Lily's POV

Oh sweet Merlin, something was very, very wrong.

She had just been sitting there in the common room, casually 'forgetting' that she had to go to detention during this period. Huddled in an armchair in the corner of the common room, she'd just been settling in with a good book when the portrait swung open and Rose ran through the room, sobbing harder than Lily had ever seen her cry before.

Oh, this was bad, this was very, very bad.

So Lily did the only thing she could do and ran after Rose, skipping stairs in her haste to reach her cousin.

Entering the older girl's dormitory, she saw her cousin collapsed face down on her bed, shoulders shaking as she wept into her pillow.

Lily sat down on the edge of the bed and gently rested a hand on Rose's back, rubbing her soothingly. It was many long moment before Rose looked up, but when she did, there was a world of despair in her reddened eyes.

"Oh, sweetie, what happened?" Lily asked, reaching up to brush a lock of hair off Rose's forehead.

"I don't know," replied Rose, voice still choked with tears. "I thought…." She trailed off.

"Thought what?" Lily prompted, already half guessing the answer.

"Thought that I actually meant something to him!" Rose burst out. "I thought that he cared about me, that he really actually liked me! I should've known better, I guess, after hearing those rumors about him all the time, but I guess I just wanted so badly to believe that I was different, that I was special…."

Lily sighed. She should have expected this, really, should have predicted that some people would be unhappy with this situation and would seek to disrupt it – because that was what had happened, obviously. If there was one thing Lily was certain of, it was that Rose really was special to Scorpius, and she told her so.

"But, Lily," Rose said, "if he likes me so much, then w-what was he d-doing with J-Jasmine N-N-Nott l-last n-night?" And she broke down into tears again.

Jasmine Nott. Lily's eyes narrowed. So that was who was ruining everything.

Still rubbing Rose's back and murmuring soothing words to her, Lily began to plot.

Scorpius's POV

Something was wrong.

Rose wasn't at dinner. She hadn't been at lunch, either, nor had she been in double Charms with him that afternoon. In fact, he hadn't seen her since just after breakfast, when she had a free period but he had to go to Ancient Runes.

He was beginning to get worried. Scratch that, he was beginning to get frantic.

Nobody had seen her, nobody had spoken to her, nobody had even thought to ask where she was.

"What do you mean, you don't know!" Scorpius said, frustrated beyond belief. "You're her brother, for the sake of Merlin's saggy left sock! And you didn't even notice that she's been missing since breakfast?"

"Relax, man," Hugo said through a mouthful of roast. "I'm sure she's just studying or something. You know how she is with the whole learning thing."

Scorpius sighed, running his hand restlessly through his hair until it stood straight up. "Weren't you listening? She didn't show up to Charms this afternoon. Rose. Didn't show up to a class. That is definitely not what your perfect older sister would do."

"Well then, I dunno." Hugo shrugged, turning back to his plate and shoveling another forkful into his mouth.

"How can you be so complacent?" Scorpius nearly shouted.

A hand landed on his shoulder and he spun around, ready to take out his frustration on whoever was standing there.

"What," he snarled.

Lily looked back at him, gaze stony.

"What?" he said again, more gently this time. "Do you know where Rose is?"

Lily nodded. "I do. But Merlin, are you going to have fun dealing with this."

Feeling strangely less than comforted, Scorpius followed Lily out of the Great Hall and up the stairways towards Gryffindor tower.

At least he knew where Rose was, he told himself. At least she's okay.

But who knew what Lily meant when she said he'd have fun dealing with 'this,' whatever 'this' was.

Scorpius swallowed, entirely unsure of what to prepare himself for.

XXXX

Rose's POV

She didn't want to move. She didn't want to think, she didn't want to remember, and she sure as hell didn't ever want to leave her bed again.

That was why, when Lily came up with a plate of food from dinner, she merely turned her face into her pillow and tried to ignore her cousin.

It would have worked if it had been anyone but Lily, the most stubborn girl on the planet. But since it was Lily, within minutes Rose found herself upright, dressed in fresh clothing, and sitting at her desk spooning stew into her mouth.

"Now, Rose," Lily began, "I need you to come down to the common room with me."

Rose shook her head, unable to speak with a mouth full of stew.

Lily took advantage of her momentary silence, continuing, "Rosie, please. It's really, really important that you come down with me –"

"No way." Rose cut her off. "I am not leaving this room ever again, or at least until sufficient time has passed for everyone to have forgotten to gossip about me again."

"Please, Rosie—"

"No, Lily. I don't want to have to deal with everyone looking at me, laughing at me, or worse, pitying me. I just want to hide up here until this whole thing has blown over."

Frustrated, Lily sighed. Time for a new tactic, since pleading wasn't working. "At least come downstairs and play chess with me. You don't have to see anyone else, you don't have to talk to anyone else, and this way you'll show everyone how strong you are."

Silence. Lily could see her cousin considering what she'd said, and so she continued, pressing her advantage. "If you go downstairs and show everyone that you just don't care, it will be so much harder for them to laugh at you or pity you. Come on, Rose. Deprive them of the satisfaction of gossiping about you." Holding her breath, Lily surreptitiously crossed her fingers as she waited to see if this would work.

A moment passed before Rose finally spoke. "Alright," she said, standing up and looking determined. "Alright, fine, I will come downstairs to play chess with you, but I am not leaving the common room."

Lily exhaled in relief. Now all she had to worry about was Rose's reaction once they got down to the common room…

XXXXX

A/N: Alright, guys, sorry to say but the next chapter is gonna be a bit late. I'm moving houses so I'll be super extra busy, and the internet at my new place won't be up until probably next weekend or so. I will post the next chapter as soon as I can, I promise.

Only a few more chapters left!

~Star