UNEXPECTED DECLARATION

Scorpius watched the big, red Quaffle fly toward the goal post and felt a surge of triumph as it sailed through the hoop, the Gryffindor Keeper's fingers just barely missing it. The blond haired, green eyed Slytherin did a celebratory loop in the air. Albus Potter, his fellow Slytherin Chaser and best friend, cheered as he flew past.

"Nice one, Scor!" he yelled happily. Slytherin was up 140 to 60. The match had been going on for three hours and both team Seekers were frantically searching for the Snitch. Gryffindor Seeker, Rose Weasley was flying in determined circles around the Quidditch pitch. Scorpius prayed that Rose wouldn't see the Snitch before his Seeker. She was the best Seeker at Hogwarts, having been taught well by her Uncle Harry. If she caught sight of the Snitch first, it was all over.

An hour later, the Snitch still hadn't been caught and the score was now Slytherin 240, Gryffindor 90. Suddenly, Scorpius saw a flash of scarlet shoot in front of him and he knew that Rose had spotted the Snitch. He turned just in time to see her snatch the golden ball out of the air.

"ROSE WEASLEY HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! THE MATCH HAS AMAZINGLY ENDED WITH A TIE! 240 TO 240!" yelled the commentator, a Hufflepuff boy Scorpius didn't know.

Simultaneously happy that they hadn't lost, but angry that they hadn't won, Scorpius flew down to meet his team on the ground, where they, the Gryffindor team and Headmistress McGonagall were assembling.

When everyone had gathered around, McGonagall said, "It is exceedingly rare for a tie to occur in a Quidditch match. Both teams fought valiantly, but since there was no victor, a tie-breaker match will be scheduled after I've had a chance to look at the academic calendar."

Noone was too disappointed that they would get an extra Quidditch match that year. After McGonagall had walked away, Scorpius overheard Fred Weasley, Beater and Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team telling Rose off.

"Why didn't you wait until we'd scored one more goal?" he asked her. "Lily was about to get the Quaffle past Zabini and we would have won."

"Fred, I wasn't about to just let the Snitch disappear again." she told him. She was clearly annoyed. "It was a four hour match and that was the first time I even glimpsed the stupid thing. Besides, the Slytherin Seeker saw it too. He was right on my tail and if I hadn't gone after it, he would have caught it and we'd have been crushed."

Fred just grumbled in response because he knew she was right. Scorpius didn't catch her reply to his mumble because he'd walked away to the showers, smirking. Rose had a knack for putting people in their place. He, himself, had been on the receiving end of her sharp comebacks and remarks many times. It was just part of being one of her best friends. Scorpius, Albus, and Rose were as close as friends could be. They spent every spare moment together and Scorpius often joined Al and Rose at the Burrow over holidays when his parents went on vacation to places he had no interest in going. The Weasley-Potter family loved him, much to his surprise. The animosity between their families seemed to have ended with the war for the most part. He was glad of it because he loved spending time with Rose and Al. Al had been his best mate since first year and Rose had quickly joined them. They'd all been thick as thieves for years, but things had begun to change. When they were in fourth year, Scorpius started to feel nervous around Rose and couldn't figure out why. It wasn't until she'd started dating her first boyfriend in fifth year that he realized what was happening. The jealousy that sprung up in his chest when he saw her with the Ravenclaw sixth year told him that he had developed feelings for his best friend. They were in sixth year now and Rose had since broken up with the Ravenclaw and dated and broken up with a Gryffindor boy. Scorpius still hadn't told her how he felt. He'd tried once, but the words caught in his throat when he thought about what his declaration might do to their friendship. Now, considerably depressed at the turn his thoughts had taken, Scorpius sighed and pulled his sweaty Quidditch robes over his head and stepped into the shower.

After showering and changing into jeans and a soft, gray hooded sweatshirt, he exited the boys locker room and promptly collided into Rose as she came out of the girls locker room.

"Ooooooff," she said as she was sent sprawling onto the floor. Scorpius couldn't help but laugh as he held out a hand to help her up. She scowled up at him, but took the hand nonetheless.

"Couldn't be bothered to watch where you were going, Malfoy?" she asked, haughtily.

He just grinned at her. There was a slight flush on her face and he found it absolutely adorable. Her red curls were flying wildly around her face as usual and she was dressed in a baggy sweater and jeans. God she was gorgeous.

Unable to resist his laughter, she slowly broke into a smile too and pushed him playfully.

"Nice catch today." he remarked as they began their walk up to the castle.

"Thanks," she said. "Although apparently it wasn't good enough for Fred."

Scorpius shrugged. "He's just pissed that you lot didn't officially win."

"I know, but it's not like we aren't getting another chance." she said.

"True."

She sighed. Scorpius felt his skin tingle when her hand brushed his. He flexed his fingers automatically and shoved his hands in his pockets. The temptation to grab her hand was almost overwhelming.

"Scor, can I ask you something?" she said quietly after a moment, she'd stopped walking.

"You just did," he teased, "but of course."

"Why did you break up with Tiffany?"

He hadn't been expecting that. He stopped looked at her, contemplating what to say. He'd recently broken up with his Slytherin girlfriend. He'd dated her and tried to forget about his feelings for Rose, but when he realized that it wasn't working, he just felt guilty for using Tiffany and ended the relationship.

"I guess she just wasn't the one for me." he said, meeting her gaze. Her eyes were a stunning shade of blue, almost turquoise. He felt heat rise in his cheeks as she held his gaze.

"Why?" she asked.

Because she's not you, he thought. What he actually said was, "I don't know. Just a feeling."

Rose nodded and looked at the ground. She seemed to be thinking very hard about something. Scorpius knew that there was something more she wanted to say, so he waited, his heart rate quickening.

Looking up suddenly, Rose fixed Scorpius with a very intense stare. Her face was as red as her hair and she was trembling slightly. She took a big breath and said in a somewhat shaky voice, "Look, Scor, I realized something when you started dating Tiffany. I didn't like seeing you with her. At first I thought it was just because I don't particularly care for Tiffany, but then I realized I would feel the same way if it were any other girl. I was jealous." she stopped and looked down again.

Scorpius didn't dare believe what he was hearing. Was this really happening? He stepped closer to Rose and lifted her chin so that she was looking at him. "You were jealous?"

She blushed an even deeper shade of red and nodded. She mumbled something incoherently.

"I didn't catch that, Rose." he said softly.

She took another breath. "I said, I think I might be in love with you, Scor."

Scorpius wasted no time. He immediately bent and kissed her. She froze in surprise for a split second, but then she kissed him back wrapping her arms around his neck. His arms slid around her waist and he pulled her up against him.

He gently ran his tongue over her lips, wanting to deepen their kiss and she granted him permission. They stood there, lost in each other, until a shout from the direction of the Quidditch pitch caused them to spring apart. They looked over to see several students rounding the corner by the locker rooms. They hadn't seen anything.

Rose and Scorpius looked at each other, both flushed from the heated kisses.

"Wow," Rose said.

"Yeah." Scorpius replied.

They silently walked the rest of the way to the castle. Scorpius agonized over what she was thinking about. She had a look of concentration on her face. He hoped desperately that she didn't regret what had just happened. He didn't think he could bear it if she told him she didn't want that to happen again. It was all he could do not to whisk her away to some secluded location and continue snogging the life out of her.

When they reached the castle she stopped just inside the door and he did the same. She remained silent until the group of students that were behind them passed and then she looked at Scorpius.

"I'm not very hungry." she said, nodding toward the Great Hall where dinner was being served.

"Me either." said Scorpius, his stomach twisting in knots.

"I was thinking," she began slowly, a smile creeping up on her lips, "that my common room will be empty right now..."

Relief and happiness washed over Scorpius. He smiled slyly at her, "Well, it would be a shame to waste such an opportunity."

She laughed, and took his hand. Together they made their way to the Gryffindor common room to continue what they'd started.