In the previous chapter…
"ose…" he said, completely bewildered.
The couple were stood looking over the sea, where a beautiful orange and pink sun was setting in the distance. Rose led him down a path onto the beach. The sunset looked somewhat more beautiful from down there, the colours bouncing off the water. You could make out every colour; there were oranges, yellows, pinks, tints of blue and red and even streaks of gold splayed across the horizon.
"it's 'eautiful" Scorpius said, his diction becoming a bit clearer. He brought Rose in for a tight hug, looking down at her with loving eyes. He gently leant down and slowly kissed her, trying very hard not to brush his nose against her face and move it around again. Although the pain was numbed for now, he didn't want to risk moving the fragile bones around anymore.
"Happy Christmas, Scorp" Rose whispered in between kisses. "I thought you'd like to get away from my crazy family for a bit, so I thought a walk along the beach would be nice."
"It's 'onderful" he said, taking her hand. They strolled at a leisurely pace along the beach, feeling like they were the only ones in the world. Rose lead Scorpius further down the beach, past rows and rows of colourful beach huts. Scorpius listened intently as Rose told him about where they were.
"Well, I come here every few years with my family. We're somewhere on the Isle of Wight, and that's as much as I know really about where we are" she explained as they walked along the shore, the waves gently lapping over their bare feet. "We have a summer house near here where we stay for a few days. There are only a few properties around here, so we know nearly everyone here. It's mostly old wizarding couples who want to enjoy the last few years of their life, you know? But there's only one other family who have kids here, but they haven't talked to us since we set their fence on fire by accident" Rose laughed, the sound being carried away by the sea.
"Hugo or you?" Scorpius teased, immediately guessing it would be Hugo.
"Mum, surprisingly" Rose giggled. "Muggle-style barbeque got slightly out of hand." The couple walked a little further along the sand before they climbed a staircase built into the cliff face. Scorpius took in his surroundings as Rose half dragged him along a small path on the cliff top. Suddenly, Rose stopped, and considering Scorpius wasn't exactly looking where he was going, the pair stumbled slightly. Scorpius quickly caught Rose before she clattered to the ground. It was then that he looked up.
"This" he asked, his face dropping in surprise, "is yours?"
"Yeah" Rose said, glancing at him, "what do you think?"
"I swear I want to live here when we finish school, its perfect!" he half whispered, taking a step closer to the small detached house.
"My parents have already said I can live here after graduation, so I don't see why my boyfriend wouldn't be able to live here too" Rose grinned when she saw his jaw drop even further.
"Seriously? They're practically giving you a house!"
"I know, it's great. We never really use it anyway and Mum thinks it'll be a good way for me to learn to be independent" Rose smiled. "Anyway, you coming inside or what?"
Scorpius followed Rose slowly up the path to the house, taking in everything he could see.
The small house was a double-story cottage, painted white with the beams painted black, just like you would expect to see in a muggle fairytale. The front garden was small, but perfectly kept and had empty flowerbeds. When Scorpius asked about these, Rose explained that in the summer the beds filled with strawberry plants. Running down the middle of the garden was a crazy-paved path up to the solid wooden door.
At the end of the path, Rose tapped the doorknob, and Scorpius heard the lock click open. When inside, Rose led him into the farmhouse-style kitchen, where she pointed at one of the chairs around a small circular table and told him to sit down. Scorpius watched as Rose stretched to reach the first aid kit in one of the top cupboards, then he had to hide his smirk as she gave up and just summoned it.
"Just because you're tall doesn't mean we all are" she smirked as she came back. Damn, Scorpius thought, she saw. Rose set the first aid kit on the table then moved a chair so that she was sat directly in front of Scorpius. "How bad does your nose hurt at the moment?"
"Dull ache. It's not too bad"
"Right, well, do you mind if I clear it up a bit more? Mungo's Emergency Ward is always bursting around Christmas, so I think the best thing to do for now is just to make it look like I haven't completely ruined your face again" she grinned. Scorpius laughed.
"Did you just bring me here so you can clean my face?"
"Well, it is covered in blood still. Sit still" she said as she gently used an antiseptic wipe to clear away the dried blood. Scorpius winced when she got too close to his broken nose, but didn't complain any further.
When she was finished, she summoned another pain killer potion from her bag and gave it to him. "If it's a dull ache, that usually means it's running out" she explained. "Now, I didn't just bring you here to clean you up. After the chess tournament in the morning, everyone is left to do whatever they want, as long as they are back in time for dinner. So I thought I'd give you a tiny break from my family and their questions and bring you out here for an hour or two."
"Thanks" Scorpius said, pulling Rose onto his lap in a hug. "Plus, it's nice to be with you alone for a bit" he smiled. "Rose, how long do we have until dinner?" he suddenly said, as if he's thought of something amazing.
"Ummmm 3 hours?"
"Great, that's plenty of time. Do you fancy coming to the Manor and visiting my parents? I think they'd like to see us both for a bit"
"That's a great idea" Rose beamed. "I was just about to ask you what you wanted to do. Do you want to fire-call ahead just to check they're home?"
"Good idea. Even though I know they'll be home, I'll just check they haven't got any visitors" he said. "Where's your fireplace?"
"Just in the other room. Out that door, down the corridor and first right" Rose grinned.
Scorpius came back into the kitchen 5 minutes later with a smile on his face. "Dad says we can come round, so shall we go?" he offered her his arm.
"We're apparating?"
"It's fast, plus my floo is always a bit off, and no offense, but I don't want to land on you or you land on me and make this thing bleed again" he indicated to his nose.
"Right" Rose held his hand, "let's go!"
A/N: I feel so bad that this hasn't been updated for at least 4 weeks, but every time i tried to write this chapter, it didn;t seem right...but now, here is the result i'm happy with! Please keep following, reading and reviewing and virtual cookies to everyone who has reviewed so far! - Rxx