During their first year at Hogwarts, Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley had both been sorted into Gryffindor along with Albus Potter. They had met on the train beforehand and had formed an instant friendship. They were all so close that Scorpius spent Easter and Christmas holidays with their family one year when his father was away, to the preliminary reluctance of her father.

One day during third year, Rose was sitting next to Scorpius in Charms. They were supposed to practicing the color-changing charm on feathers in front of them. Rose was a bit off focus today though eventhough Charms was her favorite class. She couldn't keep her mind off of something one of her friends had said the previous day. She thought back to it when they were sitting in the common room…

Libby Tucker and Rose had been doing their Potions essay when suddenly Libby had asked, "So, do you think Harvey Stuart is hot?"

The question caught Rose completely off guard so she answered, "I guess. He does look good in his Hufflepuff scarf… Do you like him?"

"I don't know. Maybe. He always helps me in Arithmancy when I can't solve something. So who do you like?"

Rose was shocked. "I don't know."

What came next was even more shocking.

"Do you like Scorpius? You guys hang out a lot and he always smiles when he's near you."

Rose had been too shocked to answer. She had made some excuse about needing a book from the dormitory. That night her dreams were filled with images of Scorpius smiling with her. Scorpius helping her with homework. Scorpius laughing under the tree by the lake as Albus did an imitation of Professor Trelawney making a prediction. Scorpius cheering with her at Quidditch games. Scorpius spending Christmas at her house and giving her a present…

Now in Charms he leaned over towards her, breaking her out of her trance.

"Hey, what's up, Rosie? You're usually showing us all up by doing the spell perfectly. Is the amazing Rose Weasley stumped for once?" he teased.

She smiled, embarrassed, and retorted, "For your information, I was just giving you a head start to see if you could do it before me." Then she perfectly changed the white feather in front of her to a deep purple.

Later that night, she sat with Albus and Scorpius in the Common Room. Albus was having trouble with his Divination homework. Unfortunately, neither Rose nor Scorpius was taking that class so they couldn't help him. Finally he just gave up and went to bed. Rose was alone with Scorpius. Feeling awkward, she started a conversation.

"So Scor, are you excited for the first trip to Hogsmeade in a few weeks?"

As he went into a long speech about all the places he wanted to go, Rose thought about what she was feeling. She had felt this feeling toward Scorpius since second year, but had thought they were just feelings of friendship. Libby's question had changed all of that. She undoubtedly felt something, but she wouldn't risk their friendship and she didn't know how he felt. Yes, she had to ignore these feelings. It would only make their friendship complicated. So, for a few years, she tried to suppress her feelings...