Hello Harry Potter fans, I'm Daddysgirl11 and this is my first HP fanfic, so don't judge me too harshly please. I've read the books and watched the movies for the first time from middle of August to end of September, beginning of October, and I'm obsessed. This was just something I started writing, and it had absolutely no point, so my fingers just started typing and this is what happened. I hope it's okay. Probably little to no spells in this one-shot, because it's mostly about Quidditch and the characters of the Deathly Hallows epilogue.
For my Austin and Ally fans, I hope you read this too. Tell me what you think, how I do writing characters that aren't Auslly and are from a book instead of a TV show.
I don't own Harry Potter, that would be the beautiful and talented Ms. J.K. Rowling.
"No. No, no, no, he is not supposed to be here."
"Ronald, would you calm down? We're here for James and Albus," Hermione reminded her husband, exasperatedly.
"Malfoy shouldn't be here!" He snarled. "First years-"
"Are allowed on the team now," Hermione said. "Scorpius might be playing against Gryffindor today."
"I don't like it," Ron said, shaking his head.
"Dad!"
Rose had launched herself at her father, quite unexpectedly, when she had seen him. "What are you doing here?"
"Here to see the match, of course. Why didn't you try out?"
"For quidditch?" Rose wrinkled her nose up. "Because I prefer to leave my pain internal, by the heartache of books, rather than outwardly, by the pain of bludgers breaking my bones."
"That's my girl," Hermione said, laughing as she hugged her daughter. "Where's your brother?"
"Mum, he's nine. I thought he was with you."
"No…." Hermione looked concerned. "He said he was going to go find you."
"Crap," Rose muttered. "Um, I'll go find him. I think I know where he is."
She took off running before either of her parents had a chance to ask where she thought her brother might have gone.
"Guys," Rose said breathlessly as she burst into the Gryffindor changing room. Her cousins gave her incredulous looks, while everyone else changing grumbled about her rudeness. "Oh relax, you're just putting on the safety things."
"Rose, what do you want?" James Sirius demanded through clenched teeth.
"Have either of you seen Hugo?" She asked, straightening up. She already knew what their answer would be; a group of fifth year girls had seen a little red haired boy, such as the one she'd described, running towards the changing rooms, but they weren't sure which ones. Rose had to ask, but she was almost certain Hugo hadn't gone to wish his cousins good luck on their first game of the season.
"No," Albus said. "Why, where was he?"
"Never mind," Rose huffed. "Gotta go, good luck!"
She ran to the Ravenclaw changing rooms, where a great deal of shouting could be heard.
"Who is this kid?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Get out!"
"Shove off Malfoy!"
"Hugo Weasley!" Rose shouted, charging in the room. Everything went silent. "What do you think you're doing?"
A few sniggers could be heard from the other Ravenclaws, but Hugo was looking quite embarrassed, and Scorpius Malfoy watched in interest. Rose turned her head to her brother.
"You know better than to lie to our parents about where you're going, and sneak off to somewhere you shouldn't be to begin with!"
"Why'd you have to go lookin' for me?"
"One, you were supposed to have been with me in the first place; two, I knew you'd come here and try to bait the other team before a game. Now get your scrawny butt back up in the stands and leave this team alone! If you don't watch yourself, you'll be sorted into Slytherin."
"You take that back!" Hugo shouted, shoving her backwards. He hadn't meant to shove her as hard as he did, for Rose stumbled and nearly fell, but Scorpius Malfoy, quick as a flash, had somehow steadied her before she even knew what was happening.
"Easy now," he mumbled, helping her back to her feet. Everyone stared. No one knew what to make of this. Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy having a civilized encounter? Sure, they'd never talked much before, never gotten into a row or anything, but it was common knowledge their fathers had hated each other when they'd gone to Hogwarts, and that the two were meant to be enemies.
"Um, thanks," Rose stammered.
"No problem," Scorpius nodded. He hadn't let go of her arm yet, and only just realized this when one of his teammates coughed and said, "The game's about to start; we'd better head out."
"Right," Scorpius mumbled, letting her go. "See you later Weasleys."
"Yeah, um good luck."
Scorpius smiled slightly before bowing his head and exiting the tent.
"Good luck? Good luck? I can't believe you wished them good luck!" Hugo ranted as they walked back up to the stands where their parents sat, waiting for their return.
"What's the big deal? He kept me from falling over after you pushed me."
"And I said I was sorry."
"No you didn't," Rose said, glaring at him.
"Well, that doesn't mean you have to wish them good luck!" He shouted. Rose rolled her eyes. "You just wished our enemies good luck! What about Gryffindor? What about our cousins?"
"You're looking too much into this," Rose told him as she pushed her way through the crowds in the stands and up to the second to top row where her mother and father sat. "There's nothing wrong with being nice."
"Yeah, if you're a Hufflepuff."
"What's going on?" Hermione, their mum, asked amusedly as they squeezed through to the seats next to their parents.
"Rose flirted with Malfoy and wished their team good luck on the game against our team!" Hugo blabbed immediately.
Rose was indignant. "I did not!" She turned to her father, who looked a little green, and her mother, who looked only mildly surprised. "I didn't, I swear! Hugo pushed me, and Scorpius kept me from falling, that's all! And so what if I wished their team good luck? I did the same with our team! It's not like I'm pulling for Ravenclaw! I wouldn't have even been over there if Hugo hadn't been badgering the team!"
"You keep your big head out of it!" Hugo shouted.
"You kids haven't seen each other for three months and you're already at each other's throats," Hermione snapped, but she was smiling. "Pipe down, both of you. The game's about to start."
"Like you care," Hugo murmured. It appeared that Hermione had pinched him, because he squealed indignantly a second later. Rose hid a grin.
She'd missed her family, if she was being honest. Yes, she quarreled with her brother quite often, and they made such a fuss about quidditch, but she loved them. She even missed her father looking like he might puke at the mention of her and Scorpius Malfoy. James Sirius often liked to remind them all at family gatherings that the two were the same age and would probably hit it off well.
Of course, Rose hadn't been willing to believe this at first. Her, get along with a Malfoy? She'd heard the stories of the Malfoys all her life, most of them bad. She wasn't willing to think she could ever be friends with a boy associated with a family like that.
Not that there hadn't been any good in that family. Narcissa Malfoy, Scorpius's grandmother, had been a key factor in Voldemort's defeat, and in keeping her Uncle Harry alive. She'd lied straight to Voldemort's face, claiming that Harry Potter was dead, when indeed, he was not. She said this, of course, because Uncle Harry had given her information about her son being alive, but she helped save him, nonetheless.
But then you had the awful stories, about how Lucius and Draco Malfoy were known Death Eaters; how Draco had bullied the Weasleys, Rose's mother, and her Uncle Harry throughout their school years, and how they were two-faced cowards that had all belonged to Slytherin for centuries. So it had been a real shock for everyone, really, when Scorpius Malfoy had been placed in Ravenclaw. And it had made Rose wonder, what if Scorpius was different from his family?
Today proved that he might just be, at least a little bit. The Malfoys in her father's stories would never have thought to keep a Gryffindor from falling, and especially not a Weasley. But Scorpius didn't let that happen. And he'd been nice about it. That was definitely something to think about.
"That was a close game," James said, wiping the sweat off his face as he and Albus ran up in the stands to greet their family. Their parents, Harry and Ginny Potter, were there, along with their little sister, Lily, their grandparents, Molly and Arthur Weasley, and a number of their aunts, uncles, and cousins.
"It would have been a blow-out if Rose hadn't wished Ravenclaw good luck," Hugo said darkly.
The brothers turned on her as one, the same frown on both their faces. "Why would you do that?" Albus demanded.
"Because Scorpius Malfoy is a babe and he kept her from dying!" Lily Potter said, stepping in front of her cousin to face her two older brothers. They looked quite confused, whereas Rose thought this was quite funny.
"Short story, I went to find Hugo, he was badgering the Ravenclaw team (so they may be angry about cheating later), Hugo pushed me, I tripped, Malfoy caught me, and I wished them good luck to be nice. Is that really so bad?"
"Yes," said the three boys, and at the same time Lily same, "No!"
"There's other times to be nice to the Ravenclaws, Rose," said Aunt Ginny, who usually got along quite well with Rose. "Not before a big game against Gryffindor, though. That could boost their confidence too high! That could make them win!"
"Mum!" Lily said angrily. She was a big romantic, and thought it would be adorable if Scorpius and Rose became star-crossed lovers.
Aunt Ginny was usually very practical….about anything but quidditch. She hated losing, and was usually the one that discouraged sportsmanship in her boys, because she'd been a professional quidditch player herself until she'd retired. Her work still involved the sport, however. Rose cold never understand how people could be so interested in something so dull and dangerous.
"I'm gonna have to agree," Uncle Harry said sheepishly. "I wouldn't discourage thanking the kid for not letting you fall, but….it's a match against Gryffindor and your cousins were playing…."
Uncle Harry was very cautious about what he said around the girls in his family, that might make one of them blow.
"That's not a very good thing to teach your kids," Hermione said frowning.
"See," Lily said, "she's got some sense."
"I mean, we still won. And it was an interesting match," Hermione added as they all, including her husband, looked at her like she was crazy.
"That bludger nearly took my head off!" James Sirius exclaimed indignantly.
"It grazed your finger," Lily said dryly.
"Technically, she's right," Albus said quietly.
James sneered at them both. "But look at my finger!" He held out his finger, where you could make out a small bruise starting to form.
From the look on Uncle Harry's face, he clearly wanted to say something about how he'd had far worse injuries playing quidditch before, but decided to hold his tongue.
Aunt Ginny didn't, however. "Man up," she frowned, slapping his arm roughly. James flinched. "Your father got his skull smashed in during one of these games."
"I remember that," Ron said suddenly. He looked much happier at the thought of his best friend's skull being smashed in than of Rose wishing the Ravenclaw team good luck before their match against Gryffindor. "That was the game I had to miss because I was poisoned. Wish I'd have been there to see the game, though. Luna's commentary was hilarious."
"Aunt Luna?" Lily had piped up at the mention of her name. She loved everything about the crazy woman she'd received her middle name from. "Do you think she's here?"
"She'll be around," Uncle Harry said, laughing. "She always is, isn't she?"
"Hey Potter!"
Everyone turned, just in time to see Scorpius Malfoy striding towards them, looking slightly beat up. He'd taken a bludger to the stomach, but had continued playing to the very end. He was a seeker, just like James, while Albus was a keeper.
"And Potter," Scorpius said, nodding to both brothers. "Good game, boys. Hope we were good enough competitors."
Ron, Harry and Ginny all looked mildly surprised. Lily and Hermione were grinning, and James and Albus were simply staring at him.
"See you then," he said awkwardly.
"Go after him," Lily whispered, as the rest started mumbling about how weird that was. "I'll create a diversion if they ask where you are."
She winked at Rose, who smiled, shaking her head, but decided to take her advice and go after Scorpius.
"Hey Malfoy!" she called after him. "Malfoy, wait up!"
Scorpius turned, and smiled a little when he saw who it was calling him.
"Two of Harry Potter's kids against Draco Malfoy's son," he grinned. "Didn't have a chance, did we?"
"They do play dirty," she said laughing. "How you doing?"
"Me? Oh, I'm fine. Quidditch is cool, but you win some, you lose some." He shrugged. "My dad's been cool about it, but he refused to face your family. Couldn't stand the shame. Don't know why. He never won against Gryffindor either. My grandfather, though…..he wasn't too happy we lost. He's convinced we'd have won if I'd been in Slytherin."
He said the word with so much disgust, Rose almost smiled. "Don't like Slytherin, then, do you?"
"Not at all," he admitted. "I wouldn't mention that to my family. Thought I'd be disowned the second they found out I got in Ravenclaw instead. My mum and grandmother thought it was great, though. My dad got on board too. Now, we just need to convince my grandfather, who said as long as I wasn't a Gryffindor, he could live."
Rose did laugh at this. "Funny, my dad said he'd disown me if I wasn't a Gryffindor. I'm sure he was kidding, but you never know. All the Weasleys, my mom, and my uncle were in Gryffindor. There was quite a bit of pressure…."
"So it was a major insult that caused your little brother to plow you over?"
Rose nodded, still grinning. "He's a bit like Albus in that way. If he'd been in Slytherin, I think he may have run away."
"I think, if you're determined enough, the Sorting Hat will place you wherever you want to go," Malfoy said, suddenly sounding reserved.
"You chose Ravenclaw?" Rose asked in surprise.
Scorpius stared at her for a long moment before answering, "Something like that."
Rose opened her mouth in surprise, but he was waving at her, a small smile on his face. "See ya later Weasley."
It wasn't until third year that Scorpius and Rose really had any interaction after that first quidditch match against Gryffindor. In a surprising turn of events, Ravenclaw beat Gryffindor during Rose's second year, and scraped by just ahead of them to win the quidditch cup.
Albus and James had been livid about this, and had demanded to know if Rose had anything to do with it (because Lily had not been able to hold them off long enough for Rose to finish her conversation with Scorpius before the family realized what was happening). They'd accepted the fact that that was the last time Rose had had more than a five word exchange with Scorpius, and decided they'd beat Ravenclaw this year if it was the last thing they did.
They were not, however, expecting Scorpius Malfoy to be injured just days before the match in Care of Magical Creatures class.
"Hello Hagrid," Rose said, grinning. Hagrid had been her favorite babysitter when she was little, and was one of her absolute best friends at Hogwarts, despite the fact he was ninety years old now.
"Rose!" he said happily, scooping her into a bone-crushing one-armed hug. "Good to see you, darling. Where's your cousin?"
"Baiting the Ravenclaws, I'm sure," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "Were our fathers this crazy about quidditch?"
"Crazier," he grunted. "Your auntie too. Sweet girl, but brutal on a broomstick, I tell you. Your daddy sure got nervous a lot, though. And your Uncle Harry was the youngest seeker in a century, so he had lots of pressure." He smiled, his eyes twinkling as they so often did when he talked about her parents' school days. "Good kids, they were. Loved 'em like they were my own."
"HAGRID!"
The shout was instantly recognizable, and obviously laced with pain. Hagrid jumped up so fast that Rose fell on her bottom. "Sorry darling," he grunted, already sprinting towards the sprawled figure on the ground. Rose arrived several seconds later, seeing as Hagrid's stride was at least four times her own, and he'd had a decent head start.
"Oh dear," Hagrid sighed, staring down at the bleeding figure of Scorpius Malfoy. "Guess we should take the blast-ended skrewts off the third years' schedule.
He sighed as he bent down to help Scorpius up, and Rose's eyes widened at the deep slashes across his face and chest.
"I'll get the door," Albus said quietly, running ahead of Hagrid to the doors of the castle. Rose was still rooted to the spot; she couldn't remember how to breathe, everything was a blur….
"The slashes weren't that bad, Mr. Malfoy. We healed your son up in a jiffy."
"Yes, thank you Hannah. Madam Pomfrey taught you well."
"You know Draco, you turned out well too."
"Thanks."
Rose tried to concentrate on the voices talking, but they were far away. Familiar, but not so instantly recognizable.
"What about the Weasley girl? Will she be alright?"
"Rose? Oh, she's just fainted. She'll be up soon, I gave her a sleeping draught for the shock."
"Did the school contact her parents?"
It was obviously Draco Malfoy talking, Rose could tell now. He sounded nervous, as if her mother and father would come walking in any second and hear him asking about their daughter's welfare, because he'd seen her in the hospital wing the same time he'd been there visiting his son.
"They've sent an owl, but told them not to come. It's really nothing serious, Draco," Hannah Abbot, the school healer and good friend of Rose's parents, assured him.
"Oh, don't tell my parents," Rose found herself moaning after a while. "Can't stand the shame….fainted...blood…"
The sound of amused laughter finally brought her out of her unconscious state. The room was dark, and apparently deserted with the exception of Scorpius and herself.
"What…?"
Scorpius was grinning. "How in the world did I wake up before you, and all you had was a knock out potion for shock?"
"Strong potion," Rose mumbled. "How's the cuts?"
Scorpius shuddered. "Dang skrewts. Wish Hagrid had decided to stop teaching us about them a year earlier."
Rose smiled ruefully. "Like father, like son, huh?"
"That was a hippogriff, and my father was being an idiot."
Rose laughed. Someone coughed behind them. Draco Malfoy was standing in the doorway, his eyebrows raised.
"Crap," Scorpius muttered, but he looked amused. "My father heard about this."
It looked as if Draco Malfoy was trying hard to look stern, but ultimately snorted into his cup of tea. "You have certainly broken the Malfoy mold, my son," Draco laughed, coming to sit at the end of Scorpius's bed. He smiled a little at Rose. "And how are you feeling, um…."
"Rose," she said, smiling awkwardly. "I'm fine, thank you."
He nodded, looking quite uncomfortable.
Rose cleared her throat. "I, um….I didn't mean to….offend you, Mr. Malfoy, about the….hippogriff thing."
This time he didn't have to force the smile he turned on her. "I wasn't the Ravenclaw, Rose Weasley," he said, sounding amused. "I'm the idiot that offended a hippogriff because I never viewed Rubeus Hagrid as a professor."
"Hagrid's my friend," Rose said, her smile slipping.
"He's a good man" Draco Malfoy said, nodding. "Following in your parents' footsteps….it's not always the best option. I didn't like half the things I did. My son," he clapped Scorpius, who looked mildly embarrassed, on the shoulder, "knew this. He understood right from wrong."
"Dad," Scorpius mumbled.
"Hush, I'm giving good advice for the first time ever."
Rose laughed. "Thanks Mr. Malfoy. I'll keep that in mind."
"What?" He looked confused for a second. "Oh no, I didn't mean your parents. They chose the right path. I just meant-"
"I understand what you meant, sir," Rose grinned.
"She's so polite. Didn't get that from your father, did you?"
Rose snorted. "I don't know what world you're living in. My father, polite? Ha!"
The match during third year between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw was rescheduled. They'd swapped with Hufflepuff, who'd been creamed by Gryffindor, in a fury that Ravenclaw couldn't play because Malfoy pulled a trick exactly like his father had in his third year. Rumors had started flying that he was faking it, and it wasn't until influential fourth year Gryffindor, Albus Severus Potter, son of thee Harry Potter, shouted, "HE WAS ACTUALLY HURT, YOU BLOODY IDIOTS!", and received detention for a week, that anyone believed him to be genuine.
James and Hugo thought Albus was off his rocker for taking up for Scorpius, but they hadn't been there. They hadn't seen the blood. Albus was there, and he almost puked at the sight. He also visited his cousin in the hospital, just after she'd passed out from the sight. So he knew it was real, and everyone claiming Scorpius was a fake was told to see Albus Potter. No one dared speak a word against him after that, and Scorpius was so grateful, he gave Albus his treacle tart the first night he arrived back in the Great Hall for dinner.
Albus and Rose had made a new friend that day, in the most unlikely circumstance. But this didn't mean the two boys took it any easier on each other during the quidditch match a few months later.
Well….maybe they kept themselves from making sure a bludger hit the other.
As fifth year came along, the rivalry between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw's quidditch teams had officially passed that of Gryffindor and Slytherin the years Harry Potter was at school there. Gryffindor won first and third year; Ravenclaw, second and fourth. Slytherin had contented itself with being only the biggest bullies in school, and Hufflepuff had set up more school clubs. They'd practically given up trying to beat Gryffindor or Ravenclaw at quidditch, considering those two teams were so intent on beating each other they flattened all the other teams.
"This is not natural," Ron muttered to Harry, who had been listening to one of Luna's crazy tales. Now, they both turned to Ron, who appeared to be glaring down at the quidditch field.
"Oh, are you looking at the two kids, sharing a hot dog?" Luna asked, her voice as airy as always. Harry grinned at Ron, who seemed to be struggling to keep his face in a glare.
"No," he said shortly.
"Then, perhaps, you're looking at my twin boys, playing with the thestrals?" Luna asked. She squinted down at her sons. "Hmm, maybe I shouldn't let them do that. Excuse me…"
Still smiling, Harry turned back to Ron. "Now what were you saying?"
"Our children, friends with a Malfoy," Ron said. He looked like he was shaking. "It's almost like they're as good of friends as me, you and Hermione were at that age. Look at them!"
Harry glanced down at where his son stood, his Firebolt 2020 clutched to his chest, wearing his red Gryffindor quidditch robes. Rose was standing beside him, laughing at something he said, and Scorpius Malfoy, in his blue Ravenclaw quidditch robes, seemed to be in on the joke because he, too, was laughing. Scorpius also owned a Firebolt 2020, something Harry found a tad annoying. He'd never wanted to own the same broom as Draco Malfoy, so why should his son own the same one as Malfoy's son?
But then, it was the best broom made this year, so who wouldn't want one?
"It is weird," Harry admitted. "Just a few years ago, they hated each other, right?"
"And then Al and Rose watched Hagrid's dang skrewt slash the boy up and suddenly they're best friends, Al sticking up for a Malfoy when rumors start flying." Ron sounded disgusted.
"Lily says that Rose and Scorpius were friends to begin with," Harry told him. This wasn't strictly true. Lily had told him that Rose had a major crush on Scorpius since first year. Harry wasn't sure if this was true, so he hadn't dared tell Ron. It might cause his best friend to have a heart attack, and he was only in his thirties.
"Would you two shut up?" Hermione snapped at them, having been listening to their entire conversation, two seats down. Ginny had just left to get them some butterbeer from Hagrid. "At least they're not fighting all the tight like we three did with Draco. At least they have friends as good as we did. Isn't that what's important?"
"No," Harry and Ron said together.
Harry explained, "It's important that Malfoy not corrupt our children through his son, Hermione."
"In case you haven't noticed," Hermione sighed, "Scorpius is the first Malfoy in centuries I've heard of who's not been in Slytherin. He's in Ravenclaw, for goodness sakes! He's got to be smart."
"Luna was in Ravenclaw," Ron said dryly.
"And she was smart!" Hermione said defensively. "I mean, is. She is smart. She's just….different. And it's okay to be different. I was, and am, different, and you two still like me right?"
"Well…"
Hermione smacked them both. "Honestly, it's like you two never stopped being annoying little teenagers!"
"Talking about me?" asked Rose squeezing her way through to sit between her mother and father.
"Of course not," Hermione said, smiling softly at her. "Having fun?"
"It's exhausting having my two best friends on the two biggest rivaling quidditch teams in school," Rose laughed. "Especially since one's my cousin from my own house, and the other's a Malfoy, who I know my family hates, from the house that has been in a running feud with Gryffindor over this stupid sport."
Hermione obviously understood. Harry and Ron did not.
"Didn't wish Malfoy good luck, did you?" Ron asked suspiciously.
"I wished them both good luck, like I do every year." Rose held her chin up determinedly. Hermione grinned around her daughter at the boys.
"She's your daughter all right," Harry said sighing. "Gryffindor better win this game, or you know James will never forgive you for making him lose his seventh year."
"Then he'd better play well, hadn't he?" Rose asked, smiling. "Oh yeah, and did Hugo tell you guys he made the team this year?"
"WHAT?"
"Oops," Rose muttered. Even her mother was looking at her, aghast that she hadn't known this vital information.
"Why didn't you say so!?" Hermione exclaimed. "KICK THEIR BUTTS, BABY!"
"Maybe that's why he didn't tell you," Rose said, biting her lip. Hugo, who they could now see standing by Albus and James, had turned towards the stands when his mother had shouted this, and now seemed to be freaking out. "I'll….be right back."
When she got back down onto the field, it was nearly time for the game. "She knows!" Rose said sheepishly, as soon as she got down there.
"Obviously!" her brother screamed in her face. "Why Rose? Why couldn't you wait till I was up in the air to tell them? They'll be screaming the whole game, and I'll be under so much pressure…."
Rose turned to James, her expression apologetic. "Catch the snitch fast?"
He glared at her. "Don't make me regret letting him on this team my last year running," he said peevishly.
By this point, Scorpius had come running back across the field, amidst shouts from his teammates. "What's going on?"
"My parents know Hugo's on the team," Rose muttered to him. "Now he's all nervous and James is freaking out because it's his last year…"
"WEASLEY!" the quidditch coach, that Rose did not know the name of, shouted. "No, not you!" Hugo had turned toward him, looking frightened. "The girl! Get off the field! And Malfoy, get back on your side!"
Rose shot one last, helpless look at Scorpius, Albus, James and her brother, before rushing back up to the stands, while Scorpius took off back to his team.
Her parents, now joined in shouts by Aunt Ginny, Uncle Harry, and the rest of their large family that seemed to have inexplicably appeared out of nowhere, greeted her loudly, yelling about how stupid it'd been for her to delay the game, and then started yelling for Hugo to beat some Ravenclaw butt.
Rose put her head in her hands until the game started. Then she sat watching, biting her nails in suspense as the points remained relatively close. James and Scorpius had seen the snitch three times already, and had been distracted by Hugo's bludger each time.
The worst part of the game was when Draco malfoy showed up, two seats away from Uncle Harry and three away from her father, claiming there were no seats like on the Ravenclaw end when he'd returned from getting snacks.
Uncle Harry and Ron now alternated between cheering on their sons, to glowering at Mr. Malfoy.
It was until the third hour of the game, that things seemed hopeless for Gryffindor. Ravenclaw was over a hundred points ahead, and seemed intent to keep scoring. If it went on like this, Rose knew James would try and pull a Victor Krum and catch the snitch to win it for the other team. She'd heard Uncle Harry telling her father so ten minutes before.
Something gold seemed to appear in Rose's peripheral vision. She gasped, about to point to it, but Lily grabbed her hand, shaking her head.
"Look," Lily whispered.
Rose turned, and to her surprise. Scorpius was watching the snitch everywhere it went, but made no move to grab it. He had a clear shot of it too.
"James," Lily said, gritting her teeth. It took another ten seconds for James to notice the snitch. He shot off after it, and only then did Scorpius begin his chase. But it was too late. James had grabbed it almost the second he saw it, and the game was over. Gryffindor: 450, Ravenclaw: 440.
Rose glanced around at her family, all of whom were shouting for their kids' victories. None of them seemed to have noticed that Scorpius had seen the snitch well before James, and had blown the match on purpose, but Rose and Lily.
They glanced at each other, wide eyed, and simultaneously started cheering, as to not look out of the ordinary. After all, Lily's brother had just won his last quidditch game against his biggest rival, and Rose's brother had won his first.
After the game, Rose waited for Scorpius to finish talking to his parents, before coming over to where he stood. "You may be the best seeker I've ever seen," she told him quietly.
He seemed bemused. "You're joking? You saw how quickly your cousin caught the snitch, didn't you?"
"I saw how long you watched the snitch before he realized it was even within view," Rose said, smiling at him. "I saw how you threw the match on purpose, because you knew how much it meant to my brother and my cousins. I saw how no other seeker would have ever done something so sweet, so...brave."
He gulped. "You saw….all that, did you?"
"Lily did too," Rose said nodding, "but it didn't look like anyone else did."
"Well if you two noticed, I'm sure someone else did," he grumbled, "since neither of you know a thing about quidditch."
"I know all about the Chudley Cannons, or at least what they've done in the past, because of my dad," Rose said, laughing. "And Lily knows more than you'd think. Her dad was the youngest seeker in a century, and her mum-"
"Yeah, I know everything about your family," Scorpius cut her off. "Don't need you to tell me again. But so what if I blew it on purpose? It's your fault you know."
Rose's grin widened. "Oh it's my fault, now, is that right?"
"Of course it is," Scorpius said, as if this were obvious. "You were upset, because your brother was scared and your cousin was freaking out, and I know the same was going through Albus's mind….how could I let your team lose with all that?"
"Are you sure you shouldn't be in Hufflepuff?" Rose laughed. Scorpius rolled his eyes. Rose and Albus teased him all the time about which house he should've been in. No one thought Slytherin, at least. He was certainly smart enough to be in Ravenclaw, where he was now, but he had a soft side that had them joking about how he should've been sorted into Hufflepuff. And there were times when they even said he should've been considered for Gryffindor. Rose always told him he was brave, but Scorpius reminded her that he'd have been disowned if this had happened.
"You're a good guy, Scorpius," Rose whispered. She got up on her toes (for he was much taller than her now) and kissed his cheek swiftly, before disappearing into the crowd to once more join her celebrating family.
Scorpius watched her go with a small smile on his face. What he would give, to have been in Gryffindor. But he chickened out at the last minute, when asking the sorting house to place him there, and the hat said that true bravery was shown when you could stand up for yourself, no matter what others thought. Scorpius had not possessed that bravery at age eleven, still wanting to make his family proud, but not wanting to live up to the evil reputation he got with his last name.
The hat did, however, think it was clever that he thought that far ahead, and knew he had a good head on his shoulders, so he placed Scorpius in Ravenclaw. This wasn't so bad to the majority of his family, but Scorpius could still remember his grandfather's taunts about how if he'd have been in Slytherin, he would have been better.
"Better?" Scorpius could remember scoffing at Lucius Malfoy. "Was it better for you, when you were rejected by the entire wizarding world because you sided with the most evil wizard of the century? Was in better for Dad when he was almost forced to kill his headmaster? Was it better for Severus Snape, who lost his true love because his house made him fascinated with the dark arts? Was it better for Voldemort-"
"Don't say his name!"
"Voldemort!" Scorpius had shouted. His parents and grandmother had come running in the room, stunned and terrified by someone yelling that name.
"What's going on?" his father had asked, bewildered.
"Grandpa's just letting me know how disappointed he is in me for being sorted into Ravenclaw," Scorpius said, eleven years old and already realizing that his family had so much evil in it, but still love in the midst.
"Ravenclaw has produced some of the smartest wizards of all time," his father had said, coming to stand beside him. Scorpius could never express how much that had meant to him, his father's support. He'd thought Draco was disappointed his son hadn't been in Slytherin like Lucius was. "What did Slytherin ever get us, Dad?"
Now, almost sixteen years old, Scorpius was still affected by what his family thought of him, but not as much as what his friends thought of him.
His grandfather had practically disowned him for befriending Gryffindors, and especially a Potter and a Weasley. His father was still a bit awkward around Albus, but he thought the sun rose and set in Rose, who could make anyone like her.
It was weird that Rose and Scorpius's fathers still hated each other, though. While Scorpius's dad had no problem with Rose, Ron Weasley had every problem in the world with Scorpius.
That's what made Scorpius so nervous to see Ron Weasley walking straight towards him.
"Hello Scorpius," he said, "let's talk."
To say things were awkward would be an understatement. Once they'd found someplace private to talk, away from any prying eyes, they'd simply stared at each other for about five minutes straight.
"Sir," Scorpius said, unable to stand the tension any longer, "what exactly is this about?"
Ron considered him for a moment. "Well, you see Scorpius, I'm trying to find a way to thank you that doesn't make me want to hurl all over Hagrid's pumpkins."
Scorpius blinked. "Well, sir, that'd be unfortunate, considering he's worked so hard on them this year. Did you know the biggest one out there's ten inches longer than the one he had in 2007 that one that contest?"
Ron stared at him, unsure of what to make of him. The truth was, Ron had never really taken the time to get to know Scorpius Malfoy, just writing him off as Draco's kid, who'd obviously be exactly the same. He looked the same, and had the same last name, and with memories of Draco like the ones Ron had, that was enough to write a person off as bad news.
"You know Hagrid?" Ron said finally.
Scorpius looked confused to be asked such a question. "Of course I know Hagrid. Hagrid's awesome. Who doesn't know Hagrid?"
"It's just that…." Ron searched for the right words. "I heard you got hurt in his class a few years back, and, well…"
"My dad tried to get him sacked several times while he was at Hogwarts?" Scorpius guessed. Ron nodded sheepishly. "He's actually really sorry about that. If you don't believe me, ask your daughter. She was there the night my dad said so. But I love Hagrid. He's a funny old guy. Wouldn't hurt a fly….on purpose, that is."
Ron found himself smiling. "On accident, he could burn down the country though, I'm sure."
"Without a doubt," Scorpius laughed.
An awkward silence fell. Had Ron Weasley just shared a laugh with Scorpius Malfoy, the spawn of demon child, Draco Malfoy?
"You said you wanted to thank me for something?" Scorpius asked after a minute. "What have I done?"
"That stunt you pulled back there with the snitch. Don't worry," he added with a grin, "I don't think many people saw."
"More people saw than you'd think, sir," Scorpius sighed. "You daughter and niece among them."
"They were probably watching you anyway," Ron said. Scorpius's neck went scarlet.
"W-What?" he stuttered.
"Lily's fascinated by you, has been since she was nine and saw you for the first time. She's convinced you and Rose are already married in the states and haven't told anyone yet."
"Well don't start telling people," Scorpius said seriously, "because it technically isn't legal in the states to get married as young as we did."
Ron tried not to smile. He tried really hard.
He failed.
"Just shut up and accept my thanks," Ron said, standing up. "It meant a lot to Hugo and James….and probably Albus too, though he'd never admit it."
"No one on my team is a seventh year, or playing their first game. Don't mention it."
Sixth year was full of more than just quidditch rivalry. Rose remembered her mum saying love runs wild your first year of NEWT classes. She was right.
"Lumos," Rose whispered to her wand, which lit obediently in her hand. The common room was pitch black, which was odd in and of itself, but what was even stranger was that Rose was certain she'd heard voices.
And boy had she.
"Gah!" Rose shouted, throwing a hand over her eyes. "Nox! Nox!"
The room went back again, but not soon enough. The snogging couple on the couch had seen her quite clearly, and weren't happy about it.
"Rose!"
Rose turned, a sheepish grin on her face. "Ever thought of an Invisibility Cloak?" Rose asked, laughing a little. She was so uncomfortable.
"Get out, please," Albus said through his teeth.
Rose, not looking where she was going, turned and ran for the portrait of the fat lady and swung it open. She shrieked indignantly. "Don't expect me to be here to let you back in!" she shouted after her.
Rose didn't stop running until she reached an unfamiliar looking corridor. "Shoot," she muttered, looking around. She had no idea where she was.
"Ickle Weasley," a voice cackled from above her. Rose looked up.
"Hi Peeves," she said. "You have any idea where I am right now?"
"Ickle Weasley, lost at night," he screeched. "Shouldn't be out in the corridors, should you? Be in real trouble now, won't you little prefect?"
"You're not going to tell on me Peeves," Rose said in her sweetest voice, a small smile playing on her face. "You like me."
Peeves seemed to glare at her. "I like no one, ickle Weasley. 'cept you're dead uncle, he be the only wizard folk Peevesey took an order from. 'Give her hell for us, Peeves,' he did say, when he and his brother is leaving this here school forevers. Miss their pranks."
"But you like me too, Peeves. And you liked my cousin, James. Don't lie to me Peeves," Rose said, grinning. She wasn't quite so nervous about where she was anymore, because peeves was with her. This wouldn't have made most people feel better, but Rose had had many encounters with Peeves, and she knew he secretly liked her.
"Peeves likes no one, ickle Weasley. Now you just run along and find your Rotter friend."
Ever since Uncle Harry had been in Hogwarts, Peeves called the whole family "Rotter" instead of Potter.
"Caught him sucking face with a girl in the common room," Rose laughed. "That's why I'm here."
"Interesting," said Peeves, with a glint in his eye. "I let you go, if you tell me Gryffindor password into that common room."
"Pig snout," Rose said grinning.
"Good girl. Now go straight down the hall and to the right. Tell no one about this."
"See you Peeves!"
Rose turned and walked where Peeves directed her, albeit cautiously.
"Rose?"
Rose let out a little scream and collided with a dark figure.
"Who...who's there?" Rose started to hit out at the person holding her.
"It's me, idiot," said a very familiar voice.
"Scorpius," Rose breathed, relaxing in his arms. "You scared me. I thought Peeves might have set me up or something."
"What are you doing, wandering the corridors like this?"
"Walked in on Albus in a...compromising situation, and he asked me to please leave so….I ran out of the room and found myself here."
Scorpions looked amused. "A compromising situation?" He laughed. "What kind of compromising situation are we talking here?"
"Dark common room, no one there but him and his special friend he's been ditching us for, cousin walks in with a lit wand to find them snogging in a corner."
Scorpius burst out laughing. "He'll never live this down."
"Wish it'd been Lily who walked in," Rose said thoughtfully, "because she'd have probably screamed."
"She certainly would if she saw us right now," Scorpius whispered, his voice husky.
Rose's breath caught. He'd never talked to her like that, never acted like he wanted to be more than friends.
"P-Probably," Rose stuttered.
Slowly, very slowly, Scorpius leaned down and kissed her cheek. Rose went red all over. She blushed quite easily, and hated that it showed so much.
"Come on," he whispered in her ear. "You can sleep in my common room."
"Lily, wake up," Albus said, shaking his sister roughly until she wok. Heaven only knew how he figured out a way in the girls' dormitories.
"What do you want?" Lily groaned.
"Have you seen Rose? Hugo and I can't find her anywhere and I don't think she came back to Gryffindor tower after she ran into me and….someone, last night."
This piqued Lily's interest. She sat straight up, grinning.
"You and someone?" She said. "And what were you and someone doing?"
"None of your business, now will you help me find our cousin?"
"I'm on it!"
And she knew exactly where to look.
"What's black and white and read all over?"
Lily blinked at the Ravenclaw door and almost laughed out loud. Lame muggle humor, huh? Easy.
"A newspaper."
"Very clever of you." And the door let her through. Lily rolled her eyes as she clambered in the Ravenclaw common room.
Lily only had to glance around once to find her cousin, very recognizable, though wearing blue.
"Hello Scorpius," Lily said quietly as she walked over to where the boy sat, watching her cousin sleep, his blue quidditch robes draped over Rose like a blanket.
"How did you get in here?" Scorpius asked in bewilderment.
"Your door needs a better riddle," Lily said offhandedly. "Why is my cousin asleep in your common room, wearing your quidditch robes?"
"Because your brother chased her off and the fat lady left her post."
"I'm not blaming you," Lily said, pretending she hadn't heard him. "I just want the 411."
"The what?"
"You know, the low down. The dirty deets? No?"
"No," Scorpius said blankly. Lily sighed.
"Get in with the muggles, Malfoy, or you'll always be confused."
"Is there a point to your visit?" Scorpius asked. "Not that I'm not pleased to see you but…"
"I was woken up at the crack of dawn by my brother and cousin. They know Rose never came back to Gryffindor tower last night, and I knew it would only be a short amount of time before those idiots thought to look here, and you would lose a good friend and get beat up by my uncle."
Scorpius did look a bit worried at that. He and Uncle Ron had just started getting along, at least a little bit.
"Scorpius."
Both Lily and Scorpius turned to see Rose roll over in her sleep, a small mile on her face. Lily nearly laughed out loud.
"Did you hear-?"
"Hear what?" Scorpius gave her a piercing look. "I haven't heard anything but you talking to me for the past few minutes."
Lily smiled. "You're a good guy, Scorpius."
A sigh. "So I've been told."
Lily giggled.
"Come on then," Scorpius said. "Help me get her out of here."
"There you are!" Albus said, sounding relieved when he saw his sister. Scorpius came up right behind her carrying Rose, who was still asleep with Scorpius's quidditch robes thrown over her like a blanket.
Albus gave him a quizzical, almost suspicious look. "Found this one outside the Ravenclaw corridors," Scorpius said, which was technically true. "She fell asleep. Looked like she was freezing, so I threw my robes on her and brought her back here. Ran into your sister on the way. She said you two 've been looking for her."
"She ran out last night," Albus said, looking exasperatedly at his cousin. Hugo still looked suspicious, however. He'd never trusted Scorpius.
"Why was she in the Ravenclaw corridors?" he asked.
"Suspect she got lost and decided to wait and see if anyone passed by. She probably fell asleep before anyone saw her though. I wouldn't have seen her in the darkness if I hadn't nearly fallen over her."
Still, not a total lie. He had barely been able to see Rose last night, and had nearly fallen when he'd ran into her.
"Well, why are you up so early then?" Hugo demanded, still suspicious.
"The house-elves give you the best breakfast food if you ask for it directly, and before they start preparing for the entire castle," Scorpius said. He knew this from sneaking into the kitchen with Albus two years ago, only to find that the house-elves were more than happy to see them, and would've cooked him double what he could have snatched.
"My mom hates people who take advantage of house-elves."
"But your mom loves Scorpius," Lily shot back. Being the same age, the two quickly got into an argument over this, leaving Scorpius time to talk to Albus.
"Big date last night?" he teased, hefting Rose up a bit.
Albus looked shocked. "How did you….?" But his face lit with comprehension. "You didn't run into Rose this morning, did you?"
"Nope," Scorpius said, laughing. "But everything else was pretty much true. She was lost, and she tried to bash my face in when she ran into me."
Albus nodded. "That's sounds like Rose." He sighed, shaking his head good-naturally. "Come on, I'll give you the password to get into Gryffindor tower and you can put her in our common room."
Peeves was waiting for them with a bunch of water balloons in front of the Fat Lady when they arrived.
"Oh Potter, you Rotter!" Peeves immediately started singing, but stopped short when he saw Scorpius holding Rose's limp form. "Murder! Murder!"
"Peeves, please!" Albus said, rushing forward. "Peeves, she's just asleep! Peeves!"
"What's going on?"
"Nothing, Professor Longbottom, sir," Scorpius said, hefting Rose up again. She'd begun to get a bit heavy.
"Who's that you're holding Malfoy?" Professor Longbottom asked suspiciously. He'd never liked Scorpius's father either.
"Rose Weasley, sir. She fell asleep."
"Then why, may I ask, is Peeves waking the whole castle up, shouting about murder?"
"I dunno, sir," Scorpius said. "He saw her and freaked!"
"And she just happened to sleep through that?"
"She's a heavy sleeper," said Albus, who had reappeared, shaking his head. "Peeves will go to any lengths to cause a ruckus, won't he? Pig snout."
The Fat Lady nodded, but said, "I'm changing the password to cherry blossoms, Potter. That awful Peeves knew the last one!"
"I'll go get him," Neville said, sighing. "Heaven only knows how many first years are scared out of their wits because our school poltergeist is yelling about murder."
"You don't yell at him for that song he made about me!" Albus yelled after him.
Neville turned, grinning. "That's because Peeves made that song about your father in his second year, and I think it fits, oh Potter, you Rotter."
Ravenclaw had won the quidditch match that year. They rest of the team's fury at Scorpius not catching the snitch his fifth year, added to the fact that Scorpius had been holding back to begin with, gave them new drive to accomplish this. So far, Gryffindor had won every odd number year Albus had been in school, and Ravenclaw had won every even. If pattern remained, Gryffindor would win during seventh year. But it was Scorpius's seventh year too, and neither of them were planning on taking it easy this year.
Hugo and Lily were now in their fifth year at Hogwarts, and Hugo was unable to play in the upcoming match. He was livid about this. But, like Rose tried so often to tell him, it was his own fault for turning his Charms teacher into a toad, and not turning him back until the toad had danced for the entire class.
So Lily had made the team. She was surprisingly good at the game, and took to throwing bludgers at the other team immediately. Considering the other beater was in seventh year too, Lily was almost guaranteed a spot on the team next year, depending on how her first official match went.
Lily had begged and pleaded with Rose, Albus, and Scorpius so much, that they'd all agreed to train with her. Scorpius was forced to play a chaser, because Lily and Albus did not want him playing seeker with them, since he was from the other team. So Rose stepped in. She hated flying. It was absolutely ridiculous, with no point, but the little gold ball was cute, and she'd been told she could keep it if she caught it. So Rose was determined to catch it. And she had, surprisingly, in only ten minutes time.
"You caught a snitch in ten minutes?" Hugo asked, incredulous. Rose nodded, grinning, as she held up the little gold ball.
"I think I'll call it Fred," she told them. They'd just gotten back to the common room, while Scorpius went to eat in the Great Hall.
"Very touching," Hugo said dryly. "Name a snitch after our uncle. That's not the point, Rose! Why are you not playing seeker for our team?"
"You have a seeker," Rose said.
Hugo made an impatient gesture."You could've tried out years ago, Rosie, or at least last year when James left."
"But I don't even like quidditch."
All three of them looked mortally wounded when she said that, and Rose could imagine her father, aunt and uncle disowning her. Her mother wouldn't care.
"Well then, what drove you towards the snitch?" Lily asked, smirking.
"I got to keep it," Rose said. "It was pretty, and I got to keep it if I caught it. There was no other reason I wanted it, honest. Well," she admonished, "I did want to get off that field as quickly as possible. Brooms are so uncomfortable, and heights can be a bit nerve-wracking."
"You're a piece of work, you know that?" Albus said, shaking his head. "Come on guys, let's go change and head to dinner."
"Gryffindor's seeker has been sent to the hospital wing and will not be able to play the match. If we do not have a capable seeker in five minutes time, Gryffindor forfeits the match to Ravenclaw," said the magically magnified voice. "And Hugo Weasley forfeits his spot on the team for the rest of the season."
"What?" Rose's parents looked horror-stricken. Her father was positively fuming. "What do you mean, he's out?"
Harry, Ginny and James all looked a bit put out. They'd all been excited to watch Lily's first game, which also happened to be Albus's last against Ravenclaw.
But now it looked like they'd have to forfeit. Except…
"I hate you with a burning passion," Rose said, grabbing her little brother's quidditch robes as he hauled her to her feet and sat in her spot. Their family looked on in confusion as she slipped the robes on and charged towards the field.
"This is so worth getting kicked off the team for a year," Hugo said, showing his parents a handful of nosebleed nougats and puking pastilles.
His mother snatched them up with an exclamation of disbelief. "Why in the world would you-is that Rose?"
For Rose had just raced out onto the quidditch field, in her brother's slightly too big robes, carrying his broom. She appeared to be arguing with the coach.
"Please?" Rose asked again. "I can play, honest! Ask my cousins."
"She can," Lily and Albus said together.
"It's true," said a voice from behind them. "I saw her catch the snitch in ten minutes her first practice."
"Oh, all right," said the coach, sighing. "Seeing as we have no other option, and this is the biggest game of the season, I suppose you can play."
"Good luck," Rose whispered to Scorpius as he started for the other side of the field.
"You too," he said winking at her.
"And the snitch is up!"
All the players shot into the air; Rose having no idea what she was doing, mostly copying Scorpius considering he was the other seeker.
"Having fun yet?" he asked, as they basically just watched the game from above, waiting for the snitch to appear in sight. Lily threw a bludger straight into one of the Ravenclaw player's stomach, and Albus had caught the ball, scoring for Gryffindor.
"I'd rather be reading a book, pretending to watch the game," Rose said dryly.
"That's no way to catch the snitch," Scorpius said, laughing. "This is an important game, you know."
"Oh, I know," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "Believe me, Albus hasn't let me hear the-"
But Rose stopped, all her senses going alert. Was that a flash of gold she'd seen?
"What?" Scorpius asked, frowning. He clearly hadn't seen whatever she had.
There it was again!
Rose darted after it, Scorpius trailing her in surprise. Just as they got neck and neck, a bludger came hurtling at them both. Rose ducked, and nearly fell off her broom. Scorpius had to grab her by the wrist to keep her from falling the seventy or so feet, and she had her brother's broom in her other hand. They'd lost sight of the snitch.
"I got you," Scorpius said, pulling her onto his broom momentarily, until she could get back on her own. He helped steady her when she had, and looked half relieved, half impressed.
"You saw that snitch way quicker than I did," Scorpius said.
Rose shrugged. "I never stop observing things, even when I can't shut my mouth."
The game went on for several more hours, neither of them seeing the snitch again until the sun had started to set. Bored out of her mind, and in a rush of excitement, Rose took off after Scorpius, who had unfortunately seen the snitch first. But Rose was fast. Soon, they were right by each other again, this time with no bludgers in sight. They both dived for it at the same time-and fell flat off their brooms.
There was an audible intake of breath throughout the entire stadium, as the two fell, and fell, and fell, closer and closer to the ground, and they hit with blinding force.
Scorpius had Rose's wrist in his hand, but she was holding the snitch.
"GRYFFINDOR WINS!" the commentator screamed. "Now, if someone will please check and make sure our seekers aren't dead…."
Rose sure felt like she was dead. She heard Scorpius groan from beside her and mutter, "Good game Weasley."
She laughed, and winced when she realized that everything hurt. "You too Malfoy. I don't know what just happened, but I am never playing quidditch again."
Scorpius laughed painfully.
"What just happened," said a familiar voice, "is that the two of you just dived a good thirty-five, forty feet to the ground. So I'd stay still if I were you."
Rose blinked in the blinding, setting sun, and could just make out Albus's face. Lily was standing beside him, and she could just see several people running towards them.
"No one's thanked me yet," Rose said, closing her eyes. "Can I keep this snitch too?"
And she let sleep claim her.
"WHAT HAPPENED?" Hermione screamed, arriving just behind her husband on the field where her daughter lie motionless. "IS SHE OKAY?"
"She only just passed out, they were both just talking," Albus said, backing up and letting his aunt and uncle through. Draco Malfoy and his wife came running onto the field from the other side seconds later.
"My son, my baby," Scorpius's mother said, cupping his face. Scorpius had lost consciousness around the time Lily and Albus showed up.
"Is she okay?' Draco asked Hermione and Ron, gesturing to Rose with a worried look. They both looked stunned.
"She'll be okay," said Hannah Abbott, who'd just appeared. "They both will, we just need to get them down to the hospital wing quickly."
"She shouldn't still be out, should she?"
"Hermione, Malfoy's creeping me out, he's more worried about our daughter than we are."
"That's because you've had a real quidditch injury and have been healed quickly enough, Mr. Weasley."
This voice was obviously Scorpius, who'd woken up just a few minutes before.
"That's enough out of you," Draco Malfoy said, not able to do anything more than throw his son's quidditch robes at him. Scorpius was still bruised up.
"Did I lie?" Scorpius laughed.
"Yes!" Draco said, grinning. "Potter was the one that got hurt every time he picked up his broom! Weasley was stuck in here from Dragon bites and…."
"A love potion gone wrong," Ron finished for him. Malfoy looked at him in surprise. Ron shook his head.
Draco had never told his son that he'd tried to poison Dumbledore, and it ended up nearly killing Ron.
"How did that happen?" Scorpius asked, looking confused. "I know love potions can cause weird infatuation, but…"
"It was a strange time," Ron said. "The love potion wasn't meant for me in the first place, it was meant for Harry, and I wasn't supposed to eat all the chocolates. So, Harry took me to our potions professor for the antidote, and we were all about to have something to drink afterwards, but of course I drank first, and it turned out to be poison. They never caught the person who did it, either."
"Wow, that's a story to tell the grandkids," Scorpius said laughing, "isn't it Dad?"
Scorpius noticed his dad was looking uncomfortable. "Sure, sure, a very...interesting story."
"Are they awake yet?" Albus panted, running in the room with his brother, sister, and parents rushing in behind him. "Professor Abbott just let us in."
"I'm up," Scorpius said, grinning. "What would you give that dive, eh, Potter?"
"A six," Albus said, grinning back at him. "You didn't get the snitch, and you were playing against Rose. You realize that right?"
"That's nice Al."
Rose let out a moan as she stirred. Scorpius and Albus shared an amused glance.
"Oh baby, how are you feeling?" Hermione asked, putting a hand on Rose's forehead. Rose swatted her hand away.
"Fine, Mum," she muttered. "Did I get the snitch?"
"You sure did," Ron said, coming to sit on the end of her bed. "That was quite a dive, Rosie."
"No," Rosie said, shutting her eyes tight into the pillow. "I know I caught the snitch, I meant did I get it?"
Ron gave his wife a confused, worried glance.
Albus explained with a laugh, "She likes the way the snitches look. She only agreed to play seeker with us during practice if she could keep the snitch, so she's probably wondering where the one she caught this time is."
"Baby, they took it," Ron said laughing.
"I'm in the hospital," Rose moaned, "I just want the snitch I caught in the only game I ever played. Uncle Harry got his first snitch."
"I'll get it," James promised, smiling.
"Hear that Rosie?" Albus whispered to her. "James Sirius has left to go lie, coerce and possibly steal that snitch back for you. So you can rest now, honey. He'll make sure you get your snitch."
"M'kay," she said, cuddling back up to her pillow and falling back asleep.
Albus chuckled. "She'll sleep through anything."
"You sure there's no internal injuries? Concussion?" Draco asked, sounding worried.
Hannah Abbott seemed annoyed to be questioned. "She'll be fine. She just needs some rest. I'll let you all back in to visit in a bit, but my patients need rest. Honestly," she said, looking back at Scorpius with a smile as she ushered his and Rose's family and friends out the door, "is it always so hectic?"
"You have no idea," Scorpius said, laughing.
When the room was finally empty, except for the two of them, Scorpius let out a breath of relief. He loved those people, but they could be a real work. He couldn't blame Rose for going back to sleep. Well, that is, if he actually believed she'd really gone back to sleep…
"Well, looks like we've had an interesting day, eh Rosie?"
"Shut up Malfoy," she mumbled.
Scorpius grinned. "I knew you weren't asleep."
"I said shut up!" she hissed. "They'll still be out there for a while, you know. I don't want them knowing I said that to get them to leave."
"And let's not forget, James is still bringing you that snitch."
"They're pretty," she said defensively.
"They are that," Scorpius said laughing. "I've just never seen someone quite so fascinated with a snitch, be quite so uninterested in the game itself. In fact, I've never seen someone so amazing at the game, that isn't so incredibly passionate about it."
"It's in my blood," Rose said, "I can't help it."
"It's really sort of unfair," Scorpius laughed. "And weird. You took a dive like that…."
"I took that dive for my cousins and my brother who made me play."
"You really do belong in Gryffindor," Scorpius said, amazed.
"You saved me in mid air and let me on your broom until I could get mine back up," Rose pointed out. "Honestly, I know we joke about what house you should've been sorted in, but I've always wondered why you weren't in Gryffindor."
Scorpius looked down at his hands for a moment. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked her quietly.
"Of course I can," Rose said immediately. "Here, come sit on my bed."
Scorpius got up gingerly, his body still sore all over, and slid under the covers of Rose's bed beside her.
"Now," she said with a gentle smile, "what's this secret?"
"I….asked to be in Gryffindor, in the first place," Scorpius told her. He'd never admitted it to anyone before, and it seemed like a huge weight off his chest just to say the words.
"You did?" Rose's eyebrows had shot skyward. "Then why…?"
"I didn't possess the qualities of a Gryffindor," Scorpius said ruefully. "Not because I was a Malfoy, like I thought the reason would be, but because I chickened out at the last second, wondering what my family would think of me if I chose to be in their biggest rival house. So in the end, I just said 'Not Slytherin', because I still had enough decency to want to stray from my family's legacy, but I was not brave enough to admit where I really wanted to be, what I really wanted to do with my life."
Rose stared at him in amazement, completely forgetting about the pain in her body from the dive she'd just taken on the quidditch field.
"So why did the hat pick Ravenclaw?" she asked quietly.
"Well, I was still raised a Malfoy," he laughed, "so I couldn't well be a Hufflepuff. And the old hat thought I was clever, wanting to make my own legacy, but not completely going against my family. Told me I was difficult to place, but that he couldn't put me in Gryffindor, and he knew I'd be miserable in Slytherin. So he settled on Ravenclaw. Bet he had no idea I wouldn't be able to figure out half the dang door's riddles to get in my own common room."
Rose laughed. "Yet Lily got in, on a muggle riddle."
"That was a blow," Scorpius nodded. "I actually didn't know that one. I waited for someone else to answer it before going in."
"Well, if it's any consolation, I think the hat was wrong about you," Rose said. "Because you have proved your bravery multiple times. In fact, I doubt you'd even be friends with Albus and I if you weren't brave enough."
"You're too beautiful to know what's good for you, Rose Weasley," Scorpius said. Rose turned to look at him, only then realizing how close his face was.
"B-Beautiful?" she stammered.
"Yes, very, very beautiful." He touched her cheek with his hand. She winced slightly, and he moved his hand to her hair. "Sorry," he murmured. "Didn't see the bruise."
"'s'okay," she gulped.
"Do you want to know the first time I knew I loved you, but maybe didn't realize it until later on?" he asked.
Rose's heart nearly stopped. He loved her?
When she didn't say anything, he continued. "It was the first time you wished us good luck during our game. You, a Gryffindor, a Weasley, wishing me, a Ravenclaw, a Malfoy, good luck, when your own cousins were playing against me. You may have thought it was no big deal at the time, but I did.
"And then we didn't speak much until third year, when a blast-ended skrewt attack forged the most unlikely-and probably forbidden-friendship between me, you and your cousin. I don't think I even really realized it then, how fascinated I had become by you. And when I did realize it, I didn't know how to tell you. I thought last year, alone in the corridors at night, seemed like a good time, but I chickened out, like always….
"But today is different. Today, I was terrified when you almost fell off your broom. And then when we actually did fall, I was just glad to see how tightly you were clutching that snitch...it meant you were alive."
"You were holding my wrist." Rose was smiling now.
"Well, I had to at least try for the snitch," he said sheepishly. "I already let Gryffindor win once."
"You didn't let me win, though," she said, looking at him suspiciously.
"If I'd have been trying to let you win, I wouldn't have followed you into that death trap of a dive."
"And here I thought you were being a gentleman, trying to grab my arm before I fell."
That was exactly what he'd been doing, when he realized neither one of them were going to be staying on their brooms. But she didn't need to know that.
"You're ruining the moment, Weasley."
"Then just shut up and kiss me," she laughed, sounding just a bit breathless. That was all the invitation Scorpius needed.
He pressed his lips to hers with as much pressure as he could without hurting her. His body hovered merely an inch above hers. To Scorpius's immense surprise, Rose responded immediately, twining her fingers through his hair and tugging, pulling him closer, molding their figures together. She nipped at his bottom lip, as if begging him to to open his mouth. He wanted more, he needed more of her.
It was over far too soon. With a shudder and a gasp, Scorpius pulled away, his lungs screaming for air. His ribs ached, and he remembered just how hard he'd fallen earlier.
"Rose-"
"No, it's okay," Rose said, wriggling under him as an attempt to move away. Scorpius grabbed her wrist.
"No, I just can't breathe," he said quickly.
Rose laughed, her voice shaking. "Oh, right."
"You know, broken ribs being healed and all…."
She was still staring at him, the smallest of smiles on her face.
"What?" Scorpius asked finally, going to lay back on his own bed.
"You're just funny to watch when you're flustered," she said, a giggle escaping her lips. He'd never heard her giggle like that before.
"I got the snitch!"
They both jumped at the voice of Rose's older cousin, James, rushing back into the room. Both tried to look as if they hadn't just been snogging.
"Oh, were you asleep?" He asked, suddenly wary.
Rose rolled her eyes but didn't answer. "Come here, James. Let me see it."
Rose took the snitch from her cousin and smiled at it. "Here," she said, handing it to Scorpius, "something beautiful, as a show of your bravery."
"I'm interrupting something," James said, a suspicious glint in his eyes.
"Ready for one more act of bravery?" Rose asked, directing her question to Scorpius and ignoring her cousin
She was giving him a meaningful look. He let out a shaky, half amused-half nervous, laugh. "For you, anything."
James had gone white. "I'm just gonna...go…"
"No, stay," Rose said.
"But get your family first," Scorpius added. "We, um, have news. Might as well rip the bandage off while they're still so happy we lived."
The news took everyone by surprise, although it really shouldn't have considering how close Scorpius and Rose had gotten over the years. Draco was actually happy about it; he adored Rose. He just acted a little weirded out that his son and Ron's daughter were now dating, meaning the two could potentially be in-laws some time later. Hermione was ecstatic. Ron was subdued, but overall happy for his daughter. He'd had a real moment of terror, watching her fall, and couldn't think to be upset over something as actually small as this. Albus told them it was about time, and Lily couldn't stop squealing long enough for them to know what she thought of the news. James said he was only going to accept this because Gryffindor won his last year (Rose and Scorpius glanced away at this) and they'd won again this year, when both his siblings had been playing.
Lucius Malfoy wasn't so accepting, but Scorpius couldn't have cared less. He was through letting his grandfather bring him down.
Scorpius would never push back who he was to save his parents' feelings again. He'd formed the most unlikely friendship with two of the bravest people he knew, and because of that, a once forbidden love could now occur.
Thanks for reading! I know it was really long, but I worked on it like nonstop for three days and I finally came to a stopping point. I hope you guys like it! Let me know what you think in the reviews, please, and hopefully I can get more Harry Potter stories here later.
And for my WOSA and Already There readers, don't worry I'm not giving up on Auslly. This is just something new to go along with my other stories. I'll still be updating my other stories (hopefully soon) and will continue to write for Auslly until I feel I've gotten all I can from their characters :)
Again, I don't own anything you recognize.
God bless you all!
-Daddysgirl11