Two days. That was all she had to get through. Just two days. Funny how when you were studying for exams or spending time cuddling on the couch, two days went by in the blink of an eye; but when you were fighting with your best friend, or your pseudo-secret-boyfriend, or both, two days could drag on for an eternity.

The worst part was that there was nowhere she could go where she was sure to be left alone. She couldn't hide in her dorm room, because she never knew when Dom might storm in unannounced, shoot her a filthy glare and mutter under her breath before slamming the door on her way out. But neither could she hide somewhere inconspicuous around the castle, like the library, because she knew Scorpius would try and corner her. Which he did.

She was walking back to the common room after spending hours in the library doing nothing but sitting blankly at a desk and trying to avoid Madam Beauvoir's suspicious stare, when a door opened to her right and she felt herself dragged unceremoniously into an empty classroom. A sense of déjà-vu overwhelmed her, and she bit down on her bottom lip to stop from voicing her frustration.

"Rose." Scorpius didn't attempt to pin her to the wall as he had the last time he accosted her. Instead he simply stood before her, his arms folded across his chest and his grey eyes fixed on her with a piercing intensity. He had left the door slightly ajar. Rose eyed it warily, wondering if it was worth trying to make a run for it. Something told her she wouldn't make it very far.

"Scorpius." Her voice was so cold, even she winced at it. Rose coughed and stared off to the side. She hadn't had time to reconcile herself with their previous conversation in the Room of Requirement yet. She wasn't ready to talk about it.

"So you're still mad," he said, just as aloof. She looked up at him, and saw that his mouth was pressed into a thin, tight line.

"I guess."

"How long are we going to play this game, huh?" His tone was heavily sarcastic. "I just want to know when you're going to decide I'm worth knowing again, so I can plan my schedule accordingly."

She felt a bolt of anger shoot through her. "It's not a game!" she snapped back. "I have to think about things. I'm sorry that doesn't fit with your program, but it's just the way it is."

"You do realise that there's only one day left until we leave for summer?"

"I – I know." This thought had been tormenting her all through the night, making it impossible to sleep. Knowing that she wouldn't see Scorpius for such a long time, that this might be their last chance to be together until school started again… deep down she knew she would regret it if they left on this note. But she couldn't help how she was feeling. She couldn't put her emotions on fast forward just because time demanded it.

He took a step toward her, so that he was within touching distance. She willed herself to stillness. "You asked for honesty and I gave it to you. So I slept with Flora over the summer… It didn't work anyway, because – " he broke off.

"Because what?"

He glared at her. "Because – because damn it Rose, can't you see I'm crazy about you?"

She swallowed thickly and watched as he began to pace up and down in front of her.

"It never meant anything and I don't know why because Merlin knows I tried to make it mean something, for my family and my father and for your father, who I'm sure will be oh so pleased when you tell him about me. I tried but it didn't mean anything." He stopped pacing abruptly and faced her. "I haven't even slept with you and it still means more than anything I ever did with Flora. I don't know why but it just does."

There was a long silence. Rose had no idea what to say to him. She was barely able to process what he was telling her.

Scorpius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What do you want from me, Rose?"

His new tone of voice cut at her, and she blinked rapidly. "It's not – I don't want anything from you. I just… need time."

He reached out and traced a finger down her cheek, soft as a whisper. "We don't have time."

She was dangerously close to giving in to him. His touch reminded her of how good it felt to be in his arms, to feel his lips on hers… she could sense the longing deep within her, tugging her in his direction. But she grit her teeth and refused to move. Flora. Think of Flora. Think of the anguish if he was still sleeping with her now, while he pretended to love her. Think of the risk…

"Of course we have time," she choked out, her voice strangled. "We have all next year."

"So you're saying you'll still want me next year?" there was a smile in his voice now, a satisfaction, as though he knew he was winning. Damn him.

"That's – who knows what will happen? That's the point."

"Rose… " his finger trailed down her jaw, onto her neck, and she almost, almost arched towards him. She knew that as soon as she gave any response he would take her, would grab hold of her and kiss her and… and then all her reservations will have been for nothing. She couldn't give in.

"N-no," she stepped sideways, the only direction that didn't involve him, and felt his finger drop away. She fixed her eyes on the chalkboard behind them as she spoke. "I need time to think about this. If you – if you really respect me you'll wait until I'm ready. After the summer maybe. If you can't wait that long then… then I understand."

There was a pause. "Are you testing me?" he demanded roughly.

She shook her head. "No. Just telling you how I feel. I need time." She edged toward the door.

"Rose, wait – "

She ran before he could stop her, her feet echoing loudly in the deserted corridor. He didn't attempt to follow her.

After that she stayed in her dorm, Dom or no Dom, because she knew she didn't have the strength to withstand him if he tracked her down again. She went down to the Great Hall for the End-of-Term Feast, and cheered along with the rest of her House when Gryffindor were presented with the House Cup. She laughed too, at the antics of James and Fred; somehow they had managed to transfigure the end of the Slytherin table into a lion's head that belted out the Gryffindor song for a solid minute until Professor McGonagall found a way to reverse the spell. The best part was that they didn't even get in trouble for it; the Headmistress merely remarked that with transfiguration skills such as that they would no doubt go far in life. By the end of it the Slytherins were in uproar, and the rest of the Great Hall was ringing with laughter. Rose laughed along with them, although in truth her spirit was heavy and downhearted. With the ease of long practice she studiously avoided Scorpius' gaze. Instead she looked at each of his four 'conquests' in turn: Arabella Yaxley, his date to the Yule Ball; Sarah Harper, a pretty Ravenclaw Rose had never really had much to do with; Brienne Crowley, a notoriously slutty Slytherin… and Flora.

As soon as she could without attracting attention, Rose got up quietly from the Gryffindor table and made her way out of the Great Hall. She passed Dom on the way; her friend's gaze lingered on her as though she was almost considering speaking, but when Rose reached her she turned pointedly away. Rose sighed and kept walking, feeling another pair of eyes on her, like burning pinpoints on her skin. But she refused to look, and as soon as she was out of sight she broke into a run back to the Gryffindor common room. One more sleep. Just one more. And then she could go home.

The drizzle made curious patterns on the windows of the Hogwarts' Express. Rose watched them form, her forehead resting against the glass and her breath slowly fogging it up.

She was currently alone in the compartment, and had been for some time. Albus had popped his head in once or twice, in a transparent attempt to cheer her up, but she had largely ignored him, and he hadn't visited for a while. Dom had paused outside her door once, but Rose had kept her gaze fixed on the window and after a moment Daisy had pulled her cousin away. Scorpius she hadn't seen at all.

There was a dull throbbing in her head that had become painfully familiar to her over the last few days. It started as soon as she began trying to think about her conversation with Scorpius, about his confession and what it meant; and it grew and grew the longer she dwelt on them until it became impossible to think at all. Until just thinking of those other girls made her physically nauseous. She was torn between accepting her body's natural reaction and admitting to how childish she was being. A game, Scorpius had called it. She didn't like to think that it was. But the fact remained that she didn't really have a reason to be angry with him, if she believed what he had said about it all occurring before the start of the year. And she did believe him, didn't she?

The compartment door slid open, and Lily's copper head appeared a second before her cousin let herself in and sat down opposite with never a by-your-leave. Rose blinked in surprise.

"You look terrible," said Lily abruptly. Her voice had changed significantly over the course of the year; it was far more mature now, more like her mother's. It made Rose edgy. "Have you been sleeping at all?"

"Umm… " she blushed and stared out the window. "I guess… not."

"That bad, huh?"

She looked quickly back at Lily, but there was nothing on her cousin's face to go with the strangeness of her comment.

"Um, yeah." She struggled to find something to say, disconcerted by Lily's directness. "I guess, exams and everything, they really took it out of me, you know?"

"Mm-hmm." Lily's voice was the definition of sceptical.

Rose focused on the raindrops, then on the scenery sweeping past outside, then looked back at Lily. Her cousin was still giving her that supercilious stare, her eyebrows raised the merest fraction to indicate her disbelief. Rose decided it was time to exert her authority as the elder in the conversation.

"Okay Lily, what do you want?"

Lily smirked. "You had a fight," she said bluntly.

"With Dom? Yeah."

"With Scorpius."

Rose choked, her heart beginning to pound. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said quickly. Too quickly.

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're such a terrible liar Rose."

Crap, fuck, flobberworms. Rose sighed and decided to give the game up. She was too exhausted to pretend any longer. "Dom told you?" she said heavily, wondering who else her cousin had told. James, Fred? Please let her not have told my parents.

"Phht," Lily swept her long curtain of hair behind her shoulder in one swift motion. "Give me some credit, please. I figured it out ages ago."

Rose stared at her. "But… how?"

"Saw you on the Astronomy Tower. You stole mine and Ben's spot that night." Catching her horrified look, Lily hastened to add, "Don't worry, Ben doesn't know. I told him Brienne Crowley was up there with some guy – perfectly believable, since Brienne's been up there with practically every guy in Hogwarts."

Something sharp stabbed at Rose's insides, and she forced herself not to think of Brienne and Scorpius on top of the Astronomy Tower together. "Hn, yeah."

"So," said Lily smugly, leaning back and looking irritatingly proud of herself. "You and Malfoy hey? I've been dying to talk to you about it."

"Why didn't you?"

"There never seemed to be a good time," Lily shrugged. "Besides, I didn't want to risk giving you away."

Rose felt a sudden surge of affection for her younger cousin. "Thanks, Lil."

"No problem. So who else knows?"

"Al… and Dom."

"Uh-huh. And that's what you were fighting with Al about, wasn't it? That time at the Quidditch."

"Yep."

"And it's why you're fighting with Dom now, isn't it?"

Rose sighed. "You got me."

"Don't worry," said Lily breezily. "I don't think anybody else knows. And they won't hear it from me."

"Thanks," she said again. "They might from Dom though."

"I doubt it. So anyway… what's he like?"

Rose blinked, her brain slowing down abruptly to a snail's-pace. "What do you mean?"

Lily looked at her as though she was a dim-witted child that needed things to be explained very slowly. "I mean Scorpius. What's he like?"

"Like?"

"In bed."

"In bed?" Rose repeated blankly, unable to believe she was having this conversation with her fifteen-year-old cousin. "Wh – what?"

Lily suddenly looked very shrewd. "You haven't slept with him, have you?"

"Lily!" she could feel herself turning red. She looked around wildly, desperate for a way out of this terrible conversation. Also to make sure the door to the compartment was securely shut; she shuddered to think of anybody eavesdropping on them. "Don't say that!"

"And why not?" asked Lily, crossing her arms over her chest. "You two've had chemistry all year. And I saw the way you were kissing on the Astronomy Tower. I can't believe you haven't done it yet."

Rose wondered vaguely if she had fallen asleep and wandered into another dimension by accident, one where it was perfectly normal to discuss her sex life with a younger cousin. "I… we… "

"So you're still a virgin then?" said Lily confidently. "Scorpius isn't. Is that why you guys are fighting?"

Rose's eyes snapped to Lily as though she had slapped her. "How do you know Scorpius isn't?" she demanded.

Lily shrugged. "I've heard things. Honestly, if you paid more attention in the girls' bathrooms you'd hear this sort of stuff too. I don't get why you're so upset – I've always thought it's better if the guy has more experience, personally."

There was a knock on the door, and Rose practically threw herself toward it. "Come in," she shrieked, desperate for a way to avoid Lily's stare.

It was a young boy Rose vaguely recognised as being in Ravenclaw. "Prefects' meeting," he said sullenly, before wandering off without another word.

Crap, fuck, flobberworms. The end of year Prefects' debriefing… she'd forgotten all about it, in the chaos that had been the end of term. Rose looked across at Lily. At least there was one good thing to come out of the interruption. "Gotta go," she said brightly, getting to her feet. "Prefects' meeting. Let's continue this conversation… never!"

Lily flicked her hair again. "I'll get the details of you eventually," she said.

"That would imply that there will be details to give. Not gonna happen." But you want it to, a treacherous voice inside her head whispered. Rose clamped down on it viciously.

Lily just smiled knowingly. "We'll see."

Rose walked out with a shake of her head. What exactly had just happened?

She deliberated for some time on whether it was worth pretending to be incapacitated in the bathroom to get out of the Prefects' meeting – she was sure she could coax a puking pastille out of James is she really tried. Anything to avoid seeing him, and her, the two of them sitting together in their matching Slytherin uniforms… anything had to be better than that.

In the end she decided that not showing up would only make her seem childish and immature, and he would know exactly why she hadn't come, and for some reason the prospect of that seemed even worse than facing him. She would simply put on a brave face and be done with it. Hopefully there wouldn't be much to discuss and they would be finished in a few minutes.

The effect of her dawdling in the corridor deliberating all this was that she was several minutes late to the start of the meeting. She felt the eyes of every single Prefect on her as she walked into the compartment, most of them reflecting some form of surprise. It wasn't like Rose Weasley to arrive late to anything, let alone a Prefects' meeting. She ducked her head and slipped in next to her fellow Gryffindor Prefect Cam Finnigan, muttering an apology under her breath.

"Nice of you to join us Rose," said the Head Girl Eliza, her voice carrying just the slightest hint of disapproval. "Right, well, shall we get started?"

"Eliza and I just wanted to say thank you for making this year run so smoothly for all of us," said Todd McMillan. "We've really enjoyed being Head Boy and Girl and we hope…"

Roes gazed at the floor, tuning out completely. She hadn't dared look at Scorpius when she entered, but now she couldn't help but let her eyes travel across the compartment to what she knew were his shoes. She knew they belonged to him because they were so obviously expensive and impeccable. As if a Malfoy would ever deign to have scuff marks on his shoes. As she watched, one of his feet tapped restlessly. She blinked and looked away, just in time to catch the end of Todd's speech.

" – Professor McGonagall will be here in a few minutes to listen to your reports. So if you could just pair up with your partners and think a bit about what you're going to say, that'd be great."

Her eyes darted up of their own accord, and she found herself looking straight into Scorpius' grey ones. He wore a curious expression, as though he couldn't decide whether to smirk or scowl. She tore her eyes away and looked at Cameron.

"Partners? The report!"

He eyed her in concern. "It's not really a surprise, is it?" he said. "We've known we were gonna have to do this for ages." When she just continued to gape at him his brow furrowed. "Are you okay Rose? You look like you're going to be sick."

Before she could answer, another voice cut in. "You're in my seat, Finnigan."

Cam looked up, his expression instantly hostile. "Sod off Malfoy. I'm talking to Rose."

"I can talk to Rose," replied Scorpius coldly. "It's my job, after all."

"Partner up guys!" called Todd.

Cam shot Rose a sympathetic look, before mouthing 'good luck' and getting to his feet to go and sit with his own partner. He made sure to bump Scorpius as he passed.

Rose had a sudden urge to laugh hysterically. She had forgotten all about the stupid Harmony lessons over the course of exams and all the ensuing drama. She vaguely recalled Professor McGonagall mentioning that she didn't need to do the report anymore. But maybe the Headmistress had changed her mind, otherwise surely Todd or Eliza would have said something? Maybe –

"Going to ignore me forever, are you?"

His voice was achingly familiar. It scared her how pleasant it felt to have him sitting next to her.

"N-no."

"Good. Any idea what we're going to say?"

A thousand possibilities flashed through her mind, all of which she discarded just as quickly. She laughed without humour. "Define idea," she said flatly.

The other pairs around them all seemed to have things to talk about, and every now and then a peal of laughter rose above the chatter. The Harmony lessons had been an unqualified success, then. Even Cameron and Flora appeared to be getting along. And in a way, she supposed it had worked for her and Scorpius as well. She knew more about him now than she would ever have dreamed was possible at the start of the year. Why was she mad at him again?

"It was always you, you know," he said softly, his voice startling her out of her thoughts.

Oh yeah, that was why. Rose narrowed her eyes. "Always is a bit of an overstatement, I'd say."

"I wouldn't."

She wanted to look at him so badly, but she couldn't seem to lift her eyes. "I think, when you were, uh… physically…" Merlin, what was she even saying? That conversation with Lily must have gone to her head. "I doubt I was on your mind then."

He sighed. When he spoke, his voice was low and deep, little more than a murmur. "You know what I mean."

It suddenly occurred to her that this was probably the last time she would see Scorpius for several months. The thought hit her like a bludger to the stomach. She didn't want them to leave angry with one another. "Yeah, I know."

The compartment door opened once more, and Professor McGonagall strode in, looking as formidable as ever despite her great age. It was strange to see her outside of Hogwarts; in Rose's mind she had become as permanent a fixture of the castle as the suits of armour or Nearly Headless Nick.

"Good afternoon, Prefects."

"Good afternoon, Professor," they intoned obediently. Her lips twitched at this, and she settled herself in between Todd and Eliza. Her eyes fixed on each of the students in turn. Rose couldn't hold her stare; she dropped her eyes to the floor, ashamed of herself.

"Please proceed."

"Right." Todd clapped his hands together. "Well, as you all know, based on your feedback and the results of this year's experiment, this kind of thing may be rolled out across Hogwarts next year. Professor McGonagall believes, as do Eliza and myself, that House distinctions have divided the students of Hogwarts for far too long. This has been an attempt to bridge that gap. So we're very keen to hear your honest feedback about how you found it. Shall we start with the fifth years?"

One of the fifth year pairs perked up: a Ravenclaw girl and Slytherin boy whose names Rose didn't know. "Well," began the girl tentatively, eyeing her partner. "It's been really good, actually. At first we weren't so sure, because we'd never really spent any time together before. But it turns out we have a lot in common. Steven and I are both really into Wizarding Chess, so we spent most weeks playing that."

The boy, Steven, nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, it's been great," he said. "It's nice to get to know someone from outside of Slytherin for a change. And we share a lot of the same classes, so we've been able to help each other with our homework too – " he broke off, and flushed, as though worried he may have said too much.

Professor McGonagall smiled wryly. "Very good. Next?"

Rose began to fidget. What were they going to say? They hadn't actually made it that far. She shot a quick glance at Scorpius, but he appeared to be listening to the other pairs speaking. She could fake her way through, sure. But it wouldn't feel very good. And Professor McGonagall would know.

"That's really good to hear," Todd's voice broke through her thoughts. "Now to the sixth years. How about we start with you two?"

Oh Merlin, he was looking at them. Rose swallowed. "Uh… " Everyone was looking at her. Cameron, Flora, Todd and Eliza. Professor McGonagall. She had to say something. Anything. "Um… " her mind drew a complete blank.

"It's been a very challenging experience," cut in Scorpius smoothly, his voice calm and collected as always. "I think sometimes the hardest part of getting to know someone is appreciating them as a real person, rather than as some caricature or collection of generalisations." He coughed and shifted a little next to her. "Realising that this is a real person, with flaws and all, can often be harder than pretending you know all about someone from a distance. Nobody's perfect, after all."

"Very well said, Scorpius," murmured the Headmistress. "And very true. Rose, do you have anything to add?"

"I… " his words had been for her. And she knew exactly what he was trying to say. "Yes, I do."

Professor McGonagall's eyebrows rose into her hairline. Clearly, she had been expecting an excuse. "Go on."

"I just wanted to add," she said slowly, imitating Scorpius' detached tone of voice. "That while it is one of the hardest things, it's also the most rewarding. Really getting to know someone, not just their flaws but also the things that make them unique, that make them special to you – " she choked. "That's – that's also good," she finished on a whisper.

There was a long silence, before the Professor spoke. "Equally well said, Miss Weasley. Congratulations both of you." Her eyes were kind and just a little bit smug.

Rose barely heard the rest of the reports. She couldn't concentrate at all. But she was acutely aware of Scorpius' presence beside her, and of the barely perceptible way he edged closer to her after she had spoken, close enough for his fingers to brush hers. And she felt the jolt of warmth and energy that ignited at his touch, and she knew that yes, the harmony lessons had been a success after all.

They waited together in the compartment as the rest of the Prefects made their way out, an unspoken agreement passing between them to stay behind. Professor McGonagall was the last to leave, and she gave them a genuine smile as she went. Then they were alone.

For a long while neither of them spoke. Then, at last, Scorpius spoke, his voice very quiet.

"It's going to be a long summer."

He didn't ask if he was forgiven. Didn't mention her speech, or his, or their previous conversation at Hogwarts. And she was glad. Sometimes it wasn't necessary to put things into words. They both knew.

"Yeah." She looked down and realised with surprise that their hands were entwined. She hadn't even noticed them move. "Will I see you at all?"

He shrugged. "We'll be going to France at some stage, that's about all I know. I'll try and get a week at Albus' if I can. But I can't promise anything."

She nodded, trying to convince herself that it wasn't so bad. Nothing she hadn't done before. Just a few months and then they would be back at school. Outside, the land was changing, becoming more suburban, built-up apartment blocks taking the place of rolling farmland. They were nearly in London.

"There's the wedding, of course," he said, as an afterthought. Rose blinked. She had all but forgotten about Teddy and Victoire's wedding.

"You're still invited?"

"Of course."

There was a whistle, announcing their imminent arrival at King's Cross Station.

"Thank Merlin we still have another year left at Hogwarts," she said.

He squeezed her hand. When she turned her head to look at him, she saw that he was smiling. "Yeah."

He kissed her, and she melted into him, savouring the feel of it, storing it up for the months ahead. Everything would be alright. She just knew it.