"I had a few, got drunk on you"

I couldn't keep the grin off my face as I stared at Rose, who was giggling hysterically at something I had just said. What was it? I honestly couldn't tell you, but I was pretty sure it hadn't been funny.

What I could tell you that we had both drifted around the table as the hours passed, and her chair was so close to mine that a slight shift would have put her squarely in my lap. The table was scattered with glass bottles that had been fully drained of their contents, and my wallet was almost as empty. But I knew I would have emptied my family's entire Gringotts vault if it could keep Rose here, smiling at me like I was the center of her universe.

"We should do this more often, Malfoy," she said, leaning into me until our faces were almost touching. My breath caught in my throat. I wanted to kiss her, but I was afraid she'd back out. Damn it, why was I scared? I was Scorpius bloody Malfoy; I was an expert in every physical aspect of romance. But I'd never kissed someone I actually liked before... Oh, fuck it. Was this the firewhiskey talking? I thought alcohol was supposed to give you courage; not take it away.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Rose's eyes were narrowed in a way that would have seemed silly to a sober person, but I was far from it, and anyways, I always thought she looked stunning.

"Because you're the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on," I breathed. Oh, come on. What was I saying shit like that out loud for? It was all well and good for me to think, but it wasn't the sort of thing you said to a girl's face. Unless you were drunk.

She giggled again, leaning back as she fiddled with a strand of red hair that had fallen from her ponytail. "You don't mean that... you just wanna sleep with me."

I smiled ruefully. "Of course I want to. I want to because you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." That was probably the least smooth thing I'd ever said in my life, and if I'd been a little more sober, I would have immediately kicked myself for it. But in the moment, I was too busy watching her to care.

The redhead leaned onto the table, propping her chin in her hands. "'s that the only reason you like me? 'Cause that's a little shallow."

I almost snorted. Leave it to intoxicated Rose to still think I was a prick. "Merlin, no," I said, quick to jump to my own defense. "I like you because... a lot of reasons. Because you're smart and talented and... and you know what you want... and you're not afraid of anything. I've never seen you scared... not once."

She stared at me for a long, silent moment, her eyes a little wider than normal. Then she said, "I was scared of you."

I frowned down at her, my face surely showing the confusion I felt. "Me? Why?"

"I dunno... You're just... I thought you were dangerous. Thought you were gonna... make me do something I'd regret."

Something made me lift my hand and reach for her, tucking some loose strands of hair behind her ear. She looked directly at me, her blue eyes shining with something almost like desire, and my breath faltered. "Rose," I whispered, "are you scared of me now?"

"No," she said, complete confidence in her tone. She was leaning into me again, and I saw her eyes flicker down to my lips. Was this it? Was I finally going to-?

"I think it's time for you two to clear out."

My head shot up, and I found Madame Rosmerta, standing in front of us with her arms crossed. I rolled my eyes and smirked. "How 'bout one more drink?"

The woman shook her head. "You're lucky I've let you stay for this long, Malfoy. If you linger, I might be tempted to inform someone that you were here tonight."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Are you threatening me?"

"Not threatening. Ordering. Get your drunken arse off my property, and take the girl with you. The last thing I need is the Chosen One's niece passed out on my floor."

"Oh, bloody hell. Fine," I groaned, pulling myself up from my chair. My head spun, and I had to steady myself, but I was alright after a moment. "Come on, Rose," I sighed, offering her a hand.

Her fingers curled around mine, and I helped her up, stiffening in surprise as she stumbled into my arms. "Godric," she muttered, "I can hardly see straight."

"Yeah... Firewhiskey does that," I said, my tone somewhere between amused and rueful. I glanced back at Madame Rosmerta, who was watching us. "What's that look for?" I asked.

The woman smiled. "I was wondering what her parents... or your father, for that matter... would say if they saw the two of you right now. They were mortal enemies, you know."

I looked at the redheaded girl who was leaning against the table to steady herself, and thought of the cold distaste in her eyes all those years ago, and how different it was from the soft, open expression she wore now. "So were we."

---

I don't know how we managed to get back into Honeydukes' basement without raising any alarms, but we did end up in the passage back to the castle without too much trouble. Rose had given up on trying to walk in her heels, and was now barefoot, but still wobbling along. She seemed alright for the first part of the trek, just a little woozy like I was, but as we continued down the passage, her steps became less certain. The second time she stumbled into me, I knew this wasn't going to work.

I stopped in my path and turned, putting my hands on her shoulders to steady her. "You gonna be okay?" I said quietly. The abrupt turn had made my head start spinning again, and I winced.

"I... I dunno. I feel strange. Keep getting dizzy."

I was dizzy, too, but I could walk in a straight line without falling, at least. Without a thought, I pulled Rose close to me, squeezing her shoulder. "Just lean on me, 'kay? You'll be fine."

"Okay," she said, her voice barely a whisper. So we went forward, the body of the girl I had spent years fantasizing about pressed against mine.

I could feel every part of her, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't doing things to me. I still wanted to kiss her; Madame Rosmerta had interrupted us at a rather inconvenient moment. But was kissing her now a good idea? She couldn't even walk straight, and I certainly couldn't think straight. All I could think was that she was so fucking beautiful and for once she didn't seem to hate me, and what better time would there ever be than now? But her eyes were drooping, and kissing someone half asleep wasn't exactly my favorite thing to do, so I swallowed my thoughts and kept walking.

Once we were back inside the castle, we crept from corridor to corridor in a lousy attempt at stealth. Considering how many missteps we took, it was a miracle that we didn't both end up caught by Filch and sent off to some awful punishment. The stairs were the biggest trouble - I must have tripped at least twice, and Rose twice as many times as that. But we eventually made it to the seventh floor.

My grip on Rose's waist was tight, but she didn't seem to mind. I wasn't sure if it was 'cause she didn't feel it, or simply because she was too sleepy to care. At least, I thought she was sleepy, until I turned in the direction of Gryffindor tower and she suddenly turned on me, her blue eyes more alert than they had been. "Where're we going?"

I sighed, brushing her red hair back from her face with a gentle stroke. "Your tower, of course. You've gotta go to bed."

Rose blinked slowly. She was facing me directly now, although I still had a hand on her waist. Her face was mere inches from mine. "I don't wanna go to bed."

"Well, what do you wanna do, then?" I said, somewhere between perplexed and breathless.

There was a long moment of silence. She looked at me, then away, then back again, staring directly into my eyes as she whispered, "I want to kiss you."

I swallowed, hard. My gut response was to smash my lips into hers, but something held me back. There was a sudden uneasiness; a sudden mistrust. It was Rose, for Merlin's sake! She was messing with me. Fucking with my head. She had to be. "You don't mean that," I sighed, even as I inched closer to her.

The redhead pursed her lips. "'Course I do." I could feel her breath on my face as she spoke. It was tantalizing; torturous. "I've been wanting to kiss you for... for a while. Ever since... you called me beautiful."

With that confession, I decided I was done putting up a fight and closed the space between us.

The collision was all heat and sweat and alcohol, mixed with the fading scent of Rose's perfume. Electricity sparked between us with every touch, jolting through me with a delicious energy that left me desperate for more. I pressed her against the stone wall of the corridor, stealing as many breathless kisses as I could before she pulled back, gasping.

Rose stared at me for a few long seconds as she caught her breath, and for a moment I thought she was going to end it there. I was ready to step back; ready to let her go... But then her lips were on mine again, and her hands were twisted in my hair, and- oh, fucking hell... I couldn't help the low moan that escaped me as she pulled me as close to her as I could possibly be. I reached down, my hands gripping her thighs as I lifted her and her legs tightened around my midsection.

"We should... go somewhere... more private..." she breathed, her words disjointed by soft gasps as my lips travelled down her neck.

I paused, meeting Rose's eyes. "Room of Requirement?" I offered. It was the closest place I could think of that wasn't a closet. She nodded slowly, and I lowered her to the ground, pressing my lips to hers once more as I did so. The way her blue eyes were sparkling made by heart beat even faster than it already was, if that was possible. She reached out and grabbed my hand, sending a thrill through my body as our fingers intertwined and she dragged me in the direction of the Room.

As we made our way there, something began to nag at my brain, telling me I should stop this. But how could I? Why would I? She was the girl I'd spent my whole life wanting, and now she was here, with a desire in her eyes that mirrored my own. I would have to be fucking insane to tell her no.

We'd reached the Room's entrance before we knew it, and Rose pulled me into her again as we waited for the door to appear. How was it possible that this felt more magical than anything I'd ever done? Why did the slightest brush of her skin against mine give me more of a high than any drug ever could? I didn't understand it, but at the same time I did. It was a complicated feeling. All I knew for sure was that when it came to Rose, I could never get enough.

When she next pulled away, it was only for long enough to drag me through the doorway into the Room of Requirement. We'd barely cleared the entrance when she grasped my shirt collar and kissed me even more roughly than before, and I immediately had her pressed against the wall. As our tongues danced around each other, my hands crept up her thighs, hitching up the hem of her dress. I moaned softly as she moved against me, then tore myself away, gasping for air.

"Rose," I breathed, shuddering at the soft kisses she was now scattering across my neck, "How far... how far do you want this to go?"

The redhead's gaze flickered to something over my shoulder, then she looked at me, fire in her eyes. "As far as it may." Then she surprised me by spinning me around, so that she was the one facing the wall, and I could see whatever she'd been looking at.

Oh.

It was a bed. A huge four-poster bed with sheets that looked like they were real silk. A bed that would only be there if someone had wished it to be there. If she had wished for it.

I stared into the blue eyes that had been the subject of so many daydreams, and wondered how this could possibly be real. "Are you sure you-"

"I'm game if you are," Rose breathed, something like a challenge in her expression.

I didn't need to hear it twice. I lifted her off the ground and carried her over to the bed, setting her down gently before allowing her to pull me in.

---

I wasn't sure what time it was. My watch was with my clothes, wherever they'd been discarded. I was sprawled face down on the bed, my head resting in the crook of my arm on top of a pillow as I let my breathing even out. Inches away, Rose's blue eyes were staring at me, glossy from lack of sleep.

I lifted the arm that wasn't trapped under my head to brush a few strands of red hair away from her face, which was just beginning to lose the flush of exertion. She flashed me the smallest of smiles, and I returned it. I wanted to say something, just to fill the silence, but I didn't. What would I say, anyway? I didn't know how to put this feeling into words. I didn't know how to tell her that I would be happy to never leave this place; never let this moment end. To tell her that, despite everything I'd done, I'd never experienced anything like what had just happened between us. But my lips stayed closed. Even if I had known what to say, I could see that she was barely awake. My words would have gone in one ear and out the other.

"I've... never been this tired... in my whole... life," Rose murmured, voice so quiet that the words were barely audible.

I let out a breathy chuckle. "Sorry if I exhausted you."

"You are not."

I found it rather amusing that even now, she couldn't help being contradictory. But, as always, she was right. "No," I agreed, "I'm not."

"Me neither," Rose said, picking up her hand to place it on top of mine. Then, after a moment's hesitation, she looked me in the eye again, blinking slowly. "Hold me while I'm sleeping."

The request - if it could be called that - sent an unfamiliar warmth spreading through my body. Not quite able to speak, I nodded, shifting my position so I could open my arms and let her in. As she curled up against me, I brushed my lips over her bare shoulder, in my own way of saying goodnight.

It astonished me, how quickly her breathing evened. I didn't quite understand how she could trust me enough to fall asleep in my arms. But... it felt right. Perfect, even. Like this was always meant to be.

As I lay there, holding her, a thought crept out of my subconscious, and I was still just intoxicated enough to voice it:

"This may sound crazy as fuck... but I think I'm in love with you."

That was the last thing I could remember before I drifted off to sleep.