Sorry for the wait. Serious writer's block with this chapter. - Alex

Scorpius and Rose entered the Great Hall at the same time. As soon as they had gotten off the train, Hagrid told them that McGonagall wanted to see them in her office. They both knew what it was about and Amanda and Albus watched them go.

Scorpius didn't bother going to the Slytherin table, he just followed Rose to the Gryffindor table where Al and Amanda were already sitting. Amanda pushed food around her plate with a fork and Albus was staring into his goblet as if pumpkin juice held the answer to the universe.

"Hey," Scorpius muttered as another student pushed over to make room on the bench for him and Rose.

Amanda looked up and gave them a quizzical look. "So what did Minnie want to see you about?" She asked immediately.

"She just wanted to make sure that we were okay to continue with Head duties and such." Rose sighed. Amanda could just imagine Rose throwing a fit over McGonagall not thinking she was in a good condition to be Head Girl. No doubt Rose adamantly convinced the Headmistress that she and Scorpius were alright to continue.

Actually, giving them something to do was probably a blessing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over the next few days Scorpius realized that it didn't feel so weird being back at school. And then he felt guilty for not feeling horrible. Between Head Duties, classes, and homework he had barely enough time to see Rose, which is exactly what it felt like before winter break.

It wasn't until the Friday after they came back, that he realized what a gaping hole there was in his life.

He sat in the Great Hall, a bit early, but he was hungry. Amanda was still in the Slytherin common room, but not in her dorm room. Scorpius could imagine how she felt seeing Atria's bed every night. For him there was a figurative space in his heart, for her there was a literal space in her dorm.

"Hey Scorpius," Ruphus, a fifth year Slytherin, sat down next to him hesitantly.

Scorpius sipped at his water. "What's up?"

Ruphus swallowed nervously and coughed a few times.

"Just spit it out." Scorpius growled and then tried to reign in his temper.

"Well, some of us were wondering when tryouts were going to be," he said quietly and then ducked his head to hide behind his dark brown bangs. Scorpius's eyebrows shot up in confusion.

"Tryouts for what?"

Ruphus's eyes widened and then he rubbed the back of his neck. "For the seeker's position." He whispered and then looked down at his hands once more.

Scorpius was shocked in a stupor. That hadn't even crossed his mind… he had been in denial. Replacing Atria on the Quidditch team… somehow that made everything more surreal and he could picture Rose's voice saying 'Quidditch isn't everything!'

And then Atria would say 'oh stuff it!'

Scorpius blinked and looked away. "Oh. Um…" Shit.

Ruphus stood up quickly. "Not that there's any rush…but I know some people who are interested. We have a match against Ravenclaw in a month and the new seeker is going to need some time to blend with the team and learn the plays." Ruphus wanted to be the next seeker, that much was clear. But beyond that, Scorpius wasn't processing much.

Scorpius kept blinking like an idiot and nodded mutely. Then he realized he should probably say something. "Right, I'll put something up tomorrow." His voice sounded choked even to his own ears. Ruphus disappeared quickly and as soon as he was out of sight, Scorpius let out a breath that sounded too similar to a sob.

He put his head into his hands and took a deep breath. He needed to stay strong-everyone else was falling apart so he couldn't.

"Scorpius…" Amanda's voice sounded far away, even though when he looked up she was right next to him. She looked down on him with concern and then swung one leg over the bench and sat down, straddling the bench and facing him.

"Hey," he croaked.

"What happened?" She put a hand on his shoulder and he shook he head, too damn close to tears. "Come on, talk to me." She whispered, rubbing a soothing hand on his back.

He met her eyes, which were probably red and unclear. "We need to hold Quidditch tryouts." He said and for a moment she looked confused.

"What? We already…." comprehension dawned and then her lower lip started to tremble. Scorpius looked away and refocused on his plate. Amanda cleared her throat and spoke strongly. "I don't know what this 'we' is. You're the captain." She teased, despite the glaze over her eyes.

And it worked. Scorpius chuckled despite himself. "Abandoning me to the wolves?"

"Maybe." There was a sober pause. "You have to do it. We can't just forfeit the rest of our games. This our last year… we can't have three Quidditch cups and not get one our seventh year."

"She's the reason we've won."

Amanda made an offended noise. "Excuse me, but I happen to think that we have a pretty good team. Did she help? Of course, but she couldn't have done it alone."

Scorpius inhaled deeply. "You're right," he said with a new sense of conviction. "We're going to win one last time and I'm determined to enjoy our last year."

She smirked. "Well it shouldn't be too hard." Scorpius didn't understand what she meant. "Can I ask you something?" Scorpius was hesitant to say yes-Amanda had that knowing look in her eye that told him her asking was just for confirmation of a theory.

"Sure," he said slowly.

"Is there something between you and Rose?"

Scorpius opened his mouth to deny it, but the look on Amanda's face told him she could see through any bullshirt he might say. Instead he sighed, "We've been seeing each other since she came to my house the day after Christmas."

"I knew it." She frowned. "Why didn't you tell us? We want you to be happy, even if Albus would pull out the protective cousin act, he knows-"

"You can't tell him!" Scorpius said quickly.

"Why?"

"The reason we didn't tell you is that we didn't want to throw our happiness in Al's face."

Amanda opened her mouth and then closed it. "You have to tell him eventually."

"I know, but we want to wait until the sting wears off."

"Do you think it ever will?"

Scorpius didn't say anything. Amanda was right, there would never be a good time to tell Albus. Maybe sooner was better than later.

"Look," Amanda tossed her hair over her shoulder, "it's not my business. But Albus wants you to be happy and I think you should tell him. I'm not saying to flaunt it in his face, but at least tell him the truth." Damn, he hated when she was right. "When should we hold tryouts?"

"We?" He raised an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes.

"Shut it."

"Let's do Monday at three."

Amanda nodded absently and picked at a piece of toast. "Who do you think will try out?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Scorpius expected, Ruphus was there, looking eager to tryout. In total, there were only three students trying out and Scorpius was not impressed so far. There was one third year named Ariella Porter, a sixth year named Jordan and then Ruphus. They each had their strengths, but Scorpius was leaning towards Ruphus or Ariella.

Jordan was good, but a little too old. His flying was on the same level as Ariella's and Scorpius might as well choose someone who was going to be on the team for a while. The only problem with Ariella was that she was a bit too soft. She was the fast flier, but during the scrimmage if anyone touched her, she would wobble immediately.

As Scorpius watched Ariella and Ruphus compete to catch the snitch, Ariella in front of the other boy by a foot, he was convinced that he could toughed Ariella up. Ruphus was a bit sturdier on his broom, but not as quick. As bludgers flew past them, Ariella dodged them easily.

But when Ruphus got close to her and started nudging her, she looked uncertain.

When Ariella caught the snitch ten minutes later, Scorpius was convinced she was the right choice. Obviously, he still had to give Jordan a chance against her, but he doubted the older boy would put up a better showing.

Amanda flew over to Scorpius and they hovered next to each other. "What do you think?"

"Ariella." Amanda said immediately. "Did you hear when Ruphus barked at Clarence?"

Scorpius blinked. "Um… no, when did that happen?"

"When he almost got hit by a bludger. Anyways, I think Ariella will need some pointers, but she'll be more open to direction than Ruphus."

Like him, Amanda hadn't even been considering Jordan.

"I agree."

"Let's go make the announcement then."

Scorpius dreaded saying his decision. For some reason, that made everything seem so much more finalized. After telling everyone to land, they all gathered in a semicircle around Scorpius. He scanned the crowd until he realized who he was looking for. A part of him expected her to come out and yell at him for replacing her.

Shaking off his guilt, Scorpius cleared his throat. "Thanks for coming out on a Monday, everyone. You all did great, but I can only choose one. So… Ariella, you will be our new seeker. Thanks for being here everyone."

The two rejected seekers sulked off and the rest of the team congratulated Ariella. She looked a bit dazed as people clapped her on the shoulder. As the rest of the Slytherin team left the stadium, Ariella wandered over to Scorpius and Amanda.

Scorpius laughed at the younger girl's face. "You looked shocked."

"I am. I didn't think I would make it, I'm only a third year and the other two boys were so big." Ariella said, breathing heavy.

"Size isn't important in a seeker. In fact, it's better if they're small and dainty." Amanda assured Ariella. "We glad to have you."

"I wasn't sure if I wanted to try out, but my friends made me."

"Why?"

"There's a lot of pressure. Atria is a tough act to follow." Ariella rubbed her arm. "I'm sorry by the way. I'm happy I'm on the team, but I would have preferred to just tryout next year." Scorpius smiled at the girl, who looked so worried about this admission.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I would have preferred that too." Scorpius told Ariella.

"I heard a few people talking about her funeral. Did it already happen?"

Amanda bit her lip and glanced at Scorpius. "No, there wasn't a funeral. We don't…" Amanda's throat tightened. "There wasn't a body." It sounded like she swallowed nails and Ariella paled.

"Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's alright," Scorpius waved off her concerns, but on the inside he felt like Amanda looked. "We should go study," he said to Amanda, sensing her need to escape, "and you should go tell your friends the good news. I'm glad they made you tryout." He said quickly to Ariella.

"Thanks! I'll see you later," she dashed off and Scorpius put a hand on Amanda's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Amanda pressed her lips together and shook her head. "No," she croaked and Scorpius led her back to the castle. The January air bit into his cheeks, but he was grateful for the distraction from the pain in his heart.

He was going to go find Rose as soon as he was back in the castle. Right now, he just needed to hold he and smell her hair. They hiked back up to the castle in silence and Amanda hardly made a sound until they were walking past the Great Hall.

"I'm going to go to the library. I'll see you at dinner." She said sullenly and didn't wait for him to said goodbye. Scorpius sighed and rubbed his eyes. Albus had come out of his zombie state, but Amanda seemed to be falling into one in his place.

Scorpius dragged himself back to the Head's dormitory and was extremely happy to enter the portrait hole and find Rose sitting in front of the fire. She was so engrossed in her Charms textbook that she didn't even notice him walking up to her.

"Rose," he said and she jumped a little, clutching the book close to her chest.

"Scorpius, don't do that to me!" She glared at him teasingly, but Scorpius couldn't return the playful look. Her mouth thinned and she spoke softly, "How were tryouts?"

Scorpius fiddled with his uniform. "They were good. We chose a third year called Ariella and she'll be great. You know, she's willing to learn and a great flyer…"

"Scorpius."

"...and I think with a bit of practice, she'll be… great. And it's great that she's only a third year-"

"Scorpius."

"...so she'll have loads of time to become a really great seeker. I expect in a few years-"

Rose slammed her book down, cutting him off. "Scorpius." She whispered and he could hear the plea in her voice. "You just used the word great a thousand times. I know it must have been hard."

"Not really the other two choices weren't that great-"

"Scorpius," she snapped, "stop pretending like this hasn't affected you."

He took a deep breath. "I can't think about this right now." She grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the couch.

Rose sighed, "Scorpius, just talk to me." He felt her palm on his face and she turned his eyes so that they were looking at each other. Her green eyes were sad and understanding, but he couldn't talk to her.

He leaned in a kissed her. Her lips parted in surprise and he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. She let out a soft moan and her hands gripped the collar of his uniform. He pressed closer to her and she leaned back into the couch, pulling him down on her.

This was what he needed. Scorpius needed her to take the pain away. She made everything good for a while. When she pulled away, he tried to follow her, but she placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him away.

"Scorpius," she breathed heavily, "we can't do this now."

He stared at her blankly for a second, his chest pumping up and down. She leaned in to kiss him quickly and then grinned. "Plus, you smell." He blinked and was shaken out of his stupor. His lips twisted into an arrogant smirk.

"You love it." He leaned forward to nuzzle her cheek with his nose.

"No, I don't!" She squealed and jumped up. "Go shower and then we'll talk about kissing." She pointed up the stairs and tried to look serious, but he leaned forward and rubbed the back of her legs.

Rose released of breathy sigh.

"I love you," he whispered and she leaned over to kiss him.

"I love you too, but seriously go shower."

Scorpius tilted his back and laughed. He stood up, towering over Rose, feeling ten feet tall as he looked at the loving smile on her face. "Fine, but I expect kisses later." He said as he walked backwards and she shook her head, concealing a grin. Scorpius's heart felt light and as he showered he decided that Rose was the sun in his sky.

He knew she was right about going too far. The first time they made love, or got anywhere near it, was not going to be tainted by him needing a distraction. And if it was wrong for them to be happy when everyone else was so sad, then surely it would be doubly wrong for them to take that next step.

Scorpius decided that they needed to tell Albus soon. Having to pretend in front of others that he wasn't completely in love was dragging him down.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The first Quidditch practice on Thursday with their new seeker was decidedly "alright." Scorpius didn't think much had changed given that the seeker wasn't really part of the plays and strategy. The biggest problem with Ariella was that she was too nice.

Amanda laughed when she said, "Excuse you," to a beater who almost pelted her in the head. Ariella flushed and Scorpius chastised the beater, for nearly injuring their new seeker, and Ariella, for taking any of that shit.

After practice, Ariella flew down and landed next to Amanda. "Did I do alright?" She asked nervously. Amanda was struck by the realization that she was the seventh year younger students were coming to for advice.

"You did great, especially considering it was your first practice." Amanda assured the girl, squeezing her shoulder.

Ariella bit her lip, "I know I can do a good job, but there's still so much to learn and Scorpius can be...intimidating." She swallowed and Amanda barked out a laugh. It was hard to imagine her friend, who once teared up during "Titanic" as intimidating, but she could see how he could be to a third year.

"Don't worry, he likes you. In fact, he would like you more if you gave it back to him."

"I was so embarrassed when I almost ran into him," Ariella flushed and looked at the ground. Amanda smiled at the memory. "He was so angry."

"Don't worry. He's just not used to adjusting, none of us are. Except for replacing Freddie, our team has been the same for two years. And Attie was on the team for three years with Scor and I, so of course it'll be a change for all of us." Amanda was quite proud of herself for not pausing or hesitating when she said Atria's name.

"You're right." Ariella brightened. "I'm sure we'll have it together by the Ravenclaw game."

"We will." Amanda said firmly and Ariella skipped off happily. She watched Scorpius talking with the other two chasers and thought about waiting for him, but they didn't look close to being finished.

She headed towards the locker rooms and was glad when she found them empty.

She surveyed a bruise on her arm as she took of her Quidditch robes, careful not to jossle her left arm too much. Damn, that quaffle had done a job. Despite the fact that their team was good, she was nervous and would be happy when the Quidditch season ended. It all seemed pointless somehow.

Amanda sat on the bench in front of her lockers and stared at her green robes hanging next to her broomstick.

"Amanda."

She jumped up and clutched her chest. Letting out a barked laugh until she saw who called her name.

"Atria…"

She looked different. That was the first thing Amanda noticed. The second thing was that Atria was bloody alive!

"What the hell are you doing here?" She screamed, her thoughts too wild to fully process what was happening. Atria looked confused.

"What? I thought we have practice…"

Amanda gasped, "You're alive!"

Atria jerked back, her black eyes narrowing. "Of course I'm alive." She said slowly and Amanda fumed.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Atria's lips thinned. "I had some things to take care of." Amanda's mouth dropped and her eyes narrowed dangerously.

She stepped forward and clenched her fists. "You had things to take care of?" She seethed, so angry she couldn't think. After almost two weeks of believing Atria was dead, it felt like a miracle that she was standing there. And Amanda could only be angry. "What about us? We thought you were dead!" She shouted.

Atria gasped, "Why would you think that?"

"That fucking exploded! Scorpius said you didn't make it out!" Amanda's palm started sticking, begging to slap something, so instead she shoved her hands into her hair. "The entire bloody estate imploded!"

Atria scoffed, "I didn't make it out with Scor, I had to take care of my dad and they needed to get Rose out of there. Two minutes later I apparated out." She folded her arms and Amanda breathed heavily still revved up from yelling.

After she was calm enough to speak, Amanda asked, "How could you apparate?"

"Family can apparate on and off the premise." Atria explained.

Amanda closed her eyes briefly. If Atria could apparate out… "Your father," Amanda gasped, but Atria shook her head slowly. Amanda swallowed. "He didn't make it out."

"He was dead before the house started coming down."

"Did you…"

"I cursed him and he flew against the wall and cracked his head."

Amanda released a sigh and with that all the anger fled her body. "Atria, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I apparated them out of there." Atria looked at the ground and Amanda didn't need to ask who "them" was. "I buried them a few days later. After that… I just thought about my entire life."

"You should have come to us." Amanda walked closer, getting a better view of how pale and thin Atria was. "We would have helped you through that." Amanda took Atria's hand and saw tears in the corner of her eyes. Without blue or purple hair, Atria suddenly looked like a completely different person.

"I didn't," Atria's voice cracked, "I didn't want you to see that."

"See what?"

"I was so upset." Atria wiped under her eyes quickly and looked away. Amanda tried to remember the last time she had ever seen Atria cry, but this was the first time.

"I wish we had been there. You shouldn't have had to bury your parents alone."

Atria shook her head. "You only knew them as villains. But they were more than that to me and I couldn't have said what I said in front of an audience. I loved them. I miss them and I shouldn't. They were-"

"You parents." Amanda interrupted. "No matter what else, they were your family. And especially your mum… she wasn't so bad."

Atria put a hand of her red eyes. "Merlin, I feel so guilty. I should have known something was wrong. She would have never killed my dad, but my dad sure as hell would have done her in. And he did." Her voice was muffled by her hand and Amanda wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Look, I can't imagine what you've been through, but we're here for you."

"You seemed pretty mad a second ago." Atria let out a laugh… or a sob, Amanda couldn't really tell. Her shoulders were shaking, but tears weren't falling anymore.

"That's because we thought you were dead and then you show up here acting like nothing happened? I didn't know what you were doing while you were away." Amanda inhaled deeply and then looked sharply at Atria. "But I'm still pissed you didn't at least send an owl. I mean, didn't you see the papers? Everyone thinks you're dead."

Atria pulled back and stiffed. "Everyone?"

"Yes! It was in The Prophet."

"Albus…"

"Has been flipping out and totally out of commission since Christmas."

Atria buried her face in her hands. "Shit, I never meant for this to happen. I never intended to hurt any of you, especially Albus." Atria started to sound panicked again. "How the hell am I going to tell him?"

Amanda shook her head at loss for words.

"Damnit, this is not what I planned."

"And we replaced you on the Quidditch team." Amanda muttered.

Atria's head whipped around. "What? With who?"

"Ariella Porter, a third year."

"A third year?" Atria said in amazement.

"She's pretty good."

Atria bit her lip and smirked. "So am I off the team?" She teased and Amanda's heart expanded. She never thought she would see that arrogant smirk again.

"You'll have to talk to Scorpius. Ariella won the position fair and square."

Atria laughed, "Right. Damn, I didn't expect to have to deal with so much drama. I thought you guys would yell at me for lying to you and hiding my past."

Amanda's eyes flared. "Don't worry, we'll get to that, but mostly I'm just happy you're alright. Now I feel like an idiot. We should have known, there was no proof other than Scorpius didn't see you make it out of the house."

"To be fair, it was a close call."

Amanda tossed Atria a dry look. "That doesn't make me feel better."

"Sorry." Atria said wryly and then frowned. "I am sorry. Merlin, what the hell am I supposed to say? 'Hey, I'm alive!'" Atria shook her head. Amanda couldn't even imagine how she would go about telling everyone.

Scorpius would be…

"What the hell?"

Speak of the devil. Amanda and Atria spun around. Scorpius was standing in the doorway, sweaty and dirty, clutching his broomstick. His eyes were wild and confused as he looked at Atria.

He looked like he didn't even recognize her.

"Scorpius," Atria stepped towards him.

Scorpius's mouth flopped open and closed a few times, like he couldn't find the words to express the situation. Amanda wasn't sure what Atria was going to say to him.

"I heard you replaced me as seeker." Atria folded her arms stubbornly.

Scorpius gasped in disbelief, no longer focused on the fact that she was alive. "We thought you were dead!" He shouted and marched over to her, carelessly dropped his broom.

"So I heard." Atria sighed. "I didn't know everyone thought that."

Scorpius breathed heavily. "How did you get out?"

"Apparition. Listen I'm sorry I didn't come back, there were things I had to do."

Scorpius waited for more of an explanation, but Atria didn't say anything. Amanda stepped in and put a hand on Scorpius's shoulder. "Look, I think we can all agree this was a surprise, but it was a good surprise."

"Bloody hell, you almost gave me a heart attack." Scorpius rubbed his chest.

Amanda turned to Atria. "I think the big problem is… how are you going to tell Albus."

Atria didn't have a response for that and Amanda felt that they should tell her exactly what happened after Christmas.