Chapter Fourteen – Rosie

"What are you doing, Rose?" Scorpius asked softly, coming up behind me and making me jump. I was in the library, reading a Transfiguration book in preparation for N.E.W.T.s. I decided that, for now, I wasn't going to think about the past events that had occurred outside of the school. I needed to focus on my education—my dad was right, anyway. I didn't need to stick my nose in places where it didn't belong. And it didn't belong anywhere besides on my face.

"Studying," I replied coolly, trying to act as if he hadn't startled me at all. Still, my heart was pounding inside my chest, and it wasn't going to slow down anytime soon—at least, not with Scorpius here. He didn't seem to notice that I had jumped anyway, since he probably would have laughed at me if he had. Then again, the circumstances we were under now weren't normal. Maybe he just didn't feel like laughing anymore.

I turned around in my seat to look at him, and my face fell when I glanced at him. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, and his eyes were sad, even though he was trying to smile at me. I furrowed my eyebrows together, closing my book with one hand and stood up to face him completely. He didn't move when I reached out to hold his hands, pulling them from his pockets, but he seemed to wince. I pretended not to notice, but something stabbed at my heart like a knife.

"Don't you know what today is?" he questioned, and I furrowed my eyebrows even more. Well, no, I didn't know what today was. Mr. Malfoy's hearing wasn't scheduled until Monday, and today was Saturday. I didn't know why Scorpius would be so upset if he still had a couple of more days before his hearing. Of course, I already knew how the hearing would work out, but I wouldn't tell Scorpius that.

Oh… Today was Saturday. Today was the trip to Hogsmeade—the one that I had agreed to go with Scorpius to, as a date. I had been in the library all day studying, and it had to be close to dinner now, since I'd been in here for hours. I had forgotten all about Hogsmeade with everything that was going on now. I had stood Scorpius up—unintentionally, of course, but I had still stood him up!

"Oh my goodness," I muttered, pulling my hands away from Scorpius was such a force that I fell back into my chair. I stared up at him, shaking my head at myself. "I am so sorry. I didn't even realize that the Hogsmeade trip was today—I just looked at it as a Saturday and came up here to study. I didn't even remember about our date. I've been so confused lately, and I just couldn't remember. There's just too much going on, and I hadn't had much time to study since everything started… I am really sorry, Scorpius. I didn't mean to stand you up."

Scorpius blinked, and it was his turn to look confused now. "They haven't left yet. We're going in fifteen minutes, though, and everyone is already outside. I was just confused when you didn't come out, so I came back in to look for you. I figured you'd be in here like every other Saturday, since I knew you probably forgot about today. It's only eleven forty-five," he replied, and I cocked my head to the side. I was befuddled again. I had been in the library for hours. At least, it felt like hours.

I stood up abruptly, leaving the Transfiguration book on the table (silently hoping that the librarian wouldn't notice), and grabbed Scorpius' hand again to pull him out of the library. "Hurry up, then, I don't want to be late," I huffed, as I sprinted down the stairs (which was a lot more difficult than I thought, considering I was pulling Scorpius along). He stopped me at the bottom of the stairs, spinning me around to face him and holding my wrists so I wouldn't run. That had come across my mind.

"I said we had fifteen minutes, not thirty seconds. Personally, I'm surprised you made it down those stairs without falling," he told me, and I glared at him. I was a lot more coordinated than anyone gave me credit for. "Slow down, Rosie. We have time. I found you just in time."

He pressed his lips against mine, and I melted. My legs became jelly, and Scorpius lifted me off the ground, feeling my sudden flimsiness. I couldn't keep myself from laughing, but even as I smiled, he continued to kiss me. He almost started laughing with me, but he caught himself at the last second and pushed himself harder against me.

I couldn't help but feel that his last words had multiple meanings, and the butterflies in my stomach rose to my chest. He did find me just in time, in more ways than one.

I tried to think (which was hard to do, seeing as he was kissing me with a force that probably could have knocked me out from amazement) about the last time he called me Rosie. It was a while back—he had been so serious the past couple of days, so he had just been calling me Rose. Which was fine with me, but I liked it when he called me by my nickname. He had been calling me Rosie for a long time.

"Hey, Rosie, do you think you could let me borrow your stuff from Uncle George? I know you still have it, and I'm all out of my stuff," James, my older cousin, said, and I blushed. I wasn't supposed to have anything from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, so I resorted to hiding it all under my bed where no one would find it. I had no idea how James could have figured out that I still had it. "My mum would yell at me if I sent a letter to Uncle George asking for more stuff."

"Rosie," Scorpius muttered from my other side. We were all sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall for lunch—Albus, Scorpius, Roxanne, James, Fred, and I. My other friends (most of them from Ravenclaw or Slytherin) always made fun of me because my family was so large. Scorpius even made fun of me because of my large family. I never thought of it as large, just cozy.

"Yes, Rosie," I replied, and Scorpius burst out laughing. For an eleven-year-old, sometimes he could be strangely mature. Of course, then he would act like this, and I would see just how immature he was—and how annoying boys were. I crossed my arms, and glared angrily at him. It wasn't long before Albus joined into the chorus of laughter, and I glared over at him, as well. "What?"

"You're face. You look so mad," Albus replied, and Roxanne smiled beside him. I rolled my eyes.

"Rosie makes you sound so young and girly! Don't three-year-old girls like being called nicknames like Rosie?" Scorpius sneered, and I swung my elbow into his ribs. He yowled in pain and clutched his side, looking up at me. James laughed uncontrollably, and he reached over to give me a high-five. James took only a moment to compose himself, but Scorpius took a little longer. "Fine, it isn't that bad a name! It's still girly, though."

I narrowed my eyes even more, so they were only slits on my face. "I am a girl, thank you very much!" I exclaimed, and Scorpius seemed sarcastically shocked—although I wondered if that was just an act. Did he really know I was a girl? "And, for your information, I like being called Rosie. At least my name is normal, unlike yours. Scorpius Hyper—"

"Right, we don't have to go into our middle names" Scorpius replied, elbowing me now. He hadn't done it hard, but I couldn't keep myself from curling my hand into a fist for him to see. He froze, watching my hand with cautious eyes. "Well, if you like that better, I suppose I could try calling you Rosie if you like it better… It's sort of weird." I fumed angrily. "Sorry, Rosie. So, Rosie, are you going to let James borrow your stuff or not, Rosie?"

"Um… yeah, sure," I muttered, looking at James, who was fighting back more laughter.

"Rosie, that's very nice of you… Rosie," Scorpius said, and I elbowed him gently. Now, he was just being obnoxious about it. He didn't have to use it twice in every sentence. I glared at him, and he smiled weakly. "Sorry, Rosie."

"What are you thinking about?" Scorpius asked, and I blinked. I hadn't even realized that I was back on the ground and that he had stopped kissing me. That was a pity; the end was usually the best part of the kiss. My mouth was tingling, though, so it must have been good. I was glad that Scorpius was back to normal—for the time being. Until his father was sent to Azkaban on Monday.

"First year," I replied, and this was a partial truth. I had been thinking about an event during our first year. "You didn't think I was a girl—I'm offended. Well, I was offended then… I'm glad you've finally realized that I'm not a boy, now, though."

Scorpius looked confused. "I knew you were a girl. I mean, you were a little meaner than most other girls I knew, but I still knew you were a girl," he said, and I knew he wasn't joking. I wasn't mean, exactly. I was just very intolerant of people and extremely pushy back in the day. Now, though, I was just carefree and relaxed. At least, I liked to think I was. That really wasn't the case.

"Sure," I said, anyway, rolling my eyes. "Now, stop distracting me. We're going to end up being late, and it will be your fault. Shocker."

I ran away from Scorpius before he could attack me for that last crack. I heard him laughing behind me, though, and I smiled as I headed outside. The carriages to go down to Hogsmeade were already filling, and I hopped into one. It was a moment before Scorpius came into the carriage—I wondered if he had noticed which one I went into, or if he had been looking aimlessly in them to find me. Personally, I hoped it was the latter.

"Hey, Rosie!" someone exclaimed, climbing into the carriage with Scorpius and I. I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly, trying to calm myself. Lily was not doing this to me. "Wow, I saw you guys go into this carriage and thought we could join you. I don't know where Hugo and Janice are, but we'll meet up with them later. We're going to the Three Broomsticks! Where are you guys going?"

Scorpius darted his eyes at me quickly enough that I noticed, and I understood his silent message: Away from you. I smiled, looking back at Lily and Michael, who had climbed into the seat opposite ours.

"Well, I have no idea. But I do remember Hugo complaining that he didn't want Scorpius and I near you, and, as his sister, I will respect his wishes," I said in response, and Lily's forehead creased stubbornly. I turned to Scorpius and frowned. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," he whispered, but I knew Lily and Michael could hear. Lily was still fuming, and Michael was quietly comforting her, but I saw him look at me for a moment and roll his eyes. I stifled a laugh, and he smiled. Scorpius eyes us, and after a moment, he shrugged and watched the scenery as we rolled down to Hogsmeade.

When we reached the village, Hugo and Janice were waiting for Lily and Michael already, and Scorpius and I stepped out of the carriage after they disappeared into the crowd. I put my hands on my hips and faced Scorpius, tilting my head to the side.

"What's the surprise?" I inquired with a smile. "Where are we going?"

"Surprise!" Scorpius muttered dryly, and I blinked, confused. "I have no idea where we're going. I was going to let you pick. I mean, we could always go to The Three Broomsticks for a bite to eat, too, or we could just go shopping."

I shook my head, moving my hands to cross them across my chest. "I'm not picking. No way. I always pick where we go, and then you always complain when I want to shop for some new clothes," I snapped, and Scorpius' pale face turned pink in a slight blush. My narrowed eyes relaxed, and I smiled. It wasn't often that Scorpius blushed, and it looked so adorable!

"Hey, Malfoy, you're still hanging around with Weasley?" someone called, and I looked over to see Jeanie Thomas smiling at us. "Wasn't her father the one who arrested your dad? Well, maybe I should phrase this the other way, although it works both, anyway. Weasley, you're still hanging around with Malfoy? His dad is a crook."

I pinned my hand on Scorpius' arm, holding him in a vice grip. He looked angry, and I had a feeling that if he didn't know I was here, he would have hexed Jeanie. If I wasn't Head Girl, I probably would have, too.

"He's not a crook. He's innocent, and my dad didn't arrest him. He was trying to defend Mr. Malfoy," I retorted, and Jeanie shrugged.

"There's a lot of talk going around, Scorpius. People are saying that your dad was the head of all of the Muggle attacks, and other people are saying that you helped out with them, too," she continued, and now it was Scorpius' turn to constrict me. I jumped forward, lunging at her without pulling out my wand, but Scorpius clutched me from behind, holding my body against his. "Touchy, Weasley?"

"Be quiet, or I'll make you!" I yelled, but I didn't fight with Scorpius to get away. "Scorpius hasn't done anything, and I know you know he hasn't."

"Oh, I didn't say that I agreed with any of them," Jeanie said, looking honestly offended. "Scorpius is my friend, too. I mean, yeah, it's a little strange that Mr. Malfoy used to be a Death Eater and now he's been arrested. And it's a little strange that I've seen Scorpius sneaking out in the middle of the night without an explanation—not that he knew I saw him, but… well, now you know."

I pulled away with such a sudden, unexpected movement that it caught Scorpius off guard, and I escaped from his grasp. I spun around to face him, though, not to attack Jeanie. Scorpius had been sneaking out in the middle of the night? He never told me that—and I had never caught him before. He must have been sneaking out when he knew Albus and I weren't around.

"You've been doing what?" I demanded, looking incredulously at him. "Sneaking out! You do realize that I'm the Head Girl, right? If I had caught you, I wouldn't have let you off the hook. If you think you can just sneak out and not get in trouble…" I paused, inhaling and exhaling to calm myself. "Why have you been sneaking out?"

"Ah, yes, I've been wondering that, too," Jeanie chimed in, her soft, melodic voice sounding even more demanding than mine, although it was sweeter.

I noticed Scorpius swallow, which wasn't a good sign. "Rosie, I haven't been sneaking out for the reasons people are thinking. You obviously know me a lot better than that," he started lamely, and my eyes widened angrily.

"Know you!" I exclaimed, backing away from him. "I didn't even know you were sneaking out at night, and I'm supposed to know that. Albus is supposed to know that. I don't know you at all, Scorpius… I thought I knew you."

Jeanie was smiling, her warm brown eyes narrowed into slits. She looked absolutely evil, although I knew she wouldn't hurt a fly. At least not with violence. With words, though—that was a different story entirely. She was hurting me badly enough right now that she might as well have been stabbing me in the heart with a tangible knife.

"I can't tell you," Scorpius whispered, and I strained to hear him. "I promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone if they asked because he could get in trouble."

"Him?" Jeanie asked, raising an eyebrow. Apparently, Scorpius had been talking louder than I thought, if she had been able to hear him, too. She was much farther away than I was. Perhaps my head wasn't functioning correctly now, and my ears weren't working right. "Your father?"

"I can't tell you," he repeated.

My eyes began to water, but I rolled them anyway, allowing a tear to slip from them. "Of course," I murmured, more to myself than to him. "Everything is so messed up, Scorpius. First, your father is arrested, and now I find out that you've been sneaking out. Isn't it a little strange that you've been sneaking out while this is going on? Jeanie is right."

"No, Rose, I'm not—"

"You know what?" I asked, cutting him off. It was a rhetorical question—I would give him the answer without getting a response. "I don't want to know what you've been doing. I thought seventh year would be my best year, and that it would be really enjoyable. So far, though, it's been awful. Thanks so much, Scorpius."

He sighed, and Jeanie laughed behind him before walking away. I looked at Scorpius for a second longer, and then turned on my heel. As I walked away, I heard him say, "Sorry, Rosie." I began to laugh to myself, letting some more tears spill over my eyes.

That was ironic. He started calling me Rosie with the exact same sentence. And this was probably the last time he would ever call me that.

--

Author's Note: Oh, I am bad. I am SO mean. I know.

I also know what you're going to say. Actually, what I think some of you want me to say I can't actually put up here, since this isn't a Mature-rated fanfiction. Plus, I don't swear (I know, I'm weird. I just don't like it). But I know what you're going to say eventually! It may not be the first or second thing you'll think, but you WILL think it eventually: I should have given them more time together. Seriously, they were only together for a couple of days—I should have given them a couple of weeks!

Yeah, too bad. Bwah ha ha!

I didn't say they won't get back together, of course. Because it's very possible. Rose doesn't really hold grudge's very well, if you couldn't tell already. Plus, Scorpius and Rose were really good friends before they got together, so they're used to fights.

Then again, I didn't say they would get back together. But they COULD!

Just saying. Only I know what's going on. You're all probably mad about that. Bwah ha ha! I love being in control of a story. Because I can do anything I want! Except, of course, it has to go with my plot. Which has a beginning and an end and a middle. But no middle of the middles. If that made any sense.

Yup. Happy reading!