With O.W.L. exams fast approaching, Rose found herself increasingly more anxious every day. She had been in the library for months on end, going over every fact throughout wizarding history and practicing every spell, incantation, and charm she had learned since first year. She had long stained her cauldron sets from practicing blending and mixing potions and memorized her number charts for Arithmancy and had been to the greenhouses one extra day a week to brush up on her knowledge of magical plants. Rose found herself in the library yet again, deciding whether to review for Ancient Runes or Defense Against the Dark Arts. She decided on the former and sighed heavily to herself.

Rose closed her eyes and repeated random runes translations under her breath. She opened them again and reached for her copy of Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms. She was pleased to find out that she had gotten every translation correct and smiled to herself. She looked around, quite happy that all of her studying had paid off, and realized that she was alone at her table and there was no one to smile back at her or throw an insult or two her way. Her smile faded as she was once again reminded of this fact.

For the past year and a half Rose had been virtually friendless. It was true that she had companionship with Albus and Lily and some interaction with James, but they could hardly be counted as friends. They were family and although her parents had schoolmates with children that she had got on reasonably well with before Hogwarts, she had only really connected with one person and he hated her. Rose and Scorpius were no longer seen together unless it was absolutely necessary, making it difficult for them to avoid each other since they shared almost every class. Rose had found out right after they had stopped speaking that she was very unhappy with this arrangement and that she missed him tremendously. She would never admit it though and spent a good amount of her class time rolling her eyes at anything he said and mentioning loudly how big of an arrogant git he was. Scorpius did not hesitate to show Rose the same treatment and went out of his way to get up and leave the Great Hall or library whenever he saw her. Rose felt like her heart had been shattered every time he did this but continued to show no emotion, although her strength was wearing thin.

Rose decided to call it a night and figured that she could work on her studies tomorrow after breakfast. She knew that she would get some alone time anyway as everyone would be rushing to be on the Quidditch pitch. It was the last game of the season and the deciding factor on whether Gryffindor or Slytherin would take the Cup. Rose used to attend all Slytherin games since Scorpius made the team his second year but had skipped every game this term. She knew that this game was much anticipated as it was James's last. As Seeker and Team Captain, James had led the Gryffindor team to countless victories and was ready to beat the Slytherins and Scorpius, who was Seeker as well.

Rose was halfway out of the library before she spotted Scorpius sitting down alone at a table hidden under mounds of textbooks. She moved a little closer to him and when he did not look up she started walking his way. As her footsteps grew louder Scorpius looked up from his books and gave Rose a look of sheer disgust. Before she could open her mouth in protest, Scorpius gathered his things and stormed past her. Rose could hardly contain herself and felt her eyes start to water. Her eyes followed him as he left the library and she could feel tears running down her cheeks as he looked back at her one last time.

The next morning

Rose sat at the Gryffindor table picking at her bacon gloomily. She ignored the cheers coming from her table as James sat down and refused the toast that Hugo offered her. She looked over at the Slytherin table and saw Scorpius looking as if he was about to vomit. He was staring down at a plate full of scrambled eggs and sausages, surrounded by other Slytherin Quidditch players and who Rose could only guess could be the captain showing him diagram after diagram. Scorpius looked up briefly and shifted his gaze in Rose's direction and she immediately turned back to her breakfast. She wanted to wish him good luck and tell him he had nothing to worry about but she knew that it was hopeless.

Rose had barely noticed that everyone was leaving the Great Hall and heading straight for the stands when she decided to finally finish her bacon. She decided against it and followed everyone out of the Great Hall but continued walking in a different direction than the crowd as soon as she got to the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Albus asked her. He was already in his uniform and looking at Rose as if she had just done the most horrible thing in the world.

"Oh," Rose tried to think of an excuse to why she was not going to watch the game. "I was just going to get a change of clothes, a little warm outside you know."

"Right," Albus said, looking convinced. "Well you better hurry up so you can get a good seat!" He ran off after the rest of the team and Rose could not help but feel bad for not going. It felt like half of her family was on the Quidditch team, with James as the star player and Albus playing Chaser and Hugo trying out next year.

Rose reached the seventh floor and offered the password to the Fat Lady.

"Niffler."

"Aren't going down to watch the game, eh?" she asked concerned.

"Just open the door," Rose said annoyed.

"Well no need to be rude, Miss," the Fat Lady said reproachfully. She swung the door open and Rose walked into an empty common room. She walked up to her room and sat on her bed, unsure of what to do. She glanced over at her dresser and saw her Prefect's badge gleaming boastfully.

She remembered how happy her mother and father were when it fell out of her envelope the past summer and how Albus bought both of them an endless amount of Sugar Quills when he found out they would both be wearing matching badges. Rose had stepped into the Prefect's compartment on the first of September not at all surprised to find Scorpius sitting there with a Prefect's badge gleaming on his chest. She was proud of her new title and sat directly across from him, her badge rivaling his.

Now, Rose thought her badge was mocking her, showing what could have been and how she and Scorpius could have patrolled the corridors together as friends if she did not mess everything up. She looked at her watch. The match would have started fifteen minutes ago and Rose could only imagine what was happening on the pitch.

She could not take it anymore. Rose desperately wanted to know who was winning and how Scorpius was doing so she quickly ran downstairs, pushed open the portrait hole with strength she did not even know she had, and sprinted down to the stands.

Pushing her way through crowds of Gryffindors, Rose managed to stand where she could clearly see the entire playing field. There was a blur of green on the other side as students waved banners and held out tiny flags. Rose spotted Scorpius flying high on the right side of the pitch, circling above the goal posts. She continued to watch him and glanced briefly at the shapes of Albus and the other Chasers as they passed the Quaffle.

"And Al Potter throws the Quaffle in and SCORES!" exclaimed the announcer from the podium. "Slytherin leads forty points to thirty!"

Rose was impressed with the Slytherin Chasers but not surprised as they were equally good as Gryffindor. It was James who brought the match to the end and usually a win for Gryffindor.

"Coming in from the left, Al Potter goes for another shot and—" the announcer stopped for a brief second. "I think, yes, YES, Malfoy has seen the Snitch!"

Rose's eyes quickly moved from the goal posts to Scorpius who was racing along the stands, his eyes fixed on the tiny Snitch.

"And here comes James Potter close behind Malfoy!" the announcer yelled again. The Gryffindor crowd was cheering wildly behind Rose as she focused on Scorpius's flying.

"Al Potter gets a hold of the Quaffle for the fifth time and Farrell flies towards him with his bat ready to swing!" the announcer yelled into the microphone. Rose saw the Slytherin Beater Farrell swing his bat and hit the Bludger in Albus's direction.

"James Potter and Malfoy are heading for the center of the pitch!" the announcer exclaimed. Rose looked at Scorpius immediately and just as Albus dodged the oncoming Bludger, Scorpius was in clear view of it.

"Scorpius!" Rose screamed, her cries drowned out by the cheering crowd.

"Potter! Potter!"

Scorpius reached for the Snitch, his fingertips about to touch it as the Bludger came directly at him. It hit him square in the stomach and made him double-over off of his broom and fall directly onto the ground, landing face-first with a loud crack.

James caught the Snitch and the Gryffindors roared with cheers. Rose ran down the stands and onto the pitch until Madam Hooch stopped her from going any further. There was a small crowd around Scorpius's still figure. Madam Hooch was called over and Rose was able to break away from her grip to run over to Scorpius. It seemed like nobody wanted to touch him. Rose reached out to turn him over and gasped when she saw how bloody his face was. He was unconscious and Rose tapped him lightly across his cheek in an effort to wake him.

"Scorpius, come on," she wiped some of the blood trickling down his nose. "Hey, come on."

She was pushed aside by the burly captain as Madam Pomfrey came to his aid. Rose watched as Scorpius was levitated and rushed to the Hospital Wing, his arms dangling pathetically by his side. She ran after his floating body but found herself trapped between depressed Slytherins and cheering Gryffindors hoisting players on their shoulders. Rose pushed her way through crowds of people and managed to reach the Hospital Wing ten minutes after Scorpius arrived.

"No visitors until at least an hour has passed!" Madam Pomfrey barked at her. She closed the curtain around Scorpius's hospital bad and pushed Rose out of the room.

"But –" Rose tried to peek over Madam Pomfrey's shoulder as she was ushered out.

"No, Miss, you may come back later!" The door shut behind her and Rose backed up until she hit a wall behind her. She slid down it, afraid of how badly Scorpius was hurt, and wondering when he would regain consciousness.

Well over an hour had passed before Madam Pomfrey came outside to tell Rose that she was allowed in. Rose walked timidly inside as Madam Pomfrey went into her office. Rose was slightly surprised that no one had come to see if Scorpius was okay, not even his teammates. She pulled back the curtain and found him on his back, sleeping. His chest and torso were exposed and wrapped tightly in bandages, the material stretching as he breathed raggedly. The blood had been wiped clean off of his face, making him look considerably better. Rose reached down and touched his arm and cringed when she felt the soft bruises on his skin. She sat down on the edge of his bed and leaned down to inspect him closer. His right arm looked slightly twisted and he had a bruise over his left eyebrow. She could tell by the way he was sleeping that he was not at all comfortable so she carefully rearranged the pillows under his head.

Rose looked at him sympathetically one last time before taking her wand out of her pocket and putting it on the table beside his bead and leaning over him and burrowing her face into his chest. She placed her arms on either side of him and began sobbing into his skin. She laid there for an eternity before she felt him move beneath her. She got up and looked down at him. His face was contorting with pain and, his eyes shut tightly, struggled beneath her.

"Get off," he said quietly.

"What?" Rose asked him as she leaned in.

"I said get off, Weasley!" he said loudly as he pushed her off of him with his arms. Rose jumped back and stared at him, scared of what he might do. He grabbed her wand from the nearby table and pointed it towards Madam Pomfrey's door before muttering the Muffliato incantation. Rose continued to stare at him as he looked down at his bandages and the bruises on his arm. With much effort he staggered out of his bed and threw Rose's wand back onto the table. He walked over to the other side of the room and angrily kicked a trash bin into the wall.

"Don't hurt yourself!" Rose cried to him.

"Oh shut up!" he said scathingly. He grabbed a jar of rubbing medicine and smashed it on the floor. "Why are you even here?"

"Because I was worried about you!"

"You don't need to be," he said back, pacing the room.

"I just watched you fall, and, and," Rose tried to hold back all of her emotion. "I was just so worried, Scorpius!"

"You're such a liar Rose," he said, unconvinced himself.

Rose watched, shocked, as Scorpius walked back towards his bed and ripped the curtains off so hard the rod fell down and he chucked it at the opposite wall. He stopped, breathing heavily and clutching his broken ribs as he sat back down on his bed.

Rose did not know what to do. Scorpius had his hands covering his face, his hair a mess and his panting increasing. She walked over to him and he grabbed the sheet from the bed and brought it up to his chest. He looked down again and Rose sensed that it was as good a time as ever to try and console him. She walked towards him again and, standing, grabbed his head and brought it just below her chest and onto her stomach. She cradled his head and shoulders in her arms and stroked his hair.

"I was worried about you," she whispered. Scorpius wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tighter.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice muffled by her shirt. Rose was glad that his head was not resting against her chest because then he would be able to feel her heart beating as if it was trying to escape.

"I'm sorry, too," she said back. "I missed you so much, you wouldn't even believe."

Scorpius brought his face to look up at her. His eyes were red and tired.

"I missed you more, Rose," he said. He put his head back into her midriff and sighed, shaking as he did so. Rose could feel her eyes burning and closed them tightly to hold back any tears wishing to fall.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized again. "I thought you hated me." Scorpius lifted his face so that only his forehead was resting on her.

"I could never hate you," he said sadly. "I was just angry."

"Me too," Rose said admittedly. "I was just so confused and I didn't understand anything."

"Don't worry," Scorpius told her, clutching her back tighter. "You won't have to worry about it anymore." There was a hint of sadness in his voice and Rose gently brushed his short hair out of his eyes.

Rose lifted his head from her body and helped him lay back down. He inhaled sharply as she touched him near his ribs and Rose quickly withdrew her hands.

"No, it's okay," Scorpius said quietly as he grabbed Rose's hands and placed them back on his ribs. "I think I must have broken at least three of them." Rose winced as she remembered both the Bludger colliding with him and the cracking noise after Scorpius had fallen and looked at his already healed nose before bringing her hands up to the bruises on his arms.

"You must have gotten these when you fell," she said sadly. The Bludger must have broken his ribs when it collided with his abdominals and the fall must have done the last damage, including smashing his face.

"Yeah," he said. He seemed distracted as he looked at her hands inspecting his bruises. Rose noticed that he had some on his chest and proceeded to brush them lightly with her fingertips. She pushed his bed sheet lower and made her way down his chest. She was concerned and did not notice Scorpius staring at her or breathing so hard that his chest heaved up and down. He gently grabbed her hand and Rose snapped out of it.

"I'm really tired, Rose," he said weakly and embarrassed. Rose removed her hands and straightened his pillows again so he would be comfortable. "You should go back to your room."

"Okay," Rose said sadly as she grabbed her wand. "Do you need anything?"

"No," he said as he smiled up at her. Rose turned to leave, her insides fluttering with happiness at their restored friendship. She reached the doorway and then turned around.

"Scorpius?" she asked.

"Hmm?" he mumbled, his eyes closed and his covers drawn back up to his chest.

"Did you really want to get away from me whenever you saw me?"

"Yes," he said smiling. "Because you're really quite ugly." He opened his eyes and gave her a painful grin before touching his sides and closing his eyes again.

"Oh good," Rose said smiling. "Goodnight, Scorpius." She closed the door behind her knowing that his snoring was an indication that he would not be answering anytime soon.

Last day of school

Rose and Scorpius ran down onto the Grounds, eager to be going home. They had just finished a number of grueling exams and were looking forward to summer break. Rose checked her book bag one last time and caught up to Scorpius walking a few feet ahead of her, Artemis by his side.

"Isn't it great?" he looked at her and asked. "A whole year without these big tests. And free periods!"

"Our classes are going to be twice as hard though," Rose said solemnly. "But they should be interesting, no?"

"Our classes are going to be twice as hard assuming we passed our O.W.L.s," Scorpius said. He looked slightly unhappy and Rose wrung her hands nervously.

"You think we did okay, right?" She asked him as they stepped onto the train. The steam was drifting through the air and students piled into compartments, some taking last looks at Hogwarts and others telling Hagrid that they would see him next term.

"I hope so," Scorpius said sighing. "I'm just unsure about Transfiguration."

"You did fine," Rose said reassuringly. She and Scorpius took a compartment near the back of the train and sat down, putting their luggage overhead and pulling old Honeydukes sweets out of their pockets.

After the Quidditch match they had resumed their friendship immediately. Scorpius's ribs were healed after one day of rest in the Hospital Wing by a flustered Madam Pomfrey and he was allowed to leave with Rose in time for dinner. They had not spoken about the Christmas holidays the year before or about the Quidditch match but Rose knew that Scorpius was blaming himself for the loss of the game and the Cup.

The train ride was long and loud as Gryffindors were still talking loudly about the last match and cheering for James. Scorpius rolled his eyes and laid down on the seat opposite Rose. They sat in silence, Scorpius sleeping and Rose reading her books, until the smiling witch with the trolley came down the train corridor. She slid the compartment door open and Rose quietly bought Cauldron Cakes and Chocolate Frogs, careful not to wake Scorpius. He shifted in his sleep and Rose threw a Cake onto his chest.

"Good morning," she said sarcastically as he got up.

"Just drifted off for a second," he mumbled before taking a bite out of his lunch. Rose threw him a Chocolate Frog and bit into a Cauldron Cake herself. She chewed in silence until Scorpius took out his Chocolate Frog card and looked at it.

"Hey, I think this is your mum," he said with a mouthful of chocolate. Rose perked up and listened to him as he read the card. "Hermione Granger Weasley is best remembered by her significant role in assisting Harry Potter in the defeat of Voldemort. She is prominent in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Rose nodded and went back to eating her lunch.

"Impressive," Scorpius said. He looked at the card and then up at Rose and then back at the card. "You look like your mum."

"Yes, I suppose," she said back.

"But then again you look a little different," he said as he read the card again. He gave it to her and laid back down. Rose put the card in her pocket and wondered if Scorpius's mother or father were on a Chocolate Frog card. She thought that the answer would be no as Scorpius seemed genuinely impressed at her mother's achievements.

"You can sit over here if you want," Scorpius said out of nowhere. Rose put down her book and walked over the seat across from her. Scorpius got up and Rose sat down where his head had been. She pulled out an old Sugar Quill from the Honeydukes pile and contemplated helping herself to it before Scorpius laid his head on her lap. She felt her body tense up and her ears grow red with embarrassment. She looked down at him and saw that he looked comfortable and at ease with his eyes closed and his hands resting on his stomach. Rose regained her composure and tried not to think of anything besides friendly thoughts.

They stayed in this position for another hour, Scorpius lightly sleeping on Rose's lap and Rose leaning her head on the window and staring at the blurred images flying by. She nudged him off of her when she realized that the train was stopping and they slowly gathered their things. They passed Albus and Hugo coming out of their compartments and shoving their way through the crowd on the train. They also passed by James who was bowing in front of several students and rejoicing over his last trouble-making years at Hogwarts.

Rose saw her mother and father talking to her Aunt Ginny who had already been reunited with Lily. She glanced at Scorpius standing next to her and looking for his parents. She saw them standing at the other end of the platform a moment after he did. He looked so much like his father except his hair was slightly darker and his chin less pointed. His mother's back was turned towards them as she watched other students so Rose could not make out if he resembled her or not.

"Well my parents are over there, Weasley, so I'm going to head off," he put his arm around her and gave her a small hug. "Don't look now but I think your father might have to pick his jaw up off the floor." Rose looked over at her family and saw her father with his mouth agape. She let go of Scorpius and wished him good luck.

"I'll see you in September then?" she asked him smiling.

"Get out of here Weasley," he said walking away. "I'll see you." He touched her arm as he said this and walked away towards his parents.

Rose clutched her luggage tighter as she made her way through the crowd to meet her parents.

A/N: I was reading about the Second Generation somewhere and people were asking "Isn't Rose a redhead?" I thought for a second that she might be and then immediately after that I thought, No! It's simple genetics – she's a brunette. Nah, but she can look however, she'll still be awesome. I wanted to have Scorpius lying in her lap at the end of this chapter to show how much like Draco in his mannerisms he is (HBP). But I also gave him a lot of anger to deal with because I think he has frustration built up inside him from having a lot going against him in the first place, something I think is very unlike Draco who always seemed well on with himself (except of course during HBP).