A/N: I've decided to try and update this story every Wednesday, which means that you get two chapters in less than a week this time! I was also too excited to wait any longer to post this. Enjoy! Looking forward to hearing your reviews for this one. It's a doozy.
Daisy,
I'm assuming I won't hear from you again before I see you. I was thinking I would respond to your last letter, but we can just catch up on all of that when we see each other. What I want to say instead, is that I know this is scary. I'm bloody terrified of meeting you. Not because I'm afraid of being disappointed, but because I can just feel in my bones how important this is. You've come to mean so much to me these last few months, and it's hard to imagine what my life would be like without the steady assurance of your words. They've inspired me and you've inspired me. On many occasions.
I don't know what's going to come after tonight, but we'll take it one step at a time. I think we trust each other as much as we can at this point, and I know that trust is only going to grow.
I know you're still seeing someone, and I would never want to cross any lines, but I had to be sure you knew where I stood going into this. Honestly, this letter is probably going to cross some lines, but here goes nothing.
I'll most likely want to kiss you the moment I see you, but I will do my best to refrain. I intend to treat you with nothing but the respect you deserve as I inevitably fall for you.
I'll be looking for the girl with a blue scarf and her nose in a book while I sport a pounding heart and most likely sweaty brow. I know once I see you, all my nerves will be put at ease. I'm very much looking forward to meeting you tonight, and everything that I hope will come after.
Leo
Her heart was beating wildly and her hands threatened to destroy the letter as they shook with unidentifiable emotion. Was it nerves? Was it excitement or anxiety? Most likely, it was everything rolled into one big mass in the pit of her stomach. He'd never been that straightforward before. What she had forced herself to see as a casual meet up between two friends was now something she could no longer convince herself this was.
She thought of Abel, and how unfair she had been to him for weeks now. She'd pushed for more of a commitment, when she was just scared that she'd made the wrong choice and wanted him to prove to her that wasn't the case. But she knew. He didn't deserve to have only half of her. Because as much as she tried to deny it, she felt more than a friendly warmth towards Leo. His letter, while it caused her to feel guilt, had done so much more than that. She had no doubts that she'd want the exact same thing he did when she saw him. If they had the chemistry and the connection that she thought they'd developed over the last few months, it would take everything in her power not to throw herself at him the first chance she got.
The thought crossed her mind that she should break up with Abel before she went to meet Leo that night, but he was out of town on business. And it didn't seem fair to simply pop in for the sake of ending their relationship. An owl wouldn't do either. That would be even colder. They hadn't been together very long, but it was long enough to make her ache at the thought of hurting him. He didn't even know yet that she already had.
Needing a distraction, Rose decided to spend Saturday morning working in the shop. Johnny had been thrilled to get an unexpected day off, so Rose was left to enjoy the peaceful early December morning as customers came and went. Her burn paste had been packaged and labeled appropriately, and she was all set to start selling it. During lulls in customers, she busied herself with reorganizing the front window to make room for a display. She also had another table in the center of the store cleared off to place them on. After draping a cloth over it, she steamed out the wrinkles with her wand before heading to the back room to grab a box of her new product. She heard the front bell ring as someone entered the shop, and she called out a greeting as she made her way back out, the box blocking her view of the new customer.
"Is there anything I can help you find?" asked Rose pleasantly, moving to set the box on the floor by the table.
"You know you could've used magic instead of carrying that, right?"
She stood up so quickly at the sound of the sarcastic voice that she got a head rush. Blinking and rubbing her forehead to steady herself, she took in the slightly nervous demeanor of her supposed customer.
"I thought I did what you wanted," said with a resigned sigh, feeling a headache coming on. "Why are you here, Malfoy?"
He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I actually didn't think you'd be here on a Saturday."
"I'm not, normally," she said, deciding to go about her work as he fidgeted uncomfortably. "But that doesn't answer my question."
He began to stroll around the shop, unnerving her when he moved out of her eyeline, but the sound of his voice kept her apprised of his location. "I'm actually here to make a purchase," he said, and she could hear the sound of glass vials clinking together as he looked through the shelves of products. "You're still the only potions shop in Diagon Alley, but that's about to change."
Rose gave a huff as she started to arrange the jars on the table, trying to decide the best way to display them. "You don't need to remind me. You've done that enough."
He gave a grunt of acknowledgment as he continued to slowly make his way through the rows of shelves. Unable to stand it anymore, she turned to face him. "What exactly are you looking for?"
He paused in his perusal and met her challenging eyes for a moment, before turning back to the shelf. "Pepper Up. Friend of mine completely cleaned me out. Too many drunken nights."
She sighed and he looked at her once again. Rose jerked her head, indicating he follow her, resigned to helping him as she moved towards the front of the store.
"We keep some of the more common products towards the front," Rose said in an almost judgmental tone. "You should take note of that."
She grabbed a vial of the potion, turning and expecting to find he'd followed her, but he'd stopped in the middle of the store. Rose couldn't help but grow curious as she made her way towards where he was standing, his eyes locked on the display she'd been arranging.
"Something wrong?" she asked impatiently. He didn't say anything, his expression betraying nothing as he picked up one of the jars and carefully read the label.
"Where did you get these?" Scorpius asked in an almost hoarse voice, his eyes clamped on the item in his hand.
"They're mine," she said, a little confused but unable to keep a bit of pride out of her voice. He rolled his eyes and shot her an impatient look.
"I can see that as they're in your store. I meant who's the supplier?"
She crossed her arms and looked at him with a confident smirk. "And I repeat - they're mine."
He stared at her unblinkingly for a few silent moments. The intensity of his eyes unnerved her. "You made this?" he asked, as if he wanted to make sure what she was saying was true.
"Yes," she said with an exasperated nod. "I got it approved by the ministry just last week. Although I don't like the name much," she continued, picking up a jar herself and reading the label. "Burn Paste Supreme sounds a little cheesy, doesn't it?"
She looked back at him, expecting to see a smirk, but his eyes were the size of saucers and his jaw was clenched.
"Are you alright?" she couldn't help but ask. He quickly tore his gaze from her, setting down the jar and letting out a deep breath.
"Never mind about the potion. I'll just whip some up myself."
And with that he was gone, without even a backhanded comment or a backwards glance. The sound of the bell ringing barely making it to Rose's brain as she watched in confusion as he left. What the hell had just happened?
Bloody. Fucking. Hell.
It couldn't possibly be true. There was no way. Someone had made a mistake and it was most definitely not him.
Rose Weasley couldn't possibly be Daisy. Daisy, whom he'd developed such a close friendship and affection for. Daisy, who was kind and caring and funny and stubborn, and most certainly not a hotheaded, obnoxious, proud, arrogant, insufferable-
He stopped short in his quick pace towards his flat. Archie was there waiting for him, nursing a headache from the previous night's venture to the pub. Now was not the time to face him. Not when he'd just been completely blindsided. Archie would see right through any front he put up, and it wouldn't take much right now for him to start yelling and cursing and even breaking things. His friend hadn't been right about the serial widow or sixty year old possibilities, but the reality was definitely different than Scorpius had expected. Even Al had been wrong when he said he had a good feeling about it.
Al.
If anyone knew anything, it would be Al. He quickly turned back the way he'd come, making sure she wasn't able to spot him through the front windows as he passed the shop to get to Al and Abigail's flat that was just on the other side. He quickly ascended the stairs, pounding on their front door before considering the possibility of a sleeping child on the other side.
A startled Abigail opened the door and he quickly walked past her.
"Where's Al?" he asked, his eyes darting around the flat as he threw off his coat. It was much more put together than it had been a week ago. There were still a few stacks of laundry and some books and toys lying about, but the chaos was now organized.
"He's in the shower. Scorp, what's going-"
But he didn't give her a chance to finish the question as he made his way down the hall, banging open the bathroom door. Al's panicked face came around the curtain, but it quickly morphed into confusion when he saw it wasn't his wife.
"What the hell-"
"Did you know?" Scorpius asked, his words laced with incredulity and anger. He felt slightly guilty as Abigail walked by, giving him an annoyed look as she went to tend to her now crying infant. Al just gave him a questioning look, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to understand what his best friend was asking.
"Rose," Scorpius forced out. "Did you know it was her?"
The look of understanding that crossed Al's face confirmed Scorpius' suspicions. Frustration and disappointment sank over him.
"Scor…"
"You could have said something," he bit at him. "Why didn't you?"
Al ran a hand over his wet face, closing the curtain and moving back under the stream of water. "I didn't know what I should say. Rose told me in confidence. When you told me your side of things and I put two and two together… It was hard to know what to do."
Scorpius slumped against the wall, his eyes closing for a moment as he released a breath to try and calm down.
"It's not like you would have believed me anyway, right?"
Scorpius didn't answer as the water shut off and Al opened the curtain, wrapping a towel around his waist and shaking out his hair before stepping out.
"Probably not," Scorpius eventually said. "But you didn't have to encourage me."
Al looked puzzled. "When did I do that?" he asked as he walked past him and out into the hall.
"Oh come on," Scorpius said as he followed him towards the kitchen. "You said just last week that you had a good feeling about this. That was a load of bollocks."
Al shot him a look as he pulled two mugs from a cabinet and set them on the counter that separated him from Scorpius. "No it wasn't."
Scorpius leaned his elbows on the counter, rubbing his face and letting out a sigh. "I'm probably going to regret asking, but what's that supposed to mean?"
Al gave a shrug as he grabbed the already made pot of coffee and began to pour. "I know you two supposedly hate each other, but I've always said you'd actually get along if you decided to put all the immature squabbling behind you and actually try."
"That's a little optimistic, don't you think?" Scorpius drawled, taking a drink of his coffee. Al grabbed his mug and leaned with his back against the stove, facing Scorpius.
"Not really. You've already proven that you can. How long have you been writing to her?"
"That's different," Scorpius insisted.
"Is it though?" Al challenged. "Just last week you said all these great things about how brilliant she is."
"I wasn't talking about Rose."
"But you were!" Al protested. "You were talking about the Rose that I've known my whole life and you've been too stubborn to see. You've been blinded by some sort of pride or jealousy the entire time you've known her, but now you've seen her without those things clouding your judgment."
The sound of footsteps pulled them out of the conversation for a moment, and Al looked past Scorpius', giving his wife a quick shake of his head and asking her to give them a minute.
"She's seeing someone, right?" Scorpius asked as they heard Abigail retreating. Al nodded.
"Abel Jordan. But it's rocky. She's been talking to me about it and I'd be surprised if she didn't end it soon, so I wouldn't worry about it."
Scorpius was unsure how much he should care. He knew it was true though. In her letters, she'd said she wasn't sure it was what she wanted. But right now, all of that was beside the point.
"Look, I know you have some sort of misguided idea about Rose and I having all this sexual tension or whatever." He scowled as Al smirked and took a casual sip of his coffee. "But," Scorpius continued. "Just because this worked in whatever fantasy world we cooked up for ourselves, doesn't mean it would ever be plausible in real life."
Al studied him for a moment before finishing his coffee and setting down his mug. "Maybe. But you'll never know unless you try."
He was right. Scorpius knew that. But did that mean he wanted to try? He stared at the mug that sat in front of him, the dark brown liquid still letting off a little steam as he brooded over the situation he now found himself in.
"I'm supposed to meet her tonight," he eventually said, glancing up at Al. "I guess I would have found out today anyway."
"How'd that happen exactly?" Al asked. "I knew that was today so I figured that's how you knew." Scorpius shook his head and exhaled heavily, pushing off the counter and turning to pace into the living room and back, his hands clasped and resting on the top of his head.
"Archie had too much to drink and crashed at my place last night. He's used up all my Pepper Up and her store is the closest place to get some. She doesn't usually work on Saturdays so I didn't think I'd even see her if I went down there. Turns out she was working today and she was setting out some of the new burn paste that I happen to know Daisy developed."
He stopped his pacing, running his hands through his hair and facing Al. "I asked her where it came from and she insisted it was hers and that she'd just gotten it approved by the ministry. She even made the same fucking comment about the name that she did in her last letter."
Scorpius sighed and rubbed his eyes, reliving the memory in his mind. "I don't really even know what I said next. I just knew I had to get out of there."
"So she doesn't know?" Al clarified. Scorpius shook his head.
"If you thought I wouldn't believe you, there's no way she'd ever believe me. Not without proof."
Al nodded in understanding. "Are you going to go meet her?"
Scorpius snorted scornfully. "Yeah, right. Cause that's a brilliant idea."
"Well, what else are you supposed to do? Are you going to just stop writing to her? Let her wonder what she could have possibly done for you to disappear on her? Or maybe that something happened to you? She doesn't deserve that," Al said defensively.
He had a point. And Scorpius didn't want to do that to Daisy, but Rose? He had feelings for Daisy, he knew that. He and Rose Weasley would never get along, he was convinced of that. How was he supposed to reconcile one truth to the other?
"I'll come up with something, alright? It's not like I can walk in there and say, 'Hey Rose, I know you hate me and all, but surprise! I'm the guy who basically poured his heart out to you in the last letter he wrote. Wanna give this a go?' There's no way that would go over well. She'd hex me before I could blink."
Al looked at him, brow raised. "Did you really do that?"
"What?" Scorpius snapped in irritation.
"Pour your heart out?"
Scorpius felt his cheeks growing warm, remembering what he'd written. He'd told her he'd most likely want to kiss her the moment he saw her. He said he was going to have no trouble falling for her. Why had he said all that? He didn't even answer Al's question as his friend moved to join him in the living room, grabbing some clothes out of one of the baskets of laundry next to the couch.
"Look, do whatever you think is right," Al said, pulling a t-shirt over his head. "But don't hurt her, alright? At least not on purpose. I know this is complicated and more likely than not, one of you will do something to hurt the other. But don't forget who she actually is. This isn't just some game now. She's someone you actually grew to care about, even though you didn't realize it was happening at the time."
Al pulled on a pair of sweats before tossing his towel over the back of one of the armchairs, and Scorpius responded without thinking.
"I've always cared about Rose."
Scorpius was sure the surprise that appeared on Al's face was mirrored on his own.
"I mean, not that way," he explained. "Only because she's your family and I care about all you lot."
Al smirked at him. "That's sweet."
"Shut it."
Al chuckled.
"So, do you know what you're going to do?" he asked as Abigail's footsteps were heard down the hall once again. Scorpius could only shrug and look at Al helplessly.
"I've got no fucking idea."
Rose fidgeted with her blue scarf as she sat at a table in the middle of the cafe. She was barely even reading the book that was lying on the table in front of her. The cafe was reasonably crowded, but spacious enough that she didn't feel suffocated. It was the perfect setting for an intimate meal, while not seeming too romantic. She'd managed to force herself to not think about the Abel situation. This was just a meal with a friend. A friend she might possibly have feelings for, but still. She hadn't fully known the extent of that until today when she'd read his letter and it had affected her more than she'd anticipated. She took a sip of the water the waiter had placed in front of her when she'd arrived, trying to steady her nerves. She'd arrived only five minutes before eight, wanting to be there before he was. He knew how to find her, but he'd given her no clues that would allow her to recognize him. Rose just had to trust in him to spot her, which is why'd she'd been thankful when they sat her in the middle of the restaurant.
It wasn't until she'd sent the waiter away for the third time that she glanced at her watch and realized he was now twenty minutes late. She tried not to let it worry her. Maybe he was coming from a distance and had run into trouble getting there. Everytime the chime for the front door sounded, her eyes flew up from the book she was just pretending to read at this point, only to be disappointed when it was a family or a group or a girl. A few men had come in and scanned the room, but so far, none had been looking for her. She allowed the waiter to refill her water and went ahead and ordered a cup of tea when he stopped by for the fourth time. Now he was half an hour late. Not wanting to appear desperate, she was considering leaving as soon as she finished her tea, when the door chimed once again.
Her eyes widened in shock and dread as she recognized the blond head and the entirely too put together demeanor of Scorpius Malfoy. This had to be the worst possible time for her to run into him. If he saw her, he'd no doubt approach her, if only to mock her for dining alone. She'd been unnerved by his odd departure from her store earlier in the day, but had decided not to give it much thought. He was probably just jealous that she was actually able to accomplish what she had. It wasn't that common for someone their age to already have one of their own products on the market, and since she now knew he generally specialized in research as well, he had to have felt diminished by her success. Which meant he would take every opportunity to once again, gain the upper hand.
Acting quickly, she slouched down in her chair and propped her book up in front of her face, wishing she'd worn something with a hood on it so she could hide the dead giveaway that was her hair. She only had a few moments to panic and pray he didn't see her, when his smooth and teasing tone reached her ears.
"Well, well. Rose Weasley. What a coincidence."
She sat up straight to look him in the eye. He was wearing a pleased smirk, but something about him appeared anxious. Her eyes widened as he moved to pull out the chair across from her.
"What do you think you're doing?" asked Rose, her voice coming out somewhere close to shrill. He paused.
"Having a seat?" he said as if it were obvious. "You're not expecting anyone, are you? Your boyfriend, perhaps?"
Her cheeks flushed and she nervously squirmed in her seat. "I am expecting someone, actually."
Scorpius' eyebrow arched in curiosity, ignoring her sounds of protest as he sat in the seat across from her. "Not the boyfriend, then? Perhaps a clandestine meeting between two secret lovers? Is that what I'm interrupting?"
Rose felt her face flush even more as he signaled for the waiter and ordered them a bottle of wine. "I'm impressed, Weasley. I always thought you were the goody two-shoes type. Then again, you've been known to sneak around at night, haven't you?"
She scowled at the teasing smirk he wore. He leaned forward with his arms on the table in what felt to be an intimidating manner. "What're you reading?" he asked innocently, glancing down at her book. She snapped it shut.
"I don't want your company and like I said, I'm expecting someone."
"I'll just wait till he gets here," he said with a wave of dismissal. "I bet that's a romance, yeah? Bewitched and Beguiled maybe? No, wait. You're probably a Lockhart fan."
"I'm not a Lockhart fan," she couldn't help but defend herself. "And maybe I do enjoy the occasional romance, not that you'd know anything on the subject."
"You might be surprised, Weasley. There's a lot you don't know about me."
"I know what I need to," Rose said confidently. "It might even do you some good to pick up a book with a little humanity in it once in a while."
He gave a snort of amusement. "So romantic speeches and stolen kisses in the moonlight are supposed to help me be more human?"
She gave him a patronizing smile. "You're right. I'm sorry. You have to be human to begin with if you'd like to become even more so."
Scorpius just looked at her blankly, his face betraying nothing. But Rose's eyes widened in surprise as the waiter poured them each a glass of wine.
"I can't believe I just said that," she said in astonishment.
"I can't either," Scorpius grumbled as he took a sip of his wine.
"No, I meant it," Rose clarified, "I've just never really done that before. I never manage to insult people well. I usually can't come up with a response when loathsome and unpleasant people mock me, but I finally had a breakthrough!"
She almost sounded excited about it, and she was practically giddy as she looked at Scorpius. He wasn't nearly as pleased.
"Well, congratulations. You've managed to be rather rude to me."
She scoffed. "Rude? Says the man who's managed to spoil what was supposed to be a lovely evening?"
"I don't think that's my fault," Scorpius replied, his familiar smirk back. He checked his watch. "I'm willing to bet whoever you're waiting for is running more than somewhat late?"
She didn't respond to the question and felt a shiver run up her spine as his piercing gray-blue eyes took her in.
"Nice scarf," he said, taking another drink of his wine. She furrowed her brow at him.
"Will you leave, please?"
He downed the rest of his wine and stood. Rose barely managed to let out a sigh of relief before he grabbed his glass and the bottle and simply moved to the empty table next to her. Her jaw dropped as he took off his coat and draped it over the back of his seat, sitting down so he was still facing her direction. She looked at him in outrage.
"That's not what I meant!"
He chuckled as he poured himself another glass of wine. It looked like he was about to respond, but Rose was distracted by the sound of the door chime once again. She sagged in her seat when an elderly couple walked in. Her eyes snapped to Scorpius when she heard him chuckle, but his eyes were scanning the menu. Choosing to ignore him, she flipped her book back open, sipping her tea and refrained from drinking the rather tempting glass of wine that still sat in front of her. She almost managed to forget he was there.
"You know what that reminds me of?" he asked, and she looked at him in annoyance to see him watching her.
"What?"
"You with your nose in a book. It reminds me of all those great times we had in school. Remember that? It was back when we used to joke around but didn't quite hate each other yet."
Rose snapped the book shut again and sat up to look at him. "Let's get something straight, Malfoy. We've never been friends."
"I wasn't saying we were."
"Don't go getting your hopes up that it'll ever happen either," she bit back.
"I wasn't planning on it."
"Oh please," she said with a roll of her eyes. "You haven't exactly kept your distance lately. 'Rose! I'm going to show up at all your family gatherings. Rose! I'm going to be a better godparent than you. Rose, help me with my business! Rose-"
"Look," said Scorpius with an exasperated sigh, and she watched in annoyance as he moved to sit in front of her again. "Most of those weren't even things I purposefully did so cut me a little slack. And you seemed perfectly at ease during our conversation last week at the Leaky before you decided to pick a fight. Maybe I don't think we'll ever be friends, but at least I try to be civil."
She was saved from responding when the door chimed once again. Her breath caught in her throat when a young wizard about her age walked in alone, but he was joined a second later by a witch who'd been waiting from him at a table by the front. She closed her eyes and sighed in dismay.
"I'm guessing that's not your date for the evening either?"
Her eyes snapped open to see him watching her, obviously enjoying her disappointment.
"Who is this mystery bloke anyway?" Scorpius asked with a curious tilt of his head. "Surely not someone you'd like to be seen with at your usual stomping grounds? Are you as ashamed to be seen with him as you are to be seen with me?"
She gave a humorous huff. "No. No, I wouldn't be ashamed to be seen with him because he's twice the wizard you are. He's kind and actually cares about other people." She smiled to herself as she remembered his most recent letter. "He's brilliant and thoughtful and so supportive. I never have to worry about him disappointing me." She looked at Scorpius as he watched her with an unreadable expression. "In other words, he's completely unlike you."
Rose smirked. She had him there. But Scorpius surprised her once again.
"Then how come I'm here and he isn't?"
Rose felt small under his penetrating gaze. "Well," she began timidly. "I know him well enough to know that he has to have a good reason for not being here. He's a decent human being, not that you'd know anything about that," she snapped, gaining momentum. "You with your financially based, impersonal company that takes advantage of people and doesn't care about meeting their needs. I bet you've never done anything charitable with all that money you've earned."
Scoprius opened his mouth to respond, but Rose wasn't backing down. "You think you're better than you actually are, Malfoy. You think you've saved your family name by being respectable and not throwing your life away, but you won't be remembered for it. The Malfoys will always be known for their mistakes. And maybe I won't be remembered for anything grand either. I just own a quaint little potion shop in Diagon Alley. But everyone will remember my parents as the heroes that they are. And I'll never have to be ashamed of them. You, on the other hand, are nothing but a sorry attempt at redemption."
The whole place felt as if it had gone silent as Rose's words resounded in her head. He'd embarassed her with his comments and she felt her stomach clench when she realized she'd taken it too far. Scorpius was looking at her like she'd completely ripped his heart out, and she really couldn't blame him. He schooled his features to be impassive, pulling out his wallet and depositing some coins on the table to pay for the wine. He looked up at her one last time before standing and grabbing his coat from the table next to them. As he pulled it on, he didn't even look at her. But she knew from the sound of his voice that she'd caused him pain.
"Take care, Weasley."
And then he left, leaving Rose sitting there, wondering how in the world a night that was supposed to be so perfect, had gone so horribly wrong.