Rose was by the Lake. It was a lovely day for Quidditch. The sky was clear but the Sun wasn't blazing down on them either. It was the perfect balance. There was a cool breeze and it ruffled her hair, dancing on the surface of the Lake, creating ripples on the water. Watching as the wind blew through the grass that swayed in response, Rose sighed. Sometimes she wished she could be the wind. Not knowing where she was going, meeting so many people and things as she went, never set on a fixed destination. She liked the idea of being free and easy, like the wind. She could hear the echoing cheers and the noise of the crowd from the faraway Quidditch pitch. Everyone was anticipating this match. They had been for weeks. The cries of excitement had been ringing through Hogwarts the whole afternoon. After all today's match was the clash of the giants, Quidditch champions, Slytherin vs. Griffindor. So naturally, everyone would be watching. Literally everyone. The whole school seemed to be turning out for the event. Rose wasn't nervous exactly. She felt pumped up, her body filled with adrenaline. She had come to the Lake just to clear her mind, to ask for patience, not to lose her temper. That was important. She didn't know who she was asking all of this from, she wasn't addressing anyone in particular but somehow the Lake provided that vast emptiness, the wide span of space, physically and mentally that made her feel at ease, especially at times like this. It was her place of solace.

Glancing at her watch now, Rose saw that she still had 45 minutes till the match started. She had time. Scorpius only expected them to be there 30 minutes prior. In all honesty, Rose hadn't anticipated that she would be playing today. After all, she had quit the team right after the Hufflepuff match. Not quite as elegantly as she had hoped she would have but still, she had quit. Rose had expected to see her replacement on the field today, playing beside Scorpius, knocking away rogue bludgers and keeping out of fights just like good beaters ought to be. Rose wondered, if they had found a replacement for her, who they would have picked. It would have probably been Lucy, the 4th year. She had tried for beater this year but obviously, had not been given the position. Rose remembered her distinctly because she had been next to her in the tryouts. She had been, to say the least, intimidating. Rose had to admit that she was good, very agile, fast, quick-thinking, sharp and attentive too. All the good traits of a skilled beater. On top of that, Rose had remembered well, Scorpius commenting that Lucy would probably be his reserve beater if Rose were to be taken ill. So Lucy had made an impression too. But things work out in strange ways. Because Lucy would not be playing today. Rose would be, with Scorpius right by her side, just as things should be.

But the big question was, why was Rose playing today? Well because after Scorpius had found out why she had fought with the Hufflepuff beater, he had taken things into his own hands. Rose, hadn't meant to let Scorpius know, she didn't want to get anyone in further trouble but somehow, she hadn't been able to contain it. It had just slipped out. Scorpius and Sarah had followed her after a little breakdown in the Great Hall. They had apologised and had begged for her understanding. They didn't have to. Rose had never really put any of the blame on them. Scorpius in particular, had been very apologetic, understandably, he had shouted at her in front of the whole Quidditch team for Merlin's sake, from then on going out of his way, trying to make her understand that he had truly repented his actions. His small little gestures such as collecting her homework for her, or holding the door open as she walked through, were touching even though it was awkward at first since they were no longer friends. Eventually though, she came to enjoy him hovering around, it was funny. It reminded her constantly of their fond memories together. Plus having someone at her whim and fancy was also rather convenient.

And so, Rose and Scorpius, after having exchanged several looks, smiles and handshakes and many more, words of sincerest apology, had finally buried the hatchet and had reconciled. It was, as Leo put it, a complete miracle. Because they had made up so quickly. Almost, too quickly. Nobody, not even Sarah, had seen it coming. One day they had simply shown up to lunch together, linking arms and had announced the news to everyone. While the news had been met by Leo and Sarah with enthusiasm and a certain degree of relief , Rose and Scorpius not talking was almost like the Sun not setting in the evening, it was also met with concern and skepticism. Because there had never actually been any form of closure between the pair. Somehow as they had made up, Rose and Scorpius has skipped over several very important topics. Such as why Scorpius started dating Mel, why he had been jealous of Rose and Leo and why Rose had simply stopped speaking with him after she had walked in on him and Mel. It was clear to everyone except the couple in question that they could never really regain their old friendship if they did not address those issues.

So naturally, Rose had preferred not to focus on the issues Scorpius and her had faced but had taken their reconciliation as a positive step, the beginning of something completely different. She had decided not to base any of their new interactions on the ones they had shared in the past. Because even Rose had to concede to one fact, things would never really be the same between them. But, her new attitude was still holding strong: What was done was done and there was no need to speak to Scorpius regarding what had passed between them. A typical Rose Weasley system of thinking. Burying her head in the sand. Again. But to Rose that wasn't the point. The point was that now, she could once again call Scorpius as her friend, something she had been inkling to do for the past year. In all honestly, Rose had forgiven Scorpius regarding the entire Mel saga several months after the incident. Somehow a life without him in it had proved to be more difficult than she had previously hypothesised. But she had simply been too scared to approach him. To admit that she actually wanted to make up. Especially since she had been the one who had ended things. And after awhile Scorpius had given up trying to apologise and Rose had reluctantly, left their relationship at that. Now that she had him close to her once again, she wasn't going to let him go.

It felt so great to be his friend again, Rose reflected. Like she had been missing a protective barrier and now that Scorpius was back, she felt at ease again. Plus he just brought cheer into her day. Popping out of nowhere, joining her on the way to class or jumping out from behind a bookcase in the Slytherin common room. He was always ready for a laugh and he seemed to have acquired some new material for jokes during the past year. This was a relief for Rose in particular since he had been reusing the same jokes during all their years of friendship. Hearing a new one for a change, was like a breath of fresh air. And they were funnier. Old jokes got drabby after awhile. Being his lab partner again was as entertaining as ever but since Rose was there, this meant that Scorpius made less frequent visits to Madame Pomfrey, who was eternally grateful to Rose for that. It was more fun playing beater alongside side him again, especially now that they had an open communication channel, Rose had no idea how they had managed to play with one another for the past year. The looked out for one another and practice sessions were especially exciting and laugh worthy because Scorpius now went the extra mile to make her smile. This was something that caused quite a stir amongst the other Slytherin players. Eventually everyone managed to come to the accurate and logical conclusion that they were friends again. Well it was pretty obvious since the pair once again spent almost all their time with one another. As compared to when they were fighting and they avoided one another at every turn. What Rose and Scorpius didn't know though was that everyone was now waiting for them to get together. As a couple. People were placing bets! It was only a matter of time, they chimed. Sarah of all people, had bet that they would be together by the end of the year. Leo predicted 2 months. Mel, bet that they wouldn't get together at all.

Glancing out over the water, Rose sighed. Scorpius... There were so many things that she wanted to tell him. That she needed for him to know. But she couldn't. She had lost his friendship once over an incident like this and she wasn't going to risk things a second time. It would be too painful. Besides, it was too soon after their reconciliation to bring on something like this. But she was getting desperate. She had been meaning to tell him for ages, ever since Leo had finally convinced her to, a year ago on the train. A year... it seemed so far away, so distant in her memory. She had been resolved to admit it but had never gotten round to it. But she did want to get round to it. With all her heart. Rose loved him. Yes, she had finally admitted it to herself. Quite a while ago but never to the person in question, obviously. She was in love with Scorpius. But perhaps he was not in love with her anymore? After all, boys at that age could be indecisive. Perhaps during their year apart his feelings had waned? Perhaps he had found someone else? Someone she had not heard of... He might have kept this someone from her so as to not hurt her further. The possibilities were endless and the risks were simply too high. Rose had never really been much of a gambler and this time, she had decided not to play her cards. Perhaps, she had reasoned to herself that things were meant to stay this way. That Scorpius and her were never destined to be anything more than friends. Perhaps their fates were already drawn out before them and it was simply not meant to be?

It was so frustrating! For Rose now that she could be sure of her feelings, she felt like she had realised them too late. That she had let him slip through her fingers when she had had him. She had missed her chance. She probably wouldn't get another. Shaking her head vigorously, Rose dismissed the depressing thoughts. That was no way to think right before a match. Especially an important match. It would put her in a foul mood. Ah Quidditch, her life saver. It really was the perfect outlet for her. But really, Scorpius had been the lifesaver for getting her back on the team. He had gone straight to Madame Hooch, after comforting Rose and apologising countless times and of course, had filed a complaint, against the Hufflepuff beater. His reason: Rose's behaviour on the pitch had been provoked and it had not been voluntary. The beater had insulted her house's honour and had taunted her teammates. Rose was displaying a different type of sportsmanship, for her teammates by engaging with him. Scorpius had also requested that Rose be allowed to play in the next match. That she should not be suspended because her actions were a form of self defense.

He had, rather cleverly held back the information that Rose herself had quit the team. Because if he had told Madame Hooch that, she definitely would not have allowed Rose to play and would have said that Rose herself was unwilling to participate and that she could not force anyone to do something against their will. But Scorpius had not relayed that to her and so after much pacing, thinking and reconsidering, Madame Hooch had granted Rose the right to play in the match but warned that she would be under very close inspection. One more tantrum or disruption of the game and she would be permanently expelled from the team. Rose had no problem whatsoever with the conditions. At first she had been a little dismayed to hear that she was going to play, after all she felt she wasn't a very good role model to the younger players but after Scorpius informed her that the Hufflepuff beater would be receiving detention and temporary suspension from the team for his actions, she took to the prospect very quickly. So here she was, on match day, still trying to clear her head. She was excited to play, no doubt about that. Playing against her three cousins and watching Sarah play against Albus would be entertaining for sure. But she was just preoccupied with so many other things. Especially with thoughts regarding Scorpius. She would tell him. Rose breathed deeply and she furrowed her brows at the thought. The thought of actually admitting everything to him. Everything. After the match. She didn't care. She had to. This had to end now. It would keep going on if she didn't and Rose was tired. Very tired.

"I have to tell him." she murmured.

"Tell who what?"

Rose whirled around in astonishment and saw Scorpius standing right behind her. It was a little unnerving. He was in his Quidditch uniform and was gripping his broom in his left hand. In his right, he clutched two bats, one for him and the other one apparently for her. His platinum blonde hair was pulled back as usual and Rose could make out all of his sharp and distinct features as he grinned cheekily at her. His eyes had a little twinkle and he seemed to be waiting for something.

"What?" Rose folded her arms a little confused at what he was waiting for.

"Tell who what?"

She raised her eyebrows.

"So you're eavesdropping and spying on me now? I'm flattered."

"Well don't be. I just came to give you this."

Scorpius tossed one of the bats towards her and she caught it with one hand.

She smiled slightly.

"I er.. well I wanted to thank you again, for letting me play this game."

Scorpius smirked slightly and walked down towards her. Plonking himself on the grass beside her, he spread out his arms and leaned back, glancing at Rose. He place his bat and broom beside him. Rose followed his example and placed her bat down as well.

"Don't thank me. Thank Madame Hooch."

"Yea well you're the one who convinced her to put me on again."

"It was the least I could do."

Rose glanced at him. He had a slightly pained look in his eyes as he stared at her, obviously recalling how he had shouted at her. How he had misunderstood her. It was unusual for Scorpius who rarely showed his emotions. Rose hated to see him so sad.

"Don't blame yourself." she coaxed.

Scorpius looked away, staring at the black Lake depths and chuckled a little.

"Easier said than done Rosie." he murmured.

Rose nodded and sighed.

"Always liked the lake." he commented.

"Me too." Rose volunteered.

"That's a given."

"You nervous too then?"

"For what?"

"The match."

"Just a match."

"Yea but... you know we're going up against some great players?"

"Heck if anyone should be nervous it's you Rose. You're playing against your cousins!"

"Yea well I play against them all the time. It should be Sarah who's nervous."

"Oh right, Al..."

"She'll be ok."

"I know."

"You got a lot of confidence in your team huh captain?"

"I gotta a lot of confidence in you Rose." he muttered lowly and he emphasised her name.

Rose's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. If someone could die from anxiety attacks, Rose was well on her way to her coffin.

"Me? Why? I've got nothing to do with Sarah's emotions."

"I'm saying I trust your judgement." His eyes seemed to set her on fire as they delved into hers. He seemed to be searching for something, possibly a sign of some kind? A sign for what, she wondered. His steely gaze was electrifying.

"Oh. Well... thanks." Rose nearly slapped herself.

She was acting like an idiot in front of him! She felt ridiculous. Here he was, being all serious and profound, not to mention incredibly deep with his killer stare and all Rose could come up with was a thanks? Why in times of stress and panic did she have to black out? Why her? Why? Merlin knew, life was unfair. Especially on her...

"Gonna be rough out there today you know..." he cut through her whirring thoughts. "They aren't gonna go easy on us. Your cousins won't cut you any slack"

"As long as they can hold their tongue." Rose smirked a little. She knew James and Albus relished in the opportunity and chance to destroy her in Quidditch but she wasn't about to let them do that.

"You'll be fine. I know you will."

"So sure?"

"Yup."

"Hmm. Well I trust your judgement."

Scorpius, still facing the front, gazing at the water's edge, smiled a little at this. He was deep in thought. Perhaps he was thinking about possible tactics for the match? Well perhaps then she shouldn't disturb him...

"Thanks. You should. I'm your captain."

At this point, Rose wasn't exactly thinking straight anymore. Her head was practically about to fall off from the pressure of sitting next to Scorpius and her emotions were rushing ahead of logic. She knew it would come to this. That she would never be able to sit and just talk with him any more. But for now she was leaving behind her logical rationale and she didn't care. She was tired of being the practical one. Sensible and good Rose... Reaching out she grabbed Scorpius' arm and squeezed it with her hand. She felt him turn sharply to face her, looking a little surprised. But he seemed to calm down fairly quickly as he caught her reassuring smile. Rose nearly stopped breathing as she watched him slowly raise his left arm and stroke her face. Feeling his slightly calloused fingertips on her cheek, she shuddered. But she didn't pull away. She couldn't. The grey eyes locked on the brown and they just sat there, frozen. Like the lack of time was gone from the equation. They had all the time in the world to just sit there, like this. It was perfect. Rose reluctantly had to shatter the moment. But she had to get it out.

"I trust you." she wasn't just referring to Quidditch anymore. She was talking about them in general. That she trusted him as a person, as her friend. That she was completely dependent on him, that she needed him and that she hoped he felt the same way about her. Scorpius seemed to understand this as a flicker of recognition and understanding flashed across his face. He pursed his lips, still stroking her cheek. Rose braced herself for a similar response from him. She waited for him to say that he trusted her, that they could depend on one another. So she closed her eyes and breathed.

"I love you." The words seemed to have slipped from his mouth. Rose's eyes shot open and they widened. She couldn't be sure if she had even heard him say those words specifically. Had she just imagined it? Emotions were now breaking upon her like waves. Happiness, shock, temporary paralysis. They came at her all at once as she realised that he had said those words, that he did care for her. Scorpius was just staring at her now. His hand had dropped abruptly from her face. He seemed to have just realised what he had said. And the consequences that would possibly come with that. He was blinking in shock. His face was masked in fear and partial horror. He obviously hadn't meant for it to come out like this. But Rose didn't mind. Perhaps he didn't realise just how long she had been waiting to hear those words from him?

"Rose..." he began shaking his head in fear and panic. His hands were running through his hair and he seemed to be contemplating his next move. Seeming to realise that there was escape, that confrontation was inevitable, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Shh!" Rose placed her finger immediately on his lips, smiling a little. "Don't say anything."

Scorpius frowned in confusion, "I don't understand..."

But before he could say anything further, Rose cut him off, leaned forward and kissed him.

Rose had always imagined that for her first kiss, the boy would kiss her not she kiss the boy but somehow this didn't feel awkward and strange, kissing Scorpius instead. It felt interesting and right. Rose didn't know how a kiss was supposed to feel but this felt nice. She noticed that Scorpius didn't pull away either. His hands had somehow managed to snake their way around her waist and they were pulling her closer. Finally, she thought. Now he was kissing her back and Rose suddenly felt limp and turned to jelly in his arms, like this kiss was sucking out all the energy from her body. Draining her almost. But in a good way. After what seemed like eternity, Rose reluctantly pulled away from him. He didn't resist. They had to end it sometime anyway. His hands still cupped her face though and her hair, which had been neatly pulled back for the match, was now slightly frazzled. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were shining. Scorpius just seemed to be gazing at her with infinite adoration and love. Oh what she would give to stay like this forever.

"About time..." she whispered.

He laughed as if in disbelief and looked to the ground.

"Yea well, you are pretty intimidating."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"I'm intimidating?"

"Heck yea."

"Speak for yourself!"

"Oh come of it Rose, I'm not intimidating. You're the one who makes the first years run in terror at the mere sound of your voice." he shook his head at his own lie.

"I have done no such thing! " Rose pulled away from him and pouted slightly.

He gazed at her for awhile. Their faces were only inches apart, they hadn't bothered for propriety especially after a kiss like that and Rose could feel his breath on her nose. His eyes were slightly glazed over, he wasn't unfocused at the issue at hand but he was very shocked about it, definitely. It was as if what was happening had all been a dream. Scorpius seemed to be trying to process everything, so far Rose couldn't be sure whether he was succeeding or failing.

"I thought..." he sighed finally.

"You thought what?" she retorted rather playfully.

He shook his head.

"Doesn't matter now."

He leaned in to kiss her again but Rose bit her lip playfully and pulled away, standing up. Scorpius who had closed his eyes, kept leaning forward, unaware that Rose had moved and fell flat on the grass, face first. The mud on the ground instantly splattered onto his light skin and some managed to get caught in his hair. Rose instantly burst out laughing at the comical scene. Scorpius opened his eyes and stared up at her, pretending to be mad, frowning. Rose stood over him and gripped her stomach, chortling.

"You should see yourself!" she gasped out.

Scorpius squinted slightly as the sun shone in his eye and waited till Rose had composed herself enough to help him up. But that wasn't about to happen tapped his fingers impatiently as she continued to half gasp, half laugh. Stray tears were steaming out of the corners of her eyes.

"You mind?" he smiled innocently up at her.

Shaking her head, Rose still giggling, tried to pull him off the ground. But as she was yanking his hand to help him, he cheekily gave her a yank of his own. Since Scorpius was physically stronger than Rose, he found it only too easy to pull her down to join him in the mud. She screamed playfully as she collapsed on top of him, more mud splattering everywhere. He rolled them over on the grass so that he was the one on top. Rose's hair now had splotches of mud in it and her pristine Quidditch uniform looked like it had been dragged through the forbidden forest.

"Now what was all that for?" he whined at her.

Rose laughed and pointed at her watch seriously.

"We're late for your own briefing. It's only 15 minutes to match time."

She tried to shove him off but he held his ground, pinning her with both of his arms. Rose couldn't help but giggle again. This was more like the Scorpius she knew, confident, cool and stubborn as ever.

"I'm not going anywhere." he said lowly. "Until..."

Rose huffed and folded her arms.

"Please Scorp?" she begged him.

He shook his head stubbornly, his lips pursed.

"Fine" she groaned slightly. But her expression changed immediately as she reached up and cupped Scorpius' cheek with her hand. Her eyes softened and she smiled up at the adoring face above her. Rose was pretty confident that her cheeks would be hurting in the morning from all the grinning she had been doing just this afternoon.

"I love you" her voice was barely audible.

The next thing her brain could process was that Scorpius' lips were on hers again. Eagerly, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. She shut her eyes and sighed in contentment as he slowly but excitedly lifted her off the ground, twirling her around. She felt the wind whip against her face and she could feel him smiling against her. Rose could smell him, his cologne and she kept her arms firmly locked around his neck as they spun. Right now Rose couldn't care less about anything else in the world. That was the honest truth. She didn't even care if they won or lost the match today. Well maybe she did, a little but that wasn't the point. Because the point was that no matter what happened after this, she knew she had won. She had won something much greater than just a simple Quidditch match. Quidditch, seemed ridiculous compared to this.

Because Rose had finally managed it. Unbelievably, she had done it and after all this time. She never believed the chance for her to admit her feelings would ever come again but it had and Rose had seized it. And now, she had absolutely no regrets that she had. Why should she? She had Scorpius. Scorpius had her. And unlike last time, she definitely wasn't going to let him get away. Because if there was one thing Rose had learned in the past year, it was that he was much too precious a prize to lose.