November followed October with indecent haste, and winter began to rear its disagreeable head at Hogwarts. The days grew shorter, the nights colder, and two weeks of near constant rain made for an all-round dreariness throughout the castle. Rose fell sick, and spent her time snapping at anyone who spoke too loudly in the common room, wrapped up in every scarf she owned and with a bottomless mug of hot chocolate to keep her warm.

The weather had led to the usual Hogsmeade weekend being rescheduled for later in the term, so her planned day with Charlie Corner hadn't yet come to fruition. Still, they continued to chat more in the classes they shared, and exchange smiles when they passed each other in the corridors. She was quite enjoying their casual friendship, and was truthfully in no hurry to speed it along. Lorcan still did not approve of their upcoming date, for reasons she could not fathom beyond a strange and misguided form of overprotectiveness. Other than that, there was really only one thorn in her otherwise serene life.

Scorpius Malfoy was avoiding her like the plague. She had thought that their relationship, if it could even be called that, couldn't possibly get any worse after the debacle last year, but she had been wrong. Whereas before they would simply ignore each other, now Scorpius made a point of exiting hastily whenever she entered the same room as him or, if that wasn't possible, positioning himself as far away from her as possible. It was as if she was contagious and he was afraid of catching her disease.

Needless to say, he hadn't been showing up to their weekly 'lessons.' Rose had stopped bothering to sit in the library on Mondays after class, since it was clear he wouldn't make an appearance. She wondered briefly how the other Prefects were faring in their inter-House harmony endeavours, but didn't have the nerve to ask any of her fellow students, not even Charlie, who had been partnered with the Hufflepuff Prefect Simoly Howard. They were probably making great progress. It frustrated Rose that she was most likely going to fail, and get punished, for something that wasn't really her fault. Malfoys and Weasleys were simply too incompatible, they were opposites in pretty much every respect…in her defence, she had tried to explain that fact to Professor McGonagall.

Although she was keeping up with her schoolwork and getting her usual good grades, the situation with Scorpius wouldn't seem to go away, and the more she tried to ignore it the more it bothered her. She considered trying to talk to Albus about it, but quickly dismissed the idea. He was bound to take Scorpius' side and tell her she was the one being unreasonable. On the other hand, Dominique, James and her other cousins would no doubt steadfastly agree with her, and dismiss Scorpius as an arrogant toerag. Neither approach was particularly helpful.

Between her worry over the lessons she wasn't completing, the ludicrous amount of homework all the teachers insisted on giving them, and the gloominess amongst the Gryffindors after their shock loss to Slytherin in the Quidditch, Rose was more than looking forward to the approaching Christmas break. Even if it did mean her entire family getting together at the Burrow and making more noise than a herd of stampeding Hippogriffs.

She had been making a habit of spending long evenings sitting in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room, writing one essay after another until her hand went dead from cramp. To give herself a break from this monotony, Rose determined to spend some time doing other things. First and foremost on her list was a visit to Hagrid, whom she had barely seen all year since reluctantly giving up Care of Magical Creatures at the end of fifth year. So one night after dinner, she bid her housemates goodnight and set off in the opposite direction to them, heading outside.

It was a chilly night, the sort of hard frost that precedes the winter snows. Rose welcomed the sting of it on her face, breathing in deep and enjoying the freshness that the cold brought with it. It was a little disconcerting walking around the grounds at night, but she was comforted by the warm glow coming from Hagrid's cabin, and the distant light of the Quidditch pitch, where the Slytherin team was currently training.

Her breath rose in misty clouds around her as she traipsed across the grass and rapped sharply upon Hagrid's door. She grinned at the answering bark of Shadow, Hagrid's newest boarhound pup, from just behind the door. It only took a moment for it to open wide, flooding her with light.

"Rosie!" beamed Hagrid. He stepped aside to let her in, since his bulk took up the whole of the doorway. "Great ter see yeh. Bin wonderin' when you'd come an' visit. Cuppa tea?"

"Yes, please," Rose took off her cloak and draped it over a chair, basking in the warmth radiating from Hagrid's roaring wood fire. She sat at the table, idly scratching Shadow behind his ears, as Hagrid bustled about putting the kettle on and offering her a slab of freshly baked rock cake. Rose took a slice but did not eat; she had long been warned of Hagrid's infamous cooking skills by her parents and had no desire to lose a tooth.

"So how come yeh don' take me lessons anymore?" asked Hagrid, placing two bucket sized cups on the table and splashing hot water into them. "S'no' the same without yeh – yeh were always good with the animals…yer mother's touch, no doubt."

"Yeah, I wish I hadn't given it up," Rose admitted glumly. She had always enjoyed Hagrid's lessons, even when they involved rather unconventional creatures like Wentels or Flubberworms. "But dad thought it was a good idea to take all the subjects required to be an Auror, just in case." She couldn't help the slight trace of resentment in her voice.

Hagrid was regarding her shrewdly. "Yeh're not set on bein' an Auror like yer dad then?"

She shrugged a little apathetically. "It's what he wants," she said. "And I…don't want to disappoint him." She took a gulp of tea to hide her discomfort and winced at the bitterness; there was no sugar.

"Don' be silly," growled Hagrid. "He'd be proud o' yeh no matter what yeh did, an' I know tha' fer a fact."

Rose shrugged again. She knew Hagrid was only trying to make her feel better, but she didn't much want to talk about her father. His hope's for her to pursue a career as an Auror had become quite clear to her over summer, despite him telling her on more than one occasion that he didn't mind what she chose so long as she was happy. She had seen the way his face fell when she raised the possibility of dropping Herbology for Care of Magical Creatures, and that was enough for her. Rose forced down another mouthful of tea and fished around for a different subject.

"Hagrid?" she asked abruptly as an unexpected thought occurred to her. "How much do you remember about Draco Malfoy?"

Hagrid looked surprised at the change in topic. "Draco Malfoy? Blimey, I dunno Rosie. Wha' d'yeh wanna know?

"Just what he was like," she said, then flushed. "I mean, was he really as horrible as my dad says he was?"

Hagrid shifted uncomfortably. "Look, can' say I liked him much, meself. But he had a tough life, did Draco. Didn' get a lotta chances ter be a good kid."

"What do you mean?"

"Jus' that his attitudes were made fer him 'fore he was even born," said Hagrid evasively.

"Didn't he try to get you fired?" asked Rose, perplexed at Hagrid's seeming reluctance to criticise Draco. "And he used to call my mum a mudblood."

"Tha's righ', he did," said Hagrid. "An' so would've you if yeh'd bin raised the way he was. Thought yer mother would've taught yeh tha'."

Rose looked down, shamefaced. While she was staring miserably at the table, Hagrid got up and busied himself with the fire.

"This wouldn't have anythin' to do with Scorpius, would it?" he asked casually.

She jerked her head up at his question, but Hagrid merely stabbed at the coals with his poker. "Albus' bin down ter see me too," he said to her enquiring stare. "Summat 'bout lessons an' you two not gettin' along."

"You could say that," she grumbled, annoyed at Hagrid seeing through her questions so easily and Albus talking about her behind her back.

"He's a good kid, Scorpius," Hagrid said.

"So I've been told," said Rose drily.

"Ah, yer a hard lass ter please," chucked Hagrid, his laughter quickly turning into a hacking, chesty cough. Rose watched in alarm as Hagrid bent double over his table-cloth sized handkerchief. After a minute or two he re-emerged, red faced and huffing.

"Hagrid, are you alright?" she asked in concern.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," the gamekeeper waved an enormous hand as if to swat away her question. "Now yeh'd bes' be getting' back, 'fore it gets too late. Don' wanna get yeh inter trouble. Oh – sorry," he had attempted to pat Rose on the shoulder and instead sent her flying sideways into the table. "Here yeh go then," he said, hoisting her upright and ruffling her hair affectionately.

Reluctantly, Rose bade Hagrid goodnight and let herself out of his hut, if anything even more concerned than she had been to start with. For now she had the added worry of Hagrid's health weighing on her mind. Though she supposed he could not be expected to live forever, the possibility of Hagrid falling ill just seemed too awful to contemplate. Rose couldn't even begin to imagine Hogwarts without him.

She hadn't gone very far back to the castle when she was distracted by something moving in her peripheral vision. Looking across, she saw a small, solitary figure circling the Quidditch pitch, barely visible against the darkness of the sky. Whoever it was was flying slowly, occasionally dipping low or rising high into the night sky.

Allowing her curiosity to get the better of her, Rose immediately changed course and began walking over to the pitch, her breath puffing out in front of her. As she got closer, she could make out the green of the flyer's clothes and realised it must be a Slytherin leftover from their training session. She hesitated, wondering whether she should just leave them be and return to the castle. As she was standing looking upwards in indecision, the figure above flew into the glow of mingled moon and pitch light, and his face was illuminated for an instant.

Scorpius. Somehow she was not surprised.

Rose was standing almost directly below him, watching him fly in lazy circles through the air, his blonde hair streaming behind him, before he noticed her. When he did, he jerked so violently he nearly fell off his broom, staring down at her as if he couldn't believe his eyes. She gave a lame, half-hearted sort of wave for him to come down.

For a moment she thought he might simply continue flying and ignore her, which would be awkward to say the least. But he soon began to sink slowly back to the ground, landing next to her with a soft thud and dismounting smoothly. His face was flushed from flying, his hair windblown and wild, and his eyes gleamed brightly in the night light. He looked almost ethereal, with his ghostly pale skin and blood red lips.

"Hi," she said nervously. He didn't speak, but continued to stare at her. "What are you doing?" Stupid question, she berated herself.

"Flying," he said.

"Oh, yes, I could see that," she said, feeling foolish. She shouldn't have come over here, should have left him to whatever he was doing. He clearly didn't want her company. "You know it's nearly curfew?"

Scorpius scowled at her and made to get back on his broom. "W-wait!" she said, and he paused. It occurred to her that she really had no idea what to say, or why she was even there. "Can I – can I have a go?"

He looked at her blankly, not comprehending what she meant. Rose couldn't blame him – she was flabbergasted herself at what she had just said. Have a go? On a broomstick? Hagrid must have accidentally slipped something into her tea, because there was no other explanation for that sudden bout of insanity.

Seeing her horrified expression, Scorpius seemed to realise what she was talking about. "On my broom?" he asked incredulously. "You want me to let you fly my broom?"

"Not by myself," she felt compelled to correct him, embarrassed by his tone of disbelief. "I meant with – but never mind…it was a stupid idea anyway. I'll just go– "drown myself in the Great Lake. " – back to the castle."

"You want to fly with me?" asked Scorpius, his voice noticeably softer. "Why?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. It was just an idea. Don't wo – "

"Okay."

"What?" now it was her turn to gape at him. He was smirking ever so slightly as he flung one leg over the handle of his broom and beckoned her toward him.

"Okay, let's go for a fly," he said.

"No, it's fine," she shook her head, feeling suddenly nauseous. "I changed my mind. I – " he hovered over to her, his shoes skimming the ground, and held out his hand.

"Come on Rose," he said, in a voice that sent shivers up her spine. "I insist."

"I'm – I'm a really bad flier," she said weakly. "I really – Scorpius, Scorpius no!" she screamed as he scooped her bodily onto his broom so that she was perched sideways in front of him. Rose clung to his neck in terror until she realised that they were still only inches above the ground.

"Now lift one leg over to the other side," he said, his breath hot and tickling against her ear. Clumsily, berating herself that this was by far the worst idea she had ever had, she managed to lift her leg so that she was sitting properly, one leg on either side. This forced her to face the front, meaning she had to let go of Scorpius' neck and cling instead to the broom. "Good," he said as he wrapped one arm securely around her waist. His other arm followed her own in holding on to the handle, his larger hand covering her smaller one. "Now, just relax. You know I won't let you fall."

That was easier said than done. Rose had never liked flying, and had pretty much given it up entirely from the time she was too big to fly on her dad's broom with him. Just thinking about being up in the air again was causing all sorts of horrible sensations in her stomach, and when Scorpius began to gently guide the broom upwards and off the ground, Rose thought she may very well faint. She pressed as hard as she could back against Scorpius' warm chest, and heard him hiss as if in pain.

"Don't wriggle," he commanded, and she stilled instantly.

"I don't like this," she moaned, as they rose several metres above the ground. At least they were rising slow enough that she wasn't panicking just yet. "No, I really don't like this. I – "

"Shhh," he whispered in her ear, tightening his grip around her waist as they flew higher. "Look in front of you."

With an effort, Rose forced her eyes from the rapidly receding pitch below and looked up. She gasped. It was as if the whole of Hogwarts was unfolding before her eyes. She could see the roof of Hagrid's hut, the glassy surface of the lake, and as they grew level with the castle turrets, the canopy of the Forbidden Forest, stretching out as far as Rose could see. To the East she could make out the township of Hogsmeade, like miniature gingerbread houses twinkling far below them. They must be getting very high; Rose could see the top of the Astronomy Tower, shining blue in the moonlight.

As if reading her mind, Scorpius whispered, "Don't look down. Just focus on what's in front of you. I'm going to take us around, okay?" She nodded, drawing in a deep breath. The air was cold as ice up here; her nose and fingers were already numb, and the rest of her body wasn't far behind. Scorpius flew above the goalposts and did a slow circle, giving Rose a complete three-sixty view of the grounds and surrounding countryside. He kept the broom so steady it honestly felt as if she was floating, and she was proud to say she wasn't scared at all.

"It's…beautiful," she said breathlessly; the oxygen was definitely thinner this high up.

"Mm-hmm." His lips were warm on the skin of her ear. Without thinking, Rose tilted her head, exposing more of her neck to his mouth. Scorpius made a sound like a muffled sigh and nuzzled against her, trailing his lips to her collarbone. Rose gasped at the sensations, her eyelids fluttering shut and her grip slackening so much that if Scorpius hadn't been holding her firmly she may have fallen off.

"Scorpius?" she whispered, amazed at the hoarseness of her own voice. It sounded like a stranger to her.

"Mmm."

"We should…" Gods, she was finding it hard to concentrate. Rose snapped her eyes open and forced herself to alertness; it really wasn't safe to be doing this over one hundred feet in the air. "We should go down."

Scorpius didn't answer, but Rose felt him gently tilt them downwards. She panicked slightly as gravity pulled her forwards, but Scorpius' lips on her ear and his arm around her stomach kept her from losing her nerve completely.

When they landed back on the ground, Rose was feeling more than a little unsteady on her feet, and it wasn't just from the flying. She slid off the broomstick, wobbling like a toddler, and only managed to stay upright by grabbing hold of Scorpius' robes. He laughed –a genuine, pleasant sound.

"You're right," he said humorously as she steadied herself. "You really are bad at flying."

She swatted at him, but he ducked out of the way and took a sideways step towards her. For a moment they stood in silence, their eyes locked together, before Rose shivered violently and realised just how frozen and stiff she was feeling. The corner of Scorpius' lips twitched, and he pulled off his cloak and placed it around her shoulders, enveloping her in instant warmth. Her eyebrows rose at his chivalrous behaviour after weeks of cold shouldering.

"Thanks," she mumbled, blowing on her fingers to try and warm them to no avail. There didn't seem much else to say, so together they set off back to the castle, Scorpius carrying his broom over one shoulder. Rose glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, wanting to speak but not sure what to say. Before she knew it they were standing in the Entrance Hall, and Scorpius was standing and looking at her expectantly.

"Oh, here," she unfastened his cloak and handed it back to him. The movement brought them closer together, barely a foot apart.

"You'd better be quick," said Scorpius quietly. He nodded to the marble stairs leading in the direction of Gryffindor's common room. "Before curfew."

"Yeah," she nodded. Part of her wanted to talk about their lessons, and the other night, and all the unspoken things that had passed between them, but the other side of her was loathe to bring up any of that now and ruin what had otherwise been a nice night. Neither of them had snapped at each other for the first time since she could remember, and it felt…good. She smiled. "Well, goodnight then."

Quick as a Seeker, Scorpius stepped forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Goodnight," he whispered, allowing his lips to linger for a just a moment. Then he turned and walked away.