The day has come!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter :'(

Chapter 17

"Now who's put the skip in your step," Lorcan said cheerily as Rose jumped down the stairs to the girls' dormitory, Wednesday morning.

"Oh nothing, it's a nice morning Lorcan, look the sun is shining, the birds are singing." Rose said dreamily as she met her best friend at the bottom of the stairs. "Perfectly fine day for Defence Against the Dark Arts," she smiled and entered the Common Room.

"Oh really now Rose, so it had nothing to do with your patrol last night?" Lorcan inquired, shouldering his bag and moving towards the door.

"It might have done," she admitted, opening the door and beginning her descent down the spiral staircase. "No interruptions by Peeves or anything," she continued.

Lorcan laughed, "so there weren't any moments of an intimate nature?" he asked slyly, Rose looked at him and laughed, shaking her head.

"What kind of girl do you think I am?" she asked, getting to the bottom of the stairs.

"Well," Rose cut him off with a sharp look as she continued her walk to the Great Hall for breakfast. "I don't mean that in a bad way Rose, so are you going to tell me?"

"Well Scorpius asked me to the Ball, and I may have said yes." She replied, turning and sending him a quick smile. Lorcan jogged after her, and when he reached her side she turned to him, "don't tell anyone. If you know what's good for you."

"Why? It won't exactly be unobvious if you turn up together," Lorcan stated.

"I'm more concerned about my family knowing openly, and then if someone sent a letter to my dad, well you know my dad. He doesn't even know that me and Scorpius are friends, since I always gave him the impression that I hated Scorpius. Well that was up until last month, and he'll take it as a personal betrayal. I mean he isn't exactly on the best of terms with the Malfoy's. Fact is I just want to rule out all possibilities of him running up here and trying to strangle Scorpius." Rose said with haste, nervousness evident in her grimace.

Lorcan grinned, "look at Rose getting all nervous, it's getting all serious for you."

Rose frowned, and hurried down the staircase, "I'm not nervous Lorcan, I'm just wary. And I know it's not the best way to go about Albus' feelings, but I feel like telling him will just make things really bad."

"It could be worse if he found out from someone else," Lorcan replied.

Rose paused midway down the last staircase and then turned to Lorcan, "I'll have to take that chance. And the worse I'd expect is a couple of jinxes, and even then, he'd have to wait till after the Ball to do that."

"Your funeral," Lorcan replied quietly and continued after her.

She turned again, squinting at Lorcan before finishing her ascent.

"What are you going to say to the girls?" Lorcan asked as they began walking down the corridor.

"They'll find out on the day, simple." Rose said smiling now.

They both entered the Great Hall and made their way over to the Ravenclaw table, before they sat down Lorcan took the opportunity to say something more to Rose.

"Please consider it Rose, Albus hasn't been the same for a while. And neither us want to see him do something drastic." He whispered to her. She sat down and shook her head and mouthed a 'no'.

Friday – The Day of the Winter Ball

Lorcan hadn't managed to change Rose's mind. He felt that it was a bad idea to not tell Albus, but she continued to not listen.

It didn't seem like Scorpius had said anything to Albus either.

Rose held the belief that Albus would be angry for a while, maybe throw around a few jinxes here or there, and then finally forgive Scorpius and herself. While it wasn't impossible, Lorcan felt as if this wasn't how it would end. He had been a side line watcher of the drama that was Rose & Albus, and he knew Albus was just as temperamental as Rose. And Lorcan knew that when Rose was angry and didn't get her own way, she turned into irrational Rose. Irrational Rose who wasn't afraid to hit, scratch and fight her way out of a situation. Lorcan knew that Albus was susceptible to this type of behaviour, especially by what he had seen Albus do over the years. He hadn't yet burst, and deep down Lorcan knew Albus would.

Lorcan was even tempted to tell Chi, he knew she probably had something smart to say about right and wrong. He even went as far as thinking that she could take a glance in her crystal ball.

XxX

"Rose" Lorcan said as he entered the Common Room to find Rose sitting on a chaise longue after Ancient Runes lesson.

She turned and smiled, "oh good Lorcan, I was wondering where you were."

"I'm only going to ask one more time, since the Ball is literally in 3 hours. Tell Albus, please Rose, I don't feel good about this at all." He said gripping the strap of his bag and looking worried.

Rose sighed and stood up, putting her hand on Lorcan's shoulder. "Lorcan, I shouldn't have to tell him, me and Scorpius are still just friends. Just because Scorpius is my 'date' doesn't mean anything. I don't want to make things look bigger than they are." She smiled sincerely but Lorcan shook his head.

"I just don't want to clear up this mess that this will become," he replied.

"I promise Lorcan, that if this whole thing blows up in my face, I will not ask you for any help, and I will handle everything myself. Just get ready for the Ball and look forward to seeing your girlfriend and dancing the night away."

Lorcan looked at her, thinking and then he nodded, "I won't help you," he said nodding and Rose smiled.

He walked to his dormitory and Rose went to hers. The Common Room was now mostly empty, everyone getting ready for the Ball.

XxX

"Rosie!" Marianne called into their room, just outside on the landing of the stairs.

"That's not my name Marianne!" she shouted back sternly, "and I'm coming, just be patient."

Marianne breathed out and rolled her eyes, though seconds later Rose came out and joined her on the landing. Dressed in the sapphire dress she had picked out, the silver hair slides holding her hair up, with loose curls falling down the sides of her face. She had a wrap around silver necklace on and diamond studs in her ears, along with the heels her mother had sent her.

"Very nice Rosie," Marianne said, thumbs up and a grin on her face.

Rose glared at her, and began walking down the stairs, "you look very nice yourself Marianne."

Marianne beamed and skipped down the stairs, her red dress fanning out slightly behind her. "Really?" she asked.

Rose turned towards her and looked at the wavy red material and the jewel encrusted bodice of Marianne's dress, her dangling silver earrings and the quiff that she had put in her straight blonde hair. "Definitely," she replied grinning.

They continued into the Common Room where Chi and Carina were sitting, waiting for their dates.

Carina was wearing a one-shouldered pink dress, which contrasted nicely with her short dark brown hair which she had carefully curled.

While Chi had her long black hair tied in a bun, the coral lotus hair slide placed in her hair. Her cheongsam – which was red, had a cherry blossom design.

"You both look great," Rose said smiling. They returned her smile and Rose glanced at the clock: 5:58.

The knocker was knocked and they heard the sounds of it giving the knocker a question. Rose hastily reached the door and pulled it open.

"Oh, hi Scorpius," she said smiling and admiring his dress robes, which matched her sapphire dress. Both the robes and his bow tie being a dark blue. She turned around to face the girls who were all looking at her with their mouths agape.

"Well, it looks like I'll be off then ladies," she said simply and waved, they dumbly responded with weak waves of their own.

Rose shut the door after her and looked up at Scorpius on the landing. He had a huge grin on his face, and was looking her up and down.

"You look beautiful," he said smoothly and Rose rolled her eyes.

"You look lovely too," she replied, pulling him down the spiral stairs with one hand and lifting up her dress with the other. "It looks like you forgot something though Scorpius," she said reaching the bottom of the stairs.

"And what would that be?" he asked, taking another look at Rose.

"Your prefect's badge," she smiled and taking her wand from the place where she had attached it to her leg, summoning his badge and attaching it to his dress robes. Her own one placed on the strap of her dress.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, "thanks," he said sarcastically and she smiled.

"No problem," she winked and placed the wand back in its place, and started down the rest of the flights of stairs.

XxX Albus XxX

"So Scorpius didn't get a date then?" Jessica asked Albus innocently, holding onto Albus' arm, though he looked disinterested.

Albus had completely ignored what Scorpius had said about Jessica, and though he knew she was just a bimbo, he couldn't be asked to get someone different to take to the Ball, so just stuck with a pretty face since Jessica's personality left a lot to be desired.

"Nope, as far as I'm concerned he's gone off girls," Albus replied looking at his surroundings in the Hufflepuff Common Room, it wasn't to his fancy.

"What?" Jessica said abruptly and Albus looked at her, she had a menacing glare on her face.

"I wouldn't be surprised, he hasn't had a date for months." He said lazily, and glanced at his watch: 6:05.

"And what about Rose, I thought she was his fancy of the moment?" she asked, a tone of aggravation in her voice.

"He's told me that there is nothing between them, I trust that that is the truth. He has no reason to lie to me, so can we go now?" he asked exasperated and looking longingly at the door.

Jessica's lips were pursed and she glanced at Albus, ruffling his black hair and straightening the bottom of her short yellow dress. "Yes," she said with a sigh. Her mind working through various strategies to get her way.

As they exited the Common Room, Jessica turned to him again, "and what if there was?"

There was a glimmer of annoyance in Albus' eyes, but she forced him to think about it. His emotions were mixed so he just shrugged, unable to answer her question. He wasn't paying attention to the mechanisms in his unconscious slowly turning and thinking unspeakable things.

XxX Rose, Lorcan & Scorpius XxX

"And don't you look lovely Rosie," Lorcan said with a grin and Rose replied with a glare.

"Hi Emma, I love your earrings," Rose said to Emma, avoiding looking at Lorcan.

"Thanks," Emma replied quite confused as she was still looking at Scorpius. "I certainly didn't expect this," she said casually, "was it some sort of secret?" she asked, quite interested.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow, "well no, we just didn't tell anyone." He answered slowly and then looked at Rose who was preoccupied with a decoration that was slightly askew. "Rose."

She turned, "yes."

"Did you keep this a secret? Specifically from Albus?" he asked.

Emma was smirking and looking at Lorcan who was shaking his head.

"Maybe a little, but you could have told him," she said nodding, self assuring herself.

Scorpius rolled his eyes and sighed, "he'll kill me," he muttered, "I should have told him."

Rose smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "I'm sure he'll be perfectly fine with it Scorpius, now come on, we've got the first round." She replied, only half convinced with what she was saying.

They stepped out of the Hall ready to patrol for the next 20 minutes, and minutes later Albus and Jessica entered the Great Hall.

Albus noted that he couldn't see either Rose or Scorpius, which meant they were probably patrolling. He sat down with Jessica and they waited for the feast to be served.

XxX

"Why didn't you tell him Rose?" Scorpius asked in a low voice as they patrolled the second floor.

She tugged on one of the curls that hung down her face and sighed, "I didn't want to get him angry for no reason, I mean we are only here as friends."

"Hmm," Scorpius replied noncommittally. "You're wrong though."

Rose looked up, questioning what he just said, "what do you mean?"

"He'll get angry Rose, because I made it even worse. I told him I wasn't taking you to the Ball because we are just friends." He said shaking his head.

"But we are," Rose replied, though she was looking at her feet as she walked.

Scorpius didn't reply, he looked at her downturned head.

"Aren't we?" she asked, trying to encourage an answer out of Scorpius.

"I don't want to be," he replied simply and speeded up his walk towards the staircase. "And I know you don't want to either," he continued.

Rose paused and when Scorpius turned to her, he noticed that she was scratching the back of her neck uncomfortably.

"That's not how things work Scorpius," she said, barely above a whisper. "Everything isn't black and white, yes and no. There are other factors that come into play, and you can't ignore them." She looked up and Scorpius had a blank expression on his face.

"I don't care," he said confidently, "you shouldn't either."

Rose shook her head and frowned, "it's not allowed to be Rose & Scorpius against the world. Maybe if things were different, and Albus wasn't –"

"Albus wasn't what?" Scorpius interrupted quickly, "he wasn't my best friend? If he is, he would be happy that I'm happy, and that you, as his cousin, also would be happy."

She laughed statically, "happy, with Albus around?"

"You don't mean that," Scorpius replied, his arms folded across his chest.

"I know I don't, but I should. I wish I did. He's making me doubt myself, and well my... feelings." She said sceptically and then she sighed and began walking to the staircase, making her way down it. "It's your fault Scorpius, for being so –"

"Perfect, maybe?" Scorpius suggested, a grin on his face as he followed Rose down the stairs.

"Yeah," she muttered, "for me."

"What was that?" Scorpius asked, not quite hearing what she had said under her breath.

"Can you at least promise me this Scorpius?" she started, reaching the bottom of the staircase and continuing down to the ground floor.

"What?" he asked.

"Just let it, I don't know, settle. I think if we warm Albus up the idea, then at least I will know that he won't think we betrayed him, because we haven't done anything. We are partners, so you inviting me to the Ball doesn't count." She said breathing out and stepping into the Entrance Hall.

"I don't want to wait for Albus to get his head sorted out, and it counts to me," Scorpius replied sternly, a hand running through the front of his hair as he breathed out.

Rose looked gloomily at the floor, "I don't know why I bother trying to convince you to do anything. And then you make it worse for me, when you say things like 'it counts to me' and look so ridiculously handsome in your tailor-made dress robes."

Scorpius grinned and chuckled softly, "why thank you."

She looked up and frowned, starting to walk towards the Great Hall.

Scorpius sped up after Rose and grabbed at her hand turning her around, "I like you Rose Weasley, and I want to be able to kiss you on a daily basis, insult you, complain about you and mess with your beautiful red hair whenever I want to." He said confidently, a lopsided smile on his face.

Rose was looking at the floor again, feeling her cheeks heat up, and noting that his hand was still in hers.

XxX Albus XxX

"Have you seen Scorpius?" Albus asked Lorcan, having narrowly managing to escape from Jessica's clutches.

"Him and Rose are still doing their patrol," he replied, sipping at his Butterbeer and glancing at his watch, "they should have been back about 10 minutes ago though."

Albus nodded, and Emma hit Lorcan in the arm.

"Lorcan! You don't know what could have kept them 10 minutes," she whispered harshly. Lorcan looked at her with a look of incredulity, before realising what he had done, and hoping that it wouldn't end up looking really bad.

Albus had moved towards the door to the Great Hall and had exited, looking down the hallway. There was nobody to ask if they had seen Rose or Scorpius so he began walking down. He could just about hear a voice that sounded distinctly like Scorpius. So he turned the corner towards the Entrance Hall, and stopped abruptly at the sight of Scorpius holding Rose's hand, and talking to her lowly. A smile on her downturned face and a grin on his. They hadn't noticed him, and he stood waiting for what they would do.

XxX

Scorpius' other hand had reached up and delicately stroked Rose's red cheek.

"You look beautiful when you blush," he said sweetly, and Rose carefully looked up. Her lips pursed together, "what are you thinking?" he said softly, Rose could feel his breath on her face.

"That you should stop," she forced out. Scorpius sighed and his hand dropped from her cheek, but he still held the other.

"You're making me feel like this is all very one-sided, and I would be embarrassed beyond belief if it was." He replied, his eyebrows raised in question.

Rose laughed softly, "the old Malfoy pride I see," she smiled though Scorpius was still waiting for her answer. "Fine, if you have to look at me like that."

She entwined their fingers with the hand that was holding his. Rose looked up from their now fully connected hands and smiled, though there was a flicker of reluctance in her eyes.

"I like you Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, and I'm truly shocking myself, because 2 months ago I know I definitely didn't like you, well at least I think I did, and now you've gone and been... well different, but I suppose it's the same and I've just been stuck in this never-ending hate cycle." Rose said quickly, and she took a deep breath, Scorpius was smirking and she pushed him lightly with her free hand.

"Well are you going to list off my virtues?" he asked, grinning.

She rolled her eyes and looked back at the staircase they had just walked down, "do you have to be such an ass about it?"

Scorpius nodded, continuing to grin at the ever-reddening Rose Weasley.

"Anyway, how do you even know you want to kiss me? I could be terrible," Rose stated.

"I just know," he replied casually and Rose sighed again. "So," he continued, waiting for Rose to say what he wanted to hear.

Rose sighed and pulled at another curl, "I, Rose Weasley, would like to be, after we tell Albus at least," she corrected herself and Scorpius rolled his eyes, so she continued. "I would like to be your girlfriend, is that –."

Scorpius cut her off by tugging on the hand that was in his and leaning closer to her, lightly placing his lips on hers. Rose froze at first, but as Scorpius softly placed his free hand on the back of her neck, pulling her closer, she relaxed. Their hands disconnected and he placed both hands on her waist, Rose's reaching around his neck. The continued closeness deepening their kiss. Rose sighed against his lips, her fingers twisted in his white-blond tresses.

They were completely unaware of the retreating figure who was angry. Very angry. His hands screwed into his fits, with a fixed grimace on his face, plotting his final deed.

They broke apart as they heard the bell that meant the feast was being served. Scorpius staring intently at Rose who was smiling, her cheeks even more red than before.

"I told you I'd know," he started, grinning.

Rose rolled her eyes but allowed herself to laugh. Scorpius took her hand and began dragging her back to the Great Hall.

"If we don't hurry, we're going to miss dinner," he said smiling.

"Is that right?" Rose said, and Scorpius frowned as he opened the door to the Great Hall and let go of Rose's hand. They slid onto a table next to Chi and Dino, who had already started to eat.

Albus was peering over at them, not hiding the sneer on his face. Completely ignoring the questions of Jessica next to him, and messily eating.

He'd been betrayed and he wasn't going to take it lightly. If anything got in the way of his actions, well, that would be collateral damage.

A/N: Thanks for reading :D