AN: I seem to have school on the brain at the moment. I guess I can understand why. Not my characters, as ever. This is prompt 70 - sixty-seven percent.
The first time Rose Weasley scored less than full marks on a test, the Howler from her father ensured that the entire school knew about it only a day later. As the only daughter of Hermione Granger-Weasley, she had a certain reputation to uphold, and she'd failed to do so in the most spectacular fashion.
"Sixty-seven percent?!" screamed Ron Weasley's disembodied voice, sounding remarkably like his mother after the flying car incident.
Rose blushed, and tried to hide behind her hair. For a Ravenclaw to do so badly was unheard of, and Rose never got less than full marks. Beside her, Scorpius Malfoy sniggered.
"Does your dad know he sounds like a banshee?"
"Probably not."
The Howler bellowed for almost five full minutes without seeming to breathe, before it suddenly went silent. The mouth continued to move, but no noise came out for a while. When it began to speak again, it was with Hermione's much calmer voice.
"Rose, don't worry about it. There's more to life than exams." Despite the words, her voice conveyed disappointment. For Rose, that was worse than all of her father's blustering. Ron had always been volatile, but he usually got over his anger just as quickly. Hermione was usually far more reasonable about everything.
She tried to sneak out of the Great Hall, wanting to get to Transfiguration early. Perhaps she could make up for her poor grade. Scorpius, however, wouldn't let her. Grasping her wrist, he pulled her firmly back into her seat.
"There's nothing you can do about it now. Besides, it wasn't your NEWT exam."
"It was a mock NEWT exam though."
Scorpius smirked. He knew exactly why Rose had done so badly, and his mark was no better. Not that she knew, of course. Having no sleep the night before a test was not the way to do well, but at the time, sleep hadn't been a major concern for the two of them.
...
"And for homework, I want three rolls of parchment on the theory of conjuring objects. Miss Weasley, I expect this piece of work to be considerably better than your last."
Blushing, Rose lowered her head, staring down at the scratched, worn desk. "Yes, Professor."
At the end of the lesson, she rushed out, still embarrassed. Having everybody staring at her wasn't exactly what she considered welcome attention.
"Rose!" Scorpius called her name, and she halted in her mad dash down the corridor, waiting for him to catch up. He was slightly out of breath, a little flushed, and she was reminded of the night before her disastrous test. He thrust a pile of books into her hands. "You left all of these on the desk."
She took them, squashing them into her already bulging bag. "Can't exactly do the homework without them, can I?"
"Going to start it now?" They both had a free lesson, and usually spent it in the library together.
"If that's ok with you."
He nodded, took her hand and they walked up several moving flights of stairs to the library. Madam Pince was, finally, used to seeing them together, but it had taken nearly six years. At first, she'd nearly fainted upon finding a Malfoy and a Granger working peacefully together. In the entire history of Hogwarts, that had never happened before. Their favourite table by the window was occupied, but as they were allowed into the Restricted Section (and, indeed, needed to go there) that's where they went. Rose had always found it slightly creepy, but it was quiet, since so few students were allowed there. They would be left in peace, at least for the time it took to write three rolls of parchment. She found a table and unpacked her books, while Scorpius perused the shelves for anything else that was relevant. She knew they worked well together - their family history had never been an issue from the day they'd both been Sorted into Ravenclaw.
They worked peacefully for a while, sharing notes and passing books across the table, indicating certain parts of the text. Their free hour had nearly passed, when a metallic clang made them both look up. The gates separating the Restricted Section from the rest of the library had swung shut, locking automatically. The banshee howl couldn't be heard, so it wasn't caused by an intruder. To Rose and Scorpius's knowledge, the gates were only locked at night.
"Alohamora!" The unlocking spell worked everywhere else in the school, as their parents had discovered many years before. The gates, however, remained firmly locked.
"Alohamora!" Rose cast the spell again, more forcefully. Again, nothing happened.
"Rose?" For the first time in almost seven years, Scorpius's voice shook. "I think we're locked in."
"There must be a way out of here. There are secret passages all over the school." Rose paced up and down. "I wish I had the Marauder's Map."
She'd explained the map to Scorpius years ago, but Harry Potter, Rose's uncle, had locked it away somewhere, possibly even in Gringotts. In frustration, she rattled the gates, but leapt back quickly when the metal turned hot to the touch, burning her hand.
"There must be another way out." She stalked away from the gates, scowling. "Start looking."
"How?"
"I've no idea."
The lights flickered, then went out altogether. Rose gripped her wand tightly, but before she could cast Lumos, Scorpius had done so. She clung to his hand as they investigated the Restricted Section, looking for passages. The glow from Scorpius's wand showed a small patch of wall that washollow. They pushed it, falling through into a narrow, dusty corridor. Scorpius sneezed, and the sound echoed around them. "Well, I guess all we can do is follow it to the end."
"I hope it does actually end somewhere inside the school."
Knowing there was no alternative, they set off. The passage, lit only by their wands, was long, narrow and twisting, containing several flights of stairs. By the time they emerged into an unused classroom, they had no idea where in the school they were.
"I've never seen this room before, have you?"
A cackling laugh came from behind them. "The ikkle students have got lost!"
"Peeves, now is not the time."
Scorpius muttered something under his breath, which sent Peeves flying backwards, out through the wall. "Time to get out of here - we must be really late."
As it turned out, they'd missed two lessons entirely, and several members of staff were scouring the school in search of them.
...
"I've only ever heard of this happening once before, and that was many, many years ago." Professor McGonagall looked at the pair sitting across from her. "Lily Evans and James Potter managed to get themselves locked in the Restricted Section during their last year. Somehow, the school always knows what is best for its students. Lily and James learnt how to get along in their little adventure in the Restricted Section.
...
Later, Scorpius and Rose were discussing what Professor McGonagall had told them. Lily and James had ended up as the great love story of their generation. Perhaps the school was trying to tell them something about their burgeoning relationshop, to encourage them.
AN: I don't need to tell you, do I? You all know what to do next.