"In Vino Veritas (6/6)" - A Gift for orkyd

[a_smrw_gift]

Title: In Vino Veritas (Part 6/6: Wine)
Author: i_am_girlfriday
Gift For: orkyd
Summary: Rose remembers how to use her heart, and she and Scorpius finally have a long overdue conversation.
Rating: R
Warnings: Sex, but nothing too explicit
Word Count: 4,783
Author's Note: Thank you to my betas, D and T, and B for encouragement.



Rose sent an owl to her headmaster and told him to expect her in the morning before classes on Thursday. She slept that night in her bedroom on the second floor of her parents’ house with the little round window and the floorboards that creaked. She was a restless sleeper and usually needed the aid of a potion or a drink to get her mind to stop thinking a million things a minutes. That night, however, she only had one thing on her mind: Scorpius.

Had it really only been two and a half months since they had been forced to reacquaint themselves with each other? It felt like an excruciating length of time to stay silent on a subject that she’d wanted to broach for more than ten years. She tried to formulate a plan, a singular, genius idea that would make telling Scorpius how she felt about him somehow easier. But she knew that was an impossible wish. The previous day’s events reiterated to Rose that the right thing to do was almost never easy.

Before she could return to school she said a heartfelt good-bye to her parents. Her mother hugged her for a full five minutes.

“Mum, I have to go.” Rose said into her mother’s shoulder.

She clung to her daughter who had long ago passed her in height. “I know. But I’ve missed you.”

Her mother didn’t elaborate, but Rose knew what she meant. Ever since she’d stepped foot back onto her parents’ hearth twenty-four hours ago, their relationship had been different. Rose had closed herself off from everyone, especially her parents, for so many years. She preferred not to connect to people. She told herself it was because she respected their privacy, but now she knew that wasn’t the case at all. Rose didn’t want to use her empathic ability not just because she didn’t want to feel other people, she didn’t want to feel anything at all.

Rose let her mother in as she continued to hug her and she was overwhelmed. Her whole life Rose thought she never lived up to the great Hermione Granger. But in her mother’s embrace, in her mother’s eyes, Rose was the brightest witch of her age.

Her mother let her go and she flung herself at her dad next. She loved her dad, but Rose always felt like the odd Weasley out. She wasn’t extraordinarily funny, athletic, or adventurous. In her father’s bear hug she realized that in many ways he struggled with the same feelings. He of all people could relate to how she felt, and Rose knew it was his extraordinary compassion that gave her the foundation for her empathic ability.

Rose extricated herself from her dad and held her chin up. She was crying in her parents’ sitting room in broad daylight, but she didn’t find it embarrassing in the least. “I’ll see you in less than a month for Christmas hols, yeah?”

“We love you, Rosie.” Her dad said as he pulled his wife, who was too weepy to talk, to stand next to him.

Rose laughed through her own tears. “I know.” She smiled. She’d always known her parents loved her, she had just forgotten how much. “Love you, too. Give Hugo a hug for me.” Rose turned and threw some floo powder into the fireplace. “Hogwarts! Headmaster’s office!”

Rose bounded out of the floo and found Neville at his desk reading the morning paper. He tried to tuck it under some books, but he didn’t do it quick enough. Rose saw her face on the front of The Daily Prophet. She didn’t need to read it to know that most of the British wizarding world would know all about her business before noon.

“Rose!”

“Headmaster. Told you I’d be back in time for classes.” Rose looked at the clock. It was a quarter to nine. She’d have to hurry to make it to the North Tower.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take the day off?”

Rose was tired of everyone thinking she was a delicate flower that needed protecting. Walking around like a sad sack for the past five months or so hadn’t helped her case. “Neville, I’m fine. People will still be talking tomorrow, and for a few days to come at least. No point in putting off the inevitable.” Rose knew who she was; gossip couldn’t tarnish her self-image anymore.

“Braver than Godric, you are.” Neville winked at her as she exited his office.

Rose tucked the compliment away. She had all of Thursday and Friday to get through still. She hoped her bravery would last. She ascended the ladder and found her class sitting patiently instead of being greeted by their usual chitchat.

“Good morning, class.” She said as she removed her heavy cloak and put her bag down behind her desk.

“Good morning, Professor Weasley Granger.” They said in unison with more enthusiasm than usual.

Rose walked the length of the classroom once and connected to her students. Rose could feel their anticipation and anxiety. Finally she spoke. “You all, I’m sure, are aware of where I was yesterday.”

Their eyes widened. She felt their curiosity.

“If anyone has questions, please ask now.” Rose had always disliked discussing her ability, but now that it was out in the open she found no use for shrouding it in mystery. Rose felt their nervousness win out over their thirst for information.

“Well, we haven’t got all day for discussion, but suffice to say, I am an Empath. I did, indeed, used to be an Unspeakable. But I am now your professor and I expect the same level of respect that Hogwarts students have always shown to their teachers whether they be Animagus, ghost, Werewolf, Centaur, Giant, or Seer.”

Her students nodded.

“Alright then, turn to page two hundred-forty seven of your textbook and let’s review the properties of crystals.” Rose flicked her wand at the crystal ball on her desk and levitated it. She grasped it with her left hand and began the lesson.

Each class continued on in much the same fashion. No student was brave enough to make a comment, not even her seventh year students who had opinions on just about everything. Not even her most outspoken student, Ralph, was brazen enough to be flippant with her. It almost made her feel charitable toward him. She considered releasing him from his final detention the following week.

Rose joined her fellow teachers for lunch and dinner on Thursday but didn’t see Scorpius. She knew him well enough to suspect that he was avoiding her. She had run off on Wednesday without saying a word to him and hadn’t left a message either. But perhaps it wasn’t her lack of manners that had offended him; perhaps it was the fact that she and her infamous ability were splashed about The Daily Prophet and every other major wizard media outlet. Of course Scorpius knew about her ability, but Rose had never intimated the details of exactly how it worked. In fact, most of her family and family friends believed it was selective or could be turned on and off at whim. The media coverage was mostly speculative, but it was Rose’s only public admission of her gift that had been, for the past eleven years, kept very private.

Rose decided to abandon her usual scheming in favor of a simpler approach. She decided to lure Scorpius out of hiding with a dinner invitation for Friday evening. She would make him her famous lasagna alla Bolognese, their favorite. Al’s suggestion to keep the wine flowing would be her undoing.

Rose would never dare call herself a master in the kitchen, but she knew her way around one. Her grandmother Molly had been sure to teach her the necessities of magical cooking, but this recipe was Rose’s. Her granny Granger had taken her and Scorpius to a Muggle Italian restaurant during one Easter holiday when they were about thirteen. The three of them had feasted on, what they deemed, the best lasagna ever. Rose spent numerous times over her teen years trying to recreate that meal. Finally, during the summer between her sixth and seventh year, she felt like she’d come close to replicating the recipe. In the time since, however, she’d only attempted it a half dozen times.

On Friday morning Rose woke up early before school to prepare the meal. For the sauce she browned the meat and chopped the vegetables by hand. She transfigured a stove-top out of a cardboard box. She charmed a large pot and wooden spoon and let the Bolognese sauce start its slow, day-long simmer. She set up the other pots and pans and charmed them to do their part later in the day. Rose wrote a note to Scorpius.

Dear Scorpius,

I have been an idiot. I’m making lasagna for dinner and your presence is requested. See you at 8 sharp.

Rose

On her way to class she went to the Owlery and tied her invitation to a school owl. Scorpius might avoid her, but he had a soft spot for all animals.

Rose went to class and taught in a daze. At lunch she looked for Scorpius, but again he didn’t show. Lauren confirmed that Scorpius had indeed been acting distant. Rose tried not to let it worry her. She convinced herself that he’d turn up for dinner.

Rose wasn’t just nervous, she was crawling out of her own skin with anxiety. The idea of laying her soul bare to another human being had terrified her since she was taunted as an adolescent for being a top-heavy twig insect. Rose finally felt mature enough to admit she’d never cared for herself much and she’d assumed that meant no one would care for her either. She wasn’t proud of the vindictive, petty, insecure, haughty, conniving woman with the unassuming Weasley Granger looks. She knew she could be off-putting, and she did little to ease the comfort of acquaintances. When she was younger she was lively around relatives and family friends, but her taciturn nature made it difficult to establish strong ties to anyone else, especially after her empathic ability surfaced. Scorpius had always been the exception. He’d taken the bad with the good. She hadn’t scared him off when he was eleven, and she was hoping she wouldn’t at twenty-seven. At eight o’clock Scorpius knocked on her portrait door.

Rose murmured a Banishing Charm to remove cat hair from her black scoop neck jumper, she smoothed her hands down her grey denims, and walked barefoot to the door. She heard The Rubenesque Woman whistle at Scorpius on the other side of the threshold.

“Madam, calm yourself!” Rose said as she opened the portrait door.

Scorpius and The Rubenesque Woman blushed.

“Come in.” Rose stood aside and let him in. Rose raised an eyebrow at the regal woman on her purple settee. The Rubenesque Woman raised a fan to her face coquettishly. “I’m shocked and scandalized.” Rose admonished her further.

The Rubenesque Woman lowered her fan and spoke in a stage whisper. “He’s rather dishy!”

Rose giggled and shut the door quickly. She agreed. Scorpius wore a simple grey t-shirt, dark denims, and designer trainers meant more for looks and less for running. She blushed. “Sorry about her.”

“It’s okay.” Scorpius gave her a sheepish grin.

“I don’t think she gets out much.”

“Wouldn’t suspect otherwise.” Scorpius stared at a knot in the hardwood floor.

“She likes the Earl of Sandwich on the fourth floor, but he’s--“

“--Got a thing for The Fat Lady?” Scorpius met her eyes finally.

“Yeah. I think she could do much better though.” Rose ventured.

“She is a lot less annoying than The Fat Lady.”

“Just as lecherous though.” Rose led Scorpius to the dining area and let him take a seat. “Dinner is just about ready.” Rose made a great show with the cabinet she’d transfigured into a Muggle oven.

“Impressive.”

“And you haven’t even tasted my lasagna yet.” Rose opened the oven door to pull out the dish. The hot air rushed out and steamed up Rose’s face. She put the hot food on the counter and then tried to tame the tendrils about her face. She could feel the fine curls escaping the pins. “Oh bother,” she muttered and started to walk to the loo, fussing with her frizz all the way.

Scorpius reached for her arm as she passed him by the table. “Leave it. You look lovely.”

Rose felt a surge of warmth where his hand wrapped around her wrist. The delicate skin tingled and she was sure that Scorpius could feel her erratic pulse. Rose nodded and returned to the kitchen. She used her wand to levitate a bottle of Merlot to the table. Her cousin Al had sent her a whole case, though she hoped she wouldn’t need the whole case to loosen her tongue. She cast a corkscrew spell and plated the lasagna. Scorpius helped himself to a slice of bread sitting in the basket on the table. The bread was also a gift, baked magically (and in a hurry) by Lauren that evening after she’d heard Rose was having Scorpius over for dinner. Rose wondered if there was an entire camp of people ready and willing to add flair to Rose’s plan.

“I didn’t thank you for coming, did I?” Rose asked as she set plates down for both of them.

“Why do you need to thank me?” Scorpius seemed perplexed.

“I guess I thought you were mad or something?”

“Did you feel that I was angry?” Scorpius asked pointedly. He inhaled deeply while waiting for her response, making no secret of his delight over the aromas in the air.

“No. No, I didn’t. I just thought since you weren’t around much you were...never mind then.” Rose used her fork to cut into the layers of pasta, cheese, and sauce. She cooled it before putting it in her mouth and swallowing her first bite of bliss. She took a sip of the wine. The tomato sauce mingled with the cherry notes of the Merlot.

Scorpius watched her.

“What?” Rose started to feel self-conscious.

“Nothing. I was just watching you eat.” Scorpius sat back in his chair, thoroughly entertained.

Rose looked back at him and felt his feelings course through her. He was self-assured as he sat there admiring her openly. His smile bordered on cocky. Rose tucked a curl behind her ear and took another gulp of wine. She did her best not to blush as she continued to eat. After a minute longer Scorpius finally tucked in.

He broke the comfortable silence after he’d eaten about half of his portion. “Salazar Slytherin would have sold his own mother to get this recipe.”

Rose laughed. “I’ll admit, I haven’t made it in ages and I was afraid I’d muck it up.” She said between bites.

“You never made it for Alex?”

“No, I don’t think so.” After Rose had moved in with Alex they kept an odd schedule. Rose’s insomnia meant that she often left for work early in the morning and came home for a nap mid-day. She and Alex would go out for a late lunch together before he headed into his gallery. If Alex entertained clients in the evening, Rose made it a point to work late. Though they had a beautiful, state-of-the-art Muggle kitchen, Rose had probably only used it a few times a month at most. Even then, she only used it to prepare lunch the weekends.

“Ha! I’m special.” Scorpius thumped himself on the chest like macho Quidditch player.

Rose laughed at his manly display. “You are.” She nodded. “...Special needs, more like.”

“That’s cruel, Rose. You shouldn’t tease the disabled.”

“Differently-abled, Scorpius.” She emphasized. “Get it right or I’ll sic my mum on you.”

“Why do we always revert to being twelve years old around each other?” Scorpius asked.

“I haven’t a clue.” Rose laughed and refilled their wine glasses.

“Merlin, woman! Are you trying to get me drunk and take advantage of me?” Scorpius teased.

Rose giggled a little and tried to hide her embarrassment. “You’ve ruined my plan. Whatever will I do?” She finally succumbed to body-wracking laughter along with Scorpius.

After their playful exchange they finished eating and Rose charmed her kitchen to start cleaning up. Rose felt warm and knew that the wine had relaxed her just enough that she really had no more excuses to keep her from opening up.

“Why don’t you take a seat on the sofa while I just finish up in here.” Rose stalled. “Maybe you can find where Wentworth is hiding?”

Scorpius nodded and headed over to the sitting area. Rose checked that the food was properly put away in the cupboard charmed to refrigerate. She glanced over at Scorpius who was engrossed in the newspaper that Rose had left on the coffee table. “Damn.” She whispered to herself. She knew it probably wasn’t the first time he’d read an article about her in the past day and a half, but it seemed rather ill timed to be reading about it at the moment. Rose downed her second serving of Merlot and refreshed her glass again. She grabbed the bottle and joined Scorpius.

“I can’t believe you went to the sentencing.” Scorpius said as she sat down. His face looked ashen.

Rose groaned. “I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice.”

“You shouldn’t hold yourself accountable for his actions. It’s not like you could know everything he was feeling all the time, right?” He didn’t hold back asking exactly what he wanted to know.

“Scorpius...”

“You can’t feel everything.” It was a statement and less of a question.

Rose ducked her head. “Actually, Scorpius, I sort of can.”

His face fell even further. “But you haven’t always?” He seemed hopeful that maybe this was a newer development of her ability.

Rose shook her head. “Always.”

Scorpius sat back shell-shocked. Rose could feel his disbelief and discomfort.

“I never said anything when we were younger. It was too hard. I didn’t understand a lot back then, what I was feeling, whose feelings I was feeling. I was so scared. I was so scared and all I wanted to do was tell you. So you could tell me everything was going to be okay.” Rose’s voice cracked and her eyes welled with tears.

“How could you keep this from me?” He demanded to know, angry and rightly so.

“I didn’t know what to do!” She cried. Her tone was desperate and that seemed to shock Scorpius back into reality.

He looked at her thoughtfully and the part of him that was furious softened. “Rose, I’m sorry.”

“I’m the one that should be sorry. I’m sorry for lying.”

“You didn’t outright lie.” Scorpius reasoned.

It was a small consolation knowing that he understood how important the difference between deceit and a lie of omission was for her. Rose knew she could stop the conversation there if she wanted, but for the second time that week she didn’t want to take the easy way out. She felt brave enough to continue. “Scorpius, that’s not the only thing I kept from you all those years--”

But he cut her off. “--You’re not the only one that kept silent.”

Rose felt a surge of Scorpius’s own courage.

Scorpius drank the last of his wine. “That night in the common room and then again on the train, you asked me to make a choice. You didn’t come out and say it, but I knew what you meant. You wanted me to choose you over Chantal.” He ground out his ex’s name and sucked in a breath. “And I didn’t. And I’ve regretted it every day since. I was too fucking scared then to admit to myself what I felt about you.”

Rose sat upright and inhaled. It was no grand declaration of love, but she remembered those moments and how any sign would have been enough. “I never understood why you were afraid. I mean, you must have known that I wanted you?” Rose leaned in; she wanted him still.

“I convinced myself I was seeing things.” He laughed nervously.

“Why?” Rose’s voice was small and low.

“Merlin, Rose. You were my best friend! It was confusing...feeling the way I did when I looked at you. You were so...”

“I disgusted you?” Rose asked, her brown eyes clouded with tears, remembering all those times she felt it coursing through him.

“No! Never.” Scorpius reached over and put his hand behind her head. “You were beautiful. I was upset and confused. I was stupid. I thought I shouldn’t be thinking those things about my best friend.”

Rose leaned her head onto his forearm. “What kinds of things were you thinking about?” She pleaded.

“Rose,” Scorpius leaned in, “you tell me.”

Rose shook her head. “It doesn’t work that way, remember?”

Scorpius nodded and leaned in closer, his forehead touching hers now.

“Remind me.”

Rose closed the distance between them, pushed her body against his and kissed him. It was like the night by the pool; she couldn’t figure out where she ended and he began. Scorpius pulled back and she let out an impatient mewl. He pulled the few pins from her hair and fanned her curls around her face before he started kissing her again.

They snogged on the couch like two randy teenagers for the better part of an hour. Rose kept trying to put her hands up Scorpius’s t-shirt and he kept slapping her hands away. When she pinched his arse he yelped.

“I knew it!” Scorpius propped himself up on his elbows. “You did get me drunk so you could take advantage of me!”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

Scorpius sunk back onto Rose and burrowed his face into her neck and breathed in her scent. Rose’s entire body was on fire with his full weight on top of her. She rolled her hips beneath his and it sent shivers down her spine. She could feel Scorpius through his jeans, he was hard and his breathing was ragged.

“Rose, you have to stop that.” He warned.

“Or else what?” Rose arched her back just enough to elicit another whimper.

“It was an empty threat.” Scorpius sat up and pulled Rose on top of him. “I’ve got nothing.”

Rose pouted. “That’s not true.” She grinded against him. She cut off his complaint with her lips.

Her vantage point was much better this time and she pulled at the hem of his shirt. They parted long enough for her to pull it from his body. They only lasted like that for another minute. Scorpius tugged on Rose’s jumper. She complied and took it off. She wore a simple black bra, but it displayed her breasts in such a way that mesmerized Scorpius. He sat with his mouth agape.

“The tits that inspired many a nocturnal emission throughout the castle.” He said without shame.

Rose’s felt herself blush from her toes to the tips of her ears. Even her pale chest turned pink and caused Scorpius to look up. She rolled her eyes and laughed. Scorpius was distracted again by her heaving bosom and that only made her laugh harder. She got up and headed to her bedroom. Before Scorpius could stop her she unbuttoned her jeans and pushed them down her hips. She kicked them off. Scorpius stood in the doorway and watched. She could feel lust and unadulterated attraction emanating from him. If she had any doubt about the way he felt, there was no mistake now. His pupils were dilated and his hair was mussed from rolling around on the couch. Rose peeked at herself in the mirror. She looked positively wild, her hair twice its normal size. She was about to turn around when Scorpius came up behind her.

“You look like a wanton sex goddess.” He whispered in her ear.

Rose broke out into a fit of giggles. “I can’t believe you just used that line on me.” They always acted like two kids in a sweet shop when they were together, so why should foreplay be any different?

“Stop! You’re wounding my fragile ego.”

Rose spun around and pushed Scorpius back toward the bed. “Oh darling, it doesn’t look like anything on you is fragile.” She spoke in a husky voice, like she’d seen in silly, romantic Muggle movies.

Rose inched toward him and when she reached him she tugged at the fly of his denims. She slowly bent down, kneeled, and made a production of undoing the laces on his trainers. Scorpius pushed his trousers down and let them fall to his ankles. Rose peered up at him and he smirked back.

“You are an incredibly confident man.” Rose snickered.

“What makes you say that?”

“Only a man who is very sure of his sexual prowess would dare smile so smugly at a woman while still wearing his socks and shoes with his trousers round his feet.”

They both laughed. Scorpius finished undressing, leaving only his pants on which barely concealed his erection. “Rose, Rose, Rose...what am I going to do with you?” He taunted while giving her bra and knickers the once over.

Rose reached behind her back and undid the clasp on her bra. “I hope some very, very, naughty things.” She let Scorpius come to her and push the straps off her shoulders. Her breasts came free and Scorpius pulled her tightly to him. For once Rose felt small next to Scorpius. He palmed one of her breasts and kissed Rose hard on the mouth. He made a trail down her neck to her shoulders and then dipped his head to the valley between her breasts. Rose ached all over. She knew Scorpius was already dangerously close. There were definite advantages to her empathic ability.

She pulled him to the bed. They crawled under the covers and slowed their pace. Rose savored Scorpius’s affectionate kisses. She resisted the urge to close her eyes. He was a beautiful man, strong without being too bulky, lean but not skinny, handsome but not too refined. When they both removed their final articles of clothing they ended up in a tangle of limbs.

“I always loved these legs.” Scorpius said, running his hands over the curve of her hips to the undersides of her knees. He gently pushed them apart as he entered her. Rose wrapped her legs around him and held him close. She watched her best friend as he began to slowly move in and out of her.

Rose reached up and brushed some of the fringe away from his face. “I always loved you.” She was proud to be the first one to say it.

Scorpius leaned down and kissed her tenderly. Rose was patient for as long as she could stand it. She finally arched her back and urged him on. They moved their bodies together and created a delicious friction. They climaxed together. Not a bone in Rose’s body wanted to work, so she kept still. Finally, Scorpius flipped them over so that Rose could lie on top of him. They didn’t speak and neither of them cracked a joke.

Scorpius combed through Rose’s hair with his fingertips, and her eyelashes fluttered against his chest. “I spent ten years looking for this kind of happiness.” He paused. Rose could feel him savoring the moment. “I thought I loved Care of Magical Creatures, so I went into a healer training program for that. I was good at it, but I was miserable in Romania. Then I thought it was Hogwarts that I missed. So when I heard that the job was opening up I applied. I liked my students well enough, and on most days I was satisfied. I was okay living like that. And then you came back to Hogwarts too and you reminded me how fun life could be, how no day is ever so bad that I can’t find something to smile about when I see you. I spent ten years trying to recreate the happiness of my childhood. But I didn’t want to believe that it was you I was missing all this time.”

Rose didn’t have to say anything back. She didn’t have to tell Scorpius what was in her heart; he was her heart. She just smiled and kissed the palm of his hand that he rested on her cheek. He traced her grin with his fingers. Rose felt tears streaming down her face, but they were the happiest kind of tears, and she didn’t dare brush them away.