A/N: I can't thank you guys enough for the reviews! (: They make my day. There's a bit more T-rated stuff in this chapter, so... yeah. :D Hope you enjoy!
Fourth Year
It's barely been twelve days into his summer at the Malfoy Manor when he decides that he's fucking sick of his family and he can't take anymore of his parents' constant squabbling.
He doesn't know why or when it started, but he assumes their marital issues or whatever began when he was away at Hogwarts last year. They're frequently at each other's necks and Scorpius is tired of sitting at the dinner table listening to them bite out furious barbs and comments at each other. He's wanted to ask what this was all about a couple of times but he decides against it. He doesn't really want to know.
(It's not like they would have told him, anyway. They still treat him like he's eight or something. So he just tunes them out.)
They're in the middle of another argument when Scorpius pipes up during dinner, just because he can't stand another second of their bickering.
"Will you two please stop?" he says, almost mildly, and he isn't surprised when they ignore him completely.
"I cannot believe you!" his mother throws up her arms in frustration. "It's been twenty-two years, Draco!"
"I refuse to talk about this anymore, Astoria," his father replies coldly, and he stabs his slice of quail viciously with a knife.
Scorpius decides he needs a break from all of this and announces, "I'm going over to the Potters tomorrow."
This effectively captures his father's attention. His head snaps towards him and he sits up higher in his chair. "You most certainly are not. I've had enough of the Potters to last a lifetime."
"Oh, just bloody grow up, won't you?" his mother downs her glass of wine in one go and stomps dramatically out of the dining room.
"Your mother always had a flair for unnecessary theatrics," his father sighs angrily after a brief pause, and then he continues eating.
Scorpius doesn't say another word for the rest of the evening.
(He thinks he knows what they're arguing about now.)
-.-.-
The next morning, his mother insists on bringing him over to the Potters. She shakes her head irritably when he reminds her that his father clearly said no yesterday night. "I'm your mother, Scorpius. And if I say you're allowed to go over to the Potters, you're allowed," she pauses for a bit before continuing. "Do you think they'd mind if I had a little chat with them for a bit?"
Scorpius is certain his mouth falls open a bit. His mother tightens her grip around his arm and she Disapparates with him in tow.
(He thinks that the Potters wouldn't mind at all, actually.)
-.-.-
Summer at The Burrow is a sticky blur of sweet lemonade, cool grass and toasty bare feet.
Albus, Toby, Caitlyn, Rose and Scorpius are all lying on the gentle, sweeping crest of the hill that overlooks all of Ottery St Catchpole. He's got a tall, sweating glass of Grandma Molly's famous lemonade in his hands and he picks himself up a little to take a sip. He snorts when he sees that Toby and Caitlyn are trying to hold hands as discreetly as possible. Rose is swatting away mosquitoes and determinedly trying not to notice them. Also, is it just him, or do the shorts Rose wear get tinier and tinier every summer?
(Look, he's a bloke, alright? He notices.)
Albus rolls over on his stomach and lays his cheek down on the sun-warmed ground. "Sod it, I don't ever want summer to end," he sighs contentedly. "This is the life."
Scorpius tips his head back and privately agrees.
-.-.-
When his mother tells him to spend the night at The Burrow that day, he's gobsmacked.
"I talked with Mrs Potter a lot today. She convinced me to tell you stay over and I thought it was a wonderful idea," she tells him, looking cheery as she prepares to Disapparate home. "I'll send over some clothes."
Scorpius nods, hardly daring to believe his luck.
"Also, the Potters are very nice people," his mother waves goodbye as she walks past the fence surrounding The Burrow. "I think I might drop by more often."
-.-.-
Albus is just as excited as he is when Scorpius tells him he gets to spend the night.
"This is awesome, Scor," he declares. "We're so not going to sleep tonight. At all."
After Toby and Caitlyn leave, Albus shows him his room at The Burrow. "It used to be my Uncle Ron's room when he was in Hogwarts. I always sleep here for the summer," he says as he opens the worn door. The room's walls are covered in faded orange Chudley Cannons posters (Scorpius thinks that this might be some sort of a mistake because the Chudley Cannons are a terrible team). The floorboards are creaky and the windows are scratchy. He throws himself on cleanly laundered bed sheets and he decides he likes it.
(They spend the entire night stuffing themselves with Honeydukes candy and by three o' clock in the morning Scorpius feels like upchucking everything in his stomach.)
(He still has the best time he's ever had, though.)
-.-.-
When he wakes up the next morning Albus is snoring like a chainsaw. He pulls on a worn shirt and running pants before he tiptoes silently out to go for a quick run (his mornings never feel complete without a good, sweaty run).
The morning air is crisp and fresh and the smell of dew still lingers in the air. He's on his third lap around The Burrow when he sees Rose Weasley in an oversized jumper and shorts sitting by the pond, trailing lazy circles with her toes on the water while reading a book. This scene is so reminiscent of their Black Lake spot back at Hogwarts that he almost laughs out loud.
(Yeah, okay, so what if he's begun to think of that rock by the Black Lake as their spot? It's nothing, alright?)
So of course, he jogs over and settles down beside her. Rose doesn't even turn to look at him. Her eyes stay glued to her book and she smiles a little. "Good morning, Scorpius."
Still panting, he folds his arms under his head they sit in comfortable silence. Rose occasionally pipes up to gush about this particular book she's reading. It's some sappy romance book (typical) by someone named Jane Austen and she's going on and on about this Mr. Darcy character who's all aloof and arrogant at first but he falls for the main female character in the end.
(Scorpius thinks Mr. Darcy sounds like a real tosser.)
"Isn't it just romantic?" Rose gushes, and her eyes actually look starry for a moment.
Scorpius lets out a derisive grunt. "Um, not really."
Rose looks at him like he just killed three puppies with his bare hands. "Not really?" she repeats his words, looking horror-struck. "Scorpius, this is one of the most remarkable and incredible Muggle love stories ever penned."
"Don't tell me you believe in all that fucking love-at-first-sight bollocks," he groans noisily, because it really is too early to deal with this.
"No, not really, actually. It's fine in books, though," Rose leans back down on the palms of her hands. Her finger is crooked over the spine of the worn out paperback so that she doesn't lose the page. "Also, I'd appreciate it if you used fewer profanities around me. I find it disgusting."
"F-u-u-u-c-k," he stretches the word out into several syllables, grinning, and he says it a couple more times just for good measure. Rose punches him on his arm and returns to her book.
(He can tell she doesn't really mind his swearing.)
"I wonder why girls like you," she says, like it's some kind of miracle.
He raises a blond eyebrow suggestively and flexes his arms (he's been working out a little). "Isn't it obvious why girls like me, Weasley?"
A little colour rushes into her cheeks and Rose pointedly looks away. "That is exactly what I meant. You obviously don't have a single romantic bone in your body. How exactly do they put up with you as a boyfriend, I have no idea," she flips a page of her book and continues reading.
"I don't need any romantic bones," Scorpius scoffs. "I just pick any willing girl, snog her senseless for a few weeks then move on to another. Simple as that," he exaggerates it a little (he really doesn't think he's that much of a bastard) just so he can see Rose all worked up. Unsurprisingly, it works.
Rose looks up from her book, absolutely outraged and Scorpius goes into hysterics when he sees her expression.
"So you don't give her flowers, or chocolates, or—or even take her out?" Rose says disbelievingly.
Scorpius shakes his head. "I don't do that kind of shit, Weasley."
"You are undoubtedly the single most unromantic person I have ever had the misfortune to meet."
"Thank you," Scorpius replies with every evidence of sincerity.
(His stomach still hurts from laughing after an hour.)
-.-.-
Later that afternoon, when they're playing Quidditch again with Toby and Caitlyn (they came over at noon), Scorpius notices that Rose is pretty good at Quidditch.
She plays Chaser on the opposing team and she's fast and quick on her broom. Her throws are good and she's very nimble.
"How come you aren't on the Gryffindor team?" he asks her, after everyone is exhausted and they're just lying down on the grassy hill again.
"Yeah, you should try out. You're good at playing Chaser," Toby interjects before Rose gets the chance to reply. He practically feels Rose's cheeks turn a deep scarlet.
"I originally wanted to – since I was in first-year, actually – but my busy class schedules eat up most of my time. Between homework, studying and co-curricular activities I can barely squeeze in Quidditch practice. But I suppose I could try out, since you suggested it," Rose sits up a little and gives Toby a shy, pleased smile.
(What the fuck? Scorpius was the one who brought it up in the first place.)
Caitlyn giggles a little. "She's right – she's completely bogged down with studies. You should see her timetable, I don't know how she manages to do Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies."
"Muggle Studies? What the bloody hell are you taking Muggle Studies for? Your mum has two Muggle parents!" Albus protests in horror, shaking his head.
"Wow," Toby exhales, impressed. "You must be really smart to be able to handle all that."
Rose bobs her head twice, lips curling up at the corners. "I'm alright."
He can't believe Rose falls so easily for Toby's I'm-such-a-nice-bloke act. Okay, so it isn't really an act because Toby really is that genuinely nice. But still.
(This really, really doesn't make any fucking sense.)
-.-.-
The train ride to Hogwarts is mostly uneventful, save for a brief moment of chaos when Fred Weasley accidentally spilt his secret stash of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder in their part of the train and everyone spent ten minutes fumbling about in complete darkness.
He honestly can't wait for his fourth year to start. Family life was getting unbearable again back home. Even worse was the fact that he was sort of the cause of their arguments.
(Whatever. They're the parents, so they figure it out.)
-.-.-
They get a new Potions professor – Professor Imelda. She's one of those teachers who's crazy about inter-house unity, so on the first day of school she assigns them one partner from another house for the rest of the year. He has Potions with Gryffindors and he gets this curvy, gorgeous Hispanic girl named Sofia Alvarez as his partner and he's feeling fucking great.
They're in the middle of mixing up some Swelling Solution when he hears muted laughter from across the room. He looks over and sees Rose and Toby together as partners, talking and teasing each other lightly. They kind of look like the best of friends.
Scorpius attempts to direct his irritation elsewhere and he ends up tangled together in a broom closet with Sofia Alvarez after Potions ends. Both of them are half-an-hour late for Transfiguration.
(He doesn't know where the irritation comes from, okay? So just shut up.)
-.-.-
Rose tells him that she made it as Chaser on Gryffindor's Quidditch team one morning a few weeks later when he shows up at the Black Lake. Actually, she doesn't just say it; she almost shrieks it because she's that happy.
Scorpius grins and congratulates her. She bounces around on the balls of her feet and her hair looks like fire when it's against the sunlight.
(He thinks that this might be the perfect moment for a small hug or something but that's something Toby would do – and he's definitely not Toby – so he slings him arm around her shoulders instead.)
-.-.-
Their first Quidditch match of the year is against Gryffindor.
"We have to win this one, we just have too," Toby tells him fervently before they make it out to the pitch, and Scorpius wholly agrees. If they get beaten, they'll still be in the running for the Quidditch Cup but they haven't ever won a match against Gryffindor before (seriously, it's fucking ridiculous, because they're just as good as Gryffindor) and it's getting extremely tiring. Slytherin hasn't won the Quidditch cup since James Potter joined the team a few years ago, but Scorpius is convinced this is going to be their year.
He only remembers that Rose is going to be playing Chaser when Scorpius sees her straddling her broomstick just before they launch into the air. She shoots him a quick grin before she whizzes away and Scorpius finds himself smiling too, because Slytherin's just has to kick Gryffindor's arse.
(They still lose, anyway. Rose doesn't let him forget it for weeks. Slytherin really, really need that Quidditch Cup this year.)
-.-.-
It's their first Hogsmeade trip of the year and Scorpius goes with Sofia Alvarez. Mostly because she insisted, and Sofia's been his longest girlfriend ever – almost three months now. Sofia's actually a pretty cool girl – she shudders at the mention of Madam Puddifoot's when Scorpius reluctantly suggests it. They spend an hour Three Broomsticks instead for some Butterbeer (and snogging).
They pick Honeydukes as their second destination, and Sofia is picking out some of her favourite candies when Scorpius sees Rose somewhere near several barrels of different flavoured toffees. She's alone, so Scorpius strolls over and says, "What're you picking out?"
Rose jumps a little in alarm but relaxes when she sees it's him. "Oh, hello, Scorpius. No, I'm not buying anything," she stares around at the immensely crowded, brightly-coloured shop. "Just looking. I've never been here before."
Scorpius' eyes just about bug out. "I'm sorry? Wait, you've never been to Honeydukes before?"
(That cannot be bloody true.)
Rose frowns. "No. I rarely ever make trips to Hogsmeade because my school workload is just too overwhelming. Besides, I don't really have enough gold on me to buy any candy. Did you come here with Sofia Alvarez? Because she's making these gestures from over there so I think she wants you to go over now."
Scorpius doesn't answer her last question and pulls out his little sachet of Galleons. "My treat," he jiggles it, smiling, and ignores her when she protests.
He makes sure he buys Rose every kind of candy they have in Honeydukes before she goes back to Hogwarts. Because, you know, she's never fucking been to Honeydukes before. Which is something he still can't quite believe, to be honest.
(Rose tells him afterwards that Spindle's Lick O' Rish Twizzlers are now her favourite candy.)
-.-.-
When he steps into the common room a few weeks later, the first thing he sees is Toby and Caitlyn snogging like crazy on the green velvet couch. Seriously, he sees tongue and everything. They don't even notice him and Scorpius has to cough loudly (twice) to let them know that he's, you know, there.
They spring apart, both blushing and stammering but Scorpius just smirks and tells them to carry on. "Don't stop on my account," he says, and goes upstairs to his dorm.
(Toby throws a pillow at him later on when Scorpius congratulates him on the fact that Toby's finally grown some bollocks.)
-.-.-
He's lying on his back by the Black Lake one morning, listening to Rose talk when she suddenly brings up their OWLs next year.
"I've been thinking a lot about my OWLs lately," Rose declares, snapping her copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them shut. "I've already started studying for them—"
Scorpius' eyes flick open in disgust. "Weasley, those are one whole bloody year away."
(It's a miracle they're even friends – Rose and him have just about zero in common.)
"Exactly," Rose rolls her eyes a little. "There's only a year left! Getting excellent grades in your OWLs is essential if you want to get a good position in the Ministry after you've graduated. You do realize that, don't you?"
"Well, not everybody has their life all mapped out like you do."
"But doesn't everyone has that moment? Where everything clicks and you just figure out what you're going to do with your life?" Rose presses, looking bemused.
"Merlin, no. Fuck, you probably have a ten-step list and diagram charts all about how you're going to become Minister of Magic, don't you?"
He waits for her to deny it but Rose stays silent for a few seconds too long. Scorpius starts half-laughing and half-exclaiming in horror because Rose Weasley? Absolutely nuts.
(He kind of likes it.)
-.-.-
Potions quickly become his least favourite subject.
(It's got nothing to do with the fact that all Toby and Rose do when they're partners in Potions is laugh and joke around. He can hear them from across the sodding dungeon, for Merlin's sake. It's really messing up his concentration.)
But then again, the way Sofia Alvarez hikes up her skirt so that all he can see is tanned leg also kind of detracts from his attentiveness in class. He's not complaining, though.
-.-.-
He spends nearly all of his Christmas at The Burrow this year. His mother insists but he thinks she might just be trying to get him out of their house because now instead of arguing and shouting at each other, his parents are barely speaking to one another. It's bloody creepy (not to mention uncomfortable) so he's sort of, maybe, grateful for Albus' crazy, tight-knit family right now.
They have a proper White Christmas for the first time in seven years and they spend most of their holiday outside in the blissfully white drifts of thick, fluffy snow. They have snowball fights where everyone joins in (even the adults).
Scorpius is in the middle of a wicked snowball fight with Albus, Caitlyn, Toby, and Rose when Toby accidentally chucks a snowball smack in the middle of Rose's face. She stumbles a little and falls down hard on the ground, crying out in pain. Scorpius automatically starts to go over to Rose's side, but Toby makes it there first.
"I'm so sorry!" Toby gently pulls Rose back up again with his gloved hands, stricken. "It was a total accident – I should've seen where I was aiming. Are you alright?"
Scorpius watches as Toby rips his glove off his goose-pimpled hands and carefully brushes snow off Rose's nose, cheeks, hair. Their difference in height is almost comical – Toby nearly towers over her. Rose's face floods with colour and she nods wordlessly, a shy smile playing on her lips. The entire scene is so picturesque that Scorpius wants to projectile vomit.
(Also, doesn't Toby have a fucking girlfriend?)
Albus gives Scorpius a bewildered glance (he obviously finds this as weird as Scorpius does) but Caitlyn barely even notices. She gathers up a monster of a snowball and lobs it at Albus, giggling in earnest. His glasses are knocked askew and the snowball fight resumes.
-.-.-
This is his first proper Christmas dinner with the Weasley-Potters at The Burrow, and he'll admit that he really, really enjoys it. Uncle Ron is getting drunk on eggnog, the Scamander twins and their wacky mum are singing some scarily off-key rendition of a Muggle Christmas carol, and Scorpius' stomach is stuffed full with turkey.
When the clock strikes twelve midnight, Grandpa Weasley raises his glass of Ogden's Best Firewhiskey in the air. All conversation dies down and everyone else follows suit (the underage ones raise mugs of hot chocolate). Scorpius, Caitlyn and Toby are momentarily confused. Albus mouths at them to raise their mugs too, and they obediently do as their told.
"To Fred Weasley," Uncle George says solemnly, eyes shining with tears.
"To Fred Weasley," everyone echoes, and the atmosphere abruptly turns sombre. Everyone drinks to this bloke Fred Weasley and not long after the chatter and laughter return and everything is back to normal again.
"We toast to my Uncle Fred every year at Christmas," Albus explains gravely to Caitlyn, Toby and Scorpius. Rose looks on with a sad expression on her face. "He was my Uncle George's identical twin and he died in The Battle of Hogwarts."
"Oh," Scorpius says, because what else can he say?
"I'm sorry," Caitlyn looks stricken. "It must have been awful for your Uncle George."
"I don't know, I never actually knew him." Albus shrugs, going back to his plateful of baked potatoes. "I hear he was a really cool bloke, though."
He notices that Rose sees the slightly uncomfortable look on his face and she changes the topic to something happier.
(He's feels sorry for Uncle Fred's death, of course, but subjects like this always make him a little awkward.)
-.-.-
It's Valentine's Day (which is a stupid fucking holiday, in his opinion) and he's in the Great Hall, wolfing down some breakfast with Albus when he sees Toby with a bunch of roses in his hands, walking quickly towards the Gryffindor table. He watches as Toby creeps up behind Caitlyn, taps her on the shoulder and presents her with the bouquet when she turns around with her straw-blond hair flying. There's scattered applause and several hoots.
Rose, who's sitting beside Caitlyn, looks shattered.
Scorpius looks back down at his watery egg.
"Wow," Albus sniggers a little. "Toby kind of has it bad for Caitlyn."
"Yeah. I mean, flowers? Flowers are fucking overrated. Actually, Valentine's Day is fucking overrated," Scorpius takes a long drag of orange juice.
Albus looks at him curiously. "You alright, Scor? What're you all worked up about?"
(Scorpius doesn't even know.)
-.-.-
A few hours later, Sofia Alvarez tells him she never wants to see his face again after Scorpius snorts derisively when she suggests that they do something a little special today. Seriously, if he knew she was the type of girl who went crazy over Valentine's Day, he probably wouldn't have started snogging her.
Scorpius just shrugs and says, "Do whatever you want. I don't fucking care."
(This is the seventh time a girl has slapped him.)
-.-.-
He decides that he's going to lay off girls for a while after that.
-.-.-
This is the first time he enters the Room of Requirement—
Albus comes flying in their dorm one early Sunday night. He's trying to finish up a star chart on his bed and Toby is gone somewhere with Caitlyn.
"I have to show you something!" Albus cries.
Scorpius looks up from his messy scrawl. "Eh?"
"I don't—I have—amazing—just come!" Albus is so excited his speech comes out garbled and he's literally jumping up and down. Scorpius throws his chart aside and obliges.
Twenty minutes later, they're slinking under James Potter's Invisibility Cloak on the seventh-floor and Albus comes to a stop beside this hideous tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy attempting to teach trolls ballet.
"Er – I'm sorry, Albs, but there are tapestries everywhere in Hogwarts. I don't see what's so bloody special about this one. Yeah, it's pretty ugly, but—"
"No—not the tapestry!" Albus punches him lightly on the shoulder. "Okay, you stay under the Invisibility Cloak and watch me," he slips away before Scorpius can say anything else. Scorpius curses under his breath and watches Albus walk back on forth in front of the tapestry whilst muttering something under his breath. He thinks that this is the definitely weirdest thing he's ever seen Albus do.
This carries on for another minute and Scorpius is about to get the fuck back to the common room when a door just appears out of nowhere. Scorpius blinks and tugs the Invisibility Cloak off his head.
"There! There it is!" Albus cries, pointing excitedly. "The Room of Requirement! My dad's always talking about this room but he absolutely refuses to tell James and me how to find it. But there it is! Hah!"
"Great. A magical room. What does it do?"
After Albus briefly explains to him what the Room of Requirement does, Scorpius is kind of amazed.
"Think of all the possibilities!" Albus whoops. Then he grabs Scorpius again and leads him towards the dark mahogany door. "Take a look inside."
Scorpius twists the knob open and he's greeted by a strange sight. It's a large, tiled room filled to the brim with chamber pots. "Er..." he says, stepping back with a raised eyebrow.
Albus flushes a little. "Sorry, but I just really had to go."
(They use the Room of Requirement much more often after tonight. Mostly for victory parties and his own fifteenth birthday celebration, but Scorpius occasionally brings a girl over and thinks hard of a room with a nice, soft bed in it.)
-.-.-
They lose the Quidditch cup to Gryffindor. Again.
(It's getting fucking annoying.)
-.-.-
It's several weeks till final exams and Scorpius hardly ever sees Rose anymore. When he does, she usually has her head buried deep in a textbook. He finds her one day in the library at her usual corner, books stacked high and arranged in a sort of fort around her armchair. Her eyes flit across the pages of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.
"Hey, Weasley," Scorpius flops down on an armchair opposite and stretches lazily.
"Oh. Hello, Scorpius," Rose looks up and gives him a fleeting, distracted smile. "Merlin, I'm never going to make it in time for exams," she runs a hand through her messy red hair, and Scorpius observes in partial awe as her hair glows a deep, fiery gold-red against the sun.
"Relax, Weasley, we've still got four weeks left," Scorpius picks up a random dusty tome and starts flicking absent-mindedly. "I cannot fucking wait for summer to start."
Rose nods vaguely. "You really should study, Scorpius. You're an intelligent person, and I think you could come top in exams if you really tried. Remember when you used to come second to me when we were in first and second-year?"
Scorpius bobs his head, grinning a little at the memory.
Then Rose tells him to read up on his Herbology and they both spend the next two hours in silence.
(He actually really likes these long moments of peace spent together with Rose. Reading is the only time she ever properly shuts up.)
(Also, he can't help it, but Rose's head is really distracting, so he doesn't revise so much as stare in fascination at her hair. He swears she's the only Weasley with red hair in this vibrant shade.)
-.-.-
The next day, he's in the library looking for Rose again (What? Get off his fucking case, okay? It's nice, spending time with her) but he sees Toby in his spot, with Rose in the armchair opposite. Toby's telling her some story that must be really amusing because Rose is laughing and she's not telling him to shut his gob so she can study.
Scorpius turns on his heel and gets the fuck out of the library.
-.-.-
"What's going on between you and Rose, mate?" Scorpius asks abruptly one morning, when the both of them are done doing some bench presses in the Quidditch pitch. They're both sweaty from exertion and Toby pauses in the middle of wiping his brow.
Scorpius watches Toby as he plops himself down on a bleacher. After a long pause, he replies, "I don't really know."
(He sounds even more confused than Scorpius is.)
-.-.-
Later that night, when Albus and Thierry are asleep, Toby asks quietly from his bed, "D'you think it's possible to like two girls at the same time?"
Scorpius doesn't answer and he pretends to be asleep.
Fifth Year
He really, really wants to stop being so bothered about the idea of Rose and Toby together — since Toby all but fucking admitted to him that he kind of, maybe liked Rose too. But he discovers it's doubly impossible during the summer because of those criminally tiny shorts and tank tops Rose wears. All. The. Time.
And since when did her legs get so long?
So, he does this thing where he just pushes her out of his mind and tries to concentrate on something else. It works most of the time.
(Not really.)
-.-.-
One particular morning, after he's done with his daily laps around The Burrow (he's staying over this summer, too), he finds Rose at the pond again. He doesn't like the way he sort of gets all relaxed when he sees her there, reading. He doesn't like it at fucking all.
"Morning, Weasley," he greets, like so many other times before. He's normally not one for routine but he likes this one just fine.
"Good morning, Scorpius," Rose glances away from the pages of her book long enough to throw him a warm smile.
(She'd given up a long time ago trying to get Scorpius to call her by her first name.)
(He'd given up a long time ago trying to get Rose to call him by his nickname.)
She pats the stretch of grass beside her, preoccupied with her book again. Scorpius lies down and closes his eyes, already feeling fuzzy inside as the sun warms his eyelids.
He doesn't know how much time has passed when he hears someone say loudly, "Hey, Rose!"
His eyes slowly blink open and he hears rapid footfalls somewhere to his right.
"Oh, good morning!" Rose returns, snapping her book shut.
Her voice is all soft and fluttery and different, and Scorpius instantly recognizes it as the voice she only uses when Toby is in near vicinity.
(Okay, what the fuck? Why does he even know that?)
He sits up and sees Toby jogging over, clad in an old gray sweatshirt. Toby's face jerks in surprise and mild confusion when he sees Scorpius sitting upright beside her. "Morning, Scor."
He grunts in reply, already feeling irritated. The previous fuzzy feelings have completely dissipated.
"I thought I'd find you out here," Toby grins boyishly. "What's the book about?" he sits down on the rock beside Rose and Rose launches enthusiastically into a long, winded, and complex summary of the book she's reading. Scorpius can tell by the look of Toby's face that he doesn't comprehend a single word she's saying but he's concentrating mostly on her face anyway, so he nods at regular intervals and makes noises of agreement.
Scorpius wants to yell, "Bloody hell, you already have a girlfriend!" but that would make him a huge hypocrite anyway so he restrains himself and leaves.
(He thinks Rose doesn't even notice he's gone.)
-.-.-
He sees the devastated look on Rose's face when Toby and Caitlyn sneak off right in the middle little Muggle barbecue (courtesy of Aunt Hermione) at The Burrow next Monday.
So he walks over with his plate of greasy chicken wings and sits down beside her. "You have to get over Toby," he tells her bluntly.
Rose gapes at him for a few seconds before blushing furiously. She returns to ripping the foil off a charred baked potato. She waits until all the silvery strips are off before she answers stiffly, "That's none of your business."
"It fucking is, because I see how disappointed you get whenever Toby goes off with Caitlyn," Scorpius picks up a chicken wing and sinks his teeth into it. "And, well—you know—you're a friend, Weasley, and it's—it's not nice, seeing you so sad and hung up on him." He's inarticulate at best when it comes to expressing his feelings, but that'll have to do.
Rose looks at him like he just spouted off poetry, or something. "Why, Scorpius, I do believe that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," Rose starts snorting with laughter. It's so infectious Scorpius breaks out in a grin a second later.
"Well?" he presses.
Rose frowns and purses her lips. "Believe me, if I knew how to get over him, I'd have done that by now," she bows her head and lets out a small sigh.
(Not exactly the answer he's looking for, but he guesses it's enough for now.)
-.-.-
A few hours later, Uncle George sets off some of his famous fireworks and everyone lies down on the grass to enjoy the display. There's gigantic Catherine Wheels, fiery dragons, rockets and showers of multi-coloured sparks. The summer night air is pleasantly warm, his fingers are still sticky from barbecue sauce, and grass is poking him in the back. He thinks he won't be able to forget this moment, even if he tried.
(Plus, Rose lies down next to him and he fucking likes it when her thigh brushes up against his. Multiple times.)
-.-.-
It's his last two weeks of summer and he's in The Burrow, helping Grandma Weasley and Mrs Potter prepare for dinner tonight when his mother bursts through the door, crying hysterically. Scorpius is frozen in shock, but Mrs Potter gets to her before he does.
"I can't bloody stand him anymore!" Astoria sets several large suitcases down on the floor and starts sobbing. Mrs Potter runs a hand up and down her back soothingly, and she has the good sense not to ask any questions yet.
(Scorpius thinks he knows what – or whom his mother is talking about.)
"It's become unbearable, living in that house," his mother palms her cheeks. "Can I possibly stay here for a few days?"
Scorpius drops his dish cloth and goes over uncertainly. "Mum? Is everything alright?"
His mother looks up with red, puffy eyes. "Oh, Scor," she lets out a tired, ragged breath. "I'm sorry you had to see this."
She pulls him into a hug and Scorpius doesn't even protest like he usually does.
-.-.-
A few days later, it's nine in the morning and Scorpius is done with his daily run. He reaches for a cold glass of milk on the breakfast laden table (Grandma Molly is amazing) and nearly spits the milk out again when over ten owls soar noisily through an open window, scaring him shitless.
"Hogwarts letters are here!" he hollers as loudly as he can. He reaches for a tawny owl and rips his letter off its claws carefully. Rose, Toby, Caitlyn, James, Lily and a whole bunch of other people thunder down the stairs, rubbing their eyes sleepily and stretching. They accost the hooting owls and there's a brief, excited cacophony of ripping paper.
"I'm Quidditch captain!" James Potter announces in an almost surprised tone, and everyone claps him on the back.
His letter has all the usual stuff – book lists, a reminder for OWLs. Scorpius stuffs all the parchment back and notices Toby gawping at his letter with a gobsmacked expression on his face.
Albus, who's done perusing the contents of his letters, glances over at Toby and lets out a whoop. "Toby is Prefect!"
Scorpius sees the glint of his Prefect's badge as Toby holds it up and he starts laughing and guffawing, because yeah, he should've expected it.
Toby goes red and starts stuttering. "Prefect? But—what—"
"I'm a Prefect, too!" Rose lets out an ecstatic, blissful squeal and throws her arms around Toby's neck. His arm automatically goes around Rose's waist and hugs her back. She's lifted a few inches into the air and they're both laughing.
"Congratulations," he mumbles against her red hair. Rose smiles and pulls away. Caitlyn observes all this with an undecipherable expression on her face.
(Scorpius has stopped laughing completely.)
-.-.-
They have a small party that night to celebrate Toby and Rose's newly appointed Prefect status and James' captainship. Grandma Molly cooks all their favourite things for a gigantic feast. Toby, Caitlyn, Albus, Rose and Scorpius manage to sneak out with a half-full bottle of mead the grown-ups were drinking. They take turns sipping the rich, golden liquid on their hill and Scorpius loves the way it burns on the way down.
Rose and Caitlyn refuse to swallow a single drop of mead, but after much persuasion Caitlyn relents. Rose lectures them on the effects of alcoholic consumption and eventually says she's only going to drink one sip, that's all.
Then one sip turns into five and before Rose knows it she's drunk.
Turns out Drunk Rose talks even more than Normal Rose. She babbles on and on about all sorts of shit and she starts dancing around a little, swaying to some beat none of them can hear and asking them repeatedly, "Don't the stars just look so-o-o incredible tonight?" in this dreamy, slurred voice.
He thinks Rose's low tolerance for alcohol (seriously, she had like five mouthfuls) is kind of cute.
Scorpius hasn't laughed so hard in months. He almost manages to forget the fact that Toby and Rose are going to be spending a lot more time together on patrols and Prefect duties and shit this year.
-.-.-
The train ride to Hogwarts the very next day is total chaos. Everyone oversleeps because of the crazy party the night before and there's a lot of confusion as everyone tries to make their way through the utter pandemonium in The Burrow. Books are flying, luggages are being tripped over and there's a lot of screaming. Scorpius does a fair bit of yelling himself when he discovers that all his books for fifth-year seem to have disappeared (he finds them later under the sink in the kitchen, stacked neatly in a pile and he has no fucking idea how they even got there).
They board the Hogwarts Express with several seconds to spare and they're laughing breathlessly because, yeah, the whole thing is sort of hilarious. They find a compartment to squeeze into but then Rose announces that she and Toby are going to have to go over to the Prefect's Carriage.
(The train ride is suddenly a lot less fun.)
-.-.-
They still meet up every other morning at the Black Lake, though.
"I've already drawn up a study timetable for the both of us," Rose announces the moment he steps over and sits down. She presents him the most complicated timetable Scorpius has ever seen. There's illustrations, graphs, and even a pie chart on it. "This should help some with your study schedule, because I've already told you plenty of times before — getting good grades in your OWLs is imperative in ensuring yourself a good future and a stable job."
Scorpius examines the timetable for a moment. "OWLs are in April. And it's October."
"I know! I really should get started on revising, but my Prefect duties are eating up a huge chunk of my time," Rose says, anxiously chewing on her lower lip. "You won't believe how dull my patrols can get."
"Who d'you patrol with?" Scorpius asks idly with his eyes closed and her timetable stuffed carefully in his pocket.
Rose pauses for a bit and shoots him a guilty look. "Toby."
Scorpius sighs. "Does Caitlyn know?"
"No, not exactly."
"You know, you're going to destroy Caitlyn when she finds out," Scorpius stares up at the blue, cloudless sky. "You're her best friend."
Rose looks shamed for a moment but she quirks an eyebrow. "Whatever's going on between Toby and me is pretty much one-sided, anyway."
"No, it isn't. Toby's fucking likes you," Scorpius replies, without much thought.
Rose lights up like a bloody Christmas tree. "Wait—what?" she splutters.
(He swears, if it were possible, he'd kick himself hard in the arse right now.)
-.-.-
In Potions he gets a new partner, Yvonne Edgecombe. She's pretty much useless as a partner in Potions because all she does is flutter her eyelashes and preen when he's around.
(Toby and Rose are partners again. This is getting ridiculous.)
-.-.-
He's got Yvonne pinned under him in a random broom closet in the third-floor corridor. The broom closet is tiny and something is poking him in his back, but he's far too distracted because both their shirts are off and Yvonne is running her hands down his chest.
"Scor," She says breathily, and Scorpius tightens his grip on the back of her head as he snogs her hard on her mouth. He leaves a trail of kisses on her pale neck and her skin is hot and flush against his.
She arches, purring, as Scorpius dances his fingers across her bare stomach. Yvonne's gasps sound deafening in the cramped space of the broom closet. He's about to tell her to keep it down a little —the Prefects are doing their nightly patrols — when she reaches behind her and unsnaps her bra. She giggles when Scorpius groans and licks his lips a little because, this? So hot.
She's reaches up for him for another kiss when the broom closet door swings open and Rose and Toby are standing there with disapproving expressions on their faces. Rose instantly lets out a cry of horror. "Merlin!"
Toby starts snickering. "Should've known it was you, Scor."
Yvonne presses her shirt up against her bare chest and says, "Oops." Her lips are swollen and her eyes look dazed.
"I should give you detention for this behaviour!" Rose cries, outraged. "What—inappropriate—never—"
(If she thinks that Scorpius doesn't notice the way her eyes linger on his chest, then she's sorely mistaken.)
Scorpius tosses on his crumpled shirt and robes (he's a little disappointed that their snogging session was cut short) and he stumbles out of the broom closet. "We'll be going now." He waves dismissively at Toby and Rose, smirking. "C'mon, love," he tugs Yvonne away by her hand and they both disappear down the corridor.
(They resume snogging in another shadowy corner five minutes later.)
-.-.-
Predictably, Rose gives him a small lecture on abstinence and self-control a few mornings later when they meet up again at the Black Lake.
"I'm aware that as a testosterone charged teenage boy, you are sometimes unable to control your urges. But please, do keep away from broom closets," Rose says, half-reprimanding and half-amused.
"Oh, stop complaining, Weasley," Scorpius snatches a piece of marmalade on toast from Rose's hands. "You know you like it when you see me getting in on with someone else."
Rose rolls her eyes. "Your excessive promiscuity is frightening. Not to mention worrying. I've heard all sorts of unbelievable things about you from other girls, you know," she eases herself off the weathered rock and settles herself on the grass next to Scorpius. He's pleasantly surprised – she's never done that before. They lie down side by side on the grass. She removes her shoes slowly and toes off her socks.
"What sort of things?" he says, interest piqued.
He almost misses the flush that creeps up her neck and ears. "Oh, you know. Stupid stuff."
He turns over on his side and stares intently at Rose. She looking at anywhere but him. "Weasley. Tell me."
(He's got a faint inkling of what it is but he wants to hear her say it out loud.)
"No," Rose shoots him an irritated look. "I will not. And judging by that revolting look on your face, I think you already know. So I'm not saying anything."
In a flash, Scorpius has her pinned down with his arms. She's laughing and shoving against his chest and telling him get off, but of course he doesn't listen.
He's got a grin on his face when he puts both his hands on either side of her head (he makes sure not to press on any of her hair, though). He leans down slowly. Her breathless snorts of laughter trail off and Rose stares up at him, a question in her eyes.
"Tell me," he says, and his face is so close to hers their noses are an inch apart. He thinks that she might be holding her breath.
"They—they talk about your—your skills," Rose says in a voice that's barely audible. He moves in closer. The tips of their noses are now brushing. "Mostly about—what you can do. Scorpius—what are you doing?"
(Fuck, he really, really wants to kiss her right now.)
He rolls off Rose and manages to let out a smug snicker. "My skills, huh?"
Rose punches him on his arm, looking repulsed, and everything is back to normal.
-.-.-
He's eating breakfast at the Slytherin table with Albus when Caitlyn suddenly appears through the Great Hall doors and stomps over.
"Hello, Caitlyn," Albus greets. "Are you done with lunch...?" his voice slowly peters out when he sees that Caitlyn's face is red and her eyes are swollen from crying.
"Toby cheated on me!" she wails, and noisily takes a seat opposite of them. She starts bawling afresh. Both Albus and Scorpius choke on their eggs because what? Toby cheating? He just wasn't that kind of bloke.
"He—he—cheated on me! The bloody wanker! Fucking—tosser—" Caitlyn starts spitting out every expletive she can think of. Scorpius and Albus give each other flabbergasted looks. "I saw him kissing Rose! My fucking best friend Rose!"
(Something in Scorpius' stomach clenches tightly.)
"They were on their bloody nightly patrols and—and I was out looking for Toby because I had to kiss him goodnight before I went to bed—and there he was! Kissing Rose!" her hands flail around hysterically. Albus reaches over to comfort her.
"I'm sure it was a mistake," Albus says doubtfully. "I mean, Toby's in love with you."
"I know," she sobs. "That's what makes—makes it worse, because he just told me he loved me for the first time a week ago!"
"How could he be kissing Rose? He doesn't even like her! And I'm pretty sure Rose doesn't like him either," Albus says soothingly.
(Scorpius debates telling Albus that, yes, Toby actually does kind of like Rose, and Rose is fucking in love with Toby, but this is Toby's fucking problem so he'll stay out of it.)
"I'm never talking to him again!" Caitlyn claims dramatically, fingers combing shakily through her tangled hair.
-.-.-
By the end of the day Toby and Caitlyn are the perfect couple again. He witnesses it all himself—Toby bursts late into Herbology, scaring everyone as he desperately tells Caitlyn that he's so sorry and that the kiss never meant anything and that he loves her so much. Caitlyn practically melts on the spot and she throws her hands around him. Everyone in the greenhouse applauds, but Rose (who's listening to every word in the corner) looks like she's about to burst into tears at any moment.
Scorpius turns back to his potted Libyan Locust Lilies and savagely snaps off a branch.
-.-.-
He tries to talk to her all day but Rose is purposely avoiding him. So he corners her after Divination. Rose's eyes aren't red or puffy (thank Merlin – he always feels lost and useless around crying girls) but her lips are pressed together in a tight line.
"Are you alright, Weasley?" he asks quietly, and he awkwardly pulls her in for a hug, because the look on her face tells him that she needs one. Desperately. Especially since Caitlyn probably isn't talking to her anymore. Rose hugs him back half-heartedly.
"Yes. I suppose I'm alright," she exhales noisily. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really, really need to take your advice and get over Toby." She tucks her head under his chin and they stay like that for a few more moments before Rose breaks away and says that she's going to go to the library for some light reading.
(Scorpius follows and they spend the rest of the afternoon nestled up in the library together.)
-.-.-
That night, Albus and Scorpius accost him when he returns to their dormitory.
"Tell us what's fucking going on, mate," Albus glares at Toby, who shrinks back against the wall, looking faintly terrified. "You snogged my cousin! And hurt Caitlyn!"
"I fucked up. I'm pretty bloody confused myself," Toby admits. "But you two have to promise not to rip me apart from limb to limb, alright?"
Both of them stare stonily back.
Toby sighs. "Alright, so, Rose and I were patrolling corridors yesterday night. And, well, it gets pretty boring after a while, especially if there's no one to give detention to. So we stopped for a while by Gryffindor's common room portrait – you know, the one with the huge lady – to rest, and I—I dunno, we just started talking and I've liked Rose for a pretty long time—"
"What?" Albus yelps at this confession. "Since when?"
"I dunno – near the end of third year, probably," Toby says sheepishly. "I honestly don't know what got over me. I shouldn't have done that at all, I know. I feel like a complete git. So, we were talking, and then there was this huge pause. Rose was kind of looking at me with this—this expression, so I just leaned down and—and kissed her." He looks shamed. "I'm bloody confused. I mean, I love Caitlyn but I like Rose too so I have no idea what's going on."
Scorpius shakes his head. "Do you know how much you hurt Rose? I mean, she has this huge crush on you."
Albus' head whips around. "Wait, seriously?" his jaw unhinges.
Toby nods miserably. "Yeah, I know."
"Rose likes Toby?" Albus gawps.
"So, Caitlyn's totally forgiven you?" Scorpius interjects, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, more or less," Toby says unhappily. "I'll go apologize to Rose tomorrow. It was a stupid thing to do — promise it won't happen again."
"Just make sure you don't hurt her again," Scorpius snarls, still not quite managing to forgive Toby completely.
Albus and Toby give him perplexed looks. "Er—you're being very protective," Albus says.
Scorpius is about to say of course he's protective, they're friends, for Merlin's sake, when he remembers that nobody knows about their frequent little meetings at the Black Lake and how Rose practically tells him everything that's going on in her life, so of course he doesn't want her all depressed and heartbroken or anything.
(Fuck, he sounds like he's such a disgusting sop. This has got to stop.)
So he says, "I've known her for five years, of course I don't want to see this, you know, happening."
Albus and Toby seem to accept this, and Toby slumps into his bed. "'Night, everyone," he mumbles into his pillow.
-.-.-
A few mornings later, Rose tells him that Toby gave her a very long, satisfying apology whilst patrolling together and she's forgiven him. He can tell that she's trying very hard to sound non-committal and all, but he knows that she's all moony and starry-eyed for Toby. Again.
(What is it about Toby's I'm-such-a-lovable-idiot-please-forgive-me routine that has Rose and Caitlyn swooning?)
"How was it, by the way?" Scorpius interrupts her tirade. Rose's brow furrows.
"How was what?"
"The kiss."
Rose turns red. "It was very, very nice," she says with this faraway look on her face.
(He translates this mentally to, "It was fucking fantastic.")
"But... I was better though, right?" he says with a grin, and Rose rolls her eyes.
(He's kind of glad that he was her first instead of Toby.)
-.-.-
Their first Quidditch match of the year is against Ravenclaw. Scorpius catches the Snitch in fifteen minutes and they win two hundred to sixty. Yvonne Edgecombe rewards him by going down on Scorpius for the first time ever, and she does this thing with her tongue that has him seeing stars.
(It's amazing as fuck, and he definitely wants to do it again.)
-.-.-
It starts snowing somewhere in the middle of January. The snow is seven feet thick, and nearly the entire school spends their Saturdays and Sundays outside, having huge free-for-all snowball fights. Rose charms a long piece of wood for a snow sled, and most of the fifth-years in their classes race each other down uneven slopes.
Scorpius stands at the top of a particular steep one. He adjusts his gloves and he's about to launch himself down when he catches sight of Rose losing control of her sled and colliding into Toby. Snow explodes around them and when it eventually clears Toby and Rose are all tangled together at the bottom of the slope, laughing.
He turns his head to look elsewhere, and sees Caitlyn giving him a weird expression. It looks like a cross between sudden comprehension and heartbreak.
(He doesn't like it.)
-.-.-
Christmas at The Burrow is strange.
Turns out his mother is still living there temporarily, and she's now kind of best friends with Grandma Molly and Mrs Potter. He finds her cutting carrots with Grandma Molly when Scorpius and the Weasley-Potter clan get back from King's Cross Station.
"Hello, Scorpius darling," his mother greets. She looks a lot happier than she was last summer, so Scorpius supposes that's good thing.
Then Grandma Molly lugs out an entire box of knitted jumpers and says, "Come and get your jumpers!"
He hangs back and watches as a whole crowd of people rummage around in the box and pull on their respective jumpers. Shocked isn't a good enough word to describe what he feels when Albus holds up a serpent-green one with the letter S in white on the front. "Here's yours!" he waves the jumper in the air and chucks it.
Scorpius catches it and stares. Then he looks up at Grandma Molly, who gives him a warm smile. "I thought I'd knit one for you this year."
Scorpius swallows back the lump in his throat and tugs it over his head. The sleeves are a little too long but otherwise it fits perfectly. The gesture seems simple, but somehow it feels like a really big deal. He knows how horrible the Malfoys were to the Weasleys even before he was born. His father still has some grudge against them, for Merlin's sake.
He finds himself at a loss for words, so he reaches over and gives Grandma Molly a long hug instead.
(When Grandma Molly pulls away, her eyes look a little shinier than usual, so Scorpius thinks she knows what he was trying to convey.)
-.-.-
Rose and Toby act differently around each other now. Scorpius isn't even sure how to properly explain it, but it's as though they're more... aware of each other now. When Rose comes into the room, Toby brightens up considerably. They inevitably end up sitting together during meals. Rose laughs more when Toby's around.
(He has no idea what to think of this.)
-.-.-
He comes down to the kitchen one day to see Caitlyn standing at a window, looking out with a pensive expression on her face. Scorpius walks over and peers out with her. Outside, Toby and Rose are walking together beyond The Burrow's fence. They're not holding hands or any of that shit but what he sees is pretty obvious—two people disgustingly smitten with each other.
Caitlyn murmurs, "I think he's in love with someone else now." She's not hysterical or anything, which kind of makes it creepier.
"Yeah," Scorpius looks away.
-.-.-
It's the night after the Christmas feast and he finds Rose sitting on the kitchen countertop with her legs tucked underneath her. A steaming mug of hot chocolate is cradled in her hands.
"Nice jumper," Rose smiles and cocks her head at his torso. "The green looks good on you."
"Thanks," he mixes himself up some hot chocolate too. Scorpius heaves himself up on the countertop beside her. "Couldn't sleep?" he takes a long sip.
Rose shakes her head. Something is off about her. "If I tell you something, will you promise not to breathe a word about to anyone?"
Scorpius' ears perk up. "Sure."
"I mean it, Scorpius," Rose looks up at him with her big brown eyes. "You can't even tell Albus. Or certainly not Caitlyn. This is between us and us only."
(He kind of likes the way that sounds.)
"Alright, so tell me," He swings his legs back and forth.
"Toby and I kissed today," she blurts out. Scorpius immediately springs to his feet, blood boiling.
"Again?! I'm going to fucking kill him—" Scorpius growls, because bloody hell, what's wrong with Toby? If he wants Caitlyn, then stick to Caitlyn. This is just leading Rose on.
"Scorpius, I kissed him."
Somehow this is a big (huge) difference. "Okay," Scorpius says finally.
"I just wanted you to hear it from me, not from others," Rose bites her bottom lip and stares into her empty cup. "We were sitting outside on the veranda, talking about something I can't really remember, and then it just—it just happened. And—"
"Why are you telling me all this?" Scorpius cuts in, not wanting to hear more.
"Because—" Rose looks up and glares. "You're my only friend, Scorpius. Caitlyn's forgiven me for the thing with Toby a few weeks ago but things aren't really the same anymore. And I certainly don't blame her for it. I did something awful. I'm sorry if you feel like I'm—I'm pushing all my problems on you or something... but I really need someone to talk to now."
So Scorpius hops off the countertop and listens.
"I'm just a little confused—" Great, Scorpius thinks, first Toby now Rose. "—and I don't really know what to do. So I kind of need your opinion. Even though you're probably the last one anyone would go to for relationship advice," she adds as an afterthought. This is probably the first time he's heard Rose sound so unsure and vulnerable and he hates the fact that it's all because of Toby-sodding-Arlington.
"I don't have any advice," Scorpius says. "Except maybe to back the fuck off or at least wait until Toby's broken up with Caitlyn. Which is probably going to happen soon, because Caitlyn knows exactly what's going on between the two of you. I don't know what the bloody hell you guys are doing behind her back, and I don't really want to know—"
Rose's brow furrows and he can tell he's hurt her. "You're such a bloody hypocrite!" she shouts. She pushes her mug aside and unfolds her legs. "I can't believe you have the nerve to lecture me about me and Toby! I mean, you snog a different girl every week!"
"At least I don't do it behind their boyfriend's back!" Scorpius snarls. Rose's face darkens in shame, and he knows he's said too much.
They fall silent for a few tense seconds, both of them heaving with heightened emotions. Their ugly exchange hangs in the air between them. Without thinking about it, he leans over and kisses her.
(He doesn't really know why. It could be the fact that he's wanted to do it since that day at the Black Lake when he pinned her down.)
She freezes for a moment but when she starts kissing him back, Scorpius' brain shrinks by roughly seventy-percent. He briefly wonders just how much kissing Toby and Rose has been doing, because Rose is pretty fucking good. Then he pushes any and all thoughts of Toby out of his mind and concentrates on the task at hand. Which is, of course, kissing her senseless.
He moves in so that he's standing between her pale legs and her tiny hands wrap around his neck, pressing him closer. His fingers dance along her spine and his mind goes blank when her tongue flickers against his bottom lip. This is fucking crazy, Scorpius thinks dazedly, but the thought is quickly wiped out when Rose's legs hook themselves around his waist.
His mouth leaves hers (Rose lets out this sound of protest from the back of her throat) and he kisses his way down her jaw, her ears, and he discovers that the spot where her neck meets her shoulders is particularly sensitive. Her fingers trail along the tops of his jeans, and then—
And then Rose pushes him away, gasping. Scorpius automatically leans in for more (he's not even close to finished) but she manages to wriggle out of his arms.
"What the bloody hell was that for?" she asks, lips red from the kissing.
He shrugs. "I just wanted to."
They stand like that for a few more moments, both breathing heavily. Then Rose says, "I'm still angry at you," and she practically flees back upstairs.
(Scorpius takes a cold shower before he goes to bed.)
-.-.-
He doesn't get another chance to talk to Rose until after Christmas Break is over. He pulls Rose out of their train compartment and quickly says, "I'm sorry," before she can run away, or scream at him, or maybe both.
"For the things you said about me or the kiss?" Rose asks, folding her arms across her chest. She blushes a little when she mentions the kiss, and Scorpius takes that as a good sign.
"What kiss?" he feigns an innocent expression, and Rose just has to smile.
-.-.-
He skips Potions for the whole week because the thought of having to watch Toby and Rose make revolting googly eyes at each other makes him kind of sick. Plus, Yvonne is kind of getting on his nerves now.
-.-.-
He knows that it was only a matter of time before it happened, but news of Toby and Caitlyn breaking up (for good) is spreads all over the school in the matter of hours. Even so, he still feels like punching someone's lights out when he hears.
-.-.-
Albus insists on holding this gigantic party at the Slytherin common room when it's his sixteenth birthday. James and Fred sneak in a huge barrel of Firewhiskey and almost everyone is invited. They tell several house elves to keep guard outside the entrance, and by midnight the party is in full swing. He gets totally bladdered. When it's nearly two, a gorgeous sixth-year Slytherin named Clementine leads him up to her dorm and he loses his virginity.
(This just might be the best party ever.)
-.-.-
He decides that he's really got to sit down properly and do some studying for his upcoming OWLs. Rose is ecstatic and she insists that he study with her.
"It'll be fun," she says. So he turns up at the library the next day but sees that Toby is already in his armchair opposite of Rose. Toby looks up at him, surprised, when he approaches.
"Hey, Scor," Toby greets, and Scorpius nods in response, a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"Oh, hello, Scorpius!" Rose says cheerily, her eyes brighter than usual. "Come over and sit down here," she pats another vacant armchair.
Scorpius hesitates for a moment. "No, thanks. Sorry—busy."
And he quickly walks away before Rose can call him back.
-.-.-
Fuck, he really should've started studying earlier.
It's two weeks to OWLs. Albus and Scorpius are frantically trying to cram five years worth of magical education into their exhausted brains. Albus keeps attempting to transfigure his teacup into a turtle but all it does is turn it green and hard. Toby is muttering some Charms incantation under his breath. Scorpius has been reading his copy of One Thousand and One Magical Herbs and Fungi for so long his eyes are watering.
"Feraverto!" Albus hisses, jabbing his wand at the teacup again. Nothing happens. "Feraverto! Fera-fucking-verto, why can't you just fucking turn into a fucking turtle! Fuck!" he yells at the teacup, and throws his wand across the room. It emits a shower of red sparks when it falls and the carpet is set on fire.
(Scorpius would laugh but he frankly doesn't have enough energy to.)
-.-.-
A day before OWLs, Rose completely flips. He finds her in the Courtyard one day when she's supposed to be at Arithmancy. It's how he knows something is up, because Rose Weasley never, ever misses a class. Ever.
"I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this," she keeps repeating over and over again. Her eyes are wild and she's shivering uncontrollably. "I'm going to fail everything and my future will be ruined and I won't ever be able to take my NEWTs and I'm going to get expelled from Hogwarts because of my poor academic performance—" she babbles.
Scorpius grabs both of her shoulders with his hands and looks at her dead in the eye. She gulps and stares back.
"Rose. Listen to me," he says slowly, and Scorpius hopes she gets every word. "You have been the top of every class in our year since first year. You are one of the smartest witches of your time. You've been preparing for your OWLs since you were in fourth year. You are not going to fail. In fact, you're going to get Os in everything. You're smart. You're amazing. You're brilliant. You are going to ace this. Okay?"
Rose's breathing slows and she nods shakily. "Okay."
-.-.-
OWLs are an agonizing week of torture. He completely fucked up in Divination when he told the examiner that he was going to have ten gnome children by the time he was thirty. But Divination is a huge joke, anyway, so he's pretty sure his future'll still be okay if he gets a huge Troll. He's pretty sure his Astronomy is done for because he was halfway through his huge, complicated chart when he realized that it was upside down. He confused "Alarte Ascendare" with "Alacarte Axendar" in Charms.
But he's actually thinks he did alright. He knows he didn't fail everything, anyway.
-.-.-
His last two weeks at Hogwarts are pure, unadulterated bliss. All of his professors aren't teaching anything anymore so he spends most of his time outside in the sun, sitting in a circle with Caitlyn, Toby, Rose and Albus as they talk. Things are still kinda weird between Caitlyn, Toby, and Rose, but the end-of-exams atmosphere manages to ease tensions a little.
He knows it'll probably never be the same again though — he definitely notices that Rose and Caitlyn don't talk as much anymore.
-.-.-
Two days before they leave Hogwarts for summer holidays at The Burrow, Toby bounds in to their dorm while he's packing.
"Scor!" he yells, hardly able to contain his excitement. "I've got the best news ever!"
Scorpius gets a sinking feeling in his stomach and he thinks he already knows what Toby is going to say.
Toby giddily flops onto his dorm bed. "Rose is my girlfriend. I asked her and she said yes! Can you believe it?"
(He wishes he didn't have to.)
A/N: Review? (: Couldn't fit sixth-year in because it was getting too long, so I'm moving it to the next chapter.