Hello everyone! Thanks so much for tuning in again. I've decided that I would like to bring more flashbacks into this story so the events that happen in present time aren't as choppy as I think they are.

This chapter is a little bit all over the place, but I hope that it can still be followed. Let me know what you think.

The song at the end of the chapter, at least in my head anyways, is Sunflower by Rex Orange County. You can imagine any song you'd like!


Scorpius remembered the first time he saw Rose Weasley. It wasn't that exciting at all, and there was nothing really to it. He had just met Al a couple days prior at Diagon Alley. It was one of those rare moments that Al didn't have every relative of his around him, which meant that their first encounter was one of the purest memories that Scorpius had of him and Al.

Scorpius had just walked into Flourish and Blotts to get his books for his first year at Hogwarts. His mum had sent him in quickly to start looking around, as a distraction. As Scorpius would find out later, they had gone to Broomstix to buy him the newest broomstick in the market for Christmas.

Scorpius had maybe been in there for about a minute before he noticed someone trying to carry as many books as he or she possibly could. Scorpius couldn't even see the person behind the stacks, but he could tell that the person wasn't doing very well. A few books had already dropped to the ground, revealing a small boy, with lighter brown, nearly blond hair. Scorpius had the urge to go introduce himself but was slightly worried at the thought. The boy seemed to be frustrated, and Scorpius didn't want this to blow up in front of his face. Curiosity, however, got the best of him.

"Hi," Scorpius said, approaching the boy shyly.

The boy didn't respond, which put a slight tinge of red on his cheeks as he tried again.

"Hello," he said louder this time, which startled the boy.

The boy put down the remainder of the books in his hands, before dusting them on his pants. He was most definitely sweating, and Scorpius was extremely curious.

"What are you doing?" Scorpius asked.

"My brother, James, sent me in to grab his books while he caught up with some friends for ice cream," the boy said, exasperated, "I'm trying to find my books now, but I really can't carry all of this by myself."

Scorpius felt a grin form on his face. This boy seemed nice, but he found himself wondering what this boy's brother was like.

"What's your name?" Scorpius asked.

The boy looked at him and smiled, extending his hand out, "My name is Albus Severus Potter. Al is what my friends call me."

"Al," Scorpius said softly, shaking Al's hand, "I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

"Oh, your dad is Draco Malfoy, right," Al said, confidently, "I've heard about him from my parents."

Scorpius sighed, wondering where this conversation would go. It usually goes one of two ways, but he really hoped that Al wouldn't be one of those people.

"Yeah, I overheard my parents talking about when you would show up at Hogwarts," Al said, smiling, "It's nice to meet you at last."

Scorpius grinned widely, "Do you want help carrying your books?"

Al's eyes lit up, "That would be so great! But we can't tell James, okay? I want him to think that I did this all by myself."

Scorpius nodded and laughed, "In that case, I'm not even here."

By the time the boys had got all the books to the counter, Harry and Ginny Potter entered the store, James in hand (or ear, in this case).

"James told us that you went ahead and decided to get his books for him," Ginny said promptly to Al, "How nice of you Albus!"

Al smiled mischievously at James, whose ear was turning red through his mum's fingers, "Yes Mum! I did it all by myself."

Scorpius laughed from behind Al, which caught both Harry and Ginny's attention, "Who's that behind you Albus?"

Scorpius stepped out from behind Al, before greeting them, "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Potter, my name is Scorpius Malfoy."

Harry and Ginny smiled warmly at each other. James had wriggled free and was now roaming the store. They both then turned to face Scorpius, "Nice to meet you Scorpius, where are Mum and Dad?"

"They asked me to come and take a look first, they will be here soon," Scorpius said confidently.

Scorpius was really excited to introduce his parents to Al. Al was, of course, the son of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, who he had heard a bit about from his parents. They were sure to teach him about the war and were honest about their family history to him. Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass had come a long way and were determined to be clear and straightforward to Scorpius about everything. Scorpius had no doubt at all that his parents are good people, for they had loved him, and had given him everything he could have ever wanted. While he had some trouble making friends at school because of how shy and offish he was, he always had his family to come home to. The Malfoys weren't touchy or emotional by any means, but Scorpius never felt that he couldn't talk to his Mum or Dad about his problems or issues, which is all he could have ever asked for in parents.

From that moment forward, Al had been Scorpius's best friend. It was a sort of unspoken thing between the two of them, and Scorpius was grateful for Al's presence. Gradually, Scorpius had met the rest of Al's family. It took Scorpius forever to sort everyone else in Al's family out, but he was extremely excited to have so many friends. Even though he and Al were sorted in different houses, Al's family had never blinked twice to their friendship. This was, of course, all except for Rose Weasley.

Rose was skeptical and wary. This, however, actually had nothing to do with Scorpius's family background at all. Rose was simply jealous. Since birth, Al had been her best friend, and her best cousin. They did everything together, and when Scorpius came into Al's life in their first year, Rose was extremely possessive. Suddenly, Al was spending a lot of time with Scorpius, and they had a bond between boys that Rose simply didn't with Al. Rose had tried, for the longest time in first year, to get along with Scorpius, but every time she got close, she retreated. He was foreign, and it took her nearly a year to accept the fact that he wasn't going to be a phase.

So, when first year ended, and she had finally been able to talk to Al again without Scorpius, she was elated. Almost everything was perfect again, except that Al had changed a bit. She didn't really understand how or what happened, but she was too excited to have her best friend back that she didn't care. That was, until Scorpius started showing up to family events.

Albus's birthday was in July, just as his dad's was. It was a big deal, and his family was not holding back. Harry had invited nearly all of his friends, and their children, and Albus was allowed to invite anyone from school that he wanted to. Grandma and Grandpa Weasley were exhilarated to host. The Burrow, of course, had gotten its upgrades. It was still the same homey place, but it had expanded to the size of a small apartment complex. Grandma and Grandpa Weasley were not big on sending people home after one of their parties; they simply insisted that everyone have the grandest of times and worry about getting home the morning after.

Al of course, invited Scorpius, much to Rose's dismay. Ron and Hermione Granger-Weasley had noticed that their daughter was devastated but had no idea why. It was her best friend's birthday, what could she possibly be upset about?

Scorpius, however, was near perfect. Ron and Hermione were doubtful at first but were extremely impressed at how well Scorpius had got along with everyone. He seemed to fit right in, which frustrated Rose deeply. However, as Scorpius started to show up more and more to their family events, she was starting to admit to herself how fun he was. All she needed was time, and she was getting lots of it. However, she was never going to admit it to him.

So, for two years after that, Rose had come to terms with her frustration and jealousy regarding Scorpius. She realized that she could still be best friends with Al, and he was always going to be her cousin. Scorpius, however, was also going to be Al's best friend, and if he made Al happy, then she could be happy (tolerable, anyway) too. However, she couldn't stand how competitive her, and Scorpius were getting. She was always finishing behind him, and it drove her mad, as if she needed another reason to dislike him.

At the beginning of fourth year though, things started to change with Scorpius. Now that he was old enough, (at least that's what everyone else at Hogwarts thought anyway), the tough questions were coming his way. Of course, the students at Hogwarts were extremely interested in his family's activities during the comeback of Voldemort, and he was surprised, and almost hurt. For three years, he had been relatively free to be his own person, but he knew eventually that this would come. While most of the questions and gossips were tame, some of the accusations and rumours hit Scorpius hard. Did his dad force his mum to bear a child? How could his mum love his dad, his dad was a Death Eater! Al is only friends with Scorpius to make sure that he won't turn into the next Voldemort.

Al, of course, was extremely empathetic. He felt so bad for Scorpius, but he knew that Scorpius had to face his own demons, which ultimately took the form of his own perception of himself. Scorpius, while having made many friends through the Weasley-Potters (all of whom know him for who he is, and not what his family was), had gone cold and detached.

Scorpius had grown up a lot that year, but one thing was certain. Al wasn't going to leave him, no matter what anyone else thought. Scorpius had decided then, that he no longer cared about what the others had to say about him. Whatever he chose to do, others would have opinions about. While he was always a reserved, and quieter person, fourth year was the year that Scorpius's childhood innocence slipped away.

This version of Scorpius, Rose had decided, was the easiest to get along with. He had grown up quite a bit, which also prompted Rose to get over her childish jealousy. At this point, Rose had started to completely indulge herself in her studies.

Scorpius however, never really understood why Rose was always so cold towards him, but after fourth year, he was overwhelmed with the thought that Rose thought the same of him as everyone else did. What worried him though, was that Rose was going to get to Al. However, she never did. Scorpius really didn't understand Rose, but he welcomed the idea that she wasn't a threat, because if she were to be, she would (and the damage would already have been done).

Between fourth year and fifth year, something changed again. Scorpius had grown tremendously, which Al took to the heart, jokingly. Al, at 5'7", couldn't believe how much taller Scorpius was to him, towering around 5'10". Scorpius was extremely cautious of what he looked like, and always made sure that he had his hair the way he wanted. This change caught the eyes of nearly every girl at Hogwarts in fifth year. He was handsome, to their standards, and with time he only got better looking. Rumours were flying around Hogwarts like the Snitch: extremely fast and difficult to pinpoint where it came from and where it was going. Scorpius was the Slytherin seeker, athletic and fast. He was smart and had his way with words, and above all, fifth year was the year that everyone realized he was extremely charismatic in his own way.

Rose was confused as to where this came from. She saw Scorpius plenty between fourth year and fifth year, and didn't understand why all of a sudden, all the girls were smitten with him. She didn't realize what was so attractive about him, until Scorpius got his first girlfriend, Laila Featherwing, midway through fifth year.

She didn't understand why she felt sick every time she saw Scorpius with Laila. He wasn't extremely touchy or romantic with her, but seeing him walk with her to class, at Hogsmeade, or after Quidditch games made Rose want to tear her hair out. This lasted maybe two months, after which they broke up. It wasn't that heartfelt, as far as Rose was concerned. Scorpius barely talked about it with Al (at least when she was around), and Laila was going about her business. Rose didn't have that sick or queasy feeling anymore when she saw Scorpius, which was a relief.

She, however, got a totally different feeling when she interacted with Scorpius. It was warm, and it covered her all over. When he was around, it felt right, like the group was complete, and when he wasn't, she couldn't help but wonder where he was and what he was doing. The energy was very different, and she didn't like it very much. It wasn't like they talked directly anyways, it was usually quite quiet between the both of them, but she liked it that way. Still though, it didn't worry her, because nothing ever made her as mad as Scorpius either. Every time another girl had decided to have her try at him; she was extremely mad that he never turned them down. She knew that he wasn't interested in them. To her, it seemed that he liked that kind of attention, which frustrated her like nothing else. She didn't understand why he couldn't just be normal, and she hated whenever he had a fling and acted like it was nothing. She would never tell him this, though.

Scorpius learned to deal with this newfound attention quite quickly. There was nothing really interesting about any of the girls that had taken interest in him, but he had always remained a gentleman to all of them. He was, on the inside, far too sweet to reject any of these girls straight up. It was a difficult thing for him to do, as he was never one to draw attention to himself. He didn't want his emotions to be caught up in any of these, so he figured that this was best dealt as emotionless as possible. He would politely decline if he felt he could not continue talking to a girl, but he would (to the best of his ability), see if they had anything in common without giving the girl the wrong idea. This did not always work in his favour, but he didn't dwell on it for long. There would always be another girl.

What Scorpius never saw coming, was Rose Weasley. In fifth year, he had finally actually noticed her, not as Rose Weasley: daughter of Ron and Hermione Granger-Weasley, cousin of Al, but as Rose Weasley. She was, simply put, beautiful. It was unlike anyone else at Hogwarts: she was kind, the type to go out of her way to make someone smile, and extremely smart. He made himself laugh a bit at the thought of her studying her ass off to compete with him. It was those moments that Scorpius would think about, because it was fun. Scorpius knew, however, that she wouldn't ever like him like that, and he wasn't even sure that he liked her like that. She always thought he was a bit of a git, a show-off, a know-it-all, an extremely annoying and obnoxious playboy. She wasn't afraid that he would know that, because she was anything but subtle. He could tell that she was annoyed every time he would meet up with a girl, but then again, there wasn't anything that he could offer for her anyway.

Scorpius's relationship with Laila was something he never thought that would happen. Laila was pretty, and she was interesting in the sense that her parents were Muggles. Laila had no idea who Scorpius or his family were, but she did find Scorpius extremely attractive. She was bold, and knew what she wanted, and she knew how to carry conversation. That was something that Scorpius admired about her, and for a while, it worked for both of them. But Laila could sense that something was bothering Scorpius. She could also tell that he didn't know what it was either, which didn't help her. Laila couldn't bring herself to kiss him, which was one of the first things that she noticed, that eventually led to their breakup. There was something there that wasn't clicking. She loved being with him, and talking to him, but it wasn't enough. At the end of fifth year, Laila had decided to transfer to another school in America. She made sure to say goodbye to Scorpius, wishing him the best - that he would find what he was looking for.

While nothing really changed between Scorpius and Rose (for instance, they still really didn't talk all that much to each other), they both eventually realized that physically, there was something there. At the beginning of summer, the summer between fifth and sixth year, Rose was unbothered. Scorpius, on the other hand, spent lots of time with her and Al, because his parents had decided to take a trip to Europe. While he did stay at his grandparents, he spent the majority of the time at the Potter's, often sleeping over.

One afternoon in early July, Scorpius had slept over the night before, and Rose had come to the Potters that day to ask Al for his help with this summer project of hers. After some miscommunication, Rose and Scorpius had been left alone. This was perhaps, one of the first times that they had been truly alone.

"What do you mean you're at Candace's?" Rose wailed through the telephone at the Potter house, "I was hoping you would help me with this wooden house that I have been working on."

Harry and Ginny had disappeared for the afternoon, shopping for groceries. Lily was upstairs in her room, listening to music and doodling. James had just stepped outside to find Rose, waiting for Al.

After a bit more mumbling, Rose sat down at the kitchen table.

"I gotta step out for a bit," James said, a bagel in his mouth, "I told Lily already, she's upstairs, just make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble okay?"

Rose nodded, her work bag on the table, "I've got lots to do anyways. You wouldn't mind if I did it here, would you?"

James shook his head, before closing the front door behind him.

Rose's bag had been magically enlarged to hold parts of an extremely intricate wooden house that she had gotten from her dad for her birthday. It was an exact replica of their family cabin, which she loved dearly. Rose had always loved building things and was extremely excited when she got this for her birthday. However, she was stuck. Al had agreed to help her finish it over the summer.

Rose had gotten into the zone, working on connecting the bridge leading from the cabin to the treehouse when she suddenly heard a creaking from upstairs. It was as if someone was walking around.

"Lily?" she yelled, "Where are you?"

She heard a yell from downstairs, "I'm in the basement! I'm video calling with some friends."

Rose sighed contently, until she realized that the creak was coming from upstairs. What was that then?

She tiptoed to the stairs, slowly ascending. There was no one in sight. The water was running in the bathroom, which quickened her heartbeat. Who was here?

"Hello?" she shouted, "Who's there?"

She walked to the bathroom, her hand hovering over the doorknob. There was definitely someone here. Her eyes drifted to the window at the end of the hallway. It was open.

Just before she could turn the doorknob, the door opened. It was Scorpius. His hair was wet and he had a t-shirt on from some Muggle artist she had never heard of, and a pair of shorts that ended at his knees.

"Uh, hi," he said, looking in her eyes questioningly, "What are you doing here?"

Rose blushed profusely, crossing her arms across her chest, "I should be asking you that!"

"I was taking a shower," he stated simply, "What were you doing creeping around outside the door?"

"I heard a noise from upstairs," she retorted quickly, before he got any ideas, "And the window was opened so I thought someone broke in."

Scorpius held back a laugh, "So where did James go?"

"He went out for a while. I came looking for Al, but he's at Candace's," Rose said, "James wanted me to keep an eye out for Lily, so I stayed."

Scorpius nodded slowly, before stepping around her towards Al's room, which was large enough to set up an air mattress. Rose could smell the scent of Scorpius's shampoo drift all around her as she watched him walk away from her. She hadn't ever seen him dressed as casually as he was now, but it was just hitting her how lanky he had grown to be. His t-shirt fit somewhat large on him, and it made him seem half a foot taller than he was. She felt small around him.

"So, what are you standing there for?" Scorpius said, as he came back towards her. He had a book, which looked rather small compared to his hand.

He headed down the stairs, with her following silently. They hadn't ever been left alone like this, really, so she didn't know what to say. Al always filled the silence between them, and her family and friends always had something to say too.

Rose walked towards the table, hoping to continue working on her project in peace. Scorpius's eyes caught her project and widened.

"Is this the family cabin?" he said, somewhat in shock.

"Yeah," she said, smiling slightly. Her eyes darted between his face and the house, not lingering on him for too long. "Dad got it for me for my birthday."

"Wow," he said, with a lilt of awe in his voice, "This looks beautiful."

Rose had never heard that word come out of his mouth, but it sounded heavenly, the way he said it. A part of her heavily protested against whatever it is that they were doing, even if it was just talking, but she was curious. This was new territory, and it was kind of exciting. She always assumed that they wouldn't get along, or tolerate each other without Al, considering they had been competing their whole lives, but this was different. There wasn't any of that at all.

"Thanks," she said, feeling her face warm up.

Scorpius sat down, a little ways away from her. She could tell that he didn't want to bother her. He opened his book and started to read. Rose continued to work on her house, and all was well, until she needed an extra pair of hands. She contemplated asking him, and ultimately decided that she could do it herself. After a few attempts, however, she knew it wasn't going to work. Her eyebrows had scrunched up in a fit of frustration, which did not go unnoticed.

Scorpius reached over to grab the piece from her hands, brushing against her fingers lightly. She felt a chill but shook it off. He probably had generated some static on him, that's all.

"Put some glue here," he said softly, encouraging her as he held the pieces.

After that, he had stopped reading, instead choosing to help her with the rest of the cabin. Rose was elated somehow, because this was almost fun. She was actually having a decent time with Scorpius. She wondered if he felt the same.

Scorpius fought to hold back a smile every time she looked at him. Seeing her eyes light up as parts of the cabin were joined was a different kind of thrill. He was really enjoying the time that they were spending together. It was nothing like their other encounters.

They worked in silence for about twenty minutes, before Rose asked him who the person on his shirt was.

"Oh, this is a Muggle artist by the name of Rex Orange County," he said, grinning, "His music is pretty good."

"Oh?" Rose said, questioningly, "Never heard of him."

Scorpius pulled a small device out of his pocket, an MP3 player, with earbuds. Rose couldn't stop the grin that was forming on her face. He had an MP3 player! It was almost cute, because she didn't know anyone who owned an MP3 player anymore.

"Is that an MP3 player?" she said, laughing.

"Hey," he said, jokingly defensive, "This is arguably my most prized possession."

"Okay," she said, throwing her hands up, "What are you, 40?"

There was a hint of playfulness in his eyes, before he rolled them. He walked around the table to sit on the same side as her, before offering her an earbud, "Listen."

They sat, extremely close to one another. His knee was brushing up against hers. Although she was in a pair of jeans, it was very difficult to concentrate. He was very close to her, and there was only a thin piece of fabric separating them from touching one another.

Music flowed into her right ear, and his left. He hummed along, which made her laugh. She was really enjoying spending time with him.

They continued to work on the house, while Scorpius's music played between them. No one ever caught them like this, for when James came back, they had gone back to how things normally were. Still, he managed to catch her eye before she left. She didn't really know what to say or do, because nothing seemed right. She hugged James, before flashing a small smile to Scorpius. She swore that he didn't even see it, but he did.

Scorpius swore that was the moment he realized that friendship with Rose Weasley was possible. He had never had that much fun with anyone else. In fact, he had never shown his music to anyone else. The rest of the summer, however, was relatively tame between the both of them, for they didn't have any time alone again.

The next time he saw her, things were back to normal again. He tried, so desperately, to keep her away from his thoughts, and managed to convince himself that he may never have another moment like that again.

Rose, however, was trying extremely hard not to let Scorpius get to her head either. He was still competition. He was still the same playboy as he was at school, and he still frustrated her like no one else. She would admit to herself that he was, sort of attractive, but she knew that she wasn't like any of the girls that would fancy Scorpius.

Friendship surely didn't slip Scorpius's mind, but it was quickly contested. When Rose Weasley looked at him that night at the Burrow, and he had kissed her for the dare, he had become painfully aware of the fact that he wanted so badly to be more than just what he was to her.

But of course, life had gotten in the way.


As always, let me know what you think! I will try to post once every two weeks, depending on how busy things get.