I am so insanely sorry that there was such a delay between the last chapter and this one! I've just had a ton going on, but it's really no excuse. I'm still pleased with how it turned out, and I hope it'll be worth the wait. Enjoy!

"I think we're almost there," Clarice said, peering out of the window. "We'd better pack up."

"I would've won," Albus muttered, piling chess pieces into their box.

"Sure you would've," Clarice said as she folded up the board.

"Yeah, mate, Clarice was totally winning," Scorpius said with a grin.

He and Rose had returned to the compartment after about an hour of explanations, confessions, and some much-anticipated snogging. They spent most of the remaining part of the trip watching Albus and Clarice play several close games of chess, Rose content to mock her cousin whenever possible and Scorpius happy to zone out while idly playing with Rose's fingers. Clarice and Albus spent a good part of the remainder of the journey trying not to look too pleased with themselves, and failing miserably. Even though they put up a good show of disgust when Scorpius kissed Rose randomly during the trip, they were each basking in the glory of their success.

"She was not," Albus said, glaring at his best friend before gagging slightly. Rose was seated so close to Scorpius that she might've been on his lap, his arm around her shoulders while his other hand played with her fingers. "And will you two stop it!"

"You were the one who wanted this," Rose smirked. "Now you've got to deal with the consequences of your success, don't you?"

"Hey, hey, hey! I think we should all remember that this wasn't my idea."

"Oh, don't worry." Rose rolled her eyes. "James'll be reminding us that this was his idea for the rest of our lives."

Everyone laughed, even Clarice.

"Oh, God," Rose said, horrified as she watched Clarice laughing.

"What?" Clarice asked defensively.

"You've got this awful look like you think it's cute," Rose said, repulsed.

"Well..." Clarice hedged.

"That's disgusting," Albus said.

"Just you wait," Clarice said in a huff. "I bet that when you finally get yourself together and get a girlfriend-"

"Like that'll ever happen," muttered Scorpius with a smirk.

"You'll think every vile thing she does is adorable! And you," she glared at Rose. "I know for a fact that you think every annoying thing that he does is cute!"

"I do not!" Rose defended herself, while at the same time Scorpius said, "I don't do annoying things!"

Clarice shrugged. "You both know I'm right."

Before either could retort, Albus pointed out the window and said, "We're here!"

And sure enough, the platform was speeding past them, more and more slowly, until the train came to a stop.

"This is it, isn't it?" Rose whispered. It seemed like speaking too loudly would break the magic of the moment. "It's really over."

"Yeah," Albus said, slightly dazed.

They each paused for a moment to grasp the enormity of the concept. They were done. They would never be students at Hogwarts again. Never would they walk by the lake, fly around the pitch, or work late-nights in the common room. Never would Scorpius and Albus play gobstones in the Slytherin common room, never would Rose and Clarice spend hours at dinner gossiping with their fellow Ravenclaws, never would Rose and Scorpius curse each other from across hallways, yell at each other from across classrooms, shove each other fifty feet high in the air on the Quidditch pitch. They were done. It was time for the real world.

"Well," Clarice said after a moment, "We can't stay here forever. Come on!"

They pulled their trunks down from the racks above their heads, took hold of their owl cages, and proceeded down the passageway and off of the train for the last time.

As they scanned the platform for their parents, both Rose and Scorpius had the same, terrifying thought, one which had not occurred to them until that moment. Though they were both getting their own places soon enough, Scorpius with Albus and Rose by herself, as Clarice was moving in with James, they hadn't had time to look yet, and as a result both would be living with their parents until they could find apartments. This, unfortunately, meant that they had no hope of keeping their relationship a secret.

As Ron and Hermione appeared close by, Rose and Scorpius both turned to look at each other in utter panic. What could they possibly say? Then, as if God was punishing them for some horrible crime, none other than Draco Malfoy called out from behind them, "Scorpius! Is that you?"

"Oh God..." Rose whispered, as they both whipped around to see Draco and Astoria walking towards them.

Before either of them could confer as to what to do, their parents were upon them.

"Mum, Dad," Rose said, attempting to look pleased, while in reality she'd never been less pleased to see them.

"Rose!" her mother beamed, hugging her tightly.

"Hey Rosie," her dad said while Hermione continued to hold Rose.

When she was finally released, Rose bounded forward and kissed her father on the cheek, saying "Hi, Daddy," as she did so. Neither of her parents seemed to have noticed that only a few feet away, the Malfoy family was having a similar reunion.

"Scorpius, dear, it's so good to see you," Astoria said, hugging Scorpius so tightly that he thought he would explode.

"Good term?" Draco asked, clapping Scorpius on the shoulder as Astoria released him. "You didn't write much, and your letters didn't say much when you did, but I'm sure it was just N.E.W.T.s. How'd they go?"

"Good, I think," Scorpius answered, distracted slightly. He wanted to catch Rose's eye, anything to give him a clue as to what to do.

Rose saw him looking and said to her parents, "Why don't you go along and look for Hugo. I'll be along in a moment."

"What-" Ron began, but Hermione, who'd noticed the furtive glances Rose and Scorpius were shooting each other, said, "Good idea!" and without another word dragged Ron off in search of their son.

With Rose's parents out of the way, the only thing left to do was get rid of Scorpius'. However, before Scorpius could make up a reason that he needed to leave them, a reason arrived of it's own accord. Albus, James, Lily, Ginny, and Harry had just walked up to the Malfoys. Though at first it had been more than a little awkward between the two families, they had managed to put their differences aside for Albus and Scorpius' sakes. Though Draco, Harry, Ginny, and Astoria would never be friends, both boys were always welcome at the other's home, and the adults made an effort to converse politely whenever they saw each other.

Rose pulled Scorpius aside the moment his parents were engaged in small talk with Harry and Ginny, and Albus, Lily, and James, being the nosy people that they were, followed.

"What do we do?" whispered Rose.

"Well we'll have to tell them eventually, won't we?" Scorpius muttered back.

"Yes, but not on a crowded platform!"

"May I suggest-" James began, but Rose turned on him with a look so furious that he stopped speaking immediately.

Without warning Rose slapped him. "You. You'd better not suggest anything you foul, loathsome, arrogant prat!"

James looked dumbstruck. However, he soon recovered and said, in an irritatingly lofty voice, "Well then, if you don't want my advice..."

Rose groaned, fully aware that James, while irritating, would probably have thought of a way out of this situation.

Scorpius, upon seeing that Rose wouldn't ask for James' help no matter how much she wanted it, asked, "What's your advice?"

"Tell them now," he replied. "If you tell them both here in public they can't explode, and by the time they get to a place where they can explode, they'll have had time to relax."

"It might even be better," Lily mused, "To show them rather than tell them. Just kiss in front of them, that way you won't have to struggle to get the words out."

"Good idea," James said with an approving nod, "Neither of them are eloquent enough to say it without botching it."

Rose and Scorpius glared at all three Potters, each wondering privately if their lives wouldn't have been better if they hadn't known them. The whole family was damned irritating. Though, they also had to acknowledge, also brilliant schemers, or, at least, James and Lily were. For a Slytherin, Albus didn't seem to have as much of a knack for scheming as his siblings.

"Fine," Rose muttered. She hated to admit that her cousins' plan was a good one.

"Well, you'd better get on with it," Al smirked, gesturing behind Rose and Scorpius and causing them both to turn. "They're coming this way."

Indeed, Ron and Hermione were returning, having located Hugo, who was being questioned by Hermione and looked a little irritated by it while Ron smirked and rolled his eyes at his wife and son's antics.

"Shame too," James smirked, "Uncle Ron does look so happy just now."

Rose glared at James, but could do no more than that, as Draco and Astoria had just turned from Harry and Ginny, and Rose and Scorpius were caught between the two incoming sets of parents. Without pausing to think about how insane it was, Scorpius leaned forward and kissed Rose full on the mouth.

After a moment they broke apart, and, careful not to look at their parents and toning out James', Lily's, an Albus' laughter, exchanged their goodbyes.

"I'll owl you later and we can meet next week," Scorpius said resolutely, still not looking at his parents.

"All right," Rose said. Both had voices marked by false casualty, but it didn't much matter.

"Bye."

"Bye."

And, after a shared breath, both turned to face their parents, each knowing they could do it because, in the end, they had each other. No matter how much either of their fathers yelled and screamed and stopped his feet, they knew one thing: if the past year couldn't tear them apart, nothing would.

I know you guys were waiting for an update for AGES and I'm so sorry. I couldn't go on with this story without feeling like it was losing quality cause I didn't have the inspiration and I didn't want it to lose quality cause I believe it is some of my best work. I hope you enjoyed reading it!

XOXO

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