Twists of Fate

Chapter 16: Future Orientation

For the week following the quidditch match, Scorpius was extremely busy. He went to work, socialized with his parents, caught up with old friends, and spent a lot of time doing the revision work Rose assigned. They'd had two more sessions since then, each tougher than the last. The one thing that kept him practicing, was seeing how pleased Rose was every time he quickly mastered a spell. He'd gone through her plans so fast that she'd agreed to spend their third class of the week looking for homes.

She'd arrived at his office bright and early that morning, dressed completely in some muggle clothing he bought for her. A simple pair of jean shorts and a long sleeve off the shoulder white top (he thought it would look good on her) and he was right. She looked great.

"Are you sure this is the type of things muggles would wear?" Rose asked, yanking at the flapping sleeves. Scorpius laughed and reassured her. He was dressed in his favorite pair of cargo shorts and a pink t-shirt. Rose stared at him doubtfully and wasn't certain of their clothing choice until they toured the first house and ran into a woman wearing a similar shirt to hers. Only then did she finally relax.

So far they'd gone through three houses, each worse than the last. The first house was a one-bedroom with a broken bathroom sink and carpet in the kitchen. The second home was in a sketchy neighborhood. One neighbor was outside decked out in just a bathrobe and flashed a grin at Scorpius, showing off a single tooth in the middle of his mouth. The house itself was rundown and looked as if it had seen better days. The third one, which they were touring now, was an awful combination of the past two.

"What kind of flooring is this?" Scorp asked disgusted, as he toed the stained carpet and shot the realtor, Dwight, a skeptic look.

Seeing how unhappy his client looked, Dwight launched into a long-winded explanation, defending the carpet, saying that it showed character rather than overuse. Dwight shot a charming smile over his shoulder to make sure that they were buying what he was trying to sell.

Scorp pretended to listen, adding a few nods to encourage Dwight further. This seemed to satisfy Dwight, who turned back around and began walking into the kitchen. Scorp made to follow, but Rose held him back.

Dropping her head onto Scorp's arm, she groaned, "He is completely incompetent."

Scorp sighed and turned towards her. He completely agreed with her but he was beginning to feel guilty for how rude he was acting towards Dwight. The man was only trying to help him, even if he was terrible at his job. "He is doing his best."

Rose eyed him skeptically, before shaking her head in amusement, "You are way too nice sometimes."

"Hey!" Scorp began to argue, but Rose placed a hand over his mouth and ushered him out the door, trying to suppress her giggles as she did so. "What are you doing?" He demanded in a harsh whisper. Rose didn't falter and let out a little giggle. Not being able to resist the excited gleam in her eyes he followed along, releasing a light laugh, as the guilt quickly subsided in him. This was a side of Rose he hadn't seen in a long time. Usually, he was the one who had to coax her into a daring adventure. She planned everything out and stuck to a tight schedule. He went on impulses and lived more in the moment. They differed like that but somehow it worked for them. Still, it was kind of nice to see the roles reversed.

"We are going house hunting by ourselves," Rose explained, checking to see if Dwight had run out to follow them. Seeing nothing, she continued. "We passed a house a few blocks down with one of those for sale signs in the yard. It looked like a nice house, so I say we go check it out."

"Can we even do that?"

"I don't see why not."

Scorp didn't argue and instead offered Rose his arm, which she took gingerly. With a skip in their step, the two strolled down the street making idle chit-chat. Scorp couldn't contain his small grin as they walked side by side. It was just so natural; them being together.