Chapter Ten: Rejection

As soon as Scorpius arrived at the team headquarters at the start of his trip, he was quickly pulled from thoughts of Rose to the world of professional Quidditch. It was all talk of strategy, plays, and scheduling, leaving very little time for him to think of anything else. Their first match against the Ballycastle Bats was almost too easy to win. Scorpius was on fire, moving through the air carelessly and daringly, finding the snitch in almost record time. He was not the only one to notice how he was behaving differently. That night while celebrating their win over a round of drinks a few of his teammates pried into what had gotten into him.

"Mummy and daddy have finally given you the family fortune?"

"Another Witch Weekly thirst piece?"

"You're experimenting with drugs!"

"You've finally found the love of your life?"

Something in his face must've changed when someone shouted the last guess and they all erupted in teases and laughter.

"Oi! Baby Scorpy has fallen in love! Who's the lucky gal?" One teammate proclaimed.

"Leave the boy alone, he doesn't have to tell us anything," one of the older players chided while also laughing.

"I'm not telling you lot anything," Scorpius protested.

"Aw that's no fun. You could at least tell us something about her."

"Well, she's not like anyone I've ever been with before. But I'm captivated by her. I can't stop thinking about her. I've never felt so understood," Scorpius rambled, unsure of why he was even saying these out loud even though he did mean them.

"Well whoever she is I hope she doesn't stop doing whatever it is she's doing to wrap you around her finger. You've never played so well." One teammate added before the conversation faded into something else.

Scorpius was eager to get to bed that night because sleeping meant he was one day closer to seeing her again. He drifted off to sleep with the thought of the small dimples that formed when she laughed uncontrollably. The next match passed without consequence. He played the same way and the entire team was excited by his performance. He spent the night alone in his room practicing what he would say to her in three days' time. How he would confess his feelings to her and not let her shut him down this time. He imagined the look in her eyes, the same one from the silly muggle wheel she had brought him on. How in just three days she would finally be his.

Upon arrival in Kenmare Scorpius was confident he would play just the same as the days before. He was eager to find the snitch as quick as possible so he could go back to focusing on Rose. Kenmare presented more of a challenge than he expected so his plan was thwarted. At one point as he was flying near the stands scanning for the speck of gold, he noticed a familiar face. His schooltime ex-girlfriend, Natalie Thomas was gazing up at him while sporting the Magpie colors. At first he was shocked by her presence. She had no real reason to be all the way in Kenmare. But upon further consideration he knew she had ulterior motives. She had not taken their breakup well in the previous year and had been taking it even less well that Scorpius had no intention of returning to her arms like he had done in the past. It felt like a distant memory now, their time together. In school he loved the idea of being with her. His schoolboy ego loved the attention and they were outwardly a good match. Now, Scorpius couldn't imagine ever spending time with her nor could he remember a single intelligent conversation they ever had.

A golden blur whizzed by him, tugging him out of his thoughts. He darted after it and was able to catch it just as the other seeker had taken off in the same direction. The stadium erupted in angry cries, but Scorpius took a deep sigh of relief. He exited the field with his triumphant teammates and headed straight into the press room where he fielded questions, most of which were directed at him. After what seemed like eternity the men made their way to the locker room. He had just placed his helmet on the bench when the team manager came into the room.

"Malfoy, there's a woman here to see you," she shouted. "In the corridor." His teammates immediately reacted with a slur of ohs and ahs.

"Is it the girl you were telling us about?" one of the ones closer to him asked. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of Rose being outside the room. He never even paused to consider a different option. He scurried towards the door and flung it open.

"R-" he stopped in his tracks. "Natalie?" his heart sank when he saw the face staring up at him.

"Scorpius!" she exclaimed, flinging her arms around his neck while he remained frozen in shock. "Congratulations on the win, although I'm not surprised. I always believed you would make it here." She smiled warmly, clearly not acknowledging the bewildered look on his face.

"Uh, thanks," he smiled awkwardly. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I came to see you of course! We didn't get to finish our chat at the club. And I miss you Scorpius. I'm here to give you the chance to apologize."

"Apologize?" his brows crinkled in confusion.

"I know you feel badly about breaking things off. I hate thinking of you all alone in that big flat of yours every night. The pressures of fame overwhelming you. You need me, darling. Remember the night before the Quidditch championship 7th year? You were so anxious I stayed up all night comforting you and you fell asleep in my lap while I played with your hair. Don't you want that again?" She attempted to close the gap between them, but he stepped back, rubbing his neck awkwardly and laughing out of discomfort.

"Look, Natalie," he began but a loud bang at the end of the corridor caused them both to look in that direction. He saw a bunch of broomsticks scattered on the floor and out of the corner of his eye he could have sworn he saw a familiar bunch of red hair dashing away. Natalie grabbed his hand to bring his attention back to her and he quickly tore it away.

"Natalie, our time at Hogwarts was lovely, but whatever connection we had is gone now. We both need to move on. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to apologize, and I think it's better if we stop running into each other for now." He saw a terrifying mix of sadness and anger overcome her expression and he quickly turned and escaped back into the locker room. Not his finest moment, but he needed to get away somehow. The locker room exploded with bunches of questions from his teammates. Some even peaked there head out the door to get a look at what girl he had been talking to. Scorpius ignored them all and hurried to change and escape back to his room at the inn. He was clearly shaken by the whole encounter and confused about what transpired at the end of the corridor during it. He was shocked that Natalie had come all this way to try to win him back. As he replayed their conversation, she realized she must have been encouraged. Encouraged by someone who knew about his flat. There was only one person he determined it could be, but he would have to deal with them later. At the same time, he was more ready than ever to see Rose again and finally talk to her. Seeing Natalie had only made him surer that he wanted Rose, so he at least had that to thank her for.

The next day Scorpius spent the hours leading up to his match avoiding the burning questions his teammates still had about the previous evening and focusing on regaining the confidence and drive he had before the other matches. This night, he struggled to focus and nearly lost the snitch to the other seeker. It was one of his worst performances in a while and even though they won he could tell his coach was frustrated. He went to bed that night glad to only have one more match before he could finally go home. The last match was on a Saturday, so they played in the morning. Scorpius buzzed around the field anxious to find the snitch so he could be back in London. It took him longer than expected, but he ultimately caught the snitch for the fifth match in a row, a personal record which brought the team the longest winning streak in recent history.

The press interviews lasted longer than usual and were especially exhausting for Scorpius, as most were directed at him. The team's press manager announced they had time for one last question, which of course, ended up being for him.

"Scorpius, the news just broke about your change in relationship status. Any message for your fans who will be obviously upset by this news?"

Scorpius did his best to hide his absolute shock at the question. He looked at the press manager for a way out but she was equally surprised. He swallowed and then did his best to put on a charming grin.

"Sorry ladies, better luck next time," he joked, and the room broke out into laughter. The press manager quickly ushered the reporters out of the room, leaving Scorpius absolutely dumbfounded. Had Rose told the press about them? Before even speaking to him? It was so unlike her he couldn't accept that as a possibility. There was a possibility they had been spotted in London. That seemed to be the only reasonable explanation. He went to join his teammates in packing to leave. As a group of them headed off towards a Floo location (it was the safest way to travel with the large equipment bags they carried) one of his teammates noticed a familiar face on a newspaper stand.

"Isn't that the woman from the other night mate?" he elbowed Scorpius and pointed. Scorpius gazed over at the stand and stopped dead in his tracks. Right on the cover of Witch Weekly was Natalie. Smiling widely with a photo of them together in their Fifth Year. The headline read 'Schooltime Sweethearts Rekindle: the story of Scorpius Malfoy's Longtime Love.' He jogged over to the stand, threw a few sickles at the worker and grabbed the magazine, desperately flipping to the article. It was full of lies, the worst of which being that they had just this week reconnected and declared their love for each other. In one final, desperate move, Natalie had lied in the hopes that Scorpius would feel obligated to get back together. Instead, it installed a new sense of urgency in him to get to Rose. Knowing it was her favorite magazine, he knew she would have read this. He needed her to know it was all lies.

He didn't even bother going to his flat to drop off his things. Instead he floo'ed straight to Diagon Alley and rushed to the store. It was close to 9 o'clock but he knew she would still be open. He entered the store eagerly and saw her, like she always was, using a broomstick in the muggle way. She looked up with a neutral expression before she realized he was the one standing in front of her. Fury spread across her face and she gripped the broomstick tighter.

"Get out." she stated calmly but in the most threatening manner she could muster.

"Rose, we need to talk. I can explain everything."

A/n: Hope you enjoy this! Please don't forget to favorite/follow the story if you're reading because I will keep updating and also leave a review! Thank you so much Xx