Author's Note: Okay, the plot's actually kind of going somewhere now. The chapter seems deceptively long looking at it because there are song lyrics in it. It's actually not as long as it looks; in fact it's actually rather short. Sorry. At least I didn't let you get tricked. Various songs will be making their way into future chapters as well. Unlike some of my other fics that use songs, these should all be well-known songs that you should either already know or be able to find very easily online.

-SQ

Disclaimer: Being neither J.K Rowling nor the Eagles, I own neither the characters nor the song lyrics I use in this chapter. I like them though :)

Chapter Three: At A Loss For Words

If there was a prissier, bossier, more stuck-up know-it-all in the world than Rose Weasley, Scorpius had yet to meet them. And he really didn't want to.

It was bad enough that the girl had been made Head Girl to his Head Boy, but now he would be patrolling with her three times a week in addition to their shared classes, weekly prefect meetings, and bi-weekly head meetings. It was enough to make him rip his perfectly groomed hair out. Or die of boredom.

And it wasn't just that Weasley was obnoxious and bossy and prissy and a know-it-all, though she was all of those things; she was just plain boring! The Gryffindor had a stick so far up her ass it was a wonder it wasn't sticking out of the top of her head. Scorpius was just itching to show the girl how to live a little. Though she would probably die of shock at the mere thought of it.

Scorpius rubbed his forehead. Thinking about the bloody Weasley girl was giving him a headache. Which was his cue to stop thinking he supposed.

Scorpius fished his guitar out from under his bed, crossed his legs, leaned back against the headboard, and settled his fingers on the familiar strings.

"On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair

Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air

Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light

My head grew heavy and my sight grew dimmer

I had to stop for the night

"There she stood in the doorway;

I heard the mission bell

And I was thinking to myself,

'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'

Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way

There were voices down the corridor,

I thought I heard them say...

"Welcome to the Hotel California

Such a lovely place (such a lovely place), such a lovely face

Plenty of room at the Hotel California

Any time of year, you can find it here

"Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends

She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends

How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat

Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

"So I called up the Captain

'Please bring me my wine'

He said, 'we haven't had that spirit here since nineteen-sixty-nine'

And still those voices are calling from far away,

Wake you up in the middle of the night

Just to hear them say...

"Welcome to the Hotel California

Such a lovely place (such a lovely place), such a lovely face

They livin' it up at the Hotel California

What a nice surprise, bring your alibis

"Mirrors on the ceiling,

The pink champagne on ice

And she said 'we are all just prisoners here, of our own device'

And in the master's chambers,

They gathered for the feast

They stab it with their steely knives,

But they just can't kill the beast

"Last thing I remember, I was

Running for the door

I had to find the passage back

To the place I was before

'Relax,' said the night man,

'We are programmed to receive.

You can check out any time you like,

'But you can never leave.'"

*****INEBHG*****

Albus found the whole situation hilarious.

"Neville—"

"Professor Longbottom," Rose interjected.

Albus rolled his eyes.

"Professor Longbottom must be off his rocker. There's less of a chance of you and Malfoy seeing eye to eye than there is of Hagrid—oh alright, Professor Hagrid—finding a monster he doesn't like."

"Don't you think I know that?" said Rose exasperatedly. "The boy is absolutely insufferable! And now I'm stuck patrolling with him three nights a week for the rest of the year!"

"Better you than me," was Albus's chuckled response.

*****INEBHG*****

Okay, so maybe full volume classic rock wasn't the best cure for a headache, Scorpius reflected as he got up the next morning after a distinctly unrestful night's sleep.

His head still pounded, but the Slytherin/Hufflepuff game was that day and he had a strict anti-potion policy for his Quidditch team that he wasn't about to break over a bad night of sleep. All his headache needed was a nice, solid breakfast.

*****INEBHG*****

A Slythering/Hufflepuff Quidditch match, perhaps the combination of teams that Rose had the least interest in. Well, usually had the least interest in. Today she had a vested interest in it: she wanted Scorpius Malfoy to lose.

"Anything to take that conceited git down a peg or two," she said to her cousins as they settled themselves into the stands.

Hufflepuff played very well, but Slytherin played better. The Hufflepuff Keeper let in few Quaffles, but Scorpius Malfoy let in fewer. And when the Slytherin Seeker caught the Snitch and ended the game, Slytherin was already ahead by forty points.

When Malfoy landed on the grass of the pitch beside his team he was grinning.

"So much for bringing him down a peg or two," Rose grumbled.

*****INEBHG*****

To Rose's great surprise, Malfoy did not use the next day's prefect meeting to gloat about his Quidditch prowess. In fact, the blonde Slytherin was unusually quiet as the prefects debriefed and discussed their week.

One of the sixth-year Hufflepuffs had run into a dilemma when the person he had caught trying to sneak out after hours had turned out to be his best mate, and Lily and her Gryffindor year mate had a question about how much public display of affection was crossing the line. (Any, was Rose's opinion, but the school rules dictated anything that was beyond closed mouth pecks with hands remaining in full view.

"Kneazle got your tongue, Malfoy?" said Rose as they left the meeting, hiding her curiosity behind a taunt.

"Piss off, Weasley," said Malfoy shortly and turned toward the staircase to the dungeons.

Hmph, thought Rose. What's got him in such a tiff?

*****INEBHG*****

Rose and Malfoy's first joint patrol since Professor Longbottom's edict took place on Tuesday night.

Malfoy turned up on time, leaving Rose feeling almost disappointed that she couldn't harp on him for being late.

"There have been reports of afterhours student activity near the library recently," said Rose. "So we can start there and make it the central location for our patrol tonight."

"Why would students sneak out after hours to visit the library?" asked Scorpius.

Rose gave him her best Weasley scowl. She would have dearly liked to defend one of her favorite places in the castle, but honesty compelled her to reply, "Because it's the last place anyone would expect them to go, Malfoy, as you have just so aptly demonstrated."

In spite of Rose's alleged reports, they found no one near the library, nor in any of the corridors or empty classroom they visited. In fact, it was altogether an uneventful night, and they returned to their meeting point, both panting slightly from all the flights of stairs they'd climbed (and, come to think of it, what was Malfoy panting for, a seasoned athlete like him?) without seeing anything out of the ordinary.

"Not that students breaking the rules is actually out of the ordinary," Malfoy pointed out.

"Well it should be," said Rose heatedly. "How can a school environment function properly if its students don't have respect for the rules put in place to keep them safe and facilitate their learning?"

"For Merlin's sake, Weasley," said Malfoy. "Why does everything I have to say have to turn into a confrontation with you?"

Rose opened her mouth to reply and then closed it again. Malfoy had left her at a loss for words, a position in which, she would be the first to tell you, she rarely found herself.

AN: Scorpius POV :) It is mainly a Rose POV story, but there are bits & pieces of Scor's POV here & there so we get more of a feel for his character besides Rose's rather biased opinion. And so we get some bits that are important to the storyline that I can't give you from Rose's POV. Of course, for the same storyline reason I can't give you too much of Scor's POV or too much will be given away too soon and too obviously. Anyway, that'll all make more sense later. Although for those of you who know my writing you may be able to guess where I'm taking part of that.

Anyway, thanks for reading. And thanks (I hope!) for reviewing :)

-SQ