It all started with... well I'm not really sure when it began, maybe it was always there, but the first time I realized I had a teeny tiny crush (maybe crush is too big of a word) on Malfoy was when we were playing a game of quidditch at my house.

It was during the summer before third year and he was staying at Al's for a week. He was the chaser and I was the keeper on opposite teams flew directly at me with the quaffle in his hands and flew so close around me that I lost my balance and fell of the bless my dad for having put cushoining spell on the grounds so I landed safely without a scratch.

Something changed that day. Something in the air, when he was around, that made me aware of him.

My ice cream is here, it strawberry flavoured, my favourite. Al's got something with almonds on it, ewww.

Anyway its three years later and I still can't pinpoint what caused the change.

We'd played quidditch a million times before seeing as Uncle Draco was one of Uncle Harry's best friends and dad's too, but dad would never be caught admitting it. Even though they bicker all the time anyone could see that my dad had forgiven uncle draco a long time back.

Merlin this ice cream is yummy!

We've tackled each other off brooms, in the mud, once I pushed him into the Lake in the Malfoy estate when we were 9 and he called my hair an unkept bush. So there was nothing special at all about that day.

So siting here in an ice cream parlour in Diagon Alley waiting for the aforementioned loser I wonder what it mustve been. Was is the determination in his eyes, the cocky smirk on his face, the smell that was so him in the air, maybe it...

Albus is waving his hands frantically, I should seriously listen to him once in awhile. And before I can turn to see what or who he's waving at, I hear the most recognizable drawl in the world.

"You didn't have to wave Al, I recognized Weasley's know it all red head from outside the store", he says with the cocky grin that never seems to leave his face. He seats himself in the chair beside Al, oppposite me.

"Uncle Draco not giving you enough pocket money to get a hair cut Mafoy?", I fire hair, usually much shorter is reaching his eyes. And he adora... no annoyingly runs his fingers through them in a habit he's picked up from al, but without much malice as I would've have preferred.

This ice cream is mellowing me down.

"Alicia actually said she thinks it looks better longer", he says distractedly. Ofcourse Alicia Zabini would say that. She'd agree to jumping off the Astronomy Tower if she could get another shot at being his girlfriend. Malfoy and Zabani share a weird friendship. They're both in Slytherin along with Al so they probably understand each other well. They dated for like a couple of months in fourth year.

He's the Slytherin sex god who has half the female population of Hogwarts(most of which are silly obsessed fangirls) following him around like puppy dogs. The other half is probably distributed between Al and Theodore Nott. Malfoy and Theo are Al's best friends. Which makes it absolutely impossible to avoid them for long, seeing as Al's my best friend and favorite cousin.

"Just go ask her out mate! She doesn't look like the kind that hexes anyway. Unless Weasley here taught her some new ones over the summer", advices Malfoy.

And I turn around to see who Al is staring at. Alice Longbottom is sitting at the other end of the parlour. Malfoy is trying to hide his laugh for Al's sake, but I can see why he's having a hard time. Al's face is...well the face of a lovesick boy. Goofy grin, check. Drool, check. I let out a laugh that I didn't now I was holding in.

"Leave me alone!", he says, his eyes leaving her face to look at mine instead. A look of annoyance passing his features.

I've finished my ice cream.

"Fine. C'mon lets get out of here now that Rosie has finished her icecream", says Malfoy. He knows it pisses me off when he calls me Rosie. Only my dad is allowed to call me with that name.

I bite back a retort at the tip of my tongue reminding myself that Albus is not in the best of his moods and I dont want to push it.

"Yeah let's go", says Al, casting Alice one last look of longing before standing up. I think I heard him sigh but im going to assume I imagined it. It's painful to think that my cousin has been reduced to such a sappy mess by a girl, who happens to be one of my best friends.

"Im just going go say hello to Alice and .I'll meet you at the quidditch store", I say to al, who is already in a deep discussion with Malfoy about quidditch strategies. Boys and their attention spans!

"Get lost for all I care Weasley", Malfoy drawls.

"Wasn't talking to you you self-obsessed idiot", I say as I walk away from them.

I walk over to to Alice and her mom and say hello. They're old family friends too, but we don't see them quite often. It's always nice meeting her mom. She's so pleasant and funny. I tell them Al's waiting for me and that I need to go. I would be seeing alice ina week anyway as she's staying over at my house for a couple of days.

Alice for her part seems like she has no opinion of al, but she has a twinkle in her eye everytime she talks to him that assures me that she likes him too. I would hate for my two best friends dating to end up being a nightmare. And no matter how much a convince Al about her feeling the same way, he refuses to believe me. So if he wants to be a blindsided idiot, Im going to let him be.

So after telling them goodbye, I head out to find Malfoy shamelessly flirting with Jessica Nott, while Al is browsing through the store. I cant believe Malfoy! Isn't it enough that he's shagged most of the school by now that he can't leave the younger sister of his best friend alone! Isn't it against some code of friendhsip- shagging your best friends sister?!

"Hey rose! Long time no see. You look pretty as always."

I look towards the source of the voice to see Nott coming out of the entrance, passing by the two of them like nothing out of the ordinary has happened. Why isn't he hexing Malfoy's balls off?!

"Hey! Thanx! Didn't know you were coming today."

"Well Jess wanted to buy a couple of books and Scorp told me he was meeting you guys so thought I'd come along. I was terribly bored at home anyway."

"Oh", I say glancing at the two of them again. What are they doing? "Am I missing something here? did he ask her out?"

"Not that I know of", Theo says casually, shrugging his shoulders.

Is it just me who can see where this is going to end and how inappropriate this is. I decide I don't care if she's stupid enough to get herself hurt by this stone-hearted excuse of a boy.

"Wanna go check out the newly opened book shop down the alley?" I ask.

"Shouldn't we tell al where we're going to be, in case he tries to find us"

"Are you kidding me? He's going to be here for like another hour checking out the new Thunderbolt. We'll get back by then", I say as Theo smiles knowingly and follows me.

Walking down the alley i realize that deciding not to care and not caring are poles apart.

And maybe, just maybe it was his eyes.

""