I am glad you all liked last chapter, here is to one filled with drama and discoveries… please don't hate me too much and enjoy.
Bright blue eyes were glued to the rear of a head, watching as a hand came up and racked through thick black hair. Rose had been staring at Albus' back for nearly an hour, her gaze only leaving him once to look at the professor. As if feeling her eyes on him, the wizard turned around and met eyes with the witch. A small smile appeared on her lips but Albus simply rolled his eyes and turned back around, hurting the little witch more than he imagined.
Just as she let a sigh out, Frank, who was sat next to Albus, turned and smiled at Rose. The girl gave him a tiny grin in return, slouching in her chair as her eyes looked down to the parchment she had already filled. The lesson ended shortly after, and Rose watched as Albus sped out of the Astronomy class, not bothering to give her a second glance.
Rose slowly packed up her bag, not in the mood to go anywhere or do anything. The small girl let out a surprised yell when she suddenly looked up and saw a tall body next to her. "Sorry," Frank Longbottom II said sincerely when he noticed he had frightened the witch, an innocent smile on his face. "Didn't mean to scare you there, Rosie."
With a hand covering her beating heart, Rose nodded, "oh, it's alright. You just snuck up on me, is all."
The Gryffindor nodded, the lightest blush on his cheeks as he moved and grabbed Rose's books for her. "Care for an escort to dinner," the man asked. Rose was painfully oblivious to the look of desire and hope in the poor boy's eyes, as she nodded and smiled at him, happy to not be alone. The two friends walked at a slow pace, not in a hurry to get to anywhere. "So, Scorpius Malfoy, huh," Frank said after a short minute of comfortable silence.
A blushed darkened Rose's cheeks as she brushed a piece of hair behind her ear and nodded. "Yeah," she said quietly, not sure what the boy's opinion on her boyfriend was. She knew that most of the Gryffindors weren't very fond of him, but Frank didn't tend to dislike people unless he had a good reason.
"How long have you two been together," the blonde haired wizard asked, shifting Rose's books over to his other arm.
The witch paused, thinking, "almost five months." The couple was about halfway to the hall by now, as the smell of dinner slowly leaked into the corridors.
A surprised look appeared on the boy's face, causing Rose to smile fondly at the silly expression. "Damn," Frank swore quietly, after letting out a long and low whistle. "You guys really did keep quiet for a while then." The short girl nodded, revealing to the boy how hard it was at times. "Well, I'm happy for you, Rosie," he said, though a look of jealousy flashed across his face. "If you say this guy isn't the monstrous prick everyone else says he is, I'll believe you."
Rose laughed at the insult, nudging Frank with her elbow. "I promise you he is far from a monstrous prick, as you so kindly put it. People just like to judge him without even getting to know him." A sad look came over the girl's face, and Frank instantly knew she was talking about his best mate.
This time it was his turn to nudge her, his arm wrapping around her shoulders as he pulled her close. "I'm sorry about him, Rosie. But you know how Albus is, thick headed and bull hearted until he realizes things for himself. Just give him time," Rose nodded, though a sadness lingered in her eyes. "If you'd like, I could talk to him for you. I honestly don't think it'll do much, but it's worth a short, right?"
Auburn hair bounced around her as she nodded, "that would be lovely, Frank, thank you." By then the couple had reached the Great Hall, as the sound of voices suddenly became thick and loud. Just when they walked through the heavy doors, a voice yelled loudly from a few feet over
"Oi, Frank!" Two heads turned to see Albus waving at Frank, motioning him over to the empty spot between himself and Nathaniel Wood. The tall man shocked Rose by shaking his head at his friend, telling Albus he was going to sit with her. The black haired wizard was appalled, to say the very least, and after a second an angry look came to his face. "Suit yourself, mate. But just be careful; she might be lying to you too."
Tears burned in Rose's eyes as she looked to her cousin, not believing such foul and mean things were coming from his mouth. "Don't listen to him, Rosie, he's just venting," Frank mumbled encouraging words in the girl's ear, as he put a hand on her back and led her over to the spot she usually sat at her table.
Elliot and Robert were already sat at the table with looks of sympathy on their faces, as they had witnessed the entire scene. "You don't have to do this," Rose said quietly when Frank placed his stuff down and sat across from her. But the kind boy simply smiled at back, telling her it was no big deal. Frank chatted merrily with Elliot and Robert, as Rose swirled her fork through her food, not eating any.
Ten minutes later Rose felt a warm body beside hers, and she looked up to see Scorpius sitting himself on the seat next to her. The blonde man dropped a kiss to Rose's cheek, frowning when he quickly noticed the unhappy look on her face. Grey eyes flashed over to Frank, an accusing look in them, "what's wrong, doll?" The witch recalled the words previously exchanged with her cousin, causing Scorpius to quickly look over to Albus.
A large pale hand came to rest on the table, and Rose quickly grabbed Scorpius' beicip to prevent him from standing. "No, Scorpius, honestly I'm fine. If you speak to him you'll only make matters worse." Frank, Elliot, and Robert all watched as Rose pulled the tall Slytherin back down into his seat, as she held his hand in hers.
Scorpius didn't say anything for a long moment, taking deep breaths as he calmed his anger. "You need to eat something," the man said a minute later, his eyes inspecting Rose's messy, uneaten plate. And when she opened her mouth to tell him she had, he simply looked at her, causing her to blush and allow him to make a new plate for her.
The three boys, whom had all known Rose for years, were slightly shocked when the witch actually listened and began eating the food she was given. When a few bites were gone, Scorpius seemed satisfied, because he then made himself a plate and began eating. Scorpius talked with the other men as dinner continued on, one of his pale hands resting on Rose's knee under the table, stroking her soothingly.
Seven days had passed since Rose and Scorpius revealed their relationship, and though most students were now use to the pair, a good few still stared and oogled. That night Scorpius and Rose withdrew to her room, helping each other with their homework until they finished, in which they retired to the sofa.
The couple held each other as they talked about everything under the moon, simply thrilled to be together.
Closing her eyes, Rose smiled contenty and inhaled deeply, feeling more at home than she had in days. The witch enjoyed the calm quietness, appreciating the silent studiers as she looked back down to the work she had spread all around her. The sound of her quill scratching on parchment was the only noise she heard for several peaceful minutes, until suddenly a dark shadow loomed over her work, causing her to look up. "Oh, hi," Rose said when she spotted Melody Caldwell standing across the table from her.
The girl sent her an obviously fake smile, not surprising Rose in the least. "Hello," the witch said in a haughty tone. "I was wondering if you had the Slytherin copy of the prefects schedule for this next month. I asked Pucey but he said you would have it." Rose nodded, quickly reaching into her extremely organized back and pulling out an extra piece of neat parchment.
"Here you are-oh!" Rose's words were cut off when the girl grabbed her wrist as she moved her hand out to give her the paper. Her blue eyes were large as she watched Melody inspect the piece of jewelry on the wrist she had roughly snatched.
The Slytherin girl's eyes were huge as she looked up, "what's this? How on Earth did you get this?" Rose pulled her hand back, dropping the paper on the table as she used her other hand to rub at her sore wrist.
"Scorpius gave it to me," the auburn haired witch said, her eyes locked to the strange girl in front of her. Melody's brown eyes immediately darkened when she heard the name, and she did nothing to hide her obvious annoyance and detestation.
Leaning forward, the pale girl placed both her hands on the table. "Oh, that's right. You're… dating him." Rose frowned when the girl let out a giggle, bring up a hand to cover her mouth, a smirk on her lips. "Well, enjoy that while it lasts."
Panic formed in Rose's gut, "what are you talking about?" Melody laughed full on then, not bothering to not seem rude. Her short brown hair fell into her face as her brown eyes pierced into the innocent girl across from her.
"Oh my, he hasn't told you," Melody asked in a tantalizing voice. Rose felt her throat tighten as her hands gripped the edge of the table, worry and fear settling in. "I'm betrothed to Scorpius." The words seeped from the girl's thin lips, and Rose felt as if she couldn't breath. "We are getting married as soon as we graduate this spring."
Her entire world as she knew it crashed all around her and Rose could do nothing to stop it. She shook her head slowly back and forth, not believing what she had heard. "Sorry I had to be the messenger of bad news," Melody said, though there wasn't a trace of sympathy in her voice. "Like I side, enjoy him while you have him." The Ravenclaw sat there, simply stunned. Melody Caldwell gave her a cruel smile as she turned and left, forgetting the prefects list she had wanted in the first place.
Rose felt hundreds of different emotions rushed through her; panic, fear, betrayal, sorrow. But mostly she felt empty, filled with nothing but pain. It felt like she had been stabbed in the chest several time over and over, left to bleed out until she died.
Suddenly, everything hit her like a ton of brick, and she felt as if the walls around her were slowly closing in. Rose stood fast, knocking her chair over as she shoved all of her things into her bag, not looking back to see if she missed anything as she ran from the library. The little witch ran as fast as her legs would allow her to go, and a sob escaped her when she tripped onto the floor. She quickly picked herself up, her legs shaking as tears streamed down her face.
A terrible sting pulsed through her heart when Rose stumbled into a corridor and spotted Scorpius walking with Luciano and Quinn a few feet away. The blonde wizard quickly panicked when he saw his tear filled witch, running towards him. Scorpius rushed in her direction, his hands moving to grab her arms. "Rose, what's wrong-" his words were cut off when Rose forcefully pulled herself from his grasp, looking at him like he had murdered a man.
"Get off of me," Rose screamed at him as she roughly shoved him away from her and swiftly ran in the other direction. Luciano and Quinn looked to the girl with matching looks of shock, turning to see Scorpius equally as confused. By the time the man had regained his composure, his witch was far gone.
Rose ran fast as she could, letting out a sob when she spotted whom she had been searching for. Albus Potter, along with Frank and Nathaniel, stood a few paces away from the Gryffindor tower portrait, looking like they had just exited. "Al," Rose shouted, her voice weak and quivering as she sped forward towards the trio.
"Rosie," Albus said in a surprised tone when he saw the girl standing in front of him with tears streaming down her pretty face. "Merlin, what happened," he said, stepping forward just in time to catch her before she collapsed onto the floor. Rose threw her arms around his neck, breathing in his familiar scent.
"I'm sorry, Al! I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't mean to hurt you-" her frantic words were cut off when Albus placed a finger over her trembling lips.
His bright green eyes were large, all anger and resentment he felt moments ago disappearing when he looked down and saw her. "Rosie, it's fine," the man said, as Frank and Nate looked to the girl with concerned glances. "What bloody happened?" Rose sobbed as she thought back on the events of the last ten minutes, wishing more than anything that it could all end.
"He lied to me," Rose sobbed out as she buried her head in his neck, her hands clutching the front of his shirt so tightly Albus thought it might rip. "Scorpius lied! He said he wanted to spend forever with me but he can't, and he knew! H-he…" her hiccupped words faded off into sobs and Albus' heart broke as he listened to her cry. The second he looked down into her tear filled eyes, he didn't know how he could have been so cruel and mean to such a sweet person.
The wizard collected Rose into his arm and easily picked her up, thanking Nate when he stepped forward to provide the password and open the portrait for him. Albus walked through the crowded room, gaining the attention of almost every student. When Hugo saw his distressed sister being carried by his cousin he quickly stood, panic written on his freckled face. The boy only calmed down when Frank and Nathaniel stopped to explain what they knew, as the three of them watched Albus disappear up the stairs.
Rose wept into Albus' neck as she felt him moving, not caring in the least bit where he was taking her. The wizard pushed the door to his dorm open, quickly making his way over to his bed, as he sat against his pillows and cradled her to his chest. Rose clung to the front of Albus' shirt, grabbing onto him like he was the only thing holding her down to Earth. Her breaths were ragged and she coughed when she tried to speak, feeling hopeless.
Albus rocked the broken girl back and forth, rubbing her back with his hand as he gently shushed her. Whenever she tried telling him what was wrong, she choked on her tears, and he told her she could tell him later and not to worry about it. His homely scent calmed Rose, but every time she thought about Scorpius and that foul girl, she began to panic all over again.
Just the sheer thought of Scorpius marrying anyone but her made Rose ill, and she shook thinking about how her life was over. He was her future, he was her safe haven, he was everything she needed in life and more. Rose felt her heart throb and ache as she thought of Scorpius, and how all of her love for him had gone to waste. And as she laid there in Albus' arms, Rose knew she would never love again.
A stream of sunlight shone brightly through a crack in the thick red drapes, allowing a single ray of bright light into the darkness of the bed. Rose inhaled deeply, squeezing her sore eyes shut before opening them slowly, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. The witch found a strong pair of arms around her, though she instantly knew they didn't belong to the person she so desperately wanted to be holding her. Looking up, Rose found Albus looking down at her, a kind smile on his lips. The wizard reached and pushed hair out of her tired face, not having gotten a wink of sleep the entire night, as he was too worried for his beloved cousin.
"Feel any better," his low voice asked, and Rose frowned as all the memories of the previous night came flooding back to her. During the night, the witch awoke to a voice speaking to Albus, though he didn't notice her wake. Someone told the wizard of how Scorpius had caught word of her being in the Gryffindor tower, and how he stayed outside the portrait the entire night, asking for her.
Two alligator tears slowly rolled down her face, causing her look as heartbroken as she felt. Rose shook her head as she leaned back down against Albus' chest, never wishing to leave the comfort of his warm bed. "Can you tell me what happened?"
Rose took a deep breath, and a moment later her sweet voice spoke quietly. "Last night, I found out Scorpius is betrothed to Melody Caldwell, and he is to marry he as soon as we graduate." Albus' eyes darkened and fury flashed across his face as he heard what she said. "I love him so much, Al. He told me he would never let me go, but this whole time he knew he couldn't be with me and yet he played me on. God, I feel so stupid."
"Don't!" Albus said clearly. "How could you have known any of this? He is fucking evil for stringing you along this far." His heated words faded off as Rose started to cry again, her tears wetting the shirt that had been stained from the night previous. "Sh, Rosie, it'll be alright. You don't need him-"
"But that's the thing," Rose cried out loudly, thankful Albus had put a silencing charm up to block her sobbing from his roommates. "I do need him. I truly need him in my life, because I love him more than I have ever loved anything else, and I don't know what I'm going to do without him. I just hurt so much."
The witch's crying slowly stopped, and soon she had fallen back asleep on Albus' chest, her cheeks heated to a pink. The dark haired man stared down at his cousin, the person he considered his best mate, and wondered how he could have ever doubted her. It was obvious Rose had totally fallen for Scorpius Malfoy, and Albus would be there to help pick up the pieces of her heart he had scattered everywhere.