Um. Hi. *hides behind a wall* I'm so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time--but here it is. The last chapter. I'll stop talking now :) (by the way this one's around 3,500 words!)

Disclaimer: Belongs to JKRowling.

I woke up with the haze of sleep still resting on my eyelids.

I turned drowsily towards my side table, looking for the time on the clock. Six in the morning. I yawned quietly and got up.

It was the last time I would get up at Hogwarts.

I threw my covers off and stepped out of bed. The sun was sparkling through the curtains, hanging over the window.

I sat down on the edge of my bed and smiled sadly to myself. It was hard to believe that I wouldn't go to Hogwarts anymore after this.

But, it was no time to feel sad. I was the first one in the room up, so I padded softly to the edge of my bed, to look at my suitcase.

There was a Gryffindor tie sitting crookedly on the top of it.

I looked around my bed, checking to make sure I really had packed everything in preparation for today.

The tie was the only thing still out. I grabbed it, puzzled, but decided not to question it. As I picked it up, though, a note fluttered out of its folds, landing near my feet.

I picked it up and read the line that was scrawled on the ripped piece of parchment.

Meet me in the last train compartment.

I turn it over, expecting something else to be written on it. It's blank, though.

I stuff the note into my pocket and examine the tie more closely. It looks a little different from the rest of my ties. It looks a little more worn.

Who would have written the note? Who would have taken the tie to begin with?

I get dressed and fold up my pajamas, stuffing them into the corner of my suitcase. I lock it one last time.

I turn around and survey my bed, satisfied. I grab the note and stuff it into the pocket of my robes.

I walk out of the dorm and down the staircase leading out towards the common room, relishing the sound of my shoes clicking against the hard stairs.

I keep walking, going towards the staircase leading to the Great Hall. A couple people were already out and about, but otherwise, I was pretty much alone.

The Great Hall had about ten people in it, including me. I decided to just start eating. Leaving Hogwarts was strange, and I didn't want anyone interrupting the little time I did have to myself here.

When I was about halfway done with my toast, I really took a good look around the hall. My eyes lingered a bit on the Slytherin table.

Scorpius wasn't anywhere to be found, but a huffy-looking Elise was already seated at the table, digging into what seemed to be a bowl of mushy oatmeal.

I couldn't really put my finger on it, but ever since she broke up with Scorpius around Christmas-time last year, she's been a little bit off. Not quite as she used to be.

Hmm. That's something I've always wondered about. Why didn't he break up with her, instead? Especially after what I had said to him?

Well, anyways, Elise's personality is still intact.

She caught me looking her way and threw me a scathing look for the umpteenth time in the past two years.

I turned away and pretended I didn't see her.

"Rose," a voice said behind me. I put my toast down.

"Al," I greeted back, scooting over a bit so he could sit down comfortably next to me. "Well. I'm not sure how I feel about this," I admitted, nodding my head towards the hall.

Albus didn't say anything. He gave a slow smile and a long sigh. "It's okay. Today isn't supposed to be a sad day."

"I know. But it's going to be hard. Not being with…all of this, I guess," I've stopped eating.

Albus paused. He left his pumpkin juice untouched and got up again. "I think I'll see you later," he said. "I just have to…make sure I've done some stuff. Packing. Erm. See you on the train."

I nodded, letting him go on his way. I think I got what he was getting at. Albus was someone I could see another time, but right now, I had to be alone.

I got up with a sigh, walking without looking back towards the Great Hall's large doors. I didn't know where I was going, but I couldn't just spend it eating breakfast.

Just as I reached out to push the door open, someone else opened it before I could.

Scorpius stopped the door from hitting me, catching it with his right hand. "Sorry," he said quickly. Then he looked up, and straightened a little. "Weasley," he said, his hand still on the door.

"Malfoy," I answered back. He looked a little disheveled, to be frank. A few of the top buttons on his shirt weren't fastened, and his tie was a little lopsided. His sleeves were sitting unevenly midway up his arms, but the way he held himself and the precise way that his shirt was ironed still gave you that I'm-richer-than-you vibe.

I sidestepped him and let myself through the doorway. "Morning," I said dully.

"Morning," he said, quickly going in the opposite direction. The door thudded shut. I was left to stand there, a bit confused.

"Whatever," I mumbled, going on my way. Scorpius wasn't about to be different now, not on the last day of school.

I found myself going outside, still thinking of Scorpius. Scorpius had dated many girls after Elise, but nothing was ever constant. He went through them like my mother goes through spells.

I sat down on a large rock near the lake. It was still quite tolerable outside, since it was only morning.

I didn't move or think about much for a good half an hour or so. After the results for my N.E.W.T.s came in during the summer, I'll be able to really think about what kind of jobs to apply for.

Oh, but it's not like I'm scared, or anything. Professor Sinistra pulled me aside the other day and told me I got an O on the Astronomy exam.

I remembered the note and tie from earlier on, and took out the piece of parchment from my robes. I flattened it out and read it over again and again, examining the handwriting closely.

I still really had no idea who it was from. The handwriting is quite neat, actually. Maybe it's from a girl. A girl in my house?

I groaned. There was no use. I couldn't find out who had done it, especially now. I shoved the note back into the pocket.

I looked at my watch. It was eight. We'd be going soon. I got up with a sigh and treaded on the dewy grass, heading up towards the castle.

People were starting to file out, going out onto the grounds. I didn't pay them any notice, and I ran as fast as I could inside of Hogwarts.

I raced past all of the students, all of them looking relaxed and carefree. No, not me. I wasn't. I definitely wasn't.

I ran up more staircases, up towards a small corridor on the fourth floor. It was nearly deserted.

Nearly.

I turned a corner, and gave a small yelp of surprise. Scorpius was sitting on a window's ledge, looking pensive and calm.

He looked up, almost as surprised as I was. "Weasley," he said, sliding off the ledge. He walked in my direction.

He stopped several feet away, his hands crossed lazily across his chest. "We should get going, you know."

"I know," I said. I didn't have the strength to sound like I could hold a fight. I really couldn't, anyways.

It was silent for a couple more moments.

"See you, then," I said hastily, running off. Scorpius was too intense, sometimes.

A crazy thought entered my mind as I jogged towards the main staircase.

What if it was Scorpius?

No. Absolutely not. You know what? I'll…I'll think of something. Before I get into that compartment. Yes.

"Rose? Rose!" Lily's voice called after me as I reached the grounds.

"Lily!" I said enthusiastically. "Do you have any idea where your brother is?"

"Er, yes. I just saw him disappear into the train."

"Thank you!" I yelled before running out. I went onto one of the train's cars, and looked at both of the narrow hallways on either side of me.

I saw a black cloak swish into a compartment on my left. I went after it. I slammed the compartment door open and peered in.

"Rose!" Albus yelled, startled. He leapt off the Hufflepuff girl he was just sucking the face off of.

"Merlin, Al," I made a face, trying to not see what I had just seen happen in front of me. "Can I talk to you?" My eyes flickered towards his bag. He saw me look at it and smirked.

"Fine by me. Excuse us, for a minute?" He smiled charmingly at the poor girl trying not to make eye-contact with me. Albus grabbed his bag and slid out of the compartment.

I grabbed his collar and ran up to the next empty compartment. "Al," I said as nicely as I could. "Give me the cloak, would you?"

Albus raised his eyebrows. "Why would you need it?"

"Oh, er, I dunno. Some last-minute stuff. I guess."

Albus looked at me with questioning eyes, but seemed to think better of it. To my surprise, he handed me the slippery cloak. "Will you finally leave me alone?" he laughed, opening the compartment door and leaving.

I grinned and threw the cloak on. I went through the open compartment door and raced down the long corridor, feeling weightless. I skidded to a halt at the last door and nudged it open a little, to see if anybody was already inside.

They weren't. I pushed it open and took a last glance down the way I had come, sliding the door shut.

The train jolted, and I almost fell over onto one of the cushioned seats. I raced to the window, catching a final glimpse of a distant Hogwarts. I kept my eyes on it until I heard the compartment door slide open again.

I jumped about a foot in the air before quickly remembering that I had an invisibility cloak on. I tugged at the cloak to make sure it hadn't moved and looked towards who had come in.

Scorpius?

It really was him. His cheeks were shaded a pale pink, and his hair looked windswept. I let out a shallow exhale, I didn't realize I had held my breath.

So it was him? This was interesting. Very interesting. I didn't know what to do. My options were simple. I could leave unnoticed, or take off the cloak.

I looked at the door, then at Scorpius. The Gryffindor inside of me was telling me to take off the cloak and figure out why I was here.

I reached for my wand while Scorpius kept looking around. He reached for the corners of the room and hesitantly went to the corner diagonal from the one I was cowering in. I realized what he was doing and ducked out of the way, my back towards the door. Scorpius walked past me.

I clutched my wand in my right hand as my other hand crept slowly towards the latch on the door.

Suddenly, a hand was on my invisible one. I tried to back away before Scorpius could figure out why his hand struck something other than the door.

Scorpius looked surprised as hand dropped back to his side. He looked in my direction carefully, and slowly reached up. He put his hand in front of himself, his fingers outstretched. His hand landed on my head, and he grabbed the fabric of the invisibility cloak, gently pulling it until it slithered to the floor.

I averted my eyes and didn't say anything. Scorpius just sighed.

"I thought I'd find you here," he said finally, pulling out something from his pocket.

He handed me a wrinkled piece of parchment. "You dropped this. Earlier, I mean."

It was the same parchment I had found in the morning.

"It's not you?" I blurted out.

"No," he said darkly. "But I've got a good idea who it is."

"Who?"

"Can I borrow your cloak, Weasley? Just for a second," he said, ignoring my question. I sighed. "Fine."

Whatever.

He grinned in a sarcastic sort of way and pulled the cloak over his head, slamming the door open and peering out.

As he leaned out, I could still see a good bit of the bottom half of him. I decided not to avert my eyes just to spite him.

Or something.

Scorpius closed the door shut and shoved the cloak back into my arms. He muttered a few obscenities under his breath paced a bit around the compartment.

"What?" I said, still holding the cloak.

"Alright. Put that away," he gestured at the cloak. "And brace yourself, Weasley,"

I stared, dumbstruck, but managed to stuff the cloak into my bag. He steered me towards the windows of the compartment, putting himself near the door.

"Well?"

"What is it, Malfoy?" I hissed, feeling wobbly as the train sped over bumpy tracks.

"Get your wand out in front of you!" he warned, and I saw that his wand was out as well.

"Don't be absurd, we don't need—," at that exact moment, the compartment door slammed open and Elise came striding in, her own wand aloft.

"Okay, never mind, never mind. We do." I brandished my wand while mumbling.

Elise looked surprised. "Scorpius," she said sweetly. "What a surprise."

"Elise," he said quietly. "Did you tell Weasley to meet you here?"

"And so what if I did?" she sneered. "Last I checked, it was never any of your business."

Scorpius shook his head. "Elise—," he started.

"Merlin, Scorpius, will you shut up? I haven't done anything!" Elise yelled.

"What are your intentions, then?" Scorpius barked back.

"Just a little girl talk, if you don't mind," Elise's eyes flickered over to me. I was pressed against the window, wishing I could dissolve into the floor. I hadn't been this close to Elise for a very, very long time.

"I do. Leave, Elise."

Elise's face was blank. She walked closer up to Scorpius, so that their faces were only a few inches apart from each other. They were even around the same height.

"I don't have to listen to you anymore," she smiled.

"Why did you take my tie?" I asked timidly, getting revolted from how close Elise was to Scorpius. She backed away and didn't look at me. "I don't know, I guess I just wanted a souvenir, okay? I probably wanted to do some voodoo on you, or something," Elise rolled her eyes. "But I gave it back, out of the kindness of my own heart, because I don't need it anymore."

I didn't say anything. Because, really? Elise was out of her mind.

"Er. Okay," This had gotten a little too bizarre for me. "I'm just going to leave, then," I said slowly, maneuvering around Scorpius and Elise, towards the sanctuary that was the hallway.

"Right, Weasley," Elise pointed her wand at the door, sealing it in place. "You're not really going to be able to wriggle out of this one."

"Elise, this is insane," Scorpius said. "If you've got something to say to her, then say it—but don't lock us in here," he said calmly.

Elise looked from me to Scorpius. I didn't really care what she had to say—I was trying to think of the countercharm for that spell she had just performed. Merlin knows how many spells I've memorized. Now, if only I could figure out if she sealed the door shut or actually locked it...?

"Fine, I'll say it. And I'll start with how absolutely dense Weasley is," she started. I didn't say anything. Elise's insults were old hat, really.

"Is that it?" Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. "Because, if it is—," Scorpius was interrupted.

"Weasley had to go ruining everything that day last year, when she pushed you towards an epiphany about your feelings."

"Elise, what does it matter? You ended it, and you did that months after that."

"Yes, only because you were too scared to do it yourself. And then you proceeded to date every student in our year and below ours with a double X chromosome. I remember."

"That doesn't explain anything," Scorpius retorted.

"I only broke up with you later because at first I thought you'd come to your senses," she snapped. "After that, Scorpius, well, I've had you two all figured out."

"Cut the crap, Elise."

"You just don't want the truth getting out. I honestly didn't think you'd wait long to tell her, anyways."

"I really have no idea what you're talking about," Scorpius said, with no emotion showing on his face. "Don't be childish."

"Tell me what?" I said.

Elise smiled and crossed her arms over her chest. "That Scorpius, he's ob—."

"Elise," Scorpius said. "You've got it all mixed up, as usual," he shook his head.

"Right," Elise said softly, clearly unfazed. "Don't pull this act, Scorpius. The whole Slytherin tower knows that you've got a thing for Rose Weasley!"

Nobody said anything.

"Er. Alright. Good one, guys," I said lamely. I clapped slowly. "Really funny. I guess this is a funny way to end the school year, or something. Yeah. Well, it was nice chatting!" I pointed my wand at the door.

Before I could say anything, though, Scorpius spoke.

"Weasley. Hold on a minute."

"No, no. Really. I get it. Ha ha. Ha."

Elise glowered at me. "This isn't a joke," she said.

I lowered my wand. I looked straight at Scorpius. "It's the last day of school, you know," I said. Like, really? This was the situation I was told this in? By someone who wasn't Scorpius himself? Merlin.

Wait, what?

WHAT!?

"Wha…," my tongue didn't seem to be working. Elise looked at me with a look of extreme disgust on her face.

"Well?" she turned to Scorpius. Scorpius didn't even say a word. "Say something!"

Scorpius didn't oblige. His mouth looked thinner than I'd ever seen it.

Elise just looked at us. "You know what? I deserved better anyways," she said, shooting a spell at the door. "This is just so ridiculous! Scorpius, you're just a coward—and Weasley? Weasley, you might be the top of our grade, but you're just as thick! Have a nice life," she rolled her eyes.

Elise put her wand away roughly and glided out the door.

"What," I said sharply, "was that all about!?"

Scorpius sat down and put his head in his hands. "She's right, Weasley," he said.

I sat down, too. "Wow," I said. "And today, of all days?"

"Well, I wasn't going to tell you, obviously," his conceited tone was picking up again. "I was going to move on, maybe marry a nice girl from a family my grandparents wouldn't hate…"

I leaned against the wall for support. My knees had gone weak, for some reason.

"Well," I said, feeling my ears go warm. "I-I don't see why you have to do that."

"Do what?"

"Move on, of course. There's no reason for you to," I mean, right? Scorpius couldn't be that bad. Maybe I could, erm, think about it. Or something.

"There isn't? Come off it, Weasley, you ha—," he tried to say.

"No, no I don't."

He looked at me, just like he did that time on the train platform almost seven years ago, from my feet, slowly, all the way up to my head. He smiled this time. "You don't?"

"Well, I've obviously got to be the bigger person here," I sighed, trying to look frustrated. I failed. Scorpius just smiled wider. "I suppose, you know, over the summer, or something. Erm. Maybe in the immediate summer. I could, meet you. For, er, ice cream."

"That sounds doable." He said, repressing a laugh. "I can write you," he shrugged.

I nodded, for once, not being able to think of anything to say. "Okay."

For a little while, there wasn't anything else to say. We just looked out the window.

Scorpius finally spoke.

"So, what are you going to do after you get your test results back?" he asked, leaning back into the seat.

"Well, if you'd really like to know...," I started hesitantly, easing into the seat as well.

It was a long train ride, after all.

Yay! :D I really hope this story was fun to read for you, I had a lot of fun writing it. Thankyouthankyouthankyou to all the people who've reviewed and watched and favorited this story! I know I was really late...um...in posting this last chapter (I'm not even going to try to explain my way out of that one.)...*shields self* but. I hope this last chapter was okay. I also hope you'll look out for other stuff I'll write :) I love reading your reviews, so if you haven't reviewed this story at all--well please do so, as this is your last chance and all :)

Thank you again, really. And I promise not to be THIS ridiculously late with anything ever again...

-E :)