After that exams exploded on them with the force of a stampede of hippogriffs. Rose did little else beside bury her head in books, as the euphoria of Gryffindor's victory in the Quidditch faded into the background and was replaced by the slowly growing nervous tension that she had long ago associated with upcoming finals.

She didn't get much of a chance to see Scorpius. Despite Quidditch being over, studying and revision had taken up their extra free time, and since their common rooms were located at opposite ends of the castle, it wasn't practical to meet very often. Particularly as she had yet to tell the rest of her family about their relationship. It was one of those awkward conversations that she had no idea how to initiate.

Rose knew she had to tell Dom. But now that she had made a decision on moving forward and not keeping secrets, her best friend was surprisingly hard to track down. It seemed that she had taken a fancy to the boy who had kept her occupied on the night of the Gryffindor party. He was a seventh-year Hufflepuff, a tall and thick-set boy by the name of Jeb. Rose had never paid close attention to him, but the little that she had didn't impress her all that much. He seemed to be the stock standard, garden variety of teenage male, a man of few words and much testosterone. How genuine Dom's affections were, or how much was simply a ruse to distract her from Calvin, it was hard to tell.

Rose contemplated her dilemma that night over dinner. She had brought a book down with her to keep studying through meals, but even she couldn't muster the energy to read any more on vanishing spells that night. Her eyes kept flicking inadvertently to the Slytherin table, despite her best efforts to focus on the conversation around her. Scorpius was sitting next to Albus and the two were conversing in low voices, along with their fellow sixth year Hector Nott. Rose was glad to see they were acting relatively normal again. Once or twice Scorpius looked up and gave her a smirk that made her heart skip a beat and the colour rise to her cheeks.

"And Jeb has the most amazing biceps I've ever seen," Dom prattled on beside her, oblivious that Rose wasn't really paying attention. At least Daisy and Peoria were listening raptly, their eyes wide with the prospect of gossip. "Like, I know he doesn't play Quidditch, so you wouldn't expect it, right? But he must work out all the time, and I don't know what magic powders he's been taking, but they sure are working, know what I mean?" Dom winked and tossed her hair over one shoulder with a very high pitched giggle. Daisy was nodding so fast her pigtails were practically jumping off her shoulders.

Rose tore her eyes away from Scorpius and focused on her cousin. "Does he have amazing gluteus maximi as well?"

Dom blinked at her in non comprehension. "Huh?"

"What about his rectus abdominis?" smirked Rose, unable to resist winding her friend up. "Is that simply amazing, like the rest of him?"

Her cousin gave her an annoyed look. "Very funny Rose."

"No, honestly, I'm just so curious."

Dom gave her a challenging look. "Well, if you must know, then yes, it is."

Peoria snorted ungracefully into her haggis.

"Well I think it's great that Dom's going out with such a hunk," declared Daisy, reaching over and squeezing the hand of her own boy-of-the-moment Cam Finnigan. "I mean, it sure beats moping around over that other guy, what was his – " she broke off at the furious glare Rose was giving her and made a half-hearted attempt at ignorance. "Oh, whoops."

Dom blinked rapidly, and for a split second the façade of happiness slipped off her face and she looked hurt and bewildered. But it was only for a moment, before she smiled brightly across the table at Daisy. "What, you mean Calvin? Oh, I'm totally over him. What a loser he turned out to be."

"Dom," said Rose quietly, wishing Daisy and Peoria would find something else to talk about so she and Dom could have some privacy. Her cousin looked over at her with something of a pinched expression. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Not right now," said Dom casually. "I'm talking about Jeb, and your serious talks are normally so boring. Anyway, Daisy, you know Jeb is like a total sports star in the Muggle world? Yeah, he plays this game called photoball and…"

Rose sighed as Dom launched into another longwinded conversation about her new boyfriend. She knew her cousin was trying to avoid mention of Calvin; no doubt she thought that was what Rose wanted to talk about.

Well, she thought determinedly, taking a large bite of shepherd's pie and chewing slowly, Dom couldn't avoid her forever. They lived in the same dormitory, for Merlin's sake, how hard could it be to get her alone?

Apparently, harder than she had imagined. Rose sighed in frustration as she saw Dom walk through the common room with Daisy by her side for the fourth night in a row. The two of them had bonded mutually over their love of cute guys, and while Rose wasn't exactly jealous, she couldn't help but be annoyed at just how elusive her cousin was being. She couldn't possibly tell Dom about Scorpius with Daisy hanging around; telling her would be as good as announcing it via sonorus to the entire Great Hall over breakfast. Besides, she expected that Dom would take the news badly, and she wanted her cousin to be in the right frame of mind when that happened.

"Dom!" she called out, deciding to just go the direct route. Her cousin stopped her rapid-fire conversation with Daisy and looked over. Rose gestured. "Come here!"

For a second Dom hesitated, and Rose felt a pang of offence. Then her cousin laughed and came to sit by her, an unnaturally bright grin plastered on her face. "Rosie! How are you?"

Rose narrowed her eyes to show what she thought of this fake affection, and Dom had the grace to look a little abashed. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, before looking pointedly at Daisy, who stood waiting to one side. "In private?"

Dom shifted uncomfortably. "Can't it wait?" she whined. "It's just…I have to finish this thing with Daisy, and then I have to meet Jeb and – "

Rose rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever."

"I'm sorry." Dom reached out a hand and placed it on Rose's arm, and for a moment she looked completely sincere. "Is it important? I can stay if you want."

It was on the tip of her tongue to say 'yes.' But for some reason Rose couldn't bring herself to do it. Dom looked so happy and carefree…perhaps it didn't matter if she didn't tell her right now? What difference did it make, really? There was no urgency to the situation; it wasn't worth upsetting her friend over. She gave her cousin a smile and shrugged. "Nah, it's okay. Go, I'll catch up with you later." Coward.

"Okay, we'll have a proper chat soon, I promise," Dom reached across briefly and gave her a hug, trailing the scent of strawberries across her. "See you soon!"

"Yeah, bye." Rose returned to her notes with a rueful smile. There went another opportunity down the drain.

"You smell like strawberries."

She looked up at Scorpius' odd comment, her brow furrowed in confusion before she remembered. "Oh yeah. Dom hugged me before, and she must have had perfume sprayed all over her. I think it rubbed off on me."

He rolled his eyes and put his quill down, before stretching one arm over her shoulders and kissing the top of her head. "I prefer your normal smell."

She burrowed into his chest, her own studying forgotten. "And what exactly is my normal smell?" she asked curiously.

"Mmm…" he appeared to think deeply about her question. "I'd have to say…Hogwarts."

She raised her eyebrows at him, not sure whether he was being serious. When he didn't offer any explanation she persisted. "Could you be a little more specific, please? I mean, Hogwarts is a vast and very multi-scented place. Are we talking Moaning Myrtles' bathroom here? Or the Giant Squid? Or perhaps Cauldrish's pickled frog livers?"

Scorpius laughed, and pulled her tighter against him, and she couldn't help but grin in return. She loved that she could cause that reaction in him by saying something stupid or sarcastic. That, and the other reaction she could cause….her heart thumped at the thought.

Scorpius caught the change in her expression and his eyebrows furrowed. "What was that?"

"What was what?" she blinked up at him with what she hoped was an innocent look.

He stared down at her suspiciously. "That flash in your eyes. Like you just thought of a great prank. Should I be scared?"

She blushed. "It was nothing."

"Liar."

"Am not."

"Pants on fire."

"I'm not wearing pants," she retorted childishly, indicating her school skirt.

His smirk turned impish and he dragged her so that she was half sitting on his lap. "A guy can dream."

She whacked him on the chest with her fist, but the effect was lost by her subsequent attempt to wriggle closer to him. "We're supposed to be studying," she pointed out. "Not exchanging…pleasantries."

"Pleasantries?" he raised his eyebrows at her mockingly. "Is that what you call this?"

He used his legs to manoeuvre her so that she was sitting firmly on top of him, his hands sliding down the sides of her body before coming to rest on her hips. Rose struggled for a moment before giving in and lacing one hand behind his neck.

"You're trying to sabotage my study plans," she told him, her fingers playing with the ends of his hair.

"And pray tell, why would I do that?"

She stared at him like it should be self-evident. "Well obviously, so that you can achieve a higher mark than me, thereby satisfying your humungous male ego and reasserting the supremacy of Slytherins and purebloods everywhere."

"Nice try," he drawled. "But I can do all that without having to resort to underhand tactics. Being the best comes naturally to a Malfoy."

"And that's why I've beaten you in Arithmancy all year?"

He gave a petulant scowl. "Professor Merus has had it in for me ever since she heard me calling her an overgrown Niffler. You've seen how much she glares at me!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "She does not."

"Does so. Besides, I'm ahead of you in Transfiguration and Defence, if I'm not mistaken."

She groaned at the reminder, and he smirked.

"Jealous, Weasley?" he asked her, leaning back in the couch with a look of supreme satisfaction. "I can give you lessons if you want."

She tugged hard at the ends of his hair, causing him to wince in pain.

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing at the spot where she had pulled and giving her a reproachful look. "Wench."

She smirked. "Slytherin."

"Gryffindork."

She shook her head in disgust. "That's pathetic. Is that really the best you can come up with?"

He hooked one finger in between the buttons of her school shirt, and pulled her closer to him until her face was only inches from his own. Then he leant forward to whisper in her ear. "I haven't even got warmed up yet."

Rose tried to ignore the shiver that passed through her body at his warm breath on her ear, and the way his voice had dropped an octave. Suddenly she was very aware of her own position on top of him. She swallowed. "I'm trembling with fear."

"You should be," he murmured, before kissing her. He still had his finger hooked in her shirt, using it to keep her in place while his tongue slipped in between her lips and brushed her own. Despite herself she moaned at the sensation, her hands curling round his neck and her hips shifting as she instinctively pressed against him. As soon as she began to move Scorpius tensed, and he stilled her quickly with his spare hand.

"Don't," he whispered against her lips, his voice sounding somewhat strangled.

She blushed, and broke the kiss. "Sorry," she said awkwardly. "Umm…"

For a while Scorpius said nothing. He kept his hands at her waist, his breathing slightly uneven, his eyes focused with apparent nonchalance on a spot over her shoulder. "It's nearly dinner," he remarked at last, his voice back under control and as calm as though they had been having a perfectly ordinary conversation. "We should go."

She glanced up at the clock that hung in the far wall of their Room of Requirement, and saw that he was right. A pang of regret shot through her, and she slid reluctantly off of him. Internally she cursed her shyness, which was the reason she clammed up as soon as he reacted like that. She blamed her conversation with Albus about Scorpius' previous girlfriends, the words she couldn't seem to forget no matter how hard she tried. She hated to think that Scorpius was so much more experienced than her. It made her feel nervous and clumsy. "Oh."

"Guess we won't be walking down together," he said, though there was the slightest hint of a question in his voice.

She shook her head guiltily. "I haven't told Dom yet," she confessed. When he continued to stare at her in silence she bit her lip. "I've tried, really. It's just that she's so busy with her new boyfriend and she never sits still long enough to talk to properly and – "

"It's okay Rose."

His tone gave nothing away. "You're sure?" she asked tentatively.

He stood up and offered her his hand, hauling her to her feet. "Course. It's weird enough having Al know. I'm not in that much of a rush to have your entire family glaring daggers at me across the Hall and trying to ambush me between classes."

"Well, when you put it that way," she half-joked. In truth, she wasn't sure how she felt about going completely public with Scorpius. She knew she would have to sooner or later, especially now that Albus knew, but there was something nice about it just being the two of them. Involving her entire family in it was going to be such a drag.

"Come on," he said, pushing her toward the door. "You go now, I'll follow you in a minute."

With a reluctant nod, she did as he instructed, letting herself out of the Room of Requirement and hurrying off to the Great Hall for dinner.

The first exam of the season was Defence Against the Dark Arts. Rose thought she did well enough, casting all her protective spells nonverbally and not letting a single of her Examiner's curses through her barrier. In the theory side she wrote three feet on Dementors, referencing her own parents' experiences with them for extra points, and felt relatively happy coming out of the Great Hall. Charms was the day after, followed by Arithmancy, after which she had a three day break. She and Scorpius were in Arithmancy together, and spent the night before the exam desperately quizzing each other in the Room of Requirement. Rose wasn't sure whether or not it was a productive exercise, given how distracting his presence could be, and their tendency to get…rather sidetracked.

They emerged after the exam together, still discussing their answers to certain questions, and found Albus leaning against the wall in the Entrance Hall waiting for them. Rose took an instinctive half-step away from Scorpius upon seeing her cousin, still not used to him knowing about their relationship and wary of antagonising him. But Al only rolled his eyes.

"Relax, Rose. How was your exam?"

"I think I stuffed up question – " she and Scorpius both began at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

Albus looked between them with a bemused expression. "Riiight," he drawled. "Anyway, who's up for a visit to Hagrid? Thought we could go see him since the weather's so fine and we have three whole days before Transfiguration."

"That's a great idea!" said Rose happily, and together they set off out of the castle and over the grounds toward Hagrid's hut. Hagrid was sitting on the front porch, Shadow the boarhound sprawled at his feet, whittling at a piece of wood with a pocket knife and whistling to himself.

"Heya Hagrid!" Scorpius called out loudly when they were a few feet away, and they waved at him when he looked up.

"All righ', you three?" Hagrid put the knife and wood to one side and sat forward with a grin. "Bin a while."

The three of them exchanged mutual guilty looks. "It's just been crazy this year," said Rose, feeling bad. "The teachers are crazy and – " she trailed off when she noticed him chortling.

"S'alrigh', yeh muppet," said Hagrid affectionately. "I know how much work I bin givin' these two," he grinned at Al and Scorpius. "An' Professor Sami wants me ter give yeh even more, bless her soul."

Rose frowned in confusion before she remembered that Professor Sami was the new part-time Care of Magical Creatures Professor, who helped Hagrid with his lessons and took some of the younger classes for him.

"Professor Sami's not nearly as good as you are Hagrid," said Albus fiercely.

"Yeah," agreed Scorpius. "We don't want her to take over our classes."

Hagrid's eyes were suspiciously bright as he looked at them. "Ah, yeh're sweet kids. But s'gettin' harder n' harder ter get this ol' body up n' abou' each day. Professor Sami's bin a great help."

They exchanged worried glances, but Hagrid merely clapped his overlarge hands on his thighs with a sound like thunder. "Well, come in then. Lemme put the kettle on. Yeh're in luck, I jus' put some bath buns in the oven…"

They followed him in and sat down at his kitchen table. Rose had expected Shadow to snuggle against her, as he had last time, but the pup took one glance at her before promptly turning and nudging in between Scorpius' ankles instead. She scowled at this rejection, and even more when she saw Scorpius' triumphant smirk. Stupid, dog-loving git.

Albus was oblivious to this exchange. He had started quizzing Hagrid on what was going to be in their exam the following week, but the half-giant was refusing to give anything away.

"Please just tell me if we're going to get tested on Merpeople," begged Albus, clasping his hands in front of him in melodramatic fashion. "I know we had that one lesson on their language and culture, but are we really supposed to know all that? Please, Hagrid."

Hagrid laughed and shook his shaggy head. "Can't tell yeh," he said adamantly. "It'd be playin' fav'rites, n' tha's not fair fer the rest o' the class. Besides, yer parents wouldn' wan' me givin' yeh extra help."

"I think my parents would forgive you if I got a good enough grade," muttered Albus under his breath.

"S'good ter see you two bein' friendly," remarked Hagrid, setting four mugs of steaming tea on the table and gesturing to Scorpius and Rose. "S'real good."

She blushed and looked at Scorpius, wondering if they should enlighten him that they were more than just friends. Rose felt like Hagrid was one of the few people at Hogwarts who wouldn't judge them or criticize them, and a sudden desire to confess overwhelmed her. Since no disapproving frown from Scorpius or Albus was forthcoming, she decided to go ahead. "Actually Hagrid," she said, feeling the heat creep up her cheeks. "We're…umm… well…"

Scorpius laced his fingers through hers and then dragged her arm up so that their entwined hands rested on the kitchen table in plain view. Hagrid stared at them in bewilderment, his eyebrows disappearing into his mane of wild hair.

"A couple?" he asked incredulously, looking first at Rose and then at Scorpius, who nodded. "Blimey. I didn' know…well, tha's great," he said at last, reaching forward and patting them both vigorously on the back, causing Rose to nearly face-plant into her tea. "Congratulations Rose, Scorpius."

"Thank you sir," replied Scorpius, his tone uncharacteristically respectful.

"Have yeh told your parents yet?"

They glanced at each other, and Scorpius' hand tightened around her own. "Actually, we haven't told anyone, besides you and Albus."

"Oh." The smile on Hagrid's face slipped a little. "Well, jus' remember ter give 'em some time ter get used to the idea…migh' take 'em a bit, but don' let that bother yeh. A couple!" he chuckled again and took a gulp of tea. "Seems like on'y yesterday your parents were here gettin' in their firs' relationships…bless 'em."

"I bet my parents were total prudes," declared Albus proudly. "They were too busy saving the world to worry about any of that stuff, right Hagrid?"

"I wouldn' be so sure," said Hagrid with a mischievous grin. "Yer ma was a righ' firecracker back then. She'd liked yer dad fer ages, but she'd always bin too shy ter tell him. Then one day, after the quidditch, she jus' ran straight up ter Harry n' kissed him, righ' there in fron' o' all the other students. Tha' was in sixth year too, if I remember righ'…"

Al turned slightly green and muttered something about 'too much information' before drowning himself in his tea. Scorpius grinned, the action lighting his face up so handsomely that Rose felt her heart skip a beat and her hand squeeze his involuntarily. He looked across at her, questioning, but she only shook her head, feeling slightly breathless.

"Are you coming to Teddy and Victoire's wedding Hagrid?" she asked instead, to distract herself from her own feelings.

"Course!" said Hagrid gruffly, turning around to take the plate of bath buns from the oven. He set them on the table, steaming. "Wouldn' miss it fer anythin'. Always knew those two would end up together…like I - " he broke off as a sudden coughing fit took him, his whole body shaking with the force of it. Hurriedly, he fished a table-cloth sized hanky out of his pocket and pressed it to his mouth, his face turning progressively redder as he struggled to regain control of his breathing. Scorpius' grin vanished and Rose felt his worry mirrored in herself. Albus, who was sitting next to Hagrid, had one arm raised as though to clap him over the back, and a horribly stricken expression on his face. Underneath the table Shadow began to whine.

Finally, the coughing began to subside, and Hagrid's skin slowly returned to its normal nut brown. He coughed one last time into the handkerchief, then blew his nose loudly, before sitting up straight and taking a deep, rather exhausted breath.

"Sorry," he said, not meeting their eyes. "S'this wretched cold. Musta picked it up in class…"

"Hagrid," began Rose tentatively. "Have you thought about going to see Madam Pomfrey? I'm sure she could give you something to help with…with your cold."

"Pah," Hagrid waved a dustbin-sized hand as though to swat away her concern. "Don' worry abou' me. I'll be righ'. Now, who wants a bath bun, while they're still hot?"

"I'll be right, he says! Don't worry about me, he says! Fat chance of that happening, when he sounds like he's half-way to coughing up his own lung!"

Albus continued to fume as they made their slow way back across the grounds from Hagrid's hut, his hands shoved deep in his pockets and his face furrowed.

Rose was inclined to agree with him. It was obvious that Hagrid was very sick. But she didn't know what they could do to help. "I'll guess he'll take care of it in his own way," she said weakly.

"Or not take care of it, more likely," scowled Albus.

"Reckon we could persuade Pomfrey to pay him a surprise visit?" mused Scorpius. His hand was still laced with hers, warm and comforting. "Maybe spike his whiskey with a healing tonic?"

"Got potential," agreed Al.

"Do you think we should write to our parents?" asked Rose. The two boys looked at her in confusion. "I mean, don't you think they'd want to know that one of their good friends is sick? I doubt he'd tell them himself."

Neither of them said anything. Rose had a suspicion they didn't want to acknowledge that Hagrid's sickness was serious enough to be informing the adults about. And maybe it wasn't? Maybe it was just a bad cold…

They walked the rest of the way to the Entrance Hall in silence. When they got there, it took her a moment to understand why they had stopped walking, before she realised that this was where they parted ways, the boys down the stairs into the dungeons and she up the marble staircase in the other direction. Something odd constricted in her gut as she turned to face Scorpius, who still held her hand and seemed unwilling to let go.

"I'll leave you two alone," said Al stiffly. "See you later Rose."

She gave her cousin a grateful look as he meandered down the stairs and out of sight. Then she let out her breath all at once. Scorpius pulled her closer, dragging her into his chest. His grey eyes were troubled.

"You're worried about Hagrid," she said simply, resting her free hand on his shoulder.

He nodded.

"I think it's…nice, that the two of you are close."

He shrugged. "I owe him a lot." When she looked at him inquiringly he continued. "He always stuck up for me when no one else would. He never…he never judged me for my father. That's more than most people here can say." The light was fading around them as the sun set outside, adding to the darkness behind his words.

She felt an unexpected twinge of guilt when she realised that she was one of 'those people.' "I'm sorry," she said, her breath little more than a whisper.

Scorpius shook his head. "Don't be." He bent towards her until their foreheads were touching. "It's not your fault."

"I've been such an idiot," she continued weakly. "All those years, judging you without even knowing. I don't – I don't deserve – "

"Shhh," he let go of her hand and reached up to run a finger down her cheek.

Their lips came together slowly, and Rose was struck once again by the jolt of pure pleasure that shot through her when they kissed. She supposed she should be used to it by now, but for some reason it still managed to take her by surprise.

Her emotions threatened to overwhelm her. Rose deepened the kiss, desperate to show him how sorry she was, how badly she knew she had misjudged him. Scorpius responded instantly, cradling her face between his hands and drawing her close. She gave a soft whimper as his tongue grazed her bottom lip, and pulled restlessly at his shirt. Frustrated at all the fabric between them, she pressed into him and he groaned, one of his hands travelling to her hips and holding her against him in a way that made her feel dizzy and reckless. It was amazing how rapidly things could start to spiral out of control. She couldn't help but to react to his touch, arching into him, relishing the hardness of his body against hers. It was both a comfort and a torture at the same time. She clung to him, wanting more, wanting so much more…

Scorpius broke the kiss abruptly and turned his head to one side, his breathing ragged and his eyes squeezed shut. Rose stared up at him, her own breathing less than steady, trying unsuccessfully to read his expression in the fading light. He seemed to be fighting an internal battle with himself, and looked almost as though he was in pain.

"Did I…" she was blushing, curse it. "Did I do something?"

He gave the ghost of a laugh and opened his eyes. When he turned back to face her, the battle seemed to be over. "No," Scorpius rested his forehead resting against hers, but made no move to kiss her again. His voice was low and deep and incredibly tempting.

"Then what happened?"

"Nothing, it's just…" there was the faintest hint of a smile playing at his lips. "I better stop before I can't stop, you know?"

Now she was definitely blushing. Rose shifted her weight from one foot to the other, not able to meet his eyes anymore. "Oh."

"I'm sorry," he said, suddenly serious, and she dragged her eyes back to his. There was a wariness in them that hadn't been there moments ago. "I didn't mean that. I would never do something you didn't want to do. I – just forget I said anything."

"No, it's fine," she said, holding on when he tried to pull back and forcing him to stay close. She didn't want him to leave.

"Good," he smiled and kissed her quickly on the tip of her nose. "I'd better go. Al and I are going to practise for Transfiguration by the Lake tomorrow. Care to join?"

"Sure." She let go reluctantly so that he could step back.

They stared at each other in silence for a while before he gave her a crooked smile. "Goodnight, Rose."

Please don't go. "Goodnight."

She was acting like a lovesick puppy. Rose berated herself silently as she watched Scorpius turn and follow Albus' footsteps back to the Slytherin common room. She had to get a grip. Her soppiness was reaching alarming levels and if she wasn't careful she'd end up scaring him away. After all, he had liked her when she was pretty much nothing but horrible to him – maybe she should stop seeming so eager, act a little hard to get?

And yet, and yet….she smiled to herself as he shot her one last look over his shoulder before disappearing down the stairs. She couldn't stop even if she wanted to.