Chapter 20
Rose avoided Scorpius like the plague the next few days, zipping around corners if they caught eyes or pretending to be thoroughly engaged in conversation with friends if they couldn't avoid passing each other in the corridors and hallways. He hadn't seen her with Sean; that was good, at least. Still, Valentine's Day was coming up fast, and it was certainly no fun being without her while everyone else seemed to be floating in the clouds. He couldn't figure it out– was he losing his mind or was the entire school paired up, everyone except him?
"Don't worry about it, mate," Colt told him dazedly.
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Marcus said absentmindedly. Both of them were hunched over, flipping through the pages of a Valentine's Day gift catalog. Scorpius could see the words, Express owls guaranteed to deliver up to the midnight hour! in neon green lettering. Colt pointed suddenly to a picture and said, "That one, you think?"
"I like that one as well, but we bloody can't both order the same present for our girlfriends," Marcus said.
"I saw it first, so you pick another one," Colt said, snatching the catalog.
"Give it back, git!" Marcus shouted, and the two proceeded to create a ruckus in the Common Room, leaving Scorpius to roll his eyes and turn back to his Potions essay.
One afternoon, to Scorpius' surprise, Roxanne was waiting for him after his last class.
"Hi, Scorpius," she said nervously.
"Hi, Roxy," he said. Roxanne suddenly shoved a small purple pot at him. "I've been working on it for awhile, but it's completed now. Forgive me for intruding in your personal affairs, but it-it's for your mother. For her…her scars."
Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, did you say for my mother's scars?"
"I know, I should mind my own business, but I just want to help. If things go according to plan, they should completely dissolve in a few days. The scars, I mean. I've tested it on a few of my friends, you know, on acne marks and scrapes. It's worked for them perfectly. My brother even allowed me to…well, it sounds daft, but cut him on his face, just a tiny one, and then use it. His face healed right up. Making beauty potions is what I want to do, so I put my heart and soul into it."
She watched him carefully, looking nervous. Scorpius was touched beyond words at her kind act, and happy to have any reason to be closer to anyone or anything that reminded him or Rose.
"Thank you, Roxy," Scorpius said softly. He leaned down and hugged Roxanne quickly. "I'll send it to her right away. D'you want to come with me?"
Roxanne smiled, nodding her head. "Sure."
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Roxy pet the large brown messenger owl as Scorpius secured the package and note to his mother on the owl's chubby leg.
"She's so soft," Roxy said with a giggle. "I love owls."
"I've never paid much attention to them myself. I don't like that their heads go all the way around," Scorpius said, giving the string a final tug. He opened the window and allowed the bird to gracefully swoop outside. They stood watching the owl disappear into the bright afternoon sun.
"D'you think she'll use it?" Roxanne asked.
"Oh, yes. Mother's actually quite vain. She has a good heart, don't get me wrong. But she has more products in her powder room than I've ever seen," Scorpius said. A quick glimmer of pain shot through his chest at the thought of his mother, but he fought against it.
"I know it was ages ago, and you've probably heard it a million times, but… I'm sorry about the accident. Colt told me it was just awful."
Scorpius said nothing. It had been a nightmare. He just wanted to forget about it, the whole thing.
"How is your father?" Roxanne asked gently. Scorpius shrugged.
"You don't blame yourself, do you?" Roxanne pressed.
Scorpius shrugged again, looking at the ground. "Everything changed. My father and I have never gotten along, but after, he barely spoke to me. And then the whole thing with Rose and I…"
"It didn't have to be that way. I mean, you could try to work things out, if you miss her."
"Well, of course I miss her. I miss her every day, every second."
Roxanne stepped closer to him, gripping his arm. "She misses you too. Talk to her."
"I've tried, Roxanne!" Scorpius said loudly, pulling away in exasperation. "Don't you think I've tried? I went to see her after my tribunal and she slammed the door in my face! She won't listen to anything I have to say. And now she's with that arse McCready. Letting him touch her…it makes me sick."
"She hasn't slept with him, if you're wondering," Roxanne said.
Scorpius' heart leaped just a fraction at this news, but he forced it back down to the pit it had been in for weeks. "Doesn't matter. It's over between us."
"It's not over. The accident wasn't your fault. You two wanted to be together, just as I love Colt and I wanted him to be with me over the break. And he came. Maybe the accident was a way for you to reach out to your father. Try to understand how he feels. Maybe it was a way to test things with Rose as well, in a way."
Tears burned at Scorpius' eyes. "I doubt I'll ever understand my father's feelings, but…I understand Rose's perfectly. She hates me."
"She doesn't. Rose is my best friend. And I can tell you, she doesn't love Sean McCready. She's hurt, very much so, and she'll use anger to cover that up. But you weren't there to see the times she cried herself to sleep at night. You don't know how she's saved every letter, every article, every scrap of paper you wrote on, every photograph you two've taken and put them in a box under her bed."
Scorpius said nothing. Could it be true?
Roxanne smiled. "I've got to get going," she said. "Let me know if your mother uses the balm."
"Thank you, Roxanne," Scorpius said.
She smiled, nodding slightly, and left.
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Scorpius ate dinner with Marcus and Marissa. The decorations were already going up in the dining hall for Valentine's Day, which was in two days. He couldn't take it after everyone started ooohing and ahhhing, so he excused himself and went for a walk. He strolled the walkway past the Whoomping Willow and curved back around past the empty classrooms near where Care of Magical Creatures classes were held. He was minding his own business, strolling along the open walkway half covered with thick trees when he saw her– Rose.
She was just pulling a classroom door closed when she looked up and saw him. "What the hell–are you spying on me?" she demanded.
"Absolutely not," Scorpius huffed. "I was going for a walk to escape the madness of Valentine's Day, is all. I don't care in the slightest that you've just come from shagging your boyfriend in an empty classroom. How refined of you."
He prepared to walk around her, revolted to the core, but she blocked his way, looking up at him indignantly. "I'm working on an assignment for extra credit. Your assumption of me is highly offensive. But I'm starting to realize that everything about you is highly offensive. Now if you'll excuse me…"
Now she made a move to walk past him but he couldn't control himself; he grabbed her arm and spun her against the wall, not enough to hurt her, but enough to take her by surprise.
"Get…your…hands…off…of…me," she practically growled as their faces were inches apart.
"Or what? You'll shout for that oaf to save you? Send big bad James after me? You'll tear my heart out? Well you've already accomplished the latter, haven't you?" he whispered fiercely to her. She struggled against him but he was too quick and grabbed her wrists, pinning her against the door of the classroom.
"You ended it with me, Scorpius. Don't forget that. Now let me go!"
"I can't," Scorpius said weakly. "I won't even try. I love you! I can't bear you being with anyone else, Rose."
"I don't believe you. I don't care anymore!" Rose whispered but she was trembling.
"Say you love me," he whispered, slipping his arms around her waist. He pressed his face against her hair. "Take me back…"
"No," Rose moaned. "I won't…"
The words were barely from her mouth when they were kissing furiously. Scorpius reached behind her and opened the door to the classroom they were in front of, kicking it closed. His tongue against hers, every inch of their bodies pressed against each other. Scorpius was about to rip her clothes to shreds, he was so desperate for her, but Rose stopped him gently. "I can't do this…" she whispered.
Scorpius kissed her throat, hoping to change her mind. "Why? Why can't you? Don't you still love me?"
She looked at him, her face sad. "You know I do…"
"Then say it. Tell me now."
Rose stroked his face, closing her eyes. "I'll always love you, Scorpius."
"So why can't I have you?"
Rose stepped away from him. "First of all, we're in a greenhouse classroom. I don't want to get dirt on my bum."
"We both know how to charm these tables into cushions–"
"And second, there's Sean to think about. He's not a creep, he doesn't deserve this. Frankly, after what you did to me, it's not like I'm just ready to forgive and forget."
"I made a mistake. One I'm willing to correct. Just tell me what I have to do. I'll do anything," Scorpius said. "I ache for you…I'll do anything…"
Rose looked at him. "There's a rumor that the TriWizard Competition has to come to Hogwarts this year. They're supposed to announce it soon."
"Now that's rubbish."
"I believe it's true. Drumstrang is having some funding problems, or something of that sort. If the rumor is true, I'm going to enter it."
Scorpius' face went pale. "Rose, please tell me you're not serious."
"I am serious," Rose said sternly. She looked him in the eye. "If I enter and I get it, I-I'm going to need your help."
"Rose, come off it–"
"I'm not afraid of danger. I'm making excellent marks, but my Defense Against Dark Arts needs work. Not the basics we've learned in class, but the…the black spells, the ones you rarely see in school textbooks. I'll need your help with the research part of it."
"Rose, this is madness. Black spells? We'd probably get expelled just for talking about it. The fact that you even feel you have to learn Black spells should tell you something. The TriWizard tournament is for the mad. It shouldn't be allowed in schools. Everyone thinks it's such fun and games but what they don't understand is that some magic doesn't just go away once it's been released. It stays in our world where it's out of element, and what's worse, you can't control it. Yes, most make it out alive, but have you ever read up on studies on the aftereffects of students being in that tournament? Dreadful stuff."
"Scorpius-"
"Rose, if this rumor is true, I'm begging you not to do it. There's a reason it's only held every couple of years. It's extremely dangerous, not only in physical ways but emotional ones. Mental ones, literally mental."
Rose gave him a small smile. "That's exactly why I need you. You just know things, even when you shouldn't."
"I know I love you and I don't want you to do this, Rose. And my father used to punish me when I said it at home, but I'm scared. I'm scared for you because I know you're mental enough to put your name in that goblet."
Rose grabbed his hands. "I love you too, Scorpius. Isn't that what you wanted to hear? I love you. And if the tournament is being switched here and if I'm made a contestant, I'm going to need your help. Promise me that you will, and I'll take you back," she said.
Scorpius shook his head. "I won't agree to anything that could get you killed. So my answer is no. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you."
"I told you, I'm not afraid. I can't think of another person to help me with my tasks. There's no one more qualified than you, no one I trust more than you," Rose said quietly.
Scorpius hugged her tightly. "It's just a bloody stupid rumor…it's not true, so even if I agree to it, it probably won't happen."
"When I'm a TriWizards Champion, I'll be yours again. There won't be any denying me then."
Scorpius closed his eyes. "I'll never forgive myself for ending it with you. I just–"
"Support me, if the tournament comes here. If I make it."
"You have my word," he said. Rose kissed him, hard, and Scorpius couldn't resist pulling her against him. She allowed it, her tongue touching his until he was breathing heavily against her, grabbing her by the bottom. "I want you," he breathed in her ear. "Here, tonight…"
She turned away from kissing him. "I can't. Not now," she said shyly. She slipped from his embrace and went for the door.
Scorpius held up his hand in exasperation. "So when? And what am I to do until we learn what's going on with the competition? Watch you with McCready and go insane a little more?"
"No. I've already ended it with him, if you must know. I told him I wasn't ready for a relationship, however, and he is very kind, so I don't want to insult him by jumping back with you suddenly," Rose said. "We'll just take things slow."
"Meaning what, exactly?"
Rose opened the door. "Meaning, we'll just take things slow."
And she left Scorpius exhilarated and abandoned need at the same time. The exhilaration won over in the end; he actually released a tribal yell and ran laughing all the way back to Hufflepuff.
His jubilance did not last long, for posted on the barrel shaped door, nearly covering the front door was a large sign that read:
ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS!
TRIWIZARDS COMPETITION HAS BEEN
UNEXPECTEDLY MOVED TO HOGWARTS!
WE HAVE ACCEPTED THE REQUEST IN TRANSFER!
WE WILL NEED A HOGWARTS REPRESENTATIVE BY FEBRUARY 19TH.
MUST BE BRAVE, INTELLIGENT, COMPETITIVE,
HONEST, FAIR, AND
NOT AFRAID OF DEATH BY CRUEL OR UNUSUAL MEANS
AMONG OTHER THINGS.
CAULDRON DROP TOMORROW NIGHT AFTER EVENING MEAL.