Curiosity Is Not a Sin

Scorpius's Birthday

"Hey," Noah said when he and Scorpius reached them. He slid in next to Claire.

Scorpius, on the other hand, stopped behind Rose and wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you," he whispered in her ear.

She smiled despite herself. "Happy birthday."

He sat down next to her, which left her between Albus and Scorpius. She breathed a sigh of relief, and Scorpius gave her an amused look - he'd clearly realized that she was worried about actually having to rub elbows with Slytherins she didn't know.

She kissed his cheek, and his smile grew.

"You're both disgusting," Claire told them, but it lacked the bite her remarks about Rose usually had; even she was grinning at her friend's reaction to his girlfriend doing something she'd said on many occasions that she would never, ever do.

When they finished breakfast, most of their classmates headed back to their dormitories to prepare for the Hogsmeade visit. Scorpius, however, caught Rose's hand when she started to follow Albus up the stairs. "Walk with me?" he asked.

Albus glanced back. "I'll catch up with you," she said. He rolled his eyes and hurried to catch up with James and Roxanne.

"We can't go outside," Rose pointed out as Scorpius led her away from the mayhem, waving goodbye to Noah and Claire with his free hand. "We're not dressed for it."

"I know," he said. "Er - are there any secret passages or anything near here?"

Rose let out a loud giggle. "I thought you wanted to walk?"

"Well..." he drew out the word. "Maybe I lied a little." They walked by a nook that looked like it had once held a suit of armor, and he pulled her into it. "Good enough."

Rose glanced up and down the hallway. It was deserted, but she wasn't at all confident it would stay that way. She forgot her concern momentarily, however, when she looked back at him and he leaned in for a kiss. "Thanks," he said. "For sitting with me."

She shrugged. "I guess it wasn't that bad. I mean, I'm not doing it on a regular basis, but it could have been worse." She ran a finger lightly along his neck, and he shuddered. "Anyway, it was worth it just for the look on your face. I think the only time I've seen you smile that wide was right after I first kissed you."

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her again. She was pretty sure he'd actually pulled her down the hallway to ask her a question, but he was clearly quickly becoming distracted. She figured he'd remember what he wanted to ask her eventually, however, so she returned the kiss very happily, sliding a hand under his shirt.

When he broke away, he took a few deep breaths to steady himself. "I wanted to ask you something," he said, leaning against the wall opposite her and shoving his hands into his back pockets.

"What?"

He licked his lips. "Um - how much did you really want to visit Hogsmeade today?"

She shrugged. "I still have some Christmas shopping to do, but I guess I don't have to do it today. I just figured you'd like to get out of the castle for your birthday."

"We could," he said slowly. "Or... um..."

"Spit it out, Scorpius."

He met her gaze squarely. "So - I know you just sat at the Slytherin table, but - well - er - it's just that everyone in my dormitory is definitely going to Hogsmeade, so it'll be empty all day, and..."

He hadn't looked away from her, but he was fidgeting quite a lot. She decided to take him off the hook - it was his birthday, after all.

"You want us to stay back from Hogsmeade and sneak me into your dormitory?"