Rose Weasley was soaked. The freezing mid-February rain fell thick and fast as she hurried from the alley behind her building toward the front door, cursing her decision to ward the muggle flat against apparition. As she fumbled for her keys, the door flew open, revealing a tall blonde man holding a steaming cup of tea.
"You're home early," she exclaimed, so startled that, for a moment, she forgot that she was still standing in the rain. Scorpius shrugged.
"Things have been quiet," he answered vaguely. He gestured for her to come inside, where he took her satchel and pressed the cup of tea into her hand before taking out his wand and casting both drying and warming charms on his girlfriend.
"You are too good to be true," Rose sighed as the warmth washed over her.
"That's because I'm not," he deadpanned. "I'm actually a fictional character and our whole existence is the romantic fantasy of some bored mum somewhere."
Rose snorted with laughter, nearly spilling her tea.
"Idiot," she muttered with a smile. "Do I smell food?" Scorpius followed as she wandered around the corner from the front door into the kitchen of their small flat. The miniscule table that they'd shoved into a corner to serve as an eating space was covered in a linen cloth and set neatly with miscellaneous bits of mismatched dinnerware that had been donated by friends and relatives when they'd moved in together.
"What are you up to?"
"Nothing," Scorpius denied, attempting and failing to look innocent. "Can't a bloke make a nice Valentine's Day dinner for his girlfriend?"
"We don't do Valentine's Day," she responded suspiciously.
"Sometimes we do Valentine's Day," he argued.
"Not since Hogwarts and that was only because we were at the mercy of the school's Hogsmeade schedule."
"Well, maybe we should," he insisted, guiding her into a chair. "Now stop being so difficult and just drink your tea. I'll have dinner ready in a mo'."
Rose sighed and sipped her tea, watching as Scorpius fussed around the kitchen. He'd been her best friend since they were eleven and her boyfriend since they were seventeen, so she knew him better than nearly anyone else. There was obviously something funny going on, but she decided to play along and let him have his fun rather than wrestle it out of him.
"So is Al planning something romantic for Alice too?"
"As if I would tell you," Scorpius snorted. "The two of you gossip like a couple of third years. If my best mate is planning to surprise his wife, I'm not going to ruin his surprise by telling my girlfriend."
"You think I can't keep a secret?" Rose demanded, affronted.
"No, I know you can keep a secret, but only if you want to," he clarified, pulling a small pork roast from the oven. "The two of you get together and you can't help yourself. Does something about the end of seventh year ring a bell?"
Rose scowled before draining her teacup. "I wouldn't even have time to tell her anything," she argued. "By the time I see her again, it will have been over with."
"Don't be so sure," Scorpius muttered with an enigmatic smile as he began placing dishes on the table. The pork roast was served with applesauce and a side of roasted potatoes. Rose accepted a small glass of apple cider with a smile and Scorpius turned to place what looked like an apple crumble in the oven before taking his seat at the table.
"I'm sensing a theme here," Rose observed. "Was there a deal at the market on apples?"
"No," Scorpius answered, sipping his cider.
