The Secret Life of the Hogwarts Heads (4/5)
“Well,” Rose stared at the doors that would put her in view of the platform. She squeezed Scorpius’s hand to relieve her nerves, “here we go.”
Scorpius pushed her hair behind her ear, pecked her lips and whispered “I’ll be right behind you” into her ear.
She grabbed his face and kissed him one last time before turning to her best friend and cousins. “All right. Let’s go.”
They stepped out onto the platform, squinting from the light the met their eyes. It took a moment for Rose’s eyes to adjust to the light, but quickly found the group she had been searching for once they did. Her parents stood side by side, smiling widely and waving enthusiastically. Beside her mum stood Aunt Ginny, a welcoming smile and much smaller wave. On her dad’s side were Mona’s parents, all smiles, as well. And finally there was James-clearly glad to see the group, but trying to seem too cool to care. Albus sped up when he spotted the family. Lily seemed determined to stay close to Rose-she wanted to be where the action was. Rose paused and Mona stood beside her. “It’ll be fine, Rosie,” she said, making Rose chuckle a bit. Together, they moved forward to the group.
“Hey, Rosie,” her father said brightly, but then looked around as if confused. “Where’s your brother?”
“He’s with Dad,” Albus answered for her. He had already pulled himself loose of his mother’s tight embrace and was fixing his glasses as she pulled Lily toward her.
“Where is Harry, anyway?” Hermione asked, kissing Rose on the cheek and guiding her toward her father. “Didn’t he take the train back with you?”
“Probably lecturing some poor first years about Unforgivable curses,” Ginny said as Lily escaped her grasp, too.
“Actually,” Rose began, pulling out of a giant hug from her father and feeling the nerves in her stomach strengthen, “he’s doing me a favor.” Everyone seemed to be looking at her now. She avoided looking into her father’s warm eyes. She couldn’t bear to see the change. “I’m-sort of-seeing someone.”
There was a moment of silence, but then it seemed to break. “Blimey, Rose, not like it’s the first time,” James was laughing now. “You scared us.”
She was not sure what to say. Suddenly all of the planning on the train seemed insufficient. “Yeah, but it’s different. It’s-“
“Is it serious, honey?” her mum looked sincerely interested.
“Bloody hell, I hope not. You’re too young for a serious boyfriend.”
“Well yeah, I guess,” she was looking down now, scared to look at anybody, “but it’s not that. He’s-“
“They’re coming!” Lily shouted. The whole group turned to see Harry and Hugo approaching, a faceless pair of feet following behind Harry. Harry had a hand on Hugo’s shoulder, as if holding him back from running ahead.
When they finally reached the group, Harry held his arms open in welcome, but Rose had a strange feeling he was trying to hide the boy behind him as long as possible. Hugo was strangely silent, and again, Rose had a feeling Harry had put a spell on him to keep him from spilling the secret too early. “How is everyone doing here?”
“I’m not sure, Mate,” Ron said, only glancing at Harry as he spoke, but concentrating on his daughter. “Rose was just telling us about her new boyfriend.”
“Well,” Again, Rose found herself doing whatever she could to avoid her father’s eyes, “I wouldn’t exactly call him ‘new’.” And, deciding what she had to do, Rose reached behind Harry, and pulled Scorpius by the hand until he was standing next to her for everyone to see, fingers locked with hers. “It’s actually been a while, really.”
The silence was deafening. She tried to concentrate on the feel of Scorpius’s hands in hers. They were clammy and sweaty, or maybe that was from her own palms. It was tough to tell the difference.
Ginny started laughing. “We were joking about this on your first day,” she breathed. Harry chuckled with her, but nobody else seemed to even hear her. “Come on James, Al, Lily,” she said once the laughter subsided. “We should go-“
“I’m not missing this!” Lily argued, pleading with her mother.
“Lily, I said-“ but she stopped immediately when she heard another voice.
“Is this a joke?” Rose forced herself to look up at her father. He wore a blank face, but his eyes looking like they could have shot lasers at the pair of them.
Scorpius took a small step toward him, showing far more bravery than Rose would have expected. “Mr. Weasley, I-“
“I wasn’t speaking to you, Malfoy,” he spat, making Scorpius take a larger step backward. Rose squeezed his hand tighter and placed her other hand on his forearm. Her mum kept looking from her to her husband, obviously not sure what to say. Ginny seemed nervous, but had the remnants of a small smirk on her face. “I was speaking to my daughter.”
“His name is Scorpius,” Harry said sternly. “And he’s really nothing like his family.”
“So you knew about this,” he was looking angrily at Harry now, disbelief all over his face. “Did everyone know?” His eyes narrowed on his son, who lifted his hands in a demonstration of innocence.
“Hey,” he defended himself, finally able to speak, “I just found out on the train.”
“And I found out yesterday,” Harry reasoned, “but I don’t see any problem with it.”
“Of course not,” Ron scowled, making his wife and daughter jump slightly, “it’s not your bloody daughter we’re talking about.”
“It’s still my family,” Harry reminded him, “and he’s really a nice boy. Just give him-“
“Can we discuss this later?” Hermione spoke for the first time, hand resting on her husband’s shoulder in an attempt to keep him calm. “The kids just got home and I’m sure Scorpius’s parents are waiting for him.”
“Actually, “ Rose began with a breath, but Scorpius pulled her back slightly, taking a small step forward himself and showing he wanted to respond to this, himself.
“Sir, my parents asked me not to come home for Christmas this year.” Rose was amazed how strong, yet calm, he was staying. She could feel every bit of herself shaking.
“So, what?” Ron was red with anger now, and was staring at Scorpius with eyes that could kill. “You decide to take advantage of my daughter? Let her take pity on you? Don’t expect me to open my house to you. I’d turn around and get back on the train if I were you.”
“Actually,” Harry began, but Rose didn’t let him finish.
“You know why he can’t go home?” she was practically shrieking. All of the students and most of the families that had not left the platform yet were now staring at the group. “He was trying to prove to me that we can’t keep it a secret anymore. He sacrificed everything for me and I thought he deserved the same from me. I’ve been the coward. And clearly I was right: you’re no better than them.”
“Rose,” Hermione attempted to grab her attention, but she was not listening.
Instead, she turned to Harry now, who was holding Ginny’s hand tightly. “Actually, can I stay with you this year, too? I’m clearly not wanted at home, either.”
Harry’s eyes widened in shock, but Hermione’s stern voice broke through before he had to respond. “Rose Weasley.” Though reluctant, Rose turned toward her mother, every muscle in her body now tense with anger. “Don’t you ever act like there is anything that you could do that could make you unwelcome in your home.” Ron’s features seemed a bit softer now. His daughter’s words had clearly stung him. He stared at her as his wife continued, “You know we love you and nothing could change that. Your father and I might not always agree with you, but we will never desert you. And if you don’t know that, we clearly failed as parents.”
The tears were falling to the ground before Rose even realized she was crying. She rushed toward her parents, burying herself in the small space between them, whispering a series of “I’m sorry!” and “I love you”.
Her mother immediately embraced her, holding her tight. After a moment, her father took a short breath and did the same, kissing the top of her head and responding, “we love you too, Rosie.”
“So,” James spoke for the first time a few moments later, “Scorpius is staying with us, then?” Rose pulled out of her parents’ embrace to look at her cousin as his father nodded. He locked eyes with her, and she could see the anger behind his falsely blank face. “Brilliant.” The sarcasm stung more than any sincere insult could have. “Can we go?” And without a response, he turned and left the platform, storming through the wall into King’s Cross Station.
“Well, let’s go, then,” Harry agreed, and followed in the direction that his son had just gone, his wife at his side. Mona’s parents walked just behind them, looking like they just witnessed something they had not wanted to see. Albus and Lily gave Rose and Scorpius a reassuring look before following their parents. Now only Rose, Scorpius, Mona, and Rose’s family remained in their spot.
“We’ll discuss this at home,” Ron said. “I expect you inside the station in one minute.” He took his wife’s hand and led her toward the wall to the station. When Hugo didn’t follow, he flicked his wand in his son’s direction. Hugo obediently trotted after his father, looking disappointed. They disappeared through the wall after the others.
Mona hugged Rose tighter than ever before. “I’m so proud of you!” she whispered in her ear. As she pulled away, she placed her hands reassuringly on her best friend’s shoulders. “Everything will be okay, you’ll see.” Rose just smiled as Mona turned to Scorpius. She gave him a small smirk. “You better be worth all of this,” she said mockingly. Scorpius let out a small chuckle. Without another word, Mona turned and pranced through the wall to where the rest of the group waited on the other side, leaving Rose and Scorpius alone.
Rose turned to look at Scorpius to find he was already watching her. They stared at each other for a moment and an instant later her arms were thrown over his shoulders and she was crying again, into his neck this time. His held her close to him, one hand holding her head steady, the other on her back, pulling her ever closer. He smiled, despite himself. “It’s okay, Rose,” he whispered into her ear, “it’s all okay.”
“I’m sorry,” she was saying through tears, again.
“For what?” he asked, pushing her hair to one side.
“For everything!” He could feel her warm breath on his neck as she spoke, tears soaking his shirt. “For lying, for trying to hide you, for your family-“
He pulled out of her grasp so quickly she looked momentarily dumbfounded. She stopped crying as he held her at arm’s length with one hand and held her face to look into his with the other. “That’s not your fault, Rose.” She rolled her eyes, but he just pulled her face to look at him again. “Listen to me. I mean it.” They locked eyes. Her tears had started again but his eyes were stern. He needed her to really understand what he was saying. “You were right about me. I was pressuring you to do the very thing I was afraid of, because I knew my parents weren’t like yours. My parents don’t care who your parents are, just what they are. For me to love you is to accept your blood status and that’s what they couldn’t accept. Your parents’ problem is what my family has done. And that’s why you will be okay.”
“But I still made you-“
“No.” Her eyes widened, but his remained determined. “I don’t regret telling them. Maybe they will come around, maybe they won’t, but I can’t regret anything that has brought us here. Rose, look how far we’ve come.”
She stared at him, tear stains down her cheeks, searching for a sign of insincerity in his eyes. After a moment without finding a falter, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to absorb some of Scorpius’s confidence in her exhale. “We should probably go find everyone,” she spoke softly, removing her shoulders from his grip and taking his hand instead. Together, they approached the wall separating platform 9 ¾ from the rest of King’s Cross station.
The pair approached Rose’s family in silence. Though not sure how or why, Rose seemed to be feeling stronger and more confident with every step. Mona and her parents had already left, leaving Rose’s parents, aunt and uncle in a small group and her brother and cousins gossiping feel away. James stood a bit apart from the rest, watching her and Scorpius as they walked. “Come on, Ron,” Rose heard her aunt’s voice as they reached the elder group, “they remind me of Teddy and Victoire and of Harry and me.”
“Wasn’t too thrilled with that one either, now, was I?” He still sounded sulky, but at least less angry.
“I seem to recall you saying it was better Harry than a lot of others,” she teased, arms wrapped tightly around her husband’s waist.
“Yeah,” Uncle Harry agreed with a small grin, “we have the best friend’s sister, the twin’s ex girlfriend and the practical cousins. We were bound to have the enemies at some point.”
Rose decided it was time to make her presence known before her father had a chance to respond. He did not seem pleased with the comparison to the other atypical situations in the family. “So, are we going, then?”
The group turned to look at her. “Right. Let’s go, “ her father said and immediately started walking toward the exit. The rest trailed behind, Rose’s mother just behind her father, Rose and Scorpius even with Harry and Ginny behind her, and the cousins following behind.
“Rose,” Harry started, “I thought you might like to join Scorpius and my family for dinner tonight. You could-“
“I would like to have dinner with my family on the kids’ first night back,” Rose flinched at her father’s tone. He hadn’t even turned around to speak, but led on with determination in his step. Rose wondered what the conversation that was about to occur would really entail.
“But maybe,” her mother added, “she could join you for dessert? After all,” she glanced back at Rose before continuing, “now that she can apparate, she wouldn’t have to even be gone for long.” It was not meant to be a simple comment-it was a warning. She would need to be back with her parents as soon as dessert was finished, probably more for her father’s peace of mind than her mother’s.
“That sounds lovely,” Ginny smiled. “Of course, we’d love to have you.” Unlike her parents at the moment, her aunt and uncle were speaking directly to Rose, and she felt undying gratitude toward them for it.
When they finally reached the cars which, as normal, were parked beside each other, the group began their final goodbyes. Rose gave Scorpius’s hand a tight squeeze, fully aware that her father’s eyes had found her again, and pulled out of his grip. She hugged her cousins and whispered a “thank you” as she hugged her aunt and uncle.
“We’ll see you later then, Rose,” Ginny stated as she stepped into the passenger seat of her car. Rose nodded, watching as Scorpius cautiously stepped into the back seat next to Albus. Her own family got into their car in silence and her father started the engine the moment her door closed. This would be a long ride home.
* * * * *
“Can somebody pass me the salt?”
Rose threw her arm toward it before anyone else could reach it and handed it to her father. “Here it is, Dad.” He gave one small nod of acknowledgement, taking the salt from her, pouring far too much on his potatoes, and continuing his meal in silence.
This continued for five more minutes before Hugo cleared his throat. “So, are we going to just pretend Rose isn’t running around snogging a Malfoy forever, then?” Rose kicked him under the table and couldn’t hear her mum’s warning words or even take joy in the loud groan Hugo let out-she was too busy watching her father, who was shifting uncomfortably and looking like he was about to speak.
“Well, I guess it’s time, then,” he said, his teeth clenched. “So, how did it begin.”
Rose didn’t know what to say. How could she explain the past two years to him? She couldn’t explain the competition turning to passion-the hatred turning to love. She looked down at her fork, pushing peas slowly around her mostly empty plate. “We were on prefect duty after Charms class one day. We had jut gotten our first practice OWL’s back,” she paused, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. “It just happened.”
There was silence. She knew she had to open her eyes and look at him. He looked confused; he had no idea how that story followed. “What do you mean ‘it just happened’?”
She could almost see that day two over years ago-Scorpius’s shock as she demanded he tell her how he beat her score, his insistence he didn’t do anything different, chasing him down the hallway, his sudden turn to kiss her, starting to push him but finding herself incapable of pulling away-“I,” she began, unsure how to speak, “he got an ‘O’.” This did not seem to have any influence on her father, but she swore she saw understanding creep onto her mother’s face.
“What are you talking about?” he asked, looking almost concerned now. What did he think this relationship really meant?
She just stared. There was no better way to explain it. “He got an ‘O’,” she repeated, more forcefully this time. Her dad still didn’t seem to understand.
Her mum looked over. “Kids, why don’t you go do the dishes?” she asked and smiled lightly at them. Ron looked like he was about to object, when she added, “I’d like to speak to your father, alone.”
Rose did not have to be told twice. She stood up from the table immediately and practically ran into the kitchen, dishes in hand. She heard her mother repeat the instructions to Hugo, who must have decided he would rather hear his parents’ conversation than leave the room. A moment later, however, he was in the kitchen with her, his plate and their parents’ piled in his arms.
“Toss them in the sink,” she ordered him, motioning toward the sink she was standing by, already heating the water to clean.
He obeyed, throwing the dishes in the sink before reminding her, “You know you can do it with magic now, right?” She ignored him. Using muggle methods meant she couldn’t be listening to he conversation taking place in the next room. “Don’t you want to know what she’s saying?” Rose looked up at his brother, he was staring at the door to the next room. She could almost see his longing for the extendable ears their mum had thrown away in August.
“I’d rather not.” It was partly true. Of course she was curious-they were talking about her and Scorpius. But she did not want to hear it. She was not sure she could bear to hear it. “And don’t even think about eavesdropping. You know Mum put a charm on the door.”
Still, he stepped closer to the door, placing his ear against it. After a moment’s silence, he pulled away with a sigh, defeated, and slumped over to the table across the room from Rose. He sat, resting his legs on the chair beside his and leaning into the backrest, arms folded behind his head, staring at his sister. “How are you going to get out of his one?”
She sighed, concentrating on the pile of dishes she was working on. “’Get out of’ it?” she repeated, exasperated, “I’m not trying to ‘get out of’ anything.”
Hugo’s arms fell onto his lap. “What do you think is going to happen, then? Dad will just allow to and Malfoy to-“
“His name is Scorpius,” she reminded him, an edge in her voice, “and I’m not really expecting anything. Just… waiting.” Her brother let out a disbelieving chuckle. “You know, not everything I do is-“
The door opened. In an instant, Hugo was next to Rose, dipping his arms in the soapy water in an attempt to appear like he had been busy washing dishes. “Rose?” her mum spoke to her, “could you join us in here? I think Hugo can handle the dishes for a bit-he’s clearly been working hard, already.” She was smirking slightly. Rose couldn’t tell if it was from her discussion with her father or her remark on Hugo’s deception.
Rose stepped through the door her mother had just abandoned, glancing one last time at her brother. He was watching her leave, wonder on his face. Finally she stepped through the door, closed it tightly behind her, and turned to face the table, by which her mother was not standing and her father was still seated.
“We want you home at a decent hour tonight,” her Mum said, placing a supportive hand on her husband’s shoulder.
* * * * *
She apparated onto the front step of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Taking a deep breath, she knocked twice, a bit harder than she meant to.
The door swung open and her aunt stood, smiling at her. “Rosie, come in! We were just wondering when you’d arrive.” She motioned for Rose to step into the house and shut the door behind her. “Harry was about ready send an owl demanding Ron untie you.” Rose couldn’t help but laugh. “Harry, Al, Lily, and Scorpius are down in the kitchen.” She glanced at the stairs leading to the second floor as she led Rose toward the other staircase leading downstairs. “James won’t be joining us.” There was a definite note of sourness in her tone. Something must have happened, and Rose was fairly confident that it had something to do with Scorpius’s presence.
In an attempt to distract herself from the thoughts running through her mind about everything that could have happened to end with James hauled up in his room while everyone else has dessert and just how stupid it was to have Scorpius stay here, in hindsight, Rose looked around the house as she walked. This house had always been her second home-the burrow her third and Hogwarts her fourth. Everything from the portraits to he smell to the drapes felt so welcoming. She always found it hard to imagine the description everyone gave of this house before Uncle Harry moved in. Of course, there was still that portrait of Sirius Black’s mother that nobody seemed to be able to remove, no matter how hard they tried. But it now sat next to a portrait of Sirius, who would step into her portrait and cover her mouth whenever the drapes in front of her flew open. Around Sirius’s portrait were portraits of Uncle Harry’s parents, Remus Lupin, and many other members of the Order from back during the war. Uncle Harry had found a lot of the portraits in the cellar-Granddad Weasley said the Order had made them so they could continue serving even after death. The portraits of Harry’s parents were the least active, as they had been painted long after their deaths. Still, all three children often told Rose and her brother about finding Uncle Harry in the room, staring at the portraits and talking with them.
She reached the bottom of the stairs to the kitchen. “Rose,” Harry smiled from his spot at from the table, “I was starting to think I’d have to use the Imperius curse to make Ron let you out.” Ginny chuckled behind Rose, following her into the room and taking her seat next to Harry. “Well, sit down.” He motioned to the seat between Scorpius and an empty chair that at one point must have been James’s.
Just as Rose sat in the seat that she had been pointed toward, Ginny flicked her wand toward the kitchen counter and a large chocolate cake levitated to the table, landing in the center. The smell made all thoughts of the empty seat beside her fade from Rose’s mind.
“Rose,” Ginny was watching her eye the cake, “would you like to start us off?” She did not need to be asked twice. Rose took a slice of the cake and dug right in. It tasted even better than it had smelled.
“So,” Rose whispered to Scorpius while Albus took his slice, “what happened with James?”
“He was a prat,” Lily responded before Scorpius had a chance to even react, though he seemed to pale a moment later.
“Lily,” Ginny warned, “I’d appreciate you not calling your brother names.”
“But he was!” she glanced at Albus for support, but he seemed determined to stay out of the conversation, so she turned back to Rose, instead. “He kept ignoring Scorpius and acting like he wasn't here. Then he gave up on that and started insulting him every time he spoke and then he even called him a--"
“We already lived through it once,” Ginny interrupted her, clearly frustrated. “You can spare Rose the details.”
Lily sighed but decided not to disobey her mother. “Anyway, Dad said he couldn’t go out tonight. And James said, as he’s being treated like he’s ten, why not just send him to his room? And Dad said that sounded like a mighty good idea, so he went upstairs,” she finished in a rush before her mother could cut her off again.
By now, everyone was enjoying their dessert. Rose ate slowly. She was not sure what to think. The rest of the Potters clearly thought James was out of line for talking to Scorpius the way he had, but she had always looked up to her older cousin. She did not know what she would do if he could never accept her boyfriend.
Rose turned to Scorpius, who she was surprised to see was watching her carefully. “Are you all right?” she asked him, softly. This time, nobody seemed to overhear-or if they had, they pretended they hadn’t.
Scorpius attempted to smile, though it came off as more of a grimace. “I was about to ask you the same thing.” When Rose did not answer, he sighed, “I’m fine. I wasn’t expecting anything more from him just yet.” This did not make Rose feel any better. Scorpius sat up a bit in his chair and added, as an afterthought, “he’ll just take a bit of convincing, that’s all.” And Rose nodded, attempting a smile, but she thought it probably came off just as Scorpius’s had a moment before.
“Oh, I meant to tell you,” Albus looked back and forth between Rose and Scorpius. Rose was thankful for the interruption, “when I was patrolling the halls the other day, Dimitri Watkins walked by. “I had to confiscate his fanged Frisbee, but he told me that Danny has a new girlfriend.”
“Good for him,” Rose responded, sarcastically. Why would she care who Danny was or was not seeing?
Scorpius, however, had more sincere interest in the subject. After all, they were housemates. “Elena?” Albus shrugged. “I knew they had started hanging out, but I wasn’t sure if they were actually dating.”
“Seamus’s Danny?” Harry asked, looking interested, as well. “How’s he doing? Any word about his parents?”
Rose tried to concentrate as the conversation continued, but she found herself staring at the ceiling, wondering what James was doing and, more importantly, how Scorpius planned to get him to come around.
* * * * *
Rose and Scorpius sat in the sitting room, alone. Her aunt and uncle had gone up to bed two hours ago, her cousins just a half hour ago. Rose was quite glad to be alone with Scorpius for the first time since the secret had come out. Not that they would fool around in her uncle’s house after he had been so kind as to keep Scorpius, but it was nice just to sit close to him, without needing to explain themselves. They just sat in silence, enjoying being together.
They heard a popping noise just outside the door, which swung open to reveal a high-tempered James. Without a word, he stepped straight toward the stairs. But there was another pair of angry footsteps heading down them-Harry’s. “Where were you? Did I just hear you apparate?” Rose could not remember him ever looking so furious. “I said you were to stay in your room tonight.”
“Hide,” Scorpius whispered in Rose’s ear, making her jump slightly.
“What?” She asked, confused. They weren’t the ones in trouble.
“I’m eighteen!” James reminded him, staring defiantly at his father.
“Hide,” Scorpius repeated in Rose’s ear, now pointing toward the edge of the couch. She stood and ducked behind the couch, still unaware of what she has doing or why she needed to hide.
“You can’t tell me what-“ James was arguing, but Scorpius cut him off as soon as Rose was out of sight.
“That was Rose you heard disapparating.” He was standing, walking toward the others. “James was saying goodbye.” James looked momentarily shocked, but tried to recover quickly before his father looked his way. “He wanted to apologize to her.” James stood silently, trying not to let out any sort of emotions.
Harry seemed taken aback. Whether he believed Scorpius or not, Rose could not tell. He glanced at the couch behind which Rose was hiding. She ducked down a bit lower to avoid his gaze, but thought she saw a small grin on his face-one he seemed to be trying to hide. Rose had a feeling he knew the truth but did not mind in the least. “Why didn’t she come up and say goodbye?”
“My fault,” Scorpius stated quickly. He seemed to be expecting this question. “I thought you might have already fallen asleep-told her not to disturb you.” He paused. “Didn’t want you to lose sleep on my account.”
He didn’t seem to know how to respond. “All right, then.” He turned and walked slowly up the stairs. “I’ll just see her tomorrow, then.” He disappeared at the top.
James turned to face Scorpius as Rose stood from her hiding place. “You didn’t have to do that,” James stated, his eyes narrowing on Scorpius.
Scorpius shrugged as Rose joined them. “It’s my fault you’re not supposed to go out. I shouldn’t have intruded in your house-with your family.”
“Yeah, well,” he seemed to be thinking rather hard about something, “I’m going to head to bed, then. Long day with the family tomorrow.” Rose pushed her arms through Scorpius’s arms, pulling him toward her. James stopped halfway up the steps and turned slightly toward them, keeping his eyes unfocused, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Rose.” He climbed the rest of the stairs and disappeared at the top, like his father.
Rose rested her head on Scorpius’s shoulder, smiling into this neck. They stayed in silence for a moment, before Scorpius reluctantly whispered, “You should probably leave.” She pulled away to look at him. “If Harry comes down and sees you’re still here-“
“I think he knows you were-“
“I’d still rather not be caught in a lie. Not after everything he’s done for me-everything he’s doing for me.” He pulled out of her embrace, but entwined his fingers with hers, pulling her slowly toward the door.
They stepped through the doorway and onto the top step, leaving the door open behind them. Scorpius pulled her toward him into a kiss, holding her firmly to him. Even after breaking apart, he held her close. She wished they could stay like that forever. She had no inclination to go home-just wanted to stay in his arms. “I love you.”
She could feel the smile form on his face. He turned and kissed the top of her head. “I love you, too.”
They finally separated. With one last glance at him, she spun on the spot and disapparated, trying as hard as she could to concentrate on her house. A splinching was the last thing she needed tonight.
She felt a pang of pain as she landed in front of her house, alone. Why did she have to leave? She stepped into the house, praying everyone was already asleep and she could just fall into dreams without the conversations to come. To her surprise, the house was dark as she entered. She closed the door behind her and snuck up the stairs silently. She could deal with the rest tomorrow.