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FANDOM: Harry Potter Next Gen
TITLE: Love Story - Chapter 2 (Chapter 1 was "With Benefits")
SUMMARY: In which other people find out about Scorpius and Rose, and things become more complicated...
RATING: NC-17
CATEGORY: Scorpius/Rose, Albus/OFC, NextGen, Post-Hogwarts, romance, angst, drama, sex, friendship.
WORD COUNT: 8,068
WARNINGS: (highlight to see) Nothing to warn of.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, making no money, etc.
NOTES: So, I started this with "With Benefits" and this is the rest of Part 1 (of 4). I'm almost halfway through Part 2, so this is definitely a WIP.
AO3: Love Story at AO3
Love Story
Chapter 2
The month following Al's wedding passed in a blur.
Scorpius' original plan for the summer had involved spending time with his friends in and around Diagon Alley. Take it easy. Catch up with his friends from Slytherin, see his parents. Spend time with Al and Hils and Rose once Al and Hils came back from their honeymoon.
There were meetings with his parents and his father's men of business, conversations with his manager and various Quidditch clubs. Lunches with witches and wizards who didn't care that he was a Malfoy of Malfoy Manor, so long as he could play the Game. And, of course, there were the publicity rounds.
Then there was Rose.
Scorpius found time to visit Al's house most afternoons than not, to look in on Rose as she tinkered with her widgets, worked on her spells, and sent and received innumerable owls from Gringotts.
It was so peaceful to sit on the battered and burned old couch in the corner, reading the latest news or wizarding treatise, conversing in fits and starts while she immersed herself in her work, barely noticing him. After a lifetime spent being watched by everyone - first for being a Malfoy, then for becoming famous at Quidditch - quiet acceptance was beyond precious to Scorpius.
And there were the nights.
Rose refused to succumb to seduction at Al's house - she claimed it would be weird sleeping with her cousin's best friend in her cousin's house. But there were nights when they locked the door of the workshop, cast the perimeter spells, and Apparated to Scorpius' apartment - and barely got the door closed behind them before she had her mouth on his.
Scorpius liked the nights.
Rose seemed happy with their relationship, although she wasn't exactly telling everyone they were sleeping together. Which was more than fine by Scorpius, who liked having Rose to himself - no photographers popping by to get a picture of them together, no journalists from Witch Weekly attempting to get exclusive interviews, no comments from fellow Quidditch players, Slytherins, or his parents.
Just him and Rose.
Still, he knew that at some stage, that would change. It would have to.
So it was with some trepidation that he arrived at the Apparition point at Al and Hils' house - Potter's Field - one afternoon in midsummer, a few days before Al and Hils were due back from their honeymoon.
The grass in the yard was growing long, and Scorpius frowned, and pulled out his wand. A few definitions and a Severing charm later, the grass was cutting itself in neat swathes and bundling up to the compost pile down by the vegetable garden.
As he turned back to the workshop, he caught the scarlet glitter of the sun off Rose's hair and saw her lift her hand in a wave before turning back to her work.
"Thanks for that," she said as he came in. "I was going to do it this morning when I arrived, but then there was an attempt on one of the vaults at Gringotts and everything's been in chaos since then. Oh bother!"
An owl had just sidled in through the window, fluffing its feathers importantly, and regarding Rose and Scorpius with an unblinking gaze.
"I told Pickwitt that I wouldn't be taking any more owls this afternoon," she muttered as she took the letter from the owl and began opening it. "He seems to honestly believe that everyone else lives for work, too. Give him a treat, will you, Scorpius?"
She pointed at a small jar of meaty-looking things which were presumably the treats she referred to. Scorpius gingerly fished one out and tossed it to the owl, who promptly snapped it up, then tilted its head as though wondering if it could cadge any more.
"Sorry, mate," he murmured, and held out a finger for the owl to nibble. "Is he waiting for a reply?"
"Yes," Rose said. "I'm just... Oh, I guess I might as well..." She grabbed for a piece of parchment, scribbled a few more notes on it, rolled it up, and tied it to the owl's message ring. "Thank you. I'm sorry about all the back and forth today."
The owl flipped its wings as though shrugging, then shuffled back out through the window perch, and launched itself into the sky.
Rose sat down on the stool by the workbench and sighed. "You'd think that there'd never been a break-in attempt at Gringotts."
"But they do tend to be memorable."
"One way of putting it." Rose began tidying up the desk space. "Unfortunately, ever since Pickwitt became head of security, we've been jumping at shadows. And now with this latest attempt - which I can't tell you about, so don't ask," she added when he opened his mouth, "Pickwitt's got the whole bank security in a fluster. Including me. Hi, how was your day?"
Scorpius had sat himself down in the couch and stretched out his legs, smiling. "Not half so interesting as yours, from the sound of it."
"There's said to be a Muggle curse that goes, 'May your life be interesting,'" Rose said. "I think mine's quite interesting enough, actually."
"Well, mine was quiet. I spoke with Quirke today about my contract, and Puddlemere United is signing me up again."
"As they should." Rose grinned at him. "Happy?"
"It's not unexpected. But yeah, it's good to be employed for another year." Not that he'd had any doubt about being signed up again. There were any number of teams who would have emptied their coffers to have him play for them. He liked playing for Puddlemere United, though.
There was just one small-ish problem. And it wasn't even really a problem.
"There's a dinner on Friday night in Diagon Alley - at the Meetery. It's to celebrate the signing of the next season's contract, which we'll be doing that afternoon. Full promotion stuff - the papers, the magazines, wizarding wireless. I thought you might like to come."
It was a simple request on the surface - dinner in Diagon Alley. It was the undercurrents that made it complex - and the consequences. This wasn't just a dinner out - two friends in company - it was going public about them and their relationship - such as it stood.
So far, other than a lunch the other day at the Three Broomsticks - which was excusable as two old friends catching up - the only person who'd seen them together was Rose's cousin Fred, who'd dropped by to see Rose's work on her gadgets the other day and found Scorpius sitting on the couch. The conversation had been casual on Fred's part, mostly about the National and International Quidditch Leagues and where things were heading next year, but Rose had seemed edgy until Fred left.
Scorpius hadn't really questioned Rose's reluctance to stay over at his apartment at night until then.
After that, however, he'd begun to wonder.
Now, he arched an eyebrow at her as she nibbled on a fingernail. "You don't have to if you're scared," he drawled, masking anxiety beneath arrogance.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Don't turn this into a challenge, Scorpius. The issue isn't fear."
"You just need to think it through?"
"No," she said, and her tone was just a little sharp. "I'll come. But you do realise that they'll think..."
He tilted his head when she trailed off. "Aren't we?"
"We're sleeping together." Her cheeks were flushed, but her gaze never flinched from him. "We're not...I don't know...planning to get married."
He held onto the flash of temper that rose in him. "I'll keep that in mind before I start looking at wedding necklets."
Rose rolled her eyes. "Don't be snarky, Scorpius. You've been in the public eye for too long not to know the conclusions they'll leap to."
"And you've known me long enough to know that I'm not suddenly going to announce we're desperately in love, about to get engaged, and be married before Christmas!"
"Yes," she said simply, "I have. But I thought we should get this straightened out from the start."
"And have we?"
She hesitated a moment then looked down and away. "Yes."
Embarrassed by what she'd said, but unrepentant. That was Rose Weasley to the core; she did what she had to do, and would live with the consequences of it. Angry as Scorpius was at the careful way she'd codified their relationship, he could still admire that she'd drawn her lines and would stand firm behind them.
"Good." Then, because he was just a little angry with her, he got to his feet, crossed the space between them and closed his lips over hers.
It wasn't exactly a gentle kiss, but Scorpius had learned that Rose didn't always want gentle from him. And when her fingers slid up his nape to clench in his hair, he knew he'd gotten it right this time.
He deepened the kiss, trapping her between his body and the workbench while her hands slid down the front of his shirt to rest lightly on his chest...
Rose tilted her head to the side a little, an invitation to nuzzle her throat, and Scorpius took it, wondering if he could persuade her to christen the couch. Obviously her view wouldn't be as spectacular as it was back at his apartment but they would make do...
Then she caught her breath and pushed at his shoulders, and it took Scorpius another two nips to her throat before he heard voices coming along the path up to the workshop.
"Expecting guests?"
He was tempted to let them find him and Rose exactly like this. Just to push the point.
"My parents," she hissed, hastily running her hands over her hair, and turning around to face the bench and her work there.
Scorpius stepped back, his stomach bottoming out. "You were expecting your parents and didn't tell me?"
"This is your 'we're not married' reminder," Rose said, more than a little shortly. "We're going to grab some dinner out in Muggle London. And no, you can't come."
He'd only thought about inviting himself along for a split second.
Scorpius sat back down on the couch and picked up the nearest magazine before realising it was an edition of Witch Weekly and he'd rather gouge his eyes out than be caught reading it. Only it was already too late, because there was a knock at the workshop door and Hermione Granger-Weasley and Ronald Weasley walked in.
"Hello, darling. Sorry we're early, but your father finished early and I thought--" It was at this point that Rose's mum saw Scorpius. "Oh, hello, Mr. Malfoy."
"Hi, Mrs. Weasley. Mr. Weasley."
Behind his wife's shoulder, Mr. Weasley fixed him with a hard gaze beneath lifted brows. "Malfoy. Dropped by to see Rose, then?"
"And cut the grass," he said, jerking a shoulder at the window where the Severing Charm was doing the last bit of the yard. "I promised Al I'd help keep the house."
"I thought Rose was going to look after that." Somehow Mr. Weasley managed to give the impression that if he thought Scorpius had put one finger wrong, he was going to find himself in all the trouble an Auror could make for the grandson of a known Death Eater.
"She was busy with work today," Scorpius said, promptly. "So she called me in to help."
"Nice of you to assist," said Mr. Weasley with pointed amiability, tucking his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. The movement incidentally dislodged his jacket, which slid back to reveal his wand holster just under his arm. Warning received, loud and clear. Blue eyes rested on Scorpius a moment longer before he swivelled to give his daughter his full attention. "Ready to go to dinner, Rosie?"
"In a minute, Dad." She shuffled the parchments into piles, then waved her wand over them. They leaped at her command, edges fluttering like a small army of birds as they filed themselves away with ruthless neatness. "Thanks for the help, Scorpius. I'll see you later."
Clever girl, to put meaning into the phrase and make it sound casual. Scorpius took the exit offered with more than a little relief. "It wasn't a problem. Later, then. Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley..."
Outside, in the open air, he could breathe again. Sort of.
The Weasleys - Rose's parents - had always been civil to him. Polite and pleasant, but in a way that Scorpius had instantly recognised as a kind of snub, even back when he was a kid.
He'd never managed to quite shake the belief that Hermione Granger-Weasley knew his every thought as effortlessly as if she was an accomplished Legilmens and he'd never done anything but fail at Occlumency. Or that Ron Weasley would gladly Avada Kedavra him, given the opportunity and a complete lack of consequences.
He wondered what they'd would have to say when they found out that Rose was sleeping with him.
That was one conversation he really didn't want to have with Rose's dad.
Scorpius glanced back at the workshop, where the Weasleys were visible - and, from the look of things - arguing over something. He saw Rose half-turn as her father made a gesture in his direction and winced. It didn't take any imagination to know that Mr. Weasley wanted to know exactly what Scorpius was doing around here.
Rose looked a little uncomfortable, but she caught his eye and smiled briefly.
Friday, he mouthed to her and saw her nod.
Then he apparated away.
--
One of the curses of Scorpius being a professional athlete was that his body was too accustomed to an early rise for training every day. As a result, he tended to wake up shortly after six, no matter what time he'd been to bed the previous night.
Of course, when the previous night had seen him up past midnight before he made it home, and up past three even once he got home, his body clock was utterly and completely broken.
His body felt not too far behind it.
So he didn't hear the notifying chirp of the AVA - the Arriving Visitor Alarm - when his unexpected guest arrived.
He did hear the bellow.
Not surprising since it was directly in his ear.
"Up and at 'em, you motherless son of rabid dogs!"
Scorpius jerked out of bed and onto his feet before he realised it wasn't Coach von Drache screaming in his ear, but one smirking Albus Severus Potter.
"Rise and shine, Malfoy!"
"I hate you, Potter," he said, flopping back on his pillows. His head ached like he'd drunk enough Firewhiskey to fill the lake around Hogwarts - which he kind of had, and his body ached like he'd played a two-day game of Quidditch, which he kind of hadn't.
Although he had come home and shagged Rose Weasley - his now-official girlfriend - until they were both exhausted.
"It's good to see you, too," said Al grinning in a way that could only be called malicious. "I'd ask where Rose is, but I already know the answer. She's with Hils, exclaiming over the pictures from our honeymoon, while doubtless very cleverly avoiding any of Hils' obvious questions about the relationship between the two of you."
From behind his back, he produced the Daily Prophet and held it up so Scorpius could see the front page headlines writ stark in black ink.
It was worse than Scorpius had imagined, although the picture below the headlines was empty...well, sort of empty. There were several people trying to drag him and Rose back into the frame - among them, Scorpius' manager Quirke - but they were resisting. Even as he watched, one of the figures was flung back by a curse - he thought it looked like a full Body-Bind.
Yep, that was them, all right.
"Merlin's balls," he muttered.
"Actually, it's your balls they're more interested in right now," Al said with rather more cheerfulness than Scorpius thought was warranted at this hour. Then he pulled the newspaper back as Scorpius reached for it. "Uh-uh! Not until you've answered a few questions. Think of me as the practice run."
"The practice run for what?"
"Well, Hugo, for one. Or Uncle Ron. Possibly Fred or Louis, although James probably won't get involved."
In short, all Rose's male relatives - both her immediate family and her cousins. Scorpius grimaced and began to reach for the paper, then stopped. "Can I at least get some clothes on?"
"Nope." Al crossed his arms, grinning evilly. "So, Scorpius Malfoy, what are your intentions towards my cousin, Rose Weasley?"
A groan escaped him. "Is there multiple choice?"
"Do you have more than one intention?"
"I like shagging her senseless," Scorpius said, candidly, and watched Albus wince. "You did ask."
"How about we skip the 'fuck' part and skip to the 'kill, or marry' section?"
Scorpius sighed. He'd gotten all these questions last night and had answered them very carefully. At least now, he could be candid without worrying that his words were going to be turned into an easily-misread one-liner. And he really wanted to read that paper and see just how bad it was - and whether Rose would ever talk to him again.
He could just get up and start dressing - it wasn't as though modesty was a problem with Al. On the other hand, he knew what was due Rose's family - and his best mate.
"We're together."
"Uhuh. And just how long have the two of you been 'together'?"
"Since your wedding."
"I see." Al folded his arms. "And how long before that were you crushing on her?"
"I never..." Scorpius trailed off. Al had a look in his eyes that said he was playing Mr. Nice Guy right now, but that could rapidly change. And Scorpius had seen Albus play Mr. Not-So-Nice Guy a couple of times, and his best mate - his best mate! - had scared the living daylights out of him. "A few years."
"A few years as in two? Three? Or a few years as in, 'since sixth year when we were in the Triwizard Tournament' and you secretly hexed Pendergast so Rose would go to the ball with you?"
"You're being suspiciously specific."
"Because I've just had a bucketload of little incidents fall neatly into place." Al sounded unrepentant. "And I'm interested in seeing whether you lie or not."
Scorpius snorted and grabbed for his robe, hauling himself out of bed. Naked or not, he wasn't going to sit around starkers while Al interrogated him. Especially since it was looking like he already knew all the answers.
"We're together. We're both happy with it. Neither of us are looking for a wedding and happily-ever-after. We're friends and hope to remain friends. And that is the entire deal." Scorpius belted his robe and stared Albus down. "The rest of it isn't your business."
Fourteen years of friendship only went so far; there were still things that Al had no right to know about, and which Scorpius wasn't going to tell, short of being forced under the influence of Veritaserum.
After a moment during which Scorpius wondered if this was what their friendship was going to come down to - an argument over whether Scorpius was allowed to date Albus' cousin - Albus grinned. "At least I can trust you won't blab to the tabloids."
Enough was enough. Scorpius pointed to the door, hiding his relief beneath sarcastic aggravation. "Get out, Potter. And make me some coffee while you're at it."
Al went. Ten minutes later, showered, shaved, and mostly sober, Scorpius sat down at the kitchen table to Al's fried toast with cheese and bacon and a mug of thick, black coffee - and the copy of The Daily Prophet sitting by his cup.
"If you weren't already married, Al, I'd totally marry you."
"I'm in the market for a hot affair, actually. You've got a nice ass."
"Of course I've got a nice ass. I'm Scorpius Bloody Malfoy. Mind you, your wife's kind of scary, Potter."
"Terrifying. But adorable. When she's not being terrifying. I wonder how Rose is holding up."
Scorpius grinned and flipped open the paper. "Why didn't you ask Rose all these questions?"
"I did. She told me to corner you instead."
"Of course she did." Scorpius picked up his mug and took a long drink of coffee before turning his attention to the paper and skimming the article.
Quirke was still trying to drag him in the picture, but it looked like they'd given up on Rose.
It was mostly the usual stuff - their family histories, the conflict between the Malfoys' support of the Dark Lord and the Weasley's support of Harry Potter. That they'd been friends at Hogwarts, and that they'd been bridal attendants at Albus and Hilary Potter's wedding. Nothing more than a rehash of what everyone already knew.
"So," he commented, not particularly feeling the need to read about his own history with Rose. "How was the Maldives?"
"Gorgeous," said Al promptly. "Sun and sea like you wouldn't believe, and nobody around for miles. Even the units are separated by huge expanses of ocean and long boardwalks."
"Nice and peaceful and undisturbed?"
"Of course!" Albus' mouth curved. "Would you believe that Hils packed gillyweed?"
Scorpius laughed. "Yeah, I'd believe it. Did she try the walking on water thing?"
"Oh yes." Al made a face. "Several times."
"You married her."
"I did." And Al looked happy and contented as he tucked into the fried bread. "So, tell me about this dinner thing last night. The part about your contract, I mean," he added when Scorpius gave him a look. "You were asking for a raise - did you get it?"
"Nearly there. Not quite." Scorpius shrugged. "I got more than I expected when I set the price. It'll keep a roof over my head."
"Nice roof, by the way. Rose did say the view was spectacular. Oh, to be a famous Quidditch player and be able to afford all this."
"Says the man whose Quidditch career peaked at twenty-two."
Al had been a Gryffindor Seeker - like his father before him, as Hils had once intoned before bursting into inexplicable giggles. That had caused a little trouble between the Potter brothers, actually, since Albus had been a better Seeker than James, but had ceded the position to his brother until James dropped from the Quidditch team in his OWL year.
After that, Gryffindor had won the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup every year until Albus, Scorpius, Rose, and Hils had graduated.
"I retired at the top of my game," Al said with a grin. "How many players can say that?"
Oh, Al had gotten as far as his first year of playing professional Quidditch before deciding the pressure wasn't for him and retiring at the end of his first extremely successful season with the Wimbourne Wasps, much to the panic, distress, and - in some quarters - anger of his fans and fellow players.
The thing was, Al had never wanted the limelight. Other than some angst and trouble-making in their first few years at Hogwarts, being a Potter had always sat more lightly on Albus than being a Malfoy had sat on Scorpius. Not that it was hard. Being a Malfoy after the Second War was a fraught business, and sometimes when Scorpius thought about just how bad it could have been, he figured he had it quite good.
"And Rose really went to this thing?"
"Prophet's got the pictures."
"Well, except for the fact that Rose isn't actually in the pictures," Al tapped the empty photo. "But I couldn't imagine her dressed up like those bimbos usually seen hanging off your arm at these things."
"She didn't." Scorpius grinned at the memory. "Turned up in something Muggle. Shirt and trousers, but no sleeves. Looked businesslike." And very, very sexy. "What?"
Al was staring sidewise at him. "I don't need to give you the standard warning, right? I mean, we did that to Pendergast back in fifth year."
Scorpius remembered that. Branthwaite Pendergast, who'd been a year ahead of him and Albus and Rose, and who'd date Rose's from the middle of their fifth year all the way until the end of sixth. He'd also been a snivelling coward, with more brains than bravery. Scorpius and Al had put the fear of the Awesome Foursome into Pendergast one night and it had been - for want of a better word - fun.
It was oddly unamusing being on the other side of the talk. He wasn't Pendergast, for starters; and he wouldn't do anything to hurt Rose. Ever.
"I'll still see you coming from a mile away. And I know all your tricks."
"True, but will you see Rose coming?"
Scorpius smirked. "Already have."
Albus rolled his eyes. "Didn't need to know that!"
"Then you shouldn't have asked such a stupid question." He was inexplicably annoyed by the questioning, and knew he was taking it out on his friend, even as Al put the fork down and just looked at him.
"It's not stupid to be concerned about two of my best friends." That was said in the tones of Albus Severus Potter at his most reasonable. Possibly before he became deadly. "And I am. But this isn't the standard warning - it's the specialised one. You and Rose...that's volatile stuff. Not because of your families or whatever crap they're printing in the Prophet these days, but because the two of you are also friends."
"And you don't want to get caught in the crossfire if things go bad."
"Yes. And no." A peculiar expression crossed Al's face, and he poked at his toast, looking more irritable than was warranted from a newly married man who'd just come back from an allegedly wonderful honeymoon. "I want you to be careful, Scorps."
"With Rose's heart?"
"No," said Al, undaunted by Scorpius' mockery. "With your own."
--
Scorpius refused to think about Al's warning.
Mostly because it was ridiculous.
He and Rose had known each other since that first year at Hogwarts. They weren't in any danger of breaking each others' hearts - they'd seen each other at the best and worst of times, challenged each other in everything from Arithmancy to Divination, and seen the other through romances, breakups, and screaming fights.
She'd cried on his shoulder all the way back on the Hogwarts Express when Pendergast broke up with her at the end of Sixth Year; he'd picked fights with her when Chiana Oppenheimer told him that her family would never countenance her involvement with a Malfoy and left for the US as soon as she graduated.
This thing that Rose and he had was friendship...that just happened to have sex on the side.
And so Scorpius told first Al, then Fred, then Louis.
"But not Hugo?" Rose asked as she moved around him, her wand moving at points in the air, casting spells around him. Her brow furrowed. "I'm not sure whether to be pleased or disappointed."
"Maybe he's scared I won't order him season tickets if he challenges me about shagging his sister?" Scorpius suggested. "Should we be talking about this? While you're casting these spells?"
Rose glanced up at him, and her lips curled at the corners. "Don't you trust me, Scorpius?"
"What a terrible thing to ask when I'm the one playing pig for your spell testing. Terrible. I'll walk out of here right now. Oh, wait, that's right - I can't. Because I trusted you enough to stand here while you cast your trap spells around me, and risked maiming or dismemberment, all in the name of Rose Weasley's job satisfaction."
She grinned as her wand sketched out another spell-point, glimmering traceries hanging in the air for a moment before they faded. "Oh, you're far too pretty to maim or dismember, Scorpius."
When she finished her circle around him, she stepped in close, and tilted her head up so her mouth was within an inch of his. Today the blueish flecks in her eyes were very pronounced - like little chips of slate in the brown of her iris, and Scorpius' belly curled at the gleaming warmth in them as she looked at him. "And you'll get satisfaction later."
"Promise?"
"I promise." And with that, she rose on her toes, kissed him on the mouth, and murmured one more word indistinctly against his mouth as she stepped back.
The lines of the spell she'd cast around him gleamed briefly in the light, like a cage of spiderweb filaments, then faded from sight.
"So what does this spell do? Or can't I ask that?"
Rose grinned, impishly. "Try to move away."
Scorpius took a step towards the door of the workshop and stopped. His skin began to tingle. "It feels ticklish."
"That's the first stage. Keep going."
He stared at her. "'First stage' doesn't sound good."
"Well," she said candidly, "it's not meant to be. I promise it won't harm you permanently."
"But it's going to hurt?"
"A bit, yes."
"Wonderful." Scorpius took another step and felt the tingle grow across his skin. Now it was an itch. Another two steps and it was a burning sensation.
Rose was watching him with a frown. "Aren't you feeling anything? You should be feeling itchy. And it should be difficult to move."
"Went past that a couple of steps ago. I'm pushing through it." It was like moving through treacle. His body was beginning to burn, his bones aching like the blood in his veins had been replaced by fire.
Scorpius pushed himself on, telling himself it was only temporary, it would be over soon. It was like playing an extended game of Quidditch - telling yourself that it was bad now but it'd be over - sooner or later.
He staggered another step towards the door, his teeth gritted, knowing that if he could just get out of the spell's radius, he'd be fine... Rose was saying something - at least he thought she was, but he couldn't hear her over the throb of blood in his ears.
One more step, two steps, three...
His body was going to explode. No, really, it was. His bones were burning, his muscles were in spasms, his world was full of white-hot flaming pain...
"Finite Incantatem!" Rose's voice cut through the pounding of his blood, and Scorpius felt the resistance around him vanish.
Without it, his legs refused to hold him and he collapsed to the floor, his body still shaking and shivering from the spell. It wasn't active pain anymore, but his body still tingled from the memory of it. A moment later, Rose was down beside him, on her knees, her hands running over his robes.
"You blithering idiot," she said through clenched teeth.
The anger was unexpected - hadn't he just let her cast a spell around him for testing purposes? "What?" He asked, only it came out rather more like 'Aaah?'
Rose's mouth was tight and a little white around the edges. "You were supposed to stop when it started hurting!"
"You wanted me to test its limits!" It came out as a mumble rather than the exclamation it should have. Merlin, he felt so tired!
"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd keep going! Lie back." She took out her wand, tapped him on the nose with the tip, before doing the same over his breastbone, his balls, and his toes. "Enervate!"
Scorpius felt the lingering remnants of pain dissolve as a pleasant glow diffused through him. He relaxed into it with a sigh of relief.
Rose didn't look quite so relieved, though. With her cheeks pink and her lips in a tight line, she looked furious with him.
Or maybe with herself, perfectionist that she was.
"Hey," he said, closing his hand around hers. He had to grope for it twice, he was still that weak. "It was good. A good spell. Very painful."
She looked at him and began to laugh. It sounded a little hysterical, so he just ran his hand up and down the smooth skin of her forearm, reassuring her that he was okay.
"'Very painful' is a good spell?"
"For what you wanted...yeah!"
"You were supposed to stop when it started hurting!"
"I wanted to see how far it would go."
"Well, you found out."
"Not completely, since you cancelled the spell before I died." Scorpius grinned up at her, then flinched when she punched him in the shoulder. "Ow! I'm an injured man."
"And an idiot." Rose got up off her haunches and crossed to one of the drawers at the workbench, pulling out a big block of Honeydukes' Finest Chocolate from which she broke a large piece before putting it back. "Here," she said, breaking the piece into two and offering him the larger piece. "Have this."
Scorpius managed to lever himself up onto his elbow and took the chocolate. It had been years since he'd had Honeydukes' Finest, but it was still as good as he remembered.
"At least now I know where you keep your stash."
Rose arched her brows at him as she savoured the sweet. "Maybe I've got it hexed."
She would, too. Scorpius eyed her as he finished his chocolate - Rose was a slow eater when it came to sweets. Apparently it had something to do with her grandparents. "There's only one way to find out," he said, starting up from the floor.
"Oh, Merlin!" She grabbed his robes and yanked him back down to the floor beside her. "Are you sure you're not a Gryffindor? You're certainly reckless enough!"
"You mean you really do have it hexed?"
Rose rolled her eyes. "With Weasleys dropping by every minute of the day, and Hils and Al living in the house? Of course my chocolate drawer is hexed!"
She looked so exasperated that Scorpius had to laugh. Her pout only made him laugh harder - until her eyes narrowed.
He stopped laughing when she lunged for him and her lips closed over his, sliding into his mouth, smooth as cream, sweet as honey, and with the lingering taste of chocolate on her tongue. Scorpius tilted his head back to give her better access to him, and one hand skimmed her hip on its way up under her shirt back.
Rose arched a little as his hand stroked the small of her back, and she settled on his hips as her mouth moved against his, slow and steady and unspeakably sweet.
Friends with sex. Or, as the Muggles called it 'friends with benefits'.
This was definitely beneficial in Scorpius' mind.
He undid her shirt front one-handed - he'd had lots of practice at getting her out of her shirts lately - and her fingers were working at the fastenings of his robe when there was a squawking sound and a cough.
"Uh, guys?"
Scorpius looked around, but there was no-one else in the workshop, and the door was still closed.
"Rose? Are you there?" It was Hils' voice, but it seemed to be coming from up on Rose's worktable. Abruptly, Scorpius recalled the Floo intercom that allowed conversation between the house and the workshop - just conversation, thankfully, no visuals.
That was something he really didn't want to be sharing with Al and Hils.
"Uh, yes." Rose sounded a little breathless as she sat up and adjusted her shirt back onto her shoulders, although there was still nobody in sight. "What's up, Hils?"
"Al is home, and the food's nearly ready. Are you and Scorps coming in for dinner?"
"Yes. Yes, we'll be inside in just a minute."
There was a pause on the other end, then Al's voice. "Is that an actual minute minute, or are we talking another fifteen minutes?"
Scorpius snorted, amused. "Please," he drawled. "I wouldn't take less than half an hour."
Rose blushed fiery scarlet as there was a noise like a choked giggle on the other end. And the grin on Scorpius' face felt like it was going to split his cheeks - at least until Rose pinned him with a ferocious glare. "You can last half an hour?"
"Oh, Merlin! Spare us the gory details," Al said, while Hils gave up trying to keep her giggles quiet in the background. "Just know that there's dinner here when you're ready for it."
About to retort that it wasn't dinner he was ready for, Scorpius found a slim finger pressed against his lips.
"Okay," Rose called with a bright cheerfulness, while she shot Scorpius a look that clearly said, Shut up! "We'll be in directly."
He sighed as she began buttoning up her shirt.
"They know what we're doing out here."
"That doesn't mean we have to do it!"
Scorpius grabbed her thighs and shifted under her, very gently and sensually, and watched the fading pink in her cheeks flame up again. "Sure, we don't have to...but wouldn't it be fun?"
"No," she said, although her voice wavered a little as she spoke and she didn't try to get off him. "It wouldn't... Scorpius!"
He'd flipped open her shirt again and slid his hand inside her bra, easing back the lace so his hands had free access to her breasts. She arched, and Scorpius grinned and sat up, laying a kiss on her collarbone, before nuzzling at her throat.
Above his head, her breath caught.
"So," he murmured, his own breathing a little hoarse as he kissed her between words, "are we going to dinner...or shall we just skip to dessert?"
"Scorpius?"
"Yes."
"You talk too much."
Her solution to that problem was to kiss him senseless. Well, not so senseless that he couldn't feel her hands stroking him as she pulled back his robes, or appreciate the curve of her hipbones as he eased her trousers off her body.
She straddled him almost as soon as her trousers were off, her hands wrapped firmly around his cock, her thumbs drawing circles on his erection. "Do you know what your problem is, Malfoy?"
"I've got this sexy minx with her hands on my wood, but she's just teasing?" He sucked her lower lip into his mouth and slid a finger into the cleft between her thighs. She was soft and wet and swollen there, and as he trapped her clit between his index finger and thumb, she made a whimpering noise.
"That's not a problem," Rose gasped. "Your problem is that you're too impatient."
"Yeah?"
"I was going to be good to you tonight when we got back to your apartment."
"Still can."
"Very. Good." Rose licked her lips, her tongue lingering delicately on the tip of her upper lip.
She was killing him. Scorpius groaned as she squeezed him lightly. Fine, then. She wanted to stretch this out? He was going to stretch them out.
"Guess I'll have to settle for being bad right here..."
And with that, Scorpius cupped a hand behind her head, and rolled them over so she was under him on the floor. Then he spread her knees wide, and sheathed himself in a long, liquid thrust.
Rose arched, her hips rising to meet his. But she wanted it fast and hard - and Scorpius wasn't inclined to give it to her. He'd said half an hour, and by Merlin's beard, he was going to make this last if it killed him.
"Hurry up," she whimpered at him as he shifted within her. "Scorpius!"
"Do you know what your problem is, Weasley?" he murmured, sucking on her earlobe to the rhythm of his thrusts.
Rose panted under him. "Impatience?"
"Exactly. Good things should be savoured."
"And you're good?"
"Nope." Scorpius pushed himself up on his elbows, changing the angle of his cock inside her, and grinned when she arched. "I'm very good."
Then he started moving in slow strokes, taking his time, savouring the exquisite sensation.
She felt divine under him - and yet that wasn't the whole of what was getting him off. It was watching her arch when he found a new angle that hit her just a little sweeter, listening to her whimper when he licked at the sweat beading behind her ear, feeling her undulate beneath him as she matched her rhythm to his, like a spell cast in perfect harmony.
Her hands slid across his shoulders, skimmed his flanks, dug into his butt. Her gasps grew more urgent, little cries of pleasure. Albus and Hilary were forgotten. Dinner was irrelevant. What Scorpius wanted - what Rose wanted - right now was this.
Scorpius felt the orgasm shiver through her, and kept driving through the aftershocks as her flesh spasmed around his. Warm triumph wound through his body as Rose came - the pleasure of a lover who was satisfied. His own orgasm was close, just a little more, a little longer...
Rose levered herself up on her elbows and tightened around him. Clenched, actually, like a slick, wet fist around his cock. Scorpius moaned. She watched him with a glittering smile that revelled in his undoing.
"Come on, Scorpius," she purred and he came, groaning as he spilled himself into her.
He eased, slowed, stilled, his cheek in the curve of her throat. Silent, but for the pounding of blood in his temples, and Rose's shallow pants.
"I think we're late for dinner," he murmured and felt her shake with laughter. He eased himself up on to his elbows again - and shivered as he looked down into her face. Lambent heat and warm amusement, her eyes bright with desire, and the fond curl of her mouth.
"My mum warned me about men like you, Mr. Malfoy."
He scrambled for coherent thought and came up with arch wit. "What? About guys who are really good lovers?"
She grinned and he kissed her, brief and light, then harder when she tried to squirm out from under him.
Scorpius watched unabashed as she cleaned herself up with a basic cleanliness spell, adjusting his clothing and cleaning up the mess they'd made down on the wooden floor of the workshop. Meanwhile, she pulled on her clothing, fastened buttons, fluffed hair, and generally made herself presentable in the mysterious way that women did.
He grabbed her wrist when they started for the door, though, and dropped a kiss on her shoulder and another on her mouth. He didn't know why, only that it felt right. And when Rose looked at him like he'd lost his mind, he shrugged with a twinkle. "I could get used to dessert before dinner."
They tramped up to the house half an hour after Albus had called down to them through the Floo-intercom, and found Al and Hilary listening to the Wizarding Wireless and arguing over the latest reforms in the Ministry of Magic.
"'Directly'?" Hilary asked, her hands on her hips, one brow cocked. Al coughed as he climbed off the couch and headed for the kitchen.
"You be quiet," was all Rose said, her cheeks still pink.
--
Summer flew by (or possibly Floo'd by) and Scorpius and Rose continued to see each other - at least once a week, more usually several times a week.
They settled into a routine of sorts - afternoons in her workshop, nights at his place. Rose went along to some of Scorpius' appearances for Quidditch and endured the photos and questions with a great deal more patience than he expected. Scorpius went along to the Gringotts' Annual Employee Dinner and put up with the breathless fascination of Rose's colleagues.
And Scorpius enjoyed the relationship - enjoyed Rose Weasley and everything she brought his life, enjoyed making her laugh, or making her scream, watching her eyes light up when he tossed an idea out and it sparked a thought, taunting her with a perspective that he knew was going to make her bristle like a hedgehog and give him her unvarnished opinion, or simply sitting to the side of the workshop, quiet as she muttered and murmured to herself and made notes with a floating quill and parchment.
He liked that she'd made it clear this wasn't a great romance. No expectations to break.
And yet...
There were times when he felt like she was keeping him very carefully out of the more intimate sections of her life.
There were lines she'd drawn up, and Scorpius was allowed so far into her life and no farther.
--
Rose never slept over.
"I like sleeping in my own bed," she said when he asked why she didn't just stay the night and go home in the morning. "And you take all the covers."
"You're pretty tired." Scorpius knew she'd been working on one of her projects lately - a piece of Muggle technology that had been spelled so it worked like it did out in the Muggle world. It was a complicated series of spells that Rose was trying to work down to a handful so they could be mass-produced and sold. "You're going to splinch yourself one of these nights."
Rose laughed as she pulled on her shirt and began buttoning it. "I haven't splinched myself since Hogwarts."
"There's always a first time."
She finished dressing herself and kissed him lightly on the mouth. "I'll be fine, mummy," she told him with a caress of one finger against his jaw.
Then she went.
--
They didn't make love at her apartment.
Rose's eyes widened when Scorpius suggested they go to her place instead one night. "Do you know how many people drop in on Dominique? Randomly? And at all hours of the day? And just how nosy they are? I've had to hex my room just to stop people 'accidentally wandering in'."
"They just walk into your room?"
"Either Dom knows a lot of people with no concept of boundaries - which doesn't surprise me at all given her history of boyfriends - or there are a scary number of wizards who have no idea of their right hand from their left! Why do you think I spend all my time at Al and Hils' house, or at your apartment?"
"I think we were under the impression that you actually liked us."
"What a silly idea!" Rose smirked. "I just like to work - or play - without interruptions. We'll go to your place."
They went to Scorpius' place.
--
They stayed firmly away from each others' family events.
"I don't want the speculation," Rose said when a Great Weasley Reunion turned up at the end of the summer and she told Scorpius point-blank that she wasn't going to invite him along. "And you wouldn't like the pranks."
"I've been through it before," Scorpius reminded her. They were sitting in the living room of his apartment, candles burning in the sconces, Firewhiskey glasses on the low table, Rose curled up in his lap. "The summer after Third Year, when Al dragged me along to the Potter picnic in Godric's Hollow."
"You weren't sleeping with a Weasley then, though." Rose stroked his hair back from his forehead, her fingertips just tracing his scalp. She gave him an arch look. "Unless you were?"
"Well, Hugo tried to seduce me in his third year. I had to tell him he wasn't my type. Broke his heart."
Rose blinked, and then burst into laughter.
Scorpius grinned as he wrapped his hand more firmly in her hair and tugged her head back for access to her throat. He was becoming quite addicted to the line of her throat. And the delicate jut of her collarbones. And the curve of her shoulders down to her long, slim arms...
That night, after Rose had gone back home, Scorpius found himself sitting on the couch again, staring out at the glittering lights of Muggle London.
It wasn't that he didn't like having his own space, it was just that the Malfoy in him didn't like being kept out of hers. Of course, he couldn't just barge into her life, the way Dom's friends seemed to barge in on Rose's privacy at her flat. And it wasn't as though he wanted to, either.
But it niggled at him, an uncomfortable awareness.
tbc
TITLE: Love Story - Chapter 2 (Chapter 1 was "With Benefits")
SUMMARY: In which other people find out about Scorpius and Rose, and things become more complicated...
RATING: NC-17
CATEGORY: Scorpius/Rose, Albus/OFC, NextGen, Post-Hogwarts, romance, angst, drama, sex, friendship.
WORD COUNT: 8,068
WARNINGS: (highlight to see) Nothing to warn of.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, making no money, etc.
NOTES: So, I started this with "With Benefits" and this is the rest of Part 1 (of 4). I'm almost halfway through Part 2, so this is definitely a WIP.
AO3: Love Story at AO3
Chapter 2
The month following Al's wedding passed in a blur.
Scorpius' original plan for the summer had involved spending time with his friends in and around Diagon Alley. Take it easy. Catch up with his friends from Slytherin, see his parents. Spend time with Al and Hils and Rose once Al and Hils came back from their honeymoon.
There were meetings with his parents and his father's men of business, conversations with his manager and various Quidditch clubs. Lunches with witches and wizards who didn't care that he was a Malfoy of Malfoy Manor, so long as he could play the Game. And, of course, there were the publicity rounds.
Then there was Rose.
Scorpius found time to visit Al's house most afternoons than not, to look in on Rose as she tinkered with her widgets, worked on her spells, and sent and received innumerable owls from Gringotts.
It was so peaceful to sit on the battered and burned old couch in the corner, reading the latest news or wizarding treatise, conversing in fits and starts while she immersed herself in her work, barely noticing him. After a lifetime spent being watched by everyone - first for being a Malfoy, then for becoming famous at Quidditch - quiet acceptance was beyond precious to Scorpius.
And there were the nights.
Rose refused to succumb to seduction at Al's house - she claimed it would be weird sleeping with her cousin's best friend in her cousin's house. But there were nights when they locked the door of the workshop, cast the perimeter spells, and Apparated to Scorpius' apartment - and barely got the door closed behind them before she had her mouth on his.
Scorpius liked the nights.
Rose seemed happy with their relationship, although she wasn't exactly telling everyone they were sleeping together. Which was more than fine by Scorpius, who liked having Rose to himself - no photographers popping by to get a picture of them together, no journalists from Witch Weekly attempting to get exclusive interviews, no comments from fellow Quidditch players, Slytherins, or his parents.
Just him and Rose.
Still, he knew that at some stage, that would change. It would have to.
So it was with some trepidation that he arrived at the Apparition point at Al and Hils' house - Potter's Field - one afternoon in midsummer, a few days before Al and Hils were due back from their honeymoon.
The grass in the yard was growing long, and Scorpius frowned, and pulled out his wand. A few definitions and a Severing charm later, the grass was cutting itself in neat swathes and bundling up to the compost pile down by the vegetable garden.
As he turned back to the workshop, he caught the scarlet glitter of the sun off Rose's hair and saw her lift her hand in a wave before turning back to her work.
"Thanks for that," she said as he came in. "I was going to do it this morning when I arrived, but then there was an attempt on one of the vaults at Gringotts and everything's been in chaos since then. Oh bother!"
An owl had just sidled in through the window, fluffing its feathers importantly, and regarding Rose and Scorpius with an unblinking gaze.
"I told Pickwitt that I wouldn't be taking any more owls this afternoon," she muttered as she took the letter from the owl and began opening it. "He seems to honestly believe that everyone else lives for work, too. Give him a treat, will you, Scorpius?"
She pointed at a small jar of meaty-looking things which were presumably the treats she referred to. Scorpius gingerly fished one out and tossed it to the owl, who promptly snapped it up, then tilted its head as though wondering if it could cadge any more.
"Sorry, mate," he murmured, and held out a finger for the owl to nibble. "Is he waiting for a reply?"
"Yes," Rose said. "I'm just... Oh, I guess I might as well..." She grabbed for a piece of parchment, scribbled a few more notes on it, rolled it up, and tied it to the owl's message ring. "Thank you. I'm sorry about all the back and forth today."
The owl flipped its wings as though shrugging, then shuffled back out through the window perch, and launched itself into the sky.
Rose sat down on the stool by the workbench and sighed. "You'd think that there'd never been a break-in attempt at Gringotts."
"But they do tend to be memorable."
"One way of putting it." Rose began tidying up the desk space. "Unfortunately, ever since Pickwitt became head of security, we've been jumping at shadows. And now with this latest attempt - which I can't tell you about, so don't ask," she added when he opened his mouth, "Pickwitt's got the whole bank security in a fluster. Including me. Hi, how was your day?"
Scorpius had sat himself down in the couch and stretched out his legs, smiling. "Not half so interesting as yours, from the sound of it."
"There's said to be a Muggle curse that goes, 'May your life be interesting,'" Rose said. "I think mine's quite interesting enough, actually."
"Well, mine was quiet. I spoke with Quirke today about my contract, and Puddlemere United is signing me up again."
"As they should." Rose grinned at him. "Happy?"
"It's not unexpected. But yeah, it's good to be employed for another year." Not that he'd had any doubt about being signed up again. There were any number of teams who would have emptied their coffers to have him play for them. He liked playing for Puddlemere United, though.
There was just one small-ish problem. And it wasn't even really a problem.
"There's a dinner on Friday night in Diagon Alley - at the Meetery. It's to celebrate the signing of the next season's contract, which we'll be doing that afternoon. Full promotion stuff - the papers, the magazines, wizarding wireless. I thought you might like to come."
It was a simple request on the surface - dinner in Diagon Alley. It was the undercurrents that made it complex - and the consequences. This wasn't just a dinner out - two friends in company - it was going public about them and their relationship - such as it stood.
So far, other than a lunch the other day at the Three Broomsticks - which was excusable as two old friends catching up - the only person who'd seen them together was Rose's cousin Fred, who'd dropped by to see Rose's work on her gadgets the other day and found Scorpius sitting on the couch. The conversation had been casual on Fred's part, mostly about the National and International Quidditch Leagues and where things were heading next year, but Rose had seemed edgy until Fred left.
Scorpius hadn't really questioned Rose's reluctance to stay over at his apartment at night until then.
After that, however, he'd begun to wonder.
Now, he arched an eyebrow at her as she nibbled on a fingernail. "You don't have to if you're scared," he drawled, masking anxiety beneath arrogance.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Don't turn this into a challenge, Scorpius. The issue isn't fear."
"You just need to think it through?"
"No," she said, and her tone was just a little sharp. "I'll come. But you do realise that they'll think..."
He tilted his head when she trailed off. "Aren't we?"
"We're sleeping together." Her cheeks were flushed, but her gaze never flinched from him. "We're not...I don't know...planning to get married."
He held onto the flash of temper that rose in him. "I'll keep that in mind before I start looking at wedding necklets."
Rose rolled her eyes. "Don't be snarky, Scorpius. You've been in the public eye for too long not to know the conclusions they'll leap to."
"And you've known me long enough to know that I'm not suddenly going to announce we're desperately in love, about to get engaged, and be married before Christmas!"
"Yes," she said simply, "I have. But I thought we should get this straightened out from the start."
"And have we?"
She hesitated a moment then looked down and away. "Yes."
Embarrassed by what she'd said, but unrepentant. That was Rose Weasley to the core; she did what she had to do, and would live with the consequences of it. Angry as Scorpius was at the careful way she'd codified their relationship, he could still admire that she'd drawn her lines and would stand firm behind them.
"Good." Then, because he was just a little angry with her, he got to his feet, crossed the space between them and closed his lips over hers.
It wasn't exactly a gentle kiss, but Scorpius had learned that Rose didn't always want gentle from him. And when her fingers slid up his nape to clench in his hair, he knew he'd gotten it right this time.
He deepened the kiss, trapping her between his body and the workbench while her hands slid down the front of his shirt to rest lightly on his chest...
Rose tilted her head to the side a little, an invitation to nuzzle her throat, and Scorpius took it, wondering if he could persuade her to christen the couch. Obviously her view wouldn't be as spectacular as it was back at his apartment but they would make do...
Then she caught her breath and pushed at his shoulders, and it took Scorpius another two nips to her throat before he heard voices coming along the path up to the workshop.
"Expecting guests?"
He was tempted to let them find him and Rose exactly like this. Just to push the point.
"My parents," she hissed, hastily running her hands over her hair, and turning around to face the bench and her work there.
Scorpius stepped back, his stomach bottoming out. "You were expecting your parents and didn't tell me?"
"This is your 'we're not married' reminder," Rose said, more than a little shortly. "We're going to grab some dinner out in Muggle London. And no, you can't come."
He'd only thought about inviting himself along for a split second.
Scorpius sat back down on the couch and picked up the nearest magazine before realising it was an edition of Witch Weekly and he'd rather gouge his eyes out than be caught reading it. Only it was already too late, because there was a knock at the workshop door and Hermione Granger-Weasley and Ronald Weasley walked in.
"Hello, darling. Sorry we're early, but your father finished early and I thought--" It was at this point that Rose's mum saw Scorpius. "Oh, hello, Mr. Malfoy."
"Hi, Mrs. Weasley. Mr. Weasley."
Behind his wife's shoulder, Mr. Weasley fixed him with a hard gaze beneath lifted brows. "Malfoy. Dropped by to see Rose, then?"
"And cut the grass," he said, jerking a shoulder at the window where the Severing Charm was doing the last bit of the yard. "I promised Al I'd help keep the house."
"I thought Rose was going to look after that." Somehow Mr. Weasley managed to give the impression that if he thought Scorpius had put one finger wrong, he was going to find himself in all the trouble an Auror could make for the grandson of a known Death Eater.
"She was busy with work today," Scorpius said, promptly. "So she called me in to help."
"Nice of you to assist," said Mr. Weasley with pointed amiability, tucking his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels. The movement incidentally dislodged his jacket, which slid back to reveal his wand holster just under his arm. Warning received, loud and clear. Blue eyes rested on Scorpius a moment longer before he swivelled to give his daughter his full attention. "Ready to go to dinner, Rosie?"
"In a minute, Dad." She shuffled the parchments into piles, then waved her wand over them. They leaped at her command, edges fluttering like a small army of birds as they filed themselves away with ruthless neatness. "Thanks for the help, Scorpius. I'll see you later."
Clever girl, to put meaning into the phrase and make it sound casual. Scorpius took the exit offered with more than a little relief. "It wasn't a problem. Later, then. Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley..."
Outside, in the open air, he could breathe again. Sort of.
The Weasleys - Rose's parents - had always been civil to him. Polite and pleasant, but in a way that Scorpius had instantly recognised as a kind of snub, even back when he was a kid.
He'd never managed to quite shake the belief that Hermione Granger-Weasley knew his every thought as effortlessly as if she was an accomplished Legilmens and he'd never done anything but fail at Occlumency. Or that Ron Weasley would gladly Avada Kedavra him, given the opportunity and a complete lack of consequences.
He wondered what they'd would have to say when they found out that Rose was sleeping with him.
That was one conversation he really didn't want to have with Rose's dad.
Scorpius glanced back at the workshop, where the Weasleys were visible - and, from the look of things - arguing over something. He saw Rose half-turn as her father made a gesture in his direction and winced. It didn't take any imagination to know that Mr. Weasley wanted to know exactly what Scorpius was doing around here.
Rose looked a little uncomfortable, but she caught his eye and smiled briefly.
Friday, he mouthed to her and saw her nod.
Then he apparated away.
--
One of the curses of Scorpius being a professional athlete was that his body was too accustomed to an early rise for training every day. As a result, he tended to wake up shortly after six, no matter what time he'd been to bed the previous night.
Of course, when the previous night had seen him up past midnight before he made it home, and up past three even once he got home, his body clock was utterly and completely broken.
His body felt not too far behind it.
So he didn't hear the notifying chirp of the AVA - the Arriving Visitor Alarm - when his unexpected guest arrived.
He did hear the bellow.
Not surprising since it was directly in his ear.
"Up and at 'em, you motherless son of rabid dogs!"
Scorpius jerked out of bed and onto his feet before he realised it wasn't Coach von Drache screaming in his ear, but one smirking Albus Severus Potter.
"Rise and shine, Malfoy!"
"I hate you, Potter," he said, flopping back on his pillows. His head ached like he'd drunk enough Firewhiskey to fill the lake around Hogwarts - which he kind of had, and his body ached like he'd played a two-day game of Quidditch, which he kind of hadn't.
Although he had come home and shagged Rose Weasley - his now-official girlfriend - until they were both exhausted.
"It's good to see you, too," said Al grinning in a way that could only be called malicious. "I'd ask where Rose is, but I already know the answer. She's with Hils, exclaiming over the pictures from our honeymoon, while doubtless very cleverly avoiding any of Hils' obvious questions about the relationship between the two of you."
From behind his back, he produced the Daily Prophet and held it up so Scorpius could see the front page headlines writ stark in black ink.
THE MALFOY WANTS A WEASLEY WIFE!
STAR-CROSSED LOVERS OUT IN PUBLIC!
FAMILIES IN MORTAL ENMITY!
STAR-CROSSED LOVERS OUT IN PUBLIC!
FAMILIES IN MORTAL ENMITY!
It was worse than Scorpius had imagined, although the picture below the headlines was empty...well, sort of empty. There were several people trying to drag him and Rose back into the frame - among them, Scorpius' manager Quirke - but they were resisting. Even as he watched, one of the figures was flung back by a curse - he thought it looked like a full Body-Bind.
Yep, that was them, all right.
"Merlin's balls," he muttered.
"Actually, it's your balls they're more interested in right now," Al said with rather more cheerfulness than Scorpius thought was warranted at this hour. Then he pulled the newspaper back as Scorpius reached for it. "Uh-uh! Not until you've answered a few questions. Think of me as the practice run."
"The practice run for what?"
"Well, Hugo, for one. Or Uncle Ron. Possibly Fred or Louis, although James probably won't get involved."
In short, all Rose's male relatives - both her immediate family and her cousins. Scorpius grimaced and began to reach for the paper, then stopped. "Can I at least get some clothes on?"
"Nope." Al crossed his arms, grinning evilly. "So, Scorpius Malfoy, what are your intentions towards my cousin, Rose Weasley?"
A groan escaped him. "Is there multiple choice?"
"Do you have more than one intention?"
"I like shagging her senseless," Scorpius said, candidly, and watched Albus wince. "You did ask."
"How about we skip the 'fuck' part and skip to the 'kill, or marry' section?"
Scorpius sighed. He'd gotten all these questions last night and had answered them very carefully. At least now, he could be candid without worrying that his words were going to be turned into an easily-misread one-liner. And he really wanted to read that paper and see just how bad it was - and whether Rose would ever talk to him again.
He could just get up and start dressing - it wasn't as though modesty was a problem with Al. On the other hand, he knew what was due Rose's family - and his best mate.
"We're together."
"Uhuh. And just how long have the two of you been 'together'?"
"Since your wedding."
"I see." Al folded his arms. "And how long before that were you crushing on her?"
"I never..." Scorpius trailed off. Al had a look in his eyes that said he was playing Mr. Nice Guy right now, but that could rapidly change. And Scorpius had seen Albus play Mr. Not-So-Nice Guy a couple of times, and his best mate - his best mate! - had scared the living daylights out of him. "A few years."
"A few years as in two? Three? Or a few years as in, 'since sixth year when we were in the Triwizard Tournament' and you secretly hexed Pendergast so Rose would go to the ball with you?"
"You're being suspiciously specific."
"Because I've just had a bucketload of little incidents fall neatly into place." Al sounded unrepentant. "And I'm interested in seeing whether you lie or not."
Scorpius snorted and grabbed for his robe, hauling himself out of bed. Naked or not, he wasn't going to sit around starkers while Al interrogated him. Especially since it was looking like he already knew all the answers.
"We're together. We're both happy with it. Neither of us are looking for a wedding and happily-ever-after. We're friends and hope to remain friends. And that is the entire deal." Scorpius belted his robe and stared Albus down. "The rest of it isn't your business."
Fourteen years of friendship only went so far; there were still things that Al had no right to know about, and which Scorpius wasn't going to tell, short of being forced under the influence of Veritaserum.
After a moment during which Scorpius wondered if this was what their friendship was going to come down to - an argument over whether Scorpius was allowed to date Albus' cousin - Albus grinned. "At least I can trust you won't blab to the tabloids."
Enough was enough. Scorpius pointed to the door, hiding his relief beneath sarcastic aggravation. "Get out, Potter. And make me some coffee while you're at it."
Al went. Ten minutes later, showered, shaved, and mostly sober, Scorpius sat down at the kitchen table to Al's fried toast with cheese and bacon and a mug of thick, black coffee - and the copy of The Daily Prophet sitting by his cup.
"If you weren't already married, Al, I'd totally marry you."
"I'm in the market for a hot affair, actually. You've got a nice ass."
"Of course I've got a nice ass. I'm Scorpius Bloody Malfoy. Mind you, your wife's kind of scary, Potter."
"Terrifying. But adorable. When she's not being terrifying. I wonder how Rose is holding up."
Scorpius grinned and flipped open the paper. "Why didn't you ask Rose all these questions?"
"I did. She told me to corner you instead."
"Of course she did." Scorpius picked up his mug and took a long drink of coffee before turning his attention to the paper and skimming the article.
Quirke was still trying to drag him in the picture, but it looked like they'd given up on Rose.
It was mostly the usual stuff - their family histories, the conflict between the Malfoys' support of the Dark Lord and the Weasley's support of Harry Potter. That they'd been friends at Hogwarts, and that they'd been bridal attendants at Albus and Hilary Potter's wedding. Nothing more than a rehash of what everyone already knew.
"So," he commented, not particularly feeling the need to read about his own history with Rose. "How was the Maldives?"
"Gorgeous," said Al promptly. "Sun and sea like you wouldn't believe, and nobody around for miles. Even the units are separated by huge expanses of ocean and long boardwalks."
"Nice and peaceful and undisturbed?"
"Of course!" Albus' mouth curved. "Would you believe that Hils packed gillyweed?"
Scorpius laughed. "Yeah, I'd believe it. Did she try the walking on water thing?"
"Oh yes." Al made a face. "Several times."
"You married her."
"I did." And Al looked happy and contented as he tucked into the fried bread. "So, tell me about this dinner thing last night. The part about your contract, I mean," he added when Scorpius gave him a look. "You were asking for a raise - did you get it?"
"Nearly there. Not quite." Scorpius shrugged. "I got more than I expected when I set the price. It'll keep a roof over my head."
"Nice roof, by the way. Rose did say the view was spectacular. Oh, to be a famous Quidditch player and be able to afford all this."
"Says the man whose Quidditch career peaked at twenty-two."
Al had been a Gryffindor Seeker - like his father before him, as Hils had once intoned before bursting into inexplicable giggles. That had caused a little trouble between the Potter brothers, actually, since Albus had been a better Seeker than James, but had ceded the position to his brother until James dropped from the Quidditch team in his OWL year.
After that, Gryffindor had won the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup every year until Albus, Scorpius, Rose, and Hils had graduated.
"I retired at the top of my game," Al said with a grin. "How many players can say that?"
Oh, Al had gotten as far as his first year of playing professional Quidditch before deciding the pressure wasn't for him and retiring at the end of his first extremely successful season with the Wimbourne Wasps, much to the panic, distress, and - in some quarters - anger of his fans and fellow players.
The thing was, Al had never wanted the limelight. Other than some angst and trouble-making in their first few years at Hogwarts, being a Potter had always sat more lightly on Albus than being a Malfoy had sat on Scorpius. Not that it was hard. Being a Malfoy after the Second War was a fraught business, and sometimes when Scorpius thought about just how bad it could have been, he figured he had it quite good.
"And Rose really went to this thing?"
"Prophet's got the pictures."
"Well, except for the fact that Rose isn't actually in the pictures," Al tapped the empty photo. "But I couldn't imagine her dressed up like those bimbos usually seen hanging off your arm at these things."
"She didn't." Scorpius grinned at the memory. "Turned up in something Muggle. Shirt and trousers, but no sleeves. Looked businesslike." And very, very sexy. "What?"
Al was staring sidewise at him. "I don't need to give you the standard warning, right? I mean, we did that to Pendergast back in fifth year."
Scorpius remembered that. Branthwaite Pendergast, who'd been a year ahead of him and Albus and Rose, and who'd date Rose's from the middle of their fifth year all the way until the end of sixth. He'd also been a snivelling coward, with more brains than bravery. Scorpius and Al had put the fear of the Awesome Foursome into Pendergast one night and it had been - for want of a better word - fun.
It was oddly unamusing being on the other side of the talk. He wasn't Pendergast, for starters; and he wouldn't do anything to hurt Rose. Ever.
"I'll still see you coming from a mile away. And I know all your tricks."
"True, but will you see Rose coming?"
Scorpius smirked. "Already have."
Albus rolled his eyes. "Didn't need to know that!"
"Then you shouldn't have asked such a stupid question." He was inexplicably annoyed by the questioning, and knew he was taking it out on his friend, even as Al put the fork down and just looked at him.
"It's not stupid to be concerned about two of my best friends." That was said in the tones of Albus Severus Potter at his most reasonable. Possibly before he became deadly. "And I am. But this isn't the standard warning - it's the specialised one. You and Rose...that's volatile stuff. Not because of your families or whatever crap they're printing in the Prophet these days, but because the two of you are also friends."
"And you don't want to get caught in the crossfire if things go bad."
"Yes. And no." A peculiar expression crossed Al's face, and he poked at his toast, looking more irritable than was warranted from a newly married man who'd just come back from an allegedly wonderful honeymoon. "I want you to be careful, Scorps."
"With Rose's heart?"
"No," said Al, undaunted by Scorpius' mockery. "With your own."
--
Scorpius refused to think about Al's warning.
Mostly because it was ridiculous.
He and Rose had known each other since that first year at Hogwarts. They weren't in any danger of breaking each others' hearts - they'd seen each other at the best and worst of times, challenged each other in everything from Arithmancy to Divination, and seen the other through romances, breakups, and screaming fights.
She'd cried on his shoulder all the way back on the Hogwarts Express when Pendergast broke up with her at the end of Sixth Year; he'd picked fights with her when Chiana Oppenheimer told him that her family would never countenance her involvement with a Malfoy and left for the US as soon as she graduated.
This thing that Rose and he had was friendship...that just happened to have sex on the side.
And so Scorpius told first Al, then Fred, then Louis.
"But not Hugo?" Rose asked as she moved around him, her wand moving at points in the air, casting spells around him. Her brow furrowed. "I'm not sure whether to be pleased or disappointed."
"Maybe he's scared I won't order him season tickets if he challenges me about shagging his sister?" Scorpius suggested. "Should we be talking about this? While you're casting these spells?"
Rose glanced up at him, and her lips curled at the corners. "Don't you trust me, Scorpius?"
"What a terrible thing to ask when I'm the one playing pig for your spell testing. Terrible. I'll walk out of here right now. Oh, wait, that's right - I can't. Because I trusted you enough to stand here while you cast your trap spells around me, and risked maiming or dismemberment, all in the name of Rose Weasley's job satisfaction."
She grinned as her wand sketched out another spell-point, glimmering traceries hanging in the air for a moment before they faded. "Oh, you're far too pretty to maim or dismember, Scorpius."
When she finished her circle around him, she stepped in close, and tilted her head up so her mouth was within an inch of his. Today the blueish flecks in her eyes were very pronounced - like little chips of slate in the brown of her iris, and Scorpius' belly curled at the gleaming warmth in them as she looked at him. "And you'll get satisfaction later."
"Promise?"
"I promise." And with that, she rose on her toes, kissed him on the mouth, and murmured one more word indistinctly against his mouth as she stepped back.
The lines of the spell she'd cast around him gleamed briefly in the light, like a cage of spiderweb filaments, then faded from sight.
"So what does this spell do? Or can't I ask that?"
Rose grinned, impishly. "Try to move away."
Scorpius took a step towards the door of the workshop and stopped. His skin began to tingle. "It feels ticklish."
"That's the first stage. Keep going."
He stared at her. "'First stage' doesn't sound good."
"Well," she said candidly, "it's not meant to be. I promise it won't harm you permanently."
"But it's going to hurt?"
"A bit, yes."
"Wonderful." Scorpius took another step and felt the tingle grow across his skin. Now it was an itch. Another two steps and it was a burning sensation.
Rose was watching him with a frown. "Aren't you feeling anything? You should be feeling itchy. And it should be difficult to move."
"Went past that a couple of steps ago. I'm pushing through it." It was like moving through treacle. His body was beginning to burn, his bones aching like the blood in his veins had been replaced by fire.
Scorpius pushed himself on, telling himself it was only temporary, it would be over soon. It was like playing an extended game of Quidditch - telling yourself that it was bad now but it'd be over - sooner or later.
He staggered another step towards the door, his teeth gritted, knowing that if he could just get out of the spell's radius, he'd be fine... Rose was saying something - at least he thought she was, but he couldn't hear her over the throb of blood in his ears.
One more step, two steps, three...
His body was going to explode. No, really, it was. His bones were burning, his muscles were in spasms, his world was full of white-hot flaming pain...
"Finite Incantatem!" Rose's voice cut through the pounding of his blood, and Scorpius felt the resistance around him vanish.
Without it, his legs refused to hold him and he collapsed to the floor, his body still shaking and shivering from the spell. It wasn't active pain anymore, but his body still tingled from the memory of it. A moment later, Rose was down beside him, on her knees, her hands running over his robes.
"You blithering idiot," she said through clenched teeth.
The anger was unexpected - hadn't he just let her cast a spell around him for testing purposes? "What?" He asked, only it came out rather more like 'Aaah?'
Rose's mouth was tight and a little white around the edges. "You were supposed to stop when it started hurting!"
"You wanted me to test its limits!" It came out as a mumble rather than the exclamation it should have. Merlin, he felt so tired!
"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd keep going! Lie back." She took out her wand, tapped him on the nose with the tip, before doing the same over his breastbone, his balls, and his toes. "Enervate!"
Scorpius felt the lingering remnants of pain dissolve as a pleasant glow diffused through him. He relaxed into it with a sigh of relief.
Rose didn't look quite so relieved, though. With her cheeks pink and her lips in a tight line, she looked furious with him.
Or maybe with herself, perfectionist that she was.
"Hey," he said, closing his hand around hers. He had to grope for it twice, he was still that weak. "It was good. A good spell. Very painful."
She looked at him and began to laugh. It sounded a little hysterical, so he just ran his hand up and down the smooth skin of her forearm, reassuring her that he was okay.
"'Very painful' is a good spell?"
"For what you wanted...yeah!"
"You were supposed to stop when it started hurting!"
"I wanted to see how far it would go."
"Well, you found out."
"Not completely, since you cancelled the spell before I died." Scorpius grinned up at her, then flinched when she punched him in the shoulder. "Ow! I'm an injured man."
"And an idiot." Rose got up off her haunches and crossed to one of the drawers at the workbench, pulling out a big block of Honeydukes' Finest Chocolate from which she broke a large piece before putting it back. "Here," she said, breaking the piece into two and offering him the larger piece. "Have this."
Scorpius managed to lever himself up onto his elbow and took the chocolate. It had been years since he'd had Honeydukes' Finest, but it was still as good as he remembered.
"At least now I know where you keep your stash."
Rose arched her brows at him as she savoured the sweet. "Maybe I've got it hexed."
She would, too. Scorpius eyed her as he finished his chocolate - Rose was a slow eater when it came to sweets. Apparently it had something to do with her grandparents. "There's only one way to find out," he said, starting up from the floor.
"Oh, Merlin!" She grabbed his robes and yanked him back down to the floor beside her. "Are you sure you're not a Gryffindor? You're certainly reckless enough!"
"You mean you really do have it hexed?"
Rose rolled her eyes. "With Weasleys dropping by every minute of the day, and Hils and Al living in the house? Of course my chocolate drawer is hexed!"
She looked so exasperated that Scorpius had to laugh. Her pout only made him laugh harder - until her eyes narrowed.
He stopped laughing when she lunged for him and her lips closed over his, sliding into his mouth, smooth as cream, sweet as honey, and with the lingering taste of chocolate on her tongue. Scorpius tilted his head back to give her better access to him, and one hand skimmed her hip on its way up under her shirt back.
Rose arched a little as his hand stroked the small of her back, and she settled on his hips as her mouth moved against his, slow and steady and unspeakably sweet.
Friends with sex. Or, as the Muggles called it 'friends with benefits'.
This was definitely beneficial in Scorpius' mind.
He undid her shirt front one-handed - he'd had lots of practice at getting her out of her shirts lately - and her fingers were working at the fastenings of his robe when there was a squawking sound and a cough.
"Uh, guys?"
Scorpius looked around, but there was no-one else in the workshop, and the door was still closed.
"Rose? Are you there?" It was Hils' voice, but it seemed to be coming from up on Rose's worktable. Abruptly, Scorpius recalled the Floo intercom that allowed conversation between the house and the workshop - just conversation, thankfully, no visuals.
That was something he really didn't want to be sharing with Al and Hils.
"Uh, yes." Rose sounded a little breathless as she sat up and adjusted her shirt back onto her shoulders, although there was still nobody in sight. "What's up, Hils?"
"Al is home, and the food's nearly ready. Are you and Scorps coming in for dinner?"
"Yes. Yes, we'll be inside in just a minute."
There was a pause on the other end, then Al's voice. "Is that an actual minute minute, or are we talking another fifteen minutes?"
Scorpius snorted, amused. "Please," he drawled. "I wouldn't take less than half an hour."
Rose blushed fiery scarlet as there was a noise like a choked giggle on the other end. And the grin on Scorpius' face felt like it was going to split his cheeks - at least until Rose pinned him with a ferocious glare. "You can last half an hour?"
"Oh, Merlin! Spare us the gory details," Al said, while Hils gave up trying to keep her giggles quiet in the background. "Just know that there's dinner here when you're ready for it."
About to retort that it wasn't dinner he was ready for, Scorpius found a slim finger pressed against his lips.
"Okay," Rose called with a bright cheerfulness, while she shot Scorpius a look that clearly said, Shut up! "We'll be in directly."
He sighed as she began buttoning up her shirt.
"They know what we're doing out here."
"That doesn't mean we have to do it!"
Scorpius grabbed her thighs and shifted under her, very gently and sensually, and watched the fading pink in her cheeks flame up again. "Sure, we don't have to...but wouldn't it be fun?"
"No," she said, although her voice wavered a little as she spoke and she didn't try to get off him. "It wouldn't... Scorpius!"
He'd flipped open her shirt again and slid his hand inside her bra, easing back the lace so his hands had free access to her breasts. She arched, and Scorpius grinned and sat up, laying a kiss on her collarbone, before nuzzling at her throat.
Above his head, her breath caught.
"So," he murmured, his own breathing a little hoarse as he kissed her between words, "are we going to dinner...or shall we just skip to dessert?"
"Scorpius?"
"Yes."
"You talk too much."
Her solution to that problem was to kiss him senseless. Well, not so senseless that he couldn't feel her hands stroking him as she pulled back his robes, or appreciate the curve of her hipbones as he eased her trousers off her body.
She straddled him almost as soon as her trousers were off, her hands wrapped firmly around his cock, her thumbs drawing circles on his erection. "Do you know what your problem is, Malfoy?"
"I've got this sexy minx with her hands on my wood, but she's just teasing?" He sucked her lower lip into his mouth and slid a finger into the cleft between her thighs. She was soft and wet and swollen there, and as he trapped her clit between his index finger and thumb, she made a whimpering noise.
"That's not a problem," Rose gasped. "Your problem is that you're too impatient."
"Yeah?"
"I was going to be good to you tonight when we got back to your apartment."
"Still can."
"Very. Good." Rose licked her lips, her tongue lingering delicately on the tip of her upper lip.
She was killing him. Scorpius groaned as she squeezed him lightly. Fine, then. She wanted to stretch this out? He was going to stretch them out.
"Guess I'll have to settle for being bad right here..."
And with that, Scorpius cupped a hand behind her head, and rolled them over so she was under him on the floor. Then he spread her knees wide, and sheathed himself in a long, liquid thrust.
Rose arched, her hips rising to meet his. But she wanted it fast and hard - and Scorpius wasn't inclined to give it to her. He'd said half an hour, and by Merlin's beard, he was going to make this last if it killed him.
"Hurry up," she whimpered at him as he shifted within her. "Scorpius!"
"Do you know what your problem is, Weasley?" he murmured, sucking on her earlobe to the rhythm of his thrusts.
Rose panted under him. "Impatience?"
"Exactly. Good things should be savoured."
"And you're good?"
"Nope." Scorpius pushed himself up on his elbows, changing the angle of his cock inside her, and grinned when she arched. "I'm very good."
Then he started moving in slow strokes, taking his time, savouring the exquisite sensation.
She felt divine under him - and yet that wasn't the whole of what was getting him off. It was watching her arch when he found a new angle that hit her just a little sweeter, listening to her whimper when he licked at the sweat beading behind her ear, feeling her undulate beneath him as she matched her rhythm to his, like a spell cast in perfect harmony.
Her hands slid across his shoulders, skimmed his flanks, dug into his butt. Her gasps grew more urgent, little cries of pleasure. Albus and Hilary were forgotten. Dinner was irrelevant. What Scorpius wanted - what Rose wanted - right now was this.
Scorpius felt the orgasm shiver through her, and kept driving through the aftershocks as her flesh spasmed around his. Warm triumph wound through his body as Rose came - the pleasure of a lover who was satisfied. His own orgasm was close, just a little more, a little longer...
Rose levered herself up on her elbows and tightened around him. Clenched, actually, like a slick, wet fist around his cock. Scorpius moaned. She watched him with a glittering smile that revelled in his undoing.
"Come on, Scorpius," she purred and he came, groaning as he spilled himself into her.
He eased, slowed, stilled, his cheek in the curve of her throat. Silent, but for the pounding of blood in his temples, and Rose's shallow pants.
"I think we're late for dinner," he murmured and felt her shake with laughter. He eased himself up on to his elbows again - and shivered as he looked down into her face. Lambent heat and warm amusement, her eyes bright with desire, and the fond curl of her mouth.
"My mum warned me about men like you, Mr. Malfoy."
He scrambled for coherent thought and came up with arch wit. "What? About guys who are really good lovers?"
She grinned and he kissed her, brief and light, then harder when she tried to squirm out from under him.
Scorpius watched unabashed as she cleaned herself up with a basic cleanliness spell, adjusting his clothing and cleaning up the mess they'd made down on the wooden floor of the workshop. Meanwhile, she pulled on her clothing, fastened buttons, fluffed hair, and generally made herself presentable in the mysterious way that women did.
He grabbed her wrist when they started for the door, though, and dropped a kiss on her shoulder and another on her mouth. He didn't know why, only that it felt right. And when Rose looked at him like he'd lost his mind, he shrugged with a twinkle. "I could get used to dessert before dinner."
They tramped up to the house half an hour after Albus had called down to them through the Floo-intercom, and found Al and Hilary listening to the Wizarding Wireless and arguing over the latest reforms in the Ministry of Magic.
"'Directly'?" Hilary asked, her hands on her hips, one brow cocked. Al coughed as he climbed off the couch and headed for the kitchen.
"You be quiet," was all Rose said, her cheeks still pink.
--
Summer flew by (or possibly Floo'd by) and Scorpius and Rose continued to see each other - at least once a week, more usually several times a week.
They settled into a routine of sorts - afternoons in her workshop, nights at his place. Rose went along to some of Scorpius' appearances for Quidditch and endured the photos and questions with a great deal more patience than he expected. Scorpius went along to the Gringotts' Annual Employee Dinner and put up with the breathless fascination of Rose's colleagues.
And Scorpius enjoyed the relationship - enjoyed Rose Weasley and everything she brought his life, enjoyed making her laugh, or making her scream, watching her eyes light up when he tossed an idea out and it sparked a thought, taunting her with a perspective that he knew was going to make her bristle like a hedgehog and give him her unvarnished opinion, or simply sitting to the side of the workshop, quiet as she muttered and murmured to herself and made notes with a floating quill and parchment.
He liked that she'd made it clear this wasn't a great romance. No expectations to break.
And yet...
There were times when he felt like she was keeping him very carefully out of the more intimate sections of her life.
There were lines she'd drawn up, and Scorpius was allowed so far into her life and no farther.
--
Rose never slept over.
"I like sleeping in my own bed," she said when he asked why she didn't just stay the night and go home in the morning. "And you take all the covers."
"You're pretty tired." Scorpius knew she'd been working on one of her projects lately - a piece of Muggle technology that had been spelled so it worked like it did out in the Muggle world. It was a complicated series of spells that Rose was trying to work down to a handful so they could be mass-produced and sold. "You're going to splinch yourself one of these nights."
Rose laughed as she pulled on her shirt and began buttoning it. "I haven't splinched myself since Hogwarts."
"There's always a first time."
She finished dressing herself and kissed him lightly on the mouth. "I'll be fine, mummy," she told him with a caress of one finger against his jaw.
Then she went.
--
They didn't make love at her apartment.
Rose's eyes widened when Scorpius suggested they go to her place instead one night. "Do you know how many people drop in on Dominique? Randomly? And at all hours of the day? And just how nosy they are? I've had to hex my room just to stop people 'accidentally wandering in'."
"They just walk into your room?"
"Either Dom knows a lot of people with no concept of boundaries - which doesn't surprise me at all given her history of boyfriends - or there are a scary number of wizards who have no idea of their right hand from their left! Why do you think I spend all my time at Al and Hils' house, or at your apartment?"
"I think we were under the impression that you actually liked us."
"What a silly idea!" Rose smirked. "I just like to work - or play - without interruptions. We'll go to your place."
They went to Scorpius' place.
--
They stayed firmly away from each others' family events.
"I don't want the speculation," Rose said when a Great Weasley Reunion turned up at the end of the summer and she told Scorpius point-blank that she wasn't going to invite him along. "And you wouldn't like the pranks."
"I've been through it before," Scorpius reminded her. They were sitting in the living room of his apartment, candles burning in the sconces, Firewhiskey glasses on the low table, Rose curled up in his lap. "The summer after Third Year, when Al dragged me along to the Potter picnic in Godric's Hollow."
"You weren't sleeping with a Weasley then, though." Rose stroked his hair back from his forehead, her fingertips just tracing his scalp. She gave him an arch look. "Unless you were?"
"Well, Hugo tried to seduce me in his third year. I had to tell him he wasn't my type. Broke his heart."
Rose blinked, and then burst into laughter.
Scorpius grinned as he wrapped his hand more firmly in her hair and tugged her head back for access to her throat. He was becoming quite addicted to the line of her throat. And the delicate jut of her collarbones. And the curve of her shoulders down to her long, slim arms...
That night, after Rose had gone back home, Scorpius found himself sitting on the couch again, staring out at the glittering lights of Muggle London.
It wasn't that he didn't like having his own space, it was just that the Malfoy in him didn't like being kept out of hers. Of course, he couldn't just barge into her life, the way Dom's friends seemed to barge in on Rose's privacy at her flat. And it wasn't as though he wanted to, either.
But it niggled at him, an uncomfortable awareness.
tbc