Truth (R) (Part 1/2)
Title: Truth
Author: ravenclawamber
Prompt: 083. Rose and Scorpius go camping. She's been several times. He's never been.
Summary: Rose, Scorpius and their best friends, Albus Potter and Ignatius Longbottom, go camping for the week. Albus and Iggy half-heartedly try to play matchmaker, but don't realize that the ship has already sailed.
Rating: R-ish
Warnings: Language, mention of sex and sexual sitations.
Word Count: 11,435 total
A/N: I want to thank my awesome bets from Project Team Beta, McGonagall’s Bola and EvilPumpkin, for not stringing me up by my toes for my crimes against the comma and for all their hard work and helpful feedback. Any remaining mistakes are my own.
Rose Weasley was throwing a tantrum , and she was well aware of it but couldn’t seem to pull the whine from her voice. She was nearly nineteen years old, for Merlin’s sake and she’d really only asked her mum as a courtesy. Never in a hundred years had she thought that Hermione Weasley wouldn’t agree to let her go camping with her best mates. After all, hadn’t her mum stayed in a tent with two teenage boys when she was a teenager? And it wasn’t like they would have to share rooms or beds or sleeping bags. Merlin, she was related to one of them, and they were only going camping for a week. Not a big deal.
“I’m sorry, Rosie, I just don’t think this camping with a group of teenage boys is a very good idea.”
“Iggy just turned twenty,” Rose supplied primly.
Hermione’s frown deepened , creasing her forehead. “Ignatius is another discussion all together . He is a horrible influence, Rose. I know you’ve been friends for years, but--”
“Muuum…”
“Rose Weasley, stop whinging like a two-year old and have a proper discussion with me. Convince me that this is a good idea.”
Rose rolled her eyes and flopped into a blue tartan armchair across from an identical one that her mum was occupying. The late August sunlight streamed into the sitting room and would have been sweltering if not for the well-placed Cooling Charms inside the house. “Albus will be there. That is practically like having Dad along as a chaperone,” she lied through her teeth. Albus was about the only one of her male relatives who didn’t care what she got up to as long as no one screwed with her. Then he would be all over them.
“And Iggy?”
“Iggy Longbottom?” Rose rolled her eyes. “He’s a mate-practically family. It’s your fault anyway. You and Aunt Hannah used to put us in the kiddy pool totally starkers.”
“You were three,” her mum replied dryly.
Rose shrugged. “If I were going to get up to something with a guy, it definitely would not be Iggy. He’s too… ” She gestured with her hands, trying to come up with the right word. Surely, saying something like out of control or bat-shit insane wouldn’t help her case in the least bit.
“Unpredictable?” her mum supplied helpfully. Rose nodded, thinking that it sounded much better. After a moment of consideration, Hermione broke the silence again. “What about Scorpius Malfoy? He’s certainly not like family.”
Only he was, in a way. He was Albus and Iggy’s best mate-not to mention her own. So he was at practically all of the Potter family functions as well as most of the Weasleys’. Rose fought her blush but didn’t succeed. “I had a crush on him last year, but I’ve moved on.” Another lie said with a straight face. Being in Slytherin had taught her a few things after all.
“I don’t know…”
“If I don’t go, they’ll starve,” Rose said dramatically. “Albus can hardly make a cheese sandwich.”
Her mum snorted but remained otherwise quiet, thinking. Finally, she said, “Do their parents know you are going along? Are they okay with their sons going off for the weekend with a witch?”
“I don’t think Scorpius knows he’s going yet. Albus is supposed to waylay him this afternoon,” Rose said , thinking about it. “And Iggy’s got his own place, so I am pretty sure he doesn’t have to ask Aunt Hannah, but I can check with her first…”
“I think that is a good idea,” Hermione said as she stood up. “She’s working at the pub today if you want to Floo over before the lunch rush.”
Scorpius Malfoy stood across from his friends Albus Potter and Iggy Longbottom, who were slouched against an old, red Volkswagen, looking as cool as they could manage. “Really?” he said disbelievingly. He pinched the bridge of his nose and stood straighter. “Let me get this straight. You want me, your best mate, to get in that rusted Muggle death trap you call a car and drive for two hours so that I can sleep on the ground and fend off bugs the size of Hippogriffs ?”
“Hey!” Iggy said indignantly, running a hand through his blue Mohawk and straightening his lanky frame. “Stella’s hardly got any rust on her.”
Albus snorted rudely, and Scorpius rolled his eyes. “What are we supposed to eat? Wild mushrooms? Nuts and berries? We don’t even know how to cook! Did you event think this through properly?”
“My mum is sending along some cold cuts and bread from the pub,” Iggy said as he patted Stella fondly along the line of her bonnet. Scorpius almost asked if he wanted to be alone with her but held his tongue.
Albus stood and straightened to his full six feet , four inches and smiled widely at something over Scorpius’ shoulder. “Gran is baking brownies and a few pies .”
“You think I’d let you starve?” a female voice joined the conversation and Scorpius’ whole body tensed as Rose slung a friendly arm around his shoulders.
“You’re coming?” he said and glared sidelong at his best mates. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to come, but he had thought it was going to be just the guys… and he liked to be prepared for her onslaught. She did things to him on a basic level , and he liked to be in control of himself so he didn’t say or do something stupid-like he just had. Scorpius looked at her face now . The hurtthere was obvious. Her brown eyes searched his for a moment before she closed her expression smoothly and moved away from him to stand next to Albus. Things had been awkward between them for a while now. He was at his wits end trying to fix it, so he did the only thing he could think of: he ignored it.
Stupid! he thought vehemently. “I didn’t mean…”
“No,” Rose said , smiling slyly, “If you would rather eat fungi and poisonous berries… by all means. I’ll stay home and read Witch Weekly’s very special summer edition.”
Albus choked back a laugh and bumped Rose’s shoulder with his. “No, I think we could use your heavenly culinary skills,” he reassured her. “And we don’t need to know about your special reading.”
“I didn’t mean I don’t want you to come,” Scorpius said , finally untying his tongue. “It just surprised me. Iggy and Al made it sound like it would be just the three of us.”
“My mum threw a wobbly about it,” Rose said , rolling her eyes. “I finally told her that I was going with you guys no matter what and that was that. She’ll get over it.”
“You did not,” Iggy said with a wicked glint in his eyes. “I saw my mum when I dropped in for lunch , and she said that you had been by to ask her permission to come along and that under no uncertain terms was I to go for a romp with you in the back seat of the VW. In fact, I don’t think I am even allowed to look at you properly for the next week.”
Rose hid behind her long red hair, but Scorpius could see she was silently giggling and he felt his insides squirm uncomfortably as a white-hot poker of jealousy stabbed through his gut. “Mum made me check with Aunt Hannah to make sure it was okay that I was there. I’m supposed to check with your mum too, Scorp.” She looked up and met his eyes briefly.
“I didn’t even say if I was going or not.”
“Well, mate? We are going tomorrow morning at first light. So you need to get packed , and Rose needs to ask your parents for permission to keep you company for the week,” Iggy said , still laughing. He moved to put his arm around Rose’s waist , and Scorpius suddenly wondered if there was something going on there. Were Iggy and Rose a thing?
Ignatius Longbottom was all wrong for her he decided instantly, turning on his best mate. She needed someone with less… less… blue hair. She needed someone respectable who didn’t get drunk and pass out at every occasion or celebration.
“I don’t see the big deal,” Albus said. “You’ve stayed over at Scorpius’ place in London before. We’re all of age.”
Rose shrugged. “It’s not like I’d ever consider sleeping with Romeo over here.” She leaned her head against Iggy’s shoulder. “Merlin knows where he’s been.”
“Hey!” Iggy said , pulling her plait.
“Git!”
“Slag.”
Rose stuck her tongue out at him.
“Is that an invitation?”
“Jesus Christ,” Scorpius growled. “You two act like a couple of children.”
“So, are you in?” Albus said, trying to head off a row.
“I don’t know…” Scorpius said skeptically. He shuddered as his mind wandered back to the dirt and bugs. Even as a child he had been exceptionally clean. His dorm mates used to tease him relentlessly about his cleanliness. He looked back and forth between Rose and Iggy again , wondering if he needed to keep an eye on them.
“It’ll be great,” Rose said, enthusiasm shining in her eyes. “I’ve gone loads of times with my family, and we have always had so much fun! There’s a lake for swimming and trails for hiking . The stars are bright like you’ve never seen.”
“Hiking? You call that fun?” His eyebrows shot up into his silvery fringe. Hiking had never been something that any respectable Malfoy had considered recreational. If he wanted to get to the top of a mountain, he would Apparate, not hike. Then again, he was sure no respectable Malfoy had ever tied himself in knots over a Weasley female. His face twisted ruefully , and the guys laughed at him.
“Come on, Scorp,” Rose pleaded. “You have to come.” She met his steel gray gaze and begged with her eyes. He felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. How could he ever say no to that?
He sighed in defeat. The satisfied smile that Rose sent him did more funny things to his insides. “Do you really have to ask my parents for permission? I don’t even live with them anymore.”
She nodded once , and a frown creased her brow. Scorpius wanted to smooth it away with a kiss. He averted his eyes quickly to his trainers. This was going to be about as much fun as Quidditch in a hailstorm.
Rose yawned for the umpteenth time as she packed the last of the luggage into the magically enlarged boot of the little red hatchback. She dusted her hands off and was startled when someone peaked over her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “I thought we weren’t using magic.”
A shiver ran down her spine. She inhaled his intoxicating aftershave and almost sighed before she caught herself. When she turned to face him, she found that he was standing so close to her that she was practically pinned to the car. If she took a step forward, she’d be plastered against him from chest to toe. If she took a step back, she’d fall in the boot. “There is no way in hell that we could have gotten our stuff and us into this beast without a little help.” She fingered the grip of her wand tucked in the waistband of her denim cut-offs .
Scorpius’ gaze moved down her body to her hips and then her bare legs , and she had to repress the flush creeping up her chest to her cheeks. “You look nice today,” he said lightly. She tried not to read too much into it, but her mind raced anyway.
“Thanks,” Rose said and turned to put his duffle into the back of the car before she said or did something stupid, like pressing her body against him and snogging him until she forgot her own name. She took a deep , calming breath. “Aunt Ginny’s got some sausages and eggs in the house.”
“I already had some coffee and toast before I popped over,” he said.
Rose reached for the lid to shut it and backed straight into Scorpius. She jumped in surprise and cracked her head on the latch. “Fuck it all!” she yelled and rubbed her head gingerly.
“Oh , Merlin’s balls,” Scorpius grumbled and spun her to face him. “I’m sorry. Damn it.” He muttered quietly while examining her bump. They were standing so close that she could feel his breath on her face. His nearness was far more dizzying than the knot forming on her skull. He did an Anti-Swelling Charm and palpated her head gently.
She watched him. Even through the blur of unshed tears, he was gorgeous. His icy eyes were focused intently, and his teeth worried his bottom lip in concentration. “I’m okay,” Rose mumbled quietly and swatted his wand away. “I was just startled, that’s all.”
“Let me finish,” Scorpius said, holding her hand still and gently placing it back at her side. “It’s good practice of my first aid skills before training starts next month. I haven’t had a chance to use them since I took the class last term.”
“I’m glad I could be of educational value,” she said wryly, but allowed him to poke and prod and mend the small cut along her hairline. She watched his lips move but heard nothing he said. His eyes found hers , and they stood there like that, his hand on her face, eyes locked, hearts beating loudly. The longing threatened to choke her. “I need some more caffeine before we take off. Can you…”
“Coffee or tea?” he said , smiling not without great relief, Rose noticed.
“Coffee , please. And can you see if Aunt Ginny has an extra bag of beans in the pantry? I forgot to pack some for you.”
When he turned toward the house, she sagged against Stella’s rear bumper and took some deep, steadying breaths. This week in such close proximity to Scorpius was going to be even more difficult than she had anticipated.
Scorpius stretched his leg out and bumped into Rose for the hundredth time in the last hour. “Tell me again why you enlarged the boot, but not the back seat?”
“So there won’t be any romping back there, I expect,” Albus said cheekily from the front seat.
“Budge over, you great oaf!” Rose kicked his shin again.
“I can’t. I don’t fit in this damn tin can.”
“I’m nearly as tall as you are, and you don’t see me with my legs in your space,” Rose groused.
“It’s hot,” Albus grumbled from the front seat.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Scorpius added.
“Would the lot of you please shut up?” Iggy said. “You’re killing my happy buzz.”
“Fuck,” Albus and Scorpius said at the same time , looking at Iggy. Hopefully, since he was behind the wheel, he was kidding.
Rose laughed, “This is awful! I’m Apparating home on Saturday. You guys smell like dead animals.”
“Do not!” all three chorused indignantly , sending her into fresh peals of laughter. “It’s not my fault that Cooling Charms don’t work in moving vehicles,” Iggy added sullenly.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Scorpius glared balefully at Rose. She ignored him and cranked the window down a bit further . “Your family honestly does this every summer?”
“Every summer,” she confirmed with a nod. “Well, not this. Our car has air conditioning-a cooler with a fan for the car… and the back seat is much larger.”
Scorpius snorted and turned his attention to the scenery. They rode for another half an hour before they passed a caravan and another fifteen minutes before they turned off the main road onto a narrow rutted track that led into dense vegetation.
Having gotten tired of his grousing, Rose had put her feet up across the back seat and into his lap so that he could stretch his legs across the car. He absently stroked her ankle as he watched the trees getting thicker around them and the sound of vintage punk rock blaring from the car speakers encapsulated them each within their own thoughts.
It was perfect, he thought, him and Rose and his two best mates off on an adventure in the woods. He glanced at the girl who occupied most of his thoughts these days. She was his best mate too, but it was different between them. Who cared if he had to sleep on the ground? The company was great, the locale relaxing and the possibilities were unlimited. Rose wiggled her toes , and he looked up to find her grinning at him.
“We’re almost there,” she said. The excitement in her eyes was infectious and , he found himself grinning back despite everything.
It was sunny, beautiful, and deserted. The blue of the lake was visible through a split in the trees to the north , and hills rose up to meet the sky along the opposite shore. Rose inhaled the fresh scent of pine trees and earth and felt peace wash over her. This was her one last hurrah before her six- month internship in Norway started. She’d never been to Norway before, so when the opportunity to study under Healer Turid Bjørnstad, the famed Magical Creatures Healer, arose, she had jumped at the opportunity. She’d applied, written an essay and interviewed to beat out nearly forty other applicants from all around Europe for the coveted position.
Starting September the 24th, Rose would be working as an assistant to Healer Bjørnstad at her small practice two days a week and helping her teach first year students at the local magical school another two days a week. The pay was dismal, but boarding in a three-hundred-year-old farmhouse on the school’s grounds was included, as well as three-day weekends to explore the country or visit home via Portkey. Not to mention the wealth of knowledge and experience she would soak up before applying to the Care of Magical Creatures internship at the Research and Healing Institute in London, which was also very selective.
Rose and Albus unloaded the boot while Iggy scouted for a flat area to erect the tent and Scorpius searched for wood to light the fire.
“D’ya suppose we should tell them?” Albus said over his shoulder as he dropped the cooler on the ground and Iggy disappeared down the trail toward the lake, seemingly distracted.
She smirked and shook her head at her cousin. “No sense now. They’ll find out soon enough.” She pulled her wand from the waistband of her shorts and started levitating rocks and sticks out of the clearing between two tall evergreens. With a swish of his wand, Albus cleared the pine needles and Rose levitated the tent over to the clearing. She pulled a cord and jumped out of the way as it sprang into action, hissing, clicking and unfolding itself until a small butter-yellow canvas tent with window boxes full of ever-blooming violets stood proudly before them.
“Good work,” Albus said, grinning down at his cousin. “I’ll bring the cooler in so you can get the kitchen set up in time for lunch.”
“You think you could set up a fire ring so I can put a stew on for dinner?” she called back as she pulled aside the front flap of the tent. Inside, fairy lights twinkled across the rafters of what appeared to be a small cabin.
Two mismatched blue armchairs sat on either side of a long plaid sofa in front of a large brick hearth. Farther into the tent were a small kitchen with blue tiled countertops and a scrubbed wooden table with six chairs. Rose Vanished two of the chairs and conjured a lace tablecloth and a vase of orange daisies for the center.
“Scourgify,” she said, flicking her wand at the kitchen, then turned and did the same in the direction of the sitting room. She went around and tied open all the windows to let the tent air properly, then started work on the bedrooms. Albus came and went while Rose refreshed the beds and changed all the linens out. She stocked the loo and went back toward the kitchen just in time to see the look on Scorpius’ face as he came through the front flap.
Priceless.
“What the hell?” he said, taking a look around the scrubbed tent. “I thought we were camping as Muggles?”
“You assumed we were camping as Muggles, and Albus and I just didn’t think it would be much fun if we corrected you.” Rose grinned. “It’s bigger on the inside.”
“No shit,” Scorpius said and stuck his tongue out at her. “Does Iggy know?”
She shook her head, still grinning. She loved teasing Scorpius, always had. “Can you help me with lunch and getting dinner on the fire?”
“Sure.”
They moved into the kitchen with Rose giving him tips and instructions as he peeled potatoes and chopped carrots. Rose pulled out the cold cuts that Mrs. Longbottom had sent along with them and sliced bread, cheeses and tomatoes. The domesticity of it wasn’t lost on her. When her mind started going down paths best left untraveled, she shook her head to clear it.
“Here, Scorp, I’ll take over with the vegetables and you go get the boys for lunch. You’re probably half-starved.” She nudged him aside playfully, trying not to let her emotions show on her face. She needed a little space to bring herself back down. He caught her eye and held it for a moment before turning, and Rose wondered if he was feeling the same warring emotions that she was.
Soon , the dining area was filled with the sound of her best friends in the whole world talking animatedly about Quidditch and girls. She was starting to load the stew veggies into a large Dutch oven when Scorpius came up behind her. “Here,” he said , shoving a plate into her hands, “Your turn to eat.”
She shot him a grateful smile. “Load it all in there and add a can of Guinness to it. Albus can put up the spit over the fire.”
“No problem,” Scorpius said. He pushed his platinum hair out of his eyes and set to work while Rose watched from her perch at the end of the countertop. She couldn’t help herself. Iggy and Albus clamored toward the door to set the fire in the pit. Rose smiled. If someone was setting fire to something, Iggy would find a way to be involved.
She bit into her sandwich and gave Scorpius another appreciative glance. Roast beef, pickles and onions with just the right amount of mustard on whole meal bread. Rose sighed and continued to watch the man in front of her as he put the last of the potatoes into the pot.
“Don’t forget the herbs,” Rose said with her mouth full. Scorpius snorted, and they both missed Albus’ quizzical glance back at them as he went out the front door.
The next two days passed quietly. Rose, Albus and Iggy sunbathed on the beach and swam in the lake, while Scorpius preferred to sit nearby in the shade and read his Muggle science-fiction novel that he’d received from his great-aunt Andromeda for his birthday. The third day found Rose and Scorpius alone on the sandy bank of the stream that fed the lake.
Scorpius had two fishing poles and a cooler in his arms, while Rose carried a large faded quilt, a smaller cooler and her oversized knitting bag. The sun was shining overhead, but the temperatures had dropped considerably so that Scorpius no longer felt it was necessary to hide in the shade. However, he did cast a Sun-Protection Charm over himself before they had set out. He wasn’t one of those blonds that could sport a proper tan, because rather than tanning, his alabaster skin tended to burn to a crisp. Instantly.
Rose hiked along the shore a few feet in front of him, and he took the opportunity to watch the graceful way that she moved and the bead of sweat rolling down her slender neck. He watched the way her hips swayed back and forth so intently that he tripped over a tree root, nearly knocking into her.
“Alright there, Scorp?” she said cheekily, as if she knew where his mind had been. “This looks like a good spot.” She dropped her bag and the cooler and shook out the blanket. There was a deep, clear pool and the water was still in the stream next to them.
The cooler s went next to the blanket, and then the fishing poles went onto the sand. “Can you explain again why we aren’t going to use magic to catch the fish?”
She rolled her eyes as she turned to face him. “Because,” she said slowly, “If we catch the fish too quickly, we can’t just lay here and enjoy the day.”
“But if we catch the fish quickly, you can clean them sooner. ” he wrinkled his nose at the thought, and Rose rolled her eyes skyward again, muttering something about his masculinity. “Then we can go out and enjoy the sun.”
“If you catch the fish with magic, and then go and enjoy the sun, there will always be something else we have to do. Like stoke the fire, or cook the fish, or search for firewood. Right now, we are just fishing and relaxing. There’s nothing to do because we don’t have any fish yet.” Rose picked up one of the fishing poles and then grabbed some bait out of the smaller cooler. “Have you ever done this before?” He wrinkled his nose again at the large earthworm as Rose impaled it on a hook. “You can have this one, but don’t expect me to bait them all for you.”
Scorpius grimaced but took the fishing pole from her. She made a production of baiting the second hook and casting the line out into the creek. She helped Scorpius with his after he’d nearly ripped his ear off and then stuck the poles back in the sand and muttered a minor Sticking Charm for good measure. He watched with fascination as she rinsed her hands in the water, ran them through her copper-colored hair and wiped them dry on her Iron Cauldron concert t-shirt. He smiled.
Iron Cauldron. That had been a brilliant time! He’d gotten her the tickets for her birthday last summer , and the show had been the night before they left for Hogwarts. It had been loud and wild and absolutely fantastic. Even the opening band, Potions in the Dark , had been good. Scorpius had watched Rose shouting the lyrics of her favorite song and felt his heart flip in his chest. For the first time, he’d noticed her, not as his tomboy best mate, but as a beautiful, fierce and amazing witch. During a lull in the music, he’d wrapped his arms around her from behind and without hesitation she ’d leaned back against his chest and let herself be held. His heart had slammed against his ribcage and he forgot to watch the show, instead focusing on the way she felt pressed against him as the crowd flowed around them. He could still remember the way her hair had smelled like nectarines and sweat and the way her skin had stuck to his where he rested his cheek against her neck.
After the concert, they’d caught a midnight showing of a cult classic in a seedy Muggle theater near The Leaky Cauldron and then ate chips and drank Butterbeer and ale until the pub closed at three. They stumbled back to her Uncle Charlie’s flat hand in hand where they camped on his sitting room floor until seven, when they’d rushed to get ready and Apparate to King’s Cross Station and meet their families to say goodbye.
The ride back to Hogwarts had been quiet. Iggy had graduated the year before, and Albus had spent the first half of the ride in the Prefects’ carriage. Rose had stretched across the bench and slept with her jumper balled up like a pillow in his lap. He’d watched her when no one was looking and more than once caught himself absently stroking her hair as the scenery passed by the window.
“Come on then,” Rose said, patting the place next to her on the blanket. He pulled his book from his pocket and enlarged it. Rose wrinkled her nose at it but chose not to comment. Scorpius smiled to himself. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was not Rose’s type of book. She liked the frilly, girly twaddle that his mum liked to read.
Rose crossed her legs and pulled a large pile of gray string out of her bag.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a jumper,” Rose said. “Mum taught me to knit at the beginning of the summer.
“Like a Muggle?” he said perplexed.
“Of course,” she replied indignantly.
“There are spells for that,” he said cheekily. “My mum knits me jumpers all the time.”
“Well, she’s not really knitting them, is she? It’s her magic.” He didn’t understand the difference, and Rose rolled her eyes skyward. “This is hand-knitting . There’s room for error and each piece is one of a kind, made perfectly, I hope, for the person it is intended for.”
“Who is that for?” he wanted to know.
“Oh,” Rose said , blushing, “Whoever it’ll fit when it is done. I’m not very advanced yet. I’ve only knitted one scarf, and it was nearly twelve feet long.”
Laughing, he flopped back on the quilt and pulled his shades down to protect his eyes. As the morning wore on, he realized he was having a hard time concentrating on what he was reading; his mind wandered inevitably to the witch next to him. Eventually, he opted to watch Rose knit instead. Her fingers worked deftly, and her brown eyes were intent. Every once in a while, she’d drop a little u-shaped needle and curse vehemently under her breath. Scorpius found himself smiling more than he had smiled in a long time. He was thankful that things were mostly back to normal between them. For a while, he had not sure they would ever be normal again.
Neither of them saw Iggy halfway up the hill, watching them keenly with a wicked gleam in his eye. He turned and headed farther up the trail, “Hey, Albus, wait up,” he called. “I have something I want to tell you.”
After a dinner of grilled chicken (they had failed to catch any fish) and roasted vegetables, the group of friends lounged around a blazing campfire while the day’s last light faded , eating a box of Honeydukes’ Chocolate that Albus had Apparated to Hogsmeade to acquire.
Rose sucked the center out of a gooey honey chocolate and then took a sip of her wine. It was the best day she’d had in a while. If it weren’t for the ever-present undercurrent of sexual tension between herself and Scorpius, it would have been exactly like things had always been. But that tension was there, and it was driving her slowly, and wonderfully, mad. She knew that someday she would probably succumb to it and kiss him until her eyes crossed, but today wasn’t that day.
She wished, with every ounce of her being, that she could apologize for the way things had happened, but she did not have the courage. So instead, she did her best to make up for it by following his lead and acting like they were best mates, which they had been since the day they were both sorted into Slytherin House at Hogwarts.
Rose had wanted desperately to be in Gryffindor, to please her family, but inside she had known she wouldn’t belong there, and the Sorting Hat had seen that. She was not brave, or even particularly outgoing, but she was intelligent, loyal, and quite calculating. She tended to say the right things to the right people to make things fall into place, exactly as she intended. Rose was an organizer and a master planner-with a bit of vindictive on the side. People tended to stay out of her way.
Scorpius, on the other hand, was outspoken and charming. So while everyone in their House had stared at the lone Weasley in the snakes’ den, he had marched up to her, held out his hand and introduced himself. He insisted that she sit with him while he wrote home. She had written home as well, and they’d chatted until a Prefect had told them it was far too late for ickle first-years to be up.
At first , she had been surprised that he would accept her so openly and willingly, but within minutes, she’d felt like she had known him her whole life. They both liked Quidditch, books and Chocolate Frogs . Within weeks, they had become best friends, doing everything from eating to studying for tests together and he’d charmed his way into the fray that was the Weasley family. Only a few of the elder Weasley children had been wary and had given them a hard time, but a sneakily-placed potion slipped into their drinks at mealtime had cured them of that rather quickly. They had left her alone and eventually they came to accept him just as Rose and Albus had.
It had been a natural progression then, that in their fifth year, she should start to have feelings for him that went beyond friendship. He had come back from summer holiday three inches taller and somewhat broader in the chest. His voice had been deeper , and his laughter had rumbled through her, making her heart flutter nervously in her chest. She’d held that secret close to her heart, and only Albus had known about her little crush, and she’d kept it that way until the night Scorpius took her to see her favorite band.
When he’d wrapped his arms around her during the show, she had expected a friendly, I-am-having-a-great-time hug. Instead he’d held on, tight, and rubbed his cheek along her neck and jaw, stirring both her hidden emotions and a potent lust. She’d practically melted against him. They’d held hands as they walked to the Muggle theater , and she’d sat contentedly under his wing, snuggling as close as she dared during the film.
They’d fallen asleep on the floor with their fingers intertwined, faces only inches apart. The next day, on the Hogwarts Express, they had been awkward and shy until Rose decided that enough was enough and settled in for a nap. By the end of the week, they’d been stealing shy kisses behind the stacks in the library, between classes and when they said goodnight to one another. Soon, they had been snogging in empty classrooms and couldn’t get enough of each other. They’d decided not to tell anyone until Christmas holidays when they could tell their parents first and in person, and Rose was forever grateful for that decision.
She sighed wistfully. It had been the best three months of her life.
Albus took a swig from Iggy’s bottle of Ogden’s Firewhiskey and traded it back for another delectable chocolate. “Today, while we were hiking, Longbottom and I were talking about the pact that we made after we took our O.W.L.’s. Do you remember that?”
Rose popped a buttercream flower into her mouth and sat up. “You mean that ridiculous notion that Iggy had for us to all move in together?”
“It wasn’t ridiculous!” Iggy said. “I’ve been living in a flat that is smaller than my closet at my parents’ place because it is all I could afford on a first year Auror’s payscale, but it beats the hell out of living with my mum and dad.”
Albus nodded fervently. It was a well known fact that he was saving his money so that he could get a place of his own too. Scorpius nodded sympathetically. His flat was a bit bigger than a closet, but he could obviously relate with not wanting to live with his folks.
All things told, Rose wasn’t particularly looking forward to moving back in with her mum and dad when she returned from Norway, but she hadn’t really thought there was an alternative. “I don’t know,” she said.
“I heard that James and Dominique are giving up their flat in Diagon Alley because James travels so much for Quidditch, that he doesn’t see the point of paying rent. Dominique is going to move back home until Lily graduates so they can move in together and split the rent somewhere. They’ve got a lease with Uncle George, but I’m sure he’d let us rent it.”
“It’s only two bedrooms,” Rose said, frowning.
“I could share with Albus,” Iggy said, “and you could room with Scorpius.”
Scorpius, who had just taken a swig of ale, started sputtering and choking. Albus thumped him hard on the back, obviously trying not to laugh. Rose downed her wine in one go and when she laughed, it rang false. When he stopped choking, Rose gave him a significant look and handed him her glass. “Scorpius, I need a refill. Could you go do that for me?”
Albus and Iggy shared a smug glance at each other and she saw Iggy mouth the words, “Pussy-whipped.”
When Scorpius had gone through the flap in the tent, Rose rounded on the snickering pair. “I don’t know what you think you are playing at, but you need to back off and mind your own fucking business,” she snarled more venomously than she’d intended to.
Iggy widened his eyes innocently, but Albus frowned at her, “We’re only taking the mickey.”
“I know where you sleep,” she hissed menacingly as Scorpius came back with another glass of wine and a bottle of ale for himself. “And I’m cooking your food.”
Iggy shut up after that. It was a well known fact that Rose was brilliant at Potions, and she’d been known to slip things-usually harmless, but sometimes not-into meals when revenge was in order.
They spent the rest of the evening, talking companionably about what kind of flat they wanted to let and where they would most like to live. It was decided that it had to be at least three bedrooms and have two bathrooms because there was no way in Hades that Rose was sharing a bathroom with boys who peed on the floor and wanked in the shower. Scorpius and Iggy weren’t comfortable with a Muggle neighborhood, but since flats in Wizarding London were hard to come by, they would be willing to try it out.
They’d all moved onto a quilt that Rose had transfigured into a cushiony feather bed and stared up at the stars contentedly, conversation moving freely from one topic to the next, but it always came back around to their not-so-distant plans.
“I can’t believe we are actually doing it,” Scorpius wondered aloud. “When we talked about it before, it was always something so far away. Unreal.”
“And here we are,” Rose muttered more to herself than anyone else.
Iggy, who was starting to slur his words, said, “We’ll even have our mum along to cook for us and do our laundry.”
Rose and Albus laughed, but Scorpius said, “Show a little respect, Igg. She’s not your mum.”
“It’s okay, Scorp-“ Rose started to say, knowing that Iggy was pissed and more than likely joking, but she was cut off by Iggy’s reply.
“Don’t I know it,” he sighed. “I don’t think my mum ever had a set of tits as nice as Rose’s.” Albus kicked him in the leg and Scorpius growled low in his throat.
Rose’s stomach flipped. She loved it when he got jealous especially since he didn’t even realize he was doing it. Toward the end of seventh year, when a bloke from Ravenclaw had asked her to Hogsmeade, Scorpius had sat across the pub glaring daggers at the boy until he excused himself for a meeting he’d suddenly remembered. It gave her an odd sense of hope.
“I think we’ll all wash our own shorts,” Albus said wryly, “And take turns helping out in the kitchen. I’m sure Rose can teach us the spells easily enough.”
“Thank you, Albus,” Rose said primly. “I don’t mind cooking for you lot, but I am going to be working really hard when I get into the program. We may have to have weekly dinners at all our parents’ houses and spring for Thai takeaway regularly.”
“I can just imagine you three showing up uninvited at the manor house,” Scorpius said, laughing. “Father would throw you out on your ear.”
“He would never throw me out,” Rose said indignantly. “Your mum loves me.”
Iggy snored loudly.
“That’s my cue ,” Albus said , and he got up.
Rose stood too, but she was reluctant to go. “Come sit by the fire for a while,” she said as she gave Scorpius a hand up from the ground. They tucked Iggy into the quilt and then conjured a makeshift shelter that would keep him dry until morning. Maybe.
“He’s mad,” Scorpius said fondly as Rose hooked her arm through his and led him toward the fire.
She readily agreed. “What do you really think? About us all living together, I mean.”
Scorpius rubbed the back of his neck as he sat down. “It’ll be weird, of course, but pretty awesome.”
Weird. That was a good way to put it. Bloody awkward would be another. “It’ll be like Hogwarts, but we get to choose our dorm mates, right? Merlin knows I wouldn’t have chosen Margie Nott for my dorm mate if given the choice! She snored so loud! And I didn’t know a proper Silencing Charm until third year! I’m surprised I passed any of my classes, what with not being able to sleep.”
“Nothing could compete with Norman Page after he hit puberty. He smelled awful, and then he tried to cover up his awful odor with awful cologne. Ugh.”
They laughed and fell into silence, both of them deep in thought. “Do you have to work during school?” Rose asked after some time. It had been ages since they’d sat and just talked to one another.
“No, Mum’s family is paying for my first year’s tuition and then it turns into a paid internship. Mum and Dad are paying room and board. They said I could live at home, but understand if I don’t want to.”
“How do you think they’ll feel about us all living together? I know my dad is going to go spare at the thought of his ickle Rosiekins living with a few randy blokes and their mates popping by constantly.”
Scorpius snorted. “I bet Father will be so devastated that I am living with a Weasley, a Potter and a Longbottom that he won’t even worry about what depraved things I might be getting up to with you.” Realizing what he’d said, he clamped his hand over his mouth. “Sorry-I didn’t mean to imply…”
“No harm, Scorp,” she said kindly, as she stood and stretched her arms over her head. She noted the way his eyes darkened and smiled to herself. “Things’ll work out. They always do. I think it’s time I went in. You and I are hiking up to the vista in the morning.”
“We are?” Scorpius said bewildered.
“Yep.”
“Can’t we just Apparate?” he whinged as they went through the flap in the tent.
Rose laughed and bumped his shoulder, “Goodnight, Scorpius.” Without thinking about it, she stood on her toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “I’ll see you at breakfast.”
As she turned and walked away, Scorpius touched his cheek and took a shuddering breath. It looked like he was going hiking in the morning.
Part Two
Author: ravenclawamber
Prompt: 083. Rose and Scorpius go camping. She's been several times. He's never been.
Summary: Rose, Scorpius and their best friends, Albus Potter and Ignatius Longbottom, go camping for the week. Albus and Iggy half-heartedly try to play matchmaker, but don't realize that the ship has already sailed.
Rating: R-ish
Warnings: Language, mention of sex and sexual sitations.
Word Count: 11,435 total
A/N: I want to thank my awesome bets from Project Team Beta, McGonagall’s Bola and EvilPumpkin, for not stringing me up by my toes for my crimes against the comma and for all their hard work and helpful feedback. Any remaining mistakes are my own.
Rose Weasley was throwing a tantrum , and she was well aware of it but couldn’t seem to pull the whine from her voice. She was nearly nineteen years old, for Merlin’s sake and she’d really only asked her mum as a courtesy. Never in a hundred years had she thought that Hermione Weasley wouldn’t agree to let her go camping with her best mates. After all, hadn’t her mum stayed in a tent with two teenage boys when she was a teenager? And it wasn’t like they would have to share rooms or beds or sleeping bags. Merlin, she was related to one of them, and they were only going camping for a week. Not a big deal.
“I’m sorry, Rosie, I just don’t think this camping with a group of teenage boys is a very good idea.”
“Iggy just turned twenty,” Rose supplied primly.
Hermione’s frown deepened , creasing her forehead. “Ignatius is another discussion all together . He is a horrible influence, Rose. I know you’ve been friends for years, but--”
“Muuum…”
“Rose Weasley, stop whinging like a two-year old and have a proper discussion with me. Convince me that this is a good idea.”
Rose rolled her eyes and flopped into a blue tartan armchair across from an identical one that her mum was occupying. The late August sunlight streamed into the sitting room and would have been sweltering if not for the well-placed Cooling Charms inside the house. “Albus will be there. That is practically like having Dad along as a chaperone,” she lied through her teeth. Albus was about the only one of her male relatives who didn’t care what she got up to as long as no one screwed with her. Then he would be all over them.
“And Iggy?”
“Iggy Longbottom?” Rose rolled her eyes. “He’s a mate-practically family. It’s your fault anyway. You and Aunt Hannah used to put us in the kiddy pool totally starkers.”
“You were three,” her mum replied dryly.
Rose shrugged. “If I were going to get up to something with a guy, it definitely would not be Iggy. He’s too… ” She gestured with her hands, trying to come up with the right word. Surely, saying something like out of control or bat-shit insane wouldn’t help her case in the least bit.
“Unpredictable?” her mum supplied helpfully. Rose nodded, thinking that it sounded much better. After a moment of consideration, Hermione broke the silence again. “What about Scorpius Malfoy? He’s certainly not like family.”
Only he was, in a way. He was Albus and Iggy’s best mate-not to mention her own. So he was at practically all of the Potter family functions as well as most of the Weasleys’. Rose fought her blush but didn’t succeed. “I had a crush on him last year, but I’ve moved on.” Another lie said with a straight face. Being in Slytherin had taught her a few things after all.
“I don’t know…”
“If I don’t go, they’ll starve,” Rose said dramatically. “Albus can hardly make a cheese sandwich.”
Her mum snorted but remained otherwise quiet, thinking. Finally, she said, “Do their parents know you are going along? Are they okay with their sons going off for the weekend with a witch?”
“I don’t think Scorpius knows he’s going yet. Albus is supposed to waylay him this afternoon,” Rose said , thinking about it. “And Iggy’s got his own place, so I am pretty sure he doesn’t have to ask Aunt Hannah, but I can check with her first…”
“I think that is a good idea,” Hermione said as she stood up. “She’s working at the pub today if you want to Floo over before the lunch rush.”
Scorpius Malfoy stood across from his friends Albus Potter and Iggy Longbottom, who were slouched against an old, red Volkswagen, looking as cool as they could manage. “Really?” he said disbelievingly. He pinched the bridge of his nose and stood straighter. “Let me get this straight. You want me, your best mate, to get in that rusted Muggle death trap you call a car and drive for two hours so that I can sleep on the ground and fend off bugs the size of Hippogriffs ?”
“Hey!” Iggy said indignantly, running a hand through his blue Mohawk and straightening his lanky frame. “Stella’s hardly got any rust on her.”
Albus snorted rudely, and Scorpius rolled his eyes. “What are we supposed to eat? Wild mushrooms? Nuts and berries? We don’t even know how to cook! Did you event think this through properly?”
“My mum is sending along some cold cuts and bread from the pub,” Iggy said as he patted Stella fondly along the line of her bonnet. Scorpius almost asked if he wanted to be alone with her but held his tongue.
Albus stood and straightened to his full six feet , four inches and smiled widely at something over Scorpius’ shoulder. “Gran is baking brownies and a few pies .”
“You think I’d let you starve?” a female voice joined the conversation and Scorpius’ whole body tensed as Rose slung a friendly arm around his shoulders.
“You’re coming?” he said and glared sidelong at his best mates. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to come, but he had thought it was going to be just the guys… and he liked to be prepared for her onslaught. She did things to him on a basic level , and he liked to be in control of himself so he didn’t say or do something stupid-like he just had. Scorpius looked at her face now . The hurtthere was obvious. Her brown eyes searched his for a moment before she closed her expression smoothly and moved away from him to stand next to Albus. Things had been awkward between them for a while now. He was at his wits end trying to fix it, so he did the only thing he could think of: he ignored it.
Stupid! he thought vehemently. “I didn’t mean…”
“No,” Rose said , smiling slyly, “If you would rather eat fungi and poisonous berries… by all means. I’ll stay home and read Witch Weekly’s very special summer edition.”
Albus choked back a laugh and bumped Rose’s shoulder with his. “No, I think we could use your heavenly culinary skills,” he reassured her. “And we don’t need to know about your special reading.”
“I didn’t mean I don’t want you to come,” Scorpius said , finally untying his tongue. “It just surprised me. Iggy and Al made it sound like it would be just the three of us.”
“My mum threw a wobbly about it,” Rose said , rolling her eyes. “I finally told her that I was going with you guys no matter what and that was that. She’ll get over it.”
“You did not,” Iggy said with a wicked glint in his eyes. “I saw my mum when I dropped in for lunch , and she said that you had been by to ask her permission to come along and that under no uncertain terms was I to go for a romp with you in the back seat of the VW. In fact, I don’t think I am even allowed to look at you properly for the next week.”
Rose hid behind her long red hair, but Scorpius could see she was silently giggling and he felt his insides squirm uncomfortably as a white-hot poker of jealousy stabbed through his gut. “Mum made me check with Aunt Hannah to make sure it was okay that I was there. I’m supposed to check with your mum too, Scorp.” She looked up and met his eyes briefly.
“I didn’t even say if I was going or not.”
“Well, mate? We are going tomorrow morning at first light. So you need to get packed , and Rose needs to ask your parents for permission to keep you company for the week,” Iggy said , still laughing. He moved to put his arm around Rose’s waist , and Scorpius suddenly wondered if there was something going on there. Were Iggy and Rose a thing?
Ignatius Longbottom was all wrong for her he decided instantly, turning on his best mate. She needed someone with less… less… blue hair. She needed someone respectable who didn’t get drunk and pass out at every occasion or celebration.
“I don’t see the big deal,” Albus said. “You’ve stayed over at Scorpius’ place in London before. We’re all of age.”
Rose shrugged. “It’s not like I’d ever consider sleeping with Romeo over here.” She leaned her head against Iggy’s shoulder. “Merlin knows where he’s been.”
“Hey!” Iggy said , pulling her plait.
“Git!”
“Slag.”
Rose stuck her tongue out at him.
“Is that an invitation?”
“Jesus Christ,” Scorpius growled. “You two act like a couple of children.”
“So, are you in?” Albus said, trying to head off a row.
“I don’t know…” Scorpius said skeptically. He shuddered as his mind wandered back to the dirt and bugs. Even as a child he had been exceptionally clean. His dorm mates used to tease him relentlessly about his cleanliness. He looked back and forth between Rose and Iggy again , wondering if he needed to keep an eye on them.
“It’ll be great,” Rose said, enthusiasm shining in her eyes. “I’ve gone loads of times with my family, and we have always had so much fun! There’s a lake for swimming and trails for hiking . The stars are bright like you’ve never seen.”
“Hiking? You call that fun?” His eyebrows shot up into his silvery fringe. Hiking had never been something that any respectable Malfoy had considered recreational. If he wanted to get to the top of a mountain, he would Apparate, not hike. Then again, he was sure no respectable Malfoy had ever tied himself in knots over a Weasley female. His face twisted ruefully , and the guys laughed at him.
“Come on, Scorp,” Rose pleaded. “You have to come.” She met his steel gray gaze and begged with her eyes. He felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. How could he ever say no to that?
He sighed in defeat. The satisfied smile that Rose sent him did more funny things to his insides. “Do you really have to ask my parents for permission? I don’t even live with them anymore.”
She nodded once , and a frown creased her brow. Scorpius wanted to smooth it away with a kiss. He averted his eyes quickly to his trainers. This was going to be about as much fun as Quidditch in a hailstorm.
Rose yawned for the umpteenth time as she packed the last of the luggage into the magically enlarged boot of the little red hatchback. She dusted her hands off and was startled when someone peaked over her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “I thought we weren’t using magic.”
A shiver ran down her spine. She inhaled his intoxicating aftershave and almost sighed before she caught herself. When she turned to face him, she found that he was standing so close to her that she was practically pinned to the car. If she took a step forward, she’d be plastered against him from chest to toe. If she took a step back, she’d fall in the boot. “There is no way in hell that we could have gotten our stuff and us into this beast without a little help.” She fingered the grip of her wand tucked in the waistband of her denim cut-offs .
Scorpius’ gaze moved down her body to her hips and then her bare legs , and she had to repress the flush creeping up her chest to her cheeks. “You look nice today,” he said lightly. She tried not to read too much into it, but her mind raced anyway.
“Thanks,” Rose said and turned to put his duffle into the back of the car before she said or did something stupid, like pressing her body against him and snogging him until she forgot her own name. She took a deep , calming breath. “Aunt Ginny’s got some sausages and eggs in the house.”
“I already had some coffee and toast before I popped over,” he said.
Rose reached for the lid to shut it and backed straight into Scorpius. She jumped in surprise and cracked her head on the latch. “Fuck it all!” she yelled and rubbed her head gingerly.
“Oh , Merlin’s balls,” Scorpius grumbled and spun her to face him. “I’m sorry. Damn it.” He muttered quietly while examining her bump. They were standing so close that she could feel his breath on her face. His nearness was far more dizzying than the knot forming on her skull. He did an Anti-Swelling Charm and palpated her head gently.
She watched him. Even through the blur of unshed tears, he was gorgeous. His icy eyes were focused intently, and his teeth worried his bottom lip in concentration. “I’m okay,” Rose mumbled quietly and swatted his wand away. “I was just startled, that’s all.”
“Let me finish,” Scorpius said, holding her hand still and gently placing it back at her side. “It’s good practice of my first aid skills before training starts next month. I haven’t had a chance to use them since I took the class last term.”
“I’m glad I could be of educational value,” she said wryly, but allowed him to poke and prod and mend the small cut along her hairline. She watched his lips move but heard nothing he said. His eyes found hers , and they stood there like that, his hand on her face, eyes locked, hearts beating loudly. The longing threatened to choke her. “I need some more caffeine before we take off. Can you…”
“Coffee or tea?” he said , smiling not without great relief, Rose noticed.
“Coffee , please. And can you see if Aunt Ginny has an extra bag of beans in the pantry? I forgot to pack some for you.”
When he turned toward the house, she sagged against Stella’s rear bumper and took some deep, steadying breaths. This week in such close proximity to Scorpius was going to be even more difficult than she had anticipated.
Scorpius stretched his leg out and bumped into Rose for the hundredth time in the last hour. “Tell me again why you enlarged the boot, but not the back seat?”
“So there won’t be any romping back there, I expect,” Albus said cheekily from the front seat.
“Budge over, you great oaf!” Rose kicked his shin again.
“I can’t. I don’t fit in this damn tin can.”
“I’m nearly as tall as you are, and you don’t see me with my legs in your space,” Rose groused.
“It’s hot,” Albus grumbled from the front seat.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” Scorpius added.
“Would the lot of you please shut up?” Iggy said. “You’re killing my happy buzz.”
“Fuck,” Albus and Scorpius said at the same time , looking at Iggy. Hopefully, since he was behind the wheel, he was kidding.
Rose laughed, “This is awful! I’m Apparating home on Saturday. You guys smell like dead animals.”
“Do not!” all three chorused indignantly , sending her into fresh peals of laughter. “It’s not my fault that Cooling Charms don’t work in moving vehicles,” Iggy added sullenly.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Scorpius glared balefully at Rose. She ignored him and cranked the window down a bit further . “Your family honestly does this every summer?”
“Every summer,” she confirmed with a nod. “Well, not this. Our car has air conditioning-a cooler with a fan for the car… and the back seat is much larger.”
Scorpius snorted and turned his attention to the scenery. They rode for another half an hour before they passed a caravan and another fifteen minutes before they turned off the main road onto a narrow rutted track that led into dense vegetation.
Having gotten tired of his grousing, Rose had put her feet up across the back seat and into his lap so that he could stretch his legs across the car. He absently stroked her ankle as he watched the trees getting thicker around them and the sound of vintage punk rock blaring from the car speakers encapsulated them each within their own thoughts.
It was perfect, he thought, him and Rose and his two best mates off on an adventure in the woods. He glanced at the girl who occupied most of his thoughts these days. She was his best mate too, but it was different between them. Who cared if he had to sleep on the ground? The company was great, the locale relaxing and the possibilities were unlimited. Rose wiggled her toes , and he looked up to find her grinning at him.
“We’re almost there,” she said. The excitement in her eyes was infectious and , he found himself grinning back despite everything.
It was sunny, beautiful, and deserted. The blue of the lake was visible through a split in the trees to the north , and hills rose up to meet the sky along the opposite shore. Rose inhaled the fresh scent of pine trees and earth and felt peace wash over her. This was her one last hurrah before her six- month internship in Norway started. She’d never been to Norway before, so when the opportunity to study under Healer Turid Bjørnstad, the famed Magical Creatures Healer, arose, she had jumped at the opportunity. She’d applied, written an essay and interviewed to beat out nearly forty other applicants from all around Europe for the coveted position.
Starting September the 24th, Rose would be working as an assistant to Healer Bjørnstad at her small practice two days a week and helping her teach first year students at the local magical school another two days a week. The pay was dismal, but boarding in a three-hundred-year-old farmhouse on the school’s grounds was included, as well as three-day weekends to explore the country or visit home via Portkey. Not to mention the wealth of knowledge and experience she would soak up before applying to the Care of Magical Creatures internship at the Research and Healing Institute in London, which was also very selective.
Rose and Albus unloaded the boot while Iggy scouted for a flat area to erect the tent and Scorpius searched for wood to light the fire.
“D’ya suppose we should tell them?” Albus said over his shoulder as he dropped the cooler on the ground and Iggy disappeared down the trail toward the lake, seemingly distracted.
She smirked and shook her head at her cousin. “No sense now. They’ll find out soon enough.” She pulled her wand from the waistband of her shorts and started levitating rocks and sticks out of the clearing between two tall evergreens. With a swish of his wand, Albus cleared the pine needles and Rose levitated the tent over to the clearing. She pulled a cord and jumped out of the way as it sprang into action, hissing, clicking and unfolding itself until a small butter-yellow canvas tent with window boxes full of ever-blooming violets stood proudly before them.
“Good work,” Albus said, grinning down at his cousin. “I’ll bring the cooler in so you can get the kitchen set up in time for lunch.”
“You think you could set up a fire ring so I can put a stew on for dinner?” she called back as she pulled aside the front flap of the tent. Inside, fairy lights twinkled across the rafters of what appeared to be a small cabin.
Two mismatched blue armchairs sat on either side of a long plaid sofa in front of a large brick hearth. Farther into the tent were a small kitchen with blue tiled countertops and a scrubbed wooden table with six chairs. Rose Vanished two of the chairs and conjured a lace tablecloth and a vase of orange daisies for the center.
“Scourgify,” she said, flicking her wand at the kitchen, then turned and did the same in the direction of the sitting room. She went around and tied open all the windows to let the tent air properly, then started work on the bedrooms. Albus came and went while Rose refreshed the beds and changed all the linens out. She stocked the loo and went back toward the kitchen just in time to see the look on Scorpius’ face as he came through the front flap.
Priceless.
“What the hell?” he said, taking a look around the scrubbed tent. “I thought we were camping as Muggles?”
“You assumed we were camping as Muggles, and Albus and I just didn’t think it would be much fun if we corrected you.” Rose grinned. “It’s bigger on the inside.”
“No shit,” Scorpius said and stuck his tongue out at her. “Does Iggy know?”
She shook her head, still grinning. She loved teasing Scorpius, always had. “Can you help me with lunch and getting dinner on the fire?”
“Sure.”
They moved into the kitchen with Rose giving him tips and instructions as he peeled potatoes and chopped carrots. Rose pulled out the cold cuts that Mrs. Longbottom had sent along with them and sliced bread, cheeses and tomatoes. The domesticity of it wasn’t lost on her. When her mind started going down paths best left untraveled, she shook her head to clear it.
“Here, Scorp, I’ll take over with the vegetables and you go get the boys for lunch. You’re probably half-starved.” She nudged him aside playfully, trying not to let her emotions show on her face. She needed a little space to bring herself back down. He caught her eye and held it for a moment before turning, and Rose wondered if he was feeling the same warring emotions that she was.
Soon , the dining area was filled with the sound of her best friends in the whole world talking animatedly about Quidditch and girls. She was starting to load the stew veggies into a large Dutch oven when Scorpius came up behind her. “Here,” he said , shoving a plate into her hands, “Your turn to eat.”
She shot him a grateful smile. “Load it all in there and add a can of Guinness to it. Albus can put up the spit over the fire.”
“No problem,” Scorpius said. He pushed his platinum hair out of his eyes and set to work while Rose watched from her perch at the end of the countertop. She couldn’t help herself. Iggy and Albus clamored toward the door to set the fire in the pit. Rose smiled. If someone was setting fire to something, Iggy would find a way to be involved.
She bit into her sandwich and gave Scorpius another appreciative glance. Roast beef, pickles and onions with just the right amount of mustard on whole meal bread. Rose sighed and continued to watch the man in front of her as he put the last of the potatoes into the pot.
“Don’t forget the herbs,” Rose said with her mouth full. Scorpius snorted, and they both missed Albus’ quizzical glance back at them as he went out the front door.
The next two days passed quietly. Rose, Albus and Iggy sunbathed on the beach and swam in the lake, while Scorpius preferred to sit nearby in the shade and read his Muggle science-fiction novel that he’d received from his great-aunt Andromeda for his birthday. The third day found Rose and Scorpius alone on the sandy bank of the stream that fed the lake.
Scorpius had two fishing poles and a cooler in his arms, while Rose carried a large faded quilt, a smaller cooler and her oversized knitting bag. The sun was shining overhead, but the temperatures had dropped considerably so that Scorpius no longer felt it was necessary to hide in the shade. However, he did cast a Sun-Protection Charm over himself before they had set out. He wasn’t one of those blonds that could sport a proper tan, because rather than tanning, his alabaster skin tended to burn to a crisp. Instantly.
Rose hiked along the shore a few feet in front of him, and he took the opportunity to watch the graceful way that she moved and the bead of sweat rolling down her slender neck. He watched the way her hips swayed back and forth so intently that he tripped over a tree root, nearly knocking into her.
“Alright there, Scorp?” she said cheekily, as if she knew where his mind had been. “This looks like a good spot.” She dropped her bag and the cooler and shook out the blanket. There was a deep, clear pool and the water was still in the stream next to them.
The cooler s went next to the blanket, and then the fishing poles went onto the sand. “Can you explain again why we aren’t going to use magic to catch the fish?”
She rolled her eyes as she turned to face him. “Because,” she said slowly, “If we catch the fish too quickly, we can’t just lay here and enjoy the day.”
“But if we catch the fish quickly, you can clean them sooner. ” he wrinkled his nose at the thought, and Rose rolled her eyes skyward again, muttering something about his masculinity. “Then we can go out and enjoy the sun.”
“If you catch the fish with magic, and then go and enjoy the sun, there will always be something else we have to do. Like stoke the fire, or cook the fish, or search for firewood. Right now, we are just fishing and relaxing. There’s nothing to do because we don’t have any fish yet.” Rose picked up one of the fishing poles and then grabbed some bait out of the smaller cooler. “Have you ever done this before?” He wrinkled his nose again at the large earthworm as Rose impaled it on a hook. “You can have this one, but don’t expect me to bait them all for you.”
Scorpius grimaced but took the fishing pole from her. She made a production of baiting the second hook and casting the line out into the creek. She helped Scorpius with his after he’d nearly ripped his ear off and then stuck the poles back in the sand and muttered a minor Sticking Charm for good measure. He watched with fascination as she rinsed her hands in the water, ran them through her copper-colored hair and wiped them dry on her Iron Cauldron concert t-shirt. He smiled.
Iron Cauldron. That had been a brilliant time! He’d gotten her the tickets for her birthday last summer , and the show had been the night before they left for Hogwarts. It had been loud and wild and absolutely fantastic. Even the opening band, Potions in the Dark , had been good. Scorpius had watched Rose shouting the lyrics of her favorite song and felt his heart flip in his chest. For the first time, he’d noticed her, not as his tomboy best mate, but as a beautiful, fierce and amazing witch. During a lull in the music, he’d wrapped his arms around her from behind and without hesitation she ’d leaned back against his chest and let herself be held. His heart had slammed against his ribcage and he forgot to watch the show, instead focusing on the way she felt pressed against him as the crowd flowed around them. He could still remember the way her hair had smelled like nectarines and sweat and the way her skin had stuck to his where he rested his cheek against her neck.
After the concert, they’d caught a midnight showing of a cult classic in a seedy Muggle theater near The Leaky Cauldron and then ate chips and drank Butterbeer and ale until the pub closed at three. They stumbled back to her Uncle Charlie’s flat hand in hand where they camped on his sitting room floor until seven, when they’d rushed to get ready and Apparate to King’s Cross Station and meet their families to say goodbye.
The ride back to Hogwarts had been quiet. Iggy had graduated the year before, and Albus had spent the first half of the ride in the Prefects’ carriage. Rose had stretched across the bench and slept with her jumper balled up like a pillow in his lap. He’d watched her when no one was looking and more than once caught himself absently stroking her hair as the scenery passed by the window.
“Come on then,” Rose said, patting the place next to her on the blanket. He pulled his book from his pocket and enlarged it. Rose wrinkled her nose at it but chose not to comment. Scorpius smiled to himself. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was not Rose’s type of book. She liked the frilly, girly twaddle that his mum liked to read.
Rose crossed her legs and pulled a large pile of gray string out of her bag.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a jumper,” Rose said. “Mum taught me to knit at the beginning of the summer.
“Like a Muggle?” he said perplexed.
“Of course,” she replied indignantly.
“There are spells for that,” he said cheekily. “My mum knits me jumpers all the time.”
“Well, she’s not really knitting them, is she? It’s her magic.” He didn’t understand the difference, and Rose rolled her eyes skyward. “This is hand-knitting . There’s room for error and each piece is one of a kind, made perfectly, I hope, for the person it is intended for.”
“Who is that for?” he wanted to know.
“Oh,” Rose said , blushing, “Whoever it’ll fit when it is done. I’m not very advanced yet. I’ve only knitted one scarf, and it was nearly twelve feet long.”
Laughing, he flopped back on the quilt and pulled his shades down to protect his eyes. As the morning wore on, he realized he was having a hard time concentrating on what he was reading; his mind wandered inevitably to the witch next to him. Eventually, he opted to watch Rose knit instead. Her fingers worked deftly, and her brown eyes were intent. Every once in a while, she’d drop a little u-shaped needle and curse vehemently under her breath. Scorpius found himself smiling more than he had smiled in a long time. He was thankful that things were mostly back to normal between them. For a while, he had not sure they would ever be normal again.
Neither of them saw Iggy halfway up the hill, watching them keenly with a wicked gleam in his eye. He turned and headed farther up the trail, “Hey, Albus, wait up,” he called. “I have something I want to tell you.”
After a dinner of grilled chicken (they had failed to catch any fish) and roasted vegetables, the group of friends lounged around a blazing campfire while the day’s last light faded , eating a box of Honeydukes’ Chocolate that Albus had Apparated to Hogsmeade to acquire.
Rose sucked the center out of a gooey honey chocolate and then took a sip of her wine. It was the best day she’d had in a while. If it weren’t for the ever-present undercurrent of sexual tension between herself and Scorpius, it would have been exactly like things had always been. But that tension was there, and it was driving her slowly, and wonderfully, mad. She knew that someday she would probably succumb to it and kiss him until her eyes crossed, but today wasn’t that day.
She wished, with every ounce of her being, that she could apologize for the way things had happened, but she did not have the courage. So instead, she did her best to make up for it by following his lead and acting like they were best mates, which they had been since the day they were both sorted into Slytherin House at Hogwarts.
Rose had wanted desperately to be in Gryffindor, to please her family, but inside she had known she wouldn’t belong there, and the Sorting Hat had seen that. She was not brave, or even particularly outgoing, but she was intelligent, loyal, and quite calculating. She tended to say the right things to the right people to make things fall into place, exactly as she intended. Rose was an organizer and a master planner-with a bit of vindictive on the side. People tended to stay out of her way.
Scorpius, on the other hand, was outspoken and charming. So while everyone in their House had stared at the lone Weasley in the snakes’ den, he had marched up to her, held out his hand and introduced himself. He insisted that she sit with him while he wrote home. She had written home as well, and they’d chatted until a Prefect had told them it was far too late for ickle first-years to be up.
At first , she had been surprised that he would accept her so openly and willingly, but within minutes, she’d felt like she had known him her whole life. They both liked Quidditch, books and Chocolate Frogs . Within weeks, they had become best friends, doing everything from eating to studying for tests together and he’d charmed his way into the fray that was the Weasley family. Only a few of the elder Weasley children had been wary and had given them a hard time, but a sneakily-placed potion slipped into their drinks at mealtime had cured them of that rather quickly. They had left her alone and eventually they came to accept him just as Rose and Albus had.
It had been a natural progression then, that in their fifth year, she should start to have feelings for him that went beyond friendship. He had come back from summer holiday three inches taller and somewhat broader in the chest. His voice had been deeper , and his laughter had rumbled through her, making her heart flutter nervously in her chest. She’d held that secret close to her heart, and only Albus had known about her little crush, and she’d kept it that way until the night Scorpius took her to see her favorite band.
When he’d wrapped his arms around her during the show, she had expected a friendly, I-am-having-a-great-time hug. Instead he’d held on, tight, and rubbed his cheek along her neck and jaw, stirring both her hidden emotions and a potent lust. She’d practically melted against him. They’d held hands as they walked to the Muggle theater , and she’d sat contentedly under his wing, snuggling as close as she dared during the film.
They’d fallen asleep on the floor with their fingers intertwined, faces only inches apart. The next day, on the Hogwarts Express, they had been awkward and shy until Rose decided that enough was enough and settled in for a nap. By the end of the week, they’d been stealing shy kisses behind the stacks in the library, between classes and when they said goodnight to one another. Soon, they had been snogging in empty classrooms and couldn’t get enough of each other. They’d decided not to tell anyone until Christmas holidays when they could tell their parents first and in person, and Rose was forever grateful for that decision.
She sighed wistfully. It had been the best three months of her life.
Albus took a swig from Iggy’s bottle of Ogden’s Firewhiskey and traded it back for another delectable chocolate. “Today, while we were hiking, Longbottom and I were talking about the pact that we made after we took our O.W.L.’s. Do you remember that?”
Rose popped a buttercream flower into her mouth and sat up. “You mean that ridiculous notion that Iggy had for us to all move in together?”
“It wasn’t ridiculous!” Iggy said. “I’ve been living in a flat that is smaller than my closet at my parents’ place because it is all I could afford on a first year Auror’s payscale, but it beats the hell out of living with my mum and dad.”
Albus nodded fervently. It was a well known fact that he was saving his money so that he could get a place of his own too. Scorpius nodded sympathetically. His flat was a bit bigger than a closet, but he could obviously relate with not wanting to live with his folks.
All things told, Rose wasn’t particularly looking forward to moving back in with her mum and dad when she returned from Norway, but she hadn’t really thought there was an alternative. “I don’t know,” she said.
“I heard that James and Dominique are giving up their flat in Diagon Alley because James travels so much for Quidditch, that he doesn’t see the point of paying rent. Dominique is going to move back home until Lily graduates so they can move in together and split the rent somewhere. They’ve got a lease with Uncle George, but I’m sure he’d let us rent it.”
“It’s only two bedrooms,” Rose said, frowning.
“I could share with Albus,” Iggy said, “and you could room with Scorpius.”
Scorpius, who had just taken a swig of ale, started sputtering and choking. Albus thumped him hard on the back, obviously trying not to laugh. Rose downed her wine in one go and when she laughed, it rang false. When he stopped choking, Rose gave him a significant look and handed him her glass. “Scorpius, I need a refill. Could you go do that for me?”
Albus and Iggy shared a smug glance at each other and she saw Iggy mouth the words, “Pussy-whipped.”
When Scorpius had gone through the flap in the tent, Rose rounded on the snickering pair. “I don’t know what you think you are playing at, but you need to back off and mind your own fucking business,” she snarled more venomously than she’d intended to.
Iggy widened his eyes innocently, but Albus frowned at her, “We’re only taking the mickey.”
“I know where you sleep,” she hissed menacingly as Scorpius came back with another glass of wine and a bottle of ale for himself. “And I’m cooking your food.”
Iggy shut up after that. It was a well known fact that Rose was brilliant at Potions, and she’d been known to slip things-usually harmless, but sometimes not-into meals when revenge was in order.
They spent the rest of the evening, talking companionably about what kind of flat they wanted to let and where they would most like to live. It was decided that it had to be at least three bedrooms and have two bathrooms because there was no way in Hades that Rose was sharing a bathroom with boys who peed on the floor and wanked in the shower. Scorpius and Iggy weren’t comfortable with a Muggle neighborhood, but since flats in Wizarding London were hard to come by, they would be willing to try it out.
They’d all moved onto a quilt that Rose had transfigured into a cushiony feather bed and stared up at the stars contentedly, conversation moving freely from one topic to the next, but it always came back around to their not-so-distant plans.
“I can’t believe we are actually doing it,” Scorpius wondered aloud. “When we talked about it before, it was always something so far away. Unreal.”
“And here we are,” Rose muttered more to herself than anyone else.
Iggy, who was starting to slur his words, said, “We’ll even have our mum along to cook for us and do our laundry.”
Rose and Albus laughed, but Scorpius said, “Show a little respect, Igg. She’s not your mum.”
“It’s okay, Scorp-“ Rose started to say, knowing that Iggy was pissed and more than likely joking, but she was cut off by Iggy’s reply.
“Don’t I know it,” he sighed. “I don’t think my mum ever had a set of tits as nice as Rose’s.” Albus kicked him in the leg and Scorpius growled low in his throat.
Rose’s stomach flipped. She loved it when he got jealous especially since he didn’t even realize he was doing it. Toward the end of seventh year, when a bloke from Ravenclaw had asked her to Hogsmeade, Scorpius had sat across the pub glaring daggers at the boy until he excused himself for a meeting he’d suddenly remembered. It gave her an odd sense of hope.
“I think we’ll all wash our own shorts,” Albus said wryly, “And take turns helping out in the kitchen. I’m sure Rose can teach us the spells easily enough.”
“Thank you, Albus,” Rose said primly. “I don’t mind cooking for you lot, but I am going to be working really hard when I get into the program. We may have to have weekly dinners at all our parents’ houses and spring for Thai takeaway regularly.”
“I can just imagine you three showing up uninvited at the manor house,” Scorpius said, laughing. “Father would throw you out on your ear.”
“He would never throw me out,” Rose said indignantly. “Your mum loves me.”
Iggy snored loudly.
“That’s my cue ,” Albus said , and he got up.
Rose stood too, but she was reluctant to go. “Come sit by the fire for a while,” she said as she gave Scorpius a hand up from the ground. They tucked Iggy into the quilt and then conjured a makeshift shelter that would keep him dry until morning. Maybe.
“He’s mad,” Scorpius said fondly as Rose hooked her arm through his and led him toward the fire.
She readily agreed. “What do you really think? About us all living together, I mean.”
Scorpius rubbed the back of his neck as he sat down. “It’ll be weird, of course, but pretty awesome.”
Weird. That was a good way to put it. Bloody awkward would be another. “It’ll be like Hogwarts, but we get to choose our dorm mates, right? Merlin knows I wouldn’t have chosen Margie Nott for my dorm mate if given the choice! She snored so loud! And I didn’t know a proper Silencing Charm until third year! I’m surprised I passed any of my classes, what with not being able to sleep.”
“Nothing could compete with Norman Page after he hit puberty. He smelled awful, and then he tried to cover up his awful odor with awful cologne. Ugh.”
They laughed and fell into silence, both of them deep in thought. “Do you have to work during school?” Rose asked after some time. It had been ages since they’d sat and just talked to one another.
“No, Mum’s family is paying for my first year’s tuition and then it turns into a paid internship. Mum and Dad are paying room and board. They said I could live at home, but understand if I don’t want to.”
“How do you think they’ll feel about us all living together? I know my dad is going to go spare at the thought of his ickle Rosiekins living with a few randy blokes and their mates popping by constantly.”
Scorpius snorted. “I bet Father will be so devastated that I am living with a Weasley, a Potter and a Longbottom that he won’t even worry about what depraved things I might be getting up to with you.” Realizing what he’d said, he clamped his hand over his mouth. “Sorry-I didn’t mean to imply…”
“No harm, Scorp,” she said kindly, as she stood and stretched her arms over her head. She noted the way his eyes darkened and smiled to herself. “Things’ll work out. They always do. I think it’s time I went in. You and I are hiking up to the vista in the morning.”
“We are?” Scorpius said bewildered.
“Yep.”
“Can’t we just Apparate?” he whinged as they went through the flap in the tent.
Rose laughed and bumped his shoulder, “Goodnight, Scorpius.” Without thinking about it, she stood on her toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “I’ll see you at breakfast.”
As she turned and walked away, Scorpius touched his cheek and took a shuddering breath. It looked like he was going hiking in the morning.
Part Two