written for: quidditch league fanfiction competition — round 12 (write about your otp after a misunderstanding)

prompts: Warning sign / "Keep looking at me like that, I dare you." / "I loved you / like a man loves a woman he never touches, only / writes to, keeps little photographs of." An Almost Made-Up Poem, Charles Bukowski

notes: swearing, first person

thanks: bria (gote) for all her help and inspiration and ideas and love you bub xxx i hope this is remotely okay!

rose x scorpius

in which scorpius is pretentious, rose is violent, albus is unwillingly roped into everything and louis face-palms frequently.

It's really bloody cold up here.

I glare at Scorpius Malfoy, the cause of my inevitable frostbite. The Owlery is beautiful, if you like owls and their droppings and blustery, icy winds and the view of snow everywhere, but it's so not worth the cold.

The boy is lucky I love him. As a best mate, that is. That's what we are, see? Which is why I'm up here with him.

He's not even shivering. I swear to Godric, if the boy was a fictional character, he'd be Jack Frost.

"Rose," he says, looking at me. "Do you ever feel alone in the world?"

I open my mouth to answer but he carries on. "As if you're not grounded, and one little bump and you'll fall into the abyss?"

Well. What does that mean?

"There's a reason I asked you to come here."

If he says that it's so I can look at the snow or feel the chill in my bones, I'll push him into the abyss.

"Your family is very important to me, Rose," he informs me. Well, yes. He's best friends with Al, Louis and me. I could have guessed that. "Though, someone in particular..." he trails off.

"I have a conundrum, Rosie," he announces. "I am in love."

Well. Fuck. Didn't see that one coming.

"Do you ever feel like someone gets you, and they're so desperately important to you that you can't be without them, and you just hope they understand that?" he asks me.

"Yes," I answer. Hang on, my family's important to him. He's in love with someone important to him. He's in love with... my family? What.

"This wondrous person... I'm too shy to say how I feel, but maybe this will make it clearer? 'I loved you / like a man loves a woman he never touches, only / writes to, keeps little photographs of'," he recites. I can tell he's reciting, because this is what he does—he recites poetry and literature and talks about Kierkegaard and Dante and he is literally the most pretentious wanker in the universe and sometimes I do not understand why we're friends. I mean, he and Albus are dormmates on the same Quidditch team, and he and Louis are easily the most beautiful—not necessarily most handsome, mind—boys in school, but me? I'm not some blonde goddess and I didn't even like Quidditch when we met. It's baffling, really.

AND OH MY GODRIC HOW WAS THAT POEM SUPPOSED TO MAKE IT ANY CLEARER?

I must look as quizzical as I feel, because he turns to me and smirks his damn signature smirk. This is very aggravating, let me assure you. He's such a twat sometimes and oh shit he's talking. "...beautiful green eyes of my very best friend have kept me grounded," he finishes. He's looking at me expectantly.

Oh my Godric. He's in love with Albus? That's what he's been getting at? I mean, he's not the only green-eyed kid in the family—Luce and me, too—but 'very best friend'?! They live together. They're pretty much always together.

Why is he telling me this? Does he want me to—

"Organise a date?" I question aloud, and his eyes light up and his cheeks flush and it's so beautiful that it hurts.

He nods, and hesitates for a second, before swooping down to kiss me on the cheek. "Are you sure, Rosie?" he asks softly, and looking into those eyes, all I can do is manage a smile and nod.

"Of course," I say, and his face breaks into a beam; but why do I feel like my heart's turning to lead?

A promise is a promise, and I have two best friends to hook up.

"Louis!" I hiss.

Nothing.

I try again, a little louder. "Louis!"

Still nada.

Finally, "LOUIS!" I yell.

He swivels his head, sees me and rolls his eyes. Getting up from the Ravenclaw table, he saunters over. "You called?"

I smack him on the arm. "Thrice! Honestly, boy, what is wrong with your hearing?"

He looks offended. Good. "Excuse you, I had a delightful girl that I was chatting to and—"

"Wonderful personality?" I interrupt.

"I'm sure," he replies.

"No cats, blonde?"

"She has no cat hair present on her person, brunette."

"Name?"

He hesitates. I smirk. I win. "Fuck you," he mutters.

"Ew," I say, wrinkling my nose. "Incest isn't cute. Anyway, we have LOVE to plan."

He stares at me. "Whatever," he decides, evidently dismissing something. "And we have what to plan? What exactly are we doing?"

I quickly explain the situation.

"You think Scorpius is in love with Albus?" Louis demands incredulously.

"Yes!" I nod. "It all makes sense. Green-eyed saviour, very best friend, lover of poetry..." Okay, so the last one wasn't actually said, but I'd always figured that his ideal girl would love his poetic ways, so why not his ideal guy?

Louis face-palms and looks like he's struggling not to laugh. "Lover of poetry? And you thought Albus?"

I pause to consider this. Okay, he loves it more than I do, by which I mean he hits Scorpius less than I do whenever poetry comes up. Which is horrifically often.

"Are you going to help or not?" I demand. Louis looks conflicted.

"Sure," he decides. "What the hell. It'll be funny."

"And helping others," I remind him.

He surveys me. "Right. That too."

I'm quite distressed that Albus is the one Scorpius has decided to love, because Albus is easily the best matchmaker I know. Teddy and Vic? That was him, even at eleven! Luce and Lysander? He doesn't even like Lysander, and he got them together. Dominique and Leonardo Zabini are his pride and joy, though if he succeeds with his current project—his brother and some Slytherin—I think that'll be his biggest accomplishment.

"Albus," I whisper, materialising behind him.

He doesn't even jump. Bloody Slytherin.

"Hi Rose," he greets. "What's up?"

"Not much. Just wondering what you're doing tonight," I say.

He opens his mouth to answer but then catches sight of Cassie Lewis, one of my friends in my dorm. Her hair is currently the same bright blue as her eyes, and as curly as ever. She looks deeply unimpressed.

"Nice hair, Lewis. Is that meant to improve your looks?" he calls.

"Bite me, Potter. Oh wait, you'd enjoy that too much, wouldn't you?" she snarks back as she passes by.

He grins, looking mightily pleased with himself. "Only in your dreams, princess."

Cassie just snorts and shakes her head, stalking off.

Hmmm. That was almost friendly. Except... not. I'm confused.

"What'd you say, sorry, Rose?" he asks.

"Just wondering what you're up to tonight."

"Nothing, why?" he asks. That's Al's biggest thing, curiosity. He sees a warning sign? Child's play. Barbed wire fence? A challenge he must accept. Paparazzi? How far he can push them.

"Can you head to the Kitchens? I've got a friend who wants to... have an intimate meeting with you," I say.

His gaze darts backwards to where my dormmates are waiting to get into Charms—Izzy Reynolds, who giggles and waves; Cassie, who pulls the finger at him, to which he grins; Olivia Jordan, who just gives him the head nod; and Thalia Atlas, who's talking to Nico Daniels, a fellow Gryffindor Sixth Year—and peers at me.

"Like... a date?" he asks dubiously.

"Yes!" I beam.

He seems confused. "Yeah," he says finally. "Yeah, okay."

Things are nearly ready. Louis' finding Scorpius; I normally would except I'm a bit too busy right now. And I don't want to see him, though I don't know why.

I guess I just never expected it to be so real when he fell for someone, you know? I kind of expected some bitchy Scandinavian princess that Louis, Albus and I could happily hate while we knocked back champagne at their wedding, I guess. Scorpius is my best friend, and even though he's a pretentious prat-wanker-twat, he's still too good for everyone that's ever declared feelings of romance for him to date.

But Albus is my cousin, and my best friend, too. He's better than most people.

And how can I hate either of them for not being good enough for the other, when I love them both to pieces?

"Rose?" Louis calls out, interrupting my alone time with my mental mind.

"Yep?"

"He's getting ready in my room. I figured separating him and Al would be best," Louis explains.

He frowns inexplicably. "Rosie, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be? Scorpius deserves a shot at happiness with the person he's selected to feel lovingly for."

Louis looks less than convinced. "How did you con Al into coming?"

"I didn't con him!" I say indignantly. "I told him that a friend of mine wished to share an intimate meeting with him."

Louis looks disbelieving. "You did not."

I nod. "Did too."

"Fuck," Louis says, dropping his head into his hands. "Okay, wow. This has spiraled. Yes. I thought he'd talk sense into you, that's his job, mine is sarcasm—"

"Louis," I interrupt his confusing soliloquy. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

He mutters something unintelligible.

"Louder, boy!"

He looks up and stares straight at me. "I said, I'm pretty sure Scorpius isn't in love with Albus."

"Well, I fucking hope not," a new voice says, and I look up to see Cassie watching us, an unreadable expression on her face.

"He told me," I argue.

Cassie raises an eyebrow. "Scorpius said to you that he's in love with Albus?"

Dimly in the back of my mind, I registered her use of first name. "Well, no, not exactly—"

"He said 'green-eyed saviour' and 'very best friend'," Louis supplies.

"And poet—"

Louis shoots me a very sharp look. "He did not."

"Okay, he didn't," I admit.

Louis snorts and glances at his wrist. His eyes go wide.

"Uh, Rosie, I think we should hide. They're coming, like, now."

Cassie—what is she even doing here?—jumps behind a pile of pots. Louis dives between the House Elves, who clamber around him, effectively hiding him. I crawl beneath the table, covered by a sheer table cloth I can barely see through.

The portrait door opens, and I see Scorpius standing there, humming nervously to himself. I sort of want to run out there and give him a comforting hug, but the idea of him and Albus—him and anyone, really—keeps me rooted to the spot.

I suddenly realise I really don't want to be here or see this, and I'm not sure why.

Louis somehow catches my eye from his hidden position, and I must look really miserable because he sends me one of his rare comforting smiles.

The portrait door opens again.

"Albus?" Scorpius asks.

"Scorpius?" Albus responds.

They both sound very confused. Which I can understand for Al, but why is Scorpius so confused?

"What are you doing here?" Scorpius asks.

Al shifts slightly. "Rose asked me to be here. Apparently one of her friends wants to g—" he cuts himself off, his eyes widening with horror and realisation. "Oh my Merlin. That little idiot."

"Don't call her that," Scorpius reprimands. "But why is she an— oh. Oh."

I am very confused. I am grateful to Scorpius for sticking up for my intelligence, I am distressed by Albus' reaction to my matchmaking skills but most of all, I'm confused as to why Scorpius was not expecting Albus to be on this date.

Unless... Louis was right.

My heart feels like it's soaring and I don't even understand why—I didn't think I was that horrible of a person, that I'd hope for them to be alone—but oh my Godric, who the hell was Scorpius on about, then?

"Why would she think I meant you?" Scorpius groans.

Albus looks vaguely offended. Good. "Hey, mate, I'm quite the catch."

I hear a snort to the left of me, and immediately realise it's Cassie.

Albus and Scorpius glance around, suddenly on guard.

"Who's there?" Scorpius calls out.

"Hi," Cassie announces, stepping out from behind the pot pile.

Scorpius relaxes. Albus does not. "Lewis, were you in on this?" he demands.

"Nope," she shakes her head. "I only arrived about ten minutes before you did."

"Why'd you come?" he asks suspiciously.

"Louis," she shrugs. "You do things quickly when the most beautiful boy in the castle asks you to do it."

Louis grins from his hiding spot. Albus scowls. "Where is that blonde cousin of mine, then? Did he stand you up?"

He sounds gruff. Cassie lets out a peal of laughter.

"I'm here," Louis informs them, shaking off his elves. "And it wasn't a date."

Albus whirls around to look at Cassie, as if to check that she knew this, and she smiles and nods. He doesn't seem pleased, but he's appeased, at least.

"You were in on this?" Scorpius accuses.

Louis grimaces. "It seemed funny. I'd assumed she'd tell Albus what she was planning, so he could talk her into rational thinking... Clearly, that didn't happen."

Hmph. I'm starting to feel slightly offended now.

"But how could she not know—" Albus starts, and Cassie laughs.

"Because your beautiful idiot here went and said "green-eyed saviour" and "very best friend" and apparently something about poetry," she informs him. Yay. Cassie's got my back. This is why we're friends.

Albus turns on Scorpius. "You are such a dumbfuck," he says flatly.

Scorpius blushes. "I didn't know how to say how—"

"Here's a hint: no poetry," Louis puts in.

"It's really not that hard," Albus informs Scorpius. "Just go up to her and say, hey, Rose! Guess what—"

"You can talk," Scorpius says in a snarky tone, pointedly looking at Cassie.

Cassie raises an eyebrow and Albus becomes very interested in his shoes.

"Let's deal with them later," Louis says, waving his hands at Cassie and Albus. "What about you, Scorpius? How do you feel?"

"You know this—" Scorpius is saying, sounding frustrated and HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE WHAT. Louis knew how Scorpius felt?! Why didn't he tell me anything?

Actually, in hindsight, he kinda tried.

"Say it!" Louis insists.

"Fine," Scorpius says. "I'm in love with your cousin. You happy?"

"Which one?" Cassie presses, and I don't need to be able to see her to know her blue eyes are twinkling and I can't breathe there's a lot of pressure in my chest and I don't know if I really want to know—

"Rose. Of course it's Rose. I'm in love with Rose," Scorpius says.

Kidding, I really did want to know.

I crawl out from under the table. "You love me?" I ask, peering up at him in wonder.

Scorpius jumps about a foot in the air and Albus looks momentarily shocked before laughing.

"Um," Scorpius says eloquently but it's okay. I get what it's like to be scared. For a Gryffindor, I'm pretty scared too.

"Lou," I say. "I get it now."

He grins and shoots me a thumbs up.

"So, not Al, then?" I triple-check. Louis face-palms, Albus looks revolted and Cassie groans, but I'm looking up at Scorpius. His is the answer that matters.

"No," he laughs slightly. "Definitely not Albus. Definitely... definitely you."

I can't help the beam that spreads across my face. This is why Albus and Scorpius always felt wrong in my head, why I always hated the idea of Scorpius and anyone else. Because this right now? This feels really right.

I stand on my tiptoes and press my lips to his.

There's applause, and we break away blushing.

"Shove it, Potter," Scorpius mutters at Al, before his eyes glint with mischief.

He and Louis share a look, and then turn to face Al, arms crossed. I mimic them.

Albus shifts uncomfortably. "Keep looking at me like that, I dare you," he says, but it doesn't sound as threatening as usual.

"Albus," Scorpius says.

"Man," Louis says.

"The fuck up," I finish. Judging from Scorpius' expression, he didn't expect quite that ending, but the grin on his face lets me know he appreciates it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he says stubbornly.

We all sigh, but Cassie's the one who really loses her patience.

"For fuck's sake," she mutters, before turning him towards her, slinging her arms around his neck, propping herself up on her tiptoes and kissing him.

Louis smirks. "You owe me fifty galleons," he says to Scorpius.

Scorpius looks too pleased for Al's turn of luck to be annoyed. "Yeah, I know."

Cassie and Al break apart.

"Uh," he says.

"Eloquent," she snorts. Her expression softens. "But I know."

I glance up at Scorpius, and then at Cassie and Al, and then at Louis, who brought us all together.

"We're pretty lucky," I murmur.

Scorpius kisses my head. "You bet we are."

And you know what? I get what he meant with his poetry and his abyss now. But only because I've got him, and Lou, and Al and Cass. I'm not in danger of falling into the abyss, not ever; not when I've got these guys behind me. They make me aware of what I don't have to go through.

Oh, Godric, this got sappy. Cut me a break, though; I am in love!

a/n: please review and please do not favourite without reviewing!