AN: Not sure what made me come up with this, but here it is. I didn't plan it to fit in with Valentine's Day - it just happened. Characters aren't mine, as ever.
"We're not our parents, James Potter, so you can keep your nose out of things that are none of your business."
James Potter is my cousin. He's a year older than me, and thinks that gives him the right to boss me (and his little brother Albus) around. We were arguing in the Great Hall, again, which seems to be a weekly occurrence. This time, it was because I'd sat at the Slytherin table with Scorpius Malfoy.
It just so happens that Scorpius is my boyfriend. I know that was unlikely, given our family history, but like I said to James, we're not our parents. Just because they all had some big feud going on, doesn't mean that we have to do the same.
Oh, I should have introduced myself. I'm Rose Weasley, sixth year Ravenclaw, daughter of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. You've probably heard of them, seeing as they're heroes of the war. Scorpius Malfoy is, of course, Draco Malfoy's son, and he's a sixth year Slytherin. We've been together for almost a year now, but we were friends long before that. Ever since we were paired together during second year potions. The teachers are still regretting that decision.
Why, you may ask? Well, let's just say that we discovered a mutual love of pranks, and combined with our ability to learn things really quickly, we were somewhat inventive. Professor Flitwick compared us to Uncles Fred and George, who once turned an entire corridor into a swamp. Professor Sprout said we were as bad as the Marauders. They really shouldn't have said it in our hearing – those are some legendary pranksters. We wanted our names to be remembered like that. Of course, having George Weasley as an uncle doesn't exactly hurt, though I'd give anything to get my hands on the Marauder's Map and the invisibility cloak. Uncle Harry has them somewhere, well hidden, I'm sure of it, and won't let even James or Albus borrow them.
The pranking started about two months after we were first paired together, and involved a potion that turned James's hair bright pink. Since then, they've just got bigger and better. About a year ago, we pulled off a seasonal prank for Valentine's Day – charmed mistletoe, people standing up and declaring their love for someone, singing embarrassing songs, that sort of thing. I'll never forget that one, because it's what led to us getting together. We missed the Hogsmeade weekend because we had to put the castle back to normal, and somehow, we got caught in one of our own traps.
Well, I say somehow. We both know it was Peeves's fault. He was throwing water balloons at us. We jumped backwards, trying to dodge them, and landed on the exact spot that set off the trap. Peeves, of course, thought it was hilarious, and went zooming off, cackling loudly to himself.
It took us a few minutes to work out why we were glued to the spot, and then we realised. If two people got stuck like this, they had to kiss before they would be released. There was no option – we had to do it, or be stuck until the spell wore off. And we both knew that the chances of it wearing off were highly unlikely.
Neither of us expected the spark of attraction when our lips met. In fact, we just stayed there, kissing, for ages. Anybody could have walked in and found us, but we were left undisturbed. I'm not sure how long we were there, but we were both completely breathless by the time we realised what was happening.
"I don't think that was part of the spell, was it?" He grinned at me. He looks so much nicer when he smiles, although the smirk (which has got to be hereditary), can be sexy at times. I can admit that now – I couldn't then.
"Does this mean, Scorpius Malfoy, that you're attracted to me?"
"I believe, Rose Weasley, that it does."
As much as we'd have liked to find a quiet corner and stay there all day, we still had a castle to sort out. Though I will admit that some of those particular traps were set off deliberately, throughout the day.
We walked into the Great Hall for dinner that night holding hands. The school was used to seeing us together, even seeing us hugging. If we walked in, arms slung around each other's shoulders, sniggering, they'd learned to be careful what they ate and drank at that meal. This, however, was a new spectacle that they hadn't witnessed before. Some people started prodding their food suspiciously. But not James. Oh no. James leapt up, in front of everyone, and told Scorpius to get his hands off of me. (Well, that's the cleaned up version. I won't tell you exactly what he said, but he did get a detention for his inappropriate language.) That marked the start of our arguments. They've been going on ever since.
That evening, I wrote a letter to my parents, explaining the situation. The next morning, at breakfast, I received a Howler from dad (which was completely to be expected), and a rather encouraging letter from mum, saying if I thought Scorpius was worth my time, then he couldn't be all bad. They've since met. It was really funny watching my dad and Scorpius's dad try to be civil. I swear the argument only started when dad used the word "ferret".
I had to explain that one to Scorpius, later on. Unsurprisingly, he'd never heard the story of the amazing… sorry, The Amazing Bouncing Ferret". Those words definitely deserve to be capitalised; it was an infamous event, by all accounts.
Since then, we've been almost inseparable, despite the best efforts of Scorpius's many admirers and my idiotic cousin, James, to pull us apart. Against all the rules, I've practically moved into his dorm in Slytherin, since we still can't break the spell stopping him getting into mine. And, of course, the Room of Requirement definitely has its uses. Though I don't think this is what mum had in mind when she told me about it.
"Why him, Rose? Of all the people here, why did it have to be him?" James just doesn't give up. But he wouldn't be James if he did.
"Why Scorpius? Because we can be together – there is no Malfoy-Weasley feud any more. Because I love him. What other reason does anyone need?"
AN: Reviews are good. Click the button.