As soon as the door to our shared common room is closed, Scorpius and I are immediately wrapped back into each other's arms. We kiss; hot, heated, heavy and very, very messily. I hitch my dress up my thighs, completely undignified, as I progress to jump up, wrapping my legs around Scorpius' waist.

He carries me into his room and lays me on his bed, but the room is spinning. I can't think completely straight and I'm feeling out of it. Scorpius lays beside me, looking as drunk as I feel.

"We're not doing this tonight," Scorpius slurs slightly, rubbing his eyes.

I give a small whine, nestling under his arm, pushing my head into the crook of his neck.

Scorpius chuckles and wraps his arms around me. "No, Rose."

"I know," I say, rolling on top of him. I kiss him deeply and feel his lips stretch into a smile against me. "I need to get out of this damn dress." I huff, rolling back beside him.

"You need some help with that?" Scorpius asks, attempting to flirt.

"Actually, yes," I say, sitting up. I can't make my limbs do co-ordinated things.

Scorpius moves behind me and pulls the ties of the corset, easing it open and I can't help moaning in relief as I feel my entire ribcage stretching out.

"Steady on, Rose, I'm not even doing anything yet."

"Ohh shut up, this feels better than anything you could do."

"You've got no idea."

"Don't flatter yourself," I stand and let the dress pool at my ankles, standing in just my underwear in front of Scorpius, but being way too drunk to care. "T-shirt, please." I demand and Scorpius gets off the bed to root through the chest of drawers to the left of the room. He throws me a shirt and I thank him, pulling it on. "Tornados? Really?" I scoff at his choice of Quidditch team promoted on the sky blue t-shirt which falls just above my knees.

"Hey – don't hate on the Tornados. They're doing amazing this season."

"Yeah because they're dirty cheaters," I mutter, climbing underneath the sheets.

"Watch it," Scorpius warns teasingly.

I watch dreamily as he eases off his tie, unbuttons his shirt and steps out of his suit trousers, folding them neatly over his desk chair.

"What you gawping at, Weasley?" Scorpius winks, standing proudly in just his boxers. I roll my eyes as he laughs, getting beneath the covers with me.

We shuffle together, entwining our legs and arms, feeling his skin and his heat. I kiss him; slowly this time and he gently passes one hand over my cheek, moving my hair out of the way and cupping my face.

I sigh. "Sleepy," I say.

"Me too," Scorpius says gently. "Goodnight, Rosie."

"Nighty," I reply and then move onto my side. "Spoon me," I demand.
Scorpius laughs. "God you're a handful," he says good naturedly, but he fits his body against mine anyway. He feels strong and safe behind me and he drapes his arm over my waist.

I link my fingers with his and kiss his knuckles. "Thank you for tonight," I mumble.

"You're more than welcome. You looked beautiful." He nestles into me, even closer and kisses my shoulder blade.

I fall asleep very quickly.

…

When I wake up I'm disorientated.

Before I open my eyes I know that something isn't right. The bed doesn't feel like mine, and the last I checked, it doesn't usually have a man in it with me. I internally groan. Suddenly, memories of last night flick through my head; the common room with Scorpius. Jumping onto him. Straddling him. Getting him to take my dress off and standing naked in front of him. I cringe. I hate myself.

Teasing my eyelids open, I look around Scorpius' bedroom. The morning light streaming though is hurting my head and my hangover comes crashing down. I groan and turn over. I'm still in Scorpius' arms, and we didn't drift from each other in the night at all. We've stayed curled up together in a strange kind of familial comfort.

I look at him now, and he's still soundly asleep and peaceful. I have the strangest urge to kiss his cheek, but I stop myself. The intimacy of the action feels too … close.

Instead, my attention turns to my own shameful state; my mouth tastes like a bin and the tightness of my skin and the heaviness of my lashes reminds me that I slept in my makeup.

Moving slowly, I successfully untangle myself from Scorpius without waking him and escape to the bathroom. I'm still wearing his Tornado's shirt and when I pull it over my head, I catch his scent. It sends my stomach into flutters.

But I can't brush my teeth fast enough. The taste of mint against old Firewhiskey is heaven and I feel a million times less hungover with a fresh mouth.

Setting the shower running, I step in and stand under the scalding water and scrub my face, feeling everything melt away down the plug.

Goodbye dignity. It was nice while it lasted.

I lather up my hair and body, the smell of clean floral notes filling my nose. Better. So much better. Switching off the water, I get out and wrap myself in a towel before heading into my own Scorpius-free bedroom and pulling on some old leggings and my huge maroon Weasley jumper. I perform a drying spell on my hair and pull it up into a topknot.

And then I hover.

I don't really know what to do.

Should I have waited until he woke up? Should I go back in or would that be weird? I dither on the spot before making a decision.

I head into our shared common room and make coffee. Everyone wants to wake up to coffee, right? I grab his t-shirt from the bathroom and drape it over my shoulder, pick up the two mugs of coffee and stand outside his door second guessing myself for about 2 and a half minutes.

Finally, I push the door open.

He's awake.

"Morning," he says.

"Morning," I reply, not looking at him, but instead fixing my gaze somewhere above his head. "I made coffee."

"I can see that," he says.

"Can I come in?" I ask stupidly.

"Rose, bring the bloody coffee over here, I feel like death."

I enter the room properly and head over to the bed, placing his mug down on the table. He thanks me and sits up.

"Are you going to join me?" He asks.
I blush. "I, uh – yeah?"

"You don't have to," Scorpius says quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can put the t-shirt on if you want." He gestures to his shirt which is still on my shoulder.

"Oh!" I hand him the shirt. He quirks an eyebrow and places it down next to him.

"You're being very awkward," he tells me.

I groan. "I'm sorry," I say, shifting my weight onto my other foot. "I guess I just feel weird about last night."

"My eyes are down here," he says.

I finally drop my eyes from the wall to his face. He's so bloody beautiful. Even hungover with bedhead.

Scorpius looks at me sympathetically and pats the space in the bed next to him. "Come here, and we'll talk about it. Let me shower first."

"Sure," I say. "Sorry – I'll –" I become awkward again at I remember he's only in his boxers.

"Rose, relax," Scorpius says. He throws the covers off himself and stands up. I gulp.

Fuck me, I think to myself in an uncharacteristically vulgar manner.

"Put your eyes back in, Rosie," he winks as he passes me, grabbing a pair of joggers on his way out. It takes a lot to not hit him. Luckily for Scorpius, I'm so dumbfounded that I simply stand there until his door is closed and I release the breath that was building in my chest.

I head to the other side of the bed and sit on top of the emerald covers. He doesn't take as long in the shower as I did, and returns with an air of freshness and damp hair. He's wearing the Tornado's shirt with the joggers and he gets back into his bed.

"Fuck, that's better," he says. "Thank you for the coffee."

"You're welcome," I say, cradling my mug in my hands. It's cold this morning, and I wrap my fingers around the ceramic to warm them.

"You can get under the quilt," Scorpius says. "It's bloody cold. Here, I'll hold your coffee –"

He takes my cup and allows me to wriggle under the covers before handing it back to me.
"Thanks," I mumble.

"So," Scorpius picks his mug off the bedside table and takes a long drink. "Last night."

I cringe again but then turn to him decisively. "I'm so sorry for losing all of my dignity," I say in a rush. "I'm not usually like that, and I'm so sorry for imposing myself on you and being so forward and oh Merlin you have seen me naked."

Scorpius blinks at me. "Are you finished?"

"No," I say. "I shouldn't have got drunk, or kissed you, or come back here and tried to have sex with you, or slept in your bed, and I've ruined our friendship and I'm sorry."

"Now?"

I nod. "I'm done."

"Good," he nods. "Don't be a fucking idiot."

I blink. "What?"

"What do you mean 'you're sorry for kissing me'?"

"I … I – I don't know –"

"Because I'm hurt if you didn't mean anything last night. It's okay to want something, Rose. You're allowed to want someone." Scorpius has put his mug down and I mimic him. "I wanted you then, and I want you now. I've wanted you all bloody year since we've been in this dorm, and while we're at it, I've wanted you for the last seven years."

"Scorp," I say unsurely, frowning. "Don't … take the piss. Please."

"You always say that," he says. "You always tell me not to take the piss when I compliment you. Why?"

I shrug. "You're always so blasé about things. I can never tell what matters to you."

"This is also the second time you've felt the need to apologise to me for kissing me. Am I really that bad?"

"Not at all," I say gently, dropping my eyes. "It's all on me."

Scorpius sighs, but he doesn't sound annoyed. "I'm sorry. I'm not … doing this well. You're here in my bed and –" he looks at me. "I really want to kiss you."

I swallow. Hard. "Me too," I barely manage to whisper.

Slowly, his face comes closer to mine and I close my eyes. The pressure on my lips is different from what I remember. Softer. We kiss gently and his hand comes up to cup my jaw. I can feel the heat from his fingertips from where he was holding his coffee.

We pull away.

"I'm sorry you feel like you were too much last night," Scorpius says. "You weren't. It was nice to see you having fun and not worrying about everything."

I smile faintly. "It was nice to feel like that." We're both quiet for a minute. "What do you mean you've wanted me for the past seven years?"

"Ah," Scorpius flushes a little. "Yeah. I, uhm."

The corners of my lips tug in a smile. "Scorpius Malfoy," I say. "Do you have a little crush?"

"Ha," he says. "Quite a big crush actually."

"My unadulterated apologies," I say with a dramatic hand placed on my heart.

"I suppose," he clears his throat. "If we were to be completely honest," Scorpius' hand jerks and takes mine. I try not to look too surprised. "I really do quite like you. A lot."

"Is that what you were trying to tell me when you hauled the seven foot Christmas tree into our common room?"

"Pretty much."

I laugh. "I like you too."

We smile at each other. Suddenly it feels awkward and we both struggle to find something to say, busying our hands by picking up our coffee cups again.

"You're pretty great," I tell him.

He winks. "As are you."

"And you looked great last night."

"Before or after I'd taken my clothes off?" He asks innocently.

I feel heat rising in my cheeks. "Both."

"You were certainly stunning both with and without," Scorpius grins.

I groan and put my forehead into the palm of my free hand. "I am absolutely mortified."

"Don't be," Scorpius laughs and gently pulls my hand away, tipping my chin up with his finger. "It was probably the most confident I've ever seen you."

"Drunk Rose has no boundaries," I say.

"I can't argue with that."

We drink the rest of our coffee, and place the empty mugs on the side. Naturally, we've ended up cuddled together in a comfortable silence. Scorpius had already flicked his wand to set the log burner going and we are toasty warm in the bed.

"How's the hangover?" I ask after a while.

"Better," Scorpius says. His hair has dried and it looks slightly fluffy. "You?"

"I'm okay," I say. "Shall we get up and get something to eat?"

"Good idea."

We reluctantly get out of bed and head into the common room where the fire is roaring. We stand opposite each other and move together to kiss. It's nice. It feels like there are butterflies in my tummy and I boldly run a hand underneath his shirt to his lower belly.

"Don't start something you can't finish, Rose Weasley," Scorpius warns against my lips, his hands at my waist.

I giggle. "Sorry," I say, withdrawing my hand. "Maybe later." We pull away and I smirk at him as he looks visibly flustered.

"Pull yourself together before we go downstairs," I say.

He rolls his eyes and adjusts himself appropriately. I try not to laugh.

…

We're back up in the common room now and it's mid-afternoon. The sky has been pearl grey and heavy all day. Up in our little quarters with the fire and the ridiculously big Christmas tree, it's the most festive I've felt since I was little.

Scorpius has been surprising me by making me the most indulgent hot chocolates with cream and golden shimmer dusting.

"That was amazing," I say, putting my empty mug down. "You truly are a man of many talents."

"I'm glad you enjoyed," he says, also draining the last of his and picking up my mug, taking them both into our small kitchenette.

"Is there anything you can't do?" I ask, turning my body in the sofa to look at him. "Tree decorating, hot chocolate making – any other surprises?"

"Well actually," Scorpius says. "I make excellent mulled wine."

"Oh," I say. "Do you indeed?"

"I most certainly do," he says seriously. "And I would quite like to win your affection with a glass or four of the infamous Malfoy Glühwein."

I adopt a solemn expression. "Well," I say. "I was always taught to judge a man based on the quality of his homemade mulled wine."

"As it should be," Scorpius replies. "And as luck would have it –" here he ducks down below the counter top and then reappears with a bottle of red wine and a spice rack. I don't even bat an eyelid. Because of course Scorpius Malfoy has a spice rack.

"You're really pulling out all the stops to impress me," I say.

"This is only the drink portion, too," Scorpius says distractedly as he pulls out a pan and places it on the gas hob, using his wand to set the flame going. "The food portion of our courting will surely make you want to marry me." He pours the wine into the pan.

I laugh. "We will see about that."

"Do you have any impressive talents?"

I think. "I'm really good at tree climbing and baking. I'd make you happy and fat," I say. "I don't have any posh skills like you. I clearly didn't have the right upbringing." My tone tells him that I'm joking but he throws me a look of exasperation anyway.

The wine begins to gently bubble and he adds sugar, orange slices, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and lemon rind. Scorpius stirs with his wand and then uses it to turn the heat down. For about twenty minutes, he nurses the mixture until finally, he extinguishes the flame and pours it into two cut crystal glasses.

He heads back over to the sofa and hands me one. The orange slices glisten in the steaming ruby liquid and the smell is delicious.

"This had better be as good as you promised," I say with a smile.

"I have absolutely no doubt," Scorpius replies confidently.

Together, we sip in unison. I groan appreciatively as the warm wine spreads over my tongue. "Damn that's amazing," I say.

"I told you," he says.

We drink together companionably for a few minutes until our glasses are empty.

Scorpius' eyes suddenly go wide. "Rose!" He exclaims and I jump. "It's snowing!"

I forget about reprimanding him for startling me as I turn around to look at the window and I see that it is indeed beginning to snow. "Oh!" I say jumping up and running to the diamond paned window, pressing my hand against the cool glass.

I watch the large flakes drift lazily against the plump bed of fresh snow already on the ground and I sigh.

I feel Scorpius beside me. "Beautiful," he murmurs, and when I glance to look at him, his face is just as enchanted as mine. His blue eyes are wide in a child-like wonder and my heart aches for him.

"Fuck," I breathe.

"What?" He breaks his gaze from out of the window to look at me with a light frown.

I'm lost for words for a moment. The glow of the white snow outside brightens and softens his features. He looks radiant. He looks gorgeous.

I don't reply, but instead, I kiss him again.

"Merry Christmas, Scorp," I say quietly.

"Merry Christmas, Rosie."