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Just FYI: I had already finished this series before I signed up for the site, which is why I am posting them so fast. I type like a snail, so I am definitely not able to type out a chapter per day, let alone six in one day.

Thanks again to all followers and those who've reviewed. Love you all!

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Well, that was... interesting. Scorpius had sat for hours talking with Rose and her two friends. He understood why she had chosen them. They were nice, funny, they got each other's humour, and they did get his, after a while. There was an underlying amount of love there, like sisters. Like they were family. Scorpius laughed to himself as he thought of adding another two to the Weasley bunch. There was an understanding between the three friends. He noticed that when something came up that one of them didn't want to talk about, they would breeze over it without even realising, almost like they could tell one of them was uncomfortable and they wanted to restore balance. When Scorpius had asked about Colleen's family, she had breezed over her siblings, her brother in particular, and noticed how the other two quickly moved onto stories somehow involving one of her siblings which led into another story that had completely nothing to do with Colleen.
They were different. All of them, but he still loved the feeling of Rose sitting next to him, laughing at a story or a memory. She never let go of his hand that night, squeezing it periodically as if she was making sure he was still there. Colleen was right, they had been giving each other glances all night. Scorpius didn't want to read too much into it but... again, interesting. He was surprised that none of her cousins had come into the common room in all the hours they had sat there.
He had noticed that every so often, she would run her fingers over the necklace he had given her that sat under her shirt. He wished she could feel safe enough to take it out, but it was her choice. Every time she felt the necklace, she would sigh and squeeze his hand. He didn't know exactly what it meant, but again, he didn't read much into it. If it wasn't obvious, he would just leave it be. It wasn't like it was overly important. Just a habit or something probably.

The next Hogsmeade trip could not have come at a better time. Rose was feeling claustrophobic in school, and she hated having to steal moments with Scorpius in abandoned classrooms and the library. She wished she could have a better relationship with him. She wished he wasn't a Malfoy, and that her family and his weren't enemies. She wished she could have a relationship with him and not worry about it . But that wasn't going to happen soon.
She was looking forward to her date, but at the same time, she was nervous. She had only been on one other date and that was with a guy whom she had found out was an absolute knob. What if she acted like a complete ninny? What if Scorpius tired of her? What if he didn't like the way she dressed or- or-

"You alright?" Scorpius asked, taking her arm, while she was in the middle of a silent freak out. Her mind relaxed the instant she was with him and she turned to him and smiled.
"I'm fine." He smiled back at her and continued walking with her down to the village.
"Can I ask you a question?" She asked him, laying her head on his shoulder.
"Sure, you know you can." He chuckled as he answered.
"Is all this- The friendship thing, the dating- Is it all just some grand master plot to humiliate me?" Scorpius froze, jerking Rose to a stop.
"Why would you think that?" He whispered, his voice gruff. She lowered her head and worked on making her tone light.
"I just had a kind of freak out moment. I'm sorry." She kept her head down, waiting for Scorpius to reassure her.
"It was," Scorpius breathed. Rose eyes widened and her head snapped back up. Scorpius was looking at her with an expression of extreme horror. Rose's jaw dropped and her face creased in hurt, but then she snapped her mouth closed and narrowed her eyes angrily.
"Filthy Malfoy," She growled, before turning on her heel and started walking away. Scorpius quickly grabbed her wrist and spun her around to face him, acting on instinct. He held her face in his hands, his entire face a mask of pleading.
"No, Rose listen," He told her. Her eyes were tearing up and he hated himself for it. "That's what it was. Before. Past tense. Rose, listen to me!" She had closed her eyes so she couldn't see him. When she opened them, tears rolled down her cheeks silently. Scorpius ran both his thumbs under her eyes to wipe them away. "Rose, please, I- Things are different. It's not like that any more."
"Then what is it like, Scorpius?" She growled, her voice low and dangerous. He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.
"I don't want to be him any more, Rose. I don't want to be the guy who... takes everything. When I'm with you, I feel like I don't have to pretend to be anything. I don't have to pretend that I think that Muggle-Borns are inferior, or that people with less money are inferior. When I'm with you, I can be myself, without having to worry about who's in the room. I feel like you understand me, for me. And I- I don't want to lose that, Rosie. I think I'll go mad." Rose's eyes were closed again, but she wasn't withdrawing and she didn't look angry any more. She looked like she was having a silent battle with herself. "Remember when you needed ice-cream and you came into the kitchen, and I asked you, cliché though it may sound, to forget about our families and our friends? Do you remember that?" She nodded. How could she not remember? It was one of her most treasured memories. "When I'm with you, that happens all the time. I'm not Scorpius Malfoy, son of Draco Malfoy, former death-eater. I am just Scorpius, student of Hogwarts, friends with Rosie. And I like being him." When she looked up at him, she had tears in her eyes, but a huge smile on her face. She grinned and shook her head, chuckling under her breath.
"Scorpius Malfoy, you scared the ever-living shit out of me. Don't you ever do that again." Scorpius laughed as he gathered her in his arms, relief present in his face and stance. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shoulder, a huge, pathetic grin plastered all over her face.
They stood like that for a while, before Scorpius gently but firmly detached himself but kept a warm hold of Rose's hand. He pulled her along the path towards Hogsmeade and they walked through the village. They didn't settle anywhere, just kept walking up and down, window shopping and occasionally commenting about something or other. They arranged to meet up with Nina and Colleen at the Three Broomsticks later on that day, and Scorpius decided that they needed some couple-alone-time without the possibility of being interrupted. It was her own fault really, looking so gorgeous in her soft, white cotton dress that hugged her figure and blew out towards her knees, hair done up in an elegant swirl and make-up a bare minimum. If she didn't want to be mauled, she shouldn't have put herself in his path.
They walked until they were as close as they dared to go to the Shrieking Shack. Scorpius wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her shoulder. She looked out towards the Shack and placed her hands on top of his, snuggling closer into his chest.
"My Uncle Harry told me a story of the Shrieking Shack," She told him. "I'm not sure I really believed it."
"Really?" He smiled as he laid his chin on her shoulder. "Want to tell me?" She sighed as he trailed kisses from her jaw to her bare shoulder.
"Apparently, Uncle Harry's dad and his mates were the reason behind the Shrieking Shack myth. Remus Lupin was a werewolf and every month, he would go to the Shack to Change. He never told anybody anything, especially his friends because he was sure that they would hate him and not want to be near him any more. But then James Potter and Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew did find out. They were his friends and they were the Marauders. They were best friends and they didn't turn their back on him. They helped him through it and they tried to come up with a way to help him while he was Changed. They turned into Animagi. They kept him safe and out of danger of people. But even then the villagers were still scared of the noises coming from the Shrieking Shack. Uncle Harry says that before his friends found out, Remus had to stay in there and he bit himself because he couldn't bite anybody else. The whole Shrieking Shack thing came from that." Scorpius chuckled.
"It does seem a little far fetched."
"I think it was just a story to get us kids to sleep. He used to tell us of all the adventures that the Marauders had and how they fought off evil sorcerers and how Grandpa James and Grandma Lily sacrificed themselves to save Uncle Harry from Lord Voldemort. I think most of it was just made up." Scorpius chuckled again, she could feel the vibrations running through her back. "What?"
"I had different ways of getting to sleep. I never had stories." He squeezed her closer and rubbed his chin along her hairline.
"What did you have?"
"My mother used to sing to me. Her voice is terribly boring. I was under in seconds." Rose laughed and Scorpius turned her around quickly, capturing the sound with his mouth. "You are so lovely, do you know that?" He whispered tenderly, brushing the hair away from her face. Rose didn't reply. She just kept her eyes closed and a small smile graced her lips. Scorpius couldn't help but kiss her then.
This kiss turned from just a tender brush of lips to a full out desperate kiss when Rose's hands wound into his hair and pulled him closer, her lips battling for supremacy with his. Scorpius hesitantly brushed his tongue along the seam of her lips, unsure what she wanted, but she opened to him willingly, and his tongue hastily explored her mouth, his hands shaping themselves to cup her face. They moved down to her shoulders, pulling her closer to him, smashing their bodies together. Rose moaned as Scorpius kneaded her shoulders with his fingers. His lips moved from her mouth down her jaw to her neck, leaving a trail of fire as they moved over her collarbone. She pulled his head back up, wanting his kiss again. He left teasingly small butterfly kisses on her lips. She groaned and tugged on his hair, pulling him to her so he couldn't escape. His hands roamed from her shoulders down her arms, then closer to her chest. She instantly pulled back and lowered her head, leaving the top of her head on his chest so he couldn't see her face.
"Sorry, sorry," He panted, realising what he had done. She shook her head.
"Not your fault." She breathed back. "I just- it was too much- too soon- so scary-" She was panting as well, her jumbled almost-apology punctuated by each breath of air she took. He pulled her closer so that the side of her face rested on his shoulder. He left one hand on the small of her back, holding her close, the other running over her back soothingly. They stood like that for what seemed like minutes but what must have been hours. Scorpius glared at the sun which somehow had managed to sneak over so it was directly above them. He tugged himself out of her arms and took her hand, leading her away from the Shrieking Shack and back towards the village.

They found Colleen and Nina in a booth in the Three Broomsticks, talking animatedly with the people in the booth behind them. Rose and Scorpius asked for two butterbeers before sitting down across from them. Nina smiled at them both before diving back into the conversation, and Colleen glanced at them, but didn't turn away fully. Scorpius chuckled under his breath.
"What?" Rose whispered, looking at him.
"Declarations of love amuse me," He said, smirking. Rose slapped his arm playfully and laughed. When she threw her head back, the necklace that he had given her peeped out from under her dress and Scorpius' hand swooped in and grabbed the pendant. Rose stopped laughing immediately, curiosity lining her features.
"When I bought you this," He said rubbing his fingers across the jewels. "I hoped that you would feel okay to wear it in public." She bit her lip, then smiled.
"I am wearing it in public." He narrowed his eyes at her.
"You know what I mean, Little Red," He chuckled as she glared at him. That was not fair. He knew she would do anything if he used that nickname. She sighed as he dropped it. She left it out, the white of her dress showing off the jewels' colour. Nina noticed and winked at her, grinning conspiratorially with Scorpius. Colleen kept talking with the people over the booth. Rose was getting annoyed about it.
"Col, we are here, you know. It was your idea to have this lunch." She growled at her. Reluctantly, Colleen said goodbye to the people over the booth and glared at Rose.
"I was gonna ask him out," Colleen whispered at her, leaning over the table. Rose sighed, closing her eyes and leaning back.
"Of course you were," She said, opening her eyes. "Sorry." Her voice was impatient but genuine and Colleen caved under the guilty look.
"It's fine. I'll ask him later." The butterbeers arrived for everyone and they all took sips of their drinks, getting froth on their upper lips. They talked about their upcoming OWLs and the homework load, complaining about the teachers and the smart-alec-y kids who thought they knew everything and wouldn't change their views on anything, even if they were astronomically wrong. They laughed as they told ridiculous stories about how they had coped with the other years' homework load and how much they loathed the heavier workload now. Lily Potter came along and plopped down in a seat at one point and randomly joined in on the conversation like it was nothing, talking with the girls and with Scorpius, which surprised him to no end. He did share a 'weirded out' look with Colleen and Nina but Rose seemed to think nothing of it, like it happened every day.
At one point, Rose felt eyes glaring holes in the back of her head, and sure enough, there was James glaring at her and Scorpius and Lily, but his eyes shifted after a moment and landed on Nina, his eyebrows crinkling into a frown of puzzlement. Interesting. Nina had noticed as well, but she was pointedly keeping her eyes away, but when she glanced at Rose's questioningly look, she just shook her head and mouthed 'later'. Scorpius kept his arm around her shoulders through almost the entire thing, sipping his butterbeer and eating some of the chocolate that Colleen was reluctantly sharing.
It was a good first date.