"...And the password is 'dancing ducks', don't let me forget that, alright?"

"Dancing ducks. Got it," Scorpius replied monotonously, barely listening to what Albus was saying as he folded a shirt he had found on the ground.

"Fred said the festivities will probably start around seven, so we should leave around seven-thirty." Albus rambled on while violently digging through his trunk. "Do you remember the password?"

"Dancing ducks," Scorpius said again as he continued to fold the same shirt over and over. Albus must have finally noticed the monotone for he stuck his head up from the trunk and glared at an unaware Scorpius.

"Right, and what exactly is on your mind?"

"Dancing ducks," Scorpius replied, not realizing his mistake. A hardcover edition of How To Train Your Dragon was thrown at him in response. "Ow!"

"What's up with you, Scorp? Your head's been in the clouds since we left the house this morning!" Albus pointed out and began rifling through his trunk again.

"Nothing. Nothing," Scorpius reassured him but realized there was no point in trying to hide something from Albus. "Actually, when would you say is the right time to tell someone you love them?"

"Before someone else does," Albus replied wittily but paused, comprehending Scorpius' question and looked up at him, trying to detect a joking smirk or a held back smile. But all he saw was his best mate terrified with fear, eyes as wide as a deer's in wand light. "Wait, you're in love with Rose?"

Scorpius groaned. "I don't...love her okay? I just miss her when she's not around and think about her all the time. It's completely different."

"Mmmhmm," Albus hummed unconvinced. "So are you going to do it tonight at James' surprise party?"

"I think so, I mean last time we talked I could have sworn she lov-," Scorpius stopped himself. "...Liked me as much as I like her. But do you think it's too soon?"

Albus shrugged. "You're the one with the feelings, mate. It's up to you."

"But what if she laughs in my face? What if she says no? What if she hexes me? So many things could go wrong!" Scorpius voiced his negative thoughts a loud, getting more anxious as he spoke them. Albus sighed and got up, calmly walking over to Scorpius' bed before jumping on his friend and slapping him across the face.

"Pull yourself together man!" Albus bellowed as Scorpius attempted to push him off. "You're Scorpius Malfoy: exceptional chaser, brilliant wizard, and ladies man extraordinaire! Get a grip and get the balls to tell my cousin you're in love with her because I know you are!"

Scorpius finally kicked Albus off and panted as the words he said soaked in. "You're right; I can do this. I can do this!"

"Good for you mate," Albus moaned from the floor, cradling his side where Scorpius had forcefully kneed him.

"Oh, sorry Al," Scorpius snickered and helped him up from the floor, clapping him on the back. "And thanks for the encouragement. You're a good friend."

"Anything for you," Albus rolled his eyes. "Now where did I put James' gift?"

"Is that what you were looking for in your trunk?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow and walked over to his own trunk, reaching in and pulling out a broomstick care kit. "You gave it to me so you wouldn't lose it, remember?"

"Oh. Of course I did," Albus murmured as he took the present back, clearly embarrassed at his memory, or lack thereof.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

When Albus and Scorpius arrived at the Gryffindor common room later that night the party was in full swing. Everyone Year Five and older were allowed, with the exception of James' younger relatives. There were some people from every house, all enjoying the party on their last day before classes started once again.

"Is that firewhisky?" Scorpius exclaimed, surprised Fred, the party's coordinator, managed to sneak the alcohol into the school. There was a bar set up on the far side of the room, and the people hanging around it all seemed to be a bit tipsy already.

"Marauder's map," Albus replied simply before groaning loudly. "Oh, great."

"What is it?"

"Melanie Hopert, three o'clock," Albus muttered and rolled his eyes. Scorpius moved his head in the direction Albus was referring to and spotted the blond dancing wildly with a bunch of Ravenclaw 7th years.

"What is she doing here?" Scorpius' upper lip curled in disgust before remembering Albus' fling with her before holiday. "Wait, I thought you were into each other?"

Albus snatched a random butterbeer from someone's hand and smirked. "I forgot to tell you then, haven't I? Turns out she was using me to get to you!"

Scorpius felt very uncomfortable and very confused. "Me? But- oh, I'm sorry mate."

Albus waved a hand in forgiveness. "Don't worry about it. She's nothing but a whore, I was just blinded by her beauty."

Scorpius nodded in agreement before spotting Rose over by the fire, sitting by herself on a couch. Excellent. "There's Rose. I'm going in."

Albus raised his stolen bottle in a toast. "The best of luck to you mate. We'll be related soon enough!"

Scorpius pushed Albus and smirked before taking a deep breath. He could do this. He had to do this. And he was almost sure she felt the same way after looking into her eyes on Christmas. He started pushing through people to make his way over to Rose. It seemed like the harder he tried to simply walk over to the couch where his destiny awaited him the more people refused to move and crowded his path.

"Excuse me, excuse me," Scorpius started out by saying, but as the amount of people increased, he changed tactics. "COMING THROUGH!"

An elbow suddenly hooked around his neck and Scorpius was yanked to the left into the tight embrace of the birthday boy himself, James Potter.

"There you are Scorp! Thanks for coming out! Now where's my present?" James yelled into Scorpius' ear, swaying slightly. Scorpius spotted the half empty firewhisky in his hand and rolled his eyes. James started laughing loudly. "I'm just joshin' ya, mate!"

"Had a bit too much to drink then, James?" Scorpius concluded and tried to free himself.

"Hey, I'm eighteen now, who the bloody hell cares?" James snorted and lifted his bottle in the air. "To alcohol!"

"To alcohol!" chorused the rest of the room in sync before the party continued on.

"Isn't that cool? Every toast I make get's repeated!" James cackled and tousled Scorpius' hair, finally letting him go. "You're a good kid, Scorp. Stay golden."

"You too James. Happy birthday!" Scorpius laughed and continued his quest for Rose, but when he had the couch in his sight again, she wasn't alone.

"What the hell..." Scorpius muttered to himself as he saw, of all people, Jack McLaggen sitting next to Rose, his arm over the back of the couch, staring intently at her. Rose was looking at her hands and biting her lip, something she did when she was confused. Scorpius hardly realized he had started to rush towards them with superb urgency.

"...You just said it Rose, you like me too! I miss you and want to give us another shot. Will you go out with me or no?" Jack said, giving Rose a look that made Scorpius want to rip his big head off. Rose said she liked him? Scorpius was a few feet away, but despite the noise of the tower, he could hear Jack's words clearly. But the worst part, which made his heart feel like it was being torn into a million pieces was that Rose wasn't saying anything. She wasn't saying no, she was interested in someone else. She wasn't saying no at all. She was just staring at her hands. But Scorpius didn't give her the opportunity to say anything. He escaped, unnoticed, feeling as if he was carrying all the burdens of the world on his back.

If this was what heartbreak was, Scorpius wouldn't wish it on anyone. He felt empty, and yet so full. Too full, uncomfortably, as if he could burst at any minute. He just stood there, in the middle of the party, running his hand through his now short hair dumbfounded. It was all a lie, what he assumed she felt for him. She liked McLaggen all this time. He felt like a bloody idiot.

"Hey mate, why the long face?" yelled a random sixth year in his ear, who was clearly drunk as well. "You look like someone just died!"

"Under love's heavy burden do I sink," Scorpius said simply, quoting Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, feeling it applied to situation greatly.

"I don't know what the hell you're saying mate, but it sounds like you have a problem, am I right?" the drunken sixth year slurred in his ear and hooked an arm around his neck, like James had. Scorpius nodded and the sixth year led him towards the bar area of the tower.

"Well, in my experience, there isn't a problem that can't be solved by getting really, really drunk," the guy pointed out and grabbed a Firewhiskey bottle, pressing it to Scorpius' chest. "Bottoms up mate!"

Scorpius stared at the bottle, knowing that not only was it stupid but incredibly irresponsible. But it would numb his pain. And that's exactly what made him open the bottle and start chugging, making the people around him start to cheer.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Jack," Rose began after a very long pause. She just didn't know how to put the words 'You're an arse' into kind words. "When I said I liked you too, I meant as friends. Therefore, I think it would be better if that is what we remain- just friends. Our date didn't exactly work out that well-"

"Because you left early, which was not my fault at all," Jack pointed out and smirked. Rose took a deep breath and prayed to Merlin for tolerance.

"I still don't think it's a good idea to try again right now-"

"So you'll think about it?" Jack interjected with hopeful eyes.

"I mean-"

"That's all you needed to say," Jack smiled confidently. "Tell me when you're ready for commitment. We can work through your issues together, love."

Rose watched him, completely stunned at how a person could be that pretentious, as Jack winked and walked into the crowd of people. She didn't even notice when Lily sat down next to her where Jack had been.

"What the hell was that all about?" Lily laughed and handed Rose the butterbeer she had requested earlier.

"Thanks," Rose said as she accepted the drink. "And Jack tried to get me to go out with him, blaming me for why it was a disaster last time."

"What a self-assured arse," Lily rolled her eyes before glaring at Rose. "Now that I've gotten you your drink, will you quit stalling at go tell Scorpius you love him?"

Rose sighed shakily and took a drink. "It's not that simple, Lil."

"The hell it isn't!" Lily cried and shot Rose daggers. "This has been going on for too long, and I know as well as you that you want to tell him, you just need the bloody courage to do it. You're a Gryffindor, Rose, act like it!"

"You're right!" Rose exclaimed suddenly, motivated by Lily's tough-love pep talk. "I need to embrace my inner Gryffindor and get the guy!"

"Like hell you do!" Lily encouraged. Rose stood up and slammed her drink down on a table.

"I've got the heart of a lion and I have to use it!"

"You bloody have to!"

"You know, for a third year, you sure do curse a lot," Rose suddenly noted out loud, losing her enthusiasm for a second.

"What the hell do you care? Go get your damn prince charming!" Lily shouted and pushed Rose into the crowd. Rose giggled and rolled back her shoulders, ready to fight through the sea of bodies to find Scorpius Malfoy and tell him exactly how she felt.

However, after what seemed like an eternity, she was still searching and he was nowhere to be seen. Her confidence was dwindling and the negative thoughts came rushing back into her mind. What if he wasn't even there? Suddenly, her ears perked up at the sound of his name being called.

"Yeah Scorp!"

She was close to him then. Rose's heart started beating rapidly and she pushed through people with a greater urgency than before. She could do this. She had to do this.

"Get it in, buddy!"

What was that all about? Get what in? Rose squeezed through a few more people, getting closer to the sound of catcalls and whistles. Through the gap of two people talking, Rose saw Scorpius presumably leaning against a wall, his back to her. Finally, she had found him!

But then Rose noticed two, perfectly manicured hands running through his blonde hair. Her heart dropped. Rose shoved one more person aside and saw Scorpius snogging bloody Melanie Hopert like his life depended on it. The sounds of the party seemed to fade away. She didn't hear anything. She didn't feel anything. The only sense she had left was the one she wished she never possessed, for because of her sight she would never forget the image of Scorpius smiling as bloody Melanie Hopert stuck her tongue down his throat.

Rose backed away and tried to run back to the couch to find Lily, fighting back tears. She refused to cry in front of this many people. She just needed to find Lily. Rose needed to find something before the rest of her broke, just like her heart had. She gasped for breath as she collapsed next to her cousin on the couch, clutching her chest, feeling as if it was shattered under her hand.

"Rose! Rose what's wrong? Say something!" she heard Lily say but she couldn't respond. She couldn't stop gasping for breath. Instead she took her other hand and pointed to the infernal wall where the person she cared for most was snogging the person she like the least.

Lily climbed on top of the table, kicking aside bottles, uncaring as they crashed to the ground, and stood on her tip toes to see what Rose was pointing at. Rose knew she saw it when Lily's eyes tripled in side and mouth formed a grimace that seemed permanent. She jumped down and wrapped her arms around Rose.

"Oh Rose, I'm so sorry," she said and squeezed. Rose nodded, finally becoming stable, and managed a quote she never thought would be applicable to her.

"Expectation is the root of all heartache," she murmured, cursing Shakespeare for putting the idea into her Fate's mind.

At that moment, Rose spotted McLaggen over by the bar, and her sadness formed into anger. She was angry with Scorpius for leading her on, making her believe that he really reciprocated the feelings she had for him. Angry with Scorpius for playing another one of his games, except this time the prize was her feelings. Angry at Fate for letting her fall in love and then crash when someone didn't catch her. And Rose wanted nothing more than to get revenge on everything.

She pushed Lily off, wiping her eyes and straightening her shirt.

"Rose, what are you doing?" Lily asked but Rose ignored her and stood up, marching over to where McLaggen stood.

"I've made my decision," she told him boldly as he turned his attention away from his friends.

"And what would that be, Rosie?" he smirked and raised an eyebrow cockily. Rose hardly noticed, for she gave him a smirk back before throwing her arms around him and kissing him right on his mouth, making the people around them start to cheer.

That night, both Rose and Scorpius learned that the most painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said and never explained.

Bet you guys didn't see that one coming did you? :D Talk about angst!

Thanks for all your reviews! You guys are literally the best people ever.

Coming up: Rose and Scorpius deal with the consequences of the night of James' party, and each other. Expect insults, anger, and perhaps a hint of regret.

Please review! I'd love to get your opinions of this chapter, and you think is to come! ;)