It was late Spring by now, but the weather was still chilly. The sun had started to shine, however weakly, again, and Easter approached.

"Rose?"

"Hmm?"

"You coming?"

Rose looked up from her book, to see that Alice, Scorpius and Albus were all wrapped up, obviously with the intention of going outside.

"Where?" she asked.

"Hagrid's," Albus replied.

"Nah; it's cold," said Rose, returning to her book.

"See you later, then," Scorpius said.

"Bye!"

Rose kept reading her book. It was one of her favourites, and she read it often.

"Rose?"

Rose looked up once more. Lucy was standing there, looking awkward. She twirled a strand of red hair around her finger, and fiddled with her glasses to give her something to do.

"What's up, Luce?" she asked concernedly. Her younger cousin sat next to her on the sofa.

She blushed. "I … I kinda like this guy …"

"Have I had 'Relationships Advice' tattooed on my forehead without me noticing?" Rose asked, half-seriously. "I've never even had a boyfriend!"

Lucy laughed. "I just look up to you. And who else went to you?"

"Jamie."

"So that's why he and Mia just got together so out of the blue?" Lucy asked, nodding a little. "Well, you must have given good advice."

Rose smiled. "I guess … who do you like, anyway?"

Lucy's answer was mumbles.

"Just whisper it to me," Rose coaxed.

Lucy sighed. "Lorcan."

"Really?" Rose asked, surprised, even though she'd seen this coming. "Well, surrounded by dense people, I'd say that – no offence – you're one of them. You can't see that he likes you too?"

Lucy smiled, and hugged her. "Thanks. And you'd think that, if you're able to pick out dense people, you'd realise that you're one of them."

With another smile, she rose and left.

Rose, Alice and Albus were sitting at a table in the common, room, doing their homework, while Scorpius watched them from the comfort of a nearby armchair, reading through a Herbology essay that Alice was still struggling to write. Rose shot glances at her friend. Alice had now given up, and was sitting, elbows propped up on the table, watching Katherine roll a ball of string along the floor for Smoky to play with.

"Want help?" Rose sighed, laying down her quill.

Alice nodded, meeting her friend's eye.

Rose stretched out her hand for Alice's essay, and read through what had already been written.

"You feeling all right today?" she asked, with a raised eyebrow, before she crumpled up the sheet of parchment. "How about you take a look at my essay, and get ideas from that?"

"Or mine?" Scorpius suggested from his armchair.

"Or both?" said Albus, in an almost bored voice, without looking up from his Transfiguration questions.

Alice smiled in thanks as she was handed both essays.

They lapsed into silence, save for the scratching of quills, and the noise the other Gryffindors made.

Then James materialised out of nowhere. He grinned as the four of them looked up at him enquiringly.

"Hey guys! Al, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure," said Albus, though he looked confused. Exchanging a look with the other three, he followed his brother.

Rose had the distinct feeling that she was missing something, as the four of them walked towards the greenhouses first thing the next morning. Albus walked next to her, and stayed silent for the whole journey, and Alice and Scorpius, walking ahead, were having a whispered discussion (or argument).

Rose heard Alice hiss defiantly, "You have to tell her!" as they joined the throng outside greenhouse three.

"What was that all about?" Rose demanded, as she swatted the Venomous Tentactula away with her shears.

"What was what all about?" Alice asked coolly.

"I'm not deaf!" Rose hissed indignantly. "You and Scorp? Arguing? You never do that; you're dead close! And what was 'you have to tell her!' about anyway?"

She fixed her friend with a glare.

"That's the whole point," Alice murmured back, out of the corner of her mouth, focusing her attention on her father as he began to address the class. "He has to tell you, not me."

"So I'm the 'her' you were on about?"

Alice nodded ever so slightly, just enough to be noticed.

"When did you get up?"

"Before dawn, I think," Rose replied nonchalantly, without looking up from where she sat beside the lake.

Alice sat down next to her, looking concerned.

"I'm fine," Rose insisted. "I couldn't sleep; that's all."

The sun was shining properly now, stronger than it had the previous day, marking the occasion of the first Hogsmeade trip since Christmas.

"Come on inside, then," said Alice, standing up again, and offering a hand to help Rose up. "You need some breakfast."

Rose allowed herself to be pulled to her feet, and followed Alice up to the castle.

"Where the hell were you two?"

"Lake," Rose muttered, heaping food onto her plate mechanically.

Alice did not elaborate for her, shooting both boys a look that meant "I'll tell you later".

After breakfast, they milled out into the Entrance Hall, having their permission slips checked and starting towards the nearby village.

"The usual, then?" Alice asked, when they were almost half-way there.

Rose nodded. It would hardly be any different, going to Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks and Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

After they went to Honeydukes, buying Easter Eggs for themselves, they walked up the high street to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Angelina waved to them from where she leaned against the counter, talking to her children.

Rose waved back, and then wandered around the shop, picking out a couple of things to get. When she reached the counter, she found that her money was waved away again.

"Get yourself a Butterbeer instead," Angelina said.

And so Rose did, when she, Albus, Alice and Scorpius headed to the Three Broomsticks.

"Thanks for the help," Molly smiled, as Rose made to join her friends. She'd been helping her younger cousin revise for her OWLs, not having much to do over the Easter.

"You're welcome," Rose replied, smiling back over her shoulder as she crossed the common room and sat next to Albus on the sofa.

She had opted against going home for the Easter, Alice hadn't wanted to go home either, Scorpius enjoyed staying away from his father for as long as possible, and since the other three were staying, Albus did too.

They went down to lunch, and sat in the middle of the Gryffindor table, across from a group of second-years they didn't know the names of.

When they started towards Gryffindor tower again, she saw Scorpius whisper something to the other two, and then asked Rose, "Want to go for a walk?"

"All right …" she replied, a little confused. So far, he'd been uncharacteristically distant with her.

They walked down beside the lake, away from some studying seventh years.

Scorpius sighed heavily. "I have to tell you something."

"So do I," Rose murmured. "But I don't think I can."

Scorpius did not look surprised, nor did he look confused. He merely nodded, and did not press to know what she was talking about. "Remember when my mum came to Al's house, after Christmas?"

It was Rose's turn to nod.

"She wanted to talk to me about a letter I got from my father," he continued, the last two words sounding horribly bitter. "That said we were going to America after I'd finished sixth year, and there was nothing I could do about it."

"Do Al and Alice know?" Rose asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah …"

The countless emotions that had been building up inside her finally became too much. She exploded.

"And you didn't tell me?" she demanded, her voice loud enough to cause the seventh years to abandon their study and watch her. "Was I too insignificant to tell that you were emigrating? I'm just one of you're best friends, not worthy enough to know anything?"

She didn't know where her rage was coming from, and she knew that she should feel bad about yelling at one of her best friends, but she didn't.

"I thought you cared about me," she said in a low and menacing voice, through her tears. "Obviously I was wrong."

"It's not that I don't care," he whispered, looking sorrowful. "It's that I do."

"Yeah right," she hissed, turning on her heel and storming off back towards the castle.

"Rose?"

"Go away."

"Come on; talk to me."

"I said go away."

"You can't hide away like this," said Alice firmly.

"Funny, I think I just did," Rose snapped back.

She felt a weight on her bed that meant Alice had sat down on the bed. Rose did not turn to face her friend, and continued to glare at the photos stuck on her wall next to her Holyhead Harpies poster. She sat, hugging her knees, looking at them. Along with the post-Quidditch match photo, there were photos of her and Albus racing each other on toy broomsticks when they were both five, and pictures of her, Alice, Albus and Scorpius from first year to that photo that had been taken after Albus returned, all the time smiling.

"What happened?" Alice asked.

Rose sighed, turning at last to face Alice. "I blew up on him. I should go apologise."

"You should," Alice agreed. "He looked pretty cut up."

"But why didn't he just tell me?" Rose asked.

"If you can't see why yourself, then I'm not going to tell you," said Alice. "But shouldn't we all enjoy the time we have left with Scorp, instead of screaming at him?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah. I'll go apologise, or something …"

Alice smiled that little bit, and followed as Rose headed downstairs to the common room.

Thank you for reading