Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER. OR THE CHARACTERS.

Rose walked into the Great Hall alone. She had only overslept a tiny bit but everyone had left already. She had stayed up half the night thinking about the kiss she had shared with Scorpius. It hadbeen nice. Her gaze stayed on Gryffindor's table; she was afraid that if she made eye contact with Scorpius the resolve she had built up last night would crumble.

"Rose!" Teddy called as he walked up behind her, "Sadly more has happened. Bill's been injured. Hagrid's. Tonight. Nine sharp. Don't be late. Good Luck on your Herbology quiz."
Rose watched as Teddy walked away and groaned. She had completely forgotten about the Herbology quiz! Good thing Herbology wasn't until after lunch.

"Finally up, mademoiselle." Kira greeted from her seat next to Jasmine.
"What are you doing? Sitting here." Rose asked as she looked around and sat next to Kira.
"McGonagall doesn't seem to mind." Kira replied, "plus Katie iz going to take my place and zit next to Ivan. They are very much into...snogging."
Rose nodded with a laugh. "That's how some couples are. Always snogging."
"I don't ever see you snogging someone." Kira said, completely unabashed.
"Kira!" Rose hissed, lowly.
"What? I've have heard ze rumors about you and Scorpius Malfoy."
Rose paled a bit, thinking about last night. Scopius' pink lips on hers, his nice shoulders relaxed under her hands, his hands on her waist holding them close.
"Rose?"

She was pulled out of her day dreaming by Kira and she focused on her friend again. "I need to talk to you in private. Don't need it going around school."
Kira nodded and followed Rose out of the Great Hall.
"What's wrong Rose?"
"Nothing's wrong. Or maybe something is." Rose said, running bothof her hands through her hair as she paced in a circle once. "I snogged Scorpius Malfoy in the Quidditch pitch last night. When my house was celebrating. There was butterbeer in my hair I felt half deaf and he said I smelled nice then we just started snogging!"
Kira only raised and eyebrow and laughed behind her hand.
Rose gave her a look, "What?"
"You two zeem to fancy each ozer too much."
Rose was about to argue when Scorpius walked by with Ivan and Hope.

"What are you looking at Half-breed?" Hope taunted, her arm curled around Scorpius's.
Rose looked to Scorpius, watching his flippant attitude. She looked back to Hope. Hope didn't know about last night. And it seemed Scorpius didn't care like she thought he did. "Nothing." Rose said softly.
"Good." Hope snorted as she lead Scorpius and Ivan away and towards Care of Magical Creatures.
"Obviously he doesn't care for me Kira." Rose said as they followed their classmates to Hagrid's class.
Kira gave her an sympathetic pat on the shoulder before leaving to go stand near the other Slytherins.

Herbology, later that day

"You have until the end of class to finish your quiz. This is an assessment. Do your best." Professor Neville Longbottom said as he walked the greenhouse. His students started his quiz and his mind wandered to many years ago. When he, himself, had been a student at Hogwarts. The times were crazy with Harry Potter but more exciting. Neville had married Hannah Abbott ten years after leaving Hogwarts. They had given birth to their son, Nathan ten years ago. He'd be going to Hogwarts next year after his birthday this May. His class flew by and before Neville knew it, the students were handing in their quizzes. "Have a nice day." he said as the students passed by with uneasy smiles. Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley were the last people to hand in their quizzes. They seemed nicer to each other than Draco and Hermione had been. Or Draco and Ron.

"Rose can we talk about this?" Scorpius asked, annoyed at the stubbornness of the girl.
"What's there to talk about, Scorpius? I'm a stupid half-breed you don't care for. Run back to that bugger, Hope Parkinson." Rose said dismissively as she walked towards the school's front doors. Everyone else was far ahead of them and hurrying to get in for their next class.
"Rose." Scorpius groaned before grabbing her wrist and whipping her around. Her blue eyes held waves of hurt, sadness, and desperation.
"Let me go Malfoy." Rose spat at him. There was no anger in her voice but a certain tone that was pulling him in while she was trying to push him out.
Scorpius ignored her plea and captured her lips with his own.
Rose's body was reacting on its own and ignoring her brain's commands. Her hands snaked up around his neck and locked themselves there. Scorpius's hands held her hips and moved up to her lower back to pull her closer.

Hope Parkinson looked around for Scorpius and opened the front doors of the school. She saw the white-blonde head some thirty feet away. She walked a few feet to go surprise him with a hug or kiss but stopped short when she realized he wasn't alone. Scorpius was tangled in a more than friendly embrace with that Weasley girl. She couldn't see Scorpius's face but she could see his lips plastered onto Rose's. Tears sprang into Hope's eyes and she wiped them away as she boldly marched up to Scorpius. She pulled him away from Rose.
"What are you doing Scorpius?" Hope asked, anger and jealousy plain on her face and in her tone of voice.

Rose was now six inches away from Scorpius and only two from Hope.
"How can you snog this-this half breed!" Hope yelled, "Especially when you were snogging me this morning!"
"She's right Scorpius. At least she's a pure blood. Something you seem to treasure very much." Rose said carefully. She didn't want to get tangled in with Hope's madness. She left them then and walked inside with a heavy heart.
"Rose! I dont think of you as a half-breed." Scorpius called after her. Rose didn't believe him, he had always called her one anyway.

That night it started to snow and Rose trekked out to Hagrid's.
"Rose! You must be freezing!" Victoire exclaimed as soon as she opened the door to Hagrid's hut. She pulled Rose in and took the invisibility cloak, lantern, marauder's map, coat, and boots. "Hagrid will be right in. He's in the forest with Teddy and James."
Rose nodded and sat in front of the fire.
"Here. Hot chocolate. Should warm you right up. Early snow this year." Victoire commented as she sat next to Rose. Rose gave a mumble of thanks. Rose let her hair out of the ponytail and put her head on Victoire's shoulder. Victoire propped her elbow on Rose's shoulder and stroked her hair. "What's up, Rosie?"
"My heart is troubled." Rose whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I have doubts about him."
"Who is he?" Victoire asked out of curiosity. "I promise to not tell your parents."
Rose laughed with Victoire and finished her hot chocolate. "You're going to kill me. So will my dad if he finds out. I've snogged Scorpius Malfoy twice in the past two days."
Victoire bit her lip as she continued to stroke Rose's hair. "I don't know what to tell you Rose. But here's my opinion. If he makes you happy go after him. If all he gives you is grief, is might be good for you, but that is for you to decide. If nothing is right, ditch him. He's not worth it then."
"Thanks Victoire. How did you feel about Teddy while you went to school?" Rose asked as she wiped her tears away.

"At first we were just acquaintances. You know since he used to come around for dinner and stuff. He went to Hogwarts two years before me and dated a few girls in that time. Not something he bothers to talk about. The first time I actually harbored a crush on him was when I was thirteen, my third year. He was fifteen, in his fifth year, and as you know a third year can hardly ever get a fifth year to date them. Later I learned, he had had feelings for me then too. So Christmas rolled around and I was walking in the corridors and ran into Teddy. Above us was mistletoe. So we snogged for a bit. Thrilling I must tell you. Except for the fact that Andrea Kegg was currently dating him. They broke up after a few fights and I started to spend more time with him over the next few weeks. We got to know each other and as for myself I fell in love." Victoire said fondly.
"That's young. Only thirteen." Rose said with a hint of surprise. "I thought you two dated later."
Victoire nodded, "Young, but fun. We didn't really date until I was halfway through my fourth year. He was going to be off in the ministry in two years and the realization stung me. Only because I would never be able to see his handsome face, and ever-changing features so constantly. And in my mind, I figured he'd find some girl his age and they'd fall in love and have their own baby and I'd just be stuck in love and envying that girl."
"You were wrong." Rose included as Victoire filled their mugs with hot chocolate.
Victoire sat next to Rose again and nodded as she sipped her hot chocolate. "So wrong. He snogged me in front of my house after my fourth year and my dad caught us." Victoire smiled, "I believe he nearly had a heart attack. My mother simply made faces at me while my dad lectured Teddy and I. Then he called your parents, who called uncle Harry and aunt Ginny."
"Who called my grandmother." Teddy added as he walked in and took Victoire's mug. He took a gulp before kissing Victoire's lips softly. "I got the lecture of a lifetime. Then they said if I ever hurt Victoire...well, it'd be bad. So we dated her fifth, sixth, and seventh year."
"All the girls were jealous because I had an older boyfriend. My seventh year was when you entered Hogwarts. Our stupid cousin James interrupted our snogging." Victoire said, taking her half-empty mug back.
"I remember that." Rose said with a smile. "Aunt Ginny still says you guys better get married soon."
"I'm not stupid." James said as he walked in with Hagrid. Victoire simply smiled before pecking Teddy on the lips. "Now all your classmates think he's cute."
"Only a few." Rose confessed
Teddy shrugged, "not my concern."
"So my dad's been injured. He went out to the Leaky Cauldron with Uncle Charlie and he was attacked by an unseen force when he went out back to get to Diagon Alley." Victoire said quietly. "He's alive but on crutches and an arm sling."
"Are you sure everything is connected?" Rose asked
"Positive."