First of all, kemosabes, the firetrucking nvaigation menu in my log-in page wasn't working for like a whole damn month so yeah...I could not upload a single thing. I was in agony. Thanks for waiting...especially to Alijandra's Editor. Man, this one's a big-time! Man, I hope you haven't changed your mind about Scorose!

Power on!

Chapter 14

You could imagine the surprise that Headmistress McGonagall had upon seeing Rose Malfoy and Scorpius Weasley getting off at the Hogsmeade bus stop of the Knight Bus. Together. Laughing with each other. With Scorpius helping Rose with her bags. Their life-time battle was a prevalent knowledge in school grounds, especially to those who know them; so really, you could imagine how Professor McGonagall found all this strange. Really.

In her most headmistress manner, the professor marched up to the two, who were laughing gleefully probably at a joke one of them made. She cleared her throat to get their attention, and immediately, Rose and Scorpius stopped their chuckles.

"Well, good afternoon Mr. Weasley and Miss Malfoy," she said kindly with a hint of curiosity. Scorpius and Rose greeted her back rather carefully. "I never expected that—well—that you two—"

"Would be back so soon?" Scorpius finished. "Er, well…yeah…it was kind of impromptu." Which, of course, we all know is not true.

"We met on the bus on our way here," Rose explained without further being questioned. It was her very Slytherin-like principle that lying, or at least for a better terminology, bending the truth, is better done before one is asked about the matter.

"I see." Professor McGonagall pushed her glasses up her nose bridge and joined her hands authoritatively. "I hope you two are not in some kind of trouble whatsoever. But you two seem to be going along pretty well."

"Yes, professor," Scorpius grinned as he gently dropped Rose's luggage on the ground and put his arm around her shoulders like they were the best of pals. "Christmas spirit in the air and we're inhaling it."

Scorpius squeezed Rose's shoulders, crushing her body against his side, to which Rose responded with a profuse coloration of the cheeks; it had nothing to do with the cold, however, and McGonagall was deducing it too.

"Well, I'm glad about it. Both of you are unquestionably more than welcome to join the staff's Christmas Eve dinner tonight. A few students who have stayed here for the holidays are going too, of course, so you need not think and feel awkward of joining in the festivities of old souls like us, your teachers. Now you two, off to the castle; even the head of an institution needs to go for a last-minute Christmas shopping."

Rose and Scorpius looked at each other strangely as McGonagall left.

"It was nice running in to you accidentally on the bus," Scorpius remarked.

"I, for one, definitely was not expecting you, of all people," Rose rode on. "It must be the Christmas spirit."

It definitely was strange, looking back to how they were before and comparing to how they are now. To think that they are now able to share jokes and laugh with each other delightfully, seeing that Christmases ago, the only things they have exchanged were jinxes and spiteful comments, is very very strange indeed, yet highly pleasant to both parties. Only did they separate when they got in their respective common rooms. It appeared that two second years, three fourth years and a fifth year from Slytherin stayed for the winter break. In Gryffindor, however, a group of third year boys are the only ones who remained. So, Rose and Scorpius were not much bothered nor isolated in the quiet walls of Hogwarts.

After Scorpius had finished fixing his things and writing a short letter to the Weasleys (on Hermione's matriarchal orders, of course) to tell them that he was alright, he went down to the dungeons for Rose. He groped his pockets and felt that the pouch of the Golden Sand of Thought was still there, along with some recently shoved scraps of parchment he used to wipe off the spilled ink when he was writing his letter's postscript, which was solely intended for Ron's knowledge. Strictly and solely for Ron only.

He arrived in front of the fancy black double doors of the Slytherin common room. A fourth year came out and he asked whether Rose was inside. Rose immediately emerged from inside the common room.

"There she is," the fourth year boy said dully and went away to do whatever business he intended to do.

"I heard my name," Rose explained. "What's up?"

"Erm," Scorpius began, obliviously running his hand through his hair. "I just wondered whether you wanted to go to the library or something, since there isn't much to do right now."

Rose smiled as bright as the sun. "Sure," she said.

The Christmas Eve dinner of the Hogwarts staff that night was very much prying. Prying in the sense that all the teachers seemed to want to know why they both decided to return to Hogwarts right before Christmas and right at the same time. Of course, they dared not tell them. Rose and Scorpius were sure that they didn't want to let anyone from Hogwarts know Rose's little escapade with Scorpius that caused much anxiety for the Malfoys and terrible awkwardness for the Weasleys; it would only cause much stirring. All the while throughout the dinner, Scorpius kept glancing at Rose nervously, as if he was contemplating of doing something unimaginable. But seeing her smile like that, that smile of content and comfort under the familiarity and protection of Hogwarts which they can call home, eased his restless heart.

That night, before going to bed, Scorpius wrote yet another letter, but this time, it was sent privately to Ron only. He was so angry with himself and so lost that the only thing he could do was to seek comforting words to the person he used to least expect to give him support, even in the dead of the night. Before he could even wait for Ron's reply, however, he fell asleep.

Next morning, Scorpius woke up and sat bolt upright, remembering that last night (or at least hours ago, two o'clock in the morning), he wrote to Ron and forgot to receive his answer. He peered at the window to see if there was an owl waiting to be let in, but was not at all surprised to see that there was none, since if there were an owl, it would have been turned into a feathery popsicle due to the cold. It was already ten in the morning; Scorpius found out after peering in the room's wall clock. He got up unceremoniously, feeling fractious, then noticed a pile of presents on the floor at the foot of his bed. He opened the wrappings and received his first ever Weasley Christmas presents. There was the notorious Weasley jumper, a dark green one with the letter S on the front, which was from Grandmum Weasley, an Irish lexicon from Granddad Weasley (with a quick note from Albus that said he insisted their granddad to give it to him instead of a rubber duck that quacks Irish words when you squeeze it, "I mean, you're not exactly a five-year-old rubber duckie aficionado, now, are you?" the last bit of the note said), a snow globe from Lily, a broomstick handle polisher from Albus (he wrote in the note that he was broke and it was all that he could afford at the moment), a green minty leaf that Fred and James gave (which had no explanation whatsoever about what it was so Scorpius merely assumed it was a bookmark), the latest Quidditch magazine from Hugo with a large poster of the Chuddley Canons (Scorpius was kind of surprised that he even thought of giving him a gift due to the fact that he brought a Malfoy in the Weasley premises the last time Hugo and Scorpius met) and a fruitcake from Hermione, which tasted fairly good now according to Hermione's note. There were other little gifts from his uncles, aunts, cousins, and even from his Granny and Grampy Granger, but the one that he snatched up immediately was Ron's gift.

Well, it wasn't exactly a gift, but a message, which was what Scorpius anticipated the most.

Scorpius,

Before anything else, I helped your mum with the fruitcake (that's why it tastes good this time, because I was paying attention when you were teaching her to make it edible) so technically, you could count that as my gift. Your mother just didn't want to let you know so she wrote only her name on the fruitcake parcel. Your mother's got pride, after all. Anyway, I received your owl last night; I just got home from the Ministry then (bloody paperworks). Don't worry yourself too much, son. Things like that can't be rushed. I have proven that. Ask your mother. No, really, I was an idiot and it took me a long time to be brave enough and face all that. But that was years ago and we should not let that bother us right now, except whenever your mum is experiencing PMS, since during that time, she loves hearing me tell her again and again of the story how we came to be, you know. I'm just telling you to wait for the right time. Do not get frustrated when you plan something out and then it doesn't happen. Sometimes it's best if it doesn't. There'd be a moment when it would just happen and everything would be fine. More than fine; it would be perfect. Sometimes what happened accidentally is far more wonderful than what you have planned out. So don't rush, but don't slack off either. The best ones out there should be the most coveted, so it means you have to keep a vigilant eye out too. Just do what you know is right and wise. I only want your happiness, Scorpius. No matter what happens, always know that I would be with you, especially when you need help. And I'm sorry again for acting unfriendly towards your friend when she was staying here. If only I had known and understood before…You know, I genuinely came to realize that she is a wonderful person, and please excuse your old man for being an idiot.

Merry Christmas, son. Stay safe and eat your vegetables. And the fruitcake. I helped bake it. Baking with someone is such an effective bonding experience, even romantic, I discovered. Seriously. Merry Christmas again and I love you, son.

Your Dad

PS: I've told your mother not to put raisins because I know you don't like them but she insisted. I guess you could pick it out if you really don't want to eat them.

PPS: The poster of the Chudley Cannons that Hugo gave you along with the magazine was bought with my money. Just saying. That could be a present from me too!

Have a happy Christmas!

Scorpius laughed. Ron Weasley was more in touch of his feelings than he thought. Even so, he took his words and remembered them. His advice was simple, yet it made all the difference with how he felt. He should not rush. He should not worry. And he concluded that if it was bound to happen, it will. Maybe he only needed to give it a little push here and there.

He knew exactly at that moment that he can do it. Although, he did not know when he can do it.

.

Their Christmas was peacefully spent: Rose and Scorpius, as expected, spent it together. They met in the Great Hall for brunch, where a long table for the students who remained and the staff replaced the four House tables, just like last night. After their meal, the two of them spent their time playing chess under the beech tree on the lakeside; the wizard chess was a gift from Grandmother Greengrass. Eventually, they got to the subject of their Christmas presents, which Scorpius was sort of hoping not to come up because he was afraid that Rose would get sad about not having been given gifts from her relatives.

"No, it's fine," Rose said after interpreting Scorpius' silence. "I'm…I'm happy, kind of. This is fine, really. Come on, I just want to know what sort of hippy things everyone's given you."

She seemed to smile genuinely so he replied, "Well, your granddad gave me an Irish lexicon."

"Aw!" Rose's knight just got pummeled by Scorpius' king-side castle. "I didn't see my knight's in trouble. Yeah, granddad hinted last year that he saw this Irish-quacking rubber duck and said it would be perfect in my room because it was educational, well at least linguistically. Good thing he got the lexicon instead. What else? Did you get a jumper?"

"Ye…yeah…" Scorpius anticipated Rose's reaction. However, she just got quiet, in a pleasant way, and he was grateful. "It was green."

"Yeah, I used to get green too," Rose said pensively. "Only, I wanted maroon, just like dad's, but I guess Grandmum thinks green is my color. Your turn."

Scorpius carelessly commanded his queen to move and watched Rose's face.

"What did mum give you?"

"A fruitcake."

"Oh no…"

"No, it's okay, I taught her how to make a decent fruitcake. Oh wait, I haven't unwrapped it yet." He waved his wand and Accio-ed the cake, which zoomed in after a few seconds on his lap.

"You should probably have it," Rose said. "You let me eat your piece when we were at the pond, remember?"

"You're just scared that your mum's fruitcake would not be fit for human consumption. Don't worry; your dad actually helped her with this one. Here, you take half of it; I'll eat the other half."

Rose smiled after swallowing her first bite. "This is way improved. Your fruitcake is better, though. You could keep teaching my parents with the baking thing. That would be convenient."

"Sure, I think your dad's a fast-learner when it comes to the kitchen."

Rose took another bite, savouring the flavour of the cake. "How 'bout dad? What did he give you?"

Scorpius almost told her that it was just a letter but he stopped himself before doing so. He knew that Rose would be very interested with it and would insist on reading it, so he just told her that it was a Chudley Cannons poster.

"Typical," Rose shook her head. "Dad: a cheap Chudley Cannons fan for life. Everything in my life changes except for my father's price and Quidditch team preferences."

"He told me he was sorry…for acting erm, not nice to you."

"It was fine. He came around in the end."

Rose asked some more about Scorpius' presents, and gave her comment after each one. Contrary to Scorpius' belief, it appeared that Rose was actually enjoying what they were doing. She was able to joke around with her cousins' gifts to him.

"But James and Fred wouldn't be so sensitive and simple to even think of handing out bookmarks as Christmas presents," Rose snorted after hearing about the next generation pranksters after Fred and George Weasley. "I warn you, there's something prominently humiliating about that gift. Be careful; a leaf might seem harmless, but you never know…"

It took them a matter of silent seconds before they realized that they've stopped playing chess, and the chess pieces were grousing that it was taking the players so long to move them around.

Rose moved her remaining bishop and it crushed her opponent's queen. Scorpius cursed bitterly and then ordered his knight to stab mercilessly Rose's bishop to avenge his queen. The knight thrust its sword heavenward and screamed with its little voice the bloodlust that was overwhelming him.

"You are certainly no gentleman in wizard's chess," Rose said as she helped her limping bishop off of the chessboard, right next to a pawn whose both arms were tragically amputated.

Scorpius chuckled and shrugged. "So, did Great Aunt Priscilla give you something? I got a pack of condoms last Christmas."

Rose distorted her face into a frown. "Did you use it?"

"Merlin, no, I gave it to Byron. So what did Aunt give you?"

"I don't know how it got past Hogwart's security; Aunt Priscilla gave me two bottles of Firewhiskey."

"Awesome!"

"I surrendered them to McGonagall, idiot."

"I was only kidding," Scorpius said. "And checkmate."

After Rose's king slouched and sighed at his downfall, Scorpius' knight screamed again, this time, in triumph.

"But seriously," Rose sighed. "That leaf is a funny business. Dispose of it as soon as possible."

.

The days have passed and students have been gradually returning to Hogwarts from their vacations. Since the term is going to start soon, the Heads of Houses and the Headmistress have been giving assignments to the Prefects, so Rose and Scorpius have been busy. Some have been assigned to help Madam Pince with the labeling of accession numbers on new books, others have been given the duty to put away the Christmas decorations in the classrooms (after a program about helping house-elves during the Christmas season in Hogwarts had been launched a few years ago) and a few fortunate ones have been only given the usual jobs of patrolling the corridors, though with extra rounds schedule. To Scorpius' dissatisfaction, he had been placed in the duty of patrolling in extra hours while Rose was with Madam Pince, along with a couple of other Prefects, arranging and labeling books. The two students have rarely seen each other for the next few days, except during mealtimes. Maybe time took its toll after it let Scorpius and Rose spend so much time together.

Scorpius was getting impatient and frustrated; he had the most perfect opportunities before students started coming back and crowding Hogwarts once again, but he let them slip. There would be moments when Rose fell silent, as if she were inviting him to say something to her, perhaps a well-hidden secret, a confession anticipated to happen, but seconds passed unmercifully, and either a strolling student, Mrs. Norris' annoying mew or the creaking of a window's hinges due to a winter breeze would disrupt that untold invitation and make Rose scoff and say, "We always end up doing spur-of-the-moment staring contests." Or perhaps, she'd get a slight blush and look away and mumble something and then just go back to the Slytherin dungeons. Sometimes she'd wear this peculiar face, like she remembered or realized something, and then she'd return her nose on her book without another word. Scorpius always ended up crestfallen after each instant. Well, he brought it upon himself, so he was to blame for all that.

One day, however, when everyone was back and the term has officially started, Scorpius finally found the incentive to do what he has to do. It was after their last period on Tuesday, when Scorpius spotted Rose going to what he suspected as the library and caught up with her.

"Only the second day back and we're loaded with homework," he commented, hoping that Rose was in for a conversation despite the workload.

"Ugh," Rose snorted mirthlessly. "That and Prefect duty. You know, I miss doing rounds. I mean, I love books and all, but Pince is a menace. Oh, but there were so many books! You should've seen all those. Who knew that the board of governors had given the school more books during the Christmas break? And not just reference or history books, but they actually have a Muggle section now! I'm talking about Muggle novels!"

"That's great," Scorpius said, being dragged along by the current of Rose's excitement.

"They're not allowed to be borrowed until all the books have been given accession numbers, though, so I'm working extra hard. I have my eye on that Oscar Wilde novel. Have you heard of The Picture of Dorian Grey?"

"Was it that bloke who was young forever but his portrait was getting old and ugly and stuff?"

"Yeah, because of his old age and his sins." Rose paused before opening a new topic. "Have you seen Hugo yet?"

Scorpius almost forgot about that. He placed his hands on his pockets and thought of what to say. He didn't want to talk about Hugo; the day when he came back to Hogwarts, Scorpius approached him to have a word but Hugo declined his approach rather rudely. The young Weasley still was not able to forgive Scorpius for ditching out from the family trip and bringing Malfoy in their house. Scorpius merely told him he was being immature about it and that their parents were already fine with it. Hugo, on the other hand, was able to bring on some reinforcement in the form of their cousins. Albus, though not as violent as Hugo, only shot Scorpius disgusting looks. The others' attitudes were as terrible as Hugo's though. Apparently, as they were on their way back to Hogwarts, Hugo told every cousin about their holiday mishap.

"Basically, I'm public enemy number two to your cousins," Scorpius said, carefully not going over excruciating details.

"And I'm public enemy number one?" Rose said, trying hard to hide her hurt voice.

Scorpius cleared his throat and stirred to a new but inevitably relevant subject. "How about Miss Malfoy's Slytherin posse?"

"Oh Merlin…" Rose closed her eyes and passed her palm on her face. "I have no idea whether I find it amusing or irritating."

"What is it?"

Rose looked embarrassed, but told Scorpius all the same. "Well, I first saw Amara and Sophie. They were a little pissed that I didn't write to them during the break. And also because they haven't received invites from the invitation-only Malfoy Soirée. Turned out they were bombarding me with owls, but I remembered telling Frompy that I don't want to receive any letters from Sophie or Amara, so whatever. They also heard about my disappearance from the night of the party. They wanted to know who I was with. Or at least, Amara told ma all those things. Sophie was kind of weird. The only time she spoke to me was when she greeted me and hugged and kissed me welcome. Eugh. And also when she commented how cute my shoes were, which doesn't really count because I think she was only faking that."

"That sucks."

"I haven't told you the best part yet: Shawn."

Maybe it was only Rose's imagination, but she swore she had seen a shadow pass over Scorpius' face. She continued quickly, "So, he saw me, or rather, I saw him and he sort of looked panicky or whatever but he smiled and started to be all grabby, which is disgusting, so I pushed him away, told him I developed this mild rash over the holidays and physical contact triggered it, though it was already healinh. He was talking to Sophie then, and when she saw me she said in this sweet fake voice that she was going to the loo and when she was gone, Shawn asked me all these questions, about you know, my being away and stuff. Of course I didn't tell them about you. It caused enough trouble with Hugo, I don't want to…create more chaos. Whatever."

Scorpius only kept walking beside Rose, on the way towards the library. When they have finally arrived, Madam Pince called Rose's attention and told her that there were only four three-foot stack of books assigned to her and after that, she could go back with the patrolling duty. Rose cheerfully took a seat and Scorpius sat beside her. He opened a book he randomly grabbed from the shelf nearest them and pretended to pour himself over it. But there was a constant ringing in his ears that prevented him to understand the sentence he was reading over and over again: Shawn.

Why didn't Rose want to tell Shawn that she was with him? Why did she have to keep it a secret from Shawn while every other Weasley and Potter seem to know it, resulting to occasional venomous glances shot to them both? The cousins seem to think it immoral for Scorpius to spend almost two nights alone with a Malfoy, then maybe Shawn, Rose's quasi-boyfriend, would reckon it be savagely unacceptable that Rose was with him sans adult supervision (or any kind of supervision, for that matter). Right? Then, as stupid as Scorpius can surprisingly be, it hit him: Rose must care about her relationship with Shawn if she did not tell him about her pre-Christmas stowing away. Why else would she want to keep her very close contact to Scorpius secret from Shawn? Maybe Rose really still feels something for Shawn. That must be it.

"Hey, are you alright?" Rose asked him.

He realized that he had crumpled the corner of the page he was reading on. Scorpius immediately straightened the paper and composed himself. "Yeah, fine." And no, he was not jealous.

"Okay." Rose said, although she did not sound convince.

"You know," she said quietly after a moment's pause. "For the first time, I think I don't like that I'm here in Hogwarts."

"Meaning?" Scorpius managed to keep the coldness out from his voice.

"I thought that going here and leaving everything behind, family, house, all the lot, would make me feel at home again, normal. But now that everyone's back, things began to feel strange again. Like I'm some kind of alien. An outcast. Even though I really am not, at least in others' eyes. But in my family's eyes, I am. And it makes me just want to escape again. Leave. Go somewhere I know would be safe and secure, like, I don't know, maybe the world before this stupid enchantment happened. Sorry for taking all this out on you."

"It's alright," Scorpius couldn't help but tell her warmly. Rose smiled and looked at him. He realized that he was making her smile most often. She was just sitting inches away from him, their elbows touching…

"Did you hear that?" Rose frowned as her eyes flew behind some shelves.

"What?"

"Someone's groaning?"

Rose stood on her feet. Scorpius sighed heavily; he let another opportunity pass. He stood up as well and joined Rose creep up behind a bookshelf. He peered just as she peered and together they saw a scene they least expected to see: Sophie and Shawn kissing vehemently.

Rose's mouth slowly shaped in a perfect O as she and Scorpius watched the other two sucking faces. Scorpius looked at Rose, not even caring if he was staring at her noticeably, and got ready to put his arm around a heartbroken Rose if she needed it. But she only shook her head and smiled humorlessly.

"Can't say I didn't see it coming," she shrugged, still watching Sophie and Shawn.

"What?"

"Sophie, Amara, Shawn, all of them would not take one glance at Rose Weasley even if my Prefect badge shone the brightest or my hair resembled a jungle after double Potions. Okay, maybe they would, just to ridicule how absurd I look, probably. But I'm not sorry for that. Sophie and Amara aren't really my ideal friends. They have no substance, so as to speak. Shawn…I thought, well, I thought he was different. How naïve was I, really? I seriously now think that he is incapable of realizing anything deep and true.

"I knew they'd do something behind my back one day, though I don't find it able to hurt me, since I'm not foolish enough to trust them just because they're the cool people. Your dad clearly emphasized how trust is important, by the way. I knew they were only friends with Rose Malfoy because she is a self-absorbed, controlling and prejudiced person. She's like that not because she is a Malfoy, but because she chose to be that way. Now I know I'm not Rose Malfoy, because if such person existed, I would be the polar opposite. Yeah, I can be prejudice, and I let that attitude come in between you and me, but Rose Malfoy, as I have learned from her little faults witnessed by the people around her, let her prejudice rule over her. She became a vile person, someone Draco Malfoy tried to avoid bringing up. Imagine, Rose Malfoy hated every single one of the Potters and the Weasleys, seriously."

She sighed and stopped watching Sophie and Shawn, who were sticking their tongues in each other's throats. Rose turned around so she could lean her back against the bookshelf, with her hands behind her. Scorpius still watched her.

Rose dreamily gazed beyond the library, with an epiphanous smile, and continued, "I don't think I remember correctly, but you said in this same library a couple of weeks ago that who we are right now are supposed to be the counterpart of each other, except that our life situations differ from our original selves because of our attitudes and reactions? Am I correct? Like, for instance, how Scorpius Malfoy is on good terms with everyone in the youngest generation of the Potter-Weasley clan except with Rose Weasley because that's how he wanted it, how you wanted it. But Rose Malfoy abhors every one of the said clan especially Scorpius Weasley because she chose it that way. You get my point? I mean, you as a Malfoy, chose to be nice and all, but me as a Malfoy too, did the exact opposite."

"I follow you."

"Therefore, this is not really us, or at least what our current environment labels us is not really us…"

Scorpius kept an intent yet gentle gaze on her as she continued speaking.

"It's like we're in some kind of parallel universe…although, instead of a concurrent reality, we're in a theoretical world that tells us what would happen if I were you and you were me. This all is not true. Like Mr. Dornhill said, this is fraud and we need to find something so true and so pure that it can erase all of this. He said love can only do that. But I wonder how we can find real love in this world full of fraudulence and pretensions." Rose removed her hands behind her and wiped them on her robes as she realized they were sweaty. She straightened herself up and sat down on the table, opening her book about 6th century revolutions in the wizarding world.

Scorpius took his seat beside her and carefully said, "So, you don't really mind that your boyfriend's cheating on you?"

"Not my boyfriend," Rose shook her head. "Rose Malfoy's. But Rose Malfoy doesn't exist, so Shawn and Sophie should not really be worried about her finding out, although I guess they're not worried at all."

Scorpius grinned. "Remember when you told you that I always act like I know the answer? That night after we went to the club? You're right; I do act like I know the answer, but truth is, you're fully capable of finding out the answer by yourself, even if you don't act it out."

"Wow, that's a compliment."

"But what you said is right, Rose, really," Scorpius glanced back and he could tell Sophie and Shawn are still swapping saliva. He shook his head, thinking it was mad of him to think that Rose was still crushing on that lunatic, Shawn. He looked at Rose, who seemed to be waiting for him to say something, and took her hand. "Let's get out of here."

And you'd think that I have proofread this...NOT! Haha...

Well, I hope you like it. And we're reaching the end...

Apologies for wrong grammars and spellings.