Do you believe in love at first sight?
Chapter 6
27th February 2031
"I'm sick!" Scorpius moaned bent over double and wailing like a child.
"You don't feel warm." Celia replied placing a hand to his forehead, "Don't go to work, but I am not flooing your boss for you."
"Ahhh Cee."
"Nope, you do it, you big faker. I'll speak to you later or I'm going to be late." She kissed him and ruffled his hair.
Scorpius heard her floo to work, then jumped out of bed, strolled into the kitchen wearing only a pair of boxer shorts and poured himself a bowl of cheerios.
"I don't think I take that much of you before I've had my coffee." Said Mark who was straightening his robes in the mirror, "I though you were meant to be ill." He added throwing him a t-shirt.
"I am ill" He coughed for effect, "I just need breakfast!" He sat on the arm of the sofa, staring out of the window, "I thinking of finishing things with Cee."
"Oh aye, why's that?" Mark didn't look up from his paper.
"I don't see where else is it going to go? Moving in together, marriage, babies? I'm only twenty-six, I don't think I need all that."
"Right, and what about Cee?" Scorpius could tell Mark wasn't really listening, and it annoyed the hell out of him.
"Well, shes a lovely girl, but I don't know I think its run it course. What do you think?"
"Shhhh."
"What?"
"Shhhh, I'm reading."
"Oh thanks a lot mate."
"Shite I better head off, don't fancy giving the place a clean since you're here all day?"
"I'm not you sodding wife!"
"Right well don't wait up hon'" Mark winked, Scorpius threw a discarded shoe at him, which missed as he apparated and hit the door.
"So that's it is it? Three years, Three fucking years of my life with you and you just…just. Who is she?"
"Katy, I work with her, I love he-" Ross ducked as Rose threw ornament from the mantel-piece, it missed, but became lodged in the poorly plastered walls of their little flat. "I'm sorry Rosie, but Katy and I... We're... We are getting married." Ross ducked as a china Mallard soared towards him.
"I moved to Scotland for you. Scotland!" Rose screeched, reaching for another shabby ornament. She hated them, china cats, dogs and rabbits. Ross' sister kept giving her them, now was a good a time as any to get rid of them. She would not be taking them with her.
"Rosie, I'm sorry…" Ross whispered in his gentle Glaswegian accent, letting his head hang, ashamed.
"Just go. Go to Katys. You can come back tomorrow, I'll be gone by then, now get out." Rose voice had a forced calm up on it, she watched him leave feeling tears burning in the back of her throat, Rose refused to cry in front of him. After a few more apologetic looks that did nothing to make Rose feel any better, Ross left.
"What are you doing back so soon?" Scorpius was cosied up on the sofa under a duvet, the radio was humming from the corner, there was half a fish finger sandwich on the coffee table. He turned to look at Mark whose robes were askew, his hair mussed, and his face pale and dejected. "Merlin, what's happened?"
"Got made redundant, we all did. Wouldn't even let me finish the day, fucking Gringotts! Everyone said they were the safest place to work, 'they never need to make staff cut backs.' Well here I am, an ex-Gringotts employee, officially cut back." Mark grabbed fist fulls of his hair, and slumped on the sofa next to Scorpius. "What am I going to do?" he looked at Scorpius for answers.
"Pub?" Offered Scorpius as a remedy to redundancy. The pair headed out of the little flat they shared in Blackheath, down Westcombe road, past Greenwich park and into the local pub nestled next to the green.
"I need to get away." Mark spoke into his pint, "I never did go traveling after Hogwarts…I mean I have savings, maybe I should just…just get away?" Mark had a far off look in his eye, like he could already see himself relaxed and tanned nothing to worry about in a some far flung destination.
"Where?" asked Scorpius concern mounting…
"Where?" exclaimed Mark, "Anywhere! Who cares! I have a vault full of galleons that I was saving for a rainy day. Maybe this is my rainy day, it doesn't matter where I go, so long as it's out of England!"
"Hi." Rose mumbled dolefully from the doorway.
"Darling!" Hermione Weasley swept her daughter into a warm embrace. Rosie didn't need anything else, the hug seemed to heal her in unknown ways, she was lead into the empty kitchen and given a warm cup of tea. "Dad's out playing Quidditch." she added answering Rosie before she could open her mouth. The mother-daughter duo sipped their tea in silence, waiting for the other to start talking.
"Bastard!" Exclaimed Rose suddenly, she needed to start talking about it and she knew her mother would skirt around it until Rose first opened her mouth.
"I agree." Hermione held her mug between her fingers and surveyed her daughter.
"I mean I moved to Scotland for him, Scotland, I lived in that shite-hole for a flat for two years. All because I thought I was with the right man, I thought we were happy, obviously I thought wrong." Rose vented her voice full of venom. " Two years! I worked it out, Ross and I were together for three but we moved to fucking Scotland two years ago, which is when he started that job and when he must have met Katy. Two years, he lied, snuck around, and cheated and then just came home to me at the end of the day. I'm such a mug!" She took a huge breathe and buried her head in her arms.
"Hermione!" A voice rang from the fire place, "Are you in? Fancy coming round for a cuppa?" Ginny Potter appeared.
"Ginny, Rosie's just got bac-" Hermione didn't get a chance to finish as a Red head appeared and charged towards her niece.
"Rosie! How are you doing? If it were me I would have hexed his balls off!" Ginny cried dramatically throwing an arm around her.
Employed Male, 26 has double room to rent in Blackheath flat.
Property code - 223876
Enquiries please contact
Hetty O'Brien
Property
Daily Prophet
London
Scorpius saw his little advert, and sighed. He could have made it more interesting and appealing but he needed a new flat mate. Fast. Mark had gotten his affairs together very quickly and was off within the week without a backwards glance. At first Scorpius had liked the idea of living alone, he could wander around naked, and go to the toilet with the door open. However, on his current salary he could no where near afford this place on his own. He even considered about getting back together with Cee asking her to move in. What a mistake that would have been, how could he possibly commit to 24/7 living arrangement with someone he knew so intimately. She would have definitely got the wrong idea, expected too much, and BAM, within the year Scorpius would feel pressured into proposing, then marriage and children and all those other grown up things he was not ready for. There was only one solution - put an ad in the daily prophet and get some stranger living with him. Hopefully an attractive girl that hated meaningful, monogamous relationships and enjoyed regular no strings sex. Yes, Scorpius Malfoy was completely willing to accept that he had the emotional spectrum of a turnip.
"I can't stay at my parents much longer!" The house was empty, everyone was at work, except Rose - who was currently unemployed - and Lily - who worked from home writing a column for the style section of 'Witch Weekly'.
"Come and live with me!" Lily replied brightly. "You can sleep on the sofa, and when Noah's not around I might even let you top and tail with me."
"I'm not playing gooseberry, thank you very much, I start my new job on Monday. I am a Librarian and will officially die an old unloved spinster."
"You're too attractive to be a librarian! They're looking for an agony aunt at Witch Weekly." Lily offered.
"I'm hardly qualified, and I can't handle my own problems, let alone anyone else's." Rose pulled the Daily Prophet towards her and began flicking through the property section. "It's slim pickin's. 'Room to rent, Hounslow?' 'Single bedroom to rent, communal bathroom?' NO! 'Flat mate required for Double room in Blackheath.' That sounds alright." She circled it, Lily pulled the paper towards her and began scanning it.
"Ooh, 'Employed Male, 26 has double room to rent in Blackheath flat.' An employed male, same age, that sounds extremely promising." Lily furiously circled it with her quill. "And Blackheaths a really cool area, far better than Hounslow, and really popular. You'd better owl them quick set up an interview."
