A pounding sound rang through the empty halls of Hogwarts that night, echoing sharply across the spotless marble tiles, bouncing off the hard stone walls. Angry mutterings were also heard from 8pm all the way to 10pm, up and down the corridors that led to the Gryffindor common room. Rose Weasley, Gryffindor prefect, sixth year and the source of the angry sounds, was furious. Actually, to say she was furious was a complete understatement. She. Was. Livid. Her tiny fists were curled so tightly her knuckles had turned stone white, her mouth screwed up in an angry purse and her entire heart shaped face screwed up in angry rage, bright red of course. Usually a warm, friendly looking girl, Rose looked quite alarming at that moment, growling a little under her breath.
"How dare he!? How bloody dare he!?" She hissed as she turned another corner, practically spitting out the words. "I am not 11 anymore for the love of god! He has no right to treat me like I am! How mum puts up with him, I have no clue.."
She continued like this for quite some time before simply letting out a string of swears. Taking another breath so she could continue she suddenly felt a presence behind her, momentarily stopping her ranting; which is very annoying.
"Weasley, the sound of your voice is beautiful and all, but kindly shut up."
Rose scowled at her kind-of-friend and knew she was probably completely red by now.
"Better than hearing your old drawl, Scorpion,"
It was his turn to scowl now, his trademark Malfoy sneer heavily in place.
"It's Scorpius, Weasel cub,"
"Whatever, ferret spawn,"
Even if neither of them had quite inherited the old Malfoy-Weasley rivalry didn't mean playful banter wasn't allowed.
Especially, thought Rose as she tried to hold her glare, when it turns into flirting.
Which was often.
She smiled lightly at the thought, making him grin back and officially ending the small glaring match.
Rose slowly slid down to the floor and pushed herself against the wall. Scorpius was soon next to her, casually draping his arm around her. She raised her eyebrows at him, glaring just a little bit. Any other boy would have hurriedly withdrawn from the Weasley glare (which, she was told, she had gotten from her Aunt Ginny, who in turn, got it from her Grandma Weasley,) but Scorpius simply shot her a toothy grin.
"So what's eating at you Red?" he asked, curling a loose ringlet of her fiery red hair around his index finger.
She sighed and shook her head, leaning her head against the stone wall.
"Nothing really." She half whispered, turning her head to the right to look at him. He did the same-leaning back and looking to the left.
He raised his eyebrows.
"So...nothing's got you out an hour after your shift finishes, muttering angrily to yourself like a mental patient. Nothing's got you practically attacking that defenceless barn owl this morning and screaming after reading some letter? Wow. Hate to see you when something's actually bothering you."
She sighed, putting her palm over her eyes as she recalled that morning.
"You heard that?" She quietly squeaked, rubbing her temples as she turned red again.
"Rose, the Giant Squid and its unborn babies heard that."
Not bothering to ask if the Giant Squid was actually having babies she sighed again.
"Just...my dad; my stupid cousin...he told him something that he shouldn't have and...apparently he 'doesn't approve.' She spoke bitterly, her tiny mouth curling venomously.
There was a pause and then,
"You're not pregnant, are you?"
She aimed a hearty punch at his stomach, regretting it immediately as it probably hurt her a lot more than it hurt him.
Damn Quidditch, she silently cursed.
"No. God Malfoy!" she hissed, turning a deep shade of scarlet again, her eyes narrowing.
He chuckled warmly before pulling her into a hug as she tried to get up.
She scowled against his shoulder and waited for him to stop shaking with laughter.
He finally did and then, before she could say a word about his ignorance, he stood, pulling her up at the same time.
"Wha-!"
"Kitchens. I'm hungry."
She pursed her lips and made a distinct growling sound. He held up his hands in mock fear.
"Down tiger. We'll talk on the way."
She made a 'humph,' sound and crossed her arms stubbornly.
"What!?" he demanded, blinking dumbly at her. She turned her head slowly and glared at him, eyebrows raised.
"None of that sounded like a question." She pointed out, dropping her arms so her hands sat on her hips, waiting.
His mouth fell open for a few seconds before he caught himself and regained his usual Malfoy air. Even if it was slightly altered from the previous generations it was still maddeningly irritating.
Rose tapped her foot on the marble. Maybe her dad was a little right not to approve of her taste. Even if he wasn't quite the scum her dad thought her was...if he couldn't be polite to her once and while and make a simple request...
He blinked blankly at her once before stating simply.
"It wasn't."
Next thing she knew Rose Weasley was being, literally, swept off her feet and carried in the direction of the kitchen.
Twenty minutes later she found herself poking at a piece of chocolate cake, willing herself not to eat it. Scorpius, however, had no problem tucking into his third bowl of ice cream.
Because his metabolism is a fricking medical miracle, she thought enviously, lucky ferret.
Finally he seemed to notice she was there, staring at her curiously as if trying to break some sort of code. She shifted uneasily in her seat before meeting his eyes.
"So...this thing that your dad wants you to forget about...who is he?"
Her head snapped up and she felt herself turn bright red, once again.
"Wha-what!? Why do you think it's a...he?"
He raised his eyebrows, his mouth curling into a small grin.
"'Cause I doubt you're a lesbian?"
She made a choking sound, spluttering a little bit before opening her mouth to retort but he cut her off.
"Well...what else could it be? Doubt you're one for serious binge drinking, tattoos, piercings in weird places. We've covered the whole pregnancy thing and I seriously doubt drugs...so I'm guessing...boys?"
She bit back her reply. Of course, goody two shoes Rose Weasley didn't do anything wrong. She stared at him blankly while trying to ignore the fact that her now month old tattoo seemed to be blushing.
Never play truth or dare drunk, she said to herself for the billionth time that year, ever.
Scorpius continued, not seeming to notice how distracted she was.
"So, since it's obviously a boy...all I can say is...make sure he's worth it all. Getting all worked up, arguing with your parents." She looked up, sighing a little.
This is so weird, talking to him about...him, she thought.
"Just...think about it. Is he really worth an entire day of being pissed off?"
His voice was completely neutral at the moment, as if he was talking about the weather or something else completely pointless but she noticed the slight strain in it. He met her eyes awkwardly, cleared his throat and then looked back down, waiting for her to say something.
"He's worth it." Her voice suddenly cracked through the silence and he gulped, willing himself not to sound jealous.
"So sure all of a sudden?" He muttered, staring at the counter.
He saw her nod out the corner of his eye and curled his fists under the counter, digging his nails into his palm to stop himself from speaking.
"He's worth it." She whispered again, smiling a little. He resisted the urge to sneer and just nodded a little,
They sat in silence for a good five minutes, Rose staring earnestly at the ground. Finally she spoke, sounding a little lost.
"It's getting late...I'm going to go up to bed. Goodnight."
He nodded at her and let her go past, silently cursing himself. He heard the door close behind him and let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in.
"Stupid, stupid ferret spawn. Rose knows you better than anyone...she knows when you're acting like a jealous twat head..."
Groaning, he buried his head in his head, swearing in frustration. Two or so years of keeping the same secret could eat you alive.
He sighed.
"Bottled up feelings aren't good for shit." He whispered to himself, running a hand through his hair and getting up. He had no idea how he was going to get back to his common room without getting caught and was just musing this when he caught sight of it.
A long black coat; made of cheap material and patched here and there; Rose's favourite coat. He had often made fun of her about it but she had never taken it very seriously, insisting that it was the most comfortable thing she owned. He smiled lightly at it and picked it up, thinking about when he could return it to her; Potions tomorrow probably.
Folding it over his arm he made for the door but stopped suddenly as he spotted something fall out of the front pocket and flutter gently to the ground.
He picked it up slowly. A piece of parchment; it looked like a letter.
Looking around hurriedly in case Rose had come back for her coat or one of the house elves was around.
No one was there. He eyed the piece of paper, trying to squash down his conscience.
Come on man, just read the damn thing, he thought, it's not like she's ever going to tell you! Just. Read. It!
Finally he sighed, hoping he didn't regret it later and opened it up.
Rose Weasley! Do you know what your cousin just told me!? Are you mental Rose? Honestly!? He's a git for the love of god, a complete prat, a son of a prat! I know you two are friends and all and I'm fine with that but you cannot honestly think you're going out with him! I won't allow it! You're my little girl for god's sake and he's...he's...
HE'S A BLOODY MALFOY ROSE! A Malfoy!!
Please tell me Hugo's lying. Please!
Scorpius' eyes widened and he stopped breathing, staring at the words, 'HE'S A BLOODY MALFOY.'
Just as he was beginning to recover from the shock of having this ...fact shoved in his face he heard the kitchen door swing open and heard someone walk up behind him and then stop suddenly. He didn't react except for slowly folding up the piece of paper.
"Scorpius...?" came Rose's timid voice. She sounded terrified, he thought. He would probably find that really amusing if his heart wasn't beating so fast that he thought his rib cage was about to crack.
He turned his head slowly and smiled weakly at her. She averted her eyes, staring at the parchment. They stood awkwardly, the air thick with tension. He recovered first, smiling widely at her; trying not to chuckle at how intently she was staring at the ground.
"So...a Malfoy? Seriously? Isn't that against the laws of nature or something?"
She looked up, her face flashing between angry and terrified.
"I…just…"
He grinned.
"The ferret and the Weasel…huh…well."
She frowned, going a deep scarlet.
"Scorpius, will you shut up please?" she muttered, her voice sounding strained. She snatched the paper out of his mouth angrily and he grinned again. He was having trouble keeping the smile off his face now.
"Okay, okay."
There was another pause as she lowered her eyes to the ground and looked helplessly to the door, obviously wishing she could just leave. He sighed, making her look up again. She crossed her arms defensively, looking sour and he finally decided to take pity on her.
Slinging his arm casually around her and leading her towards the door he lent forward and whispered,
"A Weasley…my dad is going to kill me…"