Chapter 12

All That Is New

"Just listen to me! I think it's a fantastic idea!"

"If your definition of fantastic is equivalent to bullshit, then I choose not to."

"Rose, come on, just—will you stop speed walking away from me and just listen to me—Rose!"

She lurched backwards as he grabbed her arm with enough force to make her stagger. She gasped as she fell against his chest, her face instantly turning the shade of her hair. She whipped around, straining to pull out of his vice like grip, as he stared down at her.

"If you think, for even a moment, that you can overcome me when it comes to sheer physical strength, then you are sadly mistaken," he said nonchalantly.

She hissed and stopped struggling, pressing the hand, whose arm he was gripping, against his chest and applying pressure on it. He simply raised unamused eyebrows at her. She made an indignant sound in the back of her throat and thumped his chest, baring her teeth at him. He only scoffed, his eyes flickering down to her mouth.

"Although your little tantrum is highly amusing, Miss Weasley, I stay firm to my previous statement."

"You are the world's biggest git," she spat, fisting his shirt in her hand. He used his free hand to gently cover hers and ease it slightly so she wasn't hurting him, his eyes dancing with the same wide-eyed look of innocent amusement.

"My, what a rude thing to say, Miss Weasley. Besides, I'm more concerned about the fact that you refuse to give up your stubbornness even if it means we shall keep standing in the middle of a corridor in quite a compromising position with all eyes on us," he said lightly, laughter lacing his words.

Her mouth fell open as her eyes darted around, confirming the truth of what he had said. She immediately released her grip on him and he let go of her, stepping back and raising his hands to show that he wasn't going to grab her again. She eyed him suspiciously as his mouth twitched into a smirk.

"Scorpius Malfoy, I absolutely do not appreciate you publicly humiliating me," she hissed, turning on her heel and striding towards her office. The second she knew he was inside, she flicked her wand and slammed the door shut with so much force that the wooden partition rattled.

"There's no need to rage—it was just a thought."

"A thought that you think is good enough to be pursued!"

"Wouldn't you?"

"No! Are you mental?"

"It's only temporary, till I find a place of my own."

"Well, find one already!"

"It's not easy."

"Scorpius bloody Malfoy, you listen to me when I say I am not letting you live with me!"

"Not even for a day?"

"Not even over my dead body!"

"Fine, one night then?"

She goggled at him, mouth-hanging open, completely dumbfounded by the shite-eating grin spreading across his face. The nerve of him! She slammed her hand on her desk and pointed to the door, still unable to find her voice. He raised his hands in surrender and shook his head.

"Alright alright, I agree, that was uncalled for—"

"You think?"

"—but I'm being completely honest, here. I don't care if you lock me up in your storeroom, as long as you let me expand it enough so I can sleep."

"Why the fuck do I have to let you stay with me! Why is this bothersome situation only becoming more bothersome! I intended for it to get better, not worse! And especially not for me!"

He paused, his eyebrows raised, as he watched her fume. She swore again and flopped onto her chair, turning it around and away from him.

"I think it's hot when you swear," he said softly.

She closed her eyes and cried out in outrage, thoroughly exhausted by his aggravating personality. He came up to her and kneeled down beside her chair, looking up at her with solemn eyes.

"I'm asking—no, pleading—please let me stay for a while. I promise that I harbour no ill intentions. I genuinely have nowhere to go."

She looked into his honest silver eyes and felt her chest clench. He was looking at her in that same wide-eyed, innocent way—a small, pleading smile on his face.

Whoever said the bloody Muggle saying about puppy-dog eyes was a myth, should keel over and die.

"Fine," she sighed, rubbing her forehead as her previous headache returned with full force. When he didn't move, she eyed him wearily.

"What?" she snapped and he bowed his head slightly, raising her hand to his mouth and brushing his lips against it.

"Thank you," he murmured and she felt her irritation ebb away.

She regarded his bowed head for half a moment before saying coolly, "Fine, but you owe me."

"Anything," he replied in the same revered voice and looked up at her with shining eyes. Her heart thudded against her rib cage and her eyes flickered to his mouth. She immediately glanced back up—only to see that he had noticed the action, his own eyes closing slightly and growing darker.

I do not want to kiss him! She told herself crossly, even as her own body betrayed her by slowly leaning forwards.

"Rose," he murmured and her breath immediately caught, her heart leaping to her throat.

Stop! Stop stop stop stop stop!

She sighed as his grip on her hand tightened, his chin tilting upwards in order to meet her as he rose slightly onto his knees. A shuddering breath escaped her parted lips and her eyelids fluttered as he came closer. She gripped the armrest, the thudding of her heart almost painful.

Almost.

His lips parted slightly and she swallowed thickly. It was unfair how intense a reaction he elicited from her simply by looking at her with that burning gaze...

Almost.

"May I come in, Miss Weasley? There's something I want to—oh!"

She immediately snapped back, her eyes wide with fear, her racing heart increasing in speed as the heat from her face instantly turned cold. Scorpius's expression mirrored how she felt as he went completely pale, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed.

"I—I'm so—I didn't mean to—excuse me!"

"Shite," she breathed, her fingers clasping the armrest so tightly, it hurt. Scorpius soundlessly mouthed a curse and she breathed in shakily.

"Go after him," she squeaked, and he nodded hurriedly, jumping to his feet and racing out.

"Shite," she said again, staring at the spot where he had been. "Shite."

"Lucas! Oi, Lucas! Stop running, goddamnit, this isn't a marathon and I'm not going to pound you to death!"

Scorpius watched as the shorter male stumbled to a stop and slowly looked over his shoulder fearfully. He quelled the urge to run a hand down his face as he stepped closer and eased his features into a pleasant smile.

"Hi! We haven't met yet—I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

"I—I know who you are," the shorter man stammered, his brown eyes round with fear. Scorpius quelled the urge to snap at him.

"And you're Lucas Zachery."

"…Yes."

"And we're fellow Division Heads."

"It—it would seem so, although—"

"So as a fellow Head, can I trust that you can keep a secret?"

Lucas looked like he was going to say no, before nodding furiously, making him look like a house-elf. Scorpius's smile was much less strained as he reached out and shook the other's hand.

"Thanks, mate. Oh, and, you'll be moving into my—no, our office tomorrow, so make sure you get here early."

Lucas nodded again and Scorpius grinned at him. "Cheers," he said, clapping him on the shoulder and striding back to Rose's office.

She is going to be so pissed, he thought, grimacing at the thought. He walked in and shut the door behind him carefully, raising his arm just in case she threw something at him.

Except nothing came his way, save for a fearful gaze and hurried, "What did he say?"

"What can he possibly say? He's not going to breathe a word to anyone and you know it."

She nodded slowly, taking her face in her hands and moaning into them. "Oh, this is horrible! What idiot walks in when the door is closed! And without even knocking!" she said into her hands, her voice muffled.

He walked up and sprawled across the opposite chair, rubbing his own hands up and down his face. "You probably should brief him on the ways of the folk here before a repetition occurs."

Her head snapped up and he immediately regretted what he had said.

"Repetition?" she asked softly, her expression furious. "There will be no repetition, Mister Malfoy! Are we absolutely clear on that?"

He would have been easily able to ease his face into a smile, but at that moment, he was far too frustrated to bother. "Your wish is my command," he said crisply, getting to his feet and smoothing his crumpled shirt where she had grabbed him. He nodded curtly to her and strode to the door, pausing to look over his shoulder and ask, "May I be excused?"

"You're already on your way out, do you honestly expect me to stop you?"

He gave her a tight smile and exited, not even wincing when the door slammed behind him.

He had known that things would irrevocably turn out to be like this, when he had pursued her. He had always known. And he had also always known that her immediate reaction to everything would be to pin the blame on him. It was a course of action he had brought upon himself, with all the pranks he had played on her during their years at Hogwarts – so much so, that by the end of it, even the slightest thing that went wrong would be his fault, whether it was or not.

He had fully expected it and had been prepared to endure the fate he had brought upon himself. A small price to pay in order to be with her – or se he had thought.

But this was a story from nearly a decade ago and they were now grown adults. To continue to do the same seemed childishly foolish—as did his anger at the moment.

He knew that she knew that she had been the one who had initiated what had happened back in her office. He could see the conflict in her expression even as she had begun to lose herself to the longing her body felt. And yes, he was in the wrong for encouraging it instead of denying it, but who was he to refuse something that he had desperately yearned for for so long?

He had only taken things so far during their time in school because he knew that she would unfalteringly chase after him irrespective of what he said or did to her. He knew her stubborn nature would only be encouraged by his constant poking and prodding, like adding fuel to the fire, as the Muggle saying went. But now, he knew if he pushed too hard, she would snap and completely slip out of his grasp. There was no longer anything tying her to him, or even if there was, it wasn't enough to stop her from turning it away.

But if their relationship – or lack thereof – was going to be built upon a foundation as unstable as this, there was absolutely no point in even pursuing it. Who would be foolish enough to build a huge, beautiful manor on a pile of sticks and stones, knowing it would crumble with the smallest of steps?

His conviction aside, he wasn't desperate enough to simply throw himself head first into the ocean, knowing his inability to swim would undoubtedly drown him. Growling through his teeth, he tugged on his ponytail harshly, his jumbled mind only adding to his annoyance. He couldn't even remember the last time someone had boggled his mind so much that he needed some outside perspective of the whole situation.

And there was only one place to go for that.

"And so you came running to me because you couldn't clean your own shite?"

"Merlin, Rose wasn't lying when she said you're way of talking has become completely uncivilised."

Albus regarded Scorpius evenly as the two sat staring at each other, silently challenging the other to take the bait. Albus sighed, pocketing his hands and leaned against the table, glancing at his best mate sideways.

"I'm glad you came to me, even after all these years, although, I still don't appreciate that you two just take me for granted. I actually work for a living, you know?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, because all I do is sleep my way to the top."

Albus raised his eyebrows at the snap in Scorpius's voice and the blond rolled his eyes, leaning his cheek on his hand and sulking. It was such a childish way to react to a ridiculous fight that it instantly reminded him of their time in school.

"It's hilarious how much a person can change on the outside even if they remain exactly the same on the inside," Albus commented idly.

"You're telling me," the blond scoffed, scowling at the wall.

"I was talking about you, not Rose – although, she's just as much an idiot as you, if not more."

Scorpius made a face at him. "At least she's a bigger idiot than me."

Albus laughed, running a hand through his hair and coming to sit on the stool next to Scorpius's. "And? What is this about, exactly?"

The blond frowned at him and clucked his tongue. A frustrated Scorpius was by far more amusing than a confused and angry Rose—especially since the former occurred much less than the latter.

"I already told you—"

"That she blamed you and you stormed out on her, yes. But that's obviously not why you're here," Albus replied, raising his brows as he propped his elbows on the table behind him and leaned back on them. Scorpius made a sound in his throat and licked his lips, his expression the exact same as Rose's had been when she had come to see him.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said, leaning forwards and making to stand up.

"No, wait, I'll tell you," came the immediate reply, making Albus smirk and sit back. Scorpius glowered at him.

"You fucking git, you're toying with me."

Albus clapped his hands and laughed at the blond's expression. "Way to come upon that realisation all on your own!"

"You are one sadistic bastard," Scorpius commented, glaring at Albus.

"That, I will never deny," he replied with a twinkle in his eye.

"I worry for your patients' wellbeing," Scorpius muttered, eyeing the various instruments on the table with obvious suspicion.

"It's a good thing I handle research, then, isn't it?" he said, tilting his head back and looking at the blond through his bangs.

"I am not going to bail you out if you do something illegal, I'm telling you right now."

Albus chuckled lightly. "Then it's a good thing my father's the famous Harry Potter," he replied airily. "Plus, a good scandal once in a while isn't so bad. Wouldn't you say so?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

Scorpius's brows furrowed and he looked accusingly at Albus. "How did you—"

"How did I know that someone caught the two of you? Oh, please. I may not be a genius, mate, but my observation and analysing skills are by far superior to yours. Or Rose's," he added, watching the way Scorpius slumped in his seat and sulked some more. "So, how much of a scandal did you cause?"

"None, as far as I'm concerned," came the monotonous reply and Albus looked disappointedly back at the blond.

"What, why? So you weren't caught doing the forbidden with your boss in your boss's office on your boss's desk? A little slap and tickle, eh?" he waggled his eyebrows and Scorpius closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"Mate, just stop with the crass way of talking, alright? You scare me."

"That's the idea," Albus replied with a wink. Scorpius shook his head slowly.

"So what exactly did you do that made you come running to mummy?"

"Nothing. We were just about to kiss when Lucas walked in."

"Lucas?" Albus asked curiously. That was a name he'd never heard before. Scorpius waved his hand.

"Yeah, the fellow who's replacing Renée."

Albus made an impressed face. "He must be really good, if he's replacing Lady Herington."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at the nickname but only said, "Apparently she chose him herself. And even Rose approved of him. But personally, I haven't quite seen his charm yet."

"Not worried he's aiming too high?" Albus asked with a lecherous grin.

Scorpius stared at him with a blank expression. "He looks like a scrawny sixteen-year-old who would wet his pants if someone so much as walked up on him from behind."

"Hm, but you never really know. It's those meek, timid types that always gets the girls cooing and falling all over them because they're just simply so adorable."

"I assure you, that will never happen with Rose," Scorpius replied flatly, sighing and taking his head in his hands. "In fact, I'm sure nothing of that sort will ever happen again."

Albus regarded his bowed head for a moment before staring at the opposite wall and saying mildly, "Just give it some time, mate. Especially if she actually was the one who initiated it this time, I'm definite that there will be a next time."

Scorpius scoffed. "Forget next time, I'll probably go on a pilgrimage if she doesn't decide to completely cut me off and regard me with cold indifference."

The blond suddenly sat up, a panicked look on his face. Albus waited patiently for Scorpius's internal dilemma to end so he could get in on the gossip. "Where will I go?" the blond finally asked pitifully and Albus looked at him.

"Home?"

"No," Scorpius said with finality, dismissing it easily with a wave of his hand. "I'd finally got her to agree to me staying with her for a few days…"

Albus nearly fell off his stool and goggled at the blond with an incredulous expression. Scorpius smiled wanly at him. "Yes, I know, it was nothing short of a miracle."

"Mate," Albus said, clutching the other's arm, wiping his grime-coated fingers on Scorpius's sleeve, "forget miracle, this is a once in a hundred lifetimes opportunity that you'll regret even if you end up living forever. You've to somehow get her to agree again."

Scorpius pushed him off with a disgusted sound, wiping his arm on his coat. "I already know that without you telling me. I don't know if it'll ever happen, though…"

He stared pensively at the metal counter before suddenly looking up with hopeful eyes. "What if—"

"Don't even think about it."

Scorpius immediately deflated, glowering at Albus. The latter rolled his eyes. "I live in a dorm. You can't stay with me even if I agreed to let you."

He stood up and dusted the lab coat that he always wore to protect his white Healer robes as he pressed his fist to his mouth and blew into it, feeling his lungs squeeze in the telltale signs of another coughing fit. "Just… go with the flow," he said with a reassuring grin when Scorpius looked at him strangely.

The blond stared at him blankly, standing up and walking backwards to the door. "Yes, I am so glad I came all this way, swallowing my pride, in order to confess my problems to you, only to have you poke fun at me and enjoy yourself at my expense. And then give me the world's most pointless advice. So glad," he called over his shoulder slamming the door behind him.

Albus chuckled, laying a hand to his chest and wincing at the sharp tug of his lungs. Oh, teasing those two is definitely worth every moment of my short life.

A/n: Hello! So I finally decided that it was about time I wrote something in Scorpius's POV since I haven't at all, up till now. Hopefully, writing it from his POV cleared some of the confusion regarding why Rose behaves the way she does when it comes to him. If you still don't get it, feel free to leave a review and I shall reply back with an explanation.

Also, remember what I said regarding dear old Albus?

A penny for your thoughts and a ginormous cookie for your reviews!

Lots of love~