Dear Daisy,

It's been one hell of a week. The first part was great, but a rough encounters with a colleague put a damper on the whole thing. I'm trying to remain positive and have some perspective, but with my relationship not going very well lately, I'm inclined to be negative about most things. Speaking of my relationship, let me fill you in on what's been going on so you have a solid base of information to go off of.

My girlfriend and I went to a party the other day. When we were getting ready to head over, she was a bit pissed with me for reasons I didn't understand, and the only time she talked to me once we were at the party was to complain about what she considered to be inappropriate behavior. I was only trying to be a good friend to someone and she has to go and pitch a fit about it. My friends seemed to understand why she was upset, but I still think she was making an awful lot out of nothing. Although, part of me realizes I might be in denial about a few things, but we won't get into that now. She and I had a bit of an argument about the whole thing when we got back to my flat and I really don't know if we're going to last much longer. I realize me just not wanting to try anymore is part of the issue and I should face up to everything and end it before it ends badly, but it's harder to do than I thought.

I guess I've never really had to break up with someone before. My previous relationships were never serious enough for them to need much of a conversation to end things. I think she's in it more than I am at this point. Your last letter really got me thinking about what I have and what I want, and I don't think this is it. And it's not just because we had one argument. We haven't been connecting well at all lately, and aren't you supposed to fall deeper in love with someone the longer you're with them? I don't know if I've even fallen to begin with.

It's safe to say my personal life has successfully distracted me from my professional one, so enough about all that for now. Hope everything that came up for you this week is sorting itself out and everything's okay. I'm so glad you made progress on your project. I can't wait to see it out on the shelves. I'll be able to say "I know who invented that!" Although I won't be able to give anyone a name. Who knows, though. That might not be the case by the time it's finished. I know you're enjoying the mystery and so am I, but I wouldn't mind finding out who you are eventually. Your last letter made me feel that way more than any of your previous have. I felt like I was seeing the real you more than I ever have before. It's not that you're ever dishonest, but I wouldn't blame you if you were usually more guarded. I know I can be, especially with someone I don't know all that well. I like to think I know you pretty well though, despite having never met.

You know, no matter what else has been going on in my life lately, it's been nice to have this one constant. Your letters are a breath of fresh air every time I receive one. It's wonderful to have someone outside the stresses of everyday life to talk to. I hope you feel the same.

That's all for now. Hope to hear from you soon,

Leo

He set aside his quill after finishing the letter. Looking back over it, he wondered if he'd been too honest by going into detail about the complicated feelings he was having when it came to his relationship. She had given him advice and opened up about her own relationship struggles, so she hadn't exactly discouraged him from continuing to do the same. But what he really wasn't sure about was openly addressing the fact that they were growing closer. It felt like he was moving into dangerous territory, but the idea thrilled him. Steeling himself, he folded up the letter and stuffed it into an envelope, sealing and addressing it before he could change his mind.

After sending it off, he went to shower and get ready for the day, feeling confident in his decision and trying his best to wash off the memories of the night before. As he stood under the hot stream, images of Melinda flipping her honey blonde hair over her shoulder in displeasure and her bright red lip curling in a sneer at his actions popped into his head, followed quickly by the fiery brown eyes of Rose Weasley. She'd had her hair pulled half back for the party, but the heated discussion she'd had with her cousins had caused it to begin to come loose throughout the night, mimicking her state of distress. And when he'd run into her in Lily's bedroom…

He didn't want to think about what had been happening in that room before Archie interrupted. For some reason it made him uncomfortable and agitated. He couldn't place the man who had left the room just before he'd found Rose and that was bothering him as well. If she was seeing someone, this was the first he'd heard of it. He didn't recognize him from Hogwarts either, so that meant he was either significantly older or younger than them. Based on the way he carried himself, he would assume older.

He shook the thoughts of Rose Weasley and her mysterious boyfriend away and shut off the water before climbing out. While he would have liked a lazy Sunday, there were errands that needed running, so he quickly got himself ready and headed out into the cool October air, deciding to take a leaf out of Daisy's book and walk for a change.

He didn't make it far from his building before running into a very familiar face.

"I was just on my way to yours," Archie hollered over the wind as soon as Scorpius was in earshot.

"Did you want another tongue lashing?" Scorpius asked sarcastically. Once they reached each other, Archie stopped in front of him with a determined look on his face.

"I took what you said last night to heart, actually."

Scorpius raised his eyebrows, wanting to be impressed but skeptical as always. This was something he'd been trying to tell his friend for months. While he was always willing to listen to Scorpius' advice and seemed to want to take it, it would be a change of pace for Archie to actually follow through.

"So you didn't go home with her?"

"No, I did," Archie said quickly. "But that's beside the point."

Scorpius gave Archie a judgmental look before walking past him to continue on his way, Archie following behind him.

"So in other words, you took it to heart but decided one last shag was in order?"

"No," Archie assured Scorpius as he caught up and walked beside him. "We didn't shag. That's what I'm saying. After we talked and you gave me a solid reprimand, I started thinking it over and I knew I didn't want to leave with her, but I did anyway and by the time we got to her flat I knew what I had to do."

Scorpius watched him expectantly, waiting for the climax that Archie was building towards.

"I told her it was over, whatever it was between us, and that it would never happen again. And then I left."

Archie looked so proud of himself and Scorpius found himself grinning along with his best friend as they walked into the Leaky Cauldron and headed for the door that would take them into Muggle London.

"Well, I'm proud of you. It couldn't have been easy to walk away from a sure thing."

Archie's eyes widened and he nodded as if it had been the hardest thing in the world. Scorpius chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder as they walked out into Muggle London. It was a brisk clear morning and there were already plenty of Muggles out and about.

"Grocery shopping?" Archie asked when he realized where they were headed.

"What else?" Scorpius asked with a grin as they walked through the streets of London. It wasn't long before they arrived at the local market. As they entered, Scorpius grabbed a basket, looking like he'd just stepped into Honeydukes.

"You realize you're ridiculous, right?" Archie asked with a bemused smile as he watched his friend.

"I happen to be a fan of some of the things Muggles do with food," Scorpius said as he began wandering around the produce section.

"Wow. What are these long orange pointy things?" Archie said in mock awe, holding up a carrot and examining it under the light. Scorpius snatched it out of his hand and smacked him in the chest with it.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's more about the other sections of the store. I just buy this stuff here too cause it's easier to do it all in one place."

Archie chuckled and perused the various fruits and vegetables while Scorpius began to fill his basket.

"You know, I can see why you're unsettled in your relationship," Archie said a few moments later. Scorpius threw a questioning look at him as he selected a head of cabbage.

"How do you mean?"

"Well," Archie said with a shrug, "you're grocery shopping, and I don't think I've ever seen Melinda cook."

"How sexist of you." Scorpius quipped. Archie rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean."

Scorpius shook his head as they headed into the bakery section of the store. "I don't, actually."

"It's just…" Archie paused for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. "I see it as a metaphor. You're ready to be all domestic and build a home and it might seem like you're living together, but she's still holding onto her independence. She still has her own flat even though most of her stuff is at yours, and I'm willing to bet you're the only one who stocks the kitchen."

Scorpius frowned as he placed a package of muffins in his basket before turning to stroll through the rest of the bread aisle. "I'm not sure you're using the word metaphor correctly, but I suppose all of that's true. I've been trying to figure this all out cause I know it's not working, and I think you just hit on a big part of it. And she's not keen on marriage anytime soon so I don't see things changing. So, what's my next move?"

There was no response, and Scorpius turned to see his friend had stopped a few paces behind him and was staring straight ahead towards the dairy section with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"What -?"

Scorpius didn't need to finish his sentence as he turned to follow Archie's line of sight. Rose and Lucy Weasley were going through the cartons of eggs and had yet to notice them. Archie hurried to Scorpius' side.

"I haven't seen her since -"

"You hit on her last night. You don't remember?" Scorpius snapped at his friend. Archie's eyes grew comically wide.

"Bloody hell, I did, didn't I?"

Scorpius only had time to nod before Rose looked up and locked eyes with him. She gave a slight jump in surprise and a few of the eggs managed to dislodge themselves from the carton she was clutching. They heard Lucy exclaim as the eggs fell to the floor and Scorpius found himself heading towards them, his body moving independently from his brain. It was only a few short seconds before he was standing in front of them, his wand in his hand and a quick reparo muttered to fix the eggs and right the situation. Rose quickly turned a scowl towards him.

"This is a Muggle establishment. Do you want to get us all in trouble?" she hissed at him.

"A simple thank you would be nice," was his sarcastic reply. Surprisingly, Rose composed herself and backed off.

"You're right, sorry. And thank you."

Scorpius was so taken aback that he couldn't think of anything else to say and they just stood there in awkward silence for a moment, made even more awkward by Archie slowly approaching them from behind Scorpius. Lucy's eyes widened when she saw him.

"Hey, Lucy," he said nervously. She merely blinked at him.

"It's been a while, yeah? I mean, I've been informed that it actually hasn't been. I'm sorry about last night. I had a little too much of Hugo's concoction, apparently." He gave her a nervous smile, which he was happy to see her return.

"No problem. I figured you would never have done that under normal circumstance."

Everyone present gave a nervous chuckle and an uncomfortable silence grew once again.

"How is she?" Archie asked suddenly with a slightly desperate look at Lucy. She gave him a sympathetic smile.

"She's well. She's doing really well."

Archie smiled at this, but there was a sad look in his eyes.

"I'll tell her you asked, yeah?" Lucy offered. Archie nodded and thanked her.

"We should be going," Rose said after another moment of uncomfortable silence. She and Scorpius had watched their friends interaction while trying to ignore each other, but their eyes met once again as Rose gave them both a small wave and she and Lucy headed past them and towards the front of the store. Scorpius turned towards a somber looking Archie.

"You okay, mate?"

"Yeah," he said with a sigh. "I just always feel nervous around any of them."

"You realize Al is one of them, right?"

Archie didn't seem to be listening, his eyes still trained towards the front of the store. Scorpius sighed and gave his friend a pat on the back.

"Come on, let's finish up and we'll head back to my flat and have lunch."

Archie's eyes snapped to Scorpius and his taut features relaxed.

"Are you suggesting you cook for me?" he asked with a mocking grin. Scorpius chuckled as they continued moving through the store.

"If it makes you feel better, yes. And I'm willing to let you ridicule me for an afternoon."

"If that's the case," Archie said with a new spring in his step, "what's with you and Rose?"

Scorpius started at the question. "What do you mean?"

"You two looked rather uncomfortable around each other just now, and with everything you said at the party last night? Your argument with your girlfriend was entirely about Rose."

"How is this you ridiculing me?"

"I'm just saying," Archie continued. "She really seemed to get under your skin the other day. Did you know she shopped here?"

"It's the first I've run into her," Scorpius said as he tossed a bag of crisps into his basket. "I'm not even sure where she lives so maybe it's in her neighborhood."

"Mate, this isn't even your neighborhood. Maybe you have more in common than you thought you did."

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked.

"Just that an affinity for shopping in a Muggle supermarket is a rather rare thing to have in common," Archie said.

"Well, regardless," Scorpius said, brushing off the coincidence as they wandered through the frozen foods, "there's nothing going on with me and Rose. You're exaggerating the issue. And why aren't we talking about you right now?"

The blasé demeanor that Archie had assumed melted away.

"Because I distracted you," he said with a groan. "I've managed to not talk about this for how long? I'm not changing that now."

"But maybe it would be good for you if you did. You were completely on edge talking to Lucy just now."

"I haven't talked to her since we split up!" Archie said defensively as they headed to the front of the store. "It's kind of nerve wracking."

"I guess I understand that," Scorpius said. He handed over his Muggle money to the woman working the cash register and they headed back to his flat.

They made it the whole walk to Scorpius's without any further discussion on the topic of Archie's past and had even started grilling sandwiches for lunch before it came up again.

"Can I ask one more question, though? About the whole Weasley thing," Scorpius asked as he flipped their sandwiches.

Archie gave a groan as he pulled out two plates from the cupboard.

"I suppose so," he agreed as he moved to set the dishes on the bar. "But just one."

Scorpius waved his wand and their sandwiches vanished from the stove and reappeared on their plates.

"So," Scorpius began as they sat down. "Why haven't you talked about it before?"

Archie just stared at him for a few moments, his eyebrows raised as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"That's your one question?" he asked after swallowing.

"Well it's been four years," Scorpius argued. "You have to admit that's a little odd."

Archie sighed in resignation. He got a melancholic look on his face as he leaned back in his chair. "I know. This may sound silly, but I think I'm just terrified of closure. As soon as I accept it all happened and it's over, I'll have to move on."

"You mean you haven't moved on yet?" Scorpius asked.

"Come on, Scorpius. Look at my life - look at who all I've dated the past few years. I'm not exactly stable when it comes to relationships, and I never had a bad track record before Molly and I broke up."

Scorpius watched as his best friend sat there ignoring the rest of his lunch. Archie and Molly had started dating their final year of Hogwarts and things had gone well for the majority of their relationship. They'd gotten together around the end of seventh year and things had transitioned smoothly into the real world. They'd even started talking about moving in together, until things had gone south.

"Look, I get that it was hard on you," Scorpius said. "But you don't actually blame yourself, do you?"

"Why shouldn't I when it was my fault?" Archie exclaimed. "You saw how her sister reacted. They all blame me, so why shouldn't I blame myself?"

"You don't really think that, right?" Scorpius asked. "Al's still your friend, and Lily liked you enough to invite you to her birthday party, right? And I don't think what just happened today was as weird as you think it was."

Archie gave him an annoyed look. "I think you're downplaying things. Besides, you were too busy feeling uncomfortable with Rose to notice what was happening between me and Lucy."

Scorpius furrowed his brow and took a large bite of his sandwich, buying himself some time to come up with a rebuttal. He thought back to something he and Daisy had talked about not too long ago.

"My point stands though, and I know Daisy would agree with me. Things always look bigger to the people in them."

He'd actually been the one to say those words to her, but he knew she'd agree with him. She was so level headed yet in touch with the emotional side of things as well. He thought back to the words she'd said in her last letter-

"I'm sorry, who's Daisy?"

Scorpius looked at Archie with wide eyes. "Who?"

"You just said 'Daisy would agree with me.' Who's Daisy?" Archie seemed genuinely curious.

"A friend. Are you going to finish that?" Scorpius tried to keep his voice steady, but he'd tried so hard to keep his pen pal a secret and he couldn't believe he'd finally let it slip. He wasn't afraid of his friends' judgment, but he definitely didn't want them meddling. Archie looked between Scorpius and his unfinished sandwich for a moment in confusion before focusing back on his friend.

"What friend? How come I've never heard of her? How do you know her?"

"She's a work acquaintance, can you let it go now?" Scorpius asked. He stood and took his plate to the sink, hoping to drop the topic.

"Really? Why haven't you mentioned her before? Is she new?" Archie asked.

"Yeah, she's new. Are you done with the questions?"

Scorpius stood with his back against the kitchen counter, facing a still curious looking Archie.

"You're twitching," his friend said. "I know that means you're not telling me something."

There was a pause as Scorpius mulled over his choices in his head. If he told Archie the whole story, he risked him meddling in the whole thing. If he lied, it would probably only come back to bite him in the ass. But lying didn't sit well either, especially after Archie had just opened up to him.

"Fine. So, I don't exactly know her from work."

Archie sat up, looking intrigued. "So how do you know her?"

Scorpius sighed. "Let's move this into the living room. It might take a minute to explain."

So Scorpius told Archie about when he first read the article, how'd he'd reached out to the magazine and they'd put him in touch with the author, and how he and Daisy had developed a friendship all those months ago.

"So, basically," Archie said. "You don't know her name, where she lives, how old she is, or where she went to school? But you know she works in potions in some way?"

"Pretty much," Scorpius said with a nod. "I don't even know for sure what exactly she does. I know she does some research and development based on the projects she works on, but not much else. And she doesn't know much about me, either. We kept it very professional for a while."

Archie raised his eyebrows. "A while?"

"We actually started talking about our personal lives lately." Scorpius confessed. "It's gotten me all confused, to be honest."

"Confused how?" Archie asked.

"I don't know. I'm questioning my relationship with Mel - but that might have been inevitable anyway - and I'm starting to see a side of Daisy that I actually fancy quite a bit. Is that insane? I mean, we've never even met."

Archie chuckled at his friend's slightly disgruntled demeanor. "So, let me get this straight. You're dating Mel, who you want to break up with; you're writing to Daisy, who you've never met; and you're in denial that things are weird between you and Rose and that your whole relationship is more complicated than you want to admit?"

Scorpius just stared blankly at Archie. "What's with you and this whole Rose Weasley thing?" he asked. "There's nothing going on there."

Archie gave him a skeptical look. "Whatever you say. But this whole Daisy thing - are you planning on ever meeting her?"

"I want to," said Scorpius, "but I'm not sure if I should yet. I think the relationship is kind of starting to shift, and I'd feel guilty."

Scorpius had been in denial for a while about his growing feelings for Daisy. It felt weird just to think that. He barely knew the girl. How could he have feelings for someone he'd never met?

"Because of Mel?" Archie asked.

"Yeah. I've been feeling conflicted about the whole relationship lately. I'm having a physical relationship without the emotional side, and an emotional relationship with absolutely no physical contact. Is that cheating?"

Archie gave a derisive laugh. "You're asking the wrong person. It does sound a little shady, I guess."

As he sighed and leaned back in his arm chair, Scorpius couldn't help but agree. "I shouldn't even be focusing on all this right now. I've got a lot going on with the company, and it's just adding to the stress in my life."

Archie looked at him sympathetically, but with a hint of humor in his eyes. "Maybe, but you wouldn't be giving all of this so much thought if it wasn't important to you. And I for one am thankful that you're not some stuck up prick who only pays attention to work and has no time for the people in his life."

He ended his statement with a healthy amount of bitterness thrown in. Scorpius knew exactly where that came from. The person he just described was precisely who Archie's father was. He only really cared about his son in a business sense. Archie was heir to the family foundation and set to take over in due time. He was brilliant at what he did, but he and his father had no relationship outside of the office. Archie had tried to connect with him, but the man was too focused on helping all the other people in the world that he tended to let his family fall by the wayside. Archie's mother hadn't talked to his father in over a decade after being let down one too many times. It was surprising to everyone who didn't intimately know the family to hear that Roger Davies, the benevolent entrepreneur and hero to many Muggle-borns, wasn't the same man in the eyes of his family.

"Still," Scorpius said, deciding to skirt around the subject of Archie's father. "It would be nice to not have to worry about all this and to just focus on the new store, which I'm actually rather excited about."

Archie chuckled. "Does Weasley know?"

Scorpius gave his friend a confused look. "Does which Weasley know what?"

"Rose," Archie clarified. "Does she know about the new store that's about to be in competition with hers?"

Scorpius could do nothing more than sit there in shock for a few moments as a smirk formed on Archie's face.

"It's opening in Diagon Alley, right?" he asked. Scorpius slowly nodded and responded with a sort of dazed look on his face.

"I've just been thinking so much more about the opening in Hogsmeade this weekend, I guess I hadn't realized the implications for the store in Diagon Alley. It still seems like a hypothetical to me since we've only just started development."

"Well, prepare yourself," Archie warned, continuing to smirk. "I guarantee you'll be facing a healthy dose of wrath from her."

Scorpius groaned and dropped his head in his hands. "She's gonna murder me, isn't she?"

A/N: Sorry about the wait! Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming. They helped me churn this out :) Nothing monumental happening really, but I really liked this chapter and I hope you do too. Also, I've been taking the last word of the previous chapter title and using it as the first word for the following chapter title. I will take suggestions from here on out for what the next title should be! It might even help influence what I write based on the title I pick. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with! So "Overrated _" Happy Reading.