Silly Little Crush

First-year Gryffindor Rose Weasley keeps her own diary, but the secrets within are soon to be unleashed to many.

Ch 16 Summary: The Weasley-Potter gang goes to the Potters' as the post-Hogwarts tradition. Rose writes a short entry in her diary, and the copy of the diary is making James's trunk shine. The adults find out about the diary and an intense family argument ensues…

Disclaimer: I don't own no Harry Potter, 'n' I ain't no JKR. Got it? Thought you would've gotten the message by now. :)

EPILOGUE: Scorpius: A Long Way Here

It was finally all over. We made it.

Seven long years. Well, for me, I'd say it was five sodding long ones and two that went by too fast.

Harry Potter was still giving his saving-the-world commencement speech, which was getting old now. He was such an awkward speaker.

"The most important thing I ever learned, I learned from Professor Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore, a great headmaster at Hogwarts. That everything comes down to… well, love. The power of love."

And here, he made a lovey-dovey look at his wife and Al, who was graduating today with the rest of us. In unison, everyone looked over at the Potter family, and the females in the crowd cooed together. I could tell Ginny Potter had a lot of influence on this commencement address.

Everyone clapped and whistled when Harry Potter thanked everyone and got down from the podium. I was still looking over at his family, totally bewitched by Rose. Just Rose. Rose Weasley. Rose had turned in my direction once Harry Potter had mentioned love. I had done the same, of course. Our eyes hadn't left each other for more than two seconds since. I knew I had longing in my eyes, and I could tell she was trying to hold it all in, not giving herself away.

Good thing she didn't play hard to get before I asked her out because she was really bad at it.

-:-

"Your uncle gave a brilliant speech, I must say."

"Oh, you know it was corny. Stop sucking up."

"Aw, you always read right through me." I pouted sweetly.

"You're still a softie on the inside. I bet you broke down during the love part."

I looked out over the lake, pondering for a good line. "You held me together though." So that wasn't the best I could do.

"Cheesy, cheesy, cheesy."

That's my girl. She was always the tomboy, unlike the account Robbie Corner had given me after they had broken up. He had claimed her to be the crybaby of the relationship, which definitely explained why Rose had dumped him because he followed her around like a puppy. Fishy.

She interrupted my thoughts, saying, "You get a knut for trying."

I laughed. That was the phrase she used when she pretended to turn down our first date. Rose was so cheeky.

-:-

Half an hour of silence—the comfortable, nostalgic kind—later, the rest of our friends joined us under our tree. I shouldn't say our friends since these were mostly Rose's; I was trying to like them, but some of them really drove me out of my mind.

"Scorpius. Not doing anything too rough with Rose, I hope," said Todd Walsh, wiggling his eyebrows. He was one of those annoying Gryffindor perverts.

"I should think not!" James added. Todd was just one of those people that would say wrong things in front of overprotective people like James. This was James's first time at Hogwarts after Rose and I had gotten together, and Todd was not giving him a good impression of me. On purpose, might I add. I was pretty sure it was because I had more admirers than his horny arse.

Speaking of horny, here comes Gwen Davies, Todd's latest catch. I heard rumors about her virginity in our third year. We all subtly closed in the circle, leaving Gwen and Todd to have a long snog session behind us.

"These are really good, Al, try them!" Kate Wood flung a particularly rotten strawberry at her ex-boyfriend as of three months ago. Al, who had been talking to his brother, got a load of red juice dripping down his face. Al grabbed a couple of watermelon squares and chased Kate around the bushes. No one paid them any mind since we all knew they wanted each other back on the inside. They were both too arrogant or bashful—I'd go with the former—to admit it though.

"Still aiming for the Ministry, Rose?"

"Where did you hear that from?" Rose added thoughtfully, looking in my direction, "Politics is a load of rubbish." I winced.

"Then what are you doing?" inquired the ever-competitive, but not very social, Amy Li.

"I'm going to Healing School. I already have a two-year work placement at St. Mungo's starting this August."

"No more time for Scorpy-poo, huh?" asked Gwen. James was eagerly awaiting the answer; he still did not approve of Scorpius, being the impartial bigot that he was, and Todd's frequent comments did not help.

Rose answered sweetly, "We'll make time." She made one of her occasional dreamy smiles at me, and everyone made puking and choking sounds.

"How is Scorpius going to do that in the Ministry? Don't you know they all do their bosses special favors to get promoted?"

"Well, gee thanks, Todd. My dad is the Head of the Auror Department," James said reproachfully.

"Harry Potter and Minister Bulstrode make quite the lovely couple, really."

"Bulstrode and his sister are so disgusting-looking," Gwen commented. That was probably the most complicated sentence she had ever put together.

-:-

The topic of careers soon got old, especially since Ash joined us ("The adults just coo over you little kiddies," he had used as his excuse), and we moved on to good ole' Hogwarts memories. And since Al and Kate had broken up and Todd and Gwen were rather new, everyone moved on to Rose and me. What could I say; this was my favorite way to spend my last day at Hogwarts.

Yes, that was sarcastic. It just never got boring or awkward for the rest of them.

James and Ash were very engaged listeners from that point on.

"So how did you two get together?" Amy inquired impatiently. She wasn't very close to us and did not like to show her gossipy side very often.

"She wrote about it in her diary in first year," Kate began as Rose blushed. "I think Al read it"—"and James!" Al threw in—"and told Scorpius about it."

"Seven years is a bloody long crush," said Gwen between snogs.

Ash exclaimed, "Bloody hell, so she's the girl you told me about all those years ago!" He was a bright one, he was. "You never told me!" (A/N: Insert facepalm. :D)

"So how'd you actually ask her out?" Amy must be having trouble with her, um, let's see, nonexistent love life. Just keep fueling the fire, Amy. I didn't at all mind being gossiped about to my face.

"Uh, just took her out to Hogsmeade after we took our O.W.L.s. A little butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks."

Gwen was horrified. "It's got nothing on Madam Puddifoot's."

Rose made a distinct gagging noise at that.

"Got it. Madam Puddifoot's, Madam Puddifoot's…" Todd muttered, making a not-so-mental note to himself.

-:-

They soon ran out of questions and resorted to the details of our relationship. That was my cue to take Rose and leave.

"Thank Merlin we got out of there. They need lives."

"Says the one who wrote to a certain Dear Diary in first year," I teased her.

"Oh, please," she retorted. "That was first year."

"And I probably wouldn't have gotten you otherwise," I whispered, letting her nuzzle up against my arm.

"You know, I probably would have asked you out by this year if you hadn't. I am the man in this relationship half the time."

I grunted my disapproval.

"Soo… how exactly did James and Al tell you about my little infatuation in first year?"

She was really awful at the sneaky thing. I told Rose that James and Al had told me about the contents of her diary, but not how they phrased it. She always thought there was some sort of catch.

"It's not like they would encourage a Slytherin to fancy me!"

"Not exactly."

"C'mon. Please? It's not even that big of a deal."

"Then why are you begging?"

"I'm not begging!" she protested. "I'm just…" and she broke off for a kiss.

A bloody good one, too.

"So?"

"You manipulate me, Rose."

"And why would I do that?" she said, flipping back the gorgeous hair everyone knew I could not resist.

"It's not even that big of a —" And she cut me off with another kiss, a full one with her hands around my neck, caressing my hair. Damn that.

"Okay, okay. They just told me that you had a certain soft spot for me, and that they were telling me because they wanted you to be happy." I added mischievously, raising my eyebrow invitingly, "And they told me not to misuse the secret."

"That's it? No bets?"

"Nope."

"No dares, right?"

"Like they would dare me to get together with you."

"Well, you know me, the feisty one. But no—"

"No catch. It just took me five years to process it. Plus, it might've just been an eleven-year-old's little infatuation."

"Aw, and to think I snogged you twice to get that pathetic of an answer."

"If I pretend there's more, will you do it again?"

She replied with her arms around my neck, blinking seductively up at me.

-:-

"It's been a long way here. To you."

"I can't believe it's been two years of us already."

"Technically, it hasn't been since you always like to 'take a break' right before exams."

"Well, I had to be able to study for N.E.W.T.s without distractions. I can't believe you beat me this time."

"You're quite the challenge, Rose."

"So I've heard," she grinned. "Yet you were the one in who failed miserably on their first year finals."

"Only because I was too distracted thinking about you."

She giggled, pleased that she could make me that unfocused.

After about a minute of silence, which was about the most I could wait, I whispered, "Did you ever wonder how a Slytherin and a Gryffindor could end up together?"

"I'm sure it's been done before," she breathed.

"With familial relations comparable to ours?"

"Well… I presume it was because I was brave enough to go after such a cunning boy."

"And because I was ambitious enough to go after a headstrong girl."

"Yes," my Rose said, snuggling up to me, "I suppose that's it."

And maybe it was meant to be. After all, it had only started with a silly little crush.

Or two of them.

A/N: Oh. My. Goodness. I can't believe it! Squeeeeeeeeeeee! It's OVER! I suck at cheesy romance, especially from a guy's perspective; I got distracted too many times… I'm better with the sarcasm, if you couldn't tell, but I tried to make it a little cheesy. It was kind of a crappy ending, but I can't think of anything else at this moment. Maybe if I get really inspired, I can write an alternate ending. I'm just disappointed that I couldn't find a good way to put flashbacks in there. Ah well. I'm done. And it's over. :D