Hello lovely readers! Sorry it's been so long since an update... let's just say college is hard. But I'm finding the words again which hopefully means more updates! I also procrastinated writing my senior thesis to edit the previous chapters (not yet posted) and writing. Yay! Please enjoy :)

***WARNING, this chapter contains mentions of rape/sexual assault. While there is NO DEPICTION and it is mostly talk about dealing with those experiences. It's really throughout this chapter, so please, feel free not to read if it is something that will be triggering for you. It also has some adult language/themes, though nothing super explicit***

ANYTHING YOU SEE THAT IS FAMILIAR IS NOT MINE OR MY PROPERTY NOR DO I CLAIM IT IS. I AM NOT THAT MAGICAL (yet).

February 14, 2023

When I woke up on Valentines Day this year, I didn't feel half the stress I had last year. Since it was a Tuesday, Scorp and I weren't doing anything until after classes, and we had actually made plans to avoid each other as much as possible before then.

Since Christmas break, Scorp and I had gotten better, but we still weren't perfect. Weekly date nights helped, as well as everyone giving me a little more independence. Besides kisses, which Scorpius and I decided mid-January that he could initiate, I was the one to initiate holding hands, or any real physical contact. We were working on making sure that romantic gestures were just that - romantic - and not a way to prove ownership. It also helped that he stopped going out of his way to make sure I had someone I was eating meals with, and while we were still talking as much as before, we made sure to have time to be separate. I felt like I was being listened to again, and that meant everything.

Things with my friends were a little better, too. I usually tried to walk down to breakfast (or any meal) with friends because it was hard to know when there was going to be a lot of people (and lately I hated being alone when there were no crowds). In between classes I also normally walked with friends, but they didn't go out of their ways to walk with me. Albus was actually letting me do my prefect duties without him, though I had yet to do duties on the bottom half of the castle. I didn't linger in the Great Hall unless I had to be there.

I had also talked more with Dom about how she dealt with what happened to her. She had a much more traumatic experience. Hearing how bad things had gotten for her made me realize that I was actually pretty okay, all things considered. I could hold on to the fact that he never touched me. I was still my own. Knowing that, I started to feel better. I started to feel like me again, and it helped that the people around me had also stopped treating me like I was broken.

"Rose, you up?" Sasha asked me as I lay in bed, thinking about everything and nothing all at once.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Are you ready for the day? It's already 7 and you know charms is at 8..."

"Ugh. Do I have to?"

"Yes, Rose. Come on. Get up."

"But Sasha..."

"Rose get your butt out of bed, NOW," Melody said, coming over and pulling the curtains back from around my bed. Melody was not a night owl, but she wasn't exactly a morning person either. Usually, that just meant she was grumpy when she woke up until she had her first meal.

"Fine," I said, sliding out of bed. I quickly grabbed my clothes I had laid out on my trunk the night before, then went into the bathroom for a quick shower. When I came out fifteen minutes later, dressed, Sasha helped me pull my hair into a bun, then we grabbed our packs and headed downstairs to breakfast.

"Good morning, Ro," Scorpius said when I saw him in our first class later that morning. While he wasn't in my double charms class, we had Arthimancy together right before lunch.

"Morning, Scorp. Happy Valentine's Day," I said, giving him a side hug before I sat down next to him.

"Are you going to tell me what to expect this evening?" he asked as we pulled out our textbooks. There was still a few minutes before class was set to begin.

"Nope. It's a surprise," I said with a grin. "Don't worry, it's nothing big. But it's gong to be fun."

"As long as I'm with you, Ro, I'm having fun."

After our last class that afternoon, Scorpius was supposed to meet me in our nook. I had originally wanted to go for a picnic, but the weather today had taken a turn to the nasty, and I didn't think it was worth us braving the elements. I had spruced the place up with some new pillows and blankets, and then some cheesy Valentine's decorations. I had gotten the house elves to provide us with Yorkshire puddings, one for each, and Aunt Hannah had let me use the kitchens at the Three Broomsticks (which she owned but had several competent managers who ran the day-to-day business) to make some homemade sugar cookies. I had given some to my friends at lunch, and Aunt Hannah and Uncle Neville after I finished making them. But I still had about a dozen left for Scorp and I to snack on tonight.

I sat among the blankets, butterflies building in my stomach as I waited for him to show up. I knew he was probably taking so long to go back to his room and change; I had laid everything out last night so I just had to take off my robes and put on the tank top, leggings, and cardigan that I had planned to wear. While it was a different look than what I normally wore on casual dates, Mel, Sasha, and I had discussed it and decided that I needed to stop hiding my figure and stop thinking that I wasn't pretty.

After what seemed like ages, I heard footsteps, and I turned around to see my blonde boyfriend, smiling down at me in his Weasley sweater and joggers. His grin was wide, and his blue eyes looked like they were smiling, too. I couldn't help noticing how the tight pants fit, and I almost had to force myself not to look there as he moved closer, still standing and therefore towering above me.

"Sorry, Ro, I couldn't find my comfy jeans, so it took me longer than I was expecting..."

"No worries, Scor," I said, patting the cushion next to me. "You look cute. And comfy."

"Yeah, Zane suggested I just wear the joggers, though I thought they might be too casual..."

"No, they highlight... uh... let me just say you look comfy and hot." I flushed, causing Scorpius to laugh as he took the seat next to me.

"Am I allowed to say you look hot too, Ro? I mean, you always do, but..." I felt his eyes wander from my face down, and I turned an even brighter shade of pink, but I could see Scorpius getting a pink tinge too.

"My friends accused me of trying to hide under bulky sweaters and old T-shirt, especially since October, and they suggested that it wasn't a bad thing to look like a girl and have curves," I said softly.

"If I'm allowed to say it, I think you have been hiding yourself a bit, but I... It doesn't bother me, Ro. Obviously I like seeing you like this, but I also like seeing you happy, and if that means you in an oversized sweater..." Scorpius shrugged. "I still want to kiss you even when you're covered up completely." I smiled, leaning my head against his shoulder before tilting my head to kiss his cheek.

"I love you Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy," I said softly, before turning to kiss him on the lips. Scorpius's hands found my waist as he pulled me in, and I felt a spark that I hadn't felt in ages. I opened my lips slightly, taking his bottom lip into my mouth and biting gently on it. Scorpius whimpered, and I pulled back.

"Fucking hell, Rose," he breathed, his cheeks really pink now. "I... fuck..."

"You speechless at my kissing abilities, Scorpius," I said, chuckling. He pulled me in close to him.

"A little bit, yeah. The nibbling thing...where?"

"I might have talked to Dominique about things recently and she may have suggested giving it a try," I admitted.

"What were you guys talking about?" Scorpius asked. I shrugged.

"She... she understood better than a lot of people what happened. And how I was reacting."

"Did... You don't have to tell me, but did... Mum said it's super common. Things like what happened to you. That's not to say it's good, but just that it's frequent."

"Yeah. I'm learning that too. And yeah, Dom had some firsthand experience. Most of the family doesn't know. It was with a Muggle. He didn't know she was famous. Did you see the Witch Weekly article that was about the untold truth of too many women being the unspoken victims of rape, and how a public case like mine gives the community a chance to discuss and come up with better solutions."

"I didn't see it," Scorpius admitted, "although Mum had a long chat with me when I was home about it. Apparently... before she met Father... It wasn't great. She told me to be kind and gentle. That you would feel a lot of things, and that you would just want to feel like yourself again. She said it took a long time before she felt like she was in control, and that she spent a lot of time self-isolating. But she also said that everyone reacts differently, and that I should let you know that I'm always here no matter what you need." Scorpius grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly. I squeezed back.

"I don't know how you were able to share a room with him," I murmured.

"Zane and I had threatened to beat him up," Scorpius admitted. "When Alan and Albus told us what happened...I wanted to kill him. I promised him if he laid a hand on you, I was going to blast it off. And then after October... Well, I dunno if you remember, but Madam Longbottom let me stay with you in the hospital wing. I think everyone knew if I went to Slytherin and saw him I would have gone after him. If you had asked me to, I would have... I think I would have been willing to use an unforgivable. And then, he was expelled, so it wasn't an issue. I think Zane told the others that if anyone said anything to me about it, it would be at risk of bodily harm, so no one else ever really brought it up." I curled into Scorpius, unsure what to say. I knew he meant it when he said he was willing to kill for me. I don't know how it made me feel. Would I really kill for Scorpius? Within seconds, I knew that answer was yes. If he needed something I would do it. If he was hurt, or, Merlin, killed, I would want to go after the person. Scorpius was my person.

"Anyway I'm sure you really didn't plan on talking about all of this. I'm sorry it came up," I heard Scorpius say. He must have still been talking when I got lost in thought.

"No, don't apologize. We needed to," I said, kissing his chest. Scorpius let out a noise somewhere between a moan and a whimper.

"You sure Rosie?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Absolutely. But my charm to keep our food warm is going to be wearing off soon. I present - Yorkshire puddings! And homemade cookies! And then I brought a device that will let us project a movie onto the blank wall over there... and we can keep kissing and talking," I said, grinning. Scorpius almost beamed back at me.

"Rose Weasley, did you bake for me?"

"Of course," I said, kissing his chest again. When did he get so much taller than me, even sitting? I could remember when we were almost the same height, and now...

"Well, let's dig in!" Scorp said before kissing the top of my head and grabbing his plate from where I motioned.

"Ro, am I allowed to walk you back to your dorm?" Scorpius asked me as we untangled ourselves later that night. I nodded.

"Of course. I wanna spend as much time with you as I can." I grabbed his hand squeezing tightly, and he used it to pull me closer and kiss me hard. It echoed so many kisses we had already had that day, firm and intense and loving. This time he bit my lip, and I was the one to moan as his hands gently rubbed my side. When I finally pulled back for air, I looked at him with a goofy grin.

"I love you, Rose Jean Weasley."

"How was it?" Lily asked the second I got back to the Common Room. I rolled my eyes. This year, Lily had been the one to call it quits with whichever guy she had been seeing right be fore the holiday, and I thought she was crazy. Then again, Lily said she wasn't dating for love, just for fun.

"It was...magical." I nodded, the goofy grin coming back to my face.

"Did he say anything about your outfit?" Sasha asked, looking up from her homework. I knew she had plans that night too, even if she hadn't shared them with me, which made me think she was afraid for me to know who she was crushing on.

"He loved it. He wore joggers too, and Merlin he looked so good guys..."

"Oh? Were any bases crossed?" Lily asked, wiggling her eyebrows. I bit my lip and twirled my watch around my wrist.

"No comment," I said, then I started giggling. Sasha opened her eyes wide.

"But I thought after everything, everything was off the table?" she asked me. I shrugged.

"I mean, we didn't go far. Like, I'm not sure if it really counts-"

"If you think it could count, then it counts, but please, continue," Lily interjected.

"-but like, I don't know. It just... It felt right. And it continued to feel right. Like I was getting over my fear of what could have happened by exploring someone I love. And Merlin, we had talked at length before anything happened about boundaries and how I was doing with everything, and how he was doing. I didn't really think, you know, about how scary everything must have been for you guys, my friends and family, and how you're all afraid I'm going to spiral, but honestly, I think... I think I'm almost okay."

"Merlin Rosie, breathe," Lily said, chuckling. Sasha pulled me into a hug.

"Of course we were scared. And of course we were worried about you. That's our job. But we also weren't going to burden you with our fears because you had enough on your plate to begin with. Are you sure you're okay with whatever went down with Scorpius?" Sasha asked. I nodded.

"Completely. I think I might marry him, Sasha."

Settled into my bed later that night, I kept thinking about Scorpius and everything. I had thought I was in love with Axton all those years ago. I wasn't. I thought I was in love with Scorpius this time last year, and while I was, now our relationship had gone through fire. It had been to hell and back, and here we were, on track to be stronger than ever. I may not need a man or a happily ever after, but I was lucky enough to have Scorp. And I didn't plan on letting go of him any time soon.

P.S. If you want more about Rose and Scorpius's date, I'm thinking about making a companion story that's rated M to put their more adult moments ;) Let me know if that's something you guys want! Thanks, and please review!