Chapter 20
Rose's POV:
"I'm ready to hex Pomfrey into the next century." Albus grumbled from his bed. His hair was, as always, a messy fan of black against the white pillow. His color had come back nicely in the few days he had been confined to the hospital wing as he continued to get better. However, his mood had not improved.
"Careful, Al." I turned a page in my Ancient Runes textbook and marked a star next to an important passage. "She did save your life. Your ribs almost hit some pretty important organs."
He groaned against his arm dramatically. "Rosie, the next time you're in the hospital wing for three days and Pomfrey gives you the evil eye every time you try sitting up, let me know how you feel."
Albus had indeed been in the hospital wing for three days. According to him, it was "the most boring place in Hogwarts, arguably the world". I visited him as often as I could with various family members and usually Scorpius in tow. He sat next to me in the uncomfortable visiting chairs and played with his wand instead of reading the potions notes I had carefully written out for him.
"Scorp, at least pretend to be studying." I said impatiently. He shot a sheepish grin my way and leafed through the papers in front of him. The sixth year exams were on their way in the last few weeks of school and they were vital to pass in order to take N.E.W.T.S in our seventh year.
"Would you believe me if I told you I was physically incapable of studying?" He joked. Albus chuckled annoyingly from the bed as I rolled my eyes at the pair of them.
"Pomfrey could probably diagnose you." Al added, laughing at his own joke and rubbing his ribs. His bedside table was a colorful explosion of Weasley Wizard Wheezes supplies, sent to him by Uncle George and Aunt Angelina, and candy from Honeydukes. Al had already worked his way through each and every chocolate frog sent (downing an impressive three in one sitting) and was now determined to try every Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean.
"Try this one, Rosie." He demanded, waving a bright pink and green bean in my face.
"The last time I tried one, you gave me pepper and you tried to give me vomit." I made a face at the memory of the sickly looking green bean.
Al shrugged. "I thought it was peppermint. Come off it, you've got to trust me on this one. I'll bet you it's strawberry tart!"
"I'll try it." Scorpius supplied from my side. I took note of the bludgers flying around the margins of his paper that he had doodled and sighed in exasperation. Scorpius took the bean and popped it into his mouth, immediately frowning at the taste.
"Strawberry tart?" Albus asked.
"Raw dragon meat, actually." Scorp replied. I snapped my book shut on my lap more harshly than I meant to. Both boys looked up at me in mild surprise.
"I think I'll go to the library. I really need to study for my review tomorrow and I don't want to be behind."
"Since when have you been behind in anything?" Albus asked incredulously. I leaned down to hug him carefully, hoping not to upset his bandages or tightly tucked sheets.
I turned to Scorpius to kiss him lightly. Pulling away, I spoke in a whisper "Will you stay with him?" He's bored, I can tell."
Scorpius looked slightly uncomfortable as he shifted in his seat. Although I knew Scorpius and Albus may never become as close as I wanted them to be, I knew just from watching that they had a budding friendship. If I knew anything about Scorpius, it was that he was a good enough person to stay in the hospital wing to keep an injured friend company.
"I'll stay." He answered quietly, donning a small smirk. I smiled as I met his lips again, and then turned away, ignoring Albus's questions.
"You know, Rose, with everyone whispering around me it feels an awful lot like I'm on my death bed!"
"Get well soon, Al!" I called, wiggling my fingers at my cousin and my boyfriend and pushing the heavy doors of the hospital wing open.
The walk to the library was refreshing, as I was completely alone. It was rare that I wasn't around at least one of my family members or Scorpius and it felt like falling into an old routine as I walked into the library alone, the smell of musty books greeting me like old friends.
"Rosie?" Dominique's voice came from a table by the entrance and I turned my head in surprise to see her sitting with a book in front of her, her blonde hair twisted neatly into a braid.
"Dom, what are you doing here?" I asked. I headed to the table and sat next to her, glancing at the book open in front of her. There was a complex looking drawing of a wizard in a defensive position with his wand raised above him.
"Studying, of course. I need to pass my exams to take the N.E. and I have to have good marks to be considered for auror training." She turned the page of her book, revealing more drawings grouped around a single spell, demonstrating the proper wand technique.
It had been common knowledge in the last few days that Dominique had turned her attention to becoming an auror. It was a shock when she first brought it up, but after seeing the light in her eyes as she talked about her growing desire for it, I couldn't deny that Dom would be a perfect auror. She would be dedicated, talented, and have just the right amount of madness to try.
"I wish I could get Scorp to study. He has these amazing goals but almost no work ethic." Dom giggled next to me as I opened my book to join her.
"Enjoying your reading, ladies?" Dom jumped in surprise and I turned, already knowing who the drawling, male voice belonged to, to see Hayden perched on the chair across from me.
"We have nothing to say to you." I said in my coldest voice. Hayden was the one who had hurt Albus and caused Scorpius to hurt myself in the past. In the matter of one school year, he had become my least favorite person.
"I'm wounded." He exclaimed with a dramatic throw of his hand to his heart. "You've really changed Malfoy, Weasley. I barely recognize him anymore. Planning on dropping hints for that diamond ring anytime soon?"
"Piss off, Hayden." Dominique snapped. Her perfectly manicured nails were digging into her palms in an effort to stay calm.
"You were never any good for Scorpius to begin with. And you can't hurt me with him anymore." I said, trying to keep my voice steady. Hayden narrowed his eyes.
"Maybe I can't. He might be too far gone." He sighed. Then an evil looking grin spread across his face. "Of course, his other relationships never ended perfectly anyway. He's just not cut out for commitment. He tends to love them and leave them, I'm afraid."
"I'm sure he's confided in you with the details of his love life many times in the past." I snapped. His smirk only grew wider.
"You two haven't done it yet, have you?" He was laughing now. "I can see it in your innocent doe eyes, Weasley."
"Because you must be an expert at knowing those kinds of things, wouldn't you DeMoine?" Dom practically shrieked. I became nervous Madam Pince would hear what was going on and appear from the shadows like she had in the past. However, the old witch was nowhere in sight and for once, I was sorry for it. Hayden was too much of a coward to be seen fighting by a staff member.
"It's just interesting the way he's gone about this particular relationship." Hayden continued. "It'll be soon when he makes his first move, Weasley. I hope you're up for it." And with that, he grabbed his books and fled the tables.
"He is just an arrogant arsehole!" Dominique muttered between clenched teeth.
"I don't care what he says." Which was true. I didn't care what Hayden had to say about myself or my family. I didn't want to admit to Dom however that his mentioning of Scorpius's past love life bothered me. I knew I had little experience compared to Scorpius. My cheeks flamed red as I ducked my head, pretending to read a passage where the lines blurred in my mind.
Albus's POV:
I'm not sure what Rose was trying to accomplish when she left Malfoy and me in the hospital wing alone. Our total lack of conversation was most likely not what she was shooting for, but six years of routine was hard to break.
"Erm— how are things? With, y'know, Rose." I asked awkwardly. Malfoy snapped his head up in surprise.
"Oh, um, they're fine. Yeah, it's been going pretty well." He grabbed his notes for something to do and looked down again.
"She seems, er… really happy. And James would definitely kick your arse if she wasn't, so… good job." I supplied pathetically. Surprisingly Malfoy chuckled.
"Yeah, I know. I don't plan on hurting her… I don't want to…" He trailed off, staring blankly at the sheets at the end of my bed.
I noticed that when Rose was mentioned, Malfoy opened up more. As a guy, being able to notice the change proved it was clear that he did like her a lot… did he love her? The thought made my stomach flip instinctively but I knew it was wrong to think that way now.
"Um, I never properly thanked you for helping me off the field. That was good of you." I barked out. I didn't know if I would have been able to do the same for a Slytherin player if my sorry arse was put in the same position.
"Don't mention it." He smirked, almost as if by habit. "Do— do you remember much of anything?"
I racked my brains but as always, feeling a lot like I did in History of Magic class, there was nothing. The last thing I remembered was reaching for the snitch and my heart racing before indescribable pain in my right temple and then blackness.
"No, nothing. But Rose told me it was Hayden that hit me, and that you helped Fred get me away. She also told me James broke Hayden's nose. He had to go to Madame Pomfrey before anyone noticed." Malfoy's eyebrows shot up and he began to laugh.
"James did? I'll have to shake his hand. I wish I could have done it."
"Isn't DeMoine your friend?" I asked. I had to agree that I wished I could practice some of the defensive spells from class on Hayden. I didn't care that he had hurt me, although the stabbing pain in my head said otherwise. He had scared and hurt my family, something I would not allow.
"No. Not for a while he hasn't been. I only really kept him around because I didn't talk to anyone else." Malfoy answered.
"Well, er, with Rose trusting you and everything… I think you'll find you've made friends from the rest of the family too." I croaked out. I couldn't believe I was telling Malfoy we were… friends? If I had been foretold about this moment five years ago, I would have laughed and cursed the one who told me into oblivion.
Malfoy looked at me like he expected me to take it back or laugh. His face softened when he must have realized I wasn't joking.
"Thanks." He mumbled. "Er, I think I should be going." He looked over toward Pomfrey's office where she was glaring at him through the cracked door.
"Better book it." I advised, Pomfrey's glare sending a shiver down my spine. "She isn't pretty when it comes to kicking out visitors. Hugo will probably be scarred for life after she hexed her skelegrow bottle to chase him out."
Malfoy began laughing as he collected his things. "I'll, um, see you later."
"Probably with Rose." I added with a half-smile. His face paled a little at her name. Now I wasn't an expert on all things love-related, but his reaction didn't look right.
"Yeah, with Rose. Feel better soon." He shouldered his bag and left, waving goodbye before exiting through the doors.
As Pomfrey shuffled around, pulling my curtains shut and obnoxiously fluffing my pillow so it was less comfortable than before, a nagging voice spoke from the back of my head.
"Something is up with Malfoy."
"Shut it."
It was strange enough to be speaking to myself. But it was stranger to feel like I suddenly had some sixth sense about relationships. Arrogantly, I thought my charm with the young witches of Hogwarts had finally developed into an actual power I could harness. In reality, I could tell by Malfoy's behavior about Rose that something was bothering him.
"You've messed with Rose enough this year. Don't go interfering with her relationship again." My mind told me. But I was Albus Severus Potter. And if there was anything Albus Severus Potter was good at, it was interfering with things. The fact that my dad's Marauder's Map was lying tucked under sweaters and socks in James's trunk was proof of our talent for snooping. And Rose was my cousin, my absolute best friend. If Malfoy ended up hurting her, he would have to answer to me and the entire male population of the Potter-Weasley-Lupin family.
Scorpius's POV:
I couldn't waste any more time sitting in the dusty, hidden corner Rose and I used to study in at the library. I had been trying to study for about a quarter of an hour until my mind was so full and confused, I had to stop. Now, my head ached even more with the weight of my father's letter.
I thought I might see Rose in the library when I decided to study, an action in itself that was very uncharacteristic of myself. Rose was nowhere in the library however, and I assumed she must have left for Gryffindor tower.
"You have twenty minutes to pack your things, Mister Malfoy." Madam Pince wheezed from the section labeled "Care of foreign, rare, and possibly dangerous creatures A-K". Given that Madam Pince was a possibly dangerous creature, it seemed fitting. I nodded to show I heard her and made sure she had slunk back into the musty shadows before shoving my notes into my bag, not caring that they were becoming creased and crumpled.
I swung my bag over my shoulder and grabbed the text book I was referencing for my potions exam. That exam was just another dark spot in my future. I needed an E to pass Potions, and if I got an O for some miracle, I would get an E in class. Rose's tutoring had worked wonders on my grades since the start. I felt guilty that I couldn't even credit her to my parents now.
Thinking about Rose caused my stomach to flip around. Was I coming down with something? I tried to hurry down the lowly lit hallways to the Slytherin common room and to my warm bed where I might find some peace for the night.
"Been up late studying?" I stopped in my tracks, startled. Hayden stepped out of a shadowy corner, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Yes." I said in a monotone voice. We hadn't spoken since the day of the match when I had told him to piss off.
"You still want to be an Auror?" He asked, now coming to join me by my side. I huffed and continued walking. Hayden followed at a safe distance.
"Thinking about it, yeah."
"You know, it sounds like something I could get into." He drawled.
"You might want to wake up in potions if you're looking into it. It requires at least an Acceptable to get in." I snapped.
"I got an Acceptable last year, didn't I?"
"Because you cheated off Marlene Thornburry." I muttered. Hayden waved his hand lazily.
"How are you going to get in? You barely scraped a Poor on your O.W.L.S; they only let you in because of your daddy's money."
"Shut the fuck up, Hayden." My vision was going red. He walked closer and faster as I tried to quicken my pace. I had longer legs than Hayden and soon he was slightly panting.
"Oh, that's right. Weasley's been tutoring you, I forgot. That's how this whole thing started, didn't it?" He spoke in a reflective voice, as if he was genuinely interested in my grades. "You know I had never pegged her as the type of girl to partake in such activity, but redheads can be feisty."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I snapped again.
"She gives you good grades, you give her sex." He didn't get any farther before I had him pinned against the wall, my wand at his throat.
"You don't talk about her like that. You don't know her at all!" I shouted. Hayden had a smirk plastered on his ugly face, but there was some fear in his eyes. I was physically and mentally stronger than him and I knew more spells. If it came down to a duel, we both knew the odds were greater in my favor.
He pushed back at me, sending enough force to release him from my grip. I threw a punch and met his jaw with a satisfying cracking noise. He staggered and drew his wand from his robes.
"She must be a secret little minx, because the Scorpius Malfoy I know would never have gone for someone so bookish." He spat blood on the stone. "You've been falling, Malfoy. You're losing your touch. Going soft, haven't you been?"
I sent a spell at him without saying any words, something I had mastered early on in class. He yelped as the ground sparked at his feet where he stepped. "Expelliarmus!" He shouted. The spell narrowly missed my wand, which stayed in my hand, but hit my shoulder and knocked me to the floor. He tried to tackle me but I kicked him off and sent him sprawling.
"What the devil is going on down here?" Professor McGregor shouted from the end of the corridor. Subconsciously I had led Hayden and myself into the dungeons. We had stopped around the corner from the Potions classroom.
Professor McGregor picked up Hayden roughly by the arms and I stumbled to my feet before he could do the same to me.
"Do either of you know how many points you have just lost Slytherin? Fifty points, each!" I could practically hear the emeralds in the Slytherin glass in the entrance hall cursing me as they were deducted. "Never has fighting and dueling been allowed in the Hogwarts halls! DeMoine, you get yourself to the Hospital wing and then come immediately to my office. Malfoy, follow me." His voice was so menacing in that moment I didn't hesitate to follow his orders. He must have thought I was uninjured enough to receive punishment early and I glanced at Hayden. His jaw was a brutal purple and red shade and his mouth was a mess of blood and a cracked tooth. He glared at me before turning down the corridor and out of sight.
I followed Professor McGregor into his office, behind a door that I had continually seen in the Potions room, but had surprisingly never been into. McGregor had always usually handed out punishments at his desk.
His office was dark but homily lit with lots of jars of slimy, glutinous things suspended in jars full of colored liquids. Some of them glowed and some of them made sucking noises. There was another door at the back that most likely led to his private bedroom. There was also a silver tin of biscuits on the corner of his desk but I didn't think he would let me take one when I was in trouble.
"Sit down, Malfoy." He seated himself behind his desk, folding his hands. I took a seat in the uncomfortable chair across from him and stared pointedly above his head.
"You may not be one of my most attentive students. However, I did not expect this brash behavior from you. Your grades have been improving immensely. I trust you and Miss Weasley have been working hard?"
I was waiting for him to start yelling again but I choked out "Working hard, yeah. She's helped a lot."
"So I've heard. Perhaps more than with just Potions, Mister Malfoy?"
"Er— sir?"
"You and Mister DeMoine have not been the same. I notice you don't speak to him in class unless absolutely necessary. Your improved potion making has done well for the pair of you though I must say, dueling your potions partner does not impress the Professor." I winced. "You must choose the people you surround yourself with wisely."
"I have already taken fifty points from you. I will take no more. You will have double detention with me, eight o' clock every Saturday for the next two weeks. Yes, Mister Malfoy I do realize we only have two weeks left of term." He cut me off before I could protest. I cleared my throat and straightened my back.
"Yes, sir."
"Mister DeMoine will be receiving equal punishment. You will not be serving detention together. I won't have dueling in my room."
"Will that be all, sir?" I asked. I was dying for my bed more than ever now.
"One last thing. May I ask what you two were so foolish as to duel over?"
I was surprised to say the least. "Nothing, sir."
"A young lady, perhaps? That always seems to be the answer."
"Er— not exactly. Hayden's a git— sorry sir, Hayden and I don't get on right now."
"I gathered that." He stared at me and then waved his wand, opening the door to his office. "You may leave. Fifty points, and Saturday night. I'll expect you on time."
I left quickly, almost stumbling against the stools at the Potions tables. I had to get out of the dungeons. I knew Hayden would be coming back soon and I wouldn't be able to face him without cursing him into the next century. I walked blindly up the stairs to the entrance hall. Prefects were patrolling the corridors as it was nearly time for everyone to be in their dorms. I ducked behind tapestries and pillars, hiding from the Slytherin Prefects.
I ducked into a random classroom that was mercifully deserted and sat against a desk. I punched the floor in a fit of anger and didn't care when blood bloomed on my knuckles.
My father's letter. Rose. Hayden. Auror Training. Rose. The Letter. I gripped my head in my bloody hands trying to block everything out. I wanted to scream in frustration, but I knew that would alert a teacher.
"Scorpius?"
I jumped, thinking I had been caught. But when I looked to the door, Rose was standing there with the light from the windows like a spotlight on her. There was a sort of sparkly cloak in her hands but she threw it aside and kneeled down in front of me, gathering me in her arms.
I immediately broke down. I don't cry, and I didn't cry. But I let out the heavy breaths I had been holding in and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her into my lap. She tangled her little fingers in my hair.
"It's okay." She whispered. "It's okay. Tell me what happened." She pulled away from me, taking my hands in hers and running her thumb over my blood stained knuckles.
"I don't want to talk about it." I mumbled. As gently as I could, I placed my hand on her cheek and brought her in to kiss her. I needed to forget everything. I wanted to forget everything. But she was the one thing I wouldn't forget.
She responded, kissing me back softly. Her fingers were in my hair again and my tongue was against hers. She was completely pressed against me without an inch of space. I moved my hands from her sides down to her hips, trying to pull her closer.
She broke away. "Scorp, you have to tell me what happened." I began to kiss down her neck softly. "Do you know how scared I was when Hayden walked into the hospital wing all bloodied and I heard your name?"
I looked her in the eyes. "You really think he could have taken me?"
"Stop. This is serious. You fought him?"
"I couldn't stop myself." I looked down. She had never looked at me so disapprovingly before. But still she held me close. "He was saying all these shitty things. And he brought up you and your family and—"
"Never mind what he says about me. I can take care of myself." She straightened herself in my lap as if to look fiercer and my chest panged. Merlin, I was so in love with her. What the hell was I going to do about my father's letter?
"I want to take care of you. And that prick has caused enough damage this year."
Her face softened and she pressed a kiss to my lips. "Did you get in trouble?"
"McGregor broke it up. He took a hundred points away from Slytherin. And I have detention the next two Saturdays."
"Well that's not so bad." She remarked. I glanced at her and she smirked. "It could have been worse."
I looked over at the door, making sure we were quite alone. Her strange, glittery cloak was in a heap on the floor.
"How did you find me?" I asked. She blushed and I ran my finger over the warmed skin.
"I was visiting Albus and when I heard, I went looking for you. I just remember this is where I came when I was upset about Robin and you found me."
Surprised, I glanced up at the blackboard where a detailed drawing of a muggle carrying what looked like a heavy box was diagramed. Rose was right in that I had somehow gotten myself back to the Muggle Studies classroom. The irony was almost overwhelming.
"How did you not get caught? There are teachers and prefects everywhere." I asked. She blushed more.
"How did you avoid them?" She retorted.
"I, being mischievous, have had six years' experience sneaking around in the night. You, being an overall morally abiding student, have surprised me." I smirked, satisfied that I had caused her to giggle slightly.
She glanced back over at the cloak on the floor. She leaned in closer to whisper to me, like there was a secret she was afraid the room itself could hear.
"We have an invisibility cloak in the family. It's only used for very special occasions. Well, by myself it is. Al and James use it to nick food from the kitchens."
I was pleasantly surprised, and was about to say so when a light passed by the door, no doubt from the wand of a teacher. Rose's eyes widened and I pressed my finger to my lips. She cupped a hand over her mouth to keep her breathing soft.
The light passed away seconds after. Apparently the inspector had lost interest. Rose took her hand away from her mouth.
"It's late." I said. "We should get to bed." Her cheeks darkened again.
"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked. "You don't need to talk or expel your deepest dreams and vulnerabilities?" She was simply teasing now.
"You are my deepest dream and vulnerability. I would have thought you could have guessed that." If Rose could get any redder, she did. She got to her knees and bent down to kiss me, slow and different from other kisses. Somehow there was communication in the contact of lips to lips and it seemed to spread to my fingertips.
"You know I love you, right?" I asked as soon as we separated.
"I know. I love you too." She whispered in the darkness.
The sound of footsteps echoed down the hall and Rose quickly smoothed her hair and grabbed the cloak and her wand. I waited, leaning against a desk. Rose would leave first, under her strange cloak, and I would follow about a minute after. Hopefully, I wouldn't be found. I was already in enough trouble.
She tossed her red hair over her shoulder and turned toward me, crossing the room quickly and quietly to kiss me quickly.
"Don't let what he says get to you. I'm fine. And you're so much more worth what he thinks you should be." And then she was gone, quite literally vanishing under her cloak. It was strange to think she was still in front of me but completely hidden from view.
The door opened and then closed and I knew I was alone again. I waited for the minute to pass when I would attempt to make my escape. But without Rose, the crushing pressure was starting to come back. Her scent still lingered around me and it made it harder to think when she was taking up all of my thoughts.
" …you will be becoming a man this summer and we refuse to allow any unwanted distractions to keep you from your goals as a grown wizard…" My father's words echoed in my head. He thought of Rose as nothing but a distraction. An obstacle in his plans for my success. I pictured his letter, edges turning black and gold, crumbling to ashes in the fire. I thought of his stern gaze, his rare, but firm and loving, hugs and of his words always guiding me as a child.
He had taken me with him to the ministry once. I shook hands with the Minister of Magic, though I didn't understand the importance of the man at the time, and I laughed at my reflection in the perfectly polished marble floors of his office.
"One day this will be yours, Scorpius. Being a Malfoy means being given opportunities no other witch or wizard has. Cherish it." He had told me. And then I sat in his chair behind the dark wood desk with the snakes carved into the legs and marveled at the feeling of the world in front of me, though I could barely see over the desk itself.
I put my head in my hands for what felt like the dozenth time. My mind seemed to be flashing between Rose and my father, two people in my life who couldn't be more different from each other.
And for some unfathomable reason, though I knew it was an inevitable truth, I would have to choose between them.
A/N: Wow! I really loved writing this chapter probably because I got to explore three different POVs! But writing it was also a bittersweet journey because this is the second to last chapter of Unexpected :( I have my outline for the last chapter and I'll probably be posting it soon with a very sentimental author's note for anyone who reads these. I'm excited to say yesterday was my last day of my sophomore year and that means a whole summer of writing! I will have a lot of dancing over the summer but in between that, I'll be working on Unbreakable and most likely a Teddy/Victoire piece. Very excited and love you all! Please, please, please with Scorpius Malfoy on top let me know what you think about this chapter!
~ yours in eternity xx Amy