Of Secrets and Roses

Chapter 2:

“Scorp!” said Rose, jumping and nearly falling off of her bed. She quickly regained her balance, to stare at her best friend in front of her. “What the bloody hell are you doing here?”

He shrugged, sitting next to her on her bed. “Nothing to do.”

“So you travel to my house?” said Rose in disbelief. She couldn't wrap herself around the idea that Scorpius traveled all this way just to come and see her. Sure they were the best of friends, but coming all this way? She knew she would get caught and then have to tell her parents everything that would end up upsetting them even more. If they found out this secret she would be condemned to staying at her grandmother's permanently.

Her best friend smirked at her remark. “You haven't changed a bit. Still that confused Rose I met on the train.” Scorpius gave her a playful punch in the arm. Noticing the hint of sadness in her face, he knew something was wrong.

Rose stared at herself in the mirror, that hung on the wall across from her. Her blue eyes had tears forming in the corners, while her blonde mess of curls were scattered all over the place. She knew she looked like a total wreck, but she didn't care. What was the point of caring? Only two people cared about her. One was her only friend and the other was her brother. Sometimes she didn't even think those two cared.

“Don't cry, Rose. You know I hate it when you cry.”

She shook her head furiously, before pushing some stray curls out of her face. “I can never get along with them. I don't even think I have ever gotten along with them. Mum just thinks I am just like her—when obviously I am not—while Dad and I just have no connection. Sure, Dad is easier to get along with, but. . .but. . .I don't know.”

Rose held back the tears. She loathed crying because she didn't feel as mature and tough. She had a reputation at Hogwarts and didn't want to lose it by crying her way through all the pain and unfairness. Realizing that she was about to cry, she quickly shook off the pain.

“Sorry,” stated Rose, “I shouldn't be crying over something stupid. Honestly I couldn't care less about my parents at this point. They don't seem to see my point of view, so I refuse to see theirs.”

Scorpius grinned. “Could you tell me what happened?”

“They saw my grades from this past year. I suppose they thought they were absolutely awful and didn't even care that I got some of the highest grades in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions. All Mother cares about is me acing every single subject.”

“My mother is sometimes like that too, but just with the subjects she excelled in. Father, on the other hand, is just happy that I pass. I guess he doesn't really care about grades, since he only did well in a couple of classes.”

“At least you don't have a crazy mother,” stated Rose. “I sometimes wonder if I was adopted. I'm pretty sure I'm not insane when it comes to grades.”

Scorpius shrugged. “The way you describe her, makes her sound insane. Maybe she isn't as insane as you think.”

Rose scoffed.

“Oh, come on, I was just trying to be neutral. I am trying not to side with other people,” said Scorpius, with his head held high. His gaze met Rose's glare, before he lowered his head. “I was just kidding.”

“No you weren't,” said Rose, with no emotion in her voice. She stood up, walking over to her window. She stared out of it for a couple of seconds, before swiveling around to stare at Scorpius. “You never told me why the hell you are here.”

“I told you there was nothing to do.”

“Bull. You know that that is a bunch of crap.”

“I wasn't doing anything at home. Dad and Mum were doing who knows what in their bedroom, so I took my broom and flew here. Before you say anything about how dangerous it is, I told you a thousand times that you are about an hour away from my house.”

“Now I feel even more stupid, thanks. I felt stupid when I saw my grades and now I feel even stupider. Never become a therapist, Scorpius, because you suck at making a person feel good about themselves.”

“I wasn't trying to. You are overlooking everything I just said. Geez, you're a wreck right now. Maybe I should leave.” Scorpius stood up and walked over to the corner, where his broom rested against the wall.

Rose rolled her eyes, as Scorpius opened up the window. She knew he wasn't going to leave her and was just waiting for her to beg for him to stay. That was how Scorpius worked. He wanted people to beg for him to stay or do something. He wanted to make it like it was a chore for him to stay.

“Don't leave,” She said, to prevent him to attempt to leave any sooner. “I am going to be bored to death for the rest of the night. I am missing out on dinner, you know. Did you bring anything to eat, by chance?”

“No, the house elves wouldn't let me steal anything out of the kitchen.”

“Threaten them with clothes!”

Scorpius rested his broom against the wall again and closed the window, preventing the warm summer air from flowing in. “You see, it isn't that easy. If I even bother bringing out the clothing, they will apparate to their master—aka Father—and then I will get in trouble.”

“Typical,” Rose muttered.

“Hey!” said Scorpius, raising his voice.

“Will you shut up?” demanded Rose, covering his mouth. “It is already bad enough I'm being shipped off to my grandmother's for the last week of summer. If they discover that I'm friend's with the son of their enemy, I will be in for it. Maybe I would have to transfer to that French school.”

With her sharp ears, Rose heard someone thumping at the stairs and she immediately opened up her closet door and ushered Scorpius into the closet. He looked disapproving at first, but when he started to hear the footsteps he ducked in quickly.

“Don't sneeze, cough, or make any noise. If you do I am more than willing to chuck your bloody broom out the bloody window.” She picked up one of her dirty socks and stuffed it in Scorpius's mouth, before he could say anything.

There was a knock at the door and after Rose closed her closet door, before opening up the door leading out of the room. Her mother stood in front of her, with a firm expression. A dinner tray was in her hands, while she stared right at Rose.

“Can I talk to you?”

Rose nodded, letting her mother in the room. Hermione walked in, with a disapproving glance around the messy room. She set the tray down on Rose's desk, then took a place on the end of Rose's bed—where Scorpius previously sat.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose noticed Scorpius's broom sitting in the corner. Luckily the darkness was falling onto the corner, so it was hard to see it in the dim light. It was a good thing her mother's eyes weren't as good as they used to be.

“Rose, I know I come on a little too hard on you about your grades. I sometimes forget that you aren't exactly me. Your father wasn't too keen on his grades, so maybe that is where you got it from. I just wanted you to be just like me, but I guess you aren't.”

“I guess I am not,” She said, in a whisper, not loud enough for Hermione to hear her.

“I will let you eat up here. If you need anything, I will be downstairs with your father. You will be leaving for your grandmother's tomorrow morning. I suggest you get a head start on packing.” Hermione made her way to Rose's door. Before disappearing from Rose's room, she turned around looking at her daughter. “Rose, I think staying with your grandmother for a week will benefit you. After all you are a Weasley.”

“Weasley's have red hair and freckles, Mum, I don't.”

“Not all Weasley's do,” She said, giving Rose a smile. Hermione walked away leaving Rose alone in her room.

Rose wondered what her mother was hiding. The way her mother looked at her wasn't in a motherly way. It was almost as if she was hiding something from Rose. Am I adopted? She thought, maybe that is why I don't relate to them that well. Puzzled from this thought, she quickly forgot about her friend locked in her closet.

“Let me out of this bloody closet!” shouted Scorpius.

Rose hurried over to her closet and opened up the door, to see Scorpius squashed between her laundry hamper and stack of old clothes. The sock was out of his mouth and he was spitting furiously, to get the taste of a dirty sock out of his mouth.

“Sor--”

“Don't even start. Do you know how bloody awful that sock tasted? When was the last time you washed that freaking thing?” He stood up, shoving Rose out of the way.

“I don't know when I last washed that. Sorry, I kinda forgot about you. It isn't very often that my best friend is hiding in my closet.”

He glared, before his eyes returned to normal. “So what is the deal then?”

“Deal?”

“Yeah, the one about your grandmother's house. Was that why you were upset?”

Rose nodded.

“It is only a week and soon enough, we will be on the train together heading to another year at Hogwarts. We will be free of parents and mother's with nasty perfumes.”

Rose giggled, remembering the letter Scorpius sent her. Happiness spread throughout her, when she thought about Hogwarts. It was only less than a week, then she would be free of her parents. Free for an entire school year—since she never wanted to leave for the Christmas holidays.

“What's on your mind Rose?”

She sighed, before looking at her best friend. “I think my Mum is hiding something from me. I don't know what and don't know why I think this, but every time she looks at me it is almost as if I see regret like she did something wrong that dealt with me.”

Scorpius stared at Rose, not knowing what to say. He didn't want to comfort her—plus she didn't really need comfort—and he didn't want to laugh at her thought. He knew her reasoning must be possible, but he knew it could be quite wrong too. So instead he suggested that maybe she was imagining things, but that didn't go as planned.

Rose blew up immediately. “No one ever believes me. I'm certain that I am adopted, Scorpius. I never get along with my mother, I don't feel any sort of connection to my father, and I don't have any of my father's traits.” She repeated what she stated earlier, but instead of being on the verge of crying, she exploded in furry.

Scorpius was quiet, knowing that she was somewhat right. She didn't resemble anything like a Weasley. Potter's kids had Weasley in them. Two out of the three of them had freckles, the girl and youngest boy had red hair, and their face shapes were all similar to a Weasley's. Even Rose's brother picked up some Weasley traits, but Rose didn't have any.

Rose did have the same face shape and hair structure as her mother's. The rest of her features didn't anything like her father's. Yes, she did have blue eyes, but they weren't the same shade as Ron's. There were no traces of freckles, red hair, or even a similar body structure.

“Maybe you are adopted,” said Scorpius, watching Rose's face light up from him believing her idea, “or maybe you just need to get to know them better. Maybe everything will work out if you spend some time with them. You could of just not inherited any Weasley traits—it is possible. Some kids look more like their mother than their father.”

Rose started eating her dinner, making sure to offer some to Scorpius. They shared the meal together, since Scorpius hadn't had anything to eat for awhile. The two best friends ate in silence, both not knowing what to say to eat other.

“When do you need to leave?”

“Never, hopefully,” said Scorpius, laying back on the bed. Rose laid down next to him, staring up at the ceiling with him. She listened to Scorpius drone on and on about his family. “. . .so Mum really wants a baby girl, but Dad doesn't want another child. He says he has enough children, even though he only has one. I guess one is enough in his opinion. My parents have been fighting about that though, so I guess Dad finally decided to give in. They haven't left their room since after lunch. So I can do whatever the hell I want.”

Rose turned to face Scorpius and smiled. “I'm happy you came here. I don't know what I would of done, if you didn't arrive.”

“I needed to see you, Rose,” said Scorpius. “I can't go through summer pretending that I'm best friends with Goyle, Zanbini, and Parkinson. Just because Dad is good friends with their parents doesn't mean I have to be good friends with their kids.”

“I know how you feel. . .well, not entirely. I'm usually alone all summer. I just have Hugo and my cousins to deal with. How exciting. Half the time I am stuck with Lily. She is such a pain in the arse sometimes. She drives me insane!”

“I have talked to her a couple of times. She isn't that bad.”

“Have you had to spend an entire day with her? I think not.”

The two teenagers, just stared up at the ceiling, wondering how long they have been laying there for. Rose knew it was time for Scorpius to go home and Scorpius knew himself, but neither one of them wanted to move. It was comforting being in each others presence and they didn't want this night to end.

“I should go,” Scorpius said, finally looking at his watch. It was nearly eleven o'clock. It was past his curfew and for a second his heart froze, knowing that he would be in serious trouble. “I am already going to get in enough trouble.”

“I thought your parents were busy when you left?”

“That was a half past four. Now it is a quarter until eleven,” said Scorpius, standing up. He let out a yawn, as he walked over to where his broomstick rested against the wall.

“I missed you, Scorp. Promise you will visit me at my grandmother's sometime this week?”

“I will try my best,” He said, giving her a smirk. Rose helped him open up the window and helped him slip outside, onto the roof. Scorpius looked up at the starry night. “We should of laid on the roof. The stars are a much prettier view than your ceiling.”

“Next time?” Rose said hopefully.

Scorpius nodded. “I promise.” He gave Rose a quick hug, then mounted his broom. Pushing off the roof and traveling south towards his manor, Rose could see his image fade more and more each second.

With a pang of sadness spreading throughout her, she turned around walking towards her closet to change into her pajamas. Not bothering to brush her teeth or wash her face, she curled into bed wondering the secret her mother was hiding. It can't be too bad. Rose thought, trying to remain positive. She let out a yawn and closed her eyes, letting sleep fall upon her.