The week following the benefit wasn't what Scorpius had expected. For one thing, rather than breaking down, Archie was mostly acting like nothing had happened. He hadn't said much about it since the night in question, and he seemed resigned to his current situation. They didn't talk about Molly, and they didn't talk about his father.

The other unexpected change had been how often Scorpius had seen Rose Weasley. He saw her more frequently that week than he had since they'd been at school together.

They'd danced to a few songs the night of the benefit, before the various honors and awards were handed out. While he held her on the dance floor, it had struck him how easy it was. Yes, they had a complicated past and even present, but all of that flew from his mind as he became lost in her warm brown eyes and enchanted by her disarming laughter. They said a few things about Molly and Archie and even gushed about their goddaughter. She'd told him with excitement about the conversation she had with the Healers from St. Mungo's about her work, and she'd even listened when he talked about the resumed construction on the shop. He never thought she'd be able to let that part of their professional relationship go, but it was obvious she was making an effort. Rose must have felt seriously guilty about the way she'd treated him all those years for there to be this drastic of a turn around.

Maybe that's all it was. Maybe she was merely being nice to him out of pity. He didn't want that. He wanted her to want to spend time with him and get to know him because she thought he was a person worth knowing. As much as he might think there was an element of guilt underlying her efforts, he couldn't help but feel like she'd enjoyed his company. Both the night of the benefit, and on New Year's Eve. It was soon going to be impossible for either of them to deny that his relationship with Rose was slowly but surely beginning to resemble friendship. It was amazing how well they were able to get along when they weren't actively trying to hate each other.

The reason he'd seen her so much that week had to do with the fact that Al noticed the change in their relationship at the benefit, and had somehow managed to get them in the same place at the same time throughout the week. Sometimes it would be at Al's flat, and other times at Sam's. This had also resulted in a few encounters between Archie and Molly, most of which ended in the quick and awkward departure of one or the other. There had been one night, however, when they'd all managed to get both of them to stay at Sam's for the evening. While they hadn't exactly talked to each other, it was something.

Scorpius fully believed that one of the reasons he and Rose had been able to get along better was thanks to the added element of a common goal; keep Archie and Molly as happy as possible, despite the circumstances. Nobody seemed to know what the best outcome of all this would be; only that one of them needed to say something. Rose was under the impression that it needed to be Archie, but Scorpius and Al both disagreed.

"He's put himself out there," Scorpius argued one day when they were having dinner at Al and Abigail's. "He told her the truth about what happened and then he stood up for her in front of what was basically all of Wizarding Britain. She should say something to him."

"But maybe she's still afraid that he won't fight for her this time," Rose reasoned.

"He punched his father," said Scorpius. "If you knew the shit he'd put Archie through, you'd be impressed too."

"I didn't say it wasn't impressive, only that it doesn't mean he'll do what he has to to prove he still loves her."

"And what about her? She's barely shown she still cares for him, which I assume she does."

"Of course she does. But you can't expect her to put herself out there after how much he hurt her last time."

"Is this what you two getting along looks like?" Abigail asked with a chuckle. Their argument hadn't grown heated, and was tinged with the level of banter that had been more typical in their final year at Hogwarts. Rose had smirked at him at Abigail's question.

"We're usually much more pleasant when he agrees with me."

He rolled his eyes at her. "I think you'll find that just about everyone else here agrees with me."

Which was true. Abigail understood where Rose was coming from, but she'd spent a lot of time talking things through with Molly over the past week, and she explained that Rose's cousin was much more prone to running than fighting, and that maybe it would be good for her to do the latter for a change.

That dinner was the last time Scorpius had seen Rose, and they'd actually all made plans to have dinner together in a few days. He'd never once made plans with Rose. It was a rather bizarre feeling, and it thrilled him.

Despite his excitement, everything was happening so fast, and he was beginning to panic. Not a day had gone by that he hadn't thought about the fact that she didn't know the whole truth. If whatever was happening continued, he knew he'd need to tell her soon.

The Saturday following the benefit, he made his way to Al and Abigail's flat, knowing Rose and Abigail and Molly wouldn't be there today since it was Lucy's bridal shower. As he entered to the sound of a crying infant, he thought of the reason he'd sought out his friend's company in the first place. He hadn't talked to Al about the situation with Rose since before Christmas, and now he desperately needed his advice if he was going to go through with this.

"Al?" he called as he shut the door behind him. His friend came out with his crying daughter a moment later.

"Just give me a few minutes, yeah? She should quiet down soon."

Scorpius nodded as Al left the room. He took off his coat before heading to the kitchen to make a pot of tea. It was ten minutes later by the time Al emerged, the house now quiet save for the boiling of the kettle on the stove.

"I think she hates me," Al said with a sigh in reference to his daughter before leaning heavily on the kitchen counter.

"No more than she hates James," Scorpius said with a chuckle. Al laughed as well. James had shown himself to be rather useless at holding anything other than a Quaffle.

They moved to the living room, Al stretching out on the couch as Scorpius sat in the chair across from it.

"I'm assuming you want to talk about Rose?" Al asked, his head resting back on a pillow as he closed his eyes and cradled his tea in his hands.

"Pretty much."

"Planning on telling her the truth?"

Scorpius didn't answer, and Al opened his eyes to look at him when he remained silent.

"I'm not sure how to," Scorpius finally managed to say.

Al sat up, setting his tea on the table between them and leaning forward.

"First things first. Why do you want to tell her?"

Scorpius hadn't been expecting this question, but that didn't matter. He knew the answer.

"Because she deserves to know the truth."

A pleased smile crossed Al's face.

"Good. As long as it's not just because you feel guilty or you think you'll gain something from it."

"I do feel guilty," said Scorpius, "but that's not why I feel like I need to tell her. And I think I'm more likely to lose than gain if I tell her the truth."

Al nodded, lifting his mug to sip his tea before leaning back on the couch, a contemplative look on his face.

"I know I've always said the two of you would get along if you actually tried, but I have to say, even I'm surprised by what I've seen this week."

"How so?"

"Well," said Al with a shrug, "it happened rather fast, didn't it? I always figured it would take awhile for you to warm up to each other."

"Yeah, well," said Scorpius, unable to keep from grinning. "I suppose it helps that I'd already warmed up to her accidentally."

Al chuckled at that. "Still. I didn't expect such a quick turn around."

"I didn't either," Scorpius said, still unable to understand exactly how he'd gotten to where he was. "All I know is that one day I didn't want to have anything to do with her, and the next…"

Al watched him expectantly as he tried to gather his thoughts. How much should he actually say? He knew he was falling for her, but was it too soon? Of course, he'd actually known her for years, and he'd been unknowingly falling for her for months now. So really, the only reason it would seem fast would be because they hadn't always gotten along. But should he hold himself back simply because he didn't think it made sense that he could move past that so quickly?

"How does it possibly make sense?" he found himself asking. "How can we have such a strife filled past and she say truly uncalled for things to me, and I forgive her to the point where I now constantly want to be around her?"

Surprisingly, Al grinned.

"First of all, it's been over a month. You're too big a person to hold a grudge for that long, especially after she apologized."

Had it really been that long? Scorpius was about to agree that Al had a point, when his friend continued.

"Secondly, do you remember when I forgot Abigail's birthday? The first year we lived together?"

Slightly thrown by the question, Scorpius nodded. Abigail had been rightfully angry. Al had gone out with him and Archie that night, completely forgetting to make any plans with his girlfriend on her twentieth birthday. To say she'd yelled at him when they showed up at their flat drunk would be an understatement.

What had surprised Scorpius, had been the fact that he'd seen Al and Abigail only a few days later, and you never would have known that anything had gone wrong.

"I remember you asking me the next time you saw us about how she'd possibly forgiven me already. Do you remember what I said?"

It came back to Scorpius in an instant, since it had stuck out to him at the time. And then he thought of the conversation he had with his father on Boxing Day about the way his mother had been so forgiving the night they'd gotten engaged. And how he'd almost forgiven Rose even before she apologized. And all the different parts came together, like the tuning of an orchestra when all the instruments finally managed to land on the same note in a giant crescendo.

"You said it was because she loved you."

Al grinned at the state of shock Scorpius was in.

"Love covers a multitude of sins,' or something like that," Al said with a smirk. "It was in this religious text Abigail's mum insisted we have read at the wedding."

Scorpius remembered, but he wasn't about to reminisce about his friend's wedding. All his thoughts were going into digesting the information he'd just come across. He wasn't falling for Rose Weasley. He already had.

Maybe it had been Daisy he'd originally fallen for, but he'd stopped seeing them as two different people for awhile now. It was all Rose in his mind. And he wanted to be with her more than he ever had before.

"Bloody hell, I'm in such a mess," said Scorpius, leaning forward and burying his hands in his hair.

"Figured it out, have you?"

Scorpius looked up to shoot Al a scowl before resting his head in his hands.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

"Tell her the truth," Al said, making it sound as if it were that simple. Which, of course, it wasn't.

"Let her know the truth, and let her decide for herself how she feels about you. She might hate you, but if she feels the same way you do, she just might forgive you as well."

Scorpius let out a pessimistic laugh, looking up at his friend. "Don't go getting my hopes up."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Al said with a grin. "Expect to face the full wrath of Rose Weasley, and maybe be ready to cast a shield charm."

Scorpius rolled his eyes while Al chuckled at him.

"You're enjoying this a little too much."

"I've had to listen to the two of you bitch and moan about each other for years," Al said seriously. "I much prefer you miserable because you love her than because you hate her."

His cheeks flushed at Al's words. It felt strange to hear someone say that out loud and to know he couldn't deny it.

"Can't say I'm too chuffed about it," he grumbled.

"When do you think you'll tell her?" Al asked after a few moments of silence.

"Soon," Scorpius said. "I want to think about the best way to do it, rather than just blurting it all out. But I want to do it soon."

"Well," Al said, standing and stretching. "Give me a heads up beforehand. I'd like to be prepared for her to angrily storm to my doorstep."

Scorpius shot him an annoyed look, but agreed. The only thing left to do was figure out how to get through the next few times he saw her, while trying to come up with a plan to tell her the truth that he knew she didn't see coming.

Rose felt an inexplicable sense of nerves as she made her way to Scorpius Malfoy's flat. Why she had agreed to this was beyond her. It had all happened so fast. One minute, she'd almost been tricked into having dinner with him at Al and Abigail's, the next she was actually making plans to see him again.

It was getting harder for Rose to deny that she actually liked spending time with Scorpius Malfoy. Especially now that she was doing so willingly. Was it the worst thing in the world to enjoy his company?

She reached his building and double checked the address Al had given her, realizing she'd walked past it on many occasions, always admiring the architecture. Knowing she was early and her cousin and his wife wouldn't be there yet, Rose nervously rang the buzzer, announcing it was her when he answered. He buzzed her in a moment later, and Rose made her way to the third floor. She could hear dishes banging around when she reached the door and knocked. When he opened it, it took everything in Rose to not start laughing hysterically on the spot.

His blond hair was stuck up at odd angles, pieces of dough in it from where he'd obviously run his hands through in frustration. Flour was smeared across his face, and he wore an apron with frills on it that was equally covered in various ingredients. The best part was the relieved look on his face when he saw her.

"Do you know how to stuff a pasty?" he asked hopefully, and then Rose really did start laughing.

"What the hell have you gotten yourself into?" she asked through her laughter. Scorpius rolled his eyes as he let her into the flat.

"I've never made them before and the bloody pastry won't seal itself," he grumbled as he led her to the kitchen. She took the opportunity to observe his flat as she followed. It was rather humble; hardwood floors and a roaring fire and mismatched furniture that looked more comfortable than stylish. There were shelves stacked with books, and a desk by one of the windows that had books and parchment and quills strewn across it.

"Have you rolled it out enough?" asked Rose as she followed him into the kitchen. He stood over the table, looking down at his lack of progress.

"I thought I had," he said, scratching his head in confusion, and Rose couldn't help but chuckle as she took in his handiwork, knowing exactly what he'd done wrong. "It keeps splitting and the filling keeps coming out the sides."

"Well you're never going to get them folded properly if you insist on putting too much filling in."

She removed her coat, throwing it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs before rolling up the sleeves of her jumper and putting herself to work.

"You only need about half this much," she told him as she scooped some of the delicious looking pumpkin filling back into the bowl it had come from. He nodded as he watched her before stepping away for a moment. Rose almost jumped in surprise when he returned with a second apron and placed it over her head. She gave him a grateful smile as she re rolled some of the pastry that had split. Ten minutes later, Rose had her own bit of flour on herself and their desserts were in the oven.

"Thanks," he said with a relieved sigh, waving his wand so the used dishes made their way to the sink. "That would've been a nightmare for Al to see."

Rose laughed, imagining perfectly how much Al would tease Scorpius for his failed attempts at baking.

"What made you decide to take all this on in the first place?" Rose asked as she removed her apron, taking in the delicious looking meal that was sat on the stove under a warming charm. He gave a shrug.

"I haven't had much of a need to cook for anyone since I broke up with Mel. Felt nice to do it again."

The mention of his ex girlfriend had Rose feeling slightly uncomfortable. Did he know she'd come to see her after they'd broken up? She also remembered Molly's comment about how she was part of the reason they'd broken up in the first place. It was hard not to be curious.

"I met her once," she found herself saying. Scorpius spared her a glance as he busied himself with getting the table set.

"At Lily's party?"

"No," Rose said with a shake of her head. "She came by my flat."

Scorpius almost dropped the glasses he was carrying to the table. His eyes were wide as he looked at her.

"Why?"

Rose shrugged as he regained his composure and continued with his task. "Something about wanting to put a face with the name. Apparently you complained about me quite a bit."

She smirked as his cheeks tinged with a slight pink.

"Well, you were a bit of a pain in the arse."

Rose's mouth opened in amused shock as he smirked at her, the table now set as he took off his apron.

"No more than you were," she teased back. "Didn't realize I'd gotten under your skin that much."

"When did she come see you?" he asked curiously, ignoring her jab.

"It was after Lily's party," she said, trying to remember exactly when it had happened. "Oh, it was the day after Holly was born. Or later that morning rather."

He nodded before leading them back into the living room. "That would've been right after we broke up. And I'd spent the last few weeks griping about how you wouldn't help me after I'd stopped by the shop."

Rose paused in the doorway to the kitchen, watching as he began to tidy up some of the books that were scattered across his coffee table.

"Did you break up because of me?"

She wasn't sure why she asked the question other than that she had to know the answer. He'd straightened up to face her, obviously surprised by the question.

"Molly said that Abigail mentioned something like that," she said as a way of explaining her question.

"Sorry, Weasley," he said with a smirk. "But I'm afraid that relationship was doomed without any help from you. As much as you might like to take credit for causing me pain."

She winced at his words. "I might have at one point, but I'd be sorry if that was the case now."

He sighed, giving up on his task and sitting on the couch. His eyes met hers and they were surprisingly vulnerable.

"I think I know that. It's just difficult at times to think that you really don't hate me anymore."

"Hate's a strong word," she said as she moved towards one of his armchairs. She didn't sit in it, choosing to lean against the back instead. "More an intense dislike."

He smirked at her honesty. "Then it's nice to know you don't dislike me with as much intensity anymore."

"Who said I disliked you at all?" she teased, unsure where all this was coming from. Even though it was obvious the nature of their relationship had changed, it felt strange to admit out loud that she felt differently towards him than she used to.

"I recall you saying so yourself on multiple occasions," he pointed out.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear," she said with a roll of her eyes. Her gaze was fixed to the top of the chair her hands were currently resting on, but she looked up when he remained silent.

He was watching her intently, his hair still with bits of dough in it and flour still smeared across his strong jaw.

"What?" asked Rose when he continued to watch her questioningly.

"Would it matter? If you were part of the reason I broke up with Mel?"

Rose tried to not let her panic at his question show on her face.

"Of course not. Why should it?"

He shrugged.

"It would just be interesting if it did. I'd be curious to know why."

His gaze felt penetrating as he stared at her. Rose took a deep breath, letting out a long sigh as she shifted her weight so she was leaning more fully on the chair. Did it matter to her?

"I think it would only matter if I'd played a role other than being a thorn in your side that you complained about."

What the hell was wrong with her and where was all this coming from? All week, she'd been successful at stamping down the thoughts that had sprung up at the benefit, but this conversation had dug all that up again. She glanced down to see her knuckles were white as she gripped the back of the chair, unable to keep looking at his questioning gaze.

"And if you had?"

The nervous tone in his voice had her looking up at him again, and she was surprised to find him standing, his eyes lit with wonder and curiosity. It scared her how much she wanted to say that of course it would matter, especially if it meant that he could possibly have feelings for her, as bizarre as that would be. She hadn't wanted that since she was in school. But no matter what either of them might feel, they'd be kidding themselves if they thought anything more than a tentative friendship could work between them. Not after everything that had happened.

"I guess it still wouldn't really matter, would it?" she found herself saying.

The sound of a knock on the door prevented them from exploring the conversation further, and she heard Scorpius curse under his breath as he moved to answer it.

"Sorry we're late," Abigail said as she followed her husband into the flat. "Holly decided to make a mess of herself right before we left."

Rose approached Al, who was holding a rather content looking Holly in her carrier. She pulled her out, happy to focus on something other than the conversation that had just taken place. Abigail said something to Scorpius about the state of his hair, and then she heard him leaving the room, most likely to sort himself out.

Rose let herself relax, the comforting weight of her goddaughter in her arms soothing her.

"It smells delicious in here," Al said as he moved into the kitchen. "Blimey! He made a feast."

"Those pasties still need to bake, Al," she hollered into the kitchen when she heard him banging around.

"Have you been here awhile?" asked Abigail.

"Maybe twenty minutes?" Rose said with a shrug. It had felt like less than that, which always seemed to be the case when she was around Malfoy. She never got bored.

He emerged from the bathroom a few moments later, and they all sat down the eat. The food was delicious, and Rose focused on that and making faces at her goddaughter while Al talked about the current case he was working.

"Have you decided what you're going to do?" Scorpius asked Abigail, who wore a look of uncertainty at the question.

"I don't know. I want to go back because I really do miss it, but I don't know if I could leave her."

She reached out and stroked her daughter's dark hair that was rather thick for her young age, and Holly gave a pleased gurgle from her place in Rose's lap.

"Al's mum offered to do some nannying for us, so I might try going back for a bit next month and see how that goes."

Al reached out and squeezed Abigail's hand in comfort, smiling softly at her.

"No one would blame you if you chose to stay home with our daughter. I find I wouldn't mind doing so myself half the time."

"Please," Abigail said with a roll of her eyes. "You'd go mad. And we've talked about that. I always said I'd give it up for a family eventually, so what if that came earlier than we expected?"

Their meal continued, and Rose did her best to avoid drawing any attention to herself. Scorpius was sat adjacent to her at the round table, and there had been a few subtle glances sent by both before she turned slightly so her back was almost to him, but not in an obvious way.

The pasties were just as delicious as they looked, and Scorpius acknowledged her for the first time since before dinner when he told Al and Abigail that she deserved some of the credit.

"Saved me from making a right mess," he said. "Otherwise we'd be having pastries with globs of pumpkin on top of them."

Al chuckled as Abigail devoured her third pasty. "Whatever would we do without Rose," her cousin said, smirking at her before his eyes momentarily flickered to Scorpius, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Coffee, anyone?"

They sat around talking for another hour, and Rose let herself relax. The conversation began to flow easier, and she even managed to laugh as Scorpius recounted his almost disastrous foray into baking. She even made a few comments herself about how pitiful he looked when he opened the door. Rose began to think that maybe the evening would end with their earlier conversation forgotten and things back to normal. And by that she meant the new normal they'd found. The normal that she'd grown to thoroughly enjoy.

When the time came for the young parents to head home, Rose realized it wouldn't be that simple. They were putting on their coats and she was just about to leave before Al and Abigail, when Scorpius told her to wait, under the pretense that he was going to pack up some pasties for her to take since she'd been so helpful in making them.

He went into the kitchen, leaving Rose feeling helpless to do anything but wait. Abigail hollered a farewell to their host before heading out the door, Al right behind her with Holly on his arm. Rose looked at him curiously when he gave her something like an apologetic smile, but he was out the door before she could question him.

"Here," said Scorpius as he emerged from the kitchen, handing her a container filled with pasties. "Thanks for all your help with that."

She managed to give him a slight smile, despite the nervous twisting of her stomach.

"You're welcome. Glad I could help save the day."

He chuckled, his eyes hesitant as he took in her every feature. Rose willed herself to do or say something. Maybe wish him goodnight and make her way out the door, but he pulled out his wand before she could move.

"Hold out your wand," he requested, and she did, surprising herself with how much she trusted him. He waved his wand in a circular motion around her arm, muttering something under his breath.

"There," he said, stowing his wand back in his pocket. "Now you won't have to be buzzed in next time."

Next time? There would be a next time? She tried to ignore the way the thought made her feel excited, merely nodding as she returned her wand to her pocket.

"Thanks for dinner," she said. "And dessert."

She finally turned to leave, hoping he would let her go, but also hoping he wouldn't.

"Rose?"

It was almost embarrassing how quickly she turned back to face him. The sound of her name falling from his lips was something she couldn't recall ever hearing, at least not said in that way. She knew for a fact she'd never said his. He'd always been Malfoy.

He seemed nervous and unsure as she watched him, but determined at the same time.

"Yes?"

He fidgeted. His hand running through his hair as he looked at his feet.

"Thing is…" he began uncertainly. After another moment's hesitation, he locked eyes with her and took a deep breath before he spoke.

"You remember that night at the Chimera Cafe?"

She couldn't help it as her brow rose incredulously.

"Right, sorry. Of course you remember. Um…"

He seemed to be struggling with something, his hand rubbing the back of his neck as he focused on his feet. Looking back up at her, he let out a sigh, a sense of resolve evident in his stance.

"Could we maybe have a do over? Would you meet me there on Saturday night?"

That wasn't what she'd been expecting at all.

"You mean, like a…"

He shook his head. "Don't worry, it's not like that. There are just a few things I think we should talk about. Things I probably should have said that night."

Rose was well and confused now, but her curiosity outweighed any sense of uncertainty or nerves she might be feeling.

"Molly leaves on Sunday and we're doing a dinner for her Saturday evening."

"Friday?" he was quick to counter. She nodded.

"Thank you," he said, relaxing slightly, but he didn't smile at her.

With a final farewell and plans to meet at seven o'clock on Friday, Rose left his flat, her mind whirring and jumping to so many different conclusions.

What had he wanted to say that night that he felt needed to be said now? Had he really not forgiven her? Perhaps he came that night because he knew she'd be there. Maybe Al had said something and he'd shown up to purposely mess with her. Had he somehow known about her plans to meet Leo and he'd sabotaged her?

No. That seemed impossible. Only Al and Jane had known. Jane would have no reason to tell him, and she trusted Al. He knew enough about her history with Malfoy to know better than to tell him.

So what was it? Did he have feelings for her? Had that really been the reason he'd broken things off with his girlfriend? Melinda had said he had feelings for another girl that wasn't Rose, so that didn't seem likely either. Was it business related?

It was Monday night, which meant she had four more days to agonize over this before she knew the truth. She wished she could write to Leo. He'd be able to help calm her down. It amazed her how much she missed his presence in her life, but what surprised her even more, were the moments when she'd be with Scorpius and completely forget that Leo ever existed. Someone she'd once been determined to hate was doing a spectacular job of pushing someone she'd come to care deeply for out of her mind. It had been so entirely unexpected, and it caused her to question all of the feelings she'd believed she had for Leo the past few months. It made her question how she felt about Scorpius as well.

It would help if she had answers as far as Leo was concerned, and as she walked back to her flat, a memory from the night of the benefit flashed across her mind, and her conversation with Healer Osborn came to the forefront in sharp relief.

Rose stopped in her tracks in shock for a moment before she picked up her pace, eager to get home and thankful the Healer had told her to reach out at anytime. Their conversation had been forgotten, the following events of that night driving it from her mind until now. As she began to plan out in her head what all she'd include in the letter, she wondered how she could have possibility let the Healer's comments about who she knew had to be Leo slip her mind so easily. It was just another example of how thoroughly Scorpius Malfoy had driven Leo from her mind throughout the week. And this new development was threatening to do that further.

As she arrived home and sat down to write a letter to the Healer, Rose was hopeful that, by the time she went to go meet Scorpius on Friday night, she'd have at least one of her many questions answered, and she'd finally know who Leo was.

A/N: I've been asked about this story staying consistent with You've Got Mail, which I based it off of. It is starting to morph into it's own thing. It pretty much started changing after Scorpius found out the truth. I've been enjoying making some changes and making the story my own, and I hope you are enjoying the same! Thanks as always for your kind reviews. Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)