A/N: My eyes and brain are bleeding from all this studying, so I decided to give myself a break.

Brace yourselves - this is definitely going to be the second-to-last chapter. Should I contemplate in writing an epilogue?

Oh well - happy (or not) reading! And thanks for the support, guys, I appreciate it.

--

Idiocy of the Male Species

"Where's Rose? I haven't seen her all morning." Hugo asked that afternoon by the beech tree; it was a warm summer Saturday - the last Saturday before exams to be exact - and mostly everybody in the school was outside, trying to soak up as much sun as possible.

Dominique gave her cousin a dark look. "You haven't heard what happened?" Her tone was incredulous.

Hugo, oblivious as ever, shook his head, his shaggy copper looks swaying to and fro. "No...what happened?"

"Draco Malfoy came to school the other night to bring Scorpius home," Jane explained sullenly, "he wants him to study there; he thinks it's a better environment for him or something."

"He knows," Mandy added, "it's quite obvious."

"Duh - why else would he come to school at such an odd time? I wonder how he found out, though." Albus scratched the back of his head with the end of his quill. "I know for a fact that Rosie's in the library, at least - but she won't talk to anybody. She's got her nose buried into those books of hers."

"Give her some space, Al; she needs time to sort out a few things." Lisa said comfortingly, but Albus shook his head.

"But what if-" When all of the girls' eyes narrowed in his direction, he sighed in defeat and held up his hands. "-alright, alright. I'll leave her alone…for now."

"We're all worried for her, but there are times where we have to keep our distance. She needs to solve things on her own - or at least without you breathing down her neck." Jane patted her cousin's arm.

"I guess you're right," Albus muttered, shaking his head, "but she better not be beating herself up over it, 'cause none of it is her fault."

"Oh, you know Rose," Randy smirked, "she gets all worked up about it first, and then she figures out why this is all happening in the first place and she feels incredibly stupid afterward. She'll get through it, don't worry."

--

She was supposed to be crying; her head was supposed to be buried in her arms and her shoulders shaking with sobs. Her eyes were supposed to be red-rimmed and the corners of her mouth quivering. She was supposed to be wrought with depression and rejection, falling deeper into a bottomless pit of darkness, or drowning in a sea of pain.

Rose was sitting at her usual table in the library, surrounded by open textbooks and roll after roll of parchment. Her fingers were stained with ink and her shirt even looked a little wrinkled - she had been up since very early this morning studying for her exams. Her eyes were shiny with tears but none had fallen out as of yet, and her face was flushed with pent-up anger. The corners of her mouth were not quivering, but her fists were; she nearly broke her favourite scarlet quill twice, and if you looked at all of the rolls of parchment there were punctured holes and tears everywhere.

"Hypocrite," She hissed, flipping harshly through her Arithmancy textbook and nearly ripping the pages apart, "lying, sanctimonious, cowardly, rotten little bast-" She flicked her wrist a little too quickly and knocked over her ink bottle; the black liquid seeped through every piece of paper and book. Cursing a little louder now, Rose leapt out of her chair before the ink had the chance to stain her clothing and stabbed her wand in its direction; the table was instantly ink free.

Muttering expletives under her breath, she forced herself back down on her chair and resumed 'studying'. She ran a hand through her hair and exhaled slowly, mentally counting to ten in her head. She really had to concentrate now; there was no use fuming over the past.

But how could she not? One day Scorpius was convincing her that everything was going to be okay and that she should not be worrying about the consequences, and now he was the one who needed to be convinced. Did that incident with James change his perspective? Did his sister tell him anything? Was Tatia sending him death threats?

It did not matter anymore anyway - he was gone, at least for the weekend. His father knew, and there was nothing to argue against that. There was no other explanation; why else would Draco Malfoy prance over to the school days before exams started to drag his son back home?

"A better learning environment," Rose snorted, and she slammed her book shut. That was probably the stupidest thing she had ever heard in her entire life. She knew what was going to happen, and she was going to prepare herself for it: Scorpius will be home for the weekend, and his father will brainwash him back into his old self-righteous, spoiled, malevolent, deceiving self and everything will be back to normal. It was not like she was going to let that bother her or anything; they only had exams, and then school was over. After graduation she did not have to see the likes of Scorpius Malfoy ever again, and she was going to live a long, fulfilling life with her friends, family and a successful career, whatever that may be.

She was certain she was going to be happy without him - who needs a Malfoy anyway? Dad was right.

"Er, Rose?" Her head slowly turned to glance over her shoulder and her expression softened when she saw a slightly uncomfortable looking Damien Byrne standing in between two bookshelves; there was a letter in his hand. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything-"

Why did things have to turn out differently between them? "No, you're not. Sit down." She motioned towards the chair beside her.

The Ravenclaw cracked a small smile and shuffled over to the chair; he tossed the letter onto the pile of parchment. "Hugo said that this was for you, but he was too scared to deliver it." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I think everybody's too scared to deliver it."

"Well, it was very brave and kind of you to do so, Damien." Rose reached for the letter; her fingers ran over the return address - it was from home. "Thank you."

He fumbled with his fingers for a little bit before answering. "Rose, I'm really sorry about what happened; you didn't deserve to-"

"You don't have anything to apologize for," She cut in, a little surprised at his odd behaviour, "you weren't the one who turned your back on me unexpectedly."

"He's a coward to have done something like that to you," Damien's tone darkened a little, "if his father didn't come to bring him home I would've confronted him myself."

"That's very sweet, but I don't think anything could've been done to sway him otherwise," The anger inside of Rose dissipated by just a fraction and she sighed, "I really thought he changed somewhat, Damien. Turns out I was just another one of his victims."

"Oh no, Rosie," The Ravenclaw pressed his hands on her shoulders, "trust me, he has changed - he's done a great deal of changing ever since first year, but that doesn't mean he's changed completely." His eyes darted to the letter on the table and he slowly rose from his chair. "I think I'll leave you to your own devices now. Take care."

She stood up as well and leaned forward to peck him on the cheek. "Thank you, Damien." He gave her a small smile and quietly slipped out of view. Once he was gone, she swerved around in her chair and grabbed the letter. She tore it open slowly and unfurled the parchment - the ink still smelled fresh, so it must have been written not very long ago.

Rosie,

You have got a lot of explaining to do, young lady.

Great, Dad knows too.

How did everybody find out before me? Why didn't you tell me that you and Scorpius were - it makes me uncomfortable to say it, but I hope you know what I'm talking about.

I hope you distinctly remember all of the times I told you and your brothers and sisters that the Malfoys are a family that you should not be making acquaintances with. They're a bunch of pompous, no-good, cheating liars and you'll only end up hurt in the end. I know you're hurting right now, but this is for the best, Rose - Scorpius' father and I had mutually decided on this.

It's actually a funny story on how I found out: I was at lunch break with your Uncle Harry and your cousin James, and they just couldn't keep their mouths shut. I overheard them talking about it, and by coincidence Mr. Malfoy and his wife were having lunch at a table not so far away. I guess it would've been better to have heard the news from you, but it would've shocked me all the same.

Rose, you know I love you and I always will - this is for your own good. I understand if you don't want to talk to me for now, but I want you to know that I am always here for you. I hope you will do well - actually, I know you will do well on your NEWTs, and I'll be there on your graduation.

Love Always,

Dad

Rose carefully folded the letter back into the envelope, scoffing as she did so. For her own good? She wanted to laugh. Of course she loved her parents with all her heart, but there were areas where lines had to be drawn - her love life was one of them. Her father, bless his heart, only wanted to protect her from getting hurt, and she admired him for caring that much, but she was old enough to think for herself now.

Oh, it did not really matter anyway - Scorpius was gone, and after graduation, everything would return to normal.

She whipped out a fresh piece of parchment and dipped her pen into the ink bottle; she would have to explain how she no longer cared about the on-goings of the Malfoy family…oh and her father specifically instructed her to explain everything…so she would have to start from the very beginning, then. She would have to explain the teasing, the numerous Quidditch-related incidents, the Potions assignment, Tatia Schultz, the Halloween Ball, that one night during patrol…

Her chest contracted and she dropped her quill - it could wait until later, she supposed. Sniffling slightly, she gathered her papers into a neat pile and stuffed them into her bag. She returned the books to their respective shelves and nearly dashed out of the library.

It could wait until later.

--

"...So now Scorpius is at home, apparently studying for his NEWTs."

"Isn't there anything you can do, Dad?" James asked worriedly.

Harry frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, pressing his side against his son's desk. "I don't think so; we're really not involved in any of this - it's more of your Uncle Ron and Draco's business."

"Well, we were the ones who sort of informed them…"

"Yes, yes, I know," Harry's cheeks flushed a light shade of pink, "but it's not like they weren't going to find out eventually, right?" James raised an eyebrow, and Harry's frown deepened. "Okay, well if it weren't for us they probably wouldn't have found out for a very long time. Still, it's none of our business, and we can't go around interfering in things we're not a part of."

"You think this whole thing's just as ridiculous as everybody else thinks it is," James countered, "but the only difference between you and everyone else is that you're bloody Harry Potter - there has to be something you can do. At least talk to Draco; I dunno...maybe he'll listen to you."

"We may no longer be school enemies, son, but that doesn't mean we're friends either. I doubt Draco will listen to me, and it's not like he'd have the time anyway - he's a department head, he's probably got loads of things to do."

"You're a department head too, Dad, if you've forgotten." James was rolling his eyes; Harry winced.

"Well, there haven't been enough evildoers to go around, so I've been blessed with more free time." The elder Potter straightened up a bit, trying to reclaim his dignity, but then his chest deflated when he read the look on his son's face. "Okay, I know I'm making excuses, you don't have to look at me like that. As much as I'd love to help, I can't."

"Dad..." James complained; Harry sighed and buried his face in his hands.

"I'm going back to work. You better do the same." He left his son's work area abruptly. Muttering a string of obscenities under his breath, James swiveled around in his seat; he grabbed his quill and a piece of parchment. If his dad did not want to get his hands dirty, he might as well do all the work himself.

The tip of his tongue protruded out of the corner of his mouth as he dipped his quill into the ink bottle.

"Dear Fred…"

--

Scorpius was sitting at his desk, twirling his wand in his fingers. Ferdinand was hooting erratically and flapping around in his cage - he had been doing that for at least ten minutes now.

"Ah, sod off will you," The blond spat; he unlocked the cage and in an instant the tawny owl jetted straight for the open window. It was nighttime, and the sky was cloudy. The clouds were so thick the moon was not even visible. "I know I'm a twat - you don't have to rub it in." He muttered as he closed his window, watching his owl's departing figure growing smaller and smaller.

Scorpius dropped his wand and moved to collapse face-down on his bed, sighing loudly and running his hands through his hair. He had been cooped up in his room since last night, when his father kidnapped him from school and brought him back here. Draco had been trying to force information out of him but he managed to weasel away, brushing him off with shallow excuses. He still wondered how he got away with it.

"Don't think I'm stopping here," His father told him, "I'll be around to talk to you again in the morning."

So morning came, and Draco barged into his room to interrogate him for a second time, but Scorpius still kept his mouth shut.

"I'm getting tired of this, Scorpius," His father said through gritted teeth, "I'm going to try again tomorrow morning, and if you refuse to cooperate, I'll have to take matters into my own hands."

Huh. Matters into his own hands. He wanted to know what his father meant by that, but at the same time he kind of did not.

You can't make up your mind on anything, can't you? A voice that sounded suspiciously like his father's jeered, You want to know, yet you don't. You tell Rose you don't care about the consequences, and then suddenly you change your mind.

Scorpius groaned and rolled over on his bed, smacking his forehead with his palms. Everybody was against him now, including his own conscience. Things could not possibly get any worse…

"OI!" A muffled voice startled the blond, nearly sending him toppling off his bed. Scorpius bolted straight up and looked left and right, wondering where the voice was coming from. He shook his paranoia off, dismissing it as insanity due to his growing guilt, but then the voice piped up again.

"Malfoy! You idiot - your window!"

Did Ferdinand have a hidden ability to speak to humans? Scorpius turned slowly to face the window, and his eyes widened; there was a car floating by his window. He rubbed his eyes and looked again - it was still there. Being born and raised in a magical world he figured he would be used to these things by now, but seeing a car floating out of your window in the middle of the night was something out of the ordinary, even in the wizarding world.

"Huh…" Scorpius rolled off his bed and edged towards the window; his eyes widened when he spotted James Potter grinning at him from the passenger's seat. He hurriedly unlatched the window and pushed it open.

"All right there, Malfoy?" The eldest Potter boy's grin broadened; Scorpius gulped and took a cautious step back. "Having a nice time wallowing in your self-pity and regrets?" James' tone soured a bit and the Slytherin flinched at the sudden change.

"Don't grind him too hard," The driver leaned forward a little so he could be seen; he was scrawny looking, and even under the pale moonlight his hair still managed to retain its fiery red hue. He sort of looked like Hugo at first glimpse but then Scorpius remembered that he was too young to drive even a floating car. "you're scaring the boy, James."

James laughed and leaned back in his seat, ruffling his hair. "Fine, fine." He turned to look back at Scorpius, who looked like he had been attacked by poltergeists. "Listen, we're getting you out of here, so get your stuff packed."

Scorpius blinked. "Y-you're what now?"

"You heard him," The redhead said gruffly, "we're bustin' you out of here. Now get your trunk packed - the sooner that's done, the sooner we can leave. Don't want your daddy to storm in to find us floating by your window, do we?"

"Er, right," Scorpius immediately raced away from the window, nearly tripping over his trunk; he ripped open his closet and drawers and threw whatever clothes he could find. He grabbed his books and shoved them into his trunk, along with his clothes and other necessities. He figured Ferdinand would be smart to know where he would be if he was not at home - Hogwarts was the only other place he had ever spent a lot of time in. He felt James' eyes on his back the entire time.

"Why are you helping me?" Scorpius asked as he handed James Ferdinand's empty cage; he turned back to grab his trunk.

"Because Rose is our cousin, and we hate to see her all bothered like she is now." James replied simply; he pulled the trunk into the car and pushed it into the back seat. "And since you're the root of her problems at the moment, we thought it would be a great idea if we kidnapped you so we can force you into apologizing to her."

Scorpius paused, just as he was about to crawl through the window. "You...what?"

"Eloquent, aren't you" The redhead driver snickered; he pressed a button on the dashboard and one of the back doors opened. Scorpius crawled through and shifted around so that half of his trunk rested on his lap. "we're gonna make you two kiss and make up - I'm Fred, by the way."

The mention of the word 'kiss' caused Scorpius' cheeks to heat up. James flicked his wand; the window closed quietly, as did the car door. Fred changed gears and circled around so that the car faced the other way. In an instant they were floating with the clouds, back to Hogwarts.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Rose likes you," James grimaced, "a lot. Because she's our beloved cousin, Fred and I only want to see her happy, and we think that the only way we'll see her happy again is if you two make amends."

"What makes you think she'd even want to look at me, after what I've said to her?" Scorpius stared down at his trunk, his voice heavy. When Fred and James burst out in laughter, his head snapped up in disbelief.

"You Malfoys aren't very bright, are you?" Fred smirked; Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Trust me, she'll want to see you, even if it doesn't seem like she does. We know her."

"Yeah," James turned around in his seat to face the blond. "knowing her, she really wants to see you right now."

That caused a spur of hope to grow inside the pit of Scorpius' stomach, and he frowned. "What makes you so sure? She probably thinks I'm a cowardly hypocrite."

"Honestly, mate, she probably does," James agreed, chuckling a little bit, but then his voice hardened into a dead seriousness, "but you know her; she's bloody stubborn. Once she sees you, she'll come around."

"I dunno..." Scorpius' eyes trailed towards the window; the clouds were whisking by them as they zoomed through the night air.

"Is this how you wanna feel on your graduation?" Fred exclaimed; his rise in tone caused Scorpius to look up again. "Chin up! You don't wanna feel miserable at the end of your last year of school! You know she's nutters over you; don't be so modest about it!"

"And," James sighed, as if he regretted what he was going to say next. "I know you feel the same way towards her, so don't mess this up, alright?"

"But that's the thing," Scorpius cried, throwing up his hands, "what am I supposed to say? 'Sorry for acting like a hypocritical dullard; can you forgive me and forget this ever happened?' Things don't work out that way!"

"As corny as this sounds, Malfoy, you've got to be totally honest with yourself." James' voice was dead serious again, "Admitting that you are a hypocritical dullard is a good start."

"You might think it's difficult to come up with the words now," Fred added, "but trust me - when you see her face, everything will pour out, and I mean everything."

"Take it from us," James poked himself in the chest and a goofy grin crept onto his features, "we know what it takes to handle the female species."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Am I supposed to believe that?"

"Believe it or not, it's the truth." James grinned again, "You've got at least twenty minutes to think up of what to say, anyway. Don't rush yourself."

After spending some time with them in a floating car, Scorpius concluded that Rose's elder cousins were actually not that bad. Maybe this was a good sign? He reached out to roll down one of the windows; the frigid air blasted in, skimming his cheeks and relieving him of the tension that was jumping around inside. If Fred was right, then maybe there was not a need to think up of what to say now. A new determination surged through him and he straightened up a bit; maybe he could pull this off after all.

He thought of Rose's smile, and he leaned back in his seat, feeling a smile of his own coming on; what he would do to see her like that again…