"So are you actually going to meet him tomorrow night?" Gavin asked me a few hours after my embarrassing ordeal in Potions class. We were sitting on the balcony of the boys' dormitories, snacking on a couple of apples.

"Of course I'm going to," I replied with an are-you-crazy sort of look. "This is Scorpius we're talking about, the boy I'm hopelessly in love with? I've always been the one to make plans for the two of us. Of course he would sometimes just forget about my plans anyway, but that doesn't really matter. He's made the effort to make the plans this time. Of course I'm going to jump at the chance."

"I don't know, Red..." Gavin said with a bit of a frown. He looked out at the grounds of the school. "Don't you think that's just a little bit..."

"Pitiful?"

"Desperate," he said flatly, "is more the word I was looking for."

"Oh gee, thanks for the moral support Abernathy," I drawled, looking away sourly.

"I'm just trying to look out for you, Red," Gavin said earnestly. "Remember, I'm a guy. I know how we can work. I just don't want him using you, thinking you'll always jump at his every beck and call, thinking you need him..."

"But I do need him," I insisted. How many times did we have to go over this, for Merlin's sake?

"You don't need him," Gavin said definitely. "At least you should never let him think so."

"Oh, this is all just so easy for you to say." I hugged my knees to my chest.

"Like I said, I'm a guy. I live with guys. I know how we can do things and take advantage of girls' feelings..." Gavin sighed and scratched his head. "Red, I'm just looking out for you. I don't want you getting hurt again and again. You need someone to help you sort through all this Scorpius crap since you've never even had a boyfriend before-"

I glared at him. "I have so had a boyfriend before."

"I'm sorry if I'm mistaken, but I have never seen you around here with another guy before. And you can't count Jasper Payton in third year, either-all you two did was walk to class together and occasionally sit together for meals."

Damn. Jasper was just the name I was about to pull out of my hat. "Well, I still don't see how you have so much experience. Yeah, you're Gavin Abernathy. You're a terrible flirt and girls are falling head over heels for you, but you've never dated anyone-"

"Just because it hasn't happened at Hogwarts doesn't mean it hasn't happened!" Gavin exclaimed, frustrated.

My heart sunk and a dreaded feeling spread through my stomach. "You...you have a girlfriend outside of Hogwarts?"

"No, I don't have a girlfriend right now," Gavin answered shortly. "But yes, I did have one. And no, she didn't go to school here." He paused, but I didn't reply. I wanted to see if he would continue talking about her. "We dated for two years. I really loved her-the kind of love we were talking about earlier. I wanted to spend forever with her. And she loved me back."

"Then why did you break up with her?" I asked.

"I didn't break up with her, Rose," Gavin sighed and shook his head. He looked so defeated, a way I never would have thought I would see Gavin Abernathy. "It's really complicated."

I wanted so badly to reach out for his hand, tell him I was there for him, but we had never really had any physical contact before. And he would probably be annoyed if I tried anything like that. So instead I said, in the nicest possible tone Rose Weasley can offer, "We've got time, Gavin."

For a moment I thought he wasn't going to tell me, I thought he was just going to get up and walk back inside the dormitories. But then he took a breath and began. "I had known her since my childhood, even further back than you knew Scorpius. We were next door neighbors. I was always either at her home, or she was at mine. Our mothers sent us to nursery school together, and later primary school, and we were always in the same classes together until I got my letter to Hogwarts."

"You didn't know you were a wizard?" I asked.

"No. Both my parents were Muggles. My aunt is a witch, and they only told me after I received my letter." Gavin smiled a bit." I was so excited to come here. I told her...my friend...about Hogwarts and how I was going to go and she could hardly believe it. I thought she really wouldn't believe me about the whole magical world thing, but she always had this incredible imagination and she really welcomed the idea and made me promise to show her what I had learned when I came back for the summer.

"We were still best friends, even when I came to Hogwarts. We wrote letters almost daily and I told her everything about this place, from the Great Hall to the Forbidden Forest, to Professor Flitwick and Albus...and you."

I looked at him in surprise. "You told her about me?"

"You were just about the strangest girl I had ever met in my life, Red," Gavin shrugged. "You were unlike any other person-any other girl-I had ever met. I was so intrigued by you when I was younger." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, we still maintained our friendship for years. I was there for her when her parents decided to send her away to boarding school in France, though she really didn't want to go. And she was there for me when my mum died during second year."

"Oh, I didn't even know," I said, again surprised at all that Gavin was telling me. "I'm so sorry, Gavin."

He looked briefly at me. "Thanks. So yeah, we were always there for each other. And then one day when I was just about fourteen, I had the brilliant idea of actually dating her. I had never dated anyone before, but Albus had just gotten his first girlfriend and Charlotte was really the only girl I could ever picture myself dating. So I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes. And we were both incredibly happy."

"Charlotte?" I repeated. "Her name was Charlotte?"

Gavin nodded. "Yes. Charlotte Elizabeth Cooper."

"So..." I began, toying with a loose string on my sweater. "If you two were so happy, what happened?"

A cloud shadowed Gavin's face and he swallowed hard before replying heavily, "Her parents found out I was a wizard. And then they wouldn't let me see Charlotte anymore."

My eyes widened. "What? Are you serious? People are still like that?"

Gavin nodded. "I'm still not sure how they found out. Charlotte's father had been getting very wary of me being so close to his little girl for the past few years, and I still wonder if he just wanted me to be away from her. But it was just a normal day for the two of us. We were sitting in Charlotte's bedroom watching a movie-you know what those are, right?-and then suddenly her parents barged in and began screaming at me for not telling them my secret. They could hardly speak the word wizard, as if it were foul language. They threw me out of their house before I even realized what was going on. I tried to see Charlotte, but they made it impossible for us to even come in contact. They even threatened my aunt, telling her that if I ever tried to make contact with Charlotte that they would tell the Ministry I had tried to seduce her by using my magic."

"But the Ministry can tell! They know what spells you've used and on whom!" I cried.

"But my aunt even told me that if they thought I was harassing a Muggle in any way, that I would be kicked straight out of Hogwarts," Gavin said seriously. "I had already lost Char, I didn't want to lose my school, too."

I looked out at the towers and lawns of Hogwarts. I couldn't bear to look at Gavin's hurt face. He had been the rock, the one solid person in my life for the past weeks, and to see him crumbling before me hurt worse than I could possibly have imagined.

"I moved in with my aunt at the end of this summer. I just couldn't stand seeing Charlotte anymore. I couldn't stand looking out my bedroom window and seeing her take out the garbage from her house, or taking my dog on a walk and looking up and seeing her standing in her kitchen, talking on the telephone. It just all hurt too much. I had never had a great relationship with my dad after my mum died...he always thought the whole magic thing was just too weird. So I moved in with my aunt, who had always been sweet to me. She actually lives quite close to the Potters, so I got to see Albus more often."

"Does he...does anyone else know about this?" I asked warily. Am I the only one you've opened up to about this?

"Albus knows, to a certain extent. I mean, he was my best friend for all those years that Char and I were writing letters every day. And he knew when we started dating and he knew when we stopped. He didn't ever really learn why, but he definitely knew that I was different starting this year when we came back to school."

We were both silent for a moment as I tried to think of something to say...what could I say, though? All of his troubles made mine with Scorpius just seem insignificant and childish.

"I...I'm so, so sorry Gavin," I told him sincerely, finally looking him straight in the eyes.

"Me too," he replied softly. Then he looked at me. "Red, I just wanted to show you that everyone has love problems. And sure, they do impact you, but they don't make you who you are. Don't let this prick Malfoy make you feel so miserable and desperate all the time. You're so much better than that, Rose. You don't deserve that heartache. No one does."

My eyes welled up with tears. "I just..." I said shakily, hating to cry in front of him. "I just love him so much, Gavin."

"I know," he nodded sympathetically. "And I loved Char. But Rose, Charlotte loved me back. That's the difference between my relationship with her and yours with Scorpius. And have you ever considered that maybe...maybe Scorpius and Felicity have that special love for each other? And that maybe...you're just complicating things for the pair of them?"

I let out a sob, and put my hands over my face. I knew he was right.

"Oh, Rose. I didn't mean to hurt you by saying that," Gavin said softly. He slid a bit closer to me on the balcony. "I just feel like it's something I have to tell you so that you don't keep letting him hurt you like he does."

"I know, I know," I cried. "It's just so hard."

"Yeah, it is," Gavin nodded. "I can testify to that. I can't tell you how many times I've started letters to Charlotte, letters I won't ever be able to send."

I looked up at Gavin, seeing his paled face, and chuckled a little bit. "We're a fine pair, aren't we?"

He laughed. "Yeah. A fine pair." He smiled at me. "Come here, Red," he beckoned and pulled me into a hug. It was the first time we had ever really touched in this way, but I felt completely comfortable in his arms, with my cheek to his chest.

"Hey, Gavin," Albus said, coming out onto the balcony. "We have to get going to the Quidditch pitch. Oh, and Rose, your mum says to Floo her when you get the chance tonight."

I looked at him in fright. "It's not about...you know...she didn't find out, did she?"

"No, no, no," Albus assured me, widening his eyes. "No one knows about that. It's probably just about what happened in Potions or something."

I groaned. "I can already see the Witch Weekly headline: Daughter of Weasley Fame Faints at School: Anorexia or the Trials of Fame? Merlin, I hate being the child of famous parents."

Albus snorted. "Tell me about it. You're talking to the son of Harry Potter, here."

"Yeah," I rolled my eyes and pulled my bag over my shoulder. "Well, I'll let you two get going. Have a good practice."

"Thanks," Gavin said. "You'll be at the match tomorrow, won't you Red?"

I smiled. "Of course. I wouldn't miss it."

By the time I got back to my own dormitories, my mother was already chatting with Ramona from the fireplace.

"...and then she just kind of keeled over. Yeah, it was really weird but I've seen her since then, and she looks to be doing a bit better!"

"Ramona," I said shortly, casting her a rather dirty look.

"Right," she smiled guiltily and backed away from the fireplace. "Well, I have to be going, Mrs. Weasley. It was nice talking to you again."

"It was nice speaking with you as well, Ramona," my mother's cool, superior voice drifted from the fireplace as Ramona scrambled out of the room.

I tossed my books on my bed and slumped into a chair by the fireplace, seeing my mother's face within the flames.

"Hello, Rose."

"Hi, Mum. To what do I owe this pleasure?" I asked with an eyebrow raised. Honestly, I don't know why my mum puts up with me to the extent that she does. I'm probably one of the more difficult teenage daughters around, in terms of having a 'bad attitude'. But on the other side of the spectrum, I have impeccable grades, get along very nicely with my professors, and don't get mixed up in any 'funny business'. Perhaps for a woman such as Hermione Granger Weasley, those are better assets than having an immaculate relationship with your mother.

"What's going on, Rose?" Mum sighed, sounding very tired. "I got an owl from Professor Malium saying you fainted in class today? Are you taking care of yourself? Your father's in a right state, thinking you've got some incurable disease or another."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I insisted. "Really, Mum. The fumes from the potion we were making just really got to me and I started to feel a bit woozy. I didn't even fully faint! I just stumbled a bit and Albus and Gavin came to my rescue..."

"Gavin?" Mum repeated, interestedly. "Is this a boy?"

I groaned. Of course my sharp-as-a-tack mother would catch Gavin's name within the midst of the story. "Yes, Mum. Albus' best friend, remember? He came to our family party last Christmas? We happened to be partners today and he was there when I started to feel a bit sick."

"I see."

"Mum, it really isn't a big deal! Honestly, the only reason anyone is talking about it is because I'm yours and Dad's daughter. If it were anyone else, no one would give a crap!"

"We're just making sure everything is alright, Rose," Mum said rationally. "NEWTS are coming up and you have to be prepared..."

"I will be, Mum. All I ever do is study." I rolled my eyes.

"Except when you're off spending time in the boys' dormitories," Mum replied quickly. She sighed. "Rose, this just isn't like you. What has come over you these past few months? You left Christmas early, you're having troubles at school, you don't see Scorpius anymore..."

"Mum, how do you even know about Scorpius?" I asked belligerently.

"Rose, you haven't mentioned him one time during this conversation. All you used to talk about what Scorpius. And Albus even said you haven't been seeing your friend much anymore..."

"You've talked to Albus about me?" I cried.

"Rose, we're just concerned for your well-being," Mum insisted.

"Are you sure you're not just trying to resist a publicity field day?" I accused her. "I really just don't understand you, Mum. I don't think I ever will."

"We don't have to understand each other, Rose. But we still have to at least try."

I rolled my eyes again. "Well, be sure to tell Dad that I'm not dying or anything. I'm feeling fine ever since Scorpius brought me back to my dormitory after Potions."

Mum, sounding very defeated and realizing she wasn't going to be getting much out of this conversation, nodded. "Alright, Rose. I'll be sure to tell you dad."

"Good. I have to go, Mum."

"Goodbye, Rose."

Without giving her a reply, I left the fireplace. Suddenly, a sickening feeling rushed over me. I ran to the washroom, throwing myself over the toilet and retching into its bowels.

Merlin, I swore. What is wrong with me?

"Rose? Rose are you alright?" I heard Ramona call as she came back into the dormitory.

"Fine," I managed to croak. "Can you close the door, please?"

"Let me know if you need anything," she told me, shutting the washroom door.

Breathing shakily, I gently leaned back against the cupboards, closing my eyes. I took the pregnancy test. I can't be pregnant. Albus even showed me the results. I can't be pregnant. But there was a gnawing feeling inside of me telling me that somehow, I was wrong.

I gingerly reached up to the counter and found one of Ramona's cosmetic magazines. Dropping it to the floor, I paged through it, looking for the mail-order section. It was in there. Isn't it strange that pregnancy tests are offered in the mail-order section of a cosmetics magazine? I pulled my wand from my pocket and tapped the picture of the pregnancy test. It differed from the one that I used in Hogsmeade, but no matter. Surely it would work the same way. I closed the magazine and placed it back on the counter, slowly standing up and rinsing my mouth out. This time I wouldn't be as scared to take the test. At this point, I would rather know than not know.

The following day came quicker than I expected it. I woke up with a jumbled stomach-this time not because of nausea, but because of my impending meeting with Scorpius that evening. I rolled onto my side and groaned, covering my face with my blankets.

"Come on, Rose! Wake up!" Ramona insisted, sitting on the edge of my bed. "The Quidditch match starts in less than an hour and if we want to get good seats..."

"Ramona, stopppp," I grumbled. "We only have two days a week to sleep in, and I don't want to wake up yet!"

"Rose," she whined impressively. "This is important! It's the first match we've been able to have since October, and it's against Slytherin. This will decide if we make it to the House Cup finals or not!"

"This isn't the World Cup, Ramona. It's not that big of a deal."

"And you promised Gavin you would go see it."

I pulled the covers off my face and looked at Ramona. "How do you know that?" I asked her.

She grinned. "Because he told me today at breakfast."

"Merlin, I have to get ready!" I cried in sudden realization, jumping out of bed and running to the wardrobe.

"Gee, someone is excited," Ramona teased. "I didn't know you fancied Gavin, Rose!"

Pulling on a pair of jeans and a gray tank top, I rushed to the washroom. "Ramona, would you please get off my bed and help me? Get me a sweater from the wardrobe and pull out my short boots!"

"So you do fancy Gavin?" Ramona squealed.

"Just because I don't answer you doesn't mean I'm in love with Gavin!" I told her. I stared in the mirror and tried to pull back my curls into a ponytail. Deciding against it, I let them fall loosely over my shoulders and quickly applied some mascara and rubbed lotion onto my arms.

"I know, I know. But he's so cute, Rose. I would definitely approve," Ramona grinned as she came into the washroom and handed me a pale purple sweater and my boots.

"Thanks," I said, yanking the sweater over my head. "But you know just as well as I do that I'm not looking for any relationships right now. I've never been that kind of girl."

"And yet, I still like having you as a friend," Ramona shrugged, following me out of the washroom. "What's that?"

"What's what?" I asked, pulling on my gray coat and wrapping my Gryffindor scarf around my neck. I looked over to the window where Ramona was pointing and my heart dropped. There was an owl, carrying a package, wrapped in the cosmetic magazine's logo.

"I didn't order anything recently..." Ramona said quizzically, walking to the owl. "Maybe one of the other girls-"

"It's mine!" I exclaimed, pushing past Ramona to the owl. "I ordered some more mascara. I'm nearly out of it and didn't want to go to Hogsmeade to get some more..." I shoved my due amount into the little pouch secured on the owl's leg and took my package, quickly stowing it in the deep pocket of my coat. "Not a big deal. Let's go, Ramona."

Ramona frowned and I was sure she didn't believe my story, but she didn't say anything. She led me from the room, and we walked silently to the Quidditch pitch.

"Would you like anything to eat?" I asked her as we entered the pitch, seeing all the vendors with little snacks for the students.

"No, thank you," Ramona replied quietly. I rolled my eyes. Why was she acting so put-off? Was it because I had obviously hidden something from her? Honestly, can't I have my own privacy?

"Well, I'm going to get some Bertie Bott's. Save us a couple of seats, will you?" I asked. She nodded and left me to buy my snacks.

"Hello, Rose."

My heart leapt. I could recognize that voice anywhere. "Hello, Scorpius," I replied, turning to see him in his Quidditch robes. "Shouldn't you be with your team?"

"I should be. But Felicity had wanted to see me before the match." He smiled at me. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thanks. Thank you for bringing me back to my dormitory yesterday afternoon."

"Of course," he nodded and smiled again. I smiled back.

"So..." he began. "Are we still on for tonight?"

Remembering everything I had spoken about with Gavin the previous evening, I had a sharp instinct to refuse the meeting. I don't want him using you, Gavin had said, expecting you'll jump at every back and call. I remembered how concerned Gavin had looked about my well-being, how his dark eyes had softened, telling me I was better than what Scorpius wanted from me.

"Rose?" Scorpius asked. I looked up into those wide, gray eyes with the lashes framing them, and absolutely everything Gavin told me just melted away.

"Yes," I finally replied. "We are."

"Good. Can we meet in the courtyard at say, eight-thirty?" I nodded. "Good. Well, I should be going, Rose. I'll see you soon." He turned and began to walk off.

"Wait, Scorpius!" I called after him, running to him. I threw myself into his arms and hugged him like I hadn't in a very long time. "I'm so glad we're finally going to be able to talk. I have so much to tell you...and I really, honestly can't wait." I finally pulled away, grinning, and my smile only grew larger when I saw that Scorpius had been smiling, too.

"I can't either. I'll see you later, Rosie," he grinned and jogged away.

Smiling and feeling ecstatic, I grinned and let out a little giggle. I was meeting with Scorpius tonight. Scorpius, the boy who I had been dreaming of since I was a little girl. Scorpius, who made me feel like no one else could. And he had made the effort. He wanted to see me!

I turned in excitement to run up to my seat, but my heart dropped. Standing there, behind me, was Gavin Abernathy. And he had heard everything.

"Gavin, I..." I began, but couldn't say anything more when I saw the incredible hurt in his eyes. Then, his hurt turned to anger. He brushed past me and stalked off. "Gavin!" I called after him. "Gavin, I'm sorry!" But Gavin didn't turn back. And I couldn't help but feel that I was the second girl to hurt him and make him feel this pain.

"Ugh, come on, Albus!" Ramona cried an hour into the match.

The Slytherins were giving Gryffindor a good match and the only means for a victory seemed to depend on who caught the Snitch first. Scorpius had come dangerously close to catching it only about twenty minutes into the game, but swerved when he was nearly hit by a bludger. "Nice hit to the bludger by Abernathy!" yelled the game announcer, but I knew that there was more to the strength behind Gavin's hit toward Scorpius than anyone else knew.

"Ten more points to Slytherin!"

Ramona and I groaned, and continued yelling for Albus, who was flying around the perimeters, keeping a sharp eye out for the Snitch.

"This game is neck-and-neck," Ramona commented, leaning so far forward in her seat that a good wind could push her out onto the pitch. She was back to her normal talkative self, and I assumed that everything had been forgotten. "And Albus and Scorpius are both great Seekers. This is going to be interesting."

"I just don't want to be around Albus' bruised ego if Scorpius does catch the Snitch first!" I yelled over the noise of the other Gryffindor fans, who were cheering loudly for the latest ten points made by their team, once again tying the score.

"Albus? With a bruised ego? No, never," Ramona said cheerfully, winking at me. I laughed. "Oh, look! There goes James with the Quaffle, again! Maybe we will be able to win this match!"

I watched my older cousin race toward the other side of the pitch with the large red ball under his arm. Then suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Albus dive.

"He's seen it!" Ramona cheered, jumping up and down. "He's seen the Snitch!"

Albus dove and swerved after the little golden ball, with Scorpius streaking after him. But Scorpius would never be able to catch up. Albus was too fast and already had such a gain on him. Now if he could just close the twelve foot gap between him and the Snitch, the Gryffindors would win the match...

"Oh, no!" Ramona cried, pointing to the right side of the pitch where a Slytherin Beater had just lobbed a Bludger in Albus' direction. Albus didn't see it coming.

"Albus!" I screamed. The Bludger was coming at him faster and faster, gaining speed. I could hardly bear to watch it collide with him...but suddenly...

"Yes!" Ramona screamed happily. "Gavin stopped it!"

Just as the Bludger had been about to hit Albus, Gavin flew in from out of nowhere, and expertly smashed the Bludger back in the other direction, to the roars of the Gryffindor fans.

But then, my heart skipped a beat. "Oh, no," I whispered, seeing it happen before it actually did.

Gavin turned over his shoulder to see Albus catch the Snitch and hold it over his head, but he didn't see the Bludger change direction, and come back straight at him, hitting him when he wasn't looking.

"Oh!" I cried, standing in my seat. "Gavin!" Tears sprang up in my eyes, and I hoped with everything that I had that he hadn't taken the Bludger to his head. Maybe it had hit him in the shoulder, or the upper arm. He has to be alright, I prayed silently. He just has to.

But as my eyes realized that Gavin was falling faster and faster toward the ground, as my screams filled the air, as my heart beat faster than I knew it could, I devastatingly realized that after this, this accident, that he might not be alright. And even greater to my surprise was my realization that it would hurt me worse than I could ever imagine it to.

A/N: I realize it has taken me forever to update this story, but reading back on it, I absolutely love Rose and the other characters and just had to write more about them. I hope you all like the chapter and I can't wait for you to read the next one :) if you have any questions or comments, PLEASE review! I love reading all of them and hearing from the people who encourage me to write. Thank you for reading!