Rose's POV

It was still raining.

Nothing had happened in the past two weeks. There had been nothing out of place here, no sign of magical activity or anything, and Rose had pretty well convinced herself that the Muggles had just died of heart attacks or something.

There had barely been anything to take her mind off Scorpius.

She had almost come to terms with it, now. Turns out that five years didn't change much about things, either about her feelings for him or her ability to cope with those feelings. So many times he'd left her crumbling into tears in his absence that this was familiar, almost comforting.

And yet it was different, as well. This time the ache went a little deeper, felt a little sharper, than it had before. Never before had her wishes seemed so close, yet still been yanked away.

Rose sighed. One more week up here, and she'd return home to normal life again.

Normal life, with Scorpius Malfoy. But not with him. Just near enough to him to be hurt, time and again, when he inevitably found other girls to be with.

She sighed again. This gloomy weather was certainly not good for her mood. At first it had seemed so fitting, that her tears be matched by raindrops on the windows, but now her crying had come to an end, and the weather merely seemed oppressive.

She was lonely, she realized. Alone in a strange place for weeks, she'd never spent so much time away from family before.

And friends, she thought, thinking wistfully of him.

Because that's what they were. Friends. Just friends.

She had thought that her dreams were finally coming true, that he'd finally realized he had feelings for her and asked her out, but in reality he just wanted to be friends.

Rose gave a bitter laugh. What a cliché.

These wishes of yours will never come true, Rose. Just give them up now.

She knew she should. She'd known all along that he was bad news for her, just as he always had been. She'd known, and she'd gone along with him in spite of that, and look where it landed her.

I don't know what you expected, she told herself ruefully. Next time listen to your logical self, and you won't get into so much trouble.

Problem was, logic had never entered into it for her with Scorpius. There was just something about him that defied all reason, that pulled her towards him even when she knew she should be running away. Just as she knew that being near him was a bad idea, she also knew there'd be no way she'd be able to keep away.

How can one man be as bad for me as he is?

And yet, somehow, Scorpius was.

Suddenly, a knock came from outside. Rose stood up, startled. She walked over and, upon opening the door to her little motel cabin, was completely shocked to find a soaking wet Scorpius standing in front of her.

This couldn't be real. She pinched herself, then almost reached out to pinch him too before she caught herself.

"Rose," he said, reaching out to touch her arm.

She instinctively pulled back, folding her arms in to her body. "Scorpius." Even now, she couldn't bring herself to use his last name. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you. Oh, Rose, I really messed up, didn't I?" He stepped forward, through the doorway, and she stepped back in response.

This couldn't be happening.

"I—" Rose licked her lips, willing moisture into her suddenly dry mouth. "I don't know what you mean."

These wishes of yours will never come true, Rose. Just give up.

He tried to reach for her again, but she pulled back. "Rose?"

"Why are you here, Scorpius?" she asked, her voice sounding overly loud.

"Because." He sighed ruefully, running his hand through his hair.

She wished he wasn't so gorgeous. Seeing him up close again, after two weeks away, had her heart pounding faster than usual.

"Because," he said again, "I need to apologize. Again. I'm really, really sorry, Rose, I swear to Merlin I never meant to hurt you, I've just been extraordinarily dumb and it took me a while to realize it."

No. Just when she'd finally come to terms with her sadness, he had to come and do this? How dare he make her hope again, after how bloody many times he'd made her cry?

"So, uh, I wanted to tell you I'm sorry."

Rose wanted to cry. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him how much he'd hurt her, how often he'd hurt her over the years. She wanted to fall over sobbing and make him feel bad because he'd made her feel so bad.

But that's not who Rose was.

So she looked at him, did her best to smile, and told him, "it's fine, no need to worry. I'm okay."

"No need to—no need to worry! Rose! You ran off to Scotland without telling me and don't come back for two weeks, and you expect me not to worry! I've been worried sick! I didn't know if anything had happened to you or what, but I couldn't stand the thought of you hurting!"

Rose almost laughed at the irony, but she wasn't sure if she could keep from crying once she started laughing. And so she stayed quiet.

"And then, because I had no one else to turn to, I went over to your cousin Lily's place."

Oh, no. He'd talked to Lily? What had she told him? Rose felt a blush forming on her cheeks at the thought that Scorpius might have found out about her great blunder, actually thinking that he might have feelings for her.

"Rose." His voice was quiet, but firm. "Look at me, please."

She looked up from the floor and into his ice-blue eyes.

"You were right."

What?

"It was a date."

What? What on earth was he saying?

Rose couldn't keep the hope from blossoming in her chest.

"I was an idiot, and couldn't even admit to myself that I fancied you, but I did. I do."

She felt faint. Was he trying to say that he liked her? He couldn't be, not after all this, not after everything he'd done, not now…

"Rose? Are you listening?"

Yes, yes, of course she was, but she wasn't processing what she was hearing very well. Scorpius liked her. Me. He likes me. He said so. She was still staring at him, trying to make sense of what he was saying, trying to find the real message behind his words because it couldn't be, it just couldn't really be that he liked her.

She shook her head, unable to understand what was happening. Trying to find some reasonable explanation for his sudden appearance here, all the way up in the Scottish highlands, she closed her eyes, reminding herself of what she knew.

"No?" she heard him say, sounding faintly amused.

These wishes of yours will never come true, Rose. Just give up.

I don't care what he says, it can't be true. The sooner you let go of your hopes for him, the sooner you can move on to.

"No."

"You're not listening to me?"

"No, and I don't want to. I don't want to hear any more, Scorpius, I'm done." With that, she turned around and walked away from him.

"Wait, Rose!"

She turned around again to tell him to leave, and found herself inches from him. Looking up, she felt the air leave her lungs as she gazed into his eyes.

Why did he have to look so damn good…?

"Rose. Don't you understand what I'm saying?" He sighed, and she felt the air gusting over her lips. "I love you."

"No," she breathed, still unwilling to give in.

"Yes," he replied, smiling now. "I love you, Rose Weasley, and I'm never letting you leave me again." He slid his arms around her waist, and Rose found herself letting him draw her closer.

"Really?" she asked breathlessly, hardly daring to believe in him.

His response was to bend his head, closing the last few inches between them, and press his lips to hers. "Yes," he said huskily, dipping his head back down for another kiss.

After several long moments, Rose pulled away, afraid she would pass out if she didn't breathe soon. "I can't believe it," she gasped. "You really do love me, don't you?"

"Yes," he said again, grinning at her and winking.

She danced around the room, hardly able to contain her joy. "This is really, happening, isn't it? This is real life?"

"Yep!" he laughed, holding out his arms for her. "Really real life, Rose!"

She leapt into his arms and he swung her about, both of them reveling in each other's nearness. Giggling, she nuzzled his face. "I love you so much, you stupid man."

"I love you too, Rose. And you know what the best part is?"

"What?" she asked, happily looking up into his eyes.

He bent down to whisper in her ear. "I've been assigned to complete your stakeout with you. I'll be staying up here until you leave, and we can go back to London together."

She laughed and hugged him. "That is definitely not the best part."

"Well, maybe not," he agreed. "I guess really, this is just the first week of forever.

Rose hummed contentedly, snuggling into his arms. "The first week of forever," she agreed, smiling.

The End

XXXX

A/N: Finished! At long last. Sorry I made you all wait so long, hope it was worth it in the end.

Not sure what you can expect from me in the coming weeks, but I'm hoping to finish another story or two before the end of the year. Thank you for your patience, everyone.

~Star