"So, how was your date, Loverboy?" Rose smiled as she plopped down on the green meadow next to Scorpius. He really was good as creating an amazing and natural Room of Requirement. The meadow was full of flowers, smelling like summer. Why they weren't outside in the real nature? Well, since it was the beginning of December, snow had begun to fall. The grounds of Hogwarts weren't yet covered in the powdery white, but everything glistened with an icy white crust, especially in the early morning hours and now, at the beginning of the night. Scorpius even managed to sort of recreate the ceiling of the Great Hall. Well, he had created a night-with-stars-ceiling, similar to the real sky outside.

"Please, do not call me Loverboy", he scrunched, "And I also guess you already know how it was. I bet you have already talked to Lils, have you?"

"Actually, I haven't. I've been with Hakim all day long. It was really nice. I wish I could use the Prefects' bathroom." She sighed pathetically."

"I feel you", the blond laughed, "too bad you are not a Prefect, am I right? Can Albus get you in? He's the Prefect, so it should be possible for him."

"I haven't asked him. Not yet! But it's a great idea. Might be a nice Christmas gift for my boyfriend, if you know what I mean."

"Pumpkin Pie, I do not really want to talk about your sex life. And I do not want to talk to you about my sex life either."

Rose pouted and leaned against him. "Okay, I get that. To be honest, I told Lily the same today. That I don't want to hear anything about the sex life of you two. She is family. You are family. I don't wanna hear about family sex life. Though James constantly talks about his."

"Yeah, but with James it is sort of charming. That is just him. Al does not talk about it, but we all know when he is off with his girlfriend. He had a James-moment a few days ago, telling me how awesome the Prefects' bathroom would be for him and his girlfriend and some alone-time."

"Ewww, really Scorp, I don't wanna have those pictures in my mind." She closed her eyes and slightly stroke Scorpius' arm. "But I forgive you. Because you are my favourite person in the room."

"Well, that is very nice of you, Pumpkin Pie. That at least means you like me more than you like yourself" Scorpius grinned at her.

"Well, I certainly do. From time to time." She giggled and snuggled closer to Scorpius. He smelled incredible! Was it a new shampoo he used? She would know that. He would have told her. They always told each other everything. She sometimes wondered if that would continue after graduation. After they've parted.

"What is going on in your mind, beneath those funny crazy lovely curls of yours?"

"I am thinking about how we will handle being apart from each other."

"That will not happen until July. And even then we will be together. With your internship at Hogwarts I will be able to see you nearly every day. Or at least every second day, depending on my training schedule."

"It won't be the same. We both know that. But actually, by now I am totally looking forward to that internship. Working with Hagrid will be awesome! And he promised me to take me into the forest to talk to the Centaurs! Centaurs, Scorp! They are by far the most intelligent beings on the whole planet! Can you believe I'll be allowed to talk to them? Can you believe that? Oh... but what if they don't wanna talk to me? What if I'm too stupid for them? Too naive?"

"Rose, you are a very intelligent young woman. You are a high spirit. I am sure the Centaurs will love exactly that about you. From what I gathered, they want their species, their culture to be respected. And I know that is what you do. You respect everyone. That is what I love about you. You treat every being the same, may it be a Muggle, a wizard, a witch, a puffskein, a unicorn or a mermaid. You respect every single one of them. The centaurs will see that and they will in return respect you. Sometimes you are naive, yes. But so what? You keep your innocence. That is a very brave thing to do."

"God, I love you so much." She smiled at him, brightly, kissing his cheek. "You always find the right words."

Scorpius did not want this to happen, but it did. His heart began to flutter when Rose said the l-word. He knew how it was meant but it still happened. Scorpius' stomach clenched, he felt like he was getting sick. As if he would need to throw up. Why was this happening to him? He wasn't in love with Rose. Not anymore, never was. So why did a rush of heat followed by a sudden shiver run through his whole body? It didn't make any sense. He was with Lily. He really liked her. He had a crush on her. He would spend Christmas at her house. This could not be happening. This should not be happening at all.

"Well, I try my best to cheer you up, Pumpkin Pie. That is what I am here for, that is why I am your friend."

"The best I've ever had and will ever have." The red-head beamed at him, cuddling her friend before letting herself fall into the grass. "So, you and Lily are a proper couple now? She still isn't sure about that, to be honest. She doesn't know where you stand."

"Are you asking me to talk to Lily about our relationship? Are you suggesting taking it a step further?"

Rose was a bit confused about Scorpius' sudden change of mood. He went from being open and lovely to closed up and nearly aggressive. She didn't even know why.

"Scorp, I don't want to interfere with your relationship, okay? Look..." She sat up again, looking him straight in his eyes. "I really love you and I really love Lily. I want all of you to be happy. And right now, Lils isn't happy. She is confused and scared, because Lily is really into you, she really wants to be with you. Like a real couple. Officially, for the public to recognize. But if you do not feel the same about her, it is fine. You listen, Scorp?" Rose smiled at him softly, stroking his cheek slightly. "It is okay if you don't feel the same about her."

"Don't fucking talk to me like I'm a child, Rose. I am not, okay? I'm not a fucking child and you don't need to tell me how to feel or behave, understand?"

Again, Rose was taken aback by Scorpius' mood. He was swearing. There was clearly something wrong with him and Rose was so insecure about talking again.

"Scorp, please. I just want to see you happy. If you are not happy in your relationship of whatever it is with Lily, just break it off. You will hurt her, yes. But if you stay with her in this wabbly thing you have, you will make yourself really unhappy and you are far too important to be unhappy. It was worth a shot, wasn't it?"

"I guess so." Scorp sighed and fell into the grass, dragging Rose softly with him. "But I do not know. I do not know if I want to be with her. I do not know if I want to give up yet. But if I take it a step further, it is a commitment. And I am not sure if I m willing to commit to her and the Potters." He ran a hand through his hair, cuddled closer to Rose. At least the unnerving feeling in his heart and his stomach has vanished. He felt a bit safer now, secure even. He was with Rose and he was calm. Everything was perfectly fine again.

"Then don't. Talk to Lily, explain it to her. She will understand. Okay, maybe she will hate you for a while. But it will pass and I am with you. Forever. I think we need to go deeper, to find out why you feel so unsure about everything when a few months earlier you were quite confident about Lily and your feelings."

"Can we go out, please? I would like to get some air while we work on examining my inner self." He smiled a crooked smile and got up, holding out his hand to help Rose up. "Mylady, would you like to follow me into the snow?"

"Why, yes, Mylord. As long as we are veeeery careful, because we are past our curfew."

"Are you afraid of breaking the rules?"

"Bloody hell, never afraid of that, only looking forward to it!" She laughed out loud and grabbed her coat, following Scorpius out of the room, after he had made sure that she was wearing her hat. Rose found it always very nice to look at Scorpius in the snow. She never figured out why he was so amazed by it. It was just snow and he had seen it plenty of times. But still, there was amazement in his eyes every time Scorpius set foot on snowy ground or looked out of the window into the landscape, protected by its white coat.

"So, tell me. Tell me what the matter is and I'll try to help you." Rose smile at him and took his hand in hers, softly dragging him towards the lake. It was one of his favourite spots, which Rose never understood, since he was afraid of dark waters. But still, he liked it nevertheless. He just wouldn't go swimming there.

"You see, a few months ago I was quite sure that I was in love with someone. And sometimes, I still think I am. Sometimes when she talks, I feel like I felt before."

"Who is she?"

Scorpius sighed. He didn't want to lie to her but he also didn't want to tell Rose that he had been in love with her. "You know Amelia Cruise? The cute blonde one in Ravenclaw? She is on the Quidditch team. I have had a thing for her. At least I think so. I am still not sure if it was really love. She got herself a boyfriend and I was not jealous. Not a bit. So I guess I was not in love after all. But sometimes, when I see her or when I talk to her, my whole body tingles and I feel a rush of heat running through my veins. Anyway, when Lily came to me and asked me out at the beginning of this year, I was not sure about it. I was still confused concerning my feelings for Amelia. I thought I was in love and ten minutes later I was sure it was just a mild crush, if even. But Lily is nice and sweet and good-looking. And she asked me out and I just hoped that I would get over my crush, that she could help me with it, because I really am attracted to her."

"But sometimes you are still not sure if you wanna be in a relationship?"

"We have hardly any in common. The sex was nice, though. But it is not worth it. What if I only want to be with her for the sake of having a relationship? Or something like that. It is not fair to her, is it?"

"It really isn't. You should just tell her the truth. She'll understand and she won't be mad at you, I promise. Right now, she is just very confused about where you two stand. If you clear it, she'll be glad."

"Are you sure? I really do not want to hurt her..."

"You won't." Rose smiled at him. "You know what? I really need to help you taking your mind off of Lily and the whole drama. We should make snow angles instead. They're awesome! And I know you love them! And we could visit George and Fred. I'm sure they're still at the shop, it's only ten pm. They need to clean and everything, so we could pay them a visit, get some new gadgets, have a chat, maybe drink a butterbeer or two. What do you think?"

"Sounds like a plan." Scorpius smiled softly and hugged her. "You really are the best friend I could wish for, Pumpkin Pie."

"I can be awesome sometimes, I know", she giggled, hugging back tightly. "But just to clear it up: you dated Lily to get over a girl and because she is pretty and made a move?"

"Yes. Exactly. I know, it is a bit of a dick move."

"Nah, it's alright. You're allowed to be selfish once in a while. You never are and getting over someone is a bloody good reason to be."