Detention passed; letters from disappointed parents passed; potions and herbology passed. The year went by smoothly following that event. Their first and second years remained the same. The fights between the two remained verbal, yet they maintained the highest grades their year. Where she fell short, he made up the difference. While she excelled at charms, he excelled at transfiguration. While he excelled at astronomy, she excelled in her DADA classes.
Both years, the only classes they had together were potions and herbology. When they were assigned something, they found themselves competing to finish it before the other. This happened even when they did not have a class at the same time. When grades came in, they would compare grades and try to gloat to the other.
Rose sat by Albus at the Slytherin table, one morning in the Spring of their second year. She remained close with Albus throughout these years, and it wasn't uncommon for them to sit near each other. Not that anyone was policing where students sat anymore. Albus had become less nervous and fidgety. He was quieter than before, but had established a group of friends outside of her. Scorpius stalked over to her spot, to sit next to her. He sat close, his entire right side pressing against her left.
"So, Wheezy," he smirked. He began to call her that in the middle of their first year. The first time he said it, she almost snapped her wand in half. "Have you signed up for you courses next year?" She glanced at the paper she was just discussing with Albus.
"Yes, in fact, I have, Malfoy. I'm taking ten courses next year," she said with a smirk to try and match his. He snorted.
"You call that impressive? I'm taking eleven." Rose's grip on her paper tightened. Albus had a way of tuning them out, but on occasion, he liked to listen to their bickering. Rose glanced at his sign-up sheet, in hand.
"Can't get yourself to sit through a class about muggles? Your only reservation on taking them all, I suppose."
"Well, that, and maybe that I don't see a check on that class on your paper either," he said. He got up, and went back to the end of the row, where he was before. Rose grumbled, before taking out her quill to check off "divination".
"Rose, you cannot seriously take that class because he said so," Albus said.
"I'm not doing it because he said so. I'm doing it because I want to." He snorted and took a sip of his drink.
"Yeah, you want to beat him…"
x
Third year came around. Rose had grown to be five feet tall, but still was half a foot shorter than Scorpius Malfoy. Malfoy excelled at divination, arithmancy, and he was even almost tied with her grade in ancient runes. While he played keeper, Rose wouldn't even attempt quidditch (she was physically awkward). She was beginning to feel like she couldn't beat him at anything at all.
Rose, the ever so perceptive one, did find her upper hands, though.
First, he completely struggled in care of magical creatures. Scorpius was not gentle, and seemed almost afraid of certain creatures at times, which made Rose laugh. He seemed to have a special hatred for hippogriffs, for no particular took some pity on him, though. She sometimes would help him with his approach. When asked why, she shrugged and said "To level the playing field."
Second, they had remained potions partners. In fact, in every class they had together, they sat next to each other. Bickering or working, always trying to succeed the other person. Rose saw him and sat near him daily. If they needed to work on a project together, they had to spend extended periods of time together. One day, as they sat in the Great Hall, Scorpius received a howler.
"SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY
AFTER A YEAR OF ALMOST PERFECT MARKS, WE DARE GET A LETTER THAT YOU WERE CAUGHT OUTSIDE OF YOUR DORM PAST CURFEW FOR FIVE NIGHTS IN A ROW? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? WHAT MAKES YOU THINK A TWELVE YEAR OLD BOY BELONGS BY BLACK LAKE PAST TEN EVER, LET ALONE FOUR TIMES? IF THIS DARE HAPPEN AGAIN, YOU WILL THINK THIS LETTER IS A GOD-SEND."
The howler ripped itself into shreds. Scorpius had his forehead on the table. It was from his mother, made clear by the shrill tone. There was a silence between them. He refused to look up and face the rest of the Slytherin table. Rose looked down the row at Albus and Louis (who had been sorted into Slytherin that year) snickering.
"So…" Rose began.
"Don't you dare-"
"Hyperion, are you ready to continue this project?" He turned his head and gave her a scowl to beat out any other scowl. After that incident, she was never called Wheezy again.
The third and final thing, though, was what tipped everything. In a normal day in herbology, bickering and working, mumbling commands to each other. Malfoy turned to her, to ask her something.
"Can you ha-aand me-" He stopped. His voice had just cracked. He cleared his throat, and she bit her lip, trying to hold in a laugh. "Can you hand me the spa-aade?" She burst out laughing, leaning against the desk for support. He wanted to yell at her to stop, but he was afraid his voice might decide to crack again. His face was as red as her hair. She began to wipe away tears from laughing so hard. He pulled the spade from her hand. When she gained control of herself, she apologized but the grin remained on her face. Rose, after that, never felt bad about being awkward compared to him.