Scorpius wandered dazedly into the Great Hall the next morning, still lost in thought about what had happened. "Hey, what's up with you today?" Carlton Goyle wanted to know.

Scorpius scratched his head. "I had the craziest dream last night," he said.

"Me too," said a soft voice behind him. He whipped around. It was Rose.

"Is- is this spot taken?" she asked. Scorpius stared at her for a moment, then silently moved his bag out of the way. Rose sat down.

"What- why-" he started, but she cut him off.

"I had a dream last night," she said. "And it kind of made me realize that I think we got off to a bad start. Do you think I- we- could maybe try again?"

"Um," said Scorpius. "Can we talk? Like, in the hallway?"

"Sure," said Rose, looking surprised. She followed him quietly out of the Great Hall.

Once they were out of earshot, Scorpius whirled on her. "What happened in your dream?"

"What?"

"What happened in that dream you told us about?'

"Um." Scorpius looked carefully at her. Was she- she was! She was actually blushing!

"I had a dream too," he said. "It gave me some similar ideas. What happened in yours?" And then it dawned on him. "Was it about- er- us?" he whispered.

Rose nodded slightly, her face crimson.

Suddenly, Scorpius grabbed her and threw her back against the wall. Before either of them had time to register what was happening, he grabbed her face and pressed his lips to hers. Their hearts hammered in unison as their minds raced, every system in their bodies on fire. Rose relaxed into the kiss. Then she kissed him back, flinging her arms around his neck as waves of heated passion rippled through her. Scorpius picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him. Finally, she stepped back. She was shaking, staring at him in shock. And as he stared back at her, he realised that she was the only girl he would ever need. She was his Gryffindor princess. And he couldn't afford to lose her.