"Are you all right?"
"Do I not look all right?" asked Rose.
"No, you look fine," Al admitted.
"Then why are you asking if I'm all right?"
Al leaned in close and lowered his voice. "Because Amanda swears there was a particular Slytherin in your dorm room last night and you fell asleep crying."
Rose slammed her fists down on her books, making the two people sitting at the library table across from her jump. "Mandy should learn to talk to me instead of going to you whenever she has a problem."
"Well, you haven't exactly been talking to her, so that doesn't help build up the trust much, does it?"
Rose spun around to face him. "What do you want?"
"Tell me what happened."
"Why do you care?"
"Because you're my cousin and because if he hurt you in any way it is my personal responsibility to separate his head from his body." Al was smiling, but Rose knew he was partly serious.
She turned back to her books. "He didn't hurt me."
"Then what happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Well, then I'm gonna have to kill him."
Rose spun around again. She was sick of this. She was hurt and upset, and Al was poking fun. Mandy had gone behind her back again. And the one person she felt would understand was the same person she'd pushed away.
There must have been tears in her eyes because Al's face dropped. He knelt down beside her. "Rosie, tell me what happened."
The tears were falling freely in her lap now. "Just go away."
"Hey," He turned her face to him. "That's not happening."
She managed a smile. Al had always played the role of the big brother she'd never had. Though he was only a few months younger than her, he always seemed to surpass her and most of their family in wisdom. "Can we talk somewhere else?" The library was far too busy.
"Sure." He escorted her to a secret passageway behind a tapestry. Rose didn't ask how he knew it was there.
"So, why don't you tell me what happened?" he said.
Rose was silent for a minute. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk to Al about this. But she didn't have anyone else, and it wasn't like he was going to let her leave without explaining. "He kissed me."
Al nodded slowly. "I guess if Scorpius Malfoy kissed me, I'd cry too."
She punched him. It wasn't funny.
"Ow. Sorry." Al rubbed his arm. "Lay off on the sarcasm, got it."
They were silent for a few more moments. Rose had no desire to voluntarily continue the conversation.
"So," said Al. "I take it you like him back?"
Rose nodded. "Yes."
"Then what's the problem?"
"What's the problem!" Rose spun around to face her cousin. "For one, he's a Slytherin!"
"I'm sure," said Al. "That in Hogwarts' long history, although neither House may like to admit it, students from Gryffindor and Slytherin have hooked up at some point."
"He's a Malfoy," continued Rose.
"Well . . ." Al was slower on the uptake this time. "Someone's got to break that feud, don't you think?"
Rose turned away, scared to admit what was really bothering her.
"Rosie," said Al. "If he really cares for you as much as he seems to and as long as he treats you well, your friends will be supportive. And your family as well. There might be some initial resistance, but that's just because we want to make sure you'll be happy."
Rose's shoulders shook as she tried to fight back the thought that there was one person who wouldn't be happy with her decision.
"Rosie . . ." Al reached out to her and embraced her. "Tell me what's wrong."
Rose buried her face in his robes so much so that when she finally did answer he had to make her repeat herself. "Daddy will never forgive me."
Al laughed. Rose punched him again.
"Rose, your father loves you!" Al explained. "He's not going to disown you because you're dating a Malfoy!"
"You don't understand." How many times had she heard her father talk about his dislike of Scorpius' father? How many times had Gryffindor beat Slytherin at Quidditch and dad had expressed his congratulations in the form of praise over how well she had beat "that Malfoy boy"? How could she ever explain she was dating the son of the man her father hated?
"Rose," said Al. "Your father has a bit of a grudge with Malfoy Sr., and a lot of that trickles down to Scorpius, who he's never met. But he loves you and Hugo more than anything else in the world. He doesn't want you to be unhappy. And if he saw you crying right now, I can bet he'd find Scorpius and drag him over here to be with you."
Rose dried her eyes on her sleeve. "Maybe," she said, still unsure.
"Your dad is not going to let you be unhappy, Rose. And he's definitely not going to let himself be the cause of your unhappiness."
"But-"
"I'm not saying he's not going to protest." Al continued. "He probably will. And your mother might have to talk with him. But he'll come around, Rosie. And it won't take that long." Al put his hands on her shoulders so she was looking up at him. "If you want to be with Scorpius, then be with him."
Rose bit her lip. Al had a point, she knew he did. But still, she loved her father, and she couldn't stand the thought of him being angry or upset with her, even for a little while.
"And if you are still not sure, send your mother an owl so she can prepare your father in advance."
Rose smiled. Her father could be stubborn most of the time, but her mother could always bring him around. "Maybe I will."
Al hugged her. He'd grown so much these past few years that she fit perfectly under his chin. "Do you need anything else from me?"
"Na. Thanks, big brother."
He kissed her on top of the head. "Anytime, little sister."
Rose entered her dorm room to find Mandy lying on her stomach on her four poster bed. A book sat at her elbows.
Rose sighed. She wasn't looking forward to this talk. But if she was worried about people accepting her and Scorpius, Amanda was a good first person to try winning over. She walked over to her own bed and threw her shoulder bag on it. Then she walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, looking across at her roommate who hadn't looked up from her book. "Are you still mad at me?"
Mandy looked up. "Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you?"
"Because I haven't been talking to you about . . . me and Scorpius."
"Rose," Mandy closed her book and sat up. "I was worried about you. I wasn't mad at you."
"Are you mad at me now?"
She thought for a moment. "Maybe a little."
"I'm sorry," said Rose. "I really am."
Amanda nodded, the only form of acceptance Rose knew she would get. "So . . . what is going on with you and Scorpius?"
Rose shuffled her feet. "I'm not sure yet."
"Do you like him?"
"I-" Rose hesitated, still nervous about the topic and what Mandy would say. "Yes."
"Does he treat you well?"
"Yes."
"Why did he ask you to break into the Slytherin Common Room?"
Rose explained the story as best she could. She told Mandy everything, from the contest they had made, to their night on the roof. By the end of it, Amanda was smiling.
"Sounds like he really likes you," she said.
"And you're okay with that?" Rose hadn't expected Mandy to come around so quickly.
"I thought he was trying to get you in trouble," she explained. "Now I see it was all just intellectual flirting!"
Rose laughed. She wouldn't have put it that way, but Mandy had a point. Perhaps they had been just flirting with each other.
"So when are you going to ask him out?"
Rose was taken aback. "Me?"
"Yes, you," said Mandy, like it should have been obvious. "You turned him down. He thinks you don't like him. You've got to make the move, girl."
Rose knew she'd have to talk to Scorpius. But it hadn't completely hit her that Scorpius believed she had no interest in him. "Do you mind?" she asked Mandy as she stood to leave.
Mandy smiled and shook her head. "Go get him."
Scorpius stood talking with his friends by the oak tree. He was trying to keep his mind off of Rose Weasley and the fact that she didn't share the feelings he had for her. He was also trying to stop thinking about the embarrassing moment when he'd kissed her.
He wasn't having too much luck. His friends kept telling him he was acting unusually pensive, but he waved them off. He told him it was just the impending O.W.L.s that had him occupied. They seemed to buy it, but he wasn't sure.
And then, just as he was shaking the memory of last night from his mind, Rose came running toward him. He patted his pockets, searching for a graded assignment that didn't exist. He was so used to her greetings relating to a test that the reaction was automatic.
She came to a stop in front of him, as though realizing she also didn't have an assignment to show and now she didn't know what to do. He stared at her, and he thought she looked as unsure as he felt.
"I, uh," she said at last. "I'm sorry about last night." She took a step toward him and hesitated. "I . . . Uh . . ." She kissed him.
He was so taken aback that he didn't hear his friends' gasps and whistles. Eventually, it finally kicked in that she was in fact kissing him and it wasn't all an invention of his imagination. He slid his arms around her and kissed her back.
After a few moments, she pulled away from him, smiling, and slid her hand into his. She leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, "Beat you to the clock tower."
He smiled, "No, you won't." He had several questions, but they could wait. Right now, the race was on.
They ran off, still holding hands.
The sequel to this story is called, "A Father's Love," and explores the reaction of Rose and Scorpius' families to their relationship. You can find it on my profile.