More than anything else at the moment, Scorpius Malfoy wished his best mate would stop snogging Ciera McLaggen, or at least get a room where he didn't have to watch. Not only had the constant sight churned his stomach, forcing him to reject the trolley witch's offer of chocolate frogs he'd usually snatch up in an instant. The sound, too, made him wish for a reverse Extendable Ear, some way to mute the cart: a steady, almost-rythmic smack-suck-smack.
Bloody animals, he thought, unable to peel his gaze from the two. He wondered how they could even breathe at this point-or perhaps one of them had cast a spell so they wouldn't have to.
Yes, he was happy for Albus, who had started dating their fellow Slytherin Ciera right at the end of their fifth year, but sometimes that happiness dissipated with the realization that any girl, when offered the choice between a Potter or a Malfoy-even the black sheep of the Potter family-would choose the former in a heartbeat. It wasn't like he'd fancied Ciera; before Albus had mentioned her, Scorpius hadn't even known her last name, and he'd always gotten her confused with one of the other Slytherin girls. Still, he hated watching from the sidelines while Albus-and, it seemed, nearly everyone else-played the game.
Scorpius rose to his feet, mumbling an excuse about finding the Prefects' compartment, though he doubted Albus even heard him. He'd wanted to sit with Albus like they had every year on the Hogwarts Express, but clearly Albus had other ideas. He'd never seen the Prefects' car, anyway, and he had to admit he was curious.
After trudging through three more half-filled train cars, some of which included even more snogging students, Scorpius found it-and inside, a sight that at first appeased his anxiety, only to spike it again.
"Rose," he said, offering a polite nod in the Gryffindor's direction.
As expected, she either didn't hear him or pretended not to.
In truth, Scorpius was a bit surprised not to find her with some guy herself, probably one she knew her parents would disapprove. For as long as he or Albus or any student could remember, Rose Granger-Weasley had been determined to do just that. He wasn't sure why; he'd asked Albus about it once, and Albus had said it was something about how she hated recognition for being both the Minister's daughter, not to mention the fact that the Wizarding World held both of her parents in high regard after the Second Wizarding War.
When she'd arrived at Hogwarts, Scorpius figured the professors had expected someone composed and dedicated, like Hermione Granger, perhaps with a slight flair of her father's troublemaking tendencies. And it was true that Rose cared for her studies; everyone knew she'd been the only student to recieve all O's and one E on her O.W.L.'s the previous year. Still, she, like Albus and Scorpius, resented her legacy, wanting to set a reputation for herself rather than having to live up to someone else's. As a result, she'd taken a liking to boys, any who might offer her ten minutes of his time-any, it seemed, except Scorpius.
"Aren't you supposed to be with my cousin?" Rose's voice jolted him from his thoughts. At first, Scorpius hadn't been sure she was addressing him, but the rest of the car's occupants had dispersed into separate compartments, probably in search of friends they hadn't seen all summer.
"He's, er, a bit preoccupied," Scorpius said, unsure if he should delve further into Albus' personal affairs.
"He's been preoccupied all summer." Rose rolled her eyes. "Ruddy McLaggen. Honestly, I don't know what he could possibly see in her."
Scorpius shrugged, then instantly regretted the motion. Here Rose Weasley was finally acknowledging his existence-and, so far, without any down-putting remarks. He had to keep the conversation up for as long as she'd allow. "From what I've seen and heard, I think it's got a fair amount to do with the snogging."
Rose just blinked at him. "Snogging's overrated," she said-something Scorpius never would have expected to hear from anyone, let alone Rose.
"Really?" Again, he cursed himself for the response, but Rose had already continued the conversation.
"Mostly, anyway. Half the time, you end up with some random guy's saliva dripping down your chin. And the other half, you end up with bruises in places you wouldn't want them-places too noticeable, I mean." He tried not to notice the way she traced her lilac-painted fingernails over the pulse point in her neck.
Scorpius didn't know what else to say. Surely this was the longest conversation he'd ever had with Rose before she'd spat some snarky comment in his direction, and he didn't want to tarnish the moment. "It must be alright, though," he said, "because everyone our age is doing it."
"Yeah, well, when our parents were our age, everyone was out trying to kill each other, and Merlin knows that did us all a fat lot of good." After a moment, his words seemed to register with her, because something lit in her gaze. "Hang on-it must be alright? You mean you've never...?" her voice trailed off, and Scorpius realized she wasn't going to finish the question, so he shook his head.
"Not really. I guess Albus has always been favorable amongst the girls. And even some guys," he said, remembering an incident the previous year. "Not that I care about the guys," he added, "Not that there's anything wrong with guys who-er-" Scorpius noticed Rose giggling and restarted his statement. "What I mean is, I'm not interested in guys. But of course, you knew that. Right?" Dear Merlin, he thought, this is a trainwreck."Complete shocker to me," Rose said with yet another eyeroll.
Scorpius felt some of the tension melt from his shoulders. At least that was on the table. Now if only he could somehow slip into the conversation that, while he'd never dated any girls, he did fancy one in particular...
"We're almost to Hogwarts," Rose said. "You'd better get your robes, then."
Scorpius had completely forgotten about his robes. In fact, in the midst of talking to Rose, he'd completely forgotten everything, including their destination itself. "Er-right," he said, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Of course it wouldn't last forever. "I'll see you around, then?" Their gazes met, and he hoped with all his heart that maybe she'd say yes.
But the door to the compartment swung open, and three other Prefects poured in. Rose averted her stare to her bag, and Scorpius watched in confusion while she pretended to search for something. After another hopeful moment's hesitation, he took several cautionary steps back, not peeling his gaze from the sight of her until he had to turn and open the door, head to his own compartment.
What was that? He wondered while he made his way through the cars between the Prefects' and the one in which he'd left Albus and Ciera. But before he could reflect on his prolonged conversation with Rose and its abrupt halt, he found Albus staring at him.
"Where were you? You totally ditched me!"
Scorpius caught sight of the cherry-red lipstick smear on Albus' upper lip and realized that perhaps there was another reason Rose was right in her statement earlier; at least he didn't have to check a mirror every five minutes.
"Sorry, mate. You seemed busy." Scorpius grinned, pointing to his own upper lip. "And by the way, you've got a little...something."
"Oh, I got something, alright," Albus said, looking smug, wiping his face on the corner of his robes.
Scorpius rolled his eyes, taking his seat across from Albus. "Whatever. While you were busy 'getting something,' as you so delicately put it, you're not going to believe what happened to me..."