I'm dedicating this chapter to my best friend, Blanca. I love you, bitch. You tha best.
Sorry for the delay, shit just kept getting in the way (like, my laziness).
I apologize for any mistakes, and please remember: English is not my first language.
Rose woke up suddenly to the sound of someone poking her window.
"What the fuck?"
She got up from the bed to see who it was and…
"Albus?"
Her own favourite cousin stared at her from the other side of the glass, wearing a dark short-sleeved shirt that made his skin look even paler –and they were in the middle of August, that boy just didn't tan. But neither did Rose, anyway.
She opened the window and stared at Albus.
"Al, it's four in the morning. What the hell do you want?"
"Just let me in, for Christ's sake." He jumped in, stepping on her Herbology assignment, which was placed on her desk.
If there was something Albus had kept through his sixteen years of life was his snarky and condescending attitude, even when his mother slapped him on the back of his head whenever she heard him say something disrespectful or of the sort.
"So?" Rose asked once Albus was in, standing awkwardly in front of her. "Are you just going to stand there, looking at me in my cute paiamas or are you going to tell me what's wrong?"
What he said turned Rose's blood into ice.
"I slept with someone else. I just… I did. I fucking cheated on my boyfriend, Rose." He started crying then and he dropped himself on her bed, covering his face while his whole body shook.
She didn't know what to say. Rose believed in true love because of her cousin's relationship with Giles Zabini. They had been dating for two years now and their faces still shone whenever they were together, she remembered Scorpius telling her about how Albus always looked sick until he started dating Giles.
"Are you…I…What?"
"I'm not going to say it again, Rose."
Al looked sick again, she realized, his green eyes dark and his usually pink lips pale.
"What happened?" Rose simply asked, sitting beside Albus on the bed, trying to sound as soft as possible –and failing miserably, since she sounded perplexed instead.
"I was at a party, okay?" he sobbed, and took a deep breath before continuing. This time his voice sounded steadier. "And yes, I was drunk. And stoned. Don't look at me like that! It was a party!"
Rose resisted the urge to slap him.
"Don't interrupt me anymore or I won't tell you." There was the moody Albus she knew. "Anyway, I was hanging out with Scorpius and the Longbottom siblings when this guy approached me…"
"Scorpius was there?" Oops.
"Rose! God, you're impossible. Yes, he was there. And yes he drunk and smoked like all of us. He's almost sixteen and he can do whatever the f…"
"Okay, shut up and tell me the bloody story." Rose wiped Al's tears with the sleeve of her (new) jumper.
"This hot guy approached me, and we started snogging and then he asked if I wanted to go home with him. And I did. Wanted to, I mean. So we left and had sex. Rose," he grabbed her wrists and looked at her intensely in the eyes. "I didn't even think about Giles for one second. I enjoyed the sex. I liked the guy, I didn't even know his fucking name!"
"Shhh." She caressed his cheeks. "Don't make too much noise, Albi." Rose hadn't called her cousin Albi since they were twelve. "Don't forget I live with Hermione Granger."
Albus smiled weakly at her and they stayed like that, hugging for a few minutes.
"Rose." He said, suddenly. "You can't tell anyone about this. Not even Scorpius. I owled Giles and asked him to meet me tomorrow. I'm going to break up with him because I love him. I don't want him to find out through anyone else."
It was Rose's time to cry, then.
"Okay." She sighed.
"Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?"
"No, of course not. Stay as long as you want. You know you're always welcome here."
They curled together in her bed, Rose resting her head in Albus' chest, and it was then she realized she didn't want to grow up if it meant watching her loved ones suffer. She didn't want to turn sixteen. She didn't want Scorpius to take drugs. She didn't want to see her little brother get a girlfriend or boyfriend. She didn't want to see her cousin's already delicate heart break.
She definitely didn't want to fall asleep crying again.
Scorpius was suffering from a massive hangover. His parents pretended it was a cold, even though his father had caught him flooing home that night at two in the morning, and Draco never kept anything from Astoria.
So now he was having breakfast with his family, trying to swallow a giant toast that was scratching his already hurt throat. Scorpius could see his sister, Cedrella, smirking from the other side of the table. If he had the energy, he would've kicked her.
"Are you doing anything today?" Astoria asked her children, out of curiosity. "Just because we're not taking you on this trip doesn't mean you can stay here lazing around all day."
"Actually, we can. And no, I'm not doing anything." Answered Ced.
Cedrella was now almost fourteen years old, and everyday she looked more like her mother. Her hair was now longer, almost reaching her waist, and so were her legs. Scorpius new she was just as beautiful as him. They both shared a sort of beauty that made you want to protect them even when you knew they would hurt you, just like when you picked a rose and its thorns cut through your skin. And there was also the fact that he was a Malfoy, and that seemed to push (ignorant) people away. Cedrella suffered much more because of this than him. She had always been like this, delicate and fragile.
"What about you, Scorpius?" His mother's voice brought him back to reality.
"No. Nothing." Can't you see I'm sort of dying right now?
"Rose?" Asked Draco, knowing he didn't even need to say anything else.
"I don't know. I haven't seen her since Monday. I'll owl her later." He knew he couldn't see Rose like this, because she would be disappointed in him.
Which wasn't fair at all. It's not like she was the little innocent girl who sat alone at parties. He had once seen her down a bottle of firewhiskey all by herself in two hours. Although it wasn't something he was looking forward to repeat.
"Or maybe she'll owl you." Cedrella was pointing out the window, at Rose's owl, Hypnos, who was flying towards them.
Hypnos dropped the letter in Scorpius' pumpkin juice.
"I can see it belongs to a Weasley."
"Dad." Scorpius warned his father while he took the letter out of his juice and let his mother dry it with a simple spell.
Hey Scorpius,
Okay, so she wasn't that mad at him (phew).
I just wanted to talk to you and I don't care if you are hungover now. I'm not sorry for you. I'll see you at The Leaky Cauldron at 10.30.
You better be there, wanker.
Love you, Rose
He smiled and went to change.
When Scorpius got there, Rose was already sitting at a table, drinking butterbeer. She smiled in relief when she saw him.
"I thought you didn't drink." He took her butterbeer, teasing her. "You know, except for those eight thousand times."
"Oh shut up, you. I brought you something."
Rose handed him a glass bottle full of purple liquid. Scorpius opened it and smelled it.
"Ugh! Ew! You could've warned me. What the fuck is this?"
" A potion for your hangover. My mom made it, so you better drink it." He did, and felt immediately better.
"So, what's wrong? Why were you so eager to meet me?"
"I just needed to see my BFF."
Scorpius knew Rose was hiding something, but decided not to ask.
"And I also brought money to buy some new stuff. I can't believe it, Sixth Year already. Remember when…"
They left for Diagon Alley like that, talking about past years and memories burned in their minds. Scorpius knew he'd never forget anything about Rose. She was too remarkable, with her flaming red hair, her blue eyes and her crazy talking.
There were two memories about Rose that Scorpius would never forget:
First, the moment he heard her play the violin for the first time. Her level was nothing compared to what she could do now, but it had still amazed Scorpius then. They had both been First Years and were getting to know each other, so when he heard her play that day, he decided he would never let her go. Yes, that was a little fucked up for an eleven-year-old, but he had been so amazed by her passion and concentration. She just gave herself to the music, and still did.
Second, when he kissed her. Because it was him who had initiated the kiss, even if she had responded the way she did. That summer had been the worst of his short life, with not seeing Rose and not knowing what she thought about him. When she came back from Australia, they talked it out, deciding it had been their hormones acting and not their brains. Even if Scorpius didn't really agree (because he was in love with her) he still thanked Merlin that they were still as close as they were before the kiss.
"Scorpius! Are you even listening to me?"
Maybe that miraculous potion wasn't that miraculous. Or maybe he was just stupid.
"What?" his tone was a little bit harsh, but Rose didn't seem to notice.
"I asked you if you had already picked robes for the wedding."
Ah, yes. Victoire Weasley and Teddy Lupin were getting married that summer, and they had invited Scorpius. He saw it as a chance to get drunk surrounded by even-more-drunk Weasleys, who were hilarious and ridiculous and he loved them all very much.
"Of course! Who do you take me for? Albus?" Rose winced at the mention of her cousin. "What happened? Is he okay, Rose?"
"How did you…?"
"Hey, I've known you for five years. What's wrong with the wanker?"
"It's not my story to tell." They stepped inside Flourish and Blotts. "And don't you dare ask him. You don't even know he's hurting, alright? Just act normal!"
He nodded in agreement. Scorpius was a smart young lad, and he didn't need an angered Rose Weasley more than he needed to ingest a deadly poison.
Rose picked a few books there, and then told him she had to go back home. They walked together to The Leaky Cauldron.
Rose kissed his cheek before leaving, and she let her lips linger a few seconds, making his knees weak. When she pulled back he thought he saw her staring at his lips for a moment and then turn around.
Maybe he was imagining things now.
They were all at Rose own most feminine cousin's wedding, which was full of flowers, and pink and girlish shit, and it was begging to give her a headache. And when she got out of the huge tent in Shell Cottage where the event was being celebrated, she found half the males in her family outside on the beach, drinking. Maybe she wasn't that pissed, just a bit jealous.
To be fair, they were all looking very good. James was wearing a tuxedo under his blue cloak, which fitted his toned body and made his hair look darker. Fred didn't even bother to dress up that much, but the pink shirt he was wearing looked perfect against his dark skin. Hugo was already covered in sand (mom was going to kill him when they got back home). Louis was already passed out drunk, his shirt half opened, and Rose knew that Rae would've paid to see Louis Weasley shirtless. Disgusting. Al was still fully dressed (thank Merlin) and didn't look like he was having much fun either.
And last but not least was Scorpius. He seemed to have lost his tie at some point of the wedding, a few buttons of his shirt undone, so she could see his collarbone. His perfect hair was messy thanks to the sea breeze and the alcohol had brought a nice pink colour to his cheeks.
She took a sit between Scorpius and Albus, adjusting her pink dress. Godric, she was starting to hate pink. She didn't even mind if the sand ruined its fabric.
James put his glass near Louis' head on the sand.
"So when he wakes up he can see his ugly face." He had said.
Al chuckled slightly and punched James on the knee.
"Live him alone, arsehole. I'd like to see how you'd react at Lily's wedding."
"Oh, please. We all know Lily doesn't believe in monogamy."
This time it was Rose who punched him.
"Already criticizing me? It's not even three in the morning." Lily Luna had appeared in front of them.
She was wearing the same pink dress as Rose, but of course looked much better than her in it. Her red hair had been curled and she wore light make up. Lily had always been lovely, Rose thought, the kind of lovely that made people hate you out of envy.
Lily gave Albus a kiss on the cheek and pushed James away to sit beside him.
"Al," she started, her voice soft. "How are you?"
"Just fine." He answered.
"It's incredible, right?" Scorpius whispered to Rose. "The connection those three have. It's as if they could guess each other's feelings."
"I know." Rose was looking at her brother, who was messing around with Fred. "It's what happens with siblings. You kind of hate them sometimes, but you could never stop loving them. Even when they throw your new doll that your grandma brought you from Germany from a seventh floor."
Scorpius laughed but didn't say anything, just dropped a hand on her knee. Rose felt herself blush. Ever since they had kissed on the train, they sometimes did things like this, shared intimate touches or whispered in each other's ear or played with each other's hair… Rose knew that could be called flirting, but neither she nor Scorpius were ready to accept that yet.
And then he started tracing random pattern on her skin.
Godric's brown beard.
"Scorpius." She caught his hand and held it. "How are things at The Manor?"
"Why would you want to talk about that?" Scorpius was looking at her strangely.
"I don't know. I'm tired." Rose lied down on the sand and closed her eyes, enjoying the soft breeze and the sound of the ocean.
She felt Scorpius drop himself beside her and his fingers brushed hers, clearly waiting for Rose to make a move, but–unfortunately for both of them–she wasn't in the mood to mess around.
"Rose!" someone shouted in her ear. Hugo. "Get up and come with me!"
She sat up straight and tried to hit her brother, but he ducked expertly. They were siblings after all.
"You almost gave me a heart attack! What do you want?"
"I found something rather interesting. I want you to see it."
"What is it?" Rose knew she couldn't refuse, she was her mother's daughter.
"It's in the seashore. Come on, Rose!"
"Okay, okay, God!"
Hugo helped her up and she left Scorpius and the Potter siblings, heading towards the water. When they arrived she saw… nothing. She saw nothing.
"Hugo, what is it? I don't see…"
And then he pushed her in the water.
She swore to Merlin on that day, that her brother would pay. Maybe it would take years or decades, but she was going to make that ginger bastard pay for throwing her in the freezing, disgusting, salty water, full of strange magical creatures and fish shite.
"HUGO RONALD WEASLEY! I SWEAR TO GOD YOU ARE SO FUC-!"
"What's going on?"
Hermione Granger was the best mother Rose could've asked for. When she saw her daughter coming out of the water soaking wet and her son laughing like a maniac, she did the math. Hermione caught Hugo's ear and dragged him into the tent, out of his sister's reach, more than anything.
Rose could see Scorpius holding back tears and James' face red from trying not to laugh.
"Okay, you wankers." She told them once she got to where they were laying. "You can laugh."
And they did. (Fuckers)
Rose didn't even bother drying herself. To be honest, she didn't mind if her friends were laughing at her, either. She wasn't Gryffindor, for her pride wasn't as sweet as success, just like every other Slytherin.
"Oh, Rosie." James ruffled her wet red hair and for once she let him. "You know we love you, right?"
"What's going on?"
"Just –go back to sleep, Louis."
That year's September 1st was a rainy day, and Scorpius could hear the thunder outside the Great Hall. As always, the food at Hogwarts was delicious and his housemates were friendlier than ever (since he had spent his summer with most of them. Weasleys…) and he could spot Rose from the other side of the room. She was smiling and talking to Rae and Albus, eating like a Weasley and chatting like a Granger.
Ugh, that Weasley girl was going to be the end of him. Scorpius could see Rose felt something for him other than friendship, then why the hell didn't she make a move? She was the Slytherin right? The planner, the confident one. But Scorpius was the Gryffindor and he was supposed to be brave. He was never brave when it came to Rose and feelings.
Scorpius had talked to Albus about this a few times over the summer. The young Potter didn't understand why Scorpius wouldn't be honest with Rose if he was so sure about both of their feelings. Maybe he wasn't that sure.
It was normal for him to be afraid. The boy didn't want to ruin their friendship! But then he thought about Rose's soft lips on his…
Ah! He felt like he was going mad.
Suddenly, Scorpius felt someone sit beside him.
"Hey." It was Giles.
"Hello. What are you doing at the Gryffindor table?"
"I don't want to sit anywhere near him." Giles started to fill his plate with food
"Stop eating your feelings, Giles. And for Christ's sake, give it a rest. Even you know he regrets it."
"He shouldn't have to because he should've never done it."
Scorpius sighed and left his friend alone, then. He saw James tense when he spotted Giles at the table, but the Potter said nothing. Although he did stare daggers at Giles, which, coming from someone as friendly as James Sirius Potter meant you were in trouble.
"You know what's the worst?" shouted Giles suddenly. "I have to sleep next to him now."
"Then maybe you should forgive him."
"Maybe he has a name." James, stay out of this.
The dark-skinned boy looked uncomfortable in the presence of his ex-boyfriend's brother.
"He doesn't deserve any respect after what he did."
"He was drunk, Giles! Everyone makes mistakes! It's not like he started another Wizarding War, he just slept with someone else. And he also had the decency to tell you out of shame. I don't think that's something you would've done if you had been in his place."
Giles stood up and left.
"Arsehole." James muttered and left too.
"Don't go after him!" shouted Scorpius after James.
This was going to be a fun, fun year.
Rose almost fainted when she came in the Arithmancy classroom and saw them. In fact, she was so astonished that she ran the opposite way.
"Miss. Weasley!" the Professor called for her, but she was already out.
She had almost reached the girls' bathroom when she heard her best friend's voice.
"Rose! Wait!"
Rose turned around and saw Scorpius running towards her. He was carrying his bag, which meant he had no intention to return to the class.
She waited for her best friend to reach her, and when he did, for him to catch his breath.
"What the hell was that?" Scorpius asked her. "What happened?"
"You didn't see it?"
"No? Should I have?"
Rose just hugged him, then. Why was he so damn perfect? He smelled like cologne and boys, and his chest was soft against her face. Scorpius now towered over her, even with her being 5'8, he was almost 5'11, and Rose suspected he would reach 6 feet before he turned eighteen. And on top of all that, he was the sweetest person she had ever known. Well, at least to her, but he was still a bit Malfoy to anyone who wasn't a close friend of him (anyone who wasn't part of the Weasley family or his own).
He pulled her away from him and looked at her right into her eyes. Scorpius eyes had always fascinated Rose. Eyes weren't supposed to be silver, why were his? He was silver all over, though, from his hair to his skin.
"Rose, tell me what's going on?"
"Rae and Owen, that's what's going on."
Scorpius gasped.
"Are you –really? Oh Merlin, Rose. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be." She caught his slim hand and caressed it. "I mean, I don't mind that they're together, but they should've told me, right? I deserve to know, at least."
"I thought you didn't have feelings for Owen anymore." There was some bitterness in his tone that surprised Rose, and made her feel uncomfortable.
"I don't, but he's my ex and she's one of my best friends. They ought to tell me."
Rose remembered what she had seen when she stepped in the classroom. Rae and Owen had their arms around each other and they were whispering with their heads bent together. Rae's cheeks had turned a dark shade of pink and Owen's smile was brighter than a Lumos spell.
Maybe she wasn't angry, or felt betrayed. Maybe she was just jealous (thought it's not like she would tell anyone that).
Rose was sure she wasn't jealous because of Owen, but because of the intimacy of their relationship. Just one look at them and you could see how strong their feelings were. Yes, Rose Weasley, an independent young feminist wanted a cute relationship.
"Do you want to skip class and go to our place?"
Maybe she already had a cute relationship.
Scorpius checked his watch to find that he was incredibly late.
"Shit!" he said, and the woman sitting beside him jumped.
The young Malfoy sprinted out of The Three Broomsticks, where he had been drinking by himself (no alcohol, okay? Just a few butterbeers…). If he arrived to the castle past-curfew McGonagall would castrate him.
In fact, he was so worried about his genitals and so busy running his legs off that he didn't notice the dark-haired girl who turned the corner and… he knocked her over.
They both fell down and the girl let a squeak of surprise.
"Oh my God, I'm so… Alice?"
Well, hello.
Alice Longbottom and Scorpius Malfoy had been good friends back in their first years, but their friendship had transformed to simply 'housemates' when Scorpius started chasing Rose like a puppy.
Obviously, there were some 'new' noticeable things about Alice, like her full pink lips, her face no longer round and childish but still soft, the lovely shape of her neck…
"Scorpius! Oh, Merlin it has been a long time! Could you… get off me so we could have this conversation with a little more dignity?"
"Uh, yeah, um." Scorpius loved when he sounded like a troll.
He got up and pulled his friend up, taking her soft hand in his.
"Where were you going so fast?" Alice asked once they had stood up and shook the snow off their clothes.
"Hogwarts. And I'm unbelievably late. I might as well die already before the Headmistress kills me." Suddenly, he realized Alice was just as late, but she didn't seem to notice.
"Don't worry about it. I've got it covered. We can tell Dad we were together and he'll inform Minerva of the… special situation. They always let me past curfew, anyway. Perks of having a teacher for a parent."
"You'd do that?" she smiled and nodded. "Wow, thanks. You deserve an award and a throne."
"A date should be enough."
Scorpius started at her, startled. Had she just said what he thought she'd said? Then, the blonde teen smirked and held his hand out. Who was he to refuse a lady's wishes?
"My pleasure."
Their date was better than he would have ever thought. Alice was funny, simple (in a good way) and extremely attractive. Her long black hair smelled of apricots and her knee brushed his every now and then, making him smirk and wonder if she was doing it un purpose. She offered to pay and he accepted, mostly because his parents had taken all his money for spending a hundred galleons in quidditch equipment a few months ago, and now he was wasting his sister's gold. She didn't seem to mind, though, so they both just pretended it wasn't happening.
"Scorpius." Alice brought his attention back by grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at her.
They were now standing close to the Fat Lady. Neville hadn't said anything when they came back, but the grin in his face told both teenagers that he knew or at least suspected what had happened.
Scorpius was suddenly fully aware of her. Her long nails brushing his jaw, her small, delicate body next to his, her soft features, her green eyes staring right back at his.
"Yes?"
"Kiss me."
And he did. Alice entwined her hands around his neck and he hugged her by the waist. Her lips were rough on his, and she tasted like butterbeer. The girl started deepening the kiss and opened her mouth, attacking Scorpius' tongue. He bit her lower lip and Alice pulled him even closer. His hands began to make their way down her back when…
"What are you doing?!"
James Potter, Head Boy and one of Scorpius closest friends was looking at them wide-eyed.
Next to him was Rose.
Since Rose had been made prefect, she had chosen to patrol always in the company of her older cousin, probably because she preferred it instead of spending the whole night with a stranger (and because she really loved James, okay? But don't let him find out about that.)
Scorpius' best friend's features were calm, next to James', and she didn't seem near as surprised as him. But of course, Scorpius knew her, and knew the calm that came before the storm.
Rose breathed deeply through her nostrils and swallowed hard before saying "You're out after curfew." Her voice was not trembling. "I'm going to have to give you detention."
"Rose, c'mon. We're friends." Alice tried to persuade Rose, her grip on Scorpius still firm. "Can we just forget about it?"
"James?" The young red-head consulted her cousin, but he was still, well… freaking out.
"I-I… well, I suppose…"
"No, sorry." Said Rose suddenly, interrupting James mid-sentence. "We have to be objective and impartial. The fact that you're our friends doesn't change anything. Two nights cleaning the kitchens for Alice. And for you," she didn't even look at Scorpius or said his name, just wrote something on a journal with the Hogwarts emblem on its cover "two nights re-arranging the Library. We're done. Let's go, James."
Rose grabbed James sleeve and they just…left.
"Well, she seemed especially edgy tonight. Now, where were we?" Alice pulled Scorpius down by his collar and started kissing him again, but he pulled her away. "What?"
"We should… sort things out. What are we?"
Yes, that was what they had to do. Scorpius had to know what was going on between him and Alice before he could do anything about Rose.
"Well, what do you want us to be?"
To say that the Wizarding World was shocked by Malfoys and Longbottoms mixing was most definitely an understatement.
But Rose wasn't shocked, no. She was hurt. She was heartbroken. She felt stupid.
Had she not dropped enough hints? Did Scorpius not realize that she was truly and completely in love with him?
Or worse, did Scorpius not love Rose back?
Before, when a younger Rose Weasley had started crushing on a younger Scorpius Malfoy, she had naïvely thought that she could live supressing those feelings, because it was just a silly school-girl crush. But now? Rose knew she would be in love with him forever, and watching him fall in love with someone else was killing her. Why couldn't it be her that the boy kissed? Why wasn't Rose brave enough to tell Scorpius about her true feelings? Sure, she was no Gryffindor, but maybe some of her parents' courage could've rubbed off on her?
Albus started worrying when she got a T on a Charms essay.
"Rose." The youngest Potter son approached her one night in their Common Room. "Stop this. You're not eating, nor socializing, nor studying." Albus wrapped her hand in his. "Just tell him."
"No." Rose refused, but she caressed the back of her cousin's hand. "I won't get in the middle of their relationship when they're obviously happy. Nor will I be the other woman. I love myself enough."
Al chuckled dryly. "Clearly you don't, since you won't let yourself be with the person you love. Rose Nymphadora Weasley, tell Scorpius that you love him now."
Rose smiled weakly at her cousin, but she ignored him anyway.
Scorpius and Alice had a lot of fun together. They kissed, and laughed together, and had the same taste in ice cream (which saved a lot of money, by the way.), and she let him touch her boobs from time to time. Yes, Alice was a great girlfriend and Scorpius really liked her.
But he missed Rose. With every cell of his body. He was starting to see red hair instaid of dark brown, blue eyes instead of green, freckles everywhere… Scorpius Malfoy was actually going mad.
He also had a feeling that Alice was glad Rose had suddenly disappeared from her best friend's life. Scorpius' girlfriend was definitely not a jealous one, but he could understand why she would feel uncomfortable with her boyfriend hanging out with another girl all day.
Especially if he was in love with said girl.
Because there was no point in denying it anymore.
"Scorpius!" someone shouted right in his ear, hugging him from behind.
He was at a party hosted in the Gryffindor Tower, celebrating the birth of the infamous James Sirius Potter, who was turning eighteen that night. The birthday wizard was laughing with his best mates, wearing a crown with 'These drinks are finally legal' written on it, a gift from his sister, Lily, who was currently flirting with a very tall and blonde Lysander Scamander. She was lucky James had the same amount of alcohol in his body as he did of water.
Hiding in a corner of the room, sitting by the fireplace, was Albus Potter, who looked as thin and pale as always, although the firewhiskey he was currently downing had brought a nice pink to his cheeks. He was also smoking, a bad habit he had started practising a few months ago. Albus looked like a Muggle movie star without even trying, and Scorpius wanted to punch him badly. Giles was obviously noticing it two, because he looked as if he were deciding whether or not to approach his very good-looking ex-boyfriend.
And then, next to Albus Severus, was Rose. She was wearing a nice green blouse with Muggle jeans and soft pink flats. She was arguing with her cousin, trying to take his cigarette and in one of her attempts she tripped and fell, which caused her to laugh like she hadn't in weeks. It probably had to do with the drink she had in her hand, but it was still nice to hear her laugh. Scorpius hadn't even heard her talk fro a while, because his best friend of six years was absolutely avoiding him.
Should he try and talk to her? Maybe he could offer her a drink or something…?
And that's when someone shouted in his ear.
"Babe, why are you standing here as if you had a broomstick up your ass?" Alice kissed his cheek and then his lips, and smiled suggestively. "Why don't we go somewhere else? It's too loud in here and I wanted to…"
What she said was lost in the cheering crowd. What the bloody hell was going on now?
"Blimey, he's sucking him dry! Surely missed him." James was talking to Fred, who was wolf-whistling at someone.
Oh, Merlin's pants. Giles and Albus.
No no no. Someone had to stop them! They were both drunk and hurt, and couldn't be trusted!
That's when he met Rose's gaze. She was frowning like him, still beside her horny cousin. Scorpius felt their connection instantly, and so did she, because she nodded and pulled the lovers apart.
"Why don't you try this when you're both sober, you shitheads? Giles, get out please, this is Al's brother's birthday party. Next time you see Albus, talk before jump him."
Giles nearly run out of the room.
"What the fuck, Rose?" that was Albus' angry voice, which he saved for when he was exceptionally pissed.
Shit, they were shouting. They were really fighting at a party. (Weasleys…)
"You'll thank me for this one day."
"I sure as hell won't. Finally, he comes to me…"
"While drunk! I was protecting you, you bloody idiot!"
"I don't want you to protect me! Leave me alone! FUCK!" Albus had burnt his finger while trying to light a cigarette.
Rose stormed out of the Common Room, looking mostly hurt by the way her cousin had spoken to her.
"Go after her." Alice whispered (thank God) in his ear. She wore a sweet smile on her lips, more friendly than romantic. "You have to stop lying to yourself, love. Thank you for this great months together, but with Rose… you could, no, will have years." The girl kissed him one last time and then pushed him to get him out.
Outside, the corridor was cold and empty, and Scorpius could still hear the roaring of the monstrous music James' mates had on. Of course no one would bother to cast a Muffliato charm. Typical reckless Gryffindors. Scorpius loved them with all his heart.
The young wizard thought about using a tracking spell before realizing how stupid he was. Scorpius Malfoy did not need magic to know where Rose Weasley was.
He headed towards the gardens, his wand illuminating the way. Scorpius silently prayed to any ancient wizard or witch that was watching over him that no teacher or prefect found him. He felt shitty enough.
As expected, outside was bloody freezing, so Scorpius hugged his own torso and continued walking as fast as his frozen legs could.
"Rose!" he called for her, shouting/whispering
Scorpius may have loved her, but it was cold as fuck outside, and he wasn't sure about his flirting abilities while dead. He was immersed in his own thoughts when he realised that he had reached 'their place'. It looked just as it always did, but covered in snow and ice. Scorpius' heart felt like the flowers looked, frozen and afraid to be hurt but prepared to be loved.
Rose was sitting on the bench with her back turned to him. Her red hair was covered in white snow.
Before approaching her, Scorpius grabbed a rose and held it in his right hand.
Then, with all the Gryffindor courage he could find, the young Malfoy sat down beside the slightly younger Weasley.
Rose turned her head to look at him and Scorpius saw that she hadn't been crying. She didn't even look flushed, though her cheeks did look a little red from the cold. He wanted to kiss her right there. Her blue eyes met his grey ones and, although she wasn't crying, Scorpius could see the pain behind Rose's cold stare.
Merlin, if he kept up like that he was going to die of hypothermia.
"Do you love her?" said Rose suddenly, not looking at him.
"Alice? Merlin, no! I mean she's a great girl but… no. I don't love her. I love…"
"I didn't love Owen either." Rose cut Scorpius off abruptly. "I feel like I've been lying to myself for such a long time."
"Godric's pants, Rose! Nobody expects you to love your Hogwarts boyfriend. You were fourteen. At that age you're only supposed to love your parents and food." Scorpius was starting to get pissed. Why was Rose so bloody stubborn?
"Well, fine! But I suppose I'm allowed to feel something for the person I'm shagging, right?"
"You shagged him? Oh, my…"
"No!" she stood up and started playing with her hair and gesturing widely, which could only mean she was stressed and struggling. "I didn't! It was just an example! Did you shag Alice?"
"No, Rose." He sounded tired. "You know, I'm fucking… I can't stand this anymore. Fuck it, I love you."
Rose looked at him as if he had just announced he was into cross-dressing and moving to Africa with a goose.
"What?"
"I love you. I want to kiss you, and want to hold you I want to…" He stopped there. "Say something, because I'm starting to sound like a bloody idiot unless that's what you want, because you would have to sort…"
And then Rose was kissing Scorpius.
She yanked him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him up, and then she kissed him. On the mouth.
It was slow at first, even if Rose had almost choked him earlier. They kissed sweetly, keeping their tongues in their mouths. Then they pulled apart.
Rose and Scorpius looked at each other for a few second. The red-head looked flushed this time, her lips a little red. Scorpius thought about saying something or touching her so she could understand how much he wanted her, wanted this, wanted them. How he wanted there to be an 'us', to wake up knowing that he could kiss his girlfriend, Rose, whenever he wanted.
But before the Gryffindor could make a move, his Slytherin companion was already there. Typical. Rose kissed him again, this time with her mouth open. She tasted like firewhiskey and chocolate frogs.
Scorpius would have liked to say that it was another sweet, soothing kiss, but then he would've been lying. Rose's tongue fought Scorpius's and she bit his lip a little too hard. He groaned and put his arms around her back to press her ever closer to him.
"Ouch!" Rose pulled away suddenly, but she didn't try to untangle herself from Scorpius embrace.
"What happened? Did I hurt you? If I hurt you just…"
"Did you pinch my arse?" She didn't sound angry, but kind of amused.
"No! Why would I?" Rose was clearly enjoying watching him panic.
"Then what did?"
They pulled apart and Scorpius almost wanted to punch himself when they saw what had pinched her.
A rose. A rose that was, of course, in Scorpius hand.
"So technically, you did pinch my arse." She couldn't hide her smile now. "Why did you have a rose?"
You know what? Scorpius was tired of being all stutter-y and embarrassed around Rose. If she wanted flirty, she was getting flirty.
"A rose for a Rose." he said, giving Rose his best Malfoy smirk and handing her the rose.
She took it and looked at him suggestively, and Scorpius knew Rose wanted him to make the first move then.
He then surprised both of them by pulling her close by her hips and kissing her fiercely. The red-head didn't take long to respond, because she put her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss even more. Scorpius left her mouth and started trailing kisses down her neck, biting and licking. She moaned in his mouth, dropped the rose and started pulling his hair.
"Oh, my God…" she sighed in Scorpius' ear, making his knees weak.
His hands started travelling down her back while she attacked his neck, probably leaving a fair amount of hickeys. He reached the sensitive area, and she didn't complain, so he caressed it a bit, but it wasn't his destiny. His soft hands reached her thighs, and with one quick movement, he pulled her up, and she, who wasn't even surprised, locked her les around his waist.
Scorpius quickly looked for a place to lay the girl in his arms (OH MY GOD!) down, which was difficult if said girl was biting your jaw tentatively. He spotted the stone bench, but it was probably cold and hard, and he didn't want to hurt Rose in any way.
"Scorpius." Rose groaned and kissed him languidly before saying. "Lay us down now. I don't care where."
So he lied them down on the bench slowly, but the girl didn't make a sound of distress in any moment. When they were both comfortable enough, he started seriously kissing her.
First, Scorpius started kissing Rose in the mouth and biting her lip, teasing her. Then he went for her neck. He took his time looking at it before. It had three purple love marks, making him wonder what the state of his oen neck was. Rose, who was starting to get impatient, rocked her hips against Scorpius's and he almost died right there. He attacked her neck aggressively, sucking, biting, licking… She moaned and groaned and sighed. Scorpius was having the best night of his life. He left her neck and kissed her collarbones a few times before pulling up her blouse to her breasts. He kissed her tummy in a line until he reached her pants and looked up at Rose.
Her cheeks were flushed, her lips were red and swollen and her hair was a mess. She was the sexiest thing Scorpius had ever seen.
"Uh, I…" she muttered incoherently
"Do you want to?" he asked her, caressing her cheek
"Well, definitely not here, and not tonight either." She stroked his mouth with her fingers.
"Good, me neither." Scorpius pecked her lips once, twice.
"Scorpius." Rose was smiling timidly and playing with the collar of his shirt. "We have to discuss this. But before that, you have to know that I love you too, in that way. You are my best friend. But… I'd like it if you were something else, something more."
She knew there was no reason to be subtle now that she had been sucking his face for half an hour, but Rose was Rose, and she liked torturing and teasing him, didn't she?
"You don't say." Scorpius pointed at his bruised neck and she laughed, not embarrassed at all. Instead, Rose looked kind of proud.
But just when she was about to kiss him again, the Weasley girl pulled away so fast that her skull almost hit the stone. Her smile had disappeared and her blue eyes were open wide.
"What?" the teenage Malfoy asked, his voice filled with concern.
She didn't look him in the eye when she answered. "Alice."
"Oh." He sighed in relief and she frowned. "She was the one who told me to go after you. She said that I had to stop lying to myself because you would make me happy… forever."
Rose blushed and swallowed.
"Remind me to thank her later." She licked her lips. "I was so lonely. I missed you so much. I'll never forgive myself for doing this to you, leaving you for so long. I love you. God, I love you, you wanker."
He laughed and kissed her playfully, but Rose quickly deepened the kiss and wrapped her hands around his neck, playing with the short hairs on the nape of his neck. Scorpius sighed in her mouth and felt her smile.
"Stop kissing me and tell me what we are, woman!"
Rose laughed and kissed his nose.
"We are Rose and Scorpius. We don't need to be anything else."
"Remind me again why I need to do this."
Rose was being stubborn and she knew it. She also knew Scorpius was just trying to help her, but she just didn't feel like talking to Albus. Ever. Again.
"Because Al is your second best friend." She snorted at her stupid boyfriend. "Yeah, yeah, shut up. And you miss him and he misses you and needs your help."
"My help? For what? Chopping off his own bollocks? Yeah, I'll gladly help then!"
Scorpius scowled at her, disgusted. They were climbing the stairs (more like Scorpius was dragging Rose up the stairs) to the third floor, the Charms Classroom. It was fourth period and they both had that hour free, and while Rose had proposed they went to her dormitory to snog each other's face off, Scorpius had suggested they went to pick up Albus after Charms. The reason why the pair didn't have Charms with Al was simple: they were taking NEWT level and he was not.
So now here she was, waisting her precious hour with Scorpius to talk to her rude, ungrateful shithead of a cousin. Yeah, sure, she gets that he was drunk and hurting, but that didn't give him the right to treat her like he did that night! On his brother's eighteenth birthday! Rose had talked to James about Albus since that day, and all she got from him was that Al had his reasons to be sensible, that he was struggling with something and that she should be a little bit more forgiving.
What was going on with her Potter cousins? First Albus goes all polygamous and starts fucking around, then Lily got a tattoo of her boyfriends name at FOURTEEN YEARS OLD and then James stood up for his brother and started studying (?).
What the fuck did their parents feed them for dinner on the summer?
"Rose! Hurry up!"
"Shut up, Scorpius! I'll go as fast as I want!"
To be honest, she was a little curious about what was going on with Albus, or if he and Giles had sorted it out, if he was doing well in all his classes, if he ate well…
Fuck, she missed him a lot. Stupid twat. None of this would've happened if he had kept his dick in his pants.
"Okay we're here." Scorpius stopped in front of the Charms classroom door. "Good luck." He kissed her forehead and started walking away.
"What? Where are you going? You little… You git! You are going to die-" and then, when she was verbally cursing her boyfriend, students started to come out of the classroom.
They were all sixth years, so many of them greeted her, including Eleanor Nott and Rae, who were gossiping and fangirling together. Rose searched for a familiar grumpy face in the crowd of Gryffindors and Slytherins, but the wanker was nowhere to be seen. She spotted a few of Al's male friends and fellow housemates and then she saw Giles. The boy was walking alone but he looked okay. Better than he had in a while, actually. Maybe what was going on with Albus was that he and Giles were working it out?
"Hey Rose." Giles hugged her tight and his scent reminded her of when they were smaller and had no boyfriends to worry about. "How are you?"
"Great! And you?"
"Better. I met someone, you know. A fifth year Ravenclaw. Very handsome. But, please, don't tell Albus. Not yet." Giles looked sad when he mentioned his ex-boyfriend.
"No, of course not, if that's what you wish." Rose tried her best not to sound disappointed. They hugged again and Giles left.
It was so sad, Rose thought. Albus and Giles had been so happy together they lit up the room. She remembered how Albus was before Giles: scrawny, grumpy, thin. Which was, what a coincidence, how he looked now that they were separated again.
"Rose?"
The young witch had turned her back to the door of the classroom to watch Giles leave, and she had forgotten about Albus momentarily, so he had been the one who noticed her.
Rose turned around again to find her cousin and Alice Longbottom staring at her. They had probably headed out of the classroom together, and Alice was pointing at something in her Charms textbook. The girl looked at Rose and Albus, closed her book and left discreetly.
"What are you doing here?" The young Potter asked. His voice was so familiar for Rose that she couldn't help it, and hugged her cousin with the force of a giant. "Oh, okay! Rose, I can't breathe!"
"Oh, Al!" she loosened her grip on him but kept her arms around his torso. "I've missed you so much! I'm tired of fucking fighting with everyone!"
Albus hugged Rose too, and kissed the top of her head.
"I'm so sorry, Rose. I shouldn't have said the things I said. You know I would never hurt you on purpose, right? You're Rosie, you've always been my best friend. Oh my God, I'm so sorry!"
They both cried and embraced each other for a few more minutes. Rose was positive they looked ridiculous and that the scene itself was hilarious, but she still crushed her stupid Potter cousin's ribs.
When they finally let go of each other and wiped the tears on their red-from-embarrassment cheeks, Rose suggested they went to take a walk outside.
In the end, outside was inside, because they were in fucking Scotland and they didn't see the fucking sun fucking ever, so they went to the Astronomy tower instead.
As soon as they arrived, Al lit one those bloody cigarettes he had started smoking after his troubled break-up. Rose absolutely hated them. The girl had only tried them once, at a party, and she had felt out-of-breath and disgusted by the taste they had left in her mouth.
"How can you even do that to yourself, Al?" The young Weasley asked before sitting on the floor. "You're going to die." Sure, sure, she was being over dramatic.
"Merlin, I hope so." The dark-haired boy answered, kind of mocking her. "Can you imagine living forever? Watching your friends and family die… Bollocks, I made myself sad."
Rose rolled her eyes at him, but laughed anyway. Al sat down beside her and started blowing smoke at her to piss her off. But Rose was not giving her cousin the pleasure of watching her lose it, so she stopped breathing through her nose.
They didn't talk and enjoyed a comfortable silence–one that was achieved after many years of trust and love–until Al finally extinguished his self-destroying machine.
"So, how are things going with Scorpius? Not that he hasn't told me many things I didn't want to know about."
"Argh, he's such a wanker. I told him to keep his mouth shut."
Al grinned at her and went to grab another one of those bloody disgusting penis-shaped (not that Al wasn't into that, obviously) things, but Rose slapped his hand away from his bag.
"Ouch, hey! What are you doing?" He screamed/asked when she introduced her hand in his bag and dug out his pack of shit-flavoured bombs.
And then she threw it off the tower.
"NO!" Albus screamed and stood up, watching his precious drugs fall into the darkness (and wetness). "God, Rose. You're such a…"He did not dare finish the sentence. "Sorry. I've been a bit sensitive lately. Must be the fags." He laughed at his own joke–one of those obscene jokes you could only make if you were part of them–and sat down again.
Suddenly, Rose remembered something.
"Al, you got something to tell me?"
He seemed perplexed–and kind of scared, too–when she asked him, and looked at her with big green, surprised eyes.
"Why would you say that?"
"James said to leave you alone because you were struggling with something. What is it? 'Cos now I can see that there's obviously something."
Albus made a noise of exhaustion and rubbed his face with his hands.
"Fucker. Almost as big-mouthed as your boyfriend."
"Well," the Weasley grabbed the Potter's hand. "he didn't tell me anything about it. But you must. You know you can tell me anything. It won't be the first time I've kept your dirty secrets."
Albus took a deep breath before speaking.
"The first thing you need to know is that I lied to you. I've been lying for so long I don't even know what the truth is. Anyway, I lied to you only once in my life, and it was such a big, fat fucking lie that I am too ashamed to even…" His voice started to crack and Rose kissed his shoulder and lay her head on it. "Rose, I didn't cheat on Giles with a guy. I cheated on him with a girl."
Rose was so startled that she got up only to look at her cousin incredulously.
"…WHAT?"
"I know, I know! It was just so…"
"I can't believe… What? Why didn't you tell me? Was it bad? Who was she? Did you like it?" she kneeled down in front of her cousin and grabbed his hands again. "I need to know! Tell me everything!"
Albus laughed bitterly and looked at her in her blue eyes.
"You're not angry I lied to you?"
"Well, yeah. But I'm more curious about what the hell happened. Tell me everything."
"Okay, okay, Merlin. Well, as you know, I was at a party with the whole gang, but mostly the lads. Giles was there too, but he left early because his mum had kind of grounded him and he had snuck out. He left, and I realized–after a joint, I'll admit that–that I was horny as… well, you know. Giles and I hadn't done it since a few weeks ago because of his travels and shit that got in the way, and I needed someone that instant. And then, Alice arrived at the party."
"Alice? You mean like, THE Alice? Alice Longbottom?"
"Yes, but that's not the point. You see, I had been noticing something strange for quite a while then. I found out I appreciated when Felicia Nott wore shorts skirts, or when one of Lily's friends stayed over and wore a tiny tank top for sleeping. Merlin, I felt weird! I thought I liked guys only! But, of course, the universe wasn't done fucking with me!" Al closed his eyes, trying to put himself together, and Rose wanted to tell him that it was alright to cry and that he shouldn't be ashamed of anything he had told her. "Back to the point, Alice was there. She wore her hair down, a white shirt with one hell of a cleavage and black, tight pants. I remember James said 'She might be a Longbottom, but she's got a FAT arse'. I couldn't help but agree. She looked lovely. So I decided to approach her. She seemed to find strange my heterosexual tendencies, but so did I, and still she didn't complain when I bought her a beer. One thing led to another and we ended up in one the private rooms of the Leaky Cauldron the Longbottoms keep. And yes, I enjoyed it. It was new, different, sexy. So was Alice. And she enjoyed it, too. I could tell by the noises she made. In the end, it wasn't so different as having sex with Giles, because I topped."
"Oh, ugh Al! You ruined the moment! You had me all seduced by your sex story, and now it's all gone!"
"Oh, shut up and listen! We did it like three times. I liked it so much that I could've kept going, but she fell asleep almost after finishing the last time. I may be a teen boy, but I am human too, so I fell asleep myself just a few minutes after she did. I woke up an hour after, and turned my head, expecting to see dark skin and pecks, but what I got was light skin and breasts. I realized what I had done almost immediately. I got dressed and prepared to leave when she woke up. 'I'll never tell anyone, if that's what you want.' Alice told me. 'I just don't know what to think.' I answered her. She sat up, not even bothering to cover herself. 'I will give you time, but don't hesitate to tell me if you see me as an option. You sure you haven't done this before?'. Then I kissed her one last time and left. I had to take the bus to your house, that's why I got there so late. It's like you live in a fucking cave, isolated from the rest of humanity!" Rose laughed at this, amused by his passionate indignation. "And the rest, you know it."
The red-head sighed. "Well, it's a lot to take in. Are you… ehm, trying it out with Alice?"
"Yep." He admitted "But you know you can't tell anyone. Especially Scorpius. He might be offended."
"You did sleep with her first, though."
"Wait, Scorpius's not a virgin?" Rose shook her head. "I thought he was saving himself for you."
They both shared at each other for a second before bursting out laughing so hard a tear or two slipped.
"Saving himself…" Rose managed to say between laughs. "I'm sure Amélie and Giulia disagree."
"Oh, and you don't?"
Well shit.
Rose stopped laughing all of a sudden and blushed deeply.
"Wait, you two haven't…" Albus was starting to understand.
"Yeah, maybe it's because I'm not a dirty little slut like you."
"Just ask Giles or Alice, I'm not exactly little."
"Or I could ask your Healer."
"You wouldn't"
And they stayed like that–bickering, joking with each other for a few hours until dinner, when they walked in the Great Hall together, and sat down at the table next to each other. Rose could see Scorpius's smug grin across the room and she reminded herself to punch him for abandoning her AND thinking everything worked out thanks to him. He may have been a Gryffindor, but he was still a Malfoy.
Twats.
It wasn't the first time she saw Scorpius drunk, but it was the first time she saw her boyfriend drunk.
He was lying on the floor, mumbling incoherently and drinking straight from a bottle of 'unknown', surrounded by his other male friends. After all those years, Rose found Drunk Scorpius endearing, if anything. She probably would have jumped him if he wasn't with his friends, but Rose understood that he needed space just like herself.
Right now the sixteen-year-old Weasley was sitting next to Albus and James, in the Room of Requirement, celebrating the upcoming graduation of the Seventh Years. To be honest, she would miss her cousin James and his distinct lack of tact–nobody knew how he had managed to shag so many girls–and now she looked at her younger Potter cousin and found that she might not be the one missing Jamie the most.
"Cheer up, you fucker." James hit his brother's shoulder with his own. "Now the whole school is yours. And the girls, too. Shit, and the boys! Lucky bastard. I always envied bisexual people. 'S like, in the future will I marry a guy or a girl? No one knows! That's like, wicked, ya?"
"Okay, that's enough." Albus took James' drink and set it down on the table. "You're raving."
But James was already asleep.
"He better enjoy this." Rose spoke up so Al could hear her. "I know for a fact that your dad doesn't fuck around when it comes to Auror-ing."
"Yep." Was all he answered. "You know, I think that's Alice right there. See you."
Cheers, Al. Now I'm all alone with no one to…
"Yoooooo, Rosie."
Well, hello there.
The handsomest Malfoy dropped down on the couch beside her and wrapped one arm around her. The alcohol brought a nice pink colour to his cheeks. He really was the handsomest. His defined cheekbones, his sharp jaw, the lovely angle of his neck, his collarbones–which she could see thanks to his partly unbuttoned shirt.
"Hey, you." Rose greeted her sexy boyfriend and tried to hide her blush.
And then Scorpius kissed her full on the mouth.
He tasted like alcohol and mint and his mouth basically attacked hers in a way it hadn't before–not that she was complaining. Scorpius' lips were not soft and tender, like they usually were, but persistent and demanding. And, considering she was as headstrong and liked being in control as much as her boyfriend, Rose grabbed Scorpius by the neck of his shirt and pulled him even closer. He tilted his head and gave her full access to his mouth.
Here they were, a Malfoy and a Weasley, snogging each other's face in the middle of a room full of other people. Hermione would have a fit.
Scorpius finally released her after pecking her one last time.
"Huh." The blonde boy's blush had nothing to do with the alcohol, now. "I didn't know you could do that with your tongue."
"Me neither." It came out more as a sigh than actual words. Rose caught her breath before speaking again. "What was that about?"
"I don't know. I guess, I saw you here and I was there, and suddenly I wanted to be closer–no, closest–to you. And well, that happened."
Rose smiled, in love. All of a sudden, she felt brave –probably had to do with the fact that she had downed two butter beers before.
"Scorpius?"
"Hmh?"
"Do you want to have sex with me?"
He stared wide-eyed at her, and she regretted her words immediately.
"Like, right now?"
"What? No! I meant it as, like, if you find me desirable enough. If you want to have sex with me."
Scorpius raised his eyebrows in what she described as a 'Malfoy' way. "I just snogged you senseless. Of course I find you desirable, Rose." His words had stopped sounding clumsy or disorganized, he wasn't that drunk anymore. "Why are we even having this conversation right here, right now?
"You haven't even answered my question."
"You just turned a nice evening into an uncomfortable one."
"So you don't want to have sex with me. Just say it."
Scorpius groaned in frustration and Rose feared he might actually say it.
"You know…you know I do. It's just that I want you to want it too. I wouldn't like you to feel like it's something you have to do because everybody is doing it or because I've done it. I want you to be ready, because I love you and desire you and care for you."
Rose let out a sigh of relief.
"Okay."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I'm ready and that I want to do it, but that I don't want it to be planned or something like that. When it happens it happens. Also, let's avoid desks or benches. I already know they're uncomfortable for snogging, imagine for shagging."
"I know."
"What do you mean you know?"
The poor boy gave her a guilty look and started playing with his glass, avoiding her glance.
"Oh, Jesus. That's bloody disgusting! Don't expect me to do it any time soon."
Many years later, they laughed at her innocence and stubbornness. After doing it on a desk.
Scorpius hadn't attended the graduation for obvious reasons, but Rose had thought it was a nice chance to tell her parents about them, since they had been invited. Scorpius didn't know why, really. His own cousin, Theresa Shafiq, was graduating that year, but his parents–her aunt and uncle, just like Ron and Hermione for James and Fred–hadn't been invited. Whatever, he was used to this by now.
Right now he was dodging graduates and their families, struggling to get to Rose's own.
"Scorpius!" Fucking hell, he was never going to reach Rose.
It was Tessa, his cousin, who hugged him and kissed his cheek, followed by her mother, his Aunt Daphne. The only ones in the family who seemed to respect Scorpius' personal space where his Uncle Maximus and his cousin Charlotte–a strong-minded and respectful Fourth Year who resembled her father in every possible way.
"What are you doing here?" Aunt Daphne asked him, patting his shoulder in an affectionate way.
"Oh, my girlfriend's going to introduce me to her parents." Well, not exactly introduce, but his Aunt and Uncle did not need to know that.
"Girlfriend? Is it serious?" Scorpius nodded. "Funny. My sister didn't mention anything about her son finally settling down."
"Yeah, you see… She doesn't know yet."
"Oh, dear. Why is that?"
At this point, Tessa and Charlotte were red from holding back their laughter.
"Well, I'd like to tell her and Dad about it when I get home. You know, to their faces."
"That's nice of you. Off you go, now!"
Basically that was every interaction anyone had with the Shafiq-Greengrass family. Daphne talking and talking and talking and then Theresa imitating her.
But that didn't matter now, because he really needed to find the Weasleys –and then probably run away from them.
And then he spotted the sea of red hair and stopped walking abruptly.
Was he really doing this? He had known these people for six years! They always saw him as Rose's clingy best friend and now he was her clingy boyfriend. He was dead. So dead. Oh Merlin, Ronald was going to kill him for dating his daughter and Rose was going to kill him for being a coward git!
"Don't just stand there, idiot!" a male voice whispered in his ear.
Scorpius jumped and turned to see Albus Potter wink at him.
"Keep doing all that and they'll think it's you he's dating."
Rose had magically materialized beside him, and locked her arm with his. She gave him and encouraging smile before dragging him towards her numerous family.
"Everyone!" Rose shouted once they got close enough. "Remember my best friend Scorpius? Well now he's my boyfriend Scorpius."
Shit, Rose! Could you be any more subtle! NOTICE THE SARCASM!
Okay his brain was going on autopilot. It had collapsed. Bye. Gone. His name? What's a name? Family? Huh? Girl-?
"Oh love, that's brilliant! I'm so happy for you!"
Wh-what?
"Thanks, mum! Scorpius was worried you might, well…you know."
"You did, Scorpius?" And that was Ronald.
"Erh… I did. Although, I had no reason. Not really. You had already welcomed me into your family before. Thank you. But I must admit, as much as I respect you, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, even if you forbid me to see Rose I still would." His girlfriend smiled lovingly and snuggled closer to him.
"That's…sweet, I guess." Hermione said. "Oh, come here you two! Give us a big hug."
It was a rather cute scene until one of the Potters decided to ruin it (as usual).
"Speaking of girlfriends and shit, I just wanted everyone to know–specially Mum and Dad–that I like girls, too."
"WHAT?"
The first time Rose and Scorpius had sex it had been raining all day. They had planned going to their place with a (stolen) bottle of Firewhisky and (stolen) food from the kitchens, to celebrate the end of the year. Of course they had been invited to the parties their respective Houses hosted, but after a whole month of desperately studying and practicing, what they both wanted was to enjoy each other's company and nothing else.
So when it started raining, Rose suggested they went to the Room of Requirement. When they arrived, it looked like a homely living room, with a few couches and a nice wooden tea table. So they drank, and ate, and flirted.
It started off as innocent kissing, and then it turned into snogging. One thing led to another and suddenly they were both very naked and very close. Rose had acted as a downright Slytherin, all confident and encouraging. She also learnt very fast –every time she did something that Scorpius seemed to enjoy Rose noted to herself to repeat it.
The young Gryffindor wished his girlfriend's first time would have been somewhere else than a couch–no matter how comfortable it was–but she never complained about it.
Scorpius took his time teasing Rose and trying to make it as pleasurable for her as he could, knowing it probably had hurt her sometime in the beginning. Rose finished a few seconds before him–with a muffled scream–biting his shoulder, and when Scorpius did he groaned on his girlfriend's neck. The young Malfoy boy kissed the young Weasley girl's shoulder a few times before looking at her in the eyes for the first time since they had finished making love. Her forehead was pearled with sweat and her breathing was erratic.
"I love you." Scorpius said, stroking her cheek. "Fuck, I love you so much."
"You don't say." Rose answered, too overwhelmed to even say something coherent.
He just laughed, knowing that in Rose's language that meant 'I love you too'.
'Kiss me again." She pleaded, tilting her head upwards. Her parted lips looked so tempting that he couldn't help but obey. "I love you, too. You know that." Rose told Scorpius when they pulled away. "And I think I left scratches on your back. Judging by the blood on my nails."
"It's okay. You don't want to see how I left your neck."
She smiled sweetly and adjusted her position on the couch so Scorpius could lie down beside her.
"Did you like it?" Rose asked him.
"Like it? I told you that I loved you after we finished. What do you think? It didn't have to be mindblowing because what I was looking for wasn't pleasure, but a way of showing you that I love you the most."
She kissed his chest before telling him to shut up lovingly and then proceeding to fall asleep almost immediately after.
Scorpius laughed slightly and started stroking his girlfriend's flaming red hair. He played with Rose's curls until he fell asleep, too, and dreamt about something his mother would be scandalized by.
Rose woke up in her bed, her whole body sore. Half unconsciously she checked her alarm clock just to confirm that she was right, that it was incredibly early in the morning. What had woken her up, anyway? Usually she slept like a baby and had to fight her mum's claws, trying to get her out of bed.
Rose sat up and stretched until her bones made strange 'crack' noises. She pushed the sheets off of her body and got up.
Plonk.
Something hit her window.
"Oh, Salazar." Rose moaned. "Not again."
Rose walked to her window and opened it, the cool summer breeze sending shivers down her spine.
"What-AH!" A rock had hit her straight in the eye. "Fuck! You fucking idiot!"
"I'm so sorry, Rose!" Albus Severus Potter apologized, but he looked more like he was scared than sorry. "I swear I didn't mean to!"
Rose restrained herself from casting an Unforgivable Curse and rubbed her swollen eye. "Get in here. Now, before I change my mind."
She didn't bother to wait for him and went into her bathroom to get some products to clean her eye, since she still couldn't use magic outside of school. When she came back into her room Albus was already there, lying on her bed and biting his nails.
"As punishment, you are going to heal my eye the muggle way." She sat down beside him and put her hair up in a ponytail. Albus grabbed the products and started rubbing her black eye.
"Ouch! Be more careful!" Rose hissed when her cousin pressed a little too hard. "So, what did you want?"
"It doesn't matter."
"Yes, it does. Okay, you can stop now."
Al finished cleaning her eye and kissed her on the cheek.
"I'm really sorry. Please don't kill me." Albus smiled shyly.
"Why don't you apologize by telling why you even came here in the first place?" Rose suggested/demanded.
The young Potter lost his smile suddenly. "Right. Um… Alice and I broke up."
"What?" Rose tried to fake disbelief. "Again? But I thought you guys made up!"
"I'm going to die alone, aren't I? I just keep fucking up every relationship! I'm such a fucking bellend." Albus's voice sounded strained, as if he were close to tears.
"You now that's not true. You just have bad luck in the love department. Okay, that's not true either. Maybe you just haven't found the right person yet. I mean, you're sixteen years old. Don't expect to find the love of your life so soon."
Albus let out a bitter laugh. "I think what you mean is 'Not everyone is like Scorpius and I.'"
Rose punched her cousin's arm. "Don't take your heartbreak on me, bitch. Your life isn't that hard. Just talk to Alice. She'll forgive you like she always does with everyone. Seriously, don't let her go. That girl is gold."
"Yeah, but what if it was her fault? What if maybe–even though she's as sweet as a flower–Alice often says things that hurt me, and when I ask her to apologize she acts as if she was the victim? I get that it might not be on purpose, but if you say something that offends someone else you fucking apologize!" Albus was starting to raise his voice in anger.
"Shhh. No need to wake everyone up."
"I don't want to get back with her! Alright, I do, but she's just so infuriating!" After that last scream he seemed to calm down a bit. "Do you mind if I smoke here?" he took out a pack of cigarettes.
"But I thought you had quit!"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures. Can I or not?"
Rose sighed, tired. "Go ahead, but next to the window. I don't want my whole room to smell like lung cancer. I'm going back to sleep. You can stay if you want to."
That morning no Weasley-Granger seemed surprised when Rose came downstairs followed by the one Albus Potter.
12429 words and 31 pages! I'm pretty sure that's a record!
So, first of all I want to thank anyone who reads this fic and ask you guys to review if you like it or not. Seriously, it would mean the world to me. And shout out to the people following Of friendships and lovers: Magieeem, livvy.2207, madaluis25 and rin916. Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed my story enough to follow it!
Abou Albus sexuality:
Adolescence is about finding yourself, what you like and what you don't. Being confused about your sexuality doesn't always have to involve heterosexuals, but also homosexuals. It works the same way! One day you like this and the next day you find out that you also like that. Yep, my friends, that's what growing up does to you.
Now, let's talk about the next chapter. You've probably realized how I skip some years… I just don't like their Hogwarts life, I want them to be grown-ups and have a flat and a dog and a job. So yes, I'm skipping Seventh Year. The only important thing you need to know about their Seventh Year is that Rose and Scorpius have loads of sex and Albus and Alice keep breaking up getting together again all the time. Anyway, on the fourth chapter they're going to be a little older, like 21-22, just finishing their careers. Andddd there's a baby coming! I'm just not telling you whose it is. Muahaha. I can tell it's going to fuck up his/her life and make it so much better at the same time.
That's it, I'm finally done!
Love you all xx
Dolcissimonotappasionato