Okay, so with all the short chapters I've been doing, I wanted to do a longer one.
This one's pretty long, right?
Well, I hope you like it.
And I am so insanely happy about you guys giving me nearly sixty reviews!!
I remember when this story only had, like, six.
But...I'm greedy, so I'd like to persuade you to give me some more! ;DD
As always, I would like to apologize for any typos/grammar errors/anything else.
Hope you enjoy this one!
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The Secret's In The Telling

"Dad...I can explain."

What a complete load of rubbish. Sure, Rose could explain everything. But none of the explanations would be received very well. "I snuck into the Forbidden Forest because your stupid, childish grudge was getting in the way of my secret, passionate romance and we fell asleep." Oh yes, that one would go over extremely well. Maybe the two could be buried together shortly afterwards?

It had taken every ounce of the couple's will power to stay together after Rose uttered those words. Each parent tried to snatch their own child away, and they just clung tighter to each other. It was not an easy battle, Rose would have lost a few seams in her vest if it had continued any longer. Thankfully, the Headmistress stepped in nearly as soon as it started. Mostly because Ron had pulled out his wand -- that probably didn't look very good.

Their day had started at noon and the arguing hadn't stopped roughly three hours later. Thankfully, they were already over the punishment part. Perhaps it's because both of the students came from fairly well distinguished families that the punishment was light. Or, maybe it was just because she realized that life with their families after this stunt was going to be hell? Who knows, maybe the woman grew a soul? Whatever it was, the two were greatful to just have detention up until graduation. Unfortunately, the Headmistress promised she would make sure the two served detention in seperate places. And their free periods were taken away, instead they were forced to spend them in a semi-detention; helping out anywhere around the castle. Rose suspected the Library would suddenly need dusting, and the books reorganizing. The task would've been more daunting if she hadn't been threatened with Beauxbatons again. Thankfully, the Headmistress was able to talk the Weasleys out of it. Maybe the woman really did care for her students, deep down? Regardless, Rose owed her a child. Okay, well that's a little extreme. Maybe not.

"You can bring the parents back in." The Headmistress said dully, putting a hand to her temple and going to get some water a few steps away from her desk. At least Rose thought it was water, but if it was any sort of adult beverage, she didn't blame her. Heck, she wanted some herself. The parents were forced to leave the room around half an hour ago -- they kept butting in to the Headmistress' discipline speech, and she just didn't seem to appreciate it.

"Rose." Scorpius whispered from the chair a few inches away from her's, he didn't look at her, "I have an idea."

"I'm all ears." She waited, eagerly and she leaned forward in her seat a little.

"Put up a fight, but go with what your parents say. Think about us when you get back to your dorm tonight, and if you can't stop after midnight, go to the classroom where all this started." Rose opened her mouth to say something, but quickly snapped it shut as their parents made their entrance.

"Finally!" Draco said, in a rather nasty tone that Rose was getting accustomed to. "I would like to talk to my son now." The Headmistress nodded and gestured to a door on the right side of the room.

"You are welcome to do so in there, Mr. Malfoy." Then she turned her attention to the Weasleys, the two faces that Rose was not at all eager to see. "Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, you may stay here. I will give you all some privacy." And without another word, she slipped out into the corridor. Rose yearned, desperately to go with her -- the one and only time that had ever happened. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Draco walk swiftly to his son and grab his arm. She glanced at Scorpius just in time to see a disguised wink before he was pulled through the wooden door, so far away.

"Rose." Her mother's voice was calm, but Rose wasn't exactly feeling the same way.

"What is it, mother?" She tried to keep her voice in check, but they couldn't have missed the hostility in her rhetorical question. "Don't tell me the great Hermione Granger-Weasley didn't see this one coming." The silence behind her was louder than anything she had ever experienced.

"Face us, please." Hermione said after a very long silence. Rose could hear yelling in the room that Scorpius and his father had disappeared into. Slowly, she turned to face her parents, crossing her arms and leaning against the desk behind her when she had. Her mother had an almost pained expression on her face, while her father wasn't looking at her at all. A small, sharp pain his Rose's chest, but she tried to shake it off.

"Why, Rose? After all those times I told you not to, why did you still see that boy?" Her mother was speaking in a hushed tone, clearly wishing that her father was not standing right next to her. Obviously, this was the first he had ever heard of the Scorpius situation.

"You wanna know the real reason mother, or do you want me to lie to dad?" She regretted the words as soon as they stained her lips. Her father's expression grew darker as he glared at the floor, and pain clearly spread across Hermione's face before she could recover.

"What has he done to you?" She gaped at her mother.

"He hasn't done anything to me!"

"Then why are you acting like this?" Hermione was beginning to raise her voice.

"Because you two are being completely insane!"

"How?" Her mother cried, her arms falling to her side. Rose mimicked the gesture.

"By ruining your daughter's life with your stupid, petty childhood grudges!"

"Rose Weasley, we are only trying to protect you!"

"Protect me from what?" Rose yelled, getting close to completely losing her temper. "From falling in love? Well, too late mum. I already have!" Within a second of the words leaving her mouth, Rose wished that she could take them back. Her father, who had been little more than a statue before, had looked up from his glaring spot on the floor. His expression didn't really have a word to describe it...but it wasn't happy. And it made the pain in Rose's chest come back. A short silence followed as the three tried to soak in what was just said.

"No, Rose, you're just -- "

"Do not tell me I'm confused, mother." Rose snapped, her eyes locked on Hermione's own.

"Don't talk to your mother like that, Rose." Her father's deep voice threw her off guard, but not as much as the way he said her name. He never just called her Rose. She was always Rosie, or something of the sort. The use of her actual name coming from his mouth shocked her into silence, only staring at her father in response. He didn't look away from her this time, and she so wished that he would. "Didn't you listen to any of the stories we told about that Malfoys? They're a bad family, Rose." She glared.

"Scorpius isn't his family, dad." He seemed hurt by her tone, which made Rose hurt even more.

"Rose." Her mother spoke up, softer this time. "You can't know that."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" She gaped at her mother again. Hermione's eyes narrowed.

"Language, Rose."

"Answer my question!" She yelled, getting close to losing it again.

"Rose...I'm sure he's a nice enough boy now, but with a father like his, he's destined to turn out the same way. And, even if he doesn't, he'll always be around those types of people. If you're with him, then you will be around them, too, and we don't want that, Rose! We love you too much for it!"

"Are you done with the self-righteous speech, mum?" Rose glared just past her parents, not able to actually look at them anymore.

"Rose!"

"No! That is the stupidest reason that I've ever heard!"

"Rose, we're just trying to protect you."

"From what?" She shouted, "I love him, and he loves me!"

"You don't know that." Ron spoke up, his voice rough, "Boys this age don't love with their hearts." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, not feeling the time was very appropriate.

"You mean you didn't love mum with your heart when you were this age?" His ears turned crimson like they always did. "That's not the same, Rose."

"How?!" She cried, her hands flying to her hair in the insanity of the situation. That's when she remembered what Scorpius had said. She was already in deep, how was she going to get to a complete turnaround at this point?

"What your father is trying to say, Rose," Hermione spoke up, softly placing a hand on her husband's arm, "Is that you really don't know the boy very well -- "

"Well, it's all settled." Draco announced his presence into the room again, Scorpius trailing behind him.

"Go on." Hermione said dully, trying to keep her frustration in check.

"Tell them, Scorpius." Draco nudged his son forward, and Scorpius looked directly at Rose's parents.

"I don't love Rose. I was just playing around. I don't want to see her ever again." She knew the words weren't true, but they were so convincing, they hurt anyway. He looked at her, and suddenly realized that she should play along.

"What...what are you talking about?" Rose asked, her voice so weak, it broke at the last word.

"Just what I said, Weasley." He replied, his eyes void of emotion, but his voice much stronger than her's. "I don't love you." She felt tears well in her eyes, in spite of herself.

"I can't...believe -- " She was interrupted by her mother rushing to her side and pulling Rose into a hug. Most of her view was blocked by her mother's hug, but she did manage to see her father step between the two families.

"Leave." His voice was strained, like he said the word through gritted teeth. She didn't have to see Malfoy Sr. to know that he was smirking.

"Well, we should do this again sometime, Weasleys." Rose heard two sets of feet walking towards the exit.

"Ron." Hermione breathed a warning, Rose could only assume that her father had shown some sign of wanting to hit him. She couldn't blame her father. The door opened and closed, soon enough, there was only one small family. Not totally sure she could pull off the lie, she buried her face in her mother's shoulder.

"I can't believe I was so stupid!" Rose sobbed, and she felt her father's hand on her back. It wasn't difficult to cry harder after that. "And I had just said all that bloody -- " Her words were interrupted by her mother's soothing shush. After a short while, she managed to choke out another, shorter sentence.

"I am so sorry."

Her parents didn't know that she was apologizing for something completely different.

--

Rose stayed in the office with her parents until nightfall. It wasn't much longer after Scorpius left, maybe a little over an hour. It felt like forever, though. Her eyes were still slightly puffy from all the crying she did. Every time she looked at her father's face, she would burst into another fit of hysterics. Finally, though, she managed to calm herself down. Their goodbyes would have been a nice family moment, if Rose hadn't been completely betraying their trust.

She wasn't sure just how much of the school knew what was going on, but she could imagine it was most of the student population. Half of the administrators had been looking for the couple, and she imagined that their parents didn't make a very quiet entrance. Tomorrow was going to be hell. If she lived through tonight, of course.

What did Scorpius mean when he said "and if you can't stop"? Rose never stopped thinking about him. He was like some freak addiction she had, she saw his face every time she closed her eyes, and felt his arms around her when she was trying to fall asleep. She was sure the latter would only be fueled after last night when she actually did fall asleep with his arms around her. That thought sent a painful sort of yearning through her. She didn't want that to be the last time it happened. She didn't want to be left with just a memory. She didn't have to think about it anymore.

The redhead had been stumbling up the stairs on the way to her dorm, when she suddenly stopped. Rose didn't need until midnight to decide. She would follow Scorpius anywhere he led her. Turning a little quicker than she probably should have, Rose began stumbling back down the steps. Her mind was on auto pilot, her feet knowing the way by themselves. The corridors were dark, and Rose had to rely on pure instinct to find her way. She wouldn't pull out her wand -- the portraits were little snitches. After seven years wandering around in the castle, a girl could get pretty good at finding her way.

Moonlight was streaming in through the window of the empty classroom as Rose walked in, quietly. It cast the room in a peaceful blue color, and for once that day, she felt that she could actually think -- breathe again. Why, of all places, could she breathe easier in such a place? It was where all the trouble started...Right? Her brow furrowed as she set her bag down. She was really getting sick of carrying it. The thing had been an inconvenience, though she had to hold some appreciation for it. It had ripped just in time. Hooray for badly worn down muggle bags!

She wasn't sure what time it was, just that she had a wait ahead of her. Slowly, she walked over to the teacher's deserted desk and pulled herself up on it. Her eyelids were heavy, though she was sure that she could stay up for hours more had it been a regular day. Tucking her skirt between her legs so that she was at least a little decent, Rose pulled her knees up close to her face and rested her head on them. How had her life gotten so insane? Last year she was focused. She was going to be a Healer, and romance was always in the backseat. Well, Rose still wanted to be a Healer, but romance was definitely not in the backseat. In fact, it was driving. She wondered what her life would be like if her family didn't hate Scorpius'. Would it be different? Would she still love him the way she did? She couldn't imagine not. The boy had suddenly dropped a bomb into her life, and he had her heart at his disposal. The thought made her feel uncomfortable and safe at the same time. She trusted him with everything, she knew he would never do anything to hurt her. Minus what he said earlier -- that was necessary. She wasn't sure why it was necessary, but she trusted him. It was crazy, Rose had never trusted anyone so completely in her life. Dom and Al she trusted -- Roxanne, too. But it was nothing like this. Everything surrounding Scorpius just felt so...new, exciting!

It felt sad at the same time. She was being forced to choose between her family and the person that she was certain she loved. Rose had never been so sure of anything as she was of her love for Scorpius. And that's saying something, since Rose was usually positive about everything that she did. But her time with Scorpius came with a price tag. Her family -- her parents, mainly. Beside them, what would Dom think of her now? Roxanne and Albus, too. Had Scorpius told Al anything? She had lied to Rox and Dom so many times...would they understand? If they didn't, would they forgive her? Oh, why couldn't she have just told them the truth? Tears started stinging her eyes, and she squeezed them shut. She had done enough crying already -- why couldn't they just stop? Then her father's expressions from the previous part of the day sprung to her mind, and the words she had said. Had she really said all those things to her parents? She loved her parents. But the answer stuck out in her mind, clear as daylight. She had meant every single thing that she had said, and so much more that went left unsaid. What was going to happen now? Any road she was going to take, she knew it had to include Scorpius. And she knew he had to be close. Would she be able to force her parents into understanding? Would it be better if she just ran away somewhere now?

Not being able to control herself any longer, the sobs broke out, quietly and her freckled cheeks were soon stained with fresh tears. She felt helpless and pathetic, the same way she always did when she cried. Crying didn't help, it didn't solve anything. But she had never felt so completely and utterly helpless before. No amount of logic could fix this for her. They didn't teach this kind of subject in school.

"Why are you crying?" A soft voice spoke from behind her. She would have jumped if she hadn't immediately recognized the voice.

"I'm not crying." She didn't jerk her head up and glare the way she wished she could, the way she did that day they first met. Instead, she kept her head down and tried very miserably to cease her sobbing. Rose hadn't heard him come in, but she did hear him walk to her. At first, her mind resisted the thought of his touch. Rose didn't like crying, but what she disliked even more was doing it in front of someone. But, when he reached out his hands and put them on her shoulders, it took her all of two seconds to lean forward into his chest. Gently, he lifted Rose off the desk, and sat down with her in his lap. She wanted to stop crying, but she couldn't. Rose had lost control of her tears. Scorpius didn't say anything, just held her close to him, sometimes running a soothing hand across her back of down her arm. After what felt like an eternity to her, she was able to get her sobs under control. Her breathing was still coming in uneven hiccups, but she felt that she could control her emotions for the time being. The redhead wiped her tears with the hem of her robes, but Scorpius didn't move. He just continued to hold her, looking at her all the while.

"I'm sorry about what I said," He finally spoke, his voice gentle, "You know I didn't mean any of it." Rose was already shaking her head.

"That's not what that was about." Her battered breathing allowed her to get out. They were silent, Scorpius waiting for her to continue.

"Can you tell me?" He asked, obviously fearing another mini breakout. She laughed once, without any real humor.

"It's just a combination of everything, I guess." He nodded, but didn't say anything. She knew that she owed him a better explanation than that. With a deep breath, unsteady because of the crying, she took one of the blonde's hands and held it. "I just realized that, if I want to be with you...it's going to compromise my relationship with the rest of my family." He nodded and shifted her position so that she was sitting next to him on the desk, his hand still in her's.

"And where does that leave us?" He asked seeming as though he was trying to detach himself from the situation.

"Without families?" She attempted to smile up at him, but it really turned out to be more of a grimace. The light had returned to her eyes, and it didn't go without notice. He gazed at Rose for a long moment, surprise mixed in with other emotions was clear across his face.

"Rose." He paused, trying to think how to form his thought into words, "I can't ask you to give up your family." She shrugged.

"You don't have to."

"But, Rose -- "

"If they can't accept you, then they'll just have to deal with not having me around." Her voice was calmer now, and her breathing was returning to normal. They were silent for a while, Scorpius just gazing at the redhead. "What about your dad." It was his turn to shrug.

"He'll come around." Rose grimaced at the thought of his father sitting at home, completely by himself. At least her parents had each other and Hugo. Not to mention the rest of the clan. But who did his father have? Were Scorpius' grandparents even still alive? Scorpius apparently noticed her hesitation. "Trust me, it won't take him long to come around. And he's by himself during the school year."

"But I just feel bad that he's going to be all alone." She whispered.

"After the way he acted today, you're going to give him your pity?" He asked, a little surprised. She shrugged, and he chuckled a little. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised." The two were comfortable in silence once again, each just enjoying the warmth of the other's hand.

"So, you're pretty early." Scorpius mentioned, grinning a little.

"What can I say? I have a thing for blondes." She joked, though it wasn't exactly one that she was proud of. It made Scorpius laugh a little, though, before he brought his lips down to her's. The kiss wasn't filled with quite so much lust as their previous ones. She liked those, too, but this particular one seemed so much more...meaningful. Like he was actually trying to say something without actual words. It was sweet and soft, not too short, but not absurdly long. His hands stayed in decent places, one cupping her cheek and the other resting on one of her shoulders. When they broke apart, she couldn't help but smile. With a small sigh, Scorpius pulled Rose closer to him so that her head was resting on his chest. The two must have been silent for almost half an hour before Rose spoke again.

"So, I guess we're going to need a game plan." She suggested, quietly. Scorpius didn't say anything for a moment.

"You remember the idea you came up with the other day?" He asked, seeming to be on a completely different subject. She raised her eyebrow.

"The one about killing the Headmistress? I think we should leave her alone -- she kind of saved us today. In her own, not-very-friendly way."

"True. But that wasn't the part I was talking about."

"You want to become a crime fighting duo?" She asked, confused. He laughed.

"Maybe in a few years, but that's not the part I was talking about." She thought for a moment, then her eyes went as round as half dollars. Quickly, she sat up to look at Scorpius.

"You want to..." Rose couldn't get the word out.

"I can't think of anyone else that I would rather be with." He said simply.

"But, Scorpius..." She choked, still having trouble wrapping her head around the idea. "We're only seventeen!"

"Legal adults in the Wizarding World."

"But where would we go?"

"There's a chapel in the Wizarding section of Wales that we could go to. They're not nosey, and they wouldn't contact our parents or anything."

"But...money?" Her head was starting to spin.

"My mother left a small fortune to me in her will. I got it when I turned seventeen, but I haven't spent any of it. Not to mention all the money I'll be getting for graduation." He was being so calm about the whole thing.

"But..." She was suddenly breathless again, wishing she could think of a proper question. He touched her cheek, making her look at him.

"Rose, I want you to think about this. If there is any doubt in your mind that I'm not the one that you want to spend the rest of your life with, say it now. If you need more time to think about it, just tell me. I don't want you to think this is the only way we can be together." She had to think for a moment before she could say anything.

"This is what you want?" She asked, tentatively.

"More than anything." His words were heavy, but his tone was simple.

"And you're sure?"

"I have never been more sure in my life." He assured her. "But it doesn't matter how I feel. How do you feel?" She looked away from him for a long moment, her hand still in his. They were young, they didn't know what they were doing, uncertainty of massive proportions loomed in that future.

Their future. Rose finally opened her mouth to speak.

"I feel like..." She breathed, then looked back at Scorpius with a smile on her face, "This isn't a very traditional proposal." Rose had never seen him smile so big before as he got up from the desk, pulled something from his pocket and got down on one knee. When he opened the box, Rose saw the most beautiful ring that she had ever seen. A silver band with a simple, delicate looking diamond in it. Her mouth fell open a little.

"Rose Lynn Weasley," He spoke clearly but softly in the quiet classroom, "I have never though myself capable of loving someone as much as I love you. And I know that we've had our share of obstacles already, but I want you to know that I will never hurt you, and I will never leave you. I love you. Will you marry me?" If a warm tear hadn't landed on Rose's hand, she wouldn't have noticed that she was crying again. Silently cursing in her head, she wiped the tears away and gazed at Scorpius, trying to save the image of him like that.

"Yes."

--

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I really want to know what you think! ;D