I do not own Harry Potter but I do own this FanFiction. Please enjoy Chapter Two of By The Lake.

"MALFOY! YOU HAD BETTER GET YOUR SCRAWNY HIDE DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!" Scorpius grinned, he knew that voice anywhere. Yup, she was angry. He sighed in contentment and plopped down on his bed, causally opening his latest library book, 93 Easy Pranks in Just Five Minutes.

One of the other boys who shared his dorm looked at him in amused awe, "Yer not goin' down there ta see what she wants?"

Scorpius grinned up at Henry, looked like he was thinking about it, then, "Nope."

And went back to reading. Being Sorted into Ravenclaw at the beginning of the year had its perks sometimes, such as instant quarrels whenever the need struck him.

Just as the pillow did when she burst into the room and threw a tantrum.

"Scorpius Malfoy! Did you not hear me calling for you!? I was practically screaming!"

He looked up at her, feigning innocence, "What are you talking about? You were calling for me?"

Scorpius looked at Henry who, when faced by the furious Rose Weasley, immediately deemed it safest to claim ignorance and shook his head, cementing his claim. She gave a huff and turned to stomp out when he saw it.

She had a tail! The prank worked! Rose Weasley had a tail. He doomed himself by letting loose a giant whoop of joy just as she closed the door. Apparently she could still hear his victorious cries. Whoops.

At the same time downstairs.

Downstairs Wendy watched as Henry slid down the railing from the boy's dorms, looking like he had barely escaped with his life.

She smiled; he was the only one who understood the pain of having a best friend who was constantly arguing. Over the past year they had become shaky acquaintances.

"How long do you think they'll keep fighting?"

He looked at her and raised an incredulous eyebrow, "For now or… Forever?"

She laughed and rolled her eyes, "For now."

He nodded in understanding, "Well, tell ya what, let's make a bet."

Wendy, being a surprising penny –pincher, was suddenly interested, "I'm listening…"

He grinned at her as he sat on the armrest of one of the many chairs in the common room, "I'll give ya two galleons if they aren't done in two hours. If they are, you gotta give me two."

She thought for a moment, measuring her chances, risks, and decibel level of her friend and her enemy, "Deal."

He grinned and nodded, confident in his chances.

Four hours later they were both groaning as their head aching friends were still at it.

Wendy turned to Henry and held out the two galleons he had paid her on the hour two hours ago, "I will pay you to go and make them stop!"

He laughed in helpless wonder as he heard Scorpius yell something about how Rose was just too stinkin tall to ever get a boyfriend. He had given up trying to connect dots in their argument and had long ago decided to simply go with the flow.

He turned to Wendy, "I'm startin ta think that the only thing that'll stop them is if someone were to jump off the roof or something singing 'It's Raining Men'"

Her hand remained outstretched, "You know where the roof is, it's a worthy sacrifice for the good of Ravenclaw and all things quiet."

Henry chuckled quietly, amused that while he and Wendy got along fine their friends couldn't stand not trying to rip out the others throat for who knows what.

"Keep tha money, I'll find some other way ta split them up." She smiled in thanks as he stood and went back up to the dorm.

He tapped tentatively on the door, "Uh, you guys?"

"WHAT?!" He jumped in surprise as the door was flung open and two furious first years stood before, chests heaving.

He grinned sheepishly at his best friend and then back at Rose, "D'ya think ya could quiet it down fer a while, some people are tryin ta study and do homework."

The two troublemakers glanced at each other before slamming the door. Milliseconds later he heard their combined voices casting a silencing charm on the room before they presumably returned to arguing.

He returned the triumphant hero.

Still during argument.

Scorpius was having no such luck, the argument he had been looking forward to, had taken a turn for the worst, she was crying again.

He mentally slapped himself. Why? Why? Why did he have to bring up Mike?

Rose was furious at herself. Why? Why? Why did she insult his parents?

He tried to just keep throwing out little tidbits, bait to take the argument down a new route, but was sliced down by a blow to his heritage. That was when things got heavy for them both.

When neither could contain their fury or their tears anymore she burst out of the room and he punched a wall. The silence was deafening for everyone.

Wendy went straight into caring friend mode when she saw Rose's tears, sending a glare Henry's way. Henry sighed and hoisted himself to his feet and went upstairs to his still fuming friend.

Scorpius sat on his bed, his book open upside down, acting like he was reading. His body language said that he was anything but his usual calm after a fight. Henry sat on his own bed with a sigh, "What happened?"

Scorpius kept his gaze fixed upon his upside down book, "Nothing."

Henry looked carefully at his friend. Now, he wasn't any Mike Yu who had known Scorpius since they were three or any Jenna Walter whom he had been acquainted with since birth, but he knew Scorpius well enough to know that there was certainly "Nothing" going on.

Scorpius felt that his friend didn't buy his act and finally deigned to look at him, "Look she called me Draco. Said I was an even bigger coward than him."

Henry just continued to watch him until he spilled more beans than he just had. Scorpius glared at him, hating his successful technique, "I may have also mentioned that it was probably because her huge ego and ridiculous height that made Mike to where he couldn't stand her anymore. I also might have said that the only reason anyone at all ever talks to her is because of her uncle. Then she said that my bloodline wasn't worthy to even lick her uncle's boot and then one thing led to another…"

He glanced around the room sheepishly before locking eyes with Henry again, "How bad is she?"

Henry stood and walked over to his friend. He reached and took the book from his hands and turned it right side up before sticking it back into his hands, "She was bawling before I came up here. Don't be like your Dad and make others apologize first even if you think it should be the other way around."

And with that he walked out. Scorpius sighed and let his head drop back onto the bed frame before standing with an annoyed sigh and heading to the common room.

Wendy sat chatting with her friends, no doubt insulting him, but Rose was nowhere to be found. With an internal groan he went over to her, "Excuse me."

Silence reigned supreme as all the girls- and some guys- turned to face him in surprise, "Where is Rose?"

At Wendy's reproachful look he moaned in exasperation, "C'mon guys, I just want to apologize. Please tell me where Rose is."

Everyone exchanged looks before Susan Bean broke the suspicious silence, "She said she was going down to the docks to clear her head for a while."

He ran off without a word.

Later.

He found her as he had last found her, feet in the water, mer-children playing, and tears falling. He sat next to her with a small grunt. She glanced at him before looking back to the merfolk.

"Sorry."

They both looked at each other in surprised amusement and then laughed.

"It's alright."

They chuckled at each other as they spoke again at the same time.

"Let's both say something completely random so we don't do it again."

Their laughter ceased, replaced by stunned silence. They both narrowed their eyes at one another, silently challenging the other, "Poppy Pepper plopped proudly upon the pickled peripeppered pickled plum, pleased profoundly as her prancing pet pounced."

They stared in awe at each other amazed that they both remembered the tongue twister. They had found an old book on the train before they had made it to Hogwarts. It had been Rose's favorite.

Without warning they both burst into laughter. Scorpius stood as he saw Scar begin to swim nearer, fearing being splashed again. She stood with him and, when he was least expecting it, pushed him in.

She ran back to the castle, laughing the whole way, wishing she had stayed to watch him make his way out of the freezing water.

He floundered in the water before climbing back onto the dock. He was laughing right along with her as he conceded to having lost the round. He'd just have to get her next time…

Hey Everybody, Author here. Please feel free to review! Any tips or complaints (and compliments) are always welcome!