It was only two days later that Rose received a reply. She hadn't shared it with Scorpius, and he hadn't shared his with her. Later that day, they'd wandered outside, each clutching books. Along with the reply from her father, Rose had received a package from her mother, of books she'd requested. She'd left them at home, but quickly regretted it, especially now that she had Scorpius to share them with.
It was a crisp autumn day, and it didn't take them long to find somewhere to sit and read, away from prying eyes. They'd leaned against a tree, and quickly lost themselves, and each other.
After a while, Scorpius had put his book down, and looked up at the sky.
"Father loves me." He said, apropos of nothing. Rose stayed silent, but lowered her book, too.
Scorpius scratched at the back of his neck. "He asked if it was something he'd done. If he'd turned me away from ambition. He said that, although ambition can be a bad thing, like it sometimes was for him, it didn't have to be. He said he hoped this didn't mean I was turning away from my future."
Rose didn't know what to say.
"He's so disappointed." Scorpius said, quietly. "I don't know how to tell him that he shouldn't be."
"My parents don't understand either," Rose confessed. "My mother was intelligent too, but she was put into Gryffindor. They're glad that I inherited that, but, I think – I think they wonder what I'm missing. Why I'm not brave."