Chapter 11
Scorpius was feeling pretty guilty. Now that he thought about it, of course Rose would lash out at the first person she came across. And he had been taking up a lot of her time.
He just wasn't used to people in moods like that. Maybe he had handled it badly.
So, with a resigned sigh, he pushed aside his almost-full plate and left the table. He walked into the entrance hall, unsure where exactly Rose would be, and stood still for a moment.
Amd Rose, rushing inside so she wouldn't change her mind about appologising, and not concentrating on her surroundings as she tried to figure out where Scorpius would be, walked straight into him.
They both ended up sprawled on the floor. Rose blushed furiously and apologised over and over, Scorpius rubbing his bruised elbow and grinning, as they staggered to their feet.
"Sorry." Rose said again. "Not just for - well, not looking where I was going. But...before. I get it from my parents. Being moody."
"It's OK. I shouldn't have said what I did." Scorpius shrugged. "But I think we should talk."
"About?" Rose asked, her heart sinking. He was going to break up with her. She was sure. She'd messed it all up.
Scorpius hesitated, trying find the words. In the end, he blurted it.
"Why do you want us to be a secret?"
She blinked, confused.
"I thought it was obvious." She replied. When he didn't speak, she shook her head a little. "I didn't think you'd want people to know. What with our parents and stuff. I wasn't sure how your family would react. And I didn't want the other Slytherins to bother you. And...well, you'd get a bit of attention from it, wouldn't you? I didn't think you'd like that. I was trying to protect you."
"Oh."
Smart as he was, he hadn't thought of it like that.
"Why, what did you think?" Rose asked curiously.
"That you were...ah...ashamed..."
She looked a him, then grinned. "You're an idiot."
"Hey!"
"But if you want people to know, I don't mind." She continued, shuting down the worry about her parents' reaction.
"I do. Want people to know, I mean." He explained, although he wasn't sure why, exactly, he didn't want this hidden.
"OK." Rose replied, and smiled.
At the Gryffindor table, Hugo Weasley was talking to his friends, and eating, when he looked up, and happened to glance out of the doors. With a yelp, he dropped his fork, his eyes wide and his mouth open.
"What's up?" Someone, he wasn't sure who, asked him.
"My sister...is kissing Malfoy!"
----
Hugo wasn't the only one who'd spotted the couple, and naturally the news spread fast. Hogwarts rarely had something this interesting to catch their attention, and so Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy were the subject of many conversations and comments. Not all of them were nice, either.
Of course, Scorpius had spent years ignoring comments that weren't nice, and so they didn't bother him. Rose, however, couldn't understand why people felt the need to be so snide towards either of them.
"Anyone'd think it was their lives." She muttered, trying to hide her genuine hurt.
"Malfoy!" This voice was familiar, to Rose, Al and Scorpius, who were heading towards the great hall for lunch, two days after their secret came out. All three stopped and turned, waiting for Hugo Weasley to catch up with them.
"I want to talk to you." Hugo said, meeting Scorpius' eyes directly.
"Go ahead."
Hugo shifted his gaze to his sister and cousin. "In private." He said.
"Hugo -" Rose began impatiently, but, trying to hide a smile, Al shook his head, grabbed her arm, and dragged her away.
"Well?" Scorpius asked. He had a pretty good idea what this was about.
Hugo was in third year, Scorpius knew, which would make him thirteen or fourteen.
"I want to talk about Rose. About you and Rose." Hugo told him. Scorpius was two years older and quite a bit taller than the kid, but he had to admire the stubborn way he met his eyes. "Are you really together?"
"Yes." Scorpius replied, and Hugo considered him for a moment.
"Are you just playing some kind of game with her, or something?"
"No." Scorpius replied, hoping the word sounded as genuine as he meant it.
"Well...you better not be." Hugo said uncertainly. It was obvious that, while his intentions were clear, he wasn't sure how exactly to explain himself. "She's my sister." He said finally. "I don't want her to get hurt."
"I don't want her to get hurt either."
"Well, good, 'cause...well, you might be older than me, but I'm pretty good a jinxes. James taught me some, and he's older than you are. If you hurt her..." He let the threat dangle.
"I won't. I swear." Scorpius replied. Wasn't it really nice that the kid cared so much about his sister? This must be what it was like, he decided, to have such a big, close family. The fact that third year would face up to a fifth like this showed how deep family ties could run.
"I wouldn't hurt Rose for anything." He added, just to make sure his point was clear.
"OK. Al said you wouldn't, but..." Hugo shrugged. "My dad always said I had to look out for Rose. Brothers are supposed to protect their sisters."
"I bet Rose loved hearing that."
"She lectured dad for at least an hour." Hugo nodded, as the two of them began walking down the hallway. He slanted Scorpius a look, then smirked. "I bet she'll lecture you loads, too. Good luck with that."
"I'll survive." Scorpius replied. Hugo was apparently more willing to accept him than his sister had originally been. When they reached the great hall, Scorpius stopped.
"It's nice that you care about Rose that much." He told the younger boy. Hugo shrugged awkwardly.
"She's my sister. Don't have any choice."
"Not all brothers care like that." Scorpius disagreed. Hugo shrugged again, and muttered a goodbye.
Unfortunately, Scorpius had the impression that not all of the Weasley family would accept him so readily.
It was only a few hours later that he was cornered by James Potter and Fred Weasley, sixth-years and Rose's cousins. He was unsurprised when they called him, and stopped to wait for them to approach him.
"We want to talk to you a minute." James said. He was smiling, but James Potter often smiled.
"About Rose?" Scorpius guessed. "Is this another "don't-hurt-her" speech?"
"Hugo's talked to you then." Fred grinned, and Scorpius nodded.
"He said you'd taught him some jinxes." He added to James.
"Yeah. Couple of summers back, I nearly got us all expelled." James told him proudly.
"Anyway. Since Hugo's already seen you, we'll just tell you not to underestimate him." Fred said. "Friendly warning like. We stick together, this family."
"I know." Scorpius murmured. Not for the first time, he felt the stirrings of jealousy.
"Can we go now?" James asked, looking at Fred. "All this threatening stuff makes you hungry. Dinner should be just about starting..."
"Sure." Fred shrugged.
"See you around." James added to Scorpius, who nodded, and watched both boys leave.
It seemed a childish thought, but he couldn't help wishing he had people so fiercly protective of him.
----
Meanwhile, Rose had burst into Neville's office, a slightly panicked expression on her face. He looked up from the papers he was marking, and greeted her, sounding unsurprised, almost as though he'd expected her.
"What can I do for you?"
"Um." Rose replied, uncertainly shifting from one foot to the other. Neville had long ago overcome his own prejudice against Scorpius, and she knew he wouldn't judge her. But it was still hard to speak the words. "I...I guess you've heard? About me and..."
"Scorpius? Yep. My third year class spent the best part of an hour asking Lily about the two of you." He sounded faintly amused, and Rose knew he had guess why she'd come. She also knew she still had to ask.
"I was hoping you wouldn't...mention it to anyone. My parents, or grandparents or any of the rest of them."
"You'll have to tell them sometime." Neville told her.
"I know. And I will. But not in a letter. And...it's better if it comes from me, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is." Neville agreed. "I won't tell them, Rose. It's not my place."
"Thanks." Rose replied, visably relieved. Then she bit her lip, and regarded him awkwardly. "Do you think they'll be really angry with me?" She asked quietly.
"No. I don't." He assured her quickly. "I really don't."
"OK. Thanks Neville." She grinned. "I mean, professor."
