Twists of Fate

Chapter 5: Time Stops

"You're back," Rose remarked stupidly into his shoulder.

"I am." He murmured into her hair. "I missed you."

Rose choked on the words caught in her throat. I miss you, didn't begin to cover the extent of her feelings. She ached over him. Agonized over his absence. I miss you, simply was not big enough to express everything she felt.

"I missed you too. So so much." She whispered anyway, hugging him a little tighter, not ready to let go of him just yet.

After a few minutes, rather reluctantly Rose backed away for the sake of her heart, which was beating uncontrollably.

Scorp's arms twitched as she backed out of them, aching for her to come back. He shoved his hands into his robe pocket to stop them from doing something idiotic, like grabbing her and never letting go.

She has a boyfriend, he reminded himself.

"You look so different," Rose remarked, cautiously reaching up to touch the stubble on his jaw. His breath hitched slightly, but if Rose noticed she showed no sign, her attention firmly on tracing his much more defined jawline.

Realizing what she was doing, Rose pulled her shaking hand away, sheepishly tucking it behind her back.

"You look exactly the same," Scorp said hoarsely.

Her red hair was as fiery as ever. Her blue eyes were wide and gleamed with intelligence and a never-ceasing curiosity. Her long delicate fingers unconsciously tapped on her thighs, a nervous habit it appeared she hadn't kicked. Freckles dotted every inch of her exposed skin. Scorp had to reel his mind in to stop remembering the freckles that weren't on display at the moment. She was just as gorgeous as the day he left, maybe even more so.

"Yes well." Rose trailed off, glancing at the floor between them.

"So, how have you been?"

He'd been dying to know. Nobody would really tell him about Rose. Not even when he got the guts to ask someone about her. Besides the talk from his father and the extremely minimal information Albus let slip through, the life of Rose Weasley had been a mystery.

"I've been good. I've been really busy with exams and such. Did I tell you I'm a professor now?"

Scorp bit his bottom lip to stop the grin that was dying to take over his face. "I figured that out when we walked into your office."

Rose blushed and crossed her arms embarrassed. "That was stupid of me to say."

"No, it wasn't," Scorp said softly. Reaching out he uncrossed her arms, "Tell me what it is like being a professor."

She obliged happily. "It keeps me busy.  I love it, don't get me wrong." She added pointedly. "It keeps me on my toes and I love my students. Just yesterday one of my students, Julia, turned in a perfect essay on Accio. She covered all the right points and even added extra details about the spell's origins. It was-" Rose continued to talk on and on about her students and their various accomplishments.

All the while Scorp watched her. Her eyes were wide and sparkled, showing just how proud she was to accomplished her dream. He may not have been there to watch her achieve her dreams, but that did not mean he was not unbelievably proud of her accomplishments.

Ever since her first day in Charms she realized that being a professor was all she wanted in life. All throughout school she worked toward that goal. She aced every test and essay. Tutored students who needed it, especially Scorp. He was always in need of her assistant. Charms didn't come naturally to him. Rose made it seem like the simplest thing in the world.