He thought about writing to Lily a million times. He began writing letters to her, but they never left Malfoy manor.

Dear Lily, how are you?

Dear Lily, are you enjoying Quidditch camp?

Dear Lily, I have something I need to tell you.

Dear Lily, I'm sorry.

Each time, Scorpius would jot down a couple lines before smacking his quill down on the table in frustration. Nothing sounded right. Nothing sounded like him. Worst of all, nothing seemed worthy of Lily.

Lily. He felt terrible about it, but he also felt as if he should have seen it coming. He probably should have seen it coming since that day he met her on the Hogwarts Express and gaped at her like a fish. She had been shiny and new and beautiful. And now? She was still beautiful, and she was funny and fierce and a wicked Quidditch Player that outflew him almost every match. But he did not find in her what he found in Rose. Scorpius did not love Lily in that way.

He did not want to make her upset or be disrespectful. So each time he picked up his quill to write, he put it back down again. He would tell her in person, he decided. Perhaps before the wedding was about to start. It was not an ideal time to tell her, he knew. But there would be no good time to tell her that. Besides, she was arriving home from Quidditch camp only a matter of hours before the ceremony was to be begin; there really was no ideal timeline in which to tell her.

True to her word, Rose had written to him from her vacation in New Zealand. She had sent him envelopes with clippings of strange plants. She had sent him packages with weird fruits and treats they did not have in the UK. Each letter was signed off with her name scribbled across the bottom of the parchment, cramped into the corner, because she had so much to say. And every time she wrote him, Scorpius wrote back, nearly bursting at the seams, because all he wanted to say was "I love you, I love you, I love you."

Al wrote him too. His letters were shorter, more concise, and devoid of the flowery language which Rose used to describe her stay in New Zealand. Al wrote to tell him of the bit of firewhiskey his father had let him try, how he was bringing Jaclyn to the wedding, how James had finally settled down and picked only one girl to date this year. And he signed off all of his letters good naturedly; threatening to break Scorpius' arm if he hurt either Rose or Lily. But only the one, he reassured him.

Al's last letter arrived the Monday of the first week of August. He had scribbled down an address called Shell Cottage, including a number and the word Tinsworth. 5:00. Scorpius took the letter to his father, who had read it over and told Scorpius he would configure a portkey for him on the day of the wedding.

Rose's last letter arrived the day before the wedding. She had returned home just two days earlier, but was suffering from what her mother apparently called "Jet Lag." She wrote about getting home and being pounced on by Al and Lily, how Hugo had somehow managed to befriend a tribe of merpeople and had taken to wearing a necklace made of shark teeth. Enclosed was a small box, when opened, revealed a boutonniere. It was a pure white rose.

I got you this because my mum said its proper for men to wear them at weddings. I don't know if she means that in the muggle sense or not, I haven't been to a wedding before. But I thought this one might be nice because it's classic and it will go well with black dress robes, which I assume are the only kind you own.

It was true, he did only own black dress robes. His mother had taken him to the Gladrag's Wizardwear in Diagon Alley, and she had purchased him a pair of dress robes with a white starched collar and a black bowtie.

On the day of Victoire and Teddy's wedding, Scorpius did not wake up. He hadn't slept. He was too damn excited to simply lay down and sleep, not with the prospect of seeing Rose fast approaching. His mother had made him a huge breakfast that he did not touch, but she did not seem to mind. As she had advanced in her pregnancy, as had her appetite. Scorpius watched, fascinated, as she ate an entire bread basket and fruit on the side. And then he waited. He walked around Malfoy manner restlessly, avoiding the wing with the talking portraits that always commented on the length and style of his hair. If his parents noticed how restless he was, they didn't comment on it, for which he was thankful.

As he got ready for the wedding, it dawned on him just what was about to happen. How his life, and Rose's, were about to be changed. He couldn't look back now. A flutter of hope rose in him. Al said she might have felt the same way. He pulled on the cuffs of his robes and adjusted the cuff links so they were lined up just right. There came a knock on the door and his father pushed into the room. In his hand, he held a bright yellow tea pot.

"What's that?" Scorpius asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Your mother's, from years ago. She's used it as a portkey before." Draco set it on the ground between them. "Are you on time?"

"Just," Scorpius replied, looking at the clock on the wall. He had ten minutes before he was set to arrive.

Draco pointed his wand at the tea kettle. A shot of light flashed before them, and the tea kettle glowed blue before settling back to its yellow color.

"Remember," Draco said. "One finger on the kettle."

"Right." Scorpius reached out and hesitated. "Thanks, dad." Draco nodded, just once, and then Scorpius touched the cold surface of the kettle. There was a jerk behind his spine, and then everything started spinning. The cold colors of his bled together and the carpet disappeared from under him, until the scent of saltwater filled his nostrils. He almost crumpled to his knees as he came to a landing, but steadied himself before he could fall into the sand.

He was standing on a dune overlooking the ocean. A slight breeze tugged at the ends of his robes and stirred the long grasses around him. The ocean folded and unfolded in front of him, the precise color of crushed sapphires, encrusted with spidery white foam. There stood a small cottage on his left, and on his right, there was a large, white tent that had been decorated with floating candles and climbing ivory. A walkway, alit by fairy light, showed the way to the tent. Beyond the tent stood a large arch, preceded by numerous chairs. The tent was already bustling with people, he could see from here, and he spotted a fiery stream of curls that he knew to be Rose. Scorpius walked down the pathway towards the tent, his heart beating and leaping into his throat.

"Scorpius!" Rose saw him before he entered the tent, and she smiled brightly. She had done something with her hair, half was left down and half was crafted into a braid that crossed her skull like a crown. She wore a ruby red dress with a square neckline, the skirt looked to be of material he had often heard his mother call tulle. She wore a necklace of gold, and matching shoes. She crossed the room to him as Scorpius moved to meet her, and hugged him tightly as she collided with him. He was right, he did stand taller than her now.

"Hi," Scorpius said, almost shyly, as they broke apart. His hand went automatically to the flower he wore in his breast pocket, and Rose reached out to fix it for him. "You look-"

"Scorpius!" Someone else called. James and Lily descended upon them. Lily smiled excitedly at Scorpius, and some of his enthusiasm waned—for a period, he had forgotten that he needed to speak with her at all. "I'm so glad Posie invited you."

"Likewise," Scorpius said, smiling at Rose, but she was staring at a spot over Lily's head. "Where's Al?"

"He disappeared into the dunes with Jaclyn about twenty minutes ago," James said devilishly. "Mum is going to be furious if he's late."

As if on cue, Albus and Jaclyn arrived at that moment, bowing in the tent with reddened faces and secretive smiles. Albus' hair stuck up terribly, and the collar of his robes were askew. Jaclyn's hair was partly falling from its up-do.

"Crap," James said, his brow furrowing. Lily stuck out her hand triumphantly, and James slapped a galleon into her palm.

"If everyone will move out to zee chairs, zee ceremony will be starting now!" Victoire's mother crowed in a heavy French accent from the side of the tent. Masses of people began moving for the chairs.

"Don't worry," Rose told Scorpius as they walked side-by-side. "We have reserved seats because we are family."

"So, um," Scorpius swallowed. "Does your whole family know I'm here?"

"Of course," Rose replied, a small smile spreading over her face. "Don't be nervous. Are you? You have no reason to be. Mum adores you. She thinks you push me to do better in school."

"Brilliant." Over the top of her head, he saw Rose's father sitting with her mother, their hands entwined. Rose lead him into the row behind them, and they took their seats next to Hugo on James, respectively. Lily, on the other side of James, asked her brother to trade seats, but James refused. Scorpius watched, out of the corner of his eye, as Lily pinched James rather severely on the arm.

"Doesn't she look beautiful?" Rose whispered in Scorpius' ear as the ceremony began. Victoire Weasley was, objectively, one of the most beautiful women Scorpius had ever seen. But today, she glowed in a voluminous wedding dress with blush undertones. Scorpius, however, could not help but look at Rose as he answered:

"She does." Rose turned to look at him, her lips slightly parted, and color grew in her cheeks. Scorpius turned his attention back up towards the front. Teddy Lupin had cleaned up quite nicely, and had reverted his hair back to a normal shade of brown other than the purple he had sported the last time Scorpius had seen him. Scorpius watched as he and Victoire promised each other a lifetime of loyalty, all the while, very aware of how Rose sat next to him, her arm touching his.

When the ceremony ended, the reception was held back inside the tent. During the ceremony, bars and tables had been set up, and food was served on floating trays. Albus and Jaclyn snuck away to the bar to see if they could snag mead, but not before Albus looked from Scorpius, to Lily, and raised a knowing eyebrow.

"Mum helped with the menu," James was telling Scorpius and Rose. Rose sampled an oyster, and then closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Too slimy," she remarked, before grabbing a shell and handing it to Scorpius. He raised his eyebrows, but she shrugged. "I know you like them."

"I do," Scorpius replied, slurping down the meat. He set down the shell back on an empty tray and looked around the room.

"Thanks for inviting me to this," he said, as James left to speak with Teddy. "It's really nice to be out of the parent's house, you know?"

"And it must be nice to see me," Rose said, with a winning smile. Scorpius felt his heart skip a beat. Without even thinking of it, he reached out and touched her wrist. Rose looked up at him, her eyes wide.

"You have no idea." He was dying to find Lily and speak to her, but she first found him. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around to see Lily, bouncing on her toes.

"Scorp, will you dance with me?" She asked. "James refuses to dance with family members."

"Um," Scorpius replied, looking from her to Rose. "Yes, okay. Rose, I'll be right back."

She didn't answer, but turned away slightly and stole a glass of champagne from a passing tray. Scorpius followed Lily towards the dance floor, and extended his hand to her. She placed her hand in his, and then put the other one on his shoulder. The music played was a quick waltz, but neither of them quite knew the steps, so they moved around in a simple box-step.

"Scorp," Lily sighed. "I really am glad you're here."

"So am I," he said, wincing just slightly. He knew what was coming. "But Lily, I have to tell you something-"

"I have to tell you something too."

"I think I should go first," Scorpius mumbled. "If that's alright."

"Well alright," Lily said, tilting her head to one side.

"I um…Al told me there might be a chance you have a slight…well, that you may think of me in a certain…your feeling for me may not be entirely platonic? And I just…Lily I am sorry but I don't feel that way about you. And it's nothing that you've done or anything, and I mean, you're incredible, but I just feel that way about someone else. So I felt like it was fair to tell you that."

"Oh," Lily said, blinking rapidly. "Oh, Scorp."

"What?"

She smiled. "I did like you. I did. But I thought you liked me, so I wanted to tell you that I met someone at Quidditch camp. And um…they go to school with us, so I don't think there's anything to worry about between you and me. Those feelings are gone."

Scorpius smiled too.

"So, friends?" Lily asked.

"Always." And the song ended. Lily bounced up onto her toes again, and kissed Scorpius on the cheek. Scorpius watched her walk off the dance floor, and then revolved on the spot. He caught a glimpse of Rose, watching him with a shocked expression on her face. Rose looked as if she had been slapped. She held a glass of champagne in one hand, and then set it on an empty table. Before Scorpius could even reach her, she turned around and fled, ducking through the tent flaps and rushing out into the sunset. Scorpius dashed after her, nearly knocking people out of his way.

"Rose!" He called out, and saw a flash of her hair before she disappeared behind a dune.

"Rose!" He tripped up the pathway towards her, his heart pounding, his shoes filling with sand.

"Go away!" She shouted back at him, and he could hear that her voice was choked up. "I'm…I need a minute!"

"Rose, I'm not going anywhere!" Scorpius scrambled over a dune and slipped, falling ass-first onto the sand and slipping to the ground. Rose was stalking away, her shoes getting stuck every couple steps. "What's wrong?"

"It doesn't matter, go back inside!" She stopped where she was, her shoulders hunched. She looked like she was shaking.

"Of course it matters," Scorpius said, getting to his feet. "Are you…what's wrong?"

"God," Rose cried, spinning around quite quickly and advancing on him. "I feel like an idiot, Scorpius! But I should have known-"

"Should have known what?" Scorpius parried back, closing the distance between them. They stood so close he could see her every freckle, could see tears forming in her eyes. "I can't help you until you tell me what's wrong."

"You don't care!" Rose shouted, tossing her head and pointing towards the tent. "That much is obvious."

"Of course I care," Scorpius yelled back.

"Well I think-"

But before she could finish, Scorpius gathered up what courage he had. He reached out and slid his hand into her hair, and he kissed her. Rose fell against him, her fists lying flat on his chest. And there was nothing like it in the world. The only sound he heard was the rushing of the ocean in his ears, and all he could feel was the warmth of her skin and her lips pressed against his. And then they broke apart, and Rose let out the softest little sigh.

"Oh," she murmured.

"I care-" Scorpius began.

"No, I know." And then Rose put her hands on his face and tugged his lips down to hers. Her nose brushed his lightly, and her eyes flickered closed. She tasted sweet, but her kiss was fierce like she was; she grasped at his hair and leaned into him, molded against him.

"Rose," Scorpius said, pulling away and tugging lightly on the end of her hair. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

"Same here," she said, laughing lightly. She placed her hands on his chest. "I…I didn't know about how you felt. I thought maybe Lily…"

"Is like my sister, is dating someone else, and I think the kiss on the cheek was for the misplaced belief she may have broken my heart."

"So she didn't? Didn't break your heart?"

"She never had a chance," Scorpius reassured her, pressing his forehead to hers. "You have it."

Rose let out a tiny little gasp, and she smiled. She pulled Scorpius' arms around her and turned her face into his shoulder.

"You know what I saw in the mirror of erised?"

"I thought you didn't see anything!"

Rose shook her head, and lightly pressed her lips against the curve of his jaw. "No. I saw this."