Disclaimer: JKR is the queen of the magical world!

Chapter 17

I awaken the next morning to an empty flat. When I make my way to the living room, I see that Perry has folded the blankets from the previous night and packed a small box of items, including the picture of us from the mantle. I smile to myself, albeit a bit sadly.

I busy myself with a bowl of cereal, thinking about the events of yesterday evening. Soon, my mind turns to the events that are quite possibly expected to take place today.

Malfoy's silver eyes flash into my line of vision as I blink.

I sigh. Sure, I broke things off with Perry, but that doesn't mean I should immediately run into Scorpius Malfoy's arms.

But will I be able to resist?

I'm pulled out of my contemplative trance by a tap at the window. I look up to see a small brown owl waiting expectantly for me to let it inside. As I walk over and pull up the window sash, I recognize Lily's handwriting on a small slip of parchment.

I let my eyes scan the page quickly.

Morning, sunshine (if you're even awake yet, which I honestly highly doubt),

I've owled Al and James and we are planning an extended lunch break at Sibby's Sandwiches around noon. You should stop by if you're free! Khal, Hu, and El will be there, too (but don't let her presence deter you). Invite Perry if you want! Or Malfoy (ha)!

xx

Lily

I roll my eyes at her parentheticals, but figure this might be a good opportunity to spill my big news. I could use a nice relaxing lunch.

Actually, I could use a nice relaxing day. A carefree day without worrying about when I'll next see Perry. A wonderful day without wondering if I'm happy in my relationship. A stress-free day without panicking about what I'm going to say to Malfoy now that I'm a free agent, so to speak.

I grab a spare bit of parchment from the end of the counter and accio one of Perry's pens from the end table in the living room. I quickly scribble a note to Chris telling him I'm taking a personal day before sending the small owl off with a pat on the head.

Good, I think to myself. This will give me some time so I don't rush into anything.

I head upstairs to get ready to start my day and as I'm showering, I hear a screeching sound outside of the window above the showerhead. I wipe the water from my eyes and see that the tiny owl has returned, opening the window to grab the parchment before sending it on its way.

I see my handwriting on one side of the page and flip it over to read Chris' response. I'm met with two obnoxious words, followed by a doodle of a winking face.

Avoiding someone?

I immediately crumble the page and toss it over the curtain rod, mumbling "suck it, Chris" under my breath.

My morning passes quickly as I organize some of Perry's office supplies neatly in a bin. I'm not really sure that I should be packing things for him, but I do it anyway to keep busy. Before I know it, it's nearly noon, so I step outside and apparate to Sibby's.

Everyone is already there at a large round table, except for my pathologically late brother and the airhead he calls his girlfriend.

Lily stands up to hug me as I approach the table. "Rosey! Glad you could make it! Didn't bring a date with you today?"

I roll my eyes as I take a seat next to Khal. Already with the questions. "Brilliant observation," I shoot back, voice laced with exasperation even as I crack a small smile.

"We were taking bets on whether or not you'd invite Malfoy," Al chimes in loudly. Lily shoots him a glare, as if she didn't tell me to bring him in her letter this morning.

I pour myself some lemonade from the pitcher in the center of the table. "I took off work today, so unfortunately for you, I didn't have a chance to ask him. What is with the men of this family, anyways? I swear you all hero-worship Malfoy all of a sudden."

Of course, I'm in love with him, so I can't really talk.

"Hey, I don't think you have much room to talk, dear cousin," James begins pretentiously, echoing my own thoughts. "I hear you've been spending nights with the very gentleman you speak of."

I feel my face heat up and Khal snorts into his drink, trying to disguise his laugh as a cough. I shoot him a glare.

"First of all-" I start, but Hugo's voice interrupts mine from over my shoulder.

"Come on, James. That was just one time," he says with exaggeration, emphasizing the last three words. I narrow my eyes at him as he pulls out a chair for his accompanying girlfriend. Eleanor elbows him in the ribs before sitting down and I feel weirdly grateful that she decided to show up.

"Oh, yes, just one time! That doesn't really count for anything then, I guess," James says in his signature snarky tone.

"Screw you, James," I shoot with venom as I kick him under the table, getting a lot of satisfaction from the visible wince he gives.

"Anyways, it's not like you arses have never made a bad decision," I say indignantly, a bit too loudly for the setting, while waving my hands in the air.

Everyone laughs as I scowl. Everyone except Eleanor, that is. Her eyes have widened slightly and it takes me a second to realize that she's looking at my empty ring finger.

"Wait a second…" she starts slowly. "You aren't wearing your ring."

Everyone's eyes simultaneously snap to my left hand. "What?!" Lily practically shrieks, slamming her hands down against the table. Khal's drink wobbles, but he catches it before it tips.

I give a sheepish grin and raise said hand into the air once more.

"So when you said 'bad decision' in regards to Malfoy, what you really meant was 'best decision ever' since it led to you breaking up with that Jerry guy!" I roll my eyes at Al before correcting him automatically.

"It's Perry, you prat."

Everyone stares at me expectantly before Lily finally bursts.

"So when in the bloody hell did this happen?!"

I sigh exaggeratedly, but secretly feel excitement at the thought of getting this off my chest.

I recount the tale of the break-up, talking over Al's interruptions ("Wait, you still play piano?"), Hugo's insults of Perry ("boring git"), and James' less than pithy comments ("If Larry was any slower on the uptake, I swear he'd be going backwards.").

"So, yeah. I guess I'm single now," I finish simply as El raises her perfectly pruned eyebrows.

"But not for long, right?" she asks skeptically. When I don't respond, she gives the eye roll of the century and I resist the urge to fire a sticking charm at her to freeze her face that way forever.

She continues on, not noticing my annoyance. "I mean you are in love with Scorp, aren't you?"

I'm slightly taken aback to have been asked this so bluntly. Without thinking, I immediately respond.

"Well, I wouldn't have ended my engagement for nothing." It comes out as deadpan, but my lack of emotion doesn't stop Lily from screaming. Khal and her high five and I can't help wondering when my life became a total farce.

"Now we know why you took off work!" Al shouts triumphantly. "Avoiding him!"

"So when is Malfoy going to officially become our cousin-in-law?" James asks slyly through a boisterous laugh.

"Family parties are going to be top notch now! Imagine the quidditch matches!" Hu says as he slaps me on the back.

I roll my eyes yet again and shrug. "Don't you think you guys are getting a bit ahead of yourselves? It's not like I can just go run into Malfoy's arms immediately! I just broke up with Perry last night!"

I take a casual sip of my lemonade as the table erupts in protest.

"Come on, Rosey! He obviously isn't going to turn you down! I mean I'm sure he feels the same way!" Lily pleads, practically bouncing in her seat.

"Yeah, it's not like he's going to reject you," El points out, tilting her drink in my direction.

"Just tell him how you feel and I'm sure he'll reciprocate!" Lily cuts in again. Khal nods and agrees, his deep voice barely audible over the sounds of my chattering family.

I hold up my newly lightened left hand to stop the crazy group in front of me from rambling forever. I let out a heavy breath. "Now listen," I say with authority, "I am doing this on my own terms. I don't need you lot telling me what I should and shouldn't do." They keep quiet and I smile with satisfaction.

Before I can stop myself, I decide to let one more detail slip.

"Plus, I already know he feels the same way. He told me two days ago."

Cue the metaphorical shit hitting the metaphorical fan. Chaos immediately erupts once more.

I let everyone talk over each other for a few minutes until they decide they've said their piece.

"Hear me out," I say once the chatter has died down again. "Perry hasn't even moved out yet! I can't go rubbing a new relationship in his face. And I don't want Malfoy thinking he's some sort of rebound." I see Lily scowl as if I've just uttered the dumbest thing she's ever heard. I put up a finger to stop her from interrupting. "Trust me, you guys. I will handle this. And when I do, you will all be the first to know."

They all nod slowly as we each sip our drinks and scan the menus in front of us.

"So," Hugo says mischievously after a few moments of silence, "anyone want to take bets on how long Rose is actually going to wait to jump Malfoy's bones?"

There is an explosion of laughter from every direction as I scowl, ears turning red as Al yells, "I call tomorrow!"

Even through the annoyance, though, I find myself starting to laugh along with them. They are my family, after all.

And maybe they have a point. Maybe apologizing to Malfoy and telling him how I feel immediately wouldn't be such a bad thing at all.

The next morning, I decide to take another personal day. That will give me the weekend to think things through.

I did not end up seeing Perry last night and he isn't around this morning. I'm sure he's avoiding confrontation, which is honestly probably for the best. I'm not sure what I would say to him if I saw him anyway.

Although, it's weird to think that I may never see him again. I mean, is that what happens when you break up with someone outside of your circle of friends? You just never see them again?

I shake my head and try not to think about it. Instead, I busy myself with some cleaning since I'll have to get used to doing that myself now that Perry is moving out.

About an hour later, I've given up on any sort of chore (not that I made much progress) as I loaf around on the couch. A knocking sound at the door pulls me out of my lazy trance.

Before I have a chance to get up and see who it is, Lily comes waltzing into the kitchen. I sit up, slightly taken aback.

"Hey, cousin!" she says cheerily. "I thought you might be wallowing in your own stew of drama, so I decided to come over and help you pack up Perry's things!"

I shake my head and stand up, feeling gross in my sweatpants while Lily shines radiantly in tight jeans and a flowy blouse.

"Aren't you working?" I ask with slight annoyance in my tone.

She smiles even more widely. "I'm covering a quidditch match later tonight, so I have the morning off."

I sigh resignedly, realizing that she isn't going to leave even if I attempt to make her. "Alright, alright," I say wearily. "Let's get to it then, why don't we?"

I start climbing the stairs and she follows, stopping at the linen closet on the way to pull out one of Perry's leather covered suitcases. We get to the bedroom and start to unload the dresser, adding the multitude of t-shirts and polos to the suitcase. We work manually, avoiding magic. I think that Lily knows things will be more therapeutic for me this way.

We chat about work for a while and discuss the many reasons why Khal is perfect (although I admit that I didn't contribute to this conversation much). I shower and change into some respectable clothes, loudly conversing over the sound of the running water. Once I'm clean and dry, the conversation inevitably turns to a certain blonde git, as I knew it would.

"I mean it's not like you can call off work forever," Lily says shrewdly. I shoot her a glare. "You can't just continue to avoid him. You've gotta face him someday."

I let out a huff. "I just don't know what I'll say to him if I do see him," I say quietly, a bit of desperation shining through my voice.

Lily stares at me incredulously. "Are you serious, Rosey? All you've got to do is say you broke up with Perry and Malfoy'll be putty in your hands! Just tell him you choose him!"

I shrug. "I can't just go tell him I want to be with him," I point out. "I just broke up with Perry! It's too soon! I'd be crazy to start seeing Malfoy only a few days after ending my engagement!"

My cousin's red hair shines in the sunlight streaming through the window. She thinks contemplatively for a minute before quietly answering.

"So what if it's crazy? Isn't that what love is?"

I look up at her and she raises an eyebrow.

She's right. What are you waiting for? What will be different a few days from now compared to right now?

"I mean, really. What the bloody hell are you waiting for?" she asks bluntly, reading my thoughts.

I think to myself for a minute as I refold one of my ex-fiancé's shirts. What's the worst possible thing that could happen if I take this leap of faith. What am I really going to lose by telling Malfoy how I feel?

Nothing. There's nothing to lose, except for him.

And let's be honest, if I don't tell him, he won't even be mine to lose.

I have a sudden epiphany and feel my heart pulse faster. I need to live in a world where Malfoy is mine to lose.

I look up at Lily and see her watching me expectantly. Then I hastily turn around and grab a pair of boots from my closet, quickly pulling them onto my feet. Her face breaks into a look of sheer glee.

"Does this mean you're going to go find him?" she asks, bouncing up and down. I don't answer as I run a brush through my hair, trying to tame the wild, air-dried curls.

"Does this mean you're going to tell him how you feel?!" She is jumping on the balls of her feet now and I flash her a nervous grin.

I shrug my shoulders at her before turning to go.

"Like you said, Lils," I say with a genuine, albeit nervous, smile. "Love's crazy."

Once I arrive at Gringotts, I head straight for the assignment postings. Unfortunately, I don't see Malfoy's name anywhere on the list, so I decide to check all of the locations in which he'd likely be. I start with the conference room, then move to the records room, and finally to the break room.

No sign of him.

I walk around for a bit, hoping to spot a coworker, but of course, the employees of Gringotts never seem to actually be at work. I am contemplating heading down to the vaults, nervous energy flowing through my veins, when I spot Chris walking out of one of the offices down the hall from where I'm standing.

Before I can decide whether or not I want to get Chris involved in this, he spots me and calls loudly, "Rosey! Thought you were taking a personal day!" He emphasizes the last two words and I decide that I'd rather keep Chris out of this.

Then again, I'm already talking to him, so I might as well give this a shot.

I disregard his comments as he approaches and shoot quickly, "Where's Malfoy?"

"Malfoy?" he says with mock confusion, "What would you want with Malfoy?"

I roll my eyes and shuffle my feet in exasperation. "Come on, Chris. This is important! I just need to speak with him!"

Chris raises his eyebrows and flashes a huge, white grin. "Ahh, you need to speak with him? Sounds like very official business."

I shoot daggers at him with my eyes and he lets out a loud guffaw.

"Unfortunately, you're out of luck," he says in a needling tone. "Mr. Malfoy apparated to Ukraine this morning to help with a curse roadblock. He said he was taking the rest of the day off after he was finished." Ugh, seriously? "Can't get any of you to actually come to work around here lately," Chris finishes exasperatedly.

I ignore his jab at my use of paid time off, wheels turning in my head. Without thinking twice, I stupidly demand, "Give me his address, then."

Chris lets out a barking laugh. "Ha! I don't think so, missy. That's against company policy! I can't just be giving out the personal information of my employees!"

I growl in annoyance, stomping my foot for effect. "Seriously, Chris? How many bloody favors have I done for you since I started here? You owe me!"

"No can do. Sorry, Rosey," he says with a wide grin. I know exactly what he's doing, but I decide to sacrifice my dignity for the sake of love.

I let out a breath. "Come on," I say quietly. "I'll do anything." My voice comes out a lot more pleading than I had hoped and Chris raises an eyebrow. He waits expectantly for my first offer.

"I'll do your paperwork for the next three months," I say, apprehension running through my veins. I need that address. If I don't tell Malfoy how I feel now, I might wait too long and make things worse.

Chris looks thoughtfully at the ceiling as if weighing my offer.

"Make it a year," he says shrewdly.

Without hesitation, I answer, "Yes."

His eyebrows shoot up toward his hairline as he gives me a knowing look. I feel my cheeks heat up and I cross my arms to keep myself occupied. Chris breaks into his largest smile yet, taunting me with his bright teeth as he pulls out his wand and summons some records.

"Your wish is my command," he says with exaggeration as he scans the parchment that flies into his hand. "He's at 5 Norburn Court in London." I quickly memorize the address and exhale gratefully, pushing past Chris as I half-walk, half-run toward the stairs.

"Good luck," he says as I pass, and I can hear the sincerity in his voice. "And, Rosey!" he calls as I'm almost to the end of the corridor. I glance back at him. "Don't worry about the paperwork. This one's on me." He gives a large grin and turns around as I flash the most genuine smile I've ever sent his way.

I turn back around and race down the stairs to the entrance hall, chanting Malfoy's address in my head all the while. When I finally reach the hall, I concentrate hard, apparating to the front of an unassuming townhome on a quiet street. I knock on the front door and ring the bell, but no one answers.

I guess the former Slytherin prince isn't home yet.

I sit down on the stone steps in front of the door, heart racing, but filled with determination. I take a few deep breaths, preparing to wait for Malfoy for as long as it takes.

After half an hour of nervous waiting and jumbled thoughts, the sky starts to cloud over, darkening the once sunny day. Before I know it, small droplets of rain start to fall from the sky.

Terrific, I think to myself with disdain. As if running into Malfoy's arms isn't cliché enough, let's add some rain!

I press my back against his front door, avoiding the steadily falling water as best I can, but I feel my already messy hair becoming damp with the late summer weather.

I could just leave, I think to myself, but my heart tells me otherwise.

Suddenly, I hear a pop behind the door. Malfoy must be able to apparate into his own townhome. I make a mental note to ask him how to do that without destroying all security measures.

I stand up, shaking my head and wonder why I'm thinking about security at a time like this.

As I take a deep breath, I knock quietly on the door.

No answer.

I knock more loudly, telling myself to stop being a wimp.

Again, no answer.

Finally, I pound loudly on the door and ring the bell for good measure, fully soaked through with rain by this point.

My heart stops as Scorpius Malfoy opens the door, hair in his eyes, a look of worry displayed across his perfectly pale face.

"Weasley?" he asks tentatively, voice laced with concern. "What are you doing here? Are you okay?"

I feel my stopped heart start beating full force and I resist the urge to run into his arms right now.

"Hi…" I say lamely.

His eyes betray more feeling than I typically see behind them and I close my own to avoid looking at them.

"Where were you these past couple of days?" he asks, clearly trying to figure me out.

I glance at him, but feel goosebumps form up and down my arms. I look down at my feet to steady myself, letting the rain water drip down my skin. "I was such an idiot," I say, more to myself than to him. "I was so stupid."

"What are you-" but I cut him off.

"You were right, you know." I snap my eyes to his and see a questioning look behind the silver orbs in front of me. When he doesn't say anything, I continue.

"I don't want nice." His eyes widen slightly and my heart rate sky rockets. "Actually, as you may have noticed, it took me a long time to figure out what I actually do want."

I look down at my hands and try to ignore my racing heart. I want him to interrupt me, but he doesn't. I blink hard and let out a breath before glancing at him.

"But I know what I want now," I say, voice shaky, tears threatening to fall at any moment. "I want passion. I want love."

I lock my eyes onto his once more and see a slight flash of hopefulness behind the deep metallic silver. "In fact, I guess it turns out that I want someone who I hate passionately enough to be totally in love with." I feel myself shaking, wondering if I'm even making sense as I see the hint of a smile on his face, but his eyes still hold a question that I haven't answered.

"I want you," I say simply, finally telling him what I should have told him a long time ago, my heart pounding heavily in my chest. Without waiting for a response, I quickly continue,

"I'm either crazy because of you or crazy about you or, I dunno, maybe a little of both." His grin widens and I feel myself melt slightly. "What I do know is that I'm crazy enough to be standing here in front of you, in this bloody pouring rain, swallowing my pride and sacrificing my dignity to admit that I was wrong." I cock a small lopsided grin. "I've been wrong for years."

I stop to catch a breath, shrugging slightly. "It's you, Malfoy. It's you that I want," I say quietly, sniffing slightly as my tears threaten to roll down my cheeks. "It's been you since the minute you stepped through those doors at Gringotts. It just took me a while to realize it."

I hold up my left hand next to my face and he flashes a dazzling smile when he notices the empty spot where my ring used to sit.

I smile back, the nonsensical tears creeping further up the back of my throat.

"As much as it pains me to admit it," I say slowly, "I've got a lot of strong feelings for you. And I guess it isn't all hate."

His eyes are alight and I can barely think, so I just keep talking, knowing what I have to say.

"So maybe it's time for me to admit that I like you. Really like you, actually." I feel my cheeks heat up, but try to ignore it.

"I just hope what you said to me the other day is still true," I say quietly, a bit of desperation coloring my voice. "Because if there's one thing I know is true, it's this:"

I exhale quickly and take a leap of faith.

"I know that I'm totally, crazy, stupid in love with you, Scorpius Malfoy."

And without a second's hesitation, he pulls me into him and kisses me.

I feel the tears overflow and I smile into him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He pulls away and buries his face in my wet hair before leaning his forehead against my own.

His eyes search mine and I give a small, Malfoy-quality smirk. He rolls his eyes and scoops me into his arms, carrying me through the door, my clothes and hair dripping all over the floor.

"Only you would stand out in the rain," he starts, pausing to kiss me again, "without conjuring yourself an umbrella." Another kiss. "You're dripping all over my carpet."

He puts me down and pushes me into the wall, his lips crashing into mine.

"Shut up, Malfoy," I say with a grin, pulling away to shake my hair out all over his living room. His eyes light up with a fire I could definitely get used to. I feel my knees go weak. He grins cockily and pulls my face back toward his.

"God, I love you, Rose Weasley."

I smile widely. That's something I could get used to, too.

A/N: That's all, folks.

Hope you enjoyed this little slice of Scorpius and Rose. Thank you to everyone for reading, following, favoriting, and especially REVIEWING! You guys are world's best people, no question!

If you liked this story and haven't read my others, please check them out. In the spirit of shameless self-promotion, I highly recommend reading Intoxication. If you liked this story, I feel pretty confident that you'll like that one, too!

As for upcoming stories, I don't have any Rose/Scorp fics planned (yet!), but I have quite a bear of a Draco/Hermione piece in the works. (Hopefully you aren't cringing... I know that this couple is polarising to Rose/Scorp fans)! I plan to start posting the new DHr story sometime toward the beginning of the new year, but we shall see how that goes :)

Thanks again, everyone. Let me know your thoughts on this for the last time! Hopefully the ending is everything you hoped for and more :)