Word Count: 760

Scorpius pulled a jumper over his head and took off at a sprint from the Qudditch pitch for the castle. It was cold and it looked like it was going to rain any moment. Practice had been grueling and his already aching legs protested as he ran up the hill, but it'd be worth the sore muscles if he missed the rain. Safe in the castle, Scorpius laughed as he watched Albus (who'd favored a slower pace so he could chat up the curvy fourth year beater) trekking up with his hair plastered to his forehead.

He turned from the window and was pondering whether to go to the library or his room first, when a red haired girl ran directly into him.

"Watch yourself, Weasley."

"Sorry, Scor," She squeaked and went to move away, but his hands on her shoulders kept her from escaping down the hall.

"Are you okay?" He held her an arms length away and examined her.

Her hair was down and wavy, slightly messy as though she'd just been sleeping. Her oversized jumper hung off one shoulder and her leggings had a hole in the knee. She wasn't wearing shoes, just a pair of wool socks and in her left hand she clutched a massive bag of chocolate frogs. This could only mean one thing: her friends were being mean.

While that might seem as though Scorpius was jumping to conclusions, he knew Rose very well and it wasn't so much jumping to conclusions as making an assumption based off past experience. Rose only ate that much chocolate when girls were being mean. She generally stuck to fruity candy for every other occasion.

"I'm fine." She said, shrugging off his hands, and turning away to continue down the hallway.

She'd practically sprinted away and Scorpius had to talk his aching legs into running after her.

"No you're not." He caught her wrist and she dropped the bag of chocolate.

"I said I was-" She started but stopped when she met his eyes, big and grey and full of concern. Her teeth caught her lower lip. There was no use lying to Scorpius.

Tears pooled in her brown eyes and she opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a strangled sort of sob.

Scorpius dropped her wrist and pulled her to his chest immediately.

It wasn't a fierce hug that constricted her airways or made her ribs a little sore, which was strange for Scorpius who generally treated her as if she were a brick of cement. Scorpius was not gentle with her. He was her best friend and if she shoved him in the hallways he'd push her back doubly as hard. When he hugged her he crushed her fiercely to his chest in a rather painful way. He knew she wasn't breakable.

But this was different. This hug was ridiculously gentle, as if she were a delicate china doll. Rose hung there, limply, in his tender embrace for a moment, before her arms came around his shoulders. She stood on tiptoes to bury her face in the crook of his neck.

Rose knew he could bench more than his body weight, but in that moment he held her as if he couldn't lift two pounds. It was such a gentle, sweet moment. Nobody, except her father, had ever held her so tenderly; as though they might break her.

"Shh." His lips skimmed the top of her head and his hand came up to gently rub her back. "It's gonna be okay."

Rose melted into his arms and mumbled into his neck, "I know."

And she meant it. She knew it sounded stupid and clichéd so she didn't say it aloud, but everything would be okay if Scorpius held her like that. Everything was just fine and dandy if anyone held you that way.

Scorpius released her to pick the bag of candy up. He gave her a look. "Bloody hell, Rosie. This weighs more than you do."

Rose gave a watery smile. He popped a chocolate frog into his mouth and held out the large bag in front of her face. "This is far too much for a girl of your stature. Luckily, I would be more than happy to help you out. Now come on, let's go snuggle and eat candy and I'll make everything better because I'm wonderful."

He put an arm gently around her shoulders. She wasn't breakable, but it was nice to be treated like she was every once in awhile.

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