Discovering

Discovering

Chapter Five

Discoveries


For the next few days, Rose was tense and easily agitated.

She and Scorpius had their first argument. They were in the Great Hall and post had just come but she had not received anything for the third day in a row. Rose got up from her seat and started to leave the hall. Scorpius followed after her and when he caught up to her asked, "Are you okay?" and she whirled around to face him. She was already mad, and he could see it in her face.

"No!" She shouted. "This is all your fault! You wanted me to tell my parents about us so I did and now they are never going to talk to me again!"

Scorpius tried to grab her hand, but she jerked it away. "Rose, I never asked you to tell your parents. You wanted to." He had told her, but she wouldn't listen and ended up stomping off.

Later the next day, she and Al were in class together and he was watching her closely. Scorpius had told Al that he was worried about Rose, so Al was keeping an eye on her. Rose noticed this attention and after class she told him off for staring at her like she was afflicted with a gruesome disease. When he told her he was worried about her, she told him to mind his own business and stomped off.

In the library that night she was sitting with Anya the girl who needed tutored and her nerves were shot. The poor girl never had a chance. Rose ended up snapping at her and leaving their lesson. Scorpius then stepped in and finished tutoring the girl. They were sitting at the table bent over her book talking when Rose returned to apologize, but at the sight of the pair of them with heads together she felt her anger resurface at Scorpius. She asked to see him in the hall.

"What are you doing?" She asked him, trying to control herself.

"Tutoring Anya."

"She was practically in your lap."

"No she wasn't."

"Yes she was. Is this what you do?" She snapped. "You just lure girl over a book and then snog them and convinve them to ruin their lives for you?"

"Rose, I love you."

"Clearly, that's why your snogging Anya."

"I'm not snogging anyone but you." He said softly and this just made it worse.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child. You are such an ass!" She screamed.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "You've lost it. Why don't you let me know when you feel like being sane again and I'll have this conversation with you." He turned and went back into the library to finish tutoring Anya. Everyone stared at him as he sat down, but he just sighed.

"You okay?" Al asked him as they walked down to their common room that night.

"Yea, I'm fine. I just don't get her. I mean I know she's worried, but she's lost her mind. She's literally mental." Al laughed at this and then patted his friend on the back.

"She'll come around mate. Hopefully the news will be good news and she will get over it. In the mean time your girlfriend is going to be a loon."

"I hope she does, it's been five days since we've …"

"I don't need to know Scor." Al cut him off and his friend laughed at him.

"Come on, your my best mate."

"She's my cousin."

"So? Just pretend she's someone else."

"Fat chance." Al was quiet for a minute and then asked. "Are you guys having sex?"

"Not yet. We've decided to wait until after Christmas. Are you?"

"Not yet. I think it will be awhile."

"What are you doing for … you know?" Scorpius asked. He knew the basics. You had to go to St. Mungo's and get a potion, but how would he and Rose manage that? He doubted the Weasley's would be in a rush to take her.

"Her mum took Natalie over the summer to Mungo's just in case. She's pretty cool about it apparently. She wants Natalie to be open and honest with her." Al shrugged. "But it's not like you and Rose. We don't have our own rooms or run of the castle at night. We rarely have more than a few minutes alone."

"You can use mine if you want, just so you have a little privacy." Scorpius suggested.

"Really?" Al looked surprised at his offer and Scorpius nodded as they walked into the Common Room.

Natalie hurried over as soon as they walked in. "Hey, can I talk to you?" She pulled Al over to the corner of the room and they snuggled onto a couch to talk in low whispers. Scorpius went up to his room and dropped his bag before shutting out the rest of his house. He was exhausted. Trying not to piss off Rose when she was in this mood was difficult, especially after being unsuccessful and arguing with her anyway.

The next morning Rose received a letter from her parents.

Dear Rosie,

We will always love you no matter what. Don't ever worry about telling us something like this again. We want you to be happy and if you are happy with Scorpius then we would not dream of coming between you.

Scorpius is a wonderful boy and your father and I both think highly of him, our issues with his father aside. We hope that the two of you are having a great term and are enjoying being Head Boy and Girl. Tell him we are happy for him as well and we would love for him to come for a visit during break.

How was your Hogsmeade weekend? Is Hugo behaving? How are Celia and Abby?

Ginny told me that Al has a new girlfriend as well. She said that he finally plucked up the courage to ask Natalie to go out with him. I can't believe that in a few short months you will all be leaving Hogwarts and looking for jobs and starting your lives on your own. I'm so proud of all of you.

We love you darling!

Mum and Dad

"That's great!" Scorpius told her when she handed it to him later that day. "Will you stop being a monster now?" He asked giving it back. She glared at him. "Rose, I love you, but you were …"

"I know." She sighed and kissed him softly. "I'm sorry. I'm still not convinced. It's too happy, too cheery. Mum is not that cheery."

"Maybe she's just happy for us."

"Maybe. So are you going to come for a visit over break." She asked and he pulled her closer to him on the bed.

"If you say you're sorry for suggesting I wanted to cheat on you."

"I'm sorry I said you wanted to kiss the annoying girl." Scorpius laughed at her and kissed her again.

"I'll come over Christmas then. My parents will probably be upset about the whole thing still." Rose frowned. "You told them?" Scorpius nodded. "They didn't take it as well but they didn't ask me to end it either so …"

"So, we are one step closer to shagging our brains out." She whispered to him and he grinned wildly.

"Oh believe me that has crossed my mind." He felt her snuggle into him and couldn't help but feel a calm come over him. "So, it's been over a month now, how are you feeling about us?"

"I don't know. I'm happy. I like being with you."

"Good." He put a finger under her chin and lifted it up to kiss him. "I like being with you too." Rose responded by laying over him and deepening their kiss. She had been in his room without feeling his hands on her body for far too long.

Celia was wandering the halls while Rose and Scorpius were lying in his bed talking. She was trying to find something to distract her from thoughts of Al. She wanted so badly to hear that he had broken things off with Natalie and that they were going their separate ways, but there was no such news. She'd wanted to be with Al for years now, but she'd never had the nerve to do anything about it, and now someone else had.

She didn't know Natalie very well. She knew her from their study group, and she knew that she was at the Burrow occasionally with Lucy and Roxanne, but despite these things she had never really thought anything of her until one day last year. Celia had been watching Al at Quidditch practice. He was amazing really, and she started to notice that he wasn't doing as well as usual, and then when she started to watch what he was watching she saw that it was Natalie. She was in the stands as well with a few of her friends from Slytherin. Celia knew then that he liked her and after a few months the rumors and the teasing started, but by this point Celia was prepared, she would be fine and she had been until she walked around that corning and saw them. He'd been leaned against the wall, her arms wrapped around him, pulling them close together why the kissed softly. Celia had turned and back around the corner, run to the bathroom and sobbed until Rose had asked her to come out. She wished that Al had noticed her that day in the stands, but knew that nothing could change that.

Celia looked up from her wandering and realized she was by the front door. She walked out onto the grounds and towards the pitch. Nothing like reliving the good old days, she figured. As she walked she thought about Al's smirk and his soft demeanor that sheltered this excitable, energetic ball of fire that she had fallen for. She missed being able to talk to him. When she reached the pitch she saw that there were two people flying and it didn't take long for her to realize that one of them was him. Her heart skipped a beat and she considered heading back to the castle before he saw her, but then decided against it.

She was willing to tempt fate.

As she watched him fly, she felt her heart soaring at the possibilities and let her mind run wild. She wanted to be the kind of girl that made things happen, but she wasn't sure she could be. After half an hour, Al and Evan landed and noticed her waiting. "Hey Celia. What brings you out here?"

"You actually." She said, immediately regretting it. Why would she say that? Evan was walking towards them now and Al turned to tell him to head on up and he would catch up in a minute.

"Did you need something?" He asked as Evan walked away from them and towards the castle. He rested his broom against the stands and came towards her.

"No, I was just thinking about you." She told him, and leaned her own body against the stands as well. Al raised an eyebrow at her and she grinned. "I was thinking about how I used to watch you at practice." The words were coming of their own accord now and she was getting dangerously close the truth. "And how much I miss that."

"Well you can watch me practice any time Celia." He told her, wiping at his brow with a towel. "You're always welcome."

Celia moved closer to him, so that she could feel his deep fast breaths in the air. "Thanks." She moved closer again and was now very close to him, but he didn't back away. He didn't seem to know what to do. "I was also thinking about how much I want to be close to you." She took another step and felt her breasts touch his chest. He just stared at her, waiting for her to finish whatever she was doing. "I was thinking about how badly I want to kiss you." She whispered and felt his body move closer and press against her, and then he was kissing her and there was electricity coursing through their veins. His hands were in her hair and her hands were pulling him closer. They stumbled back until she hit the stands and he pressed his entire body against her as hard as he could, while her tongue began to explore his mouth. He moaned deeply and thrust his own tongue against hers. After a moment he paused for air and pulled away. "Celia…" He whispered.

"Don't." She told him and pulled him back into her, where he happily returned to kissing her passionately. Celia couldn't believe that they were actually standing their gripping at each other like their lives depended on it, kissing each other. She felt like she was in a dream and was worried that at any moment she would wake up.

"What are we doing?" He asked her.

"I don't know." She told him, softly, in a whisper hoping that he would just kiss her again and they wouldn't have to talk about any of the reasons why they shouldn't be.

Al sat down on the grass and pulled her down with him. "Why did you come down here?" He asked and she shrugged. "I need to understand."

Celia looked at him and shook her head; he would never pick her over Natalie. "I just, was thinking about you and came to the pitch while I was thinking."

"What were you thinking?"

"How much I want to be with you." She felt tears welling in her eyes, but held them back, not wanting to fall to pieces in front of him. "I've always wanted to be with you."

"What?" Albus seemed genuinely shocked and she knew that all those times she'd tried to hide how she felt about him she'd been successful, maybe too successful. She looked away, towards the sun that was setting in the distance. She wished she could go away with it as well to get her out of this situation that was quickly becoming embarrassing and horrible. "You never said anything. I didn't know."

"I know. I'm sorry." She moved to stand. "I shouldn't have come." Al stopped her by grabbing her hand and then stood next to her.

"If I would have known, I would have chosen you." He told her quietly and then he kissed her again and she felt the tears falling silently down her face of their own accord. "I'm so sorry, Celia. I can't break things off with Natalie. We've been working on us for nearly eight months, I can't just walk away from that."

"I know." She nodded and felt his thumb brush the tears from her cheeks. "Can we just have tonight?" She asked softly and looked up into his bright green eyes. She loved them. They were absolutely beautiful. She felt his hesitation and then he relaxed and pulled her closer to him.

"Yes." He told her and they found themselves tangled once again.

Nearly an hour later they were laying on the grass. Celia had her head on Albus' shoulder and their fingers were intertwined. "We need to get going." Al told her pulling her up with him. "It's past time for us to be out."

They walked up to the castle together, Celia wished she could grab his hand, but if someone happened to see them … she couldn't risk it. So, they walked together silently, each lost in their own thoughts. As they reached the hall to go their separate ways, they paused and looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Thank you." Celia murmured and Al moved closer to her and moved a strand of hair out of her face and behind her ear. "Thank you." He told her and gave her one last amazing kiss. They were holding on to each other as tight as they could, knowing that after this moment they would not be able to come back to this night ever again and wanting it to last as long as it could.

"What are you doing!" They jumped apart and spun towards their best friends, shock plastered on their faces. Rose was open mouthed and Scorpius was staring at Al in disbelief.

Neither of them answered. They didn't know what to say. How would they explain what they were doing?

"Thirty Points from Gryffindor and Slytherin." Rose told them softly. "Go to bed."

"Rose," Celia started, but Rose held up her hand.

"I don't want to hear your excuses. Go to bed, both of you, or I will make it fifty."

And so they left, Celia going up and Albus down, both praying that their friends would let them explain, but knowing that they wouldn't really be able to.

Rose stood outside of the Fat Lady later that night after finishing their rounds. Scorpius was standing in front of her. They hadn't talked much since they had happened across their best friends kissing.

"What are you going to do?" He asked her.

"I don't know. I can't believe Al would do that to Natalie. I thought he really liked her and you said he had no idea Celia even felt anything."

"I didn't know, Rose, I swear. Maybe they just kissed the one time. We owe them at least a chance to explain."

"That was not a one time kiss. They were all over each other, and they were out after hours."

"Still, Rose, promise me you'll listen to her. She deserves that much. She's your best friend." Rose sighed and let him hug her tightly. He kissed her head soft;y and let her go.

"Fine. I'll listen." She told him. "I'll see you in the morning."

Rose left him then, and walked into the portrait hole. She was tired and confused. She could not understand why her cousin and her best friend would be kissing when Al was dating someone. Try as hard as she could, Rose could not imagine kissing someone other than Scorpius while they were together. It was just wrong.

It only took her a moment to notice Celia sitting by the fire, her arms wrapped around her legs, tears streaming down her face freely. She looked up at Rose and patted the floor next to her. Rose sat by her friend, crossed her legs and waited.

"I love him." Celia told her, still looking into the fire. "I was just walking around, before curfew, on the grounds and I went over to the pitch. He was there with Evan, practicing, so I watched them finish up, he sent Evan up to the castle, and then we just started talking. I told him how I feel and he told me that if he would have known he would have chosen me, not her." She stopped to rub the tears off her face and take a deep breath. "He kissed me and I just couldn't stop. It was so amazing. We just laid there on the grass kissing each other for ever. He's not going to end things with Natalie and we aren't going to do this ever again, I just needed to feel like he loved me too for one night." She looked over at Rose finally to see that her friend was crying now as well.

"Celia," Rose wrapped her arms around her friend. "You deserve better than that. A few stolen kisses with someone that is dating someone else are not good enough for you, and you won't be happy. If you really love Al, then you need to let this thing with Natalie run its course, or else you won't be happy with him and he won't either. He needs to be completely invested in you, not dating someone else, or wondering what could have been with her. What if you get caught and she ends things? Then what? Will you be able to have a relationship with him then? Won't you be wondering if he's cheating on you with someone else?"

"You're right." Celia rested her head against her friend. "I just wish things were different."

"They will be one day. I know Albus better than anyone, except maybe Scorpius, and I believe that he will decide to be with you. He is happy with Natalie, but I don't think he ever loved her."

"Are you sure you're talking about Al?"

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, letting go of Celia.

"It just sounds an awful lot like how you feel about Scorpius."

"Celia!"

"What? Am I wrong? Can you honestly say you feel anything more for him now than you did when you agreed to go out with him?" Rose was shocked to hear someone asking her the same question she had been avoiding asking herself. She enjoyed her time locked in his room rolling around on his bed and their late night adventures during rounds. She loved the way her body reacted to his, but she wasn't in love with him. She knew that now. After a month and a half of trying, she knew she didn't love him any more than the day she agreed to start dating him.

"I don't know." She said. "I don't think so."

"Then why are you wasting your time, and his?" Celia grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "I love you, Rose. You are my best friend and I would do anything for you, but you don't feel the same way that he does. You agreed to go out with him because you didn't want to make him feel bad. You just wanted to make out a little and go on with your day, but he wants forever with you. You aren't being fair if you don't tell him the truth."

"You're right." Rose realized and she felt an immediate pang in her heart. This was going to crush him.