Twists of Fate

Chapter 14: Forever Home

He pretended not to notice. During their lesson, he pretended not to notice the book she set in front of him was the one he originally gifted her the night before he left. When she first pulled the book out of her bag, he wasn't sure. There were thousands of books with green covers out there, but when Rose refused to meet his eye as she hurriedly opened the book; he suspected. It wasn't until he checked the front page at the first opportunity did he have the confirmation. It was the book. The book he spent months trying to find because he just didn't feel right leaving and not giving her some sort of present to remember him by. The one he engraved with a promise of his truest intentions, which he was still and always keeping. It was the book. Scorp wasn't sure if that should make him feel hopeful that she still kept it. If the bindings were any indication of how often she read it, he felt pretty confident.

He hadn't been expecting to enjoy their tutoring sessions as much as he did. Anytime he spent with her was a good time, but he liked being able to laugh with her with no interruptions. After she left his office a few hours ago, she made sure to leave him with plenty of homework to be completed by their next session on Friday afternoon. What she called "a little bit of homework" looked like it was going to take up the rest of his evening.

Since he'd gotten home a few hours ago he'd been attempting to cross things off of the list, but it wasn't looking great. He'd only managed to cross off the first two items on the list, leaving a daunting seven more to be conquered.

Scorp tapped his wand rhythmically against his thigh as his eyes scanned over the list placed on his neatly made bed. How in the world was he going to get all of this done by Friday?

A knock sounded from the bedroom door.

"Come in!" Scorp called sparing a glance over his shoulder. "Hey, Dad." He said before turning back to the list.

Draco leaned against the door frame, "Dinner is ready."

"I'll be down in a bit," Scorp replied, his focus trained on skillfully moving his wrist, just as Rose had repeatedly shown him. The key to perfection is in repetition, she said. When she spoke those words, he couldn't help but finish them for her. She used them as a motivation to keep him practicing during their tutor sessions back in the day. He used them as a tactic to weasel out more time together. While those times were great, they weren't the moments his mind drifted off too at her words. Instead, he found himself thinking about one of the many times they had been in the room of requirements.

"Not like that." Rose sighed, sucking on her lips to suppress her annoyance.

Scorp groaned. He appreciated that she didn't yell at him, but even he was starting to get annoyed with himself. "Why is it that I can make Felix Felicis with no problem, but I can't perform a simple non-verbal spell."

"Because they are not simple," Rose said sternly. "Non-verbal spells are complex and take a lot of concentration. Have you ever closely watched Al's face when he tries to do them? "

Scorp rolled his eyes. "I don't tend to focus on Al's face a whole lot, Rose."

"Well next time I recommend it. Al concentrates so hard he looks constipated."

For the first time that night, Scorp laughed and all the tension seeped out of his body. He could imagine it too. Al's entire face scrunching up, his cheeks puffing out, and sweat forming on his forehead as he tried to cast a non-verbal spell.

A sudden thought came to him, stopping his laughter, "I don't look like that do I?"

Rose shook her head and smiled, resting a reassuring hand on his arm. "You look just fine." She said staring him dead in the eye, before glancing back toward the cup, "Now, remember the key to perfection is in repetition. So while it may be frustrating now the more you practice the better you'll get."