Author's Note: This is a ScorpiusxRose oneshot and how their eye contact across the room gave comfort to each other. If there's anything wrong with the grammar, please do tell me! :) Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Anything that is not familiar is mine! Anything that is familiar belongs to J.K. Rowling and to someone else!
Hear Me Out
"Ms. Weasley, would you like to tell the Tale of the Three Brothers?" Professor Chang said, her eyeglasses set on the bridge of her nose, and her hair pinned into curls at the top of her head. She noticed Rose in the corner of her eye with a dazed expression. Again.
With a sigh, Rose stood up reluctantly. She was lucky she was on her mild state of daydreaming, or else she wouldn't hear her teacher calling for her.
Couldn't she call someone who everyone actually listens to? Someone who knows how to attract attention?
"Um… It's alright…" Rose muttered awkwardly as she picked her book up and turned to page 625— the not-so-Tale of the Three Brothers. "I guess…"
Of course, Rose knew about the story already. Not only was she accustomed to hearing the story throughout her whole existence, but her uncle was the infamous Harry Potter, and her parents only happened to be Harry Potter's best mates.
She scanned through the whole classroom. Her classmates were very attentive, but Merlin forbade her to say this, they had the attention span of a pixie.
So, instead of feeling sorry for herself, she half-heartedly started reading the story.
"There were once three brothers who were travelling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, the brothers reached a river, too deep to wade through, and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands, and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water." Rose read, her voice resounding clearly, bouncing and echoing across the room. Everyone had gone quiet, interested in the story since they remembered it as a story their parents and their great grandparents told them. "They were halfway across it, when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure, and it was Death. He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travelers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned a prize for being clever enough to evade him."
By this time, the students started flipping the pages of their book to read it among themselves. Rose was grateful for this, because that would mean that the attention would shift to the books, instead.
"So, the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence. A wand that must always win battles for its owner. A wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death. So, Death had crossed to an Elder Tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that had hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother."
Rose looked up, and saw her teacher reading through what looked like a Quidditch magazine. Her classmates were either whispering to one another to reading through the story.
Annoyed because of the attitudes of her teacher and classmates, she continued reading, her voice sounded more forced than she intended.
Can't these people listen to me for once? Merlin, I'm not even telling the story of my life, yet, and here they are, ignoring the reason of this all! Agrippa! And, for Merlin's sake, even the teacher isn't listening! These people!
Clearing her throat, she was slightly satisfied when Ms. Chang looked up and shushed the class. The professor reprimanded the students to listen to Rose, or read the book.
She, then, gestured at Rose to continue. This went on for a few minutes. The professor would shush everyone and reprimand them to pay attention, but she would read the magazine like a hypocrite that she was. Rose mentally screamed at everyone to listen to her.
If only Albus is here!
Albus— her favorite cousin— was in the Infirmary, right at that second, healing his second- degree burn. He got the injury because of his housemates bullying him, and he ended up with a burning potion spilled all over his right arm.
To everyone's surprise, Albus was in Slytherin. Rose was slightly shocked with the information, but she accepted it faster than anyone, because she realized that he was really a Slytherin, in and out.
But, really, he was a good Slytherin.
He wasn't the stereotypical Slytherin— the one who hated the Gryffindors, the one who was a cunning man who cheated on everything.
If he wasn't all what Rose thought, then what was he?
Simple!
He was the kindest person anyone could ever ask for. And, because of that, he guilt- trips everyone. (That's the nicest anyone can ask for when someone's in Slytherin.) He would make a person guilty simply through his impeccable 'innocent' charms.
And, because of all this thinking, Rose missed Albus more.
I. Hate. Them. Why aren't they listening!?
If Rose wasn't reading, she would've smacked herself right on the head.
Stop thinking like that, Rose. Maybe they have enough stress on their shoulders. That's right. These people need to release their stress through whatever they are doing now.
With a sigh of defeat, she accepted it. Nobody would ever really listen to her.
"But though Death searched for the third brother for many years, he was never able to find him. It was only when he had attained a great age that the youngest brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility, and gave it to his son." She read.
She didn't glance up, again. Merlin, she never really felt so invisible in her entire life. Except when there were activities like these that required standing in front of a classroom.
"And then, he greeted Death as an old friend, went with him gladly, and, as equals, they departed this life." Finished. Fin. The End. How was she going to end this without anyone noticing that she was done?
She looked up, and swore.
The teacher was absent-mindedly still reading the Quidditch magazine. Everyone was doing his or her own business. Some are chatting, the others were reading, and the rest were doing whatever they are doing.
It was fascinating to the extent that she wanted to hate everyone. If that ever made sense, really.
Except for… one.
Scorpius Malfoy was always a mystery to Rose Weasley. They were paired once with each other to work on a Potions project and he was a huge pile of confusion. He was talking, and yet he was just so silent. He did well with data, but he wasn't a fan of it. Actually, he was a big fan of freedom, and of arts (That she observed) and everything that didn't have anything related to data.
And yet, he was the one computing when they were having Arithmancy project together.
He was such a control freak. An extrovert and an introvert at the same time. He was a great leader, but he didn't really want to be a leader.
But, there was one thing that she figured out.
He was different, and whether he liked it or not, he was the only one listening.
Just like what he was doing right now. Listening.
He was sitting at the back of the class, and she was in front, a book in her hands.
Everything was a blur around them as he smiled at her, a heart-stopping, caring, I-am-listening-to-you smile that made her want to kiss him right on his lips and hug him and do ice skating with him. (She didn't really know where the ice-skating part came from) And she was there, giving back a Thank-you, Please-marry-me, I-love-you, You're-handsome, kind of smile that totally smitten the butter out of him.
Not that they wanted to say those to each other— but, right in that moment, they were all that really matter.
And, that they weren't invisible in the middle of a busy, nonsense, meaningful and tiring world.
