"Wanna be with you all alone"

I walked into the common room grinning like a madman. A few people seated in various chairs gave me curious looks as I paused to glance around, but only one rose to greet me, sliding forward before I could pretend I hadn't seen her.

Priscilla Nott, the daughter of two of my father's former classmates, advanced on me like a snake ready to pounce. A snake with long legs, a generously exposed chest, and a sensual smile, that is. Her dark eyes held mine as she came towards me, finally pausing when her face was only centimetres from mine.

"Scorpius," she said, the words forming on her red lips as both a greeting and a question, breathed against mine. "We have some... unfinished business." She twirled a strand of her straight, glossy dark hair around her index finger and leaned into me even further. "I've learned some new things since last time," she whispered, her voice husky as her lips brushed against my ear.

I laughed, low in my throat, and tried to ignore the fact that her breasts were brushing against me. "Who's been teaching you these new things? Should I be worried?"

Prissy only smirked. "It's none of your business. The only thing you need to worry about is how tired I could make you tonight."

Her hand, fingernails painted black, was creeping its way slowly down my side. My breath caught as she reached the place where my shirt hem fell and her cool fingers brushed against my bare skin. She knew me all too well, physically speaking. She knew that in another two minutes, I'd have her pressed against the wall of the nearest closet if she kept teasing me like that. But she didn't know where I'd been just now, and certainly couldn't predict what I did next: I took a step back.

Prissy raised an eyebrow at me, not quite smiling anymore. She didn't look offended, just surprised.

In a low voice, I said, "It truly pains me to turn down such a tempting offer... But I can't go with you just now. Perhaps... another time."

The dark-haired girl smiled in a way that some would have described as malicious, but I knew what it meant. It was an expectation. She stepped forward and, before I could dodge her, pressed her lips to the corner of my mouth. "You know where to find me," she said in a sultry tone before slipping away.

My own body was rather frustrated that I had turned Prissy down, especially in recollection of the stolen minutes I'd spent with her in the dungeons this morning... but I couldn't have possibly gone with her now. Not after the conversation I'd just had with Rose. She clearly didn't have much faith in me, and the last thing I needed was for her to hear that I'd gone and hooked up with Prissy Nott barely twenty minutes after asking her out.

Ignoring the disbelieving looks I was now getting from the kids in the common room, I made my way swiftly to the entrance to the seventh year boy's dormitory and stepped inside. The room was simple but elegant, with dark walls, expensive wooden furnishings, and emerald green draperies on the bedposts. Lamps hung at intervals along the walls, casting a warm glow over the space. At the moment, three of the four beds present were empty — only Albus Potter, my best friend, was reclining on his, scribbling on a parchment.

He glanced up as I shut the door behind me, and set down his quill to run a hand through his dark, messy hair. "Hey," he said, and as I waved and came closer and he squinted at me. "Is that lipstick on your mouth?" Then he bit his lip and frowned. "Actually, I don't want to know." He picked up his quill again, shaking his head as he turned back to whatever he was writing.

I laughed as I kicked my shoes off and sunk down onto my own bed. "Don't be like that. Prissy accosted me in the common room."

My friend looked up at me again, lifting his eyebrows. "Considering the way you were groping her in the hallway this morning, I wasn't aware you had such an aversion to Prissy Nott."

I scoffed at him. "I don't have an aversion to her, I just couldn't possibly have fucked her right now." I grinned, thinking back to the conversation in the courtyard. "Al, you're never going to believe what happened."

"Very little that you do surprises me at this point," he replied, returning his gaze to his work. "Anyways, whatever grand sexual escapade you may have had today, I don't particularly want the details."

"Oh, bloody hell, I'm not on about sex! Sex is old news." I chuckled. "What happened today is even better than that thing I tried with the Ravenclaw girl last week. A thousand times better!"

Albus eyed me warily. "Did you just say something was better than sex? Are you feeling alright? Do you need to go see Madame Pomfrey?"

I levelled a glare at him. "You may find this hard to believe, but I do think about other things. On occasion."

Al shook his head and scoffed. "Do tell, then. What deep, impactful thoughts have kept you from fulfilling your carnal pleasures?"

I snatched a pillow from the head of my bed and threw it at him. It hit him on the shoulder and tumbled to the floor, and he raised an eyebrow. "That's the best you can do?"

I was tempted to pull out my wand and send a book flying at him, but thought better of it. I shrugged. "I suppose my senses are a bit addled... considering Rose just agreed to go out with me."

Al's green eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. "She... What? You can't be serious."

I nodded. "I assure you, I am quite serious."

My best friend seemed unable to process the news. "You... she..." he sputtered. "How?"

I crossed my arms, feeling somewhat defensive. "Do you have so little faith in my ability to charm a woman?"

Albus snorted. "Not at all. I believe you could charm any living thing if you put your mind to it... Any living thing, with the exception of my cousin."

I made a rude hand gesture in his direction. "You know nothing, Albus Potter."

For some reason, this made him look away. My friend's gaze stayed fixed on the floor for a long moment, and then he looked back up at me, a resigned half-smile on his face. "Alright, I believe you." Then he returned his attention to the parchment as if I wasn't there.

"Al! Don't you want to hear what happened?"

The dark-haired boy sighed. "I think you're going to tell me, whether I want to hear it or not."

I laughed. "You know me too well."

"Well enough," he replied, still staring down at his work. There was something heavy in the words, but I couldn't be bothered to question it. I was far too absorbed in my own victory.

I related the events that had transpired in the courtyard nearly word for word, and when I had finished I added, "So, anyways, I might need your help getting in and out of the castle. Are there any passageways into the town that you know from that map of your brother's?"

Albus cringed. "I don't know how I feel about helping you with this. She's my cousin, you know."

"Oh, bullshit. It's not as if I'm asking you to rent us a bloody motel room."

"As if you need a bloody motel room to do what you do best," my friend scoffed.

I frowned, sensing something beyond jesting in his tone. "Al. Is that why you're being queer about this? You're worried I'm going to... corrupt her, or something?"

"I'm not being—" Al broke off, sighing deeply. "I'm not worried, okay? I just... I don't want to see her get hurt."

My shoulders clenched as his words sunk in. "And you think I'm going to hurt her."

"No! Salazar, I don't... That's not what I'm saying. All I'm saying is, you're used to playing this game. Rose isn't. She's going to be out of her depth, and it can be very easy to get swept away by the current. I want to believe you won't let that happen, but..."

"But a part of you thinks I will," I said. The words came out bitter; the high Rose's acceptance had given me was fading all too quickly. "Why? Because I'm just the screw-up who sleeps around? Merlin, Al... I expect this sort of bullshit from the kids in the other houses... all the bloody assumptions... but I thought you knew me better than that."

Albus sighed again, and when I looked at him, his shoulders were slumped. "I do know you, Scorp. I know you wouldn't hurt her on purpose... You never hurt anyone on purpose. But... you don't know your own power, sometimes, and you are capable of doing harm. I wouldn't say anything if this wasn't my cousin, but... it is. Her heart matters more to me than almost anyone's. I don't want it to be broken by your carelessness."

I laid back on the pillows at the head of my bed to stare at the ceiling, feeling somewhat attacked by his words. I knew he meant well, but I... I guess I wished he could have had a bit of faith in me. "Not every relationship in my life is a fucking mess, you know," I said tersely.

"You say that like you've got relationships."

Merlin, what was he coming at me so hard for? "Al, seriously, where the hell is this coming from? Have I done something to make you angry?"

"I— No," he said, after a long moment of silence. His voice was weary. "I'm sorry, I just... I'm dealing with some things right now. It's not your problem. I shouldn't be taking it out on you."

I exhaled, propping myself up on one arm to look at him again. The indignance drifted away. I'd taken my fair share of problems out on him, too. It was nothing to get upset over. "Don't worry about it," I told him, my tone more gentle than it had been.

Albus set down his quill and rubbed his eyes. "Salazar. Ignore all the shit I said to you before, alright? It wasn't fair."

"Seriously, don't worry about it," I repeated, sitting up and sliding off of my bed. I crossed the gap and sat down on the edge of his. "Look, whatever's going on... you know you can talk to me."

He sat up and swung his legs around so he was next to me. "Thanks, Scorp, but I don't think you'll be much help with this one."

I raised an eyebrow. "You can't know that if you don't tell me what it is."

My friend shook his head slowly. He stared at his lap as he said, "Trust me, okay? It's nothing you can fix. It's... about the bloke I like."

"Ah, the mystery man," I chuckled. "I don't suppose you're ever going to tell me who it is?"

Al hesitated, then said, "Maybe... Someday. But not now."

I didn't know what he was so worried about. Albus had been out to me since third year, and he knew it didn't bother me. He was my best friend; nothing could have made me love him less. But he always shied away from telling me who he fancied, and I didn't want to push him. He'd tell me when he was ready. Until then, I'd just have to wonder.

"As you wish," I sighed.

For some reason, this made Al stiffen. He took a shaky breath, and then said, "I've really got to finish this essay for Transfiguration."

I chuckled. "That's a nice way of telling me to fuck off and be quiet, isn't it?"

My friend looked at me, and something strange was swirling in his green eyes. "Yeah," he said, after a long moment of silence. "I suppose it is."

---

The sun filtering through the window into the library was hitting Rose's hair at the perfect angle, giving her a glowing halo of sunlight. She looked like a stunning, red-headed angel as I watched her bend over her parchment, gnawing on the end of her quill. I'd come in here with the intention of letting her know where to meet me tomorrow, but somehow I'd ended up sitting in a chair out of her line of view, just... watching. Taking her in. Letting myself admire her without feeling self-conscious about it.

She was so utterly beautiful. I don't think she realized it, but I did. I always had. It was impossible not to be dazzled by her. Her creamy skin, the light freckles scattered across her nose, the pout of her lips when she was concentrated on something. The way the loose strands of her long hair fell down around her face, and she was constantly having to tuck them back behind her ears.

I sometimes tried to remember a time when I hadn't been completely enraptured by Rose Weasley, but always came up empty. From the moment I saw her on Platform 9 ¾, almost seven years ago, I knew there was something special about her. I could see it in the way she held herself, like she hadn't a care in the world, and in the way she smiled, like she wasn't afraid to impress you. She wasn't afraid, period.

A few years back, when I was... struggling... there were days when seeing her was the only thing that pulled me through. She was nothing but a beautiful dream back then, but even as such, she meant everything to me. Watching her work, watching her laugh, watching her do anything at all... it kept me sane.

And now... now, she wasn't just a dream anymore.

It had never been hard for me to sweet-talk a girl. To flirt and touch and slip my way through their guards. Most of the time I found it as easy as breathing. But Rose wasn't just a girl, she was everything I had ever wanted, and if I was honest, the thought of going on a date with her was absolutely fucking terrifying. Sure, I knew how to keep my cool... I'd done fine yesterday, for the most part... but a few minutes were easy. A date was hours of keeping up appearances... hours of staring her in the face and somehow not letting it kill me that she wasn't mine.

I didn't know where it was going. I didn't even know where I wanted it to go. I doubted Rose had the same things in mind that most girls would when it came to spending time with me. Hell, I don't think I'd ever been on a real date. Trips to empty classrooms or broom closets didn't really count, so... in some ways, I was an amatuer. It was perhaps the only area of romance in which Rose actually had more experience than me.

She'd never been in a serious relationship, but she'd dated, here and there. Not all boys were as appalling to her as I seemed to be. Lysa Scamander and Lily Potter set her up, once in a while... but it never lasted. I heard things, once in a while, that her former beaus said. Apparently she tended to dump them before long because it 'interfered with her concentration'. They usually said they would have dumped her soon anyways, because she never seemed interested in going past first base.

Base-jumping with Rose was something I did not let myself think about very often. It was too agitating, and a part of me always felt guilty for pondering it. She felt like too holy of a subject for my desperate teenage fantasies. That's not to say I never thought about it — of course I did; I wasn't a bloody saint — but I didn't let myself dwell on the idea. I didn't want to fall down that rabbit hole.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

I was so startled, I practically jumped out of my chair. Who—? Glancing up, I found Lily Potter next to me. She was giving me a look that was half suspicious, half amused. I cleared my throat. "Um... I'm... studying...?"

Al's sister scoffed. "Oh, please. We both know very well that the only thing you're studying is my cousin's face."

I cringed. "Look, I wasn't being weird, okay? I came to talk to her... I was just... waiting for the right moment?"

"There's never a right moment to be a stalker."

"I'm not a stalker," I grumbled. "I just like looking at her! Is that so bad?"

"Depends," Lily said cheekily. "Are you looking at her for a reason?"

"I don't see why that's your business," I replied, crossing my arms.

"Because she's my friend, you arsehole. And I don't suppose you want me to tell her you've been sitting here staring at her for at least twenty minutes."

I rolled my eyes. Lily and I were fine with each other — we had to be, considering how much time I spent with her brother — but she did have a tendency to annoy the hell out of me. As if I would cave for such juvenile threats! "Go ahead and tell her if you want to. Perhaps she'll find it flattering."

"You're no fun," she said, her voice dry. Then she added, "I'll keep your secret, Malfoy... But you'd better go talk to her now, or I might accidentally bring her attention to your lurking."

"Whatever," I sighed, giving her a slightly irritated look before rising from my chair. She smirked and slipped behind a bookshelf, no doubt ready to watch the scene unfold from an inconspicuous vantage point. That was Lily Potter for you — always taking a step back, waiting to see the full picture before doing anything. It put me on edge. But, I had bigger things to worry about than my best friend's sister's snooping tendencies. I was going to talk to Rose.

As I approached the table where she sat, books and parchments spread out around her, I felt my heart speed up. It was my first interaction with her since she'd said yes to this date, and I was... nervous? No. Slightly on edge, perhaps. Part of me thought she was going to look me in the eye, smirk, and tell me it was all a joke. Then I'd be back at square one, with the added memory of her laughing in my face weighing me down.

But when I reached her, she did none of those things. I cleared my throat to get her attention, and as she looked up at me, a shy smile tugged on her lips. I mentally breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey, Rose," I said, trying to sound casual.

She sighed. "Really, Malfoy... haven't you got any more creative ways to greet a girl?"

I couldn't quite tell from her tone if she was joking or not, but I chuckled. "Um... Good day, my lady?"

Her blue eyes met mine, somewhat sharply. "Don't get ahead of yourself. I'm no one's lady."

I bit my lip. This didn't feel like the best start, but... it was what it was. I'd make do. "Understood," I ceded, smiling as I put my hands up. "You belong to nobody but yourself."

Rose seemed unamused by my (admittedly pathetic) attempts at humour. She pursed her lips. "Is there a reason you've disturbed me in the midst of my studies?"

I tried to laugh, but it came out more like a cough. "Oh, yeah... I, um... wanted to let you know where to meet me tomorrow." Bloody hell, Scorp. You sound like an absolute fool.

She raised her eyebrows, simultaneously lifting her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear — damn it, why was she so cute when she did that? "Right," she said. "So... where is it, then?"

I frowned. "Where's what?"

"The place we're meeting." She said it like it should have been obvious. It should have been, but I was, well... I was struggling to string words together at the moment. Interpreting them was a little beyond my faculties.

"Oh, right. Um... third floor. By that ugly witch statue. We can get out from there."

"You know," Rose said, smirking, "I would find this whole plan extremely sketchy if I didn't already know there was a passageway behind that witch."

I laughed, and then reflected that there was way too much awkward laughter in this conversation. "Well, I give you every assurance that I'm not planning to abduct you or anything."

She rolled her eyes. "I didn't think you were."

"So what I'm hearing is... you do trust me," I said, my tone dry.

Rose scoffed. "No... I trust that you're too worried about screwing this up to do something idiotic."

"Ah," I sighed. "Well... that's something, I suppose." I clasped my hands behind my back, not wanting myself to start fidgeting.

"You know," she said, a small smile playing on her lips, "it's sort of cute when you're uncomfortable."

I bit my lip, heat spreading across my cheeks. Oh, hell... I swear I hadn't blushed in years. Why did she do this to me? "Uh... thanks, I think," I said, once I had recovered from the momentary shock of hearing the word cute come out of Rose Weasley's mouth in reference to me. I hesitated for a moment, then added, "Why?"

The red-haired girl looked me in the eye. "Because it makes you look like less of a pretentiously flawless bastard."

I couldn't help it; I snorted. "Gee, I'm glad to know you think so highly of me."

She smirked. "Don't flatter yourself, Malfoy. I don't think anything of you beyond the times when I'm forced to do so."

Oh, for Merlin's sake. She couldn't let me rest in the compliment for just a minute before tearing me down again? Maybe I shouldn't have complained; I worshipped Rose's snarkiness, after all. But somehow hearing things like that after she'd agreed to go out with me stung more sharply than it had before. I sighed. "Wonderful. It's every guy's dream to be told the girl they're going out with doesn't think about them."

Rose grinned. "I thought as much."