Chapter 9

"Rose, can I borrow this?"

I'm lounging in the common room, and Lily's holding up a fitted blue sweater I got for my birthday last year.

"You went through my stuff?"

"Sorry. I told you - I have hardly any clothes! Mum and Dad never gave them back."

"Promise you're not going to ruin it?"

Lily rolls her eyes. "I'm going on a date. What do you think I'm going to do, mud wrestling?"

Lily isn't known for her persuasive skills.

"With who?" I say.

"Lance Thomas."

"That fourth year Hufflepuff?"

"No," she says, almost indignantly. "All Hufflepuffs are pansies. He's fifth year, and he's in Ravenclaw."

"Don't let Lorcan hear you say that," I say, and I'm about to comment on the 'older guy' thing as well, but stop when I realise who I'm meeting in Hogsmeade.

"So can I borrow it or what?" she says.

"Fine, but put it straight back," I tell her, but she's already scampering back up to the girls' dormitories.

I consider going upstairs to get ready myself but decide against it. I'm meeting Teddy in the afternoon which still gives me a decent amount of time. If I start too early I know I'll just panic and be indecisive about my outfit and overdo my makeup.

"Hey Red, have you seen Toby?" James asks me as he crosses the common room from the boys dormitories, ruffling a towel through his wet hair.

"Nope."

"Damn. He said he'd come Hogsmeade and go to Wheezes with me."

"Do you ever give it a rest?" I say in an exasperated voice. I don't let on that I know about his imminent expulsion because I promised Albus, even though all I want to do is shake him and force him to come his senses.

"No rest for the wicked," James says with a grin.

"You should look after Lily while you're there - she's going on a date."

James' expression turns sour. "With who?"

I shrug. "I don't know. But don't worry, she borrowed my sweater so I don't think she's getting much action."

James looks sick at the thought of his sister getting 'action'. "I'll keep an eye out for her. It better not be McLaggen."

Andrew McLaggen, Ravenclaw Quidditch captain and the object of Lily's (and therefore Lucy's) affection, is the bane of James' life. Ravenclaw have won the Quidditch cup three years in a row. Of course, the rest of the school speculates it's because Coach McLaggan who referees the games is his father and he's biased, but I reckon it's because they've got the better team. Coming close second is Gryffindor, despite James being the knockout star out of both teams. But then again, what do I know about Quidditch?

"He wouldn't take Lily out," I point out.

"He would just to piss me off," James says.

I disagree - from what I've seen, Andrew McLaggen seems like one of those perfect gentlemen types you hardly see these days. I think even Dominique (who thinks all Hogwarts boys are knobheads) had a crush on him at one point.

Then Tobias Wood walks in and he and James start excitedly planning their next prank. I sigh and excuse myself from the common room.

Upstairs I lay out my options on my bed: Jeans with fluffy cardigan; jeans with silky shirt and coat; or jeans with Nana Molly's Christmas jumper. I stare at the outfits for ages, before deciding on the fluffy cardigan option.

Next is my hair, which is a mission and a half on it's own. The frizzy red mess is usually confined to a bun, but I untangle it as best I can and smear on a bit of Sleek-Do serum. It transforms my hair into shiny, wavy locks that sort of bounce when I move. I love magic.

"You look nice," Melody says when I come out of the bathroom.

"I thought you were going Hogsmeade early," I say.

"I did; it was boring. Think I'll do some sun salutations in the Astronomy Tower. Would you like to come?"

"Tempting. But I have to be at Hogsmeade by one."

"Rose," Melody says, and I already know what she's going to say next. "Are you sure about this?"

"We're just going to talk," I say. "It's nothing. Seriously. I don't know why you're so worried."

I rummage through my trunk and grab a barely-used tube of mascara.

"Just be careful," Melody says. Whatever that means.

I widen my eyes in front of the mirror and coat my lashes, and swear when I get it all over my eyelids.

Melody sighs and comes over to me. "Here, let me."

She carefully sweeps it on so that my usually pale, reddish lashes are dark and full. I ask her to do my eye shadow, and she obliges. For someone who hardly wears makeup because everyone tests on animals, she's pretty good at it. I stop her when she starts coming at me with a tube of lipstick; I don't want to look too overdone, as I'm meeting Dad afterwards with Hugo. Wearing this amount of makeup is suspicious as it is.

Melody stands back and regards me like a proud parent. "There. Now go tell him he's an idiot and you can do way better than a child molester."

"He is not a child molester!"

"My baby!" Melody cries, embracing me in a dramatic hug. "Be careful, and call momma if you need me."

I laugh and reassure her for the five hundredth time that we are just talking. Melody looks unconvinced. I glance at my watch - there's almost an hour to go. What am I going to say? Hi, Teddy, nice snog last time, huh? Or maybe I'll start off with a casual comment on the weather, then move onto the deeper stuff like how I think Victoire is a cow.

xxxxxxxxxx

Teddy is already there when I enter the Hogs Head. He's seated at a corner table of the dimly lit pub, staring vacantly into a goblet. Thankfully there isn't anyone I recognise in here; or anyone that would care about my meeting with him. A couple of Slytherin seventh years are raucously talking at the bar, and barely glance my way as I pass them.

I slide onto the vinyl seat opposite Teddy before he even realises I'm there. He leaps up immediately, then realises I'm already seated, and plonks back down.

"Rose," he says.

"Hi."

I nervously fiddle with the end of a shiny lock of hair, then drop it when I realise I probably look like Cynthia Earl with her constant hair-flipping.

"I'm glad you came," says Teddy, not looking glad at all.

In fact he looks downright miserable. He's shifting uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes flicking around the room every few seconds as if he's terrified of being caught with me. Fair enough. Dad would kill him if he knew.

"It's freezing outside," I say. God, I'm lame.

"Yeah… Do you want a drink? Something to eat? My shout."

"I'll have a butterbeer."

Teddy nods, then gets up and goes to the bar. The bartender - a moustached wizard with an enormous beer gut - hands over a dusty bottle.

"Thanks," I say with a grimace as Teddy sets it in front of me and slides back into his seat.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you," he says with a quirk of his lips.

I wipe some dust off the glass bottle and inspect it. "Mmm, you're right. Thanks anyway."

Teddy twiddles his thumbs over his goblet. He looks uncomfortable again. "Yeah… Rose, I asked you to meet me because I wanted to apologise."

Forcing myself not to show the heavy disappointment that washes over me, I smile lightly at him and say, "For what?"

He leans forward, shaking his head. "You don't have to play that with me. I was wrong. I never should have- I was plastered, didn't know what I was doing." He drags a hand through his hair, mussing up his dark waves. "God, you're just a kid. I'm so sorry, Rose."

There's an actual pain in my chest now.

He goes on, "And I haven't told anyone yet… I wanted you to be the first to know, but… I'm back with Victoire."

A palpable silence falls between us. I stare back at him, barely registering his words. I just want to sink into the ground and never face another human being again.

"Good for you," I hear myself say.

My tone is acerbic and sarcastic, but my voice is thick because I'm trying not to cry. I will not cry about this. At least, not in front of him.

His face falls. "Rose… I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you-"

"You didn't."

"Oh, well… You- You're gorgeous. And funny, and smart. You'll find someone much better for you."

I don't reply. Teddy squirms in his seat again.

"Well…" He takes a gulp from his goblet. "I wanted to ask as well… Have you told anyone?"

"No."

He nods. "Okay…"

He's looking at me expectantly, but I just stare back at him pretending to be clueless to what he's after.

He takes another gulp, and then I decide to put him out of his misery. I want to get out of here, like now. "You want me to keep my mouth shut."

Teddy sits up a bit straighter. "Well, not 'keep your mouth shut', but… yeah… just be discreet about it? We're still kind of shaky at the moment, I don't think-"

"I'll keep my mouth shut," I say, cutting him off.

I stand up.

"You going?" Teddy asks, surprised.

"Yeah. See you around."

I walk away from the table before he can say anything else, ignoring the imploring look he gives me as I turn away. At the door, just before I'm about to leave, I pause for a moment as if expecting him to call after me. He doesn't. I push the door open and go outside into the blustery January wind.

Walking back to the main street, I feel the tears that have been threatening to overtake me well up to the surface. The shame of it hurts more than anything. I am not crying over Teddy Lupin. It's frustration at myself, for being such a fool, that really makes me mad and causes hot tears to splash down my face. God, I'm such an idiot. How could I have nursed this hope for so long? It was never going to work - Teddy and Victoire are so much a part of each other - and I should have realised that from the beginning.

Now I have to face him every Christmas, every summer holiday, every family gathering. How am I going to ever look him in the eye again? Our easy friendship is definitely not going to survive this. We always used to joke around, laugh, and talk about my cousins and their quirks behind their backs. Now that's gone, too. I never had many friends to begin with, and now because of one stupid drunken kiss I have one less.

I wipe at my tears with my sleeve. Black smudges cover it when I lower my arm, and I suddenly remember all that makeup I have on and that I must look like a drowned panda by now. I duck my head again, wishing I had my robes on to hide my face under its hood.

"Rose?"

I groan inwardly and look up to find Scorpius just coming out of Hannah Longbottom's apothecary, staring in shock at the mess that is my face.

"What happened?"

His shock soon morphs into a scowl like he's angry at me or something.

"Nothing," I say, and keep walking.

He falls into step beside me but I ignore him. I quicken my pace but I'm no match for his long strides. Stupid lanky git.

"Go away," I say.

"No."

I stop suddenly, causing him to continue a few steps forward before he realises I'm standing still and glaring at him.

"It's nothing, Scorpius. Please just leave me alone."

Scorpius glances at something behind me, and his scowl deepens. "Was it Teddy?"

I turn around to see Teddy come out of the alley that the Hogs Head is on and walk briskly in the other direction, towards the other end of Hogsmeade where he can Apparate back home. I slowly turn back to Scorpius.

"What did that wanker do?" Scorpius asks.

I shake my head. If I talk about it the tears are going to come all over again.

"Rose, tell me."

"Go away!" I practically shriek at him.

"Oi!" booms a voice down the street.

Both of us jump and turn to find my dad marching towards us. Shit.

"What's going on here? Rose- what's wrong, are you okay?"

I'm completely horrified - he cannot know about Teddy - and it must have shown on my face; Scorpius acts immediately, stepping between my dad and me. "With all due respect, sir, this is between Rose and I."

Dad looks ready to sock him in the face.

"Scorpius," he says threateningly. "Why is my daughter crying?"

Scorpius doesn't even blink. I have to hand it to him, this kid is brave.

Before Dad can actually hit him, I step out from behind Scorpius and say, "I'm fine, Dad. I'll see you later, with Hugo, okay?"

Then I grab Scorpius' arm and drag him away from the bristling Weasley. I march him down the main street of Hogsmeade, ignoring the curious glances directed towards us. We must look a sight; the short, surly girl looking like a banshee with black marks trekked down her face, roughly pulling along the tall blonde Slytherin.

At this point I really don't care who sees us; I'm just trying to put distance between me and my dad.

"Hey," Scorpius finally says when we're at the end of the street near the road back up to Hogwarts. He shakes himself free of my iron grip.

"Don't-" I say, looking down at my feet, suddenly aware of how horrible I look. "Don't say 'I told you so'. You were right, he is a tosser."

"I wasn't going to…" Scorpius says quietly.

I wipe my cheeks with my palms and look up into his steely grey eyes. They seem to bore into my soul, seeing into the depths of my hurt and humiliation.

Mumbling a goodbye, I rip my gaze away and start up the hill towards the castle. I need to wash up before I see Dad again. He's going to have enough questions as it is.

"Rose!" Scorpius calls after me.

"I'll talk to you later!" I say over my shoulder, and practically start running up the hill.

xxxxxxxxxx

Having dinner with a disgruntled Ron Weasley is not fun.

"-but what happened?" says my dad for the eight hundredth time that night.

I'm sitting across from him (big mistake) while Hugo is to my left at the small wooden table, his head swivelling between us like a spectator at a tennis match.

"Nothing," I say into my peas.

We're in the small flat above Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, halfway through a meal Dad said he made but I'm pretty sure he ordered from the Three Broomsticks; I recognise the salty steak sauce.

"Rose- look at me- I am your father. I have a right to know who you're dating."

I snort. "I'm not dating him, Dad. We were just… talking."

I look up to see Dad frown and shovel some mashed potatoes into his mouth. I give him my sweetest smile. He harrumphs and saws at his steak.

"Yeah, Scorpius wouldn't date Rose," Hugo says.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snap.

Hugo shrugs.

"Well, I'm trusting you…" Dad says.

"There's nothing to not trust," I say assuringly.

"Can I take some dungbombs?" asks Hugo.

"Sure," Dad says absently.

"You know they're banned, right?" I tell them.

"Take some when I'm not looking," Dad says to Hugo.

Ugh.

The rest of dinner passes by with no further mention of Slytherins. Dad's still in the dining area cleaning up while Hugo and I are stacking dishes in the small adjacent kitchen when I notice it: a folded piece of parchment tucked discreetly under a flowerpot on the windowsill. This is itself is unusual; Dad is the messiest, laziest person I know, and when he gets a letter - whether it's a flyer or an important legal document - he just chucks it onto a table or on the floor, to 'remember it later'.

I wipe my hands on my jeans and pull the parchment out. Feeling a little guilty (okay, a lot) I look over my shoulder to check that he's still busy before opening it. My heart starts beating faster as I recognise Mum's neat handwriting. It's short, but confusing. No wonder Dad's so shirty tonight.

"What's that?" Hugo says loudly, snatching it out of my hands.

"Shhh," I hiss.

Hugo's eyebrows slowly creep up as he reads Mum's note.

Ron,

I know you said you don't want to talk to me anytime soon, but please, before you burn this, hear me out. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. We need to talk - talk about us, talk about the kids, talk about where to go from now.

I never wanted things to turn out the way they have.

Your friend forever,

Hermione

"What're you two- Hey, give that here!" Dad marches into the kitchen and grabs the letter off Hugo. "What kind of monsters did I raise? Reading other people's letters..."

"What did you write back?" I ask.

Dad looks pained.

"You haven't replied?"

"You have to!" Hugo exclaims.

Dad and I both look at Hugo in surprise for a moment; he sounded very aggressive. He's staring wide-eyed at Dad.

Dad clears his throat. "Erm, this is between your mother and I-"

"We are your children," I interrupt. "We have a right to know."

"Don't be cheeky," Dad says, shoving the letter into his pocket. "I'll reply when I reply."

"Stop being lazy," I tell him.

"Rose…" he says warningly.

I look up at him defiantly. "You have to talk to her, Dad. She's been gone for so long. Don't lose this chance."

Dad clears his throat again, looking comfortable. "I- I don't know what to say," he admits.

He looks so weary, so broken.

"Just tell her you love her," Hugo blurts out.

A general silence fills the room. I'm about say how silly that is, how juvenile, how he'll need eloquent words of counsel, when the simplicity and sincerity of it hits me. Sometimes my brother is a genius. I nod at Dad.

"Right," Dad says, nodding back. "Right. Love her. Got it. Now…"

He looks around as if he's looking for a quill and paper to write something then and there.

"Dad?" I say hesitantly as he starts pacing around the kitchen, overturning a pot here and a plate there.

"Mmm?" he says distractedly.

"What are you doing?" says Hugo.

Dad stops and blinks at us. "Don't you two have homework to do or something?"

Hugo and I glance at each other.

"Mountains," I say. "C'mon, Huge, let's go."

"Don't call me that," Hugo grumbles as he follows me out of the kitchen.

I give Dad a quick peck on the cheek as we leave.

"Love you, Dad."

Dad smiles. "Love you too, Rosie Posie. You too, son. And don't take all of the dungbombs."

Note: I know the Longbottom's are supposed to have taken over business at the Leaky Cauldron, but I've brought them closer to Hogwarts to an apothecary in Hogsmeade for this story. Excuse the non-cannoness.

Review? :)