The rest of the week passed without much incident, at least in comparison to its rather turbulent beginnings. Rose attended her classes, Prefect duties, homework, and various other responsibilities. She made an effort to connect with her friends. Lorcan in particular she cornered between classes to ask why he was acting weird, but he merely shrugged and told her to forget it. He seemed less than pleased when she told him about Charlie's offer of a Hogsmeade date, which Rose found perplexing until she considered that maybe Lorcan liked Charlie himself. She didn't really care so long as they were back on good speaking terms.

She ignored Scorpius. Indeed, she was feeling quite proud of the fact that she hadn't even glanced his way, not once, despite his continued presence in her peripheral vision. The spiteful animation still burned in her gut, but she chose to push it to the recesses of her mind for the time being, and when Albus asked how their first lesson went she simply shrugged and changed the topic. She didn't dare think about the following Monday, and whether she would act mad or offended or indifferent. In truth she wasn't sure whether Scorpius would even show up, and whether it would be a bad thing if he didn't.

When the time came, after a Monday much better than the last, Rose sat herself in the same seat she had a week previously, opened Tabatha's Truncated Transfiguration at a random page, and began to read. After a while she chanced a glance around her, but there was no one besides herself and a small boy currently on his tiptoes trying to reach a book on the upper shelf. Through the shelves she could see some of the other students studying, in groups or by themselves. She recognised Jeremy Trump, a tall Hufflepuff boy from her year with curly brown hair and a pleasant face. As if sensing her gaze, he looked up and shot her a grin which made her blush and return her eyes to the page.

The minutes ticked by in the dusty silence of the Library, and it soon became apparent that Scorpius wasn't going to come. The first year boy straining for the book grew redder and redder, huffing in frustration, before he gave up and stomped back to his friends. Rose watched him go, feeling slightly guilty for not helping him.

She was a little surprised that Scorpius had not bothered to turn up, since he knew how much trouble he could get into by skipping. Then again, she thought sourly, the Slytherin had never had much respect or appreciation for the rules, despite his Prefect status. He probably thought he was above that sort of mundane obedience, that his daddy could get him out of anything he didn't want to do. Rose sighed; while anger was certainly the easiest reaction to conjure, if she was honest with herself she was also a little disappointed at Scorpius' unwillingness to be reasonable. For a moment, on the train, it had seemed like they might have been able to make this work. But back at Hogwarts it was a different story – he seemed completely uninterested in being anything other than an insufferable arse. Perhaps she had been too optimistic about their ability to get along.

It was now almost half an hour past the scheduled start time of their meeting. As not even Scorpius had the gall to show up this late, it appeared as though Rose had her Monday afternoons to herself again. She was, technically, free to do whatever she wanted. Still, she couldn't seem to move from where she currently was. She justified this by saying that if any teacher realised that their inter-House meeting had fallen through, then she at least could claim to have done the right thing and thus avoid being punished, and that she had to study in any case, and where better to complete said study than in the Library she was currently sitting in?

Feeling a little better, Rose settled herself more comfortably in her chair, 'accio-ed' her water bottle from her bag, and went back to her reading. It was good, in a way, that Scorpius hadn't come – she didn't have time for his nonsense anyway.

She had lost track of time. One chapter of Truncated Transfiguration had turned into another, which had turned into reading the rest of the book. After that she had Arithmancy homework, a Charms essay, and some light reading for Defence Against the Dark Arts. Then, all of a sudden, Madam Beauvoir was ushering her out of the library hissing about curfew, the corridors were deserted and the sky outside the castle windows was inky black and dotted with stars. Where did the time go? Rose shook her head and started the trudge to the dormitories, her stomach grumbling loudly over its missed dinner.

She hadn't gone very far, however, when she heard footsteps coming towards her from the opposite direction. She froze, unsure as to whether to hide somewhere or stay where she was. It was after hours, and she was technically breaking the rules by being out at this time. Then again, it had been an innocent mistake, and she was on her way back to bed at that very moment. There wasn't a teacher in Hogwarts who wouldn't accept her excuse, except perhaps Arduous Filch, the crabby caretaker who had replaced his father and continued his reign of malevolence over the corridors of Hogwarts…but whoever it was was close now, Rose would almost certainly be seen whether she liked it or not, and trying to hide would just make her look guilty. Squaring her shoulders, she put on her most innocent, angelic face and…

…gaped in surprise. Because the person who had turned the corner was not a teacher, was not even Filch. It was a student. And not just any student.

Scorpius Malfoy.

Judging by his look of surprise, he was just as astonished to see her there as she was. He stood stock still, taking her in, his eyes lingering on her book bag. Rose had to wonder at her bad timing; what were the chances of running into Malfoy on her way from the Library to the common room, given how large the castle was? And now that she thought about it, what was he doing there, several floors above the Slytherin common room, at this hour of the night? Rose narrowed her eyes and regarded him more carefully. He appeared to be alone, and he didn't look particularly flustered at being caught, but she doubted his intentions in wandering around were very innocent.

"Weasley." Was it just her, or was he avoiding her gaze? Guilty, maybe, for standing her up? And so he should be.

The memory of his absence earlier in the day, and the hurtful cartoon the previous week, caused sudden anger to flare within her, white hot and insistent. Without thinking, letting her emotions guide her, Rose strode up to Scorpius and poked him firmly in the chest.

"You," she hissed, poking him again. "Have got some nerve, prowling around these corridors as if you were on a holiday or something, when you clearly shirked your responsibilities today!" She went to give him a final jab, but he caught her wrist and yanked her arm back and away from him. His face, she noticed, was dangerously close to hers. And he looked pissed.

"Listen Weasley," he growled back at her. "I don't know what kind of dragon dung you're harping on about, but I've got better things to do than stand here and listen to it. So if you'll excuse me, I'll – "

"No, excuse me," she yelled, not caring how loud she was and enjoying Scorpius' furious gesture for her to keep her voice down. "I waited for you for a whole hour! You can't just not turn up like that, it's…it's rude."

Scorpius sneered. "Well I didn't feel like listening to your annoying voice today. I wasn't in the mood."

"Ugh," she groaned, still trying to break free from his vice-like grip. "You are such a spoilt brat."

"And you are such a little princess," he replied, surprising her. "A bossy, know-it-all, smug little princess who can't take not having her way all the time. You – " he broke off abruptly, listening. Then his face changed, and he began tugging them urgently towards the room to their left. They had only just slid inside and shut the door behind them when footsteps announced someone else turning the corner into the corridor.

"Keep quiet," breathed Scorpius in her ear, making her shiver involuntarily. He dragged them over to the furthest corner from the door, then drew his wand and rapped her sharply over the head. A cold, trickling feeling overwhelmed her, and Rose realised that he had Disillusioned her. He did the same to himself, then wrapped his arms around her and bent down to whisper "stay still" just as Filch's voice echoed from the other side of the door.

"Definitely heard voices, didn't we Norleen?" he muttered gleefully to his cat. Rose could hear the shuffling of his footsteps and the rusty handle of his lamp swinging back and forth. "Now where'd you think they went, hmm? Where'd you think they…HAH!" he gave a yell as he opened one of the other doors in the corridor, causing Rose to jump, then a snarl of frustration at finding it empty. "Not in there, are they precious? Maybe in…here!" he opened another door. Rose's heart was beating so hard against her chest it was almost painful. Getting caught in hiding like this was a blatant admission of wrongdoing; there would be no escaping punishment now. To make it worse, she was acutely aware of Scorpius' body against hers, warm and strong. She resisted the urge to rest her head against his invisible shoulder.

The footsteps came to a halt outside their door, and moments later it swung open. Scorpius tensed slightly and his arms tightened around her as the greasy, pinched head of Arduous Filch emerged in the room, lank brown hair hanging in strips past his chin, his face twisted with excitement in the lamplight as if he could sense fear close by. At his feet prowled Norleen, a ginger tabby cat much despised by the students of Hogwarts, her large golden eyes peering into the darkness. Filch scanned the classroom once, twice, his eyes skimming over the place where Rose and Scorpius stood without a flicker, and a flash of annoyance crossed his face at once again finding it empty. Grumbling, he turned to go, but Norleen purred and began to stalk purposefully toward their corner, as if she could smell their presence even if she couldn't see them. Filch paused in the doorway, watching keenly.

Just when she was beginning to panic and imagine all the trouble they would get into when Norleen brushed against them and revealed them standing there, Rose felt Scorpius move ever so slightly against her, enough to angle his wand at the approaching cat from between them. Her eyes bulged and she shook her head, even though she knew he couldn't see her.

"Repello billium," the Slytherin muttered under his breath, so quietly Rose barely heard him, and Norleen paused, as if indecisive. She gave a confused meow, then turned around and scuttled back to her Master. For a fleeting second it seemed as if the caretaker might investigate himself, for Filch was peering into the corner suspiciously, but he only bared his teeth.

"Silly cat," he admonished, and then he was gone, closing the door behind him, and his footsteps were growing fainter until the sound vanished altogether and the castle was silent once more.

For several minutes the two teenagers remained where they were, rooted to the spot with their arms around each other, until Scorpius unravelled one arm and rapped them each on the head once more with his wand, removing their Disillusionment charm. Rose could just make out his face as it materialised in the moonlight coming from the windows; he looked a little proud of himself.

"Where did you learn to do that?" she whispered, hyperaware now of how loud her voice was in the silence. "Repel cats, I mean. It's not exactly taught in Charms, is it?"

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Well it saved your skin, didn't it? Maybe you shouldn't ask so many questions."

"Oh sod off Malfoy," she giggled. Then she started, appalled at herself? Had she just giggled at something Malfoy said? Rose giggled again before she could stop herself, then clapped a hand over her mouth. The movement made her aware that she and Scorpius were still standing pressed together, and one of his arms was still wrapped snugly around her waist. For some reason, this made her giggle more, and before she knew what had happened she was shaking with hysterics against Scorpius' chest, laughing so hard she was unable to draw breath. It was as if all the tension of the day was pouring out of her, and she was powerless to control it.

"Honestly Weasley, it's not all that funny," Scorpius drawled after a while, but Rose noticed his voice was tinted with humour, and he was still holding her against him.

She gulped in several deep breaths, then looked up at him and broke into fresh giggles at the expression on his face, torn between annoyance and amusement. It was several more minutes before she trusted herself to move at all.

"Finished?" he asked when she glanced up at him again and managed to keep a straight face. She nodded, letting the air out of her lungs in one long breath. "I thought I might have lost you for a moment there."

His seemingly casual words made her catch her breath. "I – I'm sorry," she stuttered, all humour gone. "I don't know what came over me."

"I do," Scorpius smirked, appearing not to have noticed her reaction. "You panicked, and then became hysterical. Remind me never to rely on you in a crisis," he rolled his eyes.

"Shut up," she snapped. "I'll have you know that this was a once off and…and…" she trailed off, distracted by a beam of moonlight illuminating his face. Merlin, he was gorgeous.

"And…? Norleen got your tongue Weasley?"

"Ha ha, very fu – " she broke off when he clasped her chin with his thumb and forefinger, tilting her face up so that she was staring straight into his eyes. They were standing so close together, Rose could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek.

"Why didn't you come today?" she croaked, feeling very lightheaded.

His eyes darkened for a moment. "Didn't think you'd want to see me." He brought one hand up to cup her cheek, and Rose knew that this was the time to step back and away from him, but she couldn't seem to move. She could feel the speed of Scorpius' heartbeat, mirrored in her own chest. It was all happening too fast for her to be able to think straight. She stayed frozen in his arms, unable to pull away, to deny herself this moment. All she saw was Scorpius' sparkling silver eyes, his red lips, and the way he was coming closer…

"Merlin, Rose, you're – " he stopped, an inch from her mouth, and gazed at her as if in wonderment. "Do you – do you want this?"

Rose couldn't answer. She stared at him, his mouth so close to her own, and thought hard about his question. Through the fog of her mind, she recognised that her answer was actually quite important. And yes, she did want him to kiss her, she loved it when he kissed her; her lips still tingled in memory of the last time he had. But this was Scorpius Malfoy. She didn't want it, not really, not past the lust of the moment, not in any way that was meaningful. She couldn't really say yes to him, could she? Her father…she couldn't…not with Malfoy. She shook her head.

Scorpius' eyes clouded with anger and his jaw clenched. For an instant Rose thought he might kiss her anyway, but then he let her go and stepped back. The chill of the room hit her instantly.

"Go on then," he said, turning away and facing the wall. His voice sounded tight and bitter, and his back was as stiff as an ironing board. "Get going. Filch won't be around. It's safe."

"I…" she wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything that wouldn't sound either trite or insincere.

"Just leave me alone Weasley," he barked out hoarsely, taking another step away from her, and she cowered at the hostility radiating from him.

Rose dragged her feet to the door, walking slowly, half hoping Scorpius would call her back and seize her in his arms, take her and kiss her fiercely without giving her a chance to object. But he didn't, and when she reached the door and looked back, he was leaning against the window frame as if lost in his own thoughts, his posture sculpted in moonlight and his blonde hair almost shimmering. She opened her mouth, felt the icy night air against her tongue, then shook her head, stumbled backwards into the corridor, and fled in the direction of her bedroom.