Chapter three- Left Unsaid

[potionslover]

Title: Left Unsaid - Chapter three

Summary: Rose Weasley believes there isn't a chance in the world, the most popular guy at Hogwarts could fall for her. But is that true? A night in the library seen through the perspective of Rose and Scorpius alternatively and the events that follow.

Ratings: PG

Pairings: Rose/Scorpius

Disclamer:  The following characters belong to JK Rowling.

Chapter one, Chapter two

Chapter three

Rose Weasley couldn't move her feet. Neither could she move any other part of her body. She was standing outside the library paralyzed and inanimate and could hear her heart beating thunderously under the bag she was clinging on to her chest. As the emotional shock of what she had heard wore down, she was engulfed in a sea of affection for the boy sitting in the next room.

Rose in her rush to leave the library had left behind her diary. It was when she was making her way back that she heard Armenes' laughter echoing down the hall. As Rose apprached near the door, she heard Armene saying something amidst a lot of laughter, which she couldn't quite make out. But the next few words were more than audible as Scorpius quite vociferously spouted out the things that led to her current state of shock.

Rose felt her eyes welling up as she recalled Scorpius's words. She is everything to me. How could I have missed it, Rose thought to her herself. How come I didn't spot any signs. All this time I was fretting over whether he would consider me likeable and now I find out that he loves me. He loves me, she almost gasped out loud.

Rose's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by additional shouting, which this time came from Madam Pince. Rose started panicking as she heard her telling them off and asking them to leave the library. In a few moments she was going to come face to face with Scorpius and he would surely suspect that she'd heard everything he said. As much as she wanted to yell back at him that she felt the same way, she couldn't stop thinking of how awkward and embarrassing the situation would be, especially for Scorpius.

But before she could move from her spot, Armene jolted out of the library and stopped abruptly as she came face to face with Rose. There was a momentary sneer which was quickly replaced by an apathetic expression. She swiftly moved passed Rose without saying a word and strode towards her dormitory.

Scorpius had packed his stuff and was about to make his way out of the library when he saw a book lying on the table across, where Rose had been sitting. He went over to the table to check out the book and immediately recognized it as Rose's diary as he had often seen her scribbling in it during their classes. For a moment Scorpius was tempted to take a look at it and sneak a peek at some of Rose's inner secrets and see whether he had any place among them at all.

But he resisted his temptation as he didn't want to stray over her private matters and hoped he would one day perhaps hear it from her own lips. Scorpius took the diary in his hands, smiling at having got such a wonderful excuse to accost Rose. He was so busy plotting the details of their next meeting that he didn't see the bushy brown hair that was making its way into the library.

Both heads collided against each other as both parties simultaneously let out a bunch of swear words. Scorpius looked up to see who had walked into the library blindfolded and was met with a pair of glittering brown eyes staring right into his. Scorpius for a moment was lost for words but soon felt himself coloring up as he realized that Rose might have just heard everything he said, or shouted rather.

Rose on the other hand didn't know how to respond. The only way to make this situation the least embarrassing was to pretend that she hadn't heard anything at all and was oblivious to how he felt about her.

Mustering all the self confidence she could garner she said. "Hi. I...uhm..left my diary in here. I came to get it back" she said in an extremely forced expression that would have seemed artificial even to a troll.

"Yeah..I got it right here" Scorpius said pointing to her diary in his hand.

"Oh thanks." Rose said and for a few moments neither of them said anything and the air around them started getting increasingly awkward.

"I was at the end of the hallway when I heard Madam Pince shouting." Rose finally said. "Thats when I realized I forgot my diary behind, and came all the way back. What happened? Why was she yelling at you. I couldn't make out her words from that far." said Rose hoping he would fall for the lie.

Scorpius who until then had been holding in his breath let out a huge sigh of relief. She didn't hear any of the things I said, Scorpius thought, half relieved, half disappointed and he didn't know which feeling was more dominant.

"Well me and Armene sort of had an argument and our voices got a little loud which prompted Madam Pince." said Scorpius nervously.

"What did you guys argue about?" said Rose maintaining that same act of innocence.

Scorpius flushed slightly as he looked around for an answer. "It was nothing, something quite silly actually." he said

"Oh okay" Rose said, not wanting to press the matter further as she knew very well what the cause of their argument was.

They left the library and walked together, neither of them saying much. When she reached the stairs Rose turned to Scorpius to say goodbye. Rose secretly hoped he would pluck up the courage to ask her out. Scorpius on the other hand was in turn working the nerve to do so. When she realized he wasn't going to say anything she bid goodbye and marched upstairs.

"Rose."

She was halfway through the stairs when she heard Scorpius call out her name. Heart beating slightly faster and taking a deep breath she turned around slowly.

"You forgot to take this back " Scorpius said holding out the diary that she had forgotten to take back from him.

"Oh." she said, blushing slightly as she went back down stairs to retrieve her diary.

"Thanks" she said, now starting to feel a little annoyed at his lack of audacity to ask her a simple question.

Scorpius looked like he was on the verge of saying something but merely said "Goodnight" and proceeded to his own dormitory. Rose sighed as she saw him scurrying off and wondered whether she should make the first move. Resolving to take the first step and ask Scorpius out the next day Rose climbed the stairs with a wide grin, something she normally didn't have on her face at the end of a long tiring day.

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"Maybe she is under an imperious curse." said Meryll in a barely audible whisper.

"Don't be ridiculous. Who would have the guts to perform an unforgivable at school right under the nose of Proff McGonagall." replied Jade in an equally low voice.

"Maybe she fell off the stairs and hit her head somewhere and sustained extensive brain damage." said Paula trying to chip in her suggestion.

But Anna was not listening to any of their ramblings. Instead she was leaning over her window with her arms crossed looking over at Rose looking extremely worried.

"What do you think Anna?" asked Jade curious to know her observation on the recent activities of her best friend.

Turning her attention away from Rose who was in front of the mirror, busy straightening her hair, she replied in a low whisper.

"I'm afraid someone might have fed her a love potion. She's displaying the usual symptoms associated with it."

All four of them looked over at Rose once again, who mean while was completely oblivious to her friends discussion and stares.

Rose's behavior had undergone a tremendous change since last night, and none of her friends could make out the reason behind it . Rose was known to be extremely cranky when nearing the exams and not many people dared to talk to her lest they should tick off her temper. She seldom smiled, barely said a few words and was rarely seen, being constantly hidden amidst her pile of books. But now she was surprising everyone by completely neglecting her studies, smiling constantly and worst of all trying on makeup.

Anna slowly crept behind Rose hoping she could get some answer from the victim herself.

"Rose?" asked Anna nervously.

"Yes Anna." she replied straightening her hair and peering into the mirror every now and then.

"Did you eat or drink anything that anyone offered you yesterday apart from our meals at the Great Hall?" she asked apprehensively.

"No. Why do you ask?" she asked , turning around from the mirror and facing her best friend, slightly surprised by her questioning.

"Well..you've been acting sort of strange today, slightly different than your normal self and we were worried whether some one might have fed you a love potion." finished Anna looking worried.

Rose couldn't help but laugh out loud, which alarmed Anna and the rest of the others even more. Seeing the expression on their faces, Rose said "Look. I'm alright. No one has fed me a love potion. If I had taken a love potion, don't you think I would have been blabbering the guy's name more than anything else."

"Thats true." said Anna. Not fully convinced she added. "But then why are you behaving so differently today. And don't lie and say that its nothing."

Rose wondered how much of the truth she wanted to divulge to her friends. After all its not as if she and Scorpius were officially dating. For some strange reason Rose felt as though she didn't even want to disclose the happenings of last night to Anna. She wanted to handle this herself. For once in her life she didn't want her emotional immaturity and temper to screw things up.

She searched around for an answer after which she said. "Well lets put it this way. I decided to go for a bit of a change."

"Oh cut the crap Rose, you've definitely fallen for some one haven't you. Is it that hunk Clayton from Hufflepuff who was flirting with you during the last Slug Club party." said an excited Jade.

Rose knew giving these girls any sort of clue would lead them to Scorpius Malfoy instantly. And as for them keeping it a secret, it was much safer to print it as an announcement in the Daily Prophet.

Rose knew the only way out of this was to pull her temper tantrum which always worked.

"Oh..so you think I can only dress up and act normally like you girls do, if I have the hots for someone?" said Rose in a raised voice. Acting angry came quite easy to Rose. After all, she was a Weasley.

"Oh no, we didn't mean it that way Rose." said Jade suddenly regretting what she had said.

"Oh I get it. Since I don't classify as 'normal' in your standards, I can't put on make up or do any of things that you do all the time. Well guess what. Contrary to your beliefs, I'm not a freak" she spat standing up and stomping out of the room, leaving her friends slightly frightened.

As Rose made her way out of the portrait hole she felt bad at having shouted at her friends even though she couldn't deny she enjoyed it a bit.

Once Scorpius and I start dating, they are the first ones I'm gonna tell anyway, she said to herself. Feeling quite pleasant and cheerful she made her way to the Slytherin dormitory.

She wasn't fully confident of what she was about to do. She had butterflies in her stomach and wondered whether she would manage to say more than a few words. The only thing that carried her foot forward was the assurance that if anything, he wouldn't say no.

As she reached the Slytherin dormitory, she realized she didn't know the password and would have to wait around till some one came by. Unfortunately for her, the person to arrive was someone she had no pleasure in meeting at all. Armene had come from behind the stone gargoyle dangling in the arms of a muscular looking Slytherin. On seeing Rose, both of them wore startled expressions. It wasn't everyday that a blood traitor walked into their dormitory.

"What are you doing here, you filthy blood traitor" shouted the boy, who seemed much taller than Rose and struck a frightening figure.

"I..Uhm..Could you call Scorpius Malfoy outside." she said.

The boy raised an eyebrow and seemed to understand something which made him calm down a little. Armene on the other hand remained impassive and didn't say anything

"I'm not one of your slavish Gryffindor friends you can order around. Come on Armene..lets go." he said pulling her by the arms.

"You go on. I'll be right with you." she said. Rose knew what was coming, but no matter what Armene was going to throw at her, she would stand up to it. Scorpius had chosen her over Armene and nothing she could say could intimidate her.

"Scorpius huh?" said Armene, a sneer forming around her lips.

"I thought I spoke quite clearly earlier." retorted Rose with a confidence she hadn't had until yesterday.

"How long ...how long do you think it will last?" she asked with the sneer becoming more and more pronounced.

"That is none of your business." said Rose feeling her temper rising for real this time.

"True. It is none of my business. But in case you ever ponder over that question. Take a look at your reflection and if that doesn't answer your question, take a look at both your families. That would give you a general idea." said Armene and strode past her.

Rose couldn't think clearly for a few moments as Armene's words sunk in. Her remark about her beauty didn't offend her like before as Scorpius had made it quite clear whom he considered more beautiful out of the two. But her second remark about their families was something she had forgotten to consider in her haste to be with Scorpius.

A Malfoy and a Weasley. How could she have been so foolish. How many times had her father admonished her about the Malfoys and warned her against befriending him. Although mom wouldn't mind a friendship with Scorpius, she wasn't sure she would take the news of her dating Scorpius that well.

But what about 'his' family. There was no way in the world they would accept someone like her. Not only was she the daughter of a blood traitor and a Muggleborn but her father was probably considered one of their worst enemies. And Scorpius no matter how much he liked Rose would have to go through a whole lot of hell, if he started dating her. Although Rose's parents would make a fuss initially, especially her father, they would eventually accept any decision of hers as long as she was happy. But Scorpius's case wasn't the same.

She had heard from some of her classmates that Scorpius had a hard time putting up with his parents and their beliefs. And that they were unusually strict when it came to their pureblood prejudices. Even Scorpius's best friend Neime Zabini who was a HalfBlood wasn't allowed into their Manor as he wasn't considered pure enough. Rose snorted at this thought as she wondered what kind of reception she'd receive from his parents and how much strife this relationship was gonna cause.

Won't I be aggravating the rift between him and his family further, she thought absentmindedly. Was this what I wanted for him.

Rose didn't know how long she had been standing their resigned to her thoughts when the gargoyle shifted once more and out emerged Scorpius and his friend Zabini. Rose couldn't find any words to say immediately. Scorpius on the other hand was equally surprised at seeing her in front of their dormitory.

"Rose. What...what are you doing here?" he asked slightly out of breath.

Rose was lost for words. She had to think of something quickly and spouted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"I..Uhm..came to see Zabini actually." she said turning to the dark skinned boy standing next to Scorpius.

Zabini was quite taken aback by this and replied. "Me? What is it?" he asked

"Well I thought we could talk more privately." she said instinctively, following her brain's advice.

Scorpius eyebrows arched upwards into his forehead as he eyed them both.

"I'll leave you two alone then." he said a bit sullenly.

"Thanks." she said, without looking at Scorpius as she didn't want to see the disappointment on his face which would make her feel even more guilty.

Scorpius left and walked past them and disappeared around the corner.

"So..what is it? You better make it quick Weasley. I don't have enough time to play around." said Zabini, in a rough voice that made her jump a little.

Rose had done it again. She had once again managed to screw things up due to her lack of experience in such matters. She was standing across a boy who was expecting her to say something and her mind was as blank as an empty blackboard.

"Whatever it is, spit it out Weasley!" he exclaimed.

On hearing this her mouth pre-empted her senses and took over, bursting out the next few words.

"I-was-wondering-whether-you-would-like-to-hang-out-with-me-this-coming-weekend-at-Hogsmeade." she said at a stretch.

Rose heard her words leaving her mouth as though hearing it from a stranger.

Zabini on the other hand looked shocked and had his mouth open, which didn't seem like it was about to close anytime soon.

Rose, although embarrassed by what she said, knew this was a safe bet since Zabini clearly detested her. They had spend a few months together in each other's company when they both helped Scorpius with his elf rights campaign, something she knew he only joined to stop Scorpius's constant pestering. But he never spoke to her and remained indifferent to her otherwise. He clearly hated her and she patiently waited for him to reject her proposal and throw her a filthy comment, so that she could leave and get back to her studying.

"Sure..I'd love to." he said finally.

"Oh thats okay I don't min...You what?" she exclaimed, praying she'd heard him wrong.

"I said I'll go with you." he said with a smile, which Rose had to admit was kinda sexy and had the circumstances not been so grave, would have found herself admiring.

"But I'm a blood traitor and you always seemed to hate me and .." Rose had never expected Neime Zabini, one of the hottest guys at Hogwarts to ever say yes to her.

He kept smiling and finally came close enough for her to see the shades of his eyes more clearly.

"I've always liked you. I'm just not good at displaying my affections more openly." he said.

"Then how come you never asked me out before?" she asked still not being able to believe what she just heard.

"Well obviously I couldn't ask you out with Sco..". He quickly caught himself before finishing his sentence.

Rose knew exactly what he was about to say. Zabini was Scorpius's best friend and he must surely know how he felt about her and for a moment felt a slight respect towards Zabini for withholding his interest for the sake of his friend.

"I was just waiting for the right moment." he corrected himself.

"Oh alright then. Well I'll..I'll see you this Saturday." she said, finally relieved to leave the place, her mind shaken by what she'd just heard.

"Sure." said Zabini with a slight smirk that seemed to attract Rose more and more by the minute.

As she turned around to leave, she suddenly remembered why she had put herself into this whole mess in the first place and her heart sank as she thought of a future with Scorpius which seemed desultory and hopeless.

As she sighed and made her way back to the stairs, Scorpius Malfoy stood around the corner behind the statues, with his fists clenched and mouth open, staring down at the floor as he comprehended what he had heard pass in front of him.

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Author's note: Comments would be nice