Chapter 45 – Making Amends

At long last, Saturday May 5th rolled around, marking the fifteenth birthday of Rose Weasley.

It had certainly been an eventful, stressful week, to say the least, what with the continued frostiness and bitterness between herself and Taylor, the stress and worry of how on earth they were going to get away with the upcoming party, the unexpected panic of Ron showing up for Victory Day, and, of course, the ongoing pressure of keeping her relationship with Scorpius hidden from nearly everybody in the school.

The weekend brought a sense of calm and giddiness to Rose, despite all of these situations continuing. Why should she worry? It was her birthday. It was her day. She felt fearless.

Unsurprisingly, Rose was the first to stir. Neither knowing nor caring how early it was, she got up and dressed quickly. Attempting to go back to sleep once she'd awoken, considering what day it was, was just plain foolish. So she made her way down to the common room instead. Someone had to be awake, right?

And she was right. However, the one person she found herself face to face with in the Gryffindor common room, was not the first face she'd longed to see on her birthday.

"Sam," she gasped in surprise, realising that this was the first time they'd been alone in a very long time. There was a brief look of warmth that lit up his face, as he watched her enter the room, but it quickly seeped from his expression, as the truth all too painfully came back to him.

"Rose," he mumbled bashfully, glancing away from her.

She faltered. They hadn't spoken since she and Taylor had argued about him, however many weeks ago that was now. She'd been avoiding him in classes, and meals, and all the free time they had in the evenings. She had unintentionally done all she could to distance herself from him. Yet now she could not run.

"Are you waiting for Taylor?" She hadn't intended the question to sound so spiteful, and she shuddered as the bitter words rolled off her tongue, cursing herself internally.

Sam looked taken aback, almost guilty even. "No," he said quickly, "you, actually."

"Me?" Rose's voice had gone unnaturally high pitched with surprise. But why should Sam Tyler be seeking her out?

A faint pink colour had spread across his cheeks, reddening with every painfully awkward second they had to endure each other's company.

He looked different somehow ,than when Rose had first rejected him. He looked more mature, but at the same time, too fragile and innocent. He was not the boy she'd met on the first day of Hogwarts, but still, she did not regret what she'd done. Sam was not for her. She didn't necessarily feel that he was for Taylor, but that really wasn't her business. All she knew was that he was not for her.

"I just wanted to say happy birthday," Sam told her meekly.

Rose was aware of the awkwardly long distance between them. She was still at the foot of the spiral staircase to the girls' dormitory, whereas he was loitering uncomfortably in the centre of the common room. "Thank you," she replied politely.

It was all too formal and awkward. They were friends – they had always been friends. Why did Taylor's relationship with Sam have to affect what they had? Why couldn't they still be friends? Unless, Rose painfully realised, their relationship had not always been completely friendly.

That was impossible though. Sam had never been a potential romantic interest in her mind. Perhaps in his, but not in hers.

Rose silently vowed that she wouldn't let this come between them. If she kept acting like there was some awkwardness between them now because of Taylor, then everybody was going to believe it, herself and Sam included. There was nothing romantic between them, and she knew she needed to settle that once and for all.

Opening her mouth in preparation to confront Sam, she stopped short as he did something unexpected. "I got you a present," he gushed self-consciously, as though it had taken a lot of nerve and courage to admit it. From behind his back he produced a slim, rectangular object, sleekly wrapped in shiny paper.

Rose couldn't help but stare in amazement. She and Sam had barely spoken in the past few weeks, yet here he was, as loyally as ever, presenting her with a gift that she did not deserve. She hadn't even attempted to make amends with him, but here he was, being the bigger person.

"Sam, I don't know what to say," she exhaled wondrously.

For the first time since they'd been together that morning, he smiled at her. She had missed seeing his smile, and up until now, had not realised that it had been missing from her life.

"You could say thank you," Sam prompted cheekily.

Rose laughed, and walked towards him, expressing her gratitude with delight. She had thought she'd not needed Sam, but perhaps she did after all. Though as strictly nothing more than a friend. She saw no reason why they couldn't still be friends, even if Taylor was un-swayed.

Tentatively, Rose unwrapped her first birthday present, somewhat worried about what she would find. Sam watched her nervously.

As the final tear was made, and the paper fell away to reveal her gift, Rose smiled with relief. It was a textbook on Ancient Runes. A boring gift to the common witch or wizard, but not to Rose Weasley. This book symbolised everything she'd been worried about between her and Sam, but now she needn't worry.

It represented that he knew her well enough to know that she adored books, and that her favourite subject was, indeed, Ancient Runes – proof of the strength of their friendship. And, at the same time, it also represented that there needn't be anything romantic between the two of them. Had it been jewellery or something like that, she would have panicked. But a textbook? It was thoughtful enough to prove their close friendship, but not so thoughtful that it hinted at any romance between the two of them.

Rose thoughtfully wondered then, what Scorpius had gotten her, if anything at all. But she cast these thoughts away quickly. Scorpius had given her more than she could possibly imagine. He had made many a sacrifice to be with her – his reputation, his house, his family name. She needed nothing more from him. The fact that he would be going to her party tonight was another huge gesture. No present could make her love him more.

"Sam, I love it," she beamed. He looked delighted. Rose half wondered whether she should hug him. That's what friends should do in that situation, wasn't it? But given their history, she thought better of it. "Did you really get up this early just in the hopes of catching me before anybody else is up?" she asked him curiously, after the question had been surfacing on her mind for a while.

"I know you find it hard to sleep on the morning of your birthday," Sam explained, the smile fading from his face.

Rose nodded thoughtfully. Sam must have picked up on this from previous years, given that her actions were always the same. But something was still baffling her.

"But why so early? It's not that I'm not grateful," she added hurriedly, "I just don't understand why it had to be now."

When he seemed at a loss for words, she kept going, babbling wildly. "I mean, my birthday's the whole day, and it isn't like I'm not going to see you at all – it's the weekend, after all, so it isn't like we have classes to worry about. I'm sure my friends will give me presents later. Well, of course, if they've got me any that is. And I'm not complaining, I'm really not, it's just " – she stopped mid-sentence, as it clicked in her mind. "Oh."

"What?" Sam asked nervously, panic in his eyes.

Rose nodded to herself, laughing at how long it had taken her to figure it out. "Of course," she muttered under her breath.

"What?" Sam asked again, this time glancing around the common room.

"Taylor," Rose said simply, shrugging her shoulders. Sam looked like he wanted to die. "You had to give it to me now, because otherwise Taylor would see," she explained, thrilled with herself for figuring it out. "And we all know what Taylor's like!" Rose was bordering on hysterics. "God forbid she sees you giving me a birthday present! Because, of course, that would mean you were hopelessly in love with me!"

"I'm not in love with you," Sam said quickly, gulping nervously, looking as though he longed for nothing more than either Rose or himself to be swallowed by the floor.

But Rose was past the point of no return. "No, Sam!" she practically yelled. "If a guy gives his friend a present – a textbook, no less – on her birthday, then it's blindingly clear that he's in love with her, isn't it!?"

Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. She almost longed that Taylor would hear them.

"That's what your psycho girlfriend thinks, isn't it? Tell me, Sam, what must it be like to be dating a person who's so insanely insecure and jealous, that you can't even give your fiend a harmless birthday present in front of her?"

Sam lunged forward, clasping her arm tightly. "Shut up, Rose," he hissed.

Rose fell silent immediately, recognising that she had taken it way too far.

"I'm sorry, Sam," she apologised, dropping her voice, ashamed of how drastically she'd lost it. "I'm so sorry." He released his grip on her arm. "I shouldn't have said that at all. Things between me and Taylor aren't getting any better," she realised miserably. "But that was no excuse to yell at you like that. You've done nothing wrong. It's not you I have a problem with – it's Taylor."

"But why?" Sam asked gently. "You two were inseparable."

Rose didn't want to talk about this now, not to Sam, and not on her birthday. "I think she's using you," she said instead.

Sam looked crestfallen. "She's not using me, Rose," he said calmly. "She really likes me."

Rose wasn't convinced. "Sam, we had an argument, and I think she's only using you so she can dangle the fact that she's in a relationship in my face."

"Are you... not in a relationship?" Sam asked hesitantly, curiosity plastered all over his face.

Rose dropped her eyes, heart beating fast, as she prepared to lie about her relationship once more. "No, of course not."

Sam gulped. "I wasn't sure what was going on between you and... you and Malfoy." There was a sadness in his eyes when Rose met his gaze again.

"I barely know him. He isn't for me."

Sam nodded understandingly. "Me and Taylor talked about it," he explained, referring back to what she'd said previously. "We, ah, really like each other," he said, not so convincingly. "She makes me happy, you know?"

Rose nodded keenly. She did know. If Taylor made Sam as happy as Scorpius made her, then it really wasn't any of her business to doubt the authenticity of their relationship. Not everything had to be about her.

"I'm so sorry, Sam," she apologised breathlessly. "I've been a really terrible friend to you, and I shouldn't have let my differences with Taylor get in the way of our friendship."

Sam smiled at her. "So we're alright?" he asked.

Rose returned his smile. "Of course we are." Silence fell between them, as several First Years stumbled into the common room. "I should probably go and put this in my room," she said, indicating to the Ancient Runes textbook.

"Happy birthday!" he called after her, as she turned to walk back to her room.

Rose stopped, to smile at him one last time. "Oh," she gasped, remembering something. "Will I see you tonight at my party?"

"Absolutely," Sam called back, grinning at her as she left.

Rose wandered back up the spiral staircase with high spirits. Making amends with Sam was not something she had thought would occur so early on her birthday. Surely this had to be the start of a great day.