"Rose!" a very familiar voice called over the mob of people that were making their way to the carriages.
Rose smiled as she saw her best friend, Katherine, rushing towards her, yelling at the younger students to get out of her way. Kathy, a seventh year student as well, was known for being extremely forward and harsh. Unlike many, Rose respected her honesty, even if it was blunt and annoying; not many people had the guts to always tell the truth.
Smiling as Kathy reached her, Rose leaned in and gave her a hug; she had missed her friend. They usually hung out over the summer, but Katherine had gone away on a trip with her boyfriend (though, her parents thought she was just with a schoolmate). They had, of course, owled each other, but it just wasn't the same as actually seeing the other.
Pulling back from the hug, a smug smile tugged at the corners of Rose's lips. "So how was your trip with Calib?"
Kathy's cheeks burned, darkening her brown skin. "Oh, you know, it was good. We ate, we danced, we explored, and we spent long nights together . . . not sleeping."
Katherine smirked, not bothering to be shy about her adventures with Calib. The couple had been going out for three years now, and they were both completely in love; anyone within a hundred mile radius could see that.
Rose grinned at her friend's words. "Come on, let's get going; I don't want to get the last carriage."
As it turned out, by the time the two of them made it to the carriages, they were the last ones there, with the exception of Calib, who had stayed behind to wait for Katherine, and none other than Scorpius. As Katherine left Rose to run up to Calib, Rose's lips turned into an snarl, not bothering to hide her dislike for Scorpius, nor her anger towards having to share a carriage with him. Since Scorpius was Calib's best friend, instances like this were frequent, but Rose never could get used to these sorts of situations.
"Oh, c'mon Rose, don't be like that!" Katherine whispered into her friend's ear as they climbed into the carriage. "Scorpius isn't that bad; give him half a chance, you'll see."
Rose, however, was not willing to give Scorpius any kind of a chance. She didn't want to deal with his childish antics. How he made Head Boy, she had no idea. He was always the one causing the trouble. Why the bloody hell did McGonagall think that Scorpius would suddenly have a change of heart and make others actually follow the rules?
Kathy climbed into the carriage after Calib; the two immediately started to snog,. Rose rolled her eyes and reluctantly followed the couple in, Scorpius right behind her. She was stuck in the middle between lust and annoyance; she didn't know which was worse. 'Well, if Scorpius can keep his trap shut for once, it might just be Kathy and Calib that were worse this time around.'
"So Rosey," Scorpius said, using a little nickname he came up with (which she despised). "We're going to have to spend a lot more time together with our head duties and all."
"My name is Rose! Not Rosey, and I will be spending as little time with you as possible."
Turning her back to him, Rose hoped that he would just get the hint and shut up.
"Oh, c'mon Rose! It's like we were meant to be. Just gimmie a chance."
Like a little school girl trying to flirt (and failing miserably), Scorpius batted his eyelashes, trying to win her over; however, all it did was make Rose roll her eyes and ignore him further.
Scorpius frowned when she kept ignoring him. Rose seemed to be the only girl on the entire planet who didn't like him. He liked her, and he just couldn't understand why she couldn't like him, too. Smirking, Scorpius put his arm around her shoulders, knowing it would warrant him a slap.
Eyes widening from surprise and anger, Rose ripped herself from his grasp. "Don't ever touch me again!"
Scorpius merely smiled cheekily, acting as if he hadn't heard her. Sighing in frustration, Rose completely turned away from him, vowing to ignore him the rest of the trip, no matter what. Fortunately for her, Rose didn't have to wait much longer; they had just rounded a curve and the castle was not far off. Seconds later, the carriage stopped, and Rose jumped out, getting as far away from Scorpius as possible. She knew Kathy would catch up with her in the Great Hall later, during the sorting ceremony. Jogging up the steps, Rose rushed into the Entrance Hall, only to discover none other than the headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, to be waiting for her.
"Headmistress!" Rose exclaimed, her voice holding a hint of curiosity. Usually, the headmistress was at the head table, not greeting the students at the door.
"Oh, good, you are here, dear! Now, I need you to go take care of a problem. In the back, where we take the first years, Peeves has decided to pull a prank. The Bloody Baron refuses to come help. Goodness knows why. I need you to go get him out of there. I don't need the first years being scared out of their mind."
Rose, seeing the overwhelming look on her favorite Headmistress' face, immediately jumped into head girl mode, a determined expression settled upon the young woman's features. She always hated dealing with Peeves (after all, who didn't?), but she knew that it was her duty to help the Headmistress in any way she could. Planting a small smile on her face, she assured her professor that she would take care of the mess.
"Of course Headmistress. I'll get to it immediately."
With that, Rose started to hurry off down the corridor that led to where Peeves was waiting. Before she could get very far, however, McGonagall interrupted her.
"Oh, and take Scorpius with you! It shouldn't all be left up to you!"
Rose halted and scowled. She had been hoping to take care of this mess on her own. Unfortunately for her, Scorpius had caught up, as McGonagall had requested, and she was forced to head down the corridor with him. Rose kept her mouth shut, not wanting to speak to Scorpius. Scorpius, for once, seemed to respect her silent request, and he kept his mouth shut as well. At least, until they heard an annoying, high-pitched poltergeist singing not too far ahead of them.
"All right. I'll handle this, Scorpius. You just stand there and do nothing, as usual."
Scorpius merely smiled cockily and followed her into the next room. After all, she was the one who was always right, right? Right. So, being the "good little boy that he is," Scorpius continued into the next room, careful to stay behind Rose, knowing that Peeves could be up to absolutely no good.
Rose stepped into the room and, much to her surprise, nothing happened. All of Peeves' laughter and mocking words had stopped, practically disappearing into thin air. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, making it appear as if she had a uni-brow. Something wasn't right...she could feel it. However, she was, unfortunately, unable to find the source that put the knot in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes searched in every nook and cranny, but she could not spot Peeves.
"Huh, weird," Rose said, turning around to face Scorpius. "He seems to have-"
Before the rest of the sentence could leave her lips, however, something hit Rose hard on the head, making her fall over backwards as a white liquid covered her entire body.