Somebody That I Use to Know

Chapter 4

London, England - Present

The shriek of a kettle woke Rose from her dream.

She rolled over in what she assumed was a bed and felt her stomach roll over with her. Her hand had fallen asleep from laying on it so she wiggled her fingers to try and wake it up. Quickly giving up on that, she rolled back over, burying her face into the pillow. It smelled like a forest and Rose felt herself relaxing with each slow inhale. That is until she registered why the scent made her feel so safe and she bolted up from the bed, losing her balance and subsequently face planting onto the floor.

"Merlin's sake" She murmured to herself, sitting up again.

"Still not a morning person, it seems." Scorpius was leaning against the door frame eating something from a bowl.

"I wonder..is your fiance' going to be upset you've slept in another man's bed or will he give you a pass, seeing as we're married and all that?"

The only thing more annoying than Scorpius' voice was the obnoxious crunching that was joined with it. Rose didn't bother to hold back her annoyance, "Do us a favor and kindly shove off."

Scorpius was laughing as he walked back towards the main room. Once he was gone, Rose sunk her head in her hands. She was a mess. Worse than that she was a mess on display. She envied Scorpius for his ability to internalize emotions, try as she might hers always ended up on her sleeve.

She heard the crack of him apparating away before making her way to the kitchen. Once there, she found Albus and Charlotte already dressed for the day. They were sipping tea, eating toast, and sharing different pages of the Prophet. Their symmetry made Rose's heart ache, but luckily her head was currently hurting worse. She slumped to the table in the same outfit she'd had on the day before - albeit a much more disheveled version.

"How is it Scorp and I go out with one of the rowdiest beaters this side of Wales and you two still manage to have a better night?"

"Better is a relative term." Rose shrugged and pushed her curls out of her face.

"Speaking of relatives," Charlotte nodded towards the folder at the other end of the table. "He still hasn't signed them has he?"

"No." Albus said flatly before taking a drink. "But he said he would if you brought them round the pitch later."

Rose scoffed and shook her head. "Course he did."

"Just do it Rosie. Be rid of him if that's what you're after." Albus didn't even have the decency to look up from his paper as he spoke.

"It's not that simple, Albus." Rose wondered if she had literal smoke billowing from her ears or if she simply felt like she did, "He knows Lily and her flavor of the week have that pitch swarming with reporters right now."

Lily had been dating the Cannon's seeker, Lysander Scamander for longer than a week, but seeing as he was the first real boyfriend the youngest Potter'd had in a couple years, Rose felt the term was still applicable. It was only a matter of time before everything fell apart.

Albus knew Scorpius was playing a game with her. He knew his friend's intentions and was sitting there sipping tea and eating toast as if none of the chaos enveloping them was his fault let alone his concern.

Rose tore the Prophet from his hand. "Why is it you're always siding with him?! You're my cousin you know."

"He got me in the divorce." Albus shrugged matter of factly.

He gave Charlotte a kiss, took a last bite of toast and was gone with a crack. Rose pinched the bridge of her nose trying to keep a level head, though all she wanted to do was jinx Albus into the next decade. She was finally feeling centered when her hangover started coming back with a vengeance.