Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own its characters.. And I am not in the mood to write something witty and funny right now, so bare with me. (Pretend to laugh politely…please…)

Anyhow, this is a Rose/Scorpius fic, so enjoy :)

-mariaty

Mistakes

Prologue

Her first mistake was making fun of his name.

She had boarded the train behind James and Albus, entering the first empty compartment they found. They sat there, the younger kids silent, as James told them tales of the school.

The train whooshedto life, and then they were off, gliding with intimidating speed on the rails. Her breath was caught in her throat, and after a few moments she let it out slowly, trying not to choke in the process.

"Trust me," James turned to her. "You want to be in Gryffindor."

"Just because you're in Gryffindor it doesn't mean it's the best house," Albus huffed. She could see he was getting quite tired of his older brother's bragging.

"You're just saying that because you know you are going to be in slytherin."

"But Dad said—"

"Never mind what Dad said," James cut him off. "Slytherin is the worst house. You know who goes to Slytherin? I'll tell you – arrogant purebloods, bullies, deatheaters' children—"

At that moment the door opened and a face appeared at the door. It was the blond haired girl her father had pointed out at the station. He mumbled something about a full compartment to someone behind the door, and was about to turn and leave, but then James smirked at him.

"Speaking of the devil," he said, his voice nasty.

The boy turned his head back and narrowed his eyes. He sensed that the comment was meant to him, she could tell. He straightened his posture, eyes proud and determined.

"You must be Potter," he said, his voice dry and businesslike. "Allow me to introduce myself – Scorpius Malfoy."

James snickered quietly. She remembered what her father had told her at the station, and she turned to Albus.

"Scorpius," She whispered to him, loud enough to be heard in the whole cabin; loud enough for the boy to hear it, too. "What sort of name is that?!"

He narrowed his eyes dangerously at her. She could tell she had crossed a boundary by insulting his name.

"And you're a Weasley, the red hair tells it all. If I can all that nasty bush of ferns hair, that is."

She resisted the urge to flatten her unruly hair. His comment found its mark, but she wouldn't let it show.

"Oh—now you've done it," James said. "No one makes fun of the hair."

"I'm so scared," the boy said in an unnaturally high voice, mimicking hers. He didn't wait for them to reply, closing the door behind him loudly.

"See what I mean?" James said after a few moments. "You don't want to be in Slytherin."

"I agree," she said.

Albus still wouldn't show defeat, sticking to his father's words as if they were made of iron.

"You shouldn't have let him go like that, Rose," James said. "Show him what you've got."

She rolled her eyes. "I haven't got anything."

"Sure you do. Remember that little stunt I showed you yesterday?" He said, flicking her wand, which she was holding in her hand.

"I'll get punished on my first day."

"No, you won't. It will be fun, trust me."

"It seems our definitions of fun are not the same," she said dryly.

"You two are so boring," James said, making a big show of yawning. "I can't believe we're related."

"Me neither. I bet he's adopted," Albus said under his breath, so only she could hear. She giggled.

"What are you two whispering about?" He demanded.

"Nothing," Albus said smugly.

"Anyways, as I was saying…" James said.

She sighed loudly and leaned her head against the window. This was going to be a long ride.

A few minutes past; she couldn't bear it anymore.

"I have to go to the restroom," she mumbled as she walked out the door quickly.

She walked slowly down the isle, looking for the restroom. The train seemed so long and never-ending. A few feet in front of her a group of kids stood huddled together, laughing. As she passed the group she noticed him standing there, and she stared for a while. He seemed to be leading the conversation; all eyes were resting on him. He turned his head and noticed her, his eyes narrowing, a scowl on his face.

James words poked steadily at her consciousness. That Malfoy boy thinks he's so great, she thought, a little flick of annoyance burning inside her. He's no better than me.

"You should be scared," she stated, matter-of-factly.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "What do you want, now?"

"You said you're so scared. Well, you should be."

She didn't leave him any time to reply. With a swish of her wand, she recited the spell James had shown just a day earlier.

"Furnunculus!"

She watched with satisfaction as the green, horrid goo covered his face. His eyes widened and he placed his hand tensely on his cheek, green substance dripping from it.

Before she could let herself be too smug, a few sparks escaped her wand, and then her spell backfired at her. Green goo spit out of her wand and covered her and her fresh new robes.

The people around them laughed and pointed. The two of them stood there, hands at there sides and covered in green goo, staring at each other.

She looked at him, his face full of the slimy thing, too shocked to do anything next. This situation was too much for her to bear. He looked so silly standing there, and she figured she looked exactly the same. She couldn't help it; she smiled.

And that was her second mistake.

_/_/_/

His first mistake was making fun of her hair.

"Scorpius, what sort of name is that?"

He wouldn't let her get away with it. He hated it when people made fun of his name, and he hated it even more when she did; with that smug look on her face.

He glanced at her slightly bushy, auburn hair. "And you're a Weasley, the red hair tells it all. If I can all that nasty bush of ferns hair, that is."

The girl's hand flinched a bit, but apart from that, she didn't let her posture fall. She looked at him calmly, and that intrigued him; he wanted her to show defeat, as so many others do.

"Oh—now you've done it," the Potter boy said. "No one makes fun of the hair."

This was a waste of time. "I'm so scared," he said, leaving and closing the door behind him.

"Full," he announced to the people waiting outside the door.

His group moved from compartment to compartment, finding most of them all, or partly, full. At last they found an empty one, but they didn't enter it just yet. They bought a few chocolate frogs from the stand.

He opened the wrapper and quickly ate his frog. Underneath it was a collectors' card.

"Look who I got," he said, a grin spreading across his face.

In his card there was a picture of a merry, round faced man. The man was moving slightly, as they always do in magical pictures, yawning from time to time.

"Neville Longbottom," one of his friends said.

"My father was in his year," he said.

"He teaches Herbology, I heard," someone offered.

"Yes, Father said so," he said. "And he said this was the only job he could get, and you know why? Because the plants were the only ones with a brain smaller than his!"

Everyone laughed. Even one second-year, whom he overheard say he likes Herbology, laughed. He liked this. He liked it when everyone looked up at him.

They continued talking, sharing funny rumors they heard of teachers in Hogwarts. He sensed someone looking at him, and when he turned around, he saw her. He narrowed his eyes and scowled, trying to scare her away. But it didn't work.

"You should be scared," she stated, matter-of-factly.

He didn't know what she was talking about. "What do you want, now?"

"You said you're so scared. Well, you should be."

He was about to say something nasty back, but she didn't give him the chance. She raised her wand and flicked it wildly.

"Furnunculus!"

He instantly felt something wet and slimy splash on his face. He put his hand to his cheek and watched in horror as green goo dripped from it. He stared at the girl, unsure how to react. She looked smug, but it didn't last long; the spell backfired at her, and soon she, too, was covered in slime.

People around them laughed. They stood there, mere feet away from each other, staring.

He was about to attack back when, suddenly, her lips curled upwards into a smile. Her smile was sweet and shy, exposing white teeth against the green goo. It was such a sweet smile, and such a funny situation, that he couldn't help it.

His first mistake was making fun of her hair.

His second was smiling back.

_/_/_/

One day – so many mistakes. But, alas, these were mistakes that needed to be made.

This was meant to be a oneshot, but I think I'm going to continue it. What do you think?? Did you like it?? If you did (and even if you didn't, I don't care – well, actually I do – but helpful criticism is always good!), you should press this nice little button down here…