Chapter 8: Scars

Rose POV

That night, Scorpius and Rose had been assigned the owlry and herbology wing to survey. The only problem was that Rose couldn't find Scorpius anywhere.

Of course, it was just like him to make himself scarce when the actual duties came up. Rose had been briskly walking from the dorms, to the Prefect bathrooms, to the library, and amidst the classrooms, looking for him. Five minutes before their patrol was supposed to begin, she cursed under her breath and decided he wasn't going to show.

She stomped her way up the many flights of moving staircases to the highest tower in the castle; the owlery. Even from meters away she could smell the hay and droppings of the winged creatures. "Of course," she muttered to herself. "Stupid stinky Malfoy. Leaving me all alone to patrol the hallways. At night, not less. If only Tulis could see he doesn't actually give a rat's ass about me or any of the other Gryffindors."

"I don't, do I?" a deep voice called from behind her.

Sure enough, there was Scorpius, wearing his outdoor cloak, striding towards Rose with his jaw set to a firm, determined expression. The billows of his robes and cloaks trailed around him, and his perfectly ironed uniform looked striking against his pale skin. Roses breathed hitched in her throat, although she couldn't really explain why. It was the first time she had seen him looking actually…formidable?

"You really thought I was going to leave you to patrol the halls alone?" Scorpius barked a calm, humorless laugh.

"I bet if Tulis wouldn't find out, you would have." Rose quipped right back.

Scorpius' expression appeared as though he had eaten something extremely bitter. He stared at her, his arms crossed against his chest.

"Where have you been all afternoon, anyway? I was looking for you. And why are you wearing your outdoors cloak?" Rose demanded.

Scorpius' expression softened minutely. "You were looking for me?"

Rose scoffed. "Yeah, but don't let it go to your head. I just wanted to know if I should file a missing person's case."

Scorpius stepped towards her, only about a foot between them now. "Good to know my presence was missed."

Rose wrinkled her nose, the smell of freshly brewed Earl Grey sending her straight back to the memory of laying in Scorpius' bed as she recovered from the concussion. Desperate to close off the memories, she darted her eyes away from the tall boy and moved to keep walking down the corridor adjacent to the owelry. "We have to be going." She grumbled.

With an amused smirk, Scorpius caught up to her and perfectly matched her stride. The walked some paces in silence, the windows of the large owlery widening to the darkened sky. Soon, they had made their way around most of the area, and they continued on.

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't correct your misconceptions about me." Scorpius piped up after a moment.

Rose groaned. "Please, Malfoy, let's play the silent game."

He continued, as if Rose had said nothing at all. "I didn't pick you up and take you to my room the other day because I wanted the house points," he began. "And if you don't believe me, make Fred use one of his truth serums on me." he said solemnly.

Rose didn't say a word. The Malfoy boy was insane to try and explain this to her in any way that redeemed himself.

"Regardless of what has happened between us in the past, I hold no animosity towards you, Rose. I never have." his voice broke ever so slightly on the last word. Nice touch, Rose thought. He could have been a stage actor. "I did it because…well I wasn't really thinking, to tell you the truth. I heard you scream, and I knew you were in danger. And all of the sudden it wasn't about any of the arguments we've had. I needed to know you were okay, and I needed to help you. I picked you up, put you in my bed, and covered you so that no one would see you in those bedroom clothes. Then I immediately went and got help. Because I'll be honest, Rose," he laughed then, as if his own words were surprising to himself. "I was scared to death, thinking you had been hurt irreparably. I was struck with fear when I saw you, cold and unconscious, lying there."

This is what being manipulated must feel like, Rose thought. Because towards the end of his speech, hell, she could feel the genuine words dripping off of him. He felt so sincere. And what was worse, she wanted to believe them.

"I wonder who taught you to lie so well." she said, stopping in her tracks to face Scorpius. His eyes glowed at her, his deep steely gaze teeming with some unreadable emotion.

"I wonder why you can't accept who I am." He said quietly.

They strode on, the rest of their patrol in complete silence. Scorpius stared straight ahead the whole time, his body as rigid as a stone wall.

Rose couldn't help but feel nervous in his intimidating presence. Yet at the same time, she knew if another accident befell her, he would be there to rescue her again.

And maybe she was just about to tell him that, when their patrol was just about to end, and they were nearing the last corridor before their dormitories.

Walls of beautiful alcoves carved into the stone of the castle lined this stretch of hallways. Rose had always liked them, finding the intricate beauty of the carvings in the alcoves hauntingly gorgeous.

With a fluid sweep of motion, Scorpius had grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into the nearest alcove. Rose wanted to shout out in protestation, but she was too surprised to utter a sound. They were stuffed into the alcove together, so close that Rose's nose almost touched Scorpius' chest. He breathed deeply, staring down at her with intensity in his eyes that she had never seen before.

"Rose," he breathed, and Rose's voice was trapped in her throat. She should probably be screaming. Protesting. Something. But all her stupid head would tell her to do was look up at him, staring at his glistening lips as he licked them once. Scorpius stepped back momentarily, hesitating, as if he was on the verge of doing something stupid. Frozen to the spot where she stood, Rose couldn't tear her eyes away from him.

In a single moment, Scorpius was lifting up his shirt. He pulled it up all the way, exposing his beautifully cut chest. It was as porcelain as a doll's, yet as sculpted as a Greek god's.

The only thing breaking his beautiful chest from being completely perfect were the hard, angry scars slashed across his pectorals. The slashes moved down towards his abs, and even further. But before Rose could drink them all in with her eyes, Scorpius had quickly pulled his shirt down once more.

She looked into his eyes, but he was avoiding her gaze purposely. "When I was a child, the woods by our manor were dangerous. A pack of werewolves entered our territory, slashing me from hip to sternum when they found me. They had wanted to turn me…but feared the ire of my family once they realized I was a Malfoy. They left me for dead, bleeding out, on the cold forest floor."

She had never stopped looking at him. Cool awareness crept through her veins as she realized the purpose in him exposing those scars. "I never want anyone to be alone, in danger, with no one to help them." he said, as if mimicking the words in her head.

Although it was dark outside, the cool candlelight lit the alcove, and Rose could see Scorpius' moving away from the opening to let her pass. She stood still for a moment, and then left the alcove, headed down the corridor.

Shame sank into her stomach, deeply and transcendently. "Scorpius, I—"

He ignored her, walking fast enough so that he had long been shut into his room by the time Rose even approached his door. She sighed when she saw his shut bedroom, and moved to enter her own.

Perhaps Scorpius had truly meant to save her, had really truly cared, and had truly wanted to be her friend. That didn't mean that he hadn't also said horrible things about her. Perhaps he wasn't the manipulating monster she had made him out to be.

Scorpius POV

Damn it! He cursed himself for showing her that part of him. He replayed the moment of her realizing what the scars were, her eyes widening at the sight of the angry, red slashes across his chest. They weren't cool like the scars of an action star. They were rugged and had never healed completely. Something was poisonous about a werewolf's claw, in that even the healed skin never quite forgot about the transgression that was made.

Scorpius sighed deeply, now staring at himself in the mirror that was edged against the corner near his bookshelf. He had heard her say, "Scorpius, I–" but he couldn't bear to face her angerf again. Not after he had bared everything to her in that one naked moment.

He was a fool for trying to research her emotionally charged powers. What would he have even done with the information? She wouldn't listen to him anyway, even if he had found something useful. He stared at his own grey eyes, molten and shimmering like liquid mercury.

If his mother hadn't found him that day, he would be deep beneath the earth by now. Just a boy, barely 8 years old, his body would have been consumed by the fallen leaves and bubbling fungi of the forest.

Rose's POV

Rose dreamt that night. A strong, porcelain body grabbed her and held her in that alcove. She didn't fight it, and instead, curiously tasted what those lips had to offer.

She jerked herself from her bed, panting heavily as the cool sweat dripped from her forehead. A dull pain interceded along her abdomen. That had to be the explanation for this crazy dream, she thought, her damned period was getting ready to start.

And yet still, she felt a pleasurable pain from the dream. Deep within her, she knew she had experienced something when they kissed. She disregarded it, after all, it was only making the cramps resurface.

She heard the knocking of wood from the room next door, and wondered for a moment if she had cried out. No, it had just been Scorpius taking something off of his shelf…

Before too long, she was dressed and ready to head to breakfast. She opened her bedroom door, a little more than surprised to see Scorpius cooly leaning against his door…as if he was waiting for her. Her voice lodged in her throat.

"I don't have time for conversation, " he explained flatly. "Just heard you yell and thought I would wait a couple of minutes to see if you were alive."

Her mouth dry, she inched towards him. "And you would have done something if you thought me dead?"

A humorless smirk inched up onto his lips. "Depends on what mood I'm in."

Rose sighed. "Listen, about last night–"

"We can forget about it." Scorpius said, completely and utterly emotionless. "And we can forget about the friends deal, too, alright? A forced friendship isn't one at all."

Rose stared at him, for a moment at a loss for words. "You…you wanted it to be real?"

"Merlin, no!" he laughed.

Touche, Rose thought. She forced the next words out, her breath running out like word vomit at him. "I wanted to tell you I was sorry for not listening to you before."

Scorpius was staring at the ground, saying nothing.

"I was…I didn't know what to think of you. Clearly, as much as you hate me, you don't hate me enough to let me die. Which makes the whole…friendship arrangement more bearable for me."

"Good to know." He looked up at her, his gaze serious. "But I said forget it, alright?"

Without another word, Scorpius turned and left the Prefect dormitories, leaving Rose confused and standing in her spot. Thinking about what a friendship with Scorpius Malfoy would actually be like.