A/N First of many Rose/Scorp fics. Thank you to Scarlett71177 for the beta!

"Scorpius is coming home with us for the summer hols, Rose!" Albus Potter said as he sat next to his cousin Rose at Gryffindor table. "His dad's just kicked him out and Mum and Dad invited him to stay."

Rose heaved a sigh and put her head in her hands. Why me? she thought. "That's great, Al." But it wasn't, not really, for Rose and Hugo were also going home with Al while their parents were off on a second or third honeymoon in Spain.

The subject of their conversation sauntered up to the table and flopped on the bench next to Rose so that their hips were touching. This could not be happening to her. "Did you hear the news, Rosie?" he asked, grinning. She glared as he loosened his tie. "Father heard I was dating a Muggleborn and just booted me right out of the manor. Said I was an ungrateful little Gryffindor bas… well, you get the point."

Scorpius and his father had never really gotten on. It wasn't much of a secret these days. From the moment the Sorting Hat had shouted Gryffindor atop Malfoy's head, their relationship had been going downhill. Then, he befriended the Potters and Weasleys. Over Christmas and Easter holidays this year, Scorpius had spent very little time at his parents' home in Scotland, instead opting to spend it with Albus and James Potter just down the lane from Rose's own home. She had been forced to put up with him on an increasingly regular basis and wasn't sure how much more she could handle. She might just have to move in with her grandparents straight away.

It wasn't that Rose and Scorpius didn't get along, because they did, but it was that Rose was head over heels in love with the prat. And the prat was blind where she was concerned. And what was this about him dating a Muggleborn witch? She just did not want to know these things.

The two days prior to departure were spent packing and lazing around the castle. Before Rose knew what was happening, she was hugging her roommates goodbye and meeting her Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry at King's Cross Station. The whole affair was rather low key and soon they were driving up to the Potter Cottage in her granddad's old Ford Anglia. Apparently, it had come home after the war, or some such nonsense.

The Potter's home was a large, stone cottage in the country outside of Ottery St. Catchpole. The windows were all open, and the curtains were flapping in the breeze. English roses and ivy rambled up the structure and an owl sat perched on the chimney. Just down the lane, Rose could see her own home, much the same style, balanced on top of a rolling hillside.

"We'll take you and Hugo home to gather some of your things after supper," Aunt Ginny said catching Rose looking down the lane.

"Yeah, okay," was all she said before trudging upstairs to her cousin Lily's third floor bedroom. The walls were whitewashed, and the spare bed in her room was just where it had always been, right under the window overlooking the Quidditch Pitch in the back. Lily's bed was in the far corner of the room, the darkest corner, so the sun wouldn't wake her at an ungodly hour during the summer.

Rose dropped her trunk on the floor and then flopped on the bed. An hour later, her Aunt called her down for the most delicious lamb stew. Rose ate silently choosing not to join in all the Quidditch talk, and then retired to bed.

The two weeks went by in a blur of Quidditch, swimming, and studying on Rose's part. Rose felt for sure that her head was going to explode if she didn't get out of this house with all her cousins and that Malfoy prat.

Of course, since Rose was trying to keep a distance, he took it upon himself to hang around her more often than not. He sat next to her at every meal no matter if they were at the table or in the garden. He even tried to study with her but would become bored and pull out a comic. Instead of getting over him, Rose was falling for him even more, and there wasn't a blasted thing she could do about it.

She remembered her father's words all too clearly from that September the first just before she boarded the Hogwarts Express, i "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie…. Don't get too friendly with him though Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood." /iAnd it wasn't just those things; it was every time Scorpius was mentioned! Her father made sure to question whether or not she was outranking him academically or how many more goals she made during the Quidditch matches. He made it out to be some sort of bloody competition, and Rose hated it. She also knew that being friends with Scorpius was okay, but if her father got wind of anything more, she would never hear the end of it.

She sighed into her novel and Scorpius looked up from his own book, "Everything alright?" The sun was glinting off his silvery blond hair and his gray eyes were pinning her with his gaze. She shrugged and looked back at her book.

Scorpius reached out and pulled her book down, forcing Rose to look up. "What's going on? You aren't acting like yourself."

"And just how am I acting then, like a flobber worm?" she retorted, rolling her eyes.

Scorpius shook his head, "Not what I mean. You just aren't quite—oh, I don't know," he struggled for the right word, "happy?"

Rose's eyes widened. She hadn't meant for anyone to see what she was feeling, least of all Scorpius. "What do you mean?" she asked accusingly.

Shaking his head, he muttered, "Never mind," stood up and walked away from her.

A few moments later, Rose let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. This was going to be a long summer, she mused. Watching Scorpius mount his broom and kick off, Rose felt worse than ever. He flew with reckless abandon, up and down the pitch, diving until she almost called out to him, only to pull up at the last second and skim his toes across the field. He seemed—almost angry. Rose packed up her book and novel and took off walking toward her home, she needed some time alone.

Scorpius watched Rose walking through a field of high grass and contemplated following her. The sundress she wore bared her freckled bronze shoulders. Her long brown hair was plaited and swung with her hips as she made her way toward the cottage that he knew belonged to her family.

He knew there was something wrong with her, despite what she wanted him to believe. Scorpius could see the sadness in her eyes. When they played Quidditch with her cousins, she wasn't really trying, which was so unlike Rose. Normally she went into everything high spirited and hot headed. Today, when Al had fouled her and she shrugged it off and let it go, Scorpius knew for sure that something was bothering her.

It was quite a distance around the meadow, but Scorpius flew low and slowly, lest he catch someone's attention. Upon arriving at the Weasley's, he was unsure what good it had done to come all this way, after all, if she had gone inside, he couldn't very well go barging into the place, could he?

Luckily, as he skirted the back side of the property through a grove of old trees, he caught sight of her yellow dress. She was sitting in the very same grove on an old swing that hung from the branches of a gnarled oak. She was swinging back and forth and plucking the petals off a rather large daisy.

Rose was the picture of innocence. His stomach did a somersault. He had liked Rose since third year. He had dated a couple times, of course, but nothing serious. He hadn't even really been dating a Muggleborn girl when his father had kicked him out. He had gone to Hogsmeade with her once with the intention of keeping an eye on Rose and the Finnigan boy, who'd asked Rose out.

Unfortunately, Scorpius had run into an old friend of his Grandfather Malfoy, and the news had traveled rapidly to his father. Granted, at the first sign of a romance involving Rosie Weasley, Scorpius would have been kicked out immediately anyway. He'd always been warned to stay away from her, as it was an unsuitable match. He'd never really cared what his father thought of him, not since he was a small boy, but he'd always worried what people would think of her should they be together. It was better this way. At least now, if Rose returned his affection, she would not have the weight of his family's disapproval upon her shoulders.

Rose looked up and met his gaze. She was startled to find the object of her thoughts hovering less than fifty feet from where she sat. His gray eyes were focused on hers. There was an intensity in their depth that she did not recognize..

As he moved forward, Rose's heart beat heavily in her chest. The flower in her hand was forgotten. He kneeled in front of her, putting his hands on her shoulders and Rose forgot her own name. The feelings had never been quite so intense before, but his touch had never been so deliberate.

"I followed, you, I hope you don't mind," Scorpius said somewhat sheepishly. His normal confidence had disappeared and what remained was this shy boy that Rose hardly recognized.

Rose shook her head, "I just came to clear my head. It is my favorite spot to think," she explained to him. "My dad put the swing here when I was maybe three or four, and it has been my favorite ever since. We used to have picnics by the stream, and I'd pretend I was a fairy princess flying through the trees." Rose smiled fondly at the memories, "One time, I accidentally Apparated into the top of that tree over there while I was pretending," she pointed at the tallest tree in the grove. "I think I was seven. It was a good hour before James found me crying, and Mum had to Apparate me out."

Scorpius was smiling when Rose looked back at him, "Your family is great," he said simply and Rose smiled sadly knowing what had been unsaid. She did not pity him for his family, but she did wish he'd grown up around a family like her own. Rose wanted to give him the love he was lacking in his own home.

Without thinking, Rose reached out and touched his cheek. It was rough with stubble, and Rose itched to feel it against her own cheek. She sighed and dropped her hand into her lap. This could never work, no matter how much she wanted it to. Their fathers were too set in their ways.

"Rose?" he asked, searching her face, "Are you really alright? I—I'm concerned, honestly. I'm not trying to be patronizing." He was apologetic. Rose shook her head and looked down at her hands. If he'd have just been rude, even the slightest bit offensive, she would have told him to bugger off, but instead he was sweet and gentle. She felt the first tear slide down her cheek. It was her undoing.

Scorpius moved forward, enveloping Rose in his arms like a small child. "Shhh," he soothed her, and she just cried harder. Rose buried her head in his neck and sobbed. She'd always thought he was just being thick toward her, never flirting and always dating other girls under her nose. She'd never really thought about what it meant to date Scorpius Malfoy, and what it might have meant for him to date her, the burden of their families. Rose had never really thought that by turning away from her, he may have been protecting her as well.

He was rubbing small circles on her back as she slid down into the dirt with him. She wanted to be closer, to be held tighter, and the swing was making things difficult. Scorpius plopped down backwards with an iOoof/i and gathered Rose to his chest again. She'd stopped sobbing now and was content to sit on his lap, her arms around his waist. He was being kind to a crying girl, and if this was the closest she could get, she would take it.

A few minutes passed and they sat in silence, hardly daring to breath for fear that their moment would be over too soon. Scorpius was the first to loosen his hold, but only just. He moved back enough to look down at Rose, "Are you going to tell me why you've just cried all over me, or am I going to have to drag it out of you?" he asked teasingly.

Looking into Scorpius' eyes, she could hardly lie to him, not while he was sitting there, looking at her with such intense sincerity. But how to tell her best boy-pal that she had fallen for him but was afraid to actually date him because her father might kill him or disown her was beyond Rose's expertise. Ask her to solve an Arithmancy problem any day, but this was just ridiculous.

Rose's stomach was in knots. She swallowed hard and licked her lips. Scorpius' gaze dropped to her mouth and, if she didn't know any better, he was about to kiss her. "I have to go," Rose said and hopped up abruptly, running toward her garden.

"Rose! Wait up!" he sprang up and ran after her, catching her quickly by her wrist and twirling her back into his arms almost effortlessly. She yelped, but any protest dyed on her lips as she melted against him. "Why are you running from me?" he asked "Are you afraid?"

"I just don't know what to think anymore," she whispered more to herself than him.

"About what?" he wanted to know.

"About you, about me, us, our families." It all came out in a rush of words. "I've had feelings for you, Scorpius, for ages now. I don't even know when it began, but from the start I knew I could never date you—assuming you had feelings for me, that is. My family would never accept you, and yours would never accept me." Rose cleared her throat and looked down, hiding in his shoulder. Her face burned with embarrassment.

"I thought your family loved me?" he teased, trying to lighten to mood a little.

"Oh, they do, Scorp, but you aren't dating me, are you? My father warned me off you when I was eleven and again when I was twelve. 'Don't get too close,'" she smiled sadly, "Dad always wanted me to get better grades and play Quidditch better than you. It was always a sodding contest. 'Show up the Malfoy boy, don't let him beat you at anything Rosie.'"

"I—I never knew." Scorpius replied, shocked.

"Yeah, well…" she said bitterly and he pulled her closer, flush against him.

"It's alright, Rosie, I scored more goals than you in the last game against Ravenclaw," he said matter-of-factly, "So you can scratch that one off your better-than-Malfoy list. It's obvious I'm a better Chaser."

"Sod off, Malfoy. I let you score half those goals and you know it," she said laughingly into his chest.

"I have feelings for you, too," he whispered in her ear.

Rose pulled back in shock, looking into his eyes, searching for any hint that he was joking, but there was none. He dipped his head and kissed her tentatively on the lips. It was an explosion. Her blood boiled and her nerves were cracking. He pulled back and looked into her eyes, "Half our problem is gone. I don't care what my dad thinks—he's probably out trying to disinherit me—but the trust fund is in my name now, and—"

Rose silenced him with a kiss. It was long, deep, and passionate. His arms were wrapped tightly around her, one on the small of her back and one was tracing a finger up and down her bare back. She could feel every one of his muscles pressed up against her through his t-shirt. She was pressed so tightly against him that it was hard to tell where she ended and he began. It was delectable.

His hair felt like silk as she threaded her fingers through it. All too soon, however, she pulled away, gasping for breath. "I am scared," Rose admitted, resting her forehead against his. "I know it sounds cold-hearted, but your relationship with your family was rocky before, but mine isn't. I don't want to lose them."

"You won't, Rosie," Scorpius promised, "It'll be me they're angry with, not you."

"I don't want to put you through that either though," she bit her lip and Scorpius took the opportunity to steal a kiss.

"Trust me. They love you," he whispered, "Besides, I'd walk through fire, brimstone, and a horde of angry Weasleys for you."

She laughed and kissed him again deeply. Two simultaneous pops in the garden signaled the arrival of Ron and Hermione Weasley, back from their vacation.

"Well, here's your chance," Rose whispered with a mischievous smirk.