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Chapter Fourteen: Bedside Confessions

She was not the only one attempting to enter the hospital when she got there. In fact, it was the crowd of people outside the emergency wing that let Rose know where he was. She pushed through this crowd as well and was met with multiple security guards who spoke very little English.

"I need to see Scorpius Malfoy," she told one of them.

"This area is closed to public at this time, madame," he replied with a very thick accent.

"I'm not the public," she cried incredulously. "You have to let me see him."

"Are you family?"

"Well, no."

"Are you wife?"

"No," she replied, getting more and more frustrated.

"Zen I cannot let you in."

"Please, I have to see him. He would want me to be in there," she pleaded.

"Do we have to escort you away madame?" He gestured another guard in their direction and Rose began to panic. The words that came out of Rose's lips in that moment were words she never expected to hear.

"I demand that you let me in this instance! Do you know who I am? My mother is the bloody Prime Minister of England. My uncle is Harry Potter. THE Harry Potter. Reckon you've heard of him. If you don't let me through this instant I will-"

"Let her through," a third voice joined the fray and both the security guards turned their head to see Draco Malfoy standing there, half amused and half embarrassed by his need to interrupt.

"Alright, sorry about zat Miss Weasley," the guard said almost mockingly, clearly having connected her to her family. Rosh blushed and hurried past him.

"Is he alright?" Rose asked Mr. Malfoy as they walked towards his hospital room.

"He's asleep now. He broke most of the bones in his body and it will take a while to recover. But he'll get better." Rose took a sigh of relief.

"Erm, I don't normally behave that way," Rose felt obliged to explain herself. "I dunno what came over me."

"It's alright," Draco smiled understandingly. "You're not the first person to use their family name to their advantage."

When they got to his room and she saw Scorpius lying there, covered in bandages, bruised, and looking exhausted a wave of emotion hit her. Astoria sat next to his bed, staring intently at her son. Rose suddenly became aware of the awkwardness of the situation, it just being her and his parents alone while he was sleeping. For all they knew, she wasn't family and she didn't know how to explain what she was doing there. Draco clearly caught on as well because he suggested to his wife that they go find a cup of tea and prepare a statement for the press. Astoria agreed and as she walked by Rose she quietly said,

"He's been asking for you in his sleep."

Rose turned a deeper shade of red and did not reply. When they were gone, she took the seat next to him.

"Oh, Scorpius," she whispered to no one, carefully pushing a strand of hair out of his face. "Wait until you hear about the scene I just caused." He stirred in his sleep slightly at the sound of her voice, but he didn't wake up. She sat there in silence watching him sleep so peacefully and trying to figure out the words she would use to express how she knew she felt. She snapped out of her thoughts immediately when Scorpius began to mutter something in his sleep. She instinctively wrapped her hand around his hand which had been hanging over the edge of the bed slightly and squeezed it tightly, silently begging him to continue.

"I- lv y rs"

Rose struggled to make out what he was trying to say.

"Ro...rose…lu….yo…you," he said finally muttering more clearly. Rose's heart began to race, and she attempted to scooch her chair closer to him, not letting go of his hand. In typical clumsy Rose fashion, she ended up banging into his hospital bed, pushing it over abruptly. This was enough to startle Scorpius awake. He groggily opened his eyes, grimaced, and looked down at his hand that was still in Rose's grasp. When he realized someone was holding it, he looked up and his eyes focused on Rose. She saw confusion spread through his face and she blushed, abruptly dropping his hand.

"Rose?" He winced while trying to sit up more in the bed.

"Erm, hello," she replied.

"What happened?"

"The Russian beaters. They both hit you at once and then you fell. Your dad said you broke nearly every bone, but the Healers said you'll recover with time."

"So, we lost?" He asked dejectedly.

"No," she said almost laughing. "You caught the snitch as you were falling. We won. You're the bloody hero of England" She watched as his face lit up with excitement.

"Where are my parents?"

"They went to get a cup of tea once I got here. They'll be back."

"I wasn't sure you would come to the match."

"Well, there weren't many wizards left in England looking to buy books anyway," she joked and he chuckled. "And I came straight here the moment I saw them carry you off the field," she added.

"You're a great friend Rose."

"Scorpius don't say that," she said, starting to tear up again. "I've been so stupid."

"What'd you mean?"

"I've been lying. To myself, and to you. And I'm so so sorry. I wish I could go back,"

"Rose, don't. It's alright," he interjected, afraid of what this could mean.

"No, it's not! I let my own insecurity and mistrust get in the way of what I felt. And it wasn't fair to you. You've just been putting up with my madness this entire time, but I'm done pretending like there isn't something here. I watched you fall to your death and it all made sense. I want to be with you. I want to spend lazy Sunday afternoons with you and wake up next to you and show you more of the muggle world and see the world together and be there for you when you play. And I know this probably all sounds ridiculous, but I came here because I had to tell you that I, well, I think I may be in love with you."

Tears were freely flowing from her eyes at this point, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. At some point she had stood up and begun pacing back and forth as the words tumbled out of her mouth. She stood there awkwardly waiting for any sort of response. Scorpius said nothing at first, taking it all in. A pit formed in her stomach and Rose thought that maybe he would never say anything.

"Rose," he started slowly. "I'm dying, aren't I? I'm dying and you made this all up so I can die happy." She chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"You're not dying you idiot," she burst into laughter and fell back in her seat. "I meant every word."

"Well it's about damn time then. I thought you'd never figure it out." Rose grinned and stood up, leaning down to kiss him. He grabbed her waist and tried to pull her onto the small bed with him.

"Scorpius!" she cried. "I'll hurt you."

"I don't care," he protested, shifting slightly so she could fit. They kissed slowly at first, and when he tried to accelerate, he groaned in pain and she pulled away.

"Let's just lay here before you break whatever bones you have left in you. We have all the time in the world for that later," she suggested. He nodded, and they fell into a comfortable position, wrapped together. He gently ran his fingers through her curls, and she listened to the sound of his heart beating.

"You should go home," he said eventually. "It's late."

"I'm not leaving you here. I'm staying until they let you leave. Plus, I'm in no rush to go back out there," he looked at her confused. "Well, I might have made a small scene when I arrived. In front of all the press."

"What kind of scene?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to spoil it, I'm sure it will be on the front-page tomorrow," she teased.

"It better not be. I nearly died for a bloody Quidditch World Cup. My face ought to be splattered on every page of every paper."

They both slowly drifted off to sleep, but before they did, Rose remembered the last thing she wanted to ask him before he fell to his death.

"Scorpius?" she spoke softly.

"Mhm," he replied, only barely awake.

"You don't actually like reading, do you?" she moved her head so she could see his face when he answered, and he looked down at her.

"I may have overstated my interest in it," he admitted.

"Why on earth would you make up something like that?" she shook her head incredulously.

"I needed an excuse to see you again," he confessed while gently running his fingers over her arm. They both smiled but said nothing further, allowing themselves to drift off to sleep, the happiest they had both been in a long time.