1Chapter six: The Vow

Scorpius' eyes snapped open. It was 9:00AM...he sighed, then thought about what had happened the night before...

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Scorpius and Gretchen fell onto his king-sized bed, becoming a tangle of limbs. He pulled his shirt off quickly as Gretchen pulled off her nightdress, revealing her naked body. Blond hair illuminated by the moonlight fanned out on his pillow causing Scorpius to close his eyes. It's the wrong colour...he thought to himself as he cupped her large breasts forcefully.

"They're too big..." he muttered to himself as Gretchen was undoing the belt of his jeans.

"What?" she asked breathlessly, craving seeping from every pore.

"Nothing." grunted Scorpius as he removed his jeans and boxer-briefs. He took his wand from his back pocket, muttered the contraceptive spell they're all taught in sixth year and placed then placed it on his bedside table. He put his hand roughly between Gretchen's open legs to see if she was wet enough. Being satisfied with what he found he mounted her and prepared to penetrate. Seconds passed...

"What's wrong?" asked Gretchen in a high pitched voice.

Scorpius opened his eyes, and a sickening wave of guilt washed over him. He looked into grey eyes, not brown; sighed, then rolled off of Gretchen and onto his back. Even if Gretchen was a horrible person...she didn't deserve to be treated this way. No one should be used as an output to anger or frustration...

"You don't deserve this." he said finally, breaking the silence.

"What do you mean? This isn't a question of deserving, it's a question of wanting! I want this!" she grasped his now half erect member, causing his hips to buckle upwards, "and I think you want this too!"

Scorpius took her arm, and removed it from his genitals. He turned to look at the girl lying next to him. She was kind of pretty without all that make-up on...

"How about a compromise?" he suggested meekly, "I just don't feel right having sex with you...just because I'm angry at someone else. Let's...spend some time with each other...and then maybe we can try this again another time when the reasons aren't so...complicated...?"

Gretchen rolled her eyes and turned away from him. "You're one of those? I guess I can make a special case just this once...you can date me for a short period of time...usually my boys are just for sex..." she said haughtily, not realizing that she had crossed the line.

"Get off my bed. Now." said Scorpius coldly.

"What?" said Gretchen, as she pulled her nightgown on, "I'm not going anywhere."

"I will not be used by you, get out." said Scorpius in the same frosty tone. "Unlike your other boy toys, I have a brain, and I will not simply be used as a prize to be shown to all your little girlies proving to them that you're the supreme whore."

Gretchen gasped, then jumped to her feet. "But...but..." she stammered, her confidence wavering, "I'm not a prefect, if I go back now...I'll get a detention!"

"Fine," said Scorpius in return, "but you're sleeping on the floor."

"I will not sleep on the floor! What do you think I am?" She said, outraged, and she went to go sit back on to the bed.

"I wouldn't do that." said Scorpius, "Unless you want boils all over that face you spend so much time on...you know I don't even think that your usual forty tons of make-up would cover them..."

"You're bluffing." said Gretchen, but not with complete confidence.

"Am I?" asked Scorpius, keeping his excellent poker face.

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Rose stared in disbelief. Why...was Gretchen Neilson...naked in their bathroom? Wearing one of Scorpius' towels? As if on cue the door on the other side of the bathroom opened. Scorpius appeared, wearing nothing but boxers and yawning. His eyes were closed because he was yawning, but as soon as he was done he froze in place, seeing that the two girls were there.

He looked with puzzled expression back and forth between them.

A sudden dawning of understanding illuminated Rose. Holy Crap! She thought, they fucking slept together? I was like...metres away...that is so disgusting. I am going to...I am...

"Why are you still here?" said Scorpius disdainfully.

"What do you mean?" asked Rose, outraged, "I live here!"

"Not you idiot, the whore." said Scorpius glaring in the direction of the towel clad blonde.

"I...I..." stammered Gretchen, blushing profusely.

"What is wrong with you?" shouted Rose, not exactly knowing why. Gretchen had always been horrible to her...but no one deserves to be treated this way. "So this is the real Scorpius? You sleep with whoever you feel like then just throw them away? Gretchen may be pretty terrible be she doesn't deserve this!"

"You wouldn't understand." replied Scorpius cooly, turning his icy gaze to Rose instead.

"Oh really? Are you saying I don't know what it's like to be hurt? Well I do! I've been hurt by you before too!" cried Rose.

Suddenly, Scorpius' eyes widened for a second and something flashed across them...fear? Why did I say that? Scorpius does piss me off...but I've never been really hurt by him...or have I...? Rose's head gave a powerful throb and she fell to one knee clutching her face.

Scorpius was instantly at her side, protecting, comforting...he went to put a hand on her back to rub it and make her feel better...

"Don't. Touch. Me!" said Rose as her head snapped up. Hot tears were pouring from her face, from the pain in her head and in her heart.

She rose to her feet, swayed, then went into her room, closing the door behind her.

"Once again! Won't take my help! Fine!" and he went into his room as well, leaving Gretchen alone in their bathroom, mouth open.

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Gretchen pulled her clothes on and got to her common room as fast as she could. It was Saturday morning...he would probably be asleep...but she would wake him. It would be worth it. Gretchen said the password and stepped inside the warm common room. It's paneled wood interior and black leather couches looked so inviting...she suddenly remembered that she hadn't slept at all the night previous...Gretchen reached the 7th year boys' dormitories and saw what she had been looking for.

"Marcus, get up. Marcus!" she whispered into his ear. He rolled over, yawned, then rose from his bed. She led him to the common room where they sat on opposite couches.

"Bloody hell Gretchen! You look terrible! What happened to you?" he asked, and she couldn't help but notice a small smirk creep up and about his full lips.

"I...it's a long story. Anyways...I need you to leave Rose Weasley alone. Just...I've had a change of heart. I mean...Scorpius and Rose were obviously meant for each other...they're...just leave her alone OK?" Gretchen managed to force out, even though it looked as though every syllable was kicking her in the bottom.

"No." said Marcus simply. The smirk now completely dominating his features.

"What do you mean no?" screeched Gretchen,

"No means...no. Are you stupid? That's a dumb question...of course you're stupid. I'm not going to leave her alone. I like her, and I have something special planned for her tonight...and no one's going to spoil it for me!" said Marcus, his face twisting into a maniacal grimace.

"What are you planning? How dare you disobey me!" cried Gretchen with desperation,

"I was never yours Gretchen...how could you ever believe that? I just pretended to be your eager little puppy...waiting for you to ask me to do something like this. In fact none of "your boys" are yours. All of your friends hate you...why don't you just...kill yourself and do us all a favour." he said, the grin causing his face to become less and less handsome.

"I...what..." said Gretchen as her face fell to the floor, her world shattering around her.

"Good night sweetie." said Marcus in a fake lovey voice as he rose the stairs back into the dormitories.

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For the rest of the day Rose just lied on her bed...staring mutely at the velvet red bed curtains that hung around her. Occasionally her stomach would rumble and bring to her attention that she hadn't eaten all day, but she just ignored it. She cried until she could not cry anymore without knowing why. Scorpius wasn't hers...they were getting closer...but not close enough for her to feel this pain. Or were they?

Rose's mind flashed back to instances when they had been together...laughing, smiling, and touching each other's arms nonchalantly...she was so confused. What were they? Study partners? Room mates...friends? Seconds blurred to minutes as minutes blurred to hours and before she knew it, it was 5 o' clock.

Over the time that had passed, Rose had come to the decision that she would go out with Marcus...have fun with him and just forget about Scorpius. What was it to her who he slept with? Why did it matter? He could sleep with whoever he wanted to!

She rose from her bed, and went to the washroom. She splashed some cold water on her face, and looked in the mirror to see that her face was all splotchy from the crying she had done all day. She hummed a nameless tune as she muttered spells to curl her hair and even out her complexion. Magic really does work better when you're thinking positively! She thought to herself as she clipped the front of her hair back with bobby pins. She smiled at her reflection after finishing her work. Her hair bounced about her face in perfect ringlets, and her face was so even it looked to have an airbrushed quality to it. She put on a bit of mascara and lip gloss to finish it off and returned to her room to get dressed.

Rose Weasley was not a very 'girly' person, if you were to put it that way, but secretly, dressing up in nice clothes always cheered her up and made her happy. Since it was their second date and they were only going to the three broomsticks for a few drinks, she settled on a simple button down black shirt with white lace designs on the cuffs and a high collar and a mid-calf length black suede skirt. Slipping on her black ankle boots, her outfit was complete.

Rose walked out into the common room of the Head boy and girl quarters and was relieved to see that it was empty. He's probably off screwing some other whore...oh well, he may not be the only one getting some tonight! Thought Rose smugly as she walked to down to where she was to meet Marcus in the Entrance Hall.

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Hearing Rose leave the common room, Scorpius left his bed room and went into the bathroom. He felt horrible. Who was he kidding? All of these years spent trying to distance himself from his name, spent in vain. He looked into the mirror and saw his father's features starting back at him. He took out his wand and dyed his hair black with it, then he started to slash it. Chunks of his hair fell into the sink, mixed with his tears. He looked up to see that his hair now hung in uneven chunks down to his pointed Malfoy chin...

What are you trying to prove? Said a small malignant voice at the back of his head as he stared at himself in the mirror. No matter how you try and change your outside, you will always be a Malfoy on the inside. Oh yes, your hair may be black instead of golden now...but all that does it match it to your soul. Look what you've done. You've pushed away everyone you've ever known...and now you've pushed away your only friend for the second time.

"You're wrong!" cried Scorpius, his fist slamming into the mirror, smashing it to pieces. He shook with anger and hate of himself as he clenched his bleeding fist. He removed the glass from his hand with his wand, and he went to his room and grabbed his swimming trunks and a towel. He would do what he always did to deal with the pain. He would swim, until his muscles burned too much to continue or until he didn't know who he was anymore...whichever came first.

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It was a very pleasant dinner. Marcus had surprised Rose by conjuring a blindfold upon her and disapparating her to a lovely little Italian restaurant in muggle London. His intelligence seemed to have grew magically overnight (perhaps due to lack of alcohol) and she found herself–to her surprise– enjoying herself immensely.

By time they reached the Hog's Head for drinks, she found herself looking at him quite more than necessary. She had no headache, she was with a good looking boy who was interesting to talk to...and she had completely forgotten about Scorpius. Perhaps this was why she did not question the destination change, perhaps this was why she let her guard down, perhaps this was why she didn't notice Marcus slipping something into her drink. Finishing her second margarita, she found herself feeling quite tipsy, and more than a little bold.

She leaned forward across the small table they were sharing, meaning to kiss Marcus, but his face swam in and out of focus...did this usually happen when you've only had two drinks? She felt herself starting to fall off of her stool and was relieved when Marcus caught her.

"You're sho shtrong...where are we?" she slurred as he lifted her to her feet.

"Yes...I am...hey you look like you could use a lie down...do you want to go upstairs?" he asked her innocently.

"Shure!" she exclaimed, "Why not?" and she broke into uncontrollable giggles.

Her head drooped onto her own shoulder as she felt her body being guided up the stairs to the rooms in the tavern. Marcus led her to room number 6 and she opened the door and saw that there were three boys in the room.

"Marcus, there's already peoples in zish room, we needs to find anuzzer one." she said confused, but that's when it hit her, danger. There was something wrong happening. Now. She reached clumsily for her wand and found that it was not in her purse.

"Looking for this?" said Marcus, holding her wand up, "I took it from you when you were blindfolded...women are so stupid, they'll believe anything." The boys on the bed guffawed at the sexist joke.

"Anyways, back to business. Silencio!" Rose's hands went to her throat as she tried to scream. He put something in my drink! How could I be so stupid? Two drinks isn't enough to make me this slow in response...She thought as she stumbled towards the door, her last feeble chance at escape, but Marcus blocked her way.

"I don't think so," he said with a sneer, "You're not going anywhere until all four of us have had our fun. You think you're so much better than us because you're Gryffindor and you get high marks? Well we see you for what you really are, a whore, and that's what you're going to be tonight, our Gryffindor whore. Diffindo!" Rose watched helplessly as her shirt and bra ripped down the centre exposing her breasts. She covered herself, tears falling down her face.

The bigger of the three nameless boys grabbed her from behind and bit her ear, hard. She felt hot blood trickle down her neck. She numbly recognized the boys as the two beaters and one of the chasers from the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. One of the other boys ripped the rest of her shirt off of her and used another Diffindo charm to tear her skirt down the middle. As she was pushed onto the bed, Rose did not kick or punch, she simply closed her eyes and emptied her mind.

She didn't understand why, but it seemed to be the right thing to do at the time. The forest materialized in her mind and she called to the animal. She was there, waiting for her, a small red fox crept into the opening. Help me, she pleaded to the creature, please, just find someone who can help me! And the fox was gone.

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There was a bright silver light, and the apparition of a fox appeared in a green and silver decorated bed room. It looked about the room, saw that no one was in it and disappeared once more.

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Rose's mouth opened in a silent scream as one of the boys slapped her across the face once more. For the past minutes? Hours? Rose did not know, the boys had taken turns hitting her. She had large bruises and welts on her chest, stomach and face from the beatings she had received from their fists and belts. Suddenly, the hitting stopped, and she looked dazedly up. Marcus, who had been watching the action began to walk towards her, taking off his jeans.

She shook her head violently, tears falling down her face once more making her split lip burn with contact from the salty liquid. Her eyes widened in terror as she saw his erection through his boxers. Had all this violence turned him on?

"Turn her over Jared, I want to do her like the dog she is," The boy named Jared went to force her onto her hands and knees. This was it...she was going to lose her virginity to this beast. Visions of a romantic scene with rose petals and champagne flashed through her head and were smashed to a thousand pieces. Do you really want to be taken this way Rose? Said a mutinous voice at the back of her head.

Filled with sudden resolve, her battered body struggled to not be forced into the embarrassing position.

"Oh she wants to fight does she?" said Marcus, eyes wide with madness, "That's not going to be possible honey, Imperio!" he cried.

Rose's anguished mind fell under the curse easily. Sending the fox had taken up the last of her mental power, and she was defenseless. Her eyes glazed over, and she went onto her hands and knees.

"That's right, you half blood bitch, you're going to get it right where you deserve it."

At this moment, the door flew open.

"Stupify!" yelled a male voice, and Marcus fell to the floor, the Imperius curse breaking immediately as he was stunned. The other three boys sent stunning spells at the intruder but they just bounced off of him.

Rose groggily turned onto her back, in too much pain to cover her naked body. She saw one of the boys fly across the room as her saviour knocked him. The other two boys were quickly stunned by the angry wielder of a bright pink umbrella.

"Rose, Rose can yeh hear me? Y'alrigh'?" said a familiar gruff voice near her. She could feel herself passing out and the man wrapped her in the sheets of the bed and lifted her into her arms.

"It's gonna be OK yeh hear? These boys aren' gonna get away with this" said the voice and she fell into blackness.

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Rose's eyes fluttered and found that she was in the hospital wing, surrounded by white curtains for privacy. She looked down to see that she was wearing plain white pyjamas that belonged to the school. She opened the curtains and saw the Headmaster talking to the new nurse at the far end of the room. She was relived to see that no one else was in the room.

"She's not pregnant Headmaster, it seems Hagrid got there just in time. I've healed all of the bruises and broken ribs, but I'm afraid the emotional damage will still take some time to heal." said the nurse in a low voice.

"Yes...to think...at this school...The boys have been expelled and arrested, naturally, and the one boy will be sent straight to Azkaban. When I performed priori incantatem on his wand, it would seem he used the Imperius curse." replied Professor Dumas.

"Yes, and I also found traces of a Confusing Draught in her system." said the nurse gravely shaking her head.

Rose didn't want to hear any more...she just...she wanted to be in her own bed...alone. She rose from the bed, and the nurse rushed over to make her sit back down.

"No Mary, let her go if she wishes, I will perform an invisibility charm so she will not be bothered until she is safely in her quarters" said the Professor, his eyes filled with sadness as he gazed upon the girl. Rose gave him a silent look of gratitude, and crept up to her room.

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Scorpius woke, the sun falling directly upon his face. Wondering how his window had suddenly changed positions he looked about himself. He saw that he was on the couch in the common room. He had been waiting in the room...but as he thought about it...he didn't really remember why. To apologize to Rose? To make some sort of sarcastic comment about her date? All Scorpius knew that she must of not returned home and he had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for her.

He ran his fingers through his uneven hair and thought about the night before. He had swam for three hours straight, and it had made him feel slightly better. One thing that he had realized during his time spent in the Room of Requirement (which he had turned into an Olympic sized swimming pool) was that the voice at the back of his head was right. All he had ever done was push people away. He had always blamed his parents, saying it was their fault because they had kept him locked up away from other children for so long.

But he now realized that it was himself. He was a coward. In first year, when he had been rejected by Rose because of his name, he had withdrew into his shell and was afraid to ever try and make another friend again. He had focussed himself on his school work instead, and he lived the epic romances that he so desired only in his head through the Harriet Felixa novels that he had began to read in his first year.

Now, he had Rose back in his life. They were becoming closer and closer, but what did he do once more? Push her away. This was why he decided to leave his hair the way it is now. To remind him of how stupid he was.

Suddenly, the door opened to their chambers and Rose entered, an invisibility spell fading. Scorpius realized he had nothing to witty or sarcastic to say to Rose. He was so emotionally drained from the night before that he hadn't thought of what he was going to do when he saw her again. He looked at her, and instantly knew there was something wrong. All thoughts of himself fled his mind as he studied her.

Rose's face was pale and had a sunken quality to it, her hair fell limply on the sides of it, looking dead, but it was her eyes that made him know there was something wrong. They had a faraway look to them, it was as if Rose had suddenly fallen out of the world and had retired into her own skull.

She turned to look at him, and she burst into tears.

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The tears that she had been trying to hold in since she left the hospital suddenly overtook her as she looked into Scorpius' eyes. She fell to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, coiling into the foetal position, rocking back and forth.

The world as she knew it was crashing down around her. It was her fault, all of it. Why had she let her guard down? How was she supposed to be an auror like her father and uncle if she was so weak? Why was she a Gryffindor? How did she not realize him pouring the potion into her drink? She was suddenly aware of something warm enveloping her body.

She felt herself being lifted from the floor by strong arms, and being carried over to the bathroom. She felt herself being laid on something soft, her bed.

"Rose..." said a soft voice, with a slight tremble to it, "Rose why are you crying? What happened? What's wrong?"

She looked up into Scorpius' face. His eyes were beautiful even through the shroud of tears that inhibited her vision. She didn't know why, but she felt the need to tell him...everything. She saw his hands clench into fists when she spoke of them beating her, but other than that he listened to every word with no emotion showing on his face. When she finished, a heavy silence fell about the room. She stared into his eyes, and they seemed to absorb the pain from her. His eyes filled with tears, as raw emotion filled his gaze.

He unexpectedly leaned forward and took her small frame into his arms. He held her close, so close that she could scarcely breathe, but she didn't care. He didn't say a thing, but he didn't need to. Their bodies were so close she could feel his heart pounding against hers. The rhythms were not the same, but they complimented each other. It was almost as if their souls were joining, becoming one...and then he let her go and looked into her eyes.

His eyes...so many things were in his eyes. Pain, fear, anger, sadness...love? She tried to look away but he guided her chin back to make her face him once more.

"Rose, I want you to forget everything that's happened just for a minute. I want you to forget what's happened to you, and what's happened between us, and just listen to me. I would make this an Unbreakable Vow, but we do not have a bonder, so just grab my hand." he said a little roughly but he clasped her right hand in his tenderly.

Rose almost interrupted him, but decided that whatever was happening was too important to break.

"Rose Weasley, I, Scorpius Malfoy, promise that I will always be there to protect you. I will stop any harm reaching you to the best of my abilities. What this means–most importantly–is that I will always be your friend, and I will never push you away again, no matter what our family names are." he said solemnly, and tapped their clasped hands with his wand. A fiery rope shot out and wrapped around their hands to Scorpius' surprise. They had no bonder...why was the vow working?

"And I, Rose Weasley, will also always be your friend no matter what happens." she said and tapped their hands with her wand as well. A green fiery rope came from it intertwining with the red one that was already around their hands.

"I don't know what this is," said Scorpius, "but it must be fate."

Without warning, Rose fell to the floor clutching her head in pain, the ropes breaking. She looked up a Scorpius, tears in her eyes.

Her memories had returned.

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A/N: wow...that became way longer than it was supposed to be! Argh it's like 11 pages of death...my head hurts haha...that's why it took so long to write though :S What a depressing chapter...sheesh...that's also why it took so long...so emotionally wrenching . anyways...the next chapter may be emotional too, but don't worry because I promise that after that it'll be funny again yaaaaay...

Btw...thanks so much for adding me to your favourite stories/author alerts list...I keep getting them in my e-mail boxes and it makes me so happy...but you know what makes me more happy? Reviews! If you really love my story, tell me why! I really want to know. It helps me grow as an author you know? Anyways...PLEASE PLEASE review! Tell me! Did you like the new chapter? Do you like the way the story's going? See...in this one review someone asked for stuff between Draco and his wife...and I wrote it!...sorry for the rant

thanks for reading!

Tenchi Moete