In the end, it was really all Rose's fault.

Because as he was striding down the corridor that night and he heard sobs coming from the classroom on his left (which wasn't actually such an odd occurrence at a school housing hundreds of teenagers), Scorpius never would have dreamed of pushing open the door had he not glanced in the window as he passed and caught a flash of red hair.

Rose.

Except, of course, he wasn't that lucky. He knew how to deal with Rose. He could handle her. Lily Potter, on the other hand, he had absolutely no experience with.

But once he had swung open the door, and Lily had turned those huge, brown eyes on him, it was far too late to just leave. She had seen him; he couldn't, in good conscience, walk away.

Damned chivalry. Why hadn't he just looked in the window more carefully first?

"Um…" he said intelligently, "Are you alright?"

She was dabbing her eyes on her sleeve and trying to stifle her sobs, which racked her tiny frame. Scorpius winced and pulled out his handkerchief, handing it to her.

"You carry a handkerchief?" She asked, her voice thick with tears as she dabbed her eyes with it.

"Yes, well…" he said uneasily. She was quite right, it wasn't usual for a teenage boy to walk around with a handkerchief in his pocket. "You know what they say, never leave home without one."

"I've never heard that before," she said, "I thought it was 'never leave home without a jumper.' Or, you know, keys, or something."

"Well, I wouldn't necessarily leave home without those, either."

She chuckled slightly. "Are you this chivalrous to all the girls?" She waved the handkerchief. "Most boys wouldn't have stopped to check on me. Or offered me a handkerchief. Or had a handkerchief. In fact, most of them wouldn't be wearing matching socks."

"Um… well, there really aren't… 'all the girls.' Or any girls, besides Rose."

"Really?" She looked surprised. "I should have thought they'd be swooning over you! You're polite, you're handsome, you're smart, you're on the Quidditch team. The whole Malfoy thing may kill it a little, I'll admit, but you've proved that you're normal and you're of good breeding."

Scorpius was aware that he was blushing madly. "Thanks, I guess."

"What, you've never heard all that before?" He shook his head, mutely. "You're a catch, Scorpius, or you will be someday. Much better than most of the rabble running round this place."

"You don't hold a very high view of males."

"I grew up with two older brothers," she said, drily. "I know few girls who would think highly of men after that experience."

"Speaking of which, should I fetch them? Your brothers?"

Her eyes filled with tears again. "No! I don't want anybody to see me like this! Especially not them!"

"Sorry," Scorpius muttered, meaning it as an apology for both ruining her solitude and making her cry again.

"No, it's alright, I'm just such a mess." She was crying hard again, her shoulders shaking as she desperately tried to compose herself.

Scorpius sat awkwardly. Should he give her a hug? Should he leave her alone? He wasn't equipped for this situation! Finally, he gave her several uneasy pats on the back.

Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect than he had originally intended. Sobbing harder than ever, she turned to bury her face in his chest.

Scorpius looked down at the top of her head in dismay. Why couldn't she have been Rose? Why couldn't he have been Albus, or James? He barely knew Lily! Still, he didn't want to upset her more, so he slid his hand around her shoulders.

It took her several minutes to stop crying again, and as soon as she did, she sat upright and took several deep breaths.

"I'm terribly sorry," she said, still sounding shaky. "You must think I'm the biggest freak. It's just… Nice to have somebody here. To talk with."

Scorpius gulped. Now she wanted to talk?

"Um… Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head ruefully. "You probably wouldn't understand."

"I might, you never know."

"Scorp… Can I call you Scorp?" He nodded, and she took a deep breath and went on, "have you ever been in love?"

Scorpius suppressed a smile. Rose would gloat to no end when she confirmed that Lily really was in love with somebody. "No, I can't say that I have."

"I am."

"I know." The words left his mouth before he was entirely conscious of forming them, and she stared at him, wide eyed with shock and horror.

"Is it that obvious?" She asked, eyes welling.

"No!" He hastened to assure her. "I would have no idea, except… Rose." Lily seemed to accept her name as an explanation.

"Damn!" She said, and Scorpius suspected that being raised with two older brothers had had an impact on more than just her opinion of men. "That girl's far too observant."

"Do you want me to fetch her?" Scorpius asked hesitantly, not wanting to set her off again, "because I'm sure she'd understand."

"She probably would," Lily acquiesced, "but I've already told you not only your own dating potential but also my most embarrassing secret, even though I have no idea why, since I'm fairly certain that we've never actually had a conversation before this, so can we just keep this between the two of us? This whole episode?"

"Sure. Are you certain you're going to be okay?"

She nodded, taking another deep breath and passing his handkerchief back to him. "It's just frustrating," she said, standing, "that I love him, so much, and he… well, he barely knows I exist. Much less that I'm a girl. But I suppose everybody goes through that at one time or another, and I'll get over it. Or something." She flipped her gleaming red hair back over one shoulder and sniffed one last time. "I don't look like… well, like I've been sobbing in an abandoned classroom? I don't want questions."

"You look fine," he said.

She shot him a smile and pulled open the door. "Thanks, Scorpius."

And then she was gone.

And it was all Rose's fault.