A/N I simply cannot think of how to thank all my readers and reviewers enough. So here, have a cyber-waffle. ('.')#
'I still don't get why you're friends with him still,' Mia hissed to Rose as they got their books out for Transfiguration. Rose sat in between Mia and Scorpius, much to Mia's annoyance.
Rose smiled. 'I know you wouldn't. But he's actually a better person than he lets on.'
Mia gave her an incredulous look, before Scorpius came in and took a seat next to Rose.
The aftermath of Rose guessing Scorpius's feelings for Mia was…a little weird for her to deal with. Every glance, every subtle brush of a hand Scorpius gave Mia had a whole new different meaning now that Rose was 'in on it'. Scorpius somehow trusted Rose with things no one else knew (namely, his family issues), but Rose had never dealt with any girl problems of his. He was Scorpius Malfoy, for Merlin's sake! The only problem he ever had with girls was having too many at once.
The class went as usual, Mia showing obvious displeasure at being within 10 kilometres of Scorpius, Rose trying to be diplomatic and Scorpius not once hinting on what he might be feeling. It was infuriating.
As they walked to their next class, (Scorpius going off with a group of his own friends), Rose asked Mia, 'Why exactly do you hate Scorpius so much? You barely even know him!'
He's Malfoy, Rose,' she scoffed, 'I might have only joined the school a few months ago, but even I know all about his reputation.'
'His reputation?' Rose said, an eyebrow raised, 'Surely a person is more than just their reputation to you? Why do you really hate him?'
'He's slept with more girls than the number of plastic surgeries Heidi Montag's had,' she began, counting on her fingers, 'He's arrogant and thinks he's above everyone, he's always late to class, he's annoyingly sarcastic… Oh the list goes on.'
Ouch, thought Rose. 'Ok, so maybe some of those things are true,' she admitted, 'But if you never talk to him, you'll never know, Mia.'
…
Later on in Potions, Rose was talking to Scorpius when she decided to bring up the topic of Mia. She had to admit it; she was intrigued. 'So you like Mia,' she said bluntly, 'Why?'
Surprisingly, Scorpius replied, 'Yeah, I like her. She's hot, sarcastic and mean. What's not to like?'
Rose was shocked, but didn't show it. 'Wow,' she said simply, nodding, 'This is new. But,' she added, 'She hates you.'
Still flipping pages of his potions book, he replied, 'I don't think I would like her if she didn't.'
Rose wasn't too surprised. That made sense, coming from Scorpius. He might have dated a number of desperate, whiny girls, but his actual preference was clearly hard-to-get. And Mia was definitely hard to get.
'Well, in case it doesn't work out with Mia, you always have Professor Young!' Rose teased, 'She'd be more than willing to spend some time alone with you…' she continued, laughing.
'Excuse me?' came a stern voice from in front of her bench. Rose's heart skipped a beat as she gazed up at Professor Young's heavily made up face frowning down at her.
'Uh- I, er, m-meant-' Rose stuttered.
'She wanted some help with Potions,' Scorpius interjected, 'But she was too scared to, so she asked me to ask instead.' He gave her his signature crooked smile to which Young's face softened almost immediately.
Once she had left, Rose breathed a sigh of relief. 'Detention avoided. Thanks Scorp.'
'That's what I'm here for,' he said, shrugging. 'Besides, I'm not keen for you crying on my shoulder all night after finding out you got your first B.' He smiled mockingly.
Rose rolled her eyes and lightly punched him, glad that they were back to normal.
…
A few weeks later, Rose had almost forgotten about Mia and Scorpius, she was so buried in schoolwork and prefect duties. But one day it all came flooding back to her when she saw Mia and Scorpius in the corridor walking side by side. Actually talking. Mia even laughed a little. Rose was shocked; the only way Mia would talk to Scorpius was if she was under the Imperius curse, everyone knew that.
Rose suddenly felt her skin prickle. Shaking the sensation off she went up to join them when she saw Ling and found her herself joining her instead. Mia and Scorpius were unaware of Rose and Ling's presence. Ling immediately said in a hushed whisper, 'Is that what I think it is?'
'Yup,' said Rose disbelievingly, 'The world has definitely gone mad.'
Ling laughed. 'I know! What I want to know is what Malfoy offered her to speak to him in public.'
Now it was Rose's turn to laugh. 'I think someone owes us an explanation.'
'Now?' asked Ling, her eyes wide.
'Later,' Rose replied as if it were obvious.
They watched as Scorpius left Mia to join his friends before approaching her. She looked mildly startled at Ling and Rose standing right in front of her.
'You were talking to Malfoy?' Ling exclaimed before Mia could even say hi.
Mia just blinked.
'Why the change in attitude?' Rose asked, genuinely curious.
'Oh, I dunno,' said Mia, shrugging, 'After what you said about how I shouldn't judge people if I don't know them…I decided to give him a chance.'
Rose was surprised, and a little flattered that she actually paid attention to what she said those weeks ago. 'And he's not that bad?'
'He's all right,' she replied, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.
Rose suddenly felt that earlier prickle on her skin again. 'Cool,' she said simply.
Ling beamed. She hated conflict of any kind, and Mia and Scorpius being friendly would make things easier for Rose, she thought, since Rose seemed to be caught in the middle - according to Ling.
Rose walked with Ling and Mia on either side of her to the Great Hall for dinner in comfortable silence. Soon they heard that familiar buzzing of the Great Hall. The room looked especially stunning at night, with the candles hanging in the air against the dark blue starry sky that had been there since Rose's parents went to the school.
The rowdiness of the Hogwarts pupils contrasted this, as usual. The girls scrambled for a seat at the Gryffindor table before they would get run over by a hoard of hungry teenagers. Rose took a seat near her many cousins, quite a few of which weren't Gryffindors, but sat at the table anyway. Her cousin Albus was seated next to her, with his girlfriend, Aria.
Rose nudged him. 'You're brave to bring Aria to sit with the Weasely-Potter clan,' she said, smiling. Al looked a little nervous. 'I don't think she minds,' he replied as he glanced over to the dark haired girl who was being flooded with questions from his younger sister, Lily.
Smiling at her cousin's behaviour, she started to eat her dinner, chatting and laughing with her friends and family. She glanced up and saw Scorpius at the Slytherin table, surrounded by his friends and admirers. But he was not paying them much attention; his gaze was on something else entirely. Mia.
She sat just two seats away from her, looking quiet and thoughtful as she listened to various conversations around her. Scorpius caught Rose staring and stared right back. Rose smiled wryly before turning to her attention to Ling.
It was really unbelievable. And awfully cliché, the way Scorpius was acting. Well, not the creepy staring, but gazing at a girl from across the room? This was too much. Rose was…what silly word did Ling use? Confuzzled. That's it. But what unsettled Rose the most was that she had no idea how things would unfold. And Rose always knew how things would unfold.
A/N I don't even know how things will unfold! I'm not very satisfied with this chapter for some reason. I don't have a beta-reader, so I depend on you guys to tell me what I'm doing right/wrong! Criticism is great. Thanks! XD
