Written for the Quidditch League, Round 9, for my position as Seeker for The Wigtown Wanderers

Prompt: Twelfth Night

Words: 1100

Based on Twelfth Night, where Rose represents Viola.

A Favour

"Rose, you know Lily, right? How do I get her to notice me?" Scorpius asked one Saturday afternoon, staring over at the younger girl where she sat in the shade of a tree with her friends. Her long red hair was shining in the sunlight as her long legs lay out in front of her. Rose just shook her head and laughed, ignoring the tug of her heart strings at his words.

"You go and talk to her. Convince her you're human first, then you remind her you're male, and then you make your move. She's only fifteen; she's at the age where she'll jump at any chance of love. Plus, she's a romantic," Rose replied, sighing heavily, not wanting to get involved. She did anyway, for Scorpius' sake. Hugo made fun of her for it, claiming she's jump into a burning building as it fell if he asked her to.

"Rose, won't you help me? She's your cousin, you could talk to her, put a good word in for me!" he suggested.

"Why? Why can't you do it yourself?" she countered, feeling annoyed but hoping it didn't show.

"Because I'm useless around women," he admitted.

"You're not useless around me," Rose countered.

"You don't count, we've been friends since we were eleven. I know too much about you to be nervous," he replied with a casual shrug.

"Thanks for the compliment," Rose retorted, before standing to walk over to her cousin.

"Hey, what did I do?" she heard him call from behind her, but she ignored him. Boys were stupid.

Sighing, she fixed a smile on her face and sat down beside Lily and her friends.

"Hey."

"Hi, Rose," Lily smiled, and Rose had to admit her smile was brighter than the stars when they shone on a clear night. "We were just discussing Belby. He's been trying it on with Katy here. What do you think of him?"

"Depends if you value brains or brawn," Rose replied with a shrug. "He's definitely only got one."

The younger girls burst into a fit of giggles at Rose's comment, loving the older girl's quick wit.

"While we're on the subject, Lils, what do you think of Scorpius?" she asked, casually dropping him into the conversation.

"I wouldn't want to say; you're his friend," Lily replied, honestly.

Rose laughed, she couldn't help it. "Just because I'm his friend doesn't mean the sun shines out of his arse!" she said, making Lily smile.

"Well, then, I think he's an arse. He's obnoxious and full of himself, and he needs a good hex or two between the eyes to take him down a peg," Lily replied with the brutal honesty she'd inherited from her mother.

"Yeah, he is," Rose replied with a smile. But I think I love him anyway. "He's also thoughtful and ridiculously unsure of himself. Most of his persona is an act." She shrugged before turning to the redhead beside her.

Lily fixed her with a knowing smile. "Why do you ask, anyway?"

"No reason," Rose replied. Because he asked me to.

"If you say so."

Rose was sat with her brother at the Ravenclaw table one lunch time, looking from Scorpius to Lily as if she was trying to work something out.

"What's up?" Hugo asked, barely looking up from his food.

"Nothing," she replied. Hugo said nothing, just snorted. He knew his sister well enough to spot the lie.

"FIne," she sighed. "Scorpius has asked me to try and set him up with Lily."

"That boy's a marvel," Hugo replied, shaking his head, his ginger hair falling about his eyes. "He's also blind."

"What do you mean?"

"He's chasing after a girl who'll never like him, looking right past the one stood next to him," Hugo reasoned, looking back to his food as if nothing more needed to be said.

Rose sighed.

A week later, Rose looked back over her efforts and realised it was hopeless. Everytime she'd tried to mention Scorpius around Lily, the younger girl had become more and more resolved that Rose was talking about him for her own benefit rather than Lily's. She sunk into the chair in the empty classroom with a deep sigh, feeling completely deflated. It was like the universe had decided it wasn't enough that she couldn't be with him and make him happy - she couldn't even get him with someone else to make him happy. She was a hopeless case, and to make matters worse, Scorpius would be here soon, full of questions about Lily.

"How's it going?" he asked as he walked in, as if right on cue. Rose knew that though the question was ambiguous, there was only one thing on his mind.

"It's not working," she told him, watching as his bright blue eyes dropped, losing a little of their sparkle.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because we're too close, Scorpius. She thinks I'm only talking about you because you're my friend. She's just not thinking about you that way," Rose admitted, purposefully omitting the romantic connotations that had been hidden in her cousin's words.

"But that's ridiculous!" Scorpius announced as he dropped into the seat next to her. "Us being close means that you know me better than anyone! I mean, you've always been there! If you can't talk me up, it's a completely lost cause," he complained. He seemed to think for a moment. "Could you try again? Please, just one more time, then I'll give up."

Rose ignored the lump that formed in the back of her throat as she stood, turning her pain into anger.

"Why do you even like her?" she rounded on him, her voice explosive. "What's so great about her, really? It's just like a Malfoy to want what he can't bloody have! No. For the record, no. I won't talk to her again. Do your own dirty work!"

She flounced from the room before she had a chance to burst into tears in front of him.

Scorpius sat in the classroom, flabbergasted. He didn't understand women. He didn't understand at all what that whole scene was about, but something about it reminded him of something Hugo had said to him a few days ago. "Maybe you're going after the wrong girl."

Something akin to realisation hit him hard in the chest, and he thought back over the words he'd just said, eyes wide and face pale.

He whispered into the darkness, "She's always been there."

Making to stand, he rushed for the door, calling out into the halls, knowing he had to find her. "Rose!"