Firstly, this is my first writing adventure into the Rose/Scorpius world. It feels good to finally be here! Of course, I need to thank lilybetrox, my fantastic beta, without whom I might not have been able to submit so quickly. Thanks a lot! Oh, I own a fighter fish named Quinn, but not Harry Potter. Devo.

Rose Weasley lounged around in the Gryffindor common room, lying on a sofa by herself she was oblivious to the chaos surrounding her – her enchanted musical earrings blocking out any form of noise. She closed her eyes and slowly nodded her head in time to the muggle-rock blasting through her eardrums.

Most students ignored her, others shot her glares as they walked past, and very few gave her a quick nod and a "hullo, Rose" as they passed, but that was the extent of their communication. Rose Weasley was a nuisance to her own house, and she had been since the day she arrived at Hogwarts.

She didn't pay attention in class, she didn't put any effort into her schoolwork, she was bluntly honest and it was a miracle if she wasn't in detention on a Saturday.

Over her six years at Hogwarts, it was estimated that she'd lost her house a little under a thousand points.

Suffice to say, Rose wasn't in contention to win Yule Queen anytime in the near future. Her best friend Cassie was a little closer to the title, but still miles away.

Their latest stunt, "the blockbuster," "the mother," "our crown jewel," as Rose had ecstatically described it, had gone swimmingly. Executed just before term's end, as a sort of end-of-OWL's, end-of-term celebration, Rose had spent a week setting up four of the finest pallets worth of brand new, yet to be released Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes fireworks.

Her uncle George had given them to Rose the Christmas before. It was no secret who his favourite niece/nephew was. Rose was the envy of her cousins, George slipping her the burrow's shed key with a wink while Christmas was in full swing – unbeknownst to her family as she slipped out to examine her present.

It was no question of who had set the fireworks off, and as a large 'W' lit it's way above the starry sky of Hogwarts, Rose smiled at her best friend, who grinned back.

They were in McGonagall's office barely an hour later. Rose didn't think they were going to be handled lightly, particularly after their last bout of detentions, and most severe punishment to date – 150 house points lost in one night.

To say it had been embarrassing being caught skinny dipping in the giant lake by Professor Flitwick was a complete understatement. And sure, 150 house points was a bit steep; Rose supposed it had been the presence of the Puddlemere United rookies that had caused their Headmistress to physically shake as she disciplined them. She hadn't figured out how they managed to enter Hogwarts grounds either.

Rose and Cassie were surprised, for once, how they were handled with the fireworks. McGonagall had looked over them both, with such a calming look and a hint of a glimmer in her eyes that both girls were taken slightly aback.

"Once I knew two students just like you girls," she began. "They were trouble, but they were brilliant…marvellous. And they raised all of our spirits when we most needed it, before and during the war, even today."

She paused her, waiting to phrase her next words, "I think, sometimes, a little troublemaking is warranted. Harmless trouble, of course. Goodnight, girls."

But all of that troublemaking – as McGonagall and her father called it - was behind her, back in fifth year… and the others that had come before that…

In first year, Cassie and Rose were caught stealing nifflers, amongst other stunts. They were often joined in detention by Rose's cousin, Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy. Both had been sorted into Slytherin, and hated the other with a passion.

Every prank pulled was to spite the other and to avenge their previous stunts. According to Albus, it had started with Scorpius swapping his shampoo with a potion to turn his hair red, "like a true Weasley," Albus had explained, quoting his nemesis in frustration.

By the year's end, however, the majority of Hogwart's students had witnessed Scorpius and Albus communicating amicably, walking to class together and joking around – as friends.

Second year came and went with more detentions, that year lacking the flying dungbombs being aimed by the boys at each other.

In third year, Rose had managed to sneak in the family dog to Hogwarts, and when it was discovered that Bessie was, in fact expecting a litter of pups, Rose had started selling them to fellow students. The presence of not one, but several dogs within the halls of Hogwarts was soon noticed, and Rose was for once sans Cassie in detention.

During the break from third year to forth, Rose had managed to steal the Marauder's Map from Teddy Lupin, upon instructions and egging on by her Uncle George. This map had led the girls on numerous trips to Hogsmeade village during the night and on non-Hogsmeade weekends. It was a priceless tool; one of Rose's most cherished possessions in fact.

In fifth year, more mischief caused by the map followed, including the infamous lake incident and, at the conclusion of the year, the marvellous fireworks display.

Which brings the story back to sixth year, the very start of sixth year – well, a week into lessons, a week into constant homework, none of which Rose had begun.

Cassie Wood grinned as she spied her best friend lounging on the sofa; she'd just walked through the portrait hole covered in dirt. It had been a brutal round of Quidditch trials, James, being the prat that he was, had decided that the existing Quidditch team, the reigning champions, had to prove their worth against all the other Gryffindors who decided that they wanted a slice of the glory this year.

Even with James' constant insults and nagging for the team to go in harder, to try harder, last year's team still made the newbies look like first-years who hadn't rode a real broom before.

"Weasley!" Cassie tried, causing at least two other redheads in the common room to look up. "Rose!" – she still didn't open her eyes. Cassie walked right up to the girl and slammed her broom down on the floor, the noise causing the floor to reverberate and the students in the room to shout insults, or jump because of the shock.

Rose laughed as she turned off her earrings, the music stopping. "Made the team then?" she asked.

Cassie smirked, "Do you really have to ask?"

To look at Cassandra Wood, no-one would have picked her as a star Quidditch player. She was the kind of girl who looked as if she didn't have an aggressive bone in her body. She certainly didn't have the physique of a Quidditch player either, Cassie was short and petite and with her long blonde hair and blue eyes, looked the sort of girl who should be painting her nails rather than battling it out on the pitch.

However, from the day she was born, her whole life had been Quidditch – her father was Oliver Wood, the coach of Puddlemere United and her mother, before her death when Cassie was just two, had played at the elite level - a chaser representing her country on the Swedish team.

Cassie nudged her friend, before collapsing down next to her. "Saw your brother," she mentioned.

Rose laughed, "Hugh's not quite subtle, is he? Smart enough to be a bloody Ravenclaw, but not to be seen snooping at our trainings… What did James do?"

"Gave him a clap 'round the head and sent him on his way," Cassie said with a grin, before her face turned serious. "Did you hear about Slytherin's new keeper?"

"Negative. Who is it?"

"Albus Potter."

Rose smiled to herself; her extended family were under some illusion that she didn't pick up on anything, when in reality, Rose was quite observant.

Of course she had noticed, from across the kitchen at Christmas and during the summer at the Burrow, her only Slytherin cousins, Roxanne and Albus conspiring something together. Rose had a suspicion her older cousin was grooming the younger to take her position as Slytherin's captain at the end of the season when she graduated.

"Anyway I'm buggered. Think I'll head up before Addison starts crying herself to sleep tonight," Cassie announced, causing Rose to laugh at the fact that one of their more annoying roommates had made a habit of doing said activity since being back at Hogwarts. Apparently, she had been left too attached to a summer romance with a local muggle boy in her village.

"Did you study for that potions test?" Cassie asked, turning back at the foot of the staircase.

"Nope."

"Bloody hell Rose, what did you do all that time I was gone?" Cassie said, shaking her head as she retreated.

Rose turned her earrings twice and eased back into deafening nothingness.

"Get up. Get up! … Weasley… Oh stuff it!" Rose awoke to her bed floating in mid air and shaking from side-to-side, courtesy of her irritated roommate, Cecelia van Dommelle.

Thanks to a meticulously planned OWL schedule this year, Rose found that she was able to enjoy a sleep in two days of the week. Cece was taking the same subjects that enabled this sleep-in; but it meant that she was left to the task of waking Rose each morning; something that only Cassie had learnt to master over the years. Suffice to say, Cece was getting quicker at it.

Cece threw Rose's satchel at her before crossing over to the door, and exiting herself. One glance at Rose's watch told her that class started in precisely two minutes. She had made her goody-goody (I'm in great contention for head girl next year) roommate late for class.

Gleefully smiling to herself, Rose pulled on her robes and started walking, tying up her hair on the way, outside the dormitory, crossing the common room, left up the staircase.

Rose looked around to make sure no-one was looking before she slid the second bookcase out of the way, revealing a hidden slope which led directly to the charms corridor.

Sliding was by far, Rose's favourite way to travel and she got to the bottom within no time, coming out of a tapestry depicting a gory goblin war. She walked into the charms classroom with a grin, taking a seat next to Cassie, sparing plenty of time for her to gloat when Cece walked in late, and blushing due to the lecture she got from the professor.

"Now that we've all arrived," Professor Flitwick starts, shooting a pointed look at Cece, causing Cassie to snigger quietly, "we can finally start our theory on the bobblehead charm."

"Now, can anyone tell me about said charm?... Yes, Mr Potter?"

"When the bobblehead charm is cast it creates an exclusive bubble of air around the caster's mouth and nose. It's useful for breathing underwater, or when around harmful gasses." Albus explained, a smile reaching his lips once finished.

"Very good, Albus, ten points for Slytherin!"

Albus flashed another quick smile, and caught Cassie's eye for a moment, causing both of them to promptly look away.

"And can anyone tell me the incantation needed to procure the bobblehead charm?"

…

"…No-one?"

"Berostralic," Rose murmured under her breath.

"The incantation is 'berostralic,' and it must be said very precisely, as the wand will be pointed directly at the caster's face. And we all know the repercussions of mispronunciation."

"So how did Cece handle this morning?" Cassie asked as they exited the charms classroom, both girls holding their textbooks to their chests as they continued up to their dormitory. There was about a twenty-minute break between the conclusion of Charms and Herbology on a Tuesday.

Rose laughed. "I thought she had me, I opened my eyes just to see whether she had left without me. I think she must have thought that I only twitched though."

Both girls' laughter was interrupted by two boys getting closer to their own conversation.

"Yes, professor, it's procured exclusively to cover the caster's mouth and nose. Yes, professor, I'd like to see how far my head will go if I shove it—" Scorpius Malfoy walked next to Albus, imitating his voice and laughing as he passed. Albus laughed before kicking his legs out in front of him, causing Scorpius to trip slightly.

Albus laughed, "Shut up, you git."

Cassie took that moment to sneeze. Albus and Scorpius, who had now moved passed the girls in the corridor, looked behind them. Al raised his hand in greeting when he saw Rose.

"Hey Weaselbee," he said affectionately. "How are you Cass?" he asked after clearing his throat; his voice only breaking slightly as he spoke to her. "I heard you're back on the Gryffindor team, then?"

"Sure am," Cassie beamed proudly.

"Didn't manage to convince this one to try out," Al said affectionately, tugging on a strand of his cousin's curly red hair which had escaped her ponytail's grasp. Rose slapped his hand away.

"The day I play under James will probably be the day that magic raises the dead."

Behind her cousin, Scorpius' eyebrow quirked, "Who's to say it hasn't been done?" he asked.

"Sure, the possibility is there, but I was just making a comparison. I wasn't stating it as a fact, Malfoy."

Al laughed, "You pretty much just admitted that there's a chance you'll play for James one day!" Albus said as he began to walk backwards, giving a kind of salute and wearing a trademark 'Potter' grin as he left.

Rose turned to Cassie immediately, holding a finger up threateningly.

"Don't say anything!" Rose warned, just as Cassie opened her mouth.

She smiled in response, "Genes, Rose. You missed a compliment in that sentence."

"What, that thankfully and miraculously Al managed somehow to avoid red-headedness, freckles, being unfortunately gangly and short-sighted?" Rose questioned.

"Lucky boy," Cassie joked, before turning serious. "Seriously, which of your family members have the misfortune – no, half the misfortune of all of that? Face it, the gene-pool produced some stunners. Victoire and Dom—"

"Their mum's part veela, doesn't count," Rose interjected.

"Well…what about Albus, and his sister Lily," Cassie said pointedly. "And yourself!"

"What about poor Hugo?" Rose countered, thinking of her unfortunate, Ravenclawrian brother who, apart from red-headedness had inherited several undesirable traits, such as his freckles and clumsiness – constantly tripping over his own feet, and body which he was yet to grow into.

"Yes, poor Hugo," Cassie repeated, thinking as well of her best friend's only sibling.

The next month of the school year went well; as well as could be expected for the girls. It was an unfortunate afternoon of Potions where Cassie and Rose met their first major obstacle of sixth year.

"That's it!" Claimed Professor Brickton as she stopped the girls' conversation, looking extremely pissed off as she stood, hands on her hips, in front of their desk. "I've dealt with five years of you two's nonsense, and I don't expect to tolerate a sixth!"

She moved towards the front of the dungeon, and rifled through the roll call on her desk. "That's it," she grabbed her wand and waved it in front of the roll, "Alphabetisation by first name, instead of last!"

Being a Weasley and a Wood meant that most teachers' alphabetised seating orders came in handy for the friends. However, as students began to move about the room at Brickton's orders, Cassie found herself moving towards a desk, blushing slightly as she did, where Albus Potter began to move his textbook to allow room for the girl.

Rose barely registered her new partner as she looked around the room at her friends' and other classmates new pairings.

"That's just bloody good, then isn't it?" A mumble laced with sarcasm came from behind her, setting down his books on the table in front of them.

"Got a problem, Malfoy?" Rose asked clearly. She didn't get a reply. "Now, now Malfoy. There's no need to get snarly. Think I'll drag down your grades or something I suppose?"

"In fact I do," he replied curtly, turning to the girl for a moment. "I get that some people show no academic interest at all, but I'm not one of them, Weasley, and as you might, but I won't be surprised if you haven't noticed that I happen to have the top grade in this class."

"I could be top, if I wanted," Rose replied observantly. Scorpius scoffed.

"It still amazes me that you continued some subjects into NEWT level…"

"Think I didn't get the grades?"

"McGonagall probably let you take the classes out of pity, and you know, your parents," Scorpius replied.

"Yeah, and you probably got inducted as a death eater this summer, I mean, with your parents…" Rose snarked with false innocence and a bite of bitchiness. Scorpius turned his chair away from the girl as she smirked to herself. Anyone who was under the impression that she lived under her parents glory was very much mistaken indeed.

Weasley: 1, Malfoy: 0

By the end of the potions lesson, Tracey Brickton was smiling to herself. That arrogant little Malfoy, was for once in his life, completely out of his comfort zone. His potion was merely passable, for the first time in a long time, and his partner, the troublemaker Weasley girl had been the cause of his downfall.

Tracey had witnessed them bickering all lesson, with their cauldron's bottom finally falling out and half of their potion spilling over the dungeon floor. By some miracle, and a suspicion of cheating on Weasley's behalf, they had actually managed to pass up something at the end of the period, with the both of them leaving briskly and coldly straight afterwards.

Brickton scolded herself; she should have taken this action a long time ago.

Rose swore as she spotted her small owl heading towards the Gryffindor table.

"What's up?" Cassie asked at her friend's random cuss.

"Abelard," Rose replied, as said owl swooped down and dropped a letter in Rose's cereal.

"It doesn't look like a Howler," Cassie commented, as Rose scorgified the dripping envelope.

"Mum's found a way to disguise them as regular letters; gives you a hell of a shock, open it up and bam!" Rose explained. She groaned loudly. "Damnit, it's from Rhett."

Rhett Wheeler was Rose's boyfriend. Was being in past tense, well, at least it was for her. Rhett played as a Beater for Puddlemere United, the team that Cassie's dad coached. Rose and Cass had spent the entire summer, and the one before that, sneaking into clubs and pubs and hanging out with the team's rookies. Of course, neither of their parents approved of such behaviour, the boys were a few years older than the girls, but a hell of a lot of fun nonetheless. And that's why none of their parents knew about these outings either.

Rhett and Rose had a very casual relationship; what had started off as a game of spin the bottle with a few of the rookies, turned into Rhett taking interest in the redhead. They soon were hooking up when they went out. Rose hadn't thought it very serious, but Rhett had continued to owl her now that she was back at school. And the letters didn't just contain, "When's your next Hogsmeade weekend?" so that they could catch up, but long letters describing his life, Quidditch (which Rose didn't particularly care much for), how much he missed her, how much he loved her and several XO's at the conclusion.

Sure, they went out together sometimes, very occasionally alone, and they had kissed many times, and maybe slept together a couple of times, but in Rose's book, that meant a bit of fun – not a full-blown relationship.

Rose tossed the letter aside and continued with her breakfast. Cassie looked on in surprise.

"You're not gonna read that?" she asked.

"Don't see the point. 'I love you, come to Puddifoot's this weekend, I'm moving to London in winter, come and stay with me over the holidays, I think about you everyday'…you're catching on, aren't you?" Rose asked her friend, repeating the gist of his last few letters.

Cassie picked up the envelope, "You don't mind?" Rose shook her head as she sipped her pumpkin juice. "Maybe you should replace Trelawney, Rose," Cassie said with an amused laugh.

Rose turned to her right, away from Cassie to look at a group of three smaller Gryffindor boys sitting close to them, "Hey Cass," she nudged her best friend and alerted her to the presence of the youngsters.

"Hmmm, ickle firsties!" Cassie said, imitating Peeves and rubbing her hands together deviously.

"Hey, hey!" Rose said, clicking her fingers in their direction to get their attention.

"Hullo," one of them replied, in an almost terrified tone.

"Hey, I'm Rose Weasley. You're first years, right?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, you don't reckon you could all do a favour for me, do you?" she asked, when the first-years shrugged, she continued, "I need some things from the cupboard down in the dungeons, in Professor Brickton's office, for a Potions assignment. I mean, I could get them myself but I accidentally lost the ingredients the professor gave me, and I don't want her to think that I'm a complete ditz!...You won't tell anyone will you?"

Cassie hid a snicker behind her hand; the poor boys were basically putty after Rose decided to bat her eyelashes at them.

"Sure, I'll do it!" Said the taller of the three enthusiastically.

"Anything you need, Rose," chimed a blonde boy, "I'm Eligius, Eli Combes, by the way."

"Sure, meet me in the common room after dinner and I'll let you know what I need," Rose said with a wide grin, "Thanks so much boys, you're saving my life!"

"Come on, stop flirting with the first years," Cassie joked as she stood from the table, holding Rose's letter as Rose followed her from the great hall.

"I forgot the joys of a new year – new students!" Rose said gleefully, reminiscing about the glorious first few weeks of a new year, when unsuspecting first-years could still be manipulated to do her dirty work. Ahh, the few detentions she had skipped due to their naivety.

"You look exceptionally pissed off this morning!" Rose greeted cheerily as Scorpius took a seat beside her in potions. He glared back at her in response.

"Look Weasley, let's get this straight. I. Don't. Want. To. Be. Here. With. You."

"Yeah, sometimes I wake up with an enunciation problem too, just randomly," Rose commented.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, "I got an S for the last two potions!"

"And here I was thinking that Albus was no potions master…" Rose replied, more to herself.

"Can we just get this over with? Don't you want to get a decent mark for once? All you'd have to do is sit here and not interfere, I can do it all by myself."

"Nah, I don't see the fun in your plan, Scor—Malfoy."

"You honestly can't be that thick!" Scorpius said, exasperatedly.

"What, exactly, is your problem today, Malfoy?"

"I need something to hold against Albus. Potions was the only subject I was beating him in."

"I see… And I'm not that thick, just so you know," Rose commented defiantly.

Scorpius scoffed, "I'd say that shooting several boxes of fireworks into the air, and then those fireworks forming to spell your own name is pretty thick myself."

"Oh, they were always going to know it was me. Why not make it very, very clear to everyone who was behind it all. You wouldn't understand anyway… You've probably never done anything past hexing Albus in your first year."

"You sound like you know me," Scorpius observed.

"No, but you look so far down your nose at me that it seems like you wouldn't dare dream of such stunts…It's a bit disappointing, for a Slytherin, anyway."

"I wouldn't judge so quickly," Scorpius said.

Rose raised her eyebrow, interested in his tone. "Oh?"

"Flitwick's flying toupee?" he said, a quirk in his lips in amusement.

"Don't tell me you were behind that? Because I wouldn't believe it, even if you said you were."

"Not all of us need to lay the most extravagant plans for their stunts."

"Yeah, and not all of us do something and then don't take credit for it because they're pussies," Rose finished before ignoring the boy beside her and copying the notes from the board.

"What's up with you?" Rose asked. Cassie had gotten back from Quidditch training a couple of hours earlier. It was a few weeks from Christmas break, so Rose had been filling in a mail-order from her Uncle George, ordering gifts for the very few people she actually liked at Hogwarts.

Rose had initially ignored her best friend's pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, until it became too much to bear.

"Nothing," Cassie said, looking up in alarm.

"I though it was just a bad training thing, but James didn't seem so smug when he came in," Rose said, as she shrugged off her friend's behaviour and made a few more marks on the form in front of her.

"Hey Rose, what do you think of… Scorpius?"

Rose looked up in surprise. She had noticed her friend's absent behaviour lately, the last few meetings with the Puddlemere boys had been unusually quiet on her behalf, and Cassie had definitely rejected a couple of the better-looking guys at the last upper-classmen Room-of-Requirement party.

"So…?" Cassie asked timidly.

"Uh, Scorpius, right," Rose managed to stutter out after picking her jaw up from the floor. "I didn't know you two were friendly."

"Well, he's around Albus all the time in potions, and Quidditch and all that…We have muggle studies together."

Scorpius – arrogant, annoying, big-headed, egotistical, constantly grumpy, bitter, sarcastic, selfish, mean and completely up-himself. – That was Rose's opinion of her Potions partner in a nutshell.

"Yeah, well, he's cool. Yeah, he's totally cool, and…I mean, he's interesting." Was all that Rose managed to expel from her thoughts. Clearly the smile that lit Cassie's face told her that it was the right answer though.

"I'm glad you think so… You know, I thought that you two really disliked each other – in potions and that. Albus said that that couldn't be true though," Cassie grinned before taking a deep breath. "I'm just so happy!" she exclaimed before engulfing a startled Rose into a hug.

"So you'll come to Hogsmeade with us this weekend then? Please Rose, I'm just so nervous and I know I won't be if you come as well and double, pleeeease?"

"Uhh, sure Cass."

Rose was engulfed in another bear hug within moments. Hey, she thought to herself, it couldn't be that bad…sure, her best friend had confusingly decided to go on a date with a complete prat, but everyone had to learn their lesson after dating a jerk, she had, with Francis McLaggen, in fourth year. And perhaps Cassie had organised her with someone really worthwhile, like a mysterious Slytherin guy… or Gabriel Thomas, the very hunky Hufflepuff Quidditch captain.

Okay, thought Rose, maybe Malfoy wasn't as bad as Francis – that was definitely an over exaggeration. Francis had been in his final year when he had convinced a fourteen-year-old Rose that he was in love with her. They had met in a detention, scrubbing every inch of the greenhouses after the pubescent mandrakes had squirted pus all over the room.

Rose was fourteen, stupid and fourteen and Francis was an older, rebellious Slytherin – she just couldn't resist. So their relationship began. He took advantage of her; that was very clear looking back on what had transpired between them. Francis had lied and cheated on Rose. He never once had admitted there was something going on between them to his friends. And during the final week of his schooling, Francis had been her first lover, before dumping her spectacularly and going on to hook up with Ingrid Vector right in front of her.

Rose had been distraught at the time, which was understandable. A few people had speculated that Francis was the reason she 'had no feelings.' She had definitely been sobered by the experience.

Of course, she didn't hear from Francis after he left school. The last news of him was from Roxanne, gleefully telling the tale of McLaggen not being seen on the final day of their schooling, and subsequently returning from being mysteriously transported to the desert of Peru and then shipped off to St Mungo's, apparently going a little bit crazy because of his unexpected trip halfway across the world.

Rose noticed Dominique and James exchanging similar looks across the room at this time, but she had brushed it off as simple Slytherin/Gryffindor rivalry and delight at this development.

"Rose!" Cassie yelled from the dormitory. Rose was sitting on the bottom step of the staircase, waiting for her friend to get ready.

"Stop yelling, will you?" Cece scolded, as she put her book down.

"What?" Cassie and Cece heard the yell back from Rose.

Rose rolled her eyes as she watched the Gryffindor students lull around the fireplace. Many of them weren't bothering leaving the castle today, although it was a Hogsmeade weekend it was so cold outside, and the streets were thick with snow. That being said, Rose couldn't see why Cassie was having such issues finding an outfit – how many coats did she own? – wait, a lot.

Rose had been ready for the past hour – her hair was as usual – long, thick, red and magnificently curled. She was dressed in a pair of jeans, leather boots that reached up to her calves, several shirts piled underneath her black hooded jumper and a green scarf, which, while she disliked wearing it around the castle for being mistaken as a Slytherin, she loved and it complimented her hair colour to every extent.

"Okay, okay, I'm ready," Cassie said as she floated down the stairs, her blonde hair braided on the sides and whipped up into a large bun. Her makeup emphasised all features of her face, compared to Rose, who preferred to pack on only eyeliner and mascara each morning.

"I asked Addy which scarf she preferred and she burst into tears, so I figured it was probably time to leave," Cassie commented as she strolled into the common room and through the portrait hole, as Rose followed, wondering who on earth Cassie could have set her up with. She had refrained from asking as a surprise, but she couldn't help but feel nervous now.

"Where are we meeting them?" Rose asked.

"Transfiguration courtyard," Cassie replied simply. Rose concluded that she must have been pretty nervous herself.

Their suitors were, indeed waiting for them once they reached the courtyard and Rose recognised the tall, blond Malfoy immediately, as well as her date… Albus?

Rose decided that it would be more of a group-outing then, unless Cassie had had a total blond moment and forgotten that they were related.

"Albus! – Hi, how are you?" Cassie gushed forward, wrapping her arms around Albus' neck and giving him a hug.

Rose hadn't realised that they had gotten so close during potions…then again, she had been distracted trying to trip Malfoy up spectacularly.

Cassie hadn't let go of his hand – Rose noticed awkwardly as it hit her. Cassie wasn't interested in Malfoy, she was into Albus. Which left… Rose to go as Malfoy's date to Hogsmeade.

Rose looked up at the blond boy, awkwardly catching his eye as he was obviously looking back at her. She cringed at the idea of spending the day with someone that she couldn't stand, and winced further when she realised that they were wearing matching scarves – Scorpius having donned his Slytherin scarf for the day. Albus, unfortunately, seemed to notice at the same time.

"Aww, cuuuute!" He said in a teasing sing-song voice. "Matching scarves! Did you guys owl each other?"

"Shut up, Albus!" Rose and Scorpius snapped at the same time.

Albus shot them both a wide-eyed look before turning back to a smiling Cassie, taking her hand and continuing on towards the edge of the grounds.

"Did you know about this Weasley?" Scorpius hissed once the lovebirds were out of earshot.

"Yes, Scorp, darling…It's been my secret ambition since the moment we met to have you all to myself! And now that darling Cassandra and Albus have taken up residence we can all live happily ever after, and our first-born shall be named—"

"Enough. I get it. I just didn't expect you to be the 'hot Gryffindor' that Albus described… No offence."

"None taken," Rose replied uninterestedly. She studied the back of Cassie and Albus' heads, "I didn't even know about the two of them."

"Well he's been awfully quiet lately… you know, wants to study rather than go out."

They had reached the gates, and a begrudged-looking caretaker asked for their names, pausing between each one to recast a warming spell.

As soon as they reached the village, the foursome paused, deciding where to begin.

"Puddi-?" Albus began.

"Spit out the rest of that sentence, dear cousin, and you will die a painful death."

"If we step foot in that wretched teashop I will commit suicide," Scorpius confirmed.

Cassie laughed, "Gee guys, aren't we anti-romantic?"

"You have no idea," Rose said under her breath.

"Okay, three broomsticks?"

They entered the pub, Rose immediately taking off about six layers of shirts in the process, along with that horrid scarf, just for the temperature difference.

"I'll be at the bar," Rose muttered as she headed in that general direction.

"Rose, it's barely twelve!" Cassie argued, on deaf ears.

While Cassie, Scorpius and Al sat down awkwardly at a table in the corner, Rose ordered her first firewhisky – thank you Rhett and your mysterious ways of procuring an enchanted ID.

Within half an hour, Rose was interrupted by a loud sigh and a presence to her left.

"Way to leave me as the third wheel," it said bitterly.

"But you were playing the part so well, I'm sure you should head back and keep them company."

"They're making out," Scorpius stated simply. Rose looked over. They were indeed doing said activity.

"With fervour, it seems," Rose added. She slid a shot down towards the blond boy.

"That's a nicer Rose," he exclaimed, taking the shot between his fingers.

"Yeah well, don't get too used to it, Scorpius. I still don't like you very much."

"I take solace in the 'very much.'" He said with a small smirk as he took a sip of whisky.

"Trust me, it's all in the frog splatter," Rose said calmly.

"That's insane! Can you not read, Weasley, right here!" Scorpius tapped the textbook furiously. "I should not have trusted you with the cauldron for a second! You put that bloody leech juice in there, didn't you? The potion shouldn't be that colour!"

"You need to calm down, you twat. Just do what I say and you'll be fine."

"Look Weasley, I haven't stuffed up a potion this royally since first-year, and I don't intend to ruin my streak now," Scorpius said as he took the cauldron off of the burner and poured it into the nearest trough.

"Zero's all round!" Rose responded with enthusiasm as Scorpius shot her a death glare.

"Luckily for you, I'm talented enough to start over and have it finished before lesson's end. If you don't interfere, that is."

"Bloody hell Malfoy, up yourself much?" He shot her a look in reply. "I'm just gonna find it really hard to not interfere, it's too much fun. Awful amounts of fun."

While Scorpius started to concentrate hard on only his work, Rose looked around the room.

"Urgh," she made several unattractive faux-vomiting noises, attracting Scorpius' attention towards their best-friends (respectively), who were looking at each other with puppy dog eyes in the middle of a lesson.

"For once, I agree with your mental self Weasley. It's nauseating."

"Mmmm, if the holidays weren't bad enough. Albus sent about five letters on Christmas day… Grandmum was furious. It was hilarious!"

"Al's been disappearing each night."

"Oooh, what do you reckon, secluded broom cupboard, room of requirement?" Rose asked.

"You've got a sick mind," Scorpius stated.

Rose smiled, "So I've been told. It's just gonna get worse you know."

"Yeah, maybe it won't last long," he said hopefully.

"Maybe."

It didn't. Not last long, that is.

Cassie and Albus' snowballing relationship was still going strong by the end of sixth year and both of their best friends (respectively) were suffering for it.

Rose had come to the conclusion – she had a long time ago, but now she was finally admitting it to herself – that she had no friends other than her best friend. And FYI, it was no fun hanging around your extended family, she had tried. It didn't work.

Because Christmas and the occasional summer birthday at the Burrow were fun, and then you moved on from it.

Little things like hearing about every boy Lily had ever looked at – in one eventful day – were not fun.

Hearing James run through every single Quidditch play he was planning to run, while reminding you about how great you could have been for the team, was not fun.

Listening to your stereotypical gay cousin Louis criticize, judge and gossip about every single student who walked through the archway of the great hall was not fun…okay, that was a little bit fun. But Louis' Hufflepoof-ness could only be handled in short bursts.

Scorpius, for his part, was suffering equally. In his case, it wasn't because his fellow housemates actually disliked him, but he disliked them. As much as the second Wizarding War had helped calm many pureblood/muggleborn opinions, the prejudice on blood status was still alive and thriving in the good old house of Slytherin.

Scorpius had initially stuck with Albus to avoid the views of his fellow roommates, all of whom were insufferable prats who thought that they were top shit due to being pureblood.

At least Scorpius had Quidditch, which he gladly threw most of his efforts into.

Rose, however, while her partner in crime was MIA, sometimes snuck into Hogsmeade at night just for the thrill – not that there was any. Not much fun is had by yourself in that kind of situation. She began seeing Rhett more often and immediately hated herself a little for it.

But Rose was a smart girl, as much as other people overlooked this feature in her, and so, she had formed a plan. A completely evil plan which benefited no-one apart from herself and a boy who she didn't even like.

"Look at my girl, doesn't she look a peach?" Albus commented, twirling Cassie around, parading her floor-length black dress to the rest of their year level.

"Yeah, she looks a peach, if you live in the forties, Albus," Scorpius replied bluntly.

Cassie laughed. "I'm going to get some drinks. Al? Scorpius?"

"Fine thanks, baby."

"You haven't seen Rose anywhere have you? I feel like I haven't seen the girl for weeks…I don't even think I saw her gown before I left."

"I haven't seen fire-hair, no," Scorpius replied. "No doubt she'll grace us with her presence later though…if she's not busy running around the Forbidden Forest."

Albus laughed as Cassie nodded and headed towards the bar.

"Oh, look there's Cece, I must chat to her about the History of Magic exam…" Albus said, before darting off in the direction of the brunette.

Scorpius stood at a high, bar-type of table at the back of the room – now alone. He surveyed the end-of-year party for sixth years; indeed, Weasley hadn't appeared yet, the room would have been noticeably brighter.

"Pssst!"

At first Scorpius thought he imagined the noise, but as it persisted, he turned around.

"Malfoy, in here," came a similar hiss from the curtain behind him.

Scorpius looked around before he opened the aperture a little wider, slipping in to a cosy alcove next to none other than Rose Weasley, who immediately grabbed a reasonable chunk of skin on his arm and pinched it harshly.

"Owww, what was that for?"

"The fire-hair comment," Rose smiled sweetly.

"What are you doing in here you nut?"

"I have a proposition, of sorts, Malfoy."

She paused. "Well? Spit it out then!" he urged.

"I would…but you might be too moral to go through with it," she considered.

"Please, I'm a Malfoy, and a Slytherin."

"Granted. This is going to sound crazy… I need your help to break Cassie and Albus up," Rose stated, looking up at him with trusting eyes.

Hit the review button if you got this far, I'll submit the next bit if someone likes it!