Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Rose Weasley stomped through the Forbidden Forest, her feet making loud squelching sounds against the muddy ground. Her Dragon-hide boots were caked with the filthy substance and it had cunningly made its way across her tattered old jeans and down her shirt as well. The only soil-free zone of her body was her face, but since it was covered with sweat instead, this gave her scant pleasure.

Her short red hair was swept back neatly by a black band that she had borrowed from Alicia Williams, one of her roommates. Her expression was one of great determination and her nose was scrunched up in a way that her father, Ron Weasley would instantly recognise as dangerous. Rose Weasley was on a rampage.

She could handle being teased by her cousins about being the most un-Weasley-ish person in the clan, could even handle her father's slightly worried enquiries as to whether she was really enjoying Hogwarts. Like her Mum had said, they were just boys. Those insignificant yet irritating creatures that were necessary for populating the planet with their stinky socks. (The only exception to this rule that Rose had so far encountered was Simon Chang. But he was an entirely different matter all together. A mouth-watering matter with shiny black hair and a dimple that accompanied the bright smiles he'd been sending in her direction lately.)

Rose liked her books. She was happy in the almost illusory world of the Hogwarts library, where there was perfect silence and stacks of knowledge. When she picked up a book, the words seemed to float off the page and dance around her eyes, delighting her. The feel of the solid, heavy volumes in her arms was akin to ecstasy. And above all was the delightful fact that she was learning.

She was not the first Weasley Ravenclaw, but she was definitely unique. Many people saw her as similar to her Uncle Percy but her family saw their differences clearly. Percy had immersed himself in books for a reason. For Rose, the books were the reason.

But when her idol, her North Star, her own brilliant Mum suggested that maybe Rose was losing herself too far in books alone... Well, that was the outside of enough. Rose decided to prove, for once and for all, that she was by no means the dullest Weasley ever. (That title, in her opinion, belonged to her cousin Molly.)

But there remained the slight problem of precisely what she should do. She badly wanted to ask career troublemakers Fred and James for advice but her own stubborn pride stopped her. She considered Albus, who also possessed a streak of mischievousness although he didn't display it nearly as often or in as grandiose a manner as his brother. He was also closer to her age, and a lot less likely to tell anyone that she had gone to him for advice. But getting him alone was a difficult task. She couldn't just walk up to him and ask him in front of everyone. And detaching him from his friend/almost brother, Scorpius proved next to impossible. However it also turned out to be unnecessary.

Hanging close enough to them to eavesdrop, with her face concealed behind a thick book, had given her rewards beyond her wildest expectations. It seemed that the two were planning to retrieve the old Ford Anglia that had once belonged to her grandfather and sending it to him for his birthday the following week. They had chosen Saturday to venture into the Forest and so Rose had decided to outsmart them by going there on Friday and taking the car herself.

Unfortunately, the car itself was no where in sight and even though she wasn't quite ready to admit it, Rose Weasley was utterly lost.

"Weasley?"

Rose bit back the urge to laugh like a loon. Of all the people who could have found her in this pathetic state, it seemed almost fitting that the Fates would pick Scorpius Malfoy.

"Malfoy," she almost growled.

He jumped off the tree he'd been sitting on. (One of its branches tried to hold him back but he gently shook it off and it bent to help him slide instead. The second he got off, the tree turned into a wood nymph, who blushed and ran away. Typical. As lousily typical as the fact that his clothes weren't even wrinkled and he didn't have a singly blonde hair out of place.)

He surveyed her with frank curiousity. "What's in the bag?" he asked, nodding towards the big black satchel hanging from her shoulder.

She didn't see the point in trying to deny what she was doing so she handed him the bag and sat down with a huff. He opened it and swore softly when he saw the contents.

"These items are from our checklist," he stated flatly. "The one Al and I drew up for getting that car out of here."

She nodded. "Is that what you're here for?"

"No. I'm just verifying that this is the right area because I have a free period. You know, I told Al that was you behind that old copy of Terrible Transfigurations. He thought I was joking."

"Well, I suppose I am the most boring Weasley ever," she replied bitterly.

Scorpius looked alarmed. "You aren't going to start crying, are you?"

"No."

"Good." He heaved a sigh of relief. "Eloise seems to do that a lot these days."

She frowned, trying to remember who Eloise was and how she was related to the boy standing in front of her. Scorpius saw her confusion and said, "My girlfriend. You need to get out of your books a little, Weasley."

His words were so reminiscent of her mother's that Rose wanted to pick up the nearest stone and fling it at his head. She bent down and picked up a knuckle sized grey stone. "I know."

Scorpius regarded the stone warily. "Are you going to hit me with that?"

"Maybe. I haven't really decided yet. So you were saying something about Eloise being a human hosepipe?"

"Yeah, she never shuts up these days. I generally try to shut her up with snogging. You know, you're a strange girl."

"Maybe if you actually tried listening to whatever's bothering her, it would help. And I am not strange."

"You're being sarcastic with the advice there, aren't you? And yes, you are a barmy bird."

"I think you're both mad," said Albus, entering the clearing in which they were standing and shaking a stray leaf out of his hair.

"Oy! Thanks, mate."

"You had two totally distinct conversations going on at the same time. St. Mungo's Loony Ward was made for people like you."

"Is eavesdropping some kind of genetic thing?" asked Scorpius.

Albus's fist shot out to punch his smirking face but Scorpius ducked in time and within seconds, the two of them were locked in a tussle. Suddenly, two grey rocks hit them both on the head and they sprang back.

"For being idiots," said Rose primly.

As the three walked away from the Forest, bickering and laughing, the first tendrils of a bond connected them.

(Although Scorpius and Rose's habit of talking about two completely different things in a single breath never ceased to irritate Albus, Rose wished the boys would choke rather than eat with all the grace of drunken hippopotami and Scorpius never stopped yelling 'Fire!' whenever Albus or Rose brushed their hair.)

AN: I'm thinking about turning this into a collection of RoseScorpius oneshots. Anyone interested?