookbag to the floor beside him. His eyelids fell over his tired gray eyes, being soothed while he remained conscious.

"Hey," Came what had now become familiar female voice. "Mind if I sit here?"

He knew it was Rose. Too tired to open his eyes, he simply nodded and listened as the chair closest to him slid across the floor. When he heard the sound of a quill scratching at parchment, Scorpius straightened up and snapped out of his reverie.

"What are you writing?"

"Faking my dream log." She responded simply, continuing to write in her smooth and flowing manuscript that appeared cursive at first glance.

Scorpius laughed. "And you call yourself a Ravenclaw."

"Don't tell me you've actually done yours for last night?" Rose said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Of course not. I didn't dream last night."

"Well why do you think I'm faking mine?"

"If the Professor asks, all I'm saying is that I didn't dream."

Rose smiled and shook her head, before collapsing in giggles. "Now, Scorpius, you clearly are not one of the gifted few who can see into the beyond."

"Clearly."

"Rosie?"

Both teenagers whipped their heads around and saw Albus, looking inquisitively at the pair with his deep, brown eyes. "I didn't know you two were acquainted."

"We are now." Rose offered a simple response before turning back to her log, nearly finished at this point. She filled the last box in and dotted the end of her sentence with extra force, setting her quill down with a sigh after doing so.

Albus had taken the seat next to Rose, so she was now between Scorpius and Al. They began talking about Quidditch. Rose zoned out- she understood the rules and went to all the games, even had a favorite team, but she wasn't particularly in the mood to listen.

The moderately crazy professor entered the classroom, stumbling over her own feet as she reached the front and looked out at all the students.

"My young prodigies! Today we shall be taking a break from dream studies," Scorpius smirked at Rose, who had gently slammed her fist onto the table out of frustration from having put effort into her 'dream log.' "We will be studying tea leaves today, seeing as how we have Double classes today!" A groan escaped virtually every student's mouth; they had forgotten that it was Wednesday, which meant Double Potions, Double Divination, and, the better of the three, Double Muggle Studies.

Tea kettles and china cups appeared throughout the room, with a teakettle for each table and a cup for each student. They were instructed to turn the teacup upside down onto the saucer, and then pass it to their left for a friend to interpret. Rose received Al's, Al received Scorpius's, and Scorpius received Rose's.

"Well?" Al asked, peering over at his cup in Rose's delicate hands. "What does mine have?"

"Um..." Rose hummed, flipping through her textbook, "The only thing I see kind of looks like a skeleton. It says, "This implies a feeling of disgust at some information which is told to you and which you are asked not to reveal." Albus snorted.

"Great. Now what does your cup say?" He asked inquisitively, looking to Scorpius.

"It looks kind of like a sun. Symbolizing great happiness, prosperity in love and life, and the beneficial discovery of secrets."

Albus peered into the teacup that had been handed to him by Scorpius. "It looks like a couch... that means... Illness, disturbed nights, and soon emergency. Tough luck, mate. Good thing this Divination crap doesn't mean anything really, huh?"

Scorpius nodded, but his face had paled and Rose looked over, worried. He made like he was going to leave, but under the table where nobody could see, Rose grabbed his hand, rooting him in place. He didn't know precisely what was going on, but he knew that he could make it through the class still somehow.

After classes that day, Rose and Scorpius went their separate ways. Scorpius went to do some research in the library and Rose puttered off to her secret place.

Early her fourth year, Rose had been wandering about the halls and discovered an arch that looked a bit strange. Being a Ravenclaw, she went to check it out and noticed the base was in a slightly different style. If you pushed on the part of the design that was different on either of the bases, the side would slide open just a bit for you to slip in. Inside of the arch was a spiraling staircase that took you to the top of the arch, which plateaued. One may normally feel claustrophobic, but the top was open, with a spell cast to protect it from outside elements. It was her favorite place to sit and be by herself.

Scorpius, meanwhile, was wandering the library, seeing if he could find any information on his mother's disease. He found a couple of books that looked promising, so he went to the librarian to check them out. After doing so, he found himself in the hallway, emotionally readying himself to read them. Picking no arch in particular, he sat it it's base and flipped open one of the old, yellowing, informational texts that he had selected.

There are many kinds of cancer, most of which are incurable by both Muggle 'doctors' and even the most advanced Healers that have ever lived. Those afflicted have been known to live within a wide range of time- some will live an average lifespan with experimental treatments, while others may pass within weeks or months.

He stopped reading there, slamming the book shut and groaning as he leaned his blonde head back. Scorpius heard a faint click, then a sliding sound. Puzzled, he turned and noticed there was an entrance that had opened. He slipped inside and looked about for only a second, before the entry closed behind him, leaving him in complete darkness.

Scorpius grappled around for his wand, finally grasping it and whispering lumos to emit a little light from the end. He noticed the spiral staircase and went up it with adventurous spirit.

He reached the top quickly, and found that it was quite spacious, just enough width for one to lay out, the 'ceiling' high enough to stand without crouching.

Scorpius also found that he wasn't alone.

Sitting on the side opposite him was none other than Rose Weasley, the girl who had only recently danced into his life. But somehow Scorpius felt as though he had know her for years already.

"Rose."

Her head snapped up from it's hunched position over her Potions notes. "Scorpius? What are you doing here? I thought I was the only one who knew this place!"

"Stumbled upon it just now. Pretty cool, no?"

"Yes..." Rose said absentmindedly. She then went back to the notes- tomorrow they had to prepare a long and complicated concoction Potions was her worst subject, and she was determined not to fail.

"Need help?" Scorpius offered, sliding down next to her.

Her mouth gaped open. "You understand this?"

"Potions is my best," Scorpius stated smugly, smirking at her and gaining a punch on the arm as he did so.

"Just shut up and help me."

Scorpius took a deep breath in, and exhaled quickly before beginning his sentence. "Well, what is it you're having trouble with?"

"I don't know! I know all of the information for the elixir and I've read the instructions over and over, but somehow my potions never come out right!"

The blonde sighed and shook his head. "I'm not exactly sure how I can help you with that then... Just be as focused as you can while you're brewing- the results of a potion can sometimes be directly dependent on the state of mind of the brewer."

"Alright... thank you..." Rose went back to pure focus on her papers and tattered potions book.

Scorpius just sat, looking over her with the sense that he was unwanted. "Er... would you prefer it if I left?"

"Do as you wish- I don't mind either way."

He knew that her words weren't meant to be hurtful, and wouldn't be interpreted as hurtful by most. Somehow, though, Scorpius felt his confidence bruise just a bit when she said that.

"Well, I guess I better go. I have work to do as well."

Rose whipped her head up, sending a flurry of curls trailing after it. She looked truthfully into Scorpius's eyes and said, "Honestly, you can stay if you wish. I really don't mind."

Scorpius laughed, his prior feelings melting away. "I'm sure you don't, but I really should be getting to work. Do you have patrols tonight?"

"No, tomorrow," Rose replied. Both her and Scorpius were sixth year prefects, which she had known before they had started talking. They had never had patrol together, and earlier had requested they be partners for that night. "You know that, don't you?"

"Ah, I just forgot what day it was for a moment." Scorpius lied. He really had just meant to make casual conversation, but that had obviously been a complete failure. "Well, see you later, Rose."

"Later, Scorpius."

The next day, Rose showed up to potions revved up and completely confident in her abilities to produce a successful Volubilis Potion. After a short lecture on the potions qualities of changing ones voice and being told that, to test the success, they would drink some of a friends potion and see if their voice would change for at least 30 minutes for full credit. Anything exceeding that, but being shorter than 90 minutes (which is the furthest limit without side-effects) would be given extra credit, but very rarely was a student ever able to make one that lasted that long without side-effects. Slughorn would then dispose of any excess potion.

Rose was nearly done, as was most of the class. All that was left was the Syrup of Hellebore to add, so she set off for the ingredients counter.

When Rose arrived there, she found that there was no Syrup of Hellebore to be found. She glanced around, seemingly relaxed, but inside she was frantic. If she allowed her potion to heat for too long before adding the syrup, it would be useless.

Shoot... I don't know too many people in this class... It was a joint class with Slytherin, but most of the people in her own house had decided to take advanced potions the next year or the previous year. She noticed Scorpius sitting near her, and a vial of liquid sitting off in the corner. Rose hastened, without running, over to Scorp's table and picked up the container.

"Mind if I borrow this?"

He barely glanced up for a split second before going back to stirring. "Be my guest."

"Thank you so much!"

Rose hurried back to her cauldron and mixed in the drops of Hellebore. She sighed in relief when the mixture turned blue. The instructions said to gradually increase heat and stir until the potion turned a 'pleasant yellow.' It would supposedly release sparks when prepared properly.

Several minutes later, the cauldron had reached a fairly high temperature, and Rose was beginning to fear that she had gone about the instructions wrong. She heard a snap from her side; Scorpius's potion had just sparked, but he seemed extremely nonchalant about it.

Crap... Spark, damn it, spark!

A few stirs later, a small grouping of red and yellow sparks popped from the center of the brass cauldron.

"Yes!" She cried, turning the burner off below the potion with a flick of her wand. Rose leapt up and hugged the blonde at the adjacent table.

"Nice job, Rose," He congratulated, his voice soft as he hesitantly patted her back in return.

"Thank you! Care for a sample?" Rose offered, ladling some of the potion into a glass. Scorpius did the same, and the pair exchanged the glasses.

"Bottoms up!" They called in unison, lifting the yellow liquids to their mouth and downing a full sip.

Rose spoke first. "Well, did it work?" But it wasn't her voice; it was Scorps.

"I guess so." The well-built blonde now had a feminine tone, and a now elderly Slughorn approached them.

"Well done! Well done!"

That night, after the potion had worn off quite for quite a while, Rose and Scorpius quietly made their rounds together, making idle conversation as they went. They were mostly talking about personal interests and such, seeing as how the sixteen-year-olds had scarcely known each other until recently.

The pair was interrupted by a noise from a dark hallway. They both went to go investigate, but Scorpius stopped Rose.

"I've got it, just wait here." His tone left no room for argument, so Rose obeyed and leaned against the cold stone that made up the majority of the castle.

Suddenly, the dim candles down that corridor went out. Rose felt a wave of panic wash over her, before she came to her senses and grappled for her wand, deep in the pockets of her robes. She finally got a light grip on the thin wood and tugged it free of her pocket, dropping it as she did so.

Just as Rose was about to attempt mental summoning spell to get it, as opposed to crawling around on her hands in knees in the dark, she heard footsteps. She didn't move; rather, she stood extremely still, knowing her prefects badge would mean nothing in the dark.

"Rose? Are you still here?"

Rose exhaled a deep breath she hadn't even known she was holding as she recognized Scorpius's voice. "Good, Scorp. Could you put a light on with your wand or something? I dropped my wand."

"On the contrary, I rather like the dark." His voice sent chills down Rose's spine. It was so familiar, yet there was something there that wasn't quite...

"C'mon, Scor, quit playing around. I want to get some sleep."

She felt his body closer to her. "Not quite yet."

Before Rose could say 'Why the hell not?', she felt herself roughly pushed back against the wall.

"Let's have some fun shall we?"

She felt her lips covered by much more agressive ones, which felt nothing like the way Scorpius usually was- soft, kind, lighthearted. They were so controlling, and as she fought to push his chest away, her hands were caught in Scorpius's and rendered useless. Rose felt her wrists released as cold hands made their way up her shirt, unclasping her bra strap and making their way towards the front-

"Stop it!" Rose cried. She brought her knee up into her attackers' groin, and when she heard him grunt and release her, Rose grappled on the ground for her wand and took off back to Ravenclaw tower, where she cried herself to sleep.

Oh my... I had some trouble figuring out what to do with this chapter :( Anyways, seeing as how it's end-of-term exams, it would really brighten my dreary day to come home and see some reviews in my inbox! Thank you. By the way, if you were wondering, this is probably about as far into the T rating it will get. Please review and thank you to 22potterfan, sarnia, and FaithTrustAndALittlePixieDust who reviewed the last chapter :)
Truly yours,
ToTrulyBe