Disclaimer: The characters are the property of the amazingly talented J.K Rowling. I'm only borrowing the characters and world that she has so brilliantly created.

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Chapter Two: Further Library Encounters

A/N: Since some of you have asked, this story will be about 4-5 chapters long.

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It was a week before Rose saw Scorpius in the library again. She had been worried that he wouldn't return to her table in the Charms section, so she was pleasantly surprised when he appeared from behind a row of shelves one Thursday evening.

"I was beginning to think you were avoiding me," she told him, making sure to keep her tone light rather than accusatory.

He shook his head with a small smirk. "I may be a Slytherin, but I'm no coward."

Rose found herself smiling at his statement. "I didn't think you were. No one who negotiates sharing a Herbology book like you do could be."

He smiled at her and Rose's heart sped up in her chest. Good job her flaming red ears were hidden by her hair. The fact that her hair was red probably helped her ears in blend in, a fact for which she was grateful.

His face revealed nothing as he asked, "I was wondering…do you want to study for the Herbology exam together? We're both top of the year. It'd be to our advantage to study together. Pool our brains."

Rose pushed out the chair across from her with her foot. "Have a seat." She tried not to smile too widely, but thought she might not have succeeded.

After an hour or so, Rose looked up from her book to see Scorpius watching her with a rather intense look. The moment their eyes met, he tore his gaze away and focused once more upon his parchment.

He wasn't someone who wore his emotions openly on his sleeve like so many of her Gryffindor family members. She was so used to most of her family being appallingly obvious about everything that Scorpius's behavior puzzled her. He had to have some motivation behind wanting to study with her. He was a Slytherin after all. They weren't exactly the sort to act on a whim. Was it academic advantage as he had said, or was there possibly something else? Whatever it was, she didn't think it was anything malicious. He didn't seem the sort. And besides, he likely would have acted by now if there had been some conniving plan in the works.

The pair was quizzing each other on the care of moly plants when someone cleared their throat. Rose looked up to see Al standing at the end of the row of books enclosing their study table. He was watching the two of them with a very strange expression on his face. An extremely familiar well-worn piece of folded parchment was sticking out of the pocket of his robes.

Rose suddenly had a strong suspicion that he knew that she didn't consider Scorpius solely a study partner. She wondered how many times he had observed them on the Marauder's Map.

There was a long silence, then Al asked in an easy voice, "Mind if I join in? I could use some Herbology review before the exam tomorrow. If I do poorly, Mum and Dad always find out before I do. That's the downside of your parents being friends with your professors."

Scorpius shrugged nonchalantly and motioned to the number of empty chairs at the table. "Fine by me."

Rose wished that she could tell what Scorpius was thinking at that very moment. His face gave nothing away. She had witnessed his guarded nature towards others, but he had always seemed a bit more…well, open with her. Or perhaps she was just good at reading him. She wasn't certain.

Al dropped into the spot directly next to Rose, pulled his smart, leather-bound Herbology book out of his rucksack, and plopped it heavily on the table. Al wasn't terribly keen on Herbology.

"I'm surprised you didn't ask Olivia for help," Rose commented, keeping her tone light and free of suggestion. "She's very good at Herbology."

"She's with her friends," was all the answer Al provided. Rose couldn't blame him for not wanting to say more in front of Scorpius.

"Were James and Fred getting out of hand?" she asked, changing the subject. When she had left the Gryffindor common room earlier that evening, Al had been deep in discussion with his brother and their cousin.

Al rolled his bright eyes at her words. "Eva Wood happened."

"Ah," Rose said knowingly. "Were they actually getting on today or are they back to rowing?"

"Back to rowing," Al replied wearily. "I wish Eva would stop being so oblivious and –" he stopped short, seeming to realize that he was on the verge of saying too much in front of someone he hardly knew.

"Eva Wood? Your Gryffindor captain?" Scorpius asked.

Rose nodded in affirmation. "James and Eva… they don't, that is to say…they have a difficult relationship."

"Difficult?" Al echoed. "That's putting it mildly, don't you think?"

"They actually have a lot in common and are quite similar," Rose explained, trying not to share too much information. "But back in their first and second years they set each other up as a rival and have never completely got on. Though they've been much better lately."

"Mostly," Al added.

"So," Scorpius said slowly, as though working out a puzzle in his mind, "he fancies her and she hasn't caught on, and it causes problems."

Rose exchanged a quick glance with Al. Her cousin was clearly trying to keep his mouth from dropping open in sheer surprise.

"How did you figure that out?"

"You said you wished Wood would stop being oblivious and that they have a difficult relationship. Not to mention that there have been rumors going around about them all year."

"The Slytherins gossip about the Gryffindors?"

Scorpius stretched his long fingers, flexing them slightly as he did so. He paused then said, "Eva Wood and James Potter are of interest because of Quidditch."

The word Quidditch seemed to metaphorically throw a cold bucket of water over Al. "Quidditch. So what, your team psychoanalyses the other players, looking for mental or emotional weaknesses?"

"Yours doesn't?"

Rose giggled, having been able to tell that Scorpius was only taking the mickey.

"They're the two best players on the Gryffindor side," Scorpius clarified with a small smirk. "People can be interested for non-malicious purposes, you know. We don't exactly sit around discussing their love lives, though. At least my friends and I don't. I can't speak for everyone else."

Al shook his head slightly. "That's a wonky thought – people in other houses sitting around having a chinwag about my brother's love life."

"It must be interesting to have such a large family," Scorpius said unexpectedly. "You all seem very…involved in one another's lives."

Al and Rose both grinned. Rose thought of their recent family meeting in which they had plotted ways to set James up with Eva. Yes, 'involved' didn't really even begin to cover the meddlesome qualities of the combined Potter and Weasley families. Their intrusive tendencies knew few boundaries.

"We are. It's mad, but I wouldn't change it for anything. Even if some of them do drive me mental at times," Al said happily.

Scorpius thoughtfully ran a finger along the edge of the page of the book in front of him. "I only have two cousins on my mother's side."

"What? Only two?" Rose couldn't quite get her head around the concept of having so few family members.

He nodded, his eyes a bit cloudy. "Yeah, and they're quite a bit younger so we're not close. I…" he paused, then shook his head slightly. "So are we going to study Herbology or what?"

"Good thought," Al agreed. "I don't exactly want to fail this exam. Mum wouldn't be too pleased."

"Certain you don't mind studying with a Slytherin?" Scorpius asked. His voice remained neutral, but Rose detected a hint of wariness in his grey eyes.

Al cocked his head to the side. "Should I?"

"Won't your brother be upset because I'm a Slytherin and I beat him at Quidditch?"

Al smiled slightly. "Most likely. But I'm not my brother. And if it makes you feel any better, I reckon that the only reason he really dislikes you is because you're on the Slytherin team. He takes Quidditch rivalries very seriously."

Scorpius seemed to accept this. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I still feel as though beating him was a complete fluke."

"All right, then, Herbology," Rose reminded the boys before they could start discussing Quidditch. If they went down that road, they'd never get any studying done. She drew the textbook lying open in front of her closer and selected the question at the very top of the chapter review list.

"What type of fertilizer would you use on a moly plant, and why?"

And suddenly they were all studying for the Herbology exam together. As Al gave Scorpius a question to answer, Rose found herself feeling inexplicably pleased that her cousin and Scorpius were getting on so well. Rose felt that there was real potential for them to be friends. Everyone in the family liked Al; he was kind and loyal and a bit sensitive. Having him on her side concerning Scorpius could only be a good thing.

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"That was helpful; I feel loads better about the exam tomorrow," Al commented as he and Rose left the library. After finishing up, they had left Scorpius to join his friends who had come to the library looking for him.

Rose nodded. "Going over the footnotes again was a good idea. Neville – I mean, Professor Longbottom – likes to take the bonus questions from there."

"So," Lily's voice came out of nowhere, making both Rose and Al jump slightly. Al, from legitimately having been startled, Rose from guilt.

"Why in the name of Merlin's saggy pants were two studying with Malfoy?" Hugo joined in as he appeared on the other side of Lily.

Oh, Godric, this was it. Unless she and Al could pull this off, her goose was cooked. She quickly mentally processed her options.

"He's clever. He helps us study, that's all," Al replied, attempting to sound nonchalant.

"Rose is top of her year. She doesn't need help from anyone," Hugo countered with an air of suspicion.

"Studying with other people really does help," Rose finally spoke up. "He's one of the top students in the sixth year. There's going to be some tricky material on this exam tomorrow and I want to do my best, whatever it takes."

"But…" Lily said, clearly confused and trying to make sense of the situation. "How did you even start studying together? I didn't even know you knew each other."

"We needed the same book one night, so after some arguing we decided to share. It went well, so we kept on a bit. It's just studying," Rose assured Hugo.

That wasn't quite accurate and Rose felt a twinge of guilt as she said it. At least the part about how it had all began was the absolute truth. That helped Rose to feel slightly less guilty, being able to share a portion of the truth.

"Hmm."

"He's not so bad," Al chimed in. "Really good at taking notes in short hand so he gets everything the professor says written down. Dead helpful when brushing up for exams."

"Well, don't go getting too cozy with him," Hugo warned.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Hugo, don't be a prat. This is Rose we're talking about."

Rose wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but she wondered if she shouldn't be slightly offended.

"I'm serious!" he protested. "The whole thing just seems wonky. I don't want my sister getting tangled up with him."

"She's got me to protect her," Al offered helpfully, giving the impression that he always studied with Rose and Scorpius. Of course, that wasn't true, but that wasn't something Hugo needed to know.

Rose snorted. "I don't need protecting. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. If anyone cares to remember, I beat James at dueling last summer. Like I said, it's just studying. We don't even talk to each other when we're not in the library."

That was accurate enough, unfortunately.

Hugo seemed pleased by this. "Good."

"Hugo," Rose ground out. "Scorpius Malfoy is quiet and a bit studious. Does that really sound dangerous to you? Besides, what could happen in the library? The moment anyone so much as raises their voice Madam Pince swoops down like a hawk and chucks them out."

"Oh, fine," Hugo finally conceded, seeming satisfied at last. "I trust you. It's him I don't trust."

"Well, that's enough meddling for tonight," Lily said cheerfully. "C'mon Hugo, our Astronomy group meets in ten minutes and I've got the star chart we're supposed to be working on."

"I suppose it's what I deserve, considering how much I meddle in their lives," Rose lamented as Lily and Hugo walked off in the opposite direction.

"I'm surprised it took them this long to notice that we've been studying with a Slytherin," Al commented lightly.

"Everyone's so caught up in the mess that's James and Eva no one's been paying attention."

"Rose, I…" Al began, but then stopped as they came to an intersection in the corridor and found themselves face to face with a small group of Hufflepuff girls.

"Hi," said a girl with long, wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, and a round face. "Been studying for Dad's exam tomorrow?"

"Hi Olivia," Rose greeted her friend warmly, glad of the distraction it provided from the previous topic of discussion. "Yeah, we were. I think we managed to cover everything. Oh, no! Did we forget moly plants!?"

"We started with those," Al reassured her quickly. "Remember?"

"Oh," Rose breathed a sigh of relief. "'Course we did. Just worried, you know? It's a big exam."

"Not to mention your dad will tell our parents our marks before we know," Al put in with a bit of a grumble, not quite meeting Olivia's eyes.

Olivia giggled slightly. "Well, we've got to meet up with some people and we're running a bit late. Good luck tomorrow."

The two groups parted ways, though Rose noticed that Al snuck a glance behind under the pretense of adjusting the shoulder strap of his rucksack.

"Al, are you ever going to do anything about that?" Rose asked him nonchalantly. Meddling just came so easily.

"About what?" Al chose to feign incomprehension.

"Oh, fine, choose to be that way," Rose retorted. "Just be glad the family's otherwise occupied with sticking their noses in places these days."

"Speaking of that," Al said, steering the conversation safety away from himself.

Rose smiled to herself and let their conversation be guided elsewhere. He had proved a good ally against Hugo. Given what she suspected that Al suspected, it was in her best interest not to push him too hard.

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In the weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday, Rose, Scorpius, and Al had studied together quite a lot. The three of them worked rather well together. They all had their strengths and weaknesses, but they were also all clever enough to hold their own and challenge each other.

Rose barely had a chance to say goodbye to Scorpius before the Christmas holiday. He sat with his Slytherin friends on the Hogwarts express and she sat with her Gryffindor and Hufflepuff family members. As she climbed down from the train at King's Cross station, she saw him briefly and gave him a small smile. He gave a small smile of his own in response.

During her time spent away from him over the holiday, Rose realized that she fancied Scorpius Malfoy much more than she had initially supposed. She missed seeing him approach her in the library and settle down in the seat across from her. She missed the small smile of gratitude when she answered one of his questions concerning schoolwork. She missed the way in which he stretched and flexed his long, slender fingers. She missed the way his grey eyes narrowed slightly when he was reading a passage of text from a book. She missed the way their fingers sometimes brushed. She missed the happiness his presence brought her. She missed him.

During their time spent studying together, they had also shared many interesting conversations. His favorite color was blue, not Slytherin green, as she had supposed. He liked that the Slytherin common room was a bit eerie (apparently it had a greenish glow). His favorite school subject was Charms. He didn't know what he wanted to do after Hogwarts. He still couldn't believe that he had beaten James at Quidditch, but considered it one of the greatest moments of his life, to have beaten someone so talented. He wanted to learn to play a musical instrument. He thought Al was an all right bloke. He enjoyed talking with Rose (that comment had made her blush right down to her toes).

More than once Rose had thought of writing to him. She had wasted more than a few pieces of parchment starting letters, but she had never been able to finish one. She wasn't certain whether it would be strange or not, to write him a letter. The situation made her think about if she considered him a friend, and if she thought that he considered her one as well. They were certainly more than acquaintances, but she didn't know if "friend" was quite the right word. In the end, she decided that if she couldn't even properly start a letter, she wouldn't write one at all.

When her Aunt Audrey asked over Christmas Pudding if Rose was seeing anyone, she felt her stomach clench tightly. Of course, Scorpius wasn't her boyfriend, but that didn't mean that she didn't want him to be. She had been trying not to think of Scorpius too often. She didn't want to be one of those girls who seemingly thought of nothing but the lad they fancied, but he somehow seemed to be everywhere, working his way into her memories and mental associations.

Across the dinner table, Al gave her an appraising stare which she wasn't certain how to interpret. She had noticed during the last month of term that he had taken to using the Marauder's Map more often than usual. Rose couldn't have proven it, but she wondered at times if Al wasn't holding on to the map so much in order to keep James from happening to notice her in the library with Scorpius.

Then at the return feast, there he was, sitting across the Great Hall at the Slytherin table with his mates. Lyra Rinaldi, one of his fellow Slytherin sixth years, was sitting on his left and talking to him. Lyra was rather stunning in a harshly beautiful sort of way, with long, straight, jet back hair, which highlighted her sharp cheekbones and incredibly dark eyes. The sight of her talking with Scorpius sent a pang of jealousy surging through Rose's stomach. She set her fork down, her appetite suddenly gone.

Scorpius turned to look in her direction just then and he smiled slightly when his grey eyes met her blue ones. Their gaze was locked for a brief moment – just a heartbeat – before Fred flung a spoon of mashed potatoes at James, effectively pulling her attention back to the Gryffindor table.

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Scorpius was waiting for her in the library in their usual nook in the Charms section the next evening. There wasn't much reason to be in the library studying just yet, but Rose had come in the fervent hope that Scorpius would be there.

Before she could sit down, he stood up and said, "I'm having trouble finding this book. Do you mind helping me?"

He slid a scrap of parchment with a book title and author name neatly written on it towards her across the smooth surface of the wooden table.

"Of course," Rose answered at once, though she wondered why he simply couldn't have asked Madam Pince for assistance. She was after, all, the librarian. Still, Scorpius was her friend (or something like that, she hadn't quite determined what he was, exactly), and she didn't mind helping out a friend when it was needed.

They were browsing a shelf towards the back of the library when Scorpius very unexpectedly said, "Lyra Rinaldi – she's my Quidditch captain – she fancies me."

Rose felt as though she had swallowed a particularly nasty potion. Her heart was suddenly beating rapidly in her chest and she willed her breathing to remain even. Oh, Godric. He must have noticed her feelings for him and was attempting to let her down as gently as he could by telling her about another girl.

She looked determinedly back at the shelves. She concentrated on the book spines, reading the titles and author names. "That's… er, that's nice," she said, for a lack of anything else better to say.

"No, it's not. She's awful."

Surprised, Rose turned her head to look at Scorpius, who was making a face of severe disgust. It was almost strange to see such an obvious and firm expression on his face.

"She's always hanging around me, trying to flirt with me, and I've tried to let her know I'm not interested, but she won't listen. It's driving me mental. Especially because there's this other girl I can't get out of my mind."

"I see," Rose said, beginning to feel very stupid indeed. What was this conversation about? She had thought he was letting her down by telling her about Rinaldi, but that was clearly no longer the case. Was it someone else entirely or could…could that mean…her?

"Rose…I-I…" Scorpius began, but broke off as words failed him. Instead, he ever so slightly moved his body closer to hers, silently asking permission. Rose felt herself moving closer to him as well, her face tilting upwards towards his. Oh, Godric, this was actually happening! Scorpius was going to kiss her.

Their faces drew nearer and nearer. He had incredibly fair, unblemished skin, and at this close range, Rose could see that there was a soft ring of blue around his otherwise grey eyes. That was her last thought before her eyes fluttered shut and a moment later, the warm pressure of his lips pressed against her mouth.

The kiss was tender and sweet. His strong hands held her so delicately, as though he were unable to believe that he was actually kissing her. Rose could hardly believe this was happening either. Scorpius's embrace made her feel cared for in a way that was wholly new to her. Hugo and some of her other male family members were probably going to kill her, but kissing Scorpius Malfoy was well worth it.

"I knew you couldn't really need help with schoolwork," Rose teased him shyly as they broke apart. "I thought you must have an agenda."

Scorpius smirked slightly. His breath was warm against her cheek as he spoke "I only started coming into the library so often to try and work up the courage to talk to you."

"How very Slytherin of you."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he smirked slightly. "I didn't know how else to talk to you. I'm not good at this."

"This?"

"Showing emotions." He paused. "Letting a girl know how I feel about her."

"I think you did just fine," Rose told him honestly.

He nodded, his mouth tilting in a slight smirk. "I'd seen you in lessons and in the corridors and in the Great Hall. You…intrigued me. I've wanted to get to know you ever since my father told me to stay away from you."

"Our families…" Rose began, then trailed off.

"We can just keep it to ourselves for right now," Scorpius suggested hesitantly. "We don't have to tell anyone. Not that I don't want people knowing I fancy you – I want everyone to know - but it would give us time to figure out things just between us, without dealing with everyone making judgments or trying to complicate things."

"Us?" Rose felt a bit silly asking for clarification, but she didn't want to simply assume that was what he had meant.

He regarded her with his cool, grey eyes. "Is that what you want, Rose?"

"Is that you want?" she asked him right back. She wasn't going to let him turn the question back on her.

"Yes," he answered firmly.

Rose smiled widely. "Me too. But I think we should set a time limit on the secrecy. We tell our families and friends by the end of the term. Does that sound reasonable?"

"That sounds like a good plan."

"I do want them to know. I could tell them a few at a time, to ease them into it. Lily and Roxanne will be all right about it. James might never forgive you because of Quidditch, and Fred will have a problem with you being a Slytherin. My brother…let's not even think about that. And my dad… actually, I'm really not sure about him."

"Then let's just take some time to figure out us," Scorpius told her, interlacing their fingers. "Without anyone else sticking their noses in our business."

"Us," Rose repeated, still smiling up at him. "I like the sound of that."

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Thanks for reading! And a special thanks to my beta, blue and gold, for the helpful suggestions and fabulous beta abilities.

Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Favorite quotes? I'd love to hear what you thought!

Next Chapter: Rose has a run in with Eva Wood, Al voices suspicions, and there's an uproar after a Quidditch match.