A/N: Thanks to all the wonderful people who reviewed. You made my day/week.

This Chapter follows on directly from the last one, still in Fifth Year.

Fifth Year

Rose had only been down to the Slytherin common rooms half a dozen times during her years at Hogwarts. She usually met Albus in the Entrance Hall, the library, or out in the grounds somewhere. Descending the cold stone steps toward the dungeons, she had the unpleasant sensation that she was heading straight to her doom.

"Oh cheer up," hissed Dominique next to her after she had vocalised these exact thoughts. Her cousin let out a curse as one of her heels slipped on the step, and Rose muttereda silent thanks that she had chosen flats. She still felt dangerously exposed in Dominique's dress, however, even though she had chosen the most modest outfit she could find. Next to her part-Veela cousin, Rose really felt that she couldn't do justice to any outfit whatsoever.

"I feel ill," she said as they approached the arched entrance. A few people milling outside gave them curious looks as they passed them. "Gillyweed," she mumbled, and the seemingly impenetrable stone moulded itself into a doorway before swinging forward to admit them.

Inside was noisy, smoky, crowded and hot, or at least that was Rose's first impression. There was a large makeshift dance floor where the couches would normally be, and loud music was blaring from invisible speakers. Glasses floated everywhere through the air, carrying an assortment of suspicious looking liquids. In one corner a group of third or fourth year students were breathing fire at each other, and Rose had to look away lest she give them all detentions on the spot. Almost every inch of wall was covered in shimmering green and silver, in clear celebration of Slytherin's victory over Hufflepuff in Quidditch earlier that day.

"Isn't this great," Dominique squeaked, waving into the crowd. "Ooh, there's Calvin. Stay here Rose, I'll be right back."

"What, no! Dom – wait!" But her cousin's blonde head was already disappearing. Rose stood quite still, trying to calm her racing heart and the sinking feeling in her stomach. She felt terribly vulnerable, just standing there by herself. For something to do, she swiped a drink out of mid-air and took a gulp, nearly gagging at the foul tasting liquor. At least nobody seemed to be paying any attention to her; she took another sip and surveyed her surroundings more closely. Most of the people were familiar to her, as acquaintances or casual friends. There were very few Gryffindors present. She took another generous sip and tapped her feet to the music. Perhaps this wasn't so bad…

"Well, look who it is," came a silky voice beside her ear, startling her so much she nearly dropped her drink. Whirling around, Rose found herself face to face with Scorpius Malfoy. He regarded her with an amused expression as she fought for something to say.

"Hello," she said at last.

"Hello," he replied with a smirk. In the candlelit room Rose couldn't help but notice how handsome he appeared. She tried not to feel intimidated by how much bigger than her he was. "You look nice."

"Uh…thanks," she was glad the dimness hid her blush. To cover her embarrassment, she gulped down the remainder of her drink, grimacing a little at the burning sensation. Scorpius gave a bark of laughter.

"Didn't peg you for a heavy drinker."

Reluctantly, she tore her eyes away from her glass, which was magically refilling itself, and stared obstinately at the blonde boy in front of her. "Don't be archaic, Malfoy. Having one, or two – " she took another sip as if to prove her point – "of this…whatever it is, doesn't make me a heavy anything. I'm quite capable of taking care of myself."

Scorpius opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a short, thickset student dressed in Slytherin robes practically barrelling into him. On closer inspection Rose recognised him as Vincent Goyle, from the year below them.

"Scorp, maaaate," he slurred, shaking Scorpius repeatedly on the shoulder with one gorilla like hand. "Awesome today, mate, awesome. Great catch, best I've seen. You gotta come say hi to my sister, she's dying to congrachulate you. Come on, come on," and, ignoring Rose as if he simply didn't see her, he began tugging on Scorpius' arm like an overenthusiastic younger brother. Scorpius offered an apologetic, "back in a minute" before letting himself be pulled away into the crowd.

Alone again, Rose turned to scan the throng once more. She felt less comfortable than before, not as inconspicuous; she was getting a few more curious looks now, no doubt from being seen talking to Malfoy. To hide her embarrassment, she finished her second drink, then a third, and was just starting on a fourth when Scorpius returned. He looked between her and the drink in her hand, and frowned.

"Don't you think you've had enough?" he asked, and Rose felt her hackles rise at his chastising tone.

"What are you trying to say?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, just suggesting you take it easy. You'd want to have all your wits on you around here, that's all."

"I'll thank you to – " she faltered, somehow losing the thread of what she had been about to say. She took another swig, jumping out of Scorpius' grasp when he made a lunge for the glass, and laughing gleefully at his scowl. "To…be still."She downed the rest of it before he could get to her, then handed him the empty glass, before she remembered that it would refill. Oh well, she probably had had enough, she thought as she stumbled into someone and fought for far longer than should have been necessary to regain her balance.

"Are you alright?" asked Scorpius, eyeing her as if she might explode at any moment like some kind of Blast-Ended Skrewt.

Incensed, Rose mustered her best attempt at dignity, "Of course I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be?" She couldn't see Dom or Albus anywhere. Curse her unreliable family.

"It's just," Scorpius leant towards her and Rose felt his hot breath on her cheek. It made her feel unsteady. "You give me the impression of not doing this very often, and I'd hate for you to slip up and embarrass yourself. It's not seemly."

Rose felt her cheeks burn with humiliation. Unseemly, indeed! She wasn't really that bad, was she? Huffing with wounded pride, she swiped her drink out of Scorpius' hand and downed it in one go, earning a cheer from someone passing by and a growl of anger from Malfoy. The taste was even worse than before, and she had to take a deep breath to suppress the urge to vomit it all back up. The room went momentarily out of focus, before righting itself again.

"Woah there," Scorpius put a hand on her shoulder, but she yanked herself out of his grasp. "Rose – "

"For your information," she hiccupped. "I go to parties all the time. So I'm perfectly fine." He looked as if he was going to argue some more, but she couldn't stand to listen so, ignoring his shocked look, she turned on her heel and lurched into the throng of dancers behind them.

Bodies jostled her from all sides, hot and sweaty and loud. Rose pushed through them, only one thought in her mind: finding Albus. After all, she hadn't come here to chat with these bloody Slytherins. All she had to do was ask if he was okay, then she could get the hell out of there and back to the peaceful sanctuary of the Gryffindor common room.

Losing her balance, she stumbled sideways and collided with someone, her stomach lurching dangerously. Arms gripped her and righted her, but didn't let go.

"Hey, watch where you're going," said a male voice Rose found vaguely familiar. She tried to pull away from him but his grip was like iron. Through bleary vision she thought she saw a dark, arrogant face.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"It's okay. You're Rose Weasley right?" She nodded belatedly, trying and failing to keep a clear head. What was she doing here exactly? She couldn't remember.

"I'm Bachar," the person holding her replied. "Bachar Zabini." He ran one hand down her arm and onto her waist. "You should be more careful."

"Mmm." It had something to do with Albus. Albus, where was Albus?

"Yeah," Zabini was holding her much too close. She felt squashed against his chest, trapped and claustrophobic. His hand was squeezing her waist tightly, painfully. "You might run into the wrong type of person, out here on the dance floor." His breath was hot and laced with alcohol as it washed over her. "Cute little thing like you, who knows what could happen." His hand was getting just a little too fresh, travelling down past her waist and over her hips. Rose began to fumble clumsily for her wand, but her movements were slow and uncoordinated, and she couldn't seem to find the pocket in her dress. Maybe a good slap would do it, if she could just get her arms free…

There was a sound like a deep snarl behind her, and Zabini's hands released her as if burnt. She swayed on the spot, confused. Someone else gripped her wrist and was wrenching her out of the circle, and she thought she knew who it was.

"Next time, keep your hands to yourself, hey Zabini?" Scorpius' voice sounded tight with anger. He yanked her rather forcefully from the crowd, and Rose felt solid wall hit her back with a wave of relief. That had been a little too close for comfort.

Opening her eyes, she saw Scorpius' face within an inch of her own. He looked livid.

"Care to explain why you were out on the dance floor letting Bachar Zabini paw you?" he yelled at her. She blinked at him in offence.

"He wasn't pawing,he was…helping me because I fell into him."

Scorpius sneered. "That wasn't what it looked like from here."

"I'm looking for Albus," she croaked lamely, too tired and drunk to argue with him.

His face softened somewhat. "Come on then, I'll take you to him," he held out his arm, and after a moment of inner turmoil she accepted it with a sigh.

But they had barely taken a step away from the wall when another figure blocked their way. Forcing her eyes to focus, Rose saw Ivy Lestrange standing in front of them, her frizzy black hair tied up in a bun at the top of her head and a derisive smirk plastered on her face. She groaned inwardly.

"Is that – but it can't be…Weasley?" she gasped in mock astonishment. Her sidekick, CentillaBulstrode, laughed cruelly. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Bugger off Ivy," growled Scorpius. Ivy seemed to notice him for the first time. Her eyes narrowed, and for a minute she looked furious. Then she laughed again, and tossed her head.

"Oh, have you taken pity on the poor, poor Weasel, Scorp?" she simpered. "She must have got lost here on her way to the library. You always were too kind to those who…don't deserve it."

If she had been feeling more steady on her feet Rose might have hexed the Slytherin girl into oblivion (a good Bat Bogey Hex would certainly do the trick), but as it stood all she wanted was to get away. Feeling like she couldn't stand there a second more before she screamed bloody murder, she slithered out of Scorpius' grasp, pushed roughly past Ivy, ducked her head and charged like a hippogriff toward the exit. Screw Albus, screw Dom. Screw all of them. Why had she ever come to this stupid party? Idiot, she cursed herself, Ivy's laughter still ringing in her ears.

She was halfway up the dungeon steps, her footsteps echoing loudly off the stone walls, when she slipped and scraped the back of her heel on the cold cement. Putting a hand out to steady herself, she stopped, swayed on the spot, and burst into tears. The unfamiliar alcohol was making her feel dizzy and heavy, her cheeks were hot with shame, and her hair had come loose and now hung about her in bushy disobedience. Oh, if her parents could see her now…

"Rose?" she spun around at the sound of her name, lost her balance, and found herself falling into a pair of strong arms. A firm chest absorbed the force of the collision as if she were no heavier than a doll. For the moment, Rose didn't have the strength to push herself away, so she buried her face against him, soaking his robes with tears.

"Hey, don't cry," Scorpius patted her head, then put one arm around her, hesitantly, as if unsure whether she would permit it. But Rose felt so exhausted, and so unsteady on her own feet, that she merely clung to him even harder. He wrapped his other arm around her then, and Rose felt his warmth penetrate every inch of her. It didn't feel anything like when Zabini had clutched her; this felt a thousand times better. "You're not crying over that idiot Lestrange are you? I hope not, because if you were, I'd have to severely downgrade my estimation of your intelligence."

Rose half laughed, half sobbed, against Scorpius' chest. "Oh Merlin…" she said after a while, making to stand upright. A wave of nausea swept over her, and she slumped back against him.

"Take it easy," he chuckled.

"Feel…dizzy."

"That would be because you just drank five or six glasses of Ogden's extra-potent Firewhiskey in barely half an hour," he said, sounding uncharacteristically stern. Rose couldn't help the giggle that escaped her. "What," he growled into her hair. "You think this is funny?"

"No," Rose lifted her head just enough to look at him. Why had she never realised how enchanting his eyes were? It was like looking up into a stormy sky. "I think you're sweet."

Uh-oh, had she just said that? Rose blinked and tried to think of something to say to cover her embarrassment. Scorpius was looking at her with a very grave expression. Was he mad at her? She couldn't seem to think straight. Then, suddenly, he was leaning forward and…kissing her!

Rose tensed, aware even through the fog of her intoxicated mind that this was wrong. And yet, his lips were so warm, and nice, and she would just enjoy this for a moment longer, and then…but time stretched on and still she stood frozen, pliant in Scorpius' arms. He held her tightly, and she felt him sigh into her mouth. But…the walls were starting to spin, he was holding her too tightly, she was slipping…

"Oh, fuck," Scorpius' oath was the last thing she heard before her head lolled forward and she disappeared into blackness.

When she woke up, she was warm in her dormitory bed, still dressed but without her jacket, scarf and shoes. These, she saw, had been deposited at the foot of her four-poster bed. Dominique was stretching lazily on the bunk opposite, tousle-haired and wearing her pyjamas.

"Well, finally," she grinned and immediately handed Rose a cup of steaming orange liquid. "I thought you'd never wake up. Drink that, it'll help with the headache."

"I don't have a – " but she broke off, wincing. As soon as she had tried to sit up her head had careered violently as if her brain was being tossed in rough seas. Deciding not to argue, Rose drank the orange tonic in one, and instantly felt warmth flood her. The storm in her head seemed to dim somewhat.

"What…time is it," she croaked, wriggling into a sitting position and reaching around for her clock. The figures twinkled up at her: 12.00. But, it wasn't dark outside.

"It's midday sleepyhead," said Dominique. Rose felt a sweeping sensation in her belly. Midday? She had slept until midday? But there was a Prefects meeting, study, her tutoring…how could she have let this happen!

"Oh no," she clutched her head. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"Aw…but you looked so peaceful. And honestly, you're exhausted, you clearly needed the sleep. It's alright, just relax. Rose?"

But something far worse than a missed Prefects meeting had suddenly seized her memory. She cast a nervous glance at Dom. "What – uh, what happened last night?"

Her cousin smirked. "You mean you don't remember anything?"

Rose shook her head.

"Scorpius Malfoy carried you up here, all by himself. It was very sweet of him, especially considering he was the life of the party, Seeker and all," Dom's eyes glazed. "Honestly, who knew he had it in him? He's usually such a humungous jerk."

Rose felt like she might throw up. She fished around for something to say. "How did – how did he get in?"

"Oh yeah," Dom crinkled her nose. "James was there, so…uh, he opened the portrait hole. You see, Gryffindor were having their own kinda party, and…"

"Ugh," Rose groaned. What a terrible night. And now, on top of everything, James was going to blab to her parents that she had been drinking, and passed out, and she would be in so much trouble.

"But it's okay," Dom continued brightly. "Because Scorpius told him you'd slipped and fallen on the way back from seeing Albus. James wanted to take you to the Hospital Wing, but we persuaded him you'd be fine with some rest."

"We?"

"Yeah, well obviously I came back as soon as Scorpius came and told me what happened," Dom waved a hand dismissively. "I wasn't going to stay at the party without you Rose."

"It's not like you were paying any attention to me anyway," she huffed.

"Whatever, you're just lucky Scorpius was there to look after you. I'm never leaving you unsupervised again." Dom gave her an angelic, Veela-inspired smile.

"Yeah…" Rose tried to marshal her thoughts, but it was difficult. He had lied for her, when he really had no obligation to do so whatsoever. She had never been anything but rude to him, and yet…Rose hurriedly hid her face behind her hair to cover how red she was. That kiss...Gods that hadn't been a dream, had it? That had actually happened…

"Rose?" Dominique's eyes were flashing with curiosity. "Anything you want to tell me? Why are you blushing like you've just been kissed?"

Rose gave a strangled little squeak and disappeared behind her hangings. She couldn't tell Dom, she would make such a big deal out of it. And it wasn't a big deal. It was just a stupid, drunken moment that both of them would be keen to forget. How was Scorpius to know that that had been her first kiss? No, it was best just to pretend it didn't happen. It really wasn't a big deal.

"Uh, earth to Rose?"

"Not feeling well," she mumbled, curling up beneath the covers and turning her back on her cousin. "Night!"