Chapter 5

"Hey, Malfoy! Wait up for me. I have to talk to you." Scorpius heard while he was leaving the Great Hall after dinner two days after his talk with Lily Potter. He didn't recognize the voice, so he slowed down and turned around. There, he saw Lily Potter making her way towards him.

"Hey, Lily," he said when she got closer to him.

"Malfoy, er, Scorpius, I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted down by the lake. You were just trying to help. I'm sorry."

Scorpius could hardly believe his ears. He couldn't believe that Lily Potter was actually apologizing to him. He let him mask drop for a second, but then quickly put it back up again. In his playboy tone, he said, "Of course you are."

"I didn't apologize to you just to hear you be cocky," Lily responded with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry," Scorpius said. He wondered what Lily was going to said. After a moment, he said, "So...

"Oh," Lily jumpily said. "Um... If you really want to know why I was crying, ask Rose. I guess you are just crying to help. Tell Rose that I told you to ask her. I would tell you, but it is just too painful."

Scorpius silently groaned. He wondered how he would get Rose to talk to him. "Okay. I'll ask Rose, but I don't think she'll tell me."

"Why not?"

"She hasn't said a kind word to me since before I broke up with her. She hates me." Rose actually hasn't said anything to him since they got back from break, but he didn't want Lily to know that.

"Well, I'm not sure that hate is the right word to use. Maybe can't stand you or annoyed by you would work better. But definitely not hate. Rose could never hate anyone," Lily pleaded.

"I'm almost positive that she hates me," Scorpius retorted. "I'll ask her, but I'm not expecting her to tell me anything. So if I ask you again, don't be annoyed."

Lily paused for a minute, as if wrapping her head around the declaration. Then, she said, "You would be surprised at what a little kindness could to. After all, you were kind to me and now I'm telling you one of my biggest secrets." After this, Lily smiled slightly and walked off.

Scorpius looked at the retreating figure of Lily. Then he set off towards the Head Boy and Girl dorms to talk to Rose.

[-**-]

Rose didn't want to play Quidditch right now. Even though she wasn't on the team, Al, the captain, wanted her to do a demonstration with him. Rose never agreed to do it, but Al thought that she was coming anyways. Besides, if he really wanted to do a demonstration, he should use the real team's Keeper. That way, he'll know what to do as well.

Instead of being at the pitch, she was sitting in her room, hiding from him. Al didn't know what her password was, so she thought she was safe. When she her the door slam and running up her stairs, she jumped, frightened that it was Al. Hoping he would just go away, Rose didn't move a mussel. Sadly, Rose wasn't good at hoping because she heard a knock on her door.

Annoyed, she got up and went to go unlock her door while saying, "Al, I told you. I don't want to..." She stopped when she saw who was at the door. It was Scorpius.

He said, "The last time I checked, I wasn't Al." Grinning, he pushed past her and into her room. Then, he proceeded to sit down on her desk chair and put his feet up in her desk. Rose quickly shut the door.

"What are you doing in here? I didn't give you permission," Rose exclaimed, rushing over to him. With one push, she made Scorpius put his feet down. She couldn't believe that he was in her room. She wanted nothing more than to drag him over to her bed and... No! She couldn't think about that. She had to focus.

"And what fun would it be if I did get permission? Besides, I'm here for a very important reason," he commented, putting his feet back up on her desk.

Rose glared at him and his feet, but didn't say a word about them. Instead, she said, "What would that reason be?"

"Lily told me to come and talk to you. I asked her about why she was crying," Scorpius said, now looking in Rose's eyes, which he had been avoiding.

Rose was taken back. When did Scorpius see her crying, and why did he even care. Since when did he care about her family? "Why do you care?" she asked, stalling.

Scorpius put his hand over his heart, playing like he was wounded. Rose realized that she missed their playful banter. "I'm actually a very caring person, I'll have you know, as well as kind," he said, still playing hurt.

"But still," Rose said, not looking at him. She didn't want to be caught in his eyes.

"When I saw her crying, I wanted to help. In order to help, I have to know and understand what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong."

"Rose," Scorpius said, taking his feet off her desk and capturing her hand. "I know you know why she was crying."

But Rose couldn't speak. She was too caught up in what Scorpius was doing. Her mind couldn't process anything because besides Scorpius' hand in hers. It just felt right for them to be together.

"Rose. Answer me."

Scorpius' voice jerked Rose back into the real world. She drew her hand away from his and saunter over to her bed. Scorpius then followed her, getting up from his chair and sitting down next to her on her bed. They just looked at each other for a few moments. In a low voice, Rose whispered, "You have to promise not to tell anyone."

"I promise."

"Nothing is for sure right now," and then she stopped.

"Rose. I'm not going to say anything to anyone. Trust me," Scorpius said, trying to calm her down.

Rose glanced at him. Scorpius looked so concerned for her cousin that she had to give in. Looking down at her lap, she whispered, "Her parent's might be getting a divorce."

Scorpius looked like he had been turned to stone. Rose lowered her head even more and turned away. She didn't want him to see her cry. It wasn't even her parents and nothing was official. He would think that she was weak, and Rose didn't want Scorpius to look at her like that. She had to be strong.

"Don't cry," Scorpius' musty voice murmured in her ear.

"I wasn't crying," Rose said, denying it.

"Rose," he sighed softly, trying to put many emotions in his voice. "Look at me." Slowly, she locked eyes with him. Gazing into his eyes, Rose felt calm again, like all her tears had left her. "You don't have to be strong all the time," Scorpius whispered.

He leaned in.

Then next thing Rose knew, she was laughing her guts out. Scorpius had started to tickle her for all she was worth. She leaned back on her bed, trying to get away from him. She couldn't talk, so begging him to stop was out of the question. Her breathe was growing weaker from the constant laughing, so she tried kicking him. Placing her foot on his chest, she kicked him hard.

"Ouch, Rose. Be careful. I'm precious goods," Scorpius said between his laughs.

"Stop... tickling... me" Rose said, gasping for air. Her chest was starting to hurt from the hard chuckling she was doing.

"You need a laugh right now," Scorpius said, controlling his snickering.

This went on for a couple of minutes, each minute getting more and more intense. By the time Scorpius finally stopped, he was on top of Rose in the middle of her bed. The covers were half off her bed, the pillows were rumpled, and the room was full of things that Rose had been throwing at Scorpius to get him to stop. They were both breathing hard.

"That was," Rose paused, searching for the right word, "interesting."

"I don't think I have had fun like that in forever," Scorpius responded, shifting his weigh so that his head fell right over hers on the bed.

Rose couldn't think now that her brain was clear. All she saw was Scorpius' head right over hers on her bed. They were on her bed, for Merlin's sake. Clenching her fist was all she could do to stop from kissing him.

Looking at his eyes, she saw that he was staring at her chest. Glancing down, she saw what he was staring at. Somehow, during the last few minutes, her loose shirt had slouched down so that it was no longer covering her chest. All that was showing was her bright pink lacy bra.

Blushing, Rose glanced back at Scorpius. Making eye contact with him, she blushed even more. Silently, she cursed her Weasley jeans. Scorpius took his hand and brushed over her bra on the way to pull up the top of her shirt. Rose, not believing her own daring, took her hand and placed it on his. She made him let go of the top of her shirt. Then, she guided it back to her bra. She let go, but his hand stayed there.

Staring into his eyes, Rose thought she saw a hint of lust, but it past quickly so she didn't give it much thought. All that was left was his big, gray eyes. His eyes never left her, but his hand continued to explore her chest. Nothing could make this day be bad again.

Then, a door swung open.

"Rose, are you..." the voice trailed off. Then, it exclaimed, "Bloody hell!"

Al Potter was standing in the middle of the doorway, in his Quidditch robes, with his mouth and eyes wide open.