2022- A Prefect Meeting, A Few Surprises, and A New Timetable

As Rose and James came up to the Prefect common room, they realized Rose didn't know the password. Both teenagers stood in the corridor, not knowing what to do. As Rose opened her mouth to suggest knocking on the portrait, Amelia Burton came jogging up. Rose noticed James stand to his full height and puff out his chest. It took all of Rose's inner strength not to giggle at this sight.

"Rose! I'm glad you got here all right," said Amelia as she came closer.

"Oh, well, all thanks to James," replied Rose. She thought the idea of James wooing Amelia far fetched, but she thought she could at least help her cousin out.

Amelia turned to James, and looked at him in surprise. It was as if she hadn't even realized he was there.

"Well, thank you then," Amelia said to James.

"Oh, anything for our Head Girl," James said, with a sickening voice. Rose hoped he wouldn't go on. But when did James ever do as Rose wished?

"I'm surprised you're so late to the meeting. Aren't the Heads supposed to be punctual?" James teased.

Amelia looked at him with, from what Rose could decipher, annoyance.

"Well, Potter. Jasper and I feel we should be the last to arrive to meetings. This gives the Prefects enough time to get settled before the meetings start. Jasper and I both feel efficiency is imperative," Amelia said this all very quietly. If Rose were not so in tune with female ways, she would have thought Amelia to be coy. But Rose could tell from her body language, she was not impressed.

"Jasper? Jasper Nott? That slimy Slytherin got Head Boy? I'm disgusted," James spat. He truly did look disgusted.

"Jasper is a nice man, Potter. Something you know nothing about. I saw you hex those second years as we were coming out of the Great Hall tonight. What did they do? Not bask in your glow?" Amelia spat back.

James looked taken aback at first, but then a grin formed on his face. "So, you noticed me? And you didn't give me a detention? Well, Amelia. I'd say this is the beginning of a wonderful relationship."

"Oh, shrink your head a bit, Potter. You're lucky I was busy with some first years, or Gryffindor would be down more than a few points," said Amelia.

Amelia turned to Rose, who was gaping at her lunatic of a cousin and said, "C'mon Rose. We need to be getting inside. I want to introduce you before Jasper starts the meeting without me."

Rose noticed Amelia whisper the password to the girl in the portrait, and then swiftly walk inside, not looking back at James. Rose turned to her cousin and simply shook her head. She would have to talk to James if he had any hopes of winning Amelia's affection. With one last look at James, she followed Amelia into the room.

Rose was greeted by all of Hogwarts prefects looking at her. She immediately turned beet red.

"Oh, good. She's finally here," said someone to the right of her. Rose looked over and noticed it was Jasper. He was looking at her rather unkindly.

"Sorry," muttered Rose, looking down at the floor. Rose did not do well in front of a crowd.

"Oh, it's fine Rose," said Amelia kindly. "This makes it easier to introduce you. Everyone, this is Rose Weasley. She is taking over for Poppy Winston as prefect for Gryffindor. Because of personal reasons, Poppy isn't returning to Hogwarts this year."

There was an immediate uproar of whispers from the prefects. No one could remember the last time a student didn't return to Hogwarts, unless their seven years were up.

"Why isn't she returning, Amelia?" asked Rose.

"Don't you know? I thought you were her dorm mate?" asked Amelia. Everyone by now was listening closely to their conversation, hoping to hear the news.

"Well, I was. But we weren't—we aren't—we just never…we were never really close," Rose sputtered. She was immensely embarrassed at this point. She turned to the crowd and noticed everyone looking at her with mild interest. She understood why.

Poppy was a very friendly girl and everyone liked her. What the prefects and heads didn't know was that Rose had gotten into a spat with Poppy during second year over a cute Hufflepuff, and it had ruined any chances of a friendship. Amelia spoke up and broke Rose's train of thought.

"As I said before, she has left for personal reasons. The faculty, as well as Jasper and I, know what has happened. We do not feel as though this should be discussed any longer. Rose is taking over her position, and that is all you need to know," Amelia said, looking over at Jasper. He nodded his approval, and she continued. "Rose will need to be taught the prefect rules, and as everyone here knows the rules, I will not take up the meeting time to teach her." Amelia turned to Rose, "Rose, your rounds partner will help you learn the ropes. I believe your partner will be…Scorpius Malfoy. Malfoy, you were Poppy's rounds partner, is this correct?"

Rose followed Amelia's gaze, and her eyes landed on Scorpius, who was sitting in the back corner by himself. He was looking straight at Rose. He shifted his gaze to Amelia and nodded.

"Rose, as you can see now, prefect's rounds partners are not from their own house. Jasper and I feel this will help promote inter House relations. Well, why don't you take a seat, and we'll get this meeting started!"

Rose vaguely heard a word Amelia had said. Her head was buzzing with joy. She would be working with Scorpius? It would just be the two of them, late at night, in the empty corridors? This was just too good to be true.

"Rose?" Rose turned to Amelia and realized she had been asked to take a seat.

"Right! Sorry," Rose said and went to find a seat. She gathered all her courage and walked up to Scorpius and sat next to him. She was greeted with a small grin. I can die now, thought Rose.

Rose was so excited for this new opportunity that had presented itself, that she barely heard a word of the meeting. Her mind was full of fantasies and plans about what could happen during Scorpius' and her rounds. Rose was brutally ripped from one certain fantasy involving a dimly lit broom closet by a piece of parchment that appeared on her lap. She looked at Scorpius with a confused look on her face.

"I thought you weren't listening," Scorpius said, slightly teasing. But he went on, not making Rose explain herself. "We have to sign up for our rounds times. We have to pick three nights a week."

"Three nights a week? Wow…" replied Rose. She didn't know prefects had to patrol so often.

Scorpius didn't reply, but was looking at the schedule that was in his lap. He didn't speak for a couple minutes, and Rose was wondering if she should say something. It didn't occur to her to look at her own parchment. If she had, she would have realized the names of the other prefects were filling up the blank spots in the schedule.

"You have Quidditch, don't you?" asked Scorpius, still not looking up from his parchment.

"Yes, but I don't know when practices are. I don't think James has even thought about a practice schedule, or even tryouts for that matter. He is pretty occupied at the moment, with personal things. He can be so irresponsible sometimes! If I were Quidditch captain I would at least have some sort of plan about how I wanted the Quidditch season to go. You know, he claims he cares a lot about Quidditch but you would never know with the way he neglects his duties. I mean –" Rose stopped short, realizing she was rambling.

Scorpius just nodded his head as if he understood. He went back to examining the schedule. Rose took a deep sigh and looked around the room. She noticed most of the prefects had left. There were only a couple pairs left, one of which seemed to be in a heated argument about when to do rounds. Apparently, one was adamant that she not be asked or forced to skip Gobstones Club meetings.

"Well, it looks as though the only available options are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights starting at nine. Or Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights starting at ten. I personally do not think I can work patrolling into my Monday and Wednesday night schedules. How about you?" Scorpius asked, looking up at Rose.

"Umm…I'm sure that will work for me. James usually arranges for practices to be earlier in the evening," Rose said.

She watched as Scorpius signed their names in the open space. She noticed he had very neat penmanship, and each letter and word was spaced evenly. She smiled at this. She didn't know why, but this observation made her happy.

"Well, that is settled then," Rose said, happily. "I'm really happy you are my partner, Scorpius. You have been best friends with Al for a few years now; I think it is only right we got to know each other. "

Rose blushed so deeply she was sure Scorpius would have noticed. She didn't know why she had just said that. It just spouted out of her mouth.

Scorpius looked surprised, but then grinned.

"You think I am Potter's best friend? I thought that title belonged to you."

"Well, I am his best friend. I know Al values your friendship and you are his closest friend outside of the Weasley/Potter clan. And we all need friends outside of family, don't you think?" Rose honestly did not know where she conjured up this courage to actually have a conversation with Scorpius. But she just went along with it, trying not to fudge up her wonderful moment.

"Yes, I suppose that is true," replied Scorpius. He was quiet for a moment, and Rose thought maybe their conversation was over. But then he asked her something she wasn't expecting.

"You really don't know what happened to Poppy?"

Rose was taken aback. Scorpius almost sounded accusatory. As if she should have known.

"No, I don't," she said quietly, looking away from Scorpius.

"It seems that if you actually believed you needed friends outside your family you would have gotten to know your dorm mate. She was a lovely girl," Scorpius said, quietly, but coldly. Rose thought this was not going in the direction she wanted, and it turned worse when he continued. "And you don't have to be nice to me just because I am Potter's friend. I can do without the charitable gestures of friendship from someone whose family notoriously hates my own. I know you are only being kind to me because Potter wants you to."

A million things rushed through Rose's mind at that moment. How dare he question her sincerity! How dare he assume it was Rose who had not befriended Poppy! How dare he assume anything about her! And did he just say he thought Poppy was lovely??!!?? Rose head almost exploded. She reacted in the only way she knew how when she thought she was being treated unfairly: with anger. The type of anger that distorted her lovely features and made her look like a tomato.

"Excuse me? How dare you?! Don't you think for one second I don't make an effort to make friends outside my family. I have lots of friends! One of my best friends is Maribella Fawn! And she isn't even in my house! And don't you dare think for one second that I never made an attempt to befriend Poppy. We were actually quite good friends our first year, but we had a falling out. I know we never made up, but it wasn't a one sided decision. It was both of our doing! I am sorry your obvious feelings for her clouded your judgment of me," Rose spat. "But I will not stand for it! I wanted to be your friend. You seemed like a wonderful person, and Al obviously thought you were worth something. And I don't care about your family! That is in the past!" Rose stopped; realizing she was yelling and was currently towering over Scorpius, who was sitting back in his chair, obviously shocked by her outburst.

She took a few steps back, and with a cold voice she said, "Obviously my original impressions of you were wrong, Malfoy."

She turned around and walked out of the room, and ran to the Gryffindor tower. She gave the Fat Lady the password and hurried into the common room. She looked around for the one person she needed. And she found her in front of the fire reading Witch Weekly.

Roxie noticed Rose walking towards her and was about to greet her, when she noticed Rose's face.

"Rosie?" asked Roxie, voice full of concern.

Rose flung herself into Roxie's lap. She took a deep breath, and then to her and Roxie's surprise, burst into tears. After a few minutes, Rose calmed down, and sat up, wiping her tears away.

"Oh, Roxie. I was so wrong about Scorpius. He is insufferable! He was very rude to me. Because of Poppy! Did you know she isn't coming back to Hogwarts?"

Roxie nodded her head. "I don't know why she isn't coming back, but her bed isn't in the dorm anymore. But why would Scorpius be rude to you about Poppy?" Roxie asked.

"Because I didn't know why she wasn't coming back to Hogwarts and because I wasn't friends with her. According to Scorpius, 'Poppy is a lovely girl.' He doesn't even know why we weren't friends! He said I didn't think it was necessary to make friends outside my family! And that I was only offering a charitable gesture of friendship because Al was making me. How can he think that? Doesn't he know me?" Rose all but shouted.

"Well, no Rose. He doesn't know you," Roxie said softly. "You and him haven't ever had a real conversation before. I think I can see why he might think you might not think it important to make friends." Rose opened her mouth to retort but was quickly shut up. "Just hear me out, Rose. Who are your best friends? Albus and I. Maribella is your friend, but you hardly ever see her. You don't have any close friendships outside of Maribella and us lot. And even though Scorpius has been Albus' best friend for three years, you have barely said a word to him. And I know it is because you are shy and oh so in love, but he doesn't. Can you see where he is coming from, Rosie?"

Rose was quiet for a while, thinking about what Roxie had said. She knew Roxie was right.

"I guess you are right. But he ruined a nice conversation! I mean, I had just told him I was happy he was my rounds partner, and now we could get to know each other," Rose said, exasperated.

Roxie perked up at once. "He is your rounds partner? You left that out! Oh, how exciting. You get to spend actual time with him. You get to spend time with the man you love!" Roxie burst into laughter.

"Roxie, I don't understand why you are so giddy. He just basically told me he doesn't like me. I was happy about being his partner at first, but not anymore. Maybe Amelia will let me switch?"

"Less bloody likely. That Amelia is such a stickler. She wouldn't let her grandmother get treatment for a curable disease if it meant breaking a rule. Let alone one of her own rules," Roxie said. "You are just going to have to suck it up. When are your rounds?"

"Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursdays at ten," Rose spouted.

"Well, doesn't that mean you should be patrolling right now?" asked Roxie.

"Oh, maybe. I don't know. And actually, I don't care. He can patrol by himself if he is going to treat me that way," Rose said, quickly getting angry once more.

"Rose! Calm down. You are letting him make you forget your responsibilities! You love responsibilities! You even said you could see where he was coming from. I will let you shirk your responsibilities just this once, but not again!" Roxie said, irately.

Roxie and Rose stared at each other; both shocked by Roxie's insistence of following the rules. Both girls burst out laughing. After a minute of this, Roxie calmed down.

"Okay, okay. We both obviously need some sleep. Let's go upstairs." And with that, the two cousins made their way up to their room.

As Rose was almost asleep she heard Roxie turn over in her bed.

"Rose? Did you really tell him you were glad to be partners with him?"

"Yes, I did."

"Wow. I bet that took some courage," Roxie giggled.

"Actually, I said it without even thinking. You know how I am around him. I have no control over what I say. When I was yelling at him, I called him a wonderful person," Rose said sadly. She had at that moment realized she was hopeless in her situation.

"Oh, Rosie…" was all Roxie said before turning back over, and falling asleep.

The next morning Rose, Albus, and Roxie went down to the Great Hall for breakfast together. Rose purposely sat on the side of the table which allowed her to have her back to the Ravenclaws, so she wouldn't have to look at Scorpius. Even though Roxie and her had come to the conclusion that Scorpius was justified somewhat in his thoughts on Rose, Rose couldn't quite forgive him.

The three cousins ate in silence, all too tired to try and make conversation. As they were finishing up, Neville came around with the sixth year's new timetables.

"Albus Potter. Rose Weasley. Roxanne Weasley," Neville said each of their names as he handed them their slips.

"Thank you Professor Longbottom," the three said simultaneously. Neville winked at them as he made his way down the table to the other Gryffindors.

Rose glanced at her timetable. She was taking mostly the same classes she had taken last year, having gotten all O's in her OWL exams.

"Rosie, Roxie. Hand them over," Albus demanded. Rose and Roxie handed Albus their timetables, and watched as he compared them.

"Well, Rosie, you are taking quite the load, aren't you?" asked Albus, as he looked at her timetable.

"I suppose. I'll have you know, though, that I dropped Astronomy," said Rose, trying to defend her hectic schedule.

"Oh, Rosie. You did? Well, I guess that's another class we won't have together," said Roxie sadly. "Oh well, I don't need you hanging around taking all the attention away from the boys. Just imagine, about a million boys and me, together under the stars. How romantic!"

Rose grinned as Roxie dove into more oatmeal, apparently chuffed with this new outcome.

"Rose," said Albus, with a serious tone. "I think you are taking on too much. You are almost as bad as Scorpius. The only class he isn't taking is Divination apparently."

This mention of Scorpius made Rose scowl and turn to the Ravenclaw table, but luckily, Albus was too concentrated on figuring out which classes the three classes had together to notice. Rose just sat there and watched Al trying to figure it all out, trying not to think about Scorpius.

Which turned out hard to do, as Scorpius was now making his way over to the three from the Ravenclaw table. Rose noticed he had a timetable in his hand. She immediately turned back around and concentrated on her nearly empty plate. For something to do she piled more sausage and eggs onto her plate.

She felt Scorpius sitting next to her. She immediately stiffened. What she wouldn't give to be anywhere but at this spot at this moment. She didn't look up at him, but she felt his eyes on her.

"Hey, Malfoy," said Roxie, looking at Rose. Rose wish she wouldn't. Why is Roxie taking this moment to act like the rest of the Weasleys?

"Hello, Roxanne," replied Scorpius, looking between Rose and Roxie. "How are doing?"

"Oh, me? I am doing just fine," said Roxie. "What about you, Rose. How are you doing?"

Rose just stared at Roxie, a look of pure contempt etched across her face. This shut Roxie up very quickly.

Albus, who had snatched Scorpius' timetable the moment Scorpius had sat down, cleared his throat. Rose snapped her head up.

"Well, looks like we all have Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Defense, and Herbology together. That's all today. Rose and Scorpius, you both have Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, History of Magic, and Muggle Studies together as well. But those are on Tuesday and Thursday. Roxie, you and I have Astronomy together. Looks like no one is taking Divination," Albus said this last part with a smirk. Rose knew Albus hated Divination. He might have hated it more than Rose's mother.

"Are none of us taking Care of Magical Creatures?" Rose asked, with a sad face. "Hagrid is going to be so upset with us!"

"Don't worry, Rose," said Albus. "My dad told me him and your parents didn't continue on with it either after their OWLs. Hagrid was upset, but he got over it. And besides, he can't give you any grief. You have an insane schedule! Rose, I am really worried about you. How are you going to do all of this coursework with prefect duties and Quidditch?"

Rose looked at Albus, and was surprised he had a truly worried look on his face. She almost didn't want to go on with what she was about to say, because he would most definitely get upset.

"Well, I was thinking about that," Rose said slowly. She was trying to stall for time. She really didn't want to have this conversation with Roxie and Albus in the Great Hall, nonetheless in front of Scorpius.

"And…?" inquired Roxie.

"Well, I might not continue on with Quidditch," Rose said really quietly. There was a deafening silence around her, and she almost couldn't take her eyes off her plate she had apparently come to admire greatly this morning.

She sighed and looked up at Al, his face hurt and sad. But it was Roxie who was upset.

"WHAT? You aren't going to continue with Quidditch? What are you talking about Rose? You love Quidditch. We need you! This year we are a shoe in for the Cup, but without you there we might as well forget about it!" Roxie yelled, drawing attention from the rest of Gryffindor table.

"Roxie, honestly. I'm not that good. You can sure find a suitable replacement," said Rose, in a smooth voice, in an attempt to calm Roxie down.

"Rose! You are a brilliant chaser. And how are we going to find someone who works as well as you do with Al and Lily? This is insane," Roxie said, taking a deep breath. "First Fred, now you!"

"What do you mean, 'First Fred'?" asked Rosie, honestly confused.

It was Al who answered her.

"He was thinking about quitting the team as well. But James and Roxie somehow managed to convince him to stay on."

"And it wasn't easy!" Roxie snapped. "I had to beg and cry! I can't be a beater without Fred! And Al and Lily can't be chasers without you! We need you Rose. This is the first year we have a chance to make the Quidditch team all family, and you are about to duck out!"

"Well, don't you think it would be fair to let others try out for the team as well? I think it a tad bit unfair to have an all family team," said Rose. "And besides, I have a full load this year! Just as Al said. This break from Quidditch will let me keep up with my responsibilities. And wasn't it you, Roxie, who just last night was surprised with me for not patrolling? Oh let's let Rose shirk her responsibilities when it comes to school, but not when it comes to Quidditch!" Rose said this last part in a very rude imitation of Roxie.

Roxie looked hurt. And Albus looked shocked. Rose didn't know whether it was because of the fact that she had just lashed out at Roxie, or because she had not patrolled the night before.

"Scorpius, Rose didn't patrol with you last night?" Albus asked. That answered Rose's question.

Scorpius, who had been quiet during the conversation, shook his head no.

"Why not?" asked Albus, looking at Scorpius. Rose noticed this question was not directed at her. Rose, who was on a roll defending herself, spoke up.

"Because I didn't want to patrol with that git!" she said, with as much contempt as she could. "You're little friend here doesn't like me. Which came as a surprise to me, considering I have been nothing but nice to him."

Rose stood up and gathered her things.

"Oh, and I'll play for the team," Rose said, scathingly at Roxie. "But don't expect me to be in a good mood, and don't expect me having any ounce of sympathy when I lose all my bearings and lash out at you. Albus, can I have my timetable back?"

Albus looked at Rose with complete bewilderment. He handed it back to her without a word.

"Thank you. See you in class."

And she left for her dormitory to write a letter to her father before class started.

Rose always wrote to her father when she was upset. He would always reply with kind words, and a few jokes thrown in to make her feel better. After she had finished writing her letter (careful not to mention Scorpius by name so as not to make things worse for herself), she decided to write a letter to Poppy.

Last night, when she was about to fall asleep, she thought of Poppy. She felt bad that Poppy wasn't coming back to Hogwarts, and she wondered if everything was all right. She was quite nervous about writing to Poppy, wondering what Poppy would think getting a letter from Rose. Rose hoped Poppy wouldn't think Rose was trying to get a good scoop of gossip from her. So she wrote her letter with caution.

Poppy,

How are you doing? This is Rose. I know you are probably wondering why I am writing to you, and I understand that. I know we were never close in school, and I am sorry for that. I feel horrible that we let our second year spat affect our relationship throughout school. Just so you know, I don't have any hard feelings towards you, and I hope you don't have any towards me. If you do, I suppose that is fine. I can only say that I am terribly sorry.

I noticed you haven't come back to school, and Amelia told me you aren't coming back for the year. I am concerned. I am not going to ask what happened. I have a feeling it was personal. But I am going to ask that you are well. It would make Roxanne and I feel a lot better knowing you are doing all right.

Will you write back letting us know?

Hoping you are well,

Rose Weasley

Rose took her letters to the Owlery, and realizing she was almost late to class, ran all the way to Transfiguration.

Rose rushed into the room, and took the nearest seat open, not caring whether she sat by her family. Rose took out her books and placed them on her desk. She turned to look at her desk partner, and let out an exaggerated sigh. It was Scorpius.

She immediately grabbed her books and bag, and made to move but unfortunately other students had taken up the desks. She let another sigh, but this time, one of defeat. Scorpius simply looked at her. Rose shook her head in annoyance, and looked up to the front of the class, where McGonagall was about to start class.

Roxie, who was sitting next to Albus, caught Rose's eye as McGonagall started her beginning lecture. Rose noticed Roxie looked very sad. Rose hated seeing Roxie sad. She was always cheery and bright, but when she was sad, she looked like a lost puppy. Roxie mouthed, "I'm sorry." Rose gave Roxie a small grin, and shook her head as though to say, "It's all right. We'll talk about it later." Roxie gave Rose a huge grin, and turned back around to pay attention.

Albus noticing Roxie's new upbeat posture turned around and looked at Rose. He had a look that said, "Are you alright?" Rose shrugged her shoulders. Albus nodded and turned around, but when he did he narrowed his eyes at Scorpius. This surprised Rose.

Rose looked at Scorpius and found him with a sheepish look on his face, staring at the desk.

Rose would have to ask Albus about this later.

The first day back in class was hectic. Rose had Transfiguration, Charms, and Herbology all before lunch. After lunch she had Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. This would be her schedule on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Rose was happy to know Albus and Roxie would be in all her classes those days. Tuesdays and Thursdays would be just as brutal, and Rose wouldn't have the added luck of having her cousins in class with her. She would have History of Magic, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Muggle Studies. What made her feel even worse was that Scorpius was in every single one of her classes.

Before their spat she would have been bouncing off the walls with joy, but now she wished she had not taken such a load, if it meant not having to be around Scorpius.

It wasn't as if they were being rude to each other. In all her classes that day, they sat near each other, and sometimes next to each other. But neither spoke a word and when class was over Rose would leave immediately and race to the next class. Rose also didn't enjoy her cousins constantly looking at her to measure whether she was all right or not.

All Rose wanted to do was go back to the common room and forget all about their morning spat. She wanted to forget all about Scorpius and the words he spoke to her. She wanted to forget that she had originally thought this year was going to be the best yet, when it was obviously turning out to be the worst.

Dinner passed without incident. Albus and Roxie had decided to mention nothing of Scorpius or Quidditch. They had strained conversations about whether their classes that year were going to be tough or easy. They talked about the weather. They talked about the family. They talked about anything to make Rose forget her worries. Rose was appreciative that they were trying to help her out, but she almost felt as though she should just talk about it to get it over with.

To bide her time at dinner she took to looking around the Great Hall. She noticed Amelia and Jasper talking at the Hufflepuff table. They looked rather cozy. Rose glanced over at James, and found that he had noticed this as well. He wasn't talking with his group of friends, who were laughing all around him, but staring at Amelia and Jasper. He looked as though he smelled something terribly foul.

When James' friends got up and started walking out the Great Hall, Fred went over to say hello to Amelia. James followed. This can't be good, thought Rose.

As Fred and James were leaving the pair, James ran into Jasper, making Jasper lean over into his soup. James apologized profusely, and used a silent cleaning charm to take care of the mess. Amelia did look impressed. Most seventh years did know how to use silent wand skills, but not as adeptly as James. He was a natural at wizardry.

James walked out of the Great Hall with a smug look and a strut. Rose started to giggle. When Roxie gave Rose a questioning look, she just shook her head.

Back in the common room Rose, Al, Roxie, Hugo and Lily were sitting around the fire doing their homework. They heard a knocking at the window, and when they looked, they saw a small owl struggling to stay on the window's ledge.

Lily shot up and went to the window. The owl hopped into the room and flew to the table in front of Rose. Rose looked at the letter and noticed it was from Poppy. Rose was surprised by such a fast response.

"It's from Poppy," she told the group, who was watching her and the owl.

"Why would Poppy write to you?" asked Hugo.

"Because I wrote to her," said Rose, struggling to open the letter.

"You wrote to Poppy? What Scorpius said must have really gotten to you, huh?" asked Albus. Rose looked at Al in surprise. How did he know what Scorpius had said? She gave him a look that said, "We'll talk later."

"Well, read it Rose," urged Lily. Lily had been a friend of Poppy's and wanted to know what Poppy had to say.

Rose read the letter aloud.

Dear Rose,

Thank you for the letter. I too am sorry we never became close friends, and I am glad you realize we were stupid little girls. How could we fight over a boy? He wasn't even that great. Oh, well. We must not regret the past. We just have to move on. I really think you are a great girl Rose, and I know you are a good soul.

I am letting you know I am well. I wasn't at first, but now I am. I am actually pretty excited. I am sad not to be going back to Hogwarts, but I might be back next year for seventh year. Nothing is set in stone though. I just have to see where life takes me. I am being home schooled at the moment. It isn't by choice, but I am happy with the way things are going.

I feel like I can tell you what is going on. If there is one thing I know about you Rose, it is that you aren't a gossip. Just because we weren't friends, doesn't mean I didn't know anything about you.

Well, my boyfriend and I made a mistake. I am pregnant. About 3 months along. We made a decision, along with Professor Longbottom and McGonagall, to stay at home this year. I really didn't want to be at school while pregnant. What a scandal! I hope I didn't startle you with my news. It came to a shock for me as well, but I am continually getting more thrilled. This isn't the way I wanted my life to go, but there it is.

I would ask that you not let others know. I am sure you will tell Albus though. I understand.

Write back,

Poppy

The Weasley and Potters all sat around in a stunned silence after Rose finished reading.

"Well, so much for not letting others know," said Hugo.

"Wow, a baby…" said Albus slowly.

Roxie and Lily just sat there, stunned.

"Pregnant?" asked Lily, in a small whisper. "Poor Poppy."

"She seems to be doing all right. She even said she was excited," said Roxie, speaking to Lily. "She is going to be just fine."

Rose felt horrible. Poppy was pregnant? She had so much going for her in school. She was only behind Rose in the Gryffindor House in terms of grades. Rose couldn't imagine being pregnant, not now, not in years.

As they all sat contemplating Poppy's fate, a first year came up to them.

"Umm, Rose?" he asked shyly.

"Yes?"

"This is for you." And he handed her another letter.

Rose looked at the letter, and recognized the penmanship. She pocketed the letter, and told the others she was going to bed. She walked up to her dorm, ignoring their protests and questions.

Rose sat on her bed and drew out Scorpius' letter.

Let's see what he has to say, thought Rose.

A/N: The third chapter will be up much quicker than this one was. Nothing too exciting happened in this chapter, but things will get better! Thanks for reading! R&R!!!