A/N: What!? An update a day early?! You're welcome :)
I'll be without wifi starting tomorrow for a few days and figured I wouldn't make you wait. There were a lot of opinions and ideas about how this chapter would all go down, so I'm excited to see what you think. So, without further ado...
"What are the chances I can get you to stop asking me about this?" Molly grumbled at Rose and Abigail. They'd come to help her pack for her departure to France in two day, but they'd failed to do much other than aggravate her. Rose immediately felt guilty, realizing they'd probably been bothering Molly a bit too much about where she stood with Archie Davies, but Abigail seemed to have no such qualms.
"It depends on when you'll actually listen," said Abigail. "Don't you think you owe him something?"
"This isn't about keeping score," Molly said, her hands on her hips as she looked down at her best friend judgmentally.
"Right, sorry," said Abigail, still undeterred. "Don't you want to say something to him?"
"What?" Molly asked helplessly, spreading her arms out and looking between her two friends. "What would I say?"
"Well, does he know you've forgiven him? That might be a nice thing to hear."
Molly dropped her arms, and if she were the type of person to scowl, she would have.
"Are you trying to make me feel guilty?"
"Of course not," Abigail assured her. "I just know that if I were in his shoes, I'd want to be able to move on and have closure from it all, and the person I'd wronged forgiving me would go a long way."
Molly seemed to struggle with this for a moment, and Rose busied herself with searching the dresser draws in Lucy's spare bedroom once again for any lingering socks.
"We did have closure," Molly said uncertainly. "We talked on New Year's Eve and I even told him that's what it was all about."
"Maybe for you," said Abigail with a shrug, "but what about him? You know why everything happened the way it did and that he's sorry, but did you even forgive him for it?"
Rose could tell from the look in Molly's eyes that she was replaying that conversation in her mind, and Molly looked at Abigail almost in shame when she realized she was right.
"I suppose I didn't. But that… you know… implicit."
"Molly, come on," Abigail reasoned with her. "With everything you've been through, nothing is implicit."
Molly looked as if she didn't want that to be true, and turned to Rose for backup, but Rose was set firmly in Abigail's camp.
"If I were him," Rose began tentatively, "I wouldn't risk being sure of anything unless you'd outright told me, no matter how much you'd implied the truth."
This seemed to make Molly see things clearly and she almost appeared to be in pain.
"He probably thinks I still hate him," Molly said despondently. "No wonder he's been acting the way he has all week."
Molly picked up a jumper that was lying on her bed and waiting to be packed. She made an effort to fold it, but it ended up a rumpled mess in her hands as she focused on her recent realization. Rose thought back the the few times Molly and Archie had seen each other that week. The only time they'd actually both stuck around Molly seemed nervous to have him there, but open about it. Almost like she would have been eager to engage him in conversation if he were to initiate it. But Archie had kept his head down and only ever let his eyes drift her way when he was certain she was looking elsewhere. Molly's assessment of the motives behind his behavior was probably spot on.
"Do you want him to think that? That you still hate him?" Rose managed to ask. With a sigh, Molly sat down on the bed, running her hands over the soft material of the jumper she was still holding.
"No," she said softly, her eyes fixed on her hands. "Because even if we never speak again, I'd hate for him to continue thinking something that's not true. Because I never did hate him."
"So," Abigail said with determination, "what are you going to do about it?"
"There's nothing I can do about it. Nothing I should do about it," Archie grumbled into his coffee.
"Mate, come on," said Scorpius. "We all know that you'll regret not saying something as soon as she's gone."
"Just last week you said she should be the one to come talk to me," Archie challenged.
"Are you really going to let your pride get in the way of this?"
Archie remained silent as he sat across from Scorpius, whose desk was between them as they argued in his office on Friday afternoon.
"Look, you can do whatever the hell you want," said Scorpius. "But I actually know how terrifying it can be to face your fears. I've practically been shaking all week."
"Don't make this about you," Archie snapped. "Sure, Rose is probably going to hate you when you tell her the truth, and you might never get a chance with her, but I actually lost something. And as much as I claimed I could stand to lose her again, it would hurt too bloody much if I'd actually tried to have her and then lost her."
Archie's face was set and determined, but Scorpius knew he had to press just a bit more. Whereas before he thought Molly should do the talking, time was running out, and he knew, even though Archie wouldn't admit it, that his friend would regret it if he just let her go. Not without knowing how she felt about him.
"What if she still loves you and just needs to hear that you feel the same? Did you even tell her on New Year's?"
Archie shook his head before draining his coffee and setting his mug rather carelessly on the desk.
"I couldn't. She was so cut up about everything else, I just knew it would be too much. And I don't deserve to be allowed to tell her that. I broke her heart and my own in the process. It wouldn't be fair for me to tell her how I feel now."
Scorpius leaned forward on his desk, looking his friend square in the face.
"Arch, if you don't listen to any of my advice, I want you to at least remember this; you're allowed to do something for yourself every now and then. All this time, no matter how much you may claim to have acted selfishly, you've done nothing but try and protect Molly. Back when you were together and even this past month. Everything has been to make sure she's okay and she's happy and she has what she needs. But did you ever think that she might need you? And that it's okay for you to want her?"
Archie's eyes drifted from Scorpius' face, his mouth pursed in thought as he breathed heavily.
"She'd have to forgive me first, which I'm not even sure she's done. Besides, I've spent the last few years doing everything I could to not want her. Switching that off isn't as easy as it sounds."
"Just say you'll think about it, yeah? Rose said she leaves on Sunday."
Archie nodded, his tense posture relaxing slightly in recognition of the end of the conversation.
"Speaking of Rose…" drawled Archie, "what's your plan?"
Scorpius had gone back and forth all week on how he wanted to tell Rose the truth. One thought he had was to show up at the cafe and say something all poised and rehearsed and introduce himself as Leo, like he would have had he not known Rose before meeting her as Daisy. That just seemed too nonchalant, like it was a bit of a joke. He quickly decided against that option. He thought about dropping hints throughout their meal until she figured it out, but once again, that felt cheap. And the last thing he wanted was for her to think he'd thought it was all some game to him.
There was always the option of just completely winging it, but that's what he'd done last time and it had gone horribly wrong. He wanted it to be intentional and he wanted to have a plan. When he stopped overthinking it, the answer had come easily.
"I wrote her a letter last night," he told Archie. "I'm still trying to figure out at what point in the evening to give it to her."
"Probably not in the restaurant," Archie commented. "Don't want to cause a scene."
Scorpius shot him a look. "Maybe if she's not there yet or waiting outside, I'll give it to her first. That way I don't have to sit through a meal as a bundle of nerves. If not, I'll offer to walk her home and give it to her then. If I manage to work up the courage to give it to her at all."
"Solid plan," said Archie. "For the situation, at least. That's rather rotten all around."
"Thanks for that."
"My pleasure," Archie said with a grin. "In all seriousness though, what do you want to happen?"
Scorpius sighed, leaning forward and slowly spinning his own mug of coffee around on the desk, looking into the depths of swirling dark liquid.
"I reckon she'll hate me once again. Not much I can do about that, but it's better than trying to see what could happen between us without her knowing everything I do."
"That's not what I asked," said Archie. "I asked what you wanted."
"I'm trying not to think about that."
Archie pondered his friend's response, a look of concentration marring his features for a few moments before he sighed.
"I know exactly what you mean."
Scorpius gave him an apologetic grimace.
"What are you going to do about your dad?"
"What about him?" Archie asked irritably.
"Well, you're not going to continue working for him, right?"
Archie shook his head. "No. I was actually thinking about asking Hugo for some legal advice. It's not just the job; I'm part owner since I'm his 'heir' or whatever. I'm not sure if I want to dissolve my hold completely, or what my options might be. Part of me wants to just completely cut ties and never look back, but I'm not sure that's the smartest choice."
"Any ideas what you'll do instead?" asked Scorpius.
"Haven't given it much thought," Archie said with a shrug. "If I sell my stock in the company, I could afford to travel for awhile. Might be nice to get away. After that, maybe look for some other nonprofit to work for? It's all I know, really. And I do know that I'm actually good at what I do when I care about it. It's just been hard to be invested for the last few years."
"God, a holiday would be fantastic," Scorpius said, leaning back in his chair. "I'd love to get away from everything once it all goes to shit tonight."
"Am I interrupting a pity party?"
They both glared at Al as he walked into Scorpius' office, an amused smirk on his face.
"You know," said Scorpius in annoyance, "it's rather insensitive of you to mock us when you're not only happily married, but it just so happens to be members of your family that are making our lives miserable."
Al looked affronted by his friend's comment, though still amused.
"I think you're the ones making your own lives miserable. Well, at least you are," he said to Archie before turning back to Scorpius. "Yours is a little outside of your control."
"Oi!" Archie said defensively. "I can't do anything about mine either."
"Why? Your mouth hasn't seemed to have stopped functioning. I'm willing to bet you used your legs to get here. Seems that's all you'd need to go make things right with Molly."
Archie stood at Al's challenge, glaring dangerously at the young Auror, who didn't even seem slightly fazed.
"Fuck off, Al. You wouldn't understand."
"I understand plenty. You can convince yourself all you want that it won't work between you two, but the way I see it, the only reason it didn't was because of choices you both made. You have the chance to make a different one this time, so what'll it be?"
Archie just continued to glare at Al, his chest heaving as he seemed on the verge of cursing his friend. But he merely grabbed his coat from the back of his chair before storming out of the room.
"Hopefully that won't backfire," Al said with an almost pleased smirk as he took the seat Archie had vacated.
"I'd already given him a bit of a shake down about it, so it'll either be just the push he needs or a little too much."
Al shrugged. "Not much we can do anymore at this point. Just got to let them figure out the rest themselves."
Scorpius could only nod in agreement.
"There a reason you stopped by?"
"Got done early with some paperwork and just wanted to check in before tonight. You ready?"
Scorpius glanced at the clock on his desk, which read just before five. He shrugged before turning back to face his friend.
"As I'll ever be."
"He didn't explain what he wanted?" Hugo asked as he leaned on the front counter, an intrigued look on his face.
"Nope," said Rose with a shake of her head. "Just that there was something we should talk about. I've got no bloody clue what it could be. Hopefully he's not thinking of offering to buy me out or something equally stupid."
Hugo chuckled, something he'd been doing a lot more of lately.
"Have you given any more thought to what those Healers talked to you about?"
Rose shrugged. "A bit. I talked to Jane about it and she thought it was an amazing opportunity, but I can't ask her to take over more here. She hates the customer aspect. She'd rather just sit in the back brewing basic potions day in and day out."
"Would they consider allowing you both to use the lab?" Hugo suggested. "Maybe that way you could alternate duties."
Rose paused, thinking about his idea. "I hadn't really thought about it, but I'm sure she'd love to have the opportunity as well. Maybe I'll ask Healer Osborn in my next letter."
"You wrote to him already?" asked Hugo.
"Yes," Rose said with a sigh, counting out the last few galleons as she made to close up shop for the day. "I told him I'd be interested in meeting soon to discuss what possibilities there are, but it was more about something else."
She'd been growing more agitated each day that passed without hearing back from the Healer. Maybe he found her question to be impertinent. Or he was simply too busy with other matters to pay attention to such a simple inquiry. She'd hoped to have an answer to whom had been given the Campbell Grant by now. Her letter should have arrived Tuesday morning, and she might not have been as bothered by the three day wait if it weren't so important to her.
She'd been waiting so long to find out who Leo was, and now it was close enough for her to feel like she could just reach out and grasp the truth, but it was still evading her. There was a strange part of her that felt like she almost knew the truth, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out what that truth was. It was a bizarre feeling, like when you can't quite remember the name of a song or the title of a book, but you know you should.
It was probably because she had every piece of the puzzle in place except this last one. She knew what he did and essentially who he was. And she knew how she felt about him. But she still didn't know his true identity.
"Ready?" Jane asked as she came out from the back room and approached Hugo, who smiled as she came to stand next to him. Jane gave Rose a teasing smile before grabbing Hugo's hand.
"Have fun tonight. Don't wait up," she said with a wink, before pulling a slightly startled Hugo out the front door.
Rose had to chuckle to herself. It had been strange to watch the change that had come over both Jane and Hugo the past few weeks. They were still mostly in the friendship territory, but Hugo had started to make it obvious that he was very much enjoying spending time with her best friend. Over the years, Hugo would always handle his relationships the same way; he'd get to know the girl, hang out with her a few times, and then ask her out. It seemed to be going the same way once again, but Rose had never seen him this relaxed and open around anyone. Not in a long time.
She finished closing up and pulled on her hat, coat, and scarf, making her way home just after six o'clock. In roughly an hour, she'd be going to meet Scorpius Malfoy, completely willingly. Despite the ominous way he'd said they needed to talk, she couldn't help but feel a bit excited about spending time getting to know him more. A thought she never would have had a month ago.
Trudging up the steps to her flat and kicking the snow off her boots as she went, Rose did a mental inventory of what was likely to be clean and hanging in her closet. She didn't want to look too nice, but a little effort couldn't go amiss. Her coat was off and she was in the middle of removing her scarf when she noticed the owl on the ledge outside her window. Hurrying over, she let it in, quickly retrieving the letter before the owl flew off again.
Assuming she knew exactly who it was from, thoughts of preparing for her evening were momentarily forgotten as she sat down at her kitchen table, her cat Rhea winding herself around her feet and seeking attention. But Rose could only think about the letter in her hand and what it might contain as she tore it open.
Miss Weasley,
What a surprise to receive your letter. It was lovely to meet you the night of the benefit, as well. I too wish we'd been able to talk for longer, but I do understand that you had personal matters to attend to. The incident between Mr. Davies and his son has been the talk of the town, but I trust your cousin is in good spirits now.
I'd be more than happy to meet with you sometime in the near future. I will have my assistant attach a memo about what times would be best for my schedule. I understand you have a partner at your store? I would understand if you'd like to include her in our discussions if possible.
As to your other question - that was the reason you didn't hear from me sooner. I couldn't remember the name of the young wizard who received the grant so I had to do some digging. When I finally learned his name, I was surprised you weren't already aware who'd received the grant. I seem to recall you dancing with him for awhile at the benefit so I believe you to be on friendly terms. If you see Scorpius Malfoy, tell him that I'd love to hear more about his research on blood maladies. Maybe we could all set up a meeting together, since you seem so interested in his work as well.
I'll tell Mr. Dobbins, my assistant, to expect your owl in regards to a time when you would be available to meet.
Regards,
Healer Charles Osborn
Her heart was pounding in her ears. Her eyes were moving across the page rapidly, always drawn back to the same words. It was making her dizzy. Her whole body was numb.
The night she'd gone to meet Leo and Scorpius had shown up flashed through her mind, followed quickly by Leo's letter that lacked much explanation for that night. And then there had been his following one that ended their correspondence, which he hadn't explained much either.
She felt sick. She felt confused. But she also felt like she should have known all along, and that there was no way he was not already very aware of the truth.
Scorpius was nervously standing in front of his bathroom mirror, trying not to focus too much on the way his hair lay. He was supposed to be meeting Rose in twenty minutes, meaning he had roughly half that time to finish getting ready before he should set off for the cafe.
He'd chosen to wear a dark blue henley shirt, almost navy, and dark wash jeans. He'd thought about doing a more formal button up, but didn't want to over dress. It amazed him how much thought he put into it. Rose had rolled her eyes at him in the past when she thought he was dressed too "uppity" as she liked to call it. He was hoping she'd appreciate his attempts at dressing more casual. It was actually something he wished he did more often, but it had been ingrained in him to always look his best since birth. He'd actually said this to Rose last week when she'd commented on his attire when they'd been at Sam's one night, and she'd laughingly told him that he didn't need a sport coat to look good.
He could still remember the slight pink that had appeared on her cheeks after her comment. It was just one more thing that had happened that made him think she could possible feel the same way about him as he did her one of these days.
Archie's question about what he actually wanted had been ringing in Scorpius' head the past two hours. He knew it was wishful thinking, to want her to be understanding and maybe even be open to at least keeping their tentative friendship in tact, but he couldn't help wanting even more than that. All week, he'd been trying not to get his hopes up; to realize that this night would likely not go well for him. But every time he thought of Rose, he thought of his future, and she'd somehow become tied to that in his mind. Of course, he'd realized awhile ago that he wanted a future with Daisy, but he was only just accepting that he still wanted that. Now that he knew she was Rose.
It was all Rose now. The fact that he'd gotten to know her without realizing it didn't seem to matter anymore. She'd always been the girl he was falling for, and now, there was no doubt in his mind that he loved her.
It was ridiculous how blind he'd been for years. When they were in school, he'd always been drawn to her, but her walls were so strongly built up and he'd responded in kind. It was almost laughable to think about what could have been if they'd just opened themselves up to each other back then. They could have grown up as friends, and this next part would have been a hell of a lot easier. Maybe they would've already been together by now. It was ironic that it took anonymity on both parts for him to get to know someone that he'd known the majority of his life.
Scorpius was pulled from his musings by a knock on his front door. He was still standing over his bathroom sink, taking in his appearance. There was still a small amount of time before he had to meet Rose, but he couldn't think of who could possibly be stopping by unexpectedly. His parents usually flooed first, and Al and Archie knew his plans for the evening, and there weren't many other people who were able to just come to his front door.
Hoping whatever it was wouldn't take long, he made his way to answer as another impatient knock sounded. He let out an annoyed sigh as he opened the door, stopping short in surprise when he saw Rose standing in front of him. Her expression was unreadable, and the knit cap she was wearing was slightly eskew. He looked at her in question.
"Hi," he finally managed to say, stepping back as if to let her in. "Weren't we meant to be meeting-?"
"How long have you known?"
His gut clenched as a combined sense of panic and sorrow settled over him. Her eyes were filled with confusion, and she seemed almost to be in a state of shock. It was written plainly across her face that she knew the truth.
"Rose-"
"How long? Was it when you showed up at the cafe or before?"
He sighed, all the anticipation he's been feeling moments before leaving him as he moved into the flat, leaving her to follow. She didn't even close the door behind her as she stepped inside. He might as well be honest now.
"I figured it out when I saw the burn paste in your shop," he said, turning to face her. He shoved his hands in his pockets, his hair that had started to grow too long hanging slightly in his face. "How'd you find out?"
"The Campbell Grant," she said in a strained voice. "I figured when I heard about some young wizard winning it for research on blood malady cures, it was unlikely for there to be more than one of you. I looked into it."
He sighed, his hand going to rub his eyes in frustration. Of all the ways he thought of this happening, this had been the last thing he wanted.
"So, when you came to meet me at the cafe," she continued, obviously still processing everything, "you already knew it would be me?"
He looked down, shoving his hand back in his pocket and scuffing his foot against the floor before meeting her gaze and jerking his head in a nod.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she basically snarled at him.
Scorpius gave a resigned sigh. "Would you have even listened? I hardly believed it myself. Part of me thought about maybe saying something, depending on how the conversation went. I even brought a few of your letters as proof."
Thinking back to that night, he felt a stab of pain at the way they'd both behaved. He could see a similar emotion betrayed on her face.
"You didn't have to be such an arse," she managed to snap at him.
"You didn't have to be one either."
"Shut up!" she yelled at him, her anger finally coming through as she pointed threateningly at him. "You don't get to make this about you when I'm the one who was lied to."
"You think this was easy for me?" he managed to argue back. "Not only having no fucking clue how to tell you, but finding out who you were to begin with? I was perfectly ready to meet Daisy that night and fall head over heels for her, but falling for you? Rose Weasley? My supposed arch rival? That was never part of the plan."
She was taken aback for a moment at his words, but recovered quickly.
"I should've known better than to trust you," she said. "You're exactly who I thought you were."
She turned away from him, tearing her hat off her head and running her hand through her hair in frustration. He did his best to keep his heart from breaking at her words. Resolve built up in him, wanting to do everything he could to keep them from slipping back to what they had been before.
"No I'm not."
Rose looked at him in surprise, turning to face him with her arms crossed defensively.
"I'm not who you thought I was," he continued. "And I think you know that."
She looked almost guilty for a moment before she covered it up with what looked like indifference, but wasn't quite convincing.
"All this time, things have actually been going well between us," she said in a rush. "I might even say we resemble friends. If you are in fact not who I thought you were, why not say something now?"
"I was planning on it," he told her. "Tonight, if I managed to work up the courage."
Her hands fell limply to her sides as her eyes searched his, looking for some type of answers that he wasn't sure he could give. He couldn't tell if she was still angry or maybe sad or hurt or all of the above.
"What made you think I shouldn't have known right away?" she asked in frustration. "Why keep something like that from me, no matter what type of relationship we had?"
Looking at her now, he knew exactly why he hadn't told her sooner, because it was written all over her face that what he hadn't wanted to happen already had.
"Because I couldn't bear to disappoint you."
Tears welled up in her eyes, and he knew he was right. She was disappointed. She wished it wasn't true; that the person she'd invested so much time and energy into was someone she barely even wanted in her life to begin with.
With a resigned sigh, he slowly walked towards her, his hand reaching into his back pocket and pulling out the letter he'd placed there earlier. She sucked in a sharp breath as her eyes went to her name on the envelope. In his handwriting. The handwriting she'd seen for months. Here was even more proof for her that it was all real.
"I was planning to give you this tonight, if I had the opportunity. I'm done hiding the truth from you. This should explain most of it."
He handed her the letter, and Rose took it with a shaky hand.
"Why should I read this?"
A sad smile graced his lips as he looked into her beautiful brown eyes that were questioning him.
"Because you're a better person than me, and I'm asking you to give me the benefit of the doubt."
Rose's words from Christmas repeated back to her didn't go unnoticed. Her eyes sharpened and her breath came out in quick bursts. Fist tightening around the letter, she gave a slight nod before turning away from him. He felt her name pulled almost against his consent from his throat, but she didn't even look back as she walked out, slamming his door shut behind her.