First of all, I have to say a HUGE sorry to you all for being a complete slacker. My time management skills are poor and I probably deserve a foot to be hacked off with a wooden spoon for such a delay.

Secondly, thank you to everyone who has commented and loves this fanfiction! I'm sorry I don't get to reply to all of your comments, but they mean the world to me. So, keep them coming!

And now, without further ado, I give you, chapter thirteen…

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Chapter 13-Vantage Point

Rose paced nervously around the dormitory in an attempt to think clearly. She stopped occasionally to regain her balance and think the events of yesterday afternoon through, before resuming her uneasy walk. She hadn't been brain dead, nor had she been delirious. In fact, Rose couldn't quite work out what had caused her to behave so strangely.

"Scorpius," Estella shouted, dodging the corner of the wall by an inch. "Wait for…me."

Rose and Scorpius broke apart from their warm embrace and turned to look at the pesky Slytherin, who was watching them with wide eyes. She took a step in Scorpius' direction, one arm stretched out towards him. "What's going on?"

Quickly, Rose jumped back from Scorpius, wiping her tear stained face. She turned on her heel and walked away, turning around once to give him a fleeting glance. Scorpius watched after the Gryffindor with confused eyes, before returning his gaze to Estella.

"Nothing," he muttered, directing himself around the irritating seventh year. "Just leave it."

Estella noted that there was a far less severity to his tone than usual. He seemed upset, and slightly dazed. She placed her hands on her hips and frowned, tapping her foot noisily on the concrete.

"What's going on with you and that Weasley girl?" she interrogated. "I thought you hated her."

Scorpius' shoulders tensed, but he did not turn around. Instead, he increased his pace drastically, and turned a corner in the opposite direction to which Rose went. Estella was left by herself in the deserted corridor. She clenched her fists in jealousy and began releasing small squeaks of frustration.

"My word young lady," one portrait exclaimed. "What a temper you have."

Estella huffed and stormed away in the direction of Scorpius, the fumes clearly visible from her ears.

"Well," Holly interrupted. "Spit it out already!"

Rose ceased her pacing and stared at her best friend, unsure as to how she should tell her about yesterday's events. Holly sat with her legs crossed in the middle of Rose's bed. She had a very concerned expression on her face.

"I-well you see-it would-it wasn't," Rose scratched her head, trying to figure out the best way to tell her friend. If she blurted it out plainly, Holly would surely have a fit of laughter and start prancing around the room shouting "I was right!". If Rose didn't say it quickly though, she was sure Holly would assume it was much worse.

"Rose," Holly said, jumping off the bed. She moved around to Rose and took her shoulders roughly. "Tell me, I'm getting really worried."

Rose sighed and flopped backwards onto her bed, looking up at the ceiling. She guessed it would be easier to tell Holly without actually seeing her reaction.

"Yesterday, Paul…he confessed his love for me," Rose began, screwing her face up in guilt.

Holly laughed quietly and swung herself on the bed post. "I thought it was about time he told you!"

"What?" Rose snapped, sitting upright. "What do you mean?"

"Rose," Holly muttered. "I've known about this for ages. I'm sorry for not telling you, but I made a promise to Paul!"

Rose smacked her forehead and collapsed back onto her bed. "Wow, ok."

"So, what did you say?" Holly questioned, sitting herself on the corner of Rose's bed. She crossed her legs in anticipation.

Rose remained silent, staring up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes and shook her head at herself before sitting upright once again.

"I didn't say anything Holly, that's the problem! I was so confused and upset that I ran away. And I know you'll never believe me, and I still don't believe it myself, but I ran into Scorpius and Estella. He saw me and I ran away as fast as I could, but he chased me! And Holly, he grabbed my arm!"

"What?!"

"And I hugged him!"

"What?!"

"And then I pulled away, but he pulled me back again and we were hugging each other!"

"What?!"

The tears were welling up in her eyes now, so Rose began to pace again, ignoring the look of utter astonishment on Holly's face.

"Rose…" Holly whispered. "You, hugged each other? But Paul…"

"I know," Rose blubbered, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "I just, I don't know why, but I couldn't accept Paul and his love. What's wrong with me?"

Holly stood and pulled her friend into a large bear hug. "I'll tell you why," Holly said. "I don't know if you should hear it right now, but you might as well. Rose, you have feelings for Scorpius. I saw it at the lake on the weekend, and I've seen it ever since."

"No," Rose uttered. "No, I don't." She pulled away from Holly and sat herself on the corner of her bed, wiping her wet face.

"Yes, you do." Holly insisted, sitting next to her. "Tell me Rose, whose face did you see when Paul told you he loved you? Because I bloody well know it wasn't Paul you were looking at."

"Holly," Rose moaned, looking at her friend. "He's rude and arrogant, and completely frustrating! How could I have feelings for him?"

"I don't know," Holly admitted, tapping her finger against her pursed lips. "I'm just as confused as you are."

Rose heaved a sigh and stood up. She moved around her bed to where her school bag was sitting, and pulled it over her shoulder. She then proceeded to pull a bunch of tissues from the box sitting on her bedside table and wiped her face gently.

"Come on," she said, angling towards the door. "We need to get to breakfast."

Holly nodded and grabbed her bag, dragging it out of the dormitory. The girls walked in haste towards the great hall, clearly in need of a distraction. As Rose followed Holly inside, she stopped dead, staring guiltily at the Gryffindor table. Albus was sitting opposite to Paul, attempting to speak to him. Paul had his head in his hands, and he was rubbing his face aggressively. His lips moved slightly, signifying that he was talking, but reluctantly.

Rose grabbed Holly's arm for mental support as they made their way along the Gryffindor table, getting closer towards her cousin and best friend, perhaps best friend no longer.

Paul and Albus looked up at the approaching pair, Albus looking quizzical and Paul, blank. Rose stopped a few feet away from her cousin, keeping her eyes anywhere but at the depressed seventh year opposite them.

"Hi guys," Holly said, pulling Rose into the seat next to her. Rose sat reluctantly, keeping her eyes on the food in front of her.

"Hey," Albus greeted, stretching his gaze to Rose.

Holly coughed and began piling scrambled eggs and toast onto her awaiting plate. She did her best to keep the conversation flowing. "God I'm hungry." She almost shouted, grabbing a few pieces of bacon.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw Albus looking at Rose questioningly. She smiled half-heartedly and looked up, taking an apple from a bowl in front of her. She turned it in her hands a few times before putting it on her plate.

"Not hungry?" Paul asked suddenly, with a poisonous undertone.

Rose avoided his gaze as she poured herself a goblet of orange juice. "Uh, not really-I'm sorry!"

Albus raised his eyebrows at Rose's sudden outburst but continued to eat his breakfast in silence. Holly mirrored his actions.

"Sorry for what?" Paul muttered, glaring at the table.

Rose placed her goblet on the table in strained gentleness and sighed. "Paul, you have to understand, it was all so sudden…I wasn't prepared."

She watched as the seventh year scoffed quietly and shoved a piece of dry toast into his mouth. Rose glared at him and stood up, grabbing her school bag. "I don't want to talk about this now." She concluded. In one swift motion, she had turned and was out of the great hall.

"Rose!" Holly called, but she continued walking, shaking her head embarrassedly.

……………………………………………………

Scorpius sat at the Slytherin table, staring at his breakfast with no interest. Estella sat beside him, chatting to a small sixth year beside her. Opposite him was his friend Will, who was, as usual, shoveling food into his mouth. Luckily for Will, his metabolism worked like a machine and he had no problem maintaining a healthy weight.

However, Scorpius paid no attention to people around him. There was only one person on his mind, and she had yet to make an appearance at breakfast. Just the thought of Rose Weasley made his skin prickle with anticipation and warmth. Yesterday had been something of a shock. Feeling Rose's body pressed against his so securely was like a burn, it stayed with you for a long time after it had scorched your skin. Only this burn wasn't painful or unpleasant, it was intoxicating and he only wanted to be burned deeper.

Scorpius was pulled out of his emotional bubble by a sudden malicious buzz along the Slytherin table. His eyes darted from student to student as they turned their heads in the direction of the entrance of the Great Hall. Scorpius turned his head curiously in that direction, only to be surprised by the arrival of Rose Weasley and Holly Aberdene. He watched as the blonde girl pulled Rose along towards the Gryffindor table. There was a look of reluctance plastered onto her face as she moved.

"Isn't that the girl?" The sixth year sitting beside Estella muttered. "The one you've been talking about?"

"Yes," Estella hissed, letting out a small chuckle. "I do believe it is."

Scorpius turned his head in their direction, furrowing his brow deeply.

"Did you hear?" The sixth year questioned Scorpius.

"Hear what?" He replied, the crease in his brow deepening.

"That Weasley girl," the sixth year continued. "Estella told me that yesterday; she caught her and another student in the hallway. She was practically begging for him to love her. Apparently she was on the ground, grabbing his ankles, crying, shouting at him for being so naïve. According to Estella, that Weasley girl is a mess. She just goes from one boy to the next, because no one loves her."

Scorpius glared at the sixth year for a moment before turning it on Estella. "What did you do?" He snapped through clenched teeth.

"What do you mean?" Estella murmured in false innocence.

"What did you say about her?" Scorpius interrogated, his temper on the brink of explosion. "You know that none of that is true!"

"Oh, calm down," Estella cooed. "You're overreacting."

"You brat," Scorpius cursed. "You just can't stay out of anyone's business, can you?"

"Excuse me?" Estella shouted.

Scorpius turned towards the Gryffindor table and saw that Rose had stormed away from her friends. He watched as she almost sprinted out of the Great Hall, her bag in hand. Without a second thought, Scorpius stood and grabbed his own bag, moving swiftly towards the entrance.

………………………………………………..

When Albus Potter had entered the Great Hall that morning, the last thing he had expected to see was a disheveled and downcast Paul, head in his hands and untouched food on his plate. It was unusual to see his Gryffindor friend in such a state, as he was generally a happy and content person. The only other time in which Albus could recall his friend in a mood similar to this one was the death of his mother. Marie was the kind of person who made you feel like you were floating above all others, like you were the only one who mattered. She had had a way of seeing the beauty in others, when they could not see it in themselves. After her death, Paul was shattered, but that was nothing compared to his father whom now spent his days surrounded by the comforts of alcohol and old memories.

"Morning," Albus muttered, dumping his bag beneath the wooden table.

"Morning," Paul replied quietly, forcing himself to look up at the arrival of his friend.

Albus watched skeptically as the dark-haired boy buttered a piece of toast and shoved it into his mouth, a half-hearted smile plastered onto his face. Albus copied his actions, curiosity dominating his facial expressions.

"So…" Albus began, searching for a topic on which to base conversation. Although he was itching to ask, Albus couldn't bring himself to poke around in Paul's business. The Gryffindor already looked as if he were on the verge of a serious breakdown.

"Are all women so…confusing?" Paul choked, running one pale hand through his thick locks.

"Apparently," Albus confirmed, taking a sip of orange juice. He looked at Elizabeth who was chatting with a friend of hers. She looked over in Albus' direction and winked before returning to her conversation. "Why do you ask?"

"I think I was too confronting with Rose," Paul admitted sadly, toying with the orange which had found its way onto his plate. "The look on her face said it all."

Albus choked on his second swig of juice and coughed quickly, emptying the contents back into his cup. "What do you mean?"

"I told her-" but Paul never managed to finish his sentence. His eyes traveled to the entrance of the Great Hall and paused there for a moment. He rested his head in his hands, rubbing small circles on his temples.

Albus turned to the entrance only to see Holly and a reluctant Rose making their way towards them. He turned back to Paul and asked "Told her what?" However, Paul only shook his head, muttering something about guilt.

"Hi guys," Holly greeted from behind Albus. He looked up and smiled as both girls took their seats beside him.

"Hey," Albus said, moving his gaze to Rose who sat, staring determinedly at her empty plate. Though her face was blank, her eyes were full of discomfort and-was it-guilt?

Rose looked up to meet Albus' gaze. She smiled quickly before picking an apple from the closest fruit bowl and turned it around her hands a few times before placing on her plate. What was going on between Rose and Paul?

Holly coughed awkwardly and declared that she was starving. Albus watched as she piled bacon and eggs onto her plate, and barely felt the kick he received from her. He looked at her with raised eyebrows but she only motioned with her eyes, telling him to start talking.

"Not hungry?" Paul grunted, though Albus could detect that undertone of poison. Nevertheless, he kept silent and began putting eggs onto his own plate.

"Uh, not really," Rose replied. Albus thought the conversation would come naturally from here, until his cousin suddenly decided to confront the gauche situation. "I'm sorry!" She cried, before taking a rushed sip of her juice.

"Sorry for what?" Paul almost teased, continuing to munch on his toast.

Albus and Holly exchanged a disgruntled glance before returning to their food. This wasn't a conversation-or more like argument-which required their personal opinions.

Albus heard the clunk of a goblet hitting the table and looked up to find Rose sitting there in a strained posture. "Paul, you have to understand, it was all so sudden…I wasn't prepared."

He looked to Paul to see his reaction, who only scoffed and grabbed a second piece of toast. It was very strange for his friend to be so unforgiving and hostile.

Suddenly, Rose was out of her seat, and grabbed her school bag. "I don't want to talk about this now." His cousin moved around a passing student and was out of the Great Hall in a flash.

"Rose!" Holly called, though it was pointless.

Holly glared at Paul before looking at Albus. "What's going on?" He snapped, looking from the entrance to his friend sitting opposite him. "Paul? Holly?"

"Albus, I…"

However, something else had distracted his mind. He motioned to the door and watched as Scorpius Malfoy moved outside of the Great Hall, in exactly the same direction to where Rose had left. "What's Malfoy doing?"

"Come on," Holly hissed, grabbing his arm. She pulled him out of the Great Hall at a pace which Albus thought was impossible to walk.

The pair turned left and made their way outside into the bitter wind, searching frantically for Rose and possibly Scorpius. The day was cold, and more than a little windy. The sky was washed in a depressing gray, which shed a morbid feeling in the atmosphere. The lake swirled roughly, sloshing its fathomless waters onto the grass infrequently, but in large quantities.

Suddenly, Albus was pulled onto the ground by a determined Holly. She motioned towards one of the courtyards that were built off of the castle. The stone pillars that surrounded the old establishment were covered with thick, green vines. The pair crawled towards the stone structure quickly, and stopped at the wall to catch their breath.

"They're in the courtyard," Holly said quietly, forced to raise her voice over the wind. "Be very subtle."

Albus raised his head and peered over the low stone wall. Rose was leaning against the solid bird bath which was situated in the middle of the structure. She had one hand on her chest, and the other placed on her hip. Scorpius was standing five feet away, facing her back. Neither of them was saying anything. A million questions ran through his head as he watched the scene unfold. When had Rose and Scorpius become so neutral? Why weren't they jumping at each others throats? And why had Scorpius run after Rose in the first place?

"Don't move," Holly cautioned, grabbing a fistful of Albus' robe on his sleeve. "Or I will personally beat you with stick until every single one of those biased cells in your foolish being has been removed."

Albus was momentarily taken off guard by this and shook his head a couple of times. "What?"

Holly smirked. "Never mind, just don't move."

………………………………………………………………….

Rose sighed, rubbing her chest soothingly. Why did everything have to be so complicated? She had never intended to hurt Paul's feelings, and knowing that she had done so made her feel like the most hated person in the world. Rose loved Paul, but not romantically. She loved him as if he were her brother, a shoulder to cry on and someone she could always talk to. Romantically, she could never consider Paul. As harsh as it sounded, he was too special to lose as a friend. She couldn't give up her friendship with him for true love. In true love, you risk everything you have for your significant other. You put your future happiness on the line, and your entire world is flipped upside down just when you're in their presence. If she couldn't feel that with Paul, then it just wasn't right.

"Rose."

Rose jumped, immediately realizing the voice which had spoken her name. She turned around in deliberate slowness, willing herself not to look at him. As soon as he came into view, Rose found herself gazing at his marvelous and unique features. His short blonde hair was in disarray, as was his school uniform. His tall frame stood proudly before her, but there was a certain softness which she had not noticed before. Finally, she reached his cold, gray eyes, which did not seem cold to her anymore. They pierced her like an arrow might, and it seemed as if they could read everything on her face.

"I…" She wasn't sure what to say to this boy. After their emotional, but short exchange yesterday, the right words were hard to find.

"You ran off yesterday," he reminded her. "Why?"

Rose bit her lip, but never lost eye contact with the Slytherin. He took a step closer, which should have intimidated her, but it didn't. It was more welcome then rejected.

"I don't know," she replied. "I don't know at all, Scorpius. It seems that I know nothing anymore! You confuse me! You're like a foreign language that you can only understand partially. On the days that I recognize your mood, you seem to hate me. And then you don't, and I don't understand why."

"It's hard for me to explain," Scorpius retorted defensively. "I don't understand it myself. I just…I have to be near you Rose."

This took the Gryffindor surprise. Her eyes widened at his words, though her vision of him was clouded by the wisps of hair that kept whipping her face gently. Scorpius closed in the remaining distance between them and raised one bony hand to her face. He brushed his fingers across her face gently, tucking the hair behind her ears. And although she asked him to stop, she closed her eyes, feeling the pleasant burn that stayed on her face from his touch.

Rose opened her eyes again to find Scorpius staring at her. The fact that she felt wobbly at the knees every time this boy touched her made Rose nervous. She had never felt so vulnerable in her life. She was always the bright, strong willed girl who didn't let anyone boss her around. Suddenly, she found herself willing to fall to her knees and beg for Scorpius' touch again.

"Scorpius…" Rose knew that before she could ever succumb to this newly found emotion, an emotion only sparked by Scorpius, she had to deal with the Paul situation first. She didn't want to hurt either of these boys and leave things a mess. Rose hated mess. "I can't do this now."

Rose was fearful of his reaction, but she saw none. Reluctance flashed across his face momentarily, but it might as well have been that the emotion was never there. Slowly, Scorpius bent towards Rose and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead. As his lips touched her skin, the heat immediately rushed to her face and all she wanted to do was grab the Slytherin and embrace him passionately. The heart was there, as was the motivation. But still, she resisted, because although this exchange took her breath away, she wasn't sure if his heart was in it too. Rose still detected an air of indecision in Scorpius.

Rose closed her eyes and reached up to touch his face but his hand suddenly caught hers and pulled it away. "I'm sorry." He muttered, and turned away, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

Before Rose could control her urge, she ran forwards and shouted. "Why do I feel like my heart is the only one ready to succumb?"

Scorpius turned, a seriousness she had never seen before was planted on his face. "You think your heart is the only one in this?" He shook his head. "You said you weren't ready!"

"I…" It was true; Rose had prevented anything from going further. "Stop ruining this!"

"I'm not ruining anything!" Scorpius looked at her incredulously. "You're the one who decides to have these random outbursts of emotion. Not me."

"Exactly!" Rose snapped. "It's as if you don't have any emotion in this at all!"

Scorpius clenched his fists and exhaled deeply. "I keep telling myself not to argue with you, Rose. But I always end up doing it anyway. I'll tell you this now; I'll do whatever it takes to talk to you, even just to see you. If that means arguing with you everyday, and ending up in this conundrum of emotion and confusion, then I will. I do have deep emotions Rose, but they're buried deep, and you're the only one who can dig them out and bring them to the surface. So don't tell me that I have nothing to offer, because I'll offer you everything."

Rose stood on the spot, the tears streaming down her face. She cursed herself over and over for being so ridiculous and jumping to conclusions. She watched as Scorpius turned away and headed towards the castle. Was she going to let him walk away? Rose wanted to run after him, she wanted throw her arms around his frame and hold onto him so that he wouldn't leave. She wanted to talk to him, hug him, and kiss him. But she couldn't do that. Rose wasn't going to rush into something that she didn't fully understand, no matter how much she wanted to.

Quickly, Rose grabbed her bag from underneath the bird bath and hoisted it onto her shoulders. Wiping her face, she moved towards the castle as well, preparing herself for a week of mayhem.

…………………………………………………………….

Albus and Holly waited a moment until Rose was out of sight. Albus turned to his Gryffindor friend and sighed.

"Holly, what the bloody hell is going on?"

Wow! There you have chapter 13. It was something of a vantage point, wasn't it? (Which is why I have entitled this chapter "Vantage Point") :) Please tell me what you think, and if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear from you. I know I'm dragging on this relationship probably a tad too much, but before the EPIC moment occurs (it's coming), I think there is a little bit of sorting out to do (ahem ahem).

I promise I will update more frequently.

Peace out.