'Cause this is torturous, electricity
Between both of us and this is
Dangerous 'cause I want you so much
But I hate your guts
I hate you

I want you so much
But I hate your guts
I hate you

"Scorpius, I'm on prefect duty – can't this wait until our tutoring session tomorrow?" Rose glanced up at him, trying to conceal her irritation, and awaited a response. She had hidden it pretty well, but his tap on her shoulder had really startled her. That must be why her heart was still pounding – she could feel her pulse in her ears.

"This isn't-" He came to an abrupt stop, seemingly to consider what he was about to say.

This was enough to shock Rose – Scorpius was never, ever at a loss for words, and at that moment he was almost stuttering. She studied his face as he struggled to figure out what he wanted to say – his usually smooth forehead was contorted into a frown: he looked almost pained. Whatever it was he was about to spit out, it was obviously important.

About a million years later, he spoke.

"I don't want you to tutor me anymore"

"What?"

Of all the things she expected him to say, it was not that. Sure, they weren't exactly besties, but this had completely blindsided her. Faced with losing her tutoring sessions with him, she realised that she had stopped hating them a while ago. In fact, she almost looked forward to them now – not because of Scorpius, of course, but because the progress he was making was really satisfying. Once she got past his arrogance, she had actually taught him something – albeit something completely irrelevant to subject she was supposed to be tutoring him in – but it had felt good. She didn't want to lose that feeling.

"You heard me" He repeated. Any vulnerability Rose had seen – or thought she'd seen – on his features before had smoothed out to his usual arrogant expression.

"But Mcgonnagall-"

"Screw what Mcgonnagall said, I don't want to come to our sessions anymore. I am sick of being tutored, and I am especially sick of being tutored by you."

Rose was still pretty much in shock, so when he turned to leave she didn't say anything until he was almost at the end of the corridor.

"Wait!" She shouted as she ran to catch up with him. She grabbed his shoulder and spun him round to face her, ignoring the anger etched across his face. "You can't just quit. I thought you wanted me to teach you how to conjure a corporeal patronus? You are so close to being able to do it"

"I don't care about a fucking patronus, Weasley – the dementors are under control, so why would I even need to be able to conjure one?"

"Because they might not stay under the control of the ministry forever! When my parents-"

"Oh don't give me some bullshit story about your parents back in their day. We don't all have heroic stories to tell about out dear old ma and pa, so save it" He spat, averting his gaze from hers.

Rose felt a twinge of guilt – she hadn't meant to rub her parents' past in his face. She had tried so hard all her life not to be that girl who spent all her time talking about her mother and father and 'uncle Harry' and how they defeated Voldemort. Especially not when faced with someone whose parents had been on the other side of the war, and had barely fought. Now she had both become that girl and really pissed someone off in the process. Good one, Rose.

"Look, I'm sorry. But you really can't give up on this."

"But I really can. And I really am. So really watch me."

She opened her mouth to tell him he wasn't making any sense, then decided it probably wouldn't be the best time to correct his grammar.

He turned to leave again, but Rose was nothing if not persistent.

"Just tell me why. Give me a good reason why you want me to stop tutoring you and I'll leave it alone and get back to my prefect duties"

He whipped around and leaned right in, so close she could feel his breath on her face.

"I told you why, Weasley – I am sick of you"

"Okay, I know you don't exactly like me, but-"

"I am sick of you! Jesus, Weasley – get it into your stupid head"

Rose was really getting angry now – it took a lot to rile her up, but Scorpius' irrational arrogance had just crossed the line which he had toed all year with his snide comments, blatant dismissal of her intelligence and every single arrogant expression he had made. He had just stepped right across that line, and now there was no going back. Rose was a pressurised container which had been placed on a fire until it reached the point where it was about to explode. And that she did.

"You're sick of me?!" She shouted, shoving his shoulder with the heel of her hand. Her green eyes were fierce with rage. "I was sick of you before I even tutored you! I tried to say no when Mcgonnagal asked me to! But I somehow ended up doing it anyway, week after week, for a year and a half, even though I had MUCH better things to be doing with my time. And now you have the nerve just to throw it back in my face and tell me that you don't want me to give up my time to teach you incredibly difficult spells which you, by the way, are actually pretty fucking good at?! Fine. Have it your way you arrogant dick."

Rose's decision at the beginning of the year to stop swearing had been broken, and so had her resolve not to show her hatred towards Scorpius and to treat him as she would any ordinary Hogwarts student – for the purposes of tutoring him - but she didn't care. Apparently she wasn't tutoring him anymore, so civility was no longer necessary.

To her intense surprise, Scorpius didn't respond. He simply looked at her, incredulous.

"Aren't you going to say anything?!" Rose was panting from the intensity of her anger – she hadn't shouted at anyone in a long time. For a generally peaceful person she felt disturbingly exhilarated.

If she had thought his lack of response was surprising, that was nothing compared to what he did next.

Before she even had any idea what was happening, Rose's back was pressed against the stone wall of the corridor and Scorpius' hands were on her waist, his body pressed up against hers. He leant down and kissed her like he had been submerged underwater and was only just coming up for air. His lips crushed against hers with a passion so intense it would have terrified Rose if she hadn't been so shocked.

As if she could not have been any more surprised, she felt herself kissing him back. Her lips moved with his almost as if she weren't moving them herself, as if a subconscious desire for this to happen was seizing on the opportunity before she came to her senses and inevitably shoved him away. This part of Rose's subconscious held on to the moment for a couple more seconds, savouring the feeling of heat which arose in the pit of her stomach and the hypersensitivity of her hips to his touch. Then the more rational, conscious part of her brain placed her palms on his chest and pushed him off her until he was at arm's length.

Before she could say anything, he fixed his eyes on hers for a couple of seconds, then turned and walked away. This time she did nothing to stop him. She just stood there with her hand on her lips and her pulse still pounding in her ears.

"What just happened?"