A/N: I'd like to thank everyone who has given me ideas for the last gift for Rose. I really appreciated every single one. It's still hard for me to decide though. Having said that, this is not the chapter with the last gift. This is a Rose's POV's chapter when she receives a Christmas present from Scorpius. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JK Rowlling.

CHAPTER 16

There was a knock on her door. Before she could look up and stand from her seat to open it, the newcomer let himself in. It was his brother, holding a neatly wrapped gift in his hands.

"Hugo," she whined, "How many times do I have to tell you to knock on the door and wait for me to get it? What if I wasn't decent?"

"You should have locked the door then." He then took a seat beside his sister. "You know I'm not the only boy in the house."

Rose snorted. "Actually you are. Dad is not a boy anymore; he's an adult, a grown-up."

"You know what I mean, Rosie."

She laughed. "Well, you got your point. I should have let the door open if I'm only reading. I'm sorry," she said. "So what brings you to my room?"

"This package just came," he said, giving her the gift.

Rose mumbled a thank you as she took the gift from her brother's hands. "Wonder who it's from," she mumbled again. She carefully unwrapped it as she thought the wrapping paper was too nice to be torn apart. She opened the box and gasped when she saw what's inside.

"What is it?" asked Hugo, impatiently.

She didn't answer; instead she took out the thing that surprised her.

"Who's it from?"

Rose placed it on her bed as she found a letter in the box. She then started reading it:

"Dear Rose,

I'm sorry it took some time for me to buy this. But I hope you'd still enjoy it.

Scorpius

P.S: I wanted to buy you a real one, but it was quite expensive. And I didn't want my parents to know."

"Scorpius?"

Rose was startled at her brother's question. She clutched her chest, trying to sooth her heart beat. "Hugo, don't do that," she said, looking at him who was reading the letter over her shoulder. "And why were you reading my letter?"

"I wanted to know who the sender was," answered Hugo, taking his seat back to her bed. "Hey, Scorpius is the one who came to the Burrow last Christmas, isn't he?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Why did he only give you the present now?" he asked. "He met you not too long ago. Why didn't he give you then?"

Rose put the letter down and took the stuffed animal. "He had some trouble finding me one. He didn't know what to give me so he asked me to give him some time." She started stroking the stuffed cat. "I had no idea he'd give me this." She then showed it to her brother. "Don't you think it sort of looks like Crookshanks?"

"I didn't realise that until you pointed it out," said Hugo, taking it to his hands. He looked up. "Wait, is it just a coincidence that it looks like Crookshanks or he knows that we had Crookshanks?"

"I told him that we used to have him," answered Rose. She smiled as she took the toy from him. "And maybe he got the idea from the story."

Hugo smiled. "You're really happy that you got this from him."

"How can I not? Usually people give me books, or something that's related to studies. He's the only one who gives me this," she said. She looked up. "Even you gave me a book."

"It was a photo album, not a book," he corrected her. "I haven't got enough money to buy you something else. Even that one was quite pricey."

Rose smiled and tousled his hair gently. "And I still love it. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he grinned. "Anyway, I have a question I've been meaning to ask you ever since I saw him in the Burrow."

She sighed. "Did Mum or Dad ask you to come upstairs and ask me something about Scorpius?" she asked. "Because there's nothing going on between us. We're just friends." I wish we weren't, she continued her unfinished sentence in her mind.

"No," Hugo answered. "Well, Mum asked me to give you the package. That's all."

Rose sighed again. "So what's the question?"

"Why did you invite him to the Burrow?"

She tilted her head slightly. "We're friends. Am I not allowed to invite my friends?"

"Isn't he Albus and James' friend too?" he asked. "Why didn't they invite him?"

"Scorpius owed me something so I asked him first," she answered. "That's the least he could do after I helped him with his extra homework and whatnots."

"Don't you have friends who are girls?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. "You've been hanging out with Albus too much," she mumbled. "Yes, I do have friends who are girls. Why? Did you want girls to be invited instead?"

"It's not that. I'm just wondering why you invited him."

"Am I forbidden to invite a boy for Christmas?" she asked, before shaking her head several times. "And why are we talking about this? Would you mind getting out of my room? I'd like to finish my book, Hugo."

Hugo just stayed in his seat. "Come on, Rosie," he whined. "Ever since you got back from school, we haven't talked that much. We haven't seen each other for months!"

Rose smiled. "Aww, you missed me that much, eh?" she said as she tousled his hair again. She laughed as he moved out of her reach. "Well then, let's talk." Before Hugo could open his mouth, she added, "Other than why I invited Scorpius to the Burrow."

"But I have another question about him."

She sighed. "You know, I still don't believe that Mum or Dad didn't send you here to ask me about him." She let out a deep breath. "Fine, what is it?"

Hugo smirked. "Are you sure that you and Scorpius are just friends?"

Rose narrowed her eyes again. "Who are you? Are you sure you're Hugo? What's with the serious question?"

His grin disappeared. "You want me to prove it to you that I'm Hugo?" he asked. Without even allowing her to answer, he continued, "I'm sure I'm the only one who knows this because if I remember correctly, you asked me not to tell anyone. Three months ago, you asked me, your brother who's two years younger than you, to get rid of a tiny spider on your bed –"

"It wasn't tiny at all!" Rose cut in. "It was huge."

"Huge is an elephant. That spider was as tiny as a … mosquito."

"No, it wasn't. It's bigger than your palm."

"You're exaggerating."

"I am not!" she screamed. Rose then closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself. She opened her eyes. "However big or small the spider was, it was still scary. So thank you very much for reminding me about that, Hugo."

"You're welcome," said Hugo. "At least now you know I'm Hugo."

Rose rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Anyway, you haven't answered my question, Rosie. Are you two really just friends?"

She sighed. I wonder how many times I sigh today. "Yes, Scorpius and I are just friends. Why? Can't a girl be friends with a boy now?"

"Of course you can," he said. "I'm asking you that because I saw you two in front of the bathroom upstairs in the Burrow. You two were talking and suddenly he –"

Rose squeaked and immediately covered her brother's mouth with her hand. "Don't you dare continue the sentence," she hissed. "And I will punch you in the face if you stick out your tongue."

Hugo just nodded his head. After he was released, he let out a deep breath. "You know, for a girl you're really violent."

"Oh, shut it," she said. "And don't mention anything about the incident at the Burrow to Mum and Dad. I won't hesitate to be even more violent to you."

"Fine, I'm sorry," he apologised, pouting his lips a bit. "Can I at least continue the sentence now? I promise I won't say exactly what he did." He then started putting on his best pouty face. "It will just be our little secret, along with Scorpius of course."

She let out another sigh. "Fine, continue." Now I wonder how many times we both say fine.

Hugo stayed quiet for a while, remembering what he wanted to say. "Ah, you two were talking and suddenly he did that. He then ran off and I had to hide in one of the rooms so he wouldn't find out that I was actually there." He paused. "I don't think friends do that."

"I still can't believe that you came up here and asked me those questions that you thought off by yourself," she mumbled. "Well, there's nothing wrong with that. Why can't friends do that?" She paused, thinking that he might reply. But since all he did was looking at her, she continued, "Besides, it was just a … thing on the forehead. It's like saying thank you."

"You didn't do it to me when I gave you the photo album," said Hugo, childishly. "You just said thank you and messed up my hair as usual."

Rose grinned. "Aww, are you saying that you want me to kiss your forehead? Because I don't mind, you know."

Hugo looked away. "No," he mumbled, with a blush on his cheeks.

She tousled his hair for the third time that day. She then placed her hand on his cheek, gently asking him to look at her. "It really was a thank you, by the way. I gave my present to him and he did that to me as a thank you. And it was because there was some mistletoe at the door."

"So he did that because he was grateful for the present you gave him?"

Rose nodded.

"And not because you're going out with him?"

She blinked. "What-what gave you that idea?" Seriously, is he my brother or someone is playing a dirty trick on me?

Hugo shrugged. "You two seemed close."

Rose kept quiet for a while to think of an answer. "Well, we're best friends. So we're really close."

"Rose, Hugo! Time for lunch!" their mother screamed from downstairs.

She had never felt as relieved as she did on that day. She quietly let out a breath. "You go first, Hugh. I'll join you later," she said to her brother. "I, err, have to reply to Scorpius and thank him." Just before Hugo went out of her room, she called him, "Don't forget what you promised me."

"Yes, yes. I won't tell Mum and Dad about the thing at the Burrow," he said, before disappearing out of her view.

Rose immediately closed the door and walked back to her bed. She took the orange stuffed animal. "It must have been hard for him to find this," she mumbled. "This really does look like Crookshanks." She smiled and took the letter. She re-read it, especially the last two lines. "Wait, was he going to buy me a real cat?" She read it again. "I'd better ask him."

She went to her desk and looked for a piece of parchment and a quill. She started writing for a reply.

"Dear Scorpius,

I got your present not too long ago. Thank you! I didn't think that you would give me a stuffed animal that looks exactly like Crookshanks. I really appreciated it. I'll give the toy as much love as I gave my cat.

You know, I should have given you something else. That book was nothing compared to your gift to me. I should have given it more thought. I should have given you something that you'd remember for the rest of your life. Well, I have some time until your birthday.

Thank you once again for the cat. I really love it!

Rose

P.S: Did you really want to buy me a real cat? I'd rather have a stuffed animal because I could keep it forever. Nevertheless, it was really thoughtful of you.

After sealing it with an envelope, Rose kept the letter hidden on her back pocket. She then walked back to her bed and took the stuffed animal again. She bit her lip as she didn't want to scream in happiness and got herself in trouble for screaming so loud in the afternoon. Instead, she squealed and hugged the small cat.

"This is one of the best Christmas gifts anyone has ever given me."

"Rose! It's time for lunch!"

Rose immediately placed back the stuffed cat on her bed and ran downstairs. After giving the envelope to the family owl to send it to Scorpius, she joined her small family for lunch. For the rest of the day, she had a big smile on her face.

A/N: It's always hard for me to write Hugo because the way I write him makes him seem more mature for his age (in this story he's around 10). But since he's Hermione's son, I guess it kind of makes sense. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this. Don't forget to review.

Til next time..