Chapter 35 – The Whomping Willow
The next day was difficult. Rose had been forced to endure the painful silence, and frequent glares from Taylor, as she returned to her own dorm room the previous night. Neither spoke a word, although Rose often looked at her longingly, trying to send some kind of pleading message for forgiveness. Taylor only glared harder. And Janey and Gwen were caught in the middle, neither wanting to interfere, and neither wanting to take sides.
This was a great problem in itself. Taylor refused to spend any time with Rose, trying to put as much distance between them as possible at all times. She sat at the opposite end of the Gryffindor table at breakfast and lunch, after having left their room immediately without a single word, and had arranged to sit at other tables, at least when the professors allowed it, during the lessons they shared.
Gwen and Janey were torn. Taylor had no other friends other than the Gryffin-Girls, yet she was so much more hostile than Rose. And while Rose had many other students she could spend time with, and was very popular, they felt like they couldn't abandon her either. The obvious answer was to split between the two and then swap every now and again, but this then meant that only two people could spend time together, and Gwen and Janey would never get to be together. It certainly was a dilemma.
Meanwhile, Scorpius was preoccupied, worrying about having revealed his secret relationship to Albus, and also about what he could possibly get Rose for her birthday. And, of course, now that they were a couple, their relationship had entered a whole new stage of difficulty. They needed to spend time together, but how could they possibly achieve this?
It was known to nobody other than themselves and Albus that they were in a relationship, and if anybody caught on and their secret was out, all hell would break loose. Scorpius didn't trust the Slytherins. He didn't consider them 'friends' as such – Albus was the only one he knew he could really trust. Besides Rose of course, but she was so much more than a friend. And Ebony – she was special to him – but even still, he had an uneasy feeling about confiding in her. Slytherins were sly. They were cunning. They were often deceptive, no matter how friendly they appeared.
Besides, many of them had parents who were close to his own parents, and gossip occurred frequently. This would be big news between people like that – A Malfoy and a Weasley. And other than their houses, Scorpius daren't even consider what would happen between his family and Rose's family if they were to find out.
It would be near on impossible to spend time with her at school. There was one way though.
After their brief break from lessons, as they had returned from the holidays on a weekend, all classes were back on schedule. And last of the day was Potions – one of the only lessons which Rose and Scorpius shared, due to Scorpius taking careful measures so as to avoid her in earlier years. Oh, how he regretted it now.
"Rose," Scorpius murmured to her back, as he joined the queue outside the Potions classroom, instantly recognising her vibrant red curls.
She whipped around excitedly, recognising his voice. "Scorpius," she breathed in delight.
"Try to act casual," he warned, not wanting to draw any attention to their interaction.
"Oh, right," Rose muttered, blushing deeply, and turning around so her back was to him.
Thankfully Taylor, Gwen, and Janey were all at the front of the huddle, completely out of earshot. "You can sit next to me," Rose said, trying to move her lips as little as possible. "Taylor certainly won't be, so the seat will be free, and I don't think it will look too suspicious," she informed him with hope.
"I have a better idea," Scorpius replied.
Rose tried not to act disappointed. Did he not want to sit with her? "Albus could move too," she added, "if you think it will look strange otherwise."
"Just wait for a moment," he whispered. "Let everybody else go in first."
Rose focused hard on not turning around and raising an eyebrow at him. What was he planning? But she didn't push it. She waited.
She realised that maybe having Scorpius sit next to her wouldn't be such a good idea anyway. How would it look to Taylor if the moment she moved desks, Scorpius came and replaced her? It would look an awful lot like Rose didn't value her friendship in the slightest, replacing her as soon as she could. That was definitely not the message Rose wanted to give her.
"Alright, class, in you go – we're beginning with antidotes today," Professor Pocknoll announced cheerily, bustling past the gathered students.
"Finally!" Rose exclaimed to nobody in particular. "I've done so much research on antidotes already," she explained eagerly, though nobody other than Scorpius was listening.
"Rose," he muttered loudly, as she very nearly got caught up with the moving crowd.
"Oh, sorry," she apologised to him, remembering his request that they enter last. "Make it quick," she said, staring longingly into the classroom, as the last few students trickled in. "I don't want all the best ingredients to be taken first," she said worriedly.
"We're not making antidotes," Scorpius said, a little annoyed.
"Of course we are," Rose protested, "didn't you hear what professor Pocknoll –"
"I mean we're not," Scorpius said, pointing at himself and at her.
Rose frowned. "I don't understand."
"I want to take you somewhere."
"Now?" she yelped, in panic.
Scorpius looked around nervously. "Keep your voice down," he warned. "And yes, I mean now – let's go." He tugged on her hand, pulling her away from the classroom. She stood her ground, watching him in disbelief.
"I'm not skipping class," Rose hissed, wrenching her hand from his grasp.
"But you did before," he pointed out, trying not to seem upset.
"We got detention!" she reminded him furiously.
"Rose, it's now or never – besides, we'll look incredibly suspicious walking in so much after everybody else."
"No more suspicious than wandering about the castle!"
"It's not the castle I want to show you." Scorpius was desperate now, pleading with her, and tugging on her hand again. "We have to go now, or Pocknoll will look for us, and we won't have a chance."
Rose considered the situation.
"Albus will cover for us – you know he will. Rose, please," Scorpius begged. "We'll never get to spend time alone otherwise. And I promise I'll never make you skip class again."
How could she possibly say no to him? The desperation in his eyes and the romance of the situation was too much for her to refuse.
"Just once?" Rose asked sceptically.
"Just once – I promise!"
She rolled her eyes, appalled, but also intrigued by how reckless she could be when in his company. "Only for you," she said, finally giving in.
"Brilliant!" Scorpius exclaimed, eyes wide with excitement, and a huge grin on his face. And so with Rose's consent, he pulled on her hand, and the two forbidden lovers ran through the castle, never looking back towards the classroom they'd just fled.
Rose's heart was pounding with adrenaline, recklessness, her love for Scorpius, and the terrifying knowledge that if they were caught they'd be in serious trouble. "Where are we going?" she giggled, as they burst through the castle doors.
"You'll see," Scorpius called back. All of a sudden he pulled her towards the castle wall so they had their backs pressed to the cold stone. "We have to be sly," he explained. "We can't risk being out in the open – it's too likely that somebody will look out a window and see us."
"Words of experience," she teased him.
"I'll have you know that the only time I've ever skipped a class was with you!"
Following his lead, Rose followed Scorpius, as he led her along the castle wall, then dragging her behind various trees, bushes, and large rocks that offered them shelter from possible prying eyes from within Hogwarts.
"Is it much further?" Rose asked. She was in great pain from hunching over behind various obstacles.
"It's just around this corner," Scorpius said with a grin, "but I'm going to need you to close your eyes."
"Why?" Rose asked him suspiciously.
But she didn't get an answer. Instead, she got Scorpius' hands clamped over her eyes, as he steered her towards whatever mysterious thing it was that they'd skipped class to see. "Okay," he announced, "I'm going to move my hands now."
"Stop teasing me!" Rose joked. Scorpius laughed along with her. Then, with great excitement, he removed his hands from her eyes, allowing her to take in her surroundings.
Rose couldn't help but let out a yelp as she realised what she was looking at. "That's – that's the Whomping Willow!" she stuttered in shock, staring up at the magnificent but deadly tree.
It swayed in the cool, spring breeze, but Rose understood that if they took just another step closer to it, it would flail its branches around furiously, in an attempt to thrash them to pieces. Right now it looked completely harmless, yet it was a deceptively dangerous tree. What in Merlin's name did Scorpius want to show her this brutal work of nature for?
"It sure is," he said proudly.
"I don't understand... why are we here?"
Scorpius flashed her a grin, clearly bursting with excitement. He took a step to the side, surveying the tree carefully, so as not to disturb it. Rose watched his movements suspiciously, awaiting an answer.
Finally he spoke. "I thought we needed to do something big to make our relationship official," he explained.
Rose blushed immediately. Scorpius had acknowledged they were a couple – it was all so real – it wasn't just a dream. But a lack of understanding clouded her mind. "How exactly does this involve the Whomping Willow?" she asked him sceptically. What could this vicious tree possibly signify when it came to their relationship?
"It's something I learnt that Muggles do." Scorpius continued circling the tree, talking and walking slowly, clearly deep in thought, just waiting for the right moment.
"What do you mean?" Rose asked, following him as he moved.
Finally, Scorpius stopped still. It was all very mysterious, Rose thought. He turned his head to look at her. There was that same mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Watch my back," he ordered. And before Rose could so much as process what he'd just told her, Scorpius flung himself towards the trunk of the tree, pulling out his wand as he ran.
The Whomping Willow noticed the disturbance immediately, and now that Scorpius was close enough for contact, with a great heave it began to raise its branches, thrashing about to fend off the unwanted trespasser.
All Rose could do was scream. This was madness, complete madness! What on earth was he attempting to do? How could this possibly officiate their relationship? What did this have to do with Muggles?
Without thinking, she darted in behind him, determined to pull him back to safety. A large branch came sweeping down towards her, colliding with her shins before she could react. Rose let out a loud groan of pain as the impact left her stinging.
"Rose!" Scorpius bellowed in disbelief, realising that she'd entered the violent zone. "It's not safe – go back!"
"Not without you," she cried. She stumbled towards him, barely dodging the tree's attacks as she did so.
Scorpius was dashing around the tree, spectacularly avoiding the incoming branches, while at the same time raising his wand and shooting spells towards the Willow's trunk. With a triumphant cry, he crashed into Rose, just as another branch was swinging towards her, certain to send her crumpling to the ground.
The two rolled in unison, barely out of harm's way. Once Scorpius was certain they were safe, he released Rose, and slumped onto his back next to her. Their chests rose and fell as they struggled to regain their regular breathing patterns. Mud and scars were visible all over their arms and faces, and Rose's shins were still throbbing in agony.
"What the hell was that all about!?" Rose demanded furiously, once she'd caught her breath. She turned to look at Scorpius with fury, but he looked so adorably innocent that her expression seemed to melt.
"Let me show you," he offered, rising to his feet, pocketing his wand as he did so. He offered her a mud-streaked hand. She took it gratefully, wincing with pain as he pulled her to her feet. Wrapping an arm around her waist, Scorpius led Rose to the other side of the Whomping Willow, making sure to keep them both at a safe distance.
And immediately Rose saw it. Right in the centre of the Willow's trunk were four words engraved into the wood, shining as bright and vivid as fire. Rose and Scorpius Forever.
It was too cliché, too sappy, and definitely not worth all the pain and trouble they'd gone through to achieve it. Yet Rose couldn't help but adore Scorpius even more.
"It's perfect," she breathed softly, leaning into him, as he wrapped his arm around her tighter.
Scorpius buried his head into her hair, breathing in the deep earthy smell from where they'd been lying on the ground. And then he kissed her, softly, passionately.
Rose realised that this was only the second kiss they'd shared, and the first one since they'd become an official couple. But the way their lips so perfectly aligned made it seem like they'd shared a thousand kisses before.
Then Scorpius pulled away, his eyes wide in horror, his skin as white as a ghost. "Rose," he said warily, watching a dark figure emerge from the castle, and make its way in their direction. "Bobbin's coming."