Rose straddled the wooden bench in the girls locker room as she rubbed the Fire and Ice Potion on her aching thighs. The invigorating mint scent masked the musty odor of the poorly cleaned room. She sighed in relief when the soothing, familiar burn set her throbbing muscles alight. She had practiced a bit too hard before the big game, but she needed the extra hours if Gryffindor was going to beat Hufflepuff this year.
It took several moments for the potion to absorb into her skin enough that her thighs wouldn't chafe on the walk back to the castle. Her mind wandered as she flipped her head over, twisting her dark red hair into a messy bun. It was nearly dinner time and she was absolutely famished. She made a face in the mirror at herself, not unlike a rabbit, and turned back to the bench to lace her trainers. Under, over, through the loop. The first trainer was knotted. She pulled her right foot up to tie it, but nearly jumped out of her shoe when the locker room door flew open with an echoing clang. Her hand flew to her mouth to suppress the startled scream trying to escape her lips.
She was so surprised to see the pale hair of Scorpius Malfoy, her cousin's best friend, that she didn't even register the burning tingle of the potion now on her lips.
Scorpius opened his mouth to say something, twitched nervously, and closed his mouth again. He sighed as he paced back and forth and ran a hand through his usually kempt, slicked back hair.
"Scorpius, is everything okay?" She asked him, worry etched across her freckled face. Perhaps Albus or Freddie had been hurt in one of their stupid pranks again. Her heart raced at the thought of her cousins being carried to the hospital wing.
"Sorry 'bout this." He told her. She only had a few seconds to wonder what in the world he was sorry for. For barging into the girls locker room? It certainly was quite rude.
He paced toward her, his long legs closing the distance between them in a matter of seconds. He pressed his lips against hers, warm and soft. Her head spun from both the pleasantness of the kiss and the bizarreness of it.
As fast as the kiss had begun it was over. He shot her one more apologetic look before dashing out of the locker room. Rose blinked twice at the swinging door unsure whether or not any of that had just happened or if maybe she just imagined the whole thing. She was obviously just in the middle of the traditional first year as Quidditch Captain psychotic break. It happened to all of them at some point or another.
"That was weird." She muttered to herself, gathering her things. She walked back to the castle in a daze.
At dinner, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter, Freddie Weasley, and Lorcan Scamander all sat at the Slytherin table looking anxious. When Freddie had double-dragon-dared Scorpius to kiss Rose, he had anticipated minor hexing from Rose, maybe a bat bogey here and there for flare, but he certainly hadn't expected the response Scorpius recanted. No hexes, no screaming, no punches. A kiss, a brilliant one according to Scorpius, and that was all. Worst of all, his mate had gone loony.
"I'm telling you, lads. She's the one." Scorpius told them loudly, despite no one asking.
"What makes you say that?" Lorcan asked. Albus and Freddie groaned. They didn't want to hear anything further on the soft lips of their baby cousin.
"I'm telling you. Like when her lips met mine it was sparks and it burned hot and then it tingled. Have you ever had a snog like that? I've never even heard of such thing!" Scorpius continued, practically drooling as he watched the redhead settle into the Gryffindor table. She made eye contact with him and he smiled broadly, waving across the hall. She grimaced and filled her plate, careful not to look back at the Slytherin table again.
"That's it. I'm asking her to Hogsmeade." Scorpius decided in a very final tone. Albus and Freddie groaned again.
A/N: Sorry to those that read this before it was edited for format. FFN isn't my first choice for publishing stories since it isn't very user friendly as far as interfaces go so I sort of just dump all of my stories at once every now and then.