They hadn't spoken to each other since then. Not one word had been exchanged. Scorpius pretended Rose didn't exist and, after a point of time, Rose stopped trying to get his attention. Lily convinced her to give him "space and time" and said that he would be fine in the end. Rose didn't completely agree but she decided not to push him to speak to her. She really was jealous. And she knew that. But she was living in denial. Every time her mind told her that she was jealous, she would scoff at it and ignore it. But one day, almost three weeks later, a miracle happened:

Scorpius came downstairs with his books. Rose was already there. She glanced up at him and met his eyes briefly but immediately tore her gaze away, feeling her cheeks heat up. She really hoped he wouldn't see them. And then the miracle happened.

"Hey." Scorpius said. Rose looked at him, her eyebrows shooting up and a smile beginning to appear on her face. She said, "Hey." With as much warmth as she could muster. Scorpius must've noticed the warmth because he gave a small smile of his own. Rose beamed now but went back to working, determined not to push her luck.

"So... what have you been up to lately?" Scorpius asked, opening his Transfiguration textbook and writing down the heading of questionnaire they were supposed to be answering. Rose was already halfway done with it. Scorpius wouldn't admit it but he had missed Rose. He hadn't forgiven her but he still missed her. The way she laughed, the way her whole face lit up when she was happy, the way...no Scorpius. Stop. The voice inside his head ordered him and he agreed with it. He was determined to be in denial too.

"Oh nothing. Homework. Meals. Classes. Studying. What about you?" Rose said, snapping Scorpius out of his thoughts.

"Pretty much the same."

"No more flirting with the Month Sisters?"

"Nope. I actually haven't spoken to them since that day." He said, starting to write.

"Oh." Rose said, the events of that day playing vividly in her mind. They lapsed into an awkward silence and worked that way for a while. Then Rose broke the silence and said, "I really am sorry, you know."

"I know." Scorpius said, simply.

"So...?"

"So...what?"

"Do you...um...forgive me?" Rose asked. Scorpius paused for a moment, as if contemplating the thought, and then said, "Yes." Not a "sure" not a "why not" but a yes. Not even a sarcastic one. A strong yes with a sense of finality. Rose couldn't even contain herself. She grinned and launched herself at Scorpius, throwing her arms around him and hugging him. Scorpius chuckled, sending reverberations down his chest which Rose felt perfectly well. He said, "This is probably the most body contact we've ever had."

"Yeah, it probably is." Rose said, unable to stop smiling. She got off Scorpius and said, "Thank you. And sorry about the hug." Although she wasn't sure if she meant this apology. She had completely meant to hug him but felt the need to apologise anyway. Scorpius laughed again and said, "It's alright, Rose."

"We should probably get back to work." Rose said, now blushing profoundly. She didn't even bother hiding it this time. Scorpius stopped laughing and stared at her. He said, "You're blushing."

"It's the cold."

"There's a fire in here. You're blushing."

"No I'm seriously not. Now let it go."

"You're blushing."

"Stop it!"

"You're blushing." He said.

"Yes. Yes I am. Sue me." Rose said, turning back to her work and letting her hair fall so that it formed a curtain between them. She began working, although she wasn't really concentrating on what she was writing. Oh my GOD, Rose. You just blushed. Screw that. You just blushed in front of SCORPIUS MALFOY. The guy you obviously have a crush on. Oh my God. SCORPIUS MALFOY.

"I think you mean Mandrake. Not Malfoy." Scorpius said, breaking Rose out of her trance. She blushed furiously again. No no no. She might like him but she couldn't be one of those soppy girls who would doodle the name of her boyfriend- wait, what? Boyfriend?

"Um yeah. Thanks." Rose muttered, not able to stop herself from blushing.

"Why did you write Malfoy anyway?" Merlin, do you think he's onto you?

"Accident." She said, refusing to look at him and make eye contact.

"Really?" He said, cocking an eyebrow and indicating that he was seeing right through her lie.

"Seriously!" She said, now making eye contact. They maintained eye contact for a few moments before Scorpius looked away, giving up. They began working in silence again. The silence was heavy but not awkward. Suddenly Scorpius said, "Do you want to go to the Forest?"

"The... Forbidden Forest?"

"No. The forest in Asia. Of course the Forbidden Forest."

"Oh um now?"

"No. Next year. Yes, now."

"Okay one, drop the sarcastic attitude and two, why?"

"Must there be a reason?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I just don't feel like doing Transfiguration right now so I would like to go to the Forest instead. Reason enough?" Rose sighed. She really needed to do her homework. But the Forbidden Forest. With Scorpius Malfoy no less. The idea was too tempting and she said, "Okay fine. Let's go." He grinned at her and held out his hand. She took it, butterflies exploding in her stomach when she did so, and walked alongside him to the common room exit. Once they were there, Scorpius realised that they were still holding hands. He didn't dare show any indication though because he was scared that she would withdraw. He didn't usually like holding hands with people but he was making an exception. Rose didn't particularly enjoy holding hands with anyone either. And Scorpius was no exception to this. So she was thankful when they reached the common room exit. She said, "I think I just might have to let go to open the door."

"Oh yeah. Sorry." He blushed and Rose giggled. He looked so cute when he was awkward. She pushed open the door and went out, greeting Albus Dumbledore on the way out. He smiled at them and said, "Just be sure to find your way out. I hear there's a storm coming."

"Thank you. We will." Rose said, smiling. She had had many more conversations with him than Scorpius had had. Which is why she replied easily while Scorpius gave a stiff nod. Then they went downstairs. On the way down a moving staircase, Scorpius said, "How are you able to speak to him so easily?"

"He's very friendly." She said and Scorpius didn't respond. He didn't know how exactly to respond to that so he just nodded. Then Rose said, "So where are we going?"

"That's a surprise."

"So it's like a date?"

"What?" Scorpius wasn't sure he had heard her correctly.

"It's like a-" She began slower but Scorpius cut her off, saying, "No! Merlin no! No, it's just two friends hanging out because they don't feel like doing their boring Transfiguration homework." He said and Rose laughed. She said, "Calm down, Scorpius, I was joking." No you weren't.

They arrived at the beginning of the forest. The sky was still clear but there was a hint of grey even so. Rose looked up nervously and said, "Whatever excursion you have planned out will probably have to be cut short. We need to find our way back."

"I know the way back." Scorpius said and Rose rolled her eyes. She said, "Even if you do, I'd rather not walk through a forest when it's raining, thank you very much."

"Don't worry." Scorpius said. "Ready?"

"Ready." Rose confirmed and he stepped into the forest. Rose followed and they walked for quite a distance. She said, "Um Scorpius, where exactly is this place?"

"We should be approaching it soon." Scorpius lied through his teeth. They had already lost their way. But he wasn't about to let her know that they had. He was hoping they'd stumble upon a clearing and it would be beautiful. And he couldn't believe his luck when they did stumble upon a clearing. Putting on a perfect act, he said, "Here."

"It's beautiful." Rose breathed, staring at the landscape before her. He smiled too. But he wasn't looking at the landscape. He was looking at her. The weather was pleasant and Scorpius said, "You want to sit by the lake? Just for a while?"

"Sure." Rose said, giving him a warm smile. They went to the lake over there and sat down by it. Rose said, "How did you find this place?"

"Chance." Scorpius lied, shrugging. She smiled and, picking up a stick, began drawing in the wet mud. Scorpius just watched her draw. She was drawing a person. And she could draw really well. Scorpius shifted closer so that their shoulders were almost touching but not quite. After a few minutes, he said, "Who is that?"

"Someone." Rose said, glancing up at him and giving him another smile. He smiled back and they both knew that they were thinking the exact thing. They were both leaning in. But then the lightning happened. And then the thunder happened. And the storm came down on them.