notes: Back! Sorry it took a year. This one's fun to write. Really light, so not recommended if you're in the mood for something really intense. Happy reading!

sidenote: Stella is Stella Nott, another OC of mine. Cousin to Scorpius through his mother - she's Daphne Greengrass and Theo Nott's daughter, and the same age as Lily. She is mentioned very briefly in this story.


boom, clap, the sound of my heart, the beat goes on and on and on and on

Charli XCX


The lights were bright and the music was loud. Typical, of course, but I wasn't complaining this time. My thoughts were lost with the music and I couldn't have been happier.

We had been there for awhile, as I had already downed two shots to loosen up. Lily and I had danced to a few songs, but I had lost her awhile back. I turned to say something Al but he was no longer beside me.

I propped my elbow up on the bar, crossing my legs as I sat on the bar stool. My feet were starting to hurt and I was content to sit and let the beat invade my brain as I focused on absolutely nothing.

"Rose," someone said from behind me, interrupting my train of thought. I turned around to find Max there, grinning. "Mind if I take a seat?"

"Not at all," I replied, gesturing to the empty stool beside me. "What brings you here?"

"Lily mentioned she was stopping by."

"Ah. Of course. So you're turning into a stalker instead of her boyfriend. Good call."

"No, I mean –I just thought I'd check it out. It's a pretty cool place."

"Sure," I nodded my head. "Whatever you say."

"So," he said, after ordering a drink, "you told me you were going to help me with Lily."

"And I stick to what I said," I nodded firmly, "what do you want to know?"

"I already know all about here," Max said, a bit sheepishly, "I just need to know how to talk to her, y'know?"

"Ask her questions about herself, even if you think you already know the answer," I said helpfully. "Everyone loves to talk about themselves. And girls can tell when you're into them by how much you pay attention to them."

"I can do that," Max said, nodding. "I mean, I do already do that, kind of. But I can do it better."

I laughed. "Touch her, too," I replied. "She'll notice that."

"How?"

"Oh, you know," I said, "gently. Really subtle. Tap your fingers against hers," I demonstrated, "or place an arm on the small of her back."

"Where's that?"

"Dear God, you are hopeless," I said. "It's here." I placed my hand on the small of his back. "See?"

"Okay, got it. Anything else?"

"Yeah. Lean in when she talks to you, that might help as well." I bent my head close to his to show him what I meant.

The bartender slid a shot in front of him, and he downed it in one. "You're great, Rose. Thanks."

I flashed him a smile. "I think you have a real shot here, Max, that's why I'm helping you out."

He laughed. "Well, it's appreciated. I'm going to go find her. Thanks again." He held up his hand in goodbye, and then went slipping into the vast ocean of people.

"You guys looked cozy."

I jumped around in my seat to find Scorpius, who had appeared on my other side. "You scared me!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" My heart had kickstarted to a gallop, and was now beating a hundred miles per minute.

He shrugged. "Al told me you guys might pop in tonight. How long have you been seeing Max for?"

"What?"

"How long have you been seeing Max?" He asked it in a would-be casual way.

"I – what – no, it's not like that. He's Lily's friend. And two years younger. So it's a no go there." I gave him a grin. "Way too tall, for me."

"Oh – of course. That's what I meant. I meant it as a friend thing only. I wasn't enquiring after your love life at all," he stumbled.

"Hm," I nodded slowly, raising my eyebrow at him. "Of course you did. I'm sorry I assumed otherwise."


The next morning I woke up with a pounding headache and hair that was half stuck to my face, and half on top of my head. Not a great look. Smoothing it down as best as I could, I exited my room to find Al getting up to put his dish things in the dishwasher.

"Aren't you a vision in the morning," he remarked as he turned around to greet me. I made a noncommittal grunt as I began jamming buttons on the coffee machine.

"Stupid thing," I muttered, "why isn't it working!"

"You forgot to plug it in, Rosie," Al said, holding up the electrical chord in front of my face. Sighing, he said, "I think you were smarter when you were eleven." Digging his wand out of his pocket, he aimed it at the machine, and coffee began to drip smoothly into the pot.

Grabbing the peanut butter from the cupboard, I began spreading it on a piece of toast from the toaster. Unfortunately for me, my headache caused my eyes to momentarily shut, and so I was left spreading peanut butter on the plate and not on the toast.

"Oh Rosie, have you had a bad night?" Al cooed mockingly. "Aw, c'mere, little cousin, don't cry." He wrapped me in a hug, forcing my nose into his shoulder.

"Get off, you big lug," I retorted, my voice muffled from it being shoved into his cotton shirt. "I'm not crying, I have a headache for Pete's sake. And you're not making it any better."

"Shh, shh, shh." He stroked the back of head with unnecessary force. "I'll make it all better."

"Al, let go."

"You're terrible at being comforted."

"Am not. You just suck."

"Rose! What was that!"

I laughed as he sprung off of me, trying to stretch the back of his shirt around so he could get a better look at it. I was left holding a now peanut butter-free knife.

"Did you seriously spread peanut butter on my back?"

"Did you want jam with it as well?"

"You're so annoying."

"I've been told," I replied, shoving the knife back into the jar to scoop more peanut butter. Giving up on the toast, I ate it straight from the knife as I studied him. "Did Scorpius say anything to you last night?"

"He said lots of things to me last night," Al nodded, grabbing a mug from the cupboard.

"No, you idiot," I rolled my eyes, "I meant about me".

"Oh, right, how could I ever assume that wasn't what you were talking about?" Al smirked. Removing the pot from the coffee machine, he poured the steamy black liquid into the mug. "But, no. He didn't."

"Hm." I jumped up onto the counter. Al added milk and handed me the mug.

"Why?"

"Just wondering," I replied, bringing the mug to my lips. "I could marry this coffee right now."

"Okay, I guess you didn't hear me properly. So I'll ask again. Why?"

I smiled. "Nothing. He just said something really strange last night, that's all."

"He says strange things all the time. In fact, he was talking about how he was considering getting a pet snake last night and training it for the circus. You're going to have to be more specific."

"You're such a liar."

"Specifics, Rosie."

I shuffled around on the countertop. "He saw me speaking with Max, right, so he came up to me afterwards. Asked me how long we'd been seeing each other, really casually. Then tried to backtrack when I told him we weren't." I scrunched my nose. "Is that weird?"

Al removed the mug from my hands and took a sip. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Moaning Myrtle has more personality than you right now."

"I don't know, Rosie, what you do want me to say?" He placed the mug back in my hands and lifted himself onto the counter beside me. "Yes. I suppose it is a little strange. But he could've been asking just because he was making conversation. Surprisingly, I don't actually live inside his head."

I banged my head against the cupboard. "You're supposed to know these things! You're a boy. You're all the same."

"I swear, if you don't ask him out soon, I will."

I stared at him, mortified. "I can't do that!"

"Can you remind me again why not? Because I know I ask all the time, but I forget."

"Because-" I sputtered, "because what if he says no, what if he doesn't want to, or it's embarrassing or he gets up and leaves…" I paused. "Lots of reasons."

We sat there in silence for a moment, kicking the drawers with our sock feet. I sipped the rest of my coffee and held the cold mug in my hands.

"Okay, but what's the real reason?"

"That is the real reason."

Silence. There was a beat of quiet before I responded again.

"Okay, fine. But you have to promise not to tell anyone. Ever." I turned to look at him, raising my eyebrow.

"Cross my heart and hope to dye my hair purple when I'm older."

"You have to promise not to tell even if you get really drunk at Christmas and have the bizarre urge to tell a story like the one you told about Lily's thirteenth birthday party last Christmas."

"I swear."

"Even when you get really, really mad at me and want to stick toothpaste in my hair."

"Okay."

"Even when you and James are having a laugh at the bar and you remember this story, and get a sudden urge to tell it so you can laugh even harder."

"Rosie-"

"And you can't tell Lily either because-"

"Rosie! Chill out! I'm not gonna tell. I have plenty of your secrets, and I haven't shared them yet, have I?"

"You have a point." I took a breath, and lifted my chin to stare at the ceiling. "You're gonna think I'm dumb."

"I'm the only person who already thinks you're dumb, idiot."

"Point again. Maybe we should set up a score on a whiteboard."

He nudged my ankle with his foot. "So?"

I blew a strand of hair out of my face. "Because, I don't know. The boy should be the one who asks out the girl. You know, he should open the door on the first date, and buy her flowers, and he should pay for her and offer to walk her home, too.." I trailed off again. "You better not tell anyone I told you that," I said firmly.

He lifted his hands in the air in surrender. "I already promised. But I must say, I had no idea you were such a girl about these things."

"Hey! 'Girl' should never be used as an insult."

"Let me rephrase. I had no idea you cared about such things. I thought you were into the whole independent woman thing."

"Well, I am," I said, shaking my head. "But, y'know. It's – nice. I guess. The thought of boys making the first move. Doing nice things. And it's what I want, so."

"Ah, there's the Rosie that I know."

"Where?"

"At the part where you said you weren't going to settle for anything less than what you wanted."


I was sitting underneath a blanket on the couch later that night, eating cold pizza and trying to decide which film I was in the mood for.

"Rosie?" Al hollered from the back of the flat.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen my tie?"

"The striped one or the plain one?"

"Striped!"

"The thinly striped one or the thickly striped one?"

"Thin."

"Grey, right?"

"Yes!"

"No. I haven't."

He stomped into the living room, in a button up shirt with only half the buttons done up and an undone belt buckle. "You drive me crazy," he growled, snatching the last of the pizza from my hands.

"I was eating that," I grumbled.

"Not anymore," he replied with his mouth full, giving me a grin. Swallowing, he spread his arms out wide. "Do I look okay?"

"You look like you got caught in a broom closet between sixth and seventh period."

"Okay, Ms Wit, how about now?" He buttoned his shirt, and did up the belt buckle.

"Looks good. Would look even better with the tie."

He rolled his eyes at me. "I'm being serious."

I studied his face for a moment. "I'm being serious, too. You look good. What's up? Where are you going?"

He flashed me a boyish grin. "Got a date tonight."

"Oo ,way to go, Al. Do I know her?"

"No."

I held up a finger. "Okay, that's you're first mistake."

"She went to Hogwarts but she was a year younger than us. You might've seen her in the halls, or whatever." He shrugged his shoulder. "We met last night. She seems pretty cool."

"You like her," I teased, standing up and wrapping myself in the blanket. I made my way over to the fridge, Al trailing behind me.

"Yeah, I just told you I thought she was cool." He made his way to microwave, checking his hair in the reflection. I snorted at him and opened the fridge door, reaching for the last slice of pepperoni pizza.

"No, I mean you really like her," I said, bringing the pizza to my mouth. "You never wear ties." I took a large bite, catching a falling piece of pepperoni in mid air. "Plus, you never care what your hair looks like."

"Whatever."

"You like her, you like her," I sing-songed. "You like-"

"Is that the last piece of pizza?" He whirled around to face me, cutting me off halfway through my song.

"Uh – no."

"Yes it is! I wanted that," he cried, lunging for it. I dodged him and ran into the living room. He grabbed my elbow but I managed to worm free, jumping up on the couch and holding the slice high above my head.

"It's mine! You get to go on a date tonight and eat food! This is my only dinner because someone didn't go grocery shopping on Friday!" I did a little dance on the couch, and Albus reached to try and grab the slice from my reach when the door burst open.

We both whipped our heads around, freezing in place, my pink and red heart blanket still wrapped around me, with cold pizza held high in the air and Al in mid-jump onto the couch. Scorpius walked through the door, taking in the scene in front of him.

"Do I want to know?" He removed his coat and hung it on the rack.

"She's being a brat. She hogged all the pizza."

"He's being inconsiderate. He doesn't even go grocery shopping."

Scorpius nodded his head, in a mock-concerned way. "Of course," he said somberly. "I can see how this would take a toll on your relationship. Rose, tell me, do you feel that Al doesn't always listen when you talk to him? Do you feel as though he listens but doesn't hear you?"

"Shut up," we muttered at the same time. Scorpius grinned and snatched the pizza from my hand, stuffing the rest of the slice in his mouth.

"So, what're you guys doing tonight?" Scorpius sat down on the opposite couch and turned the TV on, flicking through channels. I stepped down from the couch, and sat on it, Al following suit.

"Mr Big Shot here has a hot date, and I have an even hotter date. With the TV," I replied, pointing to Al with my thumb.

"Ah. That girl you were talking to last night, Al?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

Reaching across the armrest, I grabbed the phone and chucked it at Al. "Ow!" He rubbed his shoulder. "What was that for?"

"Pizza," I said pointedly. "Order me one for dinner before you leave for your date. Please," I added as an afterthought.

He rolled his eyes but dialed the number anyways. While he was ordering, I turned my attention to Scorpius. "You planning on staying here for the evening?"

"Probably. Got no others plans. That okay?"

I shrugged. "Fine by me."

After Al left (I tried to get a glimpse of the girl, but he closed the door in my face before I had the chance to peek), I flopped back onto the couch.

"I'm bored," I sighed, flipping off the edge of the couch. "And you're upside down."

"No, you are, silly." Scorpius paused for a moment. "Let's do something tonight."

I flipped upright again. "Like what?"

"So that's a yes?"

"That's a maybe. First you have to tell me what we're doing."

"Hm. No." He flashed me grin. "Go get changed. We're going out. Not that green plaid pajamas aren't a charming look on you, of course."

I blushed as I made my way to my room. "What about the pizza guy? He's going to knock on the door of an empty house."

"Whatever. Maybe he'll leave it on the doorstep. I like cold pizza better, anyways."

Struggling into a pair of jeans, I Levitated a warm sweater from my closet. "Can we grab dinner on the way back from wherever it is you're taking me?"

"Do you ever stop thinking about your stomach?"

"Hm. No." I emerged from my room, shrugging into a jacket. Not bothering to take my hair out from inbetween the jacket and my back, I grabbed my cross-body bag, and slung it over my shoulder before facing him. "Ready?"

"Yeah," he said, slipping on his shoes, "let's go."

I slid on a pair of my boots as well, when I felt a pair of hands gently removing my hair from the inside of the jacket. "Sorry," Scorpius said hastily, "it just looked uncomfortable."

I gave him a smile over my shoulder. "It's fine."

Opening the door, he held it as I passed through. "After you."

"Thank you, kind sir."

We stepped out into the freezing air. I was wishing I had thought to take along a scarf when Scorpius began unraveling his. "Here," he said, wrapping it around my neck, "you look cold."

I buried my nose in the warm wool. "Thank you," I said again, "that was really nice."

He gave me a teasing grin. "I'm always really nice."

"Nice enough to tell me where we're going?"

He tapped my nose twice. "No. Not that nice."

It was a nice night, though, all things considering. The streetlights reflecting off of the minimal snow that was on the ground sparkled, and there were so many stars that it looked like the sky was silver and the navy blue were the pieces inbetween.

"C'mere," Scorpius whispered, taking my hand. He led me into a dark alley way, littered with garbage and old, dirty furniture that looked like it had been around since the seventies.

"Y'know, in most scenes, this doesn't end up well for the girl at all," I whispered back jokingly, trying to ignore the zaps that shot up my elbow when he took my hand.

"Trust me, here, Rose. I just need a place to Apparate. Ready?"

"When you are." I gripped his hand tightly, preparing for the spinning and the squeezing, which I hated.

We landed in the middle of a sidewalk, one that looked much like the one we were just looking at. Except for the lack of flats – the streets were lined with suburban houses, each looking more similar to the one before it.

"Where are we?" I said softly, moving closer to Scorpius. The wind had picked up a little, and I shivered involuntarily.

"C'mon. It's not far from here." He led me along the sidewalk, and I tried my best to keep close. An owl hooted somewhere in the distance and my head snapped around to locate the sound. Otherwise, it was mostly quiet as we walked, besides the sound of cold snow crunching underneath our feet, and our faint breath that came out like ghosts.

"You okay?" He wiggled my arm as he asked, looking down at me. I looked up and nodded at him. "You sure?"

"Well, I'm in a strange neighborhood in the middle of the night. I'm not completely calm."

"Trust me, Rose."

"You already said that."

"Just relax," he said kindly. "Nothing's going to happen."

We walked on a little more, before Scorpius stopped abruptly. "There it is," he said, pointing across the street. In the dark, I could faintly make out shapes that looked like a Muggle playground.

"A playground?"

"Yeah, I mean – I used to come here all the time. When I was a kid, obviously. But, uh. It used to be my favourite place to go. Thought it would be cool to check it out."

"Hey." This time I wiggled his arm. "It looks awesome. Should we check it out?"

We crossed the street, and he led me over to a big red slide. "Wow, it looks so much smaller than it did the last time I was here. This is insane." He ran his hand over the edge of the slide. "Did I ever tell you the time that Stella broke her arm on this thing?"

"You're kidding," I said, "I had no idea. I had no idea she ever used anything Muggle back then."

Scorpius nodded. "Oh, yeah. We were here almost every day when we were kids." He took me on a tour of the playground, showing me various pieces that were his favourites, and stories he remembered.

We made our way over to the swings. "Hey Scor?"

"Yeah?"

I began to pump my legs, letting the swing lead me higher into the sky. "How come your parents let you run around here? It feels so anti-Malfoy." The wind whipped at my hair, and I forced it back as best I could.

"I don't really know, to be honest," Scorpius replied, "I've asked myself that same question a few times."

I slowed down, digging my heels into the scraps of wood underneath them. "Did you ever ask?"

"Nah," he replied, slowing down as well. He clutched the chain rope as he turned to look at me. "I thought they might get defensive, or something."

"So strange," I mused. "I'm really curious."

He shrugged. "I guess they just got sick of me running around the house with nothing to do all day. In any case, it became one of my favourite places in the world because I'd never seen anything like it before. Muggles were so fascinating to me."

"Yeah," I smiled, "I know the feeling." I leaned my head on my hand. "Thanks for taking me out here."

He smiled at me. "You're welcome. Thanks for appreciating it." He stood up and brushed off, and then held out his hand. "Ready for dinner?"


Afterwards, we walked home under the stars once again. We reached the door, and I turned to face him. "Want to come in?" I asked. "Al's probably not home and it'll be nice to have company."

"I'd love to, but I have to get up early tomorrow for work."

I was about to open my mouth to tell him it was no big deal, but he cut me off by pressing a kiss to my cheek. Staring at him with wide eyes, he turned on the spot and Apparated away before I had the chance to say anything. I was left standing on the front porch with my gloved hand pressed to my cheek.


notes: Thank you for reading! 2 chapters-ish to go, I think. Review if you feel like it.