Another chapter for you! I know it took longer to get out, but it's about 1000 words longer than normal, so I hope that makes it worth the wait. Enjoy!

Rose awoke early the next morning. She'd asked Clarice to spend the night in her room so that she could be up early to help Rose get ready, and Clarice had agreed. However, Clarice could not have known that, at six thirty in the morning, Rose would be shaking her so hard that her entire cot, which Rose had made by transfiguring a bobby pin, shook as well.

They spent a good two hours selecting outfits for the day, and then another hour on hair and make-up, so that they weren't completely ready until nine thirty. Of course, most of that time was spent on Rose, who was more than excited about her date with Andrew, but Clarice did take some time for herself. She hadn't seen James in months, after all.

When they were finally ready they were very pleased with themselves. Rose's tight curls were left down, with only a few at the front pulled back, and they reached just below her breast. She had decided, finally, on jeans and a black turtleneck that hugged her curves in all the right ways but that would keep her warm in Hogsmeade, as it had been snowing all night. Clarice's auburn hair was pulled back into a pony tail and she too wore jeans, only rather than blue jeans, like Rose's, she'd opted for black jeans which allowed for a more colorful choice of top. She ended up wearing a thin, deep purple sweater that had a neckline similar to that on a tee-shirt.

Overall, they were both quite pleased with their appearances and all set to meet Andrew at the portrait hole at 10:00.

When they left the Heads' Common Room at exactly 10:00, Andrew was standing on the other side, smiling.

"You both look lovely," he complimented. Rose beamed. "James coming?" Andrew asked in a way that made it sound as if he already knew the answer.

"How'd you know?" Clarice asked as they set off down the corridor.

"How could he not?" Rose laughed, "You're practically glowing."

Clarice smiled, but couldn't help blushing a little.

They made it down to the Entrance Hall where Filtch was checking off the names of students who had permission to go to Hogsmeade. Once they'd been cleared by Filtch to continue, they walked together into the villiage, but seperated at the Three Broomsticks. Clarice went into the pub to wait for James while Andrew and Rose continued down the high street, browsing different shops.

Rose found herself struck by how natural it felt to talk to Andrew. Of course, they'd been friends since they'd both been named prefects in fifth year, and they'd known each other before that, but she'd been worried that going out with him would change the easy way they talked to each other, but was happy when it did not. They joked and laughed and the only real difference between the way they were now and the way they'd been before was that they held hands as they walked from shop to shop, sometimes just looking in the windows and other times going in and browsing.

Rose found her happiness almost doubled when they went into Weasleys Wizard Wheezes and she saw out of the corner of her eye Scorpius and Lily. Scorpius was staring at her and Davies, and after a moment Lily hit him on the arm and Rose smiled, sure that Lily was accusing him of having feelings for her, Rose.

Lily was, in fact, saying no such thing.

"Stop staring," she hissed as they looked at boxes of extendable ears.

"I'm not staring," he hissed back.

"Yes, you are," she said, "And it just makes you look desperate."

"I'm trying to get her to notice me."

"She was noticing you before."

Scorpius muttered something dark, but incoherant before he set the box he was looking at back on the shelf, rather harder than he meant to, knocking several other boxes over in the process.

Lily rolled her eyes, "You're so worked up about this, one would almost think that you fancied her..."

"Shut up, Lils," he said through gritted teeth, privately thinking that the entire Potter family had come into being solely for the purpose of making his life hell. He was starting to wish that he hadn't taken the bet from James because the whole thing was turning out to be too exhausting and, though he'd never admit it, emotionally taxing. Too much trouble all together. Why hadn't he just used his brain a little bit and realized how bad an idea this was? If he'd just walked away he could be sitting at The Three Broomsticks with a girl who actually liked him, instead of wandering around, spying on Weasley, with Lily Potter. Well, too late now.

Meanwhile, Clarice and James had found themselves a table at the Three Broomsticks and were each clutching a butterbeer as Clarice filled James in on the details of everything that had happened.

When she'd finished she said, "And now I'm not sure what to do because, well, Rose has fancied Andrew for years, and I don't want to mess that up for her. I'd feel terrible if we ruined their relationship for this bet..."

"Listen," James said, leaning forward, his eyes shining with intensity, "When I started this I just thought it'd be fun and would, if nothing else, finally put a stop to their attempts to kill each other, but now things are different. They clearly are falling in love with each other! All the evidence points to it! And, now that we've started this there's no turning back. We have to see this through to the end. Davies might be around for now, but I'm convinced he's only temporary. Rose might've liked him once, but you said so yourself, she was just starting to get over him. Plus, we both know he's too boring for her and she'll be begging for someone more exciting within a week!"

Clarice looked at him carefully, considering his words. He had a point about Davies, she'd acknowledge, and he was right about one other thing: now that they'd started there was no turning back.

"Alright," she said, "What are your plans for Christmas?"

"So glad you asked," he smirked.

The last week of term passed in a flurry of tests and essays, and Rose and Scorpius had little time to spend coming up with their strategies. They hardly ever spoke, but studied in amicable silence in their common room. It wasn't until Thursday evening that Rose found out that Scorpius was going to the Potter's for Christmas.

They both were studying for their Defense Against the Dark Arts test, which they had the very next day. Rose was sitting on the floor in front of the fire, her notes spread out around her, encircling her. Scorpius was in one of the armchairs with his notes and books strewn all over the nearest table.

At about eleven Rose snapped her book shut and said irritabely, "I can't do this anymore. I'm exausted."

"Giving up, Weasley?" Scorpius asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," she said with dignity as she began to get her notes in order, "Quitting while I'm ahead."

"And what makes you so sure you're ahead?"

"I'm always ahead of you."

She smirked, and could've sworn she saw him supress a chuckle.

A few more moments passed before Rose spoke again.

"What are you doing for the holidays?"

The question surprised Scorpius slightly, as he wasn't aware that, now that Rose had Davies, she would care much what he was doing. He had actually hoped to catch her off guard by turning up at the Burrow with the Potters, unannounced. "I'm actually going to the Potters," he said after a second of thought.

"Oh," she said quietly, "Well, I guess I'll see you at the Burrow then..."

"Probably," he said. He knew that they were both thinking the same thing. Scorpius had gone to the Potters for only one other Christmas, back in their third year. He and Rose had, predictabely, gotten into a blazing row over some stupid thing that neither of them could remember, but what they both remembered with clarity was that it was the first time they'd both said aloud to each other that they hated one another. Needless to say that Scorpius never went back for Christmas. The incident had never weighed on either of their consciences until now.

The evening of the last night of term found Lily and Scorpius sitting alone in the Heads' Common Room with Rose in her bedroom with Clarice. Lily had come to the decision that she would let Scorpius break up with her in his own way, as she felt she had helped Rose quite enough. Rose thought Lily was going to break up with Scorpius that evening, but Lily intended on reporting to Rose that she hadn't been able to because Scorpius had acted first.

"Now remember," Scorpius said, "Be teary, but not too teary."

Lily nodded despite knowing full well that she could not be teary.

"Tell her that I was horribly sorry to have kept things going for so long when I'm not really in love with you anymore, but that I didn't want to cause you pain. Also, when you asked if there was someone else I said that it was someone who'd never think of me. Got it?"

"Got it," Lily said.

"Alright, that's it then. Feel free to add a little embellishment if you want, you know what will work on Rose better than I do," he said offhandedly.

"Rose?" Lily picked up on the change of name immediately.

Scorpius didn't say anything. Really, there was nothing to say.

"So your Weasley has now become Rose, has she?" Lily smirked.

Scorpius groaned. Al had wasted no time in telling Lily about the your Weasley incident, and Lily had taken to calling Rose that in his presence as well whenever an opportunity arose.

"Just go do your job, Potter," he growled.

"Fine, fine," she said loftily, standing up.

She made a point of conjuring fake tears into her eyes so that he could see she was following his instructions, and then went into Rose's room, a dramatic entrance that involved sobbing and falling to the floor in agony.

However, the moment the door closed Lily sprang up and walked over to where Rose and Clarice were waiting on the bed, both looking amused and impressed.

"Nice performance," Clarice said appreciatively.

"Thanks," Lily beamed.

"So?" Rose promted, "How did it go?"

"He broke up with me!" Lily said in outrage.

"What?" Both Clarice and Rose were astonished.

"I know! He told me that he was sorry he'd kept it up so long when he wasn't in love with me, and that he never meant to hurt me, and when I asked him if there was someone else he just said it was someone who'd never think of him. And he also said he hoped that, after I've had some time, we could be friends again and he said that he knew I'd find someone who could really love me the way I deserved to be loved." Lily was fairly proud of that last additoin and knew it would work wonders.

Rose was gaping. She'd never expected Scorpius would break up with Lily in such a kind way, if she'd even expected him to break up with her at all. And who was this other person who'd never think of him? Did he mean her? Oh, that would just be perfect! But, she had to be sure, there was no way of knowing just yet.

"Well," Rose said, "That'll be my mission over Christmas. To find out if I'm the person he was talking about."

"Well, surely you must be!" Clarice said, "Who else could he mean? No girl in the entire school can resist him except you!"

"It could be a girl already in a committed relationship," Rose mused, "Like you."

"Me?" Clarice began to laugh, "You think Scorpius Malfoy fancies me? You must be joking!"

"I didn't mean you literally, I meant someone like you," Rose said impatiently, "The point is I've got to know, I've got to be sure." She could taste victory, she was so close she could almost touch it. She was now absolutely sure that the holiday would give her just the opportunity she needed, and she suddenly couldn't wait to go home the next day.

When Rose arrived home with Hugo via-floo powder, she was fawned over by her mother and father, who were proud as ever of her grades and of her victory over Scorpius in the Quidditch match. Her cousins Dominique, Lucy, and Molly gushed over her relationship with Andrew Davies, and she in turn gushed over her cousin Victoire's upcoming wedding to Teddy. The atmosphere was, overall, very congratulatory and rather smug and she was enjoying it immensely. During the holiday season the entire family spent every day at the Burrow, only returning to their homes at night, and as a result her entire family was witness to her triumphs.

Her brother, Hugo, also got a bit of the glory, for which she was glad as she knew that it was sometimes hard for Hugo to be Rose's younger brother. However, Hugo was an infinitely better flier than she would ever be. He was the Gryffindor keeper, a fact which always made her father as proud as could be.

Overall, there nothing to eclipse her joy at being the amongst her family, all of whom seemed to have become yet more successful and talented since they'd last been together. She spent the days leading up to Christmas playing Quidditch with her cousins and Scorpius, going shopping in Diagon Alley, helping Victoire and Teddy with the wedding plans, and, most surprising to everyone in her family except those who knew the cause of it, playing a game of chess every evening after dinner with Scorpius.

The ritual had started the second day of the holiday. She'd beaten Albus at a game fairly quickly, as she'd always been better at it than he was, though she still wasn't good enough to beat Hugo. And as she asked the room at large who would take her challenge, she was pleased, though not surprised, that Scorpius offered to play her. After a heated game that lasted over an hour and a half she won, but it had been close, coming down to her king, bishop, and pawn against his king and knight.

Of course, Scorpius could not and would not take the loss lying down, and challenged her to a rematch the following evening, and so the cycle began.

And that is how Rose found herself face to face with Scorpius accross the chess board on Christmas evening, just after Christmas dinner.

As they sat down and organized their pieces, they alternated which color they were each evening, Rose said, "Thank you for the Christmas present." They'd also come to the understanding over the last week that they would only speak to each other from accross the chessboard or during Quidditch games in which they had to communicate. Despite their silence during the rest of the day, they spoke continuously during their games, which lasted over an hour each evening.

Before Scorpius could answer, Ron, who had been passing to sit down, said, "What present?" Ron had not been sure whether to approve of these chess matches or not. On the one hand, he loved watching his Rosie beat Scorpius at everything, and chess offered her another opportunity to do so, but, on the other hand, he soon learned from their conversations that they'd formed some sort of odd half-friendship, and he didn't like that at all.

"He gave me a book on the history and development of Arithmancy," Rose replied without looking up from the board, where the game had already begun.

"Oh," Ron said, and as he couldn't come up with a good reason to disapprove of the gift, he sat down next to George on one of the many couches in the Burrow's enlarged sitting room in a huff.

"You're welcome," Scorpius replyed quietly, "And thank you for the present as well."

"No problem."

They played in silence for a moment, and only after all of the other people in the room, a good two dozen others, were talking animatedly and rather loudly did Scorpius say quietly, "What did Davies get you for Christmas?"

Rose's eyebrows shot up. She had not been expecting him to ask so directly about Davies. "A broomstick care kit."

"But, you already have one of those, don't you?" Scorpius only added the question at the end to seem polite. He'd seen her using the kit several times that year in the Common Room and even before that when their paths had crossed at the Burrow or at the Potters' during summers.

"Yes," she said airly, urging her rook to retreat out of the path of his bishop, "But it's the thought that counts."

"So they say," he said, rather more sardonically than he'd meant to.

"You don't believe that?" she questioned slyly, "Because I'd much rather be with someone who thinks of me and cares enough about me to get a present than with someone who doesn't care but happens to know what I do and don't own."

"Rose," he leaned forward intensley, whispering, "You can do so much better. He might be an okay bloke, but you deserve someone who loves and appreciates you, who knows you inside and out the way-the way someone else might..."

As he watched her carefully he couldn't help mentally congratulating himself. It was the first time he'd ever called her Rose to her face, and he'd started to say I before switching to 'the way someone else might.' It was beautifully done, if he said so himself, and he took the widening of her eyes as positive encouragement.

Rose was shocked, but pleasantly so. He was coming apart at the seams, all because of her, and she was so enjoying it. She recovered from her shock quickly, and gave him a small encouraging smile as she said, "I'm sure he doesn't know me as well as some people, but I'm hoping he'll get to know me. He's everything I've ever wanted."

Scorpius took a fraction of a second to decide how to respond, whether to back off or press forward. He decided to press forward. When he spoke he was less instense than before, but still serious. "But, just because you used to want something doesn't mean you want it now, nor does it mean that it's what's best for you."

"I think I know what's best for me," she smirked, deciding to distance herself from him a bit, make him come forward.

And forward he came. "But what if you don't?"

"And you do? Checkmate."

"I win!" Rose said triumphanty, bursting into James' old room. He had his own flat in London, but during the holidays he went back to his parents house, and that was where Rose found him, reading a Quidditch magazine on his bed, early in the morning on December 26th.

"And what is it exactly you've won?" he asked casually, still flipping through his magazine.

"The bet! I've made Scorpius fall in love with me!"

"Oh, so he's 'Scorpius' now? What happened to 'Malfoy'?" James smirked, looking up at her for the first time.

Rose scowled, "Never mind what I call him. I've won!"

"And just how, exactly, do you know that he's in love with you?" he asked.

"He just told me, and I quote, 'You can do so much better. He might be an okay bloke, but you deserve someone who loves and appreciates you, who knows you inside and out the way-the way someone else might...' And I swear, he was about to say 'the way I do,' but he got nervous and backed off." Rose was beaming in triumph.

"And how does that prove anything?" James said, "He needs to say it, directly to your face: 'I love you, Rose.'"

Rose gaped, "No! You never said anything about him having to say it directly!"

"Well I'm saying it now," he said, "He has to have realized that he's in love with you, not just a subconscious thing, like this obviously is, if this even proves he's in love with you, that is. As of now be aware that he needs to say it."

Rose pouted, "Fine. He'll say it. I know he will."

"I wouldn't be too sure if I were you," James smirked, "The year's halfway over and he hasn't even acknowledged that he likes you, let alone loves you. He can't just fancy you, you know, he has to love you."

"I know," she smirked back, "And don't worry, he will."

I'm really pleased with this chapter, and definitely enjoyed writing it! I know it was a bit longer than the other ones, but I couldn't bear to divide it into two chapters. Reviews, as always, are much loved.

XOXO

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