"You got detention with Malfoy?" Lily stormed over to her cousin in the Gryffindor common room.
"So what? It's punishment enough to have it, I don't need you telling me what to do," Rose dismissed Lily and went back to some plans she was drawing up.
"I was just warning you, that if you get another one I have to let Aunt Hermione know," the younger girl held a stance too similar to Rose's mother for anyone's liking.
"Lily, go away before I take a leaf out of James and Fred's books and hex you back to the burrow," Rose glared at her cousin before reaching for her wand on the desk. Lily sensed the danger and realised that Rose was serious. She muttered an apology before turning on her heels and running off to the girls dorms.
"What did you do to her this time?" Hugo, collapsed into the chair next to his older sister half an hour later.
"The usual. Told her to bugger off after she started telling me what I can and can't do. What happened to you?" Rose surveyed her brother, sagged in the small armchair.
"I will get on the Gryffindor team this year. Trials are next week, I'm flying laps of the pitch before practicing defending the goals. I can't fail again, Dad would kill me."
"Cheer up Hugo, you're 14. You shouldn't care what he says, I don't."
"Yes you do. You pretend you don't because then people will think you're a strong 16 year old, which you are. But you study for tests a month in advance just so you can beat Malfoy and keep Dad happy. Plus you're already on the team," Hugo raised his eyebrows at his sister, when she didn't reply he smiled.
"Malfoy!" Rose smacked her forehead and sat bolt upright. "See you later Bro, I've got a detention with Slughorn."
"With Malfoy?" Hugo asked.
"Yes. But this time it wasn't my fault. He asked for it."
"I don't want to know Rose." The corner of Hugo's mouth curved into a smile. Rose jumped up and patted Hugo's shoulder before running out the portrait hole. Hugo spied his sister's plans, still spread across the table.
"Another prank on Malfoy? Good gosh Rose, going for a record number of detentions?" He packed the plans away for his sister before heading up to his dorm, still muttering about Rose's habits.
Rose burst into the potions classroom.
"Sorry I'm late professor, I was just helping some first years..." she stopped her fake story when she realised that there was only Malfoy in the room.
"Late, lying and... Late and lying I see. Oh and Slughorn said that he'd be right back and that until he was, we were to reorder the cupboards in the classroom."
"Shut up Malfoy. Well I guess sorting isn't that bad." Rose sighed and stepped further into the room.
"I'll start over here," Malfoy stated pointing to the wall behind the teachers desk.
"And I'll start over here," Rose answered walking to the wall furthest away from the blonde.
An hour past and the two students were each starting their second wall.
"Hey Scorpius, what exactly did Slug say when he left?" Rose asked as she collapsed and sat on the floor.
"He said he'd be right back, we had to sort the cupboards, he just had to... I don't know. He didn't say. Tired Rose?" Scorpius sat on a stool nearby. They both froze.
"You just called me Rose."
"So? You called me Scorpius"
"We've never done that."
"In all our years at Hogwarts."
They shook their heads.
"Pssh why does it matter? Seriously it is your name anyway," Rose bluffed. In the hour they had been cleaning, neither had insulted the other and had made her realise that maybe he wasn't all bad.
Oh get a grip Rose, it's only been one hour she told herself.
"You're the one who brought it up anyway," Scorpius scoffed. But he couldn't help remembering when he had helped her sort one of the top shelves because she could'nt reach, they had brushed hands when passing ingredients. That had only been 40 minutes previous.
'Seriously Scorp? You're meant to hate her' he thought.
"And to answer your previous question, Malfoy, yes I am tired," Rose packed as much force as she could into the two syllables that formed his name.
"How come?" he asked simply.
"Helen Cralle, she's the Gryffindor quidditch captain, is making us practice... Before we have a whole team! Plus I'm trying to keep up with N.E.W.T.s level homework as well as designing pranks for you," Rose lay down on the cold dungeon floor.
"Pranks for me? What, so I'm a going to receive a weekly dose of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products?" Scorpius laughed.
"I love how the only thing that I said that you're interested in is what concerns you," Rose laughed as well. Scorpius smiled at her laugh, it had a softness to it that he never saw in her.
"Thank you, I know, I'm so good at being self-centred," he bowed. Rose clapped.
After a ten minute break of laughing at each other, in a good hearted manner, they realised that even though Slughorn showed no signs of coming back anytime soon, they should continue cleaning. They finished the room working together instead on opposite sides of the room and found they worked mush faster. Another hour later, once they were done, they decided to go and find the professor. On their way out Rose remember to get her bag, as she ran back into the classroom, Scorpius flicked his wand. As she bent down to picked up her bag, a red rose appeared on the strap, she turned around to see Scorpius Malfoy standing two metres away, his hand outstretched.
"Rose Weasley." he stepped forward and held his hand out to her. "Shall we skip this joint?"
"May as well. Better than mopping the floor next," she took his hand and he picked up her bag for her.
As they walked up the stairs and into the great hall, Lily walked past. She looked at them, and at their entwined hands.
"About bloody time," she huffed and walked off.