Amortentia

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A Scorose Fanfiction by Goldensnitch18

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Rated M for Scenes of a Sexual Nature & Language

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Summary: In their sixth year, rivals Rose and Scorpius

have a moment of terrifying clarity when they

both inhale the sweet smell of Amortentia.

One year later, Rose is finally single and Scorpius is

determined to snog the crazy out of her.

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Disclaimer: I am not profiting from this story.

Anything you recognize belongs to the great and mighty JKR.

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Beta Magic: Many thanks to harpersbizarre and dragonjess

for their time and work on this story.

Chapter Fifteen

Four days later, Scorpius was standing in their library waiting for Rose. It was Valentine's Day. They had done dinner in the Great Hall at their separate tables against his will. She hadn't wanted to skip because she was worried about Alice and Albus. He knew she was right, but he also knew she was worried about the rumors of them dating being confirmed by them both skipping dinner on this particular holiday, and that annoyed him. He had scarfed his dinner quickly, mumbled an excuse about an Ancient Runes chart he needed to work on and gone to the library to get ready.

When the portrait in front of him started to open, Scorpius felt his stomach flip, and then he saw her. She had her red hair hanging down in soft ringlets around her face, and she was giving him a nervous smile. Her teeth grazed over her bottom lip as she bit at it, and her eyes flashed with something that looked a lot like desire. She had changed out of her Ravenclaw robes into a black lace dress that he had never seen before. It was short, stopping above her mid thigh, and he wanted to rip it off of her. As it was, he stammered out, "Please tell me you've never worn that before."

"I bought it for tonight." Rose smirked at him, and he knew she was playing her game, trying to break him, and he wasn't sure that she wouldn't be successful. He had worn black slacks and a white button-up, and he was feeling rather hot now that she was standing in front of him. She moved forward into the room, closing the portrait behind him, and walked over to where he was waiting for her. She snaked her arms around his waist and kissed him softly. "This is a date, and you don't get to not kiss me," Rose whispered after she had pulled back and he nodded.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He ducked back down to kiss her again as his hand found her neck and touched one of the few parts of her body he trusted himself with right now. He pulled back and took her hand, and they turned back to the room.

"It's beautiful," she told him, as she took in the floating heart-shaped candles that were lighting the room. Scorpius started to walk towards the fireplace, and she let him lead her to the blanket laying there in front of it. She sat down, enjoying the warmth from the fire while Scorpius walked over to the kitchenette. He returned with a picnic basket and set to work. He poured them each a glass of wine, which made Rose raise her eyebrow at him.

"I can be sneaky when I want to," he told her, smiling coyly. She just shook her head and took the glass. After the wine, he pulled out a small tray of fruit and a bowl of chocolate. "I know we had dinner, but I thought …"

"Looks delicious," she told him, and she grabbed a strawberry to dip into the bowl. He settled himself next to her, one hand on the floor behind her as he faced her. Rose lifted the fruit to his lips, and he took a bite.

"Very good," he told her as he returned the favor. She closed her eyes and moaned when he had given her a bite. He felt his body react to the noise so often associated with other activities. "You're terrible."

"I'm usually successful at getting what I want," she told him innocently.

"I'm sure you are," he agreed, trying to watch the flames in front of him and not look too much at the black lace lining her shoulders. Fuck, just thinking about it was making him hard. He turned back to her to see that she was now eating the last of a small piece of banana. She put her finger in her mouth and sucked chocolate off of it. "Rose…" He groaned as if she was hurting him.

"You came up with this idea," she laughed.

"I thought it would be romantic," he grabbed the plate and moved it away from her, and she grinned, clearly having won some battle they were fighting. She took a sip of her wine, and he followed suit.

"So, what do we do now?" she asked and he grinned.

"Now we play chess," he told her.

"What?" she asked, surprised.

"You said it was important to your family, so I figured you and I should play before you take me home to your father," he pulled his board out from under his armchair, and she was amazed to see her pieces standing at the ready as well.

"How did you …?"

"I'm not telling you all of my secrets," he grinned. "Come on then, let's play." Rose began the game, instructing a pawn to move while her eyes never left his.

"What do I get if I win?" she asked.

"What do you want?" he asked, but he was sure he knew the answer.

"You."

"Rose …"

"What do you want if you win?" she cut him off, denying him the opportunity to fight her.

Scorpius was tempted to give the same answer as she did, but he didn't. "If I win, we tell our parents about us at graduation."

"Scor." She looked at him with doubt etched across her face.

"We can meet each other's families over break as friends, and by the time graduation comes around it won't be quite as big of a shock."

"I suppose …" she told him uneasily. Him having met her father once as her friend wasn't likely to make it any easier.

"Rose, I don't want to wait forever. You want to be with me. You'll have your plan figured out by then for after all this" - he waved around the room - "and I want you to be mine."

"Okay. Deal."

"Good." He took his turn and looked up at her, watching her attention move back to the chess board.

There were a few minutes of silence, each of them moving pieces, each of them scared to let the other win. "So, have you talked to Al about your job?" Rose asked, watching him now.

"No," he frowned and stared at the board, avoiding her eyes. He knew he should have told Al a long time ago, but it had never felt like the right time. "I'm not really looking forward to it now."

"The longer you wait, the worse it's going to be."

"I know that. I just … Merlin, he's so damn awful to be around right now."

"Have you talked to him about getting his shit together?"

"Have you?" Scorpius shot back, meeting her gaze. He knew she hadn't. He knew that he needed to do it, needed to help Al snap out of whatever was consuming him.

"No … but I'm also the one he told to be friends with Alice and still feels like a traitor." Scorpius watched the edges of her mouth fall. He knew this past month and then some hadn't been easy on her, and he hated it. He hated that she was stuck between two people she loved, and she was trying so hard not to judge Alice for being an idiot, still be her friend and support her. He was fairly sure he wouldn't have been able to do it.

"He's not upset with you for being friends with her," he knew it wasn't a lot, but he tried to reassure her.

"I know."

"Maybe we should say something to Harry and Ginny," he grinned at the thought.

Rose actually chuckled at that. "Are you kidding me? How exactly would that conversation go?"

"Your son is miserable and barely doing any of his prefects work or studies because his ex-girlfriend is in love with your other son. Tah!" He waved his hand as if he was actually saying goodbye to her Aunt and Uncle with wide eyes, and she laughed harder.

"Yes. That is just want they want to hear," Rose told him when she could breathe again.

"You don't think they are going to find out?"

"I'm sure they will. I can't imagine what James and Al are going to do the first time they see each other."

Al was going to punch James in the face. Scorpius had very little doubt about it. "It probably won't be pretty." There was a long period of silence again where they were wrapped up in their moves as they both got lost in thoughts about James, and Alice, and Albus and how royally fucked up everything had gotten.

"Have you talked with Ollivander anymore?" Rose asked, he could only assume to push away those thoughts.

"Yes. He's still sending me books." And, they were incredible. It was magic like he had never seen before. It was so much more than he had ever expected. Each wand different. Each wand perfect, made for some witch or wizard that maybe hadn't even been born yet.

"How is it going?"

"Good. It seems intense, but I already like it." She could tell from the smile he couldn't stop from spreading across his face that he was downplaying just how much.

"You'll be amazing."

"I'll have to be," to make up for what my family did to him.

"You will be."

"Assuming everything goes well this summer at the shop, he's going to take me through the entire process of making my first wand starting in September." Ollivander had warned him that it would take months and even then he may fail. It likely wouldn't end well.

"That will be pretty phenomenal, I expect."

"It will, won't it? I just … I honestly can't believe it's real most days, that he really picked me." Scorpius had never even applied. The man had just written him and asked him to come by. Scorpius had, of course. They had talked for a small time about nothing at all to do with wands, and then Ollivander had offered him the job.

"Clearly he sees's something in you," she told him, her smile lopsided like she knew the answer to a secret.

"But, what?" Scorpius shook his head. "I just wish I knew what it was that he was looking for." He took his turn and grinned at the board wickedly.

"Your game." Rose sighed sadly, seeing that she had no way out.

"I'll still let you kiss me," he promised, and Rose didn't wait. She crawled over the board, scattering their remaining pieces and kissed him softly. Scorpius pulled her to him and deepened the kiss, feeling her body against his. He wanted her so bad, but now he had a deadline. He had a date and a countdown, and he knew, with a little self-control, he could make it.

"Is it wrong that I'm a little disappointed about your loss?" he asked, breathing heavily against her lips when she pulled back.

"No. I'm very disappointed," she told him honestly. "What are we doing now?"

"Now … I'm going to need you to go change."

"Change?"

"As much as it kills me, because, Merlin, you look delicious, I need you to change into something warmer."

Rose narrowed her eyes at him, but she stood up and disappeared into her room. Scorpius waited for her for a few minutes and then she was back, standing before him in tight jeans and a black long sleeve shirt. She had wrapped a blue and bronze scarf around her neck and was putting on her jacket. Scorpius followed suit, putting on his own scarf and jacket which he had left sitting on the chair at the table. He then held up something up, and Rose recognized it immediately. "You borrowed the cloak."

"Yes." Scorpius walked over to her and kissed her again, softly. He was going to get as much of that in as he could without driving them both crazy while they were on their date.

"Where are we going?"

"Out." He grinned and threw the cloak over both of them. It covered them, but they had to be careful to walk slowly. Scorpius checked the hall before they left their library and then led her out of the school. They weren't out after their curfew considering they basically didn't have one and rounds would be starting soon, but technically hadn't started yet. He didn't want anyone seeing them leaving the school together and trying to find out why. As they walked, Scorpius held Rose's hand in his and rubbed at the back with his thumb.

Once they were out on the grounds, Scorpius led her down to the Quidditch Pitch, taking the cloak off once they were a safe distance away. "The pitch?" Rose asked curiously.

"I want us to have a memory here," he didn't finish that thought, and he knew he didn't have to. He wanted to drive out the thoughts of Rowan's hands on her, his fingers inside of her, her moans coming out for that prat instead of for him. He needed this place to be special to them. Rose rubbed the back of his hand like he had been doing for her.

"I'd like that," she told him softly.

Scorpius led her to the changing rooms, and she laughed. "Are we going to actually …"

"No!" He cut her off. "I wouldn't … that would be … weird."

"A little too claiming me, I think," she agreed. Scorpius waved his wand and two brooms flew softly towards them, stopping in mid air.

"You stole my broom also!" she chided him and rushed forward to grab it from in front of them.

"I told you I have secrets, and I'm not telling them."

"You foul little Slytherin," she feigned anger by poking him in the chest and stomping off towards the pitch.

Scorpius grabbed the training bag of Quaffles from the supplies area and followed her, wishing that her coat wasn't covering what he was sure would be a perfect view of her arse as she walked.

Scorpius and Rose mounted their brooms and for awhile, they just flew, testing each other's limits, enjoying the freedom of flight without purpose, without a Captain directing them. Scorpius had thought briefly about taking her on his broom and not stealing hers, but he knew they both could use this break.

After many laps of the stadium, dives, and turns, Scorpius moved his wand out of his coat and flicked it, pulling the Quaffles up into the air around him. Rose took her place at the goal posts, and Scorpius made a small swish. One Quaffle barreled forward, and she just barely clasped it with her fingers, stopping it from shooting through the hoops behind her. "Excellent!" Scorpius cried out and continued.

After she had caught all the Quaffles, they switched places, and she took her turn trying to shoot past him. He caught everyone as well, and she enthusiastically cheered for him while he laughed back at her. "What do you think will happen next week?" she asked him. She was flying next to him now, and the Quaffles had been charmed to launch themselves through the hoops at random. Scorpius and Rose worked as a team to stop them, which was harder than they expected it to be. They let three Quaffles through because of communication errors.

"I don't know. Al is killing us, but I can't imagine it will be easy for him and Alice to play against each other."

"I think we're going to win," she smiled cheekily.

"Yeah, yeah. Reigning victors and all." He rolled his eyes and waved his wands at the balls. They soared towards the abandoned bag below and flew into it.

"Don't be sore about it," Rose teased.

"I'm not sore," he told her with a chuckle. "Al might actually kill us all if we fail him, though," he added with a shrug. Rose would have laughed, but she was pretty sure he was only sort of joking. Al seemed to have thrown himself into Quidditch to avoid having to actually deal with the fact that he was still not coping well with his breakup.

"One of us really does need to talk to him," she said as they both landed, and Scorpius reached for the bag.

"Yeah."

"I'll do it if I get the chance, but I don't know if that will happen," Rose admitted. "I can ask him to get together during a break period if he will. He's been … I don't know."

"Distant. Grumpy. A loner. Let me try first. I'll let you know if I fail miserably," which was exactly what he anticipated happening.

Rose followed him back into the changing room and watched as he put away the Quaffles. She stood behind him, waiting for him to turn back. "So …" She glanced over at the wall she had let Rowan push her up against. The wall where she had broken her no-bottom-half rule. Scorpius turned back to face her and pulled her into him.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, even though he was sure he knew.

"That I'm sorry you saw that," she admitted. Her eyes moved back to his, but her hand waved at the wall.

"It's not one of my favorite memories." Rose moved into him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I wish ... I hadn't … with him."

"Yeah."

"Scor …" He watched a pink tinge spread across her cheeks. "Who … else have you been with."

"Oh …" He coughed and let go of her, and she took a step back.

"You don't have to answer," she assured him quickly.

"No, it's fine, I just … wasn't expecting it."

"Oh, ok."

"Uh …" He glanced over at the wall as if reassuring himself that she had also been with someone else. "It was … Penny."

"Penelope?!" She tried not to sound surprised, but it was hard. She liked Penelope Carter a lot. She wasn't anything like the Riley's of the world that Scorpius had usually taken to Hogsmeade or seen snogging in the hallways or at parties.

"Yes."

"Ok, now you have to give me details. Why the bloody hell would Penelope Carter sleep with you?!" Rose was actually laughing at him.

"Hey!" he said with indignation. "You slept with me!"

Rose leaned in to kiss him as she continued to laugh. "I'm sorry. That's not what I mean. You usually go for … well … I never knew you even dated."

"It was over the summer. It wasn't serious." Scorpius let go of her again and ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"How long?" she couldn't believe that Scorpius had dated someone, and she hadn't even realized. It's not like she stalked him or anything, but she did pay enough attention to know who he was dating.

"A month." A month seemed like an over exaggeration. His mother had been so crazy that summer that he had only gone out with Penny a couple times.

"And …" Rose wasn't laughing anymore. She was pulling long red hair back behind her ears and biting her lip.

"And … during that time, we went to a party at Al's." He had found out that Rose and Rowan had broken up that night, and he had gotten plastered. The two things hadn't necessarily been related, but he supposed they could have been.

"When did Al have a party?"

"Your Uncle Harry's birthday weekend." He watched the pins slip into place as she realized why she had missed the party.

"Oh." She had spent that weekend locked in her room crying while her parents took turns bringing her food she didn't eat and trying to comfort her.

"Yeah, and … we …" He remembered the way Penny had smiled at him as he fumbled with her clothes, trying to get her naked as quickly as possible. She had pushed his hands away and stripped herself quickly.

"Were you drunk?" Rose asked softly.

"Very."

"And then …"

"We broke up."

"Why?"

"It was just a mutual decision to not date anymore."

"What? Why?"

"Honestly…" He laughed nervously. "It was awkward afterward." Painfully awkward. He and Penny had woken up in Al's room, and they had both been blushing like mad, trying to find their clothes and get covered up. They had stumbled through awkward silence for a few minutes until she admitted that it was weird, and he agreed. Not that he hadn't loved it, but for some reason staring at her, all he could think about was Rose having broken up with Rowan, and he felt like an arsehole.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"And, that was it?"

"She's it."

"What about … other stuff."

"She was not it for other stuff."

"So, who?"

"Ehhhh … let's not," he told her, and she decided to trust him and just let it go. She doubted his skills in those areas had come from a few dates with Penelope, and she wasn't really keen to know just how many girls it had taken to teach him how to touch her like that.

"Ok. We need to do our rounds."

"So, are you ending our date?"

"I guess we need to." Scorpius stepped into her and pulled her close again. She turned her face slightly to the side as her arms looped around his neck.

"I had a really good night," he told her and felt her lips smile against him.

"Me too." She agreed, and his lips closed the insignificant space between them.

"Go out with me," he told her softly, the end of the year suddenly seeming eons away.

She ran her hand up into his hair and stared back into his eyes. She could see desire and love mixing in them and imagined hers must look much the same. The temptation to break was huge. She would have her offer from the Auror office soon, hopefully, and her parents wouldn't care too much, surely, well, they would get over it eventually, probably, maybe. She breathed him in and felt her body respond to him. Not only could she smell his normal sandalwood and cinnamon, but she could also smell the earthy scent of the Quidditch Pitch. It was utter perfection, and it took her back full circle to that day in Potions. The first time she had seen desire in Scorpius' eyes. That look had led her here, led her to make that stupid mistake with Rowan.

"I want to," she admitted to him softly, the words falling out in a moan.

"Then do it."

"I can't just drop this on them, Scor. I need my dad to see you as my friend first. I think … maybe … I can convince my mum. She said that she and your dad got along okay that last year. Maybe she will be okay with it. Then … she can help with my dad. Just … let's make it to break. Then … we'll figure something out." She was having trouble remembering why this mattered. Who cared if her parents cared? Who needs family anyway?

Scorpius kissed her hard, pushing her back against a wall, not the wall, but a wall in the same damn building, and it took everything he had to keep his hands over her clothes. She felt so damn good, and he was so close to not caring. They were going to be together. They were going to tell their parents. What did it matter if it was official right now or not? They were both carrying on as if they were already together, they had just stopped having sex, which was seeming increasingly stupid.

Rose opened her mouth to moan against his as she felt one of his hands run across her breast, stopping to tease her nipple with his thumb. "Scor," she breathed needily. "You can't do that." He bit down on her lip, and she pushed her hips forward against his. If he wasn't going to play by his own rules, she wasn't going to stop him.

Scorpius pushed back, feeling himself harden at the taste of her. This night had been so perfect. He wanted this all the time, her all the time. He wanted to hold her hand as they walked to class and kiss her softly in the hall. He wanted them to both stop being stupid jealous when someone hit on one of them because they didn't realize that they were together. He wanted their parents to know and not care and to have Rose at dinner with his grandparents without worrying about them offending her beyond repair.

Rose's back was hard against the wall and her broom, the one she had begged and pleaded with her parents for months on end and had finally been given for her birthday the previous year, lay abandoned on the floor, and she didn't even care. Scorpius' lips were on her neck, and he had pulled her up to wrap her legs around his waist, his hands squeezing at her arse. He was grinding into her, and Rose could barely think straight. Somewhere in some far off corner of her mind, the Head Girl was aware that she needed to get on doing her rounds, but the eighteen-year-old hormones part of her brain was hiding that behind a deep need to have this boy that she had fallen in love with keep touching her.

Scorpius tried really hard to care that this was going somewhere he wasn't supposed to want it to go, but he couldn't do it anymore. Nothing had changed. Despite their assertions to each other that they were not together, they were bloody together. She was in. It didn't matter what their parents said or what job she wanted, he was going to hold on to her as long as she would let him, and he didn't want to waste any more time being a good boy. He moved to let her legs down and popped the button on her jeans.

Rose felt the fabric of her jeans and knickers rolling down her legs, and she stepped out of them and her shoes in one quick motion. As she reached for her wand, casting the contraception charm on herself, she really wished she was still wearing the damn dress. One thought of him shoving it up her thighs to bury himself inside of her, and she dropped the stupid piece of wood to pull his black trousers open. Scorpius pulled her back up against the wall, and his mouth moved back to hers as he buried himself inside of her. It was fervent and hard, and he moved in and out of her as quickly as possible while she tried not to scream at the feeling of him finally filling her again.

Scorpius couldn't believe how fucking good she felt. She was so tight, so hot, and so damn wet. He had missed this. He had missed her. He had missed letting his guard down around her when they were alone and touching her when he wanted to touch her. He was a fucking idiot. What eighteen-year-old boy would stop doing this with a girl as perfect and sexy as his? He pulled his mouth back, moving it to her neck to bite down softly on her skin. Rose gasped and arched against him. Her hand was moving between them, and he wished desperately that he could bat it away and do the job for her, but he was holding her up against the wall. When her fingers touched that tiny, incredible ball of nerves she whimpered, and that sound drove him crazy.

It felt like seconds later, but surely it was minutes, Rose was crying his name into his coat, trying to stifle the noise as she came, her body seizing around him as he pumped into her. He closed his eyes, inhaled her perfect scent mixed with sex and just as her shudders started to ebb, he felt his release run through him. He bit down on her neck hard as she bit the cloth of his jacket in return. "Fuck," he whispered. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

"I'm sorry," she said back, pulling her head back to rest on the wall behind her. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I'm just mad at myself for stopping in the first place."

"You wanted us to be together."

"Oh, fuck, Rose. We are together. We both know what we want, and we aren't going to be with anyone else. You do whatever you need to do, and I'm along for the bloody ride." He claimed her mouth, and she gripped his hair to kiss him deeper.

"I love you," she told him.

"I love you, too."

XXX

The day after the Ravenclaw/Slytherin match, Scorpius was sitting across from Albus at breakfast. Al was sporting the first genuine smile Scorpius had seen on his friends face in months. They had won. Scorpius knew he should feel slightly bad that Slytherin had ended up destroying Ravenclaw considering his relationship with their Keeper, but the look on Al's face was worth it.

"Hand me a sausage," Al told Euan, holding up his place for their friend to spear the meat onto. As Al shoved the sausage into his mouth and talked joyously about the spectacular job the team had done the day before, the post arrived. Scorpius received another letter from Narcissa pretending that she wasn't sick, and he and Al both received an envelope from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. They both looked over at Rose to see that she also had an envelope in her hands. She was staring at them, and Scorpius couldn't help but think she looked quite ill.

Scorpius stood. He was not going to miss Rose's face when she got accepted into the Auror program. Albus followed him without a word, and he saw Rose stand across the room. The three of them met at the entrance to the Great Hall. Al smiled nervously at Rose, and she just seemed to turn a little green. "You okay?" Scorpius asked her as the three of them walked.

"No." She shook her head softly and stared at the envelope in her hands.

"No," Al whispered next to her staring at his. Scorpius needed this to be good news, more than he had ever needed anything. He had finally cornered Albus the day after Valentine's Day, and it had not been pretty. He had tried to be calm and collected, but it hadn't gone that way at all. Al had started screaming his head off that he was sorry his misery had inconvenienced the Head Boy and Girl and wouldn't they just like to suck his … well … it hadn't been pretty. They hadn't spoken for two days. Then, before Quidditch Practice that Sunday, Al had come to Scorpius' room to apologize. Things had been slowly getting better since then. Al was doing his homework and studying for N.E.W.T.s and he was showing up for his rounds. His mood hadn't improved until the match had been a win for them, and Scorpius was pretty sure if Albus didn't get this job, all of the progress he had made was going out the window.

Scorpius wanted to reassure them, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was starting to feel sick for both of them. He didn't care what his said. He just needed Al and Rose to get in. He was holding out hope that if there was bad news coming for either of them, Harry would have warned them somehow.

It was several long minutes later when the trio walked into an abandoned classroom. Al walked through the door last, shut it behind him, and locked it. He moved over to drop his bag and sit on the floor with the two of them. Their knees all touched as they sat in a circle.

"Scor." Rose lifted her eyes from the envelope in her hands to the one he held.

"Yeah." He looked over at Al and sighed. "I have to tell you something."

"What?" Al felt a lump form in his throat, and he had to push the word out past it, causing a croak.

"I got offered another job. I'm going to take it."

"What?" Al deflated into himself, his eyes growing wide as his body seemed to shrink.

"I didn't apply. Ollivander asked me to come work with him. To train under him."

"What?" Al said loudly as the envelope in his hands fell to his lap.

"He wants me to learn how to make wands."

"Bloody … shite. That's amazing." Al's jaw had dropped open, and Rose was smiling broadly at him.

"I know. I'm excited."

"You told her?" Al asked incredulously, pointing at Rose with his thumb.

"Well, you haven't exactly been in the best of moods lately …" Scorpius explained softly, leaving out that he had known about the job much longer than that. The clenched mass of nerves in his chest was starting to relax.

"I guess." Al sighed deeply and looked over at Rose. "Just you and me then," he told her, and she tried to smile, but the result was not attractive. Scorpius frowned at them both.

"Go on. Open them!" he urged, and Rose turned hers over and broke the wax seal with a flick of her thumb. She slid the parchment out, and her eyes moved hungrily over words as moisture pooled in the corner of them.

"I did it," she said softly. "I'm in." Scorpius looked over at Al, not daring to show emotion until he knew both results.

Al ripped his envelope open and searched the letter desperately. Seconds later, he let out a loud "WHOOP!" and he launched his body forwards, each arm wrapping it's way around Scorpius and Rose as they fell into a heap against the wooden floor. They were all laughing, and Rose was hugging Al, and then Scorpius was hugging Al, and then Scorpius scrounged his way to Rose, and she kissed him passionately, not caring that Al was there. Al looked to the side, giving them their moment, a smile on his lips.

"So … I guess we're not on a break anymore."

"Errr …" Rose blushed, and Scorpius pulled her in again to kiss her.

"No. This witch is mine," he said against her lips and felt her smile again before she pulled away.

"We're going to tell everyone at the end of the year," Rose admitted. "We just …"

"I get it," Al told them, and to Scorpius' relief, he was still smiling. It was so good to see him smiling. He had nearly forgotten how much he loved having Al as his best mate.

"We did it, Al," Rose said in disbelief, laughing again. "We actually did it."

"Dad is going to run us ragged. Can't have favoritism." Even though his words seemed to be warning her, he was beaming as he said them.

"I can't wait." She threw her arms around him again, and he pulled her in tightly.

XXX

Hermione arrived first today, but she had only been sitting sipping at her wine for a few minutes when Draco joined her. He was paler than usual, and he held his wine glass tightly the moment he sat, pulling it to his lips.

"What is it?" she asked softly, and she reached across to put her hand on his.

"My mum," he said in the same tone.

"How bad?"

Draco took in a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. He'd come from the Manor where he had been forced to whisper-scream with his father outside the room because she could barely talk that day.

"Bad. My father … he's changed his mind. He wanted to try Muggle options, but Mum won't do it."

"Oh, Draco." Hermione squeezed his fingers in hers. "I'm so sorry."

"I honestly … I'm actually proud of him, but terrified."

"It had to take a lot for him to change his mind."

"If you saw her … Hermione …" He stumbled through clearing his throat. "She's going to die." He pulled his hand from her and buried his face in them. "There is nothing I can do. There's nothing Muggle doctors could do."

"Have you told Scorpius?"

"No. I've been letting him know that she's not doing well, but … I have to tell him that it's going to be soon. I don't think … not even the end of the Hogwarts term." Hermione stood, moving her chair around the table and sat next to him. He leaned into her, grateful for her arms around him, and he cried. It wasn't the first time he had cried in front of her, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. She didn't know what to say, so she just rubbed his shoulder and wished she could help somehow.

Thank you for reading. I would love to hear what you think of this chapter!

XOXO

Meg