I'm backkkkkkkk. Can you believe it? I can't. Apparently that 'The End' in the notes of the the previous chapter was false because it was... not... the end. How awkward for me. I will be honest in saying I had no intention of writing a word more for this story. Ending it with Rose and Scorpius *finally* kissing and getting together was what I thought was best. But then I reread this fic a couple weeks ago and began to wonder- how would Hogwarts react? Would they have problems? What would seventh year bring to them all? I'm going to be honest and say that I don't know if this will (actually) be the last chapter or not. Frankly, I got back into this fic due to one good review a few weeks back, so if I continue, it will be mainly based on if I get any positive feedback from all of you. So if you want to see more of this version of the next generation, please please comment something, *anything*. I appreciate every single bit of feedback so much.

Now, without further adieu, I present Seventh Year, part one (maybe)

Seventh Year Part 1

I swept into the carriage, painfully aware that the talking completely stopped as soon as I stepped into the space. I glanced around for my fellow Head, but he was late. Typical. He runs to freshen up after a -uh- rather heated snog session and takes more time than me to reorganize his appearance. I mean, I was the female in the relationship, wasn't I?

"So is it true?!" A girl in the first row asked as soon as I had made my way to the front, her face in her hands as she gazed expectantly up at me.

"Of course it's true!" Iris Stevens, a sixth year Hufflepuff, responded. "When has the Hogwarts Howler ever been wrong?"

I opened my mouth to say that my cousin's pride and joy was, in fact, often wrong, but I was beat to it.

"You honestly believe that load of troll shit?" Alexander Henderson, a sixth year Slytherin, scoffed.

"Next you'll say Divination is just a bunch of nutters looking at soggy tea leaves!" Iris shot back.

"Well- we all know-"

I groaned inwardly, tuning out the fight. Instead, my eyes were drawn to the carriage door sliding open, a tall dirty blonde slipping in to sit in the back row. Bloody hell. Lorcan Scamander had finally returned. I mean typical, just when my life was finally neatly in order, someone comes waltzing in to ruin it.

Breathe, Rose.

I was on step three of a thirteen step meditation ritual for calming and stress relieving when I heard my name. "Huh?"

"I said," the broad shouldered Ravenclaw repeated, arms crossed. "The lot of us have more to do than listen to those two fight about the merits of Witch Weekly versus the Daily Prophet. Can we begin this meeting or what?"

I groaned. "Lewiston, does it look like both the Heads are here? Do you see my companion? No, I bloody well think you do not!"

"But-"

"We don't start until he comes." I said firmly.

"Are you positive he's only your companion?"

I scowled in the direction of the comment.

"-Because," a different voice butted in, "According to Witches Weekly-"

I swiveled my head to the opposite side of the room.

"And the Hogwarts Howler!"

And back to the middle.

"-Not to mention the Daily Prophet."

It was like I was watching a verbal quidditch match, my head going to and fro.

"And Wizards Quarterly..."

"- You and Scorpius Malfoy are an item!"

"Finally!"

I blinked in horror at the magazines each witch was waving at me, all of which showed Scorpius and I strolling hand and hand down Diagon Alley before he swooped down for a chaste peck on my lips. Well. I had told Scorpius we were better off shopping for school supplies in France. Far away from being potential cover stories. But he had just laughed and squeezed me tighter. I suppose that had lulled me into a false sense of security; a sense that for once, the life of Rose and Scorpius wouldn't be newsworthy.

I was wrong, obviously. Apparently the reporters hadn't cared to cover the important European Wizarding Security Conference Uncle Harry was headlining the same day. Apparently two teenagers and their back to school shopping spree was more important. Bloody typical.

"I-" I started. How to get out of this one? Of course, the fact we managed nearly six weeks of secrecy was astounding considering Lils, Freddie, and James all knew. Asking those three to keep secrets was like asking me to give up ice cream. It just couldn't be done.

Still, my eyes flew back to the carriage door. I didn't want to oust my relationship to two dozen eager perfects without the consent of Scorp.

"Well?!" Iris pressed, hugging a copy of Hogwarts Howler to her chest. "You two are just so perfect for each other!" She squealed.

"Now, just hold on a minute…" I started, biting my lip.

Scorp! Where the fuck are you?

The carriage door slid open with a bang. "What did I miss?" My boyfriend asked as he strolled in, still adjusting his tie, completely unaware of what he had just stepped into.

"You're right on time to see Rose admit that you're her boyfriend." Lewiston deadpanned, utterly bored with the topic of conversation.

"Yes- because who doesn't want the first perfects' meeting of the year to start out with such idle concerns," Alexander grouched.

The blonde turned to me with his eyebrows raised. "You told them about us?"

A set of squeals immediately filled the room.

"I knew it!" Iris shouted triumphantly, sharing happy chatters with half the girls.

Scorpius at least had the sense to look apologetic. "I'm assuming you did not, in fact, confirm it yet."

I pursed my lips and rolled my eyes. "I was waiting for you to arrive so we could tell them together, you wanker."

"I deserve that, I do. But re-buttoning my shirt took ages. How did you manage to button it up so wrongly?"

I gaped at him, "you're telling me all that time was you re-buttoning your shirt? What did you do? Button one every five minutes?

"That-" He shot back, a grin creeping onto his face, "-was not the direction of the conversation. I believe we were talking about your apparent inability to button-"

"In the dark!" I declared with mock outrage. "And in an extremely confined space!"

Scorp pretended to consider it. "Well I guess we'll just have to practice more. Lots more." He said, waggling his eyebrows at me.

I laughed. "You are such a wanker Scor-"

"Ahem."

We both simultaneously realized where we were and quickly turned towards our audience.

I coughed awkwardly, aware of both the thrilled looks and the indifferent glares. "Um- right. So I suppose we can start now that-"

"We've learned a great deal more than we wanted to know about your broom closet escapees?" Lewiston drawled.

"Speak for yourself," Hugo piped up from the third row. My cheeks flamed to life, I had forgotten he had been made perfect. "That information will do quite well in a letter back to our dad."

"Hugo! Honestly!" I snapped, giving him the best glare I could muster as Scorpius stifled something that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

"Anyways," Scor started smoothly. "Welcome to the first perfects' meeting of the year. I am your Head, Scorpius Malfoy, along with my co-Head, Rose Weasley. We-"

A snicker filled the space. "We know who you two are. Star-crossed lovers, rocky friendship, so on and so on."

I glowered. "You seem to have missed the bit where Scorpius and I are top of our class, with Scorp over there having led Slytherin to two straight House cups and four straight undefeated Quidditch seasons!"

Scorp gave me a small smile before turning back to the perfects. "What Rose means to say is that there's a lot more to us being Heads than just our relationships- friends or otherwise."

"Oi!" Another complaint. "Can we just have the first week's patrol schedule so I can get back to my compartment in time for a cauldron cake?"

Why, these ungrateful little twits of human-

"Certainly Rachel, we'll start the schedule right now." Scor cut in, unrolling a piece of parchment with a flourish.

45 gruelling minutes later and the perfects were finally all satisfied- or at least tolerant- of their patrol partners. As the last of the perfects filtered back out to the rest of the train, I hopped up onto a table and sighed. "Do you think they'll take us seriously this year Scor?"

The blonde looked up from the parchment and considered. "I hope so-"

"Hey. Rose. And, uh, Scorpius. It's nice seeing you two." The familiar voice cut in and effectively caused my happiness to plummet. The last time I had spoken with Lorcan, he had just told me he would be in the Amazon for eight more months and that he loved me. Then I had promptly broken his heart.

"Lorcan." I said uneasily, looking at my ex-boyfriend.

"Congrats on making perfect." Scorpius said sincerely, looping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me slightly towards him.

Lorcan didn't miss the gesture. "Thanks. And, uh, congrats to you two on your relationship. That's- really something. Predictable, in the very least."

"How were your last few months in the Amazon?" I asked softly, fiddling with the cuff of my blouse.

"Fantastic. It was- I was speechless for eight months straight. It's a little bit of a let down, if I'm going to be honest, to be back in dreary Scotland for a year."

"Why didn't you just stay away then?" Scor said, causing me to frown at him.

An awkward chuckle. "Headmaster Sapientes said if we so much as missed a day of either of these terms we would be bumped back a year. And that wasn't something Ly or I wanted. So here I am."

"Well. For what it's worth, I've missed you around the castle." I said, sharing a small smile with the boy- no, nearly man- that I had once known better than anyone. A look that was reminiscent of the first train ride to Hogwarts, the first time we met. Where I had realized it was possible to make friends outside the Weasley Clan.

"I'll see you two around, I'm sure," Lorcan said with a slightly more confident smile, looping his bag around his shoulder.

Scorp's grip tightened slightly as we watched him leave, the carriage door sliding soundlessly closed behind him.

My best mate turned boyfriend turned to me and grinned. "Finally alone-"

I cut him off by taking a step back. "That's it? Nothing to say about Lorcan?"

"What is there to say?" The blonde shrugged. "I believed you when you told me you have no romantic feelings for him at Vic's wedding, and I still believe you now."

"So…" I trailed off, furrowing my brow. "You don't mind if I'm friendly with him?"

Scorp quirked a brow at me. "Should I be?"

"Well, no, but-"

Scorpius laughed. "Rosie, I love you. I trust you. And I will never dictate who you can or can't be friends with on my account."

I blinked. So this was what a completely healthy relationship felt like.

Scorp was still regarding me curiously.

"What?"

"So would you tell me I couldn't be friends with one of my exes?"

"I'm sorry," I said with a laugh, "did you not date Bella for the better part of a year-"

"Half a year!"

"- and I said nothing about despite the fact you two clearly weren't meant for each other Scorp-y."

"Well that doesn't exactly answer my question," Scor said, rubbing his neck.

"I wasn't finished! And did I interfere at all when you two remained friends afterwards?"

"No…"

I grinned. "There you have it. I love you. I trust you. And I will never dictate who you can or can't be friends with on my account. Well, except for Mona Pierce, that slag."

Scorpius considered me thoughtfully. "I suppose I can agree to that. Although this is helped by the fact you and Bella are quite friendly nowadays."

"It's a good thing you didn't ask me the same question this time last year." I admitted weakly.

A peaceful silence befell us.

"Come'ere," Scorpius said softly, pulling me flush against him.

I closed my eyes, taking in his warmth and sturdiness as the mountains slowly came into view outside the window.

"I, for one, am so happy I no longer have to herd those first years towards the common room." I said happily, my arms looped around two of my best mates' shoulders.

Altair glanced to the staircase above us, where the sound of wails erupted as three newly-minted Gryffindors got stuck in a trick stair. He wrinkled his nose. "I would imagine it's like herding cats. Or hippogriffs."

Cass watched as Peeves zoomed past us, giggling in utter glee as he tried to come up with a tune about stuck first years under his breath. "Please, Altair, that gives a bad name to cats and hippogriffs."

"Guys." I stopped suddenly. "This is the last Welcoming Feast!

Altair and Cass exchanged a look. "Are you sure you're Head Girl thanks to your cognitive capacity? Altair asked, immediately ducking out of the way of my hand.

"I mean- Rose- of course it's the last Welcoming Feast." Cass tried tentatively. "Rose?"

But I was too busy hatching a plan to take notice.

"Okay, look, Rose- we can't fit under this! We're not third years anymore!"

"Shhhhhh!"

"Oh hush up Altair, you loot. Your thighs are showing!"

" As if, I'm not half-giant. If anything a bit of my shin is showing!"

"Perhaps we can visit that portrait that gave us directions the last time." I mused, interrupting the bickering.

"The one with the unicorn and the belly bigger than Professor Vesper's? To do what? Make me jealous?" Altair snickered.

This led immediately to Cass trying to trip him.

Which caused Altair to stumble into me.

Which caused me to grab onto Cassidy.

Which led to us falling in a heap of limbs to the cold stone floor.

"Great Godric's ghost," I moaned, shoving Altair's legs off my chest.

"I honestly think we would be more sneaky if we didn't use the cloak," Cass muttered, checking her limbs.

Altair was rubbing his tailbone. "That-" He winced. "Is going to leave quite the bruise."

"I can kiss it to make it better." Cass said mischievously, wiping off her pajama pants.

I wrinkled my nose as I gathered up the cloak. Which- for the record- is harder than one would think. "Now that is an absolutely disgusting image."

I looked up at the silence only to see Altair and Cass both giving me identical looks of exasperation.

"What?"

"Rose," Cass groaned. "I was with you for one week this summer and you and Scor were absolutely sickening all the time you were together."

Altair nodded vigorously in agreement.

I put a hand on my hip. "I'm sorry, did you two see each other last winter? If you want to talk about sickening displays of romance…. What about when Altair serenaded you in heart boxers for Valentine's Day?" Or when you two literally did not leave a single arm chair for 36 hours one weekend in March?"

Cass blushed. "Well that was a completely different situation-"

"Oh like bloody hell it was!" I laughed.

Altair sighed. 'She has a point Cass."

"Great. Now that that's settled- hot chocolate!" I exclaimed, grabbing the two of them and dragging them down the nearest staircase.

It was miraculous we made it down to the kitchen without happening upon a patrol. Or, maybe not. I did, after all, have the entire patrol schedule memorized in my head.

"Ah, just like old times," Altair said loudly as he reclined in the headmaster's chair, a steaming cup of hot chocolate in his hand.

I raised an eyebrow from where Cass and I were sitting- the Hufflepuff table to shake things up a little bit. "Is it any more comfortable after four years?" I asked.

"Not one bit." Altair called back cheerfully, raising his mug in the gesture of cheers.

"Do you know how glad I am that we started talking second year?" I said to Cass, taking a big swig of my own drink. Delicious.

"Well I am pretty awesome." Cass said, shooting me a grin. "So I would say you were very glad."

"Immensely glad." I pressed, gesturing to the boy who was currently trying to take a hat off the head house elf without him noticing. "Otherwise, I would be stuck with that and only that in Gryffindor."

"Isn't he just adorable?" Cass sighed as she looked his way, smiling at her boyfriend.

"Well-" I started.

"I got it!" Altair exclaimed, not realizing that a house elf had noticed. In two minutes flat, we were chased out of the kitchen by an army of hundreds of house elves, each of them angrier than the last that a precious hat had been taken. They stopped short of the portrait entrance, waving kitchen knives and skillets at the three of us with menacing expressions.

"We can never come here again." I said in shock, seeing the mutinous expressions of the house elves and the rather heavy looking skillets they were brandishing.

I started away from the kitchen, my head shaking in shock.

"Yeah," Altair and Cass said simultaneously, trudging beside me.

Altair paused to put on his new found hat, resulting in glares from both me and Cass.

"Thank you, Altair, for ensuring I can never again grab a dozen freshly baked chocolate eclairs!" I proclaimed shrilly.

Altair winced. "I deserved that."

"It was just a bloody hat!" I continued to rant. "And you know how much hats mean to house elves!"

"It's a good thing we're in our last year then, isn't it?" Altair said with a lopsided grin.

My left eye twitched.

"I would like to think Sirius would be proud of my antics."

I rolled my eyes. "Boys. Just because you're distantly related-"

"Not too distantly." Altair retorted, smoothing back his bangs.

"Right, right. Anyways, I don't think a gene for antics and pranking was passed down-"

"Well I like to think it was." Altair said smugly, looping an arm around Cassidy's waist and pulling her close. "Ma'Lady, since we're already out, would you like to have a quick stop behind that tapestry on the fourth floor you so like?"

"And I'm going to assume there's barely room for you two, let alone me." I sighed, scrunching my nose as Cass and Altair shared googly eyes.

"Actually," Cass said, breaking out of her trance. "The reason I like that tapestry is because there's lots of room for more people to-"

I held up a hand, my face slightly green. "Don't finish that sentence. You two have fun. I have to get back to the Head's commons anyways."

I had a moment of panic before remembering that the Headmaster had set our password for unity. The portrait was that of a thirteenth century priest, one who looked me up and down. When he finally swung open, I couldn't help the small noise of surprise that slipped out. It was the first time I had seen my new accommodations for the year. I gaped at the cozy room, flickering flames outlining the space. It was complete with a small fireplace, a few armchairs and a sofa, two big desks, and a counter lining the back wall with two mugs. To the right, two short staircases stretched up in opposite directions, ending in two doorways.

And on the sofa, his limbs stretched out in all directions, was a boy.

"Oof- what the-" Al exclaimed, sleepy eyes darting wildly about until they landed on me. "Rose, seriously?"

I laughed, my pillow having perfectly hit its mark. "What are you doing in our space?"

"Making sure you graduate Hogwarts without a fetus in tow." Al said smoothly, smirking at my expression as he stretched.

I plopped onto the nearest armchair. "Couldn't go a night without sleep in the near vicinity of your best mate?"

"We're desperately in love." Al deadpanned.

"Obviously."

"Look- Ro, I'm beat. Can I please just stay here tonight?"

I sighed, glancing towards my boyfriend's door. "Of course you can Al, you never have to ask."

Perfect- can you get me a blanket?" My cousin mumbled, already squishing himself back into the cushions.

"Fuck no, you're a wizard. Make one come to you!"

"Bloody wanker," Al muttered, already almost back to sleep.

"Did I miss the part of my childhood where I realized exactly what I wanted to do with the rest of my life?" Cass asked, her nose buried in a brochure for careers in the Department of International Travel.

"I must have missed it too," I mumbled, reading a brochure for code breaking as I spooned soup into my mouth.

"I mean, I paid attention to that meeting with Professor Longbottom last year, but real life was so far off at that point, you know?" Altair fretted, throwing away a brochure for the finance sector with a scowl.

"Freddie working for the family business and James going into professional quidditch makes a lot more sense this side of sixth year," I mused, working my way through a bread roll.

"You three are ridiculous," Lils complained, Heather nodding alongside her. "Last term you gave me so many good articles with all your relationship drama."

"You don't want to write about our career troubles?" Altair said with a sleazy grin, tossing my cousin a flyer for healers.

Lily groaned. "As if, that would make for a horrible article!"

"Well," I said, glancing at Cass and Altair, both of whom were now snuggling up to one another as the latter fed a bit of bread to the other. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say those two won't give you any relationship drama this term."

Heather crinkled her nose. "I should say not. The best thing we got this week was Mona caught on a broom with a third year."

I gagged on my spoon. "A third year?"

"On a broom?"

"Who the fuck does she think she is?"

Lily laughed. "That poor third year, Scor dumping her must have really reset her standards."

"Ugh. Write an article and then send it to the authorities." I said, my appetite lost.

Lily sighed again, the spark absent from her eyes. "If that's all we have for this week's edition, we're hardly better than the Prophet."

Heather nodded her agreement, looking thoughtful. "You think you and Scorpius could stage some big fights over Lorcan being back?" She asked me hopefully.

I raised a single eyebrow and she frowned.

"What? Can't hurt to ask."

What is it with seventh year and everyone suddenly being serious about academics and in long, steady relationships?" Lily complained, slamming her notebook shut.

"Oh gee, I don't know," I deadpanned. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that in a few months we'll suddenly be expected to have jobs?"

"Like you three have anything to worry about! I mean Rose, just look at your last name. And Altair, you could use your cheekbones to get into any department headed by a woman or gay man. And Cass- muggleborns are all the rage in the English Ministry right now!"

We all turned to Heather.

She shrugged. "What? It's the truth!"

"Maybe I can reprint the fight between Ryan and Scorpius from last year." Lils said, gazing into space. "And just make them turn into kangaroos this time around."

"That's not really a news piece then is it?" Altair butted in. "More like a work of fiction?"

"Bollocks." Lily muttered.

"You had a good run, Lils. Maybe you should look to your class to find the drama." I suggested.

"I'm starting to realize just why Mum advised against only publishing articles related to you, Scor, and Al."

I rolled my eyes. My cousin was so dramatic sometimes.

"Budge up there Lils, I'm sure you'll find somewhere to stick your nose soon." Cass said cheerfully, playing with Altair's hair.

"Meanwhile," I said, smoothing out the brochure below me. "It's time for some tough decisions."

"You two just don't get it!" I complained, dragging my feet along the path. "I mean Scor- you're going to be a brilliant healer one day, and Al, you've wanted to be an Auror since you were in the bloody womb!"

My boyfriend smirked. "I will make an excellent healer. With my superb potion skills and all."

I nudged Al. "You're a superb potionist too, are you positive you want to be an Auror where you won't use those skills at all?"

"Oh bugger off Ro," Al retorted, giving me a light shove.

I sighed. He was unmoveable in his career choice, despite my foreboding that he wouldn't be happy as an Auror at all. Or worse, he wouldn't be happy and stupidly get himself killed on some mission to Asia or something.

"And do you have any more clear ideas as to what you would like to do oh fake redhead?" Al asked, tugging on a curl.

I glared at him, my hands reaching up to touch my hair. It had occurred to me, months after I had dyed my hair blonde and weeks after I had been maintaining a demented red to orange to blonde ombre that I could simply dye all my hair red. If you had the eyesight of Harry Potter, you could barely tell a difference from my normal hair.

"No I do not." And it was a sore subject.

"Well. You'll be brilliant at whatever you try, I'm sure." Al said, clearly deciding to go the high path instead of teasing my utter incapacity to plan for the very near future.

"In other news, Al- why the hell have you been sleeping on our sofa every night? Do you miss us that much?" Scorpius asked with a giant smirk.

I shot him a look, grateful he had butted in for my sake.

"Do you and Rose share the same brain?"

I looked at my boyfriend, who shrugged.

"Rose, you said the same thing to me a week ago!"

"Oh, yeah. I guess I did, didn't I? I might be grasping at straws here Al, but maybe Scorp and I are saying the same things because you have been making a permanent dent on our couch since we came back for the term!"

Al scoffed. "What, you two want some alone time or something?

"YES!" Scor and I said simultaneously.

"Rose! I am shocked, aren't you still, you know… a- um- I mean, has he popped you're you know what yet?"

My eyes widened at my cousin, my neck warming uncomfortably. "Al! You sogging wanker! That is absolutely none of your business!" I exclaimed shrilly, wrapping my arms around myself.

Scorp winced sympathetically in my direction. "Al, who do you take me as?"

At this point, Al looked like he would prefer to be anywhere else. Which was fair, because so did I.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "That came out... wrong?"

I narrowed my eyes, the two of us locked in an internal argument until Scorp cleared his throat.

"We, um, still haven't quite reached a new dynamic now that we're dating, have we?"

"I don't know how Dad did it when Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron started banging," Al muttered.

"You should ask him," I mused.

Al gagged. "Can you imagine how that conversation would go? No thank you!"

"Or maybe I should ask Mum." I said, biting at my lip. "Maybe they had ways of making it, I dunno, easier for your dad."

"Like maybe not shoving your tongues down each other's throats all day long?" Al asked, jumping out of the way of the dirt I scuffed in his direction.

"I don't think so, I think Hermione and Ron did plenty of that with Harry around." Scorp said slowly, looking off into the distance.

Al and I shared a confused look before turning to him.

"What?" Scorp exclaimed. "You two didn't read one of the final chapters of the Harry Potter series where Ron and Hermione finally realize they're desperately in love and make out right before Hogwarts is attacked by Voldemort? And Harry is standing right there?"

"You…" I trailed off.

"-Read that trash?" Al finished. "Mate, that series has more lies and is more fanciful than the muggle love books I get Rose each year for Christmas!"

It was common knowledge that for the first several years of my life, a massive wizarding leak happened through a witch who posed as a muggle author. She sold Uncle Harry's story as her own epic fantasy, going so far as to put my cousins and I in the last chapter of the final book. The muggles, gullible and unaware of our world as they must be, bought her series in the thousands and made the witch a billionaire. All the while, Uncle Harry and Dad could never quite track her down.

"Ugh. I have never read that series and never will. I mean really, how did she come up with most that stuff?"

"By loosely basing it on reality." Al said wisely. "All the stuff happened, of course, just not like that."

I shrugged. "I guess."

"Anyways." Scorp said, grabbing my hand. "Lunch?"

I gingerly lowered myself to the stone bench, glancing around the quiet space. Only a student or two were out on the Sunday morning, most sleeping in after the first quidditch match and subsequent party in Ravenclaw that went late into the night.

"I didn't see you at the party last night." I said, playing with the end of my shirt.

Lorcan glanced at me for a quick moment. "No I don't suppose you did. It's because I wasn't there."

"Regressing to second year?" I said with a quick smile, memories of a very socially awkward Lorcan dancing in my head.

Lorcan let out a puff of air that might have been a chuckle. "Did I ever tell you how quickly I left that party? We got there, I had a quarter of a butterbeer before some drunk Hufflepuff spilled magik mead on me, and I was out the portrait hole all within ten minutes."

I laughed. "I'm sorry for letting you out of my sight, then. Though to be fair I was completely gone on the strength of two measly butterbeers within a half hour."

Loran still wasn't quite looking at me, but I could tell he was smiling.

"Anyways," I nudged him, "Why weren't you at the party last night?"

He let out a whistling sigh. "Look, Rose, I really still can't adapt to the fact I'm back here in school. It's like, I had a taste of what my career would be after Hogwarts and I loved it. But then it was rescinded from me for a whole nother year. So, I was up in my room. Dad sent a copy of the first few chapters of his book the other day and wanted me to make notes. And that's what I did."

I pursed my lips and looked at my hands. Yet another example of a seventh year who knew exactly what he wanted to do in life, who viewed these last few months of childhood as an utter waste. "Oh."

"We're going to Indonesia next summer, we'll be there for a long time. That's when I'll finally be able to start living. To be able to stop caring about quidditch games, you know?"

I found myself starting to nod along before I stopped myself and scooched away from the sandy-haired boy. "No actually, I don't understand. In fifth year, you loved everything about Hogwarts. The games, the dining hall, the classes."

Lorcan tilted his head. "That was a long time ago Rose, haven't you ever had a situation in which you went back to somewhere that you hadn't been in a long time and realized it just didn't fit you anymore? And to be honest, I never completely fit here to begin with. I mean, Ly did. And I was good at pretending. But Magizoologists have always been looked down upon by the British wizarding community, and that's not going to change anytime soon."

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, letting go, truly letting go, of all the memories I had once had with the boy sitting next to me.

"Well, I missed you Lor. You have no idea how many nights last year I stayed up wishing you were a few flights of stairs away. How many times I wished I could be walking with you hand and hand through Hogsmeade."

He finally turned to me then, really looked into my eyes. "I'm sorry, Rose."

I shook my head, looking away.

"Rose-"

I silenced him by putting my hand over his. "Lorcan, I know you know exactly what you want to do in your life, and I know that doesn't involve Hogwarts. But I also know that one day Hogwarts will be something you look back at fondly. As something that was undeniably a part of your childhood. I know you think you should just coast through the year with your head elsewhere, but Lor, life happens wherever you go, whether you want it to or not."

Lorcan looked slightly stunned before he let out a puff of air. "So?"

"So, just make the most out of it. Because you can't speed up time, at least not without using banned items. So you might as well attend quidditch matches and parties, continue to tutor and be an outstanding perfect."

Lorcan sighed, leaning on me. "Were you always so wise?"

I pondered that for a moment. "No, I don't think so. But really Lor, try to make the most out of this year. We spend far too much of our lives anticipating the next step instead of living in the moment we're in now."

"Alright, alright." Lorcan said with a chuckle. "You got me. Want to play the cloud game?"

"Do I ever!" I exclaimed, jumping up to pull him to the shore of the lake.

"Rose? Is there something you want to tell me?" Al said nervously when I dropped next to him at the Slytherin table for breakfast.

"And me?" Lysander said, glancing up from his eggs.

I blinked a few times, still trying to reduce the blurry edges of my vision caused by sleep.

"Rose?"

"Hm?" I asked, yawning as I reached for the pitcher of orange juice.

"I'm talking about this!" Al hissed, sliding the newspaper towards me.

I looked at him curiously before I looked down to the print, which took a long moment to come into focus.

"Lily fucking Potter." I growled, crumpling up the newspaper and tossing it down the table.

"It's true then?" Ly asked, his eyes wide.

I swiveled towards him so fast my neck cracked. "What do you think, Ly?"

"Well I-"

"Lily isn't often wrong," Al uttered, becoming the new target of my barely suppressed rage.

"The hell are you smoking? Your sister included you in articles every edition last year and most of them were gross exaggerations of the truth!"

"But," my cousin pointed out. "They did have bits of truth to them."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me-"

"Uh, Rose, did you see this morning's edition of the Hogwarts Howler?"

I whipped around to Cass, who was clutching the newspaper nervously.

Al made a sound half between a moan and a groan. "Wrong timing Cass, I would run for it while you still can."

I glared at Al before zeroing back in on Cass. "Give it."

She quickly turned it over, shifting from one foot to another as I reread the headline, getting angrier by the moment. That was it. Lily had finally crossed the bloody line.

Back at it again? Sources find Rose Weasley and her ex, Lorcan Scamander, cozying up in a romantic corner of Hogwarts' many courtyards!

According to our sources, Scorpius Malfoy, thought by many to be the current fling of Rose Weasley, is devastated. The two had apparently already exchanged promise rings and Scorpius was reported holding his great grandmother's wedding ring in Diagon Alley shortly before the Hogwarts term began.

"He's beside himself," An anonymous bypasser weighs in. "They always seemed so happy together in the halls, I just can't quite believe it."

A member of the Malfoy inner circle also found time to reply to us; "Scorpius asked his Father for the ring shortly before heading back to Hogwarts. The ring is an established family tradition, one in which the heir to the estate gifts his future wife the jewel on New Year's the year before the wedding."

So readers, this of course begs the question, was there meant to be a wedding right after the two graduated? And if it is (likely) so, is there still going to be a wedding?

"Adultery is not uncommon amongst the great pureblood families still left. But the Weasleys are no longer pureblood nor did they ever seem to engage in the practice in the decades leading up to the birth of Harry Potter. Why Mrs Weasley chose now to begin the tradition anew is anyone's guess."

"From what I could tell, Rose Weasley and Lorcan Scamander were very happy together. No one here quite knows the reason they broke up, besides the fact that Lorcan was gone for the entirety of last year on some kind of medical leave for scappergoddles."

If this is true, perhaps Rose and Lorcan never broke up to begin with, and maybe Rose led on her current fling, Scorpius Malfoy….

"I'm going to kill her. I truly am." I managed, my teeth clenched so tightly together I thought one might break.

"Rose, let's be sensible-"

"Sensible?!" I shrieked, tearing the newspaper in half. "I get that prior to this edition she was just having a spot of fun in revealing all these absurd things about us- but this! This! Is too far. This could cost me the best thing that ever happened to me!"

"Well-"

"Shut up, I have to go. I have to find Scorp."

It was like the universe was playing some kind of sick game of deja-vu with me. Except, of course, when this happened back in third year I ended up in the hospital wing with a few broken bones. I didn't intend for that to happen again. For one, the early morning was beautiful, not a cloud or gust of wind in sight.

I checked our common room first, peeking my head into his (rather messy) bedroom. Nothing. Next I tried the Slytherin common room. Nothing. Growing slightly more anxious, I hurried through the aisles of the library. Nothing. I checked all the corridors, the owl tower, the astronomy tower. The lake, the edge of the forbidden forest. I was hurrying back to the castle when I finally saw him, trudging up to the castle from the opposite direction. Did he look mad?

"Scor!" I shouted, waving my arms.

He turned on his heels to look at me.

"Oh thank godric." I sighed, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Scor, I'm so so sorry, it was just a-"

The blonde pushed me away with a bemused grin. "Red, what are you talking about?"

I blinked. "You mean, you didn't see it yet?"

"See what?"

Well.

"The new edition of Hogwarts Howler came out…" I started, my ears heating.

Scorpius grinned. "And? Is it you or me who is madly in love with someone else?"

My wide eyes met his.

Scor laughed. "Rose, every other edition has something about us. It's Lily's staple. So who was it this time?"

I muttered something under my breath.

"Come again?" A finger under my chin forced me to look into the sparking eyes of my boyfriend.

I sighed. "Lorcan and I. And the pictures look pretty convincing, they're from a few days ago when I met to talk with him in a courtyard-"

"Rose. I believe you. Honest."

"I- really?" I gave him a small smile.

"Well it probably helps that I haven't seen the article." Scor said with a chuckle.

"It did mention something else… something about a great grandmother's ring?" I said cautiously, picking at my nails.

A long moment of silence stretched out. And then…

"Bugger." Scor said softly.

My eyes widened as I looked back at him. "It's true?! You have it?"

The blonde ran a hand through his hair. "Rose-"

I think I stopped breathing.

He shook his head slightly. "Yeah. Yeah," he reached a hand into his robe's pocket and pulled out a glittering ring. "I have it. I asked my dad for it right before the term began."

I was going to hyperventilate. Breath, Rose, breath.

"Scor-" my voice cracked. "I'm only seventeen. So are you! We- we're young and we're still at Hogwarts and we've only dated a few months and-"

Scor looked sheepish. "I, um. Hell. I can't believe Lily forced my hand. Rose, I love you-"

The rest was drowned out by the sound of blood rushing in my ears. I couldn't get engaged at seventeen! I had so much I wanted to do before I got married. It was only October of seventh year for godric's sake!

"Scor, I can't!" I said, panic rising to the surface.

"Rose," the blonde sighed. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

I must have looked confused enough for him to sigh again.

"I said- that I love you. And that I will always love you, I know that more than anything. This ring, Rose, is a promise. Perhaps not for this year or next, but a promise nonetheless."

I let out a breath, turning away from the blonde.

"You can't honestly think I'll accept." I said quietly.

"It's just a promise, Rose," Scorp said, equally as quiet.

"It's a promise with your great grandmother's ring, Scor. It doubtless has some deep magic attached to it!"

"And that matters?"

"It matters when we have barely dated for four months!" I retorted.

"Rose, what are you saying?" His grey eyes pierced my own.

I groaned. "I'm saying, Scor, we're both seventeen! Is it not enough to love in the present?"

The blonde furrowed his brow. "I don't understand. Rose, i'm not asking you to marry me tomorrow-"

"No, but you're asking me to marry you one day! Scorp! We're in our honeymoon phase, we have never truly fought, never had any troubles, have only gone about staring moony-eyed at each other for the past few months! That's not enough to base our entire future off of, and I think you know it!"

His jaw twitched as he eyed his ring. "So it's a no?"

I shook my head in disbelief. "Of course it's a no Scor! It's absurd. Ask me again in a few years, if we're still together- Scor!

My boyfriend had left my side and was marching up the hill, not bothering to look back.

Bloody fucking hell.

"I just… I don't understand it." I said slowly, my head on Cassidy's shoulder. "How can he still be so mad?"

"You've hurt his pride. Godric knows it has happened with Altair a few times, and he was moody for ages."

"But Cass, to be engaged- or rather, promised to be engaged at seventeen? He can't possibly expect me to-"

"Marry him?" Cass finished for me.

I dug my head into my hands. "Am I the only one that finds that absurd? To be thinking of marriage while still at Hogwarts?"

"Your parents?"

I took a breath. "That was different, war time stuff, you know?"

"The same could be said for your Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny?"

I laughed. "Cass, when did you first refer to my uncle as my uncle versus the infamous Harry Potter?"

"When I saw him in his boxers that one time last summer, I think," Cass giggled.

I wrinkled my nose. "That… I did not need to know." wrinkled my nose. "What a fun picture."

He's surprisingly down to earth for a famous person," She said with a shrug.

"I could have told you that ages ago!" I exclaimed, giving her a playful shove.

"Maybe," Cass started, giving me a quick glance. "Maybe you should just talk to him."

If you're wondering, I did not just talk to him. Instead, I stalked down to the Slytherin common room a week later and sought out Bella. Who might, it still pained me a tad to say, be able to give me better advice than anyone. And honestly, after the time that had passed, I was getting desperate.

"Well, Rose, I can hardly comment on him as a boyfriend considering we dated ages ago and the both of us were barely teenagers at the time."

I groaned. "What would you do, Bella, if he wanted you to marry him after only dating him for a few months?"

"Probably make the promise, take the ring, and throw it into a pond a year later when one or both of us broke the promise."

I gave her an unimpressed look.

"What?" She shrugged. "You wanted realism. I honestly don't see the problem of making a promise. Promises can be broken."

"If I make a promise, I keep it." I said with exasperation.

Bella sighed. "Look, maybe I can't tell you to say yes or no. But I can give you a window into what he's thinking. In fact he's probably off somewhere right now wondering how the hell you saw any problem with his plans."

"Alright- tell me what he's thinking."

"He's thinking that he's been in love with you since at least the start of third year, if not sooner. Sure, he's had a lot of temporary birds and flings, but none can shag him the way you do and-"

I reddened. "We haven't shagged yet, Bella."

She cut herself off, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "Have you two really not?"

"No. So how can I pledge myself to him when I don't even- you know- know if we're good together… that way."

My friend blinked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Hm. I might be seeing your perspective a bit clearer now. Why haven't you two-"

I groaned, flopping my head back on the cushion. "That is none of your business. But maybe, it's because, he's done it so often and I've done it- never."

Bella rolled her eyes. "What are you, an idiot?"

I made a sound of indignation.

"I mean you honestly think that Scorpius would care that you're a virgin? That he would do anything to make you feel badly about it?"

"Well- no." I mumbled.

"You two are hopeless. Rose, I guarantee you he misses you right now just like you miss him. He loves you and you love him. Knock the idea of a silly cliched promise ring out of his head and get on with it! Oh- and tell me if he's any good."

"Bella!" I exclaimed, shocked.

She smirked. "What? I've always been curious. And I can't exactly go ask Mona."

I gaped at her, first for being evil enough to put the idea of Scorp and Mona- bloody Mona- well, you know, fucking.

"I mean, it has to be good. Look at those cheekbones. And his hands!"

My neck warmed. "Bella- would you shut up?!"

"Ladies?" Came a confused voice. I twisted on the couch to see Al gaping at the two of us. Noticing, he shook his head a little and closed his mouth. "Sorry Ro, seeing you in this common room with Bella, it's still a bit weird."

Bella flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Deal with it Potter, we're friends."

"But- why are you here?"

I raised an eyebrow and he groaned.

"Honestly Rosie, it isn't still about that stupid ring, is it?"

I bristled, Bella looking at me with amusement. "It is yes, because Al, this isn't some stupid ring it's-"

"Marriage, yeah yeah. I have been sitting by you at breakfast the past few weeks."

"So you're okay with it?"

My cousin started. "Okay with it? No! Rose, I swear I never knew that ring existed and if I did, I would have advised Scorpius to wait at least until we graduated, if not a long time after that."

"So you see why it's not stupid to be talking about it with my friend Bella." I pressed, crossing my arms.

Al rolled his eyes. "It's stupid because you two are letting some idiotic piece of jewelry- which he didn't even plan to give you yet- get in between a great relationship!"

I shrank a bit as Bella gave me a pointed look.

"Well- I-"

Al groaned. "Just tell him to stop trying to make you a child bride-"

"Hey!"

"-Put the damn ring away, and get on with your guys' relationship!"

As it turns out, when both you and your boyfriend have perfected the art of avoidance over a couple weeks period of time, undoing that trend and- you know- finding him turns out to be quite difficult.

I trudged into the Heads' common space, utterly defeated. Either Scorp had temporarily gained custody of the invisibility cloak, or he had simply vanished from Hogwarts a la me in fourth year and Lorcan in sixth year.

Then, I was promptly proven wrong when I heard the shower. There's a rather inconvenient thing about the Heads' dorms, we share a bathroom. And it's very spacious, very luxurious, but in my two months of using it I've often wondered if it was literally designed to make the two heads date. I mean, why else would there only be one bathroom? Hogwarts was a magical castle, for Dumbledore's sake, I think they could have crammed two bathrooms in if they had wanted to. Anyways-

I hesitated before knocking on the door after the shower had turned off. I took a deep breath, and knocked loudly.

"Hold on!"

I waited, biting on my lower lip.

The door swung open and I was treated to the sight of my boyfriend in nothing more but a small towel wrapped around his waist. I stared, mouth slightly open. Not because I hadn't seen it before, but I hadn't seen it in a couple weeks and frankly, knowing he wanted to marry me also just- made it different. Like, it aided in the realization that the sight of his muscled chest could be mine and mine alone forever.

"Rose?"

"I think we should talk."

"Now? Now of all the times, I mean I'm-" he gestured to the aforementioned towel.

I smirked, pushing him to get inside the bathroom. "I quite like you that way, to be frank."

A silence befell us as I ran my hand over the counter, the steam in the room wrapping around me. Scorpius hadn't moved, instead leaning against the door jam, his expression unreadable.

"Do you- do you remember the first time we said I love you to each other- properly?" I asked, meeting his eyes.

"I know- I know it probably isn't proper-" I started, snuggling deeper into Scor's arms, which responded by tightening their grip.

"What isn't?" The blonde asked, curving a finger down my cheek and sending a shiver shooting down my spine.

"I mean, we've only been dating a few weeks. But, I don't care. Not really-"

"Rose," Scor laughed, "I love you, but get to the point."

I whipped my head around and met silver eyes, my neck reddening. "You what?"

Scorpius pressed his mouth together and looked away. "I guess- I love you? I mean maybe I always have- or you know, at least since we've known each other- I I told you at the end of fifth year and I meant it then, maybe in a different way, but-"

"Stop," I said softly, looking at my boyfriend in amazement. "That's what I was going to say. That- I love you. A lot."

I panted slightly as we broke away from each other, still forehead to forehead. "I just hope the feeling stays forever."

The blonde looked away, his hand instinctively reaching down to secure his towel. "Of course I remember, it was one of the-"

"Best moments of my life." I finished with a sad smile.

Scor's jaw twitched.

"Scor- look at me," I waited until he did, meeting his gaze with what I hoped to be a loaded look. "I still love you. And at seventeen, I don't want to think about rings or marriage. I just want to make as many memories like that as possible."

"I don't really know why I got so angry about the ring, to be honest. I didn't even really plan to give it to you anytime this year. I guess- it was just that even though the timing was off and it wasn't a question we had ever discussed, I still felt rejected. And that wasn't fair to you, I know."

I smiled softly. "I went to all my girl friends- and Al- and they told me the same thing. To just, talk with you for five minutes and smooth it out. Bella- she said I should just make the promise and take the ring and that eventually I could break the promise. But Scorpius, when one day I promise to spend the rest of my life with you, I don't intend on breaking that promise. Ever."

He had been edging closer during my mini speech, finally stopping mere centimeters away.

"So-"

"So." I breathed, reaching up to tangle my fingers in his hair.

He groaned, responding in kind as he threaded on hand through my hair and used the other to pull my waist closer.

"Are we done fighting?" I whispered, biting my lip.

He took his two hands from my hair and waist and cupped my face, pulling me in for a long, lingering kiss. One that spoke of the future.

"Let's-" He whispered huskily when we finally pulled away from each other. "Never fight again."

I had only a moment to smile before his lips were back on mine and he was hoisting me on the counter to nestle himself between my legs. His towel was slipping, I thought dimly, but as his mouth peppered my throat and jawbone, I couldn't really bring myself to care.

"Scor-" I gasped, fingers curling into his shoulders.

"I love you too." He muttered against my cheek, once again pulling my lips to his.

Hogsmeade weekends were some of my favorites. You know, not counting when Ryan fucking Wolffe thought I was my mix-raced cousin and Scorpius got Crucioed by someone who probably belonged in Azkaban. Not including those two times, my days in Hogsmeade were filled with candy and butter beer, new quills and books and snowball fights. Idyllic.

It was moments like these, I mused as I held Scorp's mitted hand and Al kept attempting to charm snowballs to smash in our faces but failing (he never was a great charms student), that I never wanted to leave Hogwarts. It was like I was wrapped in a nostalgic, comforting blanket.

"Where's Cassidy and Altair?" Scorpius asked, craning his neck around and ducking from an incoming ball of snow.

I furrowed my brow. "They said that they would be here."

"Probably in some alley somewhere smooching up a storm," Al called, his tongue lolling as he ran from a snowball that Lily had charmed to chase him.

I snickered, giving Lils a thumbs up and promptly gaping as I saw her hanging off the arm of some guy.

"Scor!" I hissed, yanking him.

"What- what? Oh- oh no no-" He said, trailing off as we both watched Al stalk over to his little sister.

I started to snort as I saw Lily's furious face, and ended up full on laughing as Al was somehow shoved into a snowbank by someone half a foot shorter than him.

"She is a force to be reckoned with when she gets pissed," Scorp observed with a smirk. "Nice snorts, by the way."

I shoved him. "Oh, shut up you dolt."

"Oh Rose- you might want to rescue your cousin before he freezes, I put a sticking charm on him for trying to be intimidating with Robbie."

The boy in question grinned at me. I could see what Lily liked, he was tall, with floppy black hair and brown eyes.

"Hi Robbie," I said, cocking my head. "How do you know Lils won't write about you?"

Lily shot me a glare as her date laughed. "Because I made her sign a non-disclosure contract before I agreed to this date."

Scorp, who had joined the conversation, raised an eyebrow.

"My dad's a lawyer in London," Robbie said with a shrug.

"I think you and Lils will be just fine together," I said with a wink to my cousin. "Come on Scor, let's go rescue Al before he dies alone in a snowbank."

"Can't we just let him?" The blonde complained. "At least that way he wouldn't be sleeping on our couch twice a week."

I shrugged. "At least it's only twice a week. It took us ages to dwindle him down from four."

"You okay there Al?" Altair was saying as he stood over my cousin. Al, whose face was still stuck in the snowbank like some kind of ostrich, was desperately trying to pull his face out.

"Lily trapped him in there," I explained, reaching over to squeeze Cass with a quick smile.

"Any reason?"

"He tried to be an intimidating older brother." Scorpius said, a smirk firmly back in place.

Cass looked between Scor and Al. "I'm guessing that didn't work out very well."

I rolled my eyes, mumbling the counter spell.

"You alright there, dude?"

The dude in question was frantically shaking out snow from his hair. "Imma kill her," he mumbled.

"Please, Al, we all know she would kill you first."

"What's his name anyways?" Al asked, conveniently ignoring my comment.

"Robbie."

"Robbie? What kind of name is Robbie? Probably the name of someone whose only dating Lily to get to Dad or a serial murder or-" He trailed off when he saw the looks we were giving him.

"I personally think he'll be good for her," I said, grabbing his arm. "Now, come on, snow boy, butterbeers are that way."

Somehow, the conversation had once again returned to career choices after Hogwarts. Mrs. Longbottom was serving our butterbeers when I groaned.

"Maybe I should just get a job serving people here. That way I stay next to Hogwarts and can live in constant teenage bliss."

"You're looking for job experience dear?" Mrs. Longbottom asked, expertly sliding a glass along the table. "Well, luckily for you, one of our servers caught a case of dragon pox and we're short staffed!"

Cass giggled as I started to protest. "I- I, Mrs. Longbottom, that isn't really-"

"No, I insist! Dumbledore knows how hard it is to find someone interested in a career at Three Broomsticks why- even Carter will have nothing to do with it. Come, come!"

And despite my best efforts, I was forcefully led away from my group of friends, frantically mouthing 'help' to my boyfriend, who simply lifted a butterbeer in my direction with a grin. That traitor.

"Mrs. Longbottom, really-" I stopped abruptly as an apron was put into my hand.

"You're really quite the lifesaver today, dear, when Hogwarts has their free days, it's always so busy!"

"I-"

"Go on, put on the apron and we'll get you right to work!"

I swallowed, taking my time in putting the apron over my head and tying the knot. "Is the- um- scene on this apron really necessary?" I asked, poking at Uncle Harry catching a snitch- over and over and over again.

Mrs. Longbottom giggled, "It's a fan favorite out there in the dining room, much more popular than mine." Hers was Professor Longbottom and a plant lifting glasses of magik mead together.

"Right- but Mrs. Longbottom-"

"Please, call me Hannah- oh! Looks like that order for table eight is up. Can you carry those out Rose dear?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. When I opened then, a tray of eight drinks was being shoved into my arms. "I really don't think-"

"Careful with the balance, it takes a bit to get used to, now off you go!"

I staggered into the dining room, a room filled to the brim with fellow students I knew from Hogwarts. All except one table. Table eight. The one I was heading towards.

The table was tucked into the corner and and as I approached it, I ground to a sudden halt, a few of the drinks clanging together as my arms swayed. The table I was meant to serve was full of all of my professors. Headmaster Sapientes, Professor Vector, Professor Wolfheart, and so on.

Crap. I couldn't walk up to them as a server! What if I spilled on them? Worse, what if they thought I had gone nuts, quit Hogwarts, and started a career as a server in Hogsmeade?

"Rose?" Professor Longbottom asked, clearly having spotted me and their drinks. "Why are you bringing us our drinks?"

I plastered a smile on my face. "It's -um- hi professors, Headmaster. I um- I wanted to have some job experience before picking a career, so here I am- uh- gaining job experience. Not that the role of head girl isn't a great experience itself it's just that- yeah. Who ordered the flaming toad IPA? "

As I distributed the drinks, Professor Wolfheart leaned forward. "There;s nothing wrong with getting diverse career experience, Ms. Weasley, but I dare say you would be better suited to a Ministry job or graduate level coursework in charms and transfiguration."

Professor Vector nodded. "Certainly your potions work is up to par to apply for an intern healer position at St. Mungos."

"Thank you." I said, ears warming as I placed fire whiskeys in front of both of them. "I'm just not quite sure what I want to do yet."

"You're seventeen!" Professor Longbottom chuckled. "None of us knew what we wanted to do at that age. Heck, all I knew was I liked plants, but when I was your age I was organizing an undercover army to overtake a dark lord!"

"What?"

"The point is, Rose, give yourself a break. Maybe take some time off after Hogwarts. Or maybe you'll find your passion along the way."

"I- um- thanks Professors. I think I have to go serve more now, I'm not quite sure- Hannah just-"

"Ah," Professor Longbottom leaned back, his eyes twinkling. "My wife forced you into this?"

"Well- I- yes, I guess? I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a server but nonetheless- goodbye professors. And uh, Headmaster."

With that, I retreated as quickly as possible, sticking my tongue out as Al and Altair cheekily waved towards me. Wankers.

"Well, I've at least knocked off one career choice from my future." I groaned, sinking into the couch. My boyfriend, who was curled up reading a book, just looked amused.

"Long day dear?" He asked, a smirk present on his dumb, handsome face.

"Do you know there's tunnels from Hogsmeade back to Hogwarts? Apparently it's a war time thing. But it justified Hannah keeping me there until a half hour ago scrubbing down sticky tables for 'experience'! What lunacy is that?!"

Scorpius chuckled. "Maybe you should just ask everyone your parents know if you can just trail them around the office for a few days-"

"Hey! That's not a bad idea. Thanks Scor!" I swooped down and gave him a quick kiss before hurrying off to shower. A handful of short internships in every department I could think of. It wasn't a bad idea at all. After all, my parents being Hermione Granger-Weasley and Ron Weasley had to account for something.

When I had showered off the ickiness of being a server, I sat down with a quill and parchment and began to write.

Like I said, maybe this is the end, in which case treat it as an epilogue. BUT if you want it to continue, and maybe even see the gang far past Hogwarts, write a review! Pretty please with hippogriff droppings on top?