"Scorpius Malfoy, please pay attention."
Professor Aldervell rapped on Scorpius' cauldron with her ruler, and the young Slytherin jolted upright in his chair. "Your potion is purple; it's time to add the rat spleens."
Scorpius fumbled around on his desk for the rat spleens, then dropped them in, causing the potion to hiss angrily. "Sorry, Professor," he mumbled. "Just lost in thought."
Aldervell smiled knowingly at the Fifth Year, raising her eyebrows and staring pointedly at a redheaded girl across the classroom, who was focusing very intently on her potion, while her classmates chatted in an animated manner.
Realising that Aldervell had caught on, Scorpius reddened considerably. "I'll try to focus more," he promised the professor.
"You'd better," she replied. "That girl has taken your attention away from your potion more times than I can count."
"Malfoy, have you added the powered Griffin Claw yet? Everyone else has almost finished their Strengthening Solution."
Scorpius snapped his gaze away from Rose Weasley, but Aldervell had already seen. However, what had before been a meaningful look was now more like an exasperated one. She walked over to his desk and crouched down beside it, speaking so quietly that Scorpius could only just hear.
"Scorpius, while I understand what it feels like to be in your position, I must ask that you refrain from ogling Miss Weasley during my lessons, if it means that you don't concentrate on your potion. I hardly think she will find you admirable once your cauldron has blown up and your hair has been burnt off."
"I'm so sorry, Professor," Scorpius stammered. "It's just… This is one of the only lessons that we're with Gryffindor." He managed an uneasy laugh. "I can't seem to take my eyes off of her."
Professor Aldervell shook her head, her eyes shining with amusement. "I can't keep letting you off like this," she muttered, more to herself than to Scorpius. "But I suppose I have a soft spot for lovesick boys. At least what distracts you isn't as dangerous as it is for some of the others."
As she said this, there was a soft bang from the other side of the classroom, and Aldervell quickly stood up and hurried over to it. Scorpius glanced over at Rose once more before turning back to his potion. What he saw was a girl staring down at her cauldron, hard at work. What he hadn't seen was her quickly averting her gaze when he looked to her, so he wouldn't notice that she had been staring at him too.
"Rose, what would you say if I were to partner you with Scorpius Malfoy?" Professor Aldervell asked Rose during their next Potions lesson.
Rose blushed and fidgeted. "I – I would be fine with that, Professor," she stuttered awkwardly. "Why… Why do you ask?"
Aldervell shrugged, acting nonchalant. "Oh, I don't know," she said breezily. "I just thought that perhaps you might be playing hard to get, and I wouldn't want to spoil that for you; I know how tough it is to be evasive. But if you have no objections I will be sure to set you up immediately!"
"What?" Rose asked, her mouth hanging open in surprise. "Set what up?"
"The partnership, Rose." Aldervell winked. "Do try to keep up." She stood up to leave. "Oh, and your potion looks excellent, I'm very impressed." Then, speaking louder now, so that other students could hear: "It's nice to see that some students aren't as easily distracted as others."
Scorpius scowled. Aldervell smiled, knowing full well it would be an expression of joy had he heard the rest of her and Rose's conversation.
"Professor, can you help me with this potion?" he called out to Aldervell. She smiled and walked over.
Aldervell peered down into the murky brown depths of Scorpius' cauldron. "The potion looks excellent," she told him, "but I suspect that is not the real reason you called me over here, is it?"
"Were you talking to Rose about me?" Scorpius asked bluntly.
Professor Aldervell had a look of mock surprise on her face as she said, "How dare you accuse me of such a thing!" then she gave Scorpius a smile, raising her eyebrows. "Don't worry, Malfoy. I'm married with two children, and my husband was just like you at school. I have more tact than you'd think, and a lot more common sense. Leave this to me."
Scorpius frowned. "Does that mean… Are you helping me, Professor?" he asked.
As she stood up, Professor Aldervell looked down sternly at Scorpius. "I don't get involved in the relationships between my pupils," she told him, before offering a final wink. "Unless it affects their potion making."
"Come in and settle down quickly, we've got something different going on today."
Rose Weasley stumbled into the classroom, trying to blink the sleep out of her eyes and use her hand as a comb for her tangled hair. As she all but fell into a chair, Rose vowed silently to never oversleep again.
She looked up at Professor Aldervell just as she announced to the class, "There is a partner list at the back of the room. You will be making the Wit-Sharpening Potion. Before you protest, I am aware you made these last year, and they were extremely simple. However, this lesson is more a test of how well your partnership is, especially when enforced upon you. Supplies are in the cupboard by the wall. You may begin."
Everybody rushed to the partner list on the back wall, where several groans of disappointment ensued. Rose stood up and walked over, waiting until the crowd had cleared before she attempted to get close to the list. With everybody else going to get their supplies now, only a few students remained by the list. It just so happened that as Rose peered at the list, trying to find her name, she was standing right next to Scorpius. She found her name at the same time that he found his own, and they both turned to look at each other in surprise.
Rose Weasley partners with: Scorpius Malfoy.
"I guess we're partners," Scorpius said, giving Rose a weak smile.
She nodded. "I guess we are."
They both smiled at each other for a moment, before Scorpius turned and fumbled around for the first ingredient. As he did so, he caught Professor Aldervell's eye. She winked at him, and he narrowed his eyes.
"Can you pass the Scarab Beetles? I'll start grinding them while you put in the Ginger Root and Armadillo Bile," Rose offered, and the pair began to work.
The whole time, Scorpius was desperately trying to think of something to say – anything that would start a conversation.
Suddenly Aldervell was calling for samples of their potions and everyone was packing away. Scorpius cursed. Had the whole lesson really passed already? It had barely felt like minutes.
As Scorpius delivered the vial to her desk, Aldervell pulled him aside. "Did you do it?" she asked, perhaps slightly more eagerly than a teacher should have. "Did you ask her somewhere?"
Scorpius shook his head miserably. "I couldn't do it," he told the professor truthfully. "She'll probably just laugh in my face."
"Are you insane?" Aldervell stared at Scorpius, a look of disbelief on her gorgeous features. "Scorpius, she's crazy about you! It's down to you to make the first move, but believe me, she won't laugh at you."
He opened his mouth to protest, but Aldervell walked over to a different student handing in a particularly atrocious potion and started shouting at them, leaving Scorpius to glare at the empty space where she had been standing. He turned to walk back to his desk, where Rose had just finished packing away.
"This was fun," she said, giving Scorpius a shy smile that made his stomach do a somersault.
He nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, it really was," he said, hoping the smile he was giving her was attractive rather than creepy.
Rose started to walk towards the door, where a couple of her friends stood there waiting, laughing about something. "Well, see you around," she said hesitantly.
"Definitely," Scorpius replied.
"But you lingered and everything?" Casey asked Rose in disbelief. "And he still didn't get the message?"
Rose shrugged helplessly. "I did everything you said," she sighed. "I guess he's just not getting the message."
Sitting in the Great Hall with her three best friends, Rose was trying not to show that she was anxiously watching the door, waiting for Scorpius to enter, but nonchalance was not her forte. "Looking for someone?" Ella teased, and Rose blushed furiously.
Just at that moment, Scorpius and a couple of his friends walked into the Great Hall. Rose noticed Albus by his side, and allowed herself a small smile. Much to her father's surprise, Scorpius had retained none of the beliefs of his parents, instead growing up to be a decent young man. She felt her cheeks growing warm again and ducked her head to hide it.
When she dared to look up again, Rose was surprised to see Scorpius and his entourage making their way over to her. She looked over at her friends, frowning uncertainly, and they all smiled conspiratorially. Casey gave her a small thumbs up and winked.
Rose turned to face Scorpius, who was now standing in front of her, fidgeting nervously. She stood up, immediately regretting it. Scorpius bit his lip, then said awkwardly, "It's March the eighteenth."
"Oh," Rose said. That was not what she'd been expecting. "Erm, yeah, I guess it is."
Scorpius looked back at Albus, who nodded encouragingly. "It's March the eighteenth," he said again, with more confidence. "And do you know what is special about March the eighteenth?"
Rose shook her head and Scorpius grinned.
"March the eighteenth," he said, "is Hug-A-Ginger day!" And before Rose could say anything, he scooped her up into his strong arms and held her there. All the breath rushed out of her, and everywhere that their skin touched was tingling.
Their faces just centimetres apart, Scorpius still hadn't put Rose down half a minute later. Rose wasn't breathing as he leaned in closer, closer, closer… Then his lips had pressed against hers and her heart was thumping like a stampede of elephants, and it was one of those moments that went on forever.
Then, too soon, Scorpius drew back, a giddy expression on his pale features. "I've liked you for so long, Rose Weasley," he whispered.
Rose gazed into his eyes, feeling like she could melt. "Well, why didn't you do something about it before now?" she asked.
"You tell me," he replied.
Laughing, Rose pressed one, short kiss against his lips. "Because you're mental, that's why!"
Scorpius nodded and shrugged, and Rose slid to the floor. He bent over so his nose was pressed against her. "You make me mental," he said. "You drive me crazy."
"Wake up, sleepyhead," Scorpius said, tickling Rose until she batted his hands away. "You'll never guess what day it is."
Rose groaned and rolled over. "It's Saturday," she said. "And I thought that meant I could lie in, but I guess I was wrong, so do please enlighten me."
Scorpius grinned and pressed a kiss to his wife's cheek as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. "It's March the eighteenth," he whispered. "And I'm not the only one who wants to hug you today."
At that moment the door flew open, and before Rose could speak, a huge lump had jumped on top of her and Scorpius. "Happy Ginger Hug day!" cried Carina, their six-year-old daughter. Rose laughed and pulled Carina in close.
"Happy Ginger Hug day," Rose replied, kissing the young girl's forehead.
Scorpius put his arm around the pair of them. "Happy first kiss anniversary," he told Rose. "The day it all began."
"March the eighteenth," Rose grinned. "The best day of my life."
Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 13
Team: Holyhead Harpies
Position: Beater 1
Task: Write whatever you want.
Prompts Used:
(word) evasive
(occasion) Hug-A-Ginger Day
(dialogue) "Because you're mental, that's why!"
Word Count: 1,991