A/N: So I've been reading a lot of next generation fics lately, and was attacked by a rather aggressive plot bunny. So here it is!

disclaimer: harry potter isn't mine.

Coward

Rose Weasley sat on the edge of her four-poster bed in Ravenclaw tower, twisting a silver chain between her fingers, deep in thought. Her roommates had long since gone to bed, leaving her with nothing but silence in which to think.

Sighing, she tightened her fingers around the brittle chain, enclosing it in her fist to prevent it from judging the decision she had just made. She was fighting a losing battle, that much she knew. Either way, people were going to get hurt, she was going to get hurt. She wished it didn't have to be like this, but life was rarely fair. She just couldn't face the consequences of making the decision she truly wanted to make. It would cause far more pain and trouble than the alternative. It would create far more disturbance, and Rose Weasley didn't create disturbances.

Finally, after delaying as long as possible, she got up silently, making her way out of Ravenclaw tower to deliver the verdict he would never see coming.

"What took you so long?" Rose's boyfriend, Scorpius Malfoy, asked when she slipped into the hidden passageway they often met in at night. He approached her, leaning down to place a quick kiss on her lips, grinning. Rose felt her knees go weak, as they always did, and the familiar warmth spread throughout her body at his proximity. Instinctively, she pulled him closer, kissing him again, deeper this time, not wanting to let go.

Pulling back, Scorpius's face showed his surprise. "What was that?" He asked, adding in as an afterthought with his trademark smirk, "Not that I'm complaining."

Taking in a shaky breath, Rose turned her head away, staring at the floor to her right. "Scorp… I need to talk to you."

She didn't watch as he frowned. After the year they'd been together, she could picture it perfectly.

"Ok… What is it? Is something wrong?" He asked, reaching out to take her hand. She knew she should pull away, but couldn't bring herself to. The pressure of his hand reassured her, giving her strength to do what she had to, as sick as it was.

Despite her attempts to remain emotionally neutral, she could feel her eyes welling with tears as she started in on the speech she had rehearsed, "Scorpius… we, uh, we've been, uh," She stopped short, feeling one tear fall. She couldn't do this. There was no way she could keep it together long enough to get this horribly polished speech out. He didn't deserve a rehearsal. He deserved her being real. "Scorpius," She tried again, taking another shaky breath, "We have to break up."

She let the words fall into the silence that enveloped them, waiting for him to say something.

"I don't understand," He finally said, slowly.

"We can't be together anymore," She told him, more resolutely than before. A few more tears slipped down her cheeks as she spoke, and a few more escaped as he pulled his hand out of hers.

He was silent for a moment longer, running a hand through his white-blond hair. "What happened?" He finally asked, his voice harsh.

"Nothing! You didn't do anything," Rose exclaimed.

"Don't give me that 'it's not you it's me' crap."

"No, that's not what I mean, Scorp. It's just…" She paused, wondering how to word what she wanted to say. In a way, he was right. It wasn't him, it was her. All her fault. "Look, we knew when this started that it wasn't going to be easy… It's why we agreed not to tell our parents."

He was silent, waiting for her to continue.

"I love you, Scorpius, you know I do," She said, her voice pleading with him to understand, "But I can't do this anymore. I can't hide you. I have to let you go."

"Why, though? Why can't we just tell our parents? To hell with what they say!"

Rose hesitated, closing her eyes briefly. She so badly wanted to give in, to believe she was strong enough to do what he wanted her to. "I can't, Scorpius. I'm sorry, but I can't turn my back on my family. I can't go against who I am. I'm a Weasley, and you're a Malfoy. We both knew it was never going to work."

"Did we? Did we really?" He demanded, anger shaking in his barely controlled voice, "Is that why we wasted a year of our lives on this, then?"

No ready reply presented itself to her, and so she was left to stumble over inadequate words. "I- I'm sorry, but I just can't do this anymore," She whispered, reaching out and taking his hand gently in hers. He didn't try to pull away, as she had expected. Regretfully, she flipped his hand over so that it was palm up, and pressed the silver necklace into it, closing his fingers around it as she stood on tiptoe to press a feather-light kiss to his cheek.

She lasted until she'd climbed a single staircase before she dissolved into tears, allowing her heart to shatter. Rather than face the wrath of her father, and the disapproval of a great many others, she'd chosen to break her own heart, and his. She tried to tell herself it was easier this way, no matter what he said. Everyone would be happier. Her parents, her brother, even Scorpius would get over it eventually. He would find someone his father approved of, and so would she.

Except, sitting there in the deserted corridor, Rose knew she would never find someone who made her as happy as Scorpius Malfoy, she was just too scared to admit that to anyone but herself. She suspected that it was why she was in Ravenclaw, and not Gryffindor. If she was in Gryffindor, she would have never had this conversation tonight. She would have been brave enough to tell her parents about the boy who made her so happy she thought she would burst. But she wasn't in Gryffindor, because, when it came down to it, Rose Weasley was a coward.

A/N: So, what did you think? Reviews would be awesome!