AN: I hate typing stories up where anybody can look over my shoulder and read what's on the screen. It's embarrassing. The things I do for the love of writing. Scorpius/Rose (who don't belong to me). Prompt 74 - "Are you challenging me?"

On the face of it, the two teens were destined to be rivals from the day they set foot on the Hogwarts Express. Ronald Weasley's parting words to his daughter had been "make sure you beat him", and no doubt Draco Malfoy had said something similar to his son. Rose and Scorpius had soon worked out that they were evenly matched in just about everything from Potions to Transfiguration to Quidditch, and then decided that breaking all the rules by being friends sounded like a lot more fun. That's how it had remained until last year at the Valentine's Day ball, when they'd accidentally ingested a lust potion. The potion had worn off after a few hours, but its effect on their relationship hadn't. The news of their romance had caused uproar, both in school and at home, but they'd survived it.

It was the end of their seventh year, and they were flying round the grounds, having sat their final NEWT exam earlier that day.

"Race you to the lake."

"Are you challenging me, Scorpius Malfoy?"

"I do believe I am, Rose Weasley."

Before he'd finished speaking, Rose had taken to the air, determined to win. Scorpius, equally determined, pushed his broomstick to move faster, in an attempt to overtake her. It was a fairly long flight, around the castle and across the lake to the cave where the race would end.

As expected, they touched down at precisely the same time.

"We haven't done that since…" Rose gasped, trying to catch her breath.

"Fourth year. Before we got our prefect badges." Scorpius scowled, remembering the stern lecture he'd received about responsible behaviour when the badge had arrived in the post. Just because his father hadn't been appointed a prefect and was still bitter about it. Hermione had tried to impress upon Rose the importance of the position, but with Ron ecstatic at the prospect of Slytherin losing house points for no reason, it was difficult to take it seriously. Even Hermione had ended up laughing at some of Ron's more ridiculous suggestions. Nevertheless, they had both agreed not to continue with any behaviour that could risk them losing their badges. Now, though, it was a different matter altogether. The NEWTs were over, term ended in a week, and then they'd be leaving the castle for ever. There were things they wanted to do before they left, and resuming their challenges was one of them.

"What are you going to do when we leave here?" Scorpius asked the one question they'd both avoided for so long, not wanting to think about the future and having to get jobs before it became absolutely necessary.

Rose looked thoughtful. "I want to travel, see the world." She looked away, a wistful expression on her face. "Dad says it's too dangerous for a girl on her own."

"What does your mum think?"

"Told him he was talking absolute rubbish, after the adventures they'd survived when they were younger than us."

"Would he agree if I went with you? If you don't mind some company, that is."

"I'd love it if you went with me, Scorp."

"Fantastic." He hugged her briefly. "Now that's sorted, race you to the Room of Requirement."

Unbeknownst to the staff, they'd spent many nights in the Room of Requirement, particularly when they became fed up of waking up on the floor of the Ravenclaw common room. (They always started out by sprawling on the couch and falling asleep. At some point during the night, they either rolled over and landed on the floor, or their housemates put them there. They weren't sure which was actually the case.)

Another wild flying race later, and they were running through the corridors and up the staircases. A nearby muttering made them pause.

"Filch," hissed Rose, as they looked around for somewhere to hide.

"Quick, in here."

They practically fell through the door, locking it hurriedly behind them. Only then did they look to see where they were.

"I've never been down this corridor before, have you, Rose?"

"No…" she said slowly, studying the area intently. "But I've heard about it, I'm sure. It's where Mum, Dad and Uncle Harry found the Philosopher's Stone in their first year."

They waited for a little while longer, listening at the door for Filch's footsteps. When they were convinced he'd gone, the race continued. Up another flight of stairs, when a yelp from Rose indicated that she was stuck in the trick step.

"Honestly, Rosie. Seven years and you still can't remember which step to jump."

"Be fair, Scorpius. I haven't got stuck in it for at least two months."

"Bit of a record for you, isn't it?" He grinned, and she stuck out her tongue. "Don't do that unless you're planning on using it, Rose."

"Just get me out of here before Filch shows up again."

He hauled her out of the trick step, and they walked the rest of the way, hand in hand. They reached the Room of Requirement with no further incidents, and collapsed gratefully onto the bed.

"Makes a change not to be revising for exams all evening, doesn't it?" Scorpius murmured as he ran his fingers through Rose's unruly red hair.

"It certainly does."

Rose, lying in Scorpius's arms, raised one hand to tug at his tie. It came undone, and she dropped it on the floor. The action brought back memories of playing strip poker, here in this room, with several friends. For the first time, she'd lost to Scorpius, having never expected him to be so good at the game. He later confessed to having cheated, using a few tricks his dad had shown him. In retaliation, she'd begged her uncle George, one half of the infamous Weasley twins, to teach her how to cheat at cards. She laughed, softly, and Scorpius asked why.

"Oh, just thinking."

He rolled over, pinning her arms to the mattress. "Guess I'm just going to have to distract you, before you forget all about me."

"I wouldn't do that."

He smirked as he slid one hand to the first of the buttons on her blouse. "I'll have you screaming my name before I'm finished with you tonight."

Her voice dropped to a seductive whisper. "Is that a challenge, Scorpius?"

"Damn right it's a challenge."

His lips trailed slowly down the side of her neck as he unbuttoned her shirt. She wanted to move, to touch him, but his other hand held both her wrists firmly above her head, so she couldn't do anything to reciprocate. If he wanted to actually remove her top, he'd have to let go, but that didn't appear to be his plan. Instead, his fingers slid down her body to her legs, and then changed direction to move up under her skirt.

Suddenly, his hand stopped moving, and he smirked down at her, before reaching for his abandoned tie. She'd removed hers before they'd left the common room earlier, which was a shame, but… this was the Room of Requirement, after all. As he concentrated, the item he wanted appeared at his side.

"Scorp, what are you doing?"

Pressing a soft kiss to her lips, he murmured, "you'll find out."

She wasn't too surprised when he used his tie to bind her wrists to the bed – they'd done this before, after all. She didn't expect the blindfold, but didn't complain. Her skin seemed more sensitive now that she couldn't see – every touch set her nerves on fire and left her breathless. Remembering his challenge, she bit her lip when every instinct wanted her to call his name; but she wasn't about to lose so quickly. Scorpius noticed, whispering in her ear. "Just let it go, Rosie."

Rose shook her head, knowing full well that this was one challenge he was definitely going to win. No matter, she'd just have to return the challenge later. It was almost a relief when she did call his name, and the teasing stopped.

She lay there, shaking, as he freed her arms and removed the blindfold, lying down next to her and holding her close.

"Told you, didn't I?" It was spoken softly, with no hint of the smugness she'd been expecting.

"Revenge will be sweet, Scorp."

AN: I'm wishing for reviews while wincing from the pain of hitting my knee on a bar under the desk (I didn't know it was there).