A/N:

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you guys have had a lovely and restful holiday season, and that maybe it managed to brighten up the last few weeks of what has been an objectively terrible year.

As always, I apologise in advance to everyone who thought that this was a full chapter, though you might take some solace in the knowledge that this will be the last time that this will happen! Hopefully you guys like this little snippet of what's to come — this last chapter is full of drama, I promise ❤❤

Oh, another thing! I said last time that I wouldn't be answering any questions at the end of this chapter, but given that I've received a good few since then (and still have some spoiler-y ones to finally get to) I will be doing so :) So if you still have anything that you want answered, please send away ❤

There was a protracted pause before Liv spoke. "We're not fighting, Rose."

Rose stared at her, that feeling within her hesitating now, waiting.

"I guess not," she said. After a moment, she tilted her head a little. "We're not exactly friends either."

"Nor do we want to be." The smile Liv offered was rueful, though there was no doubt that it was a smile. But, as Rose watched, it faded, and Liv drew in the side of her mouth, her brow knitting for a long moment before she said in a careful, measured voice, "But if we were friends, I would tell you that you're making a mistake."

At the look of utter confusion on Rose's face, Liv merely fixed her with a knowing smile, raising a brow. "Don't you think I know what it looks like to be in love with Scorpius Malfoy?"

Rose felt a jolt go through her at the sound of his name, that godforsaken heat still spilling across her cheeks, and her body instinctively tensed itself in defense. Her eyes began to search the girl's opposite her, trying to discern something in them that might explain why Liv was willingly bringing him up with her. Was she about to rub it in her face, gleefully convey a litany of I told you so's? She had been right, after all.

He's gotten under your fucking skin, Weasley, hasn't he?

It was more than that now, Rose reflected softly, her stomach crushing. He was running through her veins, wringing out every thought that pulsed through her mind, the heaviest thing she could feel lodged in her chest, and he wasn't ever going away.

Rose looked at Liv then, and she finally saw something. It wasn't bitterness or glee in Liv's eyes, it was a brightness, an earnestness that she couldn't play down, and it was as clear as the day that was breaking around them: she was still in love with him.

At the sight, Rose felt the strangest feeling overcome her. It was as if a deeper part of her had awoken at that realisation, like the recognition of some kindred spirit taking form in the most surprising way.

She suddenly felt the urge to avert her eyes — something about Liv's gaze was too intense, too familiar — but she didn't, and she finally asked, her heart pounding with curiosity, "Is that how you feel after all these years? That falling for him was a mistake?"

Liv exhaled an amused breath, a ghost of a smile playing at her lips. "Maybe," she allowed quietly. But then, after a meaningful pause, she continued, "But what I meant was, you're still in love with him, aren't you?"

It wasn't a question; she didn't wait for Rose to answer before she said, "So why aren't you fighting for him?"

Rose's heart stopped. "W-what?" she asked after a long moment, her voice strained.

Liv continued to stare at her with those intense eyes, unfazed. "If you love him, why aren't you fighting for him?" she repeated emphatically.

A/N:

This chapter's been a heavy one to write, but I'm getting my writing butt in gear, and even though it's not going to be super soon, it's coming, I promise.