Authors Note: Another chapter people! The dance will take place in this chapter, there will be some Scorpius/Rose tension, costumes, Hogmeade, dates, and, well, everything! Enjoy!

P.S. Sorry for not updating sooner.

P.P.S. I changed the year to fifth, not fourth.

Chapter 4: No Fucking Way

REMINDER:

The Halloween Dance

Tomorrow at 6:10

I sat in an armchair near the Gryffindor fire, staring at the message board with a—hopefully—unreadable expression on my face.

Lina, coming down the girl's staircase, sat down across from me. "What's with the long face?" she asked, squinting at my expression. I sighed.

"Frank Longbottom asked me to the dance." I said to her.

"Is that a bad thing?" She looked confused, "I thought you thought he was gorgeous, what changed?" I shrugged.

"Nah, that was just to make Al and Scorpius uncomfortable. I don't really think of him like that." I admitted.

"Well, it's not like you're agreeing to marry him! You don't even have to date him, it's just going to the dance together!" She insisted, looking at me exasperatedly. "I mean, look at me, I don't even like the guy, I just am trying him out." I bit my lip, considering, then smiled.

"I guess, thanks Lina."

"Anytime! Isn't that what best friends are for?" she ushered me upstairs to the girls dormitory, where I found Gracie and Gabby waiting for me. The two had hit off right away, just like Lina and I, and were the best of friends. It was unusual, because while Gracie had a very timid and quiet personality, Abby was off-the-charts loud and hyper, and was not at all afraid to voice her opinions.

"So, girls!" Lina said to all of us once we were seated on our beds or the ground. "We have something very important to discuss. Costumes for the party! We have to go as a group, have similar costumes that fit together, you know." All the other girls nodded, and I said,

"That's a good idea. What should we go as though?"

"How about a popular band? We could be The Weird Sisters!" Joline suggested cheerfully.

"Yeah, that would be good." Gabby said sarcastically, "Going as an all male band from Slytherin house." We all laughed, and Joline crossed her slender arms over her chest in mock-hurt.

"How about being magical creatures? Like a phoenix." Gracie suggested. We looked at each other, then back at her in confusion. She continued before anyone could say anything. "Not actually dressing with a bird head or anything like that, but just the idea of one, like a red dress and a headdress or even wings." We looked at each other for a moment.

"You are seriously a genius, Gracie!" Gabby burst out suddenly, and we are chorused our agreement, pressing together in a group hug. Gracie blushed as she emerged from the middle of it, and Lina clapped her hands together.

"Lets do this!" she said, putting her hair up in a messy ponytail and grabbing her wand off the floor.

Two hours, four outfits, and twenty-five accessories later, we had all decided on what we were going to be, wear, accessorize with, and look like. Gracie was to be a mermaid, Gabby a black dragon, Lina a phoenix, and I was to be Pegasus. Originally I was going to go as a unicorn, but, as Joline put it, 'having a horn is too little kid, and we want you to seem grown up'. We wouldn't even need to get anything in Hogsmeade since we had conjured and transformed all we needed.

-A+R+S-

"So I heard you were going to the dance with Frank Longbottom, is that true?" Scorpius asked me at breakfast on Sunday. Al looked up from his Daily Prophet, staring at me in surprise.

"Yeah," I answered coolly, "Is that a problem?" Scorpius looked away.

"No problem, just wondering." He said. An uncomfortable silence followed, and Lina was the one to break it as she sat down between Scorp and I.

"Brrr…." She said, breaking the silence, "Did they put ice-cream in you're breakfasts, or is this just the 'I'm weirded out by the fact that Rose has begun to like boys silence?"

"Hey!" Al and Scorpius both exclaimed, crossing their arms across their chests. I laughed, glad that Lina was here.

"I'll take that as a yes, then." Joline muttered quietly. James came over just then and sat down next to Al, across from Lina.

"So, Stuart, ready for our date today?" James asked her, his left hand ruffling his already messy hair up. Lina snorted.

"Don't kid yourself, Potter. This is only a pity date."

"Keep telling yourself, Stuart." James got up and sent a roguish wink at Lina, and then left. Lina clapped herself hard on the forehead and pretended to fall down and die. Then she looked up at me.

"Why did I agree to this, Rose? Tell me!" Al laughed and went back to his cereal, and Scorpius was still sulking about what Lina had said earlier. Or, just about something.

"You ok, Scorpius?" I asked him, concerned. He looked sharply up at me, then nodded and got up from the table. I stared after him confusedly.

"What's up his butt?" I asked Al, and he shrugged. Dominique, who had been listening to our whole conversation, leaned over.

"I think he just found out that the girl he likes is taken." She said, and Al and I nodded, not taking the hint at all. Lina was a different story, however, and her eyes narrowed thoughtfully, but she said nothing.

-A+R+S-

"I'm not sure this was a good idea." Joline fretted, twirling her magically curled hair around her finger. Gabby looked over to her from where she was finishing her makeup and smirked.

"What's wrong Lina, you nervous?" she asked innocently.

"Yeah," I added, catching on. "Anyone would think you actually liked him."

"Or maybe LOVED him!" Gracie added, smirking too. Lina threw a badly aimed pillow at us, and we collapsed on top of each other laughing.

"Shut up, let's go down." She muttered mutinously, and we collected ourselves to go down. As we descended the girl's staircase, three pairs of jaws dropped, Frank, James, and Scorpius. Albus looked bored at the attention the other boys were giving them, and adjusted his silver tie(none of them had bothered to dress up).

"You look great." Frank whispered into my ear, and I smiled.

"You do too." I said to him, and I wasn't lying. Even with his black suit, gray tie, and black pants, he managed to look loose and hot. He looked at his watch.

"We should probably go." He smiled at me, and I took his arm, then looked back, waiting for Lina, but she appeared to be in an argument with James, so I let her be.

-A+R+S-

"No! I swear that if you ask me one more time I will punch you in the nose!" I said crossly, flicking my hair back out of my eyes. James made a puppy-dog face that I couldn't say no to. "Oh, fine." I said, letting him lead me onto the dance floor.

"I didn't know you liked to dance." I exclaimed, my body moving to the beat. James looked into my eyes, his gorgeous hazel eyes mysterious. NO! I did not just think that his eyes were gorgeous.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Lina." I froze, staring at him.

"What?" he looked at me, smiling as I stared at him. "You look like you just found out that your wand split in two!"

"You… you just called me Lina." I said in a quavering voice, still staring at him frozen in place.

"So? That's your name." he laughed, and I scowled.

"No, it's just… you've never called me by my first name, only my last name."

"What? You're last name is too nice too waste." He smirked, and I hit him across the head, and made my way off the dance floor, and James followed me off. "Hey, that was only a few minutes." He pouted.

I was about to respond, then I caught sight of Scorpius' date. My mouth dropped open. "No fucking way." I muttered to myself.

"What?" James was by my side, and followed my gaze. "Why is he with her?" James asked. I shook my head in disgust.

"Take a guess." I told him. His eyes widened.

"You… you don't think… he's with her, do you?" he asked.

"That is EXACTLY what I think." I said, and turned away, my eyes searching the crowd for Rose.

-A+R+S-

"This is so fun!" I said to Frank, catching my breath as we made our way off the crowded dance floor. He nodded, his cheeks flushed. I looked at him for a long while, then looked down at my feet.

"Rose," I looked up as he spoke. His eyes were gentle. "I know this might be too soon for you, since this is the first time we've actually went somewhere together." He hesitated, embarrassed, then continued on in a rush. "Wouldyouliketogooutwithme?"

"Sorry?" I laughed, and he blushed.

"Would you like you go out with me?" I stared at him, startled for a moment, then what happened seemed to hit me. Then I kissed him full on the mouth, happiness rushing through me and washing away all my doubts about going with him. He kissed me back eagerly, and we kissed until someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned and saw Lina standing there.

"We have a problem." She said without pre-amble, and I looked confused. She sighed, "Do you remember Scorpius ever mentioning whom he was bringing here?" she asked, and I shook my head. "Well, I think I just found out. You're not going to like this." She pointed to something behind me, and I turned and looked. Scorpius Malfoy was locked by the lips with a brown-haired girl that Rose knew very well. Amber McLaggen to be specific.