Necessary: The Story of Rose and Scorpius

by Banares

With the Malfoy name, no one would ever wish to be my friend. But who is the girl that walks up to me in this room full of children whose futures hold so much promise and wishes to share my disgrace? "Scorpius Malfoy," I say and watch her for emotion

2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry, I said the 15th, but here its the 24th that I'm submitting this, but I had stuff going on. XOXOXO

* * * * *

Chapter 2: Prank Wars and Missing Parts

Rose watched bemusedly as a tense bubble formed to surround her family and Scorpius, becoming smaller and smaller with every step Scorpius took. The deafening sounds of hundreds of footsteps and voices seemed to fade in the background. The glaring stares that her family gave Scorpius were barbed ropes that connected them.

Rose fidgeted as Scorpius walked closer. In the six years she had known him, had been his best friend, he had grown to tower over her, his black hair almost touching his shoulder. His nose was slightly too long for his face and his chin was slightly pointed, like his father's. He had grown into his frame as the years went by, becoming well-proportioned. As he walked, a slight wind blew his ink black hair into his eyes, and for one insane moment, Rose wanted to reach up and stroke it back despite the distance between them.

Scorpius stopped a few meters away from the Weasley and Potter group, knowing better than to get too close. Alec and Fred changed their positions slightly to flank James, in case it came to a duel, despite the presence of adults. Hugo made a noise in his throat that sounded very like a growl. The others simply watched him, eyes glinting. Beyond them, other students and parents milled about without a glance or a concern about the potential disaster that could unfold.

Despite the waves of hatred emanating from the group, Scorpius looked up at Rose's family members with an amused smile that only she could see. A few tense moments passed before James broke it.

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

Scorpius's eyes flitted for a brief moment to James and then back to Rose before replying, "I need Weasley here." He gestured towards Rose.

James seemed to deflate for a moment. He'd been expecting it do be more difficult, maybe get in a few punches, thought Rose, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, Malfoy?" said James, taking a step forward, "And what if she doesn't want to go, huh?"

This time, Scorpius's gaze stayed on James and he looked annoyed. "I need her for the Head's Meeting, moron."

"You did not just insult me, Malfoy!"

"Yes, I did, Potter, what are you going to do? Throw a quaffle at me?"

"Leave him alone!" shouted Alice, drawing her wand. Everyone, including Scorpius, eyed it warily. Despite her meager size, she was an accomplished dueler. Hermione gasped and made a move to stop her, but Harry grabbed her wrist and gave her a look that said, "Leave it."

"Sorry to break this cozy little chat we're having," began Rose, "but I really need to get to the meeting." She began inching over to Scorpius, but Ron caught her arm.

"Rose, I need to talk to you for a second."

"Sure, Dad, what is it?" asked Rose as he led her a little way from the group and Scorpius. They stopped near a pillar.

"Now don't get me wrong, Rosie," he began when they were out of earshot. "I'm really happy you made Head Girl, but I don't like you working with this Malfoy character."

"Don't worry, Dad, I'll be fine!"

"I know you can take care of yourself. Merlin knows I've taught you and Hugo enough about dueling. And you've got your mother's brains," he said with a grin, looking more like her father usually looked. "But still," he turned serious again, looking years older than what he actually was, "I want you to promise me something."

Rose looked at her father warily and carefully said, "What about?"

"Promise me you'll watch your back with him. That you won't...do anything stupid." Rose nearly snorted. Her dad was such a hypocrite sometimes.

"Yeah, of course, Dad," said Rose easily.

"Promise me you won't trust him, Rose."

Rose felt her mouth go dry. "Wh-what do you mean by that?"

"Just promise me!"

Rose saw over his shoulder Scorpius begin to walk towards them. It was almost time for departure.

"Er-yeah, Dad."

Ron looked relieved and pulled her into a hug. "Thanks, I hope you have a great year, Rose-Posie."

Scorpius, now close enough to hear them, chose that moment to lapse into a hacking cough. Rose glared at him as he mouthed, "Rosie-Posie?" with silent glee.

Rose broke the hug and, without looking her father in the eyes, said, "Bye Dad, see you at Christmas." She walked away from him to Scorpius, feeling strangely as though she had betrayed him. Scorpius gave her a smile that no one else could see and fell into place next to her, matching her stride to the train. Inside, they continued through the narrow corridor, Scorpius leading the way to the compartment.

"How far is it?" asked Rose as they shuffled through the claustrophobic space.

"Its up at the front of the train."

"How was your summer?"

"Boring. Missed talking to you. You?"

"The usual. Well, except the whole 'Head Girl' thing. Alec and James made loads of fun." Rose laughed. "I'll get them for that. I can give them detentions! This year's going to be brilliant!"

Scorpius craned his neck to look back at her and gave her a crooked smile, "Yeah. Brilliant."

They finally reached the Heads' and Prefects' Compartment and sat down to wait for the Prefects. There was a moment of silence before Scorpius broke it.

"So...Rosie-Posie..." Rose glared.

"Don't call me that!"

Scorpius laughed. "Why not? Its a charming name. Maybe I should keep calling you that. I wonder how your cousins would take it? Would they curse me to avenge your pride or would they just make fun?"

"They'd probably use it as an excuse to curse you and then make fun of me."

Scorpius laughed at that. "You're probably right. Your cousins never pass up a fight."

"You can't blame them, you know. Its in their blood. We all grew up hearing stories about our parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles battling it out with dark wizards and creatures and saving the entire wizarding world on a regular basis. We all want to be a part of that."

Scorpius was no longer smiling. "I never heard those stories. At least, not from my dad. I heard a lot from people who thought I wasn't listening. But they were never very nice to my parents."

Rose looked at her shoes. "You're not your parents."

"I know. But I want to be."

"What?" asked Rose with a slight laugh, "You want to be a muggle-hating supremacist?"

Scorpius laughed too. They were two short blasts of mirth that echoed in the compartment. "No. Not that part. I meant the way they just bear everything. All of the sneering and bitterness from people who tell them they should be rotting in Azkaban."

"But you do, too," whispered Rose, looking up at him. "You never say a word, even when a normal person would have cursed those jerks to oblivion."

Scorpius shrugged, "Maybe my parents are trying to...repent for their past decisions."

"So...what are you repenting for?"

Scorpius let out another laugh. "I don't know."

The compartment door slid open then and the Prefects began to enter, looking nervously at Rose and Scorpius. They knew being in the same room as a Weasley and a Malfoy could be potentially suicidal. Rose sadly turned her attention from Scorpius and tacked on glower. It would not be right to look too happy in public, considering she was sitting next to a Malfoy.

* * * * * *The next morning.* * * * *

Being home again always had a profound effect on Scorpius's mind. Summers were long and full of tension and disappointment. At school, even if pretty much the entire student population either avoided him or acted bitterly towards him, at least he had Quidditch, school work, and the company of his best friend to keep him busy. Of course, the third of these was the hardest to obtain, but hopefully their appointment to Head positions would help that.

Scorpius was made to come back down to earth by the slamming of the bathroom door. Daniel Mortenson took a step into the room and realized that he and Scorpius were last in the dorm. Mortenson was a tall brunette, with wide cheekbones and narrow blue eyes. He wrinkled his nose as he surveyed Scorpius, as though he could smell the Malfoy blood that was flowing through his veins. Acting as though he wasn't there, Scorpius walked out of the dorm. Stupid, prejudiced idiots, who needs them? Scorpius walked out of the Slytherin Common Room and ascended the steps on the way to the Great Hall. All the other students ignored him. He considered this a good thing, as any attention he attracted was often of the malicious kind.

Just as he was turning a corner, Scorpius caught sight of a flick of familiar dark blond hair. He automatically side stepped behind a group of fifth years and bent his knees to hide himself better. A light flush appeared on his cheek and ears and his heart began palpitating. Brilliant, just brilliant!

It was Elmira Lee. The sixth year Ravenclaw girl Scorpius had been infatuated with for almost two years. And the girl that had rejected him during the last school year. Scorpius blushed brighter just at the memory.

* * * * * flashback * * * * *

I smooth out my robes and steal myself as the footsteps come closer. I feel a horrible sense of dread as I realize she isn't alone. Oh no. Oh no. I can't do this. I can't do this! But its already too late. No going back now. The footsteps stop, the door is wrenched open, and sure enough, Elmira is with her friend Sasha Singer. The girls take a few steps into the Owlery before they notice that I am there, standing ankle-deep in owl poop. Great, don't I look just absolutely dashing?

The reactions of the two girls are very different. Sasha's eyes narrow and her lips curl, as though something unpleasant had just caught her eye in an otherwise perfect picture. I'm more unpleasant than owl poo? Nice. Wonderful.

Elmira's eyes, those large orbs of liquid sky, widen in surprise and her lips, her beautiful, kissable lips part, as though she is going to say something. However, she glances at Sasha by her side and closes her mouth, silent and staring.

"Er, hi." Hi? After two years of obsessive stalking, that's all I can come up with?

"Hello," says Elmira in her soft, melodious voice. Like a child's voice.

"I-I had to ask you a question."

"Yes?"

"Er, we're having a Hogsmeade weekend and, erm, would you like to, uh, go with me?" Was that even intelligible?

Sasha's eyes widen, and her mouth drops open. She looks at me in disgust. She throws Elmira a glare. Elmira also looks surprised, and smiles a little bit. Its a rueful little smile, and I already know the answer.

"I'm sorry," she says. "I can't." She turns to go, my thoughts in turmoil at the rejection, when Sasha finally speaks, unable to hold her sentiments in.

"You've got some nerve, Malfoy! Asking her out like you though you had a chance!"

"Sasha!" whispers Elmira, looking at her friend in an alarmed way.

"What? I'm telling him the truth! Nobody likes him. He's got no friends. He's a loser. Even you think it!"

Elmira throws a frightened glance my way before turning on her friend, "Sasha!" She cries again, not knowing what else to say.

"Don't 'Sasha' me! You know I'm right." she turns to address me again, " And you! You think people like us would want to be associated with a bloke who's parents should be locked up in Azkaban?"

I don't hear another word. I stride past them and quickly walk down the corridors. I knew this had been a mistake. It was a mistake to think that a girl like Elmira would want a Hogwarts reject like me. It was a mistake to think my request would be accepted. That I would be accepted. By the time I am outside, I'm practically running.

* * * * *End of flashback * * * * *

Scorpius sighed as he walked further and further away. How embarrassing. He didn't think he'd ever be able to look Elmira in the face again. But, he thought, it was more that embarrassment, really. He felt a tiny pain in his chest whenever he thought of her. And he'd thought a great deal about her during the long summer. She signified something more than just the object of his infatuation. His try to get her to say yes to him had been his try to broaden himself, and it had failed miserably. He sighed and shrugged off his gloom. He would see Rose very soon. That would be a good thing. He hurried his steps to the Great Hall.

* * * * *

Rose yawned widely as she stumbled out of bed, the first morning of term. The other girls of her dorm were sleeping (of course), with the exception of Morgan, who was probably curled up on an armchair in the Common Room, with a book. The air outside was cool and the sun was just peaking out from behind the clouds.

It wasn't until after Rose came out of the shower that her dorm mates began showing signs of life. Alice was still in bed, only strands of her short, dark hair poking out from beyond the mess of bedclothes. Rose, who was a morning person, sauntered up to Alice's bed and sang out in a sugary, annoying voice, "Rise and shine, my little birdy! Come on, get out of bed!"

Alice, who most certainly did not share Rose's enthusiasm for mornings, uttered what sounded like growls and muffled oaths while burrowing deeper and deeper into the covers. Akira laughed as she came out of the bathroom, still wet and wearing a thick white towel, running her wand through her black hair to dry it. "You know, you really are annoying in the morning."

Rose just shrugged and pointed her wand at Alice's alarm clock, which promptly began beeping loudly and obnoxiously. Alice let out a feral snarl as her body shot out of the sheets as quick as a doxie. She seized the little plastic alarm clock off the night stand, yanked the window open viciously, then launched the thing out of it as hard as if she were a Chaser scoring a quaffle.

There was a moment of silence as all three of them (Olivia was in the bathroom) regarded the window, waiting for the inevitable: CRASH! And then, unexpectedly, a cry of pain and fury rang out across the grounds. As one, the girls ran to the window and looked downwards. Far below them was the dirty, bent figure of Argus Filch, lying on the dew-covered ground, unmoving.

"You killed Filch!" Akira squeaked, looking at Alice with both horror and awe in her dark brown eyes. For a moment, it seemed as though Alice had succeeded in what generations of Hogwarts students, legions of dark wizards, murderous magical creatures, poisoned cat food, and the reincarnation of the devil himself (aka Mrs. Norris) had failed to do.

"No!" Alice answered, looking flabbergasted, "He's just unconscious. Look! He's stirring!"

Indeed, Filch was moaning, still on his back, clutching his head. Rose let out a relieved breath of air. "Thank Merlin! If you'd offed him, Mrs. Norris'd probably massacre you in your sleep."

"Come on, let's get to breakfast," said Akira, turning from the window, "I'm starving."

* * *

The girls went down to breakfast together after their Filch episode, hoping that Filch hadn't chanced to look up the tower, for he would most certainly have seen three seventh year girls looking guiltily down at him. When they finally got down to the Great Hall however, their seventh year male counterparts were discussing what had happened to Filch.

"I don't ever remember him ever going down to the hospital wing," said Alvin, eagerly. "He doesn't stand for magical healing. Mustiv' been something really bad. Maybe he was mulled by a centaur?"

The girls hid laughter as the boys discussed possible reasons for Filch's wounds. When the theories began to get a little wild, Rose finally decided to tell them.

"What!" cried James, in righteous indignation. "No! We always do the first prank of the year."

Akira rolled her eyes, "So? It wasn't even intentional."

Alec looked annoyed too. "The definition of prank, as defined by the original four Marauders, now deceased, is 'a trick that induces laughter or amusement in one at the cost of the embarrassment or injury of another.' It doesn't matter if it was intentional or not."

Rose, drowning her waffles in maple syrup, looked up and said bluntly, "So?"

"So," replied Alvin, "You broke the rules. Only the Marauders are given the honor of performing the first prank of the year."

Rose, suddenly enraged, flicked the piece of pancake she was about to put in her mouth at Alvin. "What the hell do you mean by calling yourselves the 'Marauders?' They're from two generations ago! Who gave you the right to take the name?"

"The Marauders," explained James as though he were talking to a toddler who would just not accept that two plus two equals four, "Were the best pranksters that ever went to Hogwarts, better even than the Weasley twins"-here he looked apologetically at Fred-"So they can't just disappear. We're not really taking their name, but we're taking their title. 'Marauders' is the name taken by the best pranksters of the day."

"Oh, so you automatically assume you're the best?" asked Rose, getting fired up again.

Alvin shrugged, still cleaning bits of pancake off his skin. "Well, yeah, I mean, who else is there?"

"There's me." Said Rose automatically, and then regretted it. It was true that, when they were younger, before she'd drifted towards the girls, she had been the one who'd planned most of their pranks, but the idea of thinking of her as being better than James, Fred, Alec and Alvin combined was laughable at best. Especially since she was so out of practice.

"Oh, but this is nice," sneered Alec, "Little Red Riding Robe thinks she can out-prank us. And alone, too!"

James laughed, "Come on Rose, you're Head Girl, you can't go around pulling pranks!"

Rose smiled, "You're right, no one would suspect the Head Girl of doing anything against the rules. I'd never get caught. Whereas you four will always be at the top of the teachers' list."

"Hold on a minute," Fred broke in, still chewing on an omelet. "Are you…challenging us?"

Alvin laughed. "No way! She's only one person. And she's a girl!"

Alice, who'd been chatting with Akira, heard this last comment and pulled out her wand and turned to face Alvin in the same movement. "What was that last part?" Sexism was at the top of her list of taboos. She was a beater of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and she could easily have incapacitated Alvin by hitting him with her wand as with a curse.

Alvin backtracked at speed of light. "Er, what I meant was that girls…rarely ever get involved in shady stuff, especially at Hogwarts." He eyed her wand nervously. He still hadn't forgotten the time she'd cursed his pants to turn into gerbils. The gerbils hadn't been so very happy in their new state of being and had commenced biting everything within the reach of their mouths, resulting in a very painful and embarrassing trip Madame Pomfrey's.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" asked Alice.

Rose quickly intervened, "He means he thinks that we couldn't be better pranksters than they are." It was best to redirect Alice's wrath to something nonperishable.

"Oh yes we can!" said Alice automatically. Her pride would not allow her to take anything lying down.

"What are you doing?" whispered Rose.

"I'm putting them in their place, Rose!" said Alice loudly, turning to her friend, "They go around strutting in Gryffindor Tower like they own the place, just because they've made a few things explode! It's high time someone showed them they aren't so great as they think!"

"Oh, Alice!" laughed James, putting a hand around her waist. "Come on! You can't honestly think you girls could put on a better show than us? I mean, we've been amusing and terrorizing this school for years!"

"Oh yeah? I bet we can!" countered Alice.

"And what exactly do you bet?" asked Fred at once.

"Wait, Fred, no!" cried James. "You can't!"

But it was too late. "You want to enter a bet with us?" Asked Alice, her eyes sparkling at the challenge.

"No!" yelled James loudly.

"What's the problem, James?" asked Alec angrily.

"He just doesn't want to do it because it'll mean he can't get any action from Alice for a while," explained Akira, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, well, this is all great and everything, but are we or are not having a bet?" asked Fred impatiently.

"Yes we are!" said Alice.

"But there are two of you!" exclaimed James, gesturing towards Rose and Alice.

"Three," said Akira automatically. She would not be left out. She turned and caught sight of Morgan Alison. Morgan, knowing exactly what she had in mind, tried to slip away form the table and escape, but was unsuccessful. Akira caught her arm and dragged her back to her seat. "And now, with Morgan, we have four!"

Morgan turned a deep shade of red and looked down at her plate, unwilling to look at any of the boys. Rose registered, for the briefest moment, Alec's face softening, his upturned face lowering. But the moment passed so quickly that Rose was confused about whether it had happened at all.

"Alright then, its a bet," said Fred. "But what are you guys wagering?"

The four girls looked at each other and it was Rose that answered, "Maybe we should postpone that until the end of everything."

"That could work," said Fred. "Or how about this? Whichever group wins decides the terms at the end."

"That's good," said Alec, "How long should the contest last?"

"How about until the end of the year, when we'll decide who pulled off the best prank? Or until one group admits defeat? This is our last year, so its one more thing to look forward to in June." enthused Akira.

They all nodded or gave their ascent.

Alvin flashed a grin. "We've got our first prank planned for today, in Potions. We'll show you girls something you won't forget."

The students had begun to get up, dragging themselves off to the first class of the semester. The seventh year Gryffindors also began to get up. Suddenly, Rose's heart gave a tiny shudder as she saw Scorpius on the other side of the hall. He saw her too and gave her a small nod, his expression very wooden She gave him a crooked smile and bobbed her chin to say 'What's up? Why so glum?'

He cocked his head to one side and than the other, to say 'Nothing important.'

She pursed her lips and lifted one eyebrow: 'Right...I wasn't born yesterday.'

He shrugged, saying 'It doesn't matter.'

She grinned at him and winked. 'I'll get it out of you later.'

Then the crowd carried him away and she couldn't see him anymore. She sighed. Their silent conversation through facial expressions was amusing, but there was a bitter note in it. It was born of six years of keeping the secret of their relationship, one that weighed heavily on her. It reminded her of the amount of trust her friends and her mother and father put in her. Her father. Rose winced at the thought. She was lying to them all by keeping Scorpius a secret, but most of all she was lying to her father. She was betraying his trust. She was breaking his promise to him. What would he say when he found out. Rose resolved never to tell him she was best friends with the boy he'd told her to stay away from.

Rose sped up to walk with Alice and Morgan as they headed to their N.E.W.T level potions class with Professor Slughorn. James, Sean, Alec, Alvin, and Olivia were also their, along with an assortment of students from other houses. Scorpius was also their, Rose realized. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second before they broke apart, Rose turning to sit on a long table in the front of the class. James, behind her, leaned forward to whisper, "Watch and learn, ladies. This prank is gonna be the best!"

Rose rolled her eyes at him and took her seat. To her left sat Alice and to her right sat Morgan. On the other side of Morgan was Olivia. Rose thought this seating arrangement was quite good. Alice and Olivia were on opposite sides of the table, while Morgan, who didn't generally get involved with the petty arguments between the other girls, acted as a barrier between Olivia and the other two. Olivia was sitting with her back erect against the chair, her chin resting on her chest. Her light, curling brown hair falling down to hide most of her face. Alice was glaring at her.

Rose was about to say something to Alice when suddenly, from a door from his office, Professor Slughorn appeared. Professor Slughorn was...large. Rose could not deny it, the first word that came to her mind when she saw him was 'large'. He had snow-white hair that was receding in places and a mustache of the same color. He looked very much like the wizard version of a Santa Claus, or a walrus.

He surveyed them jovially, his eyes alighting as he spotted his favorites or skipping over others that he didn't care for. "Well, well! Its good to see you all have chosen to carry on with Potions from last year! Very good, very good. Now, I know all your teachers will be reminding you of this, but I just want to say, this is your last year here at Hogwarts, your N.E.W.T year. I'll be working you harder than any of my other classes ever work, so be ready!" He looked solemnly at them all, as though taking a dramatic pause so his words would sink in better. He continued in a lighter tone, "Now, on to your first lesson of the year! Today, we will be making a very difficult sleeping draught that is actually meant for magical creatures such as thestrals and unicorns. The draught can be kept for long periods of time and Professor Hagrid uses it to make patching up wounds easier, because the beasts fall asleep and can't struggle or feel pain. You have enough time during this class period to complete the potion, so I guess we should cracking on! However, due to the difficulty level of the potion, you will be working in pairs..."

Slughorn moved amongst the students to pair them off, one boy and one girl. Rose was paired with Sean, who, being a quiet sort of boy, was not the worst partner she could have. Rose instinctively looked across the room and located Scorpius, Olivia seating herself next to him. He also looked up and caught her eye. He smiled ruefully, as if to say, 'this is going to be a long two hours.'

Rose furrowed her brow and flicked her chin towards Olivia: 'Come on! You've got to try!" Rose smiled slightly as Scorpius looked down at Olivia, saying something to her quietly as they opened their pages to the proper page. Their faces were very close together. Too close, Rose realized. Their closeness in the cold, claustrophobic dungeon made her angry, for some reason. Their breath mingled in the chilly air of the room. Did they have to be that close to hear each other? For one second, Rose supported Alice's dislike of Olivia. Stupid, boy-stealing bimbo!

Wait...boy-stealing? But, Scorpius isn't...I mean, James was Alice's boyfriend when Olivia wanted him...it's not the same...is it? I mean, I can't be jealous if Olivia's sitting next to Scorpius, he's my friend. But I don't like her sitting next to him...Am I so protective of him that I don't even want him to talk to people I don't think are nice? I mean, he's not a defenseless child, he doesn't need me to protect him,..even if he doesn't have any experience with stupid, sneaky girl like Oliva...

"Its about to start," said Sean, breaking into her thoughts with his nervous voice. He anxiously ran his hand through his hair and threw a look at James, Alec and Alvin each. Rose knew he was speaking of the boys' prank.

"Do you know what their doing?" asked Rose, stirring her cauldron.

"No," said Sean apologetically, and dropped his eyes to the textbook. Sean was often excluded from the other boys' plans. He was generally silent and didn't mix with others. Rose often wondered why James, Alec, Fred and Alvin had become so close and yet their group had never included Sean, despite the fact that they lived in the same dorm. Could it be similar to her own distancing from the boys as she grew up and sought friends of the same gender? No, she thought, its got to be something else.

But Rose's attention was diverted as she heard Olivia laugh. She was beaming up at Scorpius, who was smiling nervously down at her. She flipped her hair. Rose felt annoyed again. She was going to trick Scorpius with her...her feminine wiles! That bimbo! Rose wanted to get up and spill the contents of her cauldron on top of her head. How dare she mess with her best friend's feelings?

Scorpius looked up at her now and smiled slightly. His smile made things worse. Rose gritted her teeth and frowned. She regretted it instantly. Scorpius's smile was replaced with a look of worry. They were so good at communicating this way that they could sense the slightest change in each other's mien. Rose dropped her gaze, feeling guilty. She was the one who had encouraged him to be more outgoing. Shouldn't she be happy for him now that some one was responding to him? That he'd made a friend, even if it was Olivia? Was she that possessive?

However, Rose didn't have to think about this too long, as suddenly, many things happened in quick succession. First, she felt a slight wind as Alvin breezed passed her and deftly dropped something into her cauldron. Rose stared with horror as Alvin sped back to his seat and her cauldron began to sizzle. The contents turned black.

And then, with a force that shook the room, her cauldron exploded.

Rose was thrown back into the desk behind her as Sean landed on the ground. "Ow!" she moaned, clutching her head as the screaming began. She was covered in the black liquid of her cauldron, along with everyone else in the entire room, even Professor Slughorn. She felt as if her entire body was tingling, her body jerking. It was as if she had lost her sense of equilibrium, she could barely stand up straight. All around her, students were picking themselves up, or at least trying to. Many fell back to the floor, as though drunk. Multiple chairs and a table had been knocked over, the contents of two more cauldron also on the ground. Professor Slughorn, wiping his face with a handkerchief in one hand and clutching a table with another, addressed them.

"Now, now, everyone, stay calm. We need to assess the situation!" But then he stopped talking and his face took on an odd look. Rose noticed it too: his voice sounded...different. Higher. Girlish...

Then someone let out a bloodcurdling scream. Rose turned as James fell to the ground, looking horrified. "OH MY GOD! WHERE'S MY DICK?!"

And then he fainted and all hell broke loose in the dungeon.

* * * * *

A/N: Hahaha, James, you are so immature!

Date of next submission: February 25

Alright, I'm getting worried since there are so many characters in the story, so I'll create an index of the seventh year gryffindors:

Girls: Rose Weasley, Alice Longbottom, Akira Chang, Morgan Alison, Olivia Stanton

Boys: James Potter, Alec Weasley, Alvin McCohany, Fred Weasley, Sean Daley

Other: Scorpius Malfoy (7th year Slytherin), Daniel Mortenson (7th year Slytherin), Al Potter (6th year Gryffindor), Lily Potter (6th year Gryffindor), Hugo Weasley (6th year
Gryffindor)

Hope no one's too confused with this many characters.

Can anyone guess what the boys' prank was?

I haven't decided what the girls will do in retaliation. Any ideas on what the girls' next prank should be? I'll take the best prank that is suggested!