First try at a Scorpius/Rose multi-chapter; let's see how it goes!
"Weasley," Scorpius began, in earnest (though rather hushed) tones. "There's a new Ministry decree. They've been forced to reintroduce arranged marriages for anybody still unmarried. Weasley, you're the only hope for a wretch like me. Without you, they'll put my family in Azkaban. My mother - her health is failing. She won't survive a month there. Will you be my wife?"
Rose turned over the page in her book.
"Weasley?" He waited for a moment, before assuming the same pleading expression. He even clasped his hands for effect, and then wondered if this was too far. "Not even for my desperately ill mother?"
"Your mother seemed in perfectly good health when she sent you that Howler last week," Rose said absently.
Scorpius almost grinned, but suppressed the expression in time. Weasley rarely missed a trick. It was part of what made her one of his favourite sparring partners. He leaned over, taking care to keep his voice low. "Howlers can be deceiving. C'mon. Please? It's a bona-fide Ministry decree. Without me, you'll probably end up with some part-troll like Warrington over there."
Finally, Rose looked up from her reading. "Which one is Warrington?"
Surprised, Scorpius pointed the offender out. He was actually astonished that Warrington knew where the library was, even after six years, but on the other hand, maybe Scorpius was giving the guy too much credit. Maybe Warrington was lost on the way to Transfiguration or something.
"Okay," Rose said, considering. Scorpius's triumphant smile halted when she continued, "I like the look of him. I'll marry Warrington."
"You - wait, what? Warrington? No, Weasley, he's the one near the window."
"Yes. The one not inventing scenarios to keep me from reading. Now, bugger off, Malfoy."
Scorpius was about to continue arguing with her, when a hand landed on the back of his seat, tilting it backwards. He flailed briefly, hands scrabbling for purchase on the desk.
"You heard the lady," Albus said quietly, trying not to attract the librarian's attention. She wasn't a fan of Albus; apparently his father used to write in books. Trust Madame Pince to maintain a petty grudge against the war hero Harry Potter. "Come along, Scor. Quidditch pitch is free. Let's get out of this place. All these books are going to bring me out in a rash. No offence, Rose."
Well, Scorpius never needed to be told twice. He ruffled Rose's hair, and left her to it, taking care to scatter her work in the process.
"You get your Charms homework done?" Albus asked, swinging his bag so it knocked into Scorpius.
Scorpius glanced back at the redhead bent over her books. He snorted when he realised her papers were back in order but her hair was still in disarray. Weasley's priorities weren't exactly your average teenage girl's priorities. "Something like that. Just let me grab my broom, and I'll meet you down there."
Albus scoffed. "Right, after you waste half an hour of decent light so you can fiddle with that excuse for hair you have. I already got your broom." He waggled his eyebrows at Scorpius, seeing the incredulous look on his friend's face. "We Potters have ways and means of getting what we want."
Which meant Lily had been through his stuff again. Great. He just hoped that she hadn't transferred his boxers to the first year girls' bedroom - that had been embarrassing enough the first time. Or turned his robes pink. She wasn't the most subtle Slytherin he had ever encountered.
Sure enough, Albus's sister was leaning against the Quidditch stands, three brooms by her side, already dressed in her Quidditch gear. "Sorry, Malfoy," she said, not sounding at all apologetic. "I couldn't find your training stuff anywhere. I borrowed Bulstrode's robes; they'll probably fit."
"Barnaby's?" he asked, though he didn't know why he bothered when he was well aware they wouldn't be. He knew his training gear had been piled neatly at the top of his trunk. Merlin knew where it was now.
"Lucretia's." She threw them at him, though since he made no effort to catch them, they hit his chest and fell to the ground. "She got pretty excited by the idea, actually. She'll probably never wash them again after this. Although..." Lily peered down at the bundle at Scorpius's feet. "If I'm honest, I'm not sure how often she washed them to begin with."
Albus was making no effort to hide his snickering. Scorpius spared him a scornful glance. "Thanks, Potter. I think I'll just fly in my school robes."
Lily shrugged in a suit-yourself manner, and took off on her broom.
"Why are you the only bearable one in your family?" Scorpius grumbled to Albus, safe to comment now Lily was out of earshot. He reached for his own broom, grateful that at least Lily had relented on that front, although the reprieve was probably solely because they were on the same Quidditch team.
Albus looked amused, probably remembering the first year or so of school, before the two of them had put aside their house differences and bonded during Potions over a mutual appreciation of the more outlandish Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. It was true Scorpius hadn't been able to stand Albus either back then. Every friendship had to start somewhere. "Am I the only one? Why is it that half the time when I'm trying to find you, you seem to be with Rose? Especially when you have a girlfriend. Who is not, in case you weren't aware, Rose."
Scorpius grinned, unperturbed by his friend's goading. It was not, after all, the first time that he had heard it, and Scorpius was not so quick to rise to a bait like that. "Aw, Al. If you're trying to get a date for your cousin, you're going about it the wrong way." He ducked Albus's broomstick, holding his hands up in surrender. "Firstly, you're exaggerating. Secondly, I can't help it. She's so easy - to wind up," he added hastily, noting Albus's unimpressed expression. "Easy to wind up. April gets it, anyway. She doesn't mind."
"Whatever," Albus said, not looking convinced. "I didn't get you out here just to chat about your weird fixation with my cousin. Let's get going, or it'll be too dark to fly."
It was a good flying session, and Scorpius was both satisfied and exhausted when he and Lily headed back to their common room together. He liked flying with Albus, even if it did get him in trouble with his team-mates from time to time, for practising with the 'enemy'. Lily never seemed to come in for the same criticisms, though maybe it was because as Chaser, she didn't have much to do with the Seekers. Or maybe they were scared of her. Scorpius couldn't blame them if that were the case.
(Scorpius's father had smirked when Scorpius had told him that Albus and Scorpius would be opposing Seekers for Gryffindor and Slytherin respectively, and called it history repeating itself. He ceased saying that after the two became friends, and now looked mildly disgusted instead whenever the subject was broached)
"Any chance you want to let me know what you've done to my dormitory this time?" It was worth enquiring, Scorpius figured. At least Lily would know he was onto her. Not that he expected her to care. He'd give the contents of his Gringotts account to the person who could make Lily change her ways. Some of the contents, anyway.
Lily grinned up at him, and Scorpius could kind of see why the lower years (and some of his year) were mad for this girl. "Absolutely nothing," she answered sweetly. "Darling Scorpius, you know I would never want to cause you any pain or discomfort."
Scorpius stopped in his tracks. That was new.
"Do I?" he asked cautiously, folding his arms across his chest. "Because from where I'm standing, that seems to be your M.O."
Lily batted her eyes at him, and took a step closer. Instinctively, he took a step back. "Oh, Scorpius. You've got me all wrong." She reached up, and - and put her arms around him.
Scorpius tensed. "What are you doing?"
"Just giving you a hug," Lily said, not letting go. If anything, her arms tightened around him. This must be what being hugged by the Giant Squid would be like, albeit less slimy. "Enjoy it. It's happening."
It was impossible to relax when he couldn't shake the feeling that Lily was up to something. Nevertheless, it was apparent she wasn't going to let go on her own, so he uncrossed his arms (with some difficulty), intending to untangle her.
"Malfoy!"
He knew that voice. He winced, and Lily slipped away. "Oops," she said, winking at him as she left.
"Lily Potter?" April spluttered.
"We were just flying together," Scorpius said tiredly. He should have guessed Lily had something like this planned. Chaos was exactly the kind of thing in which she delighted.
"Oh, I see," April snapped at him, showing none of her usual composure. Scorpius wondered if there would be time to get her into a private classroom before the fight erupted, or whether he had to let it unfold here in the corridor. He glanced up at her face, and quailed. On second thoughts, the corridor would be fine. "How convenient - just flying with Lily effing Potter when you and I had study arrangements." He started; he had forgotten all about it. "Oh, now you remember your girlfriend. Seems like you didn't earlier, when you were studying with Rose effing Weasley."
Scorpius held his hands up in surrender, hoping to placate her. "Okay, April, I'm sorry. Today slipped my mind - Albus asked me to go flying - yes, yes, Albus effing Potter, I know. I'll make it up to you."
Her face wavered. They had been on and off for the best part of three years, and Scorpius knew from experience that he had a lot of grovelling in his future. Then, she shook her head. "Scorpius, no. I think we're done this time. My OWLs are this year; I need to be studying, not chasing around the castle finding out which girl you've been spending all your time with now. Not everyone has your memory, and aversion to notes. I obviously can't trust you. And you still don't want to make me a priority. Not even above the effing Weasleys."
"I-"
She cut across him again. "No. I'm sorry, Scorpius. You just don't know how to be a good boyfriend, and I can't deal with it right now. We're through."
"'We're through'? That's it?"
Scorpius sighed. It was the third time Barnaby had repeated April's parting words. Scorpius hadn't really liked them from April the first time. If you asked Scorpius, Slytherins like Barnaby were why he spent so much time with the Potters. Well, the younger Potters; all the Barnabys in the world couldn't induce Scorpius to spend time with James Potter. Time with Lily Potter was really non-negotiable, it seemed. "That's right."
"You should dump her, then."
It was tempting to fling his forkful of egg in Barnaby's direction, but Scorpius opted to eat it instead. "Too late," he said around the mouthful, "She already dumped me."
"Well, get her back, and then dump her." Barnaby shrugged, returning to his cereal. Clearly, he was no longer even half-listening. Not that he'd been any help to begin with.
"It's not a bad idea," Francis Nott mused, on his other side. Scorpius blinked at him; Nott was usually more sensible than this. "You've done this whole split up charade before. Just pick a girl, date her, be nice to her so that April knows you know how to be a 'nice boyfriend'-" Sarcasm dripped from the latter two words "-and take up with April again when she starts looking for a distraction from studying. Knowing her, that'll probably happen next week."
Scorpius rubbed his chin, looking down the table at April. She was chatting away with her friends, but he could tell that she was sneaking looks down the table at him, too. He'd heard worse ideas (mostly from Barnaby). And April did get tired of studying quickly, so this might be a good way to channel his energies until she softened towards him again. He'd tried approaching her too soon after a fight before, and although Madam Longbottom promised his skull was still the same shape, he wasn't quite so sure. "Okay. S'pose I've got nothing to lose. Which girl do you think I should pick?"
Francis shook his head, waving his toast in Scorpius's face. "Oh, no. I genuinely couldn't care less about all your rubbish. I just don't want to be stuck listening to the same refrain every day at breakfast this week. You leave me out of this."
Which was how Scorpius found himself pouring out the problem to Albus in an empty Charms classroom during their free period before lunch. He was sitting on the edge of his desk, swinging his legs back and forth, staring at the blackboard ahead. Albus had raised a point that honestly hadn't occurred to him before - did he actually want April back, or was it best to cut his losses? He supposed that was something he could figure out later, if Nott's plan worked. "Do you think it's a good idea?"
Albus shrugged. "I dunno, mate. Seems to me that if she doesn't want to be with you, you should take no for an answer, rather than involving some poor other girl. I mean, it's not likely because it's you, but what if the other girl falls in love with you? What are you going to do then?"
Scorpius tried very hard not to roll his eyes, leaning back onto his elbows. This was the culmination of asking Gryffindors for advice. How he wished that Albus were a Slytherin. None of his other friends were troubled by morals.
"But," Albus added suddenly, and the light in his eyes made Scorpius sit up. "I guess I could back your plan if the girl knew all about it - and wasn't someone who would fall for you anyway."
"I am not going to date your sister," Scorpius said with a shudder. Lily was going to drive him into an early grave as it was; he didn't need to accelerate the process by dating her.
Albus spluttered, and it took a moment before Scorpius realised he was laughing. "Merlin, no. Not Lily. You couldn't handle her - you can't handle her as it is, let's face it. She would never do it anyway. No, I'm talking about Rose. Now, hear me out. You said that April was jealous of you spending time with Rose. She'd be perfect for it. Look, I'd really like you guys to get along. I don't want to have to keep dividing my time between you because I'm worried one of you will bite the other's head off. If you put a little effort in, I think you'd be surprised. And she's more book- than boy-orientated, so we don't have to worry about her falling in love with you." Albus glanced at Scorpius. "But Rose has more sense than that anyway."
"What makes you think Rose would be any more likely to do it than Lily?" Scorpius asked reluctantly. Much as he liked to believe in his own abilities, it did seem a bit of a leap that he'd be able to win Rose around. Not when he couldn't persuade her in fictional life-or-death scenarios. Albus was right about one thing - April wouldn't like it if he started 'dating' Rose. Although, Scorpius wasn't sure quite how much he was going to like it, either.
"Leave Rose to me," Albus answered, leaning back in his chair. "Did you finish that Defence essay yet? I've still got another foot or so to go on mine."
"You can copy mine," Scorpius said magnanimously. "Can I borrow your Care of Magical Creatures notes?"
Albus frowned at him. "What? You never ask to borrow my notes. You told me I write like a chicken."
"You do write like a chicken. I still need your notes. C'mon. Essay for notes."
"Right now, it's sounding more like essay for notes and my cousin," Albus pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm going to need a little more incentive."
Scorpius wondered how he could prevent Albus from hanging around his own little sister. It seemed she was having too much influence over him. Perhaps it wouldn't be so good if Albus were in Slytherin after all. "Actually, it's more like goodwill, Rose and I getting along, and essay versus notes and a word in your cousin's ear." He ticked the points off on his fingers. "Three against two. Seems like the scales are unbalanced, so I'm also going to need you to throw the next Quidditch game."
Albus snorted. "Okay, sure. Did you want me to just hand you the Cup, too? I can see why you'd need to cheat in order to beat me."
"Fine, don't throw the game, then. I'll be getting that Cup either way," Scorpius declared. "Right. I'll get my essay, you get your chicken scratchings and your cousin. Meet you in the library by the bookworm."
"Be nice, Scorpius," Albus said warningly, getting to his feet. "You know I'll set my sister on you if you're not nice."
"When am I not - okay, okay. I get it. I'll meet you by Weas- I mean, Rose's desk."
Albus rolled his eyes. "Scor, I'll need you to give me a good foundation before I talk to Rose. If you can't be civil to her for an hour, I doubt she's going to go for it no matter what I say to her. And you need to remember that my cousin is very special to me, so you mess her around, and you answer to me."
Scorpius was inclined to laugh at that, but something in the set of Albus's jaw quelled the notion. Probably something connected with the fact that Albus's family was full of heroes (plus Hogwarts was full of Albus's family), and that Scorpius came from a long line of cowards. In keeping with proud Malfoy tradition, he merely agreed.
"Then we're settled. I give you Rose - er, so long as she is willing - and you give me your Charms notes for the rest of the year."
Scorpius really did laugh, then. "You drive a hard bargain, Potter. Rest of the term."
"Good enough," Albus said, and winked, the solemn expression of a few minutes ago gone. "Commencing Operation Get Scorpius a Girlfriend."
"You can't call it that," Scorpius protested.
Albus grinned, swinging his bag and managing to whack Scorpius with it again. "Oh, don't worry. That's only the short title. The full version is 'Operation Get Scorpius a Girlfriend (because frankly he needs all the help he can get)'."
He scarpered before Scorpius had a chance to thump him.