This was originally two chapters, but I decided to put them together to make one like they were supposed to be :)
This story is a little out-let from when I'm writing What If, which takes a lot of effort. Like this? Have a look at my other stories...
To my usual readers: this is exactly the same as the original opening
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I sighed and stepped back from the mirror. First day of sixth year. My reflection still stared back at me, mimicking my every move. I looked at my coppery auburn bob, a random mess with tufts that seemed to sick out at every angle. My eyebrows matched the shade of my hair, although obviously they were a lot neater than that bird's nest. As were my eyelashes, but they were too covered in mascara for anyone to tell. I blew a few bangs out of my eyes and picked up my tie. I noticed that the blue seemed to match with the colour of my eyes as I slung it round my neck, making a perfect knot and doing up my top button. I rolled my skirt up a little to make it shorter and pulled on my cardigan. Picking up my bag, I was finally ready to leave.
Why on earth had I been put in Ravenclaw? Dad said I had a sharp mind, but that still didn't mean that I was a genius. I think I had the creativity and wit covered, but not the learning and intelligence sorted out yet. Two our of four isn't too bad is it? Enough to be a Ravenclaw in the Sorting Hat's eyes. I was good at charms and transfiguration, but average at everything else. At least I wasn't in Hufflepuff like Hugo, poor guy. Dad nearly fainted when we told him. Generations of Weasleys in Gryffindor, and neither of his children had been sorted into it. But of course all the Potters were Gryffindors, something that Uncle Harry seemed to bring up, mostly when he was drunk with Dad. Even though they were in different houses, we always sat together in the Great Hall, and were very close.
I descended the stairs of the tower quickly, I always seemed to be late to breakfast. My best friend Anna Goldstein had already left without me, eager to find out her timetable. I walked at a pace close to running, drumming my fingers on the bannisters when the stairs seemed to move too slowly. As I neared the doors to the Great Hall, I collided with someone. I fell to the ground, taking them with me.
"Sorry" I muttered. Then I looked up to see who had been the victim of my attack. A pair of icy blue eyes glared back at me. White-blonde hair fell messily around his face. A cool hand pulled me up from the floor. Without a word, he turned on his heel and walked through the double doors. I was stood alone feeling very foolish. My heart fluttered and my palms became sweaty. I tried to stop the colour from rising to my cheeks before walking in to sit with my friends. Why did I always get this way around him? Oh yes, I remember. Because I've been in love with Scorpius Malfoy since our first year. When Dad told me not to be friends with him that day on Platform 9¾ , it automatically made me want find out about this Malfoy guy. It even encouraged me to play Quidditch, somehow I had ended up as a Chaser on the house team. Someone must've slipped Felix Felicis in my pumpkin juice.
I sat down between Al and Anna, the latter handed me a slice of toast. I picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet and began flicking through it aimlessly as I ate. My eyes wandered up the page and over the top of the paper. Over James' shoulder I saw a very familiar Slytherin sat opposite, one table over. He was looking down into his bowl of cereal, ignoring his friends around him. I watched him for a few seconds (okay I admit it, a few minutes), then his head snapped up quickly, looking directly at me. His eyes drilled into me, reading my very soul. I looked away quickly, showing Anna an article I'd pretended to read. But I could still feel his eyes hot on my face. I tried to ignore it, but he was still looking at me. I lifted the Prophet up a little in a feeble attempted to shield myself. I calmed down a little, feeling the heat go away. Today wasn't too bad, double charms first.
"Rosie!" Lily squealed, making me jump. "Look at the Quidditch fixtures, we're playing you first game of the season!" She was almost bouncing up and down with excitement. I took the piece of parchment from her and saw it was true. I smiled broadly. Little Lily Potter was Gryffindor seeker, taking after her father. She was the relative I was closest to, we were brought up like sisters. Teamed with Anna, we were an all giggling, all gossiping trio.
I left breakfast early with Anna so we could catch up before Charms. We leaned against the wall outside Flitwick's classroom.
"How was you're summer?" I asked.
"Good, I spent most of it with Jared" she gushed. Jared Smith was a Hufflepuff in the year above, and had been dating Anna for two years. They seemed like they were made for each other, but deep down I'd always thought Jared was a bit of a dick. He was so arrogant on the Quidditch pitch, almost as much as Ben McLaggen, who was the Gryffindor keeper.
"So Rose, do you like anyone at the moment?" A topic that always seemed to be on Anna's mind, finding her best friend a man.
"Erm..."
"There is? Oh tell me, tell me!" Anna giggled, poking jokingly at my ribs. I recoiled and couldn't help but smile.
"Okay, okay! It's Sco..." I stopped as I saw the very person walk around the corner, hands deep in his pockets, emerald tie loose around his collar. His sleeves were rolled up slightly, revealing muscular arms. I felt the heat return to my face, and I looked down. Anna peered over her shoulder. She looked back at me with a mischievous grin.
"Sorpius Malfoy?" she mouthed. I nodded. I could see her formulating a plan in her mind, like some evil genius. She grinned at me before turning to the tall figure stood a little down the corridor.
"Scor, can I ask you a favour?"
"What sort of favour?" said Scorpius, raising an eyebrow.
"Well its not for me really, it's for Rose," Anna smiled. I restrained myself from hitting her with my textbook, instead choosing to look very interested in my shoes. "She needs help with her potions, you're top of the class so it just makes sense."
If I was quiet, I could escape now before anyone noticed. I sneaked a look at him through my fringe. His arms were crossed as he lent back against the desk in front.
"Aren't Ravenclaws meant to be smart?"
"Yeah, but Rose just needs some extra help" Anna smiled sweetly. I lifted my head up to see his reaction. Impassive as always, making me unconsciously smile.
"Fine then. Rose?" Scorpius said, turning to me. "I'll er; we can sort it out and meet in the library or something" He gave a rare smile and sat down with his fellow Slytherins, just as Professor Flitwick walked in.
"So how long have you fancied Scorpius then?" Anna whispered as we got our quills and parchment from our bags.
"Oh, you know. Six years or so" I said casually. I think someone who paid the same amount of attention towards a Slytherin as I did needs medical help. I needed medical help, decades of house competition forgotten with one flicker of a smirk across his face. I'd rejected boys in the hope that one day he would realise his love and sweep me up in his arms. I needed to stop thinking about him, it was bad for me. The summer holidays were okay because I didn't see him everyday. But then within minutes of my first day of sixth year, I'd bulldozed him over and brought him back into my life.
The worst thing was that he had no idea. I had just been very sly. Maybe I should've been sorted into Slytherin. Then I could have spent more time with him. Okay, that sounds a bit stalkerish.
"And you didn't tell me?" Anna gasped at me.
"Sorry" I bowed my head jokingly in shame.
"Does anybody else know?"
"Nope"
"Don't know how you've kept this one quiet Rose, now I know what you look at when you zone out in the great hall. Oh, you have to tell Lily!"
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"You fancy who?" Lily gasped with excitement.
"Shh, stay quiet, the guys might hear!"
The three of us were sat in a close huddle at lunch, where Anna had made me confess to Lily. We were completely ignored by James, Al and Hugo, who were used to such occurrences by now. They even enjoyed a bitch themselves now and then.
"Rose, Rose! Look there he is, he's coming this way!" Lily whispered hurriedly, before turning to ask James about Quidditch practice. Sure enough, a tall figure in a green robes was walking towards us, in between the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables. He stopped directly opposite me and leaned over slightly, handing me a piece of parchment. Without a word, he left to sit at his own table.
Meet me in the Entrance Hall at 6pm.
My heart rate fluttered like a butterfly's wings as I re-read the note, just to prove to myself that it was real. Before I reacted even further like a lovesick puppy and swooned; I became very aware of my friends looking at me. James had leaned across his sister to see, while Hugo and Al had moved further down the bench so they were directly where Scorpius had just stood. only a few seconds earlier. They blocked my view of him. Damn.
"What was that?" James asked, trying to get a better look at the note.
"Scorpius is helping Rose with her potions, that's all." Anna said. I folded the parchment up and stuffed it in my bag.
"Then why does Rose have that dream-eyed look on her face? She looks slightly stunned." Hugo said quietly. Maybe I was stunned, my imagination was now running into hyperdrive. It was hundreds plotting scenarios that I thought could happen. Spilling ink on his shirt so he had to take it off was my favourite so far.
"There's something about him that I don't like," Al interjected, I was relieved that no-one heard my timid little brother. "He seems a little bit too...smug?"
James nodded in agreement. Smug? Says the boys who swell with pride when people recognise their names on the register?
"He's a nice guy. Quiet, but nice." Anna mused, obviously in an attempt to support me.
"Maybe the only reason why he doesn't talk much is because he doesn't associate with commoners" James scoffed, receiving a punch from Lily.
"James, Dad says he's an alright guy"
"Which is parent-speak for a total arse!" said James loudly. Al and Hugo tried to hide their smiles. I looked over to glance at the so-called snobbish arse. He was stirring his soup pensively with a spoon. He interested me, always looking deep in thought. Even if he was very popular in his own house, he always seemed quiet to me. Girls adored him, but I'd never seen him with a girlfriend. Maybe this would be his lucky night.
"Do you want to go back to the tower? We've both got a free afternoon." Anna said, pointing at her timetable. We finished our food and said goodbye to our friends. It took an age to climb the main staircase, books weighing our bags down. As we reached the top I looked back over my shoulder. Scorpius was stood near the door to the dungeons, with one of his friends. But he seemed to be ignoring him and looking up at me. Even from a distance, his blue eyes shone. Our eyes remained locked on each other until Anna nudged me gently and I broke the gaze. He and his friend left through the dungeon doors to their common room, while me and Anna began the long journey to Ravenclaw Tower.
Honestly, Hufflepuff and Slytherin had it easy. Their common rooms were so close to the Great Hall. They could just roll out of bed in the morning and stroll along to breakfast. Gryffindors and Ravenclaws however, we had to get up early and trek down to get food. Then there was the occurrences on the way: the vanishing steps, the ever-changing locations of staircases. And not to forget Peeves. The ghost needed a cow-bell around his neck to you could hear him coming. I spent my first year hiding from him, petrified of what he'd do. Mum wasn't joking when she warned me about him.
I spent the afternoon sat with Anna in the common room, doing nothing in particular. Around 4pm, we went upstairs to the dormitories.
"So, you've got to look nice but casual at the same time," Anna said, routing through a pile of my clothes. "And there's dinner first, the guys will notice if you're all dressed up."
"Okay, so normal with a slutty twist?"
"Rose, you slag. I like it!" she giggled.
When I thought about it, I couldn't be bothered to dress up much, or even dress sluttily. I picked up a t-shirt and a denim skirt. I curled my eyelashes with my wand, while Anna attempted to neaten my hair.
"What is wrong with you're hair Rose? It's worse than James and Al's!"
"I know, it's a complete mess. Permanent sex-hair" I wish.
We walked back down to dinner, I'd grabbed my textbook, a quill and parchment as we left. I might as well learn something from this: I wasn't exactly a whiz at potions. Maybe I could get that essay out of the way. Everyone else was already there when we arrived, I sat down and pulled some pasta towards me.
"You look nice Rosie," Lily smiled. "No, nothing that could make you're breath smell!"
I sulked as she pulled the garlic bread out of my hands, I loved Italian food. I looked over to see that Scorpius wasn't sat at the Slytherin table. It worried me slightly. Anna and Lily noticed, telling me to relax. The time felt like it was moving slowly, I kept glancing at my watch every few seconds. It was just so ridiculous, just a study session nothing else. But this would probably be the longest time I'd spent with him, and the only time ever alone. I couldn't wait.
After dinner, people slowly began moving back towards their common rooms. Anna and Lily hugged me before climbing the stairs. This isn't a big deal, this isn't a big deal, this isn't a big deal...
"Rose?" came a quiet voice behind me. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. "Shall we?"
There we go, the new revised first chapter :) hope you like it!
Lemon Cheese
xxx
