I dedicate this chapter to the one who.... sort of continuosly asked me to upload this not so well-off story. hehehe..

And now, folks, I bring you.... the finale.

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Chapter Twenty-One

While the others murmured to each other, Scorpius was watching Rose. She was pouring the Veritaserum on the empty bottle that she took.

Wha-? What in Merlin's moldy socks is she doing? thought Scorpius. Or rather, what is she up to? If she was going to sneak away the potion, she could've been a little bit more stealthy about it. Maybe this is her first time doing something like this. Well, it doesn't really surprise me.

Then, he caught Damon's eye. He was also looking. He's quite observant, Damon. That's one of the many things why he and Scorpius get along so well. Damon raised his hand slightly and pointed his forefinger at Rose, while he raised an eyebrow at Scorpius questioningly. Scorpius turned to Rose, and then back at Damon. He shrugged.

Scorpius was about to ask Rose when she spoke, "This isn't over...You may be so cunning to get yourself out of whatever situation that comes your way, but with this one, I'm one step ahead of you...Or maybe behind. Either way, for once you will finally get what you rightfully deserve."

Scorpius just raised an eyebrow. Huh. So she is up to something. But... Scorpius has a nasty feeling about this. The wound is still fresh in the gang's mind. If Rose succeeds in whatever she's planning, that might push them over the edge. They're too flamed by what that idiot Potter did this morning. There's no need for Rose to add the fire. She'll be putting herself in danger. If this is going to be her first time taking revenge, she won't help but be reckless. No matter how brilliant she is. The gang's an expert on being even. And in their vocabulary, being even means getting the last say -- or in their case, casting the last curse. If Rose continues with whatever her plan is, the boys won't rest until they get even. When that time comes, Scorpius doesn't know if he'll be able to protect Rose anymore.

No. He won't let that happen. He won't let her be in danger -- needless to say, his friends are the danger to her. But only if she succeeds. Scorpius can't take the chance. He can't risk her being in danger. Not all the time can he protect her from his friends. So he'll just prevent whatever she's planning.

I'm sorry, Rose, my love, thought Scorpius. But I'll do whatever I can to protect you -- especially from my friends.

He looked at Damon when Rose turned her back. He made a simple sign language that says, "Switching spell." Damon nodded, he summoned an identical bottle with only water in it and with a flick of his wand, the tiny bottle in his hand just vanished and was replaced by a reappearing one. They switched places without even moving.

"Excellent," mumbled Scorpius indifferently, looking away. He wasn't in the mood anymore. How could he not, when the only girl that he could possibly love was walking away, slipping from his hands? More importantly, he was a royal prat towards her.

"Shall we go to the hide-out, then?" asked Zabini. "I can't wait to make some plan to get back at Potter."

"Are you mad? It's broad-daylight, mate," said Lestrange incredulously. "Let's just go to the common room. I'm quite sure the other students are already attending their classes. Let's eat there. By the way, where do you recon the dragon came from?"

"I have a pretty good guess," answered Damon, grinning.

"Let us go and plan ahead," insisted Zabini. "The others are probably on their way there now."

"There'll be no planning," Scorpius suddenly said. He looked quite serious. He pointed his wand toward the door and whispered, "Muffliato!" Then he turned back to the others. "See what I kept telling you? They're just a bother. They're not worth the trouble." He stood up from his seat and looked at them straight in the eye. "After Damon and I get cleared from the accusations, I want nothing to do with their lot anymore. And I want each and every one of you to do the same. Go ahead and hex anyone you want. But not them. Pass that message to the three who aren't here." He pinched his nose in frustration of the trouble they're in. After he's fully calmed down, he ruffled his hair. "Let's go to the common room and eat. I'm going to skip a couple of periods. What about you boys?"

The others sneered after being frozen from Scorpius' seriousness.

"Do you really feel the need to ask that last question?" asked Damon, with a raised eyebrow. He started walking toward the door.

"Not really," answered Scorpius truthfully, walking ahead.

Scorpius may appear calm and collected as he usually does. But in all honesty, his mind is filled with Rose Weasley as they went to the Slytherin common room.

* * * * *

Rose and Al eventually made it back to the Gryffindor Common Room, Al still in his honest state. Avoiding any contact with the others in the room, Rose guided Al up to the Boy's Dormitory which was, luckily, empty.

Rose gently pushed Al onto his bed and conjured up a glass of water, which she thrust into his empty hands.

"Drink, it will help empty your system of the potion," Rose muttered as she made her way over to the window. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to calm her nerves.

Why did Al have to go mess around with them? Why did Scorpius act like such a prat? If only nothing had happened, she really didn't want to bring down Scorpius and his friends. But his insults had a greater effect on her. He may have been insulting her family and not her, but to insult her family was truly turning on her. Rose honestly knew that she had to side with her family, but at the same time all she wanted was to see the Scorpius she had seen in the Room of Requirement. But that was obviously long gone, and after Scorpius and his crew were caught she doubted he would ever make a return. But she couldn't let him walk around acting like he knew everything and was so much clever than everyone else.

* * * * *

Scorpius and the others hanged around the Slytherin Common room, eating their breakfast there. After having a serious talk about the events earlier in the morning, they finally laughed it off because of the dragon. It was a real dragon, by the way.

"Oy, Scorp," Nott called over from the other side of the room. "You owe me a Nimbus 9000."

"For getting the dragon?" asked Scorpius.

"No," answered Nott, as he starts to grin, "for losing a pet dragon."

The others laughed, but then stopped when they realized her was serious. They stared at him.

"Nott, that was your pet?" asked Goyle incredulously. "Since did you get yourself a pet dragon?"

Goyle was doing fine now. Madam Pomfrey already stopped the bleeding from his ears. Although, he was raging mad when he entered the common room an hour ago, he cooled off after seeing Scorpius' angrier face.

"I found an egg in the dark forest just last year," shrugged Nott, as if it's not a big deal.

"How did you even-"

"Patience, mate," Nott interrupted.

"Good thing he didn't decide to bite your big head off," laughed Marcus.

"The dragon must have smelled that there's no brain in it," said Zabini.

They all laughed. Scorpius only laughed halfheartedly. He was still thinking about Rose Weasley. Was there really no way for them to be together without any hindrances from their family and friends? But Scorpius seriously doubted if Rose still wanted the same thing after the way he acted to her and her cousin.

Scorpius gritted his teeth. Of all the people to fall for, why in the world did it have to be a Weasley? His heart must be damaged or something. Everything about Rose Weasley seemed wrong for him; her house, family, associates, and blood status. She's not even his type.... And yet, she's the one he's falling for. There must a good reason behind it, why fate chose Rose Weasley for him. Is it because he liked the challenge? But he certainly doesn't like the complications now.

Man, who knew falling in love was so molding hard? thought Scorpius. Then again, maybe it isn't. Maybe it's only hard for me because I'm falling for the enemy..

Or maybe fate have grand plans for Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley's story.. Of course, this is all just maybe.

* * * * *

Al slowly began to feel his own control come back to him with each sip of water; he had only taken a little bit of the potion anyways. He sat glaring into the cup, fuming with the prospect that Malfoy had gotten away with something yet again. And he still didn't have the cloak either. Al stood and chucked the cup at the wall where it shattered into tiny porcelain pieces. He felt as though every inch of himself was on fire and was white hot. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he paced back and forth. His entire family and his father, who was Harry bleeding Potter, were surely going to seriously maim him.

The sound of shattering porcelain broke Rose from her thoughts and she turned around to notice the broken pieces scattering the floor. She herself felt a slight burst of anger towards her cousin. If it weren't for him, none of this would have happened. The cloak would still be in their possession and the whole fight with Scorpius wouldn't have happened. Rose found she could no longer hold her tongue of her thoughts. She had reamed Scorpius a new one, and now it was Al's turn.

"Why do you have such a hot head? I mean, you just had to jump to conclusions and attack the Slytherins when you know they would get away with it! And to take the cloak with you! Oh, you're dad is going to skin you alive, Al. And you know, you just may have started a whole new House war again!" she said, her voice gradually getting louder.

Al glared up at his cousin when she spoke. Didn't she already know he knew how much trouble he was already in and this wasn't something he could win? Who was she, his mother?

"Oh, and you have no blame for this little new war, hmm? Bringing up Malfoy's Death Eater family and calling him out on every little thing? You are just as much to blame for this thing as I am. You didn't have to come to my rescue, you only made the situation worse!" Al bellowed, waving his arms wildly.

Rose and Al stood across from each other; almost a type of electrical energy seemed to be rolling off of the pair.

"Excuse me? I wasn't the one dangling upside down about to get the snot hexed out of me," she said, sarcastically.

"No, you just aggravated Malfoy even more. I could have handled it all on my own without you. You think everyone needs your help, but we really don't even need you!" Al shouted at Rose before he could stop himself. The words hit her like a ton of bricks. She gained her composure as she started for the door.

"Fine then, good luck getting the cloak back."

And with that, she was gone. She and Al never fought and his words had cut through her like knives. Rose had to get away and the only place she knew where people wouldn't disturb her was the Room. There was a chance Scorpius would find her, but she doubted he would show his face around there again.

* * * * *

Scorpius got easily bored in History of Magic, as he always does. He doesn't really have any patience in Binns' talk. He doesn't even know how he passed the subject since his first year. So to spare the boring hour listening to the most boring class ever, he just played with his snitch. Binns don't notice it at all.

In fact, no one was listening. Everybody was talking about the dragon that suddenly showed out of nowhere. It took all of the other guys' power not to snigger. But that didn't stop them from smirking. Scorpius didn't bother. He wasn't in the mood to be triumphant about anything. He's sure he had lost the girl whom he was quite crazy about. What's there to be joyful?

At last, the bell rang. Scorpius and the boys took their time as they went to the Great Hall to have some lunch. They can hear the noise from the Great Hall as they neared, but the moment they entered, there's a loud silence that came over them all for a brief few seconds. And then, they murmurings began again as though the silence didn't happen. But Scorpius isn't an idiot. It's pretty obvious that the people already knew what happened this morning in the Dungeons. Apparently, they're done talking about it, too, because they're too engrossed about the lost dragon. It seemed an unusual event for them to witness something like that here at Hogwarts.

"It looks like the dragon survived tons of spells," said Zabini, as they took their seats at the Slytherin table. "And it's sent to Romania. The people from the Ministry of Magic's Care for Magical Creatures arrived an hour ago and took away the dragon."

Scorpius looked at Zabini, and raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't Hermione Weasley somehow connected to that department?" he asked innocently. Scorpius can feel Damon's eyes turn to him.

"I think so, yeah," answered Zabini dully.

"Why d'you ask?" inquired Goyle.

"Just thinking of complications," shrugged Scorpius, starting to eat, as if saying that the matter is closed and ask no more questions.

Complications... For Rose Weasley and I.. thought Scorpius. Then again, I don't think there's still an 'us' anymore...

* * * * *

Rose burst through the doors of the Room, her hair flying wildly behind her. She felt the hot tears stream at her eyes, threatening to fall. No, Rose Weasley would not cry over some blonde prat or a petty argument she had with her cousin.

We don't need you. The words replayed over and over in her mind as she hastily wiped at her watery eyes.

Rose paced back and forth, twirling her hair hastily as she walked. She glanced at her watch on her wrist and gave a cry. She had missed History of Magic due to her own frenzy. She had never skipped a class before, she felt as though she couldn't afford to miss a class. Rose let her initial panic ebb away, but her anger prevailed as she continued to walk about, this time twiddling her wand between her fingers. Without knowing it, her magic let slip and a few books tumbled to the floor where she left them, not caring.

Rose eventually calmed down a bit and sunk into the nearest armchair, her head resting in her hands.

What happened? Why did all this have to happen? I feel so vulnerable. I let Malfoy in, and this is what I get? Why do loving him have to be so bloody hard? Are we really just not meant to be?

Out of nowhere, an owl came to her side bearing a letter that will change her life . . . maybe for the better.

* * * * *

Scorpius waited for Rose to show up at dinner, but she didn't.

So much has happened in a short matter of time and so many emotions that are accompanied by complications. If only his surname was different. If only his father has a different past. Maybe only then can he have a happy ending with Rose. Maybe only then can he live happily with the one he loves. But no . . . He's born a Malfoy, enemy to the Weasleys. He cannot help but think that their situation is too childish. How can quarrels from the past catch up to them? There must really be no future for him and Rose. He must put a stop to his delusions. Love had made him believe in such far-fetched dreams.

He stood up.

The gang looked at him.

"Where are you going?" asked Goyle, his eyes widening from Scorpius' face to his food. "You haven't finished eating."

Scorpius was simply not in the mood. He tiredly looked at Goyle and answered, "I lost my appetite. I'm going first. Don't bother following me."

With that, he left the Great Hall, trying not to look at Damon. He stopped at the top of the stairs that leads down to the dungeons. He sighed, and walked the other direction. He just kept walking. He didn't notice that his feet took him to the seventh floor, in front of the Room of Requirement. He silently stared at the wall. He cautiously looked around before taking a step forward.

He raised his hand and touched the wall. He remembered the sweet afternoon that he and Rose shared yesterday. It felt like a lifetime ago. He's well aware that that won't happen again. Not after this morning. Wow. It was just this morning, eh?

Scorpius took one last look at the wall, and left for the Astronomy Tower. He felt like gazing at the stars. Just moments after he reached the tower, Salazar -- his owl -- came to him. Scorpius stroked Salazar's head. Salazar purred. Scorpius smiled a little. Then, he looked up at the stars. He didn't believe in ridiculous things as reincarnations. But... if there was one, he hoped that he and Rose would be together, if not this lifetime then, in their next life.

"Salazar, go to my chamber and get me a parchment," he whispered to his owl. Salazar instantly flew away.

Scorpius patiently waited. In a matter of minutes, Salazar came back. Scorpius took out a quill from his robes. He started writing,

Dear Rose,

You must hate me now, as you always did. As much as I hate to say the next words, I shall endure it for your sake as well as mine. It’s better for us to forget the events of the one sweet afternoon. It seems so surreal now. It doesn’t do any good. I think it just worsens our places. Your family, my family and friends… We can’t sacrifice them for our happiness. I’m aware of that. This is farewell to us, love. But remember this: Even though I know that it's wrong for me to love you, that it's wrong for me to crave for your gentle touch, and that it's wrong for me to long for your kiss, I cannot help myself to do such things. Because for me, you're the right kind of wrong.

S. H. M.

As he tied the scroll to Salazar's leg, he said, "Take this to Rose Weasley. Be sure that she receives it." He smiled a sad smile. "Thank you, mate," he gently scratched Salazar's wings.

The owl flew away, taking Scorpius' feelings for Rose away. He absent-mindedly curled his hands into fists.

It's time to end this ridiculous dreaming, he thought. This is my farewell... Our love just wasn't meant to be.

End

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:'(

I feel so sad. I love happy endings and yet I can't give this a decent one. This will be the ONLY time that I will write without a happy ending -- that I can promise you guys. Oh, man. I really really feel bad about not making this into a happy ending. BUT some stories just come to an end. I write based on the flow of the story, if I force it into something I want rather than it needs, it will suck. And this story is telling me that it's the end, that they're really just not meant to be. Some love is like that. Even though you love each other, it just isn't enough.

I guess some loves out are the same . . . it's just not meant to be.. :(

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