Hope this chapter was worth the wait. Please review and thanks for reading! All Harry Potter themed characters, ideas, and other subjects belong to JK Rowling.


As the holidays got closer, Parker was all over Rose.

At first, she didn't really get it, but Albus was quick to notice though.

"Isn't it a little bit crazy that Parker is exactly where you are at all times Rose?" Albus said, as the lot of them ate dinner one night in November.

Rose chewed thoughtfully, "No not really, I mean he's around when I want him to be, and he's been hanging out with all of us, which isn't the end of the world is it? We always have a big group anyways."

"Does it not get…annoying?" Albus said, not without reason.

It was true, everyone in her family thought that. It wasn't really annoying at first, but eventually, he was everywhere, and they couldn't shake him off. They couldn't really blame him though; he was just really excited and always had so much to say.

One afternoon, Albus and the Gryffindor Quidditch team had rented out the Quidditch pitch and were trying out a new strategy they were planning on using against Hufflepuff. While they tried to shake Parker off before practice, he ended up at the field with them. He was interested in Quidditch, no doubt, but was not very good at flying. Parker was quick to help out with bringing equipment and refilling water, and also discussed strategy (from the books that he's read), but he was also a Hufflepuff, which made the rest of the team uneasy.

Eventually, Parker left to the library to finish an assignment. Sure, he didn't say anything to the Hufflepuff team, but Albus was sure not to tell Parker when their next practice was.

Parker wasn't a difficult person to have around, and he was quite nice and informative, but it just felt forced. He seemed to be more interested in those around him, than they were of him, mostly because they felt he was very "easy" to sway. His personality seemed to reflect those around him, which wasn't a big deal, but he really didn't seem to have anything he truly liked, for himself, other than Rose.

Rose and Parker's relationship was going swiftly. For some reason, Parker wasn't like that around Rose. He was just himself, and all the things he liked to talk about, and Rose loved that about him, which was why when Albus brought this up to Rose one morning during Herbology, Rose scrunched her nose and refused to listen.

"You just don't like him Al," Rose said defensively, "He hasn't done anything wrong to you has he?"

"No," Albus retorted, "But I just don't see why you like him so much."

"He's sweet and good to me, he has manners, he knows when to take things seriously, and he's smart and caring," Rose said, listing a few things off of her fingers, "Oh, and one more thing, he isn't suspicious or wary of you or anyone else!"

Albus sighs in defeat, seeing no point in pushing further. He never brought it up again.

Rose first noticed what Albus was talking about when Parker came with her to the Astronomy tower to finish an assignment.

"I'll meet with you afterwards, okay?" Rose said, as she rushed to pack all of her things. Her assignment specifically said to be at the Astronomy Tower at 7:30 and it was already 7:27. She was going to be late.

"Can I come with you?" Parker asked, excitedly, "What will you be looking at?"

"No idea," Rose said quickly, "And is it okay if I go by myself? I really need to focus tonight; we only have this timeslot to complete it."

"Okay," Parker says, frowning slightly, "You'll be alright, yeah?"

"Yes," Rose said, giving him a quick kiss, "I'll be back soon!"

"I'll be here waiting for you!" Parker said, pulling out a book.

As Rose focused on her Astronomy assignment, she couldn't help but wonder what Parker was doing. Was he really going to wait until she got back? Does he have nothing else to do?

She really didn't mind, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that he really didn't hang out with anyone else but her. The more she thought about it, the more she didn't like that one bit.

"So you think that Parker is obsessed with me," Rose asks one night in early December, her roommates listening intently.

"YES," they all say in various tones. Penny was rambling, and Naomi and Casey were conversing about the time they found Parker sitting in the common room waiting for Rose so that they could walk to class in the morning.

"Okay, one at a time," Rose says, eager to listen. Truthfully, she's been thinking about it for weeks. They definitely need a break.

As Rose listened to her roommates, she contemplated how to bring this up to Parker. She wondered if he knew, and was consciously doing all this, but she definitely did not want to hurt him. This was his first real relationship too.

The next morning, she met Parker near the lake. They had a nice lunch together and talked for a while. She felt confident that he would understand where she was coming from, and she was right. He just wasn't right for her, and he deserved to know.

"I'm sorry I made you feel that way, Rose," Parker said, slightly embarrassed.

"That's okay," she reassured him, "I don't really know what I'm doing either, this is still really new."

"To be honest, I think I'm always gonna be a bit like that, y'know," he said, picking at the bits of wood off of the table that they were seated at, "Mama always said that I would make a girl really happy someday."

Rose smiled, "Yeah, I know what she means. I'm sorry it didn't work that way."

Parker smiled, tints of pink spreading across his cheeks, "It's okay, I understand."

"But you know, if it's any consolation, your mother should be extremely proud of you," Rose continued, "There aren't many boys like you anymore."

Parker glanced upwards, and smiled his boyish grin, before standing up. It was quite contagious really; Rose couldn't help but smile herself too, "Friends?"

"Of course," Rose said sweetly, grabbing her things from the table, "You know I'll be here for you anytime, if you need me."

"Oh one last thing Rose," Parker said, almost as if he had forgotten until now, "Do you…feel anything for me? A spark or anything like that at all?"

Rose blushed and thought for a moment, before pulling towards him for a kiss. It was sweet, but that was it. A nice normal kiss. She then shook her head, "No, I suppose, not really anymore."

Parker nodded slowly, before licking his lips, "I think, that a part of me knew that I was losing you, but I tried to see if I could change your mind, y'know? Went pretty overkill though, hey?"

"Yeah," Rose said smiling, understanding completely, "I know."

"Well, thank you for the most enlightening conversation, Miss Rose Weasley," Parker said, as he took a bow, "I hope to see you soon."

"Thank you, Parker Landerwick, for the most distinguished of breakups," Rose added, "And for not making me feel like an arse."

"Thank you for setting me free."


For the next few weeks, Rose had never felt freer in her life. Soon, however, that free time disappeared right in her schedule. She had no idea how she used to have time to date anyone. Class time took up her mornings and afternoons, and evenings were for dinner and studying. Christmas at Hogwarts was a fascinating scene, and as exciting as it was, nearly all of her classes had assignments due right before the break. The only time she saw her family was during lunch and dinner, where they would mostly complain about the work that they had to do. Then they would study, sometimes in their respective common room, other times in the library, but not all of them were as studious as she was.

For instance, Fred was in his last year at Hogwarts, and at this point, he really wasn't having it anymore. It was going to be his last Christmas here, and he was going to make it count. Him and his friends had come up with a "Countdown to Christmas" event that got the whole school buzzing. Essentially, it was a month-long prank, in which for everyday of December until break, they would hide items or things in the castle, amounting the date of the month. For December 12th, they hid 12 free gift packages from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes all around the castle for students to find, which of course, led to mayhem. There was a whole new line, inspired by Fred and his friends, to which George Weasley happily complied.

Rose's brother, Hugo, had just gotten a girlfriend, much to Rose's dismay. Hugo was absolutely smitten with her, and Rose had caught him with his tongue down her throat once on her way to Potions. She didn't speak to him for a week after that, and only after Hugo had brought her sweets from Hogsmeade did she talk to him again. No older sister wants to see her younger brother getting more action than her (at least that was what Dominique said, when Rose wrote to her asking for advice). He definitely wasn't getting much studying done at all.

Rose didn't see much of Albus at all. They seemed to miss each other all the time, and their schedules never matched up. She'd have to catch up with him over the holidays. Right now, she had to focus on getting everything done before she could relax.

It was a long night at the library. With the holidays in a week, Rose felt more alone than ever. She rarely had time to spend with anyone, never mind the time to think about the whole thing that happened with Parker. There was so much work to be done before the break and Rose was in the zone (unlike some of her other family members). Nobody could pull her away from her books.

She stretched on her chair and stood up. It was quiet and she was positive she and Madame Pince were the only ones there. Still, the library was massive and she couldn't be sure. Grabbing the books she borrowed, she proceeded to return them to their original locations. With her head down, she walked briskly to the next aisle, running into something solid. Someone.

Before she had the chance to fall, a hand found its way onto her back.

Scorpius Malfoy's hand.

"Gotcha," he says, pulling her upright and removing his hand from her as soon as he could. He didn't want it to seem rude but touching her seemed to burn him.

Rose reached down to grab the fallen book and tucked her escaping red curls behind her ear. She wasn't sure what was redder at this point, her face or her hair.

"Scorpius!" Madame Pince's shouts bounced off the library walls, "Did you find the book you needed dear?"

"Uh, yeah," he says, raising his voice, "Thank you."

She hadn't realized how much she missed hearing his voice. She couldn't even believe that she was saying that. Every time they had class together, she would pretend to be mad at him. He wouldn't talk to her, and she wouldn't ask him for help with anything. She got a new notebook and remembered as much as she could by memory. She asked Lysander to fill her in when she couldn't remember. She didn't even ask Malfoy if he saw it or if he picked it up. She didn't need him, and she made sure that he knew it.

But oh Merlin did she miss his voice. They really didn't talk much at all, but when they did, and suddenly didn't anymore, she didn't realize until now how gorgeous he sounded. Granted, she was dating Parker for the better part of these past few months. Still, she saw him in their shared classes, but truthfully, she missed being able to talk to him. Or even silently interact with him. There was something so natural and normal about being with him, she couldn't place it at all. It was a warm feeling, a safe feeling, something she never really felt with anyone else.

Roughly a month had passed since Scorpius had asked for a new partner. Rose had moved on. She simply pretended not to care. Scorpius had tried to apologize once, but she looked at him blankly, asked him to gather some spider legs, and left it at that. He never tried again. Since then, he has radiated her energy back to her.

Scorpius had started to avoid her. She started noticing. He was never where she was, and that was okay. She needed to get him out of her mind, and it worked.

Scorpius, on the other hand, was also fine. He was frustrated as to why she was so stubborn and wouldn't even take her apology. He was so frustrated in fact, he decided that he wouldn't give her notebook back until she asked. That didn't work out very well, as he held onto it for months and she never said more than she needed to him. He wondered how long she would hold that against him, and he started to think that it would be forever.

Albus only brought this up to Scorpius once, but dropped it afterwards. After all, Al was Rose's cousin, and he really couldn't say anything to him about her. It wasn't fair for Al to be stuck in the middle, and she would always be family. It sucked not having his best friend to talk to, but Scorpius felt it was better this way. Al decided that it was no use really to bring it up again. If Scorpius didn't want to talk about it, Scorpius wouldn't. He really couldn't be pushed to do anything he didn't want to.

So, Scorpius moved on. He started talking to Naomi, and for once, women seemed to make sense. Naomi was very realistic, and honest with him, and he really appreciated her for that. He didn't need someone like Rose Weasley anyway.

One evening, mid-October, dinner had just finished. People were clearing the Hall, and students were mingling between tables. Scorpius had come to sit with the Weasleys and the Potters. Candace was there, and so were the Scamander twins, but Elaine had head duties. Everyone else had headed their own separate ways. All who remained at the table were Rose, Albus, and James. James sat sulkily in the middle of the table, zoning out on the conversations around him. Rose found herself doing very much the same, although she had her Astronomy textbook open. She was quite tired from a long day but continued to read as best she could. Parker had gotten back to his dorm early as he promised his roommates a board game night.

Albus, having noticed the situation, called for a plan. In hopes that his best friends would sort it out, those who were present and listening agreed to help. James had fallen asleep on his arms, so as to not wake him, Candace and Albus left the table, stating that they were going for a walk, followed by the Scamanders, who said they were going to meet up with some others in their common room.

Scorpius, having nowhere else to be at the moment, got up and started heading for the door. It was a little while before Rose realized that she had been reading by herself and a sleeping James. She gently woke James up and helped him to his feet. They walked to the Gryffindor entrance together, and she bid him goodnight. Despite desperately wanting to go to bed, something in her told her that she should take a walk around the castle before curfew. It was nice and quiet, which was lovely, and only a few students were out and about. Hogwarts was so crowded sometimes, she rarely got to see it like this. The hallways were magnificent, but often so busy that she didn't really get a chance to appreciate it. Walking with her Astronomy textbook in hand, she continued to the stairs, where hundreds of portraits were whispering and conversing.

She liked listening to the hum of the people residing in the portraits. Rose believed that Muggles probably liked art museums for the same reason, although their art did not move. It was for the better, probably, some of the portrait residents were quite rude.

She continued to walk, turning the corner towards the Gryffindor entrance. In the distance, she could see Al had just finished talking to what looked like Scorpius, and he was walking this way. She couldn't avoid him this time.

"Good evening, Weasley," Scorpius says coolly, as she approaches him.

"Malfoy," she said courtly, trying to keep their conversation as short as possible.

"You look extremely tired today," he says, "Has Landerwick been keeping you up?

Rose's cheeks got warm, "None of your business, Malfoy."

"Sometimes I wonder who you really are, Rose Weasley," Scorpius says, "I don't understand you at all."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rose retorts.

Scorpius steps forwards. She steps back.

"How is it that you can meet my eyes the way that you do but resent me anyway?" he asks.

"What do you mean?" Rose replies, flustered, "I don't even look at you."

"Oh come on Rose," he says, softly, "You really don't know what I mean?"

He reaches for her arm. His fingers are cold against her warm skin. She remembers this. This feeling is familiar to her.

She couldn't pretend to ignore his stare, or the way that he looked. She couldn't pretend to hate him very well either. He drops her arm, before stepping aside.

Rose rubs her hands against her arms. It was getting a bit cold.

"Are you cold?" he asks, slipping his sweater off of his head, "Here, take this."

Before she could say anything, he was slipping his sweater over her head. It was quite big, so her arms were still crossed. Reluctantly, she unfolded her arms and put them through the arm holes.

It smelled just like he did, and it calmed her and ignited her simultaneously. Her cheeks immediately reddened at the thought of wearing his sweater, and he ran his hands through his hair to put it back into place.

"Goodnight, Weasley," he whispered, before walking away, "Don't keep it for too long."

The next morning, she threw his sweater at Albus's head. She and Albus were walking to breakfast together.

"No questions asked," she said, before breaking off towards her friends.

Albus's eyes widened. Folding the sweater neatly into his bag, he promised himself that he wouldn't bring it up, despite the millions of questions that were filling his head at that moment. After all, Rose had a "no questions asked" on him too.

Thinking about his scent brought back that night at the Burrow, when he kissed her. That seemed like a lifetime ago. He really seemed to…care about her. She was reminded of her clumsiness, and how he caught her, and the way he looked at her - how he really looked at her.

She had missed it. His voice felt like music to her ears. Like revisiting a song that you weren't quite sure about and finding yourself enjoying it. For as long as she could remember, he had been around her and her family. It was like one of those things you didn't quite pay attention to, but find yourself missing it when it's gone.

Scorpius's eyes trail over to the book that Rose was holding.

"Do you mind if I have that?" he asks, gesturing to the book. She felt a funny sensation in her knees, and then in her chest when she realized he was looking at her, in the same time-stopping way that he does.

"Sure," is all she can manage. Suddenly, it's as if her lungs had a mind of its own. It was becoming very stuffy in the empty aisles. She really didn't understand why he made her feel this way, but then again, she never did quite understand their relationship or why it was so different now.

She holds out the book with one arm, the other arm rested at her side. She felt very open, vulnerable even. He takes it, pulling her closer before she got the chance to let go.

"I have your notebook," he whispers into her ear. There was no need for whispering but at that moment, nothing else made more sense to her.

"I – I was hoping someone picked it up," she says, willing herself to not sound so nervous. She was of course, nervous as ever. Why was he so close to her? Why did she like this? This was all wrong, this thing going on between them. She never felt this way with Parker. It was much calmer, and calm was what she needed. Not this, this frantic beating in her chest.

"That's what partners are for, right?" he says, pulling away with a small smile. Goodness gracious who would have known that the most beautiful smile in the entire world belonged to a boy who rarely showed any emotion at all? This was what she lived for, she thought to herself. This was the one thing that nobody could take from her. But why, why did it have to be him?

It was interesting to say the least. She really didn't care much about him at all before, but there was something about making him smile that made her feel special. Like she was the only one in the world who could do that.

Something definitely changed between them. But what?

"Thanks," she mumbles. Her hands were trembling, and she didn't know what to do with them.

"Are you good?" he asks, before stepping away from her. Suddenly, she was cold.

"I was – I mean, I'm good, yeah," she says, laughing a little. If she didn't laugh, she was going to cry. She bet he enjoyed seeing her flustered like this. Who wouldn't enjoy seeing their competition as agitated as she was?

"Okay, uh," he says, before gesturing to the front of the library, "Your notebook is in my bag. I'll go grab it."

She nods swiftly, returning to her own belongings in a hurry. This was not good at all. Betrayal, that's what it is, to herself. Albus, however, he was going to jump through the roof.

She felt like saying something, anything. The walk back to the front of the library felt longer than usual.

"Has my notebook been in your bag all this time?" she asks when he returns, hoping it wasn't too upfront.

"Yeah," he says, running his hands through his hair before rubbing his hands together, "I wasn't sure when I was going to get a chance to give it back to you because I wanted to, but you looked fine without it. In the end though, it was just me being stubborn. Sorry."

She grinned at him. Meaningless. To him, it was pure heaven. He had finally managed to crack a smile from her, and she was directing it at him. Him!

He smiled back at her. They stood silently for a little bit, while she packed up her things. Her hair had grown out quite a bit. Tonight, the front parts were tied up and pinned against the back of her head. He could see her ears, which were turning red. He didn't know how long he was staring for.

She looks up, after putting her notebook back into her bag, feeling utterly undressed by his eyes.

"What?" she says, blushing profusely. Her foot catches the leg of the table, as she steps back, but she catches herself.

"Nothing," he says, his playful charm coming out, "Whenever we meet, I end up catching you."

"I'm pretty clumsy," she says, replying back before her brain could process what he said. Talking to him had suddenly become the easiest thing in the world. She didn't know why they didn't talk much before. But then again, they were never alone. Were they really quiet before?

"Yeah, something like that," he says, winking at her.

She yawned. A cute little gesture to show she was beyond exhausted, but still, she was here with him. That made his day, his night, and his week even.

"I should go," she says. She really doesn't want to. She hoped he wanted her to stay enough to stop her, and she really really hoped that he would sweep her off her feet and snog her until she couldn't breathe. His lips were irresistible.

Jesus Rose. You really ought to stop that. One minute you ignore him and pretend he doesn't exist, and the next you're thinking about things like that. Get a hold of yourself!

He wanted to respect her, but he undeniably wanted to pin her on the shelves like the masterpiece she was and get to know her better in the best way possible. He didn't know when he started feeling that way towards her, but he knew that he really liked being with her, and that looking at her was doing his eyes a favour. He knew what he had to do though.

"Have a good night," he says, desperate to leave first. If she left first, he was bound to chase her down and stop her from going. But what would he do then? Say goodbye and then go back to not talking again? He wasn't sure what things were going to be like with her, but at least she wasn't ignoring him anymore. It was late and he was probably sound asleep on a normal night, but he wasn't tired at all. In fact, he was glad he decided to get the book for his project early instead of getting the sleep that he knew he needed. It felt like ten hours of sleep anyway, a couple of minutes with her.

How could anyone look that gorgeous with his bag slung around his body and his messily neat uniform? His tie was loose; she noticed him untying it a little bit when they were walking. She noticed his hands of course. It was possibly the first thing she noticed about boys. First it was their height. She wasn't a short girl at all, and it was hard to find boys who were the ideal height in comparison to her. She didn't have to worry about him, though. She didn't have to worry about anything. He was perfect. Fuck.

It didn't work for him. It really didn't. The moment he left he was going insane, he had no idea why he liked being around her so much. She was there and she wasn't running away. She wasn't scared. He was. He couldn't believe it when his legs turned around and started walking back to the library. This was beyond fear. It was the start of something new, for both of them.

Immediately after he left, she was lost. She used to have everything in order. She knew what she was doing. This, this was something different altogether. She had no idea where this was going but she knew one thing. It was wrong. All of it. For the longest time all she could think about was how much he frustrated her, and how she wanted nothing to do with him. Why the sudden change? Just because he looked at you with those eyes? Touched you with his hands? Kissed you with those lips? That is sad even for you, Rose.

They ran into each other again. He held on to her this time, pushing her against the wall. Her back was flat, her arms held on either side of her body, their hands interlocked. It was something new, but it felt like they had been doing this forever. His lips were on hers quick, but slow. It was all so soft, so subtle. He was kissing her, and she was kissing him back. She was completely thrown off of her axis and she was spinning. Spinning so fast she would fall if he weren't holding onto her as tightly as he was. He was really gorgeous. He was all over her and she couldn't escape - apples, grass, blond hair, grey eyes, soft lips, strong hands, and a mess of emotions. She wanted him to be closer, and he couldn't get close enough.

All Scorpius could think about was why he took this long to get here. Why didn't he kiss her that night at the Burrow in front of her family and their friends? Why didn't he listen to Albus? If he knew he would be able to feel like this, he would have given anything to have kissed her sooner.

Breathing became a second thought. He let her go at some point, but her hand was at the back of his neck now, stopping him from pulling away too far. He took her hand in his and rested his forehead on hers. They breathed together; eyes closed. None of them dared spoke first, for it would take this moment from them, their moment. It would be too real. He could tell she wanted to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to hear it.

"Don't," he says softly, putting a finger on her lips. She smiled and kissed it. He couldn't help but look at her, in all her glory, right here with him. He had never been happier in his whole life. He kissed her forehead.

She was senseless. This was so intimate. She wanted to kiss him again, everywhere. His forehead, his hair, his neck, all of him. She was never driven like this before with Parker. All this time he had felt like what she wanted, what she thought she needed and known, but she was blind. After this…after, oh goodness. After was going to bring her down. It was all going to fall apart. All that she's built up, she was going to give it all away for a few more minutes with the boy she could care less about a few years ago. But things could change. A lot could change in a few years. Was she willing to give it all? Rose Weasley, for once in her life, had no idea what was going to happen after this, and she had no plans.

She really only had one plan: avoid Scorpius Malfoy, ignore Scorpius Malfoy. It was silly really, just something that was always in the back of her mind. But she built her life around that, competing with him, ignoring him, pretending that he annoyed her.

But she was going to be alright. Her whole world was turned upside down, but it never felt more right.

Because this boy was probably going to mean a lot to her. Make her life exciting. He was probably going to fuck it up too and her friendship with Albus might take a hit if he finds out, but she's ready. For the first time in her life, she was going to let go. She was the only one stopping herself, but she wasn't going to this time.

It felt like breaking the rules. Every single rule she ever had for herself. But she was thinking outside the box. Curving off the tracks. And it was wonderful.


Madame Pince slipped away silently away from the teenagers, smiling to herself. The library was a place like any other, but it would be their place.


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