Slytherin had their second match of the season two weeks later and Rose and Erin were sitting in the Gryffindor stands, a few members of their own house team nearby as well as other friends and family members. Al had mentioned to Erin that it would be nice if his girlfriend actually cheered for him, but she'd made no promises and refused to wear anything Slytherin. However, they were halfway through the match and Rose felt certain she was going to have a bruised thigh thanks to the number of times Erin had reached out and gripped it whenever Al made a move like he was going after the snitch or dodging a bludger.
Scorpius was flying brilliantly, like he usually did. Rose had wondered for a time if he would consider a career in Quidditch, but she knew he wouldn't be happy doing that. As they'd talked more about his decision to become an Auror, Rose began to see more and more how much it made sense. He was determined and ambitious, smart and calculating - even if his decision making had been a little less than exemplary not too long ago. Through all that, he'd still carried himself with purpose.
It had been remarkable to continue to see the way he'd grown since they'd come back to school. Even these past two weeks had shown a marked difference. Rose couldn't say if there was something specific that had caused it, but she had a strong feeling that the source of it all was the fact that for the first time, he fully accepted who he was, even the parts that were beyond his control. Not only that, but he'd discovered even more so who he was in his decision to become an Auror. That had done more for his confidence in leaps and bounds than anything else, Rose was sure of it.
Did it still slightly terrify her to think of him going to work everyday and never knowing what state he would come home in? Yes. Especially because she couldn't fully be there to take care of him. It had come as a shock to her the first time she thought of the future in that way. Rose had images swirling through her brain of various scenarios where she would be waiting for Scorpius to get back from whatever mission or assignment he'd been on, and in every one of them, he'd come home to her. She'd be able to know that he was alright and care for any scrapes and bruises he might have while he told her about whatever he'd gotten himself into.
Rose blushed whenever her mind formed these images, because it reminded her of how her mother had cared for her father when he was still an Auror. He had retired the year before Rose went off to Hogwarts, and she could still recall the difference between the days when her dad was just working at the Ministry, and the ones when he was out on a mission. Her mother would be more on edge during those days, which was most likely due to a time when Ron had been so badly injured during a raid, that he'd had a week long stay in St. Mungo's.
Rose was only five years old at the time, but she could still remember seeing her father in the hospital bed, tubes attached to him as potions were constantly administered in an effort to heal him, his arm in a sling and the parts of his face that weren't covered in bruises paler than normal. To this day, she wasn't entirely sure what had happened to him, because it had terrified her so much that she'd never been brave enough to ask. It was probably one of the reasons Scorpius' decision made her nervous. She didn't want the think about that too much, but she had a feeling that it would come up eventually, especially if things between her and Scorpius actually managed to take off.
However, none of this was on Rose's mind as she watched the Slytherin Quidditch team slaughter Ravenclaw, whose only saving grace all season had been Patrick Allen, their Seeker. He had been good enough to catch the Snitch when they played Hufflepuff, even though they'd ultimately lost, but he'd never managed to beat Al in all the years they'd flown against each other.
"This makes me feel great about our chances in the last match of the year," said Caleb, watching closely as Scorpius managed to get yet another goal past the Ravenclaw Keeper.
"They don't play again till then, though," Louis pointed out. "Lots of time to get their act together."
The two of them along with Lily were sitting in front of Rose and Erin, studying the match rather than watching it. Hugo and Bobby were over in the Hufflepuff stands with Charlotte and Lucy, and Molly and Jill were cheering on their house from the Ravenclaw section.
"I don't see Fisher getting much better at guarding those hoops," Lily pointed out. "Unless he realizes how much he drifts to the right. It's amazing his captain hasn't pointed it out."
Caleb did a slightly comical double take, watching as Eddie Marsh caught a pass from Scorpius before he too gave Slytherin another ten points, the Quaffle soaring past Fisher's left hand side. As Slytherin cheered, Caleb looked at Lily in surprise.
"I hadn't even noticed that."
Lily adjusted herself in her seat, obviously pleased that he seemed impressed.
"Yes, well, you were too busy watching the Chasers," she said, keeping her eyes on the match.
He grinned at her smug expression, leaning in slightly closer.
"I'm more a fan of Seekers, actually."
He turned back to face the match, and Rose couldn't help but think how lucky they were that on Caleb's other side, Louis was too engrossed in the game to notice his best friend's comment and Lily's blush. Nor did he catch Caleb moving his hand to rest on Lily's where it gripped the bench between them. It was actually quite impressive to Rose, the way Caleb was able to turn towards Louis and ask him a question about the match in a perfectly calm demeanor, all while Lily rotated her hand over so she could slip her fingers between her boyfriend's.
Rose chuckled and turned to Erin.
"You'd think that-"
But she was unable to finish her comment as Erin sprung up from the bench and began cheering loudly. Rose returned her attention to the match just in time to see Al wrap his fingers around the Snitch before pulling out of a rather spectacular dive, Patrick a few feet behind him. The Slytherin's erupted into cheers along with Erin, who was getting some less than pleased looks from the members of her house.
"So much for never cheering for Slytherin," Rose hollered up at her. Erin immediately paused in her cheering, her cheeks turning pink as she realized what she had done. She glanced around in fear before dropping back onto the bench beside Rose and burying her head in her hands as the crowd began to disperse.
"I can't believe I'm one of those girls," she mumbled into her palms. Rose chuckled goodnaturedly, standing and grabbing Erin's arm. She gave it a tug and Erin looked up at her with a defeated expression.
"Come on," said Rose with a nod towards the pitch. "He'll be insufferable, but it'll mean a lot to him if you actually show some support."
Erin gave a small smile and allowed Rose to pull her down to the pitch. They had to wait a few minutes before the crowd dispersed enough that they were able to approach the Slytherin Quidditch team. Al had his back to them and was talking rather animatedly with a few of his housemates, but Scorpius saw them coming and moved through the crowd to greet them.
"You were brilliant," Rose said, accepting his hug as he beamed in delight. Erin embraced him as well, but she was preoccupied with her observation of the back of her boyfriend's head. Scorpius caught on and gave her a cheeky grin.
"Any chance that was you I heard screaming just before he caught the Snitch?"
Erin's face turned bright red before she regained her composure and narrowed her eyes at a laughing Scorpius. He shook his head in amusement as they continued to watch Al be bombarded by well wishers. Erin began to look like she was starting to second guess herself.
"Maybe we should-"
"Al!" Scorpius hollered before she could completely lose her nerve, and the Slytherin Seeker immediately turned at the sound of his best friend's voice. His questioning look didn't stay on Scorpius for long, as his eyes were quickly drawn to the blonde Gryffindor standing timidly next to him. His already excited features lit up even more as he dropped his broom and rushed at her, enveloping her in his arms and spinning her around a few times. Erin had let out a squeal of either delight or terror as she gripped him back, but she was smiling up at him when he set her back down.
"If I tell you something, will you promise not to be an insufferable prat?"
He shook his head, trying to hold in his grin of delight. Erin gave a sigh of exasperation, looking at him with the hint of a smile as her hands moved to rest on either side of his neck.
"Congratulations. You were amaz-"
She didn't get to finish as Al swooped down and kissed her. Not really caring to witness more than was necessary, Rose turned to look at Scorpius as Erin responded to Al's embrace. The blond Chaser was already looking at her with something close to determination in his eyes.
"What?" she asked, suddenly feeling self conscious thanks to his penetrating stare.
"There's a victory party in the Slytherin common room. You're coming."
He said it with finality, but he still seemed nervous that she'd refuse. Rose thought back to a moment from a few months ago - one that was very similar to this - and knew she wanted to do things differently this time.
"Okay," she said automatically, surprising both of them with the conviction in her response. His eyes lit up as he grinned at her.
"Brilliant. We need to go change and get cleaned up, and the party won't even really be in full swing for another hour at least. You know where it is, yeah?"
She nodded. While she'd never been in the common room, there had been a few times when they'd done rounds and she'd seen students returning to the Slytherin dorms.
"Why don't you come meet us at…" he paused and gripped her wrist, pushing back the sleeve of her coat to look at her watch. "Half past four? There's normally someone outside to let other students in. "
She nodded and he dropped her wrist, grinning before turning to Al, who was now separated slightly from Erin, their hands linked together as he talked to her with a smile on his face.
"Al?" Scorpius called, jerking his head towards the changing rooms. With a nod and one last kiss on Erin's cheek, Al followed after Scorpius.
"Did he ask you to come?" Erin asked as they made their way up to the castle, and Rose looked at her in surprise.
"Yes. How'd you know?"
"Al said he was planning on it," she explained. "What did you say?"
"Well, he more told me I was coming than asked," Rose said in amusement. "But I still told him I would."
Erin grinned, linking her arm through Rose's.
"Come on. We only have an hour to get you ready."
The party was in full swing an hour later, just like Scorpius had predicted. There was food and drinks that had been nicked from the kitchens - nothing contraband - and music was playing from an unidentifiable source. It was loud, but not to the point where you couldn't have a proper conversation if you wanted to.
Scorpius was sitting on the arm of one of the chairs by the fire, his leg bouncing up and down in agitation as he kept glancing at his watch.
"What's got you so worked up?" Riley asked as she came to join him and Al and Eddie by the fire.
"Rose is coming," Al responded for him, a smirk on his face as he popped a piece of fudge into his mouth. Riley's expression turned to one of intrigue.
"Really? What caused her to stoop to the likes of the snake pit?"
"Take it easy, alright?" said Scorpius, put out by her words. "That's not how she sees it."
"You sure?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Scorpius nodded, but she sensed his hesitancy.
"It's none of your business, Clarke," he said in a dry tone. She didn't seem too affected by his rude tone, casting her glance around the room indifferently.
"Where's that prat you call a cousin?" asked Riley. "He's likely to lose any ounce of what little good qualities he has if he keeps this up."
She was referring, of course, to Corbin's continued insistence on keeping himself distant from just about everyone else. Scorpius had tried to talk to him on a few occasions, but he'd been spending less and less time in his house common room, so his opportunities were slim.
"Is he up in his dorm?" he asked Riley, and she gave a shrug, her eyes betraying the worry she actually felt for her friend. Momentarily putting aside the fact that Rose would be here any minute, he stood and made his way towards the hall that led to the boys dormitories, stopping when he reached the one for the sixth years. He rapped lightly on the door and managed to make out the sound of a greeting over the noise of the party, which deadened as he let himself in and closed the door behind him.
Corbin wasn't even doing any homework. He was lying on his back, one arm under his head and his legs stretched out in front of him as he gazed at the ceiling.
"Cor?"
He looked up at the sound of his cousins voice, his dark hair falling slightly into his eyes before he laid back down with a huff.
"What?"
Scorpius moved so he was looking down at his cousin, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Mind telling me why you keep moping?"
Corbin wouldn't look him in the eye, the frown that had seemed to be permanently etched onto his face lately turning into a look of defiance.
"I'm not moping."
"Then what are you doing?" Scorpius asked. Corbin was silent for a moment, twirling his wand between the fingers of his free hand.
"Punishing myself, I guess."
"For?"
Sighing, Corbin sat up and turned to face his cousin, his legs dangling off the side of the bed.
"You remember the end of last year? When you and Rose caught me and Alex and Dylan sneaking out?"
Scorpius nodded, unsure where this was going.
"You told me to not let you catch me again. I thought you were just being a prat with your whole 'rules are rules' thing, but if I'd listened to you, everything that happened at the end of last term might not have."
"How do you figure that?" asked Scorpius.
"Because if I'd listened, I would've realized there was no way in hell you would have snuck out with me on the last night of term. I would have stopped it."
"Corbin, you can't put that on yourself."
"Why not?" he challenged. "I saw what was happening last term. I know you well enough to know that you weren't acting like yourself. I should have said something, but I was bloody thrilled that you were actually spending time with me rather than scolding me, so I chose to ignore it. I was selfish and immature and I should have been a better friend to you."
Scorpius hardly knew what to say. He and Corbin had talked at Christmas about what had happened, but the younger boy hadn't seemed nearly this despondent.
"Cor, if Rose couldn't make me see sense, there's no way in hell you'd have been able to."
Corbin actually chuckled at this. "Maybe, but I should have at least tried."
In many ways, Scorpius could understand where his cousin was coming from. He'd carried things he didn't need to, and now Corbin was doing the same thing.
"You didn't seem this upset at Christmas. What changed?"
Corbin shrugged in confusion. "Not sure. I think it was how much Prince goaded you and Al at dinner the first night back. I've sort of always denied how much of a bastard he is because of my friendship with Riley, but he really is a prat, and no one should ever have let him dictate what it means to be a Slytherin."
Scorpius moved to sit next to his cousin, gripping his shoulder as he sat on the bed.
"First of all, don't force yourself to carry things you don't need to. Everything turned out alright, didn't it? You can still learn from it all, but you don't have to let it fundamentally change who you are."
Corbin seemed almost relieved by Scorpius' words, so he pushed on.
"Now, If there's one thing I've learned the past few months, it's that no one can tell you who to be. So I'm not going to tell you to get your arse downstairs and join the party. However," he paused and gave Corbin a shake so that he met his eyes. "You're not allowed to stay up here if the only reason for doing so is to wallow. Do what you want to do, not what you think you deserve."
Scorpius clapped him on the shoulder before standing.
"Choice is yours, but I'd really like you to come down and join your teammates. You played well today. You should enjoy that."
Corbin nodded, a slight smile returning to his face as Scorpius remembered something else his cousin had said.
"I'm sorry I never spent much time with you," he said sincerely. "I never meant for you to think I didn't care."
Corbin looked slightly embarrassed but waved him off.
"It's alright. I know you have other friends."
"But you're my family, and that's important."
He held Corbin's gaze for a moment, willing him to understand everything he'd told him, and eventually, Corbin nodded and stood.
"I guess I'll pop down for a bit."
Scorpius smiled, and together, they made their way back to the common room. He had to contain a smirk when he saw Riley casually standing at the end of the hall, a drink in her hand and an indifferent look on her face. But she'd noticed them. Scorpius moved past her to the drink table she was next to, but Corbin stopped in front of her, a shy smile on his face. She watched him with a hard look.
"Are you done being a prat?"
Corbin gave a slight nod, his lip twitching in amusement.
"Good," Riley said, downing her drink before grabbing him by the arm and pulling him into the party. Scorpius chuckled, glad to know that his cousin was in relatively good hands.
He turned to face the room and immediately spotted Al by the food table, his arm around Erin as she filled up a plate. His heart leapt into his throat, realizing that her presence meant Rose should be there too. He quickly scanned the crowd, wondering why she hadn't stuck with Erin and Al, and found her bush of red hair over by the fire. He quickly made his way towards her, stopping suddenly in surprise when he heard her laugh. It took him a few moments to start moving again, and he elbowed his way through the crowd until she was in sight.
Her back was to him and she was standing next to the hearth, her hair pulled half back. She'd changed out of the many layers she'd worn to keep warm at the match and was dressed simply in jeans and a light-weight jumper that was a dark green. It was all so simple, but so very Rose. He felt self conscious for a moment that he was only in track pants and a faded Slytherin practice jersey. He quickly shook the thought when he realized with a bit of surprise that Rose was talking to Elaine Goyle. It wasn't like the two had never gotten along, but other than the necessary times they'd communicated for prefect purposes, he'd never seen them interact.
Elaine noticed him and smiled, signaling him over. Rose looked over her shoulder and he felt his chest tighten as her smiling eyes met his. He moved closer, doing his best not too stare for too long at his best friend.
"Rose and I were just talking about how Ogden nearly had a conniption in class on Thursday. I thought for sure she'd never stop panicking long enough to fix Eddie's hand."
Scorpius shared in their chuckle, remembering back to when his teammate had accidentally transfigured his hand into a tree branch, when they were just meant to be changing the appearance of them to resemble bark.
"Her frazzled state was rather funny," Rose agreed. "Almost helped keep the rest of us from panicking more."
Elaine laughed in agreement. "I actually think Eddie deserves to be teased a little more, and you seem to be in good hands now."
With a small wave at Rose, Elaine moved to walk away, though not before giving Scorpius a subtle wink. Finally able to put his full attention on Rose, he smiled at her as she turned to face him fully.
"Sorry I was gone when you got here," he said. "But I think I finally got through to Corbin."
"That's great," she said with a pleased smile. There was a beat of silence, but it didn't feel awkward. It was just so strange for her to be there, he was having a difficult time wrapping his head around it.
"I'm really glad you came," Scorpius finally said. "Have you gotten anything to eat?"
She shook her head, still smiling at him, and he led her towards the refreshments.
"All the best from the Hogwarts kitchens," he said, waving his hand over the spread. She chuckled and picked up a plate.
"Malfoy," came a surly voice from over his shoulder. Scorpius felt Rose tense beside him as he turned to face Lucas Prince. He wasn't quite sneering, but his demeanor wasn't friendly. Scorpius hadn't gone out of his way to avoid him, but they'd both managed to keep their distance since the start of term feast.
"Nice game," he drawled. "Planning on making a career out of that skill?"
Scorpius shook his head, unsure why he was being asked this.
"That's too bad. Can't recall anything else you're useful for."
There was a clattering as Rose dropped her plate on the table, turning to face Prince with her hands on her hips.
"Shove off, Prince," snapped Rose. Prince looked highly amused at being addressed by her in this way. She was a good head shorter than him and he had a rather strong build. Rose was definitely outmatched physically.
"You drag the Head Girl around to keep you safe now?" he shot at Scorpius, giving Rose a condescending once over. "Can't say I'm surprised. You've never been able to do much for yourself."
"Shut up and stop acting like you actually know anything about him," said Rose. "You were never his friend."
Prince smirked at Rose, who was coming alive with rage, her eyes sparkling as she breathed heavily to control her inherited temper that was normally kept rather well in check.
"You're a feisty little thing," Prince said with a sneer, though he took a step closer to Rose. Acting on instinct, Scorpius stuck his arm out and quickly stepped between them.
"Watch it," Scorpius warned, his gaze hard and challenging. Prince seemed momentarily surprised, but recovered quickly, giving him a lazy smile.
"No worries, Malfoy. Just wanted a closer look."
Scorpius grabbed for his wand in his pants pocket, but Rose gripped his arm before he could draw it on Prince. Having caught the movement, Prince gave Scorpius a condescending smirk.
"You better watch yourself, Malfoy. She won't always be there to look out for you."
He turned and walked away, an obnoxious swagger in his step. Scorpius took a few calming breaths as he felt Rose's grip on his arm relax, but she didn't let go.
"Sorry," she said in a quiet voice, and he turned to look at her in question. Her brow was furrowed and she was worrying her lip between her teeth.
"I shouldn't have said anything. You were perfectly capable of handling that yourself. I hope he doesn't give you more trouble now."
Scorpius shook his head as her hands slipped down his arm to grip his hand.
"It's alright. He'd probably still be a prat either way."
The worry started to melt away from her face, and she released his hand, going back to the spread of food. There was still something bothering her, and Scorpius could read Rose well enough to tell it was going to eat away at her. He followed her down the table until she was done grabbing food, then he gently placed his hand on the small of her back.
Navigating through the crowd, he led her towards the back of the common room where the glowing green from the black lake was the only source of light. He sat down on one of the wide window sills and she joined him. It struck Scorpius that this was the same corner of the room where he'd met Riley all those months ago. He was thankful that it wasn't currently filled with smoke or the pounding bass of the music that was typical for most Slytherin parties. But the best part was that it was Rose sitting with him instead of Riley.
He watched her for a few moments as she started picking through the food on her plate. It was mostly filled with fruits, since Rose didn't have much of a sweet tooth. She gave him a timid smile when she noticed him watching her.
"Something's bothering you," said Scorpius, and Rose took a deep breath, popping a strawberry into her mouth.
"You keep doing that."
"What?"
"Stating random truths," she explained. "You've been scarily perceptive lately."
Even though she still seemed unsettled, she was smiling at him.
"Maybe it's just that I know you extremely well," he said with a grin. She rolled her eyes, but looked pleased by the idea. This attitude didn't stay long, and she seemed uncertain again a few moments later.
"I'm just wondering if me coming was a good idea," said Rose, avoiding his gaze.
"Rose, I want you here," said Scorpius with conviction, and she looked up at him with hopeful eyes. He wanted to do something to show her he meant it, maybe take her hand or put his arm around her, but he didn't want a moment like that to happen in front of a crowd of people. Al and Erin could show as much public affection as they wanted, but that wasn't him, and he was pretty certain it wasn't Rose either. He settled for scooting slightly closer to her.
"You matter more than anything that idiot or any other idiot could ever say about me. Or do to me, for that matter."
She seemed reassured by this and offered him her plate. Knowing she liked the strawberries and raspberries the best, he went for one of the blueberries.
"So you figured out what was bothering Corbin?" she asked, and he was thankful to move away from any deep or meaningful conversation she could have taken the opportunity to force.
"He was just beating himself up for everything that happened last term," Scorpius explained, realizing this wasn't exactly a lighthearted topic either. "Apparently, he's convinced himself that things wouldn't have played out the way they did if he'd actually listened to me when we caught him trying to sneak out last year."
"But, that's ridiculous."
Scorpius nodded, grabbing one of the few biscuits that were on her plate. "I told him as much and explained that seeing as you couldn't even talk sense into me, there's no way I would have listened to him even if he'd tried to say something."
She didn't say anything, choosing to finish off her food instead.
"Have you ever thought about where we'd be right now?" she eventually asked, setting her plate down on the ledge next to her and turning to look at him. "If Devon hadn't started acting like an arse and I hadn't been so quick to judge and you hadn't been so hard on yourself for everything?"
Her brown eyes were boring into his with a curious and open expression, and he tried to stay steady as he held her gaze. Scorpius liked to think he knew exactly where they would have been, and it killed him to think about how much time they'd squandered.
Before everything had completely gone to shit, he'd actually thought they'd make a go of things, especially after they'd both been named Heads. That only gave them even more opportunities to pursue something outside of their friendship. But then they'd argued at his house, and then Shepard had started acting out, and then Rose had been quick to judge him spending time with his housemates, and then he'd really blown it at the end of term. Sure they'd made up at various points during those times, and especially over Christmas, but that wasn't the atmosphere he wanted when he inevitably told Rose how he felt about her. And sadly, this wasn't either.
"I think about that all the time," he managed to say. Rose's eyes widened slightly, most likely at the intensity of his gaze. He knew he wasn't going to fully explore this right now, but he wanted her to know it wasn't ever far from his mind.
"I plan on making it up to you," he said, quiet enough so that no one else nearby would be able to hear.
"You don't have to do that."
"But I want to."
She just studied him for a moment before asking if he wanted a drink. He nodded and watched her walk away. In that moment, watching her exchange pleasantries with Johnny Slater, most likely congratulating the Keeper on their win, he knew exactly what he wanted. But even though he'd come to realize that she wanted it too, he remained uncertain that she actually had faith in him. It was the one thing he'd finally realized was missing. He knew she cared for him, he knew she'd always be there for him, and he knew she'd do anything for him. But did she have faith in who he was as a person? He'd given her reason to doubt over the past few months, and he'd seen her do so. Trust was key, and it was possible he still had to earn hers back.
Scorpius had found a newness in himself after everything that had happened last term. There was a peace and a calmness that came with accepting every part of who he was. He was content. But that didn't mean there weren't things he wanted. He wanted to share all of himself with Rose. He was proud of who he was, and humbled by the road he took to get there. He wanted her to be proud of him too. Scorpius had learned the hard way that he had nothing to prove to anyone, but if Rose needed to be reassured that he was worth whatever risk came with giving him a chance, that was something he was more than willing to fight for.
A/N: We have reached a turning point! I will say that this is still a slow burn as it has always been a slow burn, but do not lose patience! You will get to see our boy take some definitive action very soon. I might even update a few times this week cause I'm so excited to get there.
Also, I have a one shot written of the incident Rose remembers of visiting Ron in St. Mungo's after he'd been badly injured. It's from Hermione's POV and since it stands rather independent, I won't be posting it with all the snapshots for this story, so look out for that! I might even get it up tonight :)