A/N: This chapter goes out to everyone who's reviewed this story over the past few years, letting me know you still care, that you still believe in this story and this pairing. There have genuinely been days when the only thing that made me put fingers to keyboard is the thought that some of you were still out there hoping for an update. Words will never be enough to express how much your comments have meant to me. But, this one's for you. I hope it's worth the wait.

I know you've been hurting, waiting on a train that just won't come.

But the rain it ain't permanent, and soon we'll be dancing in the sun.

-Dermot Kennedy

.

Two years later

"That's IT? Are you kidding me?"

Their newest intern, Jemma, slammed her beer mug down with enough force that some of the amber liquid sloshed onto the wooden table.

"Oh no," she said, shaking her head so hard the beads hanging in her hair clinked. "No, no, no, no, no. That can not be the end of the story!"

Rose took a long sip of her drink . She felt drained, like she was hungover, but relieved to have gotten the whole thing off her chest. Jemma had been bugging her for weeks, ever since Dominique had 'accidentally' let slip during a drunken night out that Rose had a tragic high school love story.

"It is," she said bluntly.

"But what happened next?" Jemma demanded, still moving her head left to right in a way that was beginning to make Rose dizzy.

"Nothing. Scorpius went back to Durmstrang and I got on with not failing seventh year. Which," she gestured in a sarcastic fashion to the slightly seedy bar they were currently inhabiting, "led me to this glorious establishment, and your wonderful company."

Jemma brushed aside this comment. "And what? You've just never seen him since?" She waited for a response, but when Rose gave her nothing she sighed sadly. "Wow girl, you really let that one slip."

The familiar stab in Rose's chest was becoming harder to ignore. "It was for the best," she recited, trying to believe the words as they fell from her. "It would never have worked between us. Scorpius is better off without me and I - " the lie choked on her tongue, and she took another sip of alcohol to soften the taste, "So am I."

"Bullshit." Her friend's tone was blunt, her stare unflinching. "You had it, Rose."

"It?"

"Yes, it." Jemma waved her hands theatrically. "That magic some of us spend our whole lives searching for. You had it, and you threw it away."

"I was seventeen."

"So? I still can't believe it. After everything the two of you went through, that you would just give up like that. And on such a bloody dreamboat."

"Who's a bloody dreamboat?" spoke a voice to their left, and Rose looked up with mingled horror and relief to find Lorcan standing beside the table.

"Hey!" she exclaimed brightly, jumping up to embrace him before shifting her chair over to give him room to sit. "You finally made it."

Lorcan smiled, shrugging off his satchel and sliding in beside her, nodding politely to Jemma as he did. "Yeah, sorry I'm late. We had a report come in last minute from Guatemala about a Snallygaster sighting and dad wanted me to feature it in this week's edition."

Rose nodded vaguely, used to the somewhat incomprehensible projects Lorcan was always working on. He was rare company these days, always either away on location or buried beneath quill and ink. A dream job, he called it, and so Rose did her best to be happy for him, even if she did miss him in the long months he was away.

"Who's a dreamboat?" Lorcan asked again.

"Are you hungry?" Rose asked, trying to make eyes at Jemma to drop the conversation. Her friend gave her a long, shrewd look, then turned to Lorcan with a grin that made Rose wish she had stayed in with a book.

"Rose was just filling me in on the whole Scorpius backstory."

For a moment Lorcan looked nonplussed. After all, the 'S' word, as Rose had - very maturely - taken to calling it, was almost never spoken between them. Not because she was avoiding it, but because everything that could be said already had been. To go over it again was pointless.

"Oh," said Lorcan eventually, his gaze darting to her briefly before returning to Jemma. "Yes, that is quite a story."

"Tell me about it," said Jemma. "I was just telling Rose how badly she muffed it."

Rose shifted on her seat. "Anyone for another round? My shout."

The two of them ignored her completely. "I agree," said Lorcan, startling Rose so much she nearly fell off her bar stool.

She swivelled to face him. "You what?"

Lorcan blinked back at her calmly. "I agree that you muffed it."

"How - what - but - " Rose could feel herself starting to hyperventilate. She eyed Lorcan as though she had never seen him before. "Did you get body switched on your way over here?" she demanded.

The corner of his mouth tilted up, but his eyes were sombre. Instead of answering her, he turned back to Jemma. "I liked Scorpius," he said. "I thought he and Rose were great together. I never agreed that she should break up with him the way that she did."

"Um," Rose attempted to draw their attention back to her. "That isn't how I remember it, actually."

But Jemma had eyes only for Lorcan. "So where is he now?" she asked, propping her chin on her hand as she gazed at him with rapt attention. "Do you know?"

"He went to America," Rose cut in, before her friend could speak. "To study."

"Oh." Jemma's shoulders slumped. "Well that's - "

"He's back, though," said Lorcan mildly.

Rose's head whipped around so fast the room became a temporary blur. For a moment she blinked stupidly at him, sure she must have misheard. "Wh-what?"

"He's back from New York," Lorcan repeated, ignoring her somewhat hysterical reaction with practised ease. "For the summer. At least that's what I've heard."

"That's what you've - who told you that?"

He gave an evasive shrug of his shoulders. Rose stared at him, but before she could interrogate him any further Jemma was demanding her attention again.

"Well here's your chance then!" She was grinning broadly, her brown eyes alight with mischief. "Go get him, girl!"

"That isn't - I couldn't - " her chest felt tight. She briefly contemplated fleeing to the bar, but there was no amount of alcohol that could make this conversation okay. "There's no way Scorpius would want to see me," she finished weakly.

"You don't know that," said Lorcan.

"I do, actually."

"You never know," Jemma pressed. "It sounds like he really cared about you, and love like that doesn't just disappear. Right?" She looked at Lorcan for support, but he only offered a soft smile. "I mean, I suppose he could have found some hot American babe by now and forgotten all about you, but – "

Rose stood up, the sound of her chair scraping on the floor unnaturally loud in the din of the crowded pub. "Listen, I think I'm going to get going - "

Jemma looked crestfallen. "No, stay," she began, but Rose cut her off with a shake of her head.

"It's okay. I'm fine, really. Just tired." Just about to break into a million pieces. She turned to give Lorcan the best smile she could muster. "Catch you soon, alright?"

Her friend's eyes were sad. He nodded, reaching out to give her a one armed hug. "Be brave," he whispered into her hair, and she sucked in a breath, feeling something tight and fragile blossom in her chest. She drew back, wanting to ask what he meant, but he only smoothed a hand down her hair and nudged her gently towards the exit. "See you round then, Rosie posie."

It was a sign of how scattered her thoughts were that she barely even reacted to the pet name. Rose turned and stumbled out of the pub without a backwards glance, only slowing once she was out on the street and taking deep lungfuls of the sticky summer night air.

He's back. He's back. He's -

She raked a hand through her hair, annoyance prickling down her spine at the seemingly inevitable direction of her thoughts. Even after all this time, it took the mere mention of his name for it all to come flooding back - every touch, every kiss, every smile, the exact shade of grey his eyes had been as she'd watched him turn and walk away...

Stupid, it was so stupid. Rose staggered blindly towards her usual apparition spot, cursing herself for succumbing to Jemma's prodding and spilling the whole story, digging up memories that were best left buried. She should have lied, should have made up some lame excuse or just said that Dom was full of it as usual. She certainly shouldn't have stayed around long enough for her friends to plant that treacherous little seed of hope in her chest.

You had it, Rose. That magic some of us spend our whole lives searching for. You had it, and you threw it away!

The worst part of it all, Rose thought as she turned off the main strip and down the familiar little side street, was that she knew her friend was right. She had thrown it away, but it was too late, far too late now, to ever do anything about it.

But he's here. He's back. He's here and you could –

Rose shut her thoughts off like a slamming door, wincing at the abruptness with which she silenced her inner voice. She'd meant what she said to Jemma and Lorcan. There was no way Scorpius would want to see her. He had, most likely, put the whole sorry ordeal behind him. It had been two whole years, after all. And besides, he was a good-looking, wealthy young pureblood. He would have no problem finding plenty to distract himself in New York City. Jemma was right. He had almost certainly moved on.

Or he's had bad relationships and one night stands like you have, and he's single and here and alone and –

No. No. Rose squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the runaway madness of her own thoughts. She wouldn't – she couldn't – start thinking things like this. Seeing him would do nothing but reopen old wounds for both of them.

It wouldn't be fair on him. It wouldn't be right. It would be foolish, silly, impossible…

So why couldn't she bring herself to go home?

Rose realised she had been standing at her apparition spot for several minutes, staring at nothing. With a scowl, she yanked open the door to the phone booth and stepped inside, holding her breath against the musty damp that washed over her. It was hot and sticky in the small space, and Rose could see her reflection in the glass, hollow eyed and pale.

Closing her eyes against the sight, she gripped her wand and apparated home with a snap.

Her little studio apartment was dark and quiet. Rose gazed around at the neat, empty living room, the teacup in the sink, the little pot of basil by the kitchen window, and felt something in her chest constrict. Over a year she'd lived here and she could leave tomorrow and never think about any of it again.

Slowly, her eyes registered a letter resting on the kitchen bench that hadn't been there when she left. Rose drew it towards her, smiling when she recognised Albus' messy scrawl.

Hey Rose!

Hope you're doing awesome. Sydney's bloody brilliant! I've managed to find a sweet room close to the beach with a friend of Teddy's. He said he'll teach me to surf, and he's already lined me up with a job at a wizarding bar in Bondi, so that's pretty great.

Hope everything's good with you. How's London? And your job? Lily says you're working too much – don't forget to go out and have fun some time! You're only young once, after all, and besides – there was a large scratch of ink here as Albus scribbled out whatever he had written – anyway write me back and let's chat soon. The time difference sucks but we'll make it work, I promise.

Give my love to everyone, and stay out of trouble!

Love, Al

PS – Kangaroos are the weirdest things ever.

Rose stared down at the letter, and the accompanying polaroid taped to it that showed a selfie of Albus grinning and waving alongside a kangaroo, feeling absurdly close to tears. She was happy for her cousin, she really was, but his words still felt like tiny little needles pricking into her chest. He had been away for more than six months now, travelling the world, and she missed him more than she would ever have once thought possible.

She missed all of it, if she was honest. Hogwarts, a life that had made sense, Albus and Scorpius by her side, a future that stretched in front of her, bright with promise and opportunity and him.

Rose placed the letter gently back onto the kitchen bench and looked around her. I want to find out who I am, she had told Scorpius the last time she saw him. Had she done that? Sure, she was studying, albeit half-heartedly, and living independently, and working, but who was she really? Rose cast a glance at herself in the hallway mirror. Her dark red hair was chin length courtesy of Dom's 'experimenting' a month ago, and her skin was pale from spending too much time indoors. She was wearing lipstick and a hint of mascara and the overall effect of it made her look older, much older than she remembered.

She had found the answer to her question and it was no different to how she had been at Hogwarts. She was still the same Rose: bookworm, friend, daughter, sister, quiet and stubborn and hopeful and not at all sure of her place in the world. Studious, diligent, lonely.

And happier, always, with him.

Her eyes drifted to the fireplace.

It was stupid. It was crazy. Most likely, she would regret her decision deeply in the morning. But right then, in that moment, Rose knew she could do nothing else.

Without pausing to think, she stalked over to the fire and tossed in a handful of the Floo Powder that sat on the mantelpiece. The flames turned a warm green, and she stepped into them, the words leaving her lungs before she could find a reason to bite them back.

"Malfoy Manor!"

The word dissolved and span. Rose hadn't braced herself properly, and she tilted wildly, her feet shuffling sideways in an attempt to centre herself. The effect of it was that when she reached her destination she came stumbling out like a drunkard, coughing and spluttering onto the plush carpet of Draco Malfoy's living room.

For a moment she swayed on the spot, struggling to regain her balance, unable to believe what she had just let herself do, before a cold, clear voice broke the silence.

"Can I help you, Miss Weasley?"

She froze, heart drumming a wild staccato in her chest, and forced herself to straighten and meet Draco Malfoy's cold grey eyes. He stood in the centre of the room, impeccably dressed, almost as if he had been waiting for her.

"M-Mr Malfoy." She blinked rapidly, trying to convince herself she wasn't dreaming. Her eyes scanned the room quickly, but there was no sign of anyone else. "Uh, hi. I – um, I'm sorry for – for dropping in like this. I was just, um…"

He regarded her the way you might inspect the bottom of your shoe after stepping in a puddle, his gaze tracking over her from head to toe. "Just?" he prompted when she failed to complete her sentence.

She flushed, but made herself keep his gaze. "I was just, um, hoping to see Scorpius."

His lips thinned. "I see," he said in a voice like stone. "And tell me, Rose, to what does my son owe the pleasure?"

She was so startled by his use of her first name she almost didn't register the question. Rose took a deep breath, but found the words she had prepared herself to say wouldn't come. "I – you see the thing is, I – " she coughed, floundering under the look he was giving her. "I know this might seem a – a bit out of the blue, and – and I probably shouldn't have come here like this, but - but the thing is I..." she could feel the words rising up her chest; forced herself to let them free. "The thing is that I love your son, Mr Malfoy."

The statement hung between them. Rose watched Draco's face carefully for any kind of response, and thought she saw something flicker briefly in his eyes. But his mouth remained set in a hard, unforgiving line.

The silence pounded against her eardrums, until Rose couldn't stand it any longer. "I – I know it must sound crazy," she went on breathlessly. "But I – I think I've loved him for a – a really long time.

Still, he said nothing. Rose swallowed hard, wincing as her throat seemed to constrict, the air sucking out of the room as she wilted under the weight of his stare. "And I know I don't – I know I haven't – I mean I just… wanted to see him again, and – and tell him – " the words felt like sandpaper leaving her throat. "Tell him that I'm sorry."

The only sound was the crackle of the flames behind her. Rose stared into Draco Malfoy's face, saw the judgement there, the cold hostility that was like a splash of iced water to her face, waking her up from the delusions she had been sinking under.

"I – I should probably just go," she said weakly, turning back to the fire and reaching blindly for a pinch of Floo Powder. "I'm sorry for coming here like this. It was a mistake. I'll just – "

"You broke his heart, you know."

She stiffened, her breath catching at the words he had spoken, and the raw emotion in his voice. Slowly, she turned back around to face Draco again. He had moved away from her to stare out the window, but she could see his reflection shining against the glass.

"He was so very in love with you," he said softly, speaking as if to himself. Rose held her breath as she waited for him to go on. "So very determined to be with you, despite everything I did to prevent it. Stubborn, like his mother." He gave a dry chuckle, but his eyes in the window shone with pain.

She felt his words like a punch to the gut. She had always known, of course, of Scorpius' dad's disapproval. But there was something about hearing it from the man himself, so casually, that made the breath in her lungs catch.

Draco went on before she could think of an appropriate response. "And instead of supporting him, all I could think was what his relationship with you would mean. For me, for the Malfoy name, for Weasley." He spoke the name with distaste, but Rose barely registered his scorn. She was too busy hanging on his every word. "I thought I knew better, was sensible, thinking like an adult." He gave a dry, bitter laugh. "As though that's ever helped me. All I did was crush him, and now…" he turned from the window towards her, and Rose was taken aback by the pain in his eyes. "Now my only son lives on the other side of the world, and treats me like a stranger."

She stared at him. It had never really occurred to her what Draco Malfoy had made of his son's well publicised decision to study in America. If she had turned her mind to it, she would probably have assumed he was proud. After all, he had sent Scorpius to Durmstrang when he was seventeen without a second thought.

"He's here now," she said.

"He is." Draco's eyes sharpened on her, as if seeing her properly for the first time. "Tell me, what exactly are your intentions with my son?"

It was such a loaded question, Rose couldn't begin to think how to answer. "I…" she bit her lip and straightened her shoulders, casting off any lingering shame or embarrassment. "I honestly don't know."

Draco nodded. If he was surprised by her answer, he didn't show it. "He leaves in less than two weeks," he said. His words settled in the pit of her stomach, heavy and unpleasant.

"Oh."

"Don't reopen wounds you have no intention of healing, Miss Weasley."

She considered this, staring at this man who had once so intimidated her, and now looked so lonely and sad and old. Rose realised she recognised this because she felt the same things in herself; the same sense of loss and regret, the same phantom ache that never quite went away.

"I love him," she said again. "I don't have anything other than that. And I just… think he deserves to know."

Draco smiled, a little sadly. "He's in the garden," he said, then turned and walked out of the room.

Malfoy Manor had an enormous garden, but somehow Rose knew where she had to go.

At the end of a long path lined with myrtle trees was an elaborate marble fountain of a dragon poised mid flight. Emerald green water poured from between its open jaws, and its eyes shone with rubies, illuminated by the dozens of candles that floated magically among the trees.

She found Scorpius sitting by its edge, trailing his fingers in the water. He stiffened at the sound of crunching gravel, his head lifting and eyes widening as he caught sight of her.

She stopped a few paces away, waiting as he rose slowly to his feet. His movements were careful, precise, like she was a wild animal that might flee at sudden movement. Rose felt the overwhelming sensation of his presence wash over her, but made herself stay still. Made herself smile and meet his eyes, as though the sight of him wasn't breaking her heart all over again.

He had changed in the two years since she had last seen him. His hair was longer than it had been at school, and it made him look older, more mature. Almost a stranger.

But his eyes. His eyes were the same.

"Rose." He said her name as if he didn't really believe it was her.

"Hi." She smiled, but he just continued to stare at her, like she was a ghost his subconscious had conjured from the darkness. "Long time no see."

"What are you doing here?"

She inhaled deeply, recognising from his tone that he wasn't interested in pleasantries. She couldn't really blame him. "I, um, heard you were back in England."

His eyes ran over her briefly, then looked away. "Just for a visit."

She nodded, swallowing the lump that had lodged in her throat. "I know."

"Right." There was a long pause, before he cleared his throat and asked, "How did you get here?"

"Floo."

His eyebrows rose, and she knew what he was going to ask before he did. "So did you see – "

"Your dad? Yeah."

"Oh?" His tone was flat, his eyes shifting away again. "That must've been fun."

She looked at him carefully. There was an unmistakable bitterness about him that made her want to draw closer, to run her hands through his hair and kiss his lips until they quirked back into the smile she remembered. Her fingers twitched.

"It wasn't so bad," she said, striving to keep her tone light. "I think he might've even been a tiny bit glad to see me."

Scorpius let out a soft laugh. He looked up at the sky, as if searching for something. "Well, stranger things have happened."

She nodded, and let the silence fall around them again. He was avoiding looking at her, she realised, his gaze skimming everywhere but her face. In contrast, she couldn't seem to take her eyes off him.

"How have you been?" she asked softly.

He shrugged. "Alright, I guess. America is… I like it there." He looked at her briefly, defiantly, then away again. "I just came back for a few weeks. Dad gets lonely now that mum's..." His voice tightened and he cleared his throat. "Now that she's gone."

Rose looked at him standing there in the moonlight, and her heart broke for him. "I'm so sorry," she said, and he shrugged again, almost violently. "I…" there were no words that came close to being adequate, so she settled for the truth. "I was so sorry to hear about your mum."

He kicked at a loose bit of gravel, still not looking at her.

"But I – I'm really happy you've come back."

The soft scoffing noise he made pierced her heart.

"I am," she said, trying to catch his eye. "Really."

His gaze flicked to her briefly. "I didn't think you'd want to see me, to be honest."

"I know," she said, because she could read that fact in the stiffness of his shoulders, the tight way he held himself, the way he couldn't seem to look at her. "But I do."

He shoved his hands in his pockets, letting out a deep exhale. "It's… weird, being back. Everything's different."

She nodded, thinking of her little apartment, of Albus' letter, of Lorcan with his satchel, and of herself, and the haunted hollow look she had seen on her face in the phone booth glass. "Some things haven't changed, though."

He quirked an eyebrow, staring at one of the dragon's claws as if inspecting it for cracks. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." She smiled, and it was genuine, if a little brittle at the edges. "Dom's still annoying as hell. Hugo's still a brat. My parents still work too much. And I…" I still love you. She swallowed. "So do I."

His eyes flicked to her. "You're working, then?"

"Bit of work, bit of study." She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. "I haven't told anyone yet, but I'm thinking of going back to study for real. To… to become a healer."

For the first time he looked at her properly. "Wow, really? Good for you. You'd make a great healer." He frowned a little, as if processing what she had said more fully. "Why haven't you told anyone?"

Now it was her turn to shrug. "I guess… it's just hard to find the right moment." It was a cop out, and Scorpius' expression said as much. "And it's – it's a big change. I don't know how my family will take it, you know how much my dad was set on me being an auror. Plus, well, I've never been very good at telling them things like that."

"But you're telling me."

She nodded.

"Why?"

"I guess I just… trust you." She saw his frown deepen, and hurried on before he could say anything. "So, America. Are you – I mean…" she trailed off, not sure she had the courage to press any deeper, despite how badly she needed to know.

His brow creased in confusion. "Am I what?"

"Are you…" Be brave. Lorcan's voice echoed in her head. Rose took another deep breath, and threw caution to the wind. "Are you seeing anyone?"

Scorpius' eyebrows shot upwards, and for a long moment he simply stared at her.

"In – in America," she clarified pointlessly, when he made no sign of wanting to answer her. "I mean, you've been over there for a while now, so I just thought that maybe – " maybe you found someone beautiful and perfect and forgot all about me – "maybe you might be seeing someone," she finished weakly.

Scorpius was no longer avoiding her gaze. Now he was staring at her so intently it was like he was trying to see inside her mind.

"I – I know it's probably none of my business," she went on when he still didn't say anything, the words tripping over themselves in her haste. Rose could feel that she was blushing, her skin clammy and hot despite the rapidly cooling weather. "And – and feel free to tell me it's none of my business, really. I just – I shouldn't have asked, I'm sorry, it's just…" You let it slip, Rose. You let it slip and now you're going to have to smile politely while he tells you all about her and then walk away as if nothing happened and –

"No."

Her thoughts came to a grinding halt so abruptly that for a moment she could only blink at him stupidly. "Wh-what?"

The edge of his mouth quirked, the merest shadow of a smile. "I said no, Rose, I'm not seeing anyone at the moment."

"Oh." She swallowed thickly, her pulse quickening as she tried not to let too many of the turbulent emotions she was feeling show on her face. "Oh, well, that's – I mean – "

"How about you?" he stared at her, his expression giving nothing away.

She shook her head without hesitation. "No. No, I'm not seeing anyone."

He tilted his head, as if this surprised him. "Really? I figured you and Scamander would be going steady by now."

Despite her determination not to rise to any bait, Rose felt her lips purse at Scorpius' casual mention of Lorcan's name. "Well, we're not," she said, hearing the heat in her own voice. "He's just a friend, and besides – " He knows I'm still in love with you. She swallowed the words back down. "He's way too busy with work to have a relationship with anyone."

"And you? Are you too busy as well?"

The abruptness of his question threw her, and Rose floundered. "M-me? No, I'm not too busy, I just…" she swallowed, her voice barely loud enough to hear over the sound of the fountain. "I just… never really found anyone."

He shook his head as if in disbelief. "Smart, beautiful witch like you? I find that hard to believe, somehow."

His casual words took her breath away. Rose tried to suck in a deep breath, but her lungs refused to obey her. Merlin, she wanted him to kiss her.

"You see the thing is…" she began, taking half a step toward him. He didn't move, but she fancied she saw his muscles tense. "The thing is that I…"

He waited, but her tongue seemed to have welded to the roof of her mouth. She drew in a shuddering breath, her hands trembling as she clasped them together in front of her.

"You see, the thing is – the thing is that… that I…"

He shook his head when she trailed off again. "It's okay, Rose. You don't have to explain yourself to me." He made a funny gesture, as if indicating the two of them standing there in the semi dark, an ocean of unspoken things between them. "You don't owe me anything."

"That's not – "

"It's all good." His smile was sad, his eyes remote, as if he was seeing straight through her. "I'm only here for one more week. Let's not – "

"I really screwed up, okay!" The words left her in a rush, and she saw Scorpius jerk as if she'd fired a hex at him.

"What?"

Rose inhaled desperately, still trying fill her lungs. "I – I was wrong. That's what I came here to tell you. That I was wrong, and I - I should never have let you walk away like that. I should have – " she stared at him, trying to read the expression on his face – "I should have held on to you with both hands and told you how much you meant to me."

He stared at her as though she was speaking German.

"I was just – I was so scared," she went on, her voice thin and wobbly but distinctly audible. "I was so scared of how much I loved you. How much power you had over me, how much you could hurt me. When you disappeared without a word it - it broke me, Scorpius. And I – I was so scared you were going to do that again."

He took half a step towards her. "Rose – "

"No, listen," she cut him off, almost desperately, because she knew if he started speaking – calm, rational, reasonable words – she would lose the courage to continue. And she needed to continue, to draw these words out of the hole in her chest where they had been living for far too long. "I know – I know it's too late to be saying this, and I'm sorry for just – just coming here like this, and – and – " she raked a hand through her hair and winced as her fingers caught on a snag. "But I needed to see you. I really, really needed to see you."

She made herself meet his eyes, let herself absorb the shock and wariness in his gaze. "I needed to see you and - and tell you how sorry I am, and - and how much I r-regret the way things ended between us." Oh Merlin, her voice was breaking. She wouldn't cry. Don't fucking cry. "I – I just needed you to know that."

She bit her tongue to stop any more words pouring out, and let the silence wrap back around them, unbroken save for the ragged sound of her own breathing, and that stubborn pounding of her heart. For his part Scorpius said nothing. He just stared at her, as blankly and numbly as if he didn't recognise her at all.

Finally, she could stand it no longer. "Okay," she smacked her palms together, the sound abnormally loud in the stilted silence. "Well, I guess that – I mean that's – anyway I just wanted to – to tell you that, I guess. So, um, I'll just – all the best with – with everything, and – and America, and – and I'll see you, I suppose, um…" oh Merlin, stop talking. "I'm just going to, um, stop… talking now."

She turned like a robot, took half a dozen mechanical steps, then span back around. "Actually," she said, barely recognising the sound of her own voice. "I just realised I'm not done."

She paced back towards him. Scorpius hadn't moved. He stood there, his expression oddly frozen, lips parted like he was about to speak but had forgotten what he wanted to say.

"I'm not done," she said, stopping a foot away from him. "Because I don't want to be that person who comes all this way and – and then doesn't finish what they came to say." She looked at him expectantly, but he just watched her in silence. "So - so I am going to keep talking until you tell me to stop, okay?"

He gave the merest of nods, his gaze fixed on her face.

Right, she definitely had his attention. Now to not screw it up.

"Alright, here goes," she said, squaring her shoulders. "You see, Scorpius, the thing is." Rose took a deep breath and let it out again. Fuck it, here goes nothing. "The thing is that I'm still in love with you."

The silence that followed this pressed down on her like a physical weight. Rose swallowed thickly, then pushed on, drowning in the way he was looking at her.

"I don't think I ever stopped loving you. I think – I think you were the best thing that ever happened to me, and that letting you go the way I did was the biggest mistake of my life, and man have I made some mistakes." She choked a laugh, though the situation felt far from amusing. "And look, I don't expect you to say anything, and I know I have no right to – "

"Rose."

" – to expect anything from you, but I just needed to tell you – to tell you the truth about the way that I felt and for you to know that I – "

"Rose."

" – that I never stopped loving you, and I wish I could go back and do things differently and – "

"Rose!" Scorpius stepped towards her, closing the distance between them all at once. She finally registered that he was saying her name. "Breathe."

She inhaled a desperate gasp of air. The world stopped spinning, and she huffed a slightly hysterical laugh. "S-see," she said, her vision suddenly full of him as he moved even closer, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders. "I c-can't even breathe properly without you. How – how am I supposed to – "

He touched a finger to her lips. The sudden contact sent sparks shooting down her spine.

She swallowed thickly. "Wh-what are you doing?"

The corner of Scorpius' mouth quirked upwards. "Rose Weasley," he spoke her name quietly into the silence, his gaze on her so intense she felt her skin start to burn.

"Y-yes?"

He cupped her face with one hand, the warmth of his palm soaking down into her bones. "You are, without doubt, the most infuriating witch I have ever met."

Then his mouth was on hers, fierce and strong. His spare arm wrapped around her and lifted her up, and she vaguely registered the sensation of her feet leaving the ground. She gasped in surprise, her mouth opening to his almost desperately, her arms snaking around his neck and her heart beating hard and fast within her chest as he span them round and round until the world blurred into oblivion.

When her feet touched the earth again she stumbled, clinging to his shoulders like a lifeline. "Oh Merlin," she whispered, pressing her forehead into his chest and inhaling his achingly familiar scent. "Am - am I dreaming?"

She heard Scorpius' deep throated chuckle. "I was just thinking the same thing," he said, his arm tightening around her waist. "Fuck, Rose, I've really missed you."

The ground had shifted so rapidly beneath her feet that her head was spinning. Rose lifted her head to meet his eyes, trying to believe this was really happening, that he was kissing her and holding her and looking at her with so much tenderness, the kind of look she had never expected to see on his face again.

"You – you – I wasn't expecting you to do that," she murmured, her voice embarrassingly thin.

"Neither was I," said Scorpius. Something shifted in his expression, and he made to release her, but Rose tightened her grip in response.

"I'm so glad you did, though."

He stared down at her, a question in his eyes that Rose didn't even hesitate in answering. "You are?"

"Yes," she said, nodding so rapidly her head hurt. "Yes. The truth is..." she flushed, but made herself finish. "I've dreamt about you doing that for the last two years straight."

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers trail along her jawline. "You could've told me."

It sounded so simple, when he said it like that. "I - I guess I didn't know how."

"You managed okay just now."

"I did?" Rose thought of the garbled confessions that had spilled from her mere moments ago, and fought back a wince.

His thumb ran over her lower lip. "It was a very impressive speech," he murmured, leaning close as though to kiss her. "But you could've just cut to the chase and told me you were still crazy about me, Weasley."

She choked and pulled back to look at him, realising with a jolt that he was practically purring. "Are you preening, Malfoy, for Godric's sake."

His answering smile dwarfed hers. "Maybe a little."

"Only a little?" She ran her fingers along the nape of his neck; watched his eyes darken at her touch until they were molten silver. "Well, we can't have that. Not when your head's so big already."

A look of mock offence crossed his features, and he seized her hand where it was playing with the strands of his hair, bringing it to his lips instead. "I'll have you know my head's the perfect size."

She smirked, although truth be told his proximity was doing dangerous things to her insides. "Any more flattery, Scorpius, and your ego will exceed the weight limit for international travel."

She had meant it as a joke, but the sudden mention of America seemed to cast a shadow over the scene. Scorpius' expression sobered abruptly, and his eyes lost their molten quality. His fingers tightened around hers, and when he spoke he took a deep breath first, as if bracing himself.

"Rose…"

Something like panic fluttered against her ribcage at the expression on his face. She couldn't imagine she was going to like whatever he was about to say. How could she, when reality stretched like a tunnel in front of them, bleak and unforgiving.

"Before you say anything," she said, speaking quickly to pre-empt whatever he was about to say. "I want to tell you what I should have told you that day by the lake at Hogwarts." She watched his face tighten with the memory, and hurried on before the shadows could deepen. "Which is that I love you, Scorpius Malfoy, with my whole heart, and - and I'll wait for you, for however long it takes. For – for forever, even, if that's – "

He snatched the words out of her mouth, lips pressing hungrily against hers. His hands cradled the sides of her face and she felt her knees go weak, leaning into him for support as he tilted her face to deepen the kiss. His scent engulfed her, and she whimpered, the overwhelming sensation of him eliminating everything else, erasing the whole world until there was only him and his lips and his arms and the darkness that surrounded them.

When they broke apart, they were both breathing hard. Scorpius pushed her hair back from her face, his gaze pinning her to the spot.

"Come with me," he whispered.

She gaped at him, not at all sure she had heard him correctly. "Wh-what?"

"Come with me," he said again, louder. His hands were still on her face, stroking, caressing, as though he could not bear the thought of letting her go. "To America."

Her mouth opened, then closed again. Thoughts and images swirled through her mind, each one more fanciful than the last.

Scorpius kissed her cheek, then her temple, then her lips, before drawing back again. "I'm not kidding," he said. "I know it sounds crazy, but I mean it. Come with me."

"To America," she whispered, barely able to believe the words as they left her lungs. The whole night had become surreal, magical in a way she couldn't even begin to make sense of. Had it really only been a few hours ago that she had sat in a grimy little pub with Jemma and Lorcan, talking about how Scorpius would have no desire to see her? That conversation felt like a lifetime ago. "With you. Go to America with you."

"Yes." His gaze was still on her, unwavering. Scorpius seemed buoyant, even in the face of her stunned silence. "You could study in New York, Rose. Some of the best schools and healers in the wizarding world are there. Or – or you could do whatever you wanted." His gaze raked over her face, as if trying to decipher her expression, before he went on. "It wouldn't have to be forever. But for now, right now, if you want to be with me, then come with me."

It was too much, too sudden. Rose could feel the emotion building in her eyes. "You really want that?" she asked, her voice hoarse and raw with everything that was coursing through her. "For me to come with you?"

He kissed her, and there was no hesitation in his voice as he responded. "More than anything. Fuck, I thought I'd lost you forever, Rose. I'm not about to lose you again. I want to be with you, and I don't want to waste time waiting anymore."

"I don't want to wait either," she said, a little kernel of something precious and magical coiling in her stomach. "But I mean, going to America, just like that, it's crazy. Isn't it?"

"Probably."

"But… I want to." Her fingers curled in his shirt as she spoke, and she felt the warmth of his skin through the thin fabric. " I want to be with you. I don't want you to leave. Not without me. Not anymore."

He kissed her.

"Then come with me."

"It's crazy."

"Fine, then we're crazy." His lips trailed to the hollow of her throat and she arched her back, the stars swimming above her.

"We're crazy," she whispered, clinging to his shoulders as his teeth grazed her shoulder.

"I've always been crazy about you, Rose." He lifted his head to smile at her, and there was such genuine warmth in it she felt her heart melting. She'd almost forgotten how beautiful he looked when he smiled like that. "Ever since I first bloody laid eyes on you."

She kissed him, and laughed, a clear sound that rang in the space between them. "I guess I am too then," she said, then lifted her face so she could yell the words to the sky. "I'm bloody crazy about you, Scorpius Malfoy!"

He pulled her down abruptly, stealing the breath from her lungs, and the world lost focus for a while as his mouth rediscovered hers. His fingers cradled her face and she sank into his touch, feeling the rightness of it in every part of her, in all the nerve endings of her body, like a glass of water after years of thirst.

Maybe she was crazy. Maybe they both were. But, thought Rose, as his arms held her to his chest and his lips moved over hers in a way she had once thought would only ever feature in her dreams, maybe crazy was the best way to be.

Maybe everything was going to be just fine.

.

A/N: There will be an epilogue to close this story out, hopefully soon. It's hard to believe it's coming to an end. Despite how long it's taken, I'm still incredibly proud of getting this done. If you've made it this far with me, be sure to let me know.

Till next time

~A