Hola ;) I didn't expect this to go on for so long. LOL

I'm going to move my full on A/N to the end, it's important, so read it please. But I'm doing this so that I can dedicate this chapter.

This chapter is dedicated to Alex AKA visions of a scarlet night who died yesterday. You were totally amazing Alex, and I hate that you had to leave us. But just rest in peace, yeah!

x

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter


Chapter 28


Scorpius had continued as quickly as he could after Rose, but it was like she had disappeared out of thin air. He knew he would have at least heard her knock the Ravenclaw knocker and the subsequent question, but he heard neither.

He frowned, moving away from the spiral staircase and looking around his surroundings.

This wasn't a situation he was aware of. Rose didn't usually just disappear on him, and he didn't know where she would hide, where she would go.

He could get into Ravenclaw Tower quite simply, however he had the distinct impression that if he were to go inside, he wouldn't find Rose.

Scorpius began walking through the corridors aimlessly, thinking about what to do next.

Love wasn't something he knew. Well apart from love of your parents or love of your friends. This was different. He could feel a dull ache in his chest, not exactly painful, but not comforting either. But then when he was with Rose, talking to her, even just looking at her, the ache subsided and turned into something else. It made his heart beat slightly faster, his mouth go dry and all his usual bodily functions go topsy-turvy.

At dinner he had only began to eat from her instruction. It's like he had become hungry on demand, which he found peculiar and unsettling. He felt like she could get him to do anything, and he was an independent person. That's how he had been brought up. Friends and family are vital, but being independently strong and confident meant you couldn't be influenced negatively. Everything you did was thought about under your fully-honed scrutiny. Second hand opinion was always taken up in dire circumstances. Which Scorpius knew had been happening often recently. However, it was increasingly difficult considering the only person he had to confide in properly was Albus, and the matter involved him also.

He had stopped himself from taking drastic measures, but he needed some council. And the first person who came into his head was Myrtle. He knew she wouldn't tell anyone else, he was most likely the only person she even spoke to. Plus, she had helped his father out considerably.

Rather than taking a trip to the dank Second Floor girl's toilets, he chose to go to the Prefects' bathroom on the Fifth Floor. After giving the password and entering the bright room, he took a seat on the edge of the bathing area, waiting.

Soon enough Myrtle appeared, a smile on her face as she sat next to him.

"Good evening Scorpius, not going for a bathe?" she asked, an innocent look on her face.

"Actually no," he said with a chuckle, knowing the many wiles of Moaning Myrtle. "I just wanted to ask you a question, if you don't mind Myrtle."

She broke into a grin and nodded, pushing herself closer to him, "ooh I don't often get questions, how can I help you today then?"

He scratched his head, finding the best way to phrase the question, without insulting the ghost. "Well, I was wondering, how you felt about love? More precisely, what do you think it should feel like?"

"Oh," she said perking up, "well I always thought, when I was alive, that love would feel like the best thing in the world. I don't see much from these toilets, just blocked u-bends and the like, but I would think that if you are in love, you know it. You can't explain it, it's different for everyone, but you know that you don't want it to go." She finished with a smile.

"Thanks Myrtle, you're very smart," Scorpius said before getting up.

She blushed, "nobody usually gives me compliments."

"Would you like to know the truth Myrtle?" he asked.

She nodded enthusiastically, "well, you could get more compliments if you were like this to everyone. Maybe then people wouldn't mind coming into the toilets if they knew they would find a friendly face."

Scorpius moved towards the door, Myrtle let out a simplistic "oh", before she watched him disappear out of the door.

Myrtle stood in the centre of the bathroom, silent, before moving towards a cubicle. There was a closed door which she walked straight through, and if she weren't a ghost, she may have been startled by the person sitting inside it.

"What are you doing?" she asked snidely, looking down her nose at the girl.

She didn't reply, just stood frozen to the spot, a look of surprise, bewilderment and relief etched on her features.

"Ignoring me like I'm just not here, just because I'm a ghost," Myrtle screamed, attempting to move the girl from sitting on the closed toilet. "You're just as terrible as your mother and father, you horrible Weasley." Myrtle shouted, one last grimace before rushing away out of the cubicle and into the pipeline.

Rose stood up slowly, twisting her curls between her fingers as she exited the cubicle.

She had come to take a bath and relax, planning on summoning her bathing items, and leaving her school clothes in the cubicle, but had stopped when she heard the door opening. The last person she would have thought to have entered was Scorpius, especially considering it had been 5 minutes before he had even spoken, and she had been keeping as silently still as possible.

Then what he said, it couldn't have just been a coincidence. He must have been thinking about his own feelings for her, she thought. He had to have been. But he hadn't made it obvious, most likely to not offend Myrtle, but still, he felt something for Rose. Something that was more than just his monthly fancy.

Rose didn't know what to do, this whole situation had made itself apparent so quickly, and so strongly. Her mind was boggled with a solution. This wasn't a difficult Arithmancy problem that would need an extra 10 minutes concentration. Rose had no clue where to start. Her feelings were there, for sure. Though how could she make them clear? How could she show how she felt? Rose was never forthright, especially as forthright as Albus. It pained her to think that she could be rejected, even when she knew that Scorpius felt something more towards her than just a crush.

Her legs were carrying her from the bathroom, all ideas of having a bath in the huge tub forgotten. Her head and heart went to Scorpius, but the fear nagged away at her.

Where would she start? Should she find him? Or should she wait until tomorrow? Eagerness and fear were fighting it out, and she didn't know what do. So she settled for sitting on a bench on the Fifth Floor, the same distance from the spiral staircase to Ravenclaw Tower and the staircase which led to the Seventh Floor, and therefore Gryffindor Tower. If he walked past while she thought, then she would tell him everything. If he didn't, she would just wait till tomorrow, and be able to prepare more aptly.

XxX Scorpius XxX

Scorpius decided to continue his search for Rose, knowing for certain that she wasn't in Ravenclaw Tower after passing Lorcan and Emma on the spiral staircase. He therefore began at the Great Hall, McGonagall was nearly finished with her end of term speech, but there was no sign of Rose.

He began looking on each floor, asking anybody he saw. He had just gone up to the Fifth Floor again, to go to the Ravenclaw Common Room once more when he was stopped abruptly by Jessica on the stairway.

She had a somewhat roguish grin on her face, and he sighed. This wasn't what he wanted to happen upon. He was wishing that this had been Rose he had walked into, especially when Jessica smiled at him and squeezed his arm.

"I heard something quite displeasing a few minutes ago Scorpius, and I thought I just had to warn you about what's going around. We don't want you getting a bad name, now do we?" she said, with a pout, resting her hand on his chest.

Scorpius started to move away, but she pulled him back by his tie. Which to Scorpius' dismay, was quite effective.

"What do you want Jessica?" Scorpius asked with a sigh, running a hand through his hair as he looked behind her.

Jessica pulled his face down to hers, so he could look her in her eyes. Her mouth was still in a pout.

"Oh come on Scorp, you know the answer to that question," she replied, her hand slipping lower, and touching his abdomen, as she bit her lip. "Also, I haven't been able to speak to you alone in a while, especially considering you took Rose to the Ball and not me." She frowned.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, and moved onto the top step, so that Jessica's hand was no longer touching him. "You know why I didn't take you to the Ball, Jessica."

Jessica continued to frown, putting her hands on his shoulders. "That's what I wanted to question you about," she started, "considering I heard that you're in love with Weaslette. And there is no chance that is true, is it?"

He didn't reply, just looked down at her with a scrutinising look.

After a few moments, her mouth dropped open. She started to shake her head continuously, and Scorpius shook her hands from his shoulders.

"No," she said as he tried to walk around her, "this is just a simple crush. It's not real, and you know it."

He sighed, "do I really have to make it clear Jessica?"

"Yes, you do," she replied, her face still set in confusion.

Scorpius breathed, and smiling lightly said, "I'm in love with Rose."

It was the first time he had said it out loud and he didn't regret it. Not even a little. His smile grew, though Jessica's own mouth shrank considerably.

"She gave you that fucking black eye!" She shouted, pointing him harshly in the chest.

He shrugged, "makes me love her even more."

Jessica was gaping at him again, and she couldn't think of anything to do, so she ended up slapping him, on the face, just below his black eye. He twitched slightly at the contact.

"You feel better?" he asked, quite simply, she growled at his reaction.

"Bastard," she replied, pushing him and storming down the stairs, leaving him relieved at the top of the staircase.

XxX Rose XxX

Rose hadn't realised she had been sitting on the bench for 45 minutes, thinking about the correct way to initiate a conversation with Scorpius, surrounding the theme of 'love'. She still hadn't thought of the perfect way, that could not only lead to the least amount of embarrassment, but also, hopefully some sort of happy ending.

Which maybe even included her father not killing her or Scorpius.

She took one last glance down the corridor she was situated in, before getting up and walking towards the spiral staircase, to sleep in her bed.

XxX Scorpius XxX

Scorpius started down the Fifth Floor corridor, passing the bench that Rose had been sitting on minutes before. He would have caught her if he hadn't of ran into Jessica, he turned with a sigh as he reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, and that as it was nearly 7pm, the majority of the Ravenclaws would be in the Common Room. Therefore, a conversation with Rose would certainly not be private.

He'd tried at least, if she was angry at him, he could at least say that he tried to make it right.

He was hoping that the feeling in his chest meant that Rose would understand, she wouldn't get angry. Because truthfully, Scorpius wouldn't know what to do. His charm, his wit, nothing like that would work with the knowledge that he was in love with her, and she could laugh in his face at any moment.

As he entered the Gryffindor Common Room, he was welcomed by the voices of excited students, unwilling to get a good night's sleep for an early morning.

Albus was sitting around the fireplace, several of his family members sitting closely, but he was sending Molly a glare as she grinned. Next to her was her twin sister Lucy, who was studiously flicking through her Charms notes, her glasses hanging crookedly off her nose.

When Scorpius took a seat in another of the plush arm chairs, Molly made a rather loud sound directed at Albus, which he jumped at.

"Stop it!" Albus demanded, throwing a cushion at his younger cousin.

Molly shook her head, "it's funny as long as you're scared Albus."

"What's he so scared about Moll?" Scorpius asked, taking a look at Albus' face, which was set in a grimace.

Molly smiled and sat straighter, "well Albus here is frightened, because I 'cursed' him."

"She's a witch, I tell you!" Albus said without thinking, when he had realised, so had all of the people in a 5 metre radius who were in hysterics. Even Lucy who had looked up briefly from her work.

"I think you'll find I am Albus, you were in that room for far too long," Molly was shaking her head at Albus as if he were a psychiatric patient and she were the psychiatrist.

"I mean the ones you read in those Muggle books, and they do voodoo and everything," Albus exclaimed.

Lucy put down her quill and raised a quizzical brow, "you read Albus?"

There was another burst of laughter from the surrounding area, however Lucy had phrased her question seriously, and was waiting for an answer.

Albus crossed his arms in a huff and Scorpius laughed offhandedly, shaking his head at Albus' actions.

"It's really not that bad Al," Scorpius started, nodding in understanding.

However, his best friend shot upright, a shocked expression on his face.

"Are you implying just because you like those disgusting feelings, I would like them too!" Albus replied, but stopped Scorpius from speaking. "Love is evil, it makes people or should I say best friends do unspeakable things. It makes you unable to think for yourself, you're just like a lost puppy, and you can't go anywhere without your owner and her leash. It makes me sick, and I'd never want that to happen to me, I have a life that I want to keep to myself. Why should I care how someone else feels about me to that extent, I have to deal with you peoples' problems enough already. Why would I want to have some hormonal girl complaining to me anyway? Saying 'Albus, do this' and because I'm fucking whipped I'd do it. Are you serious?" Albus finished.

Molly's mouth was in a thin line, "hold me back Lucy before I jinx his face off," she said in reply to Albus' ridiculous words, Lucy obliged and Molly shook her head, glaring at Albus. "You're going to get it Albus, when you haven't got magic to save you." She laughed lightly, which made it all the more terrifying as she smiled.

"Yeah Albus, where do you get off insulting girls, hey?" Hugo said from a couple of metres away, "Lily would kill you if she were here."

Scorpius had rolled his eyes at Albus' speech, "where does he get off insulting me? You should know much better than that Al. Remember, I know more hexes, jinxes and charms than you. I back Molly on this one, you're going to get it one day. Sooner than later, and I will only laugh at your 'misfortune', you're ridiculous."

"How many times am I going to hear that? You're still a wuss," Albus replied, "and it's people like her," he continued, pointing at Molly, "that spread the poison. I tell you now I will never fall in love, because love is for wimps and suckers. And Molly, we all know you're in love with Lysander, and because of your unrequited love, you wish to poison others with their own dose of unrequited love."

Molly snarled and stretched her hands out to strangle Albus, but she was still being held by her sister. Lucy had noticed the change in her sisters' stance, and knew that she would try to get away so she held on tightly. "It's not unrequited," she growled, glaring menacingly at Albus.

"Denial," Albus replied simply, his face upturned.

Molly had had enough; she pushed Lucy away and full on jumped Albus, hitting him as she started to cry. Lucy had responded quickly, pulling her sister off, but heads were all turned.

Roxanne, another of their cousins and Seventh Year prefect rushed over, looking from Molly to Albus, confused.

Lily who had recently arrived and had sat next to Hugo stood up abruptly, pointing her wand straight at her brother's throat.

"Albus Albus Albus, this again? Have you no soul? And you, Scorpius. How can you tolerate this? I might be younger than you Albus, but at least I am considerate of other peoples' feelings. Did the 4 days in confinement not even change you a little?" Lily leaned in closer and whispered, "Molly is upset, and you've made it worse. I can't expect you to relate to that, but could you at least hold back on your insulting her and the female sex. You're even worse than James, and I thought he was the misogynist. You're both going to get your comeuppance."

Albus sighed as if bored, "and that would be what exactly?"

Lily smiled, it seemed angelic but taking a closer look you could see the menace in her dark eyes. "You've been cursed Albus Severus Potter, of course it's metaphorical, so you can't go crying to mum and dad, but cursed nonetheless. Let's say this can be a repayment for your previous discrepancies," Lily finished with a wink.

He was hiding his fear with a smirk, "you don't agree do you Luce?" Albus asked the blonde who had started to collect her work to take her sister back to their dorm room.

"Don't talk to me like I'm stupid Albus," she replied, her light voice taking an angry tone, "I might not know anything about love, but that doesn't mean I think it's anything like what you said. You shouldn't think like that Albus, it will only hurt more."

"Hurt more when?" Albus asked, but Lucy gathered her things and pulled her sniffling sister away from their cousin. Albus looked at Scorpius who didn't look amused.

Roxanne had her hands on her hips and sighed, "you watch it around Molly during the holidays Albus, or myself and Fred will make sure it's a holiday you never forget."

"You're the biggest idiot that ever graced the earth." Scorpius said, shaking his head.

Albus snorted, "doubt that. There's still James."


I'm being sneaky and stretching this. HAHA. So there is still a few more chapters to go ;) I'm building the end up for the sequel, which will be a few years later ;) plus, there shall be a epilogue on this chapter. Ja? ;)

Guys. I've decided, after much thought and recollection and reminders from the reviews, I shall write a sequel of sorts, focusing on Albus and Molly's 'curse'. I just have to brainstorm the details, and think up some more epic-tastic OC's ;) also location-ish thing. I'm thinking out of Hogwarts. My mind is screaming WEDDING, but I don't know. Not everyone loves Wedding fics as much as I do.

It has to be a way in which a lot of the characters in this, have a place in the sequel, which shall be AlbusOC centric, with naturally a little bit of RoseScorpius here or there ;).

Hmm, I shall again ponder. I can tell you now though! The ideas swimming around my head are quite interesting to say the least.

You got to speak your mind about this! Or you might hate the outcome :P

If you want a sequel, say 'I' and also tell me how you feel about weddings and AlbusOC :D. Also ahead of time, since there is literally 1 or 2 chapters left (probably more), I shall tell you there will be numerous familiar faces in the sequel. ;) Who's your favourite HP character (still alive) who you'd like to see? :D

Or else we could end up with Great-Aunt Muriel chapters! :P

Finally, I'm gonna update before Sunday ;)