A/N: I have really enjoyed entering the realms of the Rose/Scorpius fics so I figured I would give it a shot. If people like this chapter and review, I will write more to the story...hope you like it

Disclaimer: Haven't got a witty way to say that it's not mine...so, that said, its not mine.

Rose Weasley stared at the list of ingredients she needed for her shrinking potion. Perhaps scowled at the list would be more appropriate, as Rose could not brew this potion on her own. As a result, she was extraordinarily annoyed that her potions partner had still not shown up after 15 minutes of class. It was most unusual for Scorpius Malfoy to miss a class or even come late. However, it was not unusual for Rose to be irritated with the aforementioned boy. Rose turned her scowl toward the door, hoping that she had simply missed Scorpius' entrance and he was talking to one of his Slytherin friends instead of helping her in order to irritate her further. She looked about the room and saw no tall blonde boy hovering over other students' work. Rose sighed loudly and scanned the list once more before shifting her chair back moodily and heading toward the store cupboard. She hurriedly gathered the ingredients she needed and set them noisily onto her work bench so that everyone would know that she was mad. What Rose didn't realise was that nearly the whole of Hogwarts' population was able to tell if she was mad purely by looking at her ears. Not only had Rose Weasley inherited her father's red hair, but also his ability to go from zero to irate in two point three seconds flat. It would have been quicker however it took the whole two point three seconds for the blood to rush to her ears before she could verbalise her frustration.

Rose's cousin Albus was about to address her but hesitated upon witnessing Rose's already flaming ears and quickly turned back to his own workbench. Albus never thought that he would pity a Malfoy, but in this moment he did. Rose began chopping up her chochurra roots and all Albus could think of was that if Scorpius walked in at this moment, his life was quite possibly in danger. Luckily Rose had put the knife down and was scraping the cut up roots into her cauldron when Scorpius finally arrived. Rose only acknowledged his entrance when she felt the heavy thump that Scorpius made when he sat down. Rose smirked as she saw Professor Eaves look up from her desk and notice Scorpius' arrival. Rose's smile widened as the professor's eyes squinted in disapproval in Scorpius' direction.

"Glad to see you could find the time to join us Mr. Malfoy." Said the professor. Then she went back to her parchment. That's it? Thought Rose.

"That's it?" Apparently Rose had lost her ability to keep her inner thoughts within her head. The professor raised her eyebrow at Rose's outburst.

"Miss Weasley, do you have something to say?" Rose glared at Scorpius, who had still not reacted to anything. Rose was never to be the one to talk back to a teacher, and today was not a day to break tradition.

"No professor," she replied, almost as if she was in pain.

"Excellent. Can you please tell fill Mr. Malfoy in on the assignment for the day."

Rose turned to Scorpius who was still staring at the table and shoved the potion list under his gaze.

"Right, we're making a shrinking potion. I've already collected all the ingredients and have chopped and added the chochurra roots. You can squeeze the cephola pods and take the spoon and begin stirring ten times counter-clockwise. And don't think I'm going to let you get away from coming in late and making me set up by myself, every other group is already up to part four and we, that is I, have only begun part one so get off your lazy aristocratic arse and actually do some work." Rose took up her knife again and handed Scorpius the spoon whilst continuing her rant. "Merlin knows that you can walk into class late and frickin' get away with it without so much as a telling off or a detention and quite frankly I would love to know how you had the teachers wrapped around your little finger, but we have better things to do. Why the hell were you late anyway, you're never late!"

Rose finally stopped talking while Scorpius had followed every instruction she had given him. Rose furrowed her brow as she looked at Scorpius. He was listening to her. He never listened to her.

"What, no 'don't tell me what to do Weasley, I know more about potions then you know hair taming spells'?"

Rose thought that provoking him further would get a response, but Scorpius' jaw simply clenched tighter and he continued working. Rose looked at him with something akin to concern in her eyes. She decided to continue her usual tactics.

"So I guess I should revel in your silence then? I never thought I would see the day that you would simply just give up and admit that I'm better than you. Academically I mean, but I don't doubt in other ways too. It would really make a difference if you actually told me out loud but don't worry, I can read your silence well." Rose paused again, waiting for a reaction. She was starting to get really worried. Scorpius was the only person she was openly rude to, and it helped to play the bitch when there was something to retaliate against. Rose perked up slightly as she saw Scorpius open his mouth, possibly to talk back but he closed it again and quickly set his jaw again. Rose became even more frustrated.

"I got it wrong, my mistake. You know, if you want to act all superior and above it all, just be yourself because it's so much easier to deal with your incessant whining and slander when you are vocal about it. Just because you're a Malfoy-"

There was a loud bang as Scorpius slammed his palms against the table.

"Do you ever stop fucking talking Weasley, or do you take pride in being able to irritate people to the point of anger? You don't know what the fuck you're talking about so just, just shut up!" Scorpius forcefully dragged his chair back and stormed out of the room without another glance. Professor Eaves had been watching the whole interaction between her two star pupils and her eyes followed Scorpius' retreating back as he left the room. The professor sighed and addressed Rose.

"Miss Weasley, would you kindly go after your potions partner and see if you can bring him back to class?"

Rose was so confused as to what had just happened that it took her a long moment before she registered the request. She was mad at Scorpius, but that was nothing new. They had a mutual dislike for one another and tended to use this as a means to get under the other's skin. He pushed her buttons and she pushed his right back. Finally the professor's orders clicked.

"You want me to go after Malfoy?" she asked, rather perplexed.

"You better hurry Miss Weasley, he has a quick stride." The professor said curtly. Rose's eyes widened in disbelief.

"In all due respect professor, I don't think that is a good idea. I doubt I would have any persuasive powers against Malfoy at all. Would it not be better to send one of his housemates?" Rose asked hopefully, really not wanting to follow the boy.

"Miss Weasley, the other students are halfway through their potions and you have barely started. I would like you to go after Mr. Malfoy as it is both convenient and I believe you two could also do with an opportunity for a civil interaction. So in all due respect, Miss Weasley, I would like you to go after him. I suggest you hurry." And with that the professor looked back down at her parchment again.

Rose had stormed out of the classroom somewhat the same way Scorpius had and suddenly realised she had no idea which way the boy had gone. Rose turned right and reasoned that if Scorpius hadn't turned in this direction and she didn't find him, that she would at least be spared another difficult interaction with him. Rose continued to storm down the corridor and mumbled insults and empty curses with her thoughts of Scorpius. She had taken another random turn at the end of the corridor and saw the flash of a blonde head near a tapestry that hung on the wall some 20 metres from where she stood. Rolling her eyes and trying not to think about what would happen next, she quickened her pace and forcefully flung back the tapestry.

"Turning up late to class and then storming out, what the fuck is with you today Malfoy?"

Scorpius turned around with a little more force that was probably intended. The glare in his eyes was definitely intended.

"What the fuck is with me? ME, Weasley? What the fuck is with you? Why would you even give a shit if I was acting differently, you're normally too much of a bitch to notice anything other than yourself. Why would you spend so much time pissing me off and then run out of your precious potions class just to find out what's going on. I had you pegged as a prejudiced wench but never a gossip monger Weasley."

Rose's worry was beginning to overshadow her outrage at all Scorpius had just said. They normally stuck to shallow insults that were either very mild or held no truth whatsoever that they weren't offensive in the slightest. Rose felt these insults were coming from another place entirely. Then, for the first time that day, she realised that Scorpius' hair was fair more messy than would be considered normal and that his eyes were rimmed with red and his usually pale, flawless skin was tinted pink. Due to her shock, Rose's reply was half-hearted.

"Why do you think I'm prejudiced?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes and stepped closer.

"How could you not be? Just because I'm a Malfoy doesn't mean you have me pegged. I'm not a death eater or a muggle hater and my family are, are," Scorpius' rant petered out and Rose noticed that his eyes had started watering. Scorpius forcefully wiped at his face with the palm of his hand. Despite her dislike for the boy, Rose couldn't help but feel for his vulnerability. Despite this, she couldn't figure out where his prejudiced comment came from. She quickly thought back to her rant in the classroom. Just because you're a Malfoy. It was the first time Rose had ever used his last name as an actual insult. While they called each other by their last names, they never used it as an excuse for an insult. Something in Rose's brain clicked.

"Is this anything to do about your grandfather dying?" Rose asked softly. Scorpius looked up at her shocked. His eyes suddenly looked toward the ground.

"Look, I'm sorry that you think I'm prejudiced, I really am because I'm about as prejudiced as you are. But I've been sent here by the professor to attempt to bring you back to class, and I can't do that unless you want to simply walk back and pretend like nothing happened or you can tell me what is going on and I can figure out what to do." Rose paused. "I know we don't really know each other that well but I can tell there is something wrong and it's fair enough if you don't want to tell me but don't you dare take it out on me and start with false accusations."

Scorpius seemed to have listened to everything Rose had said. Rose thought he looked defeated. As Scorpius turned his back to the wall and slid down to the floor, her suspicions were confirmed. Rose decided to sit against the wall across from him until he decided to speak. She didn't know how long she would have to wait, but she would.

It took 10 minutes before Scorpius even made a sound.

"It was my grandmother." Rose had been staring at the wall above his head and was quickly brought out of her reverie.

"Sorry, what?" There was a pause again.

"My grandmother, it was my grandmother who died. I mean, grandfather died a month ago and that was…well, and this is just so – I don't – I don't know."

Rose looked at Scorpius' defeated expression.

"I'm so sorry." She said, and she meant it. She knew that Scorpius' grandfather had spent most of his latter years in Azkaban, but that his grandmother had resided with his family in Malfoy manor.

"Were you close?" she asked. Scorpius merely nodded. Scorpius sensed that Rose didn't know how to reply so he continued.

"I am, um was, her only grandchild so we sort of struck up a bond. I mean I love my parents and all and we get along as well as most parents and kids do, but with grandma it was just different. It was more special. She really got me."

There was another long pause but this time Scorpius didn't bother to fill it. He wasn't even sure why he was telling her all of this. He suspected that she usually riled him up enough to get him to verbalise things he normally would keep to himself and that this was an extension of that. After a couple of minutes of silence, he heard Rose speak.

"I lost my Pa last year. I know our situations are different and all, I mean my Pa had me and Hugo and even though he was from my mum's side of the family and she's an only child, he was practically an extra Pa to the rest of the Weasley's and Potters and there are heaps of us. But it's so easy to get lost among that many relatives and Pa really just…well it's like you said, he just understood me and that just made everything so much easier." Rose smiled, getting lost in thoughts of her grandfather.

"You know he was a dentist, just like nan, and he used to be such a killjoy when we were kids eating all those wizard lollies and chocolates, saying that we would end up with false teeth by the age of 20. I used to just argue that I could use magic to get my teeth back to normal, just like I think my mum did. I've seen pictures where she had really bucked teeth, but then after her fourth year her teeth looked much smaller, so I reckon that she figured out a spell to make them more normal or started wearing them down by biting on a stone or something. Anyway, one day I was upset because everyone was playing quidditch and I'm the only person out of all my cousins to not take a liking to the sport so everyone kept leaving me out of other games and things throughout the holidays. I used to pretend that it didn't bother me but Pa saw me moping under a tree with a book and knew I was upset. He started to ask what was wrong and I decided to tell him about feeling so different and not fitting in or being special and blah blah blah. Then he did something that I'll never forget. He put his hand in his mouth and pulled out a set of false teeth. The dentist who had been so adamant about oral health and teeth care had false teeth and had never told anyone. Not even my Nan! Apparently he had them before he even met her because he ran into a bump on his bike one day as a teenager and got flung into the handlebars and lost a lot of his teeth. After showing me he quickly put them back in and explained that now I should feel special again because I knew something that absolutely no one else in the family knew."

Scorpius had watched Rose throughout her story with a puzzled look on his face.

"So you talk too much even when you're not insulting me or bossing me around." he said, more as a statement than a question. Rose didn't feel embarrassed by this. Her stories always had a point.

"I was just trying to say that I understand." She shrugged.

"You could have just said so."

"But would you have believed me or thrown it back in my face?"

Scorpius thought for a moment.

"Fair call."

There was another pause.

"Okay, so you need to decide what to do. Are you coming back to class or do you need to just get away?"

"I think I'll make this a sick day."

"Okay, you just stay here then and I'll go back to class. I'll come back with your bag and books." Scorpius looked puzzled again.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I'm not actually a bitch, only to you sometimes and at this moment, I don't dislike you."

Rose got up to exit the secret hallway. Just as she was almost past the tapestry, she heard a quiet 'thanks'. Rose smiled and made her way back to the classroom.

Fifteen minutes later, Rose found herself at the tapestry once more. For the first time in her life she was hoping to see Scorpius Malfoy, hoping that he hadn't left. After pulling the tapestry back she dumped the load of books and bags on the floor before she looked up to see if Scorpius was still there. He was still sitting in the same position. Rose collected Scorpius' belongings from the lot on the ground and handed them to him.

"Ah, thanks."

"You're welcome. Eaves must be in a good mood today, she hardly mentioned what had happened and we both got off Scott free."

"She went to school with my mum. She probably knows."

"Ah that explains it." Rose replied, and for the first time was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. They were being civil to one another and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to act or what was going to happen now.

"You have your own books and bag." Scorpius stated.

"Ah yeah, I figured that there was no way I could do any work of value for the rest of the lesson so came up with an excuse to get us both out of classes for the day. It's gunna suck when they find out its not true though."

"Why what did you come up with?" Scorpius asked sceptically.

"I said you weren't feeling well so I found you in the hospital wing and told Madame Pomfrey about Eaves sending me after you blah blah blah. Anyway I said that the nurse found out you had the tiki virus and you weren't allowed to fall asleep or the fever would take hold so because I was already there I could stay with you to keep you awake. Effectively gets us out of a whole day's worth of classes."

Scorpius looked at her in awe for the first time ever.

"Huh. That's actually a good one."

"Yeah until they find out that we aren't actually in the hospital wing."

"Well they may never find out. If we stay out of sight of everyone for the rest of the day."

"Hopefully."

Scorpius began putting his books into his bag. Once the bag was fully zipped up, he looked at Rose yet again.

"Why have you helped me?"

"Like I said, you don't have me pegged. I'm not prejudiced, I don't hate you and right now I don't dislike you. I know what you're going through but I had family to help me, and I think I would be right in guessing that you haven't told anyone?"

Scorpius looked a little miffed that she had guessed right and curtly nodded his head.

"Well then, that's why." She replied rather smugly. Another pause interrupted their unusual conversation.

"So I guess we'll get out of this corridor before the halls are full again?"

"Too right!" Answered Rose. They both stood up and exited their hiding position. Scorpius scuffed his feet, looking a little hesitant while Rose faced the direction she was planning to go.

"So I guess I'll see you around?" She asked, trying to wrap up their interaction neatly.

"Ah yeah." Scorpius nodded, still looking at his feet.

"Will you be okay?" Rose asked and Scorpius shrugged. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Okay then, well I'm heading this way," Rose replied and pointed toward the left. Scorpius didn't react so Rose just said 'bye' and started walking off.

"Rose?" Scorpius yelled out. She stopped in her tracks and let her surprise show on her face.

"So I'm Rose now am I?" She asked with a smirk. Scorpius smirked back.

"Just for today," he replied.

"So what were you going to say?" Rose asked after yet another pause.

"Um I was just wondering whether – if you could. Ah, never mind." He finished and began to walk off to the right. Rose rolled her eyes.

"Scorpius did you want some company? Last year all I wanted was someone to distract me."

"That would be good," he nodded sheepishly. "So I'm Scorpius now?" he said with a small smile, attempting his own distraction.

"For today? Sure. Come on, I know somewhere we can go."

A/N: If there isn't much interest I probably wont keep going so please review if you want me to continue. Cheers people!