In Love

"Hey."

Scorpius looked up from his paperwork and smiled at his best friend.

"Hey, yourself!" he smirked kindly while clearing the paperwork on the chair next to his desk with one flick of his wand.

Rose sat down and took two apples out of her bag and placed one in front of Scorpius before taking a bite from the second apple.

"I prefer sweeter apples to be honest. I know everyone thinks I'm an exact copy of my father, but I'm not," Scorpius shrugged.

"Or you could just thank me and enjoy it nonetheless," Rose teased good-natured.

Scorpius rolled his eyes but thanked her anyway. "Thanks, Rose."

"You're welcome! So what's the plan for this weekend? I was thinking of flooing to Milan and…"

The sound of knocking made Rose stop midsentence.

"Don't you too look cosy!" Martha exclaimed.

The middle-aged colleague of Scorpius entered the room now and placed her hand friendly on Rose's shoulder. "I can remember all of your parents not getting along and fighting! And now look at the fun you have together, I hardly think they know that you are so close. Do they know?"

Rose turned to face Martha and didn't smile back. "If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will."

Rose frowned and waited for Martha's response. Scorpius just eyed Rose in pure disbelief.

Martha laughed and removed her hand from Rose's shoulder. "You are smarter than they give you credit for, sweetheart. Dear me, is that the time?" Martha said shocked, looking at the clock above the door.

"Oh, Scorpius, I wanted to remind you that the meeting on Monday will be half an hour earlier due to Mr Brint's appointment with Law Enforcement. Have a good weekend!"

"Oh, I had forgotten. Thank you Martha. Have a good weekend!" Scorpius said when she waved and exited Scorpius' office and closed the door.

Now Scorpius turned to a smiling Rose, who was clearly proud of herself. "Am I the best friend anyone can have, or what?" she grinned.

"Spare me your pity. I never needed it or our friendship. I've come this far, haven't I?"

"Excuse me?!" Rose said wryly.

"I never needed your friendship to get on in life. I was doing just fine on my own," Scorpius bit out.

"WHAT?! I never said anything like that! It's just that my parents still do not speak highly of your family and I am not giving a flying shit about it. I have my own opinions and I like you when you're not acting like a moron! What I said has nothing to do with you in particular. I have met people my age who my parents were good friends with, but I don't care for that much. You on the other hand are awesome and our parents hate each other," Rose clarified.

Scorpius shook his head apologetically. "When my friends ask what I see in you, I just smile and walk away because I'm afraid that if they knew, they'd fall in love with you too."

When Scorpius realised what he'd just said his eyes went wide in shock. Rose blinked and opened her mouth to say something but no sound came out so she closed her mouth again and stared at her best friend. When he smiled at her appalled look on her face with such a loving smile, she still couldn't believe what she'd just heard.

"I-I beg your pardon?" she stuttered.

"Oh you know, I'm in love with you. Didn't you know?" Scorpius replied coolly even though he was bursting with anxiety on the inside.

"No. In fact, I can hardly believe it," Rose said slowly whilst thinking about all the past encounters with her best friend.

"I know this isn't the best time to tell, since no one really knows that we're even friends, but I think you deserve to know: I love you. I have loved you for… longer than I can remember."

"Oh okay. Then I owe Savannah some money," Rose replied thinking.

Now it was Scorpius turn to be surprised. "I beg your pardon?"

"Well, she told me that I was in love with someone and I disagreed, we made a bet. But I now realise that I was wrong, so I owe Savannah 20 Sickles."

A smile began to appear on both their faces and Scorpius' smile was getting broader and broader until it couldn't. He took her hand in his and started pulling her closer.

When their lips met, both of them felt like they had won, and both knew just how much the other was worth. The world.

Written within the hour and unbetaed. Reviews appreciated. Xxx Aimée