A week later it was February, and Scorpius was having a hard time believing they were already a month into his last term at Hogwarts. He'd approached his position as Head Boy with confidence since they'd been back, and he and Rose were working together better than ever. Carter Brighton had replaced Devon Shepard as prefect, who was still going home most weekends and kept to himself otherwise, so the tension that had been present at meetings all last term had evaporated. They were going to have their first one for the month after dinner, but first, it was time to celebrate Erin once again. They typically did a big group dinner for whatever birthdays they could, and Erin's happened to be on a Sunday, which made it easier for everyone to be able to participate.

She'd been given a few gifts from the people she was closest to, except Al, who said he'd give her his later. They had gathered at the Gryffindor table, and Lily and Hugo had run up and down it collecting all of the cornish pasties they could find, which were Erin's favorite. Everyone was talking over everyone else as they joked and laughed, and it wasn't long before Al brought up the upcoming Quidditch match that would be taking place in two weeks. With a roll of her eyes, Erin quickly put a stop to it.

"How about part of my gift be that you don't talk about Quidditch today?" she said with a pointed look. He gave a guilty grin from his place across from her, but he managed to turn it into a smirk.

"Just for today, and just because it's you," said Al, and Erin gave him a pleased smile.

"Can we talk about what's going on over there?" asked Jill from her seat beside Al. She nodded towards where Alice, who'd come for her sister's birthday, had made her way up to the staff table and was sitting next to Malcolm Bray rather closely. Erin grinned.

"They're seeing each other and that's all I'm going to say about that."

Jill pouted, obviously wanting more information, but Erin was a fierce protector of her sister's privacy. She hadn't even told Scorpius and Al the details she'd learned during her day spent with her sister a few weeks previously.

"Molly won't tell me much about her and Ethan either," said Jill, an expectant look on her face.

"Anyone ever tell you you're a horrible gossip?" said Rose. She was sitting across from Scorpius and next to Erin. She rolled her eyes at him in amusement as Jill ignored the comment.

"He writes her every week. You should see how-"

"Jill!" came a holler from down the table, and she looked guiltily towards her best friend.

"Stop pestering other people about my life," Molly insisted, before turning back to her pudding and trying to hide her blush.

"I couldn't tell you anything even if I wanted to," Erin told Jill, and this seemed to abate the younger girl's curiosity.

"Are you two still planning on coming to work on our Transfiguration essays in the common room tonight?" Rose asked Al and Erin, who gave her a pointed look.

"How about a part of your gift is that we don't talk about school?"

Rose looked scandalized that she'd been silenced, but Al grinned and assured her they'd be there.

"You have the books we need after all," he said

"Seeing as the next weekend is...occupied," said Scorpius, careful not to mention Quidditch. "Do we want to go to Hogsmeade this coming one? It's an actual weekend for the whole school but we could brave the crowd. Maybe go to the Three Broomsticks?"

Rose and Erin nodded, but Al seemed to be struggling with something.

"Actually," he forced out, running a hand through his hair as his cheeks turned the faintest pink, so subtle that Scorpius wouldn't have been able to tell if he weren't next to him. He was looking down as Scorpius, Rose, and Erin watched him curiously.

"I sort of-"

"Happy Birthday, Erin."

Everyone's attention was instantly pulled to the seventh year Hufflepuff who now stood behind Erin. Harrison Hughes had always been the rather skittish type, and all his nervous energy was almost causing him to shake as he looked down at Erin with wide eyes.

"Thanks, Harrison," said Erin, giving him a small smile. The rather timid Hufflepuff had taken quite a shine to Erin when they'd worked on their group project for Muggle Studies. He wasn't the most socially adept person, or the most well groomed, but he was nice and friendly when he wanted to be. No matter how much Erin had complained to him about the attention, Scorpius knew she'd never go out of her way to be rude to their classmate.

"Was there something else?" she asked politely when he didn't speak or leave. He gave her a nervous smile.

"This coming weekend is a Hogsmeade one, and, I mean, that doesn't make much of a difference for us. I mean we could go just about any old weekend. But I thought it would be a good time, you know?"

Everyone who hadn't been paying attention when he showed up now was. Erin's eyes had widened while Harrison stumbled through his words.

Scorpius glanced around the table when the deafening silence registered. Jill was watching with a dropped jaw. Lily and Lucy were whispering to each other while paying close attention. Caleb and Louis and Molly were staring at the poor boy in shock. And Bobby, Hugo and Charlotte were all watching Al, who was staring coldly at the scene in front of him. Erin was turned in her seat to look at Harrison, so she couldn't see that Al was probably only seconds away from cursing Harrison's head off. Scorpius glanced at Rose, who was staring at him while throwing glances at Al with wide eyes, trying very hard not to intervene.

"What I mean to say," the Hufflepuff continued. "Is that I was wondering if you'd like to go with me. To Hogsmeade, that is. On Saturday."

From what Scorpius could see of Erin's profile, her mouth had opened in surprise as she struggled to come up with something to say. Harrison looked so hopeful, and Scorpius knew Erin well enough to gather that she was trying her best to come up with something to say that was equal parts kind and not misleading. He cast a sideways glance at Al, to see he was gripping his fork tightly and breathing heavily. Scorpius was just thankful his wand had remained in his pocket.

"Harrison, I'm flattered, really," Erin began, and her voice sounded almost apologetic. "But I can't."

"Oh," he said, hanging his head a bit, but he hadn't quite thrown in the towel yet. "Some other time, then?"

Erin slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry, but no. I can't."

"Okay," he said, his face now curious. "Are you seeing someone? I hadn't realized."

She paused, and everyone at the table held their breath, most of them shooting a glance at Al. Scorpius saw the muscles in Erin's neck clench, as if she were restraining herself from turning to look at Al herself, but she kept her gaze forward. Al's expression hadn't changed.

"It's not about that," she finally said, and Scorpius heard a few people down the table groan at the missed opportunity for one of them to finally own up to what was going on between Erin and Al.

"Then what is it?" Harrison asked, his head tilted in confusion. "I thought-"

"Whatever it was, you thought wrong."

Every eye at the table snapped to Al, who'd spoken in a calmer voice than Scorpius had expected. Erin had whipped her head around and was now staring at him, her expression unreadable as he continued.

"She doesn't owe you an explanation, so you can back off, Hughes. Besides," he paused long enough to glance at Erin, "she's with me."

He said it with such conviction, that Scorpius could hardly believe this was the first time he'd owned it. The silence that had reigned at the table started to dissolve as a few people gasped and others whispered amongst themselves.

"Oh, alright then," said Harrison with a nervous smile. Erin whipped around to give him an apologetic look as he gave her an awkward wave. "See you around."

He walked away, not seeming too put out, but definitely disappointed. But nobody cared about that. Everyone was looking between Al and Erin, who was looking at the young wizard across from her with more fury than Scorpius had expected. He assumed she'd be upset, but she looked positively livid. Her hands were gripping the table and her wavy hair that had been pulled back in a plait was starting to unravel. Al had gone back to his food after Hughes had walked away and hadn't noticed the way her gaze was burning into the top of his head. Scorpius quickly jabbed him with his elbow. Al flinched and shot him a look. With wide eyes, Scorpius jerked his head towards Erin, and Al looked up at her. His eyes comically jumped open in surprise.

"What-?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Erin practically snarled at him. "You had no right to do or say what you just did."

Scorpius wanted to smack Al in the back of the head for the completely astounded look he wore.

"I'm sorry?" he said uncertainly. Erin took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Why did you tell him that?"

"Tell him what?"

She rolled her eyes. "You basically told him we're together."

Al seemed taken aback. "Aren't we?"

Erin let out a sound of disbelief, her mouth open in astonishment.

"No!"

Al looked completely gobsmacked, and Scorpius was starting to wonder if something had gotten lost in translation. He knew this was all going to dissolve into a bit of a mess eventually.

"You know what, Al?" said Erin, shaking her head in resignation. "You could really learn something from Harrison Hughes. At least he had the guts to ask."

With a disappointed look on her face, Erin quickly stood up from the table before swiftly making her way out of the Great Hall. Al called after her, but she never turned around and only sped up her pace.

Al gave a huff of annoyance and stood from the table, but Rose reached across and grabbed his arm, stopping him before he could walk away.

"Al, maybe you shouldn't."

"No, Rose," he said, throwing off her grip. "I'm tired of all this shite and I thought it was behind us, but apparently I was wrong."

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked, and Al sighed, sitting back down so he was straddling the bench.

"I mean that I thought we'd sorted this out over Christmas. So I need to talk to her."

Scorpius nodded at the sincere yet confused look on Al's face. No one else stopped him, and he practically ran out of the Great Hall.

"It's about time one of them said something," Lily commented from down the table.

"Sure picked a bad way to do it," said Louis.

"There goes our study plans for the evening," Rose mumbled. "Are we supposed to do anything?" she asked, leaning across the table to whisper to Scorpius. He gave an uncertain shrug.

"Maybe give it a few minutes? In case they're in the corridors or something?"

Rose nodded, letting out a sigh as she poked at her pudding with her spoon. "I hope they can sort this out. Al's an idiot if he thinks he can just assume nothing needs to be said. Erin was right; she deserves for him to tell her exactly how he feels."

"What about her?" Scorpius couldn't help but ask. "She's never said anything either."

"But it's Erin," Rose argued. "She buries everything unless you pry it out of her. He should know better than to expect her to be the one to say something first."

"That still doesn't mean she's off the hook."

Rose took a bite of her pudding before responding, looking slightly disgruntled.

"Isn't it the boy who's supposed to do the asking?"

"How traditional of you," he couldn't help but say with a smirk. Rose narrowed her eyes at him.

"Fine. But if you remember correctly, she did make the first move. And I do recall him saying something about her never showing him how she felt right before she did it. He should have caught on a long time ago."

She did have a point there. But none of that mattered; the who said or did what and where. At least they were having it out. Scorpius just hoped that, at the very least, their friendship made it to the other side.

"Girls are bloody hard to read, though," Scorpius couldn't help but comment. "It's sort of hard to tell the difference between them just caring about you as a friend and wanting something more."

They looked at each other for a moment, and he could sense Rose was well aware of what he was getting at. He was fairly certain he had an inkling about how she felt; she wasn't exactly the hardest person to read. But he'd meant what he said. Sometimes it got difficult to tell whether or not she just cared for him as a friend, or whether it was more. He didn't have much to compare their friendship to. Her other closest male friends were cousins. What she'd said in her dorm the other night was the biggest clue yet, but there was still something eating at him that made him unsure. He just wished he knew what it was.

His misgivings were momentarily forgotten a second later when she smiled shyly at him, continuing to eat her pudding.

"You can always take a leaf out of Harrison's book, and ask."

Rose and Scorpius were heading back to their common room after the prefects meeting. She'd tried very hard not to be distracted through the whole thing, but their little exchange at the end of dinner was playing on repeat in her mind. Had she been a little too bold in her suggestion? Was he even talking about her? Of course, the logical conclusion was that he was, but it still lingered in the back of her mind that it could be someone like Riley Clarke that he was referring to.

But that was silly. He told her she had no reason to be jealous. Unless he just meant as a friend? She felt a bit idiotic; talking herself into the fact that he might like her and then right back out again. It would be a hell of a lot easier if one of them actually decided to straight up say something one way or the other. He'd said on Halloween that they would talk about it eventually, but that didn't mean they both felt the same way. That he wanted to be with her the way she wanted to be with him.

Despite everything that had happened the past few months, that was the one thing that really hadn't changed for Rose. He'd made mistakes and she'd made mistakes and things hadn't always been easy and they were downright difficult and painful at times. But she'd never lost sight of the person he was: her best friend. A person who was kind, ambitious, a leader, and a loyal friend. These things and many more were what drew her to him, and he'd been showing them all in abundance the last few weeks. It made it very difficult to think straight at times. Especially when he was speaking to the prefects with authority, his arms crossed and his shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbow so that his strong forearms grabbed her attention. The way he talked with a smooth confidence that had faded for a while, but was now back to full strength.

Maybe she should be the one to say something. It was possible that he hadn't said anything because he was unsure of where he stood with her after everything that had happened. Then again, maybe it was too soon after all that.

Her head hurt just thinking about it all. More likely than not, she was overthinking everything. She should just stop focusing on all of that right now and pay attention to what he was saying to her as they made their way up to the seventh floor. It only took her a moment to realize he was talking about his cousin.

"He's been different since the holidays, but almost in a good way. Like he's strangely matured."

"Any clue as to why?" Rose asked. Scorpius gave a shrug, his brow furrowed.

"Not sure. Maybe it made an impression on him that I could have faced some serious consequences. He's always been a bit cavalier about the rules, but he's been steering clear of Prince and some of the others who cause trouble."

"That's good, right?"

"Sure," said Scorpius. "I just didn't expect it. And I don't want him to punish himself for getting me in trouble 'cause it wasn't his fault. I feel like he's doing what he can to make sure he doesn't have any fun at all."

They made it to the seventh floor and strolled at a leisurely pace towards the common room.

"I'm sure he's not doing that," said Rose. Scorpius gave her a pointed look.

"He's been going to bed at curfew and pretty much all I ever see him do is study. Even Riley is concerned and she never cares much about anything."

Rose gave the portrait of Margaret the password and they entered the common room. She was about to ask if he planned on doing anything about his cousin's odd behavior, when she noticed their common room was already occupied.

Erin was sitting with her back against the couch, a Transfiguration book open in her lap and various others scattered across the floor along with parchment and quills. This wasn't all that odd, but what really made Rose pause was the fact that Al was sitting on the couch right behind Erin, currently plaiting her hair. Rose glanced at Scorpius, who was far too perplexed by the sight to keep his thoughts to himself.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, his voice more confused than accusatory. Erin looked up at him.

"We said we were working on Transfiguration tonight, right?"

"I meant that," Scorpius clarified, gesturing to Al, who glanced up at him as he continued to do Erin's hair.

"It was coming unraveled so I'm fixing it. Mum used to make me do Lily's all the time when we were younger and her hair was longer. I got pretty good at it."

He secured the end, said a triumphant, "done!" and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. She looked up and thanked him with a smile. Rose and Scorpius tentatively moved forwards as Al made his way off the couch and onto the floor next to Erin.

"I'm guessing you two made up?" Rose asked as she lowered herself to the floor across from Al, Scorpius sitting somewhere to her left. Erin nodded, only glancing up briefly before keeping her attention on her text book.

"Yes, all fine. Did Ogden say she wanted twenty inches or twenty-two? I can't remember."

Rose let out a huff of frustration as Al answered Erin's question, starting to look through one of the books himself. She felt Scorpius shift uncomfortably next to her, before he too started looking through the various sources for their essay.

"That's it?" Rose asked. "You two have a bit of a blow up in the Great Hall and all we get is 'all fine?'"

Erin gave an amused roll of her eyes.

"Do you want us to rehash the whole thing for you? Or will an abridged version do?"

"Whichever you prefer."

"You know," Erin said, turning to look at Al, "most couples don't have to put up with this type of questioning."

"Most couples don't have Rose butting in," Al said with an amused smirk.

Erin chuckled. "Most couples also aren't idiots for months before they actually get their act together either. We shouldn't be surprised by the questions."

"So you're together?" Scorpius asked impatiently. Al nodded, but his eyes were on Erin as they both smiled brightly. Scorpius chuckled and shook his head.

"About time."

Al and Erin laughed along with him while Rose gave an exasperated sigh. This didn't go unnoticed by Erin, who turned to her with an apologetic smile.

"We'll talk later, alright?"

Placated, Rose nodded and gave her a small smile. The intricacies of teenage romance momentarily forgotten, they got to work on their essay that was due on Tuesday, and worked until it was time for Al and Erin to leave if they wanted to make it back by curfew.

"I think I'll stay with Rose tonight," Erin told Al as they packed up their things before she looked at Rose in question. "If that's alright?"

Rose nodded and Al left a few moments later, though not before giving Erin a swift kiss in parting, causing her cheeks to pink up ever so slightly. Scorpius settled in on the couch to do some reading for History of Magic, and the girls retreated to Rose's room. Pulling out her wand, Rose put up some privacy charms before resting it on her nightstand and plopping down on her bed. Erin had come in behind her and was leaning with her back against the closed door, a dreamy look on her face.

"I don't think you've stopped smiling all evening," said Rose, and Erin flushed, her expression growing slightly timid as she moved to join Rose on the bed and sitting towards the end. Rose scooted back so she was leaning against the headboard and stretched her legs out, immediately relaxing and realizing how tired she actually was, though not tired enough to be uninterested in the conversation she was about to have with her best friend.

"What happened?" Rose asked. "You were so furious at dinner, I assumed you two would be on less than pleasant terms for awhile."

"I did too," said Erin, her face showing her slight disbelief in the current situation. "Maybe we still would be if he weren't so damn charming."

Rose chuckled and shook her head in bafflement. Erin was still smiling, when she would have normally scrunched up her face in annoyance.

"So," Rose said, sitting up and pulling her knees up to rest her chin on them, wrapping her arms around her legs with an expectant expression. Erin let out a sigh, falling back on the bed to stare up at the canopy.

"I was upset. I thought he decided that, rather than actually say something to me, he thought it best just to assume everything was settled between us and chose to declare it to the whole of Hogwarts rather than say anything to me about it. Turns out, he thought he'd already asked."

"He mentioned something about you two settling it over Christmas," said Roes, "right before he went after you."

Erin nodded. "Remember how I told you we ran into each other in the woods?"

Rose gave a nod of affirmation.

"Well…" Erin continued. "He said some things that were definitely more… forward… than anything he'd said up until that point. I just failed to see the whole picture."

"Which was?"

Erin sighed and rolled to her side, propping her head up in her hand. "He went on about how much it meant that I was so supportive of him, and I think the book I gave him helped him see that. And that it meant so much knowing that I'd be there for him once we left school. Then he asked me if I actually would be there. I assumed he just meant in general, because I wouldn't really let myself think he meant otherwise. Turns out, he did."

Rose's jaw dropped open in surprise.

"You mean Al's thought for more than a month now that you two were firmly together, and you had no idea?"

"Pretty much," said Erin, Rose's disbelief mirrored on her own face. "Which makes sense when I think about how he acted at the wedding."

"What happened at the wedding?" asked Rose, surprised that there was still more to the story.

"Nothing much, really," said Erin, "but he was awful caring and considerate and seemed to really want to be affectionate in front of everyone. More than he's been before. I sort of spurned most of his advances and now I feel horrible that I've been so distant from him lately. I was just frustrated that we were in the exact same place we had been for months and he just wasn't saying anything and I had no clue why, when it turns out, he thought he already had. It was sort of difficult to stay mad at him after that."

Rose could understand that. She could also understand why Erin had been so frustrated about the lack of change in her relationship with Albus. It was rather similar to the place Rose felt she was in now, although she couldn't find an instance where he might have said something that she would have missed. And Scorpius was a lot more forthcoming than Al. He'd be sure she knew exactly what he was saying if he ever made any professions of feelings or intent.

"Anyway," Erin continued with a sigh, laying back down on the bed. "We argued for a bit until I realized I'd misunderstood him, and then asked him to be perfectly honest. It took a bit, but, when he finally went for it…"

Rose couldn't help but grin as Erin trailed off, her eyes staring unseeingly up at the canopy above her as she reminisced about whatever had taken place between her and Al.

"You don't have to tell me," Rose said, and Erin turned her head to look at her in question.

"That part isn't really any of my business. As long as this is what you want and you're both happy, there's nothing else I need to know."

Erin grinned at her. "I told him I was falling for him."

Rose's eyes widened and Erin laughed at the shocked look on her face.

"I didn't say 'love', but it was implied. Bloody hell, I'd never been quite that nervous in my entire life. But it was worth it."

"I think asking if you're happy is a bit unnecessary then?" Rose asked, and Erin just laughed again. It was so refreshing to see her this happy, and it still boggled Rose's mind to think that her idiotic, and sometimes prat of a cousin, was the one responsible.

A/N: FINALLY. Before you get too disappointed that you didn't get to see the confrontation between Al and Erin, I will be posting that chapter in Snapshots of Faith in just a bit! It'll be chapter 11 and it will be the third chapter I've posted in that story today. I already put up the chapter about Al and Erin at the wedding as well as one about Alice and Malcolm at the wedding. Hope you enjoyed this! I sure had fun writing it :)

Looking forward to your reviews!