Somehow, she had found herself in an empty classroom. She hadn't exactly intended on being so dramatic, but when she had walked past and felt the invitation of total solitude and non-judgment that the open door seemed to offer, it had proved too much for her troubled mind to resist. It was either that or a long trek back to the Gryffindor common room, where she may or may not have been able to sit alone, depending on whether anyone else happened to be skipping dinner that night. So she had walked inside without a second thought.

Rose sat down on one of the desks, her toes scraping the floor as she swung her legs back and forth despondently. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to get the image of Scorpius with his arm around Flora out of her head. It was no use, though – it felt like it had been burned onto her brain.

"Stupid," she muttered to herself. To think that she had been moping around and angsting about her decision to end it when Scorpius had already moved on…how deluded was she? But no, he had beenupset at the time, she was sure of it. And she didn't think he was a good enough actor to fake such a reaction. Maybe boys just moved on faster than girls, she reasoned. It wasn't like Scorpius didn't have other girls he could date – why would he mope around when there was no reason to?

"Stupid," she repeated, more forcefully this time. Unbidden, all the memories she had shared with Scorpius seemed to rush up and overwhelm her in the silence of the room: the way he kissed her on the forehead after they'd flown together, their smouldering embrace in the Trophy Room, his smirk across the table from her in the library, the Astronomy Tower, his hand in hers as she lay in the Hospital Wing….. Rose pounded a fist against her forehead in frustration, but the memories just grew stronger and more insistent.

It took her a moment to realise that she had begun to cry. With a groan, she pressed her palms against her eyelids in a feeble attempt to force the tears back in, but that only seemed to make them flow heavier, and before she knew it her entire body was wracked with silent sobs. The tears she had been holding in all week spilled from her eyes, sliding down her cheeks and dripping from her chin. She curled a hand protectively around her stomach, trying to rid herself of the ache she felt there, the sensation that something vital within her had been ripped out and thrown away. The thought of how stupid she was being only made her cry harder, and even her tried and tested method of repeating all the reasons she shouldn't be upset didn't seem to help at all. Rose bit her lip to stop from making a sound, but couldn't seem to prevent the small, pitiful sounds from escaping her.

Suddenly, without looking up, she knew she was no longer alone. She hadn't heard the door open but she heard it click shut, and through the gaps in her fingers she saw someone's shadow sweep across the floor. She choked, the flow of tears coming to an abrupt halt, and slowly uncurled herself from the near-foetal position she had been wrapped in on the desk. Half of her mind prepared herself for Filch, for awkward explanations about what she was doing and possible excuses for why she was skipping dinner.

Her other half knew it would be him.

She knew she had to look up eventually. When he didn't say anything, she sniffed and blinked a few times to clear her eyes, then raised her head to glare defiantly at him. She couldn't hold his gaze for more than a second, instead settling on his green tie and the miniature snake embroidered on his collar.

"Why aren't you at dinner?" Scorpius asked, taking a step into the room. His voice was faint, as though coming from a long distance.

"I wasn't hungry."

There was silence for a while, before he asked almost tentatively, "Were you just on the third corridor?"

Anger and embarrassment flooded through her at the thought that he had caught her spying, and she snapped her eyes to his. "Did you follow me?"

He shrugged. "I thought I heard someone. What were you doing there?"

She turned her head to the side, aware of how hot her cheeks were. "None of your business."

"I was there with Flora – "

She made a noise that was halfway between a laugh and a sob, and a fresh pricking began behind her eyes. "Oh really? How wonderful."

He didn't say anything for a long time. When Rose finally looked back at him, she saw Scorpius gazing at her with his lips slightly parted and his eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

"Are you daft?" he said at last.

Rose glared at him furiously, channelling her anger to overwhelm her other emotions. "Don't insult me Malfoy," she snarled. "Just get lost."

"You are daft," he said, and there was a flash of something in his eyes. "You saw me with Flora and you jumped to conclusions!"

"No I did not!" she snapped. "Besides, I don't need to jump to any conclusions – the evidence was right there in front of me!"

"What evidence?" he demanded, taking two strides forward so that he was only an arm's length away from her.

Suddenly she found herself very much regretting rising to his bait. "Go away," she said miserably.

"No. What evidence?"

"Does it even matter?" she yelled, throwing her hands up in despair. "You're free to do whatever you want with whomever you want. It's none of my business."

"Maybe," said Scorpius softly, and he took another step toward her. Rose gripped the edge of the table so hard her knuckles turned white. "But you're crying over it."

"No I'm not," she retorted half-heartedly. "I'm just stupid."

"Yeah, you are."

She tossed her head at him. "Look, if you just came here to taunt me then – "

"I didn't do anything with Flora."

She broke off mid-sentence. Despite her best efforts to prevent it, she felt a tiny spark of warmth ignite within her at his words. "What?"

He looked very serious in the dim light. "I didn't do anything with Flora," he repeated. "We were just working on a Defence Against the Dark Arts assignment."

"In an empty classroom?" she scoffed.

"It's too noisy for the library," he said with a shrug. "And the common room is full of first years. Not exactly the best place to be practicing stupefy, I'd say."

She gazed off to one side, chewing on the inside of her cheek. She was mad with herself for how desperately she wanted to believe him.

"You were awfully friendly with her," she said at last, hating how petulant she sounded.

"She's my friend," he said matter-of-factly. He took one last step toward her so that he was basically standing right in front of her. "But she's not you."

Rose didn't think it was possible for her heart to stop and then restart again, but that was what it felt like. She blinked and focused back on his Slytherin tie, the green blurring in her vision. "And…what am I?"

Scorpius huffed a sound of amusement at her question. "I dunno. At our last conversation you seemed pretty adamant you didn't want to be anything to me."

"That's…" she trailed off, finding it very hard to breathe. "It's not about what I want."

His thumb nudged at her chin, tilting her head up so that she was staring at him. "Yes it is."

"I…"

"My father told you to stay away from me." It wasn't phrased as a question.

She nodded, her eyes dropping back to his tie. With a growl, Scorpius forced her to look at him again.

"And why would you listen to him?"

His question took her by surprise, and she blinked rapidly. "Wh-what?"

"You're a Gryffindor, a Weasley, and a redhead. I've never known you to accept bad orders without question before."

"Don't you care what he thinks?" she asked, genuinely intrigued.

"Of course I do," he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well then – "

"Just not as much as I care about losing you."

Her breath hitched, and she felt her mouth open and close like a goldfish. Scorpius chuckled.

"I don't understand," she said weakly.

"I've worked so hard to get to this point. I'm not going to throw it away just because of my father's pride."

"And – and what point would that be?"

He gave her a lopsided smile that could melt butter. "The point where you stopped hating me and started calling yourself my 'secret girlfriend.'"

"Cocky, aren't you?" she couldn't help but smile back at him, and despite all her misgivings she felt herself leaning in towards him. Draco's words suddenly seemed far less threatening than they had an hour ago.

"That's what you love about me," he said, coming very close so that his mouth was inches away from hers. Rose felt a shiver of anticipation run through her.

"It's just not that easy," she said seriously. "My family won't approve either, and I – "

"Say it's me that you want," Scorpius whispered in a deep, gravelly voice that made her eyelids flutter shut. "And none of it matters."

"But – "

"Say it. You know it's true."

"I…"

"Say it."

"It's you that I – "

His lips pressed to hers, and all rational thought fled from her brain. Rose whimpered and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, her legs separating of their own accord so that Scorpius could step between them. His hand went to the small of her back, and he muttered something against her lips that sounded suspiciously like 'beautiful.' His other hand caressed the nape of her neck, gently holding her in place. When his tongue flicked against her lips, she gave in with a sigh and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Once again she was amazed at how easily he could make her lose her head. It was as though he had this power over her that she couldn't resist, no matter how much she knew she should. All thoughts of consequences, of Draco or her father, vanished into thin air when he touched her. She scraped her nails against his scalp and Scorpius groaned, pulling her tighter against him, his kiss becoming more insistent.

He pushed her robes apart, his hand sliding up her leg to cup her thigh beneath her skirt. Rose moaned at the touch, and yanked his own shirt out of his belt, her fingers slipping underneath and caressing the smooth skin of his stomach. She threw her head back when his hand slid even higher, and Scorpius immediately took the opportunity to trail kisses down her neck, nipping at the sensitive spot just above her collarbone. She gasped and pressed into him desperately.

The door to the classroom opened, and the sound of footsteps stopping echoed in her foggy consciousness.

"Scorpius? What are you – "

Oh, God. Rose's eyes widened in horror, and she saw her own feelings mirrored in Scorpius' own. He snatched his hands away from her as though burned, then straightened with his back to the door, his expression tortured. Even in the dim light Rose could see how aroused he was, and she felt her cheeks start to burn.

Albus stood in the doorway, his face a picture of confusion, one hand clutching a thin scrap of parchment on which a myriad of tiny dots moved. The Marauder's Map. Rose felt as though her stomach had just dropped to her toes.

"Rose? What – " Confusion began to slip off of Albus' face, replaced with a kind of stunned understanding. His green eyes skidded back and forth between Scorpius' stiff back and Rose's guilty expression with almost sickening speed, and his mouth fell slowly open. "What is this?"

Rose had no idea what to say. There was a sick churning in her stomach and she didn't trust herself to open her mouth. Scorpius still had his back to his best friend, and his eyes were squeezed shut.

"I don't understand," said Albus in a low, dangerous voice that told them he was beginning to understand perfectly. He waved the Marauder's Map vaguely. "Flora told me you'd gone to the library to get your book. Then I look on the map and you're nowhere near the library. I know Thursday's not the night you two have your lessons. What's going on?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat with an effort. "Al, I – "

Her cousin's eyes were narrowed on Scorpius now, and there was real anger in them. "I don't believe this," he growled.

"Al, we can explain," she attempted weakly, but he gave her a disgusted look.

"Explain! Explain? Explain how come I just walked in on my best friend practically on top of my cousin? Explain why two people who supposedly hate each other's guts are wrapped in a snogging session in an empty classroom while the rest of school's at dinner? Oh yeah, Rose, how you gonna explain that? And what about you?" he shouted, his gaze locked furiously on the back of Scorpius' head. "You – you…turn around and face me, you coward!"

Scorpius' face had lost what little colour it normally had. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath before turning on the spot. The look on Albus' face hardly changed. If anything he only looked more furious.

"How could you?"

"Al…mate…"

"Don't mate me," shouted Albus, grabbing a fistful of his hair and pulling as though he wanted to tear it out. "I can't believe this."

"Al – "

"Oh but it all makes sense now!" he stormed, pointing an accusatory finger at his friend. "Your issue with Corner…the Hogsmeade trip….even Potions…I can't believe I didn't see it!" He glowered at them. "How long?"

Scorpius shook his head in wordless misery.

"How long?" insisted Albus ruthlessly. "How long have you been going behind my back, Scorpius? How long have you been boning my cousin while I look the other way?"

"Albus!" Rose felt her face burn with shame. "Don't!"

"And you!" he rounded on her furiously. "I thought you hated him. You told me you hated him! I asked you if you were keeping secrets and you lied to my face. Were you both just pretending the whole time?" he slumped against the doorframe, an expression of acute betrayal on his face. "How long?" he asked again.

"We first kissed in fifth year," Scorpius deadpanned, his voice flat and detached. "We've been meeting up since just after Christmas."

"Ha!" Al laughed humourlessly. "Ha! Well haven't I been played for an utter fucking fool?"

"Al please," she begged, standing up and taking several steps toward him. She stopped when he cast her a look that clearly warned her to keep her distance.

"Who else knows about this?"

"Nobody," she said quietly. "And please, Al, you can't – "

"And to think," he interrupted her. "When I saw your two dots together in the same room, I thought well isn't this great, I wonder if they've finally decided to stop fucking hating each other and get along like normal human beings. Ha! Here was I just hoping for a friendly word or two – I didn't realise you guys had progressed to fucking snogging."

She covered her face with her hands, his words washing over her like poison. She hated how betrayed he sounded, and the horrible feeling she had that she had just ruined a friendship six years in the making.

"Al – " Scorpius' voice was thin and faint, a voice she'd never heard him use before. He took half a step forwards, but Al held up a hand to stop him. "Please, mate."

"I…I need time," Al said, his eyes flicking between them once more. "Time to think about this. This is too much…way too much."

He turned and stumbled out the door, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.

"Al!" she called after him. He stopped but didn't turn around. "Please don't tell anyone," she implored him, her voice watery with fresh tears. "I'm – we're still working things out and…just – please..."

"You'd deserve it if I did," he said savagely, then stalked off without another word.

Rose fell back against the desk, one hand covering her mouth. She had never seen her cousin so angry. It confirmed her worst fears about what her family would say if they discovered the truth; if even Albus, the only member of her family to ever give Scorpius the time of day, could react like that…Merlin only knew how the rest of them would take it. It made her feel sick just thinking about it.

They stood together without speaking for what felt like an age, neither of them wanting to break the pregnant silence that pressed in on them. Finally, Scorpius seemed to rouse himself.

"Well, that went well," he said bitterly. His voice sounded strange after several minutes of silence.

"Yeah."

"I have to go and find him," he said, as much to himself as to her. "I have to explain. I – "

"Scorpius?"

He turned to her, his eyes haunted. "What?"

"Do you really think this is worth it?" She didn't need to elaborate further. He knew exactly what she meant.

"Do you?"

"I don't know," she said truthfully. "Everyone disapproves of this…of us. How can we say it doesn't matter when every single member of both our families is going to treat us like Albus just did?"

Scorpius seemed to deflate in front of her eyes. His shoulders slumped and he looked at the ground. "Maybe you're right."

Her eyes were stinging again. It felt as though they had come so close…but now they were right back at the beginning. Like they were chasing each other round in circles.

He looked at her then, and there was a faint spark of determination in his gaze. "Let me sort it out with Albus," he said, with a forced kind of confidence in his voice. "At the end of the year, we'll reassess."

She shrugged. "I guess we'll see." Somehow, she doubted he would be able to get Albus on their side. She knew her cousin and when he set his mind against something, there was little that could be done to change it. Even so, she didn't have the strength to reject him outright. She still remembered how good it felt to be in his arms, even if that memory was heavily tainted by Albus' reaction.

"I have to find him," Scorpius repeated.

"Sure. Go," she waved a hand toward the open doorway. "We'll talk about this later."

He nodded once, hesitated for a moment, then walked out. Rose listened as his footsteps echoed up the deserted corridor, before putting her head in her hands and heaving a deep, exhausted sigh.