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Now on to the chapter!
Chapter 23
December 21st Saturday
~oOo~
Baby blue eyes blinked up at her sleepily for a moment before closing as a yawn took over the little face. A small button nose scrunched up before her facial expression relaxed and sleep seemed to take her once again. Her round baby cheeks were soft and rosy, making her look if possible even more adorable. The tuffs of hair that graced her head where white blonde, just a little lighter than her mothers. Everything from her button nose to her tiny feet was perfect and adorable and the feeling of the small bundle breathing in and out in a calm rhythm was both soothing and comforting.
Sitting on the large overstuffed couch with her little cousin sleeping peacefully in her arms and Hugo and Lily taking up space next to her, Rose sighed.
She loved this.
"Budge up."
Rose rolled her eyes and she was forced to scoot farther into the side of the couch to make room for Albus. With all of them crammed onto the couch that was really only supposed to fit three comfortably, it was a bit of a tight fit.
"Albus you're squishing me," Lily complained, scowling at her brother.
In response, Albus slouched down on the couch and threw his arms across the back, making himself comfortable.
"Shhh," Albus said, smirking, "you'll wake the baby."
Huffing indignantly Lily stood up from the couch, grabbed Hugo's arm and marched herself and a slightly protesting Hugo from the room.
With a contented sigh, Albus stretched out to lay down on the couch, his head resting right next to Rose, crossing his arms behind his head and putting his feet up on the armrest on the other end of the couch.
Rose shook her head, "you are horrible."
With his eyes closed, Albus smirked wider, "Nah, I'm just good at problem-solving."
Rose couldn't argue with that.
In her arms the baby shifted slightly, still sleeping soundly, her little fists clenching and unclenching in her sleep.
Rose smiled down at the little baby in her arms, moving her hand to readjust the blanket that held her.
"You're good with kids."
Moving her eyes away from Dora's sleeping face, Rose found Albus watching her with an odd expression.
Rose frowned, "I suppose. Why do you bring it up?"
Albus shrugged, "no reason, just an observation." But his strange expression didn't go away.
Before Rose could say anything to this she felt Scorpius's presence move closer and looked up to see him walking over.
"Your Grandfather is awesome but he can really talk a person's ear off."
Rose smirked. Scorpius had been on his way over to her when he had been stopped by her grandfather for a chat. That had been over fifteen minutes ago.
"He's just happy to see you," Rose answered, shifting the baby in her arms again.
She would never stop being surprised by how much her Grandfather liked Scorpius, it was almost comical seeing how her father had been sure he would hate the boy. But Arthur Weasley had liked Scorpius from the day he met him, which was something that used to bother Rose greatly. She had asked her mother about it once, why Grampa was so fond of Scorpius. Her mother had smiled slightly, a wistful nostalgic look in her eye.
"I think," she had said, "that Scorpius reminds him of your uncles."
Rose, being young at the time, had frowned, "Which ones?"
Hermione's expression was bittersweet, "I believe the way Albus and Scorpius get along reminds him of Fred and George."
Rose hadn't asked her mother again after that why her Grandfather liked Scorpius. She had only nodded and resolved to not be quite so upset with the attention he got.
She was drawn from her thoughts when Scorpius took a seat on the armrest next to her, his right arm draped against the back of the chair while he leaned over to look at the baby in her arms. This movement brought him very close to her, and she breathed in the wonderful smell of his cologne.
She found herself not wanting to ignore the way his shoulder was pressed against her own or the way his breath ghosted across her neck. Instead, she moved into him, shifting the baby and herself so he could see better, bringing herself closer to him so that her back was almost completely pressed against his chest.
Even without seeing his stupid happy grin Rose could feel that this made him happy, that her not pulling away from him had flooded him with a sense of hope. She didn't know if it was calm and peace being home, or if it was the words he had said to her under the light of those fireworks, or if it was just her relief that her rejection hadn't changed the ease between them but Rose found that instead of wanting to dash his hope, as she would have not long ago, she wanted to encourage it.
Rose leaned her head back against his shoulder as he moved his left arm to gently pull the blanket away from Dora's face, allowing him to see her better.
"She is adorable," he murmured as he watched her cuddle deeper into her blankets.
"She really is," Rose answered back just as softly, neither noticing Albus watching them, a little smirk playing on his lips.
~oOo~
Harry POV
Taking a sip of his juice Harry looked around the table, smiling slightly at the noisy happy conversations going on.
His eyes focused on Rose for a moment, his smile widened as she laughed and rolled her eyes at Scorpius. They seemed happy and well. Harry had talked to both of them before dinner and was pleased when they seemed alright. He had felt a weight lift from his shoulders knowing his niece was no longer suffering from the Bond.
He then turned his eyes to Albus, who was smirking at Lily, obviously teasing her for something. His eyes moved down the table, glancing at everyone for a moment before moving on.
After a moment his eyes fell on James, and he felt himself frown. The boy looked sad, his normal animated self was clouded in grey, his eyes looking almost unseeingly as he talked to Hugo. Harry made a mental note to pull him aside and see what was wrong before he left for Hogwarts again.
Then he looked over at Ron and Hermione, who sat side by side just across from him and he felt himself sadden. They looked miserable, even though they were trying to hide it.
Harry felt a familiar weight settle heavily on his shoulders as he watched them. Even if Ron hadn't talked to him about what had happened Harry would have known something was going on. The way the two sat, both trying hard not to touch the other as they ate and the way they were leaning away from each other ever so slightly spoke volumes to Harry.
He desperately wanted to do something to help, even though he knew there was nothing he could do. He missed the way things used to be, how easy and carefree it was when they had all just been friends. Yes, they had had their fights and bickerings, but there had never been this ice coldness that seemed to happen all too frequently now. While he knew it was selfish to think about himself when they were the ones going through so much heartache, he couldn't help it. He missed his friends. Yes he and Ron still talked every day, and most of the time he saw Hermione here and there, but it wasn't the same.
The connection and love that had been between them had seemed to grow stagnant and hard. They no longer sat at the kitchen counter in one or the other's house and talked late into the night about their lives and kids with a few drinks in hand. They no longer talked to each other about their problems or worries.
At times they barely seemed like friends.
When Ron and Hermione had first gotten together Harry had been relieved and happy for them, glad that the longing stares and wistful looks were now at an end. He had been glad that they had worked through things at last and had admitted their feelings for each other.
But then as the weeks turned into months and the months into slow years Harry had started to be less and less happy.
It had taken a while for the fighting to really start in earnest but once it did it never seemed to stop. Every time Harry talked to either of them they were in a fight about one thing or the other, never at peace.
Before long Harry grew weary of hearing about their problems with each other but what could he do? He had tried everything to help them but nothing seemed to work. They always ended up fighting again. And like clockwork here they were again, both looking very uncomfortable with being so close to each other, another fight pencilled into the books.
Harry sighed and went back to eating. In a perfect world, everyone at the table right then would be happy. In a perfect world, none of them would have ever felt pain.
~oOo~
Rose POV
It was late, everyone had started to head off the bed a while ago but Rose and Scorpius had decided to stay up later and talk to the adults for a little while.
They sat around the dimly lit fire, all with hot cocoa in hand, talking quietly.
Ron, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Vic and Teddy all sat around the pair, lounging on the couches and chairs in a sleepy manner.
Scorpius was talking at the moment, moving his free arm around as he explained to her father about something. Honestly, Rose had lost her interest in the conversation a while ago, opting instead to just lean back against the armrest of the chair and watch Scorpius, who didn't seem to mind the attention.
She loved the way the fire illuminated his features, always had. The warm light made his skin look sun-kissed and glowy, and his eyes seemed to dance in step with the flames. Before he had cut his hair she had looked at that too, the gentle fall of it and the warmth the fire brought to it. Even now, with it pushed back and shorter it was still mesmerizing to look at. She loved the way fire seemed to make it look like honey, bright and golden.
"Rose?"
Shaking her head Rose tore her eyes away from the strand of hair that always seemed to fall over onto Scorpius's forehead and back to the real world.
"Sorry what?" She asked, hoping her blush wasn't too noticeable in the dim lighting. She also ignored the smirk Vic was sending her.
It was her mother who shook her head and spoke, "I said you should probably head up to bed and get some rest. The next few days are going to be busy."
Rose tried to act like she hadn't been caught staring dreamily at Scorpius by straightening up in her seat and determinedly not looking at the smiling blonde next to her.
She cleared her throat, "yeah alright." Then stood quickly, her blush deepening because of the way her father was glancing between herself and Scorpius. "We'll just head up then. G'night."
She had taken only a few steps before her mother called out after her. "You're in the girl's room on the fourth floor and Scorpius is two doors down in the boy's room. Your things are already laid out for you."
Rose felt a frown pulling at her mouth as she turned to look at her parents. "What'd you mean? I thought we would have our own room."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Did you?"
Refusing to let her blush get the better of her Rose nodded. "Yes, like we have at Hogwarts. Its better for the bond."
Hermione sat up a little straighter. "You and Scorpius shared a room only because you needed too so that the bond was calm, now that it has become less demanding and you can both be separate for longer periods of time your father and I have decided that you can both have separate rooms." At the look on Rose's face, Hermione continued, "both here and at Hogwarts. We are going to send an owl to the Headmistress after the holidays."
Rose felt herself go a little cold and her heart started beating rapidly as a panic seemed to overtake her. She hadn't realized until it was threatened to be taken away how much she had grown to love having someone next to her at night.
She had taken the safety and comfort she felt for granted. Sharing a bed with Scorpius was once her worst nightmare, now the thought of not was quickly becoming her new one.
Her mind flashed for a second, imagining sleeping alone after everything that had happened. A deep painful ache started in her stomach at just the thought and she felt her breathe shortening.
She remembered how it had been just after the bond, her being so determined to sleep separately that she had caused herself and Scorpius painful and sleepless nights. The panic built as unbridled thoughts of when she had collapsed, of the terror and nightmares she had experienced flooded her mind, the utter panic she had felt when she had woken and Scorpius hadn't been there. The longing and ache that she had felt when he hadn't been by her side.
Without knowing it she had become to rely on Scorpius to keep all that terror and fear at bay. At night if she woke with a nightmare his arms were always around her and she had come to depend on that. When he was close she never had trouble sleeping, she never had to worry. Now that was being taken away from her and she didn't know what to do.
She felt in some part of her brain that she was being silly, that this wasn't that big of a deal. Her parents weren't saying that they couldn't be around each other at all, just that they had to sleep in separate rooms. It even made sense, they were still young kids. What parents would allow their daughter to sleep in the same bed as a teenage boy if they could help it?
But only a very small portion of her brain was thinking logically because the rest seemed to be overtaken by one thought.
She needed to stay with Scorpius.
Swallowing hard, Rose tried to think. She couldn't win this argument now. Trying to fight it would make her parents think she was a little too interested in sleeping in the same bed as Scorpius leading them to drastic measures of placing them on opposite sides of the house with shield charms between them.
Rose did the only thing she could do in that moment, she nodded, "alright." Her voice was strained. She looked over at Scorpius who looked as disturbed and worried as Rose felt, "night then."
And with that, she was marching up the stairs with Scorpius lagging behind her. The climb upstairs had never seemed longer. They didn't speak as they climbed, but Scorpius caught up to her around the third floor and his presence at her back up those last few steps calmed her more than any cups of steaming tea could have.
Rose stepped out onto the landing, her eyes were drawn to the hallway before her, dark and cold, stripes of moonlight filtering out of some of the cracked open doors. Her eyes darted from the closest door before following the line down to land on the fourth and last door.
Her heart rate that had slowed slightly on the trip upstairs started hammering again, making her feel slightly light-headed.
She couldn't do this.
"Hey," his voice was low and comforting as his warm hand slipped into her cold one, warming her skin at his touch.
Her eyes closed. This was something else she had taken for granted. Her hands had always been cold. But whenever Scorpius held her hand or stood close to her she could feel his warmth and it heated her cold skin.
She would be cold tonight.
Tears started to form unbidden in her eyes and she furiously wiped them away, trying to force herself to stop crying.
Don't be stupid Rose! She told herself angerly. You're not a crybaby, you don't cry over something like warm hands!
But in the next moment, Scorpius was moving in front of her and it was his thumb that gently wiped away her tears. One hand still held hers and one cupping her slightly wet face he smiled. "It will be ok," he said gently and Rose was glad that he wasn't mocking her for being so emotional, "I'll be just two doors away. We can deal with this. And if it's as bad as we both fear we will discuss it with them in the morning." His gaze was calm and understanding, "okay?"
Rose stared up into his stormy eyes and felt her fears melt away just a little. She still wasn't sure if she was going to be okay, but with him looking at her like that she felt that maybe it was possible. "Okay."
His thumb ran gently over the back of her hand in a slow soothing pattern. For some reason, they weren't moving, both just standing there looking at each other. Rose found herself focusing on the heartbeat that was always present at the back of her mind. Listening as it beat steadily on. But it seemed to be changing, speeding up the longer they stayed there.
Rose noticed how close they were standing, how he was just a breath away. The air around them seemed to change, become charged with a strange tension. Rose felt butterflies erupt in her stomach as Scorpius's eyes dilated, his heartbeat increasing still.
Something was happening the longer they stood there looking at each other. It was like a pull and all Rose wanted to do was to step closer to him, and without realizing what she was thinking her eyes drifted down to his lips.
She wanted to kiss him.
At that moment Rose knew without a doubt that she wanted to kiss Scorpius Malfoy. Her whole being seemed to focus in on that thought. She stopped thinking, stopped analyzing, stopped worrying. She just felt.
Rose moved forward, closing the small distance between them. She pushed herself up a bit, bringing her face closer to his then it had ever been. Rose looked up into his dilated eyes before back to his lips. And then she was moving forward. Just before their lips touched, Scorpius pulled back a bit, his eyes serious.
She froze. Scorpius pulling away had been like a bucket of ice water being poured over her head. Her thoughts whirled back into gear and she kinda just stood there, not sure what to think or do. She was confused, then humiliated, and everything in between. But one thought seemed to push all that aside.
He didn't want to kiss her. She had been about to kiss him and he had pulled away.
Hearing her thoughts Scorpius shook his head, eyes focused. "You're emotional," he whispered. His thumb stroked over her cheek as he looked at her. "You're not thinking right. You don't want to be alone tonight and you're trying to find some form of comfort."
"I'm not-" but her words were cut off by another shake of the head.
He was smiling now, looking at her like she was a whole new person. "Rose Weasley," he said with a smirk unlike any she had ever seen, "when I kiss you for the first time it's not going to because one of us is emotional or because we are too tired to think straight. It's going to be because we both want to more than anything else. And because we are both sure of our feelings."
Rose found she suddenly couldn't look him in the eyes. But a gentle nudge of his hand forced her too.
"Look at me," her eyes met his again, "I know you're still unsure of how you feel and that's alright. I can wait. But don't try and kiss me if you're still not sure. If things don't work out and you never have feelings for me I want to part ways as cleanly as possible and the only way to do that is if we stay friends and nothing else until you're positive of how you feel. I don't want to get hurt here Rose, or at least as little as possible. I'm respecting you by giving you time, I need you to respect me by not making any moves until you know you want me. Can you do that?"
Swallowing a lump that had formed in her throat Rose nodded, feeling guilty for many things. "I can. I promise I won't try that again."
Scorpius shook his head again, moving his head forward until his mouth was by her ear. "You mistake me, Weasley, I want you to try that again and hopefully next time I can kiss you back. Because once I start, I don't think I'll ever be able to stop. And I don't think you'll want me too."
Rose thought her legs might give out as he pulled back, raised the hand he was still holding and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, his eyes sparkling in the dim light before he was turning with a smirk and heading off down the hall, leaving a flustered and slightly confused Rose in his wake.
~oOo~
Finally, they are starting to get somewhere. I hope you guys liked this chapter as much as I did. There is going to be a lot of drama and suspense in the next few chapters. So enjoy the sweet moments while they last ;D
I usually don't do endnotes but I wanted to say a quick word. If you love this story and this chapter please leave a review. We are so close to 150 REVIEWS. This is so crazy to me and I am SO Grateful to all of you who have left me your thoughts. You guys mean the world to me.
Anyway, I'll stop rambling.
See you next time,
Cara
