Chapter 63

After a minute of gentle, sweet kissing, Rose pulled back slightly. She felt so overwhelmed with conflicting emotions, but knew that she still wanted to be close to him. Without giving it much thought at all she tightened her grip on him. They held each other as they caught their breath, with Scorpius refusing to release his hold on her too as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Why did you do that?" Rose murmured into the small space between them.

"I shot for goal," Scorpius joked, referring to her early Quidditch reference. His smile grew as he was rewarded with a small laugh from his redhead beauty. She continued to stare almost longingly into his eyes.

"You can't just kiss me whenever you mess up, you know," Rose said seriously, but the playful twinkle in her eyes and the way her fingers toyed with his hair at the back of his head told Scorpius that she wasn't as angry at him as she had been before. "It doesn't fix anything."

"I know," he replied with a sigh. "But I just wanted to show you that I'm still in this. I still want you," he added, squeezing her a little tighter against him. "I am so sorry if I made you think that wasn't the case, because it's all that I have thought for the last three weeks."

"Then why wait so long to see me?" Rose asked.

"I guess, I was insecure about whether you actually want me, because it happened so fast and I figured once you had the chance to think it over you wouldn't be so convinced to start something with me." She didn't interrupt him but let him get it off his chest. However, Rose almost wanted to laugh because his insecurity was the same as hers. They had both been thinking that the other would back out after getting some distance. "Plus I wanted to be there for my parents first and I feared that I would put them second or even third on my list, because I know that I would want to be with you all the time. Turns out jokes on me though because you were still first. Like I said you are all I thought about since that night."

"You're all I have thought about too," Rose admitted with a smile, before pressing her lips to his again swiftly.

"Good," Scorpius smirked. "So what happens now? Because I'm not going to avoid you any longer, you're stuck with me."

"Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into," she teased.

"Hey," Scorpius exclaimed, pinching her playfully where he held her on her hip. They both laughed before Scorpius lifted her up, and Rose immediately wrapped her legs around his waist as they brought their lips together. Rose pulled back before Scorpius could deepen the kiss, not wanting to get too carried away.

"We take this slow, okay? Get to know each other again and see where this goes," Rose said, playing with the hair above his neck.

"Okay," he agreed with a smile.

"And we keep this to ourselves for a bit."

"What?"

"We don't need all the questions, opinions and pressure. We can just enjoy this, each other, before they all stick their noses in," Rose clarified, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Okay, but Albus kind of already knows. Sorry," Scorpius replied.

"So that's why Alison has been so weird lately," Rose thought out loud. "Fine, they can know, but no one else, okay?"

"Sure, just as long as you're mine and I'm yours," Scorpius agreed. Rose's heart rate spiked as he said those words, and she could not help the scared tremor that shot through her body at the same time as she smiled happily back at him. This is real and he was serious, a fact that sent both good and bad quivers through her.

"Even though technically we haven't even had a first date yet, yes, mine and yours," she replied, melting into his kiss that followed.

"What are you doing tonight?" Scorpius asked as he lowered her back down to the ground.

"Probably going home to eat, then read and then sleep. Why?"

WellElla invited your brother out to celebrate her new job with some friends and he asked if I could go as moral support or something. So, I was wondering if you'd consider being my wingman for the job?" he asked with a charming smirk across his face. "It could be fun. We could just hang out and make sure your brother doesn't embarrass himself too much. What do you say?"

"That's actually sounds a lot harder than you think. Hugo is really good at embarrassing himself, and if he isn't, then he is embarrassing me," Rose teased, getting a good laugh out of Scorpius. "So, I don't know if-"

"I promise I will make it worth your while," Scorpius cut in and Rose blushed as she noticed his blue eyes darken for a second and he held her tighter.

Wellthen, how could I say no," she finally replied.

Malfoy Manor

"Do you remember when we properly met for the first time?" Astoria spoke softly, her vulnerability seeping through, as her fingers skilfully and serenely glided across the keys. "At that Muggle music store?" she prompted.

"How could I forget? You took my breath away, you were so beautiful," Draco answered, catching her eye and causing a sweet blush to rise in her cheeks. "I couldn't take my eyes off you while you played that piano. You were in your own little world and all I wanted to do was escape mine."

"I looked up and found you staring at me-"

"And sent a ferocious glare my way," he added with a smile.

"Which you took as an invitation to sit down next to me," she continued, a small chuckle escaping her lips.

"Glaring or not, who wouldn't want to sit next to such a beautiful girl?"

"Then you introduced yourself to me as Drake."

"And you told me to get lost."

"But you never did."

"So instead you left."

"And then every time I came back to the store, you were always there."

"So, you told me to leave you alone."

"But you never did, and I got used to you being there whenever I played."

"I asked you if you could teach me."

"I said yes."

"And you told me your name was Tori."

"Everything was so much simpler back then," Astoria said with a sigh as she looked back down at the black and white keys in front of her, her hands stopping to rest upon them.

"When I thought you were a Muggle and you were pretending you didn't know who I really was? Yeah, that was really simple," Draco commented sarcastically.

"But it was because you didn't have to be anyone but who truly are, and I got to see you, the real you," Astoria explained, her gaze finding his as she barely kept her emotions at bay. "We could just be Drake and Tori when we were together, not Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass. We promised that we'd always stay Drake and Tori to each other, but we didn't keep it. Things changed, somewhere along the way we let Draco and Astoria get in the way," she stood up and left the room, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Two hours later, after freshening up and changing at Hugo's place, the two mates Apparated just down the road from the Dragons Den. Scorpius couldn't help but notice that Hugo got increasingly more nervous the closer they got to the club.

"Will you relax, it's going to be fine," he said to his friend, nudging him with his arm as they walked, both his hands tucked into his long grey coat pockets.

"That's easy for you to say, Mr Charismatic," Hugo muttered. "Like you would know, you have never been in this situation."

"I am serious, everything will be fine. Trust me," Scorpius reassured him.

Hugo took a deep breath and said, "Okay, if you say so."

"Good," the blonde smirked, turning his attention back towards the street ahead.

"Hey, what happened to you today?" Hugo asked after a moment, drawing Scorpius' focus back to the redhead.

"What do you mean?"

"Today, when I came to see you, you were miserable and didn't want a bar of me or going out tonight. Now, all of a sudden, you're saying everything will be fine, being all cheery and excited," Hugo looked at him suspiciously. "What's up with that?"

"What's wrong with being a supportive and positive friend?" Scorpius answered as confidently as he could. Hugo continued to stare quizzically before deciding to let it go for now.

"Okay, fine. If you don't want to tell me yet, that's fine. As long as I know before Albus, it's all good," Hugo said with a smile, before feeling anxious again. "Do I look okay?" he asked, looking down at his attire. He wore black jeans and shoes, coupled with a sky blue dress shirt and a thick black coat. Scorpius, on the other hand, wore a dark blue dress shirt and denims under his grey coat with leather shoes.

"You look fine," Scorpius replied. "Now stop worrying."

"Okay, I will," Hugo replied as the club came into sight.

It was a recent addition to Diagon Alley, barely a year old, a nightclub of sorts. It was someone's fantastic idea to have a place that catered for the young adults of the wizarding world in this new Muggle influenced society. And it was paying dividends, quickly becoming the most popular place in town. If anyone ever doubted that fact, the queue to get into the club clearly proved this was the place to be. As they walked past the others in line towards the front, Hugo got stopped by a few fans.

"Weasley, how's training going?" "Hugo, could I have your autograph?" a few called out. Scorpius waited and smiled as he watched his friend humbly talk to his fans. Eventually, they continued to the front door.

"I hate how they are still waiting out there and we are just going to walk in," Hugo said to Scorpius after getting a wave and nod from the doorman to enter. "Makes me feel like a pompous prick," the redhead added as his face contorted in a way that would have most assuming he had just drunk a mouthful goblin piss. Scorpius let out a bark of laughter at Hugo's expression, dropping his arm across his shoulders as they went through the door into what looked like a small foyer.

"Steady on mate, stop being so hard on yourself," Scorpius said as they both shrugged of their coats and passed them to the attendants to stow away. "You worked your arse off in school and now you're living your dream. You deserve it and all that comes with the dream," Scorpius assured his mate confidently, while they made their way down the long hallway leading to the energy packed part of the club.

"Again with the pick me up speech and all the positivity. Something is definitely up with you," Hugo commented. He didn't have to say thank you for the support, Scorpius could see the gleam in his eyes that said Hugo appreciated it. "I am telling you I will find out what it is eventually," he added, turning to face the blonde as the pair came to a stop in front of the thick black curtain that separated them from the crazy energetic filled atmosphere in the next room.

"Yeah sure, but not tonight," he smirked. "Are you ready to have a good time?"

"I don't know about you guys but I am," a voice said back at the other end of the hallway. Both men turned their heads to see Rose Weasley taking off her black trench coat and handing it to the attendant with a polite "Thank you," revealing the short, figure-fitting black dress she wore underneath. Scorpius' jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide as they scanned the length of her body. The sound of her heels on the smooth floor as she descended down the hallway towards them only seemed to make the sight before him even greater. He couldn't recall a time where Rose had worn anything like that. To Scorpius there were only two words that described how she looked in that moment: sexy and hot. It was lucky for him that Hugo was more interested in why his sister was there than how his mate looked at her.

"What are you doing here?" he called out to her.

"What? I'm not allowed to be here? To go out and have a good time?" she challenged. The closer she came the more Scorpius noticed what a truly excellent job she had done on her makeup as well. He was mesmerised by her deep red rose lipstick.

"Yeah, but you're old and boring, with responsibilities and stuff," Hugo shot back.

"Hey, firstly, I am the same age as Scorpius and he isn't old," Rose argued with her brother, a smile on her face as she noticed Scorpius not even trying to hide his obvious stare. "And secondly, stop making it seem like I have a husband and a kid at home," she added taking her never-going-to-back-down stance - hands on hips and eyebrow raised- daring the offender to continue at their own peril. Scorpius had seen her stance probably more than Hugo had. However, it had never quite had this effect on him. He desperately fought the urge to reach out and touch her.

"Whatever," Hugo grumbled, before he turned and pushed his way through the curtain. As soon as her brother left, Rose went to turn her attention to the handsome blonde, only to immediately find herself pushed up against the wall with his lips crashing down on hers. It happened so fast that she barely had time to react; but once her mind caught up, she kissed him back just as passionately. She couldn't stop the moan escaping as she felt him press his body further into hers. One of her legs arched up around his hip as her hands desperately gripped his back, wanting him even closer. His lips moved away from hers only to taste her skin as he dotted kisses down the length of her neck. Rose sucked in deep breaths, trying to steady her heart, as her hands slid up into his hair.

"Are you trying to kill me?" she felt Scorpius say against her skin. Rose just gave him a light giggle as a response, seemingly unable to give him anything more until she caught her breath. "Or are you going for torture? Because you're on the right track, I couldn't think of anything worse than trying to resist you in that dress with your brother around," he continued, sharing a little laugh with her before pressing his lips to hers again. "If you couldn't already tell from my reaction, then I have to inform you that you look absolutely stunning tonight."

"Good," Rose said, finally gaining the ability to speak. She pressed her lips to his one final time before pushing him away. "Because I was going for something more along the lines of punishment," she continued as they fixed their shambled appearance, a smirk clearly visible upon her lips. Scorpius growled as he gripped her hips pulling her to him. She used her thumb to quickly wipe away some of her lipstick from his lips before she pushed him away. "You can look but not touch," Rose said, turning away from him towards the curtain. Her grin grew brighter as she felt his stare on her behind.

"I don't know if I can do that," Scorpius said quietly to himself, but she heard him.

"Bet you wished you hadn't ignored me now?" she threw at him over her shoulder, accompanied with a cheeky grin as she pushed the curtain aside.

"Oh, you have no idea," she heard him groan, just before they entered the club.

Hello everyone :) I know its been ages, i hope you haven't given up on this story. For the last 3 months I have been travelling my way through the UK, Europe and US and have found it difficult to upload or do much writing. As most of you all know, life moves pretty fast and all we can do is try our best ti keep up and make sure we don't miss anything :) So now that i am back, i will hopefully be able to find more time and keep updating :)

Please review to let me know your thoughts :) I hope you enjoy this chapter and I also hope you see another one soon!

Ps: if anyone is more interested in what I did and saw on my travels, if you have any questions please feel free to send me a message :)