Chapter Twenty

Flourish and Blotts was more than a bit chaotic that Sunday morning. Rose had never seen the bookshop more full, not even the week before Hogwarts students headed back to school. Wizards and witches of all ages and sizes clambered around the shelves to get a good look at the featured author.

Rose had heard of her — Florence Jinglewatt — but hadn't realized how popular she was. She seemed to be in her mid-40s, round cheeks glowing red and she signed books with turquoise ink. As she read the first chapter of her book, Rose snagged a copy and brought it back to the till she was managing.

It seemed the author was a recent sensation, having released three romantic fiction novels within the last two years, all of them a great success. Rose wondered whether Jinglewatt had been working towards her success for her entire life, or if she'd stumbled upon it later.

With the crowd hanging onto the author's every word and Natalie manning the signing table, Rose was left flipping through Jinglewatt's novel, which was decent. No one else came into the store for the entirety of that morning and after the signing was over, only one person came up to the till to purchase a bookmark.

"Is it usually this busy for signings?" Rose asked when Natalie brought them turkey sandwiches for lunch. The bookshop felt very quiet after everyone had left.

"Oh, sometimes," she replied, munching thoughtfully. "We try to get bestsellers in for the book releases, but their publishers are much more interested in them going to America. Shame, really."

"Sure." Rose finished half her sandwich before asking another question. "So, the summer has been a bit quiet."

"Summers always are. Everyone's on holiday, see."

"What's it like running the place in autumn?"

"There's plenty to do," she said after swallowing. "More titles are released, Christmas is coming. It's a lovely time of year."

Rose looked down at the crumbs on her plate. She couldn't shake the feeling that running the shop was a lot more waiting around than she thought. "Well, I'm glad today was a success."

"Well." Natalie's smile faltered. "The signings are usually to get people in the door, look at other books… seems like they aren't having as much of an effect as they used to."

"Really?"

"Witches and wizards are relying on more owl-order from wholesellers these days," she admitted with a wince. "We always have our loyal customers, but if wholesellers are getting and selling books at a lower price than we can afford, what can we do?"

Both of their gazes drifted towards the stacks of Florence Jinglewatt books, still piled on the signing desk. Very few had bought their copies from Flourish and Blotts, even though the shop had been overflowing with fans.

"Perhaps I will work on my owl-order service," Natalie said to herself, frowning at her half-eaten sandwich. "It is rather out-dated, and it takes quite a long time for my old owls."

"You could probably have more owls if you dedicated more space for it," Rose suggested, tapping on the side of the till absent-mindedly. "Perhaps if you used more of the upstairs section and transfigured the roof for easy access?"

Natalie stared at Rose in confusion. "But the History of Magic section — we have the largest collection of rare History of Magic books in Britain."

Rose bit her lip; the last time anyone had ventured up those steps, let alone bought one of those extremely expensive rare books must have been ages ago. "Perhaps they can be sold to a museum. Or put in storage."

The older woman pursed her lips. "Perhaps."

"What else, then?" Rose asked defensively, putting up an admittedly forced smile. "I mean, I know I'll always shop here. I practically grew up here."

"That's why our customers are loyal," she said confidently, clearing their plates. "They know they can always find what they need and support their community."

But when no one else entered the store for the rest of her shift, Rose began to realize that perhaps the bookstore that she loved as a little girl needed change. She knew owl-order service was extremely popular with busy wizards and witches those days, especially with people her age.

If Rose worked in a bookshop, it was very likely going to be less spent with books and connecting with fellow readers and more spent trying to find better deals for books than the wholesellers. Not to mention working on organizing an entire mail service and avoiding owl droppings in the process.

Perhaps Rose had romanticized a position at a bookshop more than she'd realized. To say she was a little conflicted was an understatement.

Rose almost didn't hear the knock on her door that evening, kneeling on the floor of her living room and squinting at a set of instructions as she held two large planks of wood together. She'd managed to get a couple of nails in with a drill, but the noise made the neighbour's cat meow incessantly and the tapping on the door became nearly inaudible.

"Come in!" she called, sitting back on her heels and wiping her forehead. Scorpius entered a moment later, shutting the door behind him and turning the lock.

"Do you ever lock your door?" he asked, plopping down on her couch. Surprisingly, the cat remained curled up on the couch, but watched him carefully.

Rose didn't reply, watching as he shifted to get comfortable. She'd wanted to knock on his door several times over the past few days, but felt hesitant, wondering if things would have been awkward between them after the cottage. She was nervous he'd close up again, and she'd be left off-kilter.

Of course, he didn't seem that way whatsoever. She knew she had a tendency to build these things up in her head, and Scorpius was not an over-analyzer; that much was obvious. He seemed completely normal.

Maybe they hadn't been avoiding each other, after all. He just hadn't wanted to see her.

"How was your weekend?" she asked, trying to ignore her overactive brain.

"It was good. Visited my friends, slept a lot."

"You do look well-rested," she said, going back to attempting to dissect the bookshelf instructions. "Are you ready to head back to work?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," he said, yawning and stretching his legs out. "My father won't be happy with my decision. I'll tell him tomorrow when I go back to work."

"Decision?"

"Yeah." He didn't continue right away, so she turned to face him properly. Uncertainty flashed across his face, but he visibly pushed it away. "I'm going to raise my Potions N.E.W.T. in night classes. I'll try to get it up to an 'O' so I can reapply for that medicinal research program next year."

"Really?" she asked, a grin unfolding across her lips.

He groaned. "Don't look so smug."

"I'm not smug!" she protested. "I'm happy for you. At least you're able to make a decision and stick to it."

"Sure," he said, sounding confused. "As opposed to…"

Her stomach twisted. "Me. Indecisive as ever."

"You're not indecisive," he stated kindly, "at least, not about the small things."

"Anyway, I'm happy you're doing this. Maybe you won't have a social life for a little while, but it'll be worth it." She paused. "Have you told your friends?"

"No," he snorted.

"Why not?"

"Let's not, and say we did," he said light-heartedly.

Rose poked his leg. "Isn't it weird to avoid talking about things? I tell my friends everything. It's actually quite cathartic."

"I don't talk about this kind of stuff with friends," he said firmly, wandering his eyes over to the cat, who was licking his paw. "I wouldn't usually talk about it, period."

"You talk about it with me."

"You're different."

"In what way?"

"You'd probably choke me in my sleep if I didn't."

"Only if you're into it," Rose replied with an innocent smile, making him actually choke.

"You know," he said, face red, "I reckon I should probably start venting my problems to this little guy." He gestured towards the cat, making him cower. "He's always here, anyway. What do you think?"

"So now it's okay to befriend cats?"

"It's always been okay to befriend cats. You just have issues."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Despite that lovely compliment, you have permission to grab him some treats from my kitchen."

"Thanks," he said, but seemed to decide against it; the cat had begun to hiss at him. "How was your weekend?"

Rose told him a little bit about the bridal shower, stopping short of telling him about Nathan. For some reason, she didn't want to talk about him with Scorpius. Even if she could fall hard and fast for someone like Nathan, she wasn't going to let herself anywhere near that. So why did Scorpius need to know about him, especially when they had a good thing going?

Avoiding that subject entirely, Rose instead mentioned, "The bookstore was a bit underwhelming this morning."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Never thought I'd ever hear you say that."

"I just thought it might be a bit more magical to work there, you know?" she said, feeling very silly as she said it. "I thought it would be meeting like-minded people, talking about books all day… instead, I realized the business is dying, and I was basically just waiting for my shift to be over."

"That is the reality of running a shop," he said, chuckling quietly.

"I'm not sure if it's something I want anymore." And then there was the pile of mail – hidden in her dresser drawer, in case Scorpius came over – that she still had to go through. It sent a guilty pang through Rose; she knew her name would make things a little easier, but it wasn't something she wanted to flaunt in front of Scorpius.

"I think you're allowed to change your mind," he pointed out, "but I'm pretty sure most jobs aren't exciting most days. Sometimes they are, but not always."

"That's true." She sighed. "And after all that bullshit, I haven't even eaten since lunch."

"Why not?"

"Because of this," she said, frustrated as she gestured to the pile of wood and nails. "First, I went out to buy a hammer and screwdriver, right? But then I spent forever deciphering this," she held up the instruction booklet, "and it's just a bunch of crappy pictures."

Scorpius took the instructions from her. "Why aren't you using magic?"

"I don't want to. Anyway," she said, sending a dirty look to the shelves, "I finally figured out I'm supposed to be using some sort of drill. So I went and bought a drill, and I got in an argument with a guy at the hardware store, because he didn't want to sell me the proper-sized drill. He kept insisting I buy the tiniest fucking drill in the store."

"Oh, Merlin."

"Eventually, I told him I didn't need a drill the size of his dick, and he finally let me buy the other one."

Scorpius burst into laughter.

"And then," she continued, "I made it all the way home until I realized that not only do I need a drill, I need the drill bits. So I went back to the store again for that, right when they were closing."

Scorpius grinned and shook his head. "What a day you've had."

"I think he treated me like that because I'm wearing a dress," Rose confessed, spreading the skirt out, "but I don't see why that means I can't use a drill."

"That's true," he said, handing the instructions back to her. "You should instead tell him that you're a witch and barely understand what a drill is."

Rose stuck her tongue out at him.

"Should we make something, then?" he asked. "I could eat."

"No," she said, sighing. "I'm tired. I don't want to cook."

"I'll make us something," he offered, "Or we could order something."

"I'm trying to save money." She nudged his leg again. "You know what this means, right?"

"Uh, no."

"Ice cream for dinner."

Scorpius laughed, sounding incredulous. "You're not even drunk this time."

"I don't get drunk very often," she said, wrinkling her brow. For some reason, his comment stung. "I used to, but…"

"You used to get drunk a lot?" He sounded quite surprised at her admission. "It doesn't seem like that's your thing."

She looked down at her dress, picking at the hem. "It wasn't my thing, actually. My ex just liked to party a lot, and he was always egging me on. It all stopped once we broke up. I can't even do shots anymore, I'm practically a lightweight."

"Oh, that's why you dropped your shot on the ground," he realized, and Rose looked at him questioningly. "At the bonfire, remember?"

"I'd forgotten about that," she said, chuckling.

He smiled. "So, why'd you do it, then?"

"It's just what you do, isn't it?" she asked with a shrug. "You party in your twenties and make some reckless decisions."

"I guess I can understand," he considered. "Mine have mostly been pretty boring because I'm not into parties. I much prefer just grabbing a pint with my mates."

Rose frowned. "You're not boring. You just decided not to be stupid in your early twenties."

"I suppose," he said, laughing, "but I enjoy being boring, if that's what I am."

"Sometimes I wish I were as confident as you," she confessed, burying her face in her hands. "I'm not into parties either, if I'm honest. I always get caught up in what I'm supposed to do, don't I? I thought I was supposed to party a lot with him, make some memories. I thought it would make me a better girlfriend."

Scorpius slid down onto the floor beside her to put his arm over her shoulder. "You're such a Gryffindor. Sometimes that's how we learn."

"Do you think I'm ridiculous for all that?" Rose asked quietly, looking at him. He was closer than she realized, and she was suddenly struck by how much she wanted to run her fingers through his hair.

"No," he assured, "I don't. I think you're ridiculous for wanting ice cream for dinner."

"Hey!" she exclaimed as he laughed. "That's probably the most solid idea I've ever had when I was drunk, okay?"

"I don't doubt that, I promise."

Rose shoved him gently and leapt up, scurrying over to her kitchen as Scorpius chased after her. She'd just gotten a hold onto the handle to open the freezer when she saw his hands slam on the door, stopping the movement. She turned around to glare at him.

His arms settled on the fridge, on either side of her, keeping the freezer door shut as he moved closer. She supposed she could duck under his arms at any time, but still, she poked Scorpius in the chest. "Move."

"No."

"Why not?" she asked, crossing her arms defensively.

"I'm saving you from yourself," he claimed, attempting to control the corners of his mouth that were twitching into a smile. "You shouldn't eat ice cream for dinner."

"A bit late for that," she pointed out, "don't you think?"

"No."

"Who told you that you could tell me what to do?" she accused, poking him in the chest again. "It's a free world."

"I'm just being a good friend." He sounded a touch sarcastic.

"A better friend would join me."

"But that's not as fun," he said, dipping his head to press his lips against her neck, exactly where he knew it would make her shiver. He met her eyes again, and she found the words melt on her tongue.

"Not as fun as eating ice cream," she managed weakly.

He cocked his head. "Are you sure?"

Rose was only half-aware of how her heart was racing in her chest when he leaned down to kiss her. He'd obviously been teasing her, but his lips were gentle and unhurried. His moan escaped between their kiss as she hooked her arms around the back of his neck, pressing closer.

His hands wrapped around her waist so tightly that she lost her breath, gasping against his mouth. Scorpius took the opportunity to deepen their kiss and ground himself against her. She knew what he was doing, and he was winning; she could feel herself struggling to keep her thoughts even somewhat coherent.

Rose tightened her grip on his shoulders and hitched her legs onto his hips, taking him by surprise. He staggered back into the counter behind him and she met his mouth again feverishly. His hands haphazardly squeezed her arse, making her grin.

"What?" he mumbled, feeling the movement on his mouth.

"Nothing!" And before he could open his eyes, she untangled herself from him, easily able to slip out of his grip as she pushed her weight backwards. Quickly, she dashed back to the freezer and grabbed the carton chocolate ice cream.

"Ah-ha!" Rose cried triumphantly, brandishing it in front of him.

Scorpius laughed, his cheeks still flushed from their snogging. She couldn't help noticing how cute he looked when he was flustered. "Okay, okay, you win."

"You're having some, too," she said cheerily as she fetched some bowls and spoons for them. "I don't let my guests stay hungry."

"That's definitely not true," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. She caught him looking at her arse again, and she pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh as she scooped ice cream into the bowls.

"Later."

"Later," he repeated with a sigh, accepting the bowl she handed him.

Scorpius went back to her living room couch, leaning back on the cushions as Rose found her spot on the floor. The cat seemed very comfortable on the couch, and she didn't want to disturb him, but she was wrong; it sneaked under her arm and into her lap as she ate her ice cream, closed his eyes and purred. Rose barely refrained from squealing in delight.

"This is my happy place," she said, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction as she licked the ice cream from her spoon. "I have ice cream and this cat loves me. This is amazing."

Scorpius shook his head. "You are so…"

"Smart? Wonderful? Yes," she joked.

"Endearing," he corrected, amused. "Just sitting there in your dress, that little cat in your lap and eating ice cream. And trying to figure out how to use a drill."

Rose felt inclined to feel awkward, but he somehow didn't make her feel that way at all. She couldn't help the smile that invaded her lips, and looked away so he couldn't see.

"Are you saying I can't learn how to use a drill?" she asked, "or build this shelf?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then what?"

He smiled and shook his head. "Nothing."

"Okay, I'll admit it," she said, confused, "I don't really know how to use a drill."

"Shocker."

"But I'm learning." She leaned back and rested her spine against his legs. "Do you know how to use one?"

"No," he said in between bites, "but I'm not going to try."

"What do you mean?"

"I know better than to get in between you and your furniture," he explained, and she laughed.

They finished their ice cream in comfortable silence. Rose savoured every spoonful; it was silly, but it had been a long day, and sometimes she just needed that little bit of comfort. She still had the pile of mail to go through once Scorpius left – if he left, that is – and it was something she was happy to procrastinate with junk food.

Rose leaned her head back on his knees to look at him. "Okay, are you ready to admit that ice cream for dinner is amazing?"

"I was just teasing you, Rose. I don't really care what you have for dinner."

"You're just in denial," she decided, "but if you're still hungry, I have frozen pizza."

"I am drawing the line at frozen pizza," he said, looking scandalized.

"It's not that bad, okay? Stop being so snobby."

Scorpius rolled his eyes and placed his now-empty bowl beside him. He began to play with a curl of her hair that was sprawled over his lap. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Tell you something, actually," he said, clearing his throat. "Or talk to you. I dunno."

"Spit it out," she encouraged, amused.

Scorpius took a breath, but before he could speak, there were three loud knocks on the front door. Startled, Rose sat up, but the cat meowed angrily at the sudden movement and dug his claws into her dress.

"Are you expecting someone?" Scorpius asked in a hushed voice.

"No," she said, but she wondered if it was Albus. He had wanted to reconcile things with her; perhaps he'd found a moment to talk, and not barge through her Floo this time? "I think it might be my cousin."

"Oh." The knocks came again, louder. "Aren't you going to get that?"

"Having some difficulty, here," she said, frowning at the cat in her lap, but he wasn't backing down. She knew just how untrusting the cat was, and looked at Scorpius helplessly. "Can you get him off of me?"

"I think he might attack me if I try," he said, looking unsure. "I'll get your door."

"Okay," Rose said, trying to pet the cat and soothe him, but he only stubbornly burrowed into her lap. She gingerly twisted around to see Scorpius swinging the door open to reveal not Albus, but her mother.

Oh, fuck.

"Rose Weasley, you –" Then her mum was blinking in surprise at Scorpius, who looked stunned. There was a long moment of silence as they all looked from one another, and Rose – for once – had no words.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley," Scorpius said politely, holding out his hand.

Her mum stepped inside her flat and shook it, looking at him warily. "Hello."

"Should I leave?" Scorpius asked, looking at Rose. She knew him well enough to read the careful indifference in his expression, hiding how nervous he felt.

She tried to shoot him a look in response that said something along the lines of, Please please please do not leave me alone and let her eat me (Rose was still a little hungry).

"That would be a good idea, if that's all right," her mum answered when Rose didn't. "We just have an important, overdue conversation."

Yup, she was in such deep shit.

Scorpius obviously didn't get the message. After he quickly put his bowl in her kitchen sink, he silently slipped around her mother and out the entryway, sending an apologetic smile to Rose and closing the door behind him. Her mother turned to Rose with a deadly expression.

The cat darted behind the couch immediately.

"Now you move, huh?" Rose muttered, sending daggers towards him.

"Rose, what is going on?" her mum demanded, surveying the pile of wood, nails, equipment and the cardboard boxes they'd come in, all in a mess strewn across her living room floor. "What is all this?"

She gestured to the disaster. "I'm just building a bookshelf."

"Without magic? Why?"

"Because I have a lot of books and nowhere to put them."

Her mum crossed her arms impatiently. "I've been so worried about you. You've been completely ignoring my letters and I nearly sent a Howler."

Rose would have preferred that, if she was being honest.

"I've just been really busy," she said, standing and straightening out the wrinkles of her dress. "I've been applying for jobs nearly every day, and no one was answering for a really long time."

"Looks more like you've been wasting your time with other things," she said, giving a sharp nod towards the bookshelf. "You don't have a job yet, do you?"

"Not yet," she admitted, "but –"

"It's been weeks, Rose!" her mum exclaimed, voice rising considerably. "Why won't you let me help you? This doesn't have to be so dramatic –"

"I'm not being dramatic," she protested, "I'm just trying to figure this out my own way, since I couldn't do that the first time around. Remember who forced me to take a job at the Ministry?"

"It was just a starting point! You were supposed to transfer or get promoted, that's how these things go."

Rose let out a breath. "Maybe I just need to take a step back," she attempted to reason. "I'm just so lost, Mum. I don't even know what I'd be interested in because all I like to do is read and watch Quidditch games."

"That's besides the point," her mum dismissed. "You need to go by your strengths. Don't be one of those people who needs to 'find themselves' –"

"There's nothing wrong with that!"

"— and just try the positions, okay?" she finished, looking frustrated. "How do you know you'll hate them if you haven't tried?"

It was a good point – not that Rose would admit it.

"I'm getting there," she said. "I just don't want to rush into anything."

Her mum threw her hands up. "Fine. Waste your time and waste your hard-earned money. If that's what you want to do, be my guest."

"Mum." Rose's gut wrenched like she'd gotten punched. This was why she never responded to letters, why she'd never talk to her; as soon as she didn't agree, her mum would corner her with her no-nonsense attitude and unfailing logic, unable to accept that Rose might have a different opinion.

"And what were you doing with Scorpius Malfoy?" her mum continued. "We know what that family did, Rose. You have to be very careful around them."

This ignited a spark in Rose.

"We're friends," Rose defended fiercely, "and he's nothing like what they say in the papers. He keeps his head down and he's honest and works really hard. The rumours aren't fair, okay?"

Her mum was so taken aback, she held up her palms towards Rose. "Okay, okay. I believe you."

"Okay." Rose still felt annoyed, but she tried to shake it off. "Look, I know you don't like it, but I'm going to figure out this situation on my own. I don't need you to hold my hand."

"I still think we need to talk about this. Like adults."

Rose thought that was a bit rich, as her mum was the one who'd started all the yelling in the first place.

"I don't," she replied stubbornly. "And since I'm an adult and all, I'll let you know what I've decided when I do."

Her mum looked like she'd been smacked.

"All right," she said sharply, tight-lipped, "fine." And then she strode out of Rose's flat, nearly slamming the door behind her as she left.

The silence that settled afterwards was deafening, and Rose stood there for a long time afterwards, wishing that taking a different path in life didn't mean everyone had to stick their noses in to shout their disapproval. She wished that just talking about jobs didn't have to always end like this: staring after her mum, knowing she'd disappointed her again.

Well, Rose thought, searching for a bright side, at least she knocked.

A/N: Hi hi! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Anyone surprised by Rose's reaction to her bookstore shift, or her mother? Anyone know what Scorpius wanted to ask?

Hope you're all staying safe and healthy. Have a lovely weekend :)