Chapter Six

Lily had only cried a little, since Rose had her consoled nearly instantaneously after her outburst. Lily wasn't an easy crier but when she did, she cried for a reason. Once Rose had her calmed she pressed on the important questions. Rose was a solution maker, she always had been and always will be.

"Lily." Rose stated soothingly. "Do you mind telling me who this boy is? He may fancy you back and you might not even know. You might be giving up too soon."

Lily looked up at her cousin and considered if she should tell her that she had been in love with Scorpius since she was eleven years old. Lily knew that Rose was not only her best friend but Scorpius' best friend as well and that her feelings for him may put Rose in an uncomfortable position. Then there was also the issue that Scorpius was her brother's best friend, a Malfoy, two years older than her and for all intents and purposes seemingly off limits and unobtainable. It seemed as though the odds were stacked against Lily but she was tired of hiding it from her cousin and best friend so she decided that the truth was the best way to go.

"Rose, you have to promise me that you'll react as honestly as you can without sparing my feelings at what I'm about to tell you." Lily said with a look of vulnerability etched to her features. "Okay?"

"Okay. I promise you, Lily." Rose replied.

"I've had feelings for the same guy since I was eleven years old." Lily started, stalling and took a breath to steady herself and say the rest. "I fancy Scorpius Malfoy."

Rose's mouth was slightly ajar as she processed this. Her first reaction was joy. Scorpius loved Lily and Lily loved Scorpius. It could not be more perfect. Her next reaction was to look where Scorpius was seated, only to find that he was gone. Rose deduced that he must have left once he heard that Lily liked someone. This unnecessarily complicates things, Rose thought grimly.

"I'm happy for you Lily." Rose replied with a smile. "I really am, there was no need for you to be nervous when you told me. You know that you can tell me anything and that I tell you everything too. You're my true best friend over Scorpius and Albus. You know that I approve of Scorpius. He's the only one out there that I think would be good enough for you anyway."

"You have no idea how much those words mean to me, Rose." Lily smiled a beaming smiled and hugged her cousin. "How much your friendship means to me."

Rose hugged her cousin back and laughed, glad that her best friend was back to her usual self and that there were no secrets between them. "Trust me, I know. I always know."

Lily laughed with her cousin, feeling more optimistic for the future. Scorpius and Albus entered in the common room to see the two cousins happy and laughing. The boys were expecting to see a very different scene than the one in front of them. Albus assumed that Rose must have consoled Lily on the matter and resolved to ask Rose about it later. Scorpius, on the other hand, felt perplexed and drained.

Lily stopped laughing when she heard the boys enter the room but remained smiling. "Scorpius, your back with Al who was on patrols… I didn't realise it was that late! I'd best be off, I've got to be up early to patrol Hogsmeade with Hugo. See you later." Lily farewelled the three and left the room.

"So…" Scorpius began. "Lily seemed to have recovered fast from that slimy heart breaker. Speaking of him, did you catch a name?" Scorpius finished settling in to the newly available couch.

Rose settled back in to her armchair as Albus occupied the other. At Scorpius' comment, Rose let out another laugh which didn't help his dark mood one bit. Rose couldn't help laughing considering the absurdity of the situation.

"Rose, this isn't funny." An exasperated Scorpius scolded Rose. "Your supposed to be her cousin, one of the closest people to her. Your supposed to be supportive of her and help her when she is down instead of laughing about it!"

That sobered Rose up pretty quickly. "I am her cousin and I do support her more than you know. For your information, I did help her and made her happy about the situation. I was only laughing at your reaction, Scorpius."

There was a silence between the three friends. Albus, sensing the tension between Scorpius and Rose, decided to speak. "Anyway, Rose, did you happen to get this boy's name from Lily? Scorpius and I would like to have a uh, friendly meeting with him."

Rose had to handle the situation delicately so while she was deciding what to do she thought that she'd stall them. "Yes, I do know his name."

"Well, who is he, then? What's so great about him anyway?" Scorpius went on bitterly. "What does this boy have that I don't? What can he give Lily that I can not?"

Rose laughed again. "Jealous, are we?"

"You bloody well know that I am Rose!" Scorpius shouted, rising from the couch in the process, and began to pace.

Rose flinched at Scorpius' outburst and looked at Albus. Expressions of discomfort and unease were mirrored on their faces. They were more than likely thinking the same thing. They had never been afraid in Scorpius' company since they became friends. But at this point Scorpius was down right menacing and terrifying. Living up to his Malfoy name and heritage. Only Lily has ever been able to make Scorpius really emote and usually that is a good thing. But now with him hurting, Albus and Rose had never been more afraid of their friend than they were now.

After a thick silence surrounded the three friends, Rose decided that it was time to speak up. "You have no need to be jealous, Scorpius. I know that you are hurting now and you probably don't want to hear anything I say to you at the moment but this is the only thing I can leave you with to help you with Lily. Continue being there for her and showing her how much you care and when the time is right, ask her on a date." Rose paused and brightened up. "What have you got to lose?"

Although he was still hurt and agitated, Scorpius exhaled heavily and sat back down on the couch. As the tension between the three wound down, Scorpius found himself lost in thought. "What have you got to lose?", everything, Scorpius thought. Lily was his everything and he wouldn't know what he would do if she were to reject him. The thought was too painful to fathom.

Albus, who had been silent since Scorpius' outburst decided that the best thing he could do for his best friend at the moment would be to give him time to himself to unwind and regroup. Besides, all four had a big day ahead of them tomorrow with their first transformation attempt.

"I'm going to go back to the Slytherin dorms." Albus announced, getting up from the armchair and started to make his way to exit the dorm. "We all have a big day tomorrow with the first transformation attempt and Rose has her first date with Lorcan. We all need to rest and gather our strength for the day ahead of us. Good night Rose." Albus paused at the portrait hole to look at Scorpius. "Scorpius, hang in there mate. It will all be right in the end." And with that, Albus left the two Heads.

"I'm going to go to bed, like Albus said I do have a big day tomorrow with Lorcan and the transformation." Rose got up from her armchair and started to walk to her room. Before she reached the door, she paused. "I'm sorry about before, Scorpius. Good night."

And with that, Rose opened the door to her bedroom. Just before she closed it she heard the first words Scorpius had said since his outburst. "Good luck on your date tomorrow. I hope it goes well with Lorcan." Rose smiled and closed her door.

Scorpius was left alone. He had never felt more hurt and guilty in his entire life. He felt guilty for the way he reacted to Rose earlier and that he ignored Albus. The guilt felt like nothing compared to the pain he was feeling for Lily. Although what he felt the most was neither of those things. He felt lonely. And with these feelings, Scorpius curled up on the couch and fell asleep hoping that tomorrow would be better.