The bottle sitting on the small table outside the great hall had a tag around it that read "drink me." Scorpius carefully picked it up, examined it for a moment trying to recall which muggle story it reminded him of, and then popped out the cork out and downed it. It left an overly sweet aftertaste on the back of his tongue, and he had to open and close his mouth a few times to try to wash it away. He was turning back towards the great hall, when someone bumped into him, causing him to stumble forward slightly but when he turned to reprimand them, but found himself speechless.

Suddenly the din of the Halloween feast died away. "Rose?" Scorpius squeaked, barely able to say anything at all. She stood illuminated by the great hall's glow, her read hair bouncing around her shoulders and her cheeks red from laughter. But she wasn't smiling at this moment.

"Malfoy." She sneered, staring him right in the eye. Despite the animosity that radiated off of her, Scorpius felt nothing but admiration. A deep warmth spread through him, and though he knew it was strange, he never wanted the feeling to go away.

"You look…um… you look really pretty tonight." His suave demeanor was gone, and it was the least he could do to stutter out his thoughts.

Rose arched an eyebrow at him, and a smirk spread across her lips, as if she felt she had won something by making him admit it. "What's gotten into you Malfoy? You're not usually so… nice." It was then that she spotted the bottle in his hand, with the tag dangling from the neck. She snatched it away and gapped in disbelief.

"Really Malfoy?" She snapped. "Do you usually wander around drinking random potions you find? Did you even look at the label?" She turned the tag over and shoved it in his face. The pack of the parchment had two red hearts with an arrow piercing the middles. "A love potion! You drank a bloody love potion."

"I don't care." He murmured, moving closer to her and smiling. "This is such an amazing feeling Rose, and it wont ever go away. You're amazing, and I've never felt this way about anyone."

"That's because you haven't been stupid enough yet to drink a love potion. God you're an idiot."

"But you love me right?" He stammered. "Because I love you Rose, and I always will."

"No. You won't," she snapped. "It'll wear off a little while, even soon if I have anything to say about it. Follow me."

"To the ends of the earth," he replied. Rose was having an incredibly hard time not rolling her eyes at every word that came out of his mouth, but figured it would give her a headache if she couldn't control it.

She led him away from the great hall, up a few flights of stairs, and into the infirmary, where Madam Pomfrey was tending to a few people who had overeaten and were feeling sick.

"every year." She was muttering to herself. "these kids over eat every year. I keep telling them to limit the amount of food they provide, but do they listen? No, of course not. It's a wonder they're not all obese."

"Madam Pomfrey?" Rose called from the door way. "I'm having a bit of a situation."

Madam Pomfrey walked over, sighing. "Did you over eat too darling?"

"No. Malfoy here was stupid enough to drink a love potion, and being the subject of his admiration, I'm really hoping you had some sort of antidote." Scorpius was standing behind Rose, gazing at her as if she had placed the stars in the heavens. He was just reaching up to run his fingers through her hair when Madam Pomfrey called him over.

"Can Rose come?" he asked, his eyebrows scrunching and his eyes widening, giving him the look of a lost puppy. "Because I wont come if Rose can't."

"Of course you wont. She can come, as long as you come and sit on this bed right here."

Scorpius beamed and laced his fingers through Rose's, pulling her over to the bed. He took his seat obediatly as Madam Pomfrey rummaged through a shelf of viles.

"Any idea what kind of love potion it was?" She called.

Rose shook her head. "No. I just found him with the bottle as he ogled at me."

Madam Pomfrey walked back out with a vile in her hand. "The best I can do then is give him this. It'll make the effects shorter. The love potion should only last an hour at most now."

"Thanks." Rose said, as Madam Pomfrey handed the vile to Scorpius, who downed it, all while staring at Rose.

"He should also eat something." She said, "It'll lessen the effects. You shoud probably stay here with him while it wears off. I doubt he'll stay here if you leave, and I don't want him wandering. People on love potions have been known to do stupid things to impress the people they're infatuated with. He could end up getting hurt." With that, she walked away to treat her other patients.

"Great." Rose sighed. "Now I have to stay here with you for who knows how long. What am I gonna do?"

"We could talk?" Scorpius suggested, looking excited. "Or not." He winked, and she scowled. "Fine, talking it is." He replied. "Tell me about yourself."

"You think you're in love with me, and you don't even know anything about me."

"I don't think I'm in love with you. I know I'm in love with you."

Rose rolled her eyes again. "You don't know anything about love."

"Then why don't you tell me?"

"Well…" Rose stuttered. "I don't really know anything about love either. For gods sake I'm only 15."

"Then we'll start simple." Scorpius announced, grinning ear to ear. "What's your favorite color."

Rose raised an eyebrow and then laughed, finally taking a seat at the end of his bed, and crossing her legs beneath her. "Green."

"Beautiful." Scorpius sighed. "Like a leaf on the wind. Should have been a slytherin."

She scowled, and tried to brush the comment aside. "What about yours?"

"My what?"

"Your favorite color idiot."

"Ohh. Well now it's Red. Like your fiery hair." He reached up and wound one of her curls around his finger. It took a little longer than expected for her to slap him away.

"What was your favorite color, before you saw me tonight?"

"I don't see why that matters."

"Because the potion is going to wear off soon, and I'd actually like to get to know you a little while you're not being a complete prick."

Scorpius looked a little disheartened, but that did stop him from glancing down an lacing his fingers through Rose's. "Yellow." He murmured. "my favorite color before was golden. But it's not anymore."

"Right." Rose scoffed, but didn't push him any more. "Next question."

The light from outside slowly dimmed, as they continued their conversation, and the candles around them eventually flicked to life, but they took no notice. They were laughing and struggling for breath as their conversations wore on, and it wasn't until Madam Pomfrey came back to check on them that they stopped to catch their breath.

"The potion should have worn off by now." Madam Pomfrey announced, looking them both over.

"I don't think so. Malfoy here is still being pleasant."

Scorpius laughed, and retorted, "Oh please Weasley. At least I don't have the urge to follow your frizzy head around anymore."

"Nevermind. He's back." She took a deep breath, trying to tame her stomach muscles, which ached from laughing so hard.

"You two should probably go back to your dorms now. If you don't get back soon, you'll have to stay here all night."

Scorpius, about to say that he wouldn't mind, was cut off by Rose making a disgusted face, and leaping up from the bed.

"Don't want that now do we Malfoy?"

They walked together down to the great hall, where they had to go their separate ways to get to their common rooms.

"Well goodnight." Rose murmured, turning to him with an awkward smile.

"Yeah." Scorpius replied, running his fingers through his hair. "Goodnight.

Rose turned towards the stair case that lead up to the tower, and as he watched her go, he realized that one other thing hadn't gone back to normal. His favorite color was no longer the rich, golden that I had been before, but the fiery auburn of familiar bouncing curls. He just couldn't get that color out of his head.