When Rose popped up on the front step to Malfoy Manor, she couldn't stop the tiny shudder that ran through her as she looked up at the imposing stone facade. Everything about it was cold and clinical, so different from The Burrow or her house or Grimmauld Place. She knew, of course, what had happened in this house. Everyone who could read knew about the torture and the murders that had happened on the other side of that door. No matter how many times she told herself that it wasn't Scorpius, that he just lived there, his house flat out gave her the creeps.

Steeling herself, she reached up a fist to knock. As always, the door swung immediately open and she stepped into the cavernous entry hall, tugging her cloak tightly around her. "Miss Rose Weasley," echoed throughout the space. She hoped that it would not be his grandmother who answered the call.

Rose felt like she'd been waiting forever when Scorpius's father finally appeared, tucking a paper under his arm as he walked.

"Rose," he said quietly, nodding at her.

"Mr. Malfoy," she responded. "I'm here to see Scorpius."

"He's not in at the moment, I'm afraid."

"Is he…is he really not in? Or did he ask you to tell me that?"

"He's really not in. He took his Firebolt out early this morning and I've not seen him since."

"Oh. Well, ok. Could you maybe tell him I stopped by and - "

"You're welcome to wait, if you'd like."

"Wait where?" she said in a panic and then cursed herself for her thoughtlessness.

Mr. Malfoy smiled at her sadly. "There's a fire lit in Scorpius's room."

"Mr. Malfoy, I - "

"Rose, you've always been unfailingly polite to both my wife and myself. But you are a Weasley, and the daughter of Ron and Hermione at that. You never need to apologize for feeling uncomfortable in this house. These are the facts of the world we live in. I can no more run from my past and my name than can Scorpius, though Merlin knows he's tried his damndest."

"I…thank you," she said, not sure what to say.

"Does your father know you're here?"

"No, but my mother does."

"Funny, that. Everyone always assumes that it's your father and I who are likely to end up in a duel. I'd be much more scared of your mother."

Privately, Rose thought he had a point. Her dad was civil to Mr. Malfoy, much like her Uncle Harry. Her mother, though she always appeared polite, wore a constant pinched expression whenever Scorpius's father was mentioned.

She stood awkwardly and Mr. Malfoy gave her the same sad smile. "You know the way. You'll be able to apparate out of his room if he doesn't turn up."

Rose somehow managed to give Mr. Malfoy a weak smile before disappearing up the stairs and following the winding corridors to Scorpius's room. It was Scorpius's fault she was so awkward around his parents. He didn't like letting she and Al visit him at home, and Rose guessed she couldn't blame him for that. It was so much simpler for him to visit her or Al - mostly Al - and she and Al had silently agreed that they'd never pressure him into inviting them to stay. She knew he wasn't ashamed of being a Malfoy, or of his parents, really - "I can't help who my parents are any more than they could any more than your mum can help it that her parents are muggles" - but she also knew that, if the Manor weren't indestructible, he'd burn it to the ground.

When she got to his room, she cracked open the door. When she saw that he wasn't inside she ventured in, unclasping her cloak and hanging it on a hook by the door. Scorpius's room was neat as always, the large bed carefully made and all his books arranged on the wall of bookcases that took up one side. She walked over, sliding a muggle novel off the shelf and collapsing onto the leather sofa that sat nestled under a large picture window.

She'd barely made it through half a chapter when she heard his footsteps in the hall. She didn't say anything as he came into the room, watching as he dumped his Firebolt next to the door and shed his cloak, shaking melted snow from his hair. He saw her cloak before he saw her and stood staring at it for a long moment before turning and walking the rest of the way into his room.

He heaved a sigh and fell face first onto his bed. "Thanks a lot, dad," he mumbled into his quilt.

"I've not been here long," she said. "You were avoiding me."

"Wasn't."

"Oh? So, what? You can't answer my owls now? You'd rather go racing around like an idiot on your broom than spend the day with Al and me?"

"Rose," he said, rolling over and sitting up, his voice tired.

"No. You were the one who insisted that I tell you. You were the one who insisted that I take this bloody job. But now I'm just cut off?"

"It's a lot, that's all. I didn't mean…it's a lot."

"Why?" she demanded. "Why is it a lot? We're all going to be busy for the next few years. We've known this was coming for ages. We've talked about it. Al's not even going to be in London!"

"Al can bloody well apparate from Scotland!"

"You're not being fair. And I can't do this without your support. I can't do it and I'll hate you, and I can't do that either."

"You have my support. Of course you do, Rose. I just needed to have some time to think."

"Thinking is overrated."

"Says the witch who's about to become an Unspeakable," he snapped, leaping to his feet.

"Maybe you'll get lucky," she snapped right back. "Maybe they'll chuck me out."

"Damn it, Rose! You know that's not what I want."

"So stop acting like this," she begged.

"If you'd just told me when you found out I'd be passed the anger stage already."

"You have absolutely no right to be angry with me, Scorpius Malfoy. No right. Did you consult me about being an auror? No. Did Al get my permission to take his fellowship? Of course not."

"I've wanted to be an auror since I could walk," he ground out.

"And I didn't even think to want this for myself. I'm sorry we can't all be as far-seeing as the great Scorpius 'master-of-the-universe' Malfoy," she spat.

"Did you come here to pick a fight with me? Because if you did you can just sod off." He was yelling now, and he had that look on his face that said he was fighting desperately with his temper. She almost hoped he lost it. If he did, he'd say something terrible and she could apparate home and she'd never have to tell him. But no. She was a Gryffindor for a reason, and she could face this.

"As a matter of fact," she said, leaning back on the sofa, "I didn't."

"Oh?" he questioned with a savage smirk.

"I told my parents about the Department of Mysteries this morning. My mum and I had a long talk about why it took me so long to decide I was going to do this."

"Because you're incapable of doing something that's not by committee?"

Rose's face heated up and she glared him hard enough that he had to look away. She closed her eyes and, when she opened them again, Scorpius was staring out his bedroom window. "Sorry," he said softly.

"Scorpius, I love you – "

"I know," he said immediately. "And I love you, too, it's just that - "

"No," she said, trying to head him off. "I think I'm in love with you." The words, once said aloud, seemed to spread into every part of her, and it was almost terrifying to realize just how true they were.

"You…what?" Scorpius paled, looking rather like he'd been slammed into by a bludger.

"I didn't realize it until I got the letter. I was going to turn down the job because of you."

"Because of me," he said aghast, almost stumbling backward. "Don't be an idiot, Rose. I'm not worth that."

"You are. But you're also right. I want to do this. This is the thing that's important enough."

"I…Merlin's beard, Rose. Way to knock a bloke off kilter."

She stared down at her hands. "You don't have to say anything. I almost didn't. But this was important, and we don't keep secrets from each other."

"Yes," he said, "we do."

She looked up and when she saw the way he was looking at her it took everything she had not to leap into his arms. "What?"

"I can't even remember when I started fancying you. Maybe the moment you told me you wouldn't care if I was a Slytherin, though I obviously had no idea then and was too caught up in the fact that two Weasleys were actually speaking to me in words that weren't jinxes to really notice."

"Al's a Potter," Rose said, immediately cursing herself for interrupting him.

"Don't change the subject or you'll derail what I'm sure is going to be a really moving speech once I remember what I was saying."

"Two gits didn't hex you out of their compartment," Rose reminded him with a smile. Even as her heart was pounding at his words, the familiarity of this Scorpius soothed her nerves.

He closed his eyes for a long minute and when he reopened him, she saw determination and conviction. "Eventually, I realized how I felt. I wanted to tell you so many times, just so you'd know. I'd try to tell myself that if you told me to bugger off at least that was better than the waiting. But I was afraid I'd ruin our friendship and - "

"Nothing will ruin our friendship." Her tone was collected and sure because that at least was the one thing of which she could always be certain.

"I know that, but I was fifteen years old when I noticed how nice you looked in your cardigans and those skirts you wear and – "

"Scorpius."

"You were always so serious about school and the future. At first, I thought you just hadn't had any offers. Then sixth year I heard you'd turned down that seventh year Ravenclaw git. When Al was teasing you and you said that you didn't have time for all that nonsense until you'd graduated, I figured I'd wait. I'd waited two years already, I could wait one more. Now you get this ruddy letter right when I'd almost made it! Six more months turned into two years. You're my best friend, and I can't exactly try to stop you from pursuing your dream, not when you've been so supportive of mine. But…you know me. Patience has never been one of my virtues, Rose, and neither has self-denial."

All Rose could do was stare at him, dumbfounded. "Three years," she breathed. "Does Al know?"

"Of course Al doesn't bloody know! If Al knew, you'd know. He's the only one of the three of us who doesn't, in fact, keep secrets."

"God, I'm my dad," Rose groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"Pardon?" Scorpius asked, clearly taken aback by what must have seemed to him a very abrupt change of subject.

"My mum was explaining to me how my dad was this stupid git who couldn't see what was right in front of his stupid git face, and clearly stupid git daughter like stupid git father. I'm the stupid git! It's me!"

"Rose," Scorpius said gently, but with just enough amusement to have her crossing her arms in a huff. "Calm down."

"What are we going to do, Scorpius?" she asked as he crossed the room to sit at her side. "We've got six more months. Six! And then it's goodbye for at least eighteen. I can't…how can I - "

"I don't know," he said, his arm sliding around her shoulders to tug her closer to him. "But we'll figure it out."

"I love you, Scorpius, but I don't know what that means."

"Well usually," he said, innocently, "That means a certain amount of snogging."

She looked up at him, at the hopeful expression in his cool gray eyes and at the mouth she thought she knew so well and promptly burst into tears.

"Rose!"

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm sorry. But this is so unfair. I can't just be with you for six months and give that up. How could I give that up?"

"You wouldn't be giving anything up," he argued, pulling her into his lap as she cried into his chest.

"I can't ask you to wait around for eighteen months, Scorpius, I can't. I'll barely be able to owl, if I'm even allowed to do that!"

"I'll find a way," he said, pulling her away from him and forcing her to meet his gaze. There was an intensity there that unnerved her and, without thinking, she reached out and placed her hand on his cheek.

As soon as her skin met his, Scorpius sucked in a breath.

"Scorpius," she whispered and, without thinking about it anymore, leaned up and brushed her lips against his cheek.

His eyes flashed open and he searched her face for all of two seconds before he leaned down. Cool lips pressed against hers, rough hands cupped her cheeks, and her entire world tilted on its axis. The first few seconds of the kiss were gentle, but that was as long as they could last. The next thing that Rose knew, she was being clutched to Scorpius's chest as he maneuvered them down onto the couch. Everything seemed fast, frantic even: his touches, their breathing, her heartbeat…

Her hands, unable to reach under his robes, found themselves tangled in his hair, and she allowed herself a second to think that it was as soft as she'd always assumed it must be. Her fingers trailed downward along the sinewy muscles of his neck to rest on the broad shoulders that felt strangely narrow in her grip.

His hands were all over her – clutching her face, sliding into her hair, running up and down her back, grabbing her shoulders. She felt his tongue slide along her bottom lip and couldn't stop the moan that slipped out. Both of them froze, staring at each other. Scorpius's face was flushed, his eyes burning. His breath was coming in ragged gasps and Rose was surprised that she was still managing to breathe at all.

"Bloody hell," he groaned, sitting up and burying his face in his hands. "Bloody bleeding buggering damn sodding hell."

"That bad?" she asked, sitting up and trying to tame her hair.

He shot her a look from behind his fingers. Slowly, he dragged his hands down his face and let them fall onto his lap.

"I knew it would be like that for us," he said simply. "And it was still better than I imagined."

"You imagined that a lot then?" Rose asked.

"If you really want me to answer that question, I'm happy to share. After all, we don't keep secrets."

"We can't joke our way out of this, Scorpius."

"How very responsible of you," he scowled. "Please. Let's logically dissect the best snogging session of my life."

"There have been others?" she asked, feeling a tiny spike of irrational rage.

"Come on, Rose. No. But that's not exactly the salient point in this discussion."

"What are we going to do? Are we…should we…"

"Bugger if I know," he said, leaning back on the couch and covering his eyes with the crook of his arm. "But if you think I'm going to forget what happened just now you're crazy."

"I don't want to forget it, Scorpius. But we have to be realistic. I'm leaving in June, just as soon as we finish our N.E.W.T.s."

"That's ages away. Loads of time that we could be together."

"Is that what you want?"

"Yes." His answer was immediate and emphatic. "But this isn't about what we want, Rose."

"So…we impedimenta this whole thing until I'm done with my training?"

"We have to."

"Scorpius, I - "

She didn't finish her sentence before his lips were back on hers. There was a desperation this time that broke her heart. He clutched at her, and she pressed herself as close to him as she could. Rose couldn't get enough of him; his lips, his hands, the way he whispered her name seemingly without realizing it. As he trailed kisses along her jaw and down her throat she seriously considered telling the entire Ministry of Magic to bugger off.

Rose broke away this time, trying to catch her breath, and when she looked at Scorpius, he was resigned.

"You're right. We have to stop this," he said. "If we start now, I'll never be able to let you disappear for a bloody year and a half and you'll hate me and I'll hate myself."

"What if I said I'd hate you if we stopped?"

He smiled at her, and it was the same sad smile she'd seen on his father. "I'd know you were lying."

"This is so unfair," she said again, tears brimming in her eyes.

"We were friends first, Rose. We'll always be friends, no matter what comes later. So friends we'll remain."

"Friends who happen to be in love with each other?" There was a bitterness in her tone that she wished she could take back, but there was no point in apologizing for it. She was bitter.

"Yes. And in two years, we'll still be friends who are in love with each other. Hopefully there will be some shagging by then, but the point remains."

"You're a prat," she said, just barely managing to give him a wobbly smile.

"What are we going to tell Al?"

"Nothing! Do you want my entire family to know that you want to shag me?"

"He's going to want to know what happened here. I'm assuming you told him you'd be stopping by."

"We discussed it," she said cagily, and he rolled his eyes.

"He's not going to drop it."

"If he doesn't, we'll tell him we discussed our feelings like mature adults and made the responsible decision to wait until we are both done with our training before we pursue anything other than friendship."

"And also that we are incredibly compatible." He waggled his eyebrows.

Her whole face flushed this time. "Sure. I'll just mention how very compatible your hands are with my bum, shall I?"

"Spoilsport."

"I've got to go. I promised Mum I'd be at The Burrow in time to help get the tables set up."

"Wait. Before you leave," he said, walking over to the large wardrobe in the corner and rummaging about. "I'm apparently going to be in Egypt for the rest of break and I was just going to owl these to you and Al, but would you mind?"

He emerged from the wardrobe with two packages, both immaculately wrapped, and handed them to her. "Do not open before December 25," he said with a smile.

"I won't," she promised. "I didn't know if you'd speak to me, so I'll have to owl yours."

"Happy Christmas, Rose," he said and, after a moment's hesitation, pulled her in for a hug. "Friends hug, right?"

"Yes," she whispered into his jumper. "Friends do."