A Forbidden Love (REMASTERED 2022)

CHAPTER 10: Remastered

A/N:
A few housekeeping things before we begin (sorry for the crummy collage): top left: Scorpius's hair color, top right: what Scorose feels like to me (if that makes sense), bottom left: the train kiss after the ring, bottom right: the ring.
Enjoy.

Rose

    Scorpius Malfoy.
    My breath was stolen from my lungs by the vision that stood in front of me. It wasn't just because he was a vision of perfection. My heart had ached for him for the entirety of two excruciating long months, never knowing, simply hoping, that he was alright. But now he stood in front of me, looking happy and healthy, a beautiful gleam as he stared down at me. And I couldn't make my lips form words. Millions of different feelings swelled up inside of me: relief, love, worry. I could feel the tension and stress lift out of my bones as I set my eyes on him, a discomfort that had plagued me all summer. I had thought of nothing but our reunion for months but now that he was in front of me, I was frozen, rooted to the spot by the wonder he was.
His eyes fixated on mine for a moment, and all I could see there was longing. They were filled with the need to go to me. He dragged his eyes away from mine reluctantly and turned to my family. He stepped into the compartment and spread his arms in a gesture towards all of us, a wide grin spreading on his face.
"Potters! Weasleys! I know how much you lot must have missed my presence throughout the holiday," he remarked with a cheeky grin, crashing down on the bench alongside Hugo and Albus. Icy looks passed over the faces of Fred and James while Hugo looked on in confusion at both of them. Albus, however, embraced Scorpius in a fierce hug, almost knocking him to the ground.
"Gave me a right scare on the Platform at the end of the last term, you did. Never want to see the likes of that again, mate," Albus chuckled, punching him playfully in the arm. I made a sound of agreement in the back of my throat, still having a hard time grasping the reality that Scorpius was finally with me again. Scorpius's eyes met mine and a moment of understanding passed between us: "Talk soon." I gave the slightest nod and remained quiet. If I opened my mouth, everything I had been dying to ask and tell Scorpius might just fly freely. He cleared his throat and smiled at all of us.
"Yes, well. Not to worry. Everything worked itself out. Won't bore you with the details but I'm alright. Perfectly fine, mate," he told Albus but his gaze held mine with this sentence, letting me know the reassurance was meant for me.
"'Course you're fine. But what about Pius Lynch, hmm? What about his parents? Don't suppose dear old dad had something to do with those vampire attacks, do you?" James snapped suddenly at Scorpius, bitterness over taking his tone. I snapped my head up to scowl at him. He had voiced his opinions about the Malfoys all summer, claiming that the argument on the platform must have had something to do with the attacks. He'd convinced Fred of it too, that Scorpius's father and grandfather had set the vampires loose on the train and had kidnapped Pius in the process. Of course, Albus and I had tried to debunk their notions. I asked the obvious questions like why Lucius Malfoy would have set vampires on the Hogwarts Express, to begin with, especially with his grandson on the train. How would the Malfoy's even manage to bewitch the vampires to do their bidding? James had waved off my questions, saying, "It's simply too much of a coincidence that the whole lot of them got into such an argument right after the attack. Probably upset it didn't go their way." James and Fred had never been very fond of Scorpius, with everything that had happened with me and him in the past three years but they tolerated him. With the vampire attack coming into play, James was sure that Scorpius and his family had something to do with it. It didn't help that Dad agreed with him, claiming that the Malfoys were up to no good.
    "What exactly are you accusing me of, Potter?" Scorpius said in a low voice.
    James barred his teeth at him, "I think your father, grandfather, who the bloody hell ever, was behind that attack on the train. And I think you lot have got Lynch stowed away in your basement like some creepy hostage. That true?" Albus gasped, his gaze flashing between Scorpius and James, unsure of what was to come. Fred leaned back with his arms crossed over his chest beside James, an obvious sign he was with his cousin. My mouth was ajar at the terrible accusations that had been made towards Scorpius so blatantly, with all but no proof. Scorpius stood up slowly, a menacing look crossing over his features.
    "If you must know, Potter, and you too Weasley, you've been eyeing me since I set foot in here, I was thrown out of my house when I was apparated off of the Platform. My grandfather and father saw me hug Rose after we said our goodbyes for the holiday and started a bloody argument about it. He called your cousin a mudblood and that's when I advanced on him and my father apparated us away. We got to the house and I refused to say a negative word against the Weasleys or the Potters and I wouldn't apologize toy grandfather. So, My grandfather threw me out. And if you're wondering why my father didn't stop him, it's because he's flat broke and my grandfather controls all of our money. So I left and fled to Cheyanne's house. I've been living there ever since and it's the first time I've felt as though I had a real family, a family that cares for me. So if either of them had anything to do with that attack or Pius Lynch, I know nothing of it. But hey, that's how my holiday went. How was yours?" Scorpius spat, his fists clenched at his sides. With that, he spun around and disappeared out of the compartment doors.
    I stared after him, feeling sick to my stomach, digesting everything I had just heard. After a moment, I cursed myself for not speaking up and defending Scorpius while he was in front of me and I leaped to my feet furiously. Albus followed suit, giving Fred and James deathly glares.
    "I suppose you're happy," I said in a mockingly sweet tone. "You've figured it out! It was Scorpius all along, big bad Scorpius who got thrown out of his bloody house defending our family names. Scorpius Malfoy, who raised his wand to his own grandfather to defend my name. Yes, I'm sure that's who kidnapped Pius, you surely have cracked the case, James."
    "Blimey, Rose...," Fred started, but I cut him off.
    "No! You two have been unmanageable all holiday, claiming he was behind such a terrible thing. When all along, he had been defending us," I shook my head in disbelief and laughed without humor.
    "You know...the first thing he wanted to do when he got to this Platform was to come and see us? To see his friends, and even though you lot never cared for him much, I think he was happy to see you too," Albus muttered before slipping out of the compartment door. I took a step back as James tried to reach out to me, a solemn expression on his face.
    "When you're ready to apologize to him, for making him blurt his business to the entire compartment, you come talk to me," I told him before following Albus down the corridor in search of Scorpius. I was aware that I had called Scorpius by his first name multiple times in my rant and that my cousins and brother would probably be more suspicious of our relationship than ever before. But I didn't care. All I wanted was to find him and apologize to him. For not defending him properly, for not chasing after him. He would've done it for me without hesitation.
    I had let him down.