I woke up early enough the next morning that I was downstairs, even before mum. I didn't beat her by much though. The floorboards in the stairs started creaking as she walked down them.
"Oh," she said when she saw me in the kitchen. "Good morning sweetie."
"Morning mum." I handed her a cup of tea, along with one that I made for myself.
"Any plans for today?" She took a sip from the mug as she slid into a chair at the kitchen counter.
"Not yet," I said.
About an hour later, I made my own plans to invite myself over to the Potters, they didn't ever mind. I wanted Laura to come with me but she stayed back and said she would "catch up with me later." I didn't know if I believed that but I went anyway, flooing to Godric's Hollow.
"Hey Rose!" I heard instantly as I appeared in the fireplace. James had been lying down with, surprisingly, a book, on the couch directly across from me.
"Hi," I said. "Are they upstairs?"
He settled the book down on his chest and made a face at me. "What am I not interesting enough for you?"
I could tell he was joking by his smile but I felt bad anyway. "Let's see," I said, taking a seat by his feet and grabbing reaching for his book. He stopped me though and held the book over his head.
"Hey!" I said. "Let me see your book!"
"No" he persisted, holding it too far out of my reach.
"Why, what are you reading? Some crazy romance novel?" I joked.
When he shrugged, I almost thought he was serious. He tossed the book into my lap. "Don't laugh at me, my dad gave me this."
I picked up the book, only to reveal the title, Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches. My jaw dropped open and seemed to stay that way when I read this. I flipped it over, reading the summary on the back, which, unfortunately, was exactly what I though it was. It was a book about how to get a girlfriend.
I turned my head slowly towards James, who had sat up now, and stared at him with wide eyes. "You got this from your dad?" Was the first thing that came out of my mouth.
He nodded. "And he actually got it from your dad, who got it from Uncle George and Uncle Fred. It runs in the family."
"No," I looked back down at the book, and refused to think about my dad as a teenager, reading this very book. "Why are you even reading this?"
James just shrugged and broke eye contact with me, so I just left it at that. I flipped through a few pages of the book. "Chapter One," I started reading out loud. "Do you fancy her?"
James leaned forward to grab the book from my hand before I could read more, but I was faster. I jumped off the couch and started reading the page as loud as I could, and heading upstairs to show Jenny and Lily.
"You might notice something different about this girl-" I ran up the stairs with James trailing close behind me. "She stands out to you in a different way than anyone else you've ever known!" I was laughing as I read.
I reached the upstairs hall and Al's bedroom door opened, his head peaking out of it. I quickly ran in, not surprised to see Jenny sitting on Al's bed. "Look at this," I said, handing her the book.
I sat down next to her, out of breath from running and yelling up the stairs. James just stood in the doorway now, looking like he had given up. He sighed and sat down at Al's desk.
Scorpius, who was still asleep from what I could tell, or was asleep, rolled over from the top bunk, peeking down at us. Al stood by the door, still confused about what was going on. Until Jenny holds up the book to him with her eyes wide, the same expression I must've had.
She looked back to me as if to say "what the hell?"
"I found James with this book," I explained, "that has apparently been passed down for generations in my family, father to son."
By Al's blank expression, I figured that he already knew this. He tried to grab the book from Jenny as she opened up to a page in the book that was bookmarked.
"Are you serious?" She asked. "This is insane! Have all of you read this?" She looked at all three of the boys. I looked up at Scorpius to see what he would say. His head ducked back onto his pillow, out of sight.
I gasped. "Oh my god, they have," I said. I stood up to see Scorpius's face better from where he was on the top bed. He was shirtless with the bed sheets covering half on him, a nearly irresistible sight. He was pretending to be asleep, lying so gorgeously there. "Hey, I know you're not asleep. Get up and tell us about this book."
"Ugh," he pulled the covers over his head. "It's not even mine."
"What's the big deal anyway?" James asked. "So what if we need some...help about this stuff?"
"It's just funny," Jenny said. I agreed. "Generation by generation this book has won over, how many witches?"
"Alright," Al swiped the book back from Jenny. "That's it, big deal. You guys talk about us all the time."
"Yeah, but at least it's our own thoughts," I said. Jenny gave me a high five.
All three of the boys were embarrassed by us finding their little secret, but Jenny and I were mostly just teasing them. James left after a little while and I began to wonder why he really was looking at that book in the first place.
Al and Jenny left too, going to get some lunch, which left me alone with Scorpius, finally.
"Are they gone yet?" He was still stuffed under the covers.
"They are," I said, climbing up to his bunk. He pulled the sheets off of him and smiled when he saw me sitting there next to him. He was still shirtless and I admired the sight of his muscular chest.
He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me closer to him. He forced his lips onto mine. His soft lips that filled me with warmth in every little touch.
I pulled away slowly, keeping my face almost touching his, lips lingering beside his. "Did the book teach you how to do that?" I whispered.
"Hm," he smiled humming in response, through another kiss.
I had shifted now and sat straddled on top of him. I kissed him all over. His lips, his cheek, his jaw, his neck, and as I did I felt his fingertips creeping up through the bottom of my shirt, grazing my skin ever so gently.
I sat up slightly, still on top of him, and looked into his shimmering grey eyes. He twirled a piece of my hair around his fingers. Watching him now, I knew it was the right time to talk to him.
"I love you," I said. I shifted on the bed and laid stomach down next to him. He held his head up with his hand to face me better. "Can we talk about something?"
I noticed the way his light hair had fallen into his face, almost reaching his eyes when tossed to one side. "Of course love," he said, pressing a kid to my forehead. "What is it?"
I decided it was better to say it now, all at once, than to wait longer, so I just said it. "Are you a virgin?"
Thankfully, he didn't look away from me when I asked. I was afraid he might get awkward, but he didn't. Instead, he grinned at me and uttered the word I was hoping for, "yes".
I smiled nervously. "Me too," I heard my voice get quieter. "When do you think...er never mind..."
I looked at his neck and noticed the hickey I had given him and rested my hand there. He held my wrist as I did. "No, what were you going to say?"
"Um, well, just what are your thoughts?" I stammered, only looking him in the eye for a second. "About it?"
"About sex?" He questioned. He said it so openly that I giggled, he did too, at me. I looked into his eyes again.
"Yeah," I said. "Like when did your book say was the right time?" I was proud of myself for that one and started laughing with Scorpius.
"The book didn't say anything like that," he said after we stopped laughing. "But I say that the best time must be when you just know and feel that it's right."
I saw in his eyes what he mean that and I almost felt my own eyes water up. "And you're telling me that didn't come out of a book?" I joked one last time. He shook his head. "Well, I agree," I said.
"Good." He kissed me again, forcing his tongue into my mouth. This time it was filled with a new sense of passion coming from both of us. His hands grabbed what felt like every inch of me, while I felt for the spots I knew he liked. I rubbed my thumb over the back of his neck, and he held me tighter when I did.
I pulled away from him again. "Just one more question," I said. "Are you getting a feeling that you know it's right?"
"Only if you are," when he said that I thought I might melt into him, right there.
"I so wish we weren't in my cousin's bedroom right now." Was all I managed, which I knew he took as a yes, but not for this exact second.
After a little while, I had to get out of that bed before someone walked in, which I knew they eventually would. I don't know what would have happened if I decided to lie there for even two seconds longer.
I watched Scorpius get dressed, picking out a T-shirt and jeans from his trunk. He kissed me one last time before we went downstairs, telling me the three words that never seemed to get old.
Later that day, at home, I passed Hugo's room and saw him lying down on his own bed with a book.
"Hey," I said, inviting myself in. "Have you heard about this book James has? About impressing girls?"
Hugo put his book down and chuckled when I mentioned that book. "Yes, I have," he said. "He told me about it last year. Apparently, it was dad's."
"That's weird," both of us wore matching disturbed faces. I changed the subject, "Did you ever read it?"
Hugo met my eyes, he made another weird face, "No."
"Alright," I said, wondering why he all of a sudden was acting so defensive. "I was just asking."
Hugo sat up in his bed to face me better. "Rose," he looked up at me, all serious like. "I'm gay."
At first, he said it, and I didn't really know what to say. I thought about it though, and it made so much more sense. All of this time I felt like there was something missing between Hugo and me from when we were little, and now I know why. He's been keeping part of his life a secret for a while.
His eyes were wide, watching me and my reaction. I didn't do anything for a moment, and then I met his eyes and smiled. I stepped close to him and threw my arms around him. This time, he actually hugged me back.
"Thanks for telling me, Hugh," I said. I pulled away and saw that now he was smiling. I sat down next to him on the bed. "So who else knows? Lily?"
He nodded. "Just her, and you now, I guess. But I want to be the one to tell everyone else, okay?"
That was his way of telling me not to tell anyone else, which hadn't even crossed my mind. "Of course, this is your thing, not mine."
"Thanks," he said. I stayed there and talked to him for a while more. I felt like there was this heavy weight lifted from Hugo and I could see him perfectly. I asked him all kinds of questions, which I only asked because I knew he was comfortable with it by his expression.
I asked him if he had any crushes and found out that he liked the same boy that Lily had a crush on a few months ago. I also found out that he was going to come out to mum and dad after school was over this year. I told him I would be there for all of it.
***
Al's birthday was the next day. To celebrate, his family, my family, and the Johnson-Weasley family went out to celebrate with dinner. He had been begging me to have a combined birthday party with people from school on my actual birthday. I reluctantly gave in. The only thing he was nervous about though, was the fact that Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry would be home during it, which meant no alcohol. I told him that we could still have fun without alcohol, to which he said that he would find a way to hide it.
We all gave Al his birthday gifts during his actual birthday though. I had given him a jar of this hair gel I found at a wizard's grooming shop at Hogsmeade. He laughed when he opened it, but I knew that he would secretly use it. I had Scorpius as an inside view anyway.
On my own birthday, I woke up, almost jumping out of bed. The first thing I did was grab my wand. I used it to make my bed, and after I did, it was the most satisfying feeling. I can finally use magic in my own house. I only wished that I could've apparated downstairs and scared everyone, but there was still a few lessons left for that.
I wasn't that surprised to walk downstairs and find my family, plus Laura, Jenny, Scorpius, and the Potters waiting for me at the breakfast table. I suppose it was a surprise breakfast party? It doesn't really matter though, it was so kind of them. Dad made us waffles with all kinds of toppings.
Lily jumped out of her chair to hug me before anyone else could. I felt so loved I didn't know what to do with it. "Happy Birthday Rose!" She said, loudly. I hugged her back tightly.
Mum and Dad kissed me after and so did my aunt and uncle. I spotted Scorpius smiling at me from across the room. Mum sat me down at the head of the table and then everyone dug in, grabbing our food like wild animals.
Scorpius stood up with his plate, acting like he was going to get some bananas, but really it was just an excuse for him to come over and kiss me. It was a quick and respectful kiss, but it still meant a lot. I also know it would have been very different had my whole family not been right in the room with us. "Happy birthday," he said. I squeezed his hand as a thank you and then he grabbed some food and sat down.
Mum and Dad gave me my birthday present that afternoon after everyone had left and it was just us and Hugo and Laura. They gave me a nice Quidditch care package that had brand new gloves and polisher. Hugo gave me a book that I knew I would probably start reading later tonight and Laura gave me a bottle of perfume I sprayed on myself. I thanked all of them with a hug and then we started to get ready for the party later.
Laura was wearing a dress, so I figured that I should probably dress nice too. Laura helped me pick out a skirt from my closet that I hadn't worn in years. I remembered not bringing it to Hogwarts with me because I knew I wouldn't wear it. It was loose and had a flower pattern all over. I also threw on a white tank top with a denim jacket.
"You look nice," I told Laura, watching her still getting ready and doing her hair. She didn't do much more than brushing it, but her wavy, long, locks didn't even look natural.
"Thanks," she smiled. "Are you excited about this party?"
I shrugged. "I guess." I was really just doing this for Al. He and James love parties and celebrating anything whenever they had the chance. I admired their passion for making most of the small stuff, I'm not much of a party planner. I'd rather let them take the lead and just go along for the ride. "What about you?" I asked Laura.
She shrugged too, with a similar attitude toward mine. "I'm nervous," she admitted. "It's still uncomfortable to be around James, you know?"
"Well, at least there will be a lot of people there, you'll be caught up in the crowd," I said. "You might not even see him."
She just shrugged again. We left around six with Hugo and flooed to Godric's Hollow for the third day in a row this week. We were very early, no one had arrived yet, besides everyone who lived here or was staying here.
Everyone was all dressed up though. I saw Jenny first, she too, was dressed for spring, wearing a flowy romper with long sleeves. "Hey!" She perked up when she saw us. "James and Al have been planning this thing non-stop for the past few days. You should see some of the stuff they have for later."
"Wow," I said. "I'm looking forward to it. So when is everyone coming?"
"Soon," Al said. It was obvious that he was excited, he kept pacing back and forth, jumping around the room. I was surprised that he had gelled up his hair for tonight, it looked nice. Usually, he leaves it untouched and floppy on his head, but he actually made an effort tonight. It looked like he used the birthday present I gave him.
"Aw, did you do his hair?" I leaned in to ask Jenny. She smiled and shook her head.
"No actually, that was all him." She watched Al proudly.
I sat down on the couch next to Laura. Scorpius and Lily had come downstairs now. "Where is everyone?" Lily asked, observing the empty room, which wasn't actually empty if you counted the eight of us, but we didn't matter.
Scorpius came and sat next to me, placing his arm around my shoulder and kissing me. It didn't last long though.
"Aw, birthday kiss?" Laura teased us and Scorpius pulled away, but we ignored her though.
Al turned on the music, and kept it loud. "Mum said we could do whatever we want, except drink." He said, "so if she get's mad about this, it's not my problem."
A few minutes later, Fred showed up, followed by Mike and Craig, who both awkwardly shook my hand to tell me happy birthday. More and more people showed up, some of them I wasn't even sure who they were, but the house was getting super crowded.
People started dancing and taking food from the little table that Al had set up in the kitchen. A group of people decided to go outside to hang out.
I lost Scorpius in all the mess of people, but I stuck with Laura. We were dancing with the others. My dance style was very different from hers. I liked to spin around and jump, but she liked to twist and shake and rub up against people with her hands in the air, mostly guys. And believe me, her and all of those guys were enjoying it.
I incidentally spotted James while this was happening, who, unsurprisingly, looked pissed. He was sitting on the couch with a bottle of firewhiskey, clearly not caring that his parents forbade it, and staring our way. I left Laura and walked over to him, she didn't even notice I left.
"Hey!" I yelled over the loud music. "What's got your wand in a knot?"
He made a disgusted expression and glanced up at me. It was a look that told me 'you know what I'm pissed about', so I didn't bother him about it more. But I did grab his hand and try to pull him up off the couch. He set the bottle of firewhiskey down on the side table, I grabbed it and took a sip before dragging him up.
"Come on," I said. "Have some fun."
He half smiled now. Fred had come over and pulled James away from me, but he seemed in a better mood now. I was pulled away too, when Scorpius finally found me and pulled me by the arm, into the hallway.
"Where are we going?" It was quieter over here, so I didn't have to yell too loud. He answered me with a kiss. This time, it was hard on the mouth and lasted so long I lost track of time. He held my face in his palms, along with some strangling curls and held me tightly.
When we finally broke apart, I opened my eyes, staring right into his. "Happy birthday," he whispered softly.
"Is that what that was all about?" I wondered.
He nodded with that sly grin of his. "Yes, but I have something else for you."
"Which is?"
"I'll show you later," he said. He forced his mouth onto mine and this time he grabbed my thighs, lifting me up. I held onto him, with my arms around his neck and my legs wrapped around his waist as he backed me up against the wall, all with closed eyes while we kissed.
He literally swept me off my feet. I completely forgot that we were in the middle of the hallway when I was in his arms. Then we pulled apart and I was back of my feet. Scorpius stared at me with a gleam in his eyes. His hair was a complete mess and my lipstick rubbed off all over his face, but it was the most perfect sight. He grabbed my hand and practically dragged me upstairs, all the way until we reached his and Al's room, and slammed the door shut.
"Hey, aren't my aunt and uncle up here?" I wondered.
"Oh yeah," Scorpius took out his wand and cast a silencing spell so that no one would hear us and come wandering in. "Now where were we?"
"I think we were in the middle of snogging?" I said it like a question and smiled. He chuckled too while keeping eye contact with me.
All at once, he picked me up again, like he did before and began kissing me. This time, he set me down on the desk while he stood as close as possible.
I was fully aware of his rested hand on my thigh, and how it slightly moved up my skirt. His hand now rested right above my knickers, his thumb rubbing against the front and inching down. I didn't object at all, and with my legs wrapped around him, I pushed him closer to me.
I broke away from his lips and pulled off my jacket, it seemed to be getting hotter in here by the second. Our mouths were almost touching, his breaths colliding with mine. I felt him touch me through my knickers. My eyes automatically went down and I noticed it wasn't his hand, I saw that it was the bulge from his pants instead. I gulped loudly.
"Whoa," I muttered without thinking first. "Happy birthday to me."
He let out a laugh at that. I felt my whole body turn pink, but he didn't seem to notice too much because he just kept kissing me. And kissing me all over, my neck, my ear, my shoulders. "I could kiss you forever," Scorpius whispered in between kisses.
I was undoing his buttons, one by one revealing every sliver of his chest. I loved it when he wore button-down shirts. I finally pushed his shirt to the ground seconds before pulling my own shirt over my head, flinging it to join his.
His hands had moved, now trickling up my back, where he unhooked my bra. I helped pull the straps over my arms. For a second he just stopped and stared at me, which made me blush. He then smiled and buried his face in my chest while I just laughed with amusement.
With every little touch, Scorpius sent chills down my spine and made the butterflies flutter their wings in my stomach. It was never like the nervous kind though, it was a new, beautiful feeling that I never wanted to end.
He kissed me again, all while running his hands all over my body. I had tried to do the same, my hands slowly nearing the button of his pants. I was so close, fumbling to undo the one button and push his pants to the floor when I heard a sudden scream.
Scorpius broke apart at once and looked toward the doorway, where Al and Jenny were standing, apparently not knowing at all what they had just walked into. Al was covering his eyes and gasping, while Jenny just looked almost as embarrassed as I felt. She placed a hand on Al's shoulder, trying to pull him out of the room, but he wasn't moving.
While that was happening, Scorpius jumped in front of me, blocking my bare chest with his own. I folded my arms in front of me anyway though.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Al shouted, too loudly for my liking, still with his hands covering his eyes.
"Al, come on," Jenny said. She was the only one trying to make the situation less awkward, but for some stupid reason, he wasn't budging.
"Er-" Scorpius was at a loss for words and so was I.
"On my desk?" Al remarked. "Seriously? On my desk?"
Jenny finally built up enough strength to drag Al out of the room herself. Before she left, she met my eyes as if to say 'sorry', but really I felt like I should be the one apologizing to her.
They shut the door and also hit the light switch accidentally on the way out. Scorpius went over to lock it, while I turned on the desk light, so I could see where my clothes went.
When he turned back towards me, he just had this look on his face, this fully embarrassed look that also said, 'what the fuck just happened'? I understood him a hundred percent. But I also couldn't hold back a nervous giggle. He joined in too, meeting my eyes and coming back over to me. He sat down in the desk chair that swiveled with the wheels on the bottom.
"Well," I breathed. "At least it wasn't my aunt or uncle."
Scorpius smiled. "True." He watched me as I redressed myself and frowned. "Do we have to let that stop us though?"
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Really?" I already put my bra and tank top back on, then I took a seat on his lap.
"Really," he said, holding me around the waist. "I like it when we're both topless."
I chuckled, "Of course you do."
We both just sat there for a while. I rested my head on his shoulder and he held me tightly in his arms as if I might fall if he wasn't.
"Do you think Al's mad?" I wonder.
"How can he be, it's not like we actually did anything on his desk?" Scorpius reasoned.
"And it's not like he even uses his desk anyway," I said.
"Exactly! Besides, we didn't even have sex on it."
"Nope," I smiled, watching Scorpius's eyes. "We didn't even have sex."
"You know, now that I think about it, what were they coming in here to do anyway?"
"Probably have sex," I said. Scorpius laughed and I joined him, it was hard not to join him.
"Al might be a little awkward the next few days though," he said, changing the tone.
I shrugged. "He wouldn't be himself if he wasn't."
A few minutes later, Scorpius and I went back downstairs to the party that was going on. We walked hand in hand, and thankfully, we didn't run into Al or Jenny yet. The party was still going strong down here, people were dancing like animals and standing on furniture. I spotted Fred dancing on the kitchen table with a whole crowd of people surrounding him. Oh, what aunt Ginny would do if she saw him right now.
Scorpius suggested we go outside for some fresh air and more space. There were a few people out here. A group was sitting at the patio table and playing what looked like a game of exploding snap with alcohol involved.
We went around the house to the front steps, but when we got there I saw that it was already occupied by another couple. They were snogging but broke apart when they heard us.
It was dark outside, but I could see by the porch light, that one of those two people was Laura. She looked up at me with the most alarming expression. The bloke she was with turned his head and I had absolutely no idea what to think when I saw James. I wasn't even that surprised.
"Oh," I said. "Okay, well, we were just going." I turned around with Scorpius trailing closely behind me.
"Was that James and Laura?" he whispered, not so quietly as we walked back into the backyard. I nodded. "So are they back together?"
"I don't know," I shrugged. "I guess tonight's just a night for catching people."
He chuckled and placed his arms around my waist. "I guess so."
*
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Hope you enjoyed this chapter! LOTS happened in this one and I was really excited to write all about it. I think this is the longest chapter in this story, it's over 5,000 words! Thanks for reading!