Disclaimer: Not JK…

A/n: Written for the Next Gen Competition. The character was Rose Weasley and the song that inspired this fic was Kiss From a Rose – Seal. Thanks to Mad(limegreenrocks) for the prompts: sunflower, rainy days.

Hope you enjoy!

Scorpius wandered the halls of the castle unalarmed. It was after curfew, he must have been in bed a while ago, if a prefect or one of the Heads caught him out after curfew again, he'd be in a cartload of trouble. Did he bother? No. They already thought he was a murderer anyway, what did it matter if he randomly roamed the castle at night or not? Was there even a bigger crime than murder?

Coveting what you didn't deserve the answer ran through his mind even as the question arose; Scorpius chuckled wryly. If that was made a crime, he'd need a thousand lives to serve his sentence. Because he knew he didn't deserve her; he definitely wasn't worth her friendship, he sure as hell couldn't accept her affection.

"Scor! What are you doing out of curfew? Again?" Her voice interrupted his musings. Scorpius turned back and there she was; in all her auburn haired blue eyed glory. Her hair swished about her as she approached him, and Scorpius was struck by the wide smile on her face before she came to stop before him. He had always been reminded by the sunflower everytime he saw her; so bright, so sunny, so…dazzling.

"Just wandering the halls, Rosie. And what are you doing here?" He asked with a knowing smile and sure enough, Rose blushed.

"I was just…I came looking for you. You went missing and I got worried!" She looked at him with that pleading look in her eyes that she got everytime she made that little show of affection. Didn't she know? He lived for them.

"That's alright, Rosie. I was just…you know, lurking around," They began walking as one and Scorpius slowed his pace to hers, lacing his fingers through hers. It was an absent gesture, one he had gotten used to in the past years, "Maybe I should take you with me the next time and not wait for you to come looking for me."

"There won't be a next time," She said stubbornly, but Scorpius knew she knew otherwise, "Promise you'll take me along?"

"You can roam the corridors on your own, can't you Rosie?" It was a rude comment, but Scorpius only knew to speak that way; Rose laughed.

"Yes, I can, but it's always so much more fun with you!" Scorpius' hand tightened on hers; this, this was why he'd never be able to let he go; even though he knew she was too good for him.

"Of course, loitering the corridors in the dead of the night with the son of an Ex-death Eater does come under the category of fun."

Rose snorted before replying, "Oh hush, Scor. You know that's all trash and I don't care. People have forgotten all that so long ago, why do you cling on to it so much?" Because that was the only thing that could possibly stop him from becoming irreversibly addicted to her.

"I can see it in people's eyes, Rose. They don't say it, they don't act on it, but whenever I enter a room, wherever I go, a cloud of doubt follows." Honestly, didn't she know? He was like a rainy day, gloomy and full of darkness; she was the sunflower, shining and glowing like the sun itself. How could they be anything?

"Stop imagining things, Scor. Nobody sees anything in you that isn't there. You seriously need to cheer up a bit and I know just the thing." Her eyes glinted with that mirth that doubled tripled quadrupled her glow. Scorpius stood blinded, looking at her as she went about her plans; it was her nature, to plan and organize; something she claimed she got from her mother.

"…And we finish it off with a visit to the Three Broomsticks, right?" She looked up at him with such earnest eyes, he could only nod and smile lightly, watching her bounce off the ground with excitement.

They continued into the night like that, walking and talking, though Scorpius just listened to her most of the time, because he loved her voice, he loved listening to her, but he most definitely couldn't love her; of that he was most certain. Sunflowers couldn't survive rainy days, they'd wilt.

XXXXXXXX

It was a stupid fight, really. Scorpius couldn't even remember what it was about the next day, but Rose kept avoiding him so he guessed that meant she remembered pretty well. She had undertaken the task of converting Roxanne into a girl to avoid him, something he had already told her she was good at; giving people make overs.

He had crashed on the couch in the Gryffindor commonroom the day before, too exhausted to lift himself up to the dungeons after the fight; why did he feel dead tired, like he had run around the entire castle, each time Rose fought with him? Albus had just woken him up at the light of dawn, and he had been about to leave the commonroom when he saw her. She turned away as soon as their eyes locked; turning to Lysander who had been lounging in the commonroom even before Albus had woke him.

Scorpius half listened to the conversation while he stared at her bubbly face and restless manner; it was always the case with Rose. She was too damn cheerful to be deterred by anybody; except him apparently, as the sunny smile disappeared from her face when she looked at him one last time as she left.

"Something wrong with the two of you?" Lysander asked wisely, but Scorpius just shook his head evasively and exited the portrait saying, "Meet you at the Entrance Hall in a few."

XXXXXXXX

"Where'd they go?" Scorpius nodded to Lysander's question, though he wasn't worried about Roxanne. Where was Rose?

"There they are!" Molly, who had been seated facing the door replied, pointing out the two girls who had just entered the building. Scorpius' eyes were drawn to Roxanne only for a minute before they went back to Rose. She turned her eyes away from him the moment he looked at her, and made an affair of showing Roxanne off like a mannequin to the rest.

She took Roxanne's usual seat; everyone's eyebrows were raised and their eyes turned right to him. Scorpius shrugged; he wasn't the one acting out, was he?

Scorpius remained silent through the ordeal, complementing Roxanne when she spoke with him, though he hadn't even looked at her properly; his concentration was down to zero today and everything he saw and did seemed to aggravate that gnawing ache in his chest.

"I'll go help her." Lysander said and only then did he notice that Roxanne had gone to get the drinks. Scorpius noticed the two of them argue and then altogether disappear out of the room and smiled.

"What is it, Scor?" Albus called out as he noticed the Slytherin smile knowingly.

"Roxy and Ly walked out," He replied calmly, taking a sip of the butterbeer that had just arrived, "Thanks Rosie" He replied to Madame Rosemerta's smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rose fume; he never called anyone but her that.

"You're welcome, Scorpius." The woman smiled coyly at him before she disappeared into the crowd.

"Stop flirting with the barmaid, Scor." Molly chided bossily; Scorpius smiled at her indulgingly. Molly was like a second sister to him, apart from his own little sister, that is.

They had their drinks and were waiting for Roxanne and Lysander when Albus suggested, "Maybe they went back without us. We should return too, it's getting rather late." The others nodded and they began the trek back to the castle in knee deep snow. It was a perilous task, one that took too much time.

Molly, Lorcan, Albus and Essie paired off when they were about half way to the school leaving Scorpius and Rose to walk alone. Scorpius lagged behind, trying to match his pace with Rose's. But Rose, being adamant as she was, walked too fast for her little body to balance and Scorpius turned around when he heard an "Ouch!" Rose was lying flat on her back, having tripped over a hidden stone buried in the snow. He extended a hand to her.

Rose looked around trying to find someone else and then tried to get up herself; the snow being slippery, that was out of the question.

"You're going to have bruises if you try that again." Rose glared at him as she accepted his hand and stood up. As soon as she was stable, she began walking away from him again without even thanking him. It amused Scorpius; Rose could be so immature when she was angry. He picked his pace up to match hers, watching her out of the corner of his eye as she looked straight ahead as she galloped towards the castle.

"Are you trying to break some record? How many times can a person break their neck while speed walking in snow?"

"I'm trying to out-walk you, if you hadn't noticed." She replied without looking at him; Scorpius chuckled.

"You're too little to walk that fast, Rosie." Rose stopped abruptly, turning to him with a scathing expression.

"You left your Rosie back at the Three Broomsticks, Malfoy." She tried to walk off but he caught her wrist, making her slip again. Only this time, he went down with her.

"You're an idiot Scor!" Rose chided as she tried to stand up, try being the operative word. Scorpius didn't make an attempt to get up, watching Rose with apparent amusement.

"What's so funny?" She asked when she noticed Scorpius' smile; he shrugged.

"Aren't you going to get up?" Scorpius shook his head in a no.

"Can you atleast help me get up?" Scorpius shook his head again.

"What else in Merlin's name are you going to do, then? Stay here and catch a cold?" Scorpius' smile widened at her irritation, as he sat up.

"That bothered you?" Rose knew he wasn't referring to him catching a cold.

"It's irrelevant to the situation now."

"You won't answer, so that means it does bother you?"

"What does it matter? You broke your promise. You said you'd only ever call me Rosie!" Rose interjected, feeling childish about her accusation. It was rather silly really, but it meant a lot to her, you see? She was his Rosie, his only Rosie, and that was important to her.

"And you didn't break any promises, huh? So I was dreaming when you told me you'd spend today with me?"

"We had a fight! You went out with that…that slut to the Slytherin party"

"So that was what we were fighting about?" Rose's stunned look told him that wasn't the answer she had expected.

"You forgot what we were fighting about?" Scorpius looked embarrassed, answering her.

"Of course you would, why would you even have to remember me and our little fight, when you could have been snogging her." Rose stood up, and by a stroke of luck, managed it without falling again.

"Rose wait!" Scorpius quickly stood up without slipping (he had a good sense of equilibrium, thanks) and called her again as he chased after Rose. People in the village looked strangely at him; Scorpius rarely ever spoke, much less yelled.

"It wasn't that." He said as he stood before her, blocking her way to the castle.

"What else was it?" She placed her hands on her hip, a move that told him she was getting ready for battle.

"I just had a few things to think, okay? A few problems and…and then you fought with me and I…I kind of blanked out."

"Your grandparents?" Rose asked wisely; she was the only one who knew the kind of treatment he got from his 'family'. Scorpius looked away from her eyes; he did not want to look at them shining with understanding and care. He didn't deserve her, remember? And thinking of his grandparents just slapped it right on his face.

But Rose did not let him suffer like that for long; she just had to wrap her arms around his torso, hugging him to her. How did she know to comfort him so? Why was it always she he seemed to come back to? What was with him and her?

They stood hugging in the middle of the street, his arms around her waist as she was engulfed by his embrace. Scorpius was the first to break out of the trance and moved quickly away from her lest anyone see. He didn't want her reputation broken, did he? It was bad enough with him being her friend, but anything else was just unimaginable and…too much to hope for.

"Scor?" Her eyes were guarded and vulnerable as they looked at him.

"That was wrong, I'm sorry."

"Wrong, as in because you don't like me?" Didn't she understand? They weren't for the other! How could she be so oblivious? Didn't like her? Who wouldn't like her? She was perfect, in his eyes; the sunflower with no blemishes.

"Wrong as in…you…me…we aren't meant to be together, Rosie." He sighed as the words slipped out, she'd go away now; leaving him alone. What he hadn't expected was for her to laugh; laugh?

"What have you been reading, Scor? Fairytales? No-one's made for each other, Scor. They just are. And nothing's perfect in a relationship, you know?"

"But I'm not good for you, Rosie. It'll only end badly for you. I don't want to do this to you after all that you've done for me, for giving me a person to call a friend." Her eyes softened just a bit from the incredulity at that.

"So gratitude is all you feel for me. Is that why you're…" Scorpius cut her off before she could formulate anymore ridiculous theories. Gratitude, really? Whatever happened to uncontrollable, undying, agonizing love?

"No, no, no! It's not that, Rosie! It's, I've told you this…I'm a bad influence on you, I'm depressing, I don't deserve you, I'm a Malfoy, you're a Weasley and…and…I'm supposed to be evil." Scorpius said in a hurry, as if it was a condition for his survival and not mere prejudice.

"Evil, Scor? Don't insult the word. If you had been evil, you should have murdered me by now. We're alone in the middle of the street, no-one else's here, it's almost dark. Do you feel like killing me off? Have you even attempted to threaten me? Evil? You could never be evil; not as long as I have a say in it!"

"But your family, your parents, your cousins…"

"…Can all deal with it the way they want. One last time, Scor, do you or do you not like me? No buts, no ifs, just tell me the truth." She was acting strong, but Scorpius knew, oh how he knew to read her eyes; they were just so breakable, just so expectant, just so loving.

"Not even what ifs?" He asked hopefully, but Rose shook her head; a smile was already lurking at her lips. He didn't need to look in her eyes to know they'd be shimmering like crystals.

"Ah, then, I have to admit to the truth, I guess. I like you Rosie, a bit too much, a bit more than I can handle, so much that you'd run away screaming if you knew how much." It seemed so natural to gather her close to him, how hadn't he known before? This was where she belonged. This was his home.

"I think I'll manage." He smiled down at her, a real heart melting smile this time, with no restrictions, no doubts, no insecurities, no what ifs.

Maybe, just maybe, he wasn't the rainy day and she wasn't the sunflower that would wilt. Maybe she was the sun; maybe it was him that was the sunflower. The sunflower that needed the sun like he needed her.

A/n: Please do review!