*Apologies for the hiatus. Had some health things going on! Thanks for sticking with me, please leave a review! Love you guys!
Maxima choked back tears. "Albus…" she said dumbly. "I didn't know… I-I'm sorry."
Albus took the seat by her bed, feeling like he was in a dream. He was in shock still, but knew he had to be strong for Maxima. "Look, it's okay, we'll figure this out."
"How?" Maxima cried. "I'm still contracted to marry Scorpius, and he's going to tell my father! My father will kill me!" She sobbed uncontrollably, and the Healer decided it was an appropriate time to make her exit.
"Don't worry about it, I don't think it's good for you to stress."
Maxima narrowed her eyes. She looked a fright, and crying for the past few minutes hadn't done anything to help that. "Are you not aware of what's happening? I'm not joking, my father will hurt me, or make me get rid of the baby-"
"That's not going to happen," Albus said firmly. He looked around the room, then looked at Maxima seriously. "We have to get you out of here before your parents come."
"You're going to sneak me out?" Maxima questioned.
"Do you have any other clothes?"
Maxima nodded solemnly. "Scorpius brought me a jumper and some trousers in case I wanted to walk around today," she said.
"Put them on, then we're going to go," Albus said. "I'm going to go check for Healers."
Maxima sat on Albus' bed. He suddenly felt a little embarrassed that he was an adult, and now an expectant father, with a quidditch themed bedroom. She looked at the pictures on his nightstand.
"You were such a cute little boy," she said, between occasional sniffles. She winced as she reached to put the photo back.
"Do you want more burn paste?" Albus questioned. "Or pain potions? I know it's nothing close to St. Mungo's treatment, but-"
"I'm fine," Maxima assured him, although she was the furthest thing imaginable from fine. "What are we going to tell your parents?"
Albus joined Maxima on the bed and pulled her close to him. "The truth, I guess. Not everything, but the truth. I hope they'll understand."
Maxima sniffled again, unable to meet Albus' gaze. "What if they don't?" Albus didn't answer for a long time. Maxima touched her stomach absentmindedly. She then burst into sobs.
"What's wrong?" Albus asked, realizing it was a stupid question.
"My inheritance," Maxima cried. "I'm not going to get it unless I marry Scorpius. I'll be poor! I won't have a thing."
Albus' face went slack. Admitted, he'd saved quite a bit of birthday money over the years, but it was nowhere near enough to take care of himself, a baby, and Maxima. Especially not with the lifestyle she was used to.
"We'll figure that out," he said dumbly, realizing that comforting her was proving to be harder than he'd anticipated.
"I don't even have another change of clothes," Maxima realized, her lip quivering. "I don't have anything right now. And I won't ever again."
Albus shook his head at her. "Hey, don't think like that."
"Maybe Scorpius won't say anything," Maxima said hopefully, shaking her head in deep thought. "Maybe I should just go back to him, he'd be too embarrassed to admit what really happened and-"
"And pretend our baby is his? How is that fair to me?" Albus questioned, trying not to let himself get angry with Maxima. She was overcome with grief and it was very clear to him she was overwhelmed by the fear of what her father might do, which made him wonder what he'd ever done to her to make her so afraid in the first place.
Maxima shrugged. She looked up at Albus, her expression still dazed. "It would be better for all of us. I don't want my father to hurt me… or you…"
"I'm not afraid of your father," Albus said indignantly. "And I'm not going to let anything happen to you either." Albus wasn't exactly sure how he was going to keep that promise. He pushed her hair back and kissed her forehead. "I love you."
"I love you too," Maxima said quietly. "More than anyone."
Albus nodded solemnly, understanding in that moment he was all Maxima had. He shot up as he heard a noise on the stairs.
"Oy, Al? Lily? Anyone home?"
"That's my older brother," Albus whispered. "Be quiet."
"Lily? Al?"
"Coming out in a second!" Albus shouted, his voice strained. "Don't come in!"
James pushed the door open. He took in the sight of Albus and Maxima sitting on the bed together. "Oh, you are so dead, mate. Why's she crying? You're not that bad of a bed, or so I've heard."
"Shut up! And don't tell Mum or Dad before I have a chance to," Al warned, narrowing his eyes at his brother.
James grinned, His brown eyes shining with mischief. "I can't wait to see the look on Mum's face. Who are you, anyway? You're quite fit."
"Shut up!" Albus hissed. "She's… this is Maxima."
James raised his eyebrows with amusement. "It'll be a cold day in hell when the word 'girlfriend' comes out of your mouth."
Albus went silent. He supposed Maxima had earned that status. Of course, he loved her, but she'd been engaged to Scorpius the whole time he'd known her, so she hadn't exactly been able to be anyone's girlfriend. "She's…she's in a bit of trouble," Albus said seriously.
"What kind of trouble?" James studied the expressions on Maxima's and Albus' faces, seemingly deciding they were serious.
"It's… a long story."
"Well, Mum and Dad are going to be home soon, so you'd better get your story straight," he warned, stepping out and shutting the door behind him.
"He's right," Maxima said, her voice low. "It's not like I can live here forever."
"Where are you going to go?" Albus said seriously. "You can't go home. You can't go back to Scorpius."
"Oh, and you think your parents are going to be completely fine with the fact that I'm pregnant, and you're expecting to have me stay here? Don't be ridiculous."
"I'm not," Albus said calmly. "But I want to keep you safe, and my parents understand what that's like. I don't care how mad they are. I'll make them come around if it means you don't have to go back to your father."
Maxima nodded quietly.
"You should lie down," Albus suggested. "I'll talk to my parents when they come home."
Albus tiptoed down the stairs quietly, still pondering how exactly he was going to approach his parents. His mother stood at the kitchen sink with her back to Albus, using her wand to dry the dishes while she studied a cookbook. His father sat the table, seemingly doing some work and staying nearby in case one of his mum's recipes went awry again. He looked up as Albus entered the kitchen.
"How are you feeling, Al?" His father asked. It had been obvious he'd taken the attack at Maxima's engagement party hard. He'd been down and clouded by his thoughts for the past few days, and his father had definitely noticed. He knew his parents wouldn't be prepared for his response.
"I'm all right," he said.
His mother turned around. She gave him a look, as if she sensed something was wrong. His mum always saw right through him. "Well, dinner will be ready soon. Go get James and Lil in a couple minutes for me, will you?"
"Sure, Mum…" Al said slowly, and then, "…er… you may want to set an extra place."
Ginny frowned. "Why? For who?"
Albus fidgeted and took a deep breath. By now, his father had caught on to his odd behavior. Al had the urge to run upstairs, grab Maxima, and disapparate as far away from home as possible.
"Look, please don't be mad at me… you know how you two say we should always be kind people… and help those who need it?"
"We do," Harry said, nodding slowly. "Who needs help?"
Al sighed again. "Maxima," he said. "Maxima Zabini, you know-"
"I know who she is," Harry responded. "We're doing everything we can to find out what happened that night, we've got some leads so far but-"
"There's something else," Al persisted.
"What else?" Ginny questioned, looking at her son with a frown. "Al, you're confusing us. What's wrong, love?"
Al put his hands up in a placating gesture. "Before the two of you say anything, just let me assure you that I didn't plan for any of this to happen, and I just wanted to do what I thought was-"
"Albus, what happened?" Harry questioned, cutting of his son's rambling.
"Well, Maxima's upstairs. As in, she's in my room. She was in St. Mungo's getting better, until we, er, found something out, and she couldn't stay."
"What?" Ginny questioned, glaring at her son. "She should be in the hospital still! How did you even manage to get her out, and why would you do such a thing?"
Albus felt his face grow hot as he grew closer to revealing the truth. "Well, she's um, she um found something out, that er, scared her, and she couldn't stay because if her father found out, she knew-"
"Found out what?" Harry questioned his son sharply. Albus didn't remember his parents being this impatient with him since he was a small child.
"She's… she's pregnant."
Ginny looked to her husband, obviously confused. Harry's dark eyebrows wrinkled, and he set his son with a look as if he was a small puppy.
"Albus, I know Maxima probably told you she was frightened of what her father might say, but isn't it possible she exaggerated? She's engaged to Scorpius, I'm sure her father will come around. Anyhow, it wasn't your place to involve yourself in her business, even if you were trying to be a good friend."
Albus hated how his father talked to him as if he were an idiot. Yet, apparently, he still expected better out of his son than to even begin to be able to fathom the truth.
"It… it's my business too, because, er… because… because it's my baby."
The kitchen went silent.
Ginny blinked a few times. She looked between Al and his father, but said nothing. Harry's eyes didn't come off his son. Albus couldn't stop staring at his father, frozen, awaiting whatever his reaction would be.
"Excuse me?" was all Harry said at first.
"It's… it's my baby," Al repeated. "I'm the father."
The kitchen went silent again.
"Albus…" Ginny said blankly, unable to form a thought.
Al seized the opportunity to explain himself. "I know it's wrong, and she's engaged, but I didn't mean for this to happen. I just wanted to be her friend, and then I saw how bad Scorpius and her father treated her, and I felt bad, and sort of had some things and common, and we, um, we er-"
"What could you possibly have in common with that girl?" Harry questioned, his tone sharper than he probably intended.
"A lot, actually," Al responded defensively. "She understands what it's like to live in her father's shadow."
Harry glared at his son. "What does that mean?" he questioned.
Al decided not to respond. "Look, I'm sorry, but it happened. And she has nowhere to go. If Scorpius tells anyone-"
"He knows?" Ginny questioned.
"Yes, and if Maxima's father finds out, he's going to hurt her-"
"Or you," Harry told Albus with a sigh. "I don't know what to say to you right now. I'm sure you don't understand how these marriages work, nor did you think to ask Maxima before you two decided to do something unbelievably stupid-"
"Harry," Ginny admonished lightly.
"Purebloods often contract their marriages," Harry started again. "If Maxima and Scorpius entered a contract, legally, Maxima, er, belongs to Scorpius in a sense. She has to go back to him. And since I'm sure the contract was signed under the pretense that Maxima 's children would be assumed to be Scorpius' Scorpius is the legal father of that child."
Albus' mouth dried immediately. "But the Healer said since I'm the father-"
"I highly doubt she knew Maxima and Scorpius were in a contract. Were they not, you would have rights. But Maxima and Scorpius are in a legally binding arrangement, so it's going to be assumed that whatever is one of theirs is both of theirs, and that includes Maxima's child."
Albus' fists clenched. How could that be fair? He could tell by Scorpius' behavior in the hospital that he'd want nothing to do with a child of his and Maxima's. However, as angry at them both as he was, Al didn't put it past Scorpius to retaliate in a way he knew would be hurtful.
"Isn't that what you fought for?" Albus argued. "For everyone to be treated equally, regardless of blood. What the hell did it all mean if Maxima still has to be stuck in this shitty arrangement she can't do anything about? How is it fair that I don't even know what's going to happen to my own kid?"
Harry gave his son a look and Albus hoped he wouldn't admonish him again for his poor decision making. "I agree with you, Albus. But some purebloods have their own way of doing things, and they're very set in their ways. However, I'm afraid it's perfectly legal since Maxima agreed to the arrangement. She signed the papers herself, she wasn't coerced, and the marriage wasn't arranged. The law can't prevent purebloods from entering marriage contracts, simply from being forced into them. And any wizard can enter one, not just purebloods, so it isn't against the law."
"But she didn't have a choice!" Albus nearly shouted. He was almost sure Maxima could hear him. "Her father would have made her life miserable, she would have embarrassed Scorpius, and the other purebloods would have hated her! Just because she signed a bloody paper doesn't mean she wanted any of this to happen."
Ginny spoke up for the first time in a while. "I understand," she said calmly. "But, Albus-
"No, you guys don't understand!" He took a deep breath. "Look, I'm not going to abandon her-or my kid- just because everyone else is going to. I love her, and she doesn't have anybody else. She needs me. I know what we did was incredibly stupid, but I'm not going to let her go back to her dad or Scorpius because of it. I'm just not. And Dad, you know that attack on her couldn't be a coincidence. Things are happening. She needs to be with someone who actually cares to protect her. I'm not asking you guys to forgive me, but if you can't understand this, then I have to go."
Albus wasn't sure where any of his courage came from. He just knew he felt so strongly about the injustice of the entire situation, and about how his parents seem to act very clearly as if they were unconcerned with Maxima's fate, and action inexcusably uncharacteristic for Albus' own father.
"We just don't want anything happening to you too, Albus," Ginny told her son earnestly.
"If they try anything with me, at least I'll know I was doing the right thing," Albus said firmly. "And besides, Dad, you know there's more going on than this, bigger things at work here."
For the most part, Al had never clued his father in on the fact that he was more aware of the ominous situation than the next person. However, in light of that, his parents being hung up on the ordeal with Maxima seemed so trivial.
Harry pursed his lips. "I respect that you're doing what you feel is right," he admitted.
"It's what you would do," Al reminded his father.
Ginny turned her head in the direction of the stairs. "How is she?" she asked sympathetically, seeming resigned to the situation.
Albus felt his heartbeat slow down a bit. "Her arm is still healing. But she's still in grief from the attack, and all this, and possibly having to go back to her father… she just… needs me right now."
Harry nodded solemnly. "Go be with her," he said slowly. "Your mother and I need to talk."
Rose sat on a bench in the upper level of Flourish and Blotts with her feet propped up. She focused on a book, secluded from the small number of shoppers on the lower level. It was a cold, snowy day out, and Rose saw nothing wrong with spending the day holed up with a book.
Her parents and Hugo had gone to visit her grandparents. Rose hadn't wanted to go, which was probably the first time in her life. In truth, she hadn't wanted to see Roxanne, as she still wasn't quite over her taunting comments. She especially didn't want to see Albus, who was still stupidly enamored with the disgusting witch herself, Maxima. Albeit, Rose felt a bit bad about what had happened to Maxima at her engagement party. She probably would have felt a little worse if, minutes prior, Maxima hadn't attacked Rose's family or admitted to using Scorpius. If anything, Rose decided the attack was definitely a part of the prophecy she was meant to have a role in, and she'd let her focus lie on that end of things. She hadn't spoken to either cousin since the end of fall term, and felt no need to speak to them before the beginning of spring term.
Rose peered out the window again, focusing on the passerby dressed in their cloaks to avoid the cold. She jumped severely as she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Scorpius apologized gently. "I didn't mean to frighten you."
Rose turned around and looked at Scorpius. She hadn't seen him since the engagement party. He appeared tired, but he was shaved and his hair was styled nonetheless. He removed his cloak to reveal a sleek black turtleneck that made Rose feel frumpy in her old scarf and oversized cardigan. Scorpius always had a way of making her feel underdressed, even for a meeting in a bookstore.
"It's all right," she said.
"Have you been waiting long?" Rose shook her head. Scorpius didn't speak for a while. "I'm sorry I asked you here, I'm sure you have better things to do."
"I don't," Rose assured him lamely. She looked at Scorpius. His shoulders were slumped, as if he was defeated but was trying very hard not to be. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Scorpius answered quickly. "I was just eager to get out of the house, and come somewhere quiet. You know, people from the Prophet have been bothering me so much because of…" he let his voice trail off.
"I'm sorry, that must be hard."
Scorpius nodded his head in agreement. He wrinkled his eyebrows. "I'm not sure why I asked you, it's just, a lot of my other friends don't seem to understand, or I can't tell them everything. I didn't mean to be a bother."
Rose shook her head profusely. "You're not. I know exactly what you mean. There are just certain people you can't talk about certain things with. And sometimes you just want to get away."
"Exactly. You understand me so much, how is it we were never friends before?"
"Because we weren't supposed to be," Rose answered. "Because our fathers don't like each other."
Scorpius gave her a look. "You know I don't care about that."
"Of course not, I don't either. It's just maybe why we never talked before we had to."
A small smile played at the corner of Scorpius' lips, something she suspected he hadn't done in a while. "Well I'm glad we did become friends," he said finally.
Rose smiled back. "So am I."
They sat and smiled dumbly at each other for a moment. Rose tried to avoid the fact that she felt her cheeks growing hotter by the second. She knew she looked an absolute fright in her old jumper and her glasses. Her hair was an untamed mess. And Scorpius, being himself, had showed up looking near-perfect. She couldn't ever remember him looking otherwise. Rose fidgeted with her glasses. She took them off and held them in her hand.
"Are your glasses bothering you again?" Scorpius asked with a frown.
Rose nodded slightly. "It's just the air, it's rather dry out," Rose said, rubbing her eyes.
"I'm sorry that yours eyes bother you so much," Scorpius said gently. Rose noticed how close she was to him on the bench they sat on.
"It's fine. I've had horrible eyesight my entire life. Besides, it's not the worse thing that can possibly bother you."
Scorpius nodded his agreement. "I know that all too well."
Rose felt her skin prickle as Scorpius gently removed the glasses from her hand. He set them on the small table beside them. Then, ever so slowly, he leaned in and kissed her. Rose felt butterflies in her stomach. She, Rose Weasley, arguably the least remarkable and least noticeable out of her entire horde of cousins- better yet, all the females in the school- was kissing Scorpius Malfoy, one of the richest, most well-known boys to ever attend Hogwarts. Not that any of that mattered to her, it was just an interesting thought. His hand touched her cheek much in the way that Lorcan used to when he kissed her. Suddenly, Rose pulled back. She opened her eyes.
"I'm sorry," Scorpius apologized. "Should I not have?"
"You're engaged," Rose reminded him, her hands still shaking from their kiss. "I may not like Maxima much, but that's- this is wrong. I couldn't be mad at Albus for what he did if I do the same."
Scorpius set his jaw hard. "You know?" he questioned.
Rose nodded. "I tried to talk him out of it, but he said something about wanting to help Maxima become a mediwitch. I knew it wasn't going to end well. He fancies her for whatever reason- I mean, I'm sorry, I shouldn't say-"
Scorpius shook his head. "It's fine. I could tell you two don't like each other. She's jealous of you, I think."
"Of me?" Rose repeated despite herself. "Why?"
"Because you're kind, and brilliant, and selfless, and so many other things," Scorpius said seriously. She wasn't quite sure what had changed his mind about Maxima. The last she'd seen, he'd been in love with her, and they'd been happy and snogging. She wondered why, so close after what had happened to her, he wasn't by her side. She decided it wasn't her business to ask.
Rose took a deep breath. Scorpius returned her glasses. "Right, we'd best take a look at this book then, shouldn't we?"
"I think so," Scorpius agreed. Rose opened the book up to him, and it was so large it spread over their laps. Rose noticed how close Scorpius sat to her. She couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't all right with him.
"So, remember how we were looking at those silver artifacts?" Rose questioned.
Scorpius nodded. He shuddered slightly. "I forgot to tell you. My mother gave Maxima earrings to wear to the engagement party. They looked just like Bianca's bracelet."
Rose put her finger to her chin. "Where did she get them from? Are they from your father's side of the family?"
"I don't know," Scorpius answered. "The only family heirloom jewelry I know of is my mum's wedding ring. Anyhow, Maxima has them now."
"Can you get them from her?"
Scorpius bit his bottom lip. "At some point, possibly," he said shortly. He turned to Rose again. "What did you find?"
"More about the Stanislov family. There's not much. But apparently, they go back far. It says they're one of the original wizarding families. They've spread far. It says here originally many members were Veelas, and blood-crazed. They tried to create a super-race of pureblood wizards."
Scorpius frowned. "But how? Veelas are creatures, mixing their blood with wizards' blood would make it impure."
Rose frowned at Scorpius' use of the word 'creature'. "My aunt and cousins are part Veela," Rose said. "Also, many wizards hold Veelas in high esteem and would love to cross their blood with them. They'd be better looking, so to speak, and some argue their magic would be twice as strong-"
Scorpius looked at Rose with concern when she abruptly stopped talking. "Rose, are you-"
"Bianca is part Veela," Rose announced, as if she was upset for not remembering sooner. "My cousin Dominique mentioned it. There's no way that's a coincidence."
"So you believe she's a member of this family?" Scorpius questioned.
Rose nodded. "I did before. But this just solidified it." She gave Scorpius a look and chewed her bottom lip, knowing what she was going to say next was insane. "I think you are too."
Scorpius' eyebrows wrinkled as if Rose had just said something completely stupid. "Rose, I think you're mistaken," he said gently.
"I don't think I am. You have the pocket watch, your mum has the earrings, you're all extremely blond, and well, everyone knows how the Malfoys have felt about blood." Rose hoped that comment didn't offend Scorpius.
He was silent for a long while, and fidgeted with the sleeve on his turtleneck. "Just because I'm blond doesn't mean I'm a Veela. Besides, Bianca has dark hair," he argued.
"And also the bluest eyes you've ever seen. I'm not saying being blond makes you a Veela, Scorpius, I'm saying all of this evidence in combination with that might make it possible, and we shouldn't rule it out."
Scorpius frowned like he still didn't quite believe her, but didn't want to call her idea stupid.
"So, if that's what we're running with, then what's the next move?" He questioned.
Rose honestly didn't know. She didn't want that to seem super obvious to Scorpius, though. "More research? We need to see just how many people in this family are still around. And maybe, if you can, ask your parents about the watch and your mum about the earrings? I'm sure they might know more than they've told you. We've got to find out about Bianca and Ivan too, but I'm not sure how that'll work since Albus broke up with her."
Scorpius nodded in deep thought. "I don't exactly trust Ivan asking Roxanne," he admitted.
"Me either. Maybe you can speak to her, though. The enemy of an enemy is your friend."
"What?" Scorpius asked.
"Muggle expression. Basically means that since you don't like Albus and I'm sure she doesn't either, she may be willing to open up to you."
Rose hoped that was the case. She felt she was on to something, although the pieces weren't fully together yet. She was proud that they were beginning to make headway in the case.
"But that also leads to who would have made the attack at the engagement party. I know my uncle's still looking into that," Rose said. "I hate to ask this, but do you think it was meant to hurt you or Maxima?"
Scorpius was quiet for a thoughtful moment. Rose was worried she was prying too much, but the information could be extremely helpful.
"It happened at Malfoy Manor," Scorpius said, as if this was his first time seriously considering the situation. "The ballroom is still closed for investigation. But it would have meant that someone close to my family allowed them in. We were strict about invitations that night, and any other time we have wards, so someone wouldn't have just been able to pop in."
"So you think someone your family knows plan this?"
Scorpius nodded. He rubbed his chin with his hand. "It has to be. But I'm not sure if that's saying anything. My parents are more tolerant now, but that doesn't mean everyone they keep company with. My father and Maxima's father run similar circles, but there were even some people there for her that I didn't know. Any of them could have been in on this, and it was probably more than one person."
Rose tried to remember any of the people she'd met or come across the night of the party. It was all blurry to her, all marred by the horrible explosion. "What about any foreigners? Anyone who's come recently?" she asked.
Scorpius shrugged. "I'm sure. But my father has friends in different countries. I don't know all of them…this is so much to handle at once."
Rose put her arm on Scorpius' shoulder. "I'm sorry to attack you with questions. But you know, it's not for all of this to solve. We can bring what we found out to the others, Lorcan, Lysander, Fred, Roxanne…"
"You can say their names," Scorpius said bitterly.
Rose let her hang linger on his shoulder. "Is something else wrong? I was trying not to ask-"
"I… I don't want to discuss it," Scorpius said gently. "It's also probably be good not to put Albus and I in a room together for a while."
"Oh…" Rose said. She wanted to ask if anything more had happened, but she decided to respect his wishes.
They looked at each other for a long while once again. "You've been one of the best friends I've had in a long while," Scorpius admitted.
Rose gave him a small smile. "You too. You're one of the only levelheaded people I know right now."
"Thank Merlin for that."
Scorpius' eyes glanced down at Rose's lips again. Rose's stomach suddenly flipped again. She tried to think of something to change the beat of the conversation. She closed the book and set it on the table beside them. She turned back to Scorpius and he still hadn't moved. His eyes were pleading almost.
"Rose," Scorpius said with a bit of firmness in his voice. "I know I'm engaged to Maxima. I know you also understand what that entails. I also know I haven't told you why exactly I've been so out of it lately, but you have to trust me. My relationship with Maxima is over. She did something to me that I can't forgive."
"Scorpius, what are you…?" Rose's voice trailed off as Scorpius took her hand gently.
"I'm not sure what will happen with out marriage, but I know I don't have any feelings for her anymore. I'm done with her. But I… I know I feel something for you. I'm not asking for anything from you, I just need to be honest with myself about how I feel."
Rose didn't know what to say. It was cute to her almost, how frank Scorpius was being with his feelings, as if he was doing it for himself rather than for her. It also made her self conscious for some reason. What was so good about her that Scorpius, who could have any girl at the school, felt something for her? She remembered the last time a friend had had romantic feelings for her. The situation with Lorcan still made Rose's head spin.
"I think that's important… to be honest with yourself," Rose said awkwardly.
Scorpius nodded slowly, as if he's expected Rose to say something different. "I just didn't want you to think I was putting you in a situation. I'm not going to go back to Maxima. I've had my limit, and I see what kind of person she is now. I just didn't want it to seem like I was playing you both."
"That I can respect."
"You're also teaching me so much, and changing the way I think, I just-" Before finishing his sentence, Scorpius placed his hands on either side of her cheek and kissed Rose again. She didn't want to believe his promises so easily, but something about Scorpius' sincerity made her trust him. It had also been so long since someone seemed to genuinely appreciate her, and notice her for who she was.
Rose kissed him back. What a sight, she thought. Scorpius, looking neat and professional snogging her, who looked dressed to lounge around the house. Still, if Scorpius didn't care, neither did she.
Scorpius pulled away from Rose again, a little bit of hope in his eyes. "You're brilliant," he said again. "I mean in general… not at snogging- not that you're not brilliant at snogging, I just-"
Rose cut Scorpius off by putting a finger to his lips. She laughed at his awkwardness, relieved to see that side of him. Scorpius laughed uncomfortably at himself.
"All part of my Veela charm, according to you."
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