A/N:

I know, I know! I'm very sorry that this isn't the proper chapter. My only hope is that the positive of some new content outweighs the brief disappointment that this is not the full thing.

However, I do have another objective with this update! I've gotten a bunch of questions to answer since I opened up the floor with them some chapters ago, and given that we're in the home stretch now with only 2 chapters left (!), if you have any questions you're curious to have answered before the fic ends, please ask away! I probably won't do many (if any) after the last chapter as I don't want to detract from the actual fic wrapping everything up, so now's a great time :)

McGonagall cleared her throat. "I am not one to pay heed to castle gossip, however I do occasionally turn my eye to the reportings of the Daily Prophet, where it has become apparent to me that your, shall we say, working relationship has progressed towards something more…significant."

Scorpius' body rooted itself to his chair.

"As you know," the headmistress continued, oblivious to the fact that the room had suddenly become devoid of all air, "the Common Rooms have functions that deliberately address these sorts of things, however, such measures do not exist in the Heads dormitory."

He knew he should say something, because there was almost no plausible way that whatever she was going to say next wasn't going to make this one hundred times worse than it already was, but he couldn't get any part of his body to work. He simply sat, motionless, as despair swallowed him whole.

McGonagall paused, and in the sudden silence of the room, and over the din of his brain, Scorpius could hear the almost inaudible sound of Rose breathing beside him.

It was fully controlled, in and out in a perfectly even rhythm, and that small thing betrayed her entirely.

The thought snapped his body awake, and he immediately snuck another, longer, look towards her. As predicted, she was still staring devoutly at the headmistress, her expression giving nothing away, but he knew she could feel the weight of his gaze, and some childish part of him hoped it would prompt her to look at him. Just for a moment.

"Now, I am not about to impose such restrictions in your shared dormitory, because I am sure the two of you are responsible enough to keep boundaries and not to take advantage of your particular housing situation." McGonagall lowered her gaze so that she could study them over the rim of her spectacles, and suddenly all Scorpius could think about was that discomforting muddy picture on Rose's bedside table, and the fact that the only reason he was able to think about it at all was because he'd been lying in her bed. "An element of trust has been built up between the three of us. I am counting on it when I say that I trust you to draw the line where it is appropriate-"

"You don't need to worry about that, Professor."

The sound of Rose's voice cut like a knife through the still air, and Scorpius had to physically stop his body from looking at her.

The headmistress' gaze shifted so that she was staring Rose straight in the eyes. "Yes, Miss Weasley, I do. As I said, I'm sure the two of you are very responsible young adults, but as the case might be, you are two young adults of an age where-"

"We're not together anymore, Professor. So you don't need to worry about that." Her voice was steady and clear, and almost painfully devoid of emotion. Scorpius' eyes fixed to McGonagall's desk.

McGonagall stopped, and she looked at him. He felt the weight of her gaze pinning him, but still, he couldn't raise his own from the table. He couldn't do a fucking thing.

Silence hung over the room for a torturously long moment, and then he felt her eyes leave him, and she sat back in her chair.

"I see," she said.

Rose cleared her throat and, still not having spared him even half a glance, leaned forward professionally. "So, you were saying, the End of Year Ball."

A/N:

I also wanted to take a moment to say that the responses I got from the last chapter made me SO warm and happy inside ❤ Obviously they weren't all sunshine and meadows given the circumstances lmao, but it's more that the investment you guys have in these characters is so flattering, and there's really no greater compliment as a writer, so thank you all so much ❤ xx